The Golden League

Inside

Featuring few companies which have completed fifty years and still striding ahead with foundations created out of strong values, foresight, vision and individuals.

The Indian Express- Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Vadodara The Financial Express- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune

A Space Marketing Feature

June 8, 2009

BOTH 1910 AND 1959 ARE SIGNIFICANT TO INDIA THIS YEAR. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE BOTH THESE YEARS, IN BETWEEN OF THEM CHURNED OUT SOME OF THE MOST MIGHTY CORPORATES, BANKS AND COUNTRY OR EVEN THE CASES HAVE SEEN.

PSUS THAT THE WORLD, IN MOST

THESE

ARE COMPANIES

50, BUT NOT YET CENTENARY. THESE ARE

WHICH ARE OLDER THAN TOUCHED THEIR

COMPANIES WHICH ARE CELEBRATING THEIR

GOLDEN

JUBILEE YEAR THIS YEAR.

BUT

THERE IS A LOT COMMON IN ALL OF THEM.

PATIENCE,

COMMITMENT, RESILIENCE,

FORESIGHT…ALL A COMBINATIONAL RECIPE OF SUCCESS.

THEY

ARE FEW, BUT THEY HAVE

LIVED EVERY DAY OF THEIR EXISTENCE TO GRACE GREATNESS.

1910. Halley’s Comet brushes Earth with its tail. The Union of South Africa is created. African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeats American boxer James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match, sparking race riots across the United States. Henry Ford sells 10,000 cars.

1959. The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The Caves of Nerja are discovered in Spain. The Barbie doll debuts.

NASA announces its selection of 7 military pilots to become the first U.S. astronauts. Ceylon’s prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is assassinated. MGM’s widescreen, multimillion dollar, Technicolor version of Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, is released and becomes the studio’s greatest hit. Cold War – Antarctic Treaty: 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent.

1959, a year specific to India marked the establishment of Doordarshan, India’s national state-owned broadcaster.

It also marked Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, fleeing Tibet and travelling to India and Bajaj Auto obtaining license from Government of India to manufacture two- and three-wheelers in India.

These events and more, within its bracket, spurned several events of great importance towards the world’s and even India’s media-related, political, and industrial development.

But there was more to happen.

There were companies in the waiting to start a revolution of change and bring India to a place where it could individually claim stake on several entrepreneurial acclaims and make its stand sealed on the industrial and corporate bandwagon.

India was to change from these years on and there were a number of companies which marked India’s entry into a the new dominion of the third world to a fast growing, next big economic power-house of the world.

There were many companies which were floated between 1910 and 1959; many perished, but those who survived have lived it through and succeeded continuously even in these times of economic recession. These are companies which have constantly proved their acumen in the Corporate as well as PSU circles through their foresight, vision and mission rules concretely in place.

Companies like Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Group, Cadbury India, Cipla, DLF group, Hero Group, Hindustan Lever Ltd, ITC, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Mahindra Group, Proctor & Gamble India, TVS Group, V-Trans (India) Ltd.; banks like Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Reserve Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of In-

dia, United Bank of India, ING Vysya Bank, Vijaya Bank; PSUs like Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Indian Oil Corp, National Mineral Development Corporation, New India Assurance Co Limited, ONGC, Oriental Insurance Company, Singareni Collieries, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), United India Insurance…all have shown their might in terms of maturity in growth as well as business ethics; professional growth, expansion through foresight and side by side building an empire of robustness and transparency.

Golden Success These are companies which have followed the secrets of success in their individual businesses. They stretched their goal overcoming failures, problems and difficulties by conscious effort and by application of capabilities, resources and methods. They have clearly differentiated their success from luck, chance and doing what comes naturally without effort.

And then these companies had the most precious of them all…people. Mathematician James A. Yorke once commented, “The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B.” Most companies which crossed the long tenure with great success had people who had a Plan B when the initial plan failed and this factor made all the difference at the most crucial of times.

Contd. on Page 2...

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...Contd. from Page 1

Few comments from Golden Enterprises about their success mantra and turnaround times

The Visionary

A YOUNG TEAM OF HIGHLY MOTIVATED AND ENTERPRISING INDIVIDUALS WITH EXPOSURE TO TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES WAS THE CORE STRENGTH WHEN

VIJAY

TRANSPORT COMPANY WAS LAUNCHED IN 1958. BEING FROM TRADING COMMUNITY THEMSELVES, THEY WON TRUST OF TRADERS SOON AND BECAME THEIR PREFERRED TRANSPORTERS. THEN ON, THERE WAS NO STOPPING THEM.

Transportation in India is diverse, complex and is in an unorganized state.

In 50’s and 60’s Vijay Transport Co. introduced movement of goods in Saurashtra and Kutch to far off distances like Mumbai. The company enabled people of Kutch to taste alphonso mangoes, till then not available in Kutch and also ensured that people in Mumbai enjoyed Farm products, Ghee etc. produced in Kutch.

Traders of those days were hesitant to hand over their precious cargo to transporters in return of paper consignment notes.

