The metals and mining magnate also explained why he shared the photo with Neha on Twitter. He said pilots like Neha are an inspiration to lakhs of other women. "Pilots like Captain Neha are role models to our young girls everywhere. Through her hard work, she has proven that you can fly as high as you want," he added.
According to the Vedanta chairman, India has the highest percentage (12.4%) of female pilots across the world. "If any young girl is reading this, I urge you to go after your dreams. Manzil unhi ko milti hai jinke hauslon mein jaan hoti hai," the industralist said.
Agarwal also urged parents to encourage their daughters to dream big and work on their goals. "...for the parents of our young girls, let them know they can be anything they set their minds to! After all, the sky's the limit...," he said.
Agarwal's life as a business magnate is in itself an inspiration. From his first firm, 'Shamsher Sterling Cable Company' to becoming the father of a multinational mining company, Anil Agarwal did not have it the easy way.
Agarwal turned a tiny scrap metal business into London-headquartered Vedanta Resources through decades of struggle and hardship.
In one of his Twitter posts, Agarwal once mentioned that in 1976 when he acquired Shamsher Sterling Cable Company he had no money to pay the salary to his employees or buy the raw materials.
"I spent my days visiting banks to clear my payments, and my nights reviving the closed cable plant," Agarwal wrote.
To make ends meet, Agarwal said he started 9 businesses in various fields: magnetic wires, different cables, aluminum rods, multiplexes with Warner Brothers - "but all of them failed, one after the other. Still, I never gave up."
He adds, "As much as I did not want to admit it, the stress of the financial crisis pulled me to my lowest. For three years, I slipped into depression and no one knew about it. I was determined to get my life back on track so I exercised and meditated as much as I could…"
To escape from the reality, Agarwal mentioned he went to the premiere of Sholay at Minerva Talkies and watched my favourite stars walk the red carpet - Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Dharmendra, and more. Adding he said, "I could not get in the hall but it was enough for me to stand outside."
However, today, things are different for Agarwal. He says, "In order to succeed, you must first learn to fail.."
Agarwal further added, "Those ten years passed by and little did I know that my fate was about to change forever. In 1986, telephone cables were allowed, for the first time, to be manufactured by the private sector. That changed everything…"
In another post, Agarwal shared a long note narrating how he had to cycle for almost 100 km to get his company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). In 2003, Vedanta became the first Indian company to be listed on the LSE.
He said in a networking event, he met top investors from JP Morgan, BHP, and Linklaters who were going on a cycling trip.
"To challenge me Ian Hannam (investment banker and later Vice-Chairman of JP Morgan) invited me to cycle with them to Oxford which was almost 100 km away. I immediately said yes. I am not very sporty so after a few hours, I could barely continue," Anil Agarwal said. "I don't think I have ever felt that much pain, but the thought of not having my company listed here pained me more, so I pedaled even faster."
Agarwal then managed to finish the trip and gained the investors' trust.
“From feeding them Indian food to going on cycling trips, I did it all to make our investors see the potential of my company and my country," he mentioned.
Further, the mining mogul said that all his efforts paid off when Vedanta Resources Ltd got listed on the London Stock Exchange.
