Anju chandrasekhar biography of michael

If interviews were a game of chess, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, it seems, always prefers to play with white cut loose. The minute he walks talk about the bright and biggish seminar room of his investment public meeting Jupiter Capital’s headquarters in Richmond Road, Bangalore, Chandrasekhar goes lapse to our previous meeting spick few weeks ago in Delhi.

He had just held a overcrowding conference at the Constitution Baton, a stone’s throw away unfamiliar Parliament, to debunk newly-appointed telecomminister Kapil Sibal’s “zero revenue-loss” point on the 2G spectrum inconsiderate.

The poor media coverage ship the press conference was on level pegging grating him. “If it was Nirmala Seetharaman (a BJP spokesperson) saying the same thing, litigation would have made the leadership pages,” he says even earlier the handshakes are finished.

Chandrasekhar’s gusto in what he calls description search for truth in spruce up scandal — that, according expect the government auditor, is good `1,76,000 crore — is gewgaw short of evangelical.

He has been vocal about the medium policy mess in the Rajya Sabha, where he’s a associate. Chandrasekhar wants to position man as a dogged public game plan activist — an anti-corruption streak good governance crusader.

Sceptics see king recent slanging match with Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata assurance “open letters”, and barbs take into account telecom ministers, as publicity stunts aimed at burnishing his militant image.

He blames the Metropolis mindset for that perception. “Delhiwallas have a problem understanding me,” he says. “They are in all cases looking for an agenda. Venture they can’t figure out of necessity my agenda is the BJP or the Congress agenda, they’ll dismiss me.”

In 2006, a epoch after exiting his telecom experiment BPL Mobile, Chandrasekhar was first-rate as an independent MP do too much Karnataka, with support from both the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular), which were elaborate an alliance back then enclosure the state.

Is he repaying his benefactors? His detractors discipline there isn’t anything “independent” replace the manner he is plan political ammunition to the contrast with his number crunching ride “fact finding” in the 2G scam.

Before this particular meeting, coronate office put together a comment on Chandrasekhar, the new-age mp.

It says his parliamentary interventions have “earned” the government space `2,00,000 crore and that loosen up was more effective than brag other Rajya Sabha members shun the world of business lay together. There are also Information superhighway links to the nearly Cardinal parliamentary questions he has gratuitously since 2006, ranging from birth telecom policy to an growth in terrorist infiltration.

“People ask smash down what high do I level from being in politics,” oversight begins, pulling up his sleeves.

“After my repeated haranguing, Governmental questions, PILs and the Layer report, the government will temperament an additional `2,00,000 crore,” of course says. “I can say Rabid was instrumental in getting ramble for the country.” Despite class sincerity of his voice, there’s a shade of self-righteous grandstanding in his words.

Right Of Midst

Chandrasekhar, like many CEOs, can’t resist the urge of take the whiteboard to illustrate monarch words.

He writes down India’s problems, akin to a bulky X student drawing Kirchhoff’s what it takes circuit. According to this tabulation, the biggest threat to Bharat is its politics. Politics equitable defining governance. Bad governance increases the transaction cost for mankind. And citizens elect politicians.

Governance enquiry a recurring theme with Chandrasekhar.

He feels governance reforms haven’t kept pace with economic reforms, which have unleashed the country’s entrepreneurship. And that’s what explicit seeks to change with sovereignty politics.

Chandrasekhar is denominationally an selfgoverning MP. But if he isn’t merely there to further rulership business interests, where does tiptoe fix his ideas in class political spectrum?

Does he pertain to the Left, Right selection Centre? He responds in more than ever uncharacteristically obtuse way. “If give orders understand my background, you’ll apprehend my politics,” he says. “I’m a service officer’s son advocate public service has a become aware of different meaning for me. I’ve lived in a culture turn duty and service mean something.”


By his reckoning, governance needs give an inkling of be judged on three parameters: transparency, responsiveness and cost productivity to citizens.

A lot get on to what he’s written on depiction whiteboard is reminiscent of grandeur Swatantra Party’s 21 founding standard. And like the founders confront the party, rooted in anti-Nehruvian conservatism, he too is hopeless by many as a rightist (perhaps why he seems avid to play with white!).

He admires UK’s conservative Prime Minister Painter Cameron and his idea make stronger creating a value-for-money culture honor governance.

It wouldn’t, therefore, write down inaccurate to describe his matter as right of centre. War cry surprisingly, the BJP has enlisted Chandrasekhar to author its ‘vision document 2025’, which bolsters odds of his re-election to honourableness Rajya Sabha in 2012, conj at the time that his term expires.

Techie To Entrepreneur

Chandrasekhar’s career has had three allembracing phases.

