Ajay Piramal
Chairman, Piramal Group- Piramal Group
Ajay Piramal's Journey so far ...
- A third-generation entrant, Ajay Piramal was 22 when he joined his family’s textile business in 1977. His grandfather Parimal Chatrabhuj had started the business in 1934
- A couple of years after he joined, his father passed away followed by his older brother. By the time he reached the age of 30, he was already handling the business
- He was soon to expand and in 1984, acquired Gujarat Glass
- In 1988, Piramal forayed into the pharmaceuticals business with the acquisition of Nicholas Laboratories and Nicholas Piramal India Ltd. was formed
- A series of acquisitions (including that of several international firms) were to follow. In the next two decades, Piramal acquired around 15 more businesses in the pharma sector and formed strategic partnerships with several others
- He also expanded the company’s glass business and eventually entered the real estate and financial services sectors
- In a high-profile deal, Piramal sold the domestic formulations business of Piramal Healthcare to the US-based Abbott Laboratories for $3.72 billion in 2010
- However, this was not the end of the road for the pharma giant. Piramal retained the drug discovery, over-the-counter (OTC) consumer products and contract manufacturing divisions which in the years to come saw considerable growth
- In September 2012, he became the chairman of Piramal Enterprises Ltd.
- He was named chairman of Shriram Capital Ltd. in November 2014
- Piramal joined the board of Tata Sons Ltd. in August 2016
- Today, the Piramal Group is a global giant with offices in over 30 countries, its products are sold in over 100 global markets and the company employs around 10,000 people
- With the Piramal Foundation, Ajay Piramal supports sustainable development across 25 states in India. The foundation’s programs have reached over 100 million people in the country so far
Before you go...
- Piramal is an ardent follower of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita
- He pursues wildlife photography as a hobby
- His son Anand’s marriage with fellow business tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha in 2018 was one glitzy affair that had the nation’s attention for several days
Ajay Piramal News
- Anand Piramal appointed as Chairman of Piramal FinanceAnand Piramal assumes the role of chairman at Piramal Finance, succeeding his father, Ajay Piramal, after the merger of Piramal Enterprises. The board also accepted the resignations of Ajay and Swati Piramal, with Ajay continuing to lead Piramal Group. Jairam Sridharan will be the MD & CEO, while new independent and non-executive directors have been appointed, pending shareholder approval.
- Piramal Enterprises expects asset under management to cross Rs 1 lakh cr in FY26Piramal Enterprises anticipates its AUM to surpass ₹1 lakh crore in FY26, driven by strong retail and wholesale business performance. The company's AUM grew 17% to ₹80,689 crore in FY25. Piramal Finance's merger with Piramal Enterprises is expected to conclude by September 2025, with projected consolidated PAT exceeding ₹1,300 crore in FY26.
- Students surprised as scholarship money arrives in days in Rajasthan schoolsStudents at Hameeri Kalan Senior Secondary School in Rajasthan celebrated receiving their scholarship funds instantly, thanks to Digi Vritti. This digital pilot program aims to streamline the scholarship system by ensuring timely delivery of funds, increasing transparency and efficiency, and alleviating perennial delays.
- In an emotional farewell, thousands gather to pay tribute to Ratan TataIn a poignant farewell, thousands gathered at NCPA to pay respects to Ratan Tata. Ministers, business leaders, and celebrities attended his cremation. Tata, remembered for his compassion, was cremated with full state honours. Family members spanning four generations performed the last rites privately.
- Narayanan Vaghul cremated in Chennai, industry doyens pay last respects to veteran bankerVeteran banker and Padma Bhushan recipient Narayanan Vaghul, who passed away on May 18 at the age of 88, was cremated in Chennai on Sunday. Industry leaders including Ajay Piramal and R Seshasayee paid their respects. Vaghul, former head of ICICI, was remembered for his significant contributions to the banking sector, particularly in mentoring many successful women bankers. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also offered condolences.
- "If we work together, India can achieve all SDGs by 2030" says Ajay Piramal at CII Annual Business Summit 2024Underscoring the rapid progress expected over the next two decades, he said, "Let's say in 2047, we'll have - we'll be the third-largest economy, maybe a USD 40 billion economy. Even now, in the next - I think by 2029, we'll be the third-largest economy. So only the U.S. and China will be ahead of us. So that's a big progress the country is making."
- Brookfield, GIC, Alpha Wave eye Blackstone company PGP GlassThe buyout funds are competing with PAG and Apollo Global Management who are still believed to in the fray but not that aggressive as the top three. Alpha Wave -- previously Falcon Edge Capital, has so far been a big backer of Indian start-ups like Lenskart, Off Business, Cred, DailyHunt, Cars 24, Dream 11 as well as global marque brands and ventures like Aman Resorts, Didi, Space X, Ant and Alibaba Group.
- Ambani, Adani, Birla among India Inc's bigwigs setting sail for Ayodhya's D-DayReliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani are among India's top business leaders who will be seen at the ceremony with a guest list of more than 10,000. The captains of Indian industry will join the scrum of VVIP arrivals at the small temple town, which will also see achievers from the world of entertainment, sport, politics, faith, public life and the arts.
