Monday, December 3, 2012

From aviation to telecom

from nano to sezs; from aviation to telecom, india inc. is a tale of state patronage

For some things never do change in India and for India Inc.!


When it comes to covering India Inc., the media has clear perceptions about entrepreneurs and business houses. It is taken for granted that the Ambanis are unmatched when it comes to ‘managing’ the environment in North and South Block. Of course, the Ambanis are also admired for the ‘wealth creating’ skills; but there is always that touch of cynicism when one mentions their name in the list of India’s top business houses. But no such sniggers are heard when it comes to discussing ‘clean companies’ like Infosys and business houses like the Tatas.

Unfortunately, like most perceptions, these pre-conceived notions are merely manufactured myths. The reality is: everybody takes advantage of ‘State’ patronage to create an aura of entrepreneurship and innovation. Take India’s most respected business house Tata. When Ratan Tata unveiled the dream car Nano in January, 2008 in New Delhi, the media went simply hysterical. Even the foreign media, which is usually condescending towards most things Indian, lauded the Nano as a modern day marvel. So hyped was the coverage that you would think Ratan Tata might get the Nobel Prize for leading a team of innovators that could make a car for less than Rs.1 lakh.

Amidst all this, someone like Mamta Banerjee was branded a spoilsport as she was protesting the acquisition of land in Singur in West Bengal for the Nano factory. Bristling when some media outlets gathered the guts to say that the manner in which Tata Motors was acquiring land would sully the good name of Tatas, Ratan Tata made a melodramatic statement to a TV channel: “ If I believe that we were doing something wrong, then I will be the first one to pull out… You put a gun on my head and pull the trigger or take the gun away, I won’t move my head.” Move he did. Both his head and Tata Motors’ factory moved lock stock and barrel from West Bengal to Gujarat. But even as it was shifting base, Tata Motors approached the Calcutta High Court requesting an order to stop the Right to Information Commission from revealing details about the tacit agreement it signed with the West Bengal government.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.