Riding the Wave

‘A timely description of some intriguing shapers of the India of today…’ Tarun Khanna 1991 was the watershed year for India’s business climate. From decades of static growth, it got pushed into instant high gear. As the business arena opened up to competition, many old players fell away and vanished from the scene. But a few lingered on and made it big. Others emerged to dominate the new scene. Riding the Wave is the story of seven entrepreneurs, some products of the Licence-Permit Raj, others new-age businessmen. But they all have one thing in common – they have changed the rules of the game. Together they hold the promise of a transformed Indian business that can take on the best in the world. In these in-depth profiles, Mini Menon, who has been covering Indian business for the last fourteen years, talks about Ajay Piramal, deal-maker extraordinaire; Gautam Thapar, the unlikely heir to a business legacy; Rajeev Chandrashekhar, who went from being a software engineer to one of India’s big telecom Turks, only to lose his shirt and fight back; Baba Kalyani, who set new milestones in Indian manufacturing; Ronnie Screwvala, India’s shrewdest media mogul; G.M. Rao, the man whose sky-high ambitions have given the country some of its best airports; and Ajit Gulabchand, whose sea link is Mumbai’s glittering diadem. As a portrayal of these fascinating individuals who reflect the cut and thrust of a demanding business environment, Riding the Wave is the best introduction yet to the journey of Indian business in the new century.