Dr. Surinder Kapur worked tirelessly to build bridges between different stakeholders that were crucial to advancing Indian manufacturing. He convinced Professor Shiba to guide Indian companies, opened his home to host Professor, and brought together initial learning communities. Dr. Kapur then helped scale up the initiative by connecting Professor Shiba with the NMCC chairman and bridging industry and academia. Through his Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing Programme, he aimed to develop leadership skills in India and bridge the gaps between various groups.

2. 2

3. Bridge to Future of Indian Industry
Jamshyd N Godrej,
Past President CII and Chairman, VLFM Institute
I have known Dr Surinder Kapur for over two decades, and came to know him better through the years that he gave his vision to
VLFM. He was very passionate about VLFM. I would attribute Professor Shiba’s coming to India largely to the sincere invitation he
extended to Professor when they met in Japan. Dr Kapur heard Professor Shiba for the first time during the Deming Award
ceremony, the year Sona Koyo received the Award. I often heard him recount that incident and encourage Professor Shiba to
continue working for India and Indian Industry.
His commitment to bringing Professor Shiba to India was so clear when he opened his home and made Professor Shiba his
house guest, when the VLFM programme was being conceptualized. Until the funding started, Dr Kapur was a host to Professor
Shiba in India and never made him feel differently. His home became Professor’s office to work and stay for almost two years.
Chandrajit Banerjee
Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry
3

4. Creating a bridge between India and Japan
Learning from Japanese manufacturing tools
Dr Kapur can truly be credited with accelerating the building of technical cooperation between India and Japan. He opened a new
door between the Governments of the two nations, through his pursuance of VLFM. For Dr Kapur though, this journey had begun
years earlier, when Sona joined the cluster programme based on Japanese quality concepts and practices. As he instilled in Sona
these Japanese practices, he had taken the first steps towards building this cooperation.
The Deming Award
A visionary is not one or two steps ahead, but many miles ahead of others. He has the ability to see the invisible and sense the
unknown. Dr Kapur was certainly a visionary.
In 2003, Dr Kapur alongwith Mr Kiran Deshmukh, the then Chief Operating Officer of Sona Koyo, was in Japan to receive the Deming
Award for their company, where Professor Shiba was speaking. On hearing Professor Shiba’s unique address, Dr Kapur was
convinced that this was the one person who could guide Indian manufacturing to take the next leap. Immediately after the session,
he met Professor Shiba. However, Professor was apprehensive about India’s readiness for breakthrough thinking. With his
perseverance, Dr Kapur was able to convince Professor Shiba to guide Indian manufacturing, once again creating a bridge and
opening a new world.
The Learning Community
Since Professor Shiba had accepted Dr. Kapur’s invitation on the condition that he would not work for a single company, Dr Kapur
brought together a group of six companies for the first Learning Community (LC). The goal was to gather like-minded companies so
that they would be more open to learning from each other. Two LCs were organised between 2004 and 2006. The first LC began in
July 2004 with Sona Koyo, TechNova Imaging Systems, Ucal Fuel, and Brakes India. Dr Kapur himself learnt from Professor Shiba
and opened Sona Koyo for the member companies to visit and learn from.
Scaling up to the National Level
On July 25, 2004 Professor Shiba met the then President of India, Dr Abdul Kalam, who requested Professor to guide Indian
manufacturing. It was this request that urged Professor Shiba to do something at the National Level. At around the same time the
Government of India had set up the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) with the responsibility for driving
manufacturing growth in India. Dr V Krishnamurthy had been appointed Chairman of this Council. Dr Kapur, who had a passion and
goal of pulling up the level of Indian manufacturing, had worked very closely with Dr Krishnamurthy for almost two decades towards
this goal and therefore they shared an emotional tie. Thus, Dr Kapur decided to organize a meeting between Professor Shiba and Dr
V Krishnamurthy.
4

5. Bridge between industry and government
The NMCC Chairman was not very sure of why India
needed the guidance of a Japanese Breakthrough
Management expert to take the next leap. Therefore
before organizing the meeting between Dr
Krishnamurthy and Professor Shiba, Dr Kapur
shared the BIG Manufacturing concept with the
former. Dr Kapur also shared with him the
breakthroughs that Sona had experienced through
the Learning Community. This made Dr
Krishnamurthy curious enough to meet Professor.
Dr Kapur invited Dr V Krishnamurthy to his home for
the first meeting, where they discussed the
challenges and future of Indian manufacturing in an
informal setting. Soon after, another meeting was
held in Dr V Krishnamurthy’s home where they
further discussed the possible course of action.
This is when Professor Shiba spoke about the
Leaders for Manufacturing Programme that he had
been guiding at MIT. Having understood the
criticality of industry academia collaboration for the growth of manufacturing Dr Krishnamurthy was convinced that India needed a
similar programme. When it came to giving it a name, Dr Kapur, being a visionary leader himself, gave the initiative its name –
Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing Programme.
Bridge between industry and academia
In India industry and academia mostly work in silos, with little interaction. Building a bridge between these two stakeholders has
been a critical requirement for India. This has been the main aim of VLFM initiative.
Thus, in the 5th Meeting of the NMCC held on April 5, 2006, Professor made a presentation to the Council Members. At this meeting
Dr Kapur was invited to take the initiative further alongwith CII and a meeting was organised with Directors of IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur
and IIM Calcutta. It was also decided to set up a core team for VLFM which comprised of members from the industry and academia.
This team was continuously guided byDr Kapur.
Since Indian industry and academia are not used to working in tandem, it was difficult for the partnering organisations to find
common ground on most proposals. There was a moment in VLFM history that the entire initiative seemed to be falling apart. Dr
Kapur was very vehement that this National Level initiative was the need of the country and had to be rolled out. Dr Kapur bridged the
two key stakeholders of India’s future and ensured that VLFM initiative was rolled out.
Bridge between academia, government and industry
5

