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Ashok Leyland’s growth commended

— Photo: K. Pichumani

A MILESTONE: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram handing over a book on Ashok Leyland to Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala in Chennai on Sunday. To Mr. Chidambaram’s left is S.P. Hinduja, Chairman, Hinduja Group.

CHENNAI: The Hinduja Group is all set to start a healthcare facility in Tamil Nadu, said its group chairman S.P. Hinduja on Sunday.

Delivering his address at Ashok Leyland’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, Mr. Hinduja said that they would create, manage and run the healthcare facility with the same standards and capabilities as that of P.D. Hinduja National Hospital in Mumbai.

He said Ashok Leyland’s vision was to emerge as one of the top five global manufacturers of commercial vehicles within the next 10 years. The company had already laid the foundation stone for the next horizon of growth.

Mr. Hinduja urged the Centre to harness a huge pool of talented skilled people for further growth by bringing in physical and social infrastructure on par with international standards through accelerated reforms.

In his presidential address, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said “For a manufacturing industry achievement should not end with one. It should be a never-ending process. Innovation of novel techniques and bringing about the latest technology with efficiency and cost effectiveness should be on the agenda of any manufacturing industry to keep going on.”

Mr. Barnala said that Tamil Nadu stood first in terms of production in automobiles, auto ancillaries, IT, leather, spinning and pharmaceuticals and was destined to become the Detroit of South Asia.

The birth and growth of Ashok Leyland mirrored the growth of the nation.

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that in the earlier years, the Centre paid equal importance to public transport and private transport.

“Perhaps it was wrong. Chennai should have got the Metro Rail Transport System 20 years ago,” he said.

He called for a change in the mindset of people and said that those owning personal cars should not be afraid of travelling by public transport.

“We are creating more roads today than ever before and we encourage rail and road transport in the public sector. That’s the only way in which the country can move millions of people. Average citizens must be proud to own and travel by public transport,” he said.

To mark the occasion, Mr. Chidambaram handed over the first copy of a book titled “Moving India on wheels” to Mr. Barnala.

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