Leaders as drivers of change, teaching others the new skills

These corporate czars who seek new dimensions to traditional business practices are the future empowerers, the future strength of India’s knowledge workers and the makers of India’s undeniable place in the world economy. Policy-makers in government will need to internalize this pace and stand solidly supporting the economic agenda that India has cut out for her.

Leaders of government in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Eastern Europe are proactive to change and a capitalist method of enriching their population has been a dramatic reversal from previously held protectionist beliefs. These drivers of change are the true empowerers and emperors of the world.

I have been a vociferous proponent of unshackling the economy and introducing financial sector reform. My big moment that followed after the foreign-exchange crisis in 1991, was reform in the banking sector and the foray of private-sector banking that emerged in the Indian economic arena. Soon to follow was private-sector insurance that allowed several initiatives to take hold, effectively giving much-needed competition to state-run insurance initiatives.

These changes saw India surge forward in the global financial services arena, with hitherto revolutionary ideas infused with hitherto unseen capital inflows in a truly emerging business environment. This has been a personal ‘big moment’ that has translated into many initiatives HDFC has incorporated into its fold as a financial services company.