'THE GAME HAS JUST BEGUN'

Bhavish Aggarwal in an interview with Suchetana Ray and Neeraj Thakur takes on detractors and speaks about the future of India and his place in it. Edited excerpts

- Bhavish Aggarwal

You have always been a risk taker. Has there ever been a moment where you've doubted yourself? Why does the world think I'm a risk taker?

I don’t think I am. I take calculated risks, not blind risks. Fundamentally every entrepreneur takes some risks, it is about how well you can think it through. And how well you know your domain to predict its possibilities.

We will not achieve the Viksit Bharat dream unless we take some risks. You know, in 1996 APJ Abdul Kalam, who I admire deeply, wrote in his book that India will be a developed nation by 2020. But that did not happen.

So, similarly today, if we feel that it is a given that India will be developed by 2047, it will not happen automatically but only through tapasya and hard work. Every stratum of society will have to contribute to it. And that journey is one of risk taking. And the more thoughtful, calculated risks we take, individually and collectively, the better for our country.

With Ola Electric you’ve entered India’s core two-wheeler manufacturing sector that has been dominated by legacy players. What gives you the confidence to have the conviction in this risk where you are an outsider?