Md bg july 13 lrf

BUSINESSGOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA VOL 5 ISSUE 1

JULY 2013

www.businessgoa.in

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

Contents

July 2013

48 Industry

Debkumar Sen’s Diamond Tools Industries is a game changer in the field of natural stone cutting implements

50 Goan Brand

The CMM Mega Store at Merces is a one stop destination for exclusive home and office furnishings and décor

40

28

52 Professional Dossier

28 Cover Story

Leading surgeon and founder of Mandovi Clinic, Dr. Sunil Nadkarni talks about his profession and how he set up his clinic

Business Goa asks a host of business personalities to recall what was the best business advice that they received during their entrepreneurial journey

36

54 Lady Power

Focus Goa: Fishing

Renowned dietician, Harpreet Pasricha on why she does what she loves and her role as a woman in her field

A look at how the increased duration of fishing ban is impacting a fish loving State with an emphasis on various fishing organisations

90 Bon Appétit

40 Interview

Looking for a blissful Thai experience? Look no further than the Banyan Tree

Newly elected President of GCCI, Narayan Bandekar talks about his vision for the Goan economy and the Chamber’s stand on current economic challenges

90

52

44 Starting Young

Karan Parkeh of Parekh Recycling wants to make a difference in solving the State’s garbage woes

46 Enterprise

Babuli Ghanekar of Kamta Trading Company talks about being the pioneer in bringing to Goa premium home building products

46

COLUMNS

62 Serving Aces 62

64 Letter From America

50

08 Editorial 10 Corpo Scan 56 Campus 56 BG Crossword 58 Bookshelf 60 HR Mantra 92 Goa Buzz 102 Newsmakers 102 BG Quiz 18 Annual Report 20 Business Goa Awards 2013 22 Best Wishes

To delegate or not is every hands-on entrepreneur’s dilemma which can impact the big picture feels Nilesh Amonker

64

66

Jay Dehejia writes about the impression that India’s flip flop on foreign investment policy is creating in the investor countries

66 Thinking Hat

Kailash Kattalay discusses how humans today are competing with technology in a bid to prove who’s smarter Views expressed by Columnists are their own

04 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Contents

July 2013

68 Focus: Airport

Ralph de Sousa makes out a case for an international airport in Goa by citing historical facts and current challenges

68

72 Focus: Power

Binayak Datta talks about the dismal power supply across the State and advises on the way forward

72

74

76

78

74 Corporate Health Dr. Hemangini Shah on how the fastpaced corporate lifestyle is triggering health issues

76 Investment Advisory Gautam Verlekar advices you to weigh your options judiciously before you sell out your business interests

78 Focus: Industry

06 Business Goa

Atul Naik on how small industrialists are saddled with cumbersome compliance procedures and inconsistent mechanism

JULY 2013

82 Reluctant Entrepreneur 82

Blaise Costabir feels that business awards can actually help an organisation look at its systems and mission anew

84 Corporate Governance 84

86

88

Daniel Albuquerque is of the opinion that the state should re-appropriate the mining losses

86 Adventure Capitalist U Mahesh Prabhu says that if one has free time on hand, one should use it well.

The pay-off is sure to happen

88 People Tree

Kishore Shah showcases Talent Analytics, a predictive art / science that can map the talent and capacity of a workforce

The Voice of Business in Goa

Views expressed by Columnists are their own

COLUMNS

BUSINESSGOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA VOL 5 ISSUE 1

JULY 2013

www.businessgoa.in

hbhatkuly@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Time flies

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

VOL 5 | ISSUE1 | JULY 2013

Editor & Publisher Harshvardhan Bhatkuly Co-Publisher & Group Head Urvija Bhatkuly Advisory Board Datta Damodar Naik Ralph de Sousa Rajiv D’Silva Swapnil Kamat Team Alisha Patel Annalise Gouveia Pritesh Naik Ashok Kolvekar Govit Morajkar Monaliza Dias Contributors in this Issue Aliston Dias (Photographer) Tilya Fernandes Janice Rodrigues Nilesh Amonker Jay Dehejia Kailash Kattalay Ralph de Sousa Binayak Datta Dr Hemangini Shah Gautam Verlekar Atul P. Naik Blaise Costabir Daniel Albuquerque U. Mahesh Prabhu Kishore Shah Editorial, Advertising & Administrative Office SAVOIR FAIRE MEDIA Business Goa 101/5, Rua Thomas Ribeiro Fontainhas- Mala Panaji, 403001 Goa India Tel.: 0832-2425514, 6456555 Email: businessgoa.media@gmail.com Business Goa is a monthly magazine dedicated to trade, commerce and business features and news.

Published on the 15th day of the month Publisher & Printer: Harshvardhan Bhatkuly Printed At: Printek Printers, Bengaluru

08 Business Goa

JULY 2013

This is our 4th anniversary issue. Which in effect means that I have given four years of my life to this magazine. Very often I have taken a humble “we-think-small” route and have undermined the importance of this magazine. Not today. Because I am in a cavalier mood and I have some serious blowing-my-own-trumpet thing to do.

First things first. When Business Goa entered the magazine space, the only magazine that was holding forth in the market was the venerable ‘Goa Today.’ With Business Goa, the floodgates opened and in came a rash of me-too glossies. And the flow still continues. What sets your magazine apart from the rest is its singular purpose – to be “the Voice of Business in Goa.” Every editorial and branding decision of ours has been guided by this simplified and pompous seeming one liner.

Although we have touched an amazing amount of entrepreneurs and businesses – many whom Goa did not even know existed; our prime job has been to be the chronicler of Goan businesses in these day and times. If 20 years hence, if someone would want to conduct a search on a particular person in Goa’s business history, Business Goa will be his first go-to point.

Or it should be.

The success and the relevance of this magazine have made several dailies look at their business pages seriously. It is flattering and oftentimes annoying when media houses with deep resources look at Business Goa to plan their next business story. Thus engulfing the business reader with a sense of déjà vu. The brighter side to that is the fact that readers are looking at business stories with interest and respect that they so richly deserve.

Our focus has also been on honing and encouraging young talent. Many of whom write for us and even more are those, who are featured in our pages. They are the future of business in Goa. We stand committed to encourage these youngsters.

Talking about the content of this magazine – a cause of doubt for many naysayers when we had launched Business Goa, was the likelihood of us falling into a trap of being another PR rag or linking our editorial platform to its sustainability. I won’t sit on a high horse and decry the merits of that. But somehow it just didn’t happen that way for us. Our advertisers supported us because we make a great read. They continue to do so.

The greatest success of the magazine was to institute and successfully award Goan businesses over the last two years. Our choice of awardees are above board and no one can challenge their contribution to the business scenario of the state.

Many who wait in the wings to be a Business Goa Awardee tell me that they are inspired by the awards to work harder and be noticed by our magazine.

Yes, this has been a journey that I am proud of. But more than that I remain humbled by your unflinching support to my vision – especially when all I promised you was just a great read. I remain obliged for your large-heartedness and for discounting our shortcomings.

