Baba Kalyani Quotes

We are working with the power industry all over the world. We are meeting customers in aerospace and getting them to tour our plants.

We have done a lot of work on cost reduction, getting ourselves lean, reducing our breakeven, reducing our fixed cost and increasing exports. All of these factors help because our export basket is not just automotive but also includes industrial products, railways and others.

Politicians said that with our cheap labour, we could be competitive in the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. We were the most uncompetitive country with that cheap labour.

Our strategy should be based on indigenisation and import substitution. The government must provide opportunities for domestic companies to participate in sectors in which the country continues to depend on imports.

We've made two products; one is a 155 mm 52-calibre gun with self-propelling and towing capability. This is a field gun - the mainstay of the Indian army like the Bofors guns. Our gun is similar but of a longer range. That was 39 calibre; this is 52. The calibre denotes the length of the barrel and the range.

Bofors was a steelmaker that became a forgings company and then went on to build guns. Companies like Krupp and Thyssen were in steel and forgings before entering defence. There are similar examples in the U.K.; it is a natural progression.

From an operational perspective, exports challenge companies to design, develop, manufacture and supply products to discerning customers in global markets. This, in turn, motivates companies to scale up the value chain, which results in higher realisations.

The period from 2002 to 2007 was probably our best period. We created a strategy to build global scale, footprints in each of the geographies and dramatically built our international business.

I had the option of building a career in the U.S. Many of my friends who went at the time did not come back, but for me, building the family business and being with family was worth it. I became a general manager within four months, as I used my education to improve productivity and output.

Our company is very diversified, both in terms of geography and in terms of products.

We book our exports forward for more than a year, and so we have a fixed rate. We do not get the spot rate that we see in the market every day.

The commodity price easing really does not play too much role in our margins because our basic raw material - steel - is not really a commodities engineering steel.

We have got into Indian railways and are trying to get into the railway locomotive business in Europe and the United States.

The emphasis on innovation and technology in our companies has resulted in a few of them establishing global benchmarks in product design and development, manufacturing practices and human resource capabilities. However, there is no room for complacency.

So far, the general perception, including the perception in India, was that we are not capable of using high technology. They simply refused to believe an Indian can do it! I somehow was not ready to accept that this is not possible.

We believe in the vision of 'Make in India,' and our proposed joint venture with Rafael is a step in this direction.

I am able to compete not because my labour is cheap, but because I can use technology better than others.

Prior to 2001, hardly any company in North America or Europe would buy from India.

The advantage comes out of the capability of Indian engineers and the competitiveness of their capabilities and the cost at which they can create those capabilities.

In 2014, we have some new activities and new order wins in the non-automotive space.

India is the second biggest defence procurer in the world after the U.S.

If my strength is technology, financial structuring is my son's skill.

Our real focus is going to be what can we do with our existing capacities, what new things can we do, and how much more demand can we fulfil with our existing capacities.

If somebody told me you'd be a one and a half billion dollar company and be the largest in the world, I wouldn't have believed it myself.

There is a feeling within our system that defence equipment can't be made here and should be imported. I wanted to break this myth, so we spent our money and made a product to prove we have capability in this country, so don't just brush us aside.

In business, you try to minimise risk.

The year 2013 has been very difficult, with a lot of headwinds in almost every region and every business.

Indians have very good engineering capabilities, and that is why, if an industry focuses on innovation, you will have a far greater chance of success, rather than the model which is based on just being a production machine.

With liberalisation, Indian industry gained international exposure because of which it became imperative for companies to rework their strategies to become globally competitive.

One of the criteria for a global company is that it should have a manufacturing presence in multiple countries and should not only be an exporter.

In 2006, the global economy was doing well. In India, the political and economic situation was stable. All key macroeconomic indicators reflected an economy that was in robust good health.

I give strong advice, but I don't expect it to be followed.

We are a heterogeneous society. We have to accept that. Growth has to be such that the most backward sections also benefit from it. Otherwise, it will be a very imbalanced growth.

The Indian business has largely grown on the back of exports. The domestic markets, as far as our Indian business is concerned, actually have contracted because of the contraction in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle space.

I am a very hands-on person, and I like to be involved in driving my business.

I am a self-taught water skier and wind surfer.