If it is industry and any development with the growth of industries and trade in India, there is one name which comes to our mind - that of Mr Vijay Kalantri, a stalwart who is currently holding various responsible portfolios. Mr Kalantri besides being on the board of directors of more than 10 reputed companies, is also the Director of the World Trade Centre Association (N.Y.); the Vice President of MVIRDC-World Trade Center, Mumbai and the President of All India Association of Industries (AIAI) which has recently completed 50 years of service in the Industry.

Mr Kalantri, how long have you been associated with AIAI and what has been the achievement of AIAI over the past few years?
I have been associated with AIAI for the past two decades. I had joined as an ordinary member at that time. AIAI was formed by the Late Babhubai Chinai, Former MP and Chairman of National Rayon. The whole idea was to have another apex chamber in Mumbai - the commercial capital of our country. There were certain differences with other trade bodies. Hence, this organization was formed with the captains of the industry. The aims and objectives of AIAI was to take the initiatives in areas such as deregulation, labour reforms and how India could achieve optimum growth.

What are the challenges faced in a scenario of changing governments and economic reforms?
Although India initiated economic reforms from 1991 but the economic reforms took off at an accelerated pace only after 1994 during the tenure of Late Rajeev Gandhi who was the Prime Minister at that time and the steps taken towards deregulation were much earlier during Indira Gandhi's tenure as the Prime Minister when she had taken the initiative that the bureaucracy should go and deregulation should begin. If deregulation and economic reforms which accelerated from 1991 onwards had happened in the early 1980s we would not be talking of countries like China being ahead of us and today we would not be lagging behind other developing countries by almost 20 years. Firstly as the whole movement of economic reforms was initiated later and secondly, being in a democratic set up, it is not always easy to move at a pace as you have to take everybody with you and there are quite a lot of coalition compulsions. The main challenge we face is in areas of infrastructure especially power, roads and the pace that we have to move ahead in these directions should be five times faster than what it is to be a major player in the world market.

What are the category of memberships and who all can benefit from AIAI membership?
AIAI membership is open to all sectors and not just industrialists. Even professionals are an integral part of AIAI membership - IT professionals, economists and even management consultants can also avail of membership. Although our main thrust is undoubtedly in encouraging Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and foreign trade, we promote all sectors. We've got 80 MOUs with various foreign countries and organizations abroad. We interact with them and disseminate information, exchange import and export queries and what is happening in the world as well as in India including changes in government regulations. We redress lot of grievances of the members on individual basis besides the industry in general. We represent the cases at various Forums - be it Central or the State Government, the Reserve Bank of India and various authorities and we work together and are part of various committees enabling us to work together with various authorities. Our main role is to work as a catalyst between industry, government and various authorities in expediting and redressing situations.

What are the associate bodies of AIAI and what way the members can benefit from these associate bodies?
We have got various organizations which we have formed ourselves and come under the umbrella of AIAI such as the Indo Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the IPCCI which facilitates bilateral trade, investment, joint venture, technology transfer and trade-related information exchange between India and Poland. Then there is the IMCC which stands for the Indo Mauritius Chamber of Commerce. Through IMCC we explore business opportunities between the two countries including organizing seminars, trade delegations and meeting counterparts both in India and Mauritius. The Indian Council of Foreign Trade or ICOFT was established way back in 1964 with a view to facilitate foreign trade and explore overseas markets for products of Indian SMEs. We also have a youth wing operating under the auspices of YES or the Young Entrepreneurs' Society which motivates and grooms young individuals with entrepreneurial drive, in the age group of 21 years to 35 years, to educate them on the industry trends in the era of globalization. YES members mainly represent family owned businesses or the first generation entrepreneurs who have ventured into manufacturing, trading or are service providers.

In all we have more than 60 associations affiliated to us in various regions across India including states of Punjab, Maharashtra and we render services to them, share ideas and also know what their problems are and as AIAI we ensure that we are able to share information across regions for building bridges of prosperity through industry. Being an apex chamber of commerce, we work with other organizations such as FICCI and World Trade Centre in sharing information and exchanging ideas for the benefit of our members.

How does AIAI plan celebrating 50 years of service to the industry?
AIAI was formed in 1956 and we have plans to felicitate the Past Presidents and those who have put in yeoman service for AIAI. We plan inviting eminent dignitaries and also forming a committee to plan the celebrations for our achievements.

You are on the board of various advisory committees and hold key responsible positions- How do you manage this multi-facet portfolio of yours?
Fortunately I have been able to manage well. I think so it is the zeal, enthusiasm and involvement in whatever I do. I have represented Government of India on various Forums in India and abroad and I like to share my information and experience with my fellow members as it has been a learning experience for me to be a speaker at various National as well as International Forums.
 

