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"A vital collection of progressive essays on what a modern India-UK partnership could mean."

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Five on Five – Rajesh Agrawal

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Manoj Ladwa speaks to Rajesh Agrawal on the future of foreign exchange…

Rajesh Agrawal  Five on Five – Rajesh Agrawal Rajesh Agrawal1. Has India changed for the better in the last 10 years?

India is a land of diversity and contrast and the past decade is no exception. Rapid GDP growth, adoption of technology, booming financial markets, youngest demographic in the world and thriving democracy is manifested alongside poorer rural areas, lack of infrastructure, scams, rising suicide rate among the youth and highly divided electorate.

2. As an Indian entrepreneur who has been successful in the West, are there any lessons to be learnt from so-called “Western” business practices?

I never see a business practice as Eastern or Western. Every business has to adapt to situations, people and markets. A business practice that works in a certain type of business or certain team of individuals or certain market may be a complete failure in the others.

3. What was the highlight for RationalFX in 2010?

In 2010 we focused heavily on developing new products and technology, some of which would be launched in 2011. Overall, I am glad that we did better than expected and our turnover grew by around 40 per cent.

4. What does the future hold for you?

Only if I had a crystal ball! Our industry is changing rapidly and we are constantly trying to make the most of that change. RationalFX’s theme is multiproduct and multinational and we are working towards making our company exactly that.

5. Is there an Indian business figure who deserves international respect – if so, who and why?

Any person, who breaks the routine, innovates, thinks big and goes beyond the ‘commercial’ aspect of business, deserves respect. The list is long. I admire Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Premji of Wipro for giving so much back to the society. I admire Vijay Mallya for thinking big and going into businesses unusual for Indians.

Rajesh Agrawal is the Founder and CEO of RationalFX, the UK’s leading foreign exchange broker providing currency exchange services. RationalFX was started by Rajesh Agrawal and Paresh Davdra in 2005 with an initial investment of £4000. It is now one of the fastest growing companies in the UK with an annual turnover of £265mn.