Interview of Sh. Pradip Burman on topic “Role of Ayurvet in Livestock”

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Interview of Sh. Pradip Burman on topic Role of
Ayurvet in Livestock
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Pradip Burman is the great grandson of the
founder of Dabur, Dr. S.K Burman. Born in a
family of innovators and philanthropists, he
absorbed these qualities from childhood. He
cannot lie, even if it would save him from
punishment. He had two brothers, one older and
one younger.
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Growing up

• He was born in Amritsar in 1942, during the
  Second World War. Dabur set up a factory in
  Deoghar, Bihar, and the family moved there. When
  the war was over, they moved to Kolkata and he
  was sent Hindi High School. In 1951, two brothers
  were sent to an English medium boarding school,
  St. Pauls in Darjeeling. English was new to them,
  but they learned fast. Pradip took his education
  seriously and studied hard. He liked cricket,
  soccer, gymnastics and boxing.
• 1960, he applied to the Massachusetts Institute
  of Technology (MIT), USA, for a degree in
  Mechanical Engineering and was admitted. That was
  quite a feat, considering the competition. He
  continued wrestling and swimming. A professor of
  Liberal Arts, Mr Shipkey, befriended young Pradip
  Burman. The Professor, an alumnus of Harvard,
  introduced Pradip to Greek and Roman history.
  Pradip enjoyed reading the Odyssey as much as he
  enjoyed learning about the great physicists and
  their work. Professor Gamble, made Pradips
  chemistry interesting with experiments in class.
  Pradips thesis was a sonic aid for the blind,
  which sent out ultrasound signals to detect
  obstacles.

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The Professional phase

• After graduation, he migrated to Canada and
  joined a chemical manufacturing company, Canadian
  Industries Limited. He worked on building a
  machine that could test soil. He returned to
  India in 1967. He joined Dabur India Ltd , in
  Calcutta, as an executive, where his brother was
  running production, and his uncle, P.C. Burman,
  was in charge of RD. In 1969, he married and had
  a son soon after.
• During his time as an Executive, he and his
  brother would leave for the factory at 7 a.m. and
  return late evening. Pradip was in charge of the
  engineering at the factory from ordering them
  to maintenance. He put up preventive preventive
  maintenance system for the production machinery.
  . During this time, Bengal was dealing with the
  Naxal movement. Trade unions gained power and the
  existing State Government lost to the Communist
  party. This was the period when Trade Unions
  brought Calcutta to a standstill. Burman, out of
  goodwill and to maintain peace gave into their
  demand once, but decided to not put up with it as
  it was unfair, paying workers who would not work.
  During the 1970s unrest, curfews and lengthy
  power cuts, Dabur went through tough times.
• The Burman family decided to shift to Delhi.
  While his brother took care of expansion in
  Delhi, Pradip stayed in Calcutta. He faced
  regular strikes until the Delhi factory was
  ready. Dabur, left Calcutta, along with many
  other manufacturing companies. Calcutta became
  very small part of the company. In 1982, he was
  diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis, owing to the
  stress created by the trade unions. He then made
  the decision to move to Delhi for treatment and,
  keeping in line with his values, opted for
  Ayurvedic treatment. He was treated with
  Panchkarma therapy and massages, and it did the
  cure.
• Dabur had a new project, in collaboration with a
  Swiss company, Unipectin. The factory was setup
  in Alwar, Rajasthan, since the essential raw
  ,ateroa Giar Gi,was found in Rajasthan. It
  became operational in 1983. This became Daburs
  first public venture in India. However, the plant
  didnt go too well and could not cover the cost.
  The company had to shut down the project. The
  factory was converted to a manufacturing unit for
  Dabur products. In the meantime, since there was
  financial backfire, the Guar Gum Company was
  merged with Dabur.
• In 1992 Pradip Burman then moved to Delhi and
  started a new venture a veterinary division of
  Dabur India Ltd, which manufactured Ayurvedic
  medicine for veterinary usage . It was sold under
  the divisional name of Dabur Ayurvet Ltd.
• Initially it started making a loss, as the
  rpdicts was made by Dabur and costs charges to
  Ayurvet were high. A consultant, McKinsey Co.,
  were called in to professionalise Dabur. Which
  meant that the family members would have to move
  out of the business. McKinsey proposed to
  continue giving salaries to all the family
  members, whether the member was working or
  not.After a couple of years of getting a salary
  and having nothing to do, Pradip felt the itch to
  put his knowledge to good use, He took over the
  veterinary company and named it Ayurvet Ltd and
  the company was named Ayurvet Ltd. The plant
  was in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The company
  started making profit since the costs were lower
  in their own manufacturing premises.Pradip was
  truly fascinated by Ayurveda. He mused about the
  difference between modern and ancient science,
  and realised that both can be right. So he
  defended it with the Dabur motto Traditional
  Knowledge, Modern Research. The medicines
  produced by Ayurvet were evaluated before being
  given to the public. Ayurvet does not believe in
  animal testing.He headed the PHD Rural
  Development Foundation from 1996-99. He is also
  the founder chairman of Sustainable Development
  Society (Sundesh), a CSR initiative supported by
  Dabur, for development work in the rural areas.
  He is the chairman of the Mobius Foundation, a
  non-profit organisation working for education,
  sustainability and the protection of the
  environment.All in all, one good man, way too
  many hats.

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Thanks You