Industrialist calls for focusing on the present

Women not being fully engaged in the economy is worrying, says Sunil Kant Munjal

Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman, Hero Enterprise, speaks at the KMA’s 39th Annual National Management Convention in Kochi on Wednesday.

The Indian economy will have to figure out what has to be done here and now to create that wonderful future for ourselves, Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman, Hero Enterprise, has said.

He was delivering the inaugural address at the 39th annual national management convention organised by the Kerala Management Association here on Wednesday.

“That India will become one of the largest economies in the world is a given. For the medium to long term, we are in a great shape but in the medium to long term, we are all dead. So, we have to focus on the here and now,” Mr. Munjal said.

He said that though Kerala did better than other States, the fact that the much smarter part of the population was not fully engaged in the economy remained a matter of concern. “Women are the much smarter half of the population. The next big wave of productivity will happen when men and women have equal roles in the economy,” Mr. Munjal said.

Through history, civilizations were considered successful if they had four attributes at the same time – if they had the ability to defend themselves, had a thriving and growing economy, had a role in global decision-making, and a strong cultural foundation. India has done very well in the first three counts though not on the fourth. “We have inherited one of the richest cultural heritages in the world and we are allowing it to decline and in many cases, die. A study a few years ago showed that we have lost 30% of our heritage in the past 30 years. We cannot have a future without a strong foundation. It is important to remember where we come from and build on that,” Mr. Munjal said.

History showed that it was not the strongest, biggest or the toughest who had survived but those who were more adaptable, flexible and were willing to learn and make the first move themselves and pre-empt the change before they were forced to.

One has to think at a lightning pace because that was needed now in a highly competitive and connected world. “A quarter now is what the whole year used to be once. If you have to make a plan for five years, you have to execute it within this year itself. That is the pace at which things are changing,” he said.