CASE STUDY ON ENTERPRENEUR RAHUL

BAJAJ
Name

Rahul Bajaj

Born on

10th June, 1938

Place of Birth

Bengal Presidency, British India

Education

St Stephen's College, Delhi and Harvard

University, USA

Works for

Bajaj Group

Position

Chairman

Valued at

Rs. 9200 Crores (2003)

Married to

Priya

Children

Rajiv, Sanjiv

Introduction
Rahul Bajaj was born on 10th June 1938 at Bengal. Residency, British India. He
is an Indian businessman, industrialist, politician, Forbes billionaire and a
member of the Indian Parliament. In 2010, Forbes had estimated his net worth to
be US $ 1.1 Billion making him one of Indias Top 50 richest persons. He is the
Chairman of Bajaj Auto, a leading Indian Automobile Manufacturer.

Family
Rahul Bajaj is a son of Rajasthani Businessman Jamnalal Bajaj who started Bajaj
Auto in 1945. He has one brother, Shishir Bajaj, with whom there was a recent
business settlement ending the family dispute. He has 3 cousins, Shekhar,
Madhur and Niraj together with whom he controls the Bajaj Group of companies.
He is married to Ruparani and has two sons Rajiv & Sanjiv who are involved in
the management of his companies and a daughter, Sunaina Kejriwal who is
married to Manish Kejriwal who heads Temasek India.

Growing up
Rahul Bajaj went to The Cathedral and John Connon School. He graduated from
St. Stephen's College in Delhi in 1958 with an honors degree in economics. He
underwent on-the-job training for 4 years at two of the group companies. During
that time, he also earned a law degree in Bombay. He is also an alumnus of the
prestigious Harvard Business School in USA.

The Beginning
Given his family background- at the tender age of 12, he started dreaming of
becoming a businessman. His grandfather had bought a steel mill and a sugar
mill, and in 1945 his father founded Bajaj Auto, now the crown jewel in the Bajaj
Group.
In the 1970s, India was a socialist state barred by rules and regulations. As a
result, there was no entrepreneurship and nothing could be done without
government approval. At this difficult time Bajaj became the CEO of Bajaj Auto
Ltd. (BAL) in 1968 at the age of 30 making him one of the youngest CEOs of that
time.
In this environment, the company was limited to produce just 20,000 units a year.
Supply and demand didn't match. Hence, after placing their order, customers had
to wait for roughly ten years to receive it.
To lower costs while improving the price and quality of the products, he increased
production to avail Economies of Scale. He ignored a government regulation
and increased volume by more than the permitted 25 percent of his licensed
capacity.
His grandfather had been known as the "fifth son" of Mahatma Gandhi and his
parents and grandparents had spent time in British prisons for the sake of Indian
independence. Hence, he didn't fear of going to jail for the (illegal) excess
production.
Also, the fact that he was producing a commodity that most Indians needed gave
him the strength to take the risk. He established factories at Akurdi and Waluj
and worked hard to expand BAL- now the world's fourth-largest maker of
motorized scooters, three-wheel vehicles, and motorcycles - India's most
common forms of transportation.

Achievements
Since Rahul Bajaj took over the charge of Bajaj Group in 1965, under his
leadership Bajaj Auto has grown to new heights year after year. The turnover of
Bajaj Auto has risen from a mere Rs.72 million to Rs.46.16 billion. He created
one of India's best companies in the difficult days of the license-permit raj.

Social Responsibilities
Throughout Bajaj's career spanning forty years at BAL, the company's
commitment to corporate social responsibility has remained constant.

Bajaj Auto has set up many Philanthropic Trusts and Foundations which
support community and rural development in the areas where its workers live,
through funding efforts in primary school education, agriculture, and health care.
In the last 5 years Bajaj has been delegating many of his responsibilities to a
team of younger executives. In last April, he was succeeded as managing
director and CEO by his older son, Rajiv.
Bajaj acknowledges there's still much he wants to do, particularly as India is on
the verge of becoming a World Economic Power. According to him some
lingering problems in India including an inadequate infrastructure, inflexible labor
policies, and too much bureaucratic red tape need to be addressed.
But he believes in the long run, India will succeed, since the entrepreneurial spirit
and capability of the Indian people will overcome all these issues.
Apart from his achievements as the CEO of BAL, his individual
achievements are:
He is the only top executive to have served two terms as president of the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which represents over 5,000 companies
from India's private and public sectors.
He is a member of International Advisory Committee and his expertise in these
matters are tapped by the New York Stock Exchange.
For his contribution to Indian industry, he was awarded the nation's third-highest
civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, in 2002.
He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in June 2006 with cross
party support from the NCP, BJP and the Shiv Sena.
He was said to be the 20th richest man of India according to the Forbes India poll
on top 40 richest persons in India.
The Government of India appointed Mr. Bajaj as the Chairman of the
Development Council for Automobiles and Allied Industries, 1975-77.
In 1975, Mr. Bajaj received the Man of the Year Award from the National
Institution of Quality Assurance.
Mr. Bajaj was Chairman of Indian Airlines between 1986-89.
Mr. Bajaj was appointed by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales as a

Member of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum in

February 1992.
He was also conferred the Alumni Achievement Award by the Harvard Business
School in September 2005.