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Success Story of Sanjiv Goenka: The Owner of RPSG Group
The Indian startup circuit is well known for the mighty figures who have revolutionized the world. Now, as there are millions of companies that have worked for the development of society, the businessmen of India have made the most of the opportunities thrown at them.
Among the companies that have worked for the development of the startup circuit and providing employment, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) is a brand that is popular in the Indian subcontinent. The man leading this group is Sanjiv Goenka. He has been an influential person throughout his tenure and continues to do so
Sanjiv Goenka - Background
Sanjiv was born on 29 January 1961. He pursued his graduation from the prestigious St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
Sanjiv Goenka was born in Kolkata in 1961 and is the son of the late Dr. Rama Prasad Goenka. He is married to Preeti Goenka, and they have two children: a daughter named Avarna and a son named Shashwat.
Sanjiv is a former member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry. Presently, he is serving as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Woodlands Medical Center, LTD.
Apart from making a mark on the business sector, he has also taken an interest in the world of sports. Sanjiv is the owner of the ATK Football Club in the Indian Super League. He was elected as the president of the All India Management Association in 2009-2010. Apart from that, he is the chairperson of the prestigious Indian Institute of Kharagpur. Sanjiv Goenka has a net worth of $4.1 billion (2025).
Sanjiv Goenka - RPSG Group
RPSG Group was created by Sanijv Goenka in 2011. This company is named after his father, Late Rama Prasad Goenka. His brother leads the Mumbai-based RPG Group while Sanjiv heads the RPSG Group. The major part of Sanjiv Goenka’s group was the power generation and distribution company CESC Ltd. Hence, to match the power revenues, the junior Goenka had to make his other businesses grow faster. He had to unlock some of the value that had been trapped within the flagship CESC Ltd.
This company owns retail and real estate businesses. Three businesses in the group have turned around in the past years. These groups are carbon black, music, and film content. Sanjiv Goenka entered the BPO circuit with the purchase of Firstsource Solutions in 2012.
In October 2018, the flagship CESC was split into three parts. These parts were the power generation and distribution business, retail business, and CESC Ventures. The CESC Ventures included IT and FMCG. According to Sanjiv, to turn the business around, the company decided to stop doing business for the sake of top-line, and hence, the team started to focus on profitability.
Sanjiv’s turnaround efforts at Saregama have put the company on track. He had brought in new management to the company, which was a relatively smaller member of the RPSG Group. It had an annual turnover of INR 281.03 crore in the Q4 2023-2024. The company has rights to music content in various Indian languages, and has changed very much in one year! This is all due to Sanjiv’s effort to remodel the company.
Sanjiv Goenka - Transforming RPSG Group into a Conglomerate
Sanjiv has always guided his team. This is the reason that RPSG has become a conglomerate with diverse revenue streams.
Whenever a visitor visits his office, three small identical glass bowls of snacks are served to the visitor. Two of them comprise of snacks from the Goenka group. While the third snack has a popular fried snack from the third company. Sanjiv then challenges his guests to taste the contents of the three bowls and identify the one which is the in-house products. You might wonder why he does this kind of activity. The reason is he wants to get feedback from every visitor to his office.
Although the group’s entry into the FMCG snacks business is new, Goenka has been bullish about its future. He monitors the INR 500 crore FMCG operation, tastes most of the new products himself, and also makes sure that the visitors check out the food. This attitude of Sanjiv has helped him expedite his wish to make the INR 26,000 crore group an even division of the regulated and non-regulated business.
The RPSG Group used to be dependent on the power sector. The main reason is that the power sector comprises 80% of its revenues. Well, today, revenues are evenly distributed and matched between power and other businesses.
Sanjiv Goenka - RPSG Group - Lucknow Super Giants
In August 2021, the Governing Council of the Indian Premier League invited bids for two new teams. Although 22 companies showed interest, only six made serious offers due to the high base price. The RPSG Group, owned by Sanjiv Goenka, won the rights to operate the Lucknow franchise with a bid of ₹7,090 crore (around ₹80 billion or US$950 million in 2023).
The team then held a competition to decide its name, and in January 2022, they chose "Lucknow Super Giants."
Sanjiv Goenka-KL Rahul Controversy
During IPL 2024, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was seen in a heated chat with captain KL Rahul after a 10-wicket loss to SRH. The intense boundary-side exchange went viral, though the audio wasn't clear. Rahul later said it “was not the nicest thing.” While Goenka downplayed any issues, Rahul was not retained and has since joined Delhi Capitals.
In IPL 2025, KL Rahul helped Delhi Capitals beat his old team LSG with a strong knock of 57* runs. The match was in Lucknow, where Rahul had once been captain. After the game, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and his son tried to greet Rahul and praise him. But Rahul walked past them without talking. This moment was caught on camera and went viral, with many saying it showed there were still issues between Rahul and the LSG team.
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