What did Eicher Volvo Vinod Aggarwal Tell Bajrang Sharma?

(Left to Right): Freight Tiger Sakshi Hingorani, CTA Bajrang Sharma, self & Freight Tiger Madhusudhan Nair

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

Honestly, it was our maiden mulaqat, though we have known each other for over a decade. Forty-eight hours before the face-to-face interaction, Chandigarh Transport Association Secretary-General Bajrang Sharma tweeted: "Welcome to Chandigarh for new suggestions for welfare of industry/trade." Actually, he identified challenges and offered possible solutions. Not me!

"Over the next ten years, my son will be running his business in a much better India," thus spake Sharma. We are seated in the well-lit lobby with Chattisgarh tribals hand-built non-ferrous Dhokra art figurines kept vigil from five feet away. 

His confidence was unmistakable. There was that special glow on his face signaling a truckload of optimism. You rarely come across a non-sulking transporter.  Not today. Never in the past. Sulking is part of their DNA, even when milking clueless shippers with incredible and usurious freight rates. 

Not that the fifty-ish second generation Punjabi fleet owning transporter has no laundry list. He, too, has. His major grouse is the corruption on highways. "Mind you, it has come down," he addresses *Freight Tiger's Sakshi Hingorani and Madhusudhan Nair,* and self as we listen with rapt attention in the reception area of The Lemon Tree in Mohali industrial area phase 1. 

The hotel staff at the counter and the men, women, and children exiting the elevator for the dining hall are unconcerned with our activities. 

Madhu, a professional who had learned his logistics funda at the corridors of DHL and Varuna, among others, is all ears. In his new avatar at the Mumbai-based start-up Freight Tiger's Business Development in charge for the northern region, the hardcore Delhiite is on a whistle-stop tour to Chandigarh and nearby Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) to assess the ground. His mission is to push his company's services to "improve the operational efficiency and thus reduce the logistics cost" among the transport fraternity. Indeed, the upcoming National Logistics Policy's unambiguous goal. Young and sprightly Sakshi, the US-educated marketing and communication specialist, flew in from Mumbai to give company to Madhu on his whirlwind tour.

"My wish list is short and simple: Primarily, I desire the corruption on highways has to be eliminated," says the cherubic Sharma and hastens to admit that it is a "tall task." He believes the government has made efforts in that direction to a certain extent, but a lot more is possible. 

"How about creating a National Highway Security Force  - something on the lines of CISF?" asks the CTA boss. 

Highway patrolling? Is it possible to police the entire stretch of national and state highways that connect the entire country, feeding, clothing, and sheltering 1.3billion populace 24x7x365? Madhu and I exchange glances disbelievingly. Sharma catches the nuances and smiles to assuage that he is "not hallucinating." 

"I am confident such a force would reduce harassment on highways by hooligans as well as other rent-seekers," adds he. Total elimination of corruption on highways, Sharma concedes, is impossible. "Bring it down to 20%. That would be wonderful," says he, like a child whose wish to buy a stick of ice cream got parent's approval. 

Sharma desires that his eldest son, running his cold chain trucking business, should not get disheartened and shut the family business started by his father decades ago. That can only happen if the business environment improves with less corruption on highways because their business literally "runs" on the roads. His other son moved into the legal profession along with his lawyer-wife. 

Sharma has solid legal support to fight any legal dispute in his business without paying a penny!

What next, Sharmaji? "The biggest pain point is the driver shortage." What's his solution? "Truck makers like Tata, Leyland, Eicher Volvo, Daimler should set up driver training schools and gift a trained and certified driver along with every vehicle they sell," says he. 

Sakshi and Madhu are clueless as to how to react to this Sharma proposal. I break the ice.

"Sharmaji, you mean like "dowry"? So these truck makers will train and gift buyers with drivers?" 

We laugh loudly, drawing the attention of the passers-by in the hotel lobby. Sharma presents a cool cucumber look.

"Recently, I met Eicher Managing Director Vinod Aggarwalji in Punjab and put forward this proposal to him," adds he.

What was his response?  I ask. 

Vinodji said, "Let's see" to Sharma.

