For the first time, again, he has sought a re-foundation of the business on the principle of modern concepts of core competence and increased focus, rather than the principles of multiple diversification that marked the "license-permit" era.

This is crucial. In future, shareholders will get a clear look at both companies. Diversification has its benefits, but focus is not one of them, and investors really do not know which industries they are putting their money into when they put money into spread-eagled, confusingly disparate businesses of a single company.

Grasim and Indian Rayon were historically diversified, but six years into liberalisation, that has been rectified. Investors know that investment in Grasim will get them into cement and viscose staple fibre, and shares of IndianRayon will expose them to carbon black, viscose filament yarn and insulators.

This second grouping is very interesting. Does the Indian market really know these businesses left with Indian Rayon, has it really estimated their value in a world where manufacturing of these products must inevitably shift to developing countries?

Already, Indian Rayon is the world's sixth largest in carbon black, and its export realisations from viscose staple fibre and insulators has been higher than domestic realisation even in these troubled global markets. Indian Rayon has hitherto been managed excellently, and under the same guidance, these may emerge collectively as a new bluechip combination, in which case, the efforts of Kumar Mangalam Birla and the Boston Consulting Group in rethinking the Aditya Birla group for the new millenium would have paid off.