“Being from the trading community ourselves and knowing the apprehensions of traders, we would persuade the traders to use their services and thereby opening transportation sector with those classes of people. By opening 80+ locations in Gujarat, we brought services to the doorstep of the clients. By setting excellent service standards, higher level of honesty, integrity and decorum, we have compelled the transport industry to provide improved services to the clients,” said Mahendra K. Shah, Managing Director, V-Trans Group.

Kunverji Khimji Shah (K.K.Shah) was an impressive person, a visionary and one of the most respected personalities of Kutch. Born in 1923 and brought up in village Patri in KutchGujarat, K.K. Shah came to Mumbai at the tender age of 9 years. He began working in kirana shops and in 1946, joined Padamshi Narshi & Co., a local transport company, as a clerk. This was the beginning of his journey in the transport industry. To reward his excellent performance and to develop his hunger for growth, Padamshibhai handed over the charge of his business to K. K. Shah and gifted him a Chevrolet truck, when he left the company to start his own business. With this same truck, K. K. Shah and his friend Balubhai started a transport business in 1950, in the name of Balubhai Kunverji and Co. And the journey had begun.

Growth As the years passed

Mahendra K. Shah, MD, V-Trans

by and the company grew multi fold, the Partnership firm was dissolved in 1996 and Vijay Transport Co. Ltd. was established as a closely held Limited Company. In 2001, the organization through a massive corporate identity exercise was renamed as V-Trans India Ltd. Today, Group V has got 325 branches spread across 20 states having 1300-plus manpower and a turnover of about Rs 200 crores.

Future Plans “In the next few years, we see ourselves as a comprehensive logistic company focusing on domestic markets.

Modern warehouses with various materials handling equipment, use of state of art technologies like ERP, a fleet of latest vehicles fitted with GPS are some of the key steps being taken,” said Shah. ❑

Mahendra K Shah, Managing Director, V-Trans Group “A burning desire to succeed propelled the founder K. K. Shah, a man with towering personality along with his brothers to venture in the business of transportation and started Vijay Transport Company in 1958 with just 2 trucks. The qualities and values they put forth in the organization like sincere hard work, sticking to ethical business practices, being enterprising and continued family unity ensured that the company negotiated any hurdle successfully. Its single focus of providing reliable, safe service and willingness to provide solutions to clients helped the company to sustain and grow to be a preferred Transport Company.”

Satish Chander Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, United Bank of India “As a result of implementation of Prudential Accounting Standards, United Bank of India incurred huge losses in the year 1993 and 1994 and was identified as a weak bank by the Working Group set up at the time of Banking Reforms, weakness being identified in three main areas –Operation, Human Resources, and Management. However, at the end of 2001-02, UBI could turn around under the guidance of RBI and scaled a new height of 522% rise in net profit at Rs. 119.04 crore. UBI’s turn around was the fastest not only in banking sector but also in the entire corporate world.”

S Sridhar, Chairman & Managing Director, Central Bank of India “Since its inception as the first Swadeshi bank of the country on 21st December 1911, Central Bank of India has emerged as one of the largest banks in India through resilience, innovation and faith of millions of satisfied customers. Over the years, the proactive and sagacious management of the Bank have launched many pioneering initiatives viz., Thrift and Saving accounts for women & children and Recurring deposit scheme, buying and selling gold, specialised ladies

ESTABLISHED IN 1911, CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA WAS THE FIRST INDIAN COMMERCIAL BANK WHICH WAS WHOLLY OWNED AND MANAGED

BY INDIANS.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BANK WAS THE ULTIMATE REALISATION OF THE DREAM OF SIR SORABJI POCHKHANAWALA, FOUNDER OF THE BANK. CLAIMED THEN TO BE THE TRULY ‘SWADESHI BANK’, SIR SORABJI PROCLAIMED CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA AS THE ‘PROPERTY OF THE NATION AND THE COUNTRY’S ASSET’.

THE

“The Central Bank of India since its very inception had been a pioneer in offering a variety of innovative services to the customers, which proved turning points. However, the nationalization of the Bank in July 1969 was one of the key events in the history of Central Bank of India. It was during this period that the Bank embarked on an expansion drive in a big way from class banking to mass banking and started on its stellar role in the economic development of the country. It opened several new branches, focused on rural sector and came up with several ground breaking rural initiatives as part of rural banking scheme. Apart from this, the Bank also started lending activities on a major scale even to small entrepreneurs, some of whom have metamorphosed into major corporates today,” says S Sridhar, Chairman & Managing Director, Central Bank of India

department, first Indian managed bank to issue Rupee Travellers Cheques, Cash Certificate, Safe Deposit vault, Credit card etc. These initiatives have established the Bank firmly in the market place as an innovative, trust worthy, proactive and steady Institution on which customers – both depositors and borrowers can bank upon.”

