On 23^rd May 2017, the Tata Trusts had organized a session on “Transforming World: The Role of Business in Society” the speaker was Michael Porter. One of my friends Ms. Debsmita Pani who works for Tata Trusts invited me for the session. And, for me this was a propitious occasion, after all hearing Prof. Porter speaking in person is an exceptional opportunity.

Prof. Porter’s talk was focused on CSR. He feels why should companies turn to NGOs and governments to solve society’s major problems? It is time for business organizations to address societal needs and challenges through creating shared values, in which a company prepares a business model addressing a social cause which will augment their profits. Because when business solves an external problem, it makes a profit and in return the action lets that solution grow. The shared value concept enhances corporate policies and practices add to the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing social and economic conditions in the communities in which the company sells and operates.

Prof. Porter emphasized that profit involving shared value enables society to advance and companies to grow faster. When corporates incorporate societal issues into strategy and operations major transformations take place. He gave examples of the Fortune 500 companies ‘change the world list of 2016’.

GlaxoSmithKline ranks at number one in the 2016 list. GSK has made a calculated bet on intellectual property leniency in poor nations; it releases drugs from patent protection by lowering their prices. Though it lowers their revenues a bit, but GSK says it doesn’t lose money in any market where it operates. Over the time the approach builds goodwill and a strong market presence around the globe.

IDE Technologies, which is considered a leader in desalination technologies, turns salt water into fresh water. The Israeli company supplies 70% of the tiny Middle Eastern country’s potable water. Its largest local plant, located just south of Tel Aviv, produces 165 million gallons of freshwater daily. Though privately held, IDE also builds and operates some of the biggest desalination plants in about 40 other countries, including Mexico, Chile and China.

General Electric (GE) launched its massive renewable business strategy called ‘Ecomagination’ which in fact GE’s growth strategy to enhance resource productivity and reduce environmental impact at a global scale through commercial solutions for their customers and through their operations. They started their strategy with a pledge to generate power worth $20 billion in annual revenue from green products.

The 2016 list has only two Indian companies in it – Cipla and Godrej Group of Companies. According to Prof. Porter, India is land of opportunities and sky is the limit for Indian organizations to start profitable ventures related to societal problems such as climate change, water management, education, healthcare, rural upliftment etc. Business managers need an approach of engaging with the external environment with an eye of expanding business through finding solutions to some pressing problems. Organizations need to look at how good they are at external engagement: they should answer questions such as – can they innovate something to do better externally, whether they are ready internally to begin on a cause, and how to march ahead. Business organizations are not monolithic entities, but organizations governed and lead by individuals and anchored in the societies in which they conduct their businesses. Corporate social responsibility schemes reflect the human side of organizations.

India is the first country in the world to make the corporates shell out from their annual revenue to charity from April 2014. There are many areas in which they can invest. The major problems are hunger, poverty, healthcare and education. A survey by accountancy firm KPMG found that 52 of the country’s largest 100 companies failed to spend the required 2% in previous two years.  A smaller proportion has gone further. According to an Economic Times investigation, corporates are allegedly deceiving the system by giving donations to charitable foundations that later return the monies minus a commission.

So rooting CSR through the business is not all that great idea at the moment; how much to give and how much to expect in return is a question for most companies. Prof. Porter’s idea of ‘’creating shared values through CSR’’ is profound and has a lot of depth. There are many examples doing great work through sharing values with external environment. After all, being socially good is more profitable for a business.

History is the study of change and development in society over time. The study of history allows us to understand how past human actions affected the present and how it will influence our future. It allows us to evaluate these effects. So, history is about learning how to think about the past, which affects the present, in a disciplined way. History is a process of enquiry: it is about asking questions of the past. What happened? When did it happen? Why did it happen then? What were the short-term and long-term results? Who was responsible? It allows us to think critically.

Rise of Business History in India: In early 1960s, business education laid its foundation in India at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1961. IIMA had initial collaboration with Harvard Business School. This collaboration greatly influenced the institute’s approach to education and the institute followed Harvard tradition of the case study approach that required management students to probe into past business dealings to understand the evolution of business operations and strategies. This initiated a new course called Business History. This course was introduced in the post-graduate curriculum under the able guidance of Dr. Dwijendra Tripathi. The inclusion of business history in the postgraduate course at IIM-A in a way provided the necessary impetus to study the character of Indian business historically. There are very few scholars who can legitimately say that they founded the discipline and Dr. Dwijendra Tripathi is certainly one of them. He played a pioneering role in establishing Business history as a distinct area of research in India.

