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L O B B I E S CII-NASSCOM Lobbying For Clout Upstart Nasscom gets ready to challenge top industry association- the CII. But it has ways to go yet. By Suveen K. Sinha
So, when Nasscom honcho Dewang Mehta names it the strongest lobby organisation going-''I've never hesitated in calling Nasscom a lobby group. It's stronger than any other, even CII''-he's got enough reason to do so. Remember when Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) had to be convinced to provide 64-kbps internet lines in 1991? Nasscom did the convincing. The import duty on software fell from 114 per cent in 1992 to zero in 1997. Mehta did the lobbying. The number of h1b visas issued by the US to Indian professionals increased from 45,000 in 1996 to 1.95 lakh in 2000. Nasscom and Mehta (N&M) had a role to play in the increase. Perhaps the most significant display of N&M's lobbying powers came in the wake of Budget 2000 which proposed a tax on profits from software exports. CII was all for the tax, but thanks to N&M, it was waived till 2010. Strangely, Nasscom's prowess doesn't extend to cousin-mait (Manufacturers Association of Information Technology) that has striven in vain to get the GOI to lower the import duty on hardware.
In contrast, Nasscom boasts a mere 797 members. Still, unlike CII that has to reconcile differences between various sectors, Nasscom has fewer issues-most of them common to all its members-to worry about. Avers Subodh Bhargav, former chairman of the Eicher Group and former president of CII: ''In a cross-sectoral interface, there are conflicting positions, and CII has to play a major role in reconciliation and consensus.'' What CII has going for it is a structure that is similar to that of several well-run corporates. Nasscom doesn't, and that could hurt it when Mehta moves on, as he almost surely will, to the larger canvas of national-level politics. The man is a seasoned campaigner of sorts, although his experience spans parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, and the Telugu Desam. ''Politics is part of my life,'' says Mehta in a matter-of-fact manner. What does that mean for Nasscom? Well, this article mentions Khanna, one of the five Deputy Director-Generals who constitute CII's senior management team. Nasscom has Mehta, Mehta, and Mehta. |
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One is an
old economy giant with a strong leader and a stronger second line of
command. The other is a brash new economy start-up with a charismatic (and
media-savvy) head that operates in a lucrative niche. You could be
forgiven for thinking we are discussing companies here. Actually, the
subject of discussion is industry associations: specifically, the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and the National Association of
Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).
However, CII, which supplanted Assocham and
FICCI as the country's premier industry group-its functionaries prefer
that it not be called a lobby-doesn't consider Nasscom competition. ''We
are glad that Nasscom is so powerful. It can even be a role model for
other sectoral organisations. Strong sectoral organisations take some
burden off CII,'' says Director-General Tarun Das. Indeed, CII has
fostered several sector-specific institutions like the Indian Machine
Tools Manufacturers Association, and the Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers. And it hasn't been oblivious to changes in the economic
landscape: it has divisions devoted to subjects like infotech, telecom,
media, financial services, pharma, corporate governance, and bio-tech.
Money isn't really a problem, either: in FY 2000, the association's income
rose to Rs 100 crore from the previous year's Rs 70 crore (expenditure
rose from Rs 63 crore to Rs 92 crore). And, Deputy Director-General Ajay
Khanna is quick to point out that the confederation attracted 456 new
members in 2000, taking its overall membership base to 3,900.