Rahul Bajaj is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group and a member of parliament. Bajaj comes from the business house started by Jamnalal Bajaj. He was awarded the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001.
In a recent interview for the Creating Emerging Markets project at the Harvard Business School, Bajaj provides a devastating critique of Indian industrial policies before the liberalisation in the 1990s. In 2008, he split Bajaj Auto into three units – Bajaj Auto, finance company Bajaj Finserv and a holding company. His sons are now managing the day to day affairs of the company.

He was born in a Agrawal family and is the grandson of Indian independence fighter, Jamnalal Bajaj. Rahul Bajaj graduated from St Stephen’s College in Delhi in 1958 and also earned a degree in law from Bombay University. Then he went on to pursue MBA from Harvard Business School in the US and became CEO of Bajaj Auto in 1968. Rahul Bajaj became a part of his father’s group as Deputy General Manager. He was in charge of key departments in the company like marketing, accounts, purchase, and audit. etc. Under the guidance of Naval K Firodia, CEO of Bajaj Auto, Rahul learnt the nuances of the business. Later Firodia and the Bajajs parted ways. After his father passed away in 1972, Rahul was appointed the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto. Under his leadership the company witnessed tremendous growth. Rahul Bajaj built the firm in the 1970s and ’80s. He grew the company’s revenues to join the Billion-dollar club. It was through his initiative that Chetak and Bajaj Super models rose to prominence in the Indian market. Originally based on Italian Vespa Sprint, Chetak was an affordable means of transportation for millions of Indians for decades and is remembered as ‘Hamara Bajaj’.

Bajaj sales hit a low point around 2001 after market liberalisation saw Japanese competitors like Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki introduce new motorcycles and change the dynamics of India’s market. But, it soon recovered from the loss with effective marketing and promotion. Bajaj Auto reinvented itself and came up with Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle.

In 2005, Rahul Bajaj stepped down from his role as chairman, his son Rajiv became the Group’s managing director. Bajaj got elected to the Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament in the 2006-2010 period. On the Forbes 2016 list of the world’s billionaires, he was ranked No. 722 with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.

Rahul Bajaj made an immense contribution to the success of the company and the group at large over the past five decades.Rahul Bajaj wa elected a the president of the confederation of Indian Industry (CII) twice in 1979-80 and 1999-2000. For his outstanding work to the Indian industry, the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented him CII President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.

His sons Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj are involved in the management of his companies. His daughter Sunaina is married to Manish Kejriwal, the former head of Temasek India.