Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, who was present at the event organized at IIM Lucknow, said, It is both a privilege – and a responsibility to be here today at IIM Lucknow. A privilege, because I am speaking at an institute that represents the finest of young India’s intellectual capital. A responsibility, because I am not just speaking to students of management. I am speaking to the potential architects of the new India.
My dear students, जब मैं आपको देखता हूँ, तो मुझे संभावना दिखाई देती है – एक विकसित भारत की संभावना, मुझे एक सपना नज़र आता है – सर्वश्रेष्ठ भारत का सपना। और मुझे विश्वास महसूस होता है – उस भारत पर विश्वास, जिसे कोई रोक नहीं सकता, लेकिन ये संभावना, ये सपना, और ये विश्वास, आज की मुद्रा नहीं हैं, ये भविष्य का भरोसा हैं
And it is about this belief in the future that I want to speak to you. My journey has taught me that the future never unfolds as neatly as it appears in classrooms. The future is messy, uncertain, and often brutal. And this is what you must be prepared to face. I have learned – and still continue to learn – that the real world is made up of moments that have no precedent. And when these unprecedented moments come where the data is ambiguous, where the business models break down, and where the road ahead is unmarked, I have come to realize that success is not defined by how well you studied your business cases. It is defined by you being able to make your own story a case study. History is not made by how well we execute existing models. It is made by our courage and leadership to build new pathways.
वक़्त की रेत पर चलने से – इतिहास नहीं बनते
इतिहास वो बनाते हैं – जो अपनी राह खुद तराशते हैं
So, I stand before you today, not to hand you a map, but to invite you to re-draw the map itself. To challenge your very definition of leadership.
To urge you to adopt a philosophy that dares to choose:
· conviction over caution
· consequence over comfort
· creation over conformity, and
· conscience over convenience.
ये सिर्फ़ नारे नहीं हैं – ये वो फैसले हैं जो मेरी असली लड़ाइयों, साहसी दांवों और बेहद निजी क्षणों से आकार पाए हैं, और अब मैं आपको हर एक फैसले के पीछे की कहानी सुनाऊँगा, वो जो मेरी राह की अग्निपरीक्षा बने और मेरी पहचान गढ़ी.
My dear students, Looking back, I can tell you that every meaningful journey I have taken has almost always faced moments where my resources ran dry and my support systems failed. Only one thing always remained with me – the burning conviction that my bold dreams were worth the struggle. I have always believed that anything worthwhile achieving will test you. It will strip away your safety nets, challenge your assumptions, and ask you to bet on yourself when no one else will. But then, I have also learned that the most extraordinary lives are never built on easy choices. They are built with comfort being surrendered in the search for meaning.
असली विकास वो नहीं जो सुविधा में पले, असली विकास वो है जो संघर्ष में तपे.
Real growth happens not when the path is clear, but when you choose to keep searching and walking – even when the destination seems beyond reach. It is in those moments, when passion becomes your guide and purpose becomes your strength that you begin to walk – not with certainty but with faith. Not because the path is visible – but because the dream is. क्योंकि हर महान निर्माण की नींव रखी जाती है – एक ऐसे सपने से – जिसे कोई देख नहीं सका – और एक ऐसे विश्वास से – जिसे कोई समझ नहीं सका. So, let me walk you through some of those very moments in my life. My entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 16, when I left my home in Ahmedabad and moved to Mumbai to work in the diamond trading business. It was my first real exposure to risk, relationships, and the power of global networks.
In about three years, I was called back to Ahmedabad to help manage my brother’s polymer factory. It was here that I first understood the importance of scale, logistics, and end-to-end supply chains. These insights would go on to shape my entire approach to business. Then came a moment of national transformation that put India on a different growth trajectory. As India began to liberalize under Prime Ministers Shree Rajiv Gandhi and Shree Narsimha Rao, I saw a once-in-a-generation opportunity unfolding in what until then had mostly been a supply-constrained market.
I made a massive bet and stepped into the trading business with the aim of building India’s largest trading house. We did so in a matter of just three years – and by 1994, at the age of 32, I had taken the company public. Today, that company is Adani Enterprises. But even with this success in 1994, I had a realization that I did not own any physical assets. And in a country at the start of an infrastructure revolution, it felt to me like an opportunity waiting to be corrected. I therefore decided then that my next step would not be just about trading. It would be about building infrastructure and participating in India’s growth story.
But, when I first announced my intention to build a port, most people thought I had lost my mind. Not just because I had never laid a single brick in my life but because I chose to build the port in Mundra, one of India’s largest marshlands in the Kutch region. I still recall that when I presented the idea, some of the bankers laughed and asked, “Mr. Adani, how do you expect us to finance land that is under water?” And they were not wrong. Mundra had no access, no industry, no precedent. And that is precisely where my first philosophy of Conviction over Caution came into play. Because my conviction was not about asking the bankers to fund a piece of land. I was asking them to fund a possibility no one had explored. Maps will only take you where someone has already been. But to build something truly new, you do not need a map. You need a compass that points to the possibilities.
