Chapter 178 Thank you for helping me
Mulayam Yadav has fought two elections, the first in the late 1980s.
At that time, India's economy was closed and all industries required licenses. Industries such as energy and mining were state-owned.
It is difficult for ordinary businessmen to get involved, and most of them take advantage of loopholes to tinker with daily necessities business.
This made it difficult for Yadav to raise enough funds for the election as businessmen also had no money.
But there is one exception, and that is the liquor business run by Gurdeep Chadha.
In fact, many castes in India are abstaining from alcohol, and most people look down on the winemaking business.
In addition, Indian men are prone to causing trouble after drinking, especially women, so many politicians advocate a ban on alcohol.
The Indian government has implemented controls, not only stipulating the price and location of alcohol purchases but also setting extremely high tariffs on imported alcohol.
Later, even molasses, the basic raw material for making rum and whiskey, was regulated, with its price and trading volume determined by regulators.
Finally, wineries are heavily taxed, and local governments have hundreds of onerous regulations specific to the alcohol industry.
It is said that to open a winery, 200,000 various licenses need to be approved by government departments.
It's an astronomical figure! If you follow the procedures strictly, you might not be able to set up a winery in ten years.
To this day, this licensing system has not been abolished.
Yes, the licensing system for most industries was abolished in 1991, but it was retained for some key industries.
For example, the wine industry, petrochemical industry, steel industry, and mining industry. These industries with state-owned assets still require licenses.
In order to restrict the development of the alcohol industry, everyone from politicians to the government has tried their best.
But Indians love to drink, especially whiskey, and Indian men cannot refuse whiskey.
The huge market demand forces wine merchants to find ways to establish connections at the government level.
Chadha and Yadav hit it off immediately; one needed a government license, the other needed money from businessmen.
After Yadav got money, he started doing all kinds of outrageous things with only one purpose, which was to buy votes.
Bribing whom? The voters of Uttar Pradesh, of course.
India's electoral system stipulates that if a political party obtains a majority of votes in the state, it can directly nominate the chief minister.
In order to ensure the victory of the Socialist Party, Yadav will of course try every possible means to get votes.
In some areas, cash is given directly, while others hold fake weddings and treat villagers with fine wine and food.
Others sent hemp, fertilizer, seeds, etc. The most violent method was to force villagers to vote without any choice.
In short, there are many ways, but they all require money.
Yadav, who served as chief minister once, knew that if he wanted to continue to rule Uttar Pradesh in the future, he would have to make a lot of money while in office.
Otherwise, where will the funds for the next election come from? Where will the capital for a comeback come from after failure?
In the past few years, due to his lack of experience, Yadav didn't make much money. In addition, the economy was stagnant at that time, so businessmen didn't have much profit.
Things are different now. Just two years after the licensing system was abolished, Yadav can already hear the sound of money flowing.
Today, someone from the Dubey family in eastern Uttar Pradesh visited, and Yadav knew that this caste controls land resources.
Land is wealth, especially as time goes by, this wealth continues to appreciate.
So Yadav took time out to meet them.
The state chief minister has a special official residence in New Delhi, but Yadav still prefers to stay in his office in Uttar Pradesh, where he can experience the taste of power at any time.
Ron and Aditya followed Dubey and went straight into the minister's office.
The office, surprisingly, does not look luxurious, with a Yadav campaign poster hanging on the wall.
There is a bicycle-shaped clock on the walnut desk, which is the symbol of the Socialist Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Mulayam Yadav has a square face and dark skin. He looks not only unassuming but also easygoing.
Dubey bowed to him and Ron and Aditya followed suit.
Yadav speaks directly but in a calm voice, sounding like a kind old man.
After greeting him, Dube explained his purpose, nodded to Ron and the others, and left the office.
For the next occasion, we don’t need too many people, the fewer the better.
Ron was also very direct. He put the travel bag in his hand on Yadav's desk.
Yadav opened it cautiously, his eyes no longer as calm as before.
"Sir, I would like to express my gratitude to you." Ron said.
"Thank me for what?" Yadav squinted at the things in the bag.
"Thank you for helping me." Ron smiled.
“So your job is.”
"Mirzapur, limestone mines."
"You need to add a little more to your gratitude." He was counting the money.
"Okay, I can add another third."
"What are you going to do?" Yadav changed the question.
Agree on the price first, then talk business.
"I was planning to open a cement factory, but there was a shortage of cement everywhere in Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Chadha agreed to help me build a branch factory, but the project was halted right after it began due to a lack of cement."
"Chada? Do you have business dealings?"
"Of course, we will continue to do business in the future, and I will continue to supply him with cement."
"When will it be completed? I don't want it to take too long."
