Hitting out at the Narendra Modi government for doing "precious little" for easing doing business in the country, outspoken billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla picked out the health ministry as particularly failing in helping the pharma industry.
"Pharma companies like Biocon are moving their clinical trials outside India which is a huge setback," he told CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan in an interview. "The Indian government's health ministry is giving a lot of trouble."
In the interview, Poonawalla -- owner of the world's largest vaccine company, Serum Institute -- and whose interests span across hotels, horses and cars, discussed losing out on the bid to acquire Sahara's Grosvenor House in London, and why he refuses to be 'cowed down' in voicing his criticism of the government.
Excerpts from the interview on CNBC-TV18.
Q: What are your expansion plans?
A: I have a little soft corner for buying hotels, so we may try to acquire...
Q: You missed out on Grosvenor?
A: Yes we couldn’t help it because that guy keeps changing his mind.
Q: Were you part of this bid that was conducted by JLL?
A: Yes we were part of it and they told us we had an excellent chance. The only danger was that he would come up and try and rescue himself.
Q: So, reports now seem to suggest that Grosvenor is off the block once again?
A: At the moment, yes, sadly for me. I was very keen on it.
Q: So, you did participate at this current round of the auction as well?
A: Yes, we did. We gave an increased bid of what we did earlier but I can’t disclose it because of the confidential disclosure agreement (CDA).
Q: So, what is your understanding? As of today the auction process has been called off?
A: Has been called off because the have been rescued by the Reuben Brothers.
Q: So Grosvenor is no longer up for sale?
A: Not up for sale at the moment but you never know, something may go wrong and they may come back. If they come back, we would definitely like to be as strong as we can.
Q: Coming back to your passion for real estate and specifically hotels, outside of the Grosvenor House is there any other property that you are interested in at this point in time that you would like to go after?
A: We have already indicated that we have got a Ritz Carlton coming up in Pune and Bulgari in the Maldives. Some other hotel if it comes up for a haircut deal we have got the cash so we may look at it. However these are the two which are ongoing already.
Q: There has been a lot of talk about “Make in India”, a lot of emphasis on improving the ease of doing business, getting Indian companies to expand, getting foreign companies to setup in India. What do you make of the governments efforts at this point in time?
A: They have done precious little. We are all waiting anxiously for the government to lay down the rules and get on with it. It would help a lot.
Q: What are the areas of deficiency that you believe?
A: They have done nothing. They don’t even reply of any suggestions to make single window clearances, they haven’t made any difference to the bureaucracy loosening up. In fact pharma companies like Biocon and all are moving their clinical trials outside India which is a huge setback.
India was known to be a good low cost clinical trial registration. For us it is very important, we are doing trials all over the world, we have even gone to Bangladesh because the Indian government's health ministry is giving a lot of trouble.
Q: So, you are saying it has been a dismal performance over the last 12 months?
A: I was told not to say so but the facts speak for itself.
Q: You said that you were told not to say so, is there a fear now within corporate India that if you don’t echo what the government is saying that there will be fear of retaliation?
A: I heard this morning but I act without fear or favour. So, I am not going to get that cowed down, that is why I said the health ministry has totally failed in doing anything to streamline the pharma industry which is getting suffocated.
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