Bangkok blues

M. Raajhendhran, the tycoon behind Raj TV Network, has now no option but to uplink his channels Raj TV and Raj Digital from Bangkok. Some ma...

M. Raajhendhran, the tycoon behind Raj TV Network, has now no option but to uplink his channels Raj TV and Raj Digital from Bangkok. Some may remember that Bangkok was the location from where he previously uplinked his network, before he set up his present teleport facility in Chennai. But no, this move has more to do with desperation rather than any feeling of nostalgia.

The story goes that the tycoon had a licence for broadcasting his Raj TV network but had soon began to broadcast two additional channels as well; Raj Music 8212; a round-the-clock multi-language music channel and Raj Vissa 8212; a Telugu channel, which used to compete with Sun Network8217;s Gemini TV and Teja TV . Despite the two new channels having no licence, the tycoon continues showing them for one whole year, and to make things worse did not bother to renew his own licence that he had for just Raj TV.

This was of course too much for the I038;B ministry who declared the airing of the two channels as 8220;clearly unauthorised and illegal8221;. The ministry immediately cancelled the tycoon8217;s licence to uplink, because he had violated the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act.

So now the tycoon cannot operate any of his television channels.

Raajhendhran, of course, claims that he had continued to telecast the channels even after September because he knew that he would eventually be given the permission to do so. Added to that, the tycoon refuses to accept any wrongdoing. Instead he feels he has been targeted for other reasons 8212; simply because he is a member of the BJP and his channel is a great rival of Sun TV, which is run by the DMK.

The ever optimistic tycoon however has great hopes, and regards the Bangkok episode as a 8220;stop-gap arrangement,8221; while he awaits another hearing of his case by a division bench of the Supreme Court early this month. The tycoon obviously prefers to knock on the apex8217;s court8217;s doors again and again rather than at the I038;B doors, Home, Defence and Telecommunications ministries and not to forget 26 other departments for his licence.

Manufacturing a difference

Eleven tycoons including Ratan Tata, Jamshyd Godrej, Baba Kalyani, Habil Khorakiwala, Mukul Kasliwal and Surinder Kapur have been chosen as members of the new V. Krishnamurthy-headed National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council NMCC. The tycoons are expected to identify all those manufacturing sectors on the basis of how globally competitive they can be, while spotting their problems and limitations of structure and size of the industry, technology gaps and modernisation needs.

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This, the tycoons will achieve by developing new strategies for the sector as well as individual industries. Some of the benefits will be job generation, promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation and some public-private sector partnerships. Besides the tycoons, other members comprise economists like Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia, academicians like Prof Shekar Chaudhury, the Director of IIM Kolkata, representatives of FICCI, CII and Assocham among others. There will also be a member from the small scale industries SSI sector, as well as secretaries from the union ministries.

But in spite of many big and bright men being thrown together in the NMCC, the task at hand will not be child8217;s play.

The tycoons may be able to identify the issues that lead to low levels of competitiveness in the first place, but will not find it so easy to persuade those who are responsible, to implement changes to avoid this. Here8217;s where the tycoon members8217; negotiation skills will come in handy!

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