Distinction

Recognition

KCMA Centenary Documentary

Swasti Cashew Industries Private Limited is acknowledged in the centenary documentary film of the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association titled The Cashew Story: 100 Years of Craftsmanship & Resilience, produced to mark a century of organised cashew processing in Mangaluru (1925–2025).

The documentary premiered at the Kaju Centennial Summit on 17 November 2025 and may be viewed on the official KCMA YouTube channel:

Watch the KCMA Centenary Documentary

Posthumous Recognition, 2025

KCMA Kaju Centennial Summit

In 2025, the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers' Association convened the Kaju Centennial Summit to mark a century of organised cashew manufacturing in Karnataka. Among those recognised was Shri Sujir Damodar Nayak, co-founder and Managing Director of Swasti Cashew Industries Private Limited, honoured posthumously for his lifetime contribution to the cashew industry.

Shri Sujir Damodar Nayak (1916–1989)

The award acknowledged what the archive has always shown: that SDN was not merely a successful manufacturer but an industry builder — someone who helped create the institutional and commercial foundations on which Karnataka's cashew industry stands. The recognition was received by his family, who carry the company he founded into its Platinum Jubilee year.

Mr. Sujir Damodar Nayak was a distinguished and a well-educated businessman who made remarkable contributions to the plantation and the cashew industries. Beginning his journey in 1941, with his first factory, he went on to establish Swasti Cashew Industries in 1952. At the height of his career, he successfully managed 4 factories - 2 in Quilon and 2 in Mangalore. And employing 3500 women. Mr. Nayak was the leading exporter of his time and a pioneer in the manufacturing of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid widely respected for the superior quality of his products. He was the founding Secretary of MCMA then. He served with dedication for 17 years, from 1955 to 1972 - a record of longest standing Secretary - a record which stands to this day! His meticulous work and detailed record from 1950’s remain a valuable part of our Industry’s history reflecting his vision and commitment to excellence. In most of the videos you saw today, we had the photographs given from his collection. Today, we proudly honour Mr. Sujir Damodar Nayak posthumously for his outstanding services and lasting contribution to Cashew Trade. I now invite Shri K. S. Pai, his son-in-law to kindly come forward and receive this recognition his behalf. He is also accompanied by Divakar Pai, his son.”

-Kalbavi Prakash Rao, Convener, Kaju Centennial Summit

Roles & Recognition

Recognition During SDN Lifetime

1955–1972

Founding Secretary, Mangalore Cashew Manufacturers' Association (now Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association — KCMA). Served 1955–1972 seventeen years, the longest-serving inaugural Secretary in the Association's history. His portrait appears first in KCMA's published Secretary record (2025 centenary book). Swasti Cashew Industries Private Limited was founding subscriber No. 3, signed 23 June 1955.

c.1955–65

Committee Member, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bunder, Mangaluru. Through this role, nominated as Trustee of the Mangalore Port Trust — serving four years overseeing Mangalore's development as a major export port.

c.1950s–60s

Treasurer, South Kanara Village Industries Association. Service to village-level industries under the Village Industries Board, Government of India.

c.1960s

Member, Administration Committee, Cashew Export Promotion Council, Cochin.

1961

Selected by the CEPC Chairman as one of two national delegates for India's cashew trade mission to the Far East. Travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Japan and Europe

c.1960s

Member, Coffee Board, Bangalore. Propaganda Department and Sub Council of Exporters advising on International Trade, New Delhi.

1961–62

President, Mangalore Coffee and Produce Merchants' Association.

1962

Third-largest coffee exporter in India by value. Annual cashew and CNSL turnover Rs. 30 lakhs.

Across Generations

The Continuity of Service

Shri Kochikar Sudhakara Pai, the current Managing Director of Swasti Cashew Industries, served as Joint Secretary of the MCMA — now the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association the same body that Shri Sujir Damodar Nayak helped found and led for seventeen years.

Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Executive Director, currently serves as Vice-President of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bunder, Mangaluru — the same institution through which Shri Sujir Damodar Nayak served the industry six decades earlier. The family's commitment to Mangaluru's commercial life is unbroken across generations.