Thursday, July 20, 2017

"Why on earth is India’s most famous yoga guru building an army of security men?"

I think the FT had the story first:

Indian guru Baba Ramdev expands into private security
Yoga-televangelist has shaken up consumer goods sector with ‘natural’ products
July 12, 2017 by: Amy Kazmin in New Delhi 
Baba Ramdev, the Indian yoga guru turned entrepreneur who has been challenging consumer goods giants Nestlé, Colgate and Unilever, is diversifying into another of his country’s fastest-growing business areas: private security services. Mr Ramdev, a popular yoga-televangelist and high-profile backer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has recruited former army and police officers to help train guards for his new venture, Parakram Suraksha (Valour Security) Private Ltd. The new security business will “help develop military instinct in each and every citizen of the country so as to awaken the spirit and determination for individual and national security,” the Hindu holy man said in a statement announcing the company’s formal launch....MUCH MORE 
But Quartz had the better picture (and the headline which we lifted):

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/ramd.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=3200
India’s most famous yoga guru-turned-businessman is building an army of security guards.
On July 12, fifty-one-year-old Ramdev, whose Patanjali Ayurved has taken on India’s reigning consumer business giants, announced the launch of Parakram Suraksha (Valour Security) which will supply guards and provide security services. The company says it has recruited former Indian Army personnel and police officers to train youngsters....

... “Maybe the baba feels the need for protecting his own assets,” Kunwar Vikram Singh, chairman of Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI), said. “There is a huge need for private security…particularly to protect infrastructure, women, homes, and airports. Of course, the opportunity is massive.”

Lucrative private security...
....MORE