“I had no idea how cinnamon, asafoetida, coriander or tuvar dal looked like. So, my team members were instructed to keep small plastic covers with the spice or condiment in it so that I would recognise it when I see it,” recalls C Balagopal while talking about his new book, Maveli and Market Intervention , which narrates his adventures as secretary to the then Food and Civil Supplies Minister E Chandrasekharan Nair (ECN) and, later, as general manager of Supply Co. The former student of The Lawrence School, Lovedale, and Loyola College got a crash course in dynamics of the market place during his stint there.
Legend has it that when Maveli, a.k.a. King Mahabali, ruled over the land now called Kerala, there was equality and prosperity all over his kingdom. In 1980, however, the State seemed to be heading for a shortfall in essentials that was pushing up prices, and that too during the festival of Onam, when Maveli is believed to visit his former kingdom to spend time with his people. So when the government of Kerala decided to enter the market to bring down prices of essentials such as rice, cooking oil and pulses a few weeks before Onam, it seemed appropriate to name the outlets Maveli stores. The shops, selling everything from salt to safety pins, are now a familiar presence in Kerala. But there was a time when it opened a new chapter in the public distribution system in the State by stepping into retailing.
Author and philanthropist Balagopal, a former officer of the Indian Administrative Service and an entrepreneur who built up a hugely successful bio-medical firm manufacturing blood bags, looks back on his days in the government when he and his team introduced the Maveli stores in Kerala under the able leadership of ECN and the way Supply Co metamorphosed into an agile corporate player in the market that reined in inflation.
“I looked upon ECN as a mentor and the book is a tribute to his foresight, leadership skills and practical wisdom,” says Balagopal.
Market intervention
His third book on his eventful career is more than the memoirs of a former officer in a service that is known for its definitive role in shaping the development of the country and also equally known for its power play, arrogance and petty politicking. In evocative prose, garnished with generous dollops of humour, he describes what led to the establishment of the Maveli stores and how they successfully intervened in the market to hold prices without causing a loss to the exchequer.
With deft strokes he touches upon the challenges the team had to face and the chicanery that exists in the high realms of the administration. “The success of the Maveli stories proved beyond doubt that the administration can get things done provided the officers are given a target, empowered to act in fluid situations and is backed by the leadership in power. We were entering a market with its own dynamics and ECN told us that our target was to ensure that the Maveli outlets sold essentials, which were of good quality, at prices lower than the open market,” explains the writer.
With his gift of words, Balagopal has no trouble at all negotiating the pitfalls that usually await narrations that deal with governments and administration. Instead of a drab elaboration of policy decisions and implementation, Balagopal takes readers behind the scenes to give an interesting look at how the administration functions or ought to function and brief pen sketches of the people involved: trade union leaders, private traders, government officers, merchants and truckers and politicians too.
“What was remarkable about the way we functioned was that instead of starting outlets all over Kerala, the ration shops became our outlets and the sales depot officers were empowered to take decisions to buy what was necessary. Since, many of the products sold at the Maveli stores were subsidised, after a while, Supply Co, the nodal agency, also stepped into areas like sale of cement and liquor to offset the subsidies on essentials,” he explains. Even as his new book reaches book stores, Balagopal is engrossed in writing on his role as an entrepreneur and the setting up of his firm. “And, I am also writing a book on the successful companies that have been made in Kerala,” he adds.
Balagopal agrees that his stint in Supply Co helped him in his avatar as an entrepreneur. He laughs when he says that even his background in economics did not prepare him for the real-life situations of a robust market with its many players.
Maveli and Market Intervention , published by DC Books, costs Rs 199.
