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-6-
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: He has no role to play in this.
TEHELKA: No role?
LT. COL. SAYAL: No.
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: And…and I'm telling you. Like you….
Today I'm telling you, don't be disappointed later on. Like
you, hundred people are visiting them with the same proposals.
Hundred.
TEHELKA: Okay.
*
* *
TEHELKA: Sir, if you are close to Pradhani…that Defence
Production Minister…of Defence Production Prahdani, R.P. Pradhani.
That Shiv Sena…
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: He's not Pradhani. He is Hiren Pathak.
LT. COL. SAYAL: Pathak.
TEHELKA: Only one minister for state. Sir, if you are
close to him. We can give him some election fund also.
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: I will introduce him.
TEHELKA: Introduce him? Okay.
*
* *
|
In the end, of course, Major General Murgai pockets his
first advance. |
LT. COL. SAYAL: I told you something to take care.
LT. COL. SAYAL: How much is this?
TEHELKA: Twenty.
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: That is okay.
TEHELKA: No, please….
MAJ. GEN. MURGAI: Let me see how the things go.
LT. COL. SAYAL: It is nothing, sir. This has to be
given. Give…
TEHELKA: 9.30, sir.
LT. COL. SAYAL: 9.30.
*
* *
|
The next day General Murgai introduces us to Shukla, the
Personal Secretary to Minister of State Harin Pathak.
The Ketan Shukla line wasn't pursued vigorously by West
End because of the resignation of minister Harin Pathak.
However, getting an order from the Indian Army is not
just greasing the army and the politicians. The finance
guys also have to be kept in good humour. Brigadier Sehgal
puts us through to Narendra Singh, Additional Finance
Advisor, Ministry of Defence, to brief us on how things
move in the maze of the babu number-crunchers. In the
first meeting, Singh accepts Rs. 10,000 as a token advance.
He advises West End where to concentrate on and says that
things in the finance world will move only when the product
has been accepted. |
NARENDRA SINGH: So...but initially what I think is
that your...first of all, your product should be tried out
by infantry or artillery and they should say, you know, they
have seen the product and it is very good.
TEHELKA: Okay.
NARENDRA SINGH: That is regarding user trials.
TEHELKA: So what I have to do first? Already this channel
is okay.
NARENDRA SINGH: I...I...you know, I can give you some
references.
TEHELKA: Okay.
NARENDRA SINGH: Once you meet them officially, you
explain them your problem.
TEHELKA: Sir, that Ranjit Issar in the Ordnance is
very crucial factor.
NARENDRA SINGH: No, no...see, I am telling you that
these people, what you are talking is Bhutani, Bunker or Ranjit
Issar or...I will give a parallel line in the finance division.
They will come into picture only when there is a procurement
proposal. Before that they have nothing to do.
TEHELKA: Okay.
NARENDRA SINGH: They are concerned only with the procurement
of things. Before that necessity and acceptability of the
product has to be there. They should say, you know, that what
you are offering in technology-wise or performance-wise this
is a improvement over what we have already seen.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
NARENDRA SINGH: So some...and then how to get you entered
into the competition.
|
Deputy Secretary Narendra Singh emphasizes time and again
that in the long chain of people required to be greased,
General Choudary was the first link. He advises West End
to concentrate on getting the product trials going. |
NARENDRA SINGH: I give you one example, then you will
know the terms. There is one more very established company
- Sagem.
TEHELKA: Which one?
NARENDRA SINGH: Sagem! Sagem!
TEHELKA: Sagem. Which...foreign company?
NARENDRA SINGH: Foreign company. French company.
TEHELKA: Haan.
NARENDRA SINGH: For the last five years they are trying
that their product should be seen by the army. They have not
been successful.
TEHELKA: Not yet?
NARENDRA SINGH: Not yet.
TEHELKA: What is the problem?
NARENDRA SINGH: And they have a office in Delhi.
TEHELKA: Uh-huh.
NARENDRA SINGH: One General-level officer has been
posted here.
TEHELKA: General?
NARENDRA SINGH: One General-level officer has been
posted here.
TEHELKA: Retired?
NARENDRA SINGH: Retired.
TEHELKA: In the Indian Army?
NARENDRA SINGH: French army.
TEHELKA: Indian Army?
NARENDRA SINGH: French army.
TEHELKA: French army.
NARENDRA SINGH: Hmm. He is been posted here. They have
a office in Golf Links. All that, I mean, Colonel Sehgal will,
of course, not be aware of these things because his department
is different.
TEHELKA: Hmm.
NARENDRA SINGH: So it is not very easy...to get an
entry is not very easy. You see...your principals are which
company?
TEHELKA: West End.
NARENDRA SINGH: West End.
NARENDRA SINGH: I know, I know...no...actually I had...actually
when you compared yourself with Thomson and all that, I started
thinking that way. It is not that way. It is off-the-shelf.
It is different entirely.
TEHELKA: It is different.
NARENDRA SINGH: So they will...I know now...now I know
what will they do is this emergency requirement.
TEHELKA: It's emergency requirement.
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