What's keeping RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka up at night?

Chairman of $3.6 billion RPG Enterprises, Harsh Goenka.

When billionaire Harsh Goenka agreed to meet at his offices in Worli, Mumbai, a few weeks ago, he had a condition: masks would have to be worn. At the time the request seemed unusual, maybe even eccentric, but at the present time, given the sudden resurgence of the coronavirus, it would appear almost clairvoyant. Goenka, 65, who used to come to office every day before the lockdowns, says he now only attends twice a week but is working harder than ever, thanks to digital mediums.

We catch up on the fifth floor at RPG House in an elegantly-appointed, art-filled lounge that adjoins his corner office – where there's an early painting by master S.H. Raza that was presented to Goenka. I'm seated right in front of a series of small sculptures depicting the life stages of a politician. Birth, rise and then passing. In the end, only the hat remains.

Goenka, clad in white half-sleeved shirt and dark trousers and an all-black watch that was presented to him by his mother, is indeed masked up, as am I.  Goenka is prolific on social media and makes no bones about his passion for food and art and I break the ice by asking if he will ever start a restaurant or an art gallery. His response: "I don't like to mix business with passion."

Master of reviews

How does he keep tabs on the $3.2 billion diversified group with ventures in information technology, auto components, life sciences and engineering and infrastructure that is RPG?

To those who've worked with him, Goenka is the 'master of reviews' and takes stock of results, updates and performance. He dismisses that notion, however, modestly adding that "I believe in being surrounded at my workplace with people who are smarter than me. My interest has always been in human resources, and we in the Group believe that happiness is at the core of all that we do."

While Goenka and RPG may be best known for Ceat tyres, its lower profile engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) venture KEC International is actually a $1.8 billion enterprise with a niche advantage.

"KEC is the largest business in the world in transmission and distribution, but five years back, we realized that this business cannot grow more than 6-8 percent, so we diversified into railway, civil, and oil and gas infrastructure. That's a recent development of about five years," he explains. "So, we are number one in India, as far as railway infrastructure is concerned, and civil is an area in which we are growing at 40-50 percent CAGR every year. That's a good space to be in and we are working on beefing up our engineering strengths."

Tyres for electric vehicles

Given his business exposure to the growing trend of electric vehicles, how does he see changes in the development of tyres?

"As far as EV tyres go, it's not a problem. The rolling resistance is a little different. Also, the interesting debate is, an electric vehicle doesn't make a noise. So should the tire make a noise or not?"

I realize Goenka has turned interviewer and answer, "Perhaps not."

Goenka laughs as he says: "There's no right answer. Because half the people cross the roads hearing the car (screeching of the tyres). So if you create a 100 percent silent tyre, which we have done, what about the man crossing the road?"

The takeaway for him is that it's the carmakers who have to take the call as to the type of tyres they want on cars.

India is turning out to be the manufacturing hub of the world and the government is thinking ahead in terms of leading in AI, EV and other technologies of the future.

What does Goenka, a self-confessed art lover and gourmand spend most of his work-time on?

"I would say over 50 percent of my time is spent on HR issues and I do not get involved in the day-to-day operations unless it's some major crisis, some capex issue," he says. “That’s the bad thing about being a chairman; they come to you only when there is bad news. Good news, they don’t come to you."

The problem, he says, is that post-COVID, time seems to have stretched out of control. "I used to work from the late morning to maybe three o'clock am, thanks to COVID and US operations. That's because 43 percent of our turnover comes from our global operations. So, we have plants and businesses in Brazil, Mexico, and we have our IT business where our CEO and our critical people are based out of the US. So, it is pretty standard for my meetings to start at one o'clock at night."

Besides Sundays, Goenka says he is used to that sort of round-the-clock routine.

Great time to be in India

Of late there's been much talk of "India shining", "China Plus One" and other such monikers that seem to have been created to position India as the next greatest investment destination. How does Goenka feel about that?

"I feel very positive about India. Most countries are going through a downturn. In a seemingly depressed world, India and some of the Asian countries are shining stars."

Goenka says his personal view is that it is a great time to be in India. "The economy is doing well. India is turning out to be the manufacturing hub of the world and the government is thinking ahead in terms of leading in AI, EV and other technologies of the future."

Of course, there are always hurdles, so how does India move ahead without any hiccups?

"If you ask me what are the dangers which may slow down India’s growth, they are a. Fractures in society and politics. b. Rogue neighbours, and c. Self arrogance leading to complacency."

That being said, "we have a young vibrant population, we have a startup system which is doing well. I think we are very well placed now", he adds.