Let me spare a thought for my teammates who helped me put the magazine together over the last year. Thanks Alisha Patel, Amol Ajgaonkar, Analise Gouveia, Ashok Kolvekar, Govit Morajkar, Lyndon Pinto, Pritesh Naik, Rachel Fernandes, Valeny Grace Fernandes, Virali Govekar, among others. I am obliged to the contributors and columnists who regularly sent in their articles. I am also indebted to my advertisers who, notwithstanding the economic downturn in the state, put their advertising Rupee on Goa’s only business magazine. Our advisory panel – my friend Rajiv, Datta Damodar Naik, Ralph de Sousa and Swapnil Kamat need a special mention for guiding this magazine from time to time. And you my reader... you are always on top of my mind.

Stay with us...

Unsolicited material may not be returned. The opinions expressed in Business Goa are not necessarily that of the publishers. While great care is being taken to ensure accuracy of information, the publishers are not responsible for omissions or incorrect information. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers.

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Ship carrying arms and ammunitions floating towards Goa

corpo scan

A ship carrying over 450 containers from Singapore to the Middle East had developed cracks and is floating towards Goa, the ship is stranded 500 km off Goa and is heading towards the state’s beaches, CM Manohar Parrikar said recently. He also added that unconfirmed reports suggested that the ship had over 450 containers on board carrying arms and ammunition.

Audi launches Audi RS 5 Coupe Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, recently announced the launch of the new Audi RS 5 Coupe in India.

Equipped with a powerful V8 engine, the new Audi Rs 5 Coupe sprints from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 250 km/h. The 4.2 FSI delivers 331 kW (450 hp) at 8,250 rpm, with the peak torque of 430 Nm available between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm. Priced at ` 9.52 crore.

The new Audi RS 5 Coupe was unveiled by Michael Perschke, head, Audi India and Audi race talent Aditya Patel.

The German luxury car manufacturer continued to maintain its growth momentum in the Indian luxury car market during the first half of the year by grossing sale of 4846 cars during the period January to June

2013, marking up a growth of 21 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period last year, when it sold 4000 cars.

The company sold 750 cars in June 2013, a growth of over 4 per cent. Audi India plans to expand its network to 34 dealerships by the end of 2013 from its existing 26 centres. In 2013, Audi India

GVM Lecture on stock market held

has opened new showrooms in Bhubaneswar, lucknow and Mumbai South. Last year, the luxury carmaker opened new showrooms in Raipur, Kanpur, Goa, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Delhi West, Nagpur and Bhopal.

Further developments include Noida and Vadodara among others

Marcou Artifacts launches new range of products

Marcou Artifacts, manufacturer of ceramic items in Goa, managed

by Anil Counto and Francisco Martins, recently launched a new range of products in the presence of the Minister for Environment and Forests, Alina Saldanha.

Managing Partner of Marcou Artifacts, Francisco Martins personally conceptualised a ceramic ‘Gurgulata’, a cock headed pitcher, the clay variety of which has been typically used in Goan households for generations to store potable water.

This unique item by Martins incorporates a beautiful painting on the pitcher depicting Dudhsagar falls of Goa, a perennial water source of great

beauty. The timing of this launch

by Marcou Artifacts assumes significance as it has been jointly coordinated with recent initiative with Club Vasco da Gama in holding a scientific water seminar, thereby reiterating its commitment to contribute towards helping preserve the Goan environment for posterity.

Currently, on sale are items including porcelain and ceramic artifacts like lampshades, curios, tea sets, tray and azulejos among others. There are also plans of launching a furniture line made from a combination of ceramic and wood

MPT seeks expert opinion on location of floating hotel While it is believed that an Indian casino operator has awarded the construction of two 400room five-star floating hotels to a Middle East ship building company, Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has given the go-ahead to a party to select the best suitable place in the waters under its jurisdiction to position the floating hotel, claimed reliable sources.

Refusing to name the party, an MPT source disclosed that after several meetings, the final 10 Business Goa

JULY 2013

signing of the deal is scheduled either in October or November this year. He also said that local shipyards are expected to receive orders to build smaller boats to ferry guests from the floating hotel to the casino and to the town, said the MPT senior deputy traffic manager. The smaller boat operators will be expected to ply around 3 to 4 km distance in order to ferry guests from floating hotel to the casino and then to Vasco.

Orders have also been placed to construct a mooring that will anchor the floating hotel, said another MPT official, Y R Belagal.

MPT’s director of Research said that the floating hotel will be built to meet guests’ expectation. The hotel will offer all the luxuries of a standard non-floating five-star hotel. It is believed that a Dubaibased company has been given the order to build the floating ship at an estimated cost of Rs.350 crore

Kedar Phadke, a stock market investment expert, delivered a lecture via an audio visual presentation on the subject of ‘Stock Markets and impacts from Economic Indicators’ recently at Fomento Amphitheatre, Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao.

The lecture was held as part of the ‘Aaswaad’ programme organized by the Gomant Vidya Niketan every second and fourth Friday of the month. Phadke holds a graduate degree in Management (Symbiosis) and Finance (Brandies University, Boston) and has a twenty one year career spanning areas such as manufacturing, insurance, defence sector, higher education (Harvard University) and project portfolio management. He has several years of trading and investment experience in equities and derivatives on the US Stock Markets

Godhum Shali rice launched in Goa Shravani Enterprises recently launched ‘Healthy Goa-Godhum Shali Rice’ in the Goan market at a function attended by Minister of Health, Panchayat and Rural development, Laxmikant Parsekar at Panaji, in the presence of Dr Wilfred Mesquita, Commissioner NRI Affairs, Surendra Furtado, Mayor, Panaji, Adv Narendra Sawaikar, Chairman, Law Commission, Chandrakant Chodankar, exMLA, Chairman, Bardez Bazaar, Girish Hattarki, inventor of Godhum Shali Rice, Shrishail Uppin, chartered accountant, Belgaum, and Sunil Ghanti, proprietor, Shravani Enterprises and Ravisagar Uppin. During the launch, Hattarki, the inventor of the brand of rice, highlighted on its benefits and shared his experience during the research and experimentation process.

Godhum Shali Rice offers various health benefits as it is a complete and essential food for paediatrics to geriatrics as it is rich in vitamins, Micro Nutrients,Amino Acids & Essential Elements

Bank of India donates water filter to Keri school

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As part of their social responsibility the Bank of India, Goa Zone donated water filter to New English High School at Keri. Sudhir Jade (Zonal Manager, Bank of India) explained that the bank is committed to involvement in various social service programs all around Goa. He also laid emphasis on literacy, value of education and girl child education.

Hero showroom opened at Cuncolim by Samrat Pai Kakode

The sales and service showroom of the Om Sai Service Centre for

Hero two wheelers, at Cuncolim was recently inaugurated by local MLA, Rajan Naik. The new facility will cater to all the customers of Hero two wheelers in South Goa in general and Salcete taluka in particular. The function was attended by Damodar

Co-operative banks in Goa show dismal performance in 2012-13 Cooperative banks in Goa clocked in a dismal performance in 2012-13, according to latest numbers announced at the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC). Their deposits came crashing down to Rs.3,172 crore during the year ended March 31 2013 compared to Rs.6,538.39 in 2011-12 revealing a drop of more than 50 per cent.