Vice Admiral Harisimran Singh Malhi, AVSM, VSM, Chairman & Managing Director, Mazagon Dock Limited “After its takeover by the Government in 1960, Mazagon Dock grew rapidly to become the premier warshipbuilding yard in India, producing sophisticated warships for the Navy and offshore structures for the ONGC. It has grown from a single unit, small ship repair yard, into a multi-unit and multi-product com-

THERE WERE MANY COMPANIES WHICH WERE FLOATED BETWEEN

1910

AND

1959;

MANY

PERISHED, BUT THOSE WHO SURVIVED HAVE LIVED IT THROUGH AND SUCCEEDED CONTINUOUSLY EVEN IN THESE TIMES OF ECONOMIC RECESSION.

THESE ARE

COMPANIES WHICH HAVE CONSTANTLY PROVED THEIR ACUMEN

CORPORATE AS WELL AS PSU CIRCLES THROUGH THEIR FORESIGHT, VISION AND MISSION RULES CONCRETELY IN PLACE. IN THE

pany, with significant rise in production and sophistication of products.

The company’s current portfolio of designs spans a wide range of products for both domestic and overseas clients.”

Ishaat Hussain, Chairman, Voltas Limited “Since 1853, Volkart had been prominent in ‘two-way trade’ between India and the West. Broadly, raw materials and commodities were exported while the imports focused on machinery and engineering equipment from overseas manufacturers.

Over the years, such technology-based products increasingly needed instal-

During the past 98 years of history the Bank has weathered many storms and faced many challenges. The Bank could successfully transform every threat into business opportunity and excelled over its peers in the Banking industry. Today, further in line with the guidelines from Reserve Bank of India as also the Government of India, Central Bank has been playing an increasingly active role in promoting the key thrust areas of agriculture, small scale industries as also medium and large industries.

The Bank also introduced- a number of Self Employment Schemes to promote employment among the educated youth. According to Sridhar, as of 31st March 2009, the Bank had 3518 branches, 34 satellite offices and 243 extension counters. “During the current fiscal we shall be adding about 150 branches,” he added.

Recent Initiatives

Central Bank of India launched Visa Platinum and Visa Gold cards IT Enabled Financial Inclusion at Hoshangabad which will bring the financial services to the door steps of those who are living in remotest parts of the country.

In order to develop rural entrepreneurship, the

lations and support services. This evolved into Volkart’s Engineering & Import business, which soon formed the bulk of their activities. Post-war and post-Independence realities called for some drastic revisions.

India’s manufacturing capabilities had been jumpstarted by wartime conditions. Independent India too was intent on forcing the pace of indigenisation, by restricting imports of engineering equipments (among others). Paradoxically, India’s industrial and economic growth would require more and more such equipment, and the installation / support services, which Volkart was so well placed to deliver. Volkart and Tata’s teamed up as Voltas Limited to tackle these challenges. It was the ideal combination: Volkart’s engineering service and trading expertise, allied with Tata’s historic standing as a major industrializing power.”

Drona Rath, CMD, Mecon Limited “As an independent department of Hindustan Steel Limited, the functions of Central Engineering and Design Bureau (CEDB) were quite flexible and in line with the needs and directions of the HSL board. Late Mohan Kumaramangalam, as Steel Minister, in 1972-73, conceived the formation of SAIL as the holding company for the main iron and steel plants and ancillary industries in the public sector. CEDB took on a separate identity as Metallurgical and engineering consultants (India) Limited, (Mecon) on April 1, 1973 as a subsidiary of the holding company. HSL remained a separate company like Bokaro Steel, under the holding company umbrella.

The memorandum of association made it clear that Mecon was not confining itself to pure consultancy or to iron and steel, the main course on its menu. It would also be engaged in the design and manufacture of equipment and systems, and in detailed and project engineering not undertaken by other consultancy firms. In its aims and objectives, the company presented to public view, many new facets and new directions in which it hoped to progress. Mecon has till date completed over 4500 consultancy and ePc assignments covering wide range of field and services.” ❑

Bank launched a Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute (Rudseti) at Hoshangabad.

Performance During the quarter ended March 2009, Central Bank of India’s total income registered growth of 21.22 per cent at Rs 3150.33 crore over March 2008.

Targets “During the current fiscal we have targeted a business growth of over 18 per cent at Rs. 2,57,550 crore. This shall come about through 18 per cent growth in advances at Rs. 1,02,350 crore and over 18 per cent growth in deposits at Rs. 1,55,200 crore. As a business strategy to improve our profitability, we are focusing on improving our share of CASA to 36.9 %, for which we have planned to add 20 Lakh Savings accounts and 75,000 Current accounts during the year,” says Sridhar. ❑

S Sridhar, CMD, Central Bank of India

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THE ORIGIN OF UNITED BANK OF INDIA GOES BACK AS FAR AS 1914 (CONSIDERING THAT IT WAS FORMED OUT OF THE AMALGAMATION OF FOUR SMALL BANKS OF

BENGAL; ONE OF THEM, COMILLA BANKING CORPORATION LTD. WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1914). WITH 174 BRANCHES AND BUSINESS OF RS 259 CRORES, UBI WAS ONE OF THE 14 BANKS WHICH WERE FIRST NATIONALIZED IN JULY 1969. ITS INITIAL GROWTH, DECLINE, RISING AND THE CURRENT SUPREMACY IS STUPENDOUS AND A CLASSIC STORY OF MATURITY, FORESIGHT, VISION AND COMMITMENT AMONG OTHER KEY ENABLERS.

