One of India's iconic industrialists, Rahul Bajaj, the former chairman of Bajaj Group, breathed his last, aged 83, on Saturday, February 12, at his home in Pune. He is survived by two sons, Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj, and a daughter Sunaina Kejriwal. He was admitted to the hospital for the last one month with pneumonia and also a cardiac problem, informed Dr Purvez Grant, the managing trustee at Ruby Hall Clinic.
Former Bajaj group chairman Rahul Bajaj passes away, India loses the icon who gave India its iconic Bajaj Chetak scooter. Born on June 10, 1938, Shri Bajaj completed his BA (Honours) in Economics from the University of Delhi, a law degree from Mumbai University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He took the reins of Bajaj Group in 1965 and acted as the Chairman of the Bajaj Group for over 40 years.
We are deeply saddened by the demise of Shri Rahul Bajaj. Our sincerest condolences to the Bajaj family.
We are honored to have had him as president of @MCCIA_Pune (1980-82).He was the chairman of the #Bajaj Group & recipient of the third-highest civilian award – Padma Bhushan. pic.twitter.com/td9yQ0bHRX
— MCCIA (@MCCIA_Pune) February 12, 2022
Rahul Bajaj resigned as the chairman of Bajaj Auto in April last year and was currently the Chairman Emeritus of the firm. Under his leadership, the automaker thrived onto the Indian two-wheeler space with India's iconic Bajaj Chetak scooter, synonymous with the middle-class aspiration, aptly made popular with the advertisement jingle 'Humara Bajaj'. This resulted in the firm's jump to ₹12,000 crores from just ₹7.2 crore turnover.
राहुल बजाज यांच्या निधनाने भारतीय उद्योगाच्या विकासात भरीव योगदान देणारा ज्येष्ठ उद्योजकच आपण गमावला नाही तर देशासमोरील समस्यांवर निर्भिडपणे मते मांडणारा, प्रेरक देशाभिमानी उद्योजक आपल्यातून गेला आहे, अशा शब्दांत मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांनी आपल्या भावना व्यक्त केल्या.
— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) February 12, 2022
He was awarded the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001 and also served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2006-10. He also graced many other positions, including the Chairman of Indian Airlines and Chairman of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. His last rites will be completed with full state honours on Sunday, announced Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.