दिशाएँ केवल वहाँ तक ले जाती हैं – जहाँ कदमों के निशान पहले से हों, लेकिन दृष्टि वहाँ ले जाती है – जहाँ किसी की कल्पना भी न पहुँची हों
And my compass of conviction pointed me to Mundra. Today, that marshland is India’s largest commercial port. And Mundra has gone on to become the nucleus that anchors our network of 21 ports and terminals –spread across 17 domestic and 4 international locations. Adani Ports now handles nearly 30% of India’s sea-borne cargo and also powers India’s largest industrial Special Economic Zone, spanning over 40,000 acres of land. Looking back, I can tell you that the first project is always the hardest. Because it demands not just skill, but belief. But once that first impossible dream is brought to life, something shifts. You stop asking, “Can it be done?” and start asking, “What else is waiting to be built?”
जब दुनिया कहे ‘यह संभव नहीं’, वहीं से इतिहास रचने की कहानी शुरू होती है
For me, Mundra became the start of the journey that shaped the Adani Group – where complexity was not my challenge – it was my calling. A calling where the extraordinary was not the exception. It was the principle. That confidence led me next to Queensland, Australia. Queensland was the manifestation of my second philosophy, consequence over comfort. It was not that India did not have coal. But India was short of good quality coal. Hence, this project was not born out of ambition for coal. It was born out of a consequence to provide India with better-quality coal. It was born out of a consequence to reduce carbon emissions, as well as to secure India’s energy independence.
Little did we realize then that the Carmichael Coal Mine would become one of the most contested energy projects of this century. And this was not even in our own backyard. We were building in Australia, in a country where we had no political capital, no historical presence, and no institutional support. The resistance was relentless. Global environmental lobby groups mounted massive campaigns against us by organizing protests across continents. International media made us villains. Banks withdrew financing under pressure. Insurance companies refused to underwrite us. Activists blocked roads, filed legal challenges, and even tried to physically disrupt our operations.
We were accused in courtrooms, debated in parliaments, and criticised in headlines. Our people on the ground faced harassment. Our permits were delayed, our railway lines questioned, and our right to even exist on that land was challenged. Everywhere we turned, the message was clear: Back down!! But we did not. And today, our Carmichael project powers industries with cleaner coal, supports several thousands of livelihoods in Australia, and has built an Indo-Australian corridor that is both commercial and strategic.
For me, the Carmichael coal mine has never been about being a monument to coal as we had been accused of. It stands as a monument to our resilience. It stands as a monument to the energy security of our nation. And it stands as a monument to our choice of choosing consequence over comfort. And it is with this resilience that I turned to Khavda – the testimony of my third philosophy of creation over conformity. If Mundra was marshy land under saline water, Khavda was saline water under marshy land. In fact, Khavda is such a desert that I was told even camels refuse to walk on it.
And our initial studies showed it to be impossible to build any stable structures on this land, let alone the massive 700-ton wind turbines that we had planned. And yet, we declared that we would build the world’s largest single-site renewable energy park – spread over 500 square kilometres, generating 30 GW of green power – at this very location. Once again, we were told: “Impossible.” “Un-liveable.” “Un-buildable.” But we chose not to believe in the limits and instead adopt the desert and create from our conviction.
बंजर वो नहीं जो सूखा हो – बंजर वो है जहाँ कोई सपना न बोया हो। दृष्टि हो तो वही धरती, जो कल निराशा थी, आज भविष्य की सबसे बड़ी उम्मीद बन सकती है
Because Khavda for me was never just about building in the desert. It was about reimagining what the desert could become. And, today, I can proudly say that we have already commissioned the first 5 GW of green power and are well on our way to setting a global benchmark in energy transition that will see us produce the world’s least expensive green electron. Finally came the hardest project of all – redeveloping the slums of Dharavi. Dharavi is Asia’s largest slum. It is also one of the world’s most complex social, economic, and political ecosystems. Every time I flew into Mumbai, the slums below disturbed my conscience, because no nation can truly rise when so many of its people live without dignity.
Everyone told me: “Dharavi is too political.” “It’s too risky.” “It’s un-manageable.” And that’s precisely why I said: We must do it. And redeveloping Dharavi is not about laying bricks or yet another slum redevelopment project. It is about rebuilding dignity for those 1 million people who helped build Mumbai, but never benefited from it.
विकास वही सच्चा है जो मानवता की बुनियाद पर खड़ा हो – नहीं तो वह केवल विस्तार है
मेरे लिए धारावी ईंट और सीमेंट का प्रोजेक्ट नहीं है
यह सुविधा नहीं, संवेदनशीलता का प्रोजेक्ट है
यह हमारे राष्ट्र की आत्मा के सामने रखा गया एक आईना है – जो हमसे अंतिम प्रश्न पूछता है – क्या तुम आँखें फेर लोगे, या आगे बढ़कर हमारा साथ दोगे ?
Will you turn your eyes away? Or will you step forward and show that you care?
All these projects have now become our playbook at Adani. A playbook of our grit, our determination, our purpose, our attitude, and our beliefs.