On the lending front, their track record shows total advances at Rs.2,117.50 crore in 2012-13 as against Rs.1,944.18 crore in the previous year. Other than a deflation in the resource base occurring from reduction in the level of deposits, cooperative banks also witnessed deterioration in the asset quality with several banks declaring higher non-performing assets.

The performance of the cooperative banks reflects the stress faced by the Goan

economy after mining came to a standstill. Several banks have lent extensively to mining stakeholders, viz. the truck owners who now are unable to repay their loans. Further, the banks which operate branches in the rural areas of Bicholim, Margao and Mapusa are the ones which were worst hit in business.

The only parameter where cooperative banks are better compared to their nationalized counterparts is in credit-deposit ratio. The average CD ratio of this sector stands at 66.74 per cent compared to 31 per cent for all banks. Of the aggregate Rs.39,661.43 crore deposits of all banks in Goa, as on March 31, 2013, deposits from cooperative banks comprise about eight per cent. As such their share in total deposits has dropped in 2012-13 to 8 per cent compared to 14.6 per cent in 2011-12

Thakur, the proprietor of Shree Samarth Hero; Rajan Teli, the area territory service manager of Hero Motocorp Ltd; Kailash Kodigere, the spares manager of Hero Motocorp Ltd; Gaurish Raikar, the general manager of Shree Samarth Hero; Atul Naik, the sales manager of Shree Samarth Hero; the local councillor, Polita Carneiro; and Samrat Pai Kakode among

others.

The Cuncolim MLA, Rajan Naik complimented the owner of Om Sai Service Centre, Samrat Pai Kakode for starting the service facility as the customers had to earlier travel to Verna for the service needs of their two wheelers.

Kakode assured that the centre will provide excellent service to all the customers

Goa Govt. to sell off Rs 200 cr securities As part of the Government of India’s approved planned borrowing for the State for year 2013-14, the Government of Goa has offered to sell Goa State Government Stock (Securities) of 10-year tenure of an aggregate amount of Rs 200.00 crore (Nominal). Government Stock will be sold through the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office (PDO) Fort, Mumbai by auction at a coupon rate to be determined by the Reserve Bank of India at the yield based auction under multiple price format.

The auction will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India at its Mumbai Office. Fort, Mumbai on July 2, 2013. Bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format, on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking solution (E-Kuber) system between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. and the non competitive bids shall be submitted electronically on the Reserve Bank of India

Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system between 11:30 P.M. The result of the auction shall be displayed by the Reserve Bank of India on its website on the same day. The payment by successful bidders will be on July 3, before close of banking hours by means of cash, banker’s cheque/pay order, demand draft payable at Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai (Fort). The loan will be repaid at par on July 3, 2013. The cut-off yield determined at the auction will be the coupon rate percent annum on the stock sold at the auction. The interest will be paid every half yearly on January 3 and July 3. The auction is also open to eligible individuals and institution on non competitive basis to maximum limits of 10per cent of the notified amount.

The Reserve Bank of India will have full discretion to accept or reject any or all bids either wholly or partially, if deemed fit, without assigning any reason

General cargo traffic posts 32% rise at Mormugao Port

The general cargo traffic at Mormugao Port for the month of June 2013 has increased to 7.22 lakh tonnes, registering an increase of 32% over the corresponding month of last 12 Business Goa

JULY 2013

year.

The main commodities handled were coking coal, HR Coils, Bauxite, Granite and Wood chips.

Similarly, general cargo traffic during the first quarter increased to 2.51 million tonnes, thereby registering a 12% increase over the corresponding quarter of last year.

P Mara Pandiyan, IAS, Chairman of MPT stated, “The export of pharmaceuticals

through containers has started picking up. Indoco Remedies Ltd. has begun exporting containers through the port.

At a meeting held with the pharma companies at the Verna Industrial Estate, it was suggested that a one-to-one discussion with the shipping lines for negotiations be organised and that the Port Authorities should organise another meeting by end of July or 1st week of August, 2013, wherein senior officials of pharma companies from Mumbai could join the meeting

Pandiyan further informed that the port is conducting an interactive meeting with cruise lines/agents to improve upon the facilities at the port and to increase the frequency of cruise vessels calling at the port.

A meeting with traders was also held in connection with the operation of the Harbour Mobile Crane (HMC). The productivity of the Port will be further boosted after the HMC commences operations and will benefit traders by faster turnaround times for vessels

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Centre set to allow Sesa Goa to resume mining

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The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has paved the way for Sesa Goa, an arm of the Vedanta Group, to resume mining in 164 hectares of land in the Nirthady forest of Chitradurga. This, despite the State Forest department suggesting that there have been several violations that are yet to be rectified, including encroachment of 15.47 ha of forest land. Sesa Goa, in a statement, said that there was no case filed against them in the matter of encroachments.

Rupee fall good news for 100% export-oriented units

The fall of the Indian Rupee is good news for 100 per cent export-oriented units (EOUs) in Goa although there are just a handful of them in existence.

Local EOUs are in diverse sectors such as IT software,

pharmaceuticals, shipping, foodprocessing, chemicals and aqua food. They see an advantage from the weakening rupee pointing out that higher outgo on account of imported raw material will cut some of the benefits. Units that are totally export focused and do not depend on imported inputs are positive on the impact of the depreciating home currency and for others it is a doubleedged assistance. According to the office of the Commissioner

Goa plan size 2013-14 fixed at 4,715 crore The Planning Commission has approved Goa’s annual plan size for 2013-14 at 4,715crore, which includes a central assistance to the state plan of about 225 crore. The plan size was agreed at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Goa’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at New Delhi.

The latest outlay is just marginally higher than Goa’s plan size for 2012-13, which was 4,700 crore including central assistance of 329.66 crore. In addition, Goa is likely to get an amount of over 100 crore through various centrally sponsored schemes.

Considering all resources, plan assistance from the Central Government to Goa is expected to be over 400 crore in 2013-14. Ahluwalia praised Goa and expressed satisfaction that the state had done well in all sectors of the economy.

Pointing that Goa’s growth rate in agriculture was continuously declining; he urged

that the state should draw up a long term strategy to improve the agriculture sector. Ahluwalia also said that Goa needs to encourage private participation in the development of both, social and physical infrastructure and sectors like health and education should have renewed thrust in the plan. Ahluwalia urged Goa to try and cover all urban areas with sewerage network using latest technology to achieve the goal of total sanitation in the state.

He has offered the Planning Commission’s full support to Goa in solid waste management and to make Goa plastic free.

The Chief Minister did not fail to mention Goa’s “mining debacle” and said that the overall effect to the Goan economy would be close to Rs.17,000 crore where shortfall in the state’s revenue was Rs.1,500 crore.

Parrikar therefore reiterated his request for a one-time grant of Rs.3,000 crore to compensate those affected by the closure of mining

of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax, Goa, there are 1520 EOUs operating in Goa and they are lesser compared to a few years ago. Several units functioning as 100 per cent EOUs in the mining industry have changed their status to regular units because of mining closure and the absence of iron ore for exports. Unlike normal exporting units, 100 per cent EOUs have to export all their production although they are permitted to

sell 25 per cent of their output in the domestic market after special permission, provided they fulfil certain conditions.

