I am a master in India

Chapter 276 Taking Too Big a Step
Jayalalita rarely appears in public, but every time he goes out, it's with a large entourage.

There were five or six police cars with guns at the front and rear, with Jayalalita himself riding in a custom-made Ambassador car in the middle.

Her wealth is undeniable, but as the Chief Minister, she must set an example at certain times.

Imported luxury cars will not be her vehicle; the Ambassador brand, representing domestic brands, is the standard choice.

Not only her, but most chief ministers or politicians across India choose Ambassador cars.

They need to demonstrate their patriotism at all times, for fear of being photographed by the media using other luxury items.

Since they can't flaunt their wealth with their cars, they'll focus on making a grand display.

The long convoy headed west towards Adiwa, with more than a dozen police motorcycles leading the way.

Ron and Kavia followed slowly behind in their BMW.

Honestly, just looking at this setup, someone who didn't know better might think the Indian Prime Minister was on a southward inspection tour.

Surprisingly, no one expressed dissatisfaction; on the contrary, the media and the public seemed rather jubilant.

People waving "Ama" flags were everywhere on both sides of the road, and some of them even had Jayalalita's image printed on their T-shirts.

"Your aunt seems to be very popular with them?" Ron slowly surveyed the crowd through the car window.

“Because they actually benefited,” Kavia shrugged, “and there was also the publicity.”

Jayalalita, as Chief Minister, nominally receives a salary of only 1 rupee.

She certainly has other ways to make money, but the public doesn't know about them.

All they knew was that he was the only Chief Minister in Tamil history who did not receive a salary.

The most crucial thing is that the Chief Minister actually gave gifts, and those gifts were exactly what the people needed most.

Last time they gave away bicycles, and I wonder what they'll give away this time. Many people are already secretly looking forward to it.

Ron has traveled from south to north and has certainly broadened his horizons.

Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil are all incredibly powerful states, each with its own distinct electoral culture.

In a godforsaken place like Uttar Pradesh, would politicians really give away gifts to voters on such a large scale?
Impossible. With that much money, politicians would have already pocketed it.

Jayalarita's generosity in giving gifts to voters may seem outrageous, but in India, he is actually considered a good official.

No matter where this money came from, whether it was embezzled or misappropriated, it eventually returned to the people.

Well, this is perhaps another way of saying "taking from the people and using it for the people".

Damn, that's outrageous.

India, that wretched place, always manages to broaden Ron's horizons.

However, Jayalalita's actions are actually a way of building his own network of patronage.

Politicians, voters, and businessmen are all intertwined.

Compared to Gujarat, the approach here is simply more blatant.

Ron is that merchant character, but merchants operate differently in different states.

In Gujarat, the government spends money to help local development, while in Tamil, it provides direct benefits.

That's right, this trip to Adiwa was not just a simple inspection.

Jayalalita launched a new public project to provide free lunches for students, called the "Lunch for Students" program.

This isn't just for show; we're investing real money to push this project forward.

For some students in underdeveloped areas, going to school is already a burden for their local families.

Although some basic education is free, when children go to school, the family loses a labor force.

Not only that, the parents also have to prepare meals for the child at school, which is a loss no matter how you look at it.

Many impoverished families simply don't send their children to school; they either stay home to help their parents with chores or go out to support themselves.

If this continues, the literacy rate problem among the new generation in Tamil will not be significantly improved.

So Jayalalita launched the "lunch program" so that if schools could provide free lunches, children wouldn't have to go out on the streets to make a living; they could support themselves at school.

Impoverished families not only have their population burden reduced, but their children also learn something new, achieving two goals at once.

The initial budget for this plan is 20 million rupees, which will first address the schooling issues in several areas near Madras.

So who will pay for this?

Yes, that's right, it's Suer Electric Appliances.

Before the factory even starts construction, reputation needs to be built up first.

In Jayalalita's words: You have to let people know that you are the one doing this.

She personally accompanied Ron in his performances to help him gain prestige among all the Tamil people.

Once you arrive at the local school, the process is pretty much the same as what you see on TV.

First, he went to the classroom to warmly greet the students, asking them what they ate and whether they were eating enough. Then he talked with the school's teachers about their difficulties.

Finally, he announced the "lunch meal" plan to the public, which won a round of applause.

The entire process was recorded by cameras, and various flashes were also present.

Look, even before the Suer Electric sign is put up, it has already made its mark in Tamil.

That wasn't all; Jayalalita devised a series of social welfare programs for Ron.

In the following days, under her leadership, the Tamil government and Suer Electric jointly launched the "Cradle Baby" program.

In the present day, the preference for sons over daughters is very strong in some areas of Tamil State, and has even evolved into the heinous practice of drowning female infants.

The "Cradle Baby" program will establish centers in these areas, primarily to adopt abandoned baby girls and orphans.

The land was provided by the government, and the facilities and expenses of the care center were covered by Suer Electric.

For this reason, they went to a village called Kajulahou, where families with ten children were commonplace.

However, the mortality rate for infants under one year old in the area is 18%, which is terrifying. Some of these deaths are due to poor sanitation, while others result in drowning; the causes of death are varied.

