A FLOOR DESK and chairs welcome us as we enter Vellayan Subbiah's 'strictly shoes-off' and minimalist office in Chennai, which requires sitting cross-legged on the ground. Slight and athletic, he is at ease in this arrangement-no wonder the 54-year-old Executive Vice Chairman of southern conglomerate Murugappa Group's Tube Investments of India (TII) rode shotgun on a 50-hour truck ride from Delhi to Mumbai in 2016. As Managing Director of the group company Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (CIFC), it was important for him to gain a deeper understanding of truck companies, who were major customers. It was also a ride during which he supposedly kept up his yoga practice in a moving truck.
A few years after he joined the engineering and component maker TII as its MD-designate in 2017, the management recognised the need to shift away from relying heavily on the cyclical auto industry to achieve sustainable growth. TII, best known as the parent of BSA Cycles, specialises in manufacturing precision steel tubes and strips, automotive and industrial chains, car doorframes, and bicycles. Back then, automobiles accounted for over 70% of its revenues. The business had to be derisked. "It was basically that if auto is not growing, how do you make up through growth in other sectors?" explains Vellayan, the fourth-generation Murugappa Group scion.
Esta historia es de la edición March 17, 2024 de Business Today India.
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A Man of Multitudes
IN A NEW BOOK, CAPTAINS OF INDIA INC. AND OTHERS PAY TRIBUTE TO RAHUL BAJAJ, THE TITAN OF INDIAN INDUSTRY
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
WITH THE GOVERNMENT OFFERING SUBSIDIES UNDER THE PM SURYA GHAR MUFT BIJLI YOJANA, MANY HOUSEHOLDS HAVE TAKEN A SHINE TO SOLAR ROOFTOP PANELS. BUT HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
FROM GREY TO GREEN
WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS BECOMING MORE ACUTE, GREEN HYDROGEN COULD BE AN IMPORTANT SOLUTION
ECO CHAMBER
DATA CENTRES ARE A VERY VITAL PART OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT IS UNDERWAY, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM: THEY CONSUME TOO MUCH ENERGY. AS DEMAND FOR SUCH CENTRES INCREASES IN INDIA, IT HAS NO OPTION BUT TO EMBRACE GREEN SOLUTIONS
THE GREEN BARRIER
THE EU'S CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM COULD MAKE INDIAN EXPORTS UNCOMPETITIVE, UNLESS EFFORTS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS ARE ACCELERATED
HUMANISING SUSTAINABILITY
THERE IS A NEED TO MOVE BEYOND INDIVIDUAL WELL-BEING AND FOSTER A SENSE OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND SOLIDARITY
DE-RISKING THE BOOKS
INDIAN BANKS ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE BABY STEPS TOWARDS ADDRESSING CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL RISKS IN THEIR BOOKS. BUT THEY MUST PUT THEIR FOOT ON THE PEDAL AND ENHANCE PREPAREDNESS
PAYING FOR CHANGE
WITH EXTREME WEATHER INCREASINGLY PUTTING THE COUNTRY AND ITS ECONOMY AT RISK, INDIA SHOULD EXPLORE CLIMATE FINANCE PATHWAYS TO FUND ITS NET-ZERO JOURNEY TOWARDS A GREENER FUTURE
BEYOND THE BLIP
ESG HAS BEEN UNDER SCRUTINY GLOBALLY AMID ALLEGATIONS OF GREENWASHING AND RECORD REDEMPTIONS FROM ESG FUNDS. BUT THAT MAY JUST BE ONE SIDE OF THE STORY, SINCE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES HAVE BECOME CORE COMPONENTS OF COMPANIES' STRATEGIES
PROFITING FROM ESG
INITIALLY DRIVEN BY REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS, BUSINESSES ARE INCREASINGLY VIEWING ESG AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE PROFITABILITY. BUT THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO
