INDUSTRIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF SIR CP RAMASWAMI AIYAR

            George wood Cock speaks of the sweeping changes left behind by CP in Travancore. The Diwan embarked on a scheme of large scale industrialization. The first step was to ensure that some of the existing industries that were not functioning satisfactorily were entrusted to new managements1. Some years back in a magazine article, put it more emphatically. “The decade during which Ramaswami Aiyar guided the destinies of Travancore witnessed her transformation from a backward agricultural principality in to a modern industrial state.

            Countering the argument that industrial development was not easy to achieve in Travancore which had no coal, not much iron and a climate unsuited to produced cotton on a large scale. C.P, asserted that the state had in abundance what was known as “white coal” which more than compensated for the deficiencies enumerated. Its rich river system enabled Travancore to produce electrical power at a comparatively low cost2. Hydro electric power was first introduce in the east while State of Travancore in 1906. Kannan Devan Hills Produce Co, a British firm owing extensive Tea Estates in the High Ranges of the District was the first in the field of power generation in Kerala State. In 1906 they installed a plant of 200 K.W. capacity for the supply of power to their factories and for running a rope way for the transport of goods over mountainous country3.

            Kottayam is the most important District of Kerala in point of hydro-electric resources. The Pallivasal Hydro Electric system, the first of its kind in the state, was commissioned in 1940 and it stimulated industrial growth4. One of CP’s greatest ambitions was that Travancore

 

should have a network of cottage industries run by means of electric power. With his rich experience as member in charge of Electricity in the Madras Government, Sir CP took the initiative in formulating schemes for power generation in Travancore5. After a scrupulous study of the survey report the Electrical Engineer of the Government, K.P.P. Menon, formulated a scheme in 1925 to undertake a detailed investigation of the hydroelectric possibilities of the State. The investigation led to the discovery that the falls in the Mudirapuzha river, a tributary of the Periyar passing through Munnar, possessed the most economic possibilities for the establishment of a Hydroelectric Scheme. The dams have been built across the Mudirapuzha river at its upper reaches-one at Kundala with storage capacity of 270 M.Cft. and another at Mattupatty with a storage capacity of 1950 M.Cft6.

            In 1930, proposals were sent to the Government for a detailed investigation was completed in 1931. By them C.P had become the Legal and Constitutional Adviser to the Maharaja. He knew that with its many rivers with a copious supply of water, Travancore was ideally suited for  establishing an Hydroelectric Project which could lead to the setting up of various other industrial projects like bleaching, paper and rubber factories and textile industries. He advise the Government to sanction a further detailed investigation of the preliminary scheme. This second scheme was completed in a year and the report submitted in 1932 was found satisfactory and the scheme was sanctioned. The work commenced in 19337.

 

            A barrage built across the river at Munnar diverts the water through a tunnel 3118 Metres long and then through ½ pipe lines to a Power House situated on the right bank of the river at Pallivasal8. A systematic organization for the execution of the scheme began in 1934 and in six years thereafter, the work was over. In 1935, a public loan of Rs. 50 lakh at 3.5 per cent was floated for this project. C.P inaugurated the Pallivasal Hydroelectric project on 19 March 1940 when the supply was switched from the Pallivasal Generating Station9. All the works connected with the first stage of development of the Pallivasal Project were completed by the beginning of 1941-42. The total effective capacity of the station was 9000 K.W. Practically all important centers in Travancore were supplied with electric power10.

            The scheme was so designed as to extend the transmission system to distribute

 

power to other areas such as Peermade in the east and Trivandrum in the south11. The Pallivasal Hydroelectric project (Kottayam District) is the chief source of power in Quilon District. It has considerably facilitated the industrialization of the district. It