- 'Plan to double loan book size to '1.2-1.3 lakh crore by FY28'Piramal Enterprises plans to double its loan book by FY28, with a focus on retail loans, according to Chairman Ajay Piramal. The company aims to reduce the size of its wholesale book and lend to mid-sized corporates while exiting its legacy wholesale book. The new loan book will be more granular, with smaller loan sizes and a focus on interest and regular repayments.
- Grow, credit, grow! 18-20% a yearTo usher in India's next growth stage, the country would need credit to grow by 18-20% annually. Banks may fall short in meeting this demand. NBFCs, along with banks, can play an essential role in meeting the nation's demand for credit. The number of private banks also needs to increase to foster better competition and augment financial inclusion.
- India’s Piramal plans to raise $1.5bn for private creditPiramal Alternatives plans to raise $1.5 billion for investment in India’s high-yield companies via private credit, according to its chief executive officer. The unit of Piramal Group, which is controlled by billionaire Ajay Piramal, has four existing private credit funds that together have raised $4 billion, said Kalpesh Kikani, managing director and chief executive officer at Piramal Alternatives.
- India is 'capital starved', needs to work towards getting capital to become USD 5-trillion economy: Ajay PiramalSpeaking at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2023, he said India must learn from the rest of the world and allow pension funds and provident funds to invest into many companies instead of restricting them into investing mainly on government securities. Piramal, who was bullish on the future of the Indian economy, said this is the best time the country has had and "we want to grow faster".
- Tycoon Piramal, TPG weighing exit from Shriram GeneralPiramal and TPG are jointly working with an adviser on divesting a combined 30% stake in the holding company of Shriram General Insurance Ltd. Shriram General Insurance Holdings could be valued at more than $2 billion in a transaction. Considerations are at an early stage and details may still change
- Isha Ambani, husband Anand Piramal become parents to twinsIsha Ambani-Piramal and Anand Piramal on Sunday announced that the couple have been blessed with a set of twins on Saturday, November 19, news agency IANS reported. They are - a baby girl named Aadiya and her twin brother Krishna. Both the infant siblings are doing well, said the two elated families, rejoicing over the happy development.
- How will global recession impact India? Ajay Piramal answers“If India has to grow, financial services has to grow. If we take 7-8% as the real growth rate and add inflation to it, it would be 12-13% and normally credit grows at least 1.5 times that. So to get any industry or any business where 16% to 18% should be the annual growth rate is a good industry to be in.”
- Expect more rate hikes; GDP can come down 1-1.5%: Ajay Piramal“After the IL&FS crisis, a lot of companies and NBFCs and us in particular, have strengthened capital. Our capital adequacy ratio today is almost 40% so that if there is any uncertainty, we should be able to weather the storm and grow further. Size is becoming more and more important because the operating costs can be spread out and the stronger companies will become stronger, increasing profitability.”
- Shriram Group closing in on merger, insurance biz to be hived off into separate entityMorgan Stanley and ICICI Securities are advising Shriram Capital, the unlisted holding company of the group. The proposed reorganisation, if approved by a majority of minority shareholders and regulators, will lead to a simplified corporate structure and allow its investors— billionaire Ajay Piramal and TPG Capital —an exit from the privately held entity.
- Our footprint was more in larger cities, now we will get into Bharat: Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal GroupWe believe that one of the biggest growth areas for the country are going to be the emerging India or Bharat. In tier two, tier three, tier four cities and therefore with the branches and the understanding of the market, not only do we have an opportunity as far as affordable housing finance is concerned but in other areas as well.
- NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation jointly launches program for home-care support to Covid patientsThe campaign is expected to play a key role in district preparedness for managing nearly 70% of Covid cases at home, reducing pressure on the health system, and stemming the spread of fear amongst the people. The campaign will also undertake capacity building of citizens for correct usage of Oxygen concentrators that have been supplied to these districts.
- View: A guru and a tycoon feel India’s endless bank salvage painThe state-dominated lending system’s aggregate balance sheet had a gaping hole even before Covid-19. Now things could turn uglier. The regulator’s latest stress test projects nonperforming assets to jump to 13.5% of loans and advances by September in its baseline scenario, and 14.8% in the worst-case situation, almost doubling from 7.5% a year earlier.
- Blackstone pays $800 million for Piramal Glass; $200 mn payout linked to future performance milestonesBlackstone will be paying $800 million upfront and another $200 in future pay outs linked to performance linked milestones over the next 2-3 years, said people aware of the discussions. The manufacturing operations that Blackstone will acquire in this transaction located in the Asia, namely India and Sri Lanka.
- Good to see PM intervening in economy, we wait to see action: Ajay PiramalA lot of changes have taken place in the environment for doing business in India. All of these measures are geared towards improving corporate governance practices. Sometimes, one may feel that the changes which are being suggested are much too rapid and these could have been put in place more gradually but this is the way the world will be.