History is a reality of past, which is not always pretty or as simple. Many people are proud of their heritage and have a sense that their nation has a lot to be proud of. Without studying history one would not be aware of situations how the national characteristic of a country is evolved, Britain, for example, was the home of the Industrial Revolution, which completely changed the way the world made things. It has been home to great explorers, scientist and writers, and it has nurtured and protected democracy. But on many occasions it has played a role in events, such as the Slave Trade, and the burning of witches, which are shameful and led to huge amounts of suffering. All countries in world have a mixed bag of events in their history which gives people a reason to be both proud and ashamed. Only through studying history we can have a view of a nation building. And, business plays a pivotal role in nation building and its character.

In India, I am sure we would like to know how the business families such as Birla, Tata, Ambani, Premji, Munjal, Agarwal, Godrej, Murugappa or Dabur establish their business and how they grew. Did the first generation’s vision still continue, what ethical values do these business houses follow, the corporate governance style of the firms, their successes and failures in making strategies, all of this contributes to understanding business management. Archives of the businesses firms must be accessible to public. The tangible and intangible benefit of goodwill and legacy is important for the new generation of managers, thinkers and entrepreneurs.

Business history as a stream of education will flourish when corporates and business families set up archives accessible for research. We need genuine scientific research on this topic for understanding India’s transformation in business.  Today, we face paucity of documentary sources, particularly those pertaining to the colonial period and to the operations of small and medium level traders who flourished during that period. We also face paucity in gathering information because companies are reluctant to share records of their history. And, the information available in the public domain, from sources such as the company law board or the registrar of companies, is both inadequate and incomplete. Institutional support lacks completely for the study of business history in India. But, the biggest problem in this area is that Indian Universities have ignored the importance of the subject completely.

In other countries research on business history covers decades or centuries rather than years. At IIM Ahmedabad, through the work of Dwijendra Tripathi, it has mixed formal teaching methods with unconventional ones that include adapted card games, hands-on exercises with world maps, social media interactions and Skype sessions with leading historians around the world. We need more and more business schools to take keen interest in the subject.

Some leading business houses and corporations such as the Tatas, Aditya Birla Group, Godrej, State Bank of India and Bank of India, to name a few,  have set up archives of preserve materials of historical significance and make them available to all those interested. Some of these archives are even being digitized and made available in electronic form. Also, books have been published recently that seek to document the evolution of institutions that are linked to Indian business such as the Indian Institutes of Management at Ahmedabad and Kolkata

Business houses need to systematically document their history for constructing historical narratives by documenting memories of generations of workers, managers and owners. There are thousands of firms in India that have a history of over 50 years and yet, the number of professional corporate archives is in single-digits. Among these are Godrej Archives (Mumbai), TATA (Pune and Jamshedpur), and State Bank of India, Dr. Reddy’s, and Cipla, to name some. History is virtually absent in teaching and research programs in Indian business schools, and students are unaware about the origins of firms, industries and economies before 1991, 1947 is far beyond reach.

We get glimpse into business house through few series of biographies or autobiographies that only state and celebrate the achievements of a few individuals. While these books do not engage with the wider political and societal context in which changes took place. The Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental analysis of how businesses grew or perished is so important for the growth of business environment in our country. Does business history matter? For whom does it matter? And if it does, how should it be promoted?

What appears to be common knowledge about the past of our businesses, in sense, many aspects of Indian business history remain unknown due to lack of research. Business history of firms can be a source of pride and learning for employees and the public. Godrej Archives in Mumbai has a wonderful collection of documents and artefacts that go back to 1897. It showcases this collection to the Godrej workforce and the outside world through exhibits, social media and newsletters, and the collection is accessible to researchers. Oral histories of employees are captured as an ongoing project since every person’s memory holds valuable information on the organization. In addition to preserving history, such efforts can make employees feel valued and instill cohesion within the firm.