helped the State Forest Department to set up a Pulp and Paper Factory at Punalur by utilizing the abundant supply of local reeds. Industries that work on electricity in the area include ceramics, textiles, minerals, chemical, aluminium products, paper, cashew nut, ply wood, etc12. After its inauguration a number of power consumers came on the system. The largest among them were the K.D.H.P. Co, Sri. Chitra Mill of Alwaye, the Kottayam Electric Supply Agency, A.D. Cotton Mills, Travancore Minerals Co, E.X. Pereira and Sons, Hopkins and Williams and Associated Minerals Co.  An agreement between Travancore and Cochin ws signed in 1941 for the purchase by the latter of 3000 KW (roughly one fourth of the production  at that time) after discussion between Sir CP and Sir R.K. Shanmukgam Chetty, the Diwan of Cochin, at Ootty13. Under this arrangement, the Travancore Government agreed as a temporary measure to meet the full requirements of Cochin up to a maximum of 3,500 K.W, and to supply 300KW for Ernakulam14. Apart from the Pallivasal scheme to which additions were made three other schemes viz, Sengulam, Neriamangalam and Panniar were completed.

            The State possesses enormous resources of China clay. Clays of sedimentary and residual origin have been known to occur predominantly in the districts of Trivandrum, Quilon and Cannanore. Ernakulam, Alleppey, Trichur, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts also are known for minor occurrence of clays. In January 1939, Mr. Handcock, a representative of the biggest China clay producers in England, visited Travancore with a view to formulating proposals for exploiting China clay15.

            On 8 March 1940, the state witnessed the opening of the Travancore Ceramic Industries at Kuudara in Ashtamudi Lake by the Maharaja. C.P told the  clay experts who visited Kundara that the Government would allow them to work the clay deposits as its partners provided they took the full responsibility as to the scientific test and the actual sales16. The Government Ceramic Concerns, Kundara, was established in 1940 for the production of Crockery, Stoneware Pipes and Refractories in the factory section and refining of China clay in the mining side. Sardar Dogar Singh, Ceramic expert, working in the Benares Hindu University, was brought down to attend to the pioneering work of setting up this first factory at Kundara. The event invited the attention of entrepreneurs and other industries like the Aluminium Industries Ltd, Travancore Chemicals Ltd, Lakshmi Stasch Factory Ltd, Travancore Enamels Ltd, Pierce Lesile & Co. Ltd, etc came to be established in Kundara and converted the place into an industrial town17. The products of Kundra Ceramics displayed in various exhibitions attracted public attention leading to a considerable increase in the demand for them. In 1941-42, China clay  and other manufactured articles of this industry, worth Rs. 1,59,127 was sold. The gross income that year from both China clay and other manufactured articles of the industry was 2,97,210. In 1942, clay of very fine quality was discovered near Thiruvananthapuram18.

            Electrical and Allied Industries, Kundara was started in 1946 as a Public Limited Company under the Managing Agency of Messrs Allied Engineers Ltd, Trivandrum. The main items of production were, Electrical Wiring Accessories, Railway Equipments like Junction Boxes, Plastic Mouldings and Ferrous and Non-ferrous castings19.

            C.P then detailed the position of the rubber industry. In 1936, there were only three industrial concerns in Travamcore in which the Government was interested and rubber was one of them. A rubber factory under the full management of the Government of  Travancore was started at Thiruvanathapuram on August 17, 1935. The first of its kind in India20. In 1935, the Government started a rubber factory at Chackai in Trivandrum and invested Rs.4 lakh in it. Under expert guidance the factory produced lovely little knick-knacks, paperweights, table  covers, lamp stands and a large number of contraceptives running to thousands of them21.

 

            At CP,s suggestion, a limited Company-Travancore cables and Rubbers Limited-was floated and the factory was leased for a period of ten years from February 1937. Shares were subscribed to the extend of Rs.5 lakh. The Government took no shares. The Company gave the Government Rs.1,50,000 for the materials and a rent of Rs.2000 for some months22. In August 1940, the details regarding the running of the factory were settled between Sir. Chinubhai Madhavlal of Ahmedabad and his agent on the one hand and the Travancore Government on the other the initiative comming from Sir CP the rubber factory was renamed Travancore Rubber Works and it was formally opened on January 1, 1941. In 1942, the profit received by the Government as its half share was Rs.5,05,345 and in 1943 Rs.6,72,54223. The Rubber Board was set up with headquarters at Kottayam under the provisions of the Rubber (Production and Marketing) Act, 1947 which came in to force on April 19, 1947. The factory worked satisfactorily under the partnership management till October 8, 1949 when it was taken over by Government. The Travancore Rubber works with a paid up capital of Rs.138.64 lakh is incurring loss from 1968-69 onwards24.

