From a cobbler's family to Padma Shri: How Ashok Khade built a Rs 350 crore firm

Ashok Khade grew up in a poor family in Maharashtra, with a cobbler father and labourer mother. After working at Mazagon Dock and travelling to West Germany, he co-founded DAS Offshore. The company later grew into a major engineering business, earning him the Padma Shri in 2026.Ashok Khade grew up in a poor family in Maharashtra, with a cobbler father and labourer mother. (AI-generated image)For Ashok Khade, a career in engineering was far from guaranteed.Born on June 1, 1955, in Ped village of Maharashtra's Sangli district, Khade was one of six children in a family that struggled to afford even basic necessities. His father worked as a cobbler, while his mother worked as an agricultural labourer. The family also faced caste discrimination.Khade has recalled going hungry as a child. In one incident, he dropped the family's flour in rainwater while returning from a mill, only to reach home knowing there was nothing else to eat.Years later, the boy from Ped would head an engineering company working on offshore and infrastructure projects. FROM A RS 90 JOB TO INTERNATIONAL EXPOSUREKhade moved to Mumbai and began working at Mazagon Dock in 1975. According to the government's Padma Awards profile, he worked in structural design and quality control for shipbuilding and submarine projects.A 2011 profile in The Economic Times fills in the years before that: Khade began as a welding apprentice earning around Rs 90 a month, later became a draughtsman, and completed a diploma in mechanical engineering while still on the job. His career took a major turn when he was sent to West Germany as part of India's submarine programme. The experience exposed him to advanced marine engineering and quality-control practices.That experience would later become the foundation for his own business.HE BUILT DAS OFFSHORE WITH HIS BROTHERSAfter around 15 years at Mazagon Dock, Khade left the shipbuilder and joined his brothers Datta and Suresh in building DAS Offshore.The Government of India's 2026 Padma Awards profile places the company's founding in 1992. It says the company began as a small fabrication contractor and eventually developed into an engineering, procurement and construction organisation.The early days were not backed by a big investor.According to ET, DAS's first project came from Mazagon Dock after a contractor abandoned the work. Captain PV Nair, then a former Mazagon Dock chairman, recommended the fledgling company for the job, which was worth Rs 1.82 crore. Khade told ET that he secured supplies on credit from people he had previously worked with.The company went on to work on offshore structures and infrastructure projects, including assignments for major organisations such as ONGC. The government says DAS has completed more than 270 offshore projects for ONGC and over 70 major infrastructure projects.FROM POVERTY TO A RS 350 CRORE BUSINESSDAS Offshore has gone through major ups and downs over the years.CRISIL reported operating income of Rs 357.18 crore in FY2025, compared with Rs 185.52 crore in FY2024. It also reported a profit after tax of Rs 9.04 crore in FY2025.The company is now backed by a large industrial facility and an order book. CRISIL reported an unexecuted order book of Rs 506 crore as of January 2026, while describing Khade as a first-generation entrepreneur with around three decades of experience in offshore fabrication.Estimates of the company's scale have shifted depending on the source and the year. DAS once described itself as a Rs 500 crore enterprise, a self-reported figure from its own earlier materials, higher than what CRISIL's audited rating report shows for FY2025.Older media reports put the workforce at around 4,500; DAS has not disclosed a current headcount.NOW, A PADMA SHRIIn 2026, the journey received one of India's highest civilian honours.The Government of India awarded Dr Ashok Khade the Padma Shri in the trade and industry category, recognising his contribution to India's offshore engineering capabilities and efforts towards reducing dependence on foreign contractors.From a village where his family struggled for food to leading a specialised engineering company, Khade's story spans nearly seven decades.His biggest break did not come from inherited wealth. It came from learning a trade, gaining experience, taking a risk and eventually building a business around skills he had acquired on the job.- EndsPublished On: Sep 9, 2026 19:21 IST