What ‘crisis infrastructure’ is Ratan Tata talking about?

Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, is the only prominent figure who appears to understand the situation in Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay and is in a position to do something about it. What caught my attention was his deliberate mention of the words ‘crisis infrastructure’ that could be put in place in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, the inexperienced media did not pick-up on the most important policy pronouncement to have come out so far from an important source! I only hope that Prannoy Roy and his NDTV would invite Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra to participate in town-hall meetings in Bombay to elaborate this ‘crisis infrastructure’ statement.

What better place than New York City to learn about the crisis infrastructure? Starting with the first responders to the fire-fighters, every aspect was perfectly managed by a pro-active Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his team. Ratan Tata has the means to invite former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani and the Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Bombay and seek their advice in forming a ‘Crisis Management Group’ to handle all such crisis in future. We are talking about the training of the metropolitan police to their state-of-the-art equipment including the bullet-proof-jackets and the assault weapons. What Tata is probably talking about is the presence of National Security Guard (NSG) in and around Bombay from armored-fire-engines to bullet-proof ambulances and well equipped major hospitals to deal with any future emergencies.

Our staff has been courageous: Ratan Tata

Taj Owner, Ratan Tata: “We had warnings”

Why would Mahindras buy Hummer?

There has been some talk of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) trying to buy Hummer from General Motors. This sounds absolutely illogical. Hummer is an inefficient vehicle and probably uses out-dated technology to manufacture it. Why would such a savvy businessman like Anand Mahindra even consider a purchase that the US government would so easily let-go? Anand is no stranger to America and he knows that any technology worth buying would face tremendous media resistance here. Or, is he (Anand) watching too much American TV because Hummer has featured in some of the war-movies, since ‘Operation Desert Storm’? Hummers have poor fuel economy.

Hummers were originally built by AM General Corporation, now a part of GM (General Motors of US). The Hummer platform was developed by AM General in 1979 to replace the obsolete World War II Jeep. The initial design work, code named M998 series, was done to produce a “High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle” (HMMWV) popularly called ‘Humvee’. In 1983, the LTV Corporation bought AM General from American Motors Corporation and established LTV Aerospace and Defense Company. The first Hummer rolled out off the assembly line on January 2, 1985. These Humvees (Hummers) became the workhorse of the US Armed Forces during the 90s. The civilian version of Hummer was introduced in 1992.

Acquiring ‘Hummer Brand’ from GM might be an expensive proposition for Mahindra & Mahindra. What could be the purpose, is it a civilian gamble or do Mahindras have some ‘Military Supply Plans’? Looking at Mahindras history, it could be a very interesting proposal! The family-owned Mahindra trading group ventured into auto business during the Second World War as a contractor to supply Willys Jeeps to the British Army. The M&M (Mahindra & Muhammad) Company was established on October 2, 1945 by Mahindra brothers (JC Mahindra & KC Mahindra) and Ghulam Muhammad as a franchise for assembling Jeeps from Willys, USA. After the partition of India in 1947, Ghulam Muhammad migrated to Pakistan and became that nation’s first Finance Minister. He later went on to become the 3rd Governor-General of Pakistan in 1951. Mahindras meanwhile changed the name of the company to Mahindra & Mahindra and never looked back.