            Plywood was first introduced into the country as a paclaing material as a concomitant of the development of tea exports from the tea estates of Assam, West Bengal and Kerala25. The State has played an important part in the industrialization of the Quilon District. There are three industrial concerns in Quilon which are owned by the Government, viz, Travancore Plywood Industries, Punalur, Government Ceramic Concerns, Kundara and Kerala Government Ceramics, Kundara26.

            The Travancore Plywood Industries which provides livelihood for about 200 families in the District manufactures high class tea chest, panels, flush doors etc. Originally the Plywood Industry was started on a modest scale at Thiruvananthapuram in 193927. In 1940 the factory was brought under the Forest Department. In 1943 it was shifted to Mukkadavur on the banks of the Kallada River. The plentiful supply of timber from adjoining forest and availability of transport facilities by rail, road and water made Punalur an ideal location for the factory. It may be mentioned that the factory consumes about 1,800 to 2,000 tons of soft timber per year. The production ranged between 4,000 and 5,000 sq.ft. per day28. The factory registered itself as a public limited company with a share capital of  Rs. 10 lakhs of which 51 percent belonged to the Government. When the Government took over the management, the factory had a closing stock of 16 lakhs sq.ft of commercial plywood valued at Rs. 0.14 per sq.ft. The major portion of this stock was converted in to tea chest panels. Production was stepped up to 6,000 sq.ft per day. The profit earned during the first eight months of 1947 was Rs. 27,000. In 1947-48 the net profit earned was Rs. 2.4 lakhs29. Today the most modern and by far the largest plywood factory is located in Kerala-a testimony to the skill and during of the promoters of the concern.

            The brightest feather in Sir CP’s cap as the father of industrialization of modern Travancore was the establishment of Fertilizes Plant at Eloor near Alwaye. The Fertilizers And Chemicals, Travancore Ltd, was started in 1943 at Alwaye to produce heavy chemicals and other products in the State30. The Fertilizers And Chemicals, Travancore, Limited (FACT), the mother of industries in the area, came into being at a time when there was acute food shortage in the country. It was planned, erected and commissioned during the years 1944-1947 thanks to the foresight and initiative of Sir C.P Ramaswami Aiyar, the Diwan of Travancore31.

            The first Fertilizes factory in India was established in Travancore for which the State Government subscribed 52% of the Capital32. Sir C.P took the initiative in December 1943 in inviting S. Seshasayee of Messrs Seshasayee Brothers to set up a fertilizer factory in Travancore and Sir N. Gopalswami Aiyangar to be the Chairman of the proposed company. After reading a settlement with the Seshasayee Company, C.P revealed to the members of the House the arrogant reply he received from the Imperial Chemical Industry whom he approached first33.

            The factory was ideally located at Eloor, near Alwaye, on banks of the Periyar river. Such factors as the availability of raw materials, fuel, power and skilled workers, nearness to Cochin port and abundance of water supply induceed the location of the factory at its present site. It is twenty miles by water from the port of Cochin and similar distance form the Malayattur forests, the source of the principal raw materials fire wood. The Alawaye Railway station is just eight miles from the FACT. The authorized share capital of FACT34 is given below:-

No.	Share holder	Rs.
1.	Travancore Government	2.25 Crores
2.	Madras Government	13.50 Lakhs
3.	Cochin	4 lakhs
4.	Nawanagar	5 lakhs
5.	Morvi	5 lakhs
6.	Mysore	10 lakhs
7.	Pudukottah	1 lakh
8.	Nepal Government	3 lakhs
9.	Others	Rest
	Total	5 Crores

            The factory was formally inaugurated by Rajendra Prasad, Minister for Food in the Interim Government, in May 1947.  C. Rajagopalachari, the Governor-General of India, visited the FACI in August 1948 and acknowledged the contribution of Sir C.P in starting the factory35.

