Pratap Bhogilal Journey Through Life

Author(s): Rauf Ahmed
Publisher: Bhupendra Singh Anand

Page 59

THE JOURNEY 53
numbers in the '50s and the '60s and settle in England. Being a Director on the Board of Bank of India did help me in my business. We had, at that stage, no cash-credit account/facility at the BOI. Directors were not expected to avail themselves of any facilities from the bank. So we continued our account with Bank of Baroda, and they remained the lead Bankers for both SRM and Batliboi. My experience at BOI made me understand the Banking industry much better for future dealings with banks and financial institutions in the course of my business career.
Bharat Forge Limited
It is interesting how I got associated with Bharat Forge Limited, which is the second largest forging company in the world today and is poised to be the largest in a couple of years. I was a Director of Bank of India (BOI) when Neelkanth Kalyani of Bharat Forge came to see me at the instance of S.L. Kirloskar, who was the Chairman of Bharat Forge. It so happened that Bharat Forge had opened a Letter of Credit (LC) for the purchase of machinery and the shipment got delayed. BOI refused to extend the LC and their General Manager, Kansara, told Kalyani that he was helpless as he was bound by the guidelines of the Reserve Bank. When Kalyani told this to S.L. Kirloskar, he suggested that he consult me. Kalyani, whom I didn't know then, came to me and explained the situation they were in and briefed me on his discussions with Kansara over the Letter of Credit. I felt that the bank must extend the LC and spoke to Kansara about it. In the meantime, the rupee had been devalued by 66 percent and I reasoned that the Bank could not appropriate the difference in the LC amount but could only charge for the period of extension of the LC upto the actual date of shipment. However, Mr. Kansara did not agree. Then I met and explained the situation to the Chairman of the Bank, A.D. Shroff, and he agreed that the Bank should get a special dispensation from the RBI for the extension and charge the normal cost only for the period of extension. Kansara, Kalyani and I met the Exchange Controller at the Reserve Bank of India, Maluste - I think that was his name. He understood the problem and granted permission to extend the LC at a nominal charge. Kalyani was grateful to me for getting the needful done. Besides protecting the interests of a customer, my concern was to ensure
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy - Anne Frank