JK Synthetics closure gave rise to Bansal Classes, Kota hub

In the early 1980s, JK Synthetics shut its factory in Ladpura, Rajasthan, leaving thousands jobless. Among those affected was Vinod Kumar Bansal, an IIT BHU graduate confined to a wheelchair. He began coaching 10 students from his dining table in the company township JK Nagar. His classes became Bansal Classes, which grew into a Rs 3,000-crore coaching industry in Kota.

JK Nagar had been built with excellent infrastructure, schools, parks, community halls, attracting talented engineers and their families from across India. The township fostered a culture that prized technical education. When the factory closed, that pool of human capital pivoted to coaching, turning Kota into an education hub.