Thrissur's biz moguls feel it's time politicians stop calling them bourgeois

Kalyan Silks chairman and managing director T S Pattabhiraman is not just a successful businessman but also a contented one. But he has a problem.

"These politicians still hold the belief that we businessmen are some kind of capitalist bourgeois. That should go," Pattabhiraman said at Manorama Conclave 2022 on Saturday during a discussion on 'Business Sutra: Made in Thrissur' moderated by actor Jayaraj Warrier.

"The realisation should dawn that we are part of the progress of the state," the veteran entrepreneur said.

Pattabhiraman said it was no mean feat to not just survive but succeed gloriously in business for 75-100 years. "If anyone had achieved this, it could have been done only with honesty and a sustained commitment to quality," Pattabhiraman said.

He said he began at 19, with just “four to five people” working for him. "Now, I have employed 7000 people," he said.

K Paul Thomas, the founder of ESAF micro-finance company, did not exactly echo Pattabhiraman's opinion. He said they were “generally friendly with businessmen”. But he felt this was not enough.

"There is virtually no consultation with this group, especially in terms of working out a long-term policy framework for the state or country. We have the experience. The politicians should seriously think how such vast understanding and knowledge can be used for the growth of the country," Paul said.

 

Charity begins from showrooms
Charity is also something that could be learnt from businessmen. Joyalukkas MD Joy Alukkas said that his attempt was to make the money he earned more valuable by using it to improve the conditions of life and general happiness of his employees. "I myself have provided money from financial institutions, which I employ responsibly to generate profits. My thinking is that there is no point in keeping the profits all for myself," Joy Alukkas said.

Pattabhiraman also felt that businessmen should give back to society. "I always keep saying that big businesses should set aside two to five per cent of their profits for CSR work," he said.

As for ESAF's Paul, his business model itself is about helping low-income families. His was a village-centred business. "It is in villages that people, especially those running small and micro ventures, have poor access to banking facilities. We can change their lives if we could provide them timely loans, just the way Muhammad Yunus did in Bangladesh," Paul said. ESAF is based on Yunus's 'Nobel prize'-winning micro-finance model.

 

Boon called GST
The GST might be a cause for immense administrative concern and confusion, but the three entrepreneurs told the Conclave that the tax reform was a move in the right direction. "Now business has become hassle-free. Earlier, it was a battle between genuine businessmen and tax evaders. Many honest businessmen had fought it hard to win the battle and had gone down. That situation has changed," Pattabhiraman said.

Joy Alukkas expressed personal relief that gold has just 3 per cent GST when in other countries the rates were higher; 20 per cent in London, 9 per cent in America, 8 per cent in Singapore.

Banker Paul also felt that the GST was important. "Now credit appraisals have become easier, and therefore loan disbursals have become smoother," he said.