The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is a colossal cooperative organisation that works in close contact with the farmers, produces fertilisers and provides an array of farmer-related services. Suresh Chander Gupta, Joint General Manager (HR & IR), IFFCO gives an insight into the management and strategy of its founding father Padma Shri Paul Pothen and Dr U. S. Awasthi, the present visionary MD and CEO
The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is one of India's largest cooperative societies. Founded in 1967 with just 57 cooperatives, it is now a conglomerate of over 35,000 Indian cooperatives with diversified business interests ranging from general insurance to rural telecom apart from its core business of manufacturing and marketing of fertilisers. Today, the turnover is about Rs.22,000 crore. IFFCO’s reach extends to more than 5.5 crore farmers in India. Corporate Citizen speaks to Suresh Chander Gupta, Joint General Manager (HR & IR), IFFCO, who throws light on this sector and on the management skills that have held the company in good stead.
IFFCO is registered under the Multistate Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 and it is the world’s largest in the cooperatives sector. IFFCO has five ultramodern fertiliser plants in India and has spread it wings overseas too. It has an installed capacity of 80 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers consisting of various grades such as NPK, DAP, urea, and water-soluble fertilisers. Most of the time since inception, our production has exceeded the production capacity, particularly of urea. For phosphate-based fertilisers, the production is around 90% of the capacity.
Our activities appear to be commercial, but our philosophy is to serve the farmers and work more for their welfare.
We are governed by two important Acts—the Fertiliser (Control) Order 1985 (FCO) which regulates the price, sale and quality of fertilisers, and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (ECA) which is in the interest of the public for the control of production, supply, distribution and trade and commerce in certain commodities, including fertilisers. All fertiliser organisations are governed by these Acts. This means we are also controlled by the government in terms of what to produce, what not to produce, why to produce and where to produce. But how to produce is, by and large, decided by the respective organisations.
The production of fertilisers in India is much less than the demand, which then is met through imports. IFFCO is the largest producer of urea and phosphatic fertilisers in India and fulfills about 23% of the demand for urea and about 32% of the demand for phosphatic fertilisers. The production of phosphatic fertilisers is dependent on the import of rock phosphate or sulphur. In Paradeep, Odisha, we have the world’s single-largest integrated plant where we produce phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid too from imported rock phosphate and sulphur.
“Our activities appear to be commercial, but our philosophy is to serve the farmers and work more for their welfare”
IFFCO is a great organisation because of its visionary leaders such as Padma Shri Paul Pothen, former MD of IFFCO who laid a strong foundation and Dr U S Awasthi, current MD & CEO, who not only sustained its glory but also made far-reaching positive changes in the working relations with all its stakeholders, including employees.
Under Dr Awasthi’s leadership since 1993, we have had massive expansion, vertically and horizontally. The fertiliser business is not very lucrative or profitable because the Government of India has so many regulations and late release of subsidy which impacts our balance sheet with a huge outgo of bank interest. Besides, it is a labour and capital-intensive industry. For the movement of fertilisers, there is a need for efficient and timely logistic arrangements. That is why for the last more than 15 years no new plant has come up in India, except for two plants which are in the pipeline. Now the Government of India has also planned to revive the old and closed FCI plants with the help of PSUs. However, IFFCO had almost doubled the production capacity of our own ultramodern plants as we have sufficient land and experienced manpower to install new plants.
I would like to specifically mention about the Oswal Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (OCFL) plant in Odisha which we had acquired in 2005. It is the first such instance where a cooperative society acquired any such big manufacturing facility costing above Rs.2,200 crore from a private owner. The plant was in a highly dilapidated condition and there were so many glitches but we still acquired it because Dr Awasthi visualised that to acquire about 2,000 acres of land in India in one stretch is a herculean task which may take five years or more, and in future this would become more tedious. Secondly, he knew that IFFCO had experienced employees managing the phosphate fertiliser plant at Kandla. Likewise, we had officers like Mr R. P. Singh, an excellent Human Resource Manager, now Director (HR & Legal). The Government of Odisha was not permitting to run the plant for environmental reasons, so we assured the government that no violation of any nature—on environmental or safety parameters—would be done, while it would be assimilated into the culture and ethics of IFFCO.
