The Dugar family carries a 137 year old legacy in business. It all started when Chandan Mal Dugar started trading in fabrics at a ‘haat bazaar’ (a weekly market organised locally) in Biratnagar. His son Lunkaran Dugar not only continued the trading business but also widened the business by stepping into agro products. The Dugar group charted new heights after the four sons of Lun Karan took over the business. Initially, the group had a presence in textiles and agro products, but later expanded to jute exports, steel, rice mills, among others.

Late Tola Ram Dugar and his younger brother Moti Lal Dugar have played major roles in the diversification of the business. After moving from Dharan to Biratnagar, Tola Ram and Moti Lal diversified the business into jute processing and made Biratnagar the base for the family business. According to Vivek Dugar, his father Moti Lal started the practice of making cash payments to farmers while buying raw food grains from them some six decades ago, which made a huge difference in the agriculture sector.

The group started a strawboard paper industry in 1966, ventured into rice and oil mills in Dhangadi and Birgunj, established a stainless steel utensil industry and in 1972 entered the automobile business. These initiatives are considered to be some of the key milestones in the Dugar Family’ business history.

At present, the legacy of Dugar’s business is carried out by four groups, each helmed by the four brothers belonging to the third generation of the family. In 1962, the group separated into two groups - TM Dugar and HC Dugar. In 1991, the TM Dugar group separated into TM Dugar Group and KL Dugar Group. In 2015, Motilal Dugar separated from TM Dugar group and formed MV Dugar Group.

Among them, KL Dugar is a leading business house in the food industry with brands such as Dhara Oil and Gyan Rice. Similarly, Moti Lal has taken the automobile business to new heights after restructuring the family run business. In addition, the MV Group led by Moti Lal has plans for massive investment in the hydropower sector. Currently, three hydropower projects, totaling 157 MW and amounting to Rs 21 billion, are under construction as part of its plan to engage in projects totaling 500 MW.