Twin grandsons of Jamnalal Bajaj (whom Mahatma Gandhi once considered a son) Anurang and Tarang Jain are now billionaires, with a net valuation of $1.1 billion to each of them.
Anurang Bajaj is the founder of Endurance Technologies Ltd., an automobile parts maker.
And, Tarang is the founder of the Varroc Group, which is also into the same business.
The Indian automobile giant Bajaj Auto Ltd. their uncle Rajiv Bajaj’s company has been their primary customer for over many years.
Jamnalal Bajaj started Bajaj Group of Industries in 1926. And, Mahatma Gandhi considered him as his fifth proclaimed son.
Recalling his time spent with the father of the nation, Rahul Bajaj who has turned 78 now once said:
As a teenager, I slowly realized that what propelled his (Gandhi’s) family most wasn’t the spirit of non-violent political protest, but a quest for success. People say that while you are a child, you think of being a policeman or a pilot. I never thought of anything else: business, business, business.
Jamnalal had once convinced Gandhi to open up an ashram in Maharashtra in 1932, and the family stayed in the ashram till 1948, the same year Gandhi was assassinated.
Gradually, the company expanded its footfall into various segments of the industry- cement, electronic appliances etc.
During the 1970s and ’80s, the group also started to focus on the mainstream scooter business, that eventually grew in itself giving rise to Bajaj Auto Lmtd. which is now its flagship business.
Today Bajaj Auto is India’s largest exporter of motorcycles and three-wheelers. Bajaj Auto’s exports accounted for approx. 35% of its total sales. 47% of its exports are made to Africa.
And Bajaj group of industries on a cumulative account for having shared more than 25% of India’s private economy as on December 2016.
Endurance and Varroc, each valued at $1.1 billion, were once under the single roof of the parent Bajaj Group. However, they became separate and individual entities as they worked hard to acquire fresh customers and products through multiple procurements and acquisitions.
According to an NDTV report:
Varroc’s revenue almost doubled with the 2012 purchase of lighting business Visteon for $92 million, while Endurance now has seven factories in Europe and 18 in India.
