'When I first arrived in Mumbai…': Vedanta's Anil Agarwal on his entrepreneurial journey

Vedanta Ltd founder and chairman Anil Agarwal on Tuesday said entrepreneurship can be a lonely experience. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he emphasised that people should empower and support their family and friends who are currently on their entrepreneurial journey.

Anil Agarwal who is also known as ‘metal king’ of India wrote in his post, “When i first arrived in Mumbai, bahut mushkil waqt dekha.. i had very little but always knew i wanted to do something big.”

“Uss waqt many people helped me, sometimes with their words, sometimes with their small actions - from local chai wale bhaiya jo udhaar pe chai pilaate the, to sewadaar at Syndicate Bank who guided me when i needed a loan for my business,” Agarwal wrote while mentioning the small gestures people did while supporting him in his entrepreneurship dreams.

Vedanta Chairman further emphasised on how such small things boosted his confidence, “Ye chhoti chhoti cheezein gave me confidence that my dream of a business can come true. aaj mein jo kuch bhi hoon it's only because of the people who came forward to empower me.”

Anil Agarwal started his journey in the mid-1970s by trading in scrap metal, which he bought from cable companies across the country and then used to sell them in Mumbai. He then bought the Shamsher Starling Corporation in 1976 by taking a loan. The company used to manufacture enameled copper among other products.

Over the next 10 years he decided to manufacture jelly-filled cables, for which he established Sterlite Industries. But he soon realised that his profits were volatile due to changing prices of the raw materials - copper and aluminium. This gave him the idea of manufacturing the raw materials instead of buying them.

So, in 1993 Sterlite Industries became the first private company of India to set up a copper smelter and refinery. Two years later, in 1995, Agarwal bought Madras Aluminium and then moved to the next step in his journey, mining.

Agarwal got his first chance in 2001, when the Indian government announced a disinvestment plan. At that time, he acquired a 51 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO). Then in 2002, he bought a 65 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL).

Finally, to access the international markets, Anil Agarwal incorporated Vedanta Resource Plc in 2003 in London. Vedanta also became the first Indian company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange (in 2003). Vedanta Resources then became the parent company of all other businesses through a process of restructuring.

Anil Agarwal’s current net worth stands at $2.01 billion, according to Forbes. Whereas the valuation of Vedanta Ltd stands at $12.49 billion.