Businesspeople From India

"So, Mr Kreeber, what do you think of the natives now?" Kurien told a Nestle official who had come to do business with farmers of Anand. The company had earlier refused technology help to India as it could not let "natives handle a sensitive commodity like milk"."

"I am supposed to exploit the consumer; and I will (exploit them), but not in a way that will create resentment. I have to milk the consumer. And milk them I will, but gently."

"What you need is good management with farmer power. Good management gives this power the right direction and thrust. Nothing can stop the farmers then. Least of all the Multi national Companies|MNCs]]."

"Milk is the only commodity which has to be collected twice a day, every day of the year. Thus, cooperatives are the only logical system for the dairy industry. About 85% of the industry in the US, Denmark and Australia is run by cooperatives. No other system will work for milk."

"Over the last 20 years India’s milk production has tripled; it has increased from 20 million tonnes per annum to 60 million tonnes per annum.... Dairying has become the largest rural employment scheme in this country. And the government has had very little to do with it, even though we are a government institution."

"Is the democratic form of government successful in all parts of India? But the solution to the problems of democracy is more democracy. There can be no democracy in India unless you erect a plurality of democratic structures to underpin democracy, like the village cooperative which is a people’s institution."

"I am sorry, I do not think it is a good thing, because if you have opened up this market under such terms, what it implies is that other countries can put their products into our markets. Are you aware that all those advanced countries subsidize their exports? Subsidies are as high as 65 per cent. Now if you have globalized, and the others are subsidising their exports, to what position have you exposed the Indian dairy industry? You have declared dairy products under OGL (Open General License)."

"With liberalisation and globalisation, it seems to me, India's national boundaries have ceased to exist."

"Amul Dairy is a manifestation of what can happen when farmers assert themselves, fight for a cause."

"Through Operation Flood, milk has been transformed from a commodity into a brand, from insufficient production to sufficient production, from rationing to plentiful availability; from loose unhygienic milk to milk that is pure and sure, from subjugation to as symbol of farmer’s economic independence, to being the consumer’s greatest insurance policy for good health."

"Operation Flood has three major achievements to its credit: making dairying India’s largest self-sustainable rural employment program; bringing India self-sufficiency in milk production; trebling the nation’s milk production within a span of two and half decades to make India the world’s largest milk producer."

"The idea of setting up the NDDB was to replicate the Anand pattern in very state, in order to promote to genuinely farmer-owned cooperatives that would procure, process and markethis prime produce."

"Milk is a highly perishable commodity, which is in short supply in summer and in excess supply in winter . The market can not contract and expand according to supply, therefore, you need balancing facilities. And once you have these balancing facilities, which you enable to carry forward the winter production and capture the market, procurement falls into your laps. This was the objective and methodology of Operation Flood."

"Dairying as Instrument of Change Kurien said. True development must be such that it brings the modernization process to the service of our majority, namely the rural poor. It must bring to these people not only the pittance which they need for their humble diet but also the means where by they can act together to obtain for themselves the benefits of modern science and organization and in that process the means whereby they can build for themselves, in every village, a society which is at peace with itself, concerned with its neighbours and able to see a bright for all its children."

"I am glad that there are people like you in this country to do things that you"

"While II was looking for a good enough excuse to run away from Anand; I was befriended by Tribhuvandas Patel, the young cooperative chairman and almost without realizing it I began to share his dream of building a strong organization that would free the farmers from clutches of the middle man. In one of my weaker moments I accepted |w:Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel|Tribhuvandas’s]] suggestion that I work for the nascent Kaira Cooperative. I have never regretted that decision in my 33-year career as an employee of the farmers."

"Our laws have our mindset negative, dishonest, unproductive, obstructionist and indisciplined. [Kurien says] we must liberate our resources. Economic liberalization is aimed at liberating our material resources. Economic liberalization is aimed at liberating our material resources. We need to liberate our mental resources, viz. the mindset, from our anti-national and anti-work ethic labour laws."

"Where you have the will you have the skill; study, search, practice application; healthy irreverence; look for the kink in the thing, be curious."

"We must build on the resources represented by our young professionals and by our nation’s farmers. Without their involvement, we cannot succeed. With their involvement we can not fail."

