The biting winter air of early 1994 held a new kind of energy for Harsh. The frantic, almost desperate growth of the past year had solidified into a cold, deliberate strategy. Bharat Electronics was a roaring success, a public champion. But Harsh's gaze was fixed on the quieter, more fundamental layers of his empire. The near-disaster with the delayed shipment had been a stark reminder: true power wasn't just in creating demand, but in controlling the means of fulfillment.
His mind returned to Patel Holdings. For over a year, it had been a small, almost forgotten entity, a side project managed by a skeleton crew. Its ledger was a testament to its humble scale:
Patel Holdings - Month 24 (End of 1993)
· Logistics Revenue: ₹3,10,000 (Steady, small-scale clients)
· Logistics Profit: ₹50,000
· Overhead: ₹70,000
· Net Loss: ₹(20,000)
It was a pimple on the back of the behemoth that was Bharat Electronics. Most men would have shut it down. Harsh saw a seedling.
He didn't merge it. Instead, he initiated a massive capital injection, directly from his personal funds—funds whose immense size was known only to him and Rakesh. This was not a loan from the Aethelred Trust; this was the emperor personally fortifying a key outpost.
He summoned the young, ambitious manager of Patel Holdings, a man named Vikram who had kept the operation afloat through sheer doggedness.
"Vikram," Harsh began, standing before a map of India in his office. "Your days of running a break-even courier service are over." He tapped the map. "Patel Holdings is now the official logistics arm for all Bharat Electronics operations. But that is just the start. Your new mandate is to build a supply chain that can withstand a war."
Vikram's eyes widened as Harsh laid out the plan. It was not about buying a few more trucks. It was about building an ecosystem.
"First, the port," Harsh stated. "We don't just need a berth; we need influence. Patel Holdings will form a joint venture with a private port operator at JNPT. We will provide the capital for modernizing two dedicated berths and installing new cranes. In return, we get priority access and a share of the profits from other users. We become part of the port's infrastructure."
"Second, the fleet." Harsh continued. "I am authorizing the purchase of fifty new, heavy-duty trucks. Not just any trucks. I want them customized for electronics—suspension designed to minimize vibration, climate-controlled containers. This will be the most advanced private fleet in the country."
"Third, warehousing. I want to acquire or build strategic warehouses in five key hubs: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bangalore. They will act as our regional nerve centers."
The scale of the investment was astronomical for Patel Holdings. Vikram looked stunned. "Sir, the capital... this is hundreds of crores..."
"The capital is not your concern," Harsh said, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Your concern is execution. You will report directly to me. This is no longer a subsidiary; it is a strategic pillar."
The transformation was swift and brutal. Patel Holdings exploded from a small office with three trucks into a major industrial logistics player almost overnight. The "joint venture" at JNPT was, in reality, a takeover funded by Harsh's bottomless pockets. The new, saffron-colored trucks of the "Patel Logistics Fleet" became a common sight on national highways.
Simultaneously, but completely separately, Deepak was executing his own part of the grand strategy at Bharat Electronics. The recruitment drive at the IITs was a resounding success. "Bharat Labs" was established, and the work on the "Bharat-4" chip began with furious intensity. The R&D budget was immense, but it was viewed as a necessary cost for future growth, funded by the profits from the radios and televisions.
Harsh meticulously kept the two worlds separate. Bharat Electronics was the glamorous public face, the innovator. Patel Holdings was the unglamorous, powerful backbone, the muscle. One was about brains and brand; the other was about control and capillaries.
By the end of the quarter, the financial picture was revealing his master plan.
Bharat Electronics - Q1 1994
· Revenue: 16.8 Crore INR (Strong growth)
· Net Profit: 3.8 Crore INR (Healthy, but weighed down by R&D costs)
· Public Perception: A innovative, high-growth company investing in its future.
Patel Holdings - Q1 1994 (Post-Transformation)
· Logistics Revenue: 4.5 Crore INR (Primarily from Bharat Electronics contracts)
· Port JV Revenue Share: 1.2 Crore INR
· Net Profit/Loss: Projected to break even by next quarter.
· Hidden Value: Control over a critical part of the national supply chain.
Harsh reviewed the separate reports. The loss-making Patel Holdings of a year ago was now a formidable, if not yet hugely profitable, entity. It was the fortress wall he had built around his kingdom. No rival could ever choke him again. They might compete on product features or price, but they could never touch his ability to move goods from his factory to the world.
He had fortified the foundation. The leviathan now had an armored shell. The next phase—the phase where the leviathan began to actively hunt—was just on the horizon. The separate, powerful beats of Bharat Electronics and Patel Holdings were the twin hearts of his empire, and he was the only one who controlled their rhythm.