Gautam Adani On 5 Principles Of Success, And Challenges He Faced

"If the last three decades since the 1990s have laid the foundation for India to become the world's fifth-largest economy, the journey towards 2050 will be even more transformative and disruptive," Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani at an event in Mumbai recalled his long journey as an entrepreneur and shared lessons learned from challenges that he faced along the way. Mr Adani said he worked for four years in the diamond business in Mumbai, and the city taught him to think big, dream big and above all, aspire to succeed.

"Thereafter, just as I was about to turn 19 and was settling in Mumbai, life took an unexpected turn. I was called back by my elder brother to assist in running a small-scale PVC film factory we had acquired near Ahmedabad. The business was challenging due to the scarcity of raw materials caused by heavy import restrictions," Mr Adani said.

"But all this was set to change following the elections in 1985. Rajiv Gandhi had just become the Prime Minister and he initiated the liberalisation of import policies. Despite having no experience, I grabbed the opportunity and swiftly established a trading organisation and began importing polymers to supply to the needy small-scale industries... This start of liberalisation gave me my first big break. I was 23," he said.