MP gets more choupal sagars

Y.C. Deveshwar’s ‘‘e-choupals’’ have turned out to be more than successful, and that is why awards now keep flowing...

Y.C. Deveshwar’s ‘‘e-choupals’’ have turned out to be more than successful, and that is why awards now keep flowing in. The tycoon who is now no longer just a cigarette-baron has taken things one step ahead by creating ‘‘choupal sagars’’ in Madhya Pradesh. The areas lucky enough to receive these sagars, could be places like Guna, Pipariya, Khandwa or Mandideep, all in Madhya Pradesh, where the tycoon’s first choupal sagar was set up and has met with huge success.

A typical sagar consists of a petrol pump and even a shopping area, where the farmers have the convenience of a variety of household items available at much lower rates, value added services, and even branded clothing and shoes at lesser prices for the fashionable and adventurous lot, all available at the same place. The tycoon may soon add medical facilities, fruits and vegetables and herbal and ayurvedic herbs and medicines to this list. The chaupal has also helped generate employment in a way, as farmers from the area are employed as workers there, while one of them is even picked as a sanchalak to organise the whole sagar. The farmers are thus provided with services as well as knowledge, thanks to a gigantic plasma television that is also at the sagar. With his e-choupal network extended to six states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it provides access to over 2.4 million farmers! A one stop destination for all their needs — Deveshwar couldn’t have done better.

Orissa ore

He may or may not acquire OPIL’s paper unit, but he’s definitely making moves in West Bengal. Sajjan Jindal will now set up a Rs 12,000 crore steel plant there. This will be either at Asansol, which happens to be the tycoon’s preference due to its proximity to the Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) project, or Purulia, Bankura or near Kharagpur, which is apparently the state government’s preference. This five million tonne plant will be taken up in two phases and completed in about four years time. Jindal will get his iron ore from Orissa or Jharkhand, whichever government agrees to his request first. This may not be too soon, since according to the law, iron ore is supplied only to that company which sets up a plant within that very state. But the tycoon hopes the fact that he has already established two steel projects in Orissa will go in his favour.

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You may wonder why the tycoon chose West Bengal to set up his plant, when he could have had things easier by setting it up in Orissa or Jharkhand.

Since Jindal’s steel plant will create 10,000 direct and an equal number of indirect jobs for the people of West Bengal he has given reason enough to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to get on the job to try and convince the Orissa government to give in, or perhaps convince the Union government to change the rules regarding iron ore sharing. To know just what happens next, keep watching this space.

Colour me quick

Jenson and Nicholson — a paint company that at one time held a 10-15 per cent market share — has now lost most of its colours. While tycoon A.S. Varma has accepted that his company has fallen on bad times, he is now trying all he can to rejuvenate it. The tycoon made his first step towards attempting to improve the company’s situation by owning up that mismanagement, little or no marketing initiatives and a failure to move with the times and launch new products suited to the changing tastes of consumers, are the reasons for J&N’s present position. Things don’t look very easy for Varma.

The tycoon has already closed down 40 of his offices, and it seems it won’t be very long before another 12 close down too. Varma’s company is now under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), while his competitors like Shalimar Paints are lining up investments for new projects and acquisitions. Now the tycoon is only looking to the Asset Reconstruction Company of India (ARCIL) for a Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) that might just be the only miracle the tycoon can hope for today.

dilipcherian@hotmail.com

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