Recently, there has been a buzz that Hyundai India may be looking at Union finance secretary Ashok Jha for the post of the President. Before you throw up your hands in despair and exclaim, “What the heck?”, have a look at the reasons.
HMIL has been on the receiving end of the government's stick in recent times, thanks mainly to arch-rival Maruti. A couple of years back, the government decided to reduce taxes on small cars and at the same time decided to frame a definition of ”small cars” which cleverly benefited the Swift diesel and Maruti's small cars but left the Getz out in the cold. For all intent and purpose, specific parts of the budget that year looked like they were drafted in Mr Khattar's living room.
Ashok Jha, like Jagdish Khattar, is an IAS officer who knows his way inside the corridors of power. With HMIL becoming the global small car hub for the Korean company, Jha will be helpful when Hyundai India negotiates with the government for duty discounts on exports or for special provisions at Chennai port or for redefining the small car.