In fact multinationals can do a great job on this topic. Their experience in multiple nations can help in enhancing the development of future managers and entrepreneurs. Students can challenge routine assumptions with perspectives that are enriched by historical evidence. For instance, the involvement of several Indian merchants with the East India Company in the 18th century or their Bombay Plan of 1944 was a document written by leading industrialists arguing for State intervention in the economy. One historical narrative is that India was already a highly “developed” and advanced civilization for 4000+ years when the British stepped on its shores.  In the early 1860s all of the company’s Indian possessions were appropriated by the Crown. It is entirely because of the British that India lost its rich business culture.

Today India is celebrating its 66^th Republic day. It was on January 26th, 1950 that the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly Sovereign, Democratic and Republic country. On this day, India finally enjoyed the freedom of spirit, rule of law and fundamental principle of Governance. Indians experienced autonomy from this date.

Today I want to mention those few centenarian Indian companies who have seen it all – the good and the bad in this land. We need to salute those companies which have seen a century or more in India. They have contributed to the nation’s economic growth and have witnessed the two World Wars, the Great Depression, India’s independence struggle, many natural disasters, the licence-permit raj, controls on foreign exchange and expansion, and the globalization reforms of the 1990s. Change is simply inevitable. Change is something that will happen no matter how hard we try to stop it. Change is a part of the world we live in. These century old companies have seen it all, and they modified themselves along the way to continue doing business. I would say that they are experts in managing the change. They sometimes fumbled in their journeys but had the grit to turn around. Today they are still standing tall, and hence we need to salute them!

Jessop & CO 1788: This two century old company’s roots go back to 1788 when Breen & Company was founded in Calcutta. In 1820, Henry and George, sons of William Jessop acquired Breen & Company on behalf of Butterfly Company established in Derbyshire, England in 1790. These two companies merged together to become Jessop & Company. Subsequently in 1973, the company was taken over by the Indian Government and Jessop became a Government of India undertaking. In 1986, with the formation of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited (BBUNL) Jessop became a Public Sector Holding Company under administrative control of Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Industry, and Government of India. Statutorily Jessop became a subsidiary of the Holding Company.

In 2003, Government of India divested its stake in Jessop & Co. Ltd under privatization programme and sold its 72% stake to Ruia group owned by Pawan Kumar Ruia, who turned it into a profit making entity. This company is in production of construction equipment and road building. During the last two centuries, the company has consistently modernized and streamlined its production facilities by keeping abreast with the latest technology and has introduced many new products for core sector industries in the country. Kudos to this 2 centuries old company!

State Bank of India 1806: The evolution of State Bank of India can be traced back to the first decade of the 19th century. It began with the establishment of the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta, on 2 June 1806. The bank was redesigned as the Bank of Bengal, three years later, on 2 January 1809. It was the first ever joint-stock bank of the British India, established under the sponsorship of the Government of Bengal. Subsequently, the Bank of Bombay (established on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (established on 1 July 1843) followed the Bank of Bengal. These three banks dominated the modern banking scenario in India, until when they were amalgamated to form the Imperial Bank of India, on 27 January 1921.

An important turning point in the history of State Bank of India is the launch of the first Five Year Plan of independent India, in 1951. The Plan aimed at serving the Indian economy in general and the rural sector of the country, in particular. Until the Plan, the commercial banks of the country, including the Imperial Bank of India, confined their services to the urban sector. Moreover, they were not equipped to respond to the growing needs of the economic revival taking shape in the rural areas of the country. Therefore, in order to serve the economy as a whole and rural sector in particular, the All India Rural Credit Survey Committee recommended the formation of a state-partnered and state-sponsored bank.

The All India Rural Credit Survey Committee proposed the takeover of the Imperial Bank of India, and integrating with it, the former state-owned or state-associate banks. Subsequently, an Act was passed in the Parliament of India in May 1955. As a result, the State Bank of India (SBI) was established on 1 July 1955. This resulted in making the State Bank of India more powerful, because as much as a quarter of the resources of the Indian banking system were controlled directly by the State. Later on, the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act was passed in 1959. The Act enabled the State Bank of India to make the eight former State-associated banks as its subsidiaries.

