Indian manufacturing industry must be inclusive in approach, says Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava

RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (File image)

In the post-liberalization era, Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava acknowledges that he is a socialist in his outlook when it comes to the entire manufacturing sector.

In his view, it is not just the government’s job to create a competitive landscape in the industry, and the manufacturing sector, per se, is not doing enough for the welfare of the workforce. According to Bhargava, 60-70 percent of the workforce in the manufacturing industry are blue-collar workers and a lot needs to be done for their betterment.

“If you want to be a manufacturing giant, we must listen to the Prime Minister and ensure that manufacturing is inclusive. It cannot be on the lines of what is being created in the western world (by creating) a bigger gap between haves and have-nots," said R.C. Bhargava, in a fireside chat with Ravi Krishnan, Deputy Editor, Moneycontrol.

Bhargava, who was speaking at an event organised by Moneycontrol titled ‘Policy Next Rs 10 trillion-dollar Push’, said, “We must believe that workers are as capable of making improvement in the processes because of the experience which they gain while working at the different shopfloors. And if they are working on improvements in the company, they have the right to share the benefits of those improvements which will mean inclusive growth."

The MSIL Chairman, who has been with the company since its inception, revealed that all its employees, except trainees, are income taxpayers, and 90 percent of them now own cars. Furthermore, their workers’ children, who have studied at the DPS built by the company, are now working for multinational companies. “Good Education is a fundamental requirement for upgrading people in inclusivity," added Bhargava.

He also averred that most of the industry is ‘owner managed’ and people put up industries primarily for the purpose of creating a livelihood for themselves and their families and creating a better quality of life and upgrading their status in society.

“They do not operate industry with the sole motive of growing the industry and the stakeholders who are connected to the industry should benefit," Bhargava added.

The Maruti Suzuki Chairman also stated that Indian manufacturing firms should look beyond  Japanese practices like ‘Just in Time’ or 'Six Sigma  and use their competitiveness as a case study.

“How many people studied or understood Japan became competitive? Why is Japanese competitiveness not taught at the IIMS?” opined Bhargava.​