Rajan Nanda: End of an era

Nanda was among the rare businessmen who have seen their fortunes flourish, dwindle and then recover

Aug 06, 2018, 15:23 IST1 min

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Rajan is survived by his wife Ritu Nanda and their two children Nikhil and Natasha. The daughter of legendary film maker Raj Kapoor, Ritu is a prominent insurance advisor.

Image by Raajessh Kashyap/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

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Rajan Nanda and his son, Nikhil Nanda share a particularly close relationship. Nikhil became the managing director of Escorts in 2013, bringing in a markedly different style to the Escorts culture, with his willingness to empower a new breed of professional managers.

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Over the past few years, the Escorts group has been trying to stage a comeback in the Indian tractor industry. Once the country's largest tractor maker, Escorts is a pale shadow of itself today, with competitors holding considerable sway in the tractor market. The company underwent massive transformation between 2002 and 2007 when it sold many of its business including telecom and hospita

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Rajan and Nikhil Nanda with Escorts's leadership team. Last year, the company introduced India's first electric tractor, and has firmed up plans to evolve into a holistic agri-solutions company, with offerings such as Tracxi (an Uber for tractors) and crop solutions for farmers. "A farmer has now reached the stage where he can dictate terms and not the politician. He is now making enough

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Nanda with Shailendra Agrawal (seen, extreme right), the chief operating officer and head of research and development (R&D) at Escorts, who has been instrumental in introducing new tractor models. Today, Escorts's business spreads across three arms, agri-machinery, railway equipment and construction equipment. The agri-machinery arm contributes 80 percent of the group's revenue of over Rs

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Rajan Nanda joined Escorts in 1965 at the age of 23, before assuming the charge as chairman and managing director in 1993. He oversaw a tumultuous period in the group's history, only to have it rebound much later. "I&rsquod like to say that we&rsquove not only made money, we&rsquove earned respect as a company,"Nanda said in his interview to Forbes India.

Image by Madhu Kapparath