PUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI VOL.3 ISSUE 7 | JULY 2011
With digital books making inroad into paper territory, has the publishing industry turned an important page in its history?
PAPER PASSÉ?
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ECONOMY
Forecast Worth BillionsAbout 24 percent farmers in over 550 dis-tricts are either aware of, or using theweather forecasting service. Another twomillion are availing of the service throughSMSes. It has led to an economic benefit tothe tune of `500 billion
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FROM THE CONSUL GENERAL’S DESK
10 QUESTIONS
Haji M.A.Yusuff AliIndia Matters in conversation with theManaging Director of EMKE Group, who isthe guiding force behind the success of thegroup — best known for the popular LuLuChain of retail outlets in the Gulf.
Paper PasséWith digital books making inroad into paper territory, has the publishingindustry turned an important page in its history?
8
...and started looking beyond tired formulasand megastars and multi-starrers and allthose yawns
SEPTEMBER 2009 32
4
Dear Reader,
The world welcomed the birth of a new nation — South Sudan on 7 July.Hon’ble Vice-President Shri. Hamid Ali Ansari was present to greet the nationon behalf of India. The tragic loss of life due to shooting and bombing in Oslowas unfortunate. We convey, on behalf of India our heartfelt condolences tothe people of Norway. It brings home the truth that in this fast globalising andplural world, intolerance of diversity and harbouring bigotry is a crime againsthumanity.
It is widely acknowledged that the habit of reading declined in recenttimes as watching movies, television, and internet surfing trumps the compa-ny of books. The publication industry is adapting to these changes by releas-ing books in a electronic form at our cover story looks at the evolution and thecurrent trend in the E-book industry.
A wag once said diplomacy is saying a nice doggy, nice doggy until you finda rock! Steering foreign policy is always a tough exercise. Building strategicrelationships based on national interests without compromising on principlesneeds a delicate balance. In this issue, our new Foreign Secretary Shri. RanjanMathai outlines his plans.
As a part of our regular feature,’10 Questions,’ the Head of the EMKEgroup Mr. Yusuff Ali shares his views on the retail industry while givinginsights into his life, philosophy and receiving the Padma Shri and the PravasiBharatiya Samman.
Happy Reading!
RADIO MATTERSThe Consulate General of India in Dubai brings to you
its weekly radio programme ‘India Matters’ on Suno102.4 FM. The purpose of the show is to highlight theservices provided by the Consulate and talk about theevents and news related to India and the Indian com-munity in UAE.
India Matters is aired every Friday between 5 and 6pm on Suno 102.4 FM and repeated every Saturdaybetween 12 and 1 pm.
For more details visit www.cgidubai.com andwww.suno1024.com
The winner of the May 2011 monthly quiz contest is Renuka Shyam
The winner gets a gift hamper.
Sanjay Verma
CINEMA
How Hindi FilmsGot So Good
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
COVER STORY
54
With digital books makinginroad into paper territory,has the publishing industryturned an important pagein its history? GokulBhagabati inquires…
PAPER PASSÉ? I
n the not so distant past, I usedto write letters to the girl I loved.I still love her. But letters, I writeno more. The other day she
asked me why I had stopped writingto her, depriving her of the pleasureshe would find first in the anxiouswait for them, then in the hurriedmoments of opening them, inembracing them with deep affection,in sniffing the blue words, readingthem, feeling them for ever, andsometimes even taking them to bedwith her. I found no immediateanswer to the question.
Times have indeed changed. Thewritten word that manifested itself in
ink on paper has gone digital. E-mailsand SMSes have replaced the tradi-tional letter. Books, on the otherhand, have also found a new avatar.More people are opting for a Kindleor an iPad to read e-books, instead ofbuying, reading, possessing andshowcasing books in the traditionalhard cover and paperback formats.Amazon.com, the world’s largestonline retailer, recently announcedthat the sales of its digital e-bookshad outstripped the sales of its “real”books. Just four years after thelaunch of electronic novels, the firmsaid it had sold 105 e-books for every100 printed books over a period of
one and a half months during April-May, 2011. “We hoped that thiswould happen eventually, but neverimagined it would happen this quick-ly. We have sold print books for 15years and Kindle books for less thanfour years,” said Jeff Bezos, Founderand Chief Executive of Amazon.com.
According to the Association ofAmerican Publishers (AAP), e-booksales in the U.S. during the first quar-ter of 2011 increased by 159.8 percentover the previous year. As againstthis, the sale of printed books duringthe same period saw a decline of 23.4percent from the previous year.
So, is it inevitable that a time wouldcome when we wouldn’t regret nothaving flipped through the pages of a“real” book for a long time? Manypeople react agitatedly to suchprospects. Some are indifferent andothers reluctant to give up easily thehabit of reading books printed onpaper.
“I don’t have an e-reader of anykind. So, I’m more of a traditionalistin that sense. I enjoy browsing inbookstores and libraries. I like thesensation of holding a physical bookin my hands and usually read at nightbefore I sleep,” says InduSundaresan, who won critical famewith her very first book, The Twentieth Wife, published in2002, and has four more internation-ally acclaimed historical fictions toher credit.
Sundaresan finds assurance in thetactile and tangible feel of a book, inturning the pages, in picking up abook in a second-hand store andlooking at the names of people whohad owned the book before, and wondering about who they were andwhat were the stories of their lives.She adds that she wouldn’t forgo herlibrary of traditional paper books atany cost!
