Leap before you look

Some of the most important decisions in life are better taken instinctively and not after deep analysis. Once you start deliberating, it becomes extremely difficult to reach a definite conclusion. In 1979, when I was working at the World Bank in Washington DC, Lovraj Kumar [an IAS officer] advised me to come back to India. He actually wanted me to join him as a consultant in the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices. Relying on instinct, I decided to return to India and agreed to start working with him from 1 January 1980. I was all of 25 years old and had absolutely no idea of what was in store for me in Delhi. Today, I cannot even remember what exactly prompted my decision. But instinct won that day. The rest, as they say, is history.

- As told to ROHIT SARAN

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Jairam Ramesh

Minister of State for Commerce