A 100 per cent EOU is given the benefit of zero per cent duty on imported raw material and they are free to source their material from any markets, viz indigenous or foreign. Over May, the India rupee fell 13 per cent against the US dollar bringing all exporters and EOUs in the limelight

Nissan drives in new range

Nissan recently launched New Nissan Micra, with sports bold, energetic exteriors and premium interiors. Also sharing the centre stage is Micra Active, which is a spacious hatchback offering quality and functionality at a competitive price.

The New Micra is based on the popular fourth generation city car with major redesigned exteriors, refreshed premium interiors and exhaustive list of advanced user friendly features which add to its dynamic new look.

The New Micra is a robust, dynamic, advanced hatchback with cutting edge technology, offering spacious interiors and premium features. It comes

loaded with user friendly and safety features for a superior and safe driving experience. The New Micra now also offers the convenience of a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox. It’s the first in segment technology for better fuel efficiency and smooth city driving experience, more convenient as compared to a normal automatic transmission.

Also launched is Micra Active that takes the value for money proposition of Nissan’s highly acclaimed hatchback to a whole new level. It has distinctive sporty exteriors with spacious interiors while adding a lower cost of ownership to the equation. The Micra Active benefits from its highly competitive price, maintenance costs and better fuel efficiency of 19.49kmpl – all this without compromising on the driving experience. The model also boasts sporty exterior styling as well as refreshed interiors and comfortable seating for five passengers

Verna Industrial Estate to get potable water soon

Goa’s biggest Industrial Estate at Verna will get sufficient potable 14 Business Goa

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water within two-three months with the State Government approving a project to treat raw water and supply it to this enclave.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar held a meeting with officials of Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), State Water Resources Department and State Public Works Department to chalk out a plan to treat raw water and

provide it to the Industrial Estate.

The Verna Estate, which has a requirement of 5-8 MLD water, is currently fed with only two MLD, leading to acute water scarcity in the enclave.

Parrikar said that a filtration plant and pipeline costing Rs 52 crore would be set up in the Industrial Estate within twothree months which will fulfil the requirement of the units located there.

The Water Resources Department has diverted 30 MLD water to Verna of which 10 MLD would be provided to the Industrial Estates and 10 MLD for fertiliser producing Zuari Industries Limited and rest for villages located around Verna, he said. The State Government has decided to provide raw water for ZIL without filtering it and the company management will set up their private filtration plant

Big industries shy away from setting shop in Goa

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Goa has failed to attract new large scale industries in 2012-2013. Not a single big industry set up shop in the State in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Neither did the department of Industries, Trade and Commerce receive any fresh proposal from large industries during the period. The reason being the reluctance of industry in investing in Goa on a non-conducive atmosphere in terms of non-availability of space in the existing industrial estates, and other infrastructure.

Ford India launches the Compact, Contemporary and Capable EcoSport at an Outstanding Value Ford India, recently launched the EcoSport keeping up to its commitment of delivering a stunning-looking product that packs in outstanding value for Indian consumers. EcoSport’s India launch raises the bar in the country’s fast-growing compact utility segment with its compelling value-for-money proposition.

Ford EcoSport has been launched at an entry-level pricing of Rs.5,59,000 (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Indian consumers will have the power of choice with a wide selection of 10 variants across four trims, three fuel efficient engine options in

manual and a petrol automatic and seven colours. Consumers can book and take deliveries of their EcoSport from across pan-India Ford dealerships with immediate effect.

Ford EcoSport’s clever pricing has the potential to attract a wider range of customers who may want to explore alternate body styles. Compact, contemporary and capable, the all-new EcoSport epitomizes urban life and urbane aspirations such as practicality, efficiency, drivability, reliability and attractiveness in a compelling package.

Manoj, Suraj and Shamik Caculo with the Ford executives

Ford EcoSport will be available in seven colours– Mars Red, Kinetic Blue, Moondust Silver, Panther Black, Sea Grey, Chill and Diamond White;

four trims – Ambiente, Trend, Titanium and Titanium Plus in three engine options, as well as manual and a petrol automatic transmission

Goa IDC nod for Industrial Estate at Sacordem in Dharbandora Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) at its board meeting decided in principle to set up an Industrial Estate at Sacordem village in Dharbandora Taluka. Mollem Panchayat, under which Sacordem comes,

had earlier passed a resolution seeking an Industrial Estate in the village.

The proposal, supported by BJP’s Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar claiming availability of 4.85 lakh sq mts of land, was

presented for discussion before the GIDC board meeting. A GIDC officer said the Corporation will now proceed to acquire land in Sacordem.

“We will also have to check the zone of the area and if it’s not

Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry holds first meeting of new Managing Committee The first meeting of the newly elected Managing Committee of the Goa Chamber Of Commerce and Industry was held recently at the Chamber’s headquarters. The President Narayan R Bandekar appointed his office bearers – Sandip Bhandare (1st Vice President), Manoj Caculo (2nd Vice President), Ralph de Sousa (Hon. Secretary) and Pratima Dhond (Hon. Treasurer).

Furthermore, 5 persons from the field of trade and commerce were co-opted to the Managing Committee. They are Pramod Unde (Sesa Goa), Anil Counto (Alcon), Dilip Salgaocar (Geno Pharma), Atul Naik (Creative Engineers) and Cedric Dias (Premier Builders).

The President also appointed Chairpersons to various SubCommittees of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the term 2013-15. The 16 Business Goa

JULY 2013

proposed Chairpersons for the various Sub-committee are: Dr. Venkatesh Prabhudessai (Agriculture), Rajan Bhatikar (Basic Infrastructure), Gangaram Morajkar (Consumer Affairs), Manoj Kamat (Education), Joseph D’Souza (Food Processing), Prashant Shinde (Industry), B. T. Boke (IR&HRD), Girish Bharne (Information Technology), Chandrakant Gawas (Logistics), Rajesh Jhaverani (Medical & Health Care), Pramod Unde (Mining & Mining Infrastructure), Harshvardhan Bhatkuly (Programme Coordination), Jagannath ‘Desh’ Prabhudessai (Real Estate & Housing Development), Gautam Verlekar (SME Promotions & Entrepreneurship Development).

The Chamber also plans to institute a Policy Advisory and Research Committee to advise the Chamber and the Government

in identifying priorities and on the formulation of policies, to undertake and review research activities, establishing mechanisms for coordinating research at national, intra- and inter-regional levels

Global Pizzas at Café Mangii With the over whelming response to the World Pizza Fest, at Café Mangii, the festival has been extended till July 31.

Cafe Mangii, is out to celebrate “World Pizza Fest”, with exotic and flavorsome pizzas from around the world.

Their crunchy-crispy outer crust will delight you as you discover local ingredients derived from different parts of the globe.

The World Pizza menu has something for everyone

suitable we will have to change it accordingly,” he added.

