After a perfunctory ‘hello’ over the telephone, flowed in words that took time to sync in: “Mr Vaghul is no more. At 12.38 pm, the ventilator was taken off” and yet despite this matter-of-fact news, the speaker close to Narayanan Vaghul’s family, stayed undeterred in hoping against hope to add: “how I wish all of this is not true.” A lodestar to many of the leading bankers in India, Vaghul, 88, whose passing came in as a rude shock to many, was always adored, respected and held in high regard. A mentor to many leading Indian entrepreneurs like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder and chairperson of Biocon, India’s largest biopharmaceutical company, who never misses a chance to remind how Vaghul gave her the real break. “When I was trying to fund my innovative enzyme technology, I was finding it very difficult to raise debt, it was Mr Vaghul who told me to forget about debt and said instead that we are going to invest in your company because we have just started a venture fund and this is exactly what we are looking for. This turned out to be the turning point for me and Biocon. Mr Vaghul was so unconventional in everything he did. He was a true visionary,” she says.
None of the people close to the family that this writer spoke to wanted to be named as they were waiting for the family to make the official confirmation. Vaghul apparently had a fall, in which he was hurt and became unconscious and was admitted to a hospital (Apollo) in Chennai, his home.
One leading Indian banker who knew Vaghul well described him as the soul and heart of Indian banking and one who symbolised honest and good banking.
A dear friend to some, a lodestar for others but to all, a ‘giant of a man who stood for principles, honest conduct and fearlessness.” One of his former colleagues talks of an example where he opted to resign from a post than to go against his principles. He was both a blend of business acumen and ethical practices. He went well beyond banking and was closely involved in the creation of philanthropic organisations, including a leading NGO, Pratham that, among other things, puts out its much-read ASER – Annual Status of Education Report – looking at the education outcomes in the country and what education strategy of the country should be and is brought out after interactions directly with students. Vaghul has been seen as a mentor at Pratham and one who played a key role in getting the right people as was the case in banking.
He built ICICI Bank and almost any big and known name from the bank had been hired either directly by Vaghul or were got into the ICICI fold under his watch. Some of the best names in the banking industry that came into ICICI then included K V Kamath. Kalpana Morparia, Shikha Sharma, Lalitha Gupte, Madhabi Puri Buch and Nachiket Mor, each again known for their distinguished careers and impactful roles played over the years in the banking arena and beyond.
Contributed significantly to the evolution of banking in India: SBI chairman Dinesh Khara
On sharing the news of Vaghul’s passing with Dinesh Kumar Khara, chairman of the State Bank of India, he did seem both surprised and saddened. “If this is true then it is indeed very sad as he was a veteran and contributed significantly to the evolution of banking in the country. He will always be remembered by people in the banking cadre for his contributions to the banking industry,” he said.
Describing Vaghul as one who was pathbreaking in multiple ways, Professor M S Sriram, professor, Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, says, “what was great about Vaghul was the way he managed the transition from a development finance institution to a leading universal bank and also build a powerhouse of talent at ICICI Bank.”