S. Chander Gupta, CMD, UBI

Fifty eight years ago, on December 18, 1950 United Bank of India (UBI) was born out of amalgamation of four banks viz., Comilla Banking Corporation, Bengal Central Bank, Comilla Union Bank and Hooghly Bank, established in the years 1914, 1918, 1922 and 1932 respectively. Subsequently, two more banks (Cuttack Bank Limited and Tezpur Industrial Bank Limited) were merged with United Bank of India in the year 1961.

On July 19, 1969, United Bank of India was nationalized.

The Decline During 1969-1980, UBI’s total business increased by 19.7% p.a as against 10.9% p.a growth achieved during 1950-1969. But the bank got most affected by the implementation of Prudential Accounting Standards as a part of Regulatory measures initiated in India in the early 90’s. Since then rate of growth of business declined to 12.7% p.a and 12.5%p.a

during the decades 1980 to 1990 and 1990 to 2000 respectively.

“As a result of implementation of Prudential Accounting Standards, the Bank incurred huge losses in the year 1993 and 1994 and was identified as a weak bank by the Working Group set up at the time of Banking Reforms, weakness being identified in three main areas –Operation, Human Resources, and Management. However, at the end of 2001-02, UBI could turn around under the guidance of RBI and scaled a new height of 522% rise in net profit at Rs. 119.04 crore,” said Satish Chander Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, United Bank of India.

The Rising The growth of the Bank accelerated in the new millennium and according to Gupta, the turn around was the fastest not only in the banking sector but also in the entire corporate world.

Main Thrust According to Gupta, Development of business is their foremost priority.

“The Bank has achieved a business level of Rs. 90,263 crore as on March 31, 2009. We are trying to reach a business level of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore by March 2010. Emphasis are now on mobilizing more low cost deposits, increasing retail credit mainly in sectors like agriculture, MSME, Housing, Auto etc, NPA Management – both reduction and prevention, increasing yield on advances, return on investment and augmentation of non-interest income, increasing forex business etc. The Government has already allowed restructuring of our Capital and we are planning to go for an IPO this year,” he revealed.

The Bank has set a business target for themselves of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore

by March 2010. ❑

BEGINNING

AS A

SMALL BARGE BUILDING YARD,

GSL

HAS

GARNERED REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED SHIP BUILDERS IN THE

FOR

COUNTRY. GSL

OVER FOUR DECADES,

HAS DESIGNED, BUILT AND COMMISSIONED A WIDE RANGE OF SOPHISTICATED VESSELS FOR VARIED APPLICATIONS IN THE DEFENCE AND COMMERCIAL SECTORS WITH SPECIAL EXPERTISE IN BUILDING MODERN

STEEL AND ALUMINIUM HULL STRUCTURE. TODAY, AFTER COMPLETING ITS 51ST YEAR, THIS SHIPYARD REMAINS AS YOUNG AS EVER. PATROL VESSELS OF

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) was originally established by Portuguese in 1957, as a small barge repair facility, under the name “Estalerios Navais De Goa”.

Following the liberation of Goa it was renamed as Goa Shipyard Limited, with its own Board of Directors in 1967. Government of India accorded status of schedule “B” to the company in Jan 1997. The Yard was conferred the status of Mini Ratna, Category-I in March 2007.

Initial Challenges In the beginning, GSL undertook ship repairs, built small barges and fishing trawlers. Over the years, GSL upgraded in value chain, and has today built a reputation as one of the most sophisticated ship builders in the country.

It has established itself as a premier shipyard on India’s west coast. The

company has graduated from a mere barge building unit to a progressive warship building yard.

“GSL is one of the few shipyards in the country who have in-house design capability, in the process efficiently meeting the customers’ requirements for design, construction, repair and modernization of vessels. Today the yard is known for delivering quality ships ahead of the schedule to the satisfaction of the customers,” says Rear Admiral A K Handa, CMD, Goa Shipyard Limited.

While making consistent progress in core competency in shipbuilding area, the yard also utilized its technical and managerial capabilities to successfully diversify in to new area of business, which included the design and construction of training simulators for the Indian Navy and ONGC, setting up of Shore Based Test Facility for Light Combat Aircraft (N) for Aeronautical Development Agency Bangalore, and recent venture in to Construction of Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) Boats for Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA).

GSL is also in to the business of supplying Stern Gear Equipment and spares to the navy and other Indian shipyards in collaboration with an international firm of repute.