GIDC has also moved a proposal for acquisition of 3 lakh sq mts of land to set up an Industrial Estate at Latambarcem in Bicholim

CCP lifts ban on film shoots Lifting its temporary ban on film shooting in Panaji, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) issued a set of guidelines to regulate the process of filming within the city.

From now on, film shooting on Panaji’s main roads will be restricted to weekends and public holidays, in order to ensure that the general public is not inconvenienced.

However, if permission is sought to shoot on interior roads on weekdays, a team from the CCP will first inspect the location and the size of the film shoot, and then consider giving permission, Mayor Surendra Furtado explained.

The fees collected by CCP to permit shooting, however, will remain the same - Rs.1,00,000 per day

www.businessgoa.in

RESORTS CLUBS PUBS RESTAURANTS EVENT MANAGEMENT WEDDINGS TOURS & TRAVELS REAL ESTATE FINANCIAL SERVICES SUPER MARKETS INDUSTRY www.titos.in Helpline: 9822765002 goatitos@yahoo.com

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Year of consolidation

A

year in the life of a magazine would obviously mean more than just 365 days. In the case of Business Goa, it means a year has passed by in the field of business in Goa. For us, as a publishing company, it means that our fourth year in business has just seen us through.

In many senses, the year gone by for business in Goa would strike a chord at the very essence, the very being of this magazine – after all, we have been crying from the rooftops since our inception that we represent “The Voice of Business in Goa.” On a personal note, every published issue strengthens our role within the business arena of the state.

And by that account, last year has been a milestone of sorts for us. Just like it has been for Goa! Our 3rd anniversary (July 2012) issue featured an in-depth analysis of the Industrial Estates across Goa and despite being the fourth best industrial State, what ails them.

Not only did we touch upon the much ranted about issues like water and electricity supply, we also delved into other issues such as the lack of public transport to and from Industrial Estates located in remote parts of the State, as well as inadequate sanitation, canteen and recreational facilities. We spoke to several prominent personalities from both, the industry and the Government and got their views on the prevailing scenario and what could be done to improve the same.

Living up to our promise of focusing on home-grown entrepreneurs who are representative and a source of inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups, we continued to bring these personalities to light.

Case in point being Nilesh Amonker who launched Goa’s first online shopping portal www.cooldukaan.com (August 2012). Vikram and Pritam Verlekar of Ulhas Jewellers (September 2012) were featured for their innovations in the gold and diamond trade in Goa. Gaurang Suctancar (November 2012) of the Prudential Group was also highlighted for his contributions to real estate in Goa. Shekhar Sardessai’s (February 2013) ground breaking tie-up with United States based Kaman Aerospace also found mention in the pages of Business Goa. From there we touched on the entrepreneurial surge of Kirit Maganlal (April 2013) and the Magsons empire built by him.

From home-grown variety, we touched upon organizations that are not only a major player in Goa, but also enjoy worldwide recognition. The Business Network International (January 2013) was featured for their unique system of operations which helps 18 Business Goa

JULY 2013

their members to grow businesses based on referrals. We also took a look at the various enterprises that make up the Nanu Group (May 2013) which was born when a fifteen year old Krishna Nanu Naik set out to run a shop which has today grown into a massive offering in a cross section of industries including real estate, hospitality, electrical contracts and products, industries and farms.

Business Goa also focused on all the brouhaha that is the Shack Poilcy (October2012) and spoke to various representatives from the field that were likely to suffer as a result of the Government’s decisions to cut down on the number of shacks, as well as increase the license fees.

We also took at look at businesses which flourish during particular seasons – like during Christmas. And how festival related businesses of selling toys, decorations, set designs and glass paintings (December 2012) thrive. We also focussed on the so called ‘off season’ – the monsoons, where seasonal products such as dried fish, rain gear and food preserves, besides tourism hope to make good business (June 2013).

While all this was happening, we also hosted the second edition of the Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence which saw thirty three Goan entrepreneurs and business personalities walk away with awards for excelling in their field and successfully contributing to the Goan economy.

Yes, all along last year, we have touched businesses of various hues and types and brought to fore some young faces that have jumped into the vast ocean of entrepreneurism as well as enterprises that have made a mark in their respective areas.

Operating in a brand conscious society, Business Goa also did its bit to bring into focus Goan brands, some of which have made their presence felt not only across the country, but internationally, as well. We also highlighted women entrepreneurs and business personalities who have busted the myth that being in business is a male dominated sector and have proved that they do it better than their male counterparts.

This year, we hope to do a little bit better.

For one, we promise to continue to dedicate ourselves to connect to the far nooks and corner of Goa’s business landscape. We need to connect with each and every entrepreneur from Goa. That is quite a wish-list, I agree. But for those of you reading this, please spread the word around. Business Goa is waiting to know more about your business and to write about it

JULY 2012

AUGUST 2012

BUSINESSGOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA VOL 4 ISSUE 3

15 SEPTEMBER 2012

ROCK N RAAGA

28

Changing the tune of local music

MANGUIRISH KUNDE

Taking the 20 rough path ULHAS JEWELLERS

All that Glitters

12

Pritam and Vikram Verlekar have been consistently raising the bar for what was once a traditional jewellery business

SPECIAL FOCUS

Goa Government closes all mines in the state 18

STARTUP SATURDAYS

Forging an 24 entrepreneurial climate www.businessgoa.net

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

SEPTEMBER 2012

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JANUARY 2013

OCTOBER 2012

BUSINESSGOA

BUSINESSGOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

15 NOVEMBER 2012

VOL 4 ISSUE 5

APRIL 2013

PANAJI GOA VOL 4 ISSUE 11

MAY 2013

DR. RAVISH COLVALCAR

SPECIAL FOCUS

Fitness First 30

22

Post mines closure, default of loans in haunting lenders

KARL COELHO’S INDIGO CCTV

Putting 22 Safety First

Doctor’s 34 Diary

NORBERT’S

MIRIAM SUKHIJA

Art is Life 33

Standing from Left: Naval N Naik, Narayan K Naik, Niresh P Naik, Pravas K Naik, Sankalp S Naik, Sandesh K Naik. The patriarch, Krishna Nanu Naik is seen sitting

NANU ENTERPRISES

ALL IN THE FAMILY

RANJU ALEX

Goa Marriott’s 24 Top Boss 12

From humble beginnings in 1938, rising to become one of Goa’s biggest business groups, Nanu Enterprises have held firm their values

OPEN DESTINATIONS

28 Making travel easy

GAURANG SUCTANCAR Managing Partner, PRUDENTIAL GROUP

BUILT TO LAST 12

When an Architect decides to become a Real Estate Developer, but obviously, he would make sure that every project built by him is a style statement

The Government 24 needs to work closely with the Goa Chamber MANGUIRISH PAI RAIKER President, GCCI

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www.businessgoa.net

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

FEBRUARY 2013

NOVEMBER 2012

BUSINESSGOA

BUSINESSGOA

50

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA VOL 4 ISSUE 6

MAY 2013 50

15 DECEMBER 2012

Goa’s Only Business Magazine

PANAJI GOA VOL 4 ISSUE 12

JUNE 2013

VANDANA NAIK’S BODEGA 34

Goa’s Cupcake Lady METAL FABRIK INDIA

IT’S SEASON TIME

Mettle of Metal 32

12

SPECIAL FOCUS

CEC’s Interim Report in Apex Court 24

BUSINESS IN THE

‘OFF SEASON’

