The Bloom in the Desert: The Making of NTPC

Book excerpt: Set up in 1975 to jump-start India's power sector, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) soon became the largest company in the field. With thirty-two plants currently operating across the country and twenty-two projects under construction, it meets close to a quarter of India's demand and is among the top five power utilities in the world. This phenomenal success story is seen in large part as a result of the processes and work culture put in place during the early years by Team NTPC, led by its founding chairman and managing director, D.V. Kapur, who was described as a 'model manager' by the board of executive directors of the World Bank. In The Bloom in the Desert, Kapur offers first-hand insights into a uniquely Indian style of management of large corporations that holds lessons for management students and professionals across the board. During his time at NTPC, he demonstrated visionary leadership qualities by devising an ingenious workflow. The 'systems culture' that he introduced helped run the organisation smoothly, without missing deadlines or incurring extra costs, while increasing its output and meeting global standards of excellence. If these achievements were rare for Indian public sector enterprises in the 1970s and '80s, they continue to remain relevant, especially today, when the emphasis is on selfsufficiency and 'Make in India'. Kapur also demonstrated his sharp managerial instincts in his later stints-with the various departments of the government of India as well as other public and private sector enterprises. The Bloom in the Desert distills the experiences of his long and distinguished career to not only celebrate the foundation of a towering institution but also inspire the present generation of managers to transform and reinvent their styles of functioning.