Recently, in the face of stiff competition, GSL has won a prestigious order for the supply of Stern Gear Equipment for the first indigenous Air Defence Ship, being built for the Indian Navy at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. “Till date, GSL has to its credit the delivery of 185 steel vessels which include Offshore Patrol Vessels, Fast Patrol Vessels, Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels, Missile Crafts, Sail Training Ships, Hydrographic Survey Vessels, Extra Fast Attack Crafts, Landing Craft Utility (LCUs), Torpedo Recovery Vessels, Oiler, Fishing Vessels, Offshore Platform Support cum Standby

Rear Admiral A K Handa, CMD, Goa Shipyard Limited Vessels (OPSSVs), Passenger Vessels, Tugs and Simulators etc, to name a few,” said Admiral Handa.

Performance In the fiscal year 2006-07, the company registered the highest Value of Production (VoP) ever since its inception of 267.07 crores, which was up by 6.92 percent over the previous year.

During the year, the Operating Profit soared by 282.85 percent while, the Net Profit increased by 143.36 percent over the previous year.

Thereafter it has been a year of recognition & rewards for GSL. The VoP performance during the year 2007-08 exceeded even that of the previous year by 18.8 percent where as Net Profit increased by 72 percent.

Future Challenges The company, in order to meet the future challenges, has embarked upon a planned modernization project in a phased manner to augment its infrastructure facilities at GSL, which is at the implementation stage and is expected to increase the company’s ship construction and repair capacity. ❑

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THE SETTING UP OF KARUR VYSYA BANK CAN BE DESCRIBED AS AN ACT OF DISCHARGING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF TWO ILLUSTRIOUS BUSINESSMEN OF KARUR WHO WANTED TO SUPPORT THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN IN THEIR AGRICULTURAL AND TRADE ACTIVITIES WHICH WERE IN THE DOLDRUMS IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE

WORLD WAR. THOUGH

THE

INITIAL JOURNEY WAS SLOW YET STEADY FOR SEVERAL YEARS, THE PAST DECADE HAS SEEN SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF THE BANK.

Karur Vysya Bank was started in the year 1916 in Karur, then a small textile town with a vast agricultural background, by two illustrious entrepre-

neurs –M.A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar. What started as a venture with a seed capital of Rs. 1.00 lakh has grown into a leading financial institution that offers various financial services to millions of its customers under one roof.

“We have adapted to the changing face of the banking industry and in fact taken several path breaking initiatives which were ahead of the times. Our early computerization programme (in the early 1990s), migration to the Core banking Solutions platform (2004), implementation of employee friendly initiatives like release of ex-gratia payments to all employees (which was the first such initiative by any bank in the industry) are some of several such initiatives. We have achieved several business milestones like achievement of Rs. 10000 cr. base in both deposits and advances and total business of over Rs. 25000 cr., which made us the first Tamilnadu based private sector bank to do so,” said P T Kuppuswamy, MD & CEO, Karur Vysya Bank

Performance

The total business of the bank as on 31.03.09 was Rs. 25664 cr. with deposits at Rs. 15101 cr. and advances at Rs.10563 cr. The profit for fiscal 2007-08 was Rs. 208.33 cr. and profit as on 31.12.08 was at Rs. 152.02 cr. The bank’s Net owned fund is at Rs. 1221 cr. Its Net NPA is likely to be in the region of 0.25% and Capital Adequacy Ratio more than 13% as on 31.03.09.

“We are targeting a total business of Rs. 32000 cr. for the P T Kuppuswamy, MD & CEO, Karur Vysya Bank current finan-

cial year and hope to improve the branch network to 350 by 31.03.10,” said Kuppuswamy.

Presence One of the core strengths of the bank has been its presence in semi urban and rural areas. Long before the new generation banks started looking at Tier II and III centres for business, the registered its strong presence in such places. At present, out of its 314 branches, the bank has presence in 97 urban, 110 semi-urban and 49 rural centres.

“Through these centres, we have been providing yeomen service to development of these small economies.

Our bank has been consistently reaching the priority sector advances target of 40% (40.10% as on 31.03.09) of total advances as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India and a major reason for this achievement can be attributed to our operations in these centres. Agricultural lending was at 10.30% as on 31.03.09. We are having our share under all the Government sponsored schemes. We are now concentrating more on Micro credit through MFI besides lending directly to various Self help groups, especially women groups engaged in Farm sectors activities,” said Kuppuswamy.

In accordance with Govt/RBI guidelines, the bank launched its own Kisan Credit Card scheme by name KVB Green card.

In order to cater to the need of the farmers to improve their investment credit, the has ‘KVB Green Card PLUS’ scheme which fulfils the need of the farmers for their working capital as well as long term investment needs. To cater to the other core area in agriculture, Farm Mechanization the bank has specialized schemes names as ‘KVB Green Trac’ & ‘KVB Green Harvest’. ❑

SYNDICATE BANK WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1925 IN UDUPI, THE ABODE OF LORD KRISHNA IN COASTAL KARNATAKA WITH A CAPITAL OF RS.8000/- BY THREE VISIONARIES SRI UPENDRA ANANTH PAI, A BUSINESSMAN, SRI VAMAN KUDVA, AN ENGINEER AND DR.T M A PAI, A PHYSICIAN - WHO SHARED A STRONG COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL WELFARE.

