Deveshwar gives CII a makeover

27 panels set up by new president.

In less than a month since taking charge as president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), YC Deveshwar has overhauled the 110-year-old industry association's structure, creating 27 new committees to take their total number to 74.

The entire structure has been streamlined under five broad divisions: economy, ecology, social, public and institutional services.

Besides, he is looking to increase the scope of the six-year-old family business committee, which may make a foray into counselling industrial houses facing family feuds.

One would have expected the CII under Deveshwar to increase its focus on agriculture and paper, areas that are closely related to the other hat that the new president wears, that of chairman of ITC Ltd .

He has created a new committee on paper, in spite of the CII's close working relations with the Indian Paper Mills Association, and four new ones under the agriculture council looking after crop development and diversification, dairy, livestock and fisheries, rural infrastructure, agriculture regulations and market development, seeds, inputs, extension and farm practices.

However, Deveshwar has gone much beyond and set up a committee on automobiles, even though the CII works very closely with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM's current director-general Dileep Chenoy's previous job was as deputy director-general with CII and he moved with the association's blessings), besides committees on consumer durables, shipping, electronics/IT hardware, gems & jewellery, and leather goods.

CII officials say the move is not to undermine SIAM or IPMA, both of which trace their roots to the industry association, but to allow CII to address the issues concerning these industries with a much broader scope.

Under the five broad divisions, there will be 15 councils focusing on agriculture, infrastructure/core industry, manufacturing, financial services, information/communication/entertainment, tourism, logistics, international trade, fiscal and institutional infrastructure, regulatory framework and corporate governance, special issues, sustained competitiveness, natural capital conservation, human resources and social infrastructure, public governance, and institutional services.

The 74 committees will operate under these councils and each of these committees will be headed by a prominent representative of the industry. Appointment of the heads of the committees is yet to be completed, say CII sources.

CII insiders also said that the chamber will consider empowering the family business committee that is placed under the cross-sectoral council, to play a more proactive role in handling family-related disputes in both large and small industrial houses, including those in the SME segment.