Bajaj Group turns 100 - From shores of independence to 21st century business behemoth

Bajaj Group — one of the oldest family-run conglomerates in India — has turned 100.

The group, founded by freedom fighter and businessman Jamnalal Bajaj in 1926, has business interests ranging from legacy automobiles to financial services.

What sets Bajaj Group apart from other centenary groups is that it has three of its companies in the Nifty 50 and is the only legacy group, other than Aditya Birla, in this elite club. For the Bajaj Group, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and Bajaj Auto are all part of the Nifty 50.

The combined weight of these three companies on NSE stands at a little over 6%.

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More importantly, the group have been the market leader in their respective segments. In financial services, the group’s lending business — Bajaj Finance — is the largest NBFC in the country.

Similarly, in the two-wheeler space, the group’s legacy business — Bajaj Auto — controls one-fifth of the motorcycle market. Also, Bajaj Auto is the most valued two-wheeler maker in the world, with a market capitalisation of close to ₹3 lakh crore.

“As we firmly established our research and development in the 1990s, rapidly developing our own technology at a time when the norm was to licence it from one multinational or the other,” Rajiv Bajaj said during the centenary celebrations of the company.

The Group held the celebrations for its 100 years in the NSCI dome in Mumbai on Monday. The centenary celebration largely focused on the theme of the Bajaj family’s proximity to Mahatma Gandhi, with even a movie made around it.

The function was attended by around 700 guests, which included Union Minister Piyush Goyal; NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar; industry captains Anand Mahindra and Harsh Goenka; and Bollywood celebrities Aamir Khan and Vivek Oberoi.