Business

"I Have Done India No Favour"

Dapper, eloquent and belying his 61 years,Dr Ashok Shekhar Ganguly, director, Research and Engineering, Unilever, will inaugurate the first international-class Unilever lab in India in March. It will be only the second Unilever laboratory outside the

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"I Have Done India No Favour"
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What is the significance of a Unilever international lab opening in Bangalore?

It signals important changes in the world that India is moving from local import substitution to globalisation. It also signals that Unilever is pro-actively moving out of Europe, UK and the US to explore other promising markets. Another lab is scheduled to open in Sao Paolo in Brazil this year.

In the ’90s, 70 per cent of Unilever busi-ness has been coming from Europe, UK and the US. In fie years’ time, however, the rest of the world will contribute 40 to even 50 per cent. We have to then take research to our most powerful markets. I follow what I call the proximity principle. Despite all that information technology can do to bring people closer and communicate effectively, person-to-person contact is yet very vital.

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How will you ensure the lab’s ‘international’ environment?

Unilever is spending Rs 25 crore at present but eventually Rs 125 cro re will be spent. There will be 350-400 research scientists working on research fields including bio-chemistry, natural products, nutrition, physical chemistry and chemical engineering. As we need critical mass in each category, we will have to pool international resources. As for the international environment, it is for the people working there to make it that way. We have to believe that we are a part of the world and not a separate entity. We can’t have ’60s thinking in the ’90s. 

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To what extent has your being an Indian guided this decision?

I haven’t done India any favour. The international company wouldn’t have agreed unless India was fit. India has the resources — manpower, brains. A number of Unilever’s scientists worldwide are Indians.

What is Unilever’s philosophy in dividing funds between basic and applied research?

Unilever spends one billion US dollars on research and believes in applying science to create wealth. We run research the business way. This serves a social cause too. Unilever allocates 10 per cent to ‘blue sky’ or basic research, 25 per cent for exploratory research which may be closer to throwing up solutions for our business problems. And 65 per cent goes for ‘innovation projects’.

Why do innovation projects merit such a large chunk of funds?

Each of our businesses looks for 25 to 30 per cent revenue from product innovation that are no more than two to three years old. The labs have to keep up with this pace of innovation. A Japanese expert had predicted a few years back that at the rate at which the world was progressing, the half-life of innovations would be close to two years by the end of the century against 10 years in the ’60s and five in the ’80s. So, instead of appearing in blocks, innovation, to be sustainable, has to flow out of imaginary pipelines to match the demand of humankind.

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Who will take up the task of synthesising knowledge into national wealth?

The private sector has to build on available knowledge and support R&D work as a business proposition. Else it will continue to be at the mercy of vendors of marginally appropriate or inappropriate technology. As the economy gains speed, the proportion of international trade is bound to grow faster. So, as imports rise, our exports have to grow faster. This can no longer be fulfilled by traditional commodities but has to be supplemented by value-adding industries.

Industry and academia are collaborating round the world. More so because while science is pro g ressing so rapidly and needs a lot of backing, national governments have less money available for social purposes including education and science. But this is a task for industries collectively. Industry and centres of academic excellence need to pool in their resources to derive a holistic advantage. Information technology and biotechnology will have the most profound influence on all economic development in the new millennium. Unilever is committed to both technologies as they will provide key competitive advantages in the future .

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And just how close is the future?

The entropy of humankind is undergoing permanent change at speeds hereto unexperienced. We have reached a point where any speculation on the future would be hazardous. Events which may have appeared spectacular have been overtaken by events that are  significantly more breathtaking.

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