            A major industrial combine that has sprang up by the side of the FACT is the Travacnore-Cochin Chemical (Private) (T.C.C) Ltd., which manufactures Caustic Soda, Chlorine, Hydrochloric acid, etc36. The setting up of a Caustic Soda Chlorine unit in South India was conceived as early as 1947 and a partnership was formed between the Fertilizers And Chemical, Travancore Ltd, the pioneer manufactures of heavy chemicals in the State, and the Mettur Chemical and Industrial Corporation Ltd, the pioneer manufactured of Caustic Soda and Chlorine product in South India. The cost was approximately Rs. 32 lakhs37. This was the nuclear of the Travancore Cochin Chemicals Ltd, formed in 1951.

            The processing of mineral sands in the interest of the State should also get the pride of place among the attempts at industrialization of Travancore during the period38. More than half a century ago the valuable mineral deposits of the Quilon coast came to be known. These deposits containing Monazite were not only richest in the world but are reported to have the highest content of Thorium, nearly double the Thorium content of Monazite from the Brasilian source39.

            In December 1937, Prof. Frederick Soddy, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry in 1921, the originator of the theory of atomic disintegration. He informed Sir. CP that there was enough mineral wealth in the refractory substances in Travacnore to bring an annual income of 2 to 3 crores of rupees40. It was further explained that the only considerable occurrences

of Thorium were in Monazite sand, of which Travancore had some of the richest deposit in the world. The discovery of the use of Atomic Energy and the part Thorium played in that connection once again received the importance of Manazite41.

            The Travancore Government passed an order stopping export of minerals sands beyond 31 March 1945 except directly for war purposes. Ilmenite is a double Oxide of Iron and Titanium. Titaanium-di-Oxide is now being used increasingly in the manufacture of paits, plastics, cosmetics, cloth, paper and other white products. CP know the ins and outs of the trade, he admitted that the best variety of sand in the world for the manufacture of titanium oxide and electrodes was that of Travancore42. The  Companies in collaboration with the British Titanium Products one of the world’s largest Titanium produces, would enter in to partnership with the Government of Travacnore to process the mineral sands. Travancore Titanium Products Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram first in kind in the East manufacturing Titanium Dioxide Pigment43.

            The sands of Shertallai constituted the best material for the manufacture of glassware of all kinds. CP wanted this precious raw material to be put to use. Messrs Ogale Brothers, the proprietors of the biggest Glass factory in India, was persuaded by Sir CP to open a glass factory at Manjummel, Udyogamandal in 194244. The total fixed capital is Rs. 10,06,718 and working capital Rs. 7,63,368. Availability of labour, transport facilities and plentiful orders received from the war department helped the Ogale Glass Manufacturing Company to go into full swing45. The Government gave the company all the concessions necessary and assured it a certain amount of the capital. Automatic bottle making machine, presses and machine tools are the principal machines and appliances used in production46.

            It is worth mentioning that the erstwhile Travancore State which now forms a part of Kerala was a pioneer in establishing an Aluminium Smelter Plant47.

            In the early 1940s arrangements were made with feverish speed to manufacture aluminium in Travancore. It was again C.P’s ingenuity that caused him to turn to the development of aluminium, as Travancore possessed no iron ore48. The Indian Aluminium Company with its registered office in Culcutta startes a unit at Alupuram near Alwaye. Thatha (CP) persuaded the Indian Aluminium Company to establish its mammoth plant at Alwaye absorbing two thirds of the power generated by Pallivasal49. The construction of the Alupuram smelter with an initial capacity of 2,540 tonnes, capable of being increased to 5,120 tonnes, was started in 1941. Power was switched on 17th February 1943 and the first metal was tapped out on 6th March 1943. The proposed aluminium factory was expected to provide jobs to 10,000 persons50.

            The pioneering as well as leading unit engaged in the manufacture of aluminium conductor and cable industry, the Aluminium Industries Ltd, Kundara popularly known as ALIND, started operation in 1946. The first Aluminium Cable making plant in India at Kundara. The company’s Managing Agents were Messers Sheshasayee Bros (Travancore) Pvt Ltd. This plant manufactured conductors and accessories, aluminium rods, cables, steel wires, wire working machinery, material handling equipment high voltage switch gears etc52. The total capital invested is Rs. 270 lakhs of which the share of the fixed capital is Rs. 87 lakhs, the rest being working capital. Providing employment to 700 workers, the annual wage bill of this establishment comes approximately to Rs. 23 lakhs53.