12

Businesses that wait for the season to put their best foot forward

Some businesses bloom when many others choose to hibernate during the monsoons

SAHIL ADWALPALKAR

In Sinq with 26 time and tide SHRINIVAS DEMPO 50

NARAYAN R. BANDEKAR

Hon. Italian Vice Consul

Goa Chamber’s 50 new President

MAHESH SONAK 37

In the business of positive spin

LIZA CHOWGULE

40 The Learning Curve

38

Legal Eagle www.businessgoa.in

www.businessgoa.net

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

DECEMBER 2012

SKITTER FAIA

MARCH 2013

JUNE 2013 JULY 2013

Business Goa 19

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

The Night of the Stars The Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence 2013 was an event to remember. Business Goa proudly recalls the mega successful ceremony

Winners all, of the 2013 edition

F

ollowing up on the success of the first edition of the Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence, Business Goa held its second edition of the awards in March, this year. The awards demonstrate how brand Business Goa has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years bringing to the forefront business issues, opinions and success stories of Goan entrepreneurs and ventures.

In the year 2009, Savoir Faire Media created a landmark for themselves by launching Goa’s first business magazine. In 2012, the magazine, still being diverse and acknowledging excellence in every field, launched the Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence. The Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence recognizes people who have significantly contributed to the Goan economy and community.

The awards brought out almost the entire Goan business fraternity for an evening to celebrate excellence. The Chief Guest for the event was Ashok H. Advani, Founder-Publisher of Business India, the country’s first and leading business magazine.

The second edition of the awards saw an array of new categories including those of ‘success against all odds’, ‘traditional craftsmanship’ and ‘contribution in the domain of education.’ The illustrious list of awardees for 2013 included The HQ (Best Dining Experience), Xavier Furtado of Fisherman’s Wharf (Preserving Goan Culinary 20 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Culture), Yellow Mehra’s Fiesta (Best International Cuisine), The Grand Hyatt Goa (Best International Hotel), Varun Albuquerque of Club Tito’s at Radisson Blu (Innovative Tourism Concept), Cidade de Goa (Exemplary Contribution to Hospitality), Palacio (Real Estate Company of the Year), Property Management Group (Real Estate Consultancy of the Year), Galaxy Hospital (Healthcare Company of the Year), Centaur Pharma (Pharmaceutical Company of the Year), Prabhakar Bhide of Rajhauns Vitaran (Publisher of the Year), The Bicholim Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. (Goan Bank of the Year), Sushant Tari’s The Production Terminus (Services Company of the Year), Desmond Nazareth of Desmondji (Business Innovation), Chowgule Industries Pvt. Ltd (Best Auto Company of the Year - Four Wheelers), Sitara Motors (Best Auto Company of the Year - Two Wheelers), Manek Gems Art International (Luxury Brand of

the Year), Real Drinks Pvt. Ltd. (Goan Brand of the Year). This year Business Goa awarded traditional businessmen, and hence Vijaydutt Lotlikar of Kalpavrukshakal was awarded the ‘Traditional Goan Business Award.’ Goa IT Incubation Centre was awarded the ‘Catalyst of Entrepreneurial Change.’ Sesa Goa was awarded for their contribution to CSR and GCCI took home the award for ‘The Business Institution of the Year.’

Victor Fernandes was awarded in the category of ‘Success Against All Odds.’ Peter F.X D’Lima was awarded for his ‘Notable Contribution to Education.’

Peter Vaz of Models Real Estate Developers was awarded the ‘Real Estate Personality of the Year,’ and Sahil Adwalpalkar won the ‘Young Turk Award’. Neomi Barneto was adjudged the ‘Most Promising Business Woman’ Award while Nitin Desai was awarded as the ‘Most Promising Business Man’. The Award for ‘Professional of the Year’

Niresh, Naval and Sankalp Naik accept the Business Group of the Year Award on behalf of Nanu Enterprises from Publisher of the Business India Group, Ashok Advani

Vinni Timblo and Aakash Timblo receiving the Award for Cidade de Goa

was conferred on Sr. Advocate Atmaram N.S Nadkarni, and for ‘Exemplary Contribution to Goan Industry’, Dr. J.C Almeida was awarded. For turning around The Navhind Times, Pallavi Dempo was awarded as the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ while serial entrepreneur Anil Counto was awarded ‘Business Man of the Year.’ Nanu Enterprises were acknowledged as the ‘Business Group of the Year.’

Entrepreneurs are the foundation to every economy and Business Goa, as the name suggests, endeavours to portray and emphasize Goan entrepreneurs who have crossed many hurdles to gain the success that they have achieved today. Business Goa, in a way, is an attempt to demolish the stereotypical image of Goans as the laid back bunch with no business sense. And hence, we see Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence as a testimony of Goa and Goans as hardworking and climbing their way to the top of the business ladder

ANNIVERSArY SPECIAL

The Voice of Business in Goa completes 4 years An anniversary is always a special time for any publication. If you are a one-of-its-kind, just like Business Goa, Goa’s only business magazine, the milestone gains even more significance. As Goa’s only magazine catering to its growing industry and business sector, Business Goa has since its inception, forged a deep relationship with different industries, companies, firms, entrepreneurs and of course, our prized readers. And so, on this grand occasion of completing four years of publication, we went back to our sources asking industry biggies for their opinion on our performance. Here is what they had to say...

Goa is not just a land of susegado, but also home to one of the finest business communities in the country. And no one has been able to portray this better in public domain as Business Goa has done.

Here’s wishing Harsh and the entire team at Business Goa many more years of good luck and success.

Jonathan Fernandes Director, Horizons

Congratulations to Business Goa on your 4th Anniversary, Goa’s premium business and corporate encyclopedia.

Rajesh Dempo Director, Vision Dempo

I would like to wish Business Goa a grand success for the years to come and I am happy that Business Goa is completing four years!

Business Goa has made a huge effort in highlighting progressive issues pertaining to trade and business.

Business Goa, unlike other magazines, has adopted a very positive approach to whatever they cover and I feel it is because of this that we have seen a positive outlook towards business. The quality of content too, is much appreciated.

Nitin Kunkolienkar Former President, GCCI

22 Business Goa

JULY 2013

All the very best Business Goa. Especially Harsh and the entire team on your fourth successful year! Wishing you many more years of success. This magazine is a great platform for business and social activities for all associated with it. And I’m truly happy that I’m associated with you! All the best.

Maria Francisca Vaz Founder, Karma Foods

A hearty congratulations on the 4 year anniversary of Business Goa to Harsh and the entire team. Business Goa has been a voice for the Goan business community and has been gradually discharging all the negative notions about business in Goa. It shows the correct image of Goan business. Our state needed a platform to voice our concerns about our business affairs and Business Goa offered it to us. I wish the magazine to grow into an institution.