"Within two years, I promise, but this may require a little help from you."
"you say."
“I need financial support from the Uttar Pradesh State Bank.”
“What is the budget for this project?” Yadav narrowed his eyes.
"100 million rupees, with an annual output of 100,000 tons."
"What about the loan?"
"Seventy million, with a 10% budget error," Ron hinted.
The so-called budget error is the rebate.
Yadav did quick calculations and his head was instantly filled with rupees.
This is a huge sum of money, which ranks among the top three amounts of bribes he received.
"The Suhr family is in the East, right?" he asked.
"Yes." Ron nodded.
"You guys can handle the crazy East, right?"
"Of course, the Sur family has the ability." This time it was Aditya who answered.
Crazy East is what outsiders call the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.
As we all know, Uttar Pradesh has the highest crime rate in the country and the eastern region has the highest crime rate in Uttar Pradesh.
Bollywood uses the area as the backdrop for its films about gangsters and mafia.
Gotham within Gotham, this is the black sign of Ron’s hometown.
You can't get by there without some skills, and Ratan doesn't buy arms just for fun.
"I don't want to hear too many murder cases." Yadav looked at the two men.
"No problem, it will never be reported in the newspaper." Aditya is familiar with this kind of thing!
Yadav pressed the electronic bell on his desk, and soon an assistant came in.
"Every year, one million young people flock to the market in Uttar Pradesh, but there are very few jobs. The construction of the Sur cement plant can create thousands of jobs in the state. If a reporter asks you later, just answer like this."
"Yes, sir!" The assistant wrote down every word.
"I'll talk to the people down there, and you can expect the permit in about two weeks."
"Thank you for your generous help." Ron and Aditya left the office.
It was their first time meeting the Chief Minister and they did not have a deep conversation with each other.
But if there is a first time, there will be a second time, and there is always a long way to go.
Standing outside the corridors of power in Uttar Pradesh, Ron took a deep breath.
"Second uncle, I will definitely get you elected to the state parliament in the next election."
Aditya was stunned for a moment, then his breathing quickened. "Ron, that's going to cost a lot of money. I've never thought about that day before."
"Money is not a problem. We can get more money back after you are elected as a state legislator."
"I hate Yadav, but I will join the Socialist Party."
Ron laughed, this is what a qualified politician is.
Doing business in India is inseparable from dealing with politics, and even the boundaries between politics and business are blurred.
If Aditya and Dubey did not know each other and Dubey was not a state legislator, it might have been difficult for them to be introduced to the chief minister.
But once you are online, trading becomes simple.
It's nothing more than money. Indian politicians only want money, which makes Ron very satisfied.
Yadav’s appetite is not big at the moment, as he acquired the mining rights of Mirzapur limestone mine for Rs 2 million in cash.
Of course, the 7 million yuan in bank kickbacks also counts, but that was money for building the cement plant.
The budget of 100 million rupees was not something Ron made up.
He only built a small cement plant, and without considering the cost of minerals and land, the money was basically spent on equipment.
Rotary kilns and mills are the core equipment of cement plants, and they are super-large equipment.
Fortunately, India's domestic technology for this type of basic industrial equipment is relatively mature and the price is not outrageous.
But tens of millions of rupees are indispensable, plus mining equipment, the minimum cost is 100 million rupees.
This is the largest investment Ron has made to date.
"Ron, that's 100 million rupees. Even if the bank takes care of most of the funding, what about the remaining 30 million? Can your own factory come up with that much money?"
"I won't pay the remaining 30 million either." Ron replied with a smile.
"Huh?" Aditya was a little confused.
"I'll try to find a loan from another bank."
It’s okay for a small business, but how can you use your own money for a project that requires an investment of hundreds of millions?
Ron will borrow 30 million rupees from the Bank of Bombay in the name of Sur Electric, with the reason being factory expansion.
The Zhuhu factory and the Jinbul factory are both under construction, so the bank will definitely not be suspicious.
After getting the 30 million from Bombay Bank, Ron came back here and showed the account deposit to Uttar Pradesh Bank.
The bank took a look and saw that it was indeed 30 million in cash.
Then we can provide loans for this project and we will share the risks.
It’s a very simple routine and it will definitely work in India.
Because India's states are highly independent, regional banks do not share information with each other.
Stepping back, it is not surprising that this happened in India, even in the computer age.
It was a huge deal worth 100 million rupees, and Ron didn't pay a penny himself.
Did he have no money? Of course not, he had other uses for his little treasury, and it was truly his own money.
Ron planned to visit the limestone mines in Mirzapur soon, but before that, there was one more thing to do.
The movie “Sarah Mahal” is about to be released.
(End of this chapter)
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