The Times of India 1838: The Times of India brought out its first edition on 3rd November 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. The paper then used to get published on Wednesdays and Saturdays under the direction of Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar, a Maharashtrian Reformist. It used to contain news from Britain and the world, as well as the Indian subcontinent. In 1850, it began to publish daily editions.

The Times of India has gone through many ownership changes until 1892, when Thomas Bennett and Frank Morris Coleman, who drowned in the 1915 sinking of the SS Persia, acquired the newspaper through their new company, Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Today Times of India is the largest mass media company in India. The company remains a family-owned business as the descendants of Sahu Jain family controls majority stake in Times Group. The Times Group has over 11,000 employees and revenue exceeding $1.5 billion. It is considered India’s pride. Its detailed news coverage with seriousness and intellectual analysis has made it one of the leading daily newspapers. After Indian independence, this newspaper’s insistence on accuracy, its avoidance of sensationalism, its serious tone, and its coverage of international news enhanced its prestige in India and in the world. Millions of Indians cannot start their day without having a glimpse of this newspaper. In spite of so many substitutes to this brand, it still enjoys the leadership position.

Dabur 1884: The name is derived from Daktar Burman and the company was founded in 1884 which is today India’s largest Ayurvedic medicine & related products manufacturer. Dabur was founded by Dr. SK Burman, a physician in West Bengal, to produce and dispense Ayurvedic medicines. German company Fresenius SE bought a 73.27% equity stake in Dabur Pharma in June 2008 at Rs76.50 a share. The German company had also purchased another 17.62% shares from the market through an open offer at the same price. Dr. Burman designed Ayurvedic medication for diseases such as cholera and malaria. Dabur’s Ayurvedic Specialities Division has over 260 medicines for treating a range of ailments and body conditions, from common cold to chronic paralysis, http://www.papsociety.org/priligy-dapoxetine/. Dabur International, a fully owned subsidiary of Dabur India formerly held shares in the UAE based Weikfield International, which it disposed of on 25 June 2012.

Today, Dabur India Ltd is one of India’s leading FMCG Companies with Revenues of over Rs 7,073 Crore & Market Capitalization of US $5 Billion. Building on a legacy of quality and experience of over 130 years, Dabur is today India’s most trusted name and the world’s largest Ayurvedic and Natural Health Care Company.

Britannia 1892: The company was established in 1892, with an investment of Rs.295. Initially, biscuits were manufactured in a small house in central Kolkata. Later, the endeavor was acquired by the Gupta brothers mainly Nalin Chandra Gupta, a renowned attorney, and operated under the name of “V.S. Brothers.” In 1918, C.H. Holmes, an English businessman in Kolkata, was taken on as a partner and The Britannia Biscuit Company Limited (BBCo) was launched. Kerala businessman Rajan Pilai secured control of the group in the late 1980s, becoming known in India as the ‘Biscuit King’. In 1993, the Wadia Group acquired a stake in Associated Biscuits International (ABIL), and became an equal partner with Group Danon in Britannia Industries Limited.

Britannia is known for its most dramatic corporate sagas; after a most bitter corporate board room squabble Pillai gave away the control to Wadia and Danone. Today, it is one of the biggest food products company.

Century Textile & Industries 1897: In 1897, the company was established as Century Textiles Limited and listed on BSE with its Registered Office at Mumbai. Till 1951, the Company operated only one Cotton Textile Mill in Mumbai. In 1956, Company began its Rayon Division at Kalyan, near Mumbai to manufacture Viscose Filament Rayon Yarn. The Company diversified into production of Cement by establishing its first cement plant at Baikunth, near Raipur in 1974.

The textile mill stopped the production in Mumbai in 2006 due to increase in operating costs and labor problems. The new plant in Jhagadia, Distt. Bharuch became functional in 2009 with the name Birla Century and is producing only fine and finer fabrics in 100% Cotton fabrics. The company has exclusive showrooms across India in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kota, Ahmedabad etc.

Today Century Textile and Industries is a textile, cement, paper manufacturing and export company based in Mumbai. The main business activity involves manufacture of cotton textiles, yarn, denim and paper. It also produces viscose filament rayon yarn, tire-cords, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, salt, cement pulp, and paper. The company also has a substantial dominance in the international textile markets and exports its products to more than 45 countries around the globe. Century Textiles & Industries Limited is an IS/ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 company. The Government of India also awarded it with ‘Three Star Export House’ status.