Nitin Dessai Director, Desai Concrete Castings

For a business magazine to do well in Goa, it is a challenge but you’ve lived up to it. Congratulations! In your fifth year, it would be great if you could publish opinions and articles of renowned economists from India or around the world. Experts who can convincingy project development as genuinely susutainable under watchful governance to counter the current all pervading negativism and anti-development sentiment prevailing in Goa. Alan Viegas Entrepreneur

ANNIVERSArY SPECIAL

“Congratulations to Business Goa and the entire team for completing four glorious years.

You have laid the foundation of the business scenario in Goa to public at large and Goans in particular. I must say as a business magazine it has evolved a lot and has become a reading habit of Goan businessmen over the last four years. Wish you more success in the years to come.

Anil Counto Chairman, Alcon - Anil Counto Group

Every year that a publication completes in the print media is a special one. To me as a reader, the milestone is proof of a number of things. Business Goa in staying relevant and useful to its stakeholders, the love of the Goan public for informed news, comment and analysis in general and the strength of its reading habit.

Congratulations to Harsh, Urvija and the Business Goa team.

Pallavi Dempo Executive Director, The Navhind Times

To team Business Goa – you were trail blazers and path breakers in your field.

Now 4 years since, your issues are still as original, your reporting still as innovative and each issue still awaited with much eager anticipation .

Vinayak Angle House of Tyres

24 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Business Goa is the most informative magazine about Goa. Its focussed approach and support to entrepreneurs has been a great service. I wish the magazine and its team all the success in the years to come Sushant Tari CEO, The Production Terminus Pvt. Ltd.

ANNIVERSArY SPECIAL I would like to congratulate the team of Business Goa on the Fourth anniversary.

I have seen the magazine go from strength to strength since its inception. And I wish you success in the years to come.

Sapna Sardessai

I’d like to wish Harsh and the entire team a huge congratulations on the 4 year anniversary. The content has improved by leaps and bounds over the years. Best of luck for the future and may it grow even more.

Darryl Pereira Managing Director, Reira Group

Director, Printer’s Devil

I would like to bestow my greetings and felicitations on the 4th anniversary of Business Goa. The magazine is a balanced mix of all relevant topics that one may like to go through giving a sense of all round happenings in Industry, trade and Commerce and keeping us in touch with the happenings in the State. It is a product of best coordinated effort of editorial staff, writers and content providers engaged in producing this wonderful magazine, and they all deserve a big thank you. This is one magazine that is regularly being received and its editorial content is outstanding. This is the secret of success of this initiative. You have set a high goal for yourself, I pray and wish that this magazine achieves national stature and becomes the first choice of the corporate world. I am looking forward to see the magazine reach newer heights in years ahead.

Manguirish Pai Raikar Former President, GCCI

Congratulations Harsh! and a very happy 4th anniversary team Business Goa! Wish you all the best for the forthcoming issues and a great year ahead Sahil Adwalpalkar Founder, SinQ

A big congratulation to Harsh and the Business Goa team for 4 successful years. A job well done and all the best.

Manguirish Kunde

Congratulations to Business Goa on completion of four years.

You are doing a fantastic job in sharing the best of business news of Goa. I hope that you will continue to cover Goa like you have been doing.

Nitin Bandekar

Director, Kunde Automobiles

Director, NRB Group

Congratulations! And all the very best to Business Goa for its future.

David D’Souza Tito’s

Business Goa is today Goa’s commercial visage and a great encouragement to business and entrepreneurs alike Kirit Maganlal CEO, Magsons Supercentre

Business Goa being the only magazine in Goa carrying news and updating entrepreneurs relating to business trends and happenings.

We wish Harshvardhan and his team best wishes on their anniversary.

Vikram Verlekar Director, Ulhas Jewellers

Best of luck for the 4th anniversary. The magazine has been a revelation and a boon to the industrial scenario of Goa spreading across different sectors.

Dr. Sangam Kurade Managing Director, Zuari Foods & Farms Pvt. Ltd.

26 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Wishing Business Goa very hearty congratulations on completing 4 successfull years. Here’s hoping it grows bigger and better in the years to come. Best of luck for the future.

Suresh Colvalcar MD, Colvalcar Group

COVER STORY

B

usiness is an extreme endurance sport. The travails of a first generation entrepreneur are more pronounced than that of the one who continues a legacy set by seniors. But then, one thing remains constant – a businessman has to rely on pearls of wisdom – either conveyed to him or her by a family elder, a mentor, a peer, a consultant or something that he may have picked from reading an inspirational book or heard from some enlightened soul.

In the four years that this magazine has seen the light of the day, I have myself benefited from advice dished out to me from all and sundry. But then, such is the nature of the creature called advice. You should possess the right skills to process the same and apply it to your business problem. You should wait and see how it works for your organization. Often, course-correct and modify it. Or

28 Business Goa

JULY 2013

sometimes chuck it all away and go back to the drawing board.

Of the very many people whom I have met – entrepreneurs, academicians, writers, leaders – most have carved out their career paths seeking advice from the best in the business. If an entrepreneur’s mandate is to implement and put a dream to action, the adviser’s job has been to guide the entrepreneur from time to time.

In this little chat that we have had with some of Goa’s most inspiring and go-getting set, the sheer variety of the advice that they have prized along the way, talks reams about the kind of business experience that they possess.

Read what they have to say. Who knows, some of these pearls of wisdom may inspire you to seek higher goals in life.

Harshvardhan Bhatkuly

www.twitter.com/businessgoa

Simone Tata said to me when I turned forty, “God has been good to you. You are a success. Now every Saturday morning, give your pre-lunch hours to charitable causes

Shrinivas Dempo

T

T

he best business advice was of their annual salary above the given to me by myself. I am annual increments and bonus. creative and it is best to leave The perk comes with a special the business (in conventional Oscar style award that they terms) to others who will do a are given; which they cherish better job. My partner proudly in their homes. and my staff handle Beyond the staff, we the business and the never lie to a client. accounts. The only If she looks bad in a numbers I know are Fashion Designer dress, I have trained my inches and centimetres. staff to speak the truth That said...along the way, I by suggesting another flattering picked up some business acumen garment. After all, her family will particularly when dealing with tell her the truth anyway. So we staff. I am always open to them never flatter to make a sale. We when they need to have a word are here to make people feel and

Wendell Rodricks

Chairman, Dempo Group of Companies he advice that I have prized above others was one that came to me when my reading, listening and observation of the business scene were distilled into one flash of insight that helped guide me in a crucial decision. It made me see, with much clarity, that it is great to be passionate about the business that you are in; but wrong to be emotional about it. There’s perhaps a fine line between the two states of mind, but let me just say that passion drives you to excel, while emotions cloud your reason and your judgement.

The move that I made, a momentous one to my stake holders and me, in divesting the mining and logistics businesses of my Group a few years ago was grounded on this very valuable advice. Sentimentality in business can lead you away from your focus on sustained excellence while pragmatic thinking, out of the box, can take you to an attractive economic alternative, and even result in pay-offs that cannot be measured in money or money’s worth!

