Ajay Banga, CEO Mastercard goes back to roots; visits St Stephen's college after three decades

Ajay Banga's visit to St. Stephen's College three decades after his graduation was a poignant moment; a return to the roots of his alma mater which shaped him into the leader he is today.

In a freewheeling chat with his fellow Stephanian Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, Banga touched upon many topics, ranging from his time as a student to gender parity to India's economy.

Banga credited the college with instilling many crucial attributes which help him as Mastercard's CEO - calculated focus, decision making and simplicity in communication among them.

According to him, globalisation enabled by technology was the only way to break India's demographic inequalities and address issues in healthcare and education. Praising the efforts of the government, he said the Indian economy would benefit from labour reform which converts workers into the formal economy.

It all comes #BackToRoots, however; in his words, "primary education and individualised learning are key to realising India's potential."

The key mantras for success shared by Ajay are listed below:

-Primary education and individualised learning are key to realising India's potential

-Calculated focus, decision making, and simplicity in communication are key for a leader

-Globalisation and technological disruptions can help break India's demographic dividend

-Indian economy needs labor reform, workers need to be converted to formal economy to democratise productivity

-Demonetization and digitization are the right way to start on this path

-Indian higher education system is fine, we need to fix primary education.