CESC 1899: The first demonstration of electric light in Calcutta was conducted on July 24, 1879 by P W Fleury & Co. In 1881, 36 electric lights lit up a Cotton Mill of Mackinnon & Mackenzie. The Government of Bengal passed the Calcutta Electric Lighting Act in 1895. The first license covered an area of 5.64 square miles (14.6 km²). On 7 January 1897 Kilburn & Co. secured the Calcutta electric lighting license as agents of The Indian Electric Company Limited. The company soon changed its name to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) in 1897; but this company was registered in London.

In 1970, the control of the Company was transferred from London to Calcutta. In 1978 it was renamed as ‘The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Ltd’. The RPG (R.P.Goenka) Group got associated with The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Limited from 1989, and the name was changed from The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Limited to CESC Limited. In 2011, CESC became a part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which was formed on 13 July 2011 by Sanjiv Goenka, the youngest son of Dr RP Goenka, the late founder of RPG Enterprises.

Shalimar Paints 1902: The history of Shalimar Paints describes the history of the paints industry in India and also in South East Asia. Shalimar Paints was founded in 1902 by two British entrepreneurs AN Turner and AC Wright as Shalimar Paints Colour & Varnish Ltd. In the same year, the company set up a large scale manufacturing plant in Howrah, West Bengal, the first such plant in entire South East Asia. In 1928, Pinchin Johnson & Associates of UK bought control from the British entrepreneurs AN Turner and AC Wright. In 1963, the company’s name was changed to Shalimar Paints Ltd. after Turner Morisson & Co stepped in as new management.

Today, the company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of decorative paints and industrial coatings. Some of India’s iconic buildings and structures such as the Howrah Bridge, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Salt Lake Stadium, the building of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and many others, have been, and continue to be painted with Shalimar Paints. In 2014, this century-old paint brand rejuvenated its logo and refreshed its positioning to connect with today’s consumers.

Hotel Taj Mahal Palace 1903: The hotel’s original building was commissioned by Tata and the hotel first opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903. It is said that Jamshedji Tata decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city’s grand hotels of the time, Watson Hotel, as it was restricted to “whites only”. However, this story has been refuted by some. The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer, W. A. Chambers. The builder was Khansaheb Sorabji Ruttonji Contractor who also designed and built its famous central floating staircase. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million today). It’s worth mentioning here that during World War I the hotel was converted into a hospital with 600 beds. The Taj Mahal Tower, an additional wing of the hotel, was opened in 1973. It was designed by Melton Bekker. On 26 November 2008, in a series of attacks in Mumbai, this hotel as well as the Oberoi hotel was attacked by Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamist terrorist group, during which material damage, killing of guests, occurred including the destruction of the hotel’s roof in the shootout. Taj Mahal is the one of the oldest landmark of Mumbai.

Friends it’s worth a mention here that Mr.Ratan Tata went all out to care for each and every employee of the hotel to help them recoup from the shock. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind were constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required. Mr. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected. That’s the Tata cuture!!!

ITC Ltd 1910: It was established in 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, the company was renamed as the Indian Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and further to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. The periods in the name were removed in September 2001 for the company to be renamed as ITC Ltd. The company completed 100 years in 2010 and as of 2012-13, had an annual turnover of US$8.31 billion and a market capitalization of US$45 billion. It employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is included in Forbes 2000 list. Today ITC is one of the renowned business conglomerates globally. Its diversified business includes five segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business & Information Technology.

ITC’s e-Choupal initiative is designed to make the power of the Internet available to Indian farmers. The company places computers with Internet access in rural farming villages, serving both as a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. As of July 2010, 6,500 e-Choupal services are operating across 10 states reach more than 4 million farmers in about 40,000 villages. The potential of e-Choupal is also being tested through pilot projects in healthcare, educational services, water management and cattle health management. In 2008, this initiative was recognized in the list of “Innovations to make markets more inclusive for the poor” in World Development Report Sep-2008 by the World Bank.

Our respect for corporate brands fluctuates due to their management change and product offering. But, let’s not forget that these old corporations have been the strong pillars of our economy. Credit goes to these organizations for developing a steady business culture.