'Make in India' has to be more than a slogan'

Dinesh Paliwal

, India-born CEO of $8-billion US-headquartered connected vehicle systems and audio giant Harman, has said that India has high potential for investments, but global CEOs shy away from committing money as they are "afraid of India's bureaucracy, corruption and lack of transparency." While lauding the improvement in ease of doing business rankings, Paliwal says India needs to do much more than merely talk about boosting manufacturing. "The 'Make in India' campaign has to be more than a slogan, it needs to have legs," Paliwal tells TOI in an interview. Excerpts:


How has been the journey for Harman post the acquisition by Samsung in late 2016? Although Samsung acquired Harman, we remain a wholly-owned, yet independent entity. With top officials from Samsung now part of our board, there is speed in decision-making when it comes to issues related to mobility, connectivity and data. Decisions around acquisitions, R&D, and M&A can be taken faster.

Harman runs brand such as

Harman Kardon

, JBL and AKG. How do you see the potential of your business and brands in India?

We have seen over 200% growth in India. The Indian market was earlier managed by a distributor but we recently decided to take over and reach our consumers directly. We are deploying our technology and distribution through our stores... Today, we are on a path where India would be half-a-billion-dollar business in 4 years against the $200 million expected this year.

What are your comments on attracting manufacturing investments in India?

People are not looking for big subsidies and tax savings, (but) just make it neutral... business people do not want uncertainty. For example, give me five years of guaranteed utility at certain rates. People don't want uncertainty, people want anxiety-free five-year development. For those bringing technology and manufacturing, there can be state-level tax breaks, though you still have to pay federal tax. The state will benefit as we are going to create not only few hundred jobs, but also ancillary systems, and all the supply chain.

But what is more critical is to have bureaucracy-free permits and approvals. India has spoken a lot, but we are still not there. Trust me, we are still not there... China has converted the promise of opportunity into reality, (and) we need to do the same.

What stops global companies from investing freely in India in manufacturing?
They say we don't have the trust factor that we will be given the infrastructure to do that. We don't have the trust factor that we can get all the clearance and permits in time. Because once you get into it, it may take several years, and you are spinning the wheels for a long time. That still happens. And we don't feel that we are invited... This perception is a reality.

Do you think that the whole plan of 'Make in India' is being impacted by these irritants?

The irritants affect decisions. 'Make in India' has to be more than a slogan, it has to have legs... Unlike me, all CEOs are not Indians and they don't understand India. They're afraid of India, they are afraid of Indian bureaucracy, corruption and the lack of transparency. While lot of good things are happening, they still haven't bought into it.

On the technology front, what are your views on autonomous driving? Is it for real? Also, can we expect to have autonomous vehicles in congested cities such as those in India?

Autonomous cars are for real. The timeline for full (level-five) autonomy, however, is 2030. At first, autonomous may come on pre-defined bus routes, pre-defined fleets. It will first come in trucking. Trucks go on highways and are not on residential lanes, they go long distance and they don't stop and start. So, it's much easier. Cars will also come in. Shared mobility will happen faster. But for residential cities and busy cities, and to have full deployment, we are still 12-14 years away.

What is the role of India in terms of development of new technology, especially in autonomous driving and connected cars? What kind of role do you think India and Indian engineers would play?
We have connectivity and Global Center of competence sitting in India. We have

telematics

work happening in India. We have a lot of algorithms written for cameras and how a camera can collect snaps and stitch them together to create live video.

As far as Indian engineers are concerned, they are cutting-edge. They are as good as those in Palo Alto in the US,

Russia

or Germany. What they lack is experience... we also find that we don't have enough very well-trained engineers. That's the reality. Companies will need to collaborate with the skills.

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