On 15 March 1993 IE celebrated its silver jubilee. IE thought of a plan to applaud business excellence.
We decided to limit it to a southern corporate. The reason: in terms of size the southern corporates were relatively small. Family-dominated southern companies with modest sizes and with lack of culture for communications, rarely if ever, were widely known.
10 point criteria…
We took the help of three leading management experts: M K Raju, V Narayanan and Ramesh Gelli, to work out the norms. A ten-point criteria, five financial and five social, were firmed up based on the experts’ suggestions. A six-member committee headed by Dr M S Swaminathan, with a chairman of a southern bank, vice chancellor of a southern university, a senior representative of industry, a prominent public figure and me as members, was entrusted with the task of selecting the awardee. A three-member team of financial analysts would sift data of southern corporates, short-list a dozen and submit it to the committee. Over two meetings, in early January and in February, the committee selected the awardee. Senior art director C L Boopaty provided the design for the memento and GRT Jewellers crafted the same with a kg of silver.
The award was presented at a public function attended by the glitterati of Chennai. A leading public figure delivered a lecture on a topical economic issue. The first award was given by the former President R Venkataraman at the Kamaraj Memorial Hall, Chennai. Father of Indian Green Revolution, C Subramaniam, T N Governor B N Singh, T N Finance Minister V R Nedunchezhian, Dr M S Swaminathan, Dr M S Adiseshaiah and the recipient of the award, D Jayavarthanavelu of Lakshmi Machine Works, spoke on the occasion. Mrs M S Subbulakshmi rendered the invocation.
IEBEA became an important annual calendar event. Corporates were enthusiastic about submitting their applications for the award. We also organised a dinner for the awardee, its representatives and members of the committee at the Madras Club with the help of Dr M S Swaminathan.
Keen contest…
The selection of the second awardee was a tricky affair on zeroing in two of the shortlisted companies, each supported vigorously by two sections of the committee.
It took two hours at Park Sheraton Hotel which graciously opened up its facility. I remember senior bureaucrat A M Swaminathan passionately arguing for selecting Madras Cements, which was ultimately chosen.
When we met Chairman P R Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha to inform him of the selection, he graciously offered to host the dinner! We thanked him but declined the offer. The address by NDDB’s Verghese Kurien on the white revolution set the nearby Buckingham Canal on fire! The rib-tickling humour of Kurien is still ringing in the ears.
The subsequent awards went to Ashok Leyland presented by G V Ramakrishna (received by MD, R J Shahaney); Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals presented by Dr Manmohan Singh (received by CEO, K S Raju); Orchid Chemicals presented by MS Ahluwalia (received by MD, K Raghavendra Rao); TVS Suzuki presented by MTNL’s S Rajagopalan (received by MD,Venu Srinivasan); Amara Raja Batteries presented by Dr Maurice Strong, Under Secretary General, United Nations (received by CMD, Ramachandra Galla); Aurobindo Pharma presented by then Union Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam (received by Director (R&D) Dr M Siva Kumaran); Tata Coffee presented by P S Subramanyam, Chairman, Unit Trust of India (received by MD, MH Ashraff);
The celebrities list…
The celebrities who addressed the annual functions included Messrs G V Ramakrishna, Dr Manmohan Singh, M S Ahluwalia, S
Rajagopalan (MTNL), Dr Maurice Strong (UN), Dr Verghese Kurien, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam…It was the last address of Dr. Singh as Finance Minister in Chennai. He spoke over an hour on the unfinished tasks of structural reforms.
Ahead of the meeting addressed by M S Ahluwalia, we presented a discussion under his lead. The participants: Dr S Ambirajan, S Gurumurthy, Mohan Parasaran, N Ram, R Seshasayee and M S Srinivasan, IAS. These emerged national celebrities in the new millennium!
IEBEA awards and public lectures were unique at those times. But post -2000, with the expansion of the national news television, action shifted to Delhi and such awards proliferated. IE discontinued the presentation of the awards but switched gear in presenting seminars and new initiatives to expand awareness on economic issues. The seminars covered a wide range of issues focusing on dramatic developments in different spheres. The topics covered: liberalised trade under WTO, opening up of insurance, expansion of telecom, housing for the masses, pension funds, Mutual Funds, SEZs, corridors of excellence, the role of GM in agriculture…We presented experts from different parts of India and abroad.
Forum Beyond Books
IE Forum Beyond Books was another initiative to educate
undergrad and graduate students in colleges and universities and widen their knowledge horizon on economic issues. IE presented leaders at different colleges. These included Dr M Anandakrishnan, K P Geethakrishnan, Dr N L Mitra ( former Director, National Law School, Bengaluru), B Muthuraman (Tata Steel), M S
Ramachandran (IOC), Dr V S Ramamurthy, Dr.M S Swaminathan, Dr Verghese Kurien…
We focused on our core mission: expansion of awareness on economic issues. We continued with this effort at our Golden Jubilee celebration on 15 March 2018: we presented eight different themes in seminars spread over eleven hours. 36 experts and leaders addressed these on the theme India 2030. We will endeavour to continue to work on this mission. – SV
