Chanda Kochhar

“As we were growing retail, and it was a huge growth phase, it was very important to keep our quality under control. Therefore, it was not just distribution, not just back-office operations, but also the risk-management practices. And these we learned together, supported by technology.”

“The whole thing of moving the currency through currency sorting and detection machines and so on that was the whole process actually encouraging electronic transactions.”

“I chose to be a working wife and mother. Why should I compromise on either?”

“I thought work and family complete life. Aarti's enthusiasm and energy levels made me realise that life can be even more wholesome and fuller.”

“I think India's growth itself will give opportunities for Indian banks to become substantially bigger.”

“An entrepreneur, whether man or woman, has to be willing to take help, whether financial or technical, to grow his or her business.”

“It's not easy to have it all. Frankly, you know, you have to give as much to the career that the career requires and, at the same time, you have to give as much to the family as the attention that's required. But it can be done, yes.”

“Our approach on lending has always been that we will lend to India-linked assets, because that's the risk that we understand, and that is the business that has been doing very well.”

“We have to understand that India is a complex country. Everything takes time for the real impact to get translated to the economy.”

“I think I have it all. But I won't say that the credit for all that goes to me. I think the credit for all that goes to everybody around me. I mean, I have it all because my entire family is so cooperative. I have it all because my children did not whine and cry when I was not there. So, I think it's, you know, in a way, a two-way street.”

“The restructuring theme can be of various kinds. Some amount of debt gets serviced out of cash flows, some gets back-ended and resolved with sale of non-core assets of the company, and some debt gets converted into equity which might today look like a haircut.”

“I was good with numbers.”

“If we look at India and the Indian demographics and the Indian consumer, I think the Indian consumer is going digital, social, and mobile. They want everything in a digital format, everything available on the go, and we socially connected.”

“Our institutional framework needs to be bolstered further. We have to implement laws like the proposed Bankruptcy Code and GST (Goods and Services Tax), which will create efficiencies and strongly support the business environment.”

“One thing I would say about the Indian consumer is that as much change and as much technology, innovation that you offer to the Indian consumer, the Indian consumer is very receptive and actually keep expecting more, and we have had that great experience.”

“In a larger sense, we all write our own destiny.”

“Rather than worrying about entities, we should worry about the trends in technology that may cause disruptions... if we get so paranoid that banking is no longer going to exist and banks are going to get disrupted, I think that is a different worry.”

“I believe that India's long-term growth story is strong, and foreign investors are keen to be a part of it.”

“I believe in fate, but I also believe that hard work and diligence plays a very important role in our lives.”

“As far as discom reforms are concerned, they have to be a combination of two parts. One is the existing balance sheet and, therefore, taking care of that. The second important is the reduction in losses going forward.”