"I had the benefit of background and infrastructure, success would have come rather easily and my independent contribution would not have been easily measurable. Here there was so much to be done - how could I not try? I had a trained butler. Mumbai was close. The Mathais were there but I would stay at the Taj for Rs 50 per night. I could afford it because in Anand I had no expenses at all. **When asked why with aristocratic background how reconciled to stay in a garage."

"Gifts can be dangerous and make a nation dependent on foreign aid. They can scuttle dairy development here."

"I am a servant to the farmers."

"I consider Vergehese Kurien to be one of world’s great agricultural leaders of this century. This collection of his speeches, so aptly entitled "An Unfinished Dream", can help light the way for those who must carry on the battle to ensure greater food security, prosperity, and peace in the world. I am honoured to commend this book to those hunger fighters."

"Behind the the scenes of the fantastic success of Operation Flood is the nearly invisible skillful guding hand, vision and the brilliant mind and the unique management skill of Kurien."

"[Mr Kurien] engineered the white revolution in India and made India the largest milk producer of the world. He is recognised as the man behind the success of the Amul brand."

"Dr Kurien was an outstanding and innovative manager and an exceptional human being. His contribution to the welfare of the farmer and agricultural production and development of the country is immeasurable. Dr Kurien was an icon of India's cooperative movement and the dairy industry."

"He was one of the most towering Indians to live in Independent India."

"Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning."

"A fixed mindset, creates a tendency to avoid challenges, to ignore useful negative feedback and leads such people to plateau early and not achieve their full potential."

"I am struck by the incredible role played by the interplay of chance events with intentional choices. While the turning points themselves are indeed often fortuitous, how we respond to them is anything but so. It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial."

"Learning from experience, however, can be complicated. It can be much more difficult to learn from success than from failure. If we fail, we think carefully about the precise cause. Success can indiscriminately reinforce all our prior actions."

"It is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn. If the quality of the learning is high, the development gradient is steep, and, given time, you can find yourself in a previously unattainable place."

"...entrepreneurship, resulting in large-scale job creation, was the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in societies."

"I marvel at how one role model can alter for the better the future of a young student. This experience taught me that valuable advice can sometimes come from an unexpected source, and chance events can sometimes open new doors."

"Narayana Murthy overcame many obstacles and demonstrated that is possible to create a world-class, values-driven company in India. Through his vision and leadership Murthy sparked a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship that changed the way we view ourselves and how the world views India."

"Narayana Murthy is a role model for millions of Indians. An iconic figure in the country, he is widely respected and looked up not only for his business leadership but also for his ethics and personal conduct. He represents the face of the new, resurgent India to the world."

"Murthy, [says the Time magazine], has not sold his soul for money and success. One of country’s most admired men, he is vigilant about his employees’well-being, granting stock options, building exercise facilities and spreading values as much as wealth."

"Humble and self-effacing, Murthy is known to fly economy class and lives in a modest home in Bangalore -- proof, say his fans, that you can combine business success with Gandhian humility."

"Respect, recognition, and reward flows out of performance."

"Perhaps the biggest problem before Indian Corporates is that of the concept of ‘corporate throne’. If the company is not doing well, the old guard must make way for new."

"I am great admirer of China. It has shown great discipline and dedication in attacking n export markets. China is working furiously on its English-language capability and its quality control. As China become stronger, it sends a clear signal that we in India have to harder to stay ahead."

"We have to change the mindset of our corporate leaders and, obviously, we have to raise the level of corporate governance."

"Students are the future of this country. Quality software engineers will carve the way ahead for becoming a software global giant."

"As long as they (government) make businesses grow in the country, as long as we collect more taxes, as long as we use those taxes efficiently, I think the confidence will come back, every one will be very happy with whatever government is in the Centre and we will be better country."

"Move from apathy to action. Aim at becoming better than me. Luck will favour those who are prepared"

"India is a country of empty words, not action. Only repeating, 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' won't help. Learn to finish the race first in order to finish first."

"I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder in time."

"When, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate."

"I can assert that it is this belief in learning from experience, a growth mindset, the power of chance events, and self-reflection that have helped me grow to the present."

"So, these were the four components of my upbringing -- the academic stuff where I was left to myself, Mahendrabhai, my father's passion for creating Reliance and the last piece was his deep links with the family."