MG Balakrishna: The Man Behind India’s 1st Pvt LPG Bottling Plant

India has the potential to be a manufacturing hub of the world given our talent base, supportive government policies and global focus on diversifying supply chain. Younger generation should encash such trend - MG Balakrishna, partner, Indo Gas, tells Bizz Buzz

Bengaluru: There are very few first-generation entrepreneurs, who have been successful in India during the nascent globalisation period. As the country was slowly opening up to liberalisation, there even a few who dared to be an entrepreneur. But MG Balakrishna is one such personality, who has not only dared to dream, but also made it big in the entrepreneurial world through sheer grit, determination and business acumen.

-A mechanical engineer by profession, Balakrishna started his career as a helper in a manufacturing plant because there were hardly any jobs for engineers during 1986. That was the time when he desperately needed a job because his father was retired and he needed money to sustain. During this stint, he impressed the promoter of that plant by upgrading several equipment through his engineering talent, which was facing serious rejections from clients. Eventually, the owner gave him an engineer’s job with a salary of Rs600 per month. He went on to become the General Manager of the company within a short span.

In 1992, Balakrishna started his entrepreneurial journey, when the country was opening up for global trade. In 1993, when the government liberalised the petroleum products space, he established an LPG bottling factory in Bengaluru. His friends and relatives ridiculed him as he had entered into a capital-intensive petroleum industry with very little money.

At that point of time, some friends supported him and he was able to raise capital from the Karnataka State Finance Corporation (KSFC) for his project. With the capital, Balakrishna built the first private LPG bottling plant in the country. Importantly, it was completely manufactured in India through indigenous instruments. He was the first private business entity to launch the LPG bottling product. There was a huge demand for the product as the government was not able to provide LPG bottles in adequate numbers.

Balakrishna, Partner, Indo Gas Private Limited, went on to become a consultant for organisations, which wanted to set up a bottling plant on turnkey basis. Currently, his group operates across the value chain of the LPG industry. His diverse interests include LPG bottling and distribution, manufacture of cylinders and pressure vessels, retail outlet for petroleum products, third party inspection approved by GoI, construction of warehouses, film production. He is also partner in many companies such as Indo Gas, Indo Cylinders, Indo Gas Technologies, Indo Auto Gas and Fuel Station, Indo Reality and Indo Gas Tech.

Currently, he is President of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), which is one of the oldest trade associations in India. With a turnover of more than Rs150 crore, his group employs more than 500 people across its various business interests.

Balakrishna, who has been awarded with Udyog Ratna Award, Indira Priyadarshini Award, Indo-Nepal Business Award, and many others; has a word of advice for the young generation who are pursuing entrepreneurship.

Patience, quality consciousness and hardwork are the ingredients for success in a world that is fast paced.

“India has the potential to be a manufacturing hub of the world given our talent base, supportive government policies and global focus on diversifying supply chain. Younger generation should encash such trend,” Balakrishna told Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interaction.