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administration.

Having set his mind on the Vanaspati industry, Mr. Modi started to mobilise fi-

nancial resources for the venture. In the meantime the Government, all of a sud-
den. announced an increase in duty on sugar imported into India. The step was

meant to curtail import of sugar and encourage its indigenous production. There
was, therefore, immediately a spurt in interest among the business community

for establishing sugar mills. This inspired Mr. Modi to begin his new industrial
career with a sugar manufacturing unit and he decided to move out or Calcutta

in search of a suitable location for a sugar mill. At Hapur, in UP. he met his cous-
ins, Mr. Saligram and Mr. Tara Chand, and his maternal uncle Mr. Musaddi Lal

who were in the speculation business. Mr. Modi called a meeting of prominent
businessmen there and persuaded them to accept his plan. His cousins agreed

to help him.

The problem of mobilising capital was, thus, partially solved, but the selection

of a suitable site continued to present obstacles. For sugar industry several pre-
conditions are of prime importance. The land around the area should be suitable

for the cultivation of sugarcane. It should also have a railway station nearby for
ensuring quick and prompt transport of sugar and sugarcane besides the facility

of postal links for purposes of communication. Plenty of soft water and proper
facilities for drainage are also needed. Lastly. the available land should be suffi-

cient to allow future expansion of the industry.

Mr. Modi collected a small folding chair, a cotton mat and a few things to eat and
started his survey journey by a car loaned to him by his relations at Hapur. He

visited several places in and around Hapur, and while on his way from Delhi to
Meerut he passed through Begumabad, a little known place till then. He stopped

his car at a lonely spot, a stretch of wilderness in the surrounding irrigated area.
This was a sandy area overgrown with grass and thorny bushes. The place was

almost equi-distant from Hapur and Meerut, both these places being roughly 24
kms away, and about 50 kms from Delhi. The area lay along the main highway.

He felt that this would be ideal for establishing a sugar mill.

On his return to Patiala he told his father about his great idea of setting up a

factory at Begumabad. He got the curt reply that he would have to arrange the

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