At the 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Asia Pacific, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, delivered a powerful address, drawing a profound connection between the human spine and corporate leadership, stating, “The spine is the ultimate architecture of human resilience. Leadership is about restoring resilience to organisations.”
“In Mumbai, I began learning to sort and polish diamonds. Each stone I polished taught me patience, precision, and perseverance. My first deal with a Japanese buyer earned me Rs 10,000 in commission. The money never mattered. The moment did- because that was the moment when I realised that my beliefs would have to always outpace my doubts.” Adani group chairman added.
Here’s What He Said – Full Speech
“Just as I was settling down in Mumbai, I was called back to Ahmedabad to help my brother run his PVC film factory. It was 1981 and I had just turned 19. Managing a factory at this young age taught me what no textbook could. It taught me the resilience needed to manage daily operational challenges. I got exposed to the complexities of managing people, especially factory workers. And I learnt the challenges of the license raj where just a few companies controlled the landscape and did not want any change, Reflecting back, all of these experiences proved to be invaluable for me, as the most significant decade of India’s transformation was just about to get started and this in turn gave me the platform for transformation that was to reshape my thinking forever.”
Gautam Adani spoke about the early days of the Adani Group and how courage shaped its future. He said that while most people step back in fear during tough times, it is the brave who step forward and build a path for the future. This belief became the core of the Adani Group’s growth.
In 1995, Adani Exports- now known as Adani Enterprises- went public. The IPO was listed at a 14-times premium. Adani was 33 years old at the time. Though it felt like a moment of success, he began to ask himself a deeper question: Was he simply trading value or truly building it?
He then made a decision to move beyond trading and start building the infrastructure that moves goods, connects economies, and supports national growth. From that point on, he stopped chasing change and instead focused on shaping it.
The journey began in Mundra, where Adani planned to build a salt export jetty in partnership with a US firm. However, the partner pulled out, and the Adani team had to build the jetty on their own.
During 1995-96, the Gujarat government introduced a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model to encourage private investment in port development. The Adani Group decided to take the risk and join the effort. At that time, the team had no experience in construction. Many people called the idea foolish- building a port in a marshland without any background in construction. But that bold step became the starting point of what would grow into one of India’s largest infrastructure groups. And that is the truth about entrepreneurship. It never begins with a grand vision. It begins with a spark of conviction.
Mundra Port
Adani said that in October 1998, Mundra Port commenced operations with its first berth, thereby marking India’s first private port launch. He added that the SEZ policy was announced a few years later. “Once again, we moved fast. While others saw barren land, we saw 40,000 acres of possibility. Mundra is the manifestation of a belief made real. It is a reminder that, when vision dares, destiny bends.”
- India’s largest multi-cargo port
- The world’s largest private single-site thermal power plant
- India’s first HVDC transmission line
- India’s largest integrated solar & wind manufacturing hub
- And a cluster of vital industries that include petrochemicals, copper smelters, solar accessories and much more, yet to come.
According to the group chairman, Mundra It gave us the courage to look beyond limits, it gave us the belief that barren salt lands could be converted to world-class infrastructure, and it gave us the conviction that if we could make it happen once, we could do it again bigger, faster and bolder.
Now the group has become a pan-India network of dreams, powering growth
- The world’s 2nd-largest solar power company and building the world’s largest single-site hybrid renewable park of 30 GW spanning over 500 square km.
- India’s largest integrated private airport operator with over 25% of India’s passengers and 38% of our nation’s air cargo.
- India’s largest ports and logistics network handling 30% of the nation’s seaborne cargo.
- Most highly integrated energy business encompassing thermal and renewable generation, transmission, distribution, LNG, LPG, CNG, PNG, battery storage,
- Hydrogen trucks, EV charging stations, pumped hydro, and mining India’s 2nd-largest and most efficient cement manufacturer
- As well as Aerospace and Defence, Data Centres, and Real Estate.
Future India
“I urge you to remember that our investments reflect our unwavering belief in India’s future. They strengthen her energy grids, fortify her logistics networks, and solidify her industrial foundation, building a robust backbone for the nation’s growth.”
And it is with this conviction that we are preparing for a capital expenditure investment of nearly $100 billion over the next five years. The scale and pace of this Commitment is unprecedented in India’s private sector history as we do our part for strengthening the very spine of India’s rise.
- A spine that tells the world that India’s rise is inevitable
- A spine that must be unbreakable.
- A spine that must carry 1.4 billion dreams.
