What does it take to become successful and make a name for yourself? According to Vedanta Resources founder and Chairman Anil Agarwal, all it takes is one step in the right direction. One step taken with determination will fetch you desired results eventually. Anil Agarwal is a living example of someone who made it royally big in life by sheer determination and grit.
On Wednesday, Anil Agarwal took to Twitter to tell the youngsters of India a story from his youth and encourage them to achieve all that they set their eyes on.
In a tweet, he said, “Millions of people come to Mumbai to try their luck. I was one of them. I remember the day I left Bihar with only a tiffin box, bedding, and dreams in my eyes. I arrived at Victoria Terminus station, and for the first time.”
…I saw a kaali peeli taxi, a double-decker bus & the City of Dreams – all of which I had only seen in the movies. I encourage the youth to work hard & shoot for the stars. Agar aap majboot irade ke saath pehla kadam uthayenge, manzil milna tay hai!
— Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) February 15, 2022
In a subsequent tweet, he added, “I saw a kaali peeli (black and yellow) taxi, a double-decker bus & the City of Dreams – all of which I had only seen in the movies. I encourage the youth to work hard & shoot for the stars. Agar aap majboot irade ke saath pehla kadam uthayenge, manzil milna tay hai (If you take the first step with solid determination, achieving your goals is a given)!”
Anil Agarwal Epitomises the ‘Great Bihari Dream’
Anil Agarwal hails from Bihar’s Patna. His father Dwarka Prasad Agarwal had a small aluminium conductor business. Instead of going to college, Anil Agarwal started working alongside his father – making aluminium conductors. He was 19 years old when he left Patna and embarked on a journey to Mumbai – the city of dreams.
Anil Agarwal arrived with nothing in Mumbai. By the 1970s, however, he was beginning to get hold of his career. He began trading in scrap metal, collecting it from cable companies in other states and selling it in Mumbai. Agarwal went on to acquire Shamsher Sterling Corporation in 1976 – a manufacturer of enameled copper mainly, with the help of a bank loan.
After 10 years, he set up Sterlite Industries, which manufactured jelly-filled cables. Yet, this did not really suit his style. The manufacture of such cables depended on the ever-fluctuating Copper and Aluminium prices, which reduced his profitability. Therefore, the man decided to manufacture Copper and Aluminium itself!
In 1993, Sterlite Industries became the first private sector company in India to set up a copper smelter and refinery. This paved the way for Agarwal to set up interests in the mining sector. Today, he is the chairman of the global diversified mining company headquartered in London, called Vedanta Resources Limited. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and has mining operations in Australia and Zambia, apart from oil and gas operations in three countries.
A company which was founded by Anil Agarwal in 1976 has today become a company whose main products are Zinc, Lead, Silver, Oil & Gas, Iron Ore, Steel and Aluminium. Vedanta also owns power stations in Odisha and Punjab.
Now, the Vedanta Group is also foraying into the electronics sector and is making a big push towards making India a semiconductor superpower. Vedanta Resources Limited recently formed a joint venture with Taiwan-based Foxconn to enter the semiconductor sector.
Foxconn is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers and in the last few years, the company has invested heavily in India. Vedanta plans to make a 15-billion-dollar investment in chips and display manufacturing in order to capitalize on the 10-billion-dollar PLI scheme announced by the Modi government last year.
Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Never Gives Up
Vedanta Group has a history of making comebacks after what was considered dooming scenarios for the company. After the coordinated protest by leftist and anti-national elements forced the closure of the company’s Tamil Nadu based copper plant in 2018, its shares traded at very low prices and analysts predicted a possible bankruptcy for the firm. During the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, its shares tanked once again and the company was facing an imminent threat, and yet, with the revival of metals, energy, and petrochemical prices, the company has once again made a comeback.
Read More: After Tata, Vedanta jumps into the Semiconductor race as well. Pledges Rs 60,000 crore
The Bihari in Anil Agarwal refuses to give up. He has worked very hard to get where he is today, and he will definitely not let minor upsets become a stumbling block for his business empire. Today, his company is looking to diversify its business interests by entering the semiconductor sector. A man who reached Mumbai with a tiffin box in his hand will now lead India’s semiconductor revolution, and if that is not inspirational, I don’t know what is.