Shiv Nadar

“The U.S. healthcare industry is undergoing radical transformation with the Affordable Care Act. Evolving thought and business models have little semblance to present mechanisms.”

“I was a very good student. But I didn't have the latitude to study more. I was never allowed to do anything cross-disciplinary. Why can't an engineering student learn physics?”

“I was the seventh child in a family of eight siblings. We lost our father very young, and my mother had pretty much single-handedly brought us up.”

“My colleagues and I were engineers who worked for DCM's calculator division. These electronic calculators used digital integrated circuits, and then they started using chips. The advanced versions of those chips were used for programmable calculators, which were the forerunners of PCs.”

“The 1980s were fantastic. This was a time when we were at the peak of our creative work. The question of whether we would exist or not - something which everybody used to ask, including ourselves - stopped. Profits kept pace with growth requirements. HCL had credibility - that was the biggest barrier we had to break.”

“My daughter is very happy doing philanthropy, especially in the schools.”

“There is a disconnect in education and work. And corporates don't do a great job of skilling. In future, corporates and educational institutions will work closely.”

“It is good to start as young as you can. What is more important is to carve out your vision and assess your readiness to start giving. Commitment and purpose are core to giving.”

“There is only one entity which I built, which is HCL. And the legacy which I want to leave behind that is in my name. There is only one thing which bears my name in the doorsteps - that is only the University and the foundation. And that legacy will not have a price tag.”

“India's connection with philanthropy didn't begin with western influences. The connection with philanthropy is age-old and ingrained in our value systems.”

“At the undergraduate level, SNU has a unique 'Opportunities for Undergraduate Research' programme. Students are encouraged to undertake research programmes at the undergraduate level and get trained in the interdisciplinary research.”

“Re-skilling has to be much wider with a strong foundation.”

“The Bharat Ram family was into philanthropy a way earlier. They build institutes such as Shri Ram College of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College, and Shri Ram Schools. They are very inspiring.”

“Since its inception, HCL's core focus area has been technology and product development, and hence, we continued to remain in the high end of technology throughout the '90s.”

“A founder can carry an institution only so far, and then others have to step in, even the alumni. That's how an institution becomes one.”

“Though easy to define, it is important to understand the significance of philanthropy. I believe it is really a state of mind: where one feels empowered and equipped to fill the huge gaps in the existing system.”

“Most people make poor partners because their mental script has a defect. They believe focus means looking after their own interests. It's a script error.”

“In large companies, the CEO is very distant from operations.”

“A 5-acre school each in Noida and Gurgaon is what we have; it costs Rs. 50 crore to buy the land and another Rs. 50 crore to build the property. That's the capital cost alone.”

“In the future, there are going to be various components of doing business that have to be looked at.”