 

            Spadework for the starting of a Rayon factory was done during the administration of Sir CP. State had a rich supply of read out of which rayon is manufactured. The Travancore Rayon plant at Perumbavoor war the first of its kind in India54. The Travancore Rayon Ltd, the first Rayon factory to be set up in India, was located at Rayonpuram, on the banks of the Periyar river, 12 miles from Alwayle55.

            The issued, subscribed and paid up capital amounts to Rs. 150 lakhs. About 1,500 workers are employed here. The average daily wage paid per worker is between Rs. 7 and Rs. 8 and the annual wage bill exceeds Rs. 31 lakhs56. Preliminary work on floating a company for the manufacture of rayon and artificial silk was started by M.C.T Chidambaram Chettyar. The factory manufactured rayon yarn, cellulose film, cotton linter pulp, sulphuric acid and carbon-di-sulphide57. The main raw material are wood pulp, caustic soda and sulphur of which wood pulp is imported from Scandinavian countries, caustic soda from indigenous sources [mainly from the Travancore – Cochin Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd, Udyogamandal, Alwaye] and sulphur from U.S.A. It commenced production in 1950.

            The sugar requirements of Travancore were being met partially from the Sugar Manufactures at Thuckalay in South Travancore. The Thuckalay Sugars, situated about 33 miles from Travancore, no doubt began, under good auspices. The scarcity of sugar during the second world war and after necessitated the setting up of new sugar factories58. Addressing the Assembly in August 1939, C.P clearly stated that the sugar industry did not prosper in Travancore not because of inferior quality of raw materials or the inefficiency or inadequacy of the machinery. It was stagnant solely and purely because of the difficulty it faced in the marketing and sale of sugar and sugar products59.

            The Travancore Sugar and Chemicals Ltd, Thiruvalla, with Messrs Parry and Co. as Managing Agents, was set up in 1945, the Government of India having granted permission to import the requisite machinery from abroad60. It manufactured sugar and spirit. In the case of industries like the sugar mills viz. the Travancore Sugar and Chemicals Ltd, and the two Co-operative Sugar Mills at Pandalam and Chittur, the main difficulty is non-availability of sugarcane in the required quantities, to fully utilise the installed capacity. It has an installed capacity to crush 9000 tonnes of sugarcane per day61. In 1945. CP gave the most cheering news to the House when he said “… today our Travancore Sugars are well-known throughout India,” Travancore essences and tinctures met not only the requirements of the State, but were also being exported outside and the alcohol they produced was used for industrial purposes62.

            The major central sector industrial unit using forest produce as raw materials is the Kerala Newsprint Project. The approximate annual turnover is Rs. 26 crores. Existing wood-based industries in the state sector is Forest Industries (Travancore) Ltd, Alwaye. This was started in 194663. An area of 113 sq miles of forests in the Malayattur Reserve was made available to the company for exploitation of forest produce to supply fire wood to the FACT, Ltd and marketing of the timber left over64.

            The timber industry is also an important one in the District (Kottayam). It had its beginning in the early decades of this century when the First World War created a large demand for the soft woods of the Kerala forests and led to the ereation of Saw Mills in the Kottayam District. Timber is sold in round form at the main depot at Neeleswaram, Kaladi, to consumers like Match manufacturers, Plywood manufactures etc65.

            On a capital investment as of RS. 2 lakh, the Government was getting merely Rs. 200 per months apart form the excise duties. The Punalur Paper Mills was struggling to pull on until the 1930s66. From a production of 689 tons in 1938 the Mill had reached a production of 7,395 tons during 1960. In November 1944 CP came to an arrangement with Doak, the dynamic industrialist who was responsible for the rejuvenation and renaissance of the Punalur Paper Mills, by which the State would buy one-third of the share of the Mill67. The principal raw material is Etta Reed, a species of bamboo. Subsidiary raw materials such as rags, waste paper, caustic soda, rosin, china clay etc are mainly obtained from indigenous sources while wood pulp is imported from abroad and a part of the requirements of waste paper is imported from Ceylon68.

