Ask Vineet Nayyar what, according to him, is the reason for B Ramalinga Raju's downfall and pat comes the reply — Pride.

Even at 73, Nayyar's forthrightness and passion for the two companies he chairs — Tech Mahindra (Vice-Chairman) and Mahindra Satyam (Chairman) is infectious. Nayyar, who started his professional life with the civil services at the age of 21, is on his final corporate assignment before he hangs up his boots in January 2013.

In a free-wheeling chat at his residence in New Delhi recently, Nayyar responded to most questions with a characteristic frankness. The topics ranged from potential impact of the 2G spectrum scam, to his two-year journey with Mahindra Satyam. Edited excerpts:

Mahindra Satyam had formed a competency investment council (CIC). How much ground has been covered through this initiative?

The company's investment council continuously evaluates ideas and initiatives from leaders and associates, and our cloud offerings, enterprise mobility services and smart grid are examples of focus and investment in these areas.

The job of the technology council is to be one step ahead, overseeing all these new initiatives. The role of the CIC becomes even more crucial, given that there is an increased focus on creating platforms that will usher in the next wave of growth. Apart from reducing the time to market, the platforms also bring down the total cost of ownership for the customer.

What impact will the entire 2G spectrum scam have on Tech Mahindra's outsourcing relationship with Etisalat DB? In the telecom space, an IT vendor's business increases proportionately with increase in revenues and subscribers of a telecom operator — will these factors bring down the scope of the Etisalat deal from the Rs 1,800 crore envisaged initially?

We have already created and are maintaining the systems for Etisalat. We are being paid the maintenance charges that were agreed to. Etisalat DB cannot fold the business as they would then risk losing the telecom licence itself. Having said that, the overall deal size could come down because of the unpredictability on the telecom front. The main revenue stream for us comes from the creation and maintenance of the systems. So, if the subscriber base kept on increasing, then there would be marginal increases. If the subscriber base does not increase, there will be loss in revenues but that will not be very substantial.

It has been over two years since the Mahindra Group took over the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services… how has the client attitude towards the company changed?

Now that our credibility has been established, we no longer have to apologise about the past. We no longer have to say ‘please trust us'. In the last few quarters, enough good work has been done and now we too are getting the request for proposal.

All lost clients may not come back immediately since they would have gone to our competitors, who will try their best to keep them engaged. Having said that, we are still not invited to the table when it comes to mega deals.

A lot has been said about the accounting scandal that was perpetrated by former-chairman B Ramalinga Raju. Yet, what really puzzles many of us is why he chose to disclose everything and later go back on his word…

Well, he had taken margin loans on his shares and they were being called. His ownership in the company had plummeted and he could not pay salaries. To that extent, he was really cornered. He had only two choices: Leading an obscure life in hiding, or prison. And he chose the latter.

> adith@thehindu.co.in

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