Rahul Bajaj likes to keep himself busy. At 73, he still remains at the forefront in the nation’s two-wheeler industry. With an honours graduate in economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Mr. Bajaj has a reputation of being an outspoken businessman – one who has an opinion on everything and is not shy in speaking it out loud. Be it business, the global or Indian auto industry, politics or social responsibility – Mr. Bajaj remains in the news till date for his ability to call a spade a spade.
Under his leadership (that spans for more than three decades), the Bajaj Group – a family business started by his grandfather Jamnalal Bajaj – has diversified into various segments ranging from automobiles and home appliances to iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. If you Google him, it is common to find statements about him growing the business from Rs.72 million to Rs. 46.16 billion today. But what’s commendable about this achievement is the fact that Mr. Bajaj was able to do so at a time in India when ‘entrepreneurship’ and ‘profits’ were considered to be ‘dirty words’ and licence-permit was close to impossible. Even during such difficult times and also in 2001; when analysts believed that the Bajaj Group was witnessing its final days, Mr. Bajaj pulled the company out of the crisis, launched an excellent factory in Chakan and strongly invested in R&D to offer the Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle, which went on to become a major hit.
A Padma Bhushan recipient, he was also appointed as the Chairman of Indian Airlines in 1984 – the first time ever when the responsibility was handed over to someone from the private sector. As a person, he enjoys his work so much that even today he dons the Chairman’s cap and offers good amount of guidance to his sons Rajiv and Sanjiv Bajaj, who are directly in charge of the business and its growth.
Rahul Bajaj on Business
Mr. Bajaj’s business acumen, dedication to the Group and opinions are a few things that give him international recognition. As a matter of fact, the Financial Times has stated that it is largely because of Mr. Bajaj’s valuable input that the company’s products can combat with the best in global markets. And even though he is an influential industrialist, his reputation is as spotless. This simply means that he has never gone out of his way to steal someone else’s idea to expand his business. As a firm believer in healthy competition, he encourages his employees to stay focussed on constant innovations and improvements.
The company’s current employee strength is over 20, 000 in India with a turnover of over US $3.2 Billion. Mr. Bajaj is known to be exceedingly liberal and considerate with his employees till date. Over the years, he has worked tirelessly to create a friendly and open environment in his offices – one that is conductive to productivity and good work. He has been a donormember of Indo-British Partnership Initiatives and in the last ten years; also headed the Indian delegation in the international convention organized annually by the World Economic Forum.
He was also recently in the news for opposing any government bailout for the heavily debt-ridden brand Kingfisher Airlines stating “those who die, must die”. “I am a private sector man and I don’t see any logic of bailing out any private sector company, either for the sake of employees, or customers. If Bajaj Auto gets into a mess, would you bail me out?” he asked.
Rahul Bajaj on Global Pollution & the Auto Industry
Given Mr. Bajaj’s wealth of expertise and years of experience, he is questioned often on various matters every now and then – the most popular being the auto industry of course. "If your vendors are not with you on cost and quality, you cannot succeed," has been one of his best advices.
Regarding pollution, Mr. Bajaj maintains that every large country must take on the responsibility of not adding to global pollution. "We have to decide without getting into a self-defeating debate about the danger of global warming." Bajaj said.
He adds that richer countries of the world who contribute the most to pollution must take action for betterments and set examples for other nations.
On Politics
In an interview to Karan Thapar, Mr Bajaj repeatedly said that he was never involved in politics. Perhaps in the eye of Mr. Bajaj, politics is defined differently and is something that he’d never like to be a part of. Yet inJune 2006, he was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra and he joined. In fact, he received cross party support from BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP and he welcomed it. Mr. Bajaj’s family background has a history of being connected to the country’s politics since the pre-Independence times. Jamnalal Bajaj, his grandfather, was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi as well as a member of the Congress Working Committee (and treasurer of the Congress party). His father, Kamalnayan Bajaj, served as a three-time Congress MP. Mr. Bajaj has said repeatedly that he is keen on working for the poor and unprivileged sections of the society while keeping himself away from political parties and their motives.
Whether you like his ways or not is for you to judge. However, it is irrefutable that Mr. Bajaj has played several roles in his long career and has done remarkably in showing results. Though his health does not allow him to do as much as he’d like to, he’s always striving to do more and put his best foot forth.