6. Bridge between new initiative and CII
Dr Kapur and Dr Sarita Nagpal had been working closely together on building a quality culture in India through CII’s Quality
movement (since 1982) from 1989. On realizing that Sarita too had been pursuing Professor Shiba, Dr Kapur called her up from
Japan on the day after the Deming Ceremony and hearing Professor Shiba’s lecture. That day, Dr Kapur had laid the foundation of a
new bridge for transformation of India’s manufacturing.
Convincing Professor Shiba
Vision to see future requirement of Indian manufacturing
Dr Kapur was well respected for his vision and foresight. He was convinced that India had to increase the contribution of
manufacturing in the GDP. This was the only way to create the millions of jobs that India required. He had also been invited to the
National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council as a member from the industry to guide the development of the
manufacturing sector.
Shortage of senior management trained to lead companies
Dr Kapur also knew that creating a thriving manufacturing sector required leadership skills that India lacked. India was striving to
become a global manufacturing hub. But Dr Kapur could picture that new world, where multinational manufacturing companies
wanting to set up base in India would require skilled managers. Unless there were capable managers the millions of jobs would not
be created. Through the VLFM initiative he created the bridge between the future and the present of India’s manufacturing.
Dr Surinder Kapur will remain etched in our memories as a
visionary who opened new worlds with his deep insights and
hiskeenforesight.Wheneverhesensedasynergybetweentwo
worlds, he left no stone unturned to create a bridge between
them. His commitment to society and his noble mind to
contribute to India were perhaps what urged him to break
boundaries and build bridges.
His vision of Indian manufacturing being counted amongst the
globalbest,andhisbeliefthatitwaspossible,ledtothecreation
of VLFM. Throughout the VLFM journey, had he not built the
many bridges, this initiative would never have happened.
6

7. 7
Bridge between T1 and T2, T1 and OEM
Diffusing VSME
In Indian manufacturing, the OEMs and their Tier
1 (T1) and Tier 2 (T2) suppliers have a boss-
subordinate kind of hierarchical relationship.
However, Dr Kapur was very committed to
transforming Indian manufacturing to enable it to
achieve a globally respected position. And, he
never missed an opportunity to do so. He first
championed VSME in Sona, encouraging his
suppliers (T2) to follow the programme. He gave
the responsibility to a well respected and senior
leader of Sona, Mr R B Singh, to lead this
initiative. In the process some of the suppliers
were rescued from closing down.
A well respected industrialist, he became the ambassador of VSME amongst the Tata Suppliers. Dr Kapur was heading the Tata
Motors’ Suppliers’ Council. During one of the meetings of this Council, he suggested to the Tata’s to roll out the VSME programme to
help transform their suppliers. He continued to pursue this idea and played a key role in convincing the Tata’s, who rolled out VSME
in October 2014. Finally he built an everlasting bridge between the faraway worlds of OEMs and T1 and the T1 and T2 suppliers,
creating a new relationship between these stakeholders.
Bringing on-board India’s most respected manufacturing company
The Final Bridge
Over the years Dr Kapur built many bridges leading
us to many new worlds, opening up various paths
for us.
On June 30, 2015, he walked the final bridge. But
alas, we cannot walk that bridge with him. We can
only watch as he crosses that bridge and learn from
the footsteps he has left behind.

8. Confederation of Indian Industry
The Mantosh Sondhi Centre
23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, India
T: 91 11 45771000 / 24629994-7 • F: 91 11 24626149
E: info@cii.in • W: www.cii.in
Confederation of Indian Industry
The Mantosh Sondhi Centre
23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, India
T: 91 11 45771000 / 24629994-7 • F: 91 11 24626149
E: info@cii.in • W: www.cii.in
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the
development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and
consultative processes.
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a
proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, India's premier business association has
over 7600 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect
membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 250 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders,
and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of
specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and
networking on key issues.
Extending its agenda beyond business, CII assists industry to identify and execute corporate citizenship
programmes. Partnerships with civil society organizations carry forward corporate initiatives for integrated
and inclusive development across diverse domains including affirmative action, healthcare, education,
livelihood, diversity management, skill development, empowerment of women, and water, to name a few.
In its 120th year of service to the nation, the CII theme of ‘Build India – Invest in Development, A Shared
Responsibility’, reiterates Industry’s role as a partner in national development. The focus is on four key
enablers: Facilitating Growth & Competitiveness, Promoting Infrastructure Investments, Developing
Human Capital, and Encouraging Social Development.
With 66 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China,
Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 300 counterpart
organizations in 106 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international
business community.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the
development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and
consultative processes.
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a
proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, India's premier business association has
over 7600 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect
membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 250 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders,
and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of
specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and
networking on key issues.
Extending its agenda beyond business, CII assists industry to identify and execute corporate citizenship
programmes. Partnerships with civil society organizations carry forward corporate initiatives for integrated
and inclusive development across diverse domains including affirmative action, healthcare, education,
livelihood, diversity management, skill development, empowerment of women, and water, to name a few.
In its 120th year of service to the nation, the CII theme of ‘Build India – Invest in Development, A Shared
Responsibility’, reiterates Industry’s role as a partner in national development. The focus is on four key
enablers: Facilitating Growth & Competitiveness, Promoting Infrastructure Investments, Developing
Human Capital, and Encouraging Social Development.
With 66 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China,
Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 300 counterpart
organizations in 106 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international
business community.