Former Patanjali CEO S K Patra alleges firm pays less in name of 'seva'

Mumbai: Former top boss at Patanjali Ayurved and Patajali Food Park has alleged the consumer goods company that promotes ayurvedic food products pays very less to people who work for them in the name of 'seva'.

S K Patra who had served as CEO of Ayurved and as president of food business has been credited with growing company's sales by manifold from Rs 317 crore to Rs 2,500 crore between 2011-2014, after that he left the company.

"They pay very little to the people who work for them. He calls it ‘seva’ (voluntary work)," Patra told Mint newspaper as an answer to a question as to why he left Patanjali despite the company was doing very well in all its segments.

According to Patra, he was doing two jobs, one at Patanjali Ayurved and the second at Patanjali Food Park but was being paid only for one job. "They had promised to pay for both," he added.

The report adds that Patra followed a blueprint that he used to fuel rapid growth of Patanjali Ayurved. According to Baba Ramdev, Patanjali had sales of Rs 10,561 crore in the last financial year.

Patra is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He met yoga guru Baba Ramdev at the height of anti-corruption and anti-black money movement against UPA government in 2011 at the behest of his wife.

Patra also revealed in the interview to Mint that initially Baba Ramdev did not show any inclination for setting aside funds for spending them on advertising and promoting their products through television. "At that time he used to think advertising is a waste of money. I had to fight hard for even a small budget of Rs 20 crore with him," Patra says.

But soon as Baba Ramdev realised the importance of advertising and getting endorsements for brands he "struck his own kind of deal". In  an exchange for an advertising worth Rs 4 crore, Ramdev gave Rs 2 crore worth of chyanwanprash, Patra further said.