To Siddhartha Deb, author of critically received The Point ofReturn and Surface, the e-reader is acheap plastic toy when compared tothe printed books. “There are pleas-ures associated with printed booksthat I’m partial to — the texture, thefeel, the physical intimacy, and
sometimes even the unwieldy heft.There is pleasure in contemplatingthe cover, the spine, and in makingback and forth journeys between dif-ferent physical parts of the book,”says Deb, adding, “Although I’m old-fashioned, I don’t think theyounger generation will or should feelthe same way.”
Durjoy Datta, an Indian fictionwriter, concedes that e-books are thefuture but he hastens to add thatthere is still a long way to go beforethat happens. “Book lovers love thefeel of the book in their hands, andstocking up a library. It’s just notabout reading the book, it’s aboutkeeping it on a shelf and remember-ing the experience of reading it too,”says Datta whose Of Course I loveyou! (2008), Now that you’re rich!(2009) She broke up, I didn’t! (2010),and Ohh Yes, I Am Single (2011) havefound wide acceptance among theyoung Indian readers.
Writing for The New York Reviewof Books, Sue Halpern, in an articlepublished on June 10, 2010, remarks,“You don’t have to be a technophobeor a Luddite to dismiss out of handthe idea of reading on a machine.Maybe it is muscle memory, but thereis something deeply satisfying abouta ‘real’ book, a book made of pagesbound between hard or soft covers,into which you can slip a bookmark,whose pages you can fan, whosebinding you can crack and fold as youmove from beginning to end. E-books, by contrast, whatever plat-form delivers them, are ephemeral.”
However, when it comes to con-venience and accessibility, electronic-reader devices definitely have theedge over their traditional counter-parts. Many people these days readonly when they are travelling. E-read-ers, which are able to store a thou-sand books, in such circumstancescan easily relieve you of the heavyburden of carrying many books.
Many people argue that e-booksare the answer to the challenges thatthe publishing industry faces fromthe issue of climate change. The elec-tronic books do not require cuttingdown trees to make paper. There are
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
Major Indian book publishing companies
n Rupa & Co
n Katha
n Zubaan
n Women Unlimited
n Roli Books
n Mapin Publishing
n S. Chand & Company
n Tulika Books
n National Book Trust, India
n EC Media
Major international book publishing companies in India
n Macmillan India Limited
n HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd.
n Oxford University Press India
n Cambridge University Press India
n Random House India
n Hachette India
n Scholastic India
n Pearson Education, India
n Dorling Kindersley India
n Wiley India
n Springer India
n Orient BlackSwan
n Sage India
n Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing
Company
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also people who see the advent of e-books helping to combat book piracy.
The advantages of e-readers aremany, but convincing an avid readerand a book lover to tread the digitalpath to reading is not always easy, forone does not grow up reading on aniPad or a Kindle. We grow up in thecompany of books that we can touch.We exchange books and we exchangelove and friendship. Interestingly, itwas a book (a real one!) that BritishPrime Minister David Cameron choseas the official gift to Prince Williamwhen he was about to open a newchapter in his life with his marriage toKate Middleton!
According to a recent research bythe National Book Trust, UK, owningbooks is immensely important for chil-dren.
It concludes that children withoutbooks “are less likely to have positiveexperiences of reading, less likely to dowell at school and less likely to beengaged in reading in any form”.According to the study, children withno books of their own are also likely tocommunicate less even through social
networking sites or e-mails, which alsorequire the use of the written word.
THE INDIA CHAPTERE-books, or no e-books, the Indian
publishing industry seems to be infine fettle. This is especially true forthe English book publishing busi-ness. According to recent reports, themarket for books in India is growingat a rate of 15-20 percent a year. AsSundaresan points out, during thelast 10 years or so, there has been anexplosion of publishing houses inIndia, providing more choice to theauthors and also more choice, by thatvery token, to the readers. “There’salso a great deal of original fictionand non-fiction being published, firstin India and later in the rest of theworld. Earlier, it was usually theother way round. The competitionamong publishing houses in Indiahas created a more democratic way ofchoosing fiction and non-fiction —this is necessary and critical to thegrowth of good literature,” she says.
However, Divya Dubey, the ownerof Gyaana Books, a Delhi-based
publishing house, laments that thedemand for serious fiction in India islimited mainly to the literary circles.“There’s certainly a demand for pulpfiction, chick-lit (mainly by youngwriters), and cheaper books.Everyone seems to be liking them —the retailers, the distributors and thebuyers. And, of course, everybodywants the bestsellers,” Dubey pointsout. In contrast, the celebrated Tamilwriter Sivasankari, who has over 35novels, innumerable novellas, trave-logues and essays to her credit, saysthat literary trends swing like a pen-dulum. “For instance, poetry hasstarted to sell well and, in recenttimes, lots of new poets have comeup. This was not the case 20 yearsago when short story writers ruled.Many also say that poetry doesn’t sellany more. In general, however, thereading habit sustains,” she says inan interview (in 2009) in a leadingEnglish daily published in India.
Sivasankari points out that themarket of books in Indian languages,
especially in Tamil, Bengali, Hindi,Malayalam is also flourishing. “Nolanguage is in danger of vanishingexcept perhaps Manipuri, IndianNepali and Sindhi — cases where thenumber of people who speak the lan-guage is very small. Sales of booksand the number of magazines inthese languages are diminishing.”
The allure of reading books, espe-cially those printed on paper, lies inthe tactile feeling it lends to the act ofreflection on issues that matter to thereader. And with more and more writ-ings about India and Indian writersgaining global recognition, the Indianpublishing industry can only hopethat the best is yet to come. Increasingliteracy and affluence can only deepenthe book story.
The future of books is far frombleak, at least in India.
Meanwhile, I have made a promiseto the girl who I mentioned earlier inthe article. I have promised to pick upthe pen once more and write letters to her.
