Agencies
New Delhi, May 27: Narendra Modi's coronation saw India Inc's power parade at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday.
Indian billionaires turned up in full force-the Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil with their wives and mother Kokilaben, Essar's Shashi, Ravi and Prashant Ruia, Fortis' Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Mittal brothers Sunil Rajan and Rakesh, Kumar Mangalam Birla, infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani and his wife, London-based business magnate Ashok Hinduja, and Suzlon's Tulsi Tanti and so on.
The regal forecourt of the majestic Presidential Palace had never seen a grander event than this. This was Modi's power statement. By inviting a galaxy of corporate India bosses, he was sending a message that he means business.
Industrialists, bankers and stockbrokers all rubbed shoulders with one another. Big Bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Enam's Vallabh Bhansali, Uday Kotak, Ajay Piramal, Sun Pharma's Dalip Sanghvi, TCS vice-chairman S. Ramadorai, Hero Group's Pawan Munjal, Analjit Singh of Max, Bharat Forge's Baba Kalyani, Videocon's Venugopal Dhoot, Zee's Subhash Chandra, and advertising gurus Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi were all seen in the mix.
With as many as 4,000 people in attendance, a watershed moment in Indian democratic history played out. For the first time, Indian business and industry came out in their power suits to grace an occasion of such magnitude. As someone remarked, perhaps this was the first time, they had been invited.
Ficci president Sidharth Birla, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sharad Jaipuria and IFFCO MD U.S. Awasthi were among the industry leaders who attended the function. The tour de force saw the Gujarat contingent of India Inc turning up for the historic moment, which saw the former chief minister of the state ascending to the country's top political post. Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani was accompanied by his gracious wife Nita and two sons while younger brother Anil and his family, and their mother Kokilaben was also present.
From aviation, Jet Airways founder-chairman Naresh Goyal and CEO of new entrant AirAsia India Mittu Chandilya were also in attendance. From the financial sector, Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor, who is also president of Assocham, was also present. Representation from the IT sector was led by the National Association of Software and Services Companies president R. Chandrashekhar, who is a former telecom secretary.
Among the major names missing from the ceremony were Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and his successor Cyrus Mistry, who were travelling abroad. M&M chairman Anand Mahindra and UB Group chief Vijay Mallya could not make it as well because of the same reason.
HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh had a prior engagement in Mumbai. |
