Top 44 Ajay Piramal Quotes

I am humble enough to understand there are many people who know much more than I do on many subjects, so I listen to them. Integrity is also critical to leadership, so I believe there must always be alignment between what you think, say, and do.

We’ve always been influenced by some of India’s greatest minds.

We entered into the pharmaceutical industry in 1988, and since then, we have grown significantly on the back of a growing demand in India for pharmaceutical products.

Textile mills are not a very high-margin business and have fixed overheads, so it was challenging. But I think it is only in challenges that you get opportunities.

It was always the intention that Shriram would have started a bank at some point.

We have been successful in buying and selling companies because we have a reputation of fulfilling deal terms in letter and spirit.

The role of a trustee is to ensure beneficiaries get the best returns, without the trustee benefitting.

I have always said that you have to fail. If you do not fail, it means you have never taken enough risks.

Innovation means taking risks, and that is where the private sector can play a role.

Humility, we say, is very important because we feel humility means the ability to listen, the ability to respect another’s opinion and to find that everybody around you in some subject knows more.

Disabilities and misfortune can make you stronger.

Fortunately, in Piramal Enterprises, we are in three broad sectors. One is in the whole financial services sector, the second is in pharmaceuticals, and the third is in healthcare analytics and data.

Don’t hoard your wealth. Instead, live the life you want with the wealth you have been blessed with, but also make it beneficial for the good of the larger community.

When we look at our business, we are not that concerned about short term valuations.

Many people say that in a liberalised world there is little for the government to do, but the fact is that there is much for the government to do in fewer areas. One such area is to provide infrastructure.

Our responsibility is to maximise shareholder value, and if that means we can make short-term investment where we can maximise short-term value, we can do that.

Everywhere in the world, when you travel, you see structures that stand out. Historic structures and new structures. But in India, I don’t see anything that stands out.

In pharma, we continuously look for acquisitions… if it makes strategic sense and if there is any value.

In any technology, one has to be very careful to ensure that it is good and has enough safeguards.

We take dispassionate view of our investments. Does it mean that we are looking out to monetise the investment? That is not correct. But if we get an offer that we cannot refuse, as I say, then it is not that we are not, that we will still hold on to the investment.

I may believe in something, but if it is not working and is not giving returns, we have to close it down because that is the right thing to do for the shareholders.

Manufacturing is finite, but human intellect is infinite. Textile is all about manufacturing, and industries like pharmaceuticals are all about human intellect.

If you concentrate on action and forget the results, you actually perform much better, because then you are not worried what will happen.

We are disciples of Krishna, and we look at ourselves like Arjun in the battlefield.

Share your prosperity.

The Internet can bring us much closer to the developed world.

Within the renewables space, we are focused on solar and wind energy.

There will be good times, and there will be bad, but one has to, to the extent possible, take things in one’s stride.

I am overall optimistic about India’s growth.

In a crisis, you separate the men from the boys.

I think public sector banks need to have greater private participation of people who have skin in the game.

Coming to the growth potential in financial services, there is enough data to show that, usually, financial services grow about twice or two and a half times of what the economy, the GDP growth rates.

Normally, Indian companies follow the trend set by companies abroad. There is usually a long lag period.

Buying a house is not an overnight decision, and people can wait for 3 to 6 months.

Demonetisation was always on the government’s radar and was part of the plan from day one when Narendra Modi took over as prime minister, as he was concerned about the black money.

Leadership is more than just managing economic reforms. Leadership means giving broad direction, take up challenges which other people cannot do.

We never thought about getting into banking, as it is not an attractive business as perceived generally. This was also not a consideration when we decided to invest in Shriram Group.

Sometimes, we get mixed up when we say that profit is not important for stakeholders. Oxygen is not the reason a person lives. But it is essential to have oxygen, although it’s not the only reason for a person’s existence. It is similar for profit.

There is nothing similar between the pharmaceutical and textile business.

Indians are very intelligent – of that, there is no doubt – but we are not necessarily hard working.

In the pharma space, we have been growing both organically as well as through acquisitions.

In any merger, when you have large organisations coming together, there will be challenges in terms of culture.

There are always highs and lows in life, but if you maintain an even keel, then you can take the right decisions.

When we exited the textiles business, we paid our bankers and labourers. We must have been the only company to do that.