Until my father brought me into Reliance, I was pretty sure that I wanted to study in a U.S. university: hopefully, a little bit of time, either work at the World Bank or teach as a professor.
The regulator's job is not to guarantee us a profit, however much we cry. The regulator's job is to first make sure that the country goes forward and then make sure that the consumer goes forward.
Profit or loss is not guaranteed. That depends on the consumer and depends on the product. That's a risk that business people take.
We all get into business, and we take a risk in terms of putting capital.
All of us know that the energy from the sun can now be harnessed, and we need to convert it sensibly to use it.
At Reliance, we have always believed in investing in the businesses of the future and in investing in talent.
Why will I not give free service to my customers to get them used to mobile Internet, and to get every small town and village to use it? Everybody does promotions. In the internet world, free is normal.
Nobody had anticipated that chemicals was the direction in which Reliance was headed. I did chemical engineering because it was supposed to be the future.
Mobile internet will be the single-most defining technology of this century for human development.
I believe, 50 years from now, when you write history, one technology that would have changed human civilization is going to be the mobile Internet.
My obsession is with technology and how it can improve human life. In my view, what we have seen in the last 300 years is only a trailer.
I have always believed that technology drives human civilization's endeavor and progress.
I personally think that money can do very little. And this has been my experience all across.
I don't think that ambition should not be in the dictionary of entrepreneurs. But our ambition should be realistic. You have to realise that you can't do everything.
The organizational architecture is really that a centipede walks on hundred legs and one or two don't count. So if I lose one or two legs, the process will go on, the organization will go on, the growth will go on.
I think that our fundamental belief is that for us growth is a way of life and we have to grow at all times.
I guess when you are left on your own, you find your true potential. I remember my father never came to our school even once.
Reliance has built a refinery-led energy business and a materials business. In the energy business, we give 2% of the world's petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel.
I wanted to pursue chemical engineering because I thought it was the future.
Essentially, whoever is successful, whoever is going to do things that make a difference, is going to be talked about.
My big advantage was to have my father accept me as first-generation.
Everybody has equal opportunity, and I think that is true for everything.
Digital life and digital services are a multi-wave business.
China and India will, separately and together, unleash an explosion of demand.
If there are some losses that you take, then we're all big boys - we shouldn't be crying.
All of us, in a sense, struggle continuously all the time, because we never get what we want. The important thing which I've really learned is how do you not give up, because you never succeed in the first attempt.
I generally think that I should only speak by action and not by words.
You have to manage money. Particularly with market economies. You may have a great product, but if your bottom line goes bust, then that's it.
By that time - the early '70s - Vimal was a fairly successful textile brand. So everybody expected me to do textile engineering. I shocked them by saying that I would go to IIT.
I am a big believer that whatever has gone lies in the past. You should only learn from it, and you should only look at the present and the future. That's been my father's philosophy and mine as well.
