Ex-CMD – IDBI |Ex-CMD- NHB
As I read the news of demise of Shri P P Vora, my mind silently slipped in to time machine and went back to the period of 1974 -1976.
Gujarat Steel Tubes (GST)Ltd was directed by ICICI Ltd to approach GIIC Ltd for their term loan finance requirement of around Rs 40 lacs. GST’s approach to GIIC then led to further GST’s additional relationship(s) with GIIC., one of which was the term finance for a green field project for manufacture of Welded Stainless (SS) Tubes at GST’s wholly owned subsidiary Neeka Tubes Ltd (NTL). The fate had destined me to steer these activities as the then incumbent Project Officer at GST.
That project envisaged in-house manufacturing of the tube mill line, and as I had expected soon became the core discussion topic during the project finance appraisal process. I had just been able to present the case in a manner which paved the way to look at that matter now from financial angle as well. The then Technical Head of R S Dixit (I believe I remember the initials correctly), himself introduced the subject, and me, to Mr. P P Vora – the then Head of Finance at GIIC Ltd.
Mr. P P Vora very carefully, but fully professionally, guided me to develop a model of recording and documenting the cost of in-house manufacturing the SS tube mill that would be not too to complicated for us to build and maintain and which will also be independently verifiable while also meeting the points of views of accounting norms of the Companies Act and the Income Tax Act.
Mr. Dixit and Mr Vora both led the entire appraisal process in such a manner that I never felt any discouragement at any stage and was also in position to show the management and colleagues of NTL that it was I who was successfully navigating the whole process.
The way that process was so naturally executed, I was also able to realize then that even as I have been successful in bringing up my theoretical knowledge so effectively to steer a highly unconventional idea to the world of hard-core reality, I always could maintain myself to the planes of reality that whatever I was able to accomplish was not because I was right , it was the right sagacity of vision of these professionals who held the torch of guiding, supporting and encouraging the entrepreneurship, that created environment where I could see my ideas fructifying into reality.
Moreover, the way these two gentlemen expounded our the then limited perspective of the macro world of SS Tube industry also was to play key role in the way we navigated through those uncharted waters.
In the retrospect I do realize now that their whole holistic approach of evaluating the viability of the project over the life span of the duration of the term loan, unconsciously instilled that habit of looking at any given issue from angles different than the obvious.
When I read the news of passing away of Shri P P Vora, it was perhaps natural that these memories would come to the surface of my mind as my humble tribute to that true to the core entrepreneurship development professional.
I also take this opportunity to record my most sincere acknowledgement of the roles that all those individuals have played at different stages of my 38-years of career wherein the destiny was to help me to groom that idiosyncratic ideal spirit of creativity of mine throughout the career such that I am able to look back at all my failures not with a sense of despair but with the satisfaction that I did I sincerely felt was right for me to do then.
The world is too small? or Is it? 