Paper Paved: A view of theDaryaganj book bazar in Old Delhi
Book to the Wall: For every 100hardcover and paperbackbooks, Amazon.com sold 105books for its Kindle e-reader
COVER STORY
EMERGING TRENDE-books are in, if we go by the startling figures posted by
Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer.
During April-May 2011, for every 100 hardcover and paper-
back books, the company sold 105 books for its Kindle
e-reader. According to L McQuivey, a digital media analyst
at Forrester Research, a leading technology and market
research company, by 2015, the e-book market in the U.S.
“will nearly triple to almost $3 billion, a point at which the
industry will be forever altered”.
Although outside Amazon, sales figures for e-books are
minuscule in most markets as compared to those for print-
ed books, the growing affinity of the youth with the e-read-
ers speaks volumes for an emerging trend. However, unlike
in the United States, the Indian publishing industry is yet to
catch up with the digital trend, despite the increasing inter-
est being shown by young Indian readers in e-books.
Limited circulation of economical-
ly priced e-book readers is often
cited as the primary hindrance for
the e-book publishing industry in
India. Moreover, popularising
e-books in India would also
require making e-books available
in various vernacular languages.
INDIAN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE*
n Sixth-largest publishing industry in the world with annual
growth rate of 15-20 percent
n Third-largest publisher of books in English
n Around 90,000 books are published annually
n There are around 19,000 publishers in the country
n One-fourth of the youth population, a staggering figure of
more than 83 million, identify themselves as book readers
n The government of India allows 100 percent equity in the
publishing industry
n Nearly 70 percent of textbook publishing in the country is
carried out by the government
n Sixty percent of global publishing outsourcing is based in
India
n The business process outsourcing publishing services sector
is estimated to reach a value of $1.2 billion by 2012
*Source: The Indian
Invitation: Why India Makes a
Perfect Publishing Partner, an
article by Vinutha Mallya, Senior
Editor of Mapin Publishing, pub-
lished in Publishing Perspectives,
an international online publish-
ing newsletter.
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
There are many, many theories about whyBollywood has, in the pastthree or four years produced
an unusual number of ‘good’ movies.One commonly heard explanation isthat the movies are now a more democratic playground, with new talent all over the place.
Another explanation is that producers are undergoing “a changein their mindset”. There is also serioustalk of a more refined theatergoer.And since there are more producers,and therefore more movies beingmade, and only a fixed number ofKhans, something has got to give. Allthese theories ring true.
Since this is not a dispassionate
exploration, and relies as much on newtestimony as old memories, let’s goback to 1995. Year 1995 has to be seenin the context of the 80s, which was anutterly sinister decade. In a recent conversation, Abbas Tyrewala blamedthose dark days on an overdependenceon Amitabh Bachchan. If he wasunavailable, it meant that a filmmakerneeded to rely on a story instead of asuperstar. Now, you would think thatsomebody would have figured this out.What happened instead was… multi-starrers — three minor stars forthe price of one superstar.
Leading nicely into 1995 were a fewlove stories by Sooraj Barjatya andAditya Chopra. In 1995, in at least onepacked movie hall, a large audience,
98
...and started lookingbeyond tired formulasand megastars andmulti-starrers and allthose yawns, RahulBhatia looks foranswers
children among them, sat still, watching a love story that was about somuch more than love. In just a fewhours, Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeelabroadened the boundaries of whatboth filmmakers and audiencesthought possible.
Raj Kumar Gupta, the director ofAamir and No One Killed Jessica, saysthat RGV was an inspiration to a generation because he made movieswithout stars. “A lot of people followedthe model. Yash Raj Films, the Bhatts,they followed him. Suddenly peoplesaw you could make movies with different subjects.”
Incidentally, there’s another theoryabout why this could be the start of agolden age for indie films. It involvesnumbers. Raj Kumar Gupta believesthat it has become easier for writersand directors to locate where themoney is. “Earlier, since there werejust a few producers, you didn’t knowwho they were. Now you can put a faceto the money. That’s importantbecause even if you can’t get yourscript made into a movie, you knowwho to show your script to.”
Today, there are more movie producers than ever before, saysDeepak Malhotra, associate editor ofFilm India, the phone directory for themovie business. Malhotra updates thisdirectory every six months, and he saysthe number of pages he allocates to the‘producers’ section has gone up signifi-cantly “in the last three to four years”.
Talking to industry people revealsthat lean budgets and edgy subjects gohand in hand. “The lower the budget,”says Vikram Motwane, director ofUdaan, the easier it is to recover costs.The revenue streams that exist todaymean that box office collections nolonger play as vital a role as they didearlier. An ‘efficiency in production’ ishow Vikas Behl puts it. Behl, the former chief operating officer of theUTV arm Spotboy, produced Aamirand Dev. D, two films with a distinctvisual style and a unique mode of storytelling.
Madhu Mantena, Ram GopalVarma’s cousin and perhaps his oldest collaborator, offers anotherexplanation for the surge of good
CINEMA
(This article is courtesy OPEN magazineand is being carried with permission.)
movies lately, “The secret is,” he says,“four to five years ago, the mutiplexesraised the per capita revenue fromindividuals. Remember the time whenwe used to pay 50 bucks at most for afilm (in big cities)? At that time, mostof India (outside the big cities) was ona `10-20 ticket. What this meant wasthat theatres outside the city made 5-10 bucks on a ticket. Make that 25bucks for the big cities. Five years ago,there was a boom in India. Ticketprices went up to ̀ 250. Fifty per cent ofthat went to the producer. So thatmeant that the revenue per ticket (forupscale theatres) went up to `125. At aticket price of `250, a niche audiencewas now paying ten times the money itpaid earlier. That started supportingnew stories that never had that kind ofsupport.”