It is great to be passionate about the business that you are in; but it’s wrong to be emotional about it

Swapnil Kamat Founder, Work Better India

W with me. We support them as people that are family. When an error occurs, I prefer to do the reprisal in private. But when they do well, I praise them in public. I can be impatient and volatile when it comes to professionalism. In the process, I say things that may hurt. But they all know that it is part of the brand’s responsibility to deliver... and that I don’t hold a grudge personally. I have learnt that a kind word, an encouraging pat on the back is what people treasure...even over money.

Business is about sharing success in every way, as well as monetarily. A staff member who completes five, ten, fifteen or twenty years of service... At each stage they get that percentage

look good...not to extract their money irresponsibly.

For me business is not a success on the balance sheet.

It is about motivating people for excellence, providing them with values and ensuring that beyond the office, they grow as good family persons and citizens.

The best business advice I got came from Simone Tata when I turned forty. She said, “God has been good to you. You are a success. Now every Saturday morning, give your pre-lunch hours to charitable causes.”

With all sincerity, I have followed that advice for society, the state of Goa and my country.

hen I was just staring out with Work Better India, which is an executive education and training company, a close friend Ashish Bhargav, from India Value Fund advised me that for a smaller company such as mine, if I want to grow, I would have to work very hard on productizing

and standardizing my services.

He said that if I worked on that front, I would be able to deliver on a larger scale.

From that point onwards, I worked very hard on productizing and standardizing and have noticed a big difference in output .

Ashish Bhargav told me that if I want to grow, I would have to work very hard on productizing and standardizing my services JULY 2013

Business Goa 29

COVER STORY

www.facebook.com/businessgoa

Think big. Be strength focussed and constantly measure your plans

The most important thing to remember is that the key to manage a business is by efficiently managing its people

Rajkumar Kamat President & CEO, E.P.Kamat Group

A

s I look back, there were some attributes essential for a successful business which came naturally to me. These included visioning, planning and organising. A genuine desire for well being of my employees and satisfaction of customers; and most importantly networking and continuous learning.

These helped me start off as an entrepreneur and grow steadily in this exciting journey.

But except in occasional spurts, it did not offer me the high level of fulfilment that I was seeking.

It is only in the last three years, that I as a part of BNI (Business Network International), got to work on additional attributes which I believe has thrown upon the opportunities. a) Think Big: In fact, I remember the advice of Andrew Gonsalvez my boss and MD at ACGL gave me when I informed him of my intentions to leave ACGL and get into entrepreneurship in 1991. He said get into something

Stefan Radstrom big not small. I had chalked out a plan to start an Aluminium Extension Plant but being high risk averse, started with a small filler unit awaiting the right time to put the bigger plan into practice. The ‘right time’ never came. This low risk attitude continued, which I now realize was a block and I have embarked upon an ambitious plan of being the largest manufacturer of FRP doors in India. b) Be Strength Focussed: Spending 80% of your time and efforts to work through your strengths and only 20% on improving weaknesses. This advice has reduced the energy draining substantially and helped build in lot of enthusiasm within myself and my team. c) What gets measured gets done: As a planner I always set goals. But in measuring progress, I lagged behind. Now we have started working on this aspect very closely and have shown great results in terms of operational productivity and course correction.

Prashant Chaudhri Founder & CEO, Mangii Cafe Pvt Ltd

I

can never forget being told that if you do something with your heart and best intent, the rest will fall into place. This simple teaching continues to transform the way I live and conduct business. I believe life would be

General Manager, Grand Hyatt, Goa

I

n the course of my career, I have met a number of extremely interesting individuals. Each and every one of them has played a significant role in my life. I have received a lot of guidance from professors, colleagues and industry experts, through the years which have helped me get to where I am today.

There are innumerable accounts. But, a few words of wisdom are etched in my memory and implemented in every aspect of my being. The most important thing to remember is that the key to manage a business is by efficiently managing its people. It is imperative to lead by example and be the role model and inspiration if you want to drive your team to newer heights.

Therefore, your first priority should be the individuals who make up an organization. One should never forget that it is the people who run the business and not the business that runs the people. In the business of hospitality, the key is to treat everyone from your guest to your colleague the way you would want to be treated. Never forget that we are all equals and a business which lacks human touch and the uttermost respect less complicated if people put their hearts into what they do.

You’re talking a hundred per cent commitment and dependability.

That coupled with the right intentions is the secret behind success and the sweet smell

for your peers will cease to function efficiently. I believe that integrity enables you to maintain and build relationship which is a key to any business organization.

Your word is precious. Once you have given your word it is as good as a written bond. Nothing comes for free, if you want something, you have to work hard to get it and it is something that I strive for in my everyday activities.

Apart from the people who make up your organisation, even the local culture and environment are crucial for any business to thrive. One should respect and adapt to it. The best things in life never come easily and the only route to success is to work hard and try to embody these principles.

of victory. It differentiates the leaders from the followers. It might not spell victory all the time but definitely takes you to a place of confidence when the going gets tough.

If you do something with your heart and best intent, the rest will fall into place 30 Business Goa

JULY 2013

To do well in the property business, we decided to get out of the property business.

SavoirFaire

…and get into the business of trust. We did this by winning the confidence of our clients, by dealing with them in a professional and transparent manner. We did this by sacrificing profits, if it meant taking a risk with their money. We did this consistently over the last 18 years. And yes, most of them have seen their investments appreciate manifold.

As a result, 90% of our business today comes through referral.

Ask our clients. Verify the trust factor.

P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M I N T H E P R O P E RT Y B U S I N E S S 601A/602A, Dempo Trade Centre, Next to Bank of India, Patto Plaza, Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel: 0832-2438559 Cell: 09823054987 / 09823551005 / 09823179987 E-mail: sales@pmg-goa.com | www.pmg-goa.com

Premium Real Estate in Goa: villas, land and select apartments

COVER STORY

www.businessgoa.in

Peter Vaz

Managing Director, Models Constructions

The jewellery business is extremely personalized. We don’t just sell a product

Anand Palan

Director, Manek Gems Art International

T

An ederly friend advised me to invest in my own company

I

t was the time when the stock market manipulators ruled and market reforms had not kicked in. One day, an elderly friend noticed me busy, engaged in the stock market and asked me why I was investing in somebody else’s business when I had my own.

He then advised me to invest in my own company and make it grow rather than be a victim of scams by investing in other people’s ventures, however great the names maybe of the business

houses that I was investing in.

The impact of his advice was that it helped me to concentrate on my core business of construction and real estate and even when I decided to diversify; it was into the closely allied and synergetic businesses of hospitality and tourism.

It may not have been smooth sailing all the way, as I did have some hiccups. But I stuck to a regime of investing in my own companies, doing my homework well, taking decisions only after analyzing the situation and assessing the available options.

That’s indeed the secret of my business growth, and till date it is the most valuable advice followed by me.

Do exactly as I say, and say exactly what I do

A

piece of advice which was given to me by one of my mentors when I was working at Johnson & Johnson was about leadership credibility. He told me to do exactly as I say, and say exactly what I do. This one line of advice has stayed with me throughout my professional journey and is something I firmly believe in and practice.

12 Business Goa 32

JULY 2013

hough I haven’t received much business advice from peers, as one of