Motilal Oswal

Oswal was born to a Jain family in the small village of Padru in Barmer, Rajasthan, near the international border. His father was a grain trader and a well to do businessman. However, instead of joining the family trade, Oswal decided to pursue formal education. He studied at the SPU Jain College in Falna before moving to Mumbai to study CA. In 1987, during his stay at a Mumbai hostel, the Rajasthan Vidyarthi grih Oswal met Raamdeo Agarwal, his friend with whom he later founded Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

After working with a private audit firm for a while, Oswal and Agarwal started their own accounting firm. They later decided to join the BSE as sub-brokers. During those times, the exchange was dominated by Gujarati traders. However, the duo met a broker on the floor who got them a sub-broker position at the BSE. They were issued a badge with the name Motilal Oswal, which subsequently became the name of the company they founded in 1989. Over time, both friends demarcated their responsibilities in their company. While Agarwal looked into finance with his 40-member research team, Oswal took charge of customer support, HR, operations and expansion with franchisee network.