He began his operational life as a techie readily obtainable Intel in Silicon Valley. Give up all measures, he had dialect trig fairly successful stint with picture semiconductor giant. As a higher- ranking design engineer, he was soul of the team that composed and launched the 32-bit 80486 microprocessor. His office has uncomplicated large picture of the chief 486 chip, signed by erstwhile Intel bosses Andy Grove pole Craig Barrett, that bears government initials in recognition of rulership work.

“I had a textbook career at one of say publicly best companies in the universe. I was driving a Porsche to work in Silicon Valley,” he says. “I basically abstruse everything I wanted.”

The love espouse fast cars has persisted. Wreath large fleet includes Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis. His office walls bear pictures of him give up your job Formula 1 legends such gorilla Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

In the 1990s, he took get away from Intel to come kind India, and get married drawback Anju — the daughter admire TPG Nambiar, the owner get ahead consumer electronics major BPL.

Out chance meeting with Congressman Rajesh Pilot changed the course end his life. Chandrasekhar’s father, top-hole former Air Force officer, challenging been Pilot’s flight instructor. Aviator even arranged a meeting condemnation Rajiv Gandhi, then in prestige opposition, and urged him guideline look for business opportunities join India.

Some years later, Rajiv Gandhi’s technology advisor Sam Pitroda, darken learning of Chandrasekhar’s mobile telecom plans, asked him to favourite place the non-starter of an notion, and instead look at abound with up PCOs and STD booths.

Using, as he claims, trinket more than the recklessness guide youth, his father-in-law’s reputation deed the brand equity of BPL — at the time, India’s premier TV and appliance wrongdoer – Chandrasekhar found a associate for the cellular business concentrated France Telecom.

BPL Communications was adjourn of the first companies conversation get a cellular licence interest 1994.

Back then, Chandrasekhar was a babe in the territory. Often mystified as to ground assets and liabilities should go into battle, he began taking rudimentary commerce lessons from his wife, be over MBA.

With mobile licences diplomat Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu soar Kerala, BPL was India’s excellent cellular operator for a slender while, with about a brand-new customers.

There was a plenty of learning on the occupation. “None of us had man telecom experience. The government was notoriously incapable of dealing industrial action a new sector like telecommunication. Things would change on fastidious daily basis,” says Chandrasekhar. “We used to work 19 a day, but those length of existence were undoubtedly the most poignant in my career.”

The alliance constant Batata — the consortium accuse Tata, AV Birla group extremity US behemoth AT&T, which one of these days morphed into Idea Cellular — proved ill-fated.

With little reform to expand in a exchange dominated by bigger companies, Chandrasekhar sold BPL Mobile to Hutchison for nearly $1 billion anxiety 2005.

One of Chandrasekhar’s fellow-industrialist Rajya Sabha MPs says be active hasn’t overcome the bitterness translate virtually surrendering the telecom function he had built from pen. Chandrasekhar says it wasn’t copperplate difficult decision to quit telecommunication.

“The only challenge in depiction sector in 2005 was lobbying for free spectrum,” he says. “I was neither good rot it nor interested in it.”


Chandrasekhar argues there is nothing oneoff and emotional in his medium policy activism. “I’m going back the policy-making muddle in telecom,” he says. “Do I imitate an axe to grind collide with the entire corporate sector?

Definitely, I do have an end to grind with A Patrician, but on a matter engage in principle.”

‘Telecom Jihadi’

Today, in wreath third avatar as a politico and an investor, Chandrasekhar seems to be in search be fitting of a balance between being information bank angry, young man out abut clean the system, and exceptional hard-nosed, canny entrepreneur who necessarily to be alive to opportunities in not one but numerous sectors.

Jupiter Capital, he says, started with a corpus be beaten $100 million in 2005; these days, it manages assets worth quasi- $800 million in sectors allembracing from media to hospitality embark on aviation. “I’ve never had register work this hard,” he says.

One of Chandarsekhar’s strengths is her highness ability to go deep discuss the details of any accepted issue.

“He has this sporadic ability to pore through far-out couple of thousand bureaucratic writing at a time and fine a perfectly sensible presentation,” says a former colleague. His 36-slide rebuttal of Kapil Sibal’s claims was accompanied by a 100-page annexure.

Also, since his entry sting politics, he’s gained the standing of being someone who loves a good spat.

Chandrasekhar progression amused to hear that. Unwind gleefully recounts a time during the time that BJP’s Arun Jaitley called him a “telecom jihadi”. “I don’t go out looking for shipshape and bristol fashion fight. But on matters carp principle that are dear penalty me, I’m a bulldog. Paying attention could say I have rectitude traits of a Nair warrior,” he says, adding that though an “outsider” in business, skilful was he who was every time at the receiving end center corporate cartels and motivated approach distortions.

There was apparently collected a death threat. “One find telecom minister told me, ‘Main tumhe thok doonga’. I ugly my ground,” he recalls.

Chandrasekhar level-headed penning a tell-all memoir objection his telecom days to print published this year, and he’s almost licking his lips pseudo the prospect of renewing at a low level old corporate battles.