Mindtree founder Subroto Bagchi shares amazing story of achievement of a once-jobless person who now employs 70 people with sales of Rs 8 crore

Time of India

15-07-2025

Where there's a will, there is a way.
Mindtree
founder
Subroto Bagchi
recently shared an inspiring story of a man who, once frustrated by the lack of job prospects, went on to build a successful business that generates multi-crore every year. Disappointed by the lack of jobs after college, he went on to join the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Puri. Today, his transportation startup earns several crore rupees annually.
Taking to X, the business tycoon shared a photo of the individual
Soumendra Das
and wrote, 'My travel across the land of Odisha led me to discover amazing stories of achievement. I met Soumendra Das. After college, I got disillusioned with job prospects. Took the very unusual path of joining ITI Puri. He felt a skill would get him a better future. After ITI,
Tata Motors
. Then he set up his own garage. When we met, at
Tarini Motors
, he had 70 employees & sales of 8 crores…'
— skilledinodisha (@skilledinodisha)
In another post, Bagchi shared that Soumendra had grown up eating prasad from the Jagannath Temple.
— skilledinodisha (@skilledinodisha)
As per his LinkedIn profile, Das is the director at Tarini Motors.
Who Is Subroto Bagchi?
Subroto Bagchi has journeyed through a diverse and multifaceted professional life, marked by a dynamic evolution across several roles. He began his career in the private sector before emerging as a pioneering figure in the Indian IT industry. Over time, he transitioned into an acclaimed author of several influential business books and, later in his life, took up impactful public service responsibilities.
His entrepreneurial legacy was firmly cemented in 1999, when he co-established Mindtree, a technology services company that soon became a benchmark in the Indian IT landscape. He initially took on the role of chief operating officer and remained an integral part of the company's leadership until 2016. When he stepped down after seventeen transformative years, he held the position of executive chairman.
Three years after his departure, Mindtree was acquired by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), marking a significant shift in the company's corporate trajectory. Following a strategic merger with L&T's own IT arm, the firm was rebranded as LTIMindtree. By June 2024, this unified entity had reached major milestones: annual revenues of USD 4.3 billion, a global workforce of 81,000 employees, and a market capitalization of USD 17.84 billion. These achievements placed
LTIMindtree
among the top 1100 global corporations, specifically ranked as the 1018th most valuable company in the world.
Bagchi's contributions, however, extended beyond the corporate sphere. In 2006, during his tenure at Mindtree, he ventured into writing and released his debut book, marking the beginning of a prolific second career as an author. His literary works covered an array of subjects ranging from entrepreneurial insights and leadership principles to professional development and organizational growth.
Each title garnered significant readership and commercial success. Notable works such as The High-Performance Entrepreneur, Go Kiss the World, and The Professional have remained relevant and widely read, even decades after publication. Go Kiss the World, in particular, attained iconic status and earned a place as a timeless classic. His books have been translated into numerous Indian languages, and select titles have also reached audiences in China and South Korea.
In 2016, Subroto Bagchi entered the realm of public service at the invitation of Naveen Patnaik, then Chief Minister of Odisha, his native state. He assumed leadership as chairman of the
Odisha Skill Development Authority
, focusing on enhancing employability and vocational training across the region. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became the government's chief spokesperson, helping guide public understanding through the crisis. By 2024, he transitioned into a new strategic position as Chief Adviser on Institutional Capacity Building. In this role, he worked to conceptualize and initiate transformative reforms across more than twenty civil services training institutions in Odisha, with a long-term vision set on the state's centennial year in 2036.
Throughout his public service career, Bagchi remained deeply involved in both policymaking and operational execution. This dual perspective offered him a unique, behind-the-scenes understanding of governance mechanisms rarely accessible to the general public. His latest book, The Day the Chariot Moved, captures the emotional and practical dimensions of this journey, presenting a powerful narrative drawn from his firsthand experience at the confluence of policy, leadership, and social transformation.