Ron asked a family out of curiosity if it was difficult to raise so many children.

The other person looked dismissive, "How could that be? Kids can help with chores, the more the merrier."

Right by the roadside, three children, brothers, who looked to be only five or six years old, drove by in a cart pulled by two water buffaloes.

They were all naked, with snot running down their noses, and their skin was darker than a cow's.

Child labor is rampant in this village, and no one obeys the laws or regulations.

There's also a school in the village, where children gather under the shade of trees to study. The village chief proudly introduces that there are five classes in total.

However, just like the three brothers who pulled the cart, there are many others who make a living on the streets.

Finally, Ron naturally expressed his intention to donate funds to the village school.

These are all genuinely good things, and have been widely reported not only by Tamil news but also by federal media.

Upon hearing of this, the legendary Mother Teresa made a special trip to Madras to visit Jayalarita and praise their charitable work.

Ron also took a photo with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Mother Teresa's first words to him were, "Dr. Sue, you are a good man."

Alright, this halo is getting more and more secure the longer it's worn.

After the interview, Ron, the great philanthropist, once again became a media darling.

He has become a role model for a new generation of Indian businessmen, creating wealth, driving industrial development, and ultimately giving back to society through philanthropy.

A perfect image of an entrepreneur, making them a favorite subject of reports for official media.

After a few days of excitement in the newspapers, Ron quietly signed a contract with the Tamil government.

He took the land. He also took Ennor Port.

Everything went exactly as planned, and no one objected.

Local newspapers even spontaneously promoted Suer Electric, and Ennor Port was described as a necessity for exports; in short, the plan was perfect.

See, after contributing to several charitable causes, the project progressed exceptionally smoothly without any obstacles.

The new factory will soon begin construction, and the site will be located right between the ports of Madras and Ennor.

According to the plan, there will be ten black and white TV production lines, ten color TV production lines, and several other home appliance production lines such as juicers, rice cookers, and electric fans here in the future.

That's right, Suer TV is preparing to launch a large-scale color TV project.

The technology still belongs to Dongda University, where there is a serious overcapacity of color TVs due to price wars.

Taking advantage of the low prices, Suer Electric Appliances was also dumping orders on that side.

The factory in Mumbai is already assembling two 18-inch colored wires, which are expected to go into production soon.

Tokyo University's color TVs are indeed slightly inferior to those of the Japanese, but they are cheaper and sufficient for the Indian market.

The factory in Madras will start production this year if all goes well; the only thing missing now is a factory building.

Suer Electric and Dongda have been working together on equipment installation and commissioning for over a year, and they are extremely familiar with the process.

Despite the rapid expansion of Suer Electric across India, Ron did not face significant financial pressure.

The Suer television production line was his money-printing machine. The entire market couldn't keep up with demand; he sold everything he produced.

The Sur campus in Mumbai already has ten production lines, eight of which are 14-inch lines and two are 18-inch lines, with a total monthly output of over 100,000 units.

Since its launch in September of last year, Suer TVs have sold 320,000 units by January 1995.

After deducting all costs, the net profit was 10 billion rupees. If the revenue from water-cooled air conditioners and electric fans is added, the money in his bank account is about 12 billion rupees.

These funds will be used for factory expansion, and Ron himself will hardly keep a single rupee.

There's no way around it, there are just too many places to spend money.

Gujarat is planning to invest 10 billion rupees this year, with the BJP providing a loan of 5 million rupees, and he will have to cover the rest himself.

The development of the Mundra mine will cost 4 million rupees, and Ron plans to increase cement production to 50 tons in the first year.

The branch factory in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has already begun construction, and its scale is only slightly smaller than that in Mumbai. Fortunately, the entire 3 million rupees is a bank loan, so Ron doesn't need to pay any additional money.

Tamil Nadu has the largest investment, with Suhr Electric also investing 10 billion rupees, comparable to Gujarat.

Ennor Port is the real heavyweight; Ron has had an international design team conduct an assessment these past few days.

To achieve Jayalalita's vision of four specialized berths and several terminals, the development cost would be at least $2 million.

The total of 62 billion rupees was an astronomical figure that made Ron gasp.

Although Jayalalita provided him with a loan of 20 billion rupees, it was a drop in the ocean compared to the enormous budget.

In the end, Ron decided to build a multi-functional terminal first to get the port running, and then gradually develop the specialized berths later.

Anyway, there are still two years left. By then, Suer Electric will have spread everywhere, and $2 million shouldn't be a problem.

If you do the math, 9 million of the 12 billion rupees will be invested in Gujarat, specifically in factories and mines.

The remaining 3 million will be used to support the construction of the Tamil branch factory.

Other shortfalls, including those for ports, have been temporarily covered by loans.

Having taken too big a step, Ron felt a little uncomfortable and suddenly realized that he owed the bank 32 billion rupees.

In other words, Jayalalita didn't dare lend him 60 billion, otherwise he would have wanted to take over Ennor Port in one go.

After finishing her official duties, Jayalalita returned to her role as a family member.

She invited Kavia and Ron to a high-end apartment in downtown Madras.

It was only here that Ron truly witnessed another side of Jayalalita's life.

Extravagant beyond compare.

(End of this chapter)