Values of Life
Thought Leader
Urmila Bhargava
Author · Entrepreneur · First woman oil re-refiner
Lessons of courage and integrity from a woman entrepreneur’s journey to the top. Managing Director of IFP Petro Products, and author of Sorry, Not for Sale.
Ideas in public
A life argued in public
Entrepreneurship
Ab ke baras mohe bitiya hi dejo
Entrepreneurship
An open letter on grievance redressal for MSMEs
Values of Life
Nishaan — adventures with music
UB
1977
Entrepreneurial journey begins
About Us
Courage, kept over decades
Only woman re-refiner in the world.
Mrs. Urmila Bhargava, a postgraduate, is the Managing Director of IFP Petro Products (P) Ltd. She has the distinction of being the only woman re-refiner in the world. She began her entrepreneurial journey in 1977 and carries more than four decades of industrial work.
She started in 1977 after personal loss, led IFP from the front, and kept a standard of dignity and honesty while the work grew from 500 KL to 6,000 KL a year.
Mrs. Urmila Bhargava, a postgraduate, is the Managing Director of IFP Petro Products (P) Ltd. She has a distinction of being the only woman re-refiner in the world. She started her entrepreneurial journey in 1977 due to the sudden demise of her husband and built a long record of industrial work.
At a time when society was not very kind towards working women, Smt. Urmila Bhargava stood as an icon of courage, dedication and entrepreneurship. She led by example from the front and nurtured IFP as her own.
Managing an enterprise is an interplay of constraints and opportunities, which she handled while keeping her head high. At the time of personal loss, she gathered the courage not only to overcome that loss but to focus on the larger work of her life. Her determination in the face of all odds is a story for young entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs.
She carries experience across product management, marketing, strategy, business development, research and development, and process in the used oil re-refining space. She never lost sight of her mission, or of doing business with dignity and honesty.
She made a name in government for her honesty and principles, and was made Convenor of the task force for lubricating oil with the Ministry of Petroleum, Environment and Industries.
Under her leadership, IFP Petro Products increased its annual capacity from 500 KL to 6000 KL and developed technology to extract base oil from used oil, exceeding virgin base oil specifications without using expensive hydro-finishing technology, while meeting the challenges of colour and odour.
IFP Petro is described on her site as the first fully integrated facility in North India with a used oil re-refinery, blending and filling facility, providing solutions under one roof to major oil companies.
Her zest for life and never-say-die attitude has been the guiding force for IFP. She has a multi-faceted personality. In 2012 she wrote “Sorry Not For Sale”, the story of a woman entrepreneur who proved wrong those who said used oil re-refining was not a domain for a woman. She also released her audio album “Nishaan”. She has described herself as a harvester of hope and a trader in trust.
She has been committed to giving back to society since childhood. Over the years she has sponsored the education of four underprivileged girls. She believes that educating a girl educates her family. Since 2010 she has been part of Anudaan Society, which runs Prateek, an institute for mentally challenged children from below the poverty line. She helped set up their kitchen for a free midday meal, and raised funds for purchasing the plot and completing the building.
Public notes from IFP also record that she was born in Mathura, holds an M.Ed from the University of Allahabad, and was named a winner of the #100 Women Achievers Award 2015 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development under the Industry, Commerce and Entrepreneurship category.
At a time when society was not very kind towards working women, Smt. Urmila Bhargava stood as an icon of courage, dedication and entrepreneurship. She led by example from the front and nurtured IFP as her own.
Managing an enterprise is an interplay of constraints and opportunities, which she handled while keeping her head high. At the time of personal loss, she gathered the courage not only to overcome that loss but to focus on the larger work of her life. Her determination in the face of all odds is a story for young entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs.
She carries experience across product management, marketing, strategy, business development, research and development, and process in the used oil re-refining space. She never lost sight of her mission, or of doing business with dignity and honesty.
She made a name in government for her honesty and principles, and was made Convenor of the task force for lubricating oil with the Ministry of Petroleum, Environment and Industries.
Under her leadership, IFP Petro Products increased its annual capacity from 500 KL to 6000 KL and developed technology to extract base oil from used oil, exceeding virgin base oil specifications without using expensive hydro-finishing technology, while meeting the challenges of colour and odour.
IFP Petro is described on her site as the first fully integrated facility in North India with a used oil re-refinery, blending and filling facility, providing solutions under one roof to major oil companies.
