Rahul
Bajaj is the Chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 100
business houses in India. The Bajaj Group has diversified interests ranging
from automobiles, home appliances, lightning, iron and steel, insurance, travel
and finance. Rahul Bajaj is one of the India's most distinguished business
leaders and internationally respected for his business acumen and
entrepreneurial spirit..
Rahul
Bajaj is an alumnus of Harvard, St.Stephen's and Cathedral. He took over the
reins of Bajaj Group in 1965. Under his stewardship, the turnover of the Bajaj
Auto the flagship company has risen from Rs.72 million to Rs.46.16 billion.
Rahul Bajaj created one of the India's best companies in the difficult days of
the licence- permit raj. He established factories at Akurdi and Waluj. In 1980s
Bajaj Auto was top scooter producer in India and its Chetak brand had a 10-
year waiting period.
The initiation of liberalization in India
posed great challenges for Bajaj Auto. Liberalization brought the threat of
cheap imports and FDI from top companies like Honda. Rahul Bajaj became famous
as the head of the Bombay Ckub, which opposed liberalization. The scooter sales plummeted as people were
more interested in motorcycles and the rivals Hero Honda was a pioneer in it.
The recession and stock market collapse of
2001 hit the company hard and it was predicted that the days of Bajaj Auto were
numbered. However, Bajaj Auto reinvented itself, established a world- class factory in Chakan, invested in R&D
and came up with Bajaj Motorcycle.
Bajaj Pulsar is currently a leader in its segment.
Rahul Bajaj was elected to Rajya Sabha from
Maharashtra.
