Industry fetes Hari Shankar Singhania

NEW DELHI: It has been a fascinating journey for Hari Shankar Singhania, patriarch of the sprawling JK empire, recently conferred with the Padma Bhushan.
For many decades now, this quiet, softspoken (also read outspoken), articulate, wisened veteran has calmly steered the JK group to, where it stands today, the top of India''s business landscape.
It came as no surprise, then, that on a quiet Thursday afternoon, five industry chambers --CII, FICCI, Assocham, ICC-India and PHDCCI -- in a rare moment of unity, converged around Singhania to fete him for his achievement and contribution to industry.
FICCI president AC Muthiah, like Assocham president RK Somany before him, was effusive in his praise. "His foresight and dynamic vision has benefited not just the business community, but FICCI as well. This is a honour fully deserved," he said.
Arun Bharat Ram, past president of CII, pointed out that Singhania had, over the years, helped build synergy and trust between CII and other industry bodies. "This is a tribute to someone with a big vision both physically and metaphorically," he said. Others who paid tributes were, Dr Bharat Ram, chairman of SRF, and YC Deveshwar of ITC.
PK Jain of PHDCCI said that Singhania had his roots from a generation which had broad social sympathies and a clear idea about right or wrong. "I wish him all the best for the future."
But for a man not unaccustomed to the arclights, Singhania was, predictably modest, even as industry captains waxed eloquent about the man of the moment, time and again. "I''m overwhelmed," he said. "But this is a tribute to the business community."
He, however, had a clear message for Indian entrepreneurs. "They have the capability to lead the country forward. But they must take advantage of the synergies created by globalisation and technological advancement."
The speed with which technology is reinventing itself is so profound that it is imperative that we keep pace, he said. "India''s band of young technocrats, managers, scientists, and its skilled workforce both within and outside will help it achieve an important position in terms of global trade," he said. However, Singhania cautioned against negative mindsets which often tend to outshine the positives.
"I have seen many eras of development through the stifling mires of the permit raj, the liberalised 90s, to the present day when we are at the forefront of a technological revolution, especially in telecommunications."
Singhania pointed out that the Indian economy was already the fourth largest in the world and well poised to become a superpower. In May 2000, in Budapest, Singhania had once told ICC''s 33rd World Congress that India as a country was going through a transition which is much more profound than meets the eye. It was, he had said, "a change in mindset".