I asked Vikram Malhotra whyBollywood was making good films.Malhotra is the chief operating officerof Viacom18 that produced Shaitan,Tanu Weds Manu, and Pyar kaPunchnama. “It’s too early to say thatthe quality of our work has improveddramatically,” He says. “I think it’s fairto say that we have embarked on ajourney... that with the advent of newtalent, both behind the camera and infront of it, we are witnessing a markedimprovement in the quality of outputin certain genres.”
“I don’t see people accepting something that’s half-hearted,” saysDeo. “It’s not that simple.” It can’tbecome a formula. “You have to putout films that break the norm. You’redealing with people who are faryounger and far more exposed to theworld than people who came before.”
The great divide in movies, they all believe, is blurring. What is commercial and what is independentif both appeal to a commercial audi-ence? Motwane says, “There was atime when you couldn’t afford to havea camera, your own editing setup.Now you can make a movie using yourphone. You’ve got no excuse.”
And that, in one sense, answers whyBollywood has been making goodmovies. They have no excuse not to.
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
How Hindi FilmsGOT SO GOOD
1110
NEW FOREIGN SECRETARY
India’s new Foreign SecretaryRanjan Mathai outlined his strat-egy as he assumed office in NewDelhi on August 1.
Remarking on his appointment, hesaid, his assignment was a complexone and full of challenges. “TheMinistry of External Affairs is part ofthe structure of foreign policy makingsince the time of the first PrimeMinister of India. But we have to bescrupulous and efficient managers ofthe government policies and that willbe my priority,” he said.
“We are in a world of flux and wehave to be innovative and adapt to thesituation as it develops, but at the sametime we have to be clear eyed aboutwhat are our national priorities andinterests, many of which remain per-manent. In dealing with the foreignpolicy challenges we have to take aholistic view of our political, strategic,economic and commercial, cultural aswell as public aspects of our image, asa country,” Mathai added.
Speaking on his priorities, theForeign Secretary said, “I would alsolike to give considerable priority towhat is called the public service dimen-
sion, of the work of this Ministry andthe Embassies abroad, by which Imean, the passport and consular serv-ices which we render to the citizens ofthe country. I think this area is partic-ularly important.”
“This Ministry has to be adminis-tered in accordance with the regula-tions; we have a budget and a manage-ment system to be addressed. And Ithink this has to be addressed whilekeeping in mind the morale of the per-sonnel who work in it. So this is what Iintend to set out to do and I will do mybest,” Mathai said.
Talking about key foreign policychallenges, he said, “I would like tostart with addressing challenges of ourforeign policy and its outreach throughdiplomacy in a holistic way.”
He further added, “Within thisbroad framework obviously the mainchallenges are maintaining an area, if Imay put it, of constructive cooperationin the immediate neighbourhood, thatis the main challenge. I think that willbe one of my priority tasks.”
Outlining the strategy of engagingwith other countries, he said,“Obviously, we also will have to be inclose touch with and develop the mostcooperative and strong relationshipswith all the major global players on theinternational scene and in coordina-tion with the other Secretaries of thisMinistry. We need to keep in mind theneed for very strong relations with thecountries of Africa, Latin America, ofCentral Asia, of South East Asia andthe Gulf region. I think managing allthese would be the major challenge.”
On the peace process with Pakistanhe said, “I have entered this office witha mandate, which is that we as ForeignSecretaries are expected to pave theway for a substantive dialogue withPakistan, on all issues and I look forward to cooperating with thePakistan Foreign Secretary on that andwe have to try and work to restore trustand confidence. This is the mandatethat has been given to me and in con-clusion I would like to say that theForeign Secretary is as much an insti-tution, as an individual. So, I will con-tinue this effort, continuity will be my watchword.”
‘Foreign policy has totake a holistic view’Passport and consular services, constructive cooperation with immediate neighbours and strong relationshipswith major global playersare high on the newForeign Secretary Ranjan Mathai’s agenda
COMMUNITY
The first Nobel laureate forliterature from the East,Gurudev RabindranathTagore was the beacon of
India’s intellectual and cultural heritage. Celebrated as a multifac-eted genius in all literary genres, histimeless contributions have left anindelible mark on the world of artsand literature. 2011 being his 150th birth anniver-
sary, tributes were paid to the greatpoet on July 1, under the auspices ofthe Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi andthe Consulate-General of India,Dubai.
The All Kerala Colleges AlumniForum (AKCAF), one of the biggestIndian community organisationsbased in Dubai, held a cultural programme, ‘Tagore Jaya he’, at theConsulate auditorium to mark theoccasion. The chief guest for theevening was Ezanchery
Ramachandran, a veteran poet and alyricist from Kerala.
Recreating scenes ofShantiniketan on stage, a bouquet of programmes enthralled the audi-ence. The presentations included adance by schoolchildren with mel-lifluous lines from Tagore’s Gitanjaliplaying in the background, evokingthe essence of Tagore’s thoughts.
‘Kavya Sandhya’, a Malayalam
poetry recital by 12 noted Dubai-based poets was also organised on theoccasion. The live background music,including the traditional Edakka, fur-ther embellished Tagore’s poetry.
The cultural evening concludedwith the singing of the NationalAnthem by 52 members of theAKCAF.
It was a unique evening withKerala paying tribute to Bengal.
