R Subramaniam was the Managing Director of Subhiksha, one of the largest retail chains in India. He studied engineering in IIT Madras and then obtained a Post Graduate Degree in Management from IIM Ahmedabad in 1989. He then joined Citi Corp in 1989 and left the company soon. He then worked for Royal Enfield in Chennai for two years from 1989 to 1991. After that, he chose to be an entrepreneur and started the retail shop Subhiksha in 1997 with an investment of just 4 lakhs. The retail chain had more than 1600 outlets in 30 cities across India .[1]. It was closed down in 2009 owing to financial mismanagement and a severe cash crunch. Subhiksha
On March 10, 2009 the regional office of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation has decided to attach the bank accounts of struggling Subhiksha Trading Services for failing to deposit PF dues even after the expiry of the deadline for doing so. [2]
Subhiksha Trading Services said its managing director R Subramanian will need to pay Rs 1.76 crore immediately in provident fund dues. The clarification from the company came after reports that the Employee Provident Fund Office (EPFO) in Chennai would attach the properties of Subramanian for collection of dues and that the PF commissioner has begun a 7-A enquiry for determining the EPF dues of Subhiksha.
Subhiksha has run into financial trouble over the past few months, and one of its major shareholders, ICICI Ventures, has approached the registrar of companies for an investigation into the affairs of the company and also for an independent audit.
The statement quoted Subramaniam as saying that as a measure of cost-cutting, all the employees had agreed from June 2008 onwards to restrict their contribution to Rs 6,500, which is the salary ceiling under the EPF& Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
Further, even though the salaries have not been disbursed for months and only an advance is given to its employees, the company has already decided to scale down the expenditure on a bi-partite arrangement of paying PF contributions on a higher salary.
Besides, ICICI Venture, along with some other shareholders, which include an entity promoted by IT major Wipro chairman Azim Premji, is also said to be opposing Subhiksha’s move to merge itself with Chennai-based Blue Green Constructions.
The company said that it was unable to pay salaries and arrears to its 15,000 employees from October 2008, but it has repaid a loan of Rs 15 crore to one of its shareholders.