“Each man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind,” wrote 16th-17th century English poet John Donne. The demise in Chennai on June 26 of V. Krishnamurthy (1925-2022) has certainly diminished the nation. It marks the end of the most distinguished leader of several show-piece Central government public sector enterprises (PSEs) promoted with great hope and expectations in the first flush of India’s independence. But with PSEs requiring continuous budgetary support, independent India’s public education and health sectors were perennially starved of investment with catastrophic consequences for national development.
Be that as it may, under VK’s leadership several model PSEs — Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) were established. The latter company was promoted by prime minister Indira Gandhi’s spoilt brat son Sanjay, who promptly crashed it. After it was nationalised during the Emergency, VK travelled to Japan and in a brilliant presentation, persuaded the board of Suzuki Motors to invest in this defunct PSE. The rest is history.
In my previous avatars as founding-editor of Business India and Businessworld, I wrote several unprecedented cover stories on BHEL, SAIL and MUL (now Maruti Suzuki Ltd) and VK spent long hours detailing how he intended to transform PSEs into model profitable enterprises.
On the other hand, I argued the case for ending PSE monopolies and encouraging private enterprise in the heavily regulated Indian economy. Presumably my advocacy of deregulation prevailed. Fed up with constant government interference and unchecked corruption in PSEs, VK transformed into a prime mover of the 1991 industry liberalisation and deregulation initiative of the Narasimha Rao-led Congress government, which doubled India’s annual rate of GDP growth.
After retiring as chairman of Maruti-Suzuki, VK continued to serve the public interest as chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council — a cabinet rank position and later as trustee of several education institutions in Tamil Nadu which he invited me to visit and project as model schools. Unfortunately, I couldn’t accept the offer due to work pressure.
Undoubtedly, the greatest PSE leader of them all has passed after a long, arduous and finally unsuccessful struggle to reform India’s black-hole resource guzzling PSEs. The nation is diminished.