When
a country is split into two, millions of lives are thrown completely
out of gear. We know it wasn't any different with ours. We can barely
imagine the plight of the peoples ravaged by the savagery that
accompanied, and lasted even after, the tumultuous occurring. Such an
event would have been enough to break down the resolve of many who were
faced with innumerable and, often, insurmountable difficulties in life,
and out of which very few have come out unscathed.
Especially, if one
happens to be a young man on the threshold of a blossoming career. But,
even in the face of such impossible circumstances, there have been some
who have risen like a phoenix and created a world of their own,
literally out of nothing. Raunaq Singh, the founding Chairman of the Rs.
4,270 crore (Turnover) Raunaq Group, is one of them. The partition of
India forced him to move - almost flee- from Lahore to Delhi, and was,
in the process, left almost a pauper.This write-up here is an attempt to capture some of the significant happenings in the amazing journey of the thorough-bred Raunaq Singh who, with a blunt and down-to-earth manner, propelled his group to the heights where it is presently at. One can be pardoned if after reading this one gets a feeling bordering between reality and stuff of the make-believe world.
Early Days
Mr.
Singh was born on August 16, 1922 in Daska in the Punjab Province of
present-day Pakistan. It is said that Mr. Singh had very modest
beginnings; what with neither any pedigree nor formal higher education
to rely on, it was incumbent on the young Mr. Singh to take up a job
with a local steel trading shop for a salary of Rs.8 per month. Even as
this went on for some time, the struggles of the freedom movement were
on the verge of fruition, aided by events elsewhere in the world as also
the political ramblings within the country, leading to a period of
intense turmoil culminating in the partition of the country into two.
Hundreds of thousands of families were displaced. So too was Mr. Singh's
which was forced to move to Delhi where he took up a job with another
steel merchant Munilal and Sons, located in the Gole Market. He had to
put up his family in a small rented portion in the vicinity of his new
work place, where his frugality helped him sustain and see through the
difficult period with relative ease.
The Spark
That Mr. Singh had all the makings of an entrepreneur was quite evident
very early in his youth when he was able to very easily sell a steel
tube for a price much higher than it would cost; that too without
investing a penny! The sale itself is not unusual but what it led the
young man to afterwards is noteworthy. The event turned out to be a sort
of turning point in Mr. Singh's life. His job stint and this
transaction in particular, was what set him thinking, and laid the
foundations for the development of the astute businessman he would
eventually turn out to be. While recalling this apparently insignificant
event to his friends much later, Mr. Singh would revel in emphasizing
the effect it had on him and his thinking that would guide him in all
his pursuits thereafter. For it is from this point on that he started to
think of starting up a business where he was slated to excel in
everything - well almost- he did.
As we have learnt, displacement of the family from Lahore to Delhi as
refugees owing to the partition of the country, had adverse effects on
Mr. Singh's financial plight and forced him to take up a job, which was
barely enough for subsistence. But, as things would have it, the
aspiring businessman in him would not give in to the circumstances so
easily. His background, early tryst with destiny, and his make-up were
such that he had to get himself out of this predicament, and do what he
was destined to do.
So
in such trying times when survival revolved around a 1-paisa (hundredth
of a rupee) meal a day, he had both the courage to pawn the jewellery
of his wife -the only conceivable assets they had at that point in time-
as well as the conviction and foresight that his aspirations will,
sooner than later, fructify. With the capital thus raised (Rs.8000) not
long after he arrived into Delhi, he moved to Kolkata to kick-start his
journey as one of independent India's first generation entrepreneurs. He
started it off with a shop dealing in the trade of steel tubes, aptly
naming it as 'Bharat Steel Tubes' after the name of his motherland.
The ascent
It
was only logical that with such a man as Mr. Singh at the helm, what
started as a business activity involving sale of steel tubes, something
that he had considerable success with, grew appreciably and branched-out
over the next couple of decades. Having honed his skills and learnt the
tricks of the trade in turbulent and uncertain times, it was now time
for Mr. Singh to see his company venture into manufacturing, where also
he succeeded like very few had before. Along the way, his company also
bought and sold quite a few small companies in its effort to further
strengthen and consolidate its position in the market.
Now
we come to the most remarkable part of this saga. Showing great
business acumen for which, along with his wit and humor, he would be
known for during the rest of his life, Mr. Singh seized up the situation
of independent India as well as its new-found quest for industrial
growth. He was quick to realize that domestic consumption and demand
were miniscule and that alternatives had to be relied upon to further
the cause of local businesses. Towards this end, he left no stone
unturned and, to a great degree, it is his efforts that Indian
businesses got international exposure, an aspect which also helped
create an export-oriented products segment in the country. He was to
remain devoted to this cause ever after, up until his last breath. It
may sound a touch clichéd to recount here that he was often branded as
"Mr. Exporter," which he indeed was in every sense of the word, as
exporting our produce was one of his primary business agenda all along.