It is the world’s largest integrated plant and is now very well-managed. Its revival was challenging. The technical part was looked after by Mr K. L Singh, the then ED and now Director (Technical). All HR and IR policies and assimilation of manpower was assisted by me under the guidance of Mr R P Singh. For two years we had to burn the midnight oil. We had to convince the employees, unions and people of the surrounding villages that improvements in the lives of people would be visible. The level of confidence and conviction of the management and employees, especially the retired ones who were engaged from each field was unimaginable.
“We consider human resources as assets, and important stakeholders. Our prime strategy is to build the best work culture and give full thrust to work-life balance. To redress the grievances, every employee can reach out to even the top management directly or through sectional heads or unions or officer associations. We call it the IFFCO family culture”
Currently, we have about 5,300 permanent employees. Firstly, we consider human resources as assets and important stakeholders. Our prime strategy is to build the best work culture and give full thrust to work-life balance. To redress their grievances, every employee can reach out to even the top management directly or through the sectional head or recognised unions or officer associations. We call it the IFFCO family culture. Being a labour-intensive and highly technical organisation we embark on professionalism in every field whether it is technical, non-technical, accounts, HR or whatever. According to our need we hire the best engineers from all fields and agriculture graduates through a two-tier online examination designed by our HR team, and I being the main architect of the same, have successfully completed 10 years. We also employ MBAs in HR, Operations and Cooperative Relations from reputed B-schools such as the MBA colleges of Sri Balaji Society, NITIE Mumbai, regional engineering colleges, etc. Regular upgrade of skills is our motto through in-house and outbound training, seminars, conferences, etc.
Without communication, nothing can move and we need to go beyond one-way communication. We hold quarterly meetings with workers’ unions and officers’ associations at the headquarters and at the plant level. We not only address their grievances, but expect ‘demand for higher standards’. We also focus on how to improve their working. For key officials, we hold quarterly meetings separately in which the present situation and future strategies are discussed and finalised. Nothing can be better than this powerful communication for managers. You can feel the pulse of every person there. When the representatives of unions, officers and key officials are involved in the decision making process they become the ambassadors of the organisation too.
I started my career from NTC (a Govt. of India undertaking). I did my post-graduation in Commerce from Delhi School of Economics and during service I passed my degree in Law, PGDM in HR & IR and PGDM in Marketing.
Yes, but couldn’t be, because of the single reason that we did not have sufficient means of livelihood, so I was in dire need of work. After passing the Higher Secondary exam in 1971, I started a PVC shoes factory while studying for my graduation. I was single-handedly looking after all functions such as marketing, production, labour handling, finance and so on. Out of the many new initiatives I took, I would like to quote one. The credit period in Sadar Bazar of Delhi for our product was seven days, but the payment was received in 21 days or one month. I was just 17 years old, without a moustache. I told the buyer that I could not afford to come time and again for the recovery of the payment because I was a student, and I offered a credit period of 21 days with the condition that payment be made on or before 21 days after the supply of goods. They agreed, and I was flooded with orders, but unfortunately could not match the demand because of shortage of skilled labour. I successfully worked for one and a half years and closed down the factory without any loss, maybe with a little profit.
At that time there was a bit of a trauma in the country as Emergency had been declared and the government had stopped recruiting. At this time it was the only big job provider. I was selected as Inspector Excise and Taxation but the offer was not made. Likewise, I appeared for the UP state administrative services examination but was not called for the interview.
During post-graduation, I was selected by the National Textile Corporation (a Government of India undertaking) in 1975 for a sales and accounts position. I topped the written test conducted by NTC and the offer of appointment was given on the spot only to me, from among three other candidates selected along with me. The other two joined later on.