Celebrating Gurudev
With a view to promoting the late seasonal varieties of Indian
mangoes such as Dussehri, Langra and Chausa apart from other popu-
lar varieties like Alphonso, Badami, Rajpuri, etc., the Agricultural &
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) held a five-day
Mango Promotion Festival in Dubai from June 29 to July 2. The festival was inau-
gurated by the Consul-General at Lulu hypermarket and Al Maya supermarket. A
buyer-seller meet (BSM) was also hosted by APEDA on June 30 at the Sheraton
Creek Hotel in Dubai, which was attended by 75 traders and retailers.
MANGO FESTIVAL, BUYER-SELLER MEET HELD
The audience at the Dubai Consulate were entertained to performances on thecaptivating songs of Tagore on the 150th birth anniversary of the great poet
Schoolchildren perform a dance at the Consulate Auditorium, Dubai, to celebrate Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary.
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
10 QUESTIONS
1312
‘THERE IS NO SHORTCUTTO SUCCESS’A visionary and strategist par excellence, Haji M.A.Yusuff Ali, Managing Director ofEMKE Group, is the guiding force behind the success of the group — best known for the popular LuLu Chain of retail outlets in the Gulf. With a global turnover of $3.75 billion, the group offers employment to 27,000 people, a majority of themIndians, in 29 countries. In recognition of his remarkable achievements, he has beenhonoured with the prestigious Padma Shri and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
1When was the EMKE Group started?What was the inspiration for the
company?The group made a humble beginning in 1966, inthe old souk area of Abu Dhabi. It was predom-inantly a trading business, which graduallyexpanded to include imports, wholesale, cater-ing supplies and ship handling, before venturinginto retail in 1991, with Lulu.
2Your group is best known through theLulu chain of super and hypermarkets.
How did you create and build the brand?Today, the Lulu retail chain is our flagship
business with 93 stores in all major cities of theGulf. Over the years we have consistentlyupgraded our facilities, services, quality andreach in the region. I attribute our success to ourmotto — “best quality products at best priceswith friendly service”.
3In addition to the GCC, where else areyour operations and what are your
future plans? Besides the GCC, we are present in Yemen andEgypt. We plan to expand in India, the Far Eastand parts of Africa. Next year, the Lulu ShoppingMall in Kochi will be operational. The mega project will house international brands, amuse-ment centres, food courts and cinema halls. Itwill also have Kerala’s first Marriott Hotel.
4What is the secret behind your success in the retail market? Do you
see Lulu one day challenging global retailmajors like Carrefour and Wal-Mart?Being a local company, we are proud to have setbenchmarks in retailing, while competing withmany big international players at the same time.The challenge is to keep improving our competence to offer world-class experience toour customers at their doorsteps.
5The success of any company dependson the effectiveness of its workforce.
How do you motivate your team?Each one of the 27,000 employee is critical tothe group’s success. In fact, I personally overseemany HR matters. I follow an open-door policyand our flat hierarchy makes communicationand decision-making simpler and faster. As apolicy, I personally meet every new employee,including delivery boys, to welcome them intothe family. With our aggressive expansion planswe prefer promoting our existing staff to higherpositions, rather than hiring from outside. Thismotivates my staff to be loyal and dedicated.
6Tell us about your Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Apart from charities that I do in a personalcapacity, as a group we are associated with anumber of CSR projects. Initiatives such as ‘PriceFreeze,’ ‘Dubai Cares,’ ‘Ramadan ShoppingCards,’ are targeted at the lower income people.We also conduct diabetes camps.
7As a Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awardwinner what do you think is the role
of business in strengthening bilateralrelations between countries?Today, India is the number one trading partnerof the UAE and this has definitely played a hugerole in improving ties between India and UAE. Infact, UAE is like second home to Indians.Similarly, the long flourishing trade, close cultur-al ties, geographic proximity and investment-friendly policies of the UAEGovernment have played a significant role instrengthening the bilateral ties between the twocountries.
8You are an inspiration to aspiringentrepreneurs. What is your advice
to them?There is no shortcut to success, and customersshould never be taken for granted. If you do not follow these basic principles, you will soon lose thebusiness. My advice is to first build up a strongfoundation and then plan to expand. Also, ratherthan dabbling in diversified areas, one should concentrate on core areas of strength.
9How did your experiences, whilegrowing up in India, contribute to
your success in life and work?I come from a traditional business family inKerala. I have imbibed virtues such as humility,honesty and ethics since my childhood. I learntthe basics of business from my grandfather, who also advised me that “when youmake it big in life, never consider others as lesserbeings. The day you do so, it will be the beginning of your decline.”
10Tell us something about the otherside of Yousuff Ali — How do you
relax? What films, books or songs do youparticularly enjoy?It might sound like a cliché, but I hardly find timeto indulge in these outlets. Whenever I am travel-ling, I enjoy reading, especially non-fiction books.Apart from that, I look forward to spending timewith my family, especially my grandchildren,which helps me relax.
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
ECONOMY
adds. The fishery advisory by the Met officehas added `340 billion to the GDP, accordingto the NCAER report.
“Fishery advisories entail offering informa-tion to fishermen cooperatives about the areasin the ocean where the fish catch is likely to behigh on a particular day,” the report says.
“This, coupled with the information on
weather, enables fishermen to plan theiroperations economically and effectively,” thereport says. Nayak also reveals that forecastsfor natural disasters like tsunamis andcyclones are more accurate now.
“This translates into economic benefits aspreparedness saves life and property,” hesays.
$294 billion will be generated in revenue by India’spower sector during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012 –17).
$27.18 billion will be the worth of Indian media andentertainment industry by 2015 with sustained growth inadvertising as well as consumer spends, according toPricewaterhouseCoopers.
$50 billion to be spent by India on IT in the next fiveyears, according to globalisation advisory firm ZinnovManagement Consulting.
