Bajaj Group chairman emeritus Rahul Bajaj died in Mumbai on Saturday. He was 83. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and several Congress leaders such as Supriya Sule, Milind Deora took to Twitter to express their shock and grief over the demise of the business scion. Rahul Bajaj was awarded India’s third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in the year 2001. Born in 1938 in Kolkata, Rahul Bajaj graduated from prestigious St Stephen’s College in 1958. He also studied at the Harvard Business School and earned his MBA degree. In the year 1968, Rahul Bajaj became the CEO of the Bajaj Auto.
Known as the ‘fearless’ and outspoken business leader in the India Inc circle, many remember him for his bold move of manufacturing his distinct brand of scooters under ‘Chetak’ after Italian auto giant Piaggio didn’t renew his licence. Biocon’s Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that she was ‘devastated’ with the news. Remembering Rahul Bajaj as ‘dear, dear friend,’ Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that India has today lost a nation-builder. A PTI report states that Rahul Bajaj was not keeping well for past few days. He breathed his last at 2:30 pm on Saturday, the report quotes company officials as saying.
Rahul Bajaj is survived by his daughter Sunaina Kejriwal and two sons Sanjiv Bajaj and Rajiv Bajaj. Last year on April 30, Rahul Bajaj had resigned as the chairman of Bajaj Auto. Rahul Bajaj was elected as the member of the Rajya Sabha in 2006. He also held the post of Indian Airlines chairman in 1986.
A 2019 Forbes list stated that the Bajaj family was the 11th richest family in India. At that time, the Bajaj family’s networth was $9.2 billion.