ACHARYA
P.C.ROY
Forgotten Bengali Scientist & Industrialist
BENGAL
CHEMICALS & PHARMASEUTICALS Ltd
SARASIJ
MAJUMDER
INTRODUCTION:
The world including USA was looking for ‘Hydroxychloroquine’ for
treatment of Covid-19 and India is leading manufacturer of Hydroxychloroquine
supplying this drug to many countries. The man behind Hydroxychloroquine is
Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, known as ‘father of Indian Chemistry’, who was a well-known
Indian scientist, teacher and one of the first modern Indian chemical
researchers.
He discovered the stable compound mercurous nitrate in 1896.
He should have got a NOBLE PRIZE for that. In
1901, Bengal Chemical was formed by him, which is the first pharma company in
India and manufactured many products in 1920s which otherwise had to be
imported from Europe or UK. After obtaining his BSc degree from Edinburgh
University, Roy completed his doctorate in 1887 from the same university. He
was the first Indian to get a ‘Ph.D.’ degree on modern science.
ACHARYA
PRAFULLA CHANDRA ROY AND BENGAL CHEMICALS
:
From humble beginning with one factory at Maniktala (then in
CALCUTTA) in 1905, three more factories were established – one at Panihati in
1920, one in Mumbai in 1938 and one in Kanpur in 1949 with its Registered
Office at 6, Ganesh Chunder Avenue, Kolkata. Besides, the company is having 11
sales outlets and 10 C&F agencies spread all over India. The company was
running in profits till 1940s. Then came a series of disasters. He died in 1944
and being a bachelor, there was no family heir apparent. The company fell into
the hand of vultures who looted the cash rich company. Still, it was making
profits till early 1950s but started making losses from mid-1950’s and
continued with loss in 1960s. It was unfortunate that the then CM of Bengal B.C.Roy didn’t look after this Company, and
brought it under control of STATE/ CENTER.
On December 15, 1977, the Management of Bengal Chemical was
taken over by the Government of India and the Union Government nationalized the
Organization on December 15, 1980. A new Government Company, Bengal Chemicals
& Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BCPL) was launched on March 27, 1981. But the
losses continued till Modi government came to power in 2014.
BCPL almost doubled their production to Rs 106.70 Cr during
Apr-Mar 2016 as compared to Rs 64.10 Cr during Apr-Mar 2015 and almost doubled
its sales turnover to Rs 88 Cr during 2015-16 compared to Rs 45 Cr during
2014-15. BCPL reported a net profit of Rs 4 crore in 2016-17, the first profit
in six decades. The profit increased to Rs 10 crore next year. The return to
profit after six decades of Nehru-Gandhi era of lackluster industrial growth is
due to lack of capital investment in this old company.
The current leadership of BCPL which has its legacy since
Swadeshi movement days, would be able to touch a turnover of Rs 200-300 crore
and a net profit of Rs 30 crore in immediate future. The turnaround was because
of bringing centralized control systems in the company's activities which
resulted in a better performance. The central public sector unit (CPSU) reduced
procurement costs, and stopped financial leakages in the company which has
resulted in a reduction in direct costs to 48 per cent of gross sales in
2016-17 from 76 per cent in 2013-14.
Bengal produced many legends in various fields before 1960s.
After the rise of Naxalite rebellion, Bengal only produced communists, Maoists
and Naxalites leaders!
The biggest work that Acharya Roy did in the field of
science was to prepare hundreds of excellent scholars in chemistry, who gained
fame through their research and benefited the country. After spending a small
part of his income on himself, he distributed the rest among his disciples and
other suitable people. Acharya Roy's lifestyle, clothes etc. were very simple
and his entire life was full of sacrifice and service to the country and the
public.
In 1920, he were elected President of the Indian Science
Congress. In 1924, he established the Indian Chemical Society and also helped
it financially. In 1911 itself, the British Government gave him the title of
CIE and a few years later he was made a "Knight" and given the title
of "Sir". Many domestic and foreign universities and scientific
institutions had decorated him with degrees and other honours. He was a member
of many science organizations in the country and abroad.
Dr. Prafulla Chandra Roy was appointed to the post of Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Presidency College in July 1889 at a monthly salary of Rs 250. From here a new chapter of his life began. He became a professor in 1911. In 1916, he retired from the post of Head of the Department of Chemistry from Presidency College. Then from 1916 to 1936, he worked as Emeritus Professor at the same place. In 1933, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the founder of BHU, honoured Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy with the honorary degree of D-Sc.
Bengal Chemical and Eli Lily (US) was established in 1901. While Eli Lily is world’s third largest pharma company, Bengal Chemical struggled due to Nehruvian policy of socialism and neglect.
In Nehruvian socialism, and license raj era, CPSU
companies were more focused on Socialistic Culture than basic business and
economic expansion. Thus, Indian economy suffered and many iconic Colonial era
Indian innovative start-up companies perished. Nehruvian model lacked
vision for start-up initiative, corporate culture and technology innovation
like BCPL. Nehruvian model only promoted mediocrity and chasing ‘Sarkari jobs’
or clerical jobs, suppressing ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
The Royal Society of Chemistry's International Chemical
Landmark Award was given to him Posthumously.
REFERENCES:-
Picture source: First
ref. below.
https://axial.acs.org/
'Life
and Experiences of a Bengali Chemist' (1932).—An Autobiography by Dr.
P.C. Roy.—I purchased an old copy of this book from College Street, Calcutta in
seventies.
https://pharmaceuticals.gov.in/bengal-chemicals-pharmaceuticals-limited
Bengal
Chemicals: net profit 2023 | Statista
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