Quotes from Baba Kalyani

I have what is probably the largest big bike collection in the city: a Fat Boy, a sportser Harley Davidson and two Yamahas. All these are 1200cc-plus bikes. Riding these bikes is something I still do and some trekking as well.

We are working with the power industry all over the world. We are meeting customers in aerospace and getting them to tour our plants.

I am sick and tired of the process where everybody tells you that Indian companies don't have the technology and capability. We need to put money where our mouth is and make things happen, and that is what we are trying to do.

I had the option of building a career in the U.S. Many of my friends who went at the time did not come back, but for me, building the family business and being with family was worth it. I became a general manager within four months, as I used my education to improve productivity and output.

India is the second biggest defence procurer in the world after the U.S.

If India has to achieve exponential growth, it would have to be on the back of strong growth in the manufacturing sector.

The advantage comes out of the capability of Indian engineers and the competitiveness of their capabilities and the cost at which they can create those capabilities.

Everywhere in the world, whether manufacturing, trade or whatever, it is controlled by one apparatus and one policy perspective. Here we have one prime minister with good intentions, and six ministries running their own empires. This creates problems including the import culture.

We've made two products; one is a 155 mm 52-calibre gun with self-propelling and towing capability. This is a field gun - the mainstay of the Indian army like the Bofors guns. Our gun is similar but of a longer range. That was 39 calibre; this is 52. The calibre denotes the length of the barrel and the range.

We book our exports forward for more than a year, and so we have a fixed rate. We do not get the spot rate that we see in the market every day.

The year 2013 has been very difficult, with a lot of headwinds in almost every region and every business.

I am a very hands-on person, and I like to be involved in driving my business.

I had my own motor boat which we would take to Khadakvasla, but that was 40 years ago.

Before 2000, we were unable to design a single car; all the cars were designed in Japan, Europe or somewhere else. We were just converting.

There is a feeling within our system that defence equipment can't be made here and should be imported. I wanted to break this myth, so we spent our money and made a product to prove we have capability in this country, so don't just brush us aside.

In 2006, the global economy was doing well. In India, the political and economic situation was stable. All key macroeconomic indicators reflected an economy that was in robust good health.

Our real focus is going to be what can we do with our existing capacities, what new things can we do, and how much more demand can we fulfil with our existing capacities.

We have got into Indian railways and are trying to get into the railway locomotive business in Europe and the United States.

Bofors was a steelmaker that became a forgings company and then went on to build guns. Companies like Krupp and Thyssen were in steel and forgings before entering defence. There are similar examples in the U.K.; it is a natural progression.

India is still considered a preferred destination for many multinationals to manufacture cost-competitive high-technology products for domestic consumption as well as for global demand.

Challenges give me a kick. The day I stop getting challenges, I would quit.

In the U.S., we didn't have scale, and without scale, it's difficult to operate.

The first reactions from Germany and German industry was quite negative. People right from the start were saying that we will steal technology and take it away and move the plant to India and use low cheap labor to compete.

So far, the general perception, including the perception in India, was that we are not capable of using high technology. They simply refused to believe an Indian can do it! I somehow was not ready to accept that this is not possible.