THEIR OBJECTIVE

WAS

PRIMARILY TO EXTEND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE LOCAL WEAVERS WHO WERE CRIPPLED BY A CRISIS IN THE HANDLOOM INDUSTRY THROUGH MOBILISING SMALL SAVINGS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

The bank collected as low as 2 annas daily at the doorsteps of the depositors through its Agents under its Pigmy Deposit Scheme started in 1928.

This scheme is the Bank's brand equity today and the Bank collects around Rs. 2 crore per day under the scheme.

The progress of Syndicate Bank has been synonymous with the phase of progressive banking in India.

Spanning over 80 years of pioneering expertise, the Bank has created for itself a solid customer base comprising customers of two or three generations. Being firmly rooted in rural India and understanding the grassroot realities, the Bank's perception had vision of future India.

It has been propagating innovations in Banking and also has been receptive to new ideas, without however getting uprooted from its distinctive socioeconomic and cultural ethos.

Its philosophy of growth by mutual

sustenance of both the Bank and the people has paid rich dividends. The Bank has been operating as a catalyst of development across the country with particular reference to the common man at the individual level and in rural/semi urban centres at the area level.

The Bank is well equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century in the areas of information technology, knowledge and competition. A comprehensive IT plan is being put in place and the skills and knowledge of the Bank's personnel are being upgraded through a variety of training programmes to promote customer delight in every sphere of its activity.

The Bank has launched an ambitious technology plan called Centralised Banking Solution (CBS) whereby 500 of their strategic branches with their ATMs are being networked nationwide over a 4 year period.

Performance The bank has declared a profit of Rs 910 crore for the year against last year’s Rs 848 crore, the YoY growth is 8%, however the growth Q4 to Q4 is 64%, the growth of the year has been enabled by the increase in interest on advances which has grown up by 22% and tertiary income has been good in Q4, the profit on sale of investment was Rs 168 crore as against Rs 67 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The bank has done well overall, the efficiency parameters like the net NPA and the gross NPA has been achieved, the gross NPA has been brought down to 1.93% against 2.71% in the last year and the net NPA has been brought down to 0.77% against 0.97% in the last year.

Outlook The Bank is projecting a steady

V K Nagar, Executive Director, Syndicate Bank growth of 20% in year 2009-10 and also a similar growth of 20% at the deposits. It hopes to contain the gross NPA and the net NPA at the current level.

Rural Development Initiatives The Bank has Lead Bank responsibility in 25 districts across the Country. The Bank is also the Convener of the State Level Banker's Committee (SLBC) in Karnataka and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and has discharged satisfactorily the responsibility cast on it as the Convener of SLBC. There are 5 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) sponsored by our Bank covering 30 districts in 5 States with a network of 1,244 branches.

The RRBs sponsored by the Bank occupy top league among 92 RRBs in the Country in respect of Key Business Parameters. The Bank is imparting training to unemployed youth through eight Syndicate Institutes of Rural Entrepreneurship Development (SIRDs).

These institutes have conducted 206 training programmes during the year 2007-08, upgrading the skills of 7,095 persons. ❑

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AS A PAN INDIA BANK, BANK OF MAHARASHTRA IS CATERING TO THE FINANCIAL NEEDS OF ALL SECTORS

– AGRICULTURE, TRADE, INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION, TRANSPORT, INDUSTRY AND SERVICES INCLUDING ITES, HOSPITALITY, ENTERTAINMENT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

OF THE ECONOMY

Bank of Maharashtra, a Government of India enterprise, had its origin in Pune in 1935; since its inception, the bank has been giving support to the common man by assisting small business enterprises, traders and selfemployed. The Bank has over 12.5 million customers and adding on an average 1.5 million new customers every year.

BoM has1427 branches in 22 states and 2 union territories. In its constant endeavour to provide greater customer convenience and techno-savvy services, Bank of Maharashtra has rolled out 798 branches on CBS (Core Banking Solution) & is providing anywhere branch banking through these branches. The Bank has 345 ATMs and has enabled Bio-metric features in 11 ATMs, especially for illiterate customers. Funds transfer from the account maintained at a CBS branch to third party account at another CBS branch is free. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) schemes are implemented at 686 branches. The Bank is providing free remittance services to the customers under RTGS & NEFT.

Performance Total Income for the Bank increased by 25.41% to Rs.4791.58 crore as com-

pared to Rs.3820.76 crore during the previous year. Gross Income was higher by 2.27% for the quarter ended March 2009 as compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Their Net Profit recorded a rise of 14.24%, increasing to Rs.375.16 crore for the year 2009 from Rs.328.39 crore for the year ended March 2008; Operating Profit for the year increased by 17.97 % up from Rs.672.63 crore for the FY 2007-08 to Rs.793.52 crore.

Customer Centric The Bank has implemented “Maha Connect” - Internet Banking, Phone Banking and SMS Banking with online and offline request processing including funds transfer for its customers.

E-payment facility for tax payments has also been introduced through Internet banking.

