Well-known NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has been installed the inaugural Chancellor of the University of Westminster.

Lord Paul, 75, who is the chairman of Caparo Group, a global steel, engineering and property development business, said he was “proud" that the University had chosen him to be Chancellor.

In his acceptance speech he said: “It is with tremendous pride and deep emotion that I am responding today to the call of destiny which sometimes takes us in a direction we might never have imagined.

“I am proud of the confidence you have placed in me by choosing me as the first Chancellor of the University of Westminster.

“Through my businesses - and politically and socially - I work extensively in global markets and I will be looking to transfer my knowledge and contacts to develop the University.

“The University of Westminster has a massive culturally diverse grounding and this is something I applaud,” Lord Paul told the 350-strong audience.

Born in Jalandhar in 1931, Paul did his graduation from the Punjab University and subsequently obtained a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

Lord Paul first went to London in 1966 for his daughter's Leukemia treatment, and stayed there forever.

He started his business in Britain in 1968. After acquiring one steel unit, he went on to acquire more units and founded the Caparo group in the year 1978.

Lord Swraj Paul has won several honors and awards. He was knighted by the British Queen in 1978 and became the Lord Paul of Marylebone and a member of the House of Lords.

Lord Swraj Paul also wrote a biography of Indira Gandhi and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1983.