Dayanidhi Maran and his high PH

If there is an award for the most media savvy Union Minister it would probably go to Dayanidhi Maran. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss would come a close second. Both these guys seem to be coming out with some gimmicks or the other so that they can hog the limelight week after week.

The latest news which is doing the rounds is Maran's meeting with the Intel management and Intel's decision to set up a plant in India. A technology leader like Intel will have to go through a variety of approvals before zeroing in on a country for setting up a new plant. Just because Dayanidhi Maran is making a trip to the US, Intel is unlikely to accept such demands across the table.

The following are the two scenarios that I can think of:-

A) Intel had already decided about setting up a plant in India and Maran's visit was just an eyewash to give an indication that Intel decided in favour of India only because of Maran's trip to the US.

B) Intel was contemplating between India, China and Vietnam and Maran went to the US to convince the Intel management that India is the right option. In such a case Maran would have to be in a Negotiating Mode and offer lot of sops to Intel so that they can make a favourable decision. However such sops can't be decided just by Maran. It has to be backed by the Finance Ministry and the Union Cabinet. This scenario looks highly unlikely.

If Intel has made a decision, in normal course they should either issue a separate press release or a joint press release (along with the Indian government). In this case Dayanidhi Maran is the one who has broken the news to the media. Under the US securities regulations I guess Intel would also need to inform the US regulators about their decision to set up a plant in India. Did Intel really give a commitment to Maran or is our dear minister trying to pull a fast one on Intel?

Choice of location

If Intel has actually made a decision, they would announce with the choice of their location (Bangalore / Chennai / Noida). Intel would be foolish enough to say that we are going to enter India but we are not sure of where to set up our plant. For eg: If British Airways says we'll start flying to India, it has to be accompanied with a statement saying that we'll be flying to the following destinations. Such CapEx / Financial decisions are likely to be evaluated with respect to the location. Maran issued a statement to SUN TV saying that he has requested Intel to set up the plant in Chennai. Was this statement issued only to SUN TV or was this released to the whole media?

Although he is from Chennai, as a minister representing India I guess Maran should be indifferent between the 3 cities shortlisted by Intel. If each Union Minister is going to champion the cause of his state / city, what will happen to the states which don't have enough representation in the Union Cabinet?

Maran's learnings from the Nokia story

In the case of Nokia's decision to start a plant in Chennai, there was a bitter dispute between Jayalalitha and Maran as to who should take credit for it. By travelling all the way to the US, Maran has ensured that nobody else can take credit for the Intel decision. This is a very smart move.

Are you still wondering what PH is? It's what we call Publicity Hunger.

Do read Teakada's take on the same issue.