But, beyond the tag, he was one of the leading lights or shall we say
the torch-bearer of the Indian Industry in the international market. He
was the one who heralded the concept of market-economy during his time
as the first President of the FICCI in the early nineties which set the
ball of international trade of Indian companies rolling.
As the wheels of the country's economy trudged along, emphasis on road
connectivity was going to become one of the imperatives. Mr. Singh saw
that the situation was ripe enough to set-up an ambitious venture -
Apollo Tyres - India's first tyre manufacturing company. Work on Apollo
Tyres was started in 1972 (incorporated in 1976) and established its
first plant in Perambra, Kerala (India). This proved to be a
master-stoke from Mr. Singh and the stable of the Raunaq Group, as it
not only helped boost its domestic as well as international business,
but also brought India on to the world stage vis-à-vis manufacture of
tyres.
While
it took another decade-and-a-half, 1991, to establish its second plant
that came up in Limda, Gujarat, the other four (two outside India) came
up relatively quickly. This can be attributed to the fact that up until
1990-91, India was largely a closed economy which meant that businesses
could not gather pace at the rate they desired for. But liberalization
and globalization opened up the flood-gates, and Apollo Tyres went on to
taste success after success; there was steady growth as a result of the
growing dependence of businesses, as indeed of life in general, on
transportation in the era of globalization. The company has established
itself as one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the world with its
current production capacity of around 1600 metric tonnes a day from its 6
plants, and employing around 16,000 employees. As of March 31, 2012,
the company recorded a turnover of $ US 2.5 billion with a market
presence in more than 100 countries encompassing Europe, Africa and
Asia. This is definitely straight out of the rags-to-riches story books,
but one that has happened in reality and on our very own soil.
That
is not all. The Raunaq Group, under Mr. Singh went on to establish a
handful of other entities namely, Bharat Gears Ltd, Bharat Steel Tubes
Ltd, Raunaq International Ltd, Menarini Raunaq Pharma Ltd, and Raunaq
Automotive Components Ltd. Transition was due and by the turn of the
millennium, Mr. Singh had his sons ready to assume the mantle of
leadership and carry forward the rich legacy of the group, more so of
its jewel, Apollo Tyres. His eldest son Onkar S Kanwar took over as
Chairman of Apollo Tyres in 2002 and has been able to keep the growth
story intact.
Mr.
Singh's advocacy of liberalization of the Indian market and his efforts
towards this end were well acknowledged. Not only that, Mr. Singh's
immense talents and his ability to steer forward the ship even in times
of trouble also prompted many governments and institutions to seek his
services. The Government of India appointed him as the first chairman of
the state-owned Maruti-Suzuki Limited. He also held senior positions in
the Exim Bank, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and the Indo-German
Consultative Group.
He
held several key leadership positions in Industry & Trade
Associations successfully overseeing the functioning of many national
and international bodies. The capacities in which Mr. Singh served the
entities and their names are:
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Philanthropy
The
persona of Mr. Raunaq Singh caught the imagination of many
contemporaries and adversaries alike. His contemporaries thought of him
as someone who was very amiable, full of wit and humour and, who would
put many a serious matter into simple earthy language, sorting out
differences with his penchant for humour, besides his great business
acumen. Another one recollects that he was a true entrepreneur and an
example of how one can grow with hard work and commitment. While it may
not have been expressly manifest in his early days as an entrepreneur
but later on Mr. Singh did demonstrate a strong commitment to serving
the larger common good and devoted time to enlightened business
pursuits. This, perhaps, stemmed from the fact that he was a strong
believer in God, and because he believed that since God had bestowed
upon him whatever he had desired for, it was his turn to pay back from
the position he was in, by helping people through creation / generation
of as many jobs as possible.
Apart from setting up multiple business ventures that helped create
thousands of jobs, Apollo Tyres has a very well organized and active CSR
wing. Many socially critical issues such as environment friendly
practices and HIV-AIDS prevention have been taken up through quality
initiatives that have had a reasonable impact on the community. What's
more, it is also involved in undertaking training and skill-building
initiatives (as part of CSR) that have helped create awareness amongst
the youth, providing them with the required industrial exposure and the
technical know-how that will make them job-ready and self-reliant.
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