Unbusiness-Like Thoughts

But then, it’s a sign of the times. There’s no denying business has grown in stature. Top businessmen dominate the rankings of the powerful in India. They head government committees; hobnob with ministers and legislators, some have even joined government; lobby for India’s causes at the high tables of commerce; and have become ambassadors for the national brand, feted for their views on everything under the sun. Only a few businessmen could wield so much influence till a few years ago. Today, helped along by an adoring media, an army of suits is driving the debates of the day.

The confidence stems from the huge changes business has been able to effect, particularly over the past two decades or so. From literally keeping out of sight in a socialist milieu (where commerce was above all a dirty word), it’s been a complete role reversal.

It helps that the political establishment has low barriers for accepting business and even integrating with it. Remember the storm of disapproval when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked industry to maintain a low profile and shun conspicuous consumption? That’s small change in a country where over 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. It’s also perplexing that government seems to have forgotten important rules of engagement with business—the Ambani gas spat is just one of the many examples of conflict of interest that have become institutionalised. Indeed, it looks like a cosy club.

No wonder, despite a painful slowdown, India Inc remains supremely upbeat and even seeks to paint itself as a “partner” in nation-building, a dream combination of corporate efficiency and public good. A lot more has changed: those tacky suits are long gone. Everyone has learnt the global language of commerce. Indian CEOs are called on to ring the opening bell on the Nasdaq or the NYSE. Terms that earlier seemed alien—sweat equity, CSR, mark-to-market losses and red-eye flights—now easily roll off the tongue. Executives now work and travel with furious abandon, always on call.

This sameness is cultivated. Whether they like it not, CEOs now have to also spend a lot of time pandering to so many stakeholders: trade partners, investors, customers, the media—and even “motivating the chaps”. That’s why drunken dealer conferences and staff retreats in Phuket have become part of the new landscape. Even though it’s a big change from the past, all this (fuelled by stratospheric growth and 40 per cent pay hikes year after year) appears harmless.

After all, ambition, influence and confidence are essential ingredients in business. For a nation that is finally on a high economic growth path—unlike, as we keep reminding ourselves, most of the developed world—this should be cause for celebration. We’re thinking global. Not for business alone, but also for India. That’s where the doubts come in.

Simply put, business hasn’t shed its “licence raj” mentality. It’s that usual mixture of sycophancy and rapacity. For all the strutting and the trappings of power, industry still runs scared of government. All business seems to want is pieces of a lucrative pie, come what may, and handouts, concessions and exemptions—or, if things take a turn for the worse, even bailouts from the state. Given the sparks of entrepreneurship we see around us, this is disappointing.

See how Ratan Tata, Sunil Mittal and Anil Ambani shared a dais in praise of Narendra Modi. How clubby (and democratic) is it to anoint a future PM? And when did you last hear about an icon of Indian industry speaking up for individual liberties? Idealism doesn’t sit well with commerce at the best of times—but blinded by success, India Inc doesn’t seem to be taking the high moral ground. That does, indeed, exist. As Amartya Sen puts it, profits and commercial viability are important. “But within the limits of feasibility and reasonable returns, there are substantial choices to be made, and in these choices one’s visions and identities could matter.”

Industry’s great land grab has been the foremost reason to give liberalisation a bad name. Any opposition to the acquisition of large tracts of land was seen as a voice against progress. But it took violent protests to completely stall this land grab. More importantly, people’s confidence in big business has been badly hit. Industry is increasingly being seen as an opponent—one that is carving up land and national assets, always seeking to curry favour. Or that it is up to no good—the Satyam saga has shown up corporate India in poor light. In return, we largely get tokenism in the name of corporate philanthropy.

Things always look better in rose-tinted retro-vision. A spirit of nationalism explains the stellar contributions of India’s pioneer industrialists like the Tatas and Birlas in pre-independence India. It’s facile to say Indian industry in newly independent India was selfless. But, yes, industry was seen as intellectually honest. Perhaps that’s just another way of saying there was an absence of choices—the socialist pattern of society blotted out three decades or so. Slowly, but surely, Indian industry has now woken up to choices.

Already under attack over the land issue, the recent electoral verdict has come as a surprise (as did the previous one). India Inc has to introspect—because at least some politicians realise the virtues of performance. If this gathers momentum, it could put pressure on the clubby relationship business has with the political establishment.

Suddenly, India Inc is mouthing the mantra of “inclusive growth”—business wants to be seen as doing things for the “other India” rather than hide behind the “trickledown” school of thought. A clear reflection of this is Nandan Nilekani, one of India’s top CEOs, joining government to finish a project of “national importance”. Is this just a one-off case?

Money, by definition, does not recognise nationalism. But business now has the luxury of choice. If India wants to be an “emerging global giant”, business needs to do its bit by truly serving its consumers (all of them) instead of looking after its own interests in a narrow sense. Sure, India Inc deserves to celebrate its independence—but its great leap lies yet ahead.