Notes on the meeting on October 6, 2010

Dear Friends, 

Vice President Venugopal said that we should take the activities of the club more seriously. “What you learn here, you should apply it outside, be it at a PTA or a Residents’ Association meeting,” he said. “Then only can you become a perfect speaker.” He also suggested that we try to get new members.

Table Topics was handled well by C.M. Daniel. Subjects included India’s gold medal haul at the Commonwealth Games as well as the rise of the Sensex.

Grilling was of Venugopal.

The introduction of the main speaker, Raju Hormis, was by Nirmala Lilly.

She said, “Raju is a simple, down-to-earth, and a peace-loving person. I am sure we will enjoy listening to him.”

Raju Hormis spoke about the automobile industry in India. “It has been my favourite subject since my childhood,” he said.

Some facts from the speech:

The first car that rolled out on Indian roads was in 1897.

Till the 80s, it was the Ambassador and the Fiat, both poor quality vehicles that dominated the market.

But ever since the economic liberation in 1991, there has been sustained growth of the industry.

Last year, one lakh cars were manufactured and sold in India. The country is the fourth largest exporter, behind China, Japan and South Korea.

Chennai is known as the Detroit of India. 60 per cent of the automobile companies are based in Chennai.

There are 147 brands of cars available in India now.

India is also importing high-end vehicles like the Audi, the Bentley, the Maybach and the Mercedes Benz. But the future belongs to electric, electronic and gas-filled cars.

Soapbox contributors were Nirmala Lilly and myself.

Here are the speakers for the next four weeks:

C.M. Daniel

Venugopal

Nirmala

Kurian Abraham