On the same side of the fence

MOLE'S EYE VIEW

Lobbying is not a dirty word," the late Dewang Mehta of Nasscom fame was wont to say, scoffing at the disdain with which most Indians responded to the word.

He was quite forthright in saying that his National Association of Software and Service Companies was a "lobby" group.

There are hundreds of lobby groups in India "" the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) counts 361 such on its rolls currently "" though they are euphemistically referred to as associations.

Here's a sampler of exotica which populates the FICCI list: Home Insect Control Association; Indian Cycle and Rickshaw Tyre Manufacturers' Association; Tyre Retreaders Association; Federation of Corrugated Box Manufacturers; Fire Protection Association; Confederation of Captive Plants, Orissa; Employers' Association of Rajasthan; West Bengal Hosiery Association and even a Property Owners' Association.

This list is embellished with new associations which come up as a new sector is born and gets some traction. For example, the Rural Marketing Agencies Association of India is a little over a year old while the Association of Radio Operators of India was set up earlier this year.

I am told that the powers that be (politicians and bureaucrats) are most comfortable dealing with associations since they cannot then be accused of favouring a particular company.

In response, large companies frequently seed associations and populate them with incidental interests to further their cause. The fact that these groupings are dominated by the big boys is conveniently brushed aside.

Take the case of the Association of Basic Telecom Operators, now known as the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India or AUSPI.

The dominant member of the grouping always was, and is Reliance Communications, which accounts for about 60 per cent of the 35 million subscribers spread across the five members of the group who are committed to the CDMA mobile technology.

The mantra is simple "" "Have a demand, form an association." And this will only grow. "As the economy develops, differentiation takes place in the market, spawning product groups," explains FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra. And what about conflicts between these different product groups?

How are they managed by a national body like FICCI? Mitra says that they take a wider "national interest" position.

These two words are the ultimate lobbying weapon and ensure that the bureaucracy, the legislature and the sundry associations are all standing on the same side of the fence. And then, who would want to, or can dare to, go against national interest!