What is your role as the Director of World Trade Center Association N.Y?
There are 288 World Trade Centres in 100 countries with over 750000 members. It is a great platform to meet members across the globe, work with them and interact with them and it has been my privilege to be a member on their board for the last four years besides being the Vice President of World Trade Centre, Mumbai. It is a different field altogether and there is no organization in the world like the World Trade Centre Association (WTCA) which has such extensive network across the globe and you learn all the time through your interaction and experiences at a global level.

After industrial revolution, we have the IT revolution-How can an industrialist use IT as a tool for industrial development and growth?
IT has taken India on the global map and has created a brand image for India. I remember there were times that people used to look down upon goods manufactured in India as they were unsure of the quality standards. However, IT has been one of the major achievements for India and today over 35% of our exports are in the field of IT. Indians always had the upper hand vis-à-vis most developing countries due to our intellectual ability as well as our command over the English language. And as the economic reforms took place and we were exposed to the world of computing, this combination helped us to play a leading role in the world of Information Technology.

What steps should be taken to make Mumbai a premier commercial as well as a tourism destination and a major hub in Asia?
We talk about making Mumbai like Shanghai or Singapore, but today we should first restore Mumbai as Mumbai first and inspite of eventualities like the 26 July floods last year or the bomb blasts earlier this year, the city keeps on moving and there is great spirit in our city and the people of our city and that is why we are one of the greatest cities in the world. This spirit is not seen in any city of any country of the world. We have to first restore Mumbai to its original glory starting with the rehabilitation of slums which is long overdue. Funds will come as there is no problem for money as it can come from the State, the Centre as well as Industrial houses. Although Mumbai is both the Financial as well as Commercial capital of the country, a lot more has to be done for the city than what is being done at present to even explore the tourism potential of our city as there is lot of potential for growth in our city.

Tell us about your role in the Mega City of Mumbai project of clean and green Mumbai as well as how can Mumbai achieve the status of being one of the top industrial cities in the world.
AIAI was one of the first organizations to take up the task of beautifying the city of Mumbai and make Mumbai accident free. We were able to do it first on Dr Annie Besant Road. We have put up 11 kilometres of grills across Dr Annie Besant Road in Mahim and Worli. The beautification of Shivaji Park as well was done by AIAI at their own cost. However, to get the permission from the authorities is not easy.

During the Mumbai Marathon, we put up 193 boards across South Mumbai right up to Worli. We spent 50 lakh rupees on this project all at our own cost as AIAI. All the lanes had been engraved by us. Our Executive Director Mrs Rupa Naik organized the marking of lanes in mere 72 hours during the first year of the event that too without any support not even from the advertising agencies or companies who made money out of the event. The boards and signages put up by us were later removed as well. Unfortunately the authorities were not as receptive as they should have been even though we were the first one to initiate the beautification process without any commercial gains.

Do you think there should be a pro active role by the Mayor or probably the city of Mumbai should have a CEO?
Unfortunately, the role of the Mayor is a decorative post as he has no powers. If the Mayor of Mumbai is given power he could function like a CEO. All the powers are with the Municipal Commissioner. There was a plan once to have a Minister for Mumbai but once Mumbai is financially independent what would remain in Maharashtra as most of the rural and semi-rural areas receive their funds from Mumbai. And you will also notice that very rarely there were any Chief Ministers from Mumbai. When there was a Chief Minister from Mumbai, you had the flyovers coming up, the Expressway being finalized. So ideally, we should have someone who has an urban culture and that would definitely help. We need a person with sincerity and once we have a person like a CEO or a more active Mayor, people themselves will come forward and contribute. It is happening in Bangalore and Hyderabad where you wouldn't find slums on the road. When we don't have slums in Bangalore or Hyderabad, then why Mumbai - maybe it is for political reasons and if you take away the voting rights of people who encroach on government land, we will be able to get rid of this growing menace of encroachment.

As a key industrialist, what should be the 3 key areas of focus to ensure that India should emerge as a super power in the coming years.
We have to improve our infrastructure - power, transport and roads. We have our key inherent strengths - whether it is textiles, IT, Pharma, Bio-tech and even Education. These are the key areas we should focus on. Even Agriculture and Biosciences have a lot of potential. This potential of India is not known by many countries and we need to create the awareness and at the same time build our infrastructure so that we do not continue lagging behind in the global market.

80% of our market is consumed within the country and we have to have better growth in volumes for exports. In a way it is good that we are self sufficient. Our Export growth is 25% which is a good sign. However, what is alarming to note is that our infrastructure growth last year during this period was 8.1% and this year during the same fiscal month is 5.1% which is not a good sign.