Gautam Adani shared his remarkable journey from humble beginnings at 16 to building a major business conglomerate. He recalled how he made a decision, bought a second-class train ticket, and went to Mumbai without a degree or a job, driven solely by his ambition. He emphasised resilience as a cornerstone of personal and professional success.
He recounted how his journey to success, where he embraced new opportunities during a time of economic upheaval, and ultimately led to the establishment of companies that have become industry leaders in diverse sectors, including renewable energy, logistics, and aviation.
“When others backed off in fear, it is those with courage who step forward and build the bridge to the future. This belief in the future would become the operating DNA of the Adani Group.” Adani said.
Role Of Entrepreneurs
I was shocked to learn that low back pain is now a leading cause of disability in India, ahead of conditions like diabetes and heart disease. India is facing a spinal epidemic, a silent crisis far more widespread than global averages. Nearly 1 in 2 adult Indians experiences low back pain every year. This is not merely a health issue. It is a national crisis measured not just in pain, but in lost productivity, mounting healthcare costs, and destroyed dreams. If we are to carry the full weight of our national ambition, we must first heal the spine of our people. To me, this is not just a call for medical intervention. It is a call for entrepreneurial imagination- and it must have active participation from your side.
So today, I would urge you to consider that one of you build India’s first AI-powered spinal diagnostic platform that detects degeneration long before disability. Another reimagines rural surgery, creating low-cost, high-impact mobile operating theatres that bring hope to villages. A third pioneers the spinal hospital of the future a global centre for robotic surgery, regenerative medicine, and next-gen bio-integrated implants. As an entrepreneur, I can say that the possibilities are endless, but we must have the
belief and the audacity to pioneer this change. That is why I urge you to see yourselves as more than just medical professionals. And, in return, here is my promise: the Adani Group stands ready to walk with you and we have already embarked on our journey. Three years ago, on my 60th birthday, my family pledged Rs 60,000 crore towards healthcare, education, and skill development. We did not enter healthcare because it lacked momentum. We entered because the momentum was not enough. The pace of change was out of step with the urgency of future demands. As the landscape unfolded, one truth stood out — healthcare does not need incremental upgrades. It needs a system-wide redesign. Not an evolution but a revolution rooted in intelligence as well as empathy.
We saw the opportunity, not to compete within the system, but to help reimagine it- and build a system that evolves with science, responds to shifting needs, and harnesses the full power of AI without losing sight of the human at the centre. At the heart of our approach is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary model that breaks traditional silos. Today, clinical care, academic training, and research operate in parallel, but rarely in sync. We envision a system where they converge, each reinforcing the other. Where adjacent sectors like technology, management, and service are not afterthoughts, but part of an integrated fabric delivering outcomes. Therefore, we are investing in modular, scalable infrastructure of the kind that can expand rapidly in the face of pandemics or emergencies. We are championing the creation of large, world-class healthcare institutes that bring together innovation, patient care, and applied learning under one roof.
We also believe that academic training must evolve. So, our focus is on fostering doctors who not only heal but also lead with skills in robotics, AI, systems thinking, and healthcare management. Their education must go beyond anatomy to include empathy, ethics, and enterprise. We also realise that we cannot speak of transformation without making stronger the spine of the system that comes from our nursing and paramedical forces.
Hence, we are also investing in building top-tier training institutes and establishing rigorous protocols to ensure that quality becomes a habit, not an exception. Finally, we must reimagine how healthcare is financed by placing people and not paperwork at the centre. Human-centric insurance products that support and empower families will be a cornerstone of the new healthcare architecture we will do
our best to build. We are here to build India’s healthcare for tomorrow and a system that is integrated,
intelligent, inclusive and inspired. And we will be delivering on this promise through the Adani Healthcare Temples — 1,000-bed integrated campuses that we will initiate from Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
These are designed to be world-class, affordable, AI-first healthcare ecosystems — and we are proud to have the Mayo Clinic guiding us on the design, implementation, and global standards in medical infrastructure and research.
Final Thoughts:
If you dream of a med-tech breakthrough — Go for it!
If you can imagine a spinal care revolution — Go for it!
If you want to serve India at scale and with empathy — Go for it!
We are committed to being your believers, your partners, your investors. India cannot rise if its people cannot stand. And her people cannot stand without you. The spine you save today may belong to the engineer who designs tomorrow’s bridges, the farmer who feeds our cities, the scientist who invents our next vaccine, or the entrepreneur who builds our next billion-dollar company. So let us stand tall. Let us stand together. And let us build the backbone of a great nation.
