A tribute to Naresh Chandra: Our guiding light

By Anil Agarwal

Our country has had many leaders who have left their imprint in India's progress, and Sri Naresh Chandra has been widely acknowledged as a true statesman and nationalist. I am deeply sorrowed by his untimely demise.

Our association with Mr Chandra has been for several years, since 2004, when he joined the Vedanta Board. A brilliant human being, we have greatly benefited from his wisdom and immense global experience. He inspired me with his far-sighted perspective towards nation building and his passion for making India self-reliant for its natural resources needs.

He was an enthusiastic member of our CSR committee, contributing significant insight to providing platforms that are empowering our communities and the youth of our nation. He was a very jovial person with sharp and incisive intellect and a strong sense of humour.

He was precise in his advice. We have seen him express his views fearlessly, being authoritative when action was required and we remember him taking a collaborative approach to working towards our core goals. With his ability to solve complex situations, he will remain a legend.

We admire him for being instrumental for industrial reforms and progressive policies. He was one of the key pillars of economic liberalisation in 1991. His tenure as the Ambassador of India to the United States of America helped strengthen bilateral relations between the US and India. He held various positions in the Indian government, serving our country as a home secretary, a cabinet secretary and senior advisor to the Prime Minister of India.

He has been a Padma Vibhushan awardee, and more importantly for us at Vedanta, a true role model. We pledge to continue to abide by the high principles and ethics he believed in. All the directors and employees of the company convey deep sympathy and condolences to his family

He will always live in our hearts.

(The author is the Chairman of Vedanta Resources)