‘Had got admission in Wharton Business School’: When a labour union crisis ended Piyush Goyal’s PhD dream

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has revealed he had got admission for PhD in University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School back in 1988 but failed to join the institution because of a labour crisis at a factory he had started.

In an exclusive interaction with The Lallantop’s Saurabh Dwivedi on his show ‘Jamghat’, Goyal reminisced his younger days when he was studying and running a business at the same time. Even though he was interested in Commerce, he had chosen Science in high school.

“The year I did CA, I had also done law from Government Law College. I always had interest in business and I wanted to enter the field of finance. In 1979, I did [Class] 10th. When I got good marks in Class X, there was a sway – why’d you do BCom? So, I took admission in Jai Hind College to study Science. I studied Science in the beginning in Class XI.”

Goyal also joined Aggarwal Classes in Mumbai, which was then very popular for entrance examinations. However, a family gathering resulted in Goyal changing the stream in the middle of his high school years and pursuing the subject he was passionate about.

“Halfway through my 11th standard in 1980, my grandmother passed away. So our entire family had gathered and was mourning. My brother had also returned [from the US]. In the 14 days [of mourning], everyone was together. In our conversations, everyone agreed I should pursue my dream. After that I shifted to H.R. College in Commerce. It was very difficult to get admission those days,” he recollected.

Even as Goyal was transitioning from one stream to another, he decided to start a business because his father was retiring.  

“When I was in [Class] 12th, in 1980-81, that’s when I decided to start my own business. My father was about to retire in 1981. I was in class XII and my age was 17, and I decided I will start a business,” he said.

Goyal would explore many industrial avenues before his family and him decided to start a steel forging factory.

“I still remember I went to Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bhatinda. I went to Gohana in Haryana because I was told that scooter horns were built there. I thought if I should start a scooter horn business. Different things. I studied how bicycle chains were made. Studied various industries. I remember I had gone to Indore. There was Madhya Pradesh Audyogik Vikas Nigam (MPAVN). I travelled across Dhar, Pithampur. There was an industrial development area there. I had studied capsule making plants to make gelatin capsule. Studied real estate. Studied many things and then I started a small factory after my father retired,” he said.

Goyal said his father had put his entire life’s savings into the business.

“It was in our minds where will the earnings come from after our father retired. My father retired on April 1 1981. The superannuation that he received, he commuted his pension which allowed him to receive a substantial sum instead of the pension, which was around Rs 2 lakh then. Gratuity, which was Rs 1.66 lakh. Leave encashment money came. Provident Fund money came. After combining all this, the savings was Rs 14.40 lakh. We started a small-scale business by the end of 1981-82.”

But starting the business was easier said than done.

“NMIDC has an office in Andheri. Jaha tak mera anuman hai, maine 93 times us office ke dhakein khaye to get a plot of 2930 sq metre, less than one acre allotted. They’d say they don’t have a plot. I kept insisting. Finally, we got a plot in Dombivli in a chemical area. We started a small steel forging factory with the Rs 14.40 lakh,” he added.

By 1984, the factory was ready, Goyal had completed BCom and was studying CA and Law. Goyal was interested in continuing his studies while running the business. So he applied for admission in Wharton. Goyal recounted his interaction with a professor from the university over phone.

“I was still interested in studying further. So I took admission in PhD. This is the first time I am sharing this, I had got admission in Wharton Business School in University of Pennsylvania  in 1988. The professor was interviewing me on the phone, landline. There were no mobiles back then. The professor was saying they were surprised I had industrial experience, I had done CA and Law. I explained all of this [his profile] to him. I had stood second in India in CA, I had second in India in law. Before that, I had stood second in BCom in Bombay University.”

“The professor said that keeping all these things mind, for the first time, they were admitting an individual in a PhD program without a Master’s degree or a full-time work experience. I was admitted in the program for Strategy. I was really excited I’d go for PhD the next year.”

But Goyal’s dream was about to hit a roadblock. “Unfortunately, in 1989 there was labour trouble in my factory. There was an aggressive labour union which did not let the factory run. We were barely making ends meet. There was no big profit. It was a small factory. I tried to explain to the union, but I think what they wanted I was not able to understand. I used to talk about the benefit of the workers, but they had other expectations. They were more concerned about the union’s earnings than the benefit of the workers.”

The factory would eventually shut causing a financial crunch. “The factory shut because of the labour trouble. And after it was shut for four-six months, our situation was bad. In the university, there’s a gap year which allows you to defer your admission. When I called the professor, the professor said ‘we had given you admission with a lot of difficulty, it wasn’t easy. You were not fitting that criteria. I wish you’d come but I understand your problem. But I can tell from my experience, people don’t come after a gap year. They get busy.’ I said: ‘I can’t leave my father alone in such difficult circumstances. Also, there is a financial problem, in paying the fees. I might get a scholarship in future but lot of money is needed in initial days too. So, I will not be able to come.’”

“And that’s what happened. I could never go, I could not pursue PhD. I used to feel a little sad about it but now I feel good when my son has done MBA. My daughter is doing MBA from the same Wharton School. I am living my dreams through my children.”

(The interview was conducted in Hindi. The above quotes are a translation. Watch full video)