Her zest for life and never-say-die attitude has been the guiding force for IFP. She has a multi-faceted personality. In 2012 she wrote “Sorry Not For Sale”, the story of a woman entrepreneur who proved wrong those who said used oil re-refining was not a domain for a woman. She also released her audio album “Nishaan”. She has described herself as a harvester of hope and a trader in trust.
She has been committed to giving back to society since childhood. Over the years she has sponsored the education of four underprivileged girls. She believes that educating a girl educates her family. Since 2010 she has been part of Anudaan Society, which runs Prateek, an institute for mentally challenged children from below the poverty line. She helped set up their kitchen for a free midday meal, and raised funds for purchasing the plot and completing the building.
Public notes from IFP also record that she was born in Mathura, holds an M.Ed from the University of Allahabad, and was named a winner of the #100 Women Achievers Award 2015 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development under the Industry, Commerce and Entrepreneurship category.
6,000 KLAnnual capacity under her leadership
2012Sorry, Not for Sale
Urmila Bhargava
Read the journeyA public record of the work, honours and responsibilities described on her website and the IFP team page.
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Born in Mathura
Recorded on the IFP team page, which also notes her M.Ed from the University of Allahabad.
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An unexpected beginning
After her husband’s death she stepped into used-oil recycling, a field she has said she did not know, and began the entrepreneurial journey in 1977.
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Policy work
Convenor of the lubricating-oil task force. The Lubricating Oil Control Order followed in 1987.
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Waste oil and Oil Savers
Founder President of the Waste Oil Management Society, and a member for the Waste Oil Management and Handling Rules, 2000.
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Public recognition
Covered by the Today group as a woman entrepreneur and achiever.
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Anudaan and Prateek
Joined the work of Anudaan Society and its institute, Prateek, including a kitchen for free midday meals.
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Book and album
Wrote Sorry Not For Sale and released the album Nishaan. The Amazon page lists the paperback year as 2017.
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Women Achievers Award
#100 Women Achievers Award from the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
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A larger refinery
IFP’s annual capacity grew from 500 KL to 6,000 KL under her leadership.
The books
What she has written
Sorry, Not for Sale, her memoir First, Fierce, Fearless, and the free ebook The World As I See It.
Paperback on Amazon.in
Sorry, Not for Sale
Urmila Bhargava
Sorry, Not for Sale
Paperback on Amazon.in
The true story of a woman who fought to keep her husband’s business open after he died suddenly.
First, Fierce, Fearless
Memoir of Urmila Bhargava
Urmila Bhargava
Memoir of Urmila Bhargava
First, Fierce, Fearless
Her memoir of building IFP, used-oil re-refining, and staying when the field was treated as a man’s world.
INR 490
Free ebook
The World As I See It
Urmila Bhargava
The World As I See It
Free ebook
Life lessons and commentaries, offered on her website as a gift to society.
Free
Learning
Courses
Programs will be listed here when they are published. No course is published on her current website. This section stays ready for titles, lessons and a purchase link, without invented programs.
No course is published yet. New learning programs will be listed here by the administrator.
A signature
No Fear
Never say die. Determined in the face of all odds. The fearless title of her memoir. Leading by example. An eternally positive attitude. Rock-like will.
Urmila Bhargava
N
Never
Her site calls a never-say-die attitude the guiding force for IFP.
O
Odds
She writes of remaining determined in the face of all odds.
F
Fearless
The public title of her memoir: First, Fierce, Fearless.
E
Example
She led by example from the front and nurtured IFP as her own.
A
Attitude
Her site speaks of an eternally positive attitude and a zest for life.
R
Resolve
Rock-like will power is how her own page describes the force behind IFP.
Media
Watch
Focus TV and Focus News documented her story. Further films can be added in the admin.
How Urmila Bhargava Made Her Mark
Focus TV film linked from her website. Video courtesy: Focus TV.
Focus News documentary
Short documentary linked from her achievements page, from the Focus News programme “Ab ke baras mohe bitiya hi dejo”.
In conversation
Schedule a session
Upcoming sessions appear on the calendar once they are published. No public session list was available on the existing website. When a session is added, visitors can open its details and register if a link is provided.
Upcoming
Write
Get in touch
Use this form for a question, a session request, or a note about the books. Published IFP contact details are shown beside the form and can be edited in the admin.
+91 120 4485976
IFP Petro Products, 16/2C, Industrial Area, Site 4, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad 201010, Uttar Pradesh
Email, phone and address are the public IFP contacts published alongside her profile. Edit them here if a direct line should be used instead.
Digital presence
Find her in public
These links are the accounts and pages named on her website and public profile. Further platforms can be added from the admin.