$7.37 billion was the revenue of the Indian mobilehandset market in 2010-11, after registering a growth of 15 percent from 2009-10, according to an annual survey by the telecom industry journal Voice&Data.
$6 billion was the private equity (PE) investments inIndia during the first half of 2011.
$4.66 billion was the inflow of foreign direct invest-ments (FDI) in May 2011 as compared to US$ 2.21 billionin the same month last year. It is the highest monthly FDIinflow recorded in last 39 months.
$4.50 billion will be the cost of the national optical fibrenetwork offering broadband services in rural areas andconnecting all gram panchayats.
$896 million worth investments planned by French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen in an integrated automobileproject in Tamil Nadu.
$350 million will be the payments and banking trans-actions through mobile phones in India by 2015, accord-ing to the Boston Consulting Group.
$120 million tonnes will be the installed capacity ofsteel production of India by 2013, making it the secondlargest steel producer in the world.
In a country where close to 60 percent of the 1.21 billionpeople still depend on agricul-ture for a living, short and time-
ly alerts to farmers about the weatherhave led to economic benefits worth awhopping `500 billion.
“The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has been providing very accurate forecast at themicro level, focused on small areas,”Shailesh Nayak, Secretary of theMinistry of Earth Sciences, says.
“This information is then translatedinto information relevant for farmersby the Agromet Advisory Service ofIMD. This brings in around `500 bil-lion annually to the GDP (GrossDomestic Product),” Nayak says.
While IMD generates the weatherreport, the Integrated AgrometAdvisory Service — involving organi-sations like the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR),Ministries of Agriculture (Centre andStates) and State AgriculturalUniversities (SAUs) — issues weather-based agro advisories specificallymeant for the farming community.
The advisory is disseminatedthrough several means of communica-tion, the latest being SMSes.
According to a National Council ofApplied Economic Research (NCAER)report, roughly 24 percent of farmersin over 550 districts are either awareor are using the Agromet services,while two million farmers are availingof the mobile SMS service which started over a year ago.
The report says the `500 billion fig-ure could rise to `2.11 trillion if theentire farming community in thecountry was to judiciously use theAgromet information and apply it toagricultural activities.
“The advances in weather forecasting have made the predictionsmore accurate. The Agromet serviceeven gives advice on what the farmershould do,” says Nayak.
“For example, if a farmer sprayspesticides and the rain comes, the pes-ticides will be washed away.Therefore, the Agromet will advisethem not to spray the pesticide. Thisway, resources are saved and so arethe crops,” the secretary explains.
“Also, while sowing seeds, the seeding can be done according to theforecast of rain. If farmers sow andthere is no rain in time, the seedspoils. Similarly at the time of harvest-ing, the rain can spoil the crop,” he
1514
BUSINESS BUZZ
About 24 percent farmers in over 550 districts are either awareof, or using the weatherforecasting service.Another two million areavailing of the servicethrough SMSes. It has led to economic benefit to the tune of `500 billion, reports Anjali Ojha
FORECAST Worth Billions
The benefits that Indian farmers derive
from market and weather information
delivered on their mobile phone can be
substantial.
Dissemination of information on SMS is
already being explored in a big way. Content
providers tie up with content aggregators,
who provide technological support, and in
turn supply concise, accurate and useful
information to mobile telephony operators.
For a nominal cost, farmers receive text
alerts in their own language with tips on what
type of fertiliser to use, how much, and when.
Farmers also have the option of calling a
central number and talk to experts regarding
soil conditions and produce.
As literacy is of key concern in rural areas,
attempts are also being made to provide audio
services to farmers, wherein they only have to
subscribe to a short code and at a particular
time everyday; news regarding latest
technologies, fertilisers, government policies,
information on loans and weather will also be
provided.
The information is customised to the
farmer’s location and selection of crops.
TRENDS
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
MARKETThe global economic melt down of2008 resulted in a financial debaclewhose effects continue to be felteven three years later. India wasamongst the few countries in theworld to escape this riot. The glanc-ing blow it dealt India with, howev-er, was seen in the slowing down ofthe country’s growth of grossdomestic product (GDP) to 7.40percent – from 9.20 percentachieved in the previous year. This reflected in a lower-than-aver-
age growth in the consumption ofpetroleum products. Growth margin-ally increased by 3.44 percent, inch-ing from 133.60 million metrictonnes (MMT) to 138.20 MMT(Source: Petroleum Planning &Analysis Cell, Ministry of Petroleum& Natural Gas). Even as demand for transporta-
tion fuels like motor spirit (MS) andhigh-speed diesel (HSD) has grownover the previous year, the twoproducts reflect different growthtrends. While demand for MS hasgrown 14 percent, the growth inHSD is 9 percent. LPG has increased by about 6.30 percent.
The businessenvironment for oilcompanies in Indiaremains buoyantbut challenging.However, given thepotential forgrowth, the govern-ment felt it neces-sary to ease theburden resultingfrom controlledpricing.Decontrolling bothMS and HSD haseased stress onthe capital expen-diture and helpedoil companies toimplement theirexpansion plans.On the flip side ofthis move is thefact that competi-tion from privateplayers willincrease.Nevertheless, pow-erful brands likeBPCL with theirtraditional marketstrengths are
expected to shrug these away andcontinue on a high growth trajecto-ry.BPCL stands tall as India’s sec-
ond largest petroleum marketingcompany. During the year 2009/10,the crude throughput at BPCL’srefineries at Mumbai and Kochi was20.41 MMT against their combinedprocessing capacity of 21.50 MMT.In short, these refineries were oper-ating at 94.90 percent of their ratedcapacities. Simultaneously, the mar-keting arm of the company was alsofully stretched. It registered sales of27.70 MMT in 2009/10.
