Sunday, January 28, 2001		Scene Stealers

WE have come a long way from the days when business was looked down and money was a bad word. In the post-liberalisation and globalisation era, the man who makes money is an icon. Didn’t we see Heads of State wooing Bill Gates as if he was Alladdin’s own chirag? One of the fastest growing corporate houses in India is the Hero Group, a family-owned business. The man listed by the knowledgeable to reach the top in the corporate sector is Sunil Kant Munjal. At 44, he heads the Hero Cycle — C.R division, their new I.T. venture and the group’s PR section.

Sunil is the quintessential modern Indian man, very much into the latest developments and technological changes taking place the world over. He is also part of a joint family, where the head is given due deference. Sunil has retained his traditions. Visitors to the house are served personally. He jet-sets around and is as comfortable in an economic forum at Davos, as he is while socialising with old- time friends in Ludhiana. If you meet him, there are no loud statements being made through clothes or flashy possessions. There is absolutely nothing in his manner which gives the impression that his company’s turnover is more than $900 million. Only when he tells you that he has hardly anytime to send his resume or give an interview, because he has been rushing all over (it was a matter-of-fact statement, and not said to impress).

His foray into business started as a disaster. His first independent venture for the Hero group did so badly that it had to be sold off. Munjal learnt his lesson in what not to do and he learnt to ‘reflect and review’ his plans. At present, he is infusing a new vision into his business and executing modern business practices. So much so that Hero Cycles — the flagship company—has emerged as the world leader in bicycle manufacturing for the last 15 years. Hero Honda has also emerged as the company with the largest share in the market for motorcycles. It is one group whose sales and profits are increasing manifold, even during the period of lean economic growth.

A smart move made by the company was to join the I.T. bandwagon. Sunil heads the I.T. services called H.C.S. As Indian I.T. software and service industry is predicted to grow from $3.3 billion to $87 billion by the year 2008. Of these, estimates are that $50 billion shall be from exports, HCS wants to be there where the cake is. Eyeing the tremendous potential, they have plans to work in the customer contact, customer relationship management, supply chain management and B2B E-business in infrastructure establishment services for global customers. Another I.T. division which is envisaged is Education Plus, this division will sell packaged training products to the outside world and train I.T. professionals. They have already acquired a major stake in an I.T. multinational and are also set to launch this year.

After his graduation from Government College, Ludhiana, Sunil joined his business and decided to learn on the shop floor. He loves playing golf, whenever time permits. He likes travelling, which he has to do perforce because of the nature of his business. He is also a music buff and has been President of Sanskriti Sammagam at Ludhiana.

An active Cll member, he has been President of the Northern Region and is now a member of the Economic Affairs Committee of CII. He was part of the Prime Minister’s entourage, which went to the US. His wife Mukta is a pianist and a freelance writer, she likes to write on issues concerning children. Their only child — a daughter — has joined her father in the I.T. division.

Munjal is brimming with confidence about a bright future ahead. He symbolises the face of 21st Century India, ready to face global competition with better infrastructure facilities and world class quality. In fact, he believes in taking the competition to the other side. The buzz is that like all international brands, the Hero group has also signed Hrithik Roshan and Saurav Ganguly as brand promoters — another leaf out of the other conglomerate giants’ book

Wherever one goes, cynicism seems to be the order of the day. Be it a bus journey, train travel or a group discussion, one constantly hears, all that is wrong with the country — the systems have failed, the politicians are corrupt, bureaucrats are self-serving and businessmen capricious. Day after day, the same grouses are repeated by each one of us. Recently, I had the good fortune to have my faith reinforced in the people of this country, the unknown faces who work silently, give hope to others and even in the midst of their own problems and heartache, can help complete strangers — PGI is, in a way, a mirror of our country, there are many things which are very wrong with the institution. It is falling apart because the infrastructure cannot cater to the sheer numbers that throng it daily.

Many times, the CT scan does not function, reports of patients get mixed up (a tumour report of a young boy got mixed up with another patient’s file which caused a real scare). Different tests take double (even triple) the time taken by private laboratories. There is a surfeit of class IV employees whose lack of work culture is like any other government institution, the babus are anything but friendly, the private assistants of important functionaries act more important than their bosses. There is rudeness and apathy galore — one can go on and on.

But there is another heartening side to the institution that heals. You have junior doctors and registrars who work endless hours, without a murmur. They are as good to an ordinary patient (in fact better) than to a V.I.P patient.

There are doctors who run around to get blood for those patients who have no way of replenishing the blood supply. The blood bank volunteers cite innumerable examples when doctors donate for their patients. I saw a doctor pay for the MRI of a child.

In an average OPD, the scene is chaotic, it is like a mandi. The doctors operate in this chaos and help save lives (abroad a doctor sees patients only by appointment). There were senior doctors, who even during their annual holiday, came to look up serious patients. These are people who deserve our admiration. May be some will say they are being paid for their jobs — but can anyone compensate for kindness, sympathy day in and day out to thousands of unknown people? These silent workers deserve kudos and are the real scene-stealers.

— Belu Maheshwari