अगर मुंद्रा था प्रकृति को चुनौती देने का सपना,
और ऑस्ट्रेलिया था दबाव के तूफ़ान में अटल रहने का वचन,
अगर खावड़ा था वीराने में जीवन के दीप जलाने का संकल्प,
तो धारावी है जहाँ हमने इंसानियत की आवाज़ को सुना
My dear friends, Let me now switch gears and speak about the elephant in the college rooms of today. In this age of Artificial Intelligence, algorithmic decision-making, and global uncertainty – what is the true value of education? Frameworks that you study, like DCF models, Porter’s Five Forces, and SWOT analyses have their place in the world of business. But these are built on assumptions and hindsight. They teach you how to minimize risk but not maximize the future. Because the future will never belong to those who play it safe. It belongs to those who maximize possibility. And maximizing possibility means stepping into unknown territory, building before the market signals it is ready, and trusting instinct when the data runs dry. Because that is how the future is shaped – not through predictions, but through courage.
Our acts – from the marshlands of Mundra to the contested lands of Australia, from the dry salt-plains of Khavda to the dense gulleys of Dharavi – these are not just business ventures. They are acts of imagination. Of refusing to accept the world as it is and daring to see it as it could be. Business frameworks offer you a canvas – pre-measured, pre-marked, and safe. But India does not need more painters who fill in the blanks. It needs those who can question the canvas itself. Those who can paint with colours not yet imagined. And this, right now, is your moment – because India is the canvas that is standing at the edge of something extraordinary. The winds of destiny are on our back. And the lift is coming from four unstoppable forces.
First, Demographics. We are the youngest, hungriest, and most ambitious working population on the planet. A billion dreams, ready to build.
Second, Demand. We are racing to become the third-largest economy by 2030 – not just by consuming, but by creating markets for the world.
Third, Digital Infrastructure. No country has built what we have – like Aadhaar, UPI and ONDC. These are not just platforms. These are launchpads for inclusion, innovation, and scale.
And, Fourth, Domestic Capital. For the first time in our history, Indian money is backing Indian ideas – with courage, conviction, and an urgency we have never seen. What I can state with confidence is that your most productive years will coincide with India’s most powerful years. Your career and our country will rise together.
You will not be looking at a five-trillion or 10-trillion-dollar economy. You will be looking at an India that would be a 25-trillion-dollar powerhouse by 2050. The global centre of gravity will shift and it will be towards you – towards India. And while you may have studied from books authored across the world, remember that there is something deeper and something very Indian that no textbook can ever teach you. In a world fractured by war and torn by the hunger for dominance, India stands tall – by its restraint. Where others impose, India uplifts. Where others take, India gives – quietly, consistently, and with dignity. No nation can claim this moral high-ground with the authenticity of India.
And you, the children of our nation must carry forward this responsibility. Learn from the world – yes. But never let the world define you. You are not just a student of globalization. You are the children of our civilization. So here is my call to action.
First – choose character over cynicism.
The world will generally tell you, “Don’t get involved. Don’t care too much. Just look out for yourself.”
But that is not who you are. When you see something wrong – feel it. When you feel it – face it. And when you face it – fight it.
I did so in Dharavi.
Because character is about refusing to stay silent when silence feels safer. Your character is what will be fundamental to your ability to stand up and fight for your beliefs.
Second – choose contribution over convenience.
The world will ask you, “Where can you succeed the most?” But ask yourself instead, “Where am I needed the most?”
Go where the problems are hard, where the odds are long, where others hesitate – and make your mark there.
I did so in Khavda. Because true purpose exists not where things are easy but where your effort can create real change. This is the attitude that will allow you to build what has never been built before. And, Third – choose courage over comfort. Your talent will open many doors – and therein lies the challenge. The safe job, the high salary, the well-lit path – all of these will be within your reach. But the easy road rarely builds extraordinary lives. It is the bold path – the one filled with risk and resistance – that shapes leaders the world remembers.
I did so in Australia. So don’t just choose what feels secure. Choose what makes you come alive. This is the only way you can look back and have no regrets about the path you walked. And so, in closing, my young friends, Let your journey prove that dreams born on Indian soil can shape the world.
बहुत से भारतीयों ने विदेश में सपने पूरे किए
अब समय आ गया है कि – भारत की मिट्टी में जन्म लिए हुए सपने – भारत में ही साकार हों
For India. In India. With India.
क्योंकि भारत कोई प्रश्न नहीं है – जिसे तुम्हें हल करना है
भारत वह उत्तर है जिसे तुम्हारे माध्यम से दुनिया तक पहुँचाना है
यह वही उत्तर है जो बुद्ध की करुणा में था – विवेकानंद की वाणी में जगा – और गांधी के सत्य में चला
यह वो भूमि है जहाँ विचारों ने धर्म का रूप लिया – और आत्मा ने राष्ट्र का स्वरूप
भारत एक जीवंत चेतना है
और अब ये चेतना तुम्हें पुकार रही है –
यह कहकर कि उसे जियो, उसे गढ़ो, और उसे गौरव बनाओ
So, when the world asks, “Where is the future being built?”
Let your proud answer be: “Here – in India!”
जाओ निर्माण करो – नेतृत्व करो – गर्जना करो
भारत तुम्हें पुकार रहा है