ACHIEVEMENTSA Navratna company, BPCL is oneof the premier integrated refining
1918
and marketing companies in India,commanding a market share ofapproximately 23 percent. BPCL has a robust distribution
and marketing network spreadacross the country, comprising8,990 retail outlets, 2,331 LPGdistributorships, 49 LPG bottlingplants and 31 aviation service sta-tions. An area of increasing interest to
BPCL is Exploration & Production(E&P). To spearhead this initiative,BPCL has set up a wholly ownedsubsidiary, Bharat PetroResourcesLimited (BPRL). Currently, thisentity has participating interestsin 28 exploration blocks — nineteen of which are overseas. To further strengthen its pres-
ence in India, BPCL has also madeimportant investments in the mar-keting of natural gas and hasforged joint ventures (JV) to dis-tribute it in four major Indiancities. A separate gas strategicbusiness unit (SBU) has now beenformed to handle the marketing ofthis product. Bharat Renewable Energy
Limited (BREL), a joint venturebetween BPCL, Nandan Biomatrixand Shapoorji Palonji has focusedon production of bio-fuels. BPCL isalso pursuing opportunities in windand solar energy. None of thiseffort has gone unnoticed. In evalu-ating India’s Top 50 Most ValuableBrands, Brand Finance placedBPCL in the 7th position peggingthe company’s brand value at US$2.945 billion (`132.53 billion) —an increase of more than 12.40percent over its previous years’assessment. The strength BPCL displays in
India also finds expression in inter-national ratings. In Platt’s 2010list of the Top 250 Global EnergyCompanies, BPCL was ranked 94thglobally and occupied the 19thplace in Asia. However, in terms ofrefining and marketing it outscoredseveral other companies to beplaced in the 5th position.The company has been felicitat-
ed at many forums. It won NDTV
Profit’s Business Leadership awardin 2010 for Sustainability andReporting; the Green BusinessLeaders award in 2009/10; theBest Cash Management Deal forElectronic Receipt Solutions award-ed by Asset Magazine; the FleetEnabler of the Year in the Apollo-CV
magazine awards of 2010;Business Today Best CFOin a PSU award in 2010;the Best Oil & GasCompany in 2010 awardedby Dainik Bhaskar DNA —each award a recognitionof the company’s out-standing contribution.
HISTORYBharat PetroleumCorporation traces its his-
tory to 1928 when the Burmah OilStorage & Distribution Company ofIndia was incorporated 18 BUSI-NESS SUPERBRANDS in England toenter the petroleum products busi-ness in India. In 1952, Shell andBurmah Oil Company createdBurmah Shell Refineries and set up
Introducing India’s
IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
that BPCL stood for purity andimpose upon other retail outletsthe burden of living up to the higher standards set by it.On the back of this, BPCL rolled
out its green fuels. Speed, withcontemporary additives actuallydemonstrated how it prevented car-bon formation on cylinder headsand was the ideal fuel for Indiandriving habits — and conditions.An advanced variant — Speed 97 –with a 97 octane rating was subse-quently developed for high-endpetrol cars as also was Hi-Speeddiesel for modern, high-perform-ance diesel engines. MAK, the umbrella lubricant
brand for more than 350 stockkeeping units (SKUs), is the otherconsumer interface. The range andvariants under it span every impor-tant sector and include the auto-motive, marine, industrial andheavy equipment segments. A closer consumer interface was
established with the launch of aloyalty programme christenedPetro Bonus. This has the distinc-tion of being India’s first such ini-tiative. The success of this pro-gramme encouraged BPCL toextend it to fleet owners and allowits use for purchases made at thecompany’s retail outlets — In & Out stores.
BRAND VALUESThe three words that mark BPCL’ssuccess are Innovative, Caring andReliable.These have been ingrained in
every aspect of the company’sofferings. The company treats its cus-
tomers with respect and humility.At its gas and service stations,smartly turned out attendantsgreet patrons with a warm smile.The courtesy brings many backover and over again. Indeed, itseems that for several clients it isBPCL — or nothing.
www.bharatpetroleum.com
a green-field refinery in Mumbai. Inthe mid-1960s, liquefied petroleumgas (LPG) under the brand name‘Burshane’ was launched as a cook-ing fuel. The business of the com-pany grew substantially and hadsoon achieved the leadership posi-tion in India. The entire operationsof Burmah Shell in India werenationalised in 1976 and the refin-ery and marketing companies weremerged to form Bharat PetroleumCorporation Limited on August 1,1977. At that time, the markets were
growing slowly. Fifteen years afterits formation, liberalisation wasintroduced in India. The economywas being freed and licenses forseveral sectors were no longerrequired. The dormant Indian indus-trial juggernaut woke up. Newopportunities sprang up acrossIndia’s landscape. One hit India’sroads. It ushered in a new breed ofcars. Between the two BPCLhummed with activity. Sensing liberalisation, BPCL
revamped its organisational struc-ture. Seven new strategic businessunits (SBUs) — Refinery, Retail,Industrial and Commercial,Lubricants, Aviation, LPG and Gas— have since been created. Thenew structure is based on businessprocesses, is flexible, more respon-sive to external changes, hasfewer layers, and above all,
ensures a much higher customerfocus.
