Have the guts to take risks says Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan Company Ltd at the PSG’s 93rd Founders’ Day Celebration

It was a time when the privilege of education was limited to the elites in the city. Coimbatore was a different city back then. No reputed schools or industries prevailed like it does now. But divine providence had willed a change to make the city prosper through the benevolent PSG & Sons’ Charities. The trust came into existence on 25th January, 1926.

The four sons of PS Govindaswamy Naidu: PSG Venkataswamy Naidu, PSG Rangaswamy Naidu, PSG Ganga Naidu, PSG Narayanaswamy Naidu hailing from a blessed family split their ancestral property into five equal shares. You may ask why five; well the brothers wanted to share their wealth with the society and so they adopted ‘Charity’ as their fifth brother and from that time till now PSG & Sons’ Charities has been the peerless patron of education, arts and industry.

For a monumental 90+ years, PSG & Sons’ Charities has continuously been the laurel wreath of Coimbatore, garnering glories on a grand scale. Every year on January 25th, the PSG Institutions join together to devote their highest gratitude to the founders of the Trust, without whom this citadel of charity would not have seen the light.

This year, PSG celebrated its 93rd Founders’ Day in Dr. GRD Auditorium in a grand manner. The Chief Guest was Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Company Ltd, Bengaluru. L.Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee, PSG & Sons’ Charities presided over the event. Six alumni from various PSG educational institutions were recognized as ‘PSG Distinguished Alumni 2019’ for their epoch-making achievements in their respective fields and contributions to the society.

Radhakrishnan, Director, PSG Institute of Advanced Studies welcomed the gathering. L.Gopalakrishnan, while delivering the Presidential Address said “PSG has not only provided opportunity for lakhs of youngsters to lead a better and productive life but also helped in significant ways to better the industrial, economic and social development of this part of country” He then briefed the phenomenal investments made by the PSG & Sons’ Charities towards the PSG institutions which have tremendously beared fruit in the form of educational, industrial, medical, aesthetic and technological excellence. After his address, the Six distinguished alumni were honored with the Scroll of Honor.

 Maximize the Shareholders Value and Community Value but not at the cost of each other

The Chief Guest, Bhaskar Bhat,

addressed the gathering. He said the Chairman of Titan Company Ltd., has always been a bureaucrat or a distinguished business person from Tamil Nadu.

He said the company is predominantly owned by the state. He highlighted the affinity between Titan and Tamil Nadu. “I started my studies in Chennai 48 years back and even at that time PSG was a revered college” He said Tata Group and PSG & Sons’ Charities have some similarities especially with the founders.

The Sons of Jamsetji Tata started Tata Trust to make sure that the enormous wealth of the Tata Group of Companies doesn’t go just to the owning family but also to the community.

Through Tata Trust which controls the entire Tata group of companies, the latter could serve the community without focusing only on profit but by focusing attention on profit to serve community. The founders of PSG & Sons’ Charities also wanted to do the same- give back to the community their profits.

Bhaskar Bhat then said that most think that business is about purpose and not profit. He said that is not as easy as it sounds. An enterprise takes purposeful steps to benefit the employees but it doesn’t change the entire industry.

An entrepreneur cannot be wholly expected to do just purposeful works alone. He has another responsibility and that is to look after the interest of shareholders. But Bhaskar Bhat clearly said all the enterprises must hold firm to the ideal that they have to maximize the shareholder-value but it should never compromise the employees, customers and the community’s values.

He then conveyed his happiness in seeing that the previous generation has liberated the present to not worry about them. The parents of the millennial-generation have tailored their lives in such a way that they could let their children venture into the brave new world of start-ups and entrepreneurships. He suggested the young generation to have the stomach to take risks and be armed with education. He congratulated the awardees and PSG & Sons’ Charities for the making such a wonderful occasion a memorable one.

Dr.R.Narayanamoorthy,

Professor, Department of Surgery, Government Medical College, Dharmapuri received the award and addressed the gathering. He is an alumnus of PSG Sarva Jana Higher Secondary School. He stated that this event is one of the best programs from PSG Institutions. He mentioned that he is overwhelmed to get this award. He retained that same adoration he had for his Alma Mater and spoke highly of it. He stated that he felt proud and honored to have studied in that prestigious institution and he thanked the PSG administration for recognizing as distinguished alumni.

A.Chockalingam,

Professor & Chair- Department of ECE, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru received the award next. Being the alumnus of PSG College of Technology, he recollected how students back in 1979 would have to appear for the interview to study B.E. He delightfully stated that he was passionate to study at PSG Tech and only at PSG Tech. He took the moment to thank his teachers for their teaching and inspiration. He dedicated the award to all his teachers for providing such a strong foundation to build his career.

B.Prabhakaran,

Managing Director, Thriveni Earth Movers Pvt.Ltd., Odisha accepted the award and addressed the gathering. He said that the most important thing an aspiring entrepreneur needs is not capital but the right idea, hard work and the will to migrate. With humility and happiness, he stated that he has 8000+ employees working under him who are not just employees but shareholders in his company. He shared vivid details about his work atmospheres in the extreme parts of the world like Congo, Indonesia, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkand. He said “Through the footprints of great companies we (his company) have learned that if you could give back to the people and nation, you can vertically grow” He suggested the youngsters to invest their own money and not worry about extra capital, migrate and take it as a challenge.

P.S.Ranganathan,

Managing Director, Asia Law Exchange, Singapore addressed the gathering after accepting the award. He came all the way from Singapore to get this award which he said makes him feel privileged. As an alumnus from PSG IM, he said that even back then MBA was the most sought out program and during those days there were just three places where one could do MBA in South India. He chose PSG for his MBA as it gave him an opportunity to blend with sports and academics well. Being a badminton player, he said he and his classmates found PSG to be the best. College life, he said has taken him to places and to be there after 30 years, getting this Distinguished Alumni Award has really been an honor.

R.Saravanan,

Managing Director, Sandfits Foundries Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore, the distinguished alumnus of PSG Polytechnic College received the award and addressed the gathering. Of all the awards he has received, Saravanan said, this Distinguished Alumni awards is dear to him. He said the institution embodied in him the entrepreneurship spirit and transformed his life. He stated that 50% of his classmates have become entrepreneurs and he invited the youngsters of the city to come out of their comfort zone and try to be entrepreneurs. “The city’s growth is enhanced by the entrepreneurs” he said and suggested them to create their start-ups as they have the power of Internet and tremendous innovative mindsets. Before ending his address he said that though there is are risks in being entrepreneurs, the rewards will be excellent.

Dr.J.Devimeenal,

Prof & Head-Department of Radiology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai in her acceptance speech after receiving the award said that the people behind PSG & Sons’ Charities have lighted the lamp in their lives through education. She thanked her teachers who taught even the toughest subjects in a lucid way and instilled in them strong passion and inspiration. She proudly said though she is one among the recognized ones today, there are several incredibly talented people from PSG IMSR out there in this world doing fantastic works in the field of medicine. She then went on to talk about the outstanding progresses that have been done at Kilpauk Medical College under her current tenure.

Reporter : David Karunakaran