It's widely recognised that most captains of industry can never stand up to serious political pressure. Tycoons are the first to warn you that mere money can never take on the state. But Rahul Bajaj is not one of those. But it’s precisely because the man refuses to buckle that CII chose to apologise to the Modi government last week in Gujarat. To start with of course, the voluble Bajaj had said harmless things, in what is the most innocuous manner that he is capable of. But, Modi clearly saw in this critique the opportunity of putting industry in its place by getting the biggest of the boys down on their knees. Fortunately this tycoon did not have too much, by way of business interest in the State, and could afford to speak his mind on a matter that should be of great concern to industry today namely the role of communalism in politics and its link to law and order. Modi has tried to match tycoon for tycoon, and bullied industrialists like Karsanbai of Nirma to rally around him. The whole issue of attacking Modis communal track record was cleverly converted into a matter of pride about Gujarat and portrayed as an insult to the entire state. With CII’s abject apology, a chapter may have been closed temporarily but the issues that Bajaj and Godrej raised are unlikely to go away. For Bajaj of course this is no setback. But it’s galling to Bajaj that CII the association where he has been the undisputed lord for years is the one that has chosen to back down. Yet, the distinct impression remains that the last has not been heard on this exchange. Suresh upstages China hopefuls Flash and fame are obviously not the only ingredients that make sure that you can be in the Chinese market. The speed with which the low key Suresh Krishna has been able to make a significant entry into the Chinese market is clearly the result of good corporate strategy combined with the ability to convince alien decision makers there that what is on offer is worth grabbing. Krishna who is chairman of Sundaram Fasteners is only revealing part of the story, when he insists that the entire process of getting permissions for the factory in China was completed in just two blinding days via a single window operation. Everybody in the business knows that Suresh is among the most organised of Indian businessmen. He is notorious for the kind of detailing that he gets into whenever he is making any new business move. For a company whose business mantra is based on quality and price, this new venture is likely to become a major hub for expansion into the rapidly expanding Chinese automobile market. Given that the company is already the sole supplier of radiator caps to General Motors, this operation will help them become one of the world’s largest producers of automotive components in the sectors that it is a player in. But the question is why an equally organised and savvy entrepreneur like Narayana Murthy of Infosys has been complaining that he hasn’t yet been able to get permissions for his own ambitious plans for operating in China. Is China missing something here? (Dilip Cherian, runs a public affairs firm Perfect Relations. He is an economy watcher and tycoon tracker. None of the people he writes about are his clients. Your insider tales are welcome at dilipcherian@now-india.net.in)