PRODUCTSBPCL touches lives in scores ofways. It produces the kerosenethat lights the wick, petrol thatdrives a vehicle, gas that fuels ameal, oils and greases that lubri-cate machines, diesel that facili-tates transport and aviation fuelthat powers aircraft. Its industrialand commercial businesses providebenzene, toluene, furnace oil, hexa-ne, mineral turpentine oil and bitu-men that ensure that the wheels ofindustry keep turning. Base products apart, BPCL also
offers value-added products:Speed, its premium petrol and Hi-Speed, its low-sulphur diesel havebecome immensely successfulbrands for the company, just asMAK, its range of lubricants, hasbecome gospel for the automotiveand industrial segments. Cutting across socio-economic
barriers is Bharatgas. This ubiqui-tous brand can be found in some28 million Indian kitchens and afew million commercial installa-tions. Bharat Metal cutting Gas, itsindustrial gas, provides green andefficient, low-cost solutions to themetal cutting industry.
RECENTDEVELOPMENTSSeveral excitingthings are takingshape simultaneouslyat BPCL. To meet its growing
demand BPCL hasexpanded processing
capacity of its Kochi refinery from7.50 MMTPA to 9.50 MMTPA. Atthe same time its 6 MMTPA grassroots refinery at Bina, set up at acost of `113.97 billion (US$ 2.50billion), is ready to be commis-sioned. Once fully operational, itwill help BPCL up its annual refin-ing capacity to more than 30 MMT. To feed the hunger of its plants
— and India’s future energyneeds — BPCL has stepped upits E&P effor ts. Discoveries ofoil and gas in Brazil andMozambique and the successfulforay into alternate sources ofenergy have revved up an alreadyelated organisation.
PROMOTIONThe biggest advertisement forBPCL is word-of-mouth emanatingfrom the trust and faith consumersdisplay in the brand. BPCLattempts to, therefore, exploitevery opportunity to leverage thisstrength and simultaneously seekthose in which the company canmake a difference.In the 1990s when fuel adulter-
ation was taking on endemic pro-portions, BPCL launched its now-famous slogan, ‘Pure for Sure.’ Theidea was to reinforce the belief n In the Fortune listing of 2010,
BPCL was ranked as the world’s307th largest company
n BPCL has a sales turnover of `1.33 trillion (US$ 29.70 billion);that’s `3.66 billion (US$ 81.30 mil-lion) every day, `150 million (US$ 3.30 million) every hour
n The company has discovered oiland gas in its acreages in Braziland Mozambique
n Brand Finance valued BPCL atUS$ 2.945 billion (`132.53 bil-lion) in 2010
n For the fourth time the compa-ny’s enterprise resource planning(ERP) competency centre hasbeen certified as a SAP customercenter for excellence
n BPCL operates a SAP accreditedtraining centre offering itsexpertise on the subject as animportant resource
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUTBHARAT PETROLEUM
(Reproduced with the permission of Superbrands India Private Limited — copyright owners)
2120 IndiaMatters|July 2011 July 2011|IndiaMatters
2322
1. It is the first Granite temple of the worldbuilt between 1004 AD and 1009 ADduring the reign of Rajaraja Chola. Whatis the name of this temple?
2. The world’s highest cricket ground is inIndia located at a height of 2,444 metresabove sea level, in which northern stateis it located?
3. Located in eastern Uttar Pradesh on thebanks of the Ganga river, it is consideredby many to be the oldest continuouslyinhabited city in India. Name the city.
4. Udupi, also known as Rajata Peetha, isabout 420 km north-west of Bangalore.It is regarded as one of the seven sacredspots in Dakshina Kannada. The famoustemple located in the heart of this townis devoted to which god?
5. Saila Dance, a folk dance also calledDanda Nach or Dandar Pate, is thedance form of which central state of India?
6. Jwalamukhi fair, which is attributed tothe worship of the ‘Eternal Flame’ com-ing out of the earth, is held twice a year.Where in India does it take place?
7. Which Indian nationalist, freedom fight-er and a yogi is the author of books The Life Divine and The Synthesis ofYoga?
8. Name the freshwater plant whichholds special significance as the mostsacred flower in India and is eaten as avegetable in many Indian and Asiandishes.
9. Which modern Indian city, situated onthe banks of the Yamuna, finds mentionin the epic Mahabharata as ‘Paradise’?
10.Initiated during the Maurya Empire inthe 3rd century BC and renovated bySher Shah Suri in the 16th century AD, it is one of South Asia’s oldest andlongest major roads. What is the nameof this road?
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THE PICTURE QUESTION
Constructed in a small township in theDhauladhar range of western Himalayas in1204 AD, this temple is a beautiful exampleof the early medieval north Indian templearchitecture known as Nagara style. TheSvayambhu form of Sivalinga is enshrinedin the sanctum of the temple that has fiveprojections on each side and is surmountedwith a tall curvilinear Shikhara. The outerdoorway in the porch, as also the innerdoorway leading to the sanctum of the tem-ple, are studded with a large number ofimages of great beauty and iconographicimportance. Some of them are very rare tobe found elsewhere. What is the name ofthis temple?
ANSWERS TO THE LAST CONTEST
1. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel 2. Chikan 3. Indian Ocean 4. Jamnalal Bajaj 5. The Tawang Monastery, also known as “Gaden Namgyal
Lhatse” 6. Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens 7. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 8. Nanik Amarnath Bhardwaj, popularly known as Lala Amarnath
9. Adaminte Makan Abu 10. Raghu Pillai 11. Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple
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MONSOON
Indian workers attempt to float huge balloons for the “Saputara Monsoon Festival” on an artificial lake in
a thick fog during the monsoon season at Saputara Hill Station around 400 kms from Ahmedabad on July
29, 2011. The one month long “Saputara Monsoon Festival” organised by Gujarat Tourism at Saputara,
Gujarat's only hill station, began on July 30. (Photo: AFP)
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