The Maruti Story – How a Public Sector Company Put India on Wheels, by the former CEO and current chairman of Maruti Suzuki, R. C. Bhargava, and Seetha, is an extraordinary story of a few determined entrepreneurs who created an icon.

Summary of the Book

The Maruti project was initially doubted as an unachievable idea. The precincts of Indian expertise on finding a business partner, finalizing legal documentation, getting government approval, investment proposals, building a factory, developing a supplier base to meet localization regulations, creating sales and service network were the main reason behind the misapprehensions. The fact that a public sector company had taken up the project, and had to please Indian government and the Suzuki Motor Corporation, was considered an almost impossible target. But the Maruti project did succeed, and in ways that were not even imaginable. Even the middle-class men and women started dreaming of owning an economical and modern car. The sales were met easily, and the cars made by Maruti started to be seen in all continents eventually. The Maruti Story – How a Public Sector Company Put India on Wheels depicts this remarkable story of sheer grit, entrepreneurship and management skills behind a landmark achievement.

About the Authors

R. C. Bhargava, the former CEO of Maruti, studied at The Doon School, Allahabad University and Williams College, Massachusetts. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in the year 1956, and was deputed to BHEL as the commercial director in 1979. He joined Maruti in 1981. Bhargava is currently the Chairman of Maruti Suzuki.

Seetha Parthasarathy is a senior Indian journalist, author and editorial consultant. She has also authored The Backroom Brigade: How a Few Intrepid Entrepreneurs Brought the World to India.