Lalit Jalan
Lalit Jalan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kolkata, India |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, corporate executive |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | CEO of Reliance Infrastructure, Chairman of BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited |
Lalit Jalan currently acts as an advisor and previously served as the CEO of Reliance Infrastructure, a key entity within the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, recognized as one of India’s foremost corporate conglomerates. He holds the position of Chairman at BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited, both electricity distribution firms operating through a joint venture with the Government of NCT Delhi. Additionally, Jalan is a board member of multiple companies, including Reliance Defence Ltd, which is associated with the Rafale deal between India and France.
Apart from his involvement with the Reliance group, Jalan oversees several Kolkata-based enterprises that carry his family name, such as Jalan Brothers Private Limited, Jalan Properties Private Limited, and Jalan Infosystems Private Limited.
Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) ranks among India’s largest integrated infrastructure corporations, executing projects through special purpose vehicles across rapidly expanding sectors like power, roads, metro systems, airports, cement production, and EPC services.
Early life and education
Born into a Marwari family in Kolkata, Lalit Jalan completed his schooling at St. Xaviers School during the early 1970s. He currently resides in Mumbai with his family, which includes his parents, wife Anita, and two sons—both alumni of Wharton who actively participate in managing the family enterprise.
Career
Jalan initiated his professional journey at General Electric as a Strategic Planner under the mentorship of Jack Welch. After two years, he returned to Kolkata to join the family-owned business, Jalan Brothers—a distributor of plastic products—which he expanded into a Rs 250-crore company before accepting an invitation from his Wharton peer Anil Ambani to join Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
In 1995, Jalan was appointed Head of RIL's Polypropylene division and successfully propelled its growth from inception to $1 billion within 42 months despite lacking prior experience in the petrochemical industry. He also spearheaded RIL’s digital transformation efforts by introducing e-procurement and SAP systems.
Throughout his tenure at Reliance Group, he fulfilled various leadership roles including CEO of RInfra's Delhi power distribution company, where he notably curtailed power theft and enhanced operational efficiency. At age 39, he became the youngest CEO within Reliance.
Beginning in 2003, Jalan guided Reliance Energy through its merger into the Rs 23,000 crore RInfra conglomerate. Presently, RInfra stands as India’s largest integrated infrastructure enterprise with diversified interests in power generation and distribution, roads, metro rail projects, airports, cement manufacturing, and urban infrastructure development—achieving revenues exceeding $4.5 billion.
He served as CEO of Reliance Infrastructure from August 2016 until retiring in April 2019. Since retirement, Jalan remains engaged with R-Infra as an advisor under CEO Punit Garg.
Education
Jalan completed a degree in Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) in 1979. He earned an MBA from the Wharton School in 1981 and holds an MS in Computer Science from the Moore School of Engineering. In recognition of his outstanding managerial achievements, IIT Kanpur honored him with their distinguished alumnus award in 2002.
Controversies
During his tenure as Chairman of New Delhi's power distribution firms, BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani, Lalit Jalan encountered several disputes. These included challenges related to energy metering accuracy, frequent turnovers in the CEO position, government-mandated audits, and threats of license cancellation. Furthermore, complications arose from delayed payments to electricity suppliers such as NTPC, resulting in warnings about potential interruptions in power supply.
Settlement with Indian Stock Market Regulator
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a consent decree (number 426/2011 dated 14 January 2011) requiring Anil Ambani and others, including Lalit Jalan, to remit INR 250 million (around $6 million) as a resolution for allegations concerning the inappropriate utilization of External Commercial Borrowings within the Indian securities market. This settlement was made without any admission or denial of wrongdoing.
The validity of this consent decree was contested in judicial proceedings. In reaction, the government of India promulgated the "Securities Law Amendment Ordinance 2013" on 18 July 2013, which retroactively endorsed the order. Since the ordinance did not receive parliamentary approval within the stipulated six months, the President of India reissued the ordinance on 15 January 2014, again mandating parliamentary sanction within six months.