Modi & men bring home the Nano

Mother plant of Rs1 lakh car to be located at Sanand

GANDHINAGAR: It was a very different Ratan Tata who addressed the media in Gandhinagar on Tuesday evening compared to his dramatic press conference in Kolkata four days ago when he announced the withdrawal of the Nano car project from Singur to a stunned audience.

This time around, the chairman of the Tata group was all smiles in the company of Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi, as he declared that the Rs1 lakh people’s car would now roll out from its new mother plant in Sanand near Ahmedabad.

A beaming Modi who had taken the mike first made the most of the occasion. After all, this day marked his seventh anniversary as Gujarat chief minister and he played to the gallery with anecdotes of the venerable Jamsetji Tata donating Rs1,000 nearly 100 years ago to a beleaguered Gujarat.

Modi had reason to be jubilant. After all, his state had bagged the most coveted car project against stiff opposition from Karnataka, Uttarakhand and AP.

Tata said the Rs2,000-crore plant would be located on 1100 hectares with a capacity to produce 250,000 cars annually. This could be ramped up to 500,000 cars eventually. The project, inclusive of the car plant, vendor facilities and service providers, is expected to provide employment to around 10,000 people. According to him, the agreement with the state government was “as good or slightly better that what we had previously”.

“We’ve been through a rather sad experience in West Bengal despite the state government’s efforts there. But now, quickly, efficiently, and with enthusiasm, we have a new home,” he added.

Modi said no special sops had been given for the project and that land had been procured at current market prices. Tata said the company had opted for Gujarat because of its “reputation as a state that works and moves and this has been reflected in the speed with which everything has been done, especially the acquisition of the land.”

The political symbolism of announcing the agreement on October 7 was made clear. “The new agreement has been signed on an auspicious day. This is the seventh anniversary of the chief minister’s leadership and it’s a special occasion for us,” Tata said.

The agreement was inked by managing director Ravi Kant and Gujarat’s principal secretary, industry, Gauri Kumar.

Tata said the company would try to launch the Nano as close as possible to the original time schedule. “Building the plant will take some time but we have a makeshift plant to roll out,” he said. This is tipped to be the Uttarakhand facility where ancillary suppliers will deliver parts for the Nano and 100 cars could roll out daily as a result.

In effect, the company could then think of 10,000 cars between December and March 2009. It remains to be seen if the Pune plant will be used for the Nano because indications are that only the engine assembly will happen here.

Given the record of speedy project implementation in Gujarat, the plant should be up and ready by March. During 2009-10, Tata Motors could then look at increasing Nano output substantially in phases to reach 250,000 cars in the next 2-3 years.

Of course, the biggest question is the Rs1-lakh price tag to which Tata quipped, “Wait and watch”. On a lighter note, he added, “The chief minister has told me that he wants the car out as soon as possible.”

As in the case of the Singur plan, nearly 60 small and medium vendors will be associated with the project. It now remains to be seen if they would be content supplying parts from their existing plants across India. This is because they are awaiting compensation for investments in Singur before they can contemplate setting up another facility. An automobile academy and ITI will also be set up at the plant.

Tata said the company would like to go beyond the Nano project and make a more holistic contribution to the state. “We will be a good citizen of Gujarat. We are conscious of everything Gujarat stands for and would like to make a contribution to the quality of life of the people.”

He said the company wanted to assist the state by being involved in research in areas like agriculture and marine biology and other projects of this nature.