The Hindu Business Line : Chak de, Gujarat

Paruben M. Jaikrishna, 65, a graduate in philosophy and Sanskrit, and post-graduate in English literature and law, is the new face of business and industry in Gujarat after she was elected to head the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) for 2007-08.

Married into the business family of the late Jaikrishna Harivallabhdas, who owned the famous Ambika Mills, Paruben is best remembered for single-handedly building the Motera Cricket Stadium amidst fierce opposition from all sides, raising it from the virtual ravines on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in eight months flat. It was this stadium that put Ahmedabad on the international cricketing map in the 1980s and where Sunil Gavaskar completed his 10,000 runs in a match against West Indies

An avid sportsperson herself, Paruben had represented Gujarat in the women’s national hockey team in 1962-63. She also loves to play golf — she has a nine-hole golf course on her 35-acre, densely forested farmhouse by the Sabarmati river. Her extended family includes four stallions and half-a-dozen ferocious Rottweilers.

Paruben is the chairperson of Asahi Songovan Colours Ltd, a pigment-making company with a projected turnover of Rs 500 crore next year, and Aksharchem (India) Ltd, which manufactures vinyl sulphone.

Over the past year, the GCCI leadership has shifted from the hands of traders and businessmen to that of manufacturers, and now to a woman’s hands. Any comments?

It signifies the changing times when India has the first woman President. We have a women’s committee at GCCI. Of the 3,500 members of GCCI, about 600 are women. We are trying to motivate women entrepreneurs to synergise their efforts equally between home and business.

Are you seeking help from the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) towards women’s empowerment?

Yes. I have already met SEWA Chairperson Ilaben Bhatt to find out how GCCI could, as part of its corporate social responsibility, work for the empowerment of women entrepreneurs at different levels. We would also be roping in some of the NGOs working in women-specific fields.

What is your vision for GCCI as its president and what are your plans for the future?

We are considering several steps to make GCCI an active organ for the development of Gujarat. First, we are approaching the ‘Mahajan Sanghs’ (entrepreneurs’ associations) across Gujarat to understand their demands, problems and issues, and activate them. Some 300 associations are members of GCCI but many have remained inactive for several years. In January next year, we will organise a State-level conference of these Mahajans for which we have invited President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Besides, we are organising a series of lectures to make GCCI members aware of the latest scenario. We have already organised programmes attended by astronaut Sunita Williams, the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Yoga guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. We have held a seminar on banking for SMEs (small and medium enterprises), particularly those in the red. We plan to organise lectures by various personalities including Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia; investors Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Nimesh Kampani, and Uday Kotak; lawyers Harish Salve and Soli Sorabji; and industrialist R.P. Goenka.

Does the GCCI have plans for augmenting human resources for the booming economy in Gujarat?

Yes, of course. We have started a programme called ‘Fraternity for Career Upgradation Scheme’ (FOCUS), under which prospective employing companies approach colleges through the GCCI, identify human resources among the young students, train them for six months as per requirement and absorb them in jobs. In this tripartite programme involving industry, GCCI and the colleges, nearly 100 students of Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, have already been employed through a pilot project in September. Big companies like GNFC, and groups like Torrent and the Adanis have been part of this initiative.

What is GCCI doing for the betterment of quality of life?

We are approaching the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) with a string of proposals to make the city a role model mega-city. We are working out the details on how to make the city cleaner and greener, well-planned with regulated traffic. We would also motivate the CCIs at Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat, besides other cities, to interact with their respective civic bodies similarly.

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