Considering my performance, they considered me for the position of person in charge of sales of Rajasthan state just after nine months’ service, three grades above the initial position. Initially I refused because I had to complete my post-graduation and wanted to do my LLB, but they insisted that I take up the assignment for six months. The management was confident that I would set everything right in three months. They also wanted me to hand over termination letters to 15 employees, but I suggested to the management that these letters could be sent after my joining there. Further, I told I was going for a good cause so I could not take these letters with me. They appreciated my suggestion and after my joining, sent only five termination letters and asked for special reports on the rest of the employees. I observed that all employees were good and wanted to work, but two senior officers were dividing them.
I got totally involved in getting the pulse of the situation. The key was to understand the crux of the situation, then analyse and use your management skills to put the system in order. Accordingly, in three months there was a sea change in the working and we made hitherto unachievable sales in Rajasthan. I resigned after about three months of joining there because I understood that I had reached a saturation point. Secondly, I requested a hike in salary to Rs.750/- which was being offered to an ex-serviceman appointed as Assistant Manager, Sales, a position equivalent to mine. I was being paid Rs.650/- plus commission on sales.
I was jobless and in dire need of work. I applied for the Auditor’s position in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. They immediately called me for a written test for which I was not prepared, but had to appear. Fortunately, I cleared it along with four other candidates. I was selected and joined there. I learned a lot there about the functioning of various departments. I remained there for about two and a half years and resigned after getting selected by Indian Airlines. My work was appreciated there too, and many special tasks were assigned to me which I completed successfully.
“Understanding and patience are the two prime requirements to keep a marriage happy and contented. We keep having arguments but one should assess as to whether they are progressive or nonprogressive. Some young couples lack patience and they look for greener pastures. That’s not the reality of life. Once you start comparing with others and if you get the feeling that the grass is greener on the other side, the marriage will not work”
S. C. Gupta with wife Indra: Marriage is all about understanding and patienceBefore joining IFFCO, I worked for Indian Airlines as Accounts and Audit Assistant for about six months. One remarkable job I did there was regarding an audit objection for the sale of a Dakota aircraft. This objection was pending for the last five years but could not be concluded because the file was not available. I personally located the file from the store room with the help of a Daftri and concluded that there was a loss of about Rs.5 lakh in its sale. The accounts officer who did not cooperate was one of the persons responsible for the same. When I discussed it with that accounts officer, he wanted to know about my qualifications because it needed a good skill of analysis and legal acumen. In recognition of my good work the management had nominated me for a training session at Hyderabad which was a very prestigious one and a rare chance for an employee. However, this I came to know after my resignation. The Chief of Accounts and Audit, Mr Chhabra wanted to retain me but I had made up my mind to leave because I was convinced that this was not a progressive organisation. A lot of political intervention was also there in promotions, etc.
My mother Chotto Devi was illiterate, and my father, Sita Ram studied only up to Std. V. My mother was very good at numbers and taught mathematics to us all nine brothers and sisters up to Std. V. She used to narrate very inspiring stories whenever we were in doubt or trouble. My brother Ram Narain, ITS, former Sr. Dy. Director General (Telecom), equivalent to additional secretary in the government of India compiled all those stories in a book form named Maa Se Suni Anmol Kathaen (treasured stories heard from my mother). She ingrained in us the value of punctuality, regularity and continuity. Without inculcating these values no one can succeed in life. The capacity to sacrifice and trust by each family member keeps the family together.
I didn’t know who I was marrying as this was an arranged marriage. Coincidentally, we later came to know that we had studied in schools that were next to each other. My wife Indra has an MA in Political Science but she decided to be a housewife. At one time she took up an assignment of a primary teacher in DC Model School, Panchkula, Haryana, which was close to where we were living. After some time she decided to leave the job but the children of her class requested the principal that my wife be continued to be their teacher. The principal requested us and she joined for some time to keep the children happy. She was totally focused on bringing up the family without any distraction.