The Bank believes in the Slogan One Family One Bank’. “We want to be a bank for every banking need,” said Allen C A Pereira, CMD, Bank of Maharashtra. To provide their customers with techno-savvy products, they have implemented Core Banking Solution, Phone Banking, SMS Banking and Internet Banking which have been highly applauded by the customers. Maha-Saraswati Deposit Schemes is for children and youth with the value additions including accident Insurance.

velopment of Saline Soil and providing advice on use of various inputs.

“60 percent of our branches are in rural and semi-urban areas enhancing our lending to micro, small and medium enterprises because it creates employment in II-tier cities and then diversifies our risk in lending. 49,000 SHGs are promoted by the bank currently and we intend to carry this to other villages. This year, 2009-10, during our Platinum Jubilee we will be adopting 75 villages towards total development,” said Pereira.

The Bank has established a trust viz.

Mahabank Agricultural Research and Rural Development Foundation (MARDEF) to undertake various projects and village improvement programmes and farmers’ training.

BoM also established Mahabank Self Employment Training Institute (MSETI) at Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nasik and Amravati for providing training to rural youth and women. Gramin Mahila Va Balak Vikas Mandal (GMVBVM), an NGO formed by the Bank is actively involved in the nurturing, training and linkage of Self H e l p G r o u p s (SHG) to B a n k Credit. ❑

CSR The Bank is also fully aware of its Corporate Social Responsibility and has always been a contributor towards agriculture and rural development & promoting entrepreneurship skills and self dependency. The bank established Rural Development Centres at Hadapsar and Bhigwan. These centres are undertaking various developmental activities for the benefit of the farmer viz. Lab to Land project, De-

Allen C A Pereira, CMD, Bank of Maharashtra

THE IDEA OF A TRULY INDIAN BANK WAS FIRST CONCEIVED OF BY G.D BIRLA, THE DOYEN OF INDIAN INDUSTRIAL RENAISSANCE, AFTER THE HISTORIC “QUIT INDIA” MOVEMENT IN 1942. SOON THIS NASCENT IDEA CAME INTO REALITY AND, ON THE 6TH OF JANUARY 1943, THE UNITED COMMERCIAL BANK LTD. WAS BORN WITH ITS REGISTERED HEAD OFFICE AT KOLKATA.

With nearly 2000 Service Units spread all over India, the bank also operates in two Major International Financial Centres namely Hongkong and Singapore. The bank also undertakes Foreign Exchange Business in more than 50 Centres in India and has Foreign Exchange Dealing Operations at 4 Centres.

Headquartered in Kolkata, the Bank has 35 Regional Offices spread all over India.

History The very first Board of Directors was represented by eminent personalities of the country drawn from all walks of life, and this all-India character of the Bank has been assiduously maintained till this day not only in the composition of its Board but also in the geographical spread of its 1700 odd branches in the country as well as in its overseas centres in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Having traversed periods of expansion and consolidation, the Bank was nationalized by the Government of India on 19th July 1969 whereupon 100 per cent ownership was taken over by the government in ‘United Commercial Bank’.

This historic event brought about a sea-change in the entire fabric of the bank’s thinking and activities, commensurate with the government’s sociopolitical approach of mass banking as against class banking hitherto prac-

tised. Branch expansion started at a fast pace, particularly in rural areas.

To keep pace with the developing scenario and expansion of business, the Bank undertook an exercise in organizational restructuring in the year 1972. This resulted into more functional specialization, decentralization of administration and emphasis on development of personnel skill and attitude. Side by side, whole hearted commitment into the government’s poverty alleviation programmes continued and the convenorship of State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) was entrusted on the Bank for Orissa and Himachal Pradesh in 1983.

The year 1985 opened a new chapter for the Bank as the name of the Bank changed to UCO BANK by an Act of Parliament. The customer friendly

and socially committed character, however, remained even with this change in name which has, over the years, been regarded as one of the well known and vibrant banks in the country. Today, with all its inner strengths, UCO Bank has come a long way to symbolize friendliness for customers and efficiency in its banking business.

Performance UCO Bank posted a net profit of Rs.558 crore for the fiscal 2008-09 compared to Rs.412 crore last fiscal, a growth of 35.44 percent.

“The domestic operation contributed Rs.466 crore to the net profit and rest came from overseas operations,” S.K. Goel, chairman and managing director of UCO Bank said. The fourth quarter (January-March) of 2008-09 generated a 19.26 percent growth in net profit over corresponding quarter last fiscal. The net profit for the quarter stood at Rs.103 crore compared to Rs.86 crore the year before.

There was a growth of 25.42 percent in deposits and 25.24 percent in advances in 2008-09. ❑

S K Goel, CMD, UCO Bank

6

JUNE 8

I 2009

COMPLETING

FIFTY YEARS OF EXISTENCE AS A COMPANY, A CONGLOMERATE, AS A

PSU,

AS A BANK AND STILL SUCCESSFULLY PROVIDING HOPE, LIVELIHOOD AND ECONOMIC STRENGTH TO A COUNTRY,

LENDS THESE ENTITIES A RARE RECOGNITION WHICH IS EQUAL TO AN HONOUR PROVIDED TO A WARRIOR WHO SUSTAINS HARDSHIPS IN TOUGH WEATHER AND BRINGS BACK GLORY AND LIVES TO SEE IT THROUGH.

