'Sir M Visvesvaraya a model for good corporate governance'

Bangalore, Sep 15: Sir M Visvesvaraya, who gave the initial push for the country's industrialisation and is known as the father of five-year plans, was the best example for good corporate governance, Tata Sons Director Dr J J Irani said today.

Delivering the Sir MV Memorial lecture of the legendary engineer and statesman on his 147th birth anniversary, organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, he said Sir MV was the embodiment of integrity and nobility.

Remembering Sir MV's stint as TISCO Director, Dr Irani, known as one of the best metallurgists in the country, said Mr Visvesvaraya had served on the board of TISCO with distinction for 27 years. He had become the Director when he was 65, an age when most of the company directors would retire.

Stating that the Bharat Ratna awardee was a staunch nationalist who opposed the country depending on foreign engineers in large scale industries, he said ''he expressed his unhappiness to Mr J R D Tata for not training Indian engineers for the high ranking posts in Jamshedpur Technical Institute before independence. He was of the firm belief that no technological scheme will work in the country for long if Indians were not part of the administration. His recommendations later became the base for total reorganisation of the institute.''

He said Mr Tata had such high regards for Sir MV that he refused to accept his resignation, tendered at the ripe old age of 94. The two exchanged as many as 90 letters which had been kept in TISCO archives.

''His wise counsel gave great benefits to our board. He was a master in steel and water works technology. Even today, the one million people of Jamshedpur get 24 hours of water throughout the year and that too free of cost. I drink this water directly from tap even today. I don't dare drink water from tap anywhere else,'' he said.

On the occasion, Dr Irani conferred the Sir M V Memorial Award for the year on Deccan Aviation Managing Director Capt G R Gopinath.

Capt Gopinath, speaking on the occasion, said Sir MV was the rare embodiment of great qualities like austerity and exceptional integrity. He was the one who wrote the script for the new and emergent India after independence, he said.

UNI