Hamara ‘Bajaj’ Is No More

Veteran industrialist and head of the Bajaj group, Rahul Bajaj, passed away on Saturday. The 83-year-old Bajaj had pneumonia and also a heart problem. He was admitted to the Ruby Hall Clinic a month ago and breathed his last at 2.30 pm on Saturday.

“It is with deep sorrow that I inform you about the passing away of Rahul Bajaj, husband of the late Rupa Bajaj and father of Rajiv and Deepa, Sanjiv and Shefali and Sunaina and Manish. He passed away on the afternoon of February 12, 2022 in the presence of his closest family members,” said a statement from Bajaj group.

Rahul Bajaj joined the Bajaj group in 1965 and became the CEO of Bajaj Auto in 1968. In 2005, Rahul Bajaj, a strong voice in the corporate world, stepped down from his executive role and his son Rajiv became Bajaj Auto’s managing director. In 2021, Bajaj stepped down as non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto.

One of the oldest business groups in India, it has 25 companies including Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Electricals, Mukand and Bajaj Allianz.

Rahul Bajaj was born on June 10, 1938. He was Jamnalal Bajaj’s grandson and Jawaharlal Nehru named him Rahul. He graduated from St Stephen’s College in Delhi University with an Honours Degree in Economics in 1958. Apart from this, Bajaj also has a degree in Law from Bombay University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

He is the recipient of several awards, including the Padma Bhushan from the government of India and honorary doctorates from various universities. Bajaj was a member of the Rajya Sabha for the 2006-2010 period. He was also the former chairman of Indian Airlines and of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.