MUMBAI, Feb 12: One of India’s top industrialists, Rahul Bajaj, the chairman emeritus of Bajaj Auto Ltd, passed away in Pune on Saturday afternoon. He was 83.
A former Rajya Sabha member, Bajaj who was not keeping well for some time and was admitted to the Ruby Hall Clinic a month ago with pneumonia and also a heart problem, breathed his last at 2.30 pm on Saturday.
“It is with deep sorrow that I inform you about the passing away of Rahul Bajaj, husband of the late Rupa Bajaj and father of Rajiv and Deepa, Sanjiv and Shefali and Sunaina and Manish. He passed away on the afternoon of February 12, 2022 in the presence of his closest family members,” said a statement from Bajaj group.
His last rites will be held on Sunday with full state honours, the Maharashtra government said. He is survived by two sons, Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj, and a daughter Sunaina Kejriwal. He had resigned from his position of non-executive director and chairman at Bajaj Auto on April 30 last year.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were among the ones who took to Twitter to pay glowing tributes to Bajaj.
K.E. Raghunathan , Convenor of Consortium of Indian Associations said, “Sad to note, a lone and frank voice of an Industrialist, boldly speaking what others could not, is gone. He lived with a spine and role model for many. May his soul rest in peace.”
Leading industrialist and TVS Motor Company chairman Venu Srinivasan expressed his sincere condolences about the demise of Rahul Bajaj, the chairman emeritus of Bajaj group. In his message, he said: “Rahul Bajaj strode across the Indian industrial landscape like a colossus. He was among the few stars who created the Indian automotive industry.”
Terming him as a pioneer who established a culture of quality and technology, Venu said Rahul stood for high integrity in business and stuck to his principles. Rahul played a key role in industry bodies around the world like World Economic Forum and CII and was very well respected. He will be sorely missed, he concluded.
Kirloskar Brothers Ltd chairman Sanjay Kirloskar said “He was A great visionary and a forthright and courageous individual who expressed his views fearlessly. And a warm human being.”
Rahul Bajaj joined the Bajaj group in 1965 and became the CEO of Bajaj Auto in 1968. In 2005, Rahul Bajaj, a strong voice in the corporate world, stepped down from his executive role and his son Rajiv became Bajaj Auto’s managing director.
In April 2021, Bajaj stepped down as non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto. One of the oldest business groups in India, the group has 25 companies—including Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Electricals, Mukand and Bajaj Allianz—with around 36,000 employees. He was the Chairman of the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for two terms—1979-80 and 1999-2000.
Born on June 10, 1938, Bajaj graduated from St Stephen’s College in Delhi University with an Honours Degree in Economics in 1958. Apart from this, Bajaj also has a degree in Law from Bombay University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
As head of the Bajaj group of companies, he oversaw group activities, including manufacture and sale of motorised two, three, and four-wheeled vehicles, general and life insurance, investment and consumer finance, home appliances, electric lamps, wind energy, special alloy and stainless steel, material handling equipment and travel.
Bajaj is the recipient of many awards, including the Padma Bhushan from the government of India and honorary doctorates from many universities. Bajaj was a member of the Rajya Sabha for the 2006-2010 period. He was also the former chairman of Indian Airlines and of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
He was also the former chairman of the International Business Council, World Economic Forum, a former member of the South Asia advisory board of Harvard Business School and a former member of the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
Bajaj also spearheaded the CSR activities of the Bajaj group of companies and charitable trusts, including Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.
(Manas Dasgupta)
