Hosted by Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: The India-America Chamber of Commerce (IACC) hosted a roundtable discussion with Ranjana Kumar, the former chairperson and CEO of Indian Bank and Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, the Consul General of India in New York, on ‘What Should India Do to Make Its Massive Public Sector Productive and Profitable?’ in Manhattan, last week.
The roundtable was moderated by Rajiv Khanna, President of the IACC and Equity Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. The evening was hosted by Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
“This is a very exciting time for those of us who work in the U.S.-India corridor,” said Rajiv Khanna in his opening remarks to the members of the Chamber. “According to a recent article in The SundayGuardian, the Indian GDP is expected to grow from less than $2 trillion a year to $10 trillion a year in the next few years.”
Khanna pointed out that during the same period, the U.S.-India trade is expected to grow from the current level of $100 billion per year to $500 billion per year.
Mulay said: “This is truly a turnaround moment for India, we have had a fascinating election and now it’s time for business of the nation, and business of the common man. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a good record on the business side. We now have government in place, a government that delivers, as we look to build our nation and find its true role, which is to have a significant role to make not only India a better place, but also this planet.”
In her speech, Kumar said, “the country has seen tremendous activity during the elections and the change in the government, and everything took place in the calmest fashion. Since the new government came to power, the rupee is stronger. So far in the public sector iron, steel, textile and cement have been growing but there are certain issues that need to
be tackled.”
Kumar touched upon a few key points that play a vital role for success of a public sector enterprise: clarity of vision, plan of action and execution of the plan; implementation of technology and utilizing great talent and potential; business environment needs and an objective, fair and transparent model; distinguishing between performer and non-performer; taking initiatives and having good knowledge of the opportunities; promotion should be given to right people based on the outstanding annual reports; reasonable time to perform for performers; keeping the environment conducive for growth; and companies have to keep restructuring and evolving with the evolution of markets.
While interacting with the members, Kumar added, “the private sector is changing and similarly, the public sector will have to change and adapt. I truly believe in delegation and being clear when delegating. When you delegate you need to empower people, when people are empowered they can possibly make mistakes and when mistakes are made be sure to check the changes that need to be made in policies for the solution. We still have enormous work to update our policies. The policies need to be reviewed annually to determine if they are practical to implement. Restructuring takes time, but it has to be consistent.”