Arundhati Bhattacharya Quotes

Powerful Arundhati Bhattacharya for Daily Growth

About Arundhati Bhattacharya

Arundhati Bhattacharya, born on December 13, 1963, is a renowned Indian banker and author who has made significant contributions to the banking sector and literature. She was the first woman Chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI), serving from 2014 to 2017. Born in Jamshedpur, Bhattacharya's early years were spent in a culturally rich environment that fostered her love for literature and storytelling. She completed her graduation in Economics from Bethune College in Calcutta and later pursued an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. Her professional journey began with SBI in 1987, where she worked her way up through various roles and positions. Her tenure at the bank was marked by significant reforms and strategic decisions that strengthened its position as a leading financial institution. In addition to her banking career, Bhattacharya is an accomplished author. Her first book, 'The Elephant in the Room', published in 2017, offers insights into the Indian economy and the role of the SBI during her tenure. The book was well-received and recognized for its lucid style and depth of analysis. Bhattacharya's works are deeply influenced by her understanding of economics, banking, and societal issues. Her writings often reflect a pragmatic approach coupled with a keen eye for detail, making them engaging and informative. Post her tenure at SBI, Bhattacharya continues to contribute to the world of finance through advisory roles and public speaking engagements. She remains an inspiring figure for women in both banking and literature, embodying the spirit of resilience, intellect, and leadership.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Success is not a destination, it's a journey."

This quote by Arundhati Bhattacharya emphasizes that success is not a fixed or final state to be achieved, but rather a continuous process or journey. It suggests that the value lies in the efforts, learnings, and experiences gained along the way, as opposed to simply reaching a predetermined goal. This perspective encourages individuals to stay persistent, adaptive, and open-minded throughout their personal or professional development, seeing challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles to avoid.


"I believe that if you are going to do something, then do it right and give it your best shot."

This quote by Arundhati Bhattacharyy encourages us to fully commit and give our best effort in any endeavor we undertake. It implies the importance of taking action with integrity, accountability, and dedication, rather than half-heartedly or superficially. Such an approach fosters success and personal growth, as it demonstrates a strong work ethic and respect for oneself and others.


"Never underestimate the power of resilience and determination."

This quote by Arundhati Bhattacharya underscores the importance of two essential human traits: resilience and determination. Resilience refers to one's ability to recover quickly from difficulties; it is the capacity to bounce back, adapt, and thrive in the face of adversity. Determination, on the other hand, is the quality of being steadfast and single-minded in pursuit of a goal. Together, these qualities emphasize the immense power that persistence and adaptability can have when facing challenges. In essence, this quote encourages us to embrace resilience and determination as key strategies for overcoming obstacles and achieving success in life.


"The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In life, you develop through experience and you learn a lot from your mistakes."

This quote by Arundhati Bhattacharyy emphasizes that the greatest danger lies in not taking risks at all. It suggests that personal growth and learning often stem from experiences and the lessons we glean from our mistakes. In other words, to avoid risk is to stagnate, as it is through challenges and setbacks that we truly grow and evolve.


"I believe that every woman must have the ability to dream big, have the courage to chase her dreams and the strength to realize them."

This quote emphasizes the importance of ambition, bravery, and resilience in women. It encourages every woman to envision lofty aspirations, gather the necessary courage to pursue those dreams, and possess the fortitude to make those dreams a reality. The message underscores the power and potential that lies within each woman, emphasizing that they should never shy away from setting and achieving significant goals in their lives.


If you are satisfied, you will never see any more progress. One remains dissatisfied, but that doesn't mean that things are not happening.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Will, Satisfied, More, Remains

We underestimate our people. Given a challenge, most of our people will do it, especially the youngsters who take to technology like duck to water.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Will, Like, Given, Duck

Even for the people in the bank into which the other banks are merging, they also have a lot of apprehension. There is always an apprehension that opportunities will go down. There are apprehensions of displacement. Many of these apprehensions are unfounded.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Always, Other, Which, Merging

The higher interest and higher inflation is a vicious cycle.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Interest, Cycle, Inflation, Vicious

At the end of the day, none of us are the Oracle of Delphi, so we don't get everything right. It's always good to be able to listen and to take on what seems to be the right thing to do.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

