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Tunia Cherian George

Mumbai , May 29

IF you have noticed generally cleaner coaches and stations on the Indian Railways network, you can be sure you are not just `seeing' things.

Put the `cleanliness' down to the competition from the skies as air travel becomes cheaper, or even `globalisation'.

Whatever it may be, it looks like the Indian Railways has finally realised that it needs to, quite literally, clean up its act.

In January 2005, it awarded its biggest cleaning contract to BVG India Ltd (Bharat Vikas Group) for the mechanical cleaning of coaches in Bhubaneswar station. The contract worth Rs 7 crore over five years is to clean about 180 coaches each day.

Before this, it had awarded the company a smaller contract of Rs 36 lakh per annum for the mechanical cleaning of up to 50 coaches each day in Chennai.

But it is not only the Railways that BVG is trying to spruce up with its hi-technology equipment and cleaning chemicals sourced from institutional cleaning major JohnsonDiversey.

Among its other prize catches is the cleaning contract for Parliament House. Says Mr H.R. Gaikwad, Chairman and Managing Director, BVG India Ltd, "Globalisation has brought about a change in the way we do most things. The process of cleaning is no exception. People realise that there is a qualitative difference in mechanical cleaning using good quality chemicals."

According to him, mechanical cleaning was still in its early days in India. Besides assuring a more clean environment, outsourcing of cleaning operations could also help companies bring down their staff costs.

He adds that people were willing to pay a higher cost to enjoy a cleaner environment. Such solutions often paid for themselves as the clean and hygienic workspace often improved employee productivity - sometimes by 10 per cent.

JohnsonDiversey, the global major engaged in institutional cleaning, expects business in India to grow by at least 25 per cent in the next two years. Its turnover in India currently stands at about Rs 50 crore.

The company, which caters to sectors such as lodging, food service, retail and government institutions, provides products such as cleaning chemicals for floor care, house keeping and laundry. It also manufactures equipment such as vacuum cleaners, scrubber driers and steam cleaners.

According to Mr T. Balakrishnan, Managing Director, India, the burgeoning growth of the hospitality industry and the aviation business were likely to drive growth in the country.

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