THE RECESSION

HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL.

MANY STRONG

Q4 FINANCIALS. BUT THEN HERE WE FEATURE FEW COMPANIES, WHICH HAVE COMPLETED FIFTY AND STRIDING AHEAD…LIVING STRONG…THE FOUNDATION BEING CREATED OUT OF STRONG VALUES, FORESIGHT, VISION AND INDIVIDUALS. BRANDS WHICH COMPLETED FIFTY YEARS AND MORE HAVE SHOWN THEIR PERFORMANCE DIP DOWN IN THE

THEY

ARE SURE TO SPRING BACK WITH COURAGE, THE SAME THAT SAW THEM THROUGH TOUGH CHALLENGES IN THE PAST.

AMCO Batteries Limited of the Amalgamations Group is the leading battery manufacturer with a wide spectrum of world class high performance polypropylene batteries for the automobile industry. Amco Batteries Limited was started in 1932 by Becken Bain, a German national, and purchased by Amalgamations Group in 1955 for Rs. 5 Lakhs; it commenced operations under the stewardship of late K.G. Parameswaran. Today, AMCO Batteries Limited is an integral part of the over Rs. 5000 Crore Amalgamations Group, one of the largest Light Engineering Groups in India.

National Small Industries Corporation(NSIC), a public sector organization of GoI, has been engaged in promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country since 1955. Over this period of transition, growth and development, NSIC, through its network of more than 75 offices, has been promoting first generation entrepreneurs and helping existing small enterprises in modernization, up-gradation of technology, facilitating finance and marketing support, strengthening their linkages with large enterprises.

Dena Bank was founded on 26th May, 1938 by the family of Devkaran Nanjee under the name Devkaran Nanjee Banking Company Ltd. It became a Public Ltd. Company in December 1939 and later the name was changed to Dena Bank Ltd. In July 1969 Dena Bank Ltd. along with 13 other major banks was nationalized and is now a Public Sector Bank. The Bank has set a business target of Rs 1.26 lakh crore and is planning to open 400 branches in the next three years.In the current fiscal, the Bank has set a business target of Rs 85,000 crore as against Rs 72,300 crore in the previous fiscal.

Established in the year 1958, H. & R. Johnson (India) Limited is India’s leading tile, bathroom and kitchen solutions provider, offering a wide range of products viz. Wall Tiles, Floor Tiles, Vitrified Tiles, Exterior and Industrial Tiles, Premium Sanitaryware, Bathroom Accessories, etc. H & R Johnson is a part of the Rajan Raheja Group. For the financial year 2008-09, the company recorded gross sales revenue of Rs. 1106 crores. During the last 10 years, the company’s sale has grown at a CAGR of 17%. The company has set itself a target of crossing Rs. 3000 crores sales turnover by 2013.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) traces its roots to the efforts of late Seth Walchand Hirachand, who set up Hindustan Aircraft Limited at Bangalore in association with the erstwhile princely State of Mysore in December 1940. Today, HAL has 19 Production Units and 9 Research and Design Centers in 7 locations in India. The Company has an impressive product track record - 12 types of aircraft manufactured with in-house R & D and 14 types produced under license. HAL has manufactured over 3550 aircraft, 3600 engines and overhauled over 8150 aircraft and 27300 engines.

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited (ICICI) was incorporated in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry, with the objective of creating a development financial institution for providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. Today, the Bank is India’s second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 3,793.01 billion at March 31, 2009 and profit after tax Rs. 37.58 billion for the year ended March 31, 2009.

The Bank has a network of 1,443 branches and about 4,721 ATMs in India.

Beginning in 1959 as Indian Oil Company Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. was formed in 1964 with the merger of Indian Refineries Ltd. It is the 18th largest petroleum company in the world. It is India’s largest commercial enterprise, with a sales turnover of Rs. 2,47,479 crore (US $ 61.70 billion) and profits of Rs. 6,963 crore (US $ 1.74 billion) for the year 2007-08. The Profit After Tax was Rs. 6,963 crore. For the year 2007-08, the Indian Oil group sold 59.29 million tonnes of petroleum products, including 1.74 million tonnes of natural gas, and exported 3.33 million tonnes of petroleum products.

ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name of ‘Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited’. Its beginnings were humble. ITC is today one of India’s foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of nearly US $ 19 billion and a turnover of over US $ 5.1 Billion. For the entire year ending March 31, 2009, net turnover at Rs.15,388 crore was 10.3 per cent higher than the previous year’s Rs.13,947.53 crore, driven mainly by a robust 20 per cent growth in non-cigarette FMCG business. The net profit stood at Rs.3,324 crore against Rs.3,157.76 crore in 2007-08.