End Of The Day, Always, None, Oracle

Multiple mergers can be challenging because people come from different backgrounds.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Different Backgrounds, Backgrounds

Because SBI is so large, serving customers in India's big cities and small rural villages alike, it has a pressing need for better tools and technology to monitor lending risks.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Small, Big, Large, Pressing

Some amount of support from government and regulator is required when you are looking at resolving systemic issues.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Some, Systemic, Amount, Resolving

At State Bank, all decisions are collective decisions. I have created the comfort zone.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Bank, Zone, Created, Comfort Zone

The decision to incentivise savings for pension funds augurs well for infrastructure financing and retirement planning.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Decision, Planning, Funds

One of the big lessons I have learnt from my life is that things are never as difficult as they seem. When you actively plunge into it, you realize you can easily do it.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

My Life, Big, Difficult, Plunge

In any merger, the biggest challenge is always integration of human resources because the people who are coming in have a lot of apprehension.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Always, Resources, Any, Apprehension

In India, women are still the primary caregivers. Whether it be for children, whether it be for old people or sick people, you are the primary caregiver. No matter what position you are in.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Sick, Old, Still, Old People

A maturing process, and growth, is always painful. You ask any teenager, they will tell you, and it's just like that for the country. We need to grow; we need to evolve.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Process, Country, Always, Maturing

If you start from the farm sector, we need much better investments and capital creation on land. We need logistics support; we need cold chain and processing capability. We need proper pricing at various stages to ensure that the producers are not left out in the value-chain.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Logistics, Capital, Proper, Stages

Theoretically, every probationary officer has a chance to become chairman.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Chance, Chairman, Officer, Theoretically

India does not have a problem of people grabbing share from a fixed pie. India is one of the few nations where the pie is getting bigger.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

India, Bigger, Nations, Fixed

Every industry, as it comes to a certain level of maturity, there is consolidation. In that consolidation, some fall, but the men will always be there. It is the boys that get sloughed, I would say.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Some, Always, Level, Certain Level

Children should be taught in school that you should have all kinds of asset classes in your portfolio. They should be taught what those asset classes are, and their advantages and disadvantages.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Your, Classes, Kinds, Disadvantages

I can't tell you precisely how much participation there will be from India in the One Belt, One Road, but what is clear is the understanding that it is important for us to develop neighbourhood trade.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Will, Participation, Belt, Neighbourhood

Those who claim that they need cash because they are unable to pay labourers are those who are not paying minimum wages.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Need, Pay, Unable, Claim

If we want to be the banker to every Indian as we want to be, then we will have to use technology.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Want, Will, Use, Banker

Banning cash transactions over R3 lakh will allow banks to diversify their banking activities into new areas and not mundane ones.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

New, Over, Allow, Transactions

The capping of cash transactions will help the banks reduce cash intensity.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Help, Intensity, Reduce, Transactions

If you go to any boardroom... the women are, by far, outnumbered by the men.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Men, Go, Far, Outnumbered

SBI Caps has a distinct advantage because most of our people are market recruits. We have a public sector heritage. Our challenge is to bring the best of both - public sector heritage and private sector talent - and provide a unique offering.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Bring, Private, Distinct, Caps

Women being women, they are very sincere, committed, and honest in what they do. If they feel they are shortchanging some segment of their responsibility, they have a tendency of holding themselves back. What I would like to tell them is that it is not necessarily true that you will short-change one or the other.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Some, Other, Very, Segment

When there are good postings available, the people who choose who is to come to that particular position, they will always have, at the back of their minds, a fear that, 'If I take a woman, she might prioritize her family over the job and, therefore, not be available at times when her presence is required.'

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Woman, Back, Available, Prioritize

If you look at the international markets, for projects that are capital-intensive, the minute the construction phase is completed and production is supposed to start, normally all these loans get refinanced.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Phase, Production, Projects, Normally

It was my first day at work - and beginning my training on the job, I was given the job of writing cheques and entering their details. The branch was surrounded by hordes of people... soon, they had to close the gates to manage the crowds, and they started pushing in.

- Arundhati Bhattacharya

Beginning, Surrounded, Had, Manage

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