'Need more entrepreneurs to take on China'

Trying to instill a spark of entrepreneurship among the future managers at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIM-A), Essar Group Chairman Shashi Ruia today said the country needed more entrepreneurs to take on the likes of China.

"Both Indians and Chinese are known for their entrepreneurship. However, the Chinese are ahead of India in producing steel, cement, cars, infrastructure and other areas," Ruia said while speaking at Indian Institute of IIM-Ahmedabad here.

A self-confessed admirer of business tycoons Ratan Tata and late Dhirubhai Ambani, he said entrepreneurs would be scripting India's future growth story.

"They (the Chinese) have a system where the state participates in the expansion of capacity, while our government has left it to the private enterprise," he added.

Ruia gave the example of Dhiraj Gupta who had converted 'vada pav', a road-side snack, into a bustling enterprise known by the brand name 'Jumbo King'.

"Who is going to lead the country's growth?" he asked and then remarked, "it has to be an entrepreneur".

We need more entrepreneurs to take on the likes of China and others, he added.

He told the gathering of students from different national and international schools the story about how he grew as an entrepreneur from his first job in the Madras Port as a construction contractor in 1969.

Ruia said he admired Tata for not resting on the laurels of his family and taking the Tata Group to "far greater heights".

"I am a great admirer of Dhirubhai Ambani for he could create an enterprise which is as big as it is," he said, giving examples of Indian entrepreneurs who have made it big.

Talking about himself and the growth story of Essar Group which took off from humble beginnings in 1969, Ruia said, "I am more of an enterpreneur than a manager."