A lot of professionalism gets injected continously into the functioning of CII. Brilliant leaders at the helm strive to improve effectiveness.
R Dinesh who is massively expanding the logistics services in India and across the globe is the outgoing Chairman of CII (SR). He explains the impact of CII’s activities:
“For the first time, we assessed the impact of our activities on all the three stakeholders – government, members and the society. It was gratifying. For example, in Karnataka we interviewd the 50 delegates to a quality development programme. We enquired whether they have implemented the methods outlined in the programme. Sixty per cent responded that they had implemented and benefited out of it. The total benefit through such implementation was estimated at around Rs 50 lakh! We keep track of the level of implementation of the methods recommended,” said Dinesh.
Tax on ATF for non-metro airports slashed
“In recent months there are frequent increases in the price of ATF in line with the rise in the price of crude oil. ATF as fuel forms a sizeable portion of the operating expenses of an airline. We requested for a reduction in the tax rates.
“The state reduced the rates from 29 per cent to 1 per cent for non-metro airports if the airlines reached the airports after 11pm, parked the aircraft overnight at these airports and departed before 7 am. This has twin advantages: encouraging airlines to serve smaller airports in the interior and also reduce congestion at the metro airport.
Dinesh pointed to Telangana government preparing a detailed report on what all the CII members have done under CSR. He said that the impact measurement is becoming an essential tool for CII to showcase its effectiveness and differentiate it from other industry bodies.
Another major effort related to cross-learning: adoption of the beneficial practices of one state by others. Dinesh cited the instance of the highly successful rejuvenation of water bodies in Karnataka, where more than 36 have been rejuvenated. “I observed this last year as Deputy Chairman and extended the practice to Tamil Nadu. This assumes importance in the context of the imperative to augment water supply across the region. We extend this learning to our members by making them aware of the best practices in other states and to adopt these, ” said the CII chairman.
Active participation in TN GIM
Dinesh referred to a welcome change in perception of Tamil Nadu not working to its full potential to attract investments: “we worked closely with the government on projecting its attractions for the Global Investors Meet held in January 2019. Its outstanding success with commitments of over Rs 3 lakh crore contributed to changing the perception. CII organised road shows in several global cities and across India and also worked with the government on planning and conducting the Meet,” said Dinesh.
Focus on continuity
The CII Chairman said that the policies and programmes of the region are prepared over the medium and long-term and implemented with continuity with the change of guard: “we prepare a detailed list of the unfinished agenda that will form the base for the focused action by the new team.”
PATH-BREAKING INITIATIVES
Talking on the vast spread of interest in attracting investments Dinesh said: “each state has its strengths. Initially, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were on the lead. However, in the last 18 months, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also been making great progress. This year Kerala has been taking path-breaking initiatives.” Dinesh pointed to the state abolishing the attimari system of headload workers that has been prevalent for 60 years.
“In a meeting on 9 February Advantage Kerala, the state launched several schemes outlining the special benefits an investor is entitled to. In this, they brought together all the chiefs of the panchayats apprising them on industry expectations.”
Dinesh also pointed to Puducherry which is opening up investments for electric car manufacture.
There is a healthy competition among the southern states that will help in balanced development, he said.
TAKING DEVELOPMENT TO TIER 2 CITIES
Dinesh described the most significant challenge as moving away from a metro-centric development to a Tier 2 or Tier 3 centric development. He expressed optimism over such a shift happening at much faster speed. CII helps in preparing development plans for Tier 2 cities. “It started in 2008 through District development plans based on the India@75 – a vision of C K Prahalad. We are working on detailed plans,” said Dinesh.
Dinesh pointed to every government endeavouring to move up in the ranking for the ease of doing business and in attracting investments: “CII works continuously to fine-tune processes that would help move up in ranking. CII believes the most significant benefit will come from the process change and not just on infrastructure build alone.”
Dinesh suggests encouraging expansion of large public sector organisations like the BHEL, HAL and the Naval shipyard on which large investments have been made. “These have proven strengths and capabilities and we should leverage on these.” He pointed to CII working closely with the defence department that helped in setting up the defence corridor for South.