We are blessed with three children. My eldest daughter is Ritu, married, settled in Seattle, USA and working for AT&T. Her husband Yogesh Bansal, an engineer from IIT Delhi, is with Microsoft and they are blessed with a son and a daughter. My son, Lt Col. Nitin Gupta, SM, is with the 7 Para of the Army, married to Dr Shivangi, and they are blessed with a daughter. The third one is my very lovely daughter Neha, SAP engineer, working with Deloitte. All my children were all-rounders at school. I never thrust anything against their wishes. They pursued their choices. My son wanted to be a cricketer as he was an all-rounder, so did not take admission for engineering and once got selected for the Under-19 team from Haryana, but fortune took him to the Army. I always used to tell my children that whatever they do, should be done with perfection, and with blessings from all.
Understanding and patience are the two prime requirements to keep a marriage happy and contented. We keep having arguments but one should assess as to whether they are progressive or non-progressive. Some young couples lack patience and they look for greener pastures. That’s not the reality of life. Once you start comparing with others and if you get the feeling that the grass is greener on the other side, the marriage will not work. There should be no comparison in the home life or work life. Each person and each family is unique. In a family, you have to accept each member as he or she is, and work around to foster better relationship.
I personally do not like to discriminate. I feel our women are empowered since ancient times and in fact, they are worshipped too in our society. They have achieved amazing milestones in many fields. In these modern times, we are not empowering, we are only comparing, which is harmful. I always thought about good education and careers for both my daughters and son. At no point of time did even an iota of discrimination come to our minds. I personally feel that girls have the ability to sacrifice more than boys. It is others who make them realise that being a girl she should not sacrifice for the family. To keep the families united and happy many a time one person has to sacrifice, either the girl or the boy. I believe that this myth of discrimination with women has been created by politically-motivated persons. At the workplace, we do seminars, conferences, and trainings to make them aware about their rights and use them judiciously.
Gupta's cheerful family: All are achievers!Around 14-15 hours a day.
I have been waking up at 5 am since my childhood, to date. I have a morning walk of 3 to 5 km before doing Yoga or stretch exercises. By 7.30 am, I am ready for breakfast and help my wife also if required. I prepare the to-do list for the day. I rarely come under pressure, but try to do the work quickly. I am a multi-tasker. I don’t know if it is good or bad, but I want everything done to perfection. When travelling, I go for a swim, as most hotels have that facility. I remember when I was posted in the west zone at Bhopal, I used to come by the Bhopal Express, the only ISO 9001-certified train at that time, to Delhi for official meetings, being the HR head of the West Zone, Secretary of the Suggestion Scheme, Secretary of Raj Bhasha Hindi Samiti, coordinator of ISO 9001-2001 and for other official work, but I never missed getting up at 5 am and did my stretch exercises on the train.
Wherever I worked, I first understood the business, its inside out, be it at the NTC, MCD or Indian Airlines. I learnt all the nuts and bolts of the business.
When we implemented computerisation around 1991-1992, I was in charge of North Zone which consists of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Employees were hesitant to use computers. At that time no one knew how to handle a computer, but I was among the first employees of North Zone who learned how to handle the mouse and then led the way and inspired others to use it. Today, I’m not an expert but very comfortable with computers. Farmers have started using the mobile and our joint venture IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL) is helping them through cooperative societies to make maximum use of mobile telephony. Now we have started e-Bazar for the purchase of fertilisers and other products used by farmers. But still it is a long way to go though the day is not far off when we will make farmers fully digitalised.
No, computerisation in villages started only after the Modi government took over. Earlier, it was urban-oriented. We have IFFCO farmer centres where we put up computers and designed certain modules to work on it. E-Vikas is the name of this module. Most new-generation farmers are mobile-savvy so they can use this technology. The government has also instructed every fertiliser dealer to install a POS machine which resembles a credit or debit card-swiping machine.
My philosophy of life is, don’t make any false promises, remain honest, work hard like a partner of your company and not like an employee. Help the needy and stand by the weak, otherwise powerful people will thrash them. I work with a sense of justice to all. I live with minimum requirements of life and always remain fully satisfied at every point of time but work to achieve high.
By Vinita Deshmukh