What are the challenges you face in handling the various portfolio and how do you overcome them?
I am fortunate to have a good team of people which has helped me to move ahead in the various portfolios I handle. I have good friends and well wishers and that has also helped me to cope up with what I am doing.

Tell us what is your key to success in handling such multi-facet responsibilities.
I am a self made man as I had lost my parents by the time I reached 18 years of age. I worked hard with lot of sincerity. I think any man who works with sincerity, hard work and honesty eventually succeeds. My key to success is the good team of people I have, good support from family and friends who have always been my well wishers. I have learnt a lot from various experiences over the years.

What is your opinion on sporting events being encouraged by Industrial Houses?
I think Industrial Houses should take the initiative of promoting sports as the talent is there to be nurtured. We have at times peaked in certain sports like hockey and in certain sports like football we are nowhere. Even in cricket there is great inconsistency. One of the reasons is that sports should be managed by professionals and not politicized. Just as in industries the Chairman, CEO, MD are from within the organization and have a background of the industry they are in, similarly, I feel that in sports too ex-sportsmen should play a major role.

The other hazard is that we deteriorate faster in certain sports as we promote some of the achievers too fast and there is focus on other areas more such as brand endorsements and as a result that itself leads to their downfall. So we have to be cautious in what way we promote and project sports persons especially those who have the talent.

What is your message to readers especially the citizens of Mumbai as to what significant role can they play in ensuring that Mumbai becomes one of the best cities in the world.
Every citizen has to work for Mumbai whether you are staying in slums or a high rise building; whether you are in politics or in an industrial set up. Unfortunately, nobody works for Mumbai and if there is more thrust on working for Mumbai rather than politicizing issues, results will follow. We should look at curbing the growth of slums instead of allowing them to grow - so much so that the pavements which are meant for walking are occupied by the slums. A three lane road is reduced to two lanes or even one lane as that too is occupied by slums resulting in accidents, pollution, traffic jams and deterioration of the city. The sewage system which was done up in 1930s when we had 3 million population is the same even though the population has grown to over 20 million. Open lands are being occupied by buildings and the city is getting more and more congested, so it is putting too much of load on our city - more people, less space and the whole system is collapsing. This takes the toll on people and after the 26 July deluge last year, even a little bit of rain, people are scared to move out of the house. A fear psychosis has set in.

We have to remove this fear psychosis and instill confidence in people. I recall in my younger days, people used to go to offices in heaviest of rains against all odds. The spirit is there even today but how long will the spirit survive without any support. It's only a matter of time. Forget Shanghai or Singapore, restore Mumbai to the original Mumbai - the Mumbai I saw when I was 3 years old where there was no law and order problem, no slums. I remember the time when I used to stay at Walkeshwar and you had Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jawaharlal Nehru and even Indira Gandhi who used to go in their car and we could not only wave at them but they used to stop their car and shake hands with us. There was no security when they used to go from Raj Bhavan to Walkeshwar or from airport to Raj Bhavan. At some places they used to stop or even drive at a speed of 5 kilometres to interact with people, that was Mumbai - this is not Mumbai what it is today. We should all work together to restore Mumbai to its original days of glory.

Mr. VIJAY G. KALANTRI, is a one of India's leading industrialist with textile diploma and vast experience in the field of management, power projects and ports. Besides being the President of AIAI, he is also the President of the Indian Council of Foreign Trade(ICOFT) as well as the President of the Indo-Polish, Indo-Arab and Indo-Mauritius Chambers of Commerce; Vice President of MVIRDC World Trade Centre Mumbai and the Bowling Alley Association and holds various other interesting and challenging portfolios across various industries which includes panels of Reserve Bank of India Committee, Central Government Committees.

Mr Kalantri has also been a speaker at various conferences and is involved in the Clean and Green project of the Mega City of Mumbai. He is also a Director of the World Trade Association, N.Y. Some of his past achievements have been the president of All India Manufacturer's Organisation (AIMO) & Association Of Machinery Merchants Textile Stores Of India (AMMTSM). To his credit he is a director of various leading industries such as VIP Industries Ltd., Man Industries Ltd., Indian Acrylics, Hindustan Housing Finance & Development Corp., and Vindhyachal Hydro Power Projects Ltd., Dighi Port Ltd and Balaji Infrared Projects Ltd. He has been honoured with various awards such as the “Rajasthan Shree” For outstanding services for Industry, Award for assisting In Collection Drive For Ex-Servicemen by Collector of Mumbai, & International Youth Award by American Bigraphicals Institute. He is also been a Director on various boards such as Dena Bank & Canara Bank.

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