            The management is getting the principal raw materials viz. Calcium Carbonate (lime-shell) mainly through dredging operation in the Vembanadu backwaters. The dredging out of Calcium Carbonate is comparatively cheaper. Shell-lime is used mostly in the construction of buildings as soil conditioners, for the manufacture of cement, glass and bricks and also an important chemical in the manufacture of paper, rayon, sugar etc69. In 1943, the Government ordered that licences for collection of lime shell would be issued only to well organized co-operative societies comprised of divers and workers employed in the lime shell industry. In pursuance of this order the societies at Kumarakom and Kainakary were brought under the management of a Special Co-operative Inspector and the work started a fresh in October 194370.

            Travancore produced salt of good quality for in excess of its requirements. Salt production was increased with a view to exporting it to Bengal and other parts of the country where salt was in short supply. New salt licences were issued on condition that 10% of the net profits would be remitted to Government71.

            The Handloom Industry as a premier cottage industry contributed its share in building up the economy of Travancore. CP was very keen to establish a textile mill in Travacnore. Once while opening a textile factory near Trivandrum, he said that but for the new impulse given by Gandhiji to hand-spinning and weaving at a most critical time in the countries industrial history72.

            There are a few notable Textile Mills in this District (Ernakulam). There are the Chakola Spinning and Weaving Mills, Ltd,  Kalamasseri, Sir Chitra Mill, Kalamasseri, Kathayee Cotton Mills, Private Ltd, Alwaye and Asoka Textiles (Private), Ltd Asokapuram, near Alwaye73. The handloom industry has its own place in the economy of the Kottayam District nearly 2,000 families depend on this industry for their livelihood.

            In fact, even before opening the aluminium factory, CP wanted to establish the bleaching and weaving industry as Travancore was the seat of handloom weavers and its handloom products were in great demand even outside the State. But CP was helpless, as the Government of India could not be persuaded to give Travcnore as much yarn as it wanted. The Indian Government had failed to realise that Travancore74. Preliminary work in connection with the starting of quite a few mills was started, eg, the Vijaya Mohini Mills, Thiruvananthapuram (1949). The A.D Cotton Mills, Kollam and the Sri Chithra Mill, Kalamasseri are two others in the field75.

            The coir industry is the largest and most important cottage industry in Kerala. The manufacture of coir yarn has been in vogue in Travancore from time immemorial coir is the fibre extracted from the husks of coconut. Such natural facilities as the abundance of coconut husks and the presence of brackish waters and lagoons at regular distance helped the growing of the coir industry76.

            The coir industry also sailed in the same ship, that the coconut, palm, copra and coir of Travancore used to find a market in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Italy as well as in the United States and England. But gradually these markets dwindled and vanished77. The Coir industry was till recently the monopoly of capitalists and middleman and the working class had neither the resources nor the organizational strength to take concerted action in order to improve their condition78.

            The Government has always taken interest in taking steps for the development of the industry. Sir CP’s administration was no exception. Measures to protect the trade interests of Travancore regarding the future production and sale of coir were taken at a conference of the representatives of the Governments of India, Madras and Travancore on November 3,194479. The industry varies in its importance and magnitude according to the natural facilities, local conditions and the aptitude and skill of the people engaged in it.

            At the same time negotiations were started with the All India Cement Company Ltd, for establishing a cement factory using the raw materials available in Travancore including the lime shell in Vembanad Lake80. This factory (Travancore cements Ltd Kottayam) located at Nattakom, in the suburbs of Kottayam, started production on August 1, 1949. The authorized capital of the company is Rs. 1 crore and the paid-up Rs. 50 lakhs. CP take step for setting up a Cement Industry at Kottayam.

The main raw materials and the sources of supply are given below81:-

No	Raw materials	Sources of supply
1	Lime shells	from Vemband lake
2	Clay ordinary	Nearby lake
3	River sand	Nearby places
4	White clay	Chathannur
5	White sand	Shertallai
6	Gypsum	Udumalpet and Nagercoil