Honestly, I never expected anything beyond "Let's see" from Eicher bossman. Just not him. For that matter, anyone from the trucking segment. If these truck makers were serious, the topic of driver shortage would have never arisen today. 

Sharma is hopeful his wishes will bear fruit in his son's lifetime, if not his own.

The clock is ticking. Sharma has an appointment with Chandi Mata at 9.10 for 10 minutes. Yes, you cannot "darshan" even the Akhilandeswari without an appointment in the Covid times. Plus, it is Navaratri, and he is fasting. So he has to "darshan" Mata before rushing home for dinner. 

We shake hands and promise to meet again, possibly on a Punjab road trip. 

"Sharmaji, please include these two items for submission to Chandi Mata. Only she can find a solution. Not Nitin Gadkari. Nor Channi," I add, as the elevator door shuts, swallowing him into its cavity to take him vertically to the ground floor.

Pilgrimage to Baddi - Once Again!

Baddi truck drivers assembled in the hall to celebrate the Drivers Day Utsav, 2014

 

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

Unless one is in the freight movement business, especially in the northern belt, they may be unaware of Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. Yet, it enjoys a "special mention" among the logistics fraternity! Baddi is situated at the foothills of the Himalayas and on the way to Simla. Many would convey that this town, known as a tax shelter to promote industrial development by the central government in 2003 with a ten-year tax holiday, originally belonged to Punjab state. Still, state reorganization pushed it into the lap of Himachal Pradesh. 

Baddi saw large-scale industrialization from 2007. According to Baddi-BarotiwalaNalagarh Industries Association, over 2000 factories set up at an estimated cost of 15,300 cr employs 75000 workers. Several MNCs have their manufacturing plants in this tiny town, 60km from Chandigarh, the nearest airport.

Such industrialization warrants logistics support largely. Therefore, transportation is a crucial element to ensure the smooth functioning of manufacturing by bringing in raw materials/components from outside and ferrying finished goods to the rest of the country. Sensing the business opportunity, particularly in the transportation segment, the locals have formed an association to "control" the fleet deployment by the companies in Baddi. 

Simply put, the Association fixes the freight rates. All local transporters are members of it. Manufacturers have to route their transport requirements through the Association and are barred from entering into any direct contract with transporters/fleet owners individually. The Association daily allot loads to transporters in a unique system. Cartelisation, one may call it. Expectedly, shippers are displeased with this "unionization" but helpless because they are "overcharged" due to the absence of competition. 

The control is so total that the Association, it is believed, does not provide loads to those transporters unregistered with it. Hence, none wants to buy trucks without the Association's blessings. As a result, the supply of vehicles is kept on a leash. Truck manufacturers throng the Association office in Nallagarh seeking their "blessings" to push their wares. 

I was drawn to Baddi because of this "cartelization" tag. Since 2014, I have been visiting this attractive transport hub to understand the pulse and the mood of service seekers and providers. One thing is clear: the Association has prospered beyond belief. Today, they operate from a modern office building with a vast auction hall vis-a-vis what it used to be years ago. Transporters have prospered. At whose cost? Shippers, of course. A competitive environment, like anywhere else, would have slashed the logistics cost of Baddi manufacturers by half, if not more. 

Transporters vie with one another through undercutting freight rates across India. Not in Baddi. Disallowed by the all-powerful Association. But, like in any other segment, the politics-business nexus in Baddi cannot be dismissed. Plus, the vote bank angle. 

So far, transporters have the upper hand over the big boys of manufacturers in Baddi. Not to their liking, of course. With the GST rollout, the tax holiday status was cut short, thus pushing companies into a tight spot. 

Many keep asking: is the Baddi model scalable? Yes and no. It is possible in the industrial estates provided there is unanimity among the transporters. It is possible, provided there is a solid political connection with "vested interest."  The second element can be manageable and readily available. But the transporters' unity is an arduous task. Almost unachievable. Want proof? Look at the shoddy treatment meted out to the transport segment by the government at the federal and state levels. The government is exploiting this "lack of unity" among transporters. 

Precisely, this battle of wits between the two takes me to Baddi regularly. One more time this weekend.