oppn parties Rahul Bajaj: Industrialist By Profession, Philanthropist At Heart

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  • For the first time ever, Mukesh Ambani buys a 29% stake in Gautam Adani's Mahan Energen, a subsidiary of Adani Power to source 500MW of electricity from the company's power plant in MP
  • Stocks continue to rise on Thursday - Sensex gains 639 points to 73635 and Nifty 203 points to 22326
  • Golf - Indian Open: 3 Indians at tied 14th as Joost Luiten takes the lead with a wonderful 7-under 65
  • IPL: RR beat DC by 12 runs as Riyan Parag (84 off just 45 balls) shines
  • SP drops two candidates owing allegiance to Azam Khan from Rampur and Moradabad
  • In Assam, a controversy erupted after a picture of UPPL leader Benjamin Basumatary, lying on a stack of Rs 500 notes circulated on social media. UPPL is an ally of the BJP
  • AAP's Jalandhar-West MP Sushil Kumar Rinku joins the BJP. He was the only AAP Lok Sabha MP
  • Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea to review its 2023 verdict in the PMLA case
  • Close save for passengers as they remain unhurt after the wings of two planes graze at Kolkata airport. Pilots derostered and inquiry ordered by DGCA
  • Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh gets notice from the EC as well as the BJP for making ugly remarks about Mamata Banerjee's parentage
  • Sadanand Vasanth Date, who faught terrorists in the 26/11 attack and was awarded the Preisent's Police medal, has been appointed the head of the NIA
  • Centre will borrow Rs 7.5L cr in the first six months of FY25, nearly 50% of the target for the full year
  • 25 stocks, including SBI, will see same day trade settlements from today in the world's fastest settlement mode in both BSE and NSE
  • Stocks recover smartly on Wednesday: Sensex rises 526 points to 72996 and Nifty 118 points to 22123
  • Tennis: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden reached the semifinals of the Miami Open
Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena says government cannot be run from jail, hints at President's Rule in the capital ////// In a dangerous incident, the wings of two planes grazed while taxiing on the runway at Kolkata airport, all passengers were safe but DGCA ordered an inquiry and the pilots were derostered
oppn parties
Rahul Bajaj: Industrialist By Profession, Philanthropist At Heart

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-02-13 07:07:09

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

The death of Rahul Bajaj has taken away a man who was a businessman and industrialist by profession but a philanthropist at heart. To Bajaj, profits mattered, as they will to any businessman, but it also mattered to him to give back to society. In building Hamara Bajaj into a world-renowned brand, Bajaj worked ethically and fairly to ensure that his workers never suffered (there was just one strike at his factories many decades). He also personally handled the CSR initiatives of the group for many years and helped many marginalized and deprived communities through group charities. He also took pride in building institutions and always actively participated in industry associations. He also regularly attended the World Economic Forum meet in Davos.

Being a proud Indian (coming from a family of freedom fighters), Bajaj always spoke his mind without fear or favour. Long before atmanirbharta or Make in India, Bajaj set up an enterprise that made world class scooters. When the economy was liberalized in 1991, Bajaj was the first industrialist to demand a level playing field so that homegrown enterprises did not suffer. Some thought that he was against liberalization and wanted protection for Indian industry but they misunderstood him. He worked through the licence-quota raj and then through liberalization to keep the Bajaj flag flying high. Bajaj delayed the shift towards motorcycles but lost no time in catching up and made Pulsar one of the most desired brands.

Rahul Bajaj was one of the few industrialists who was not afraid of the government and the punitive action it can take against industrial groups. As recently as 2019, he spoke his mind before several Union ministers, telling the government that businessmen should be allowed to criticize government policy without becoming persona non grata or inviting adverse action. Corporate India has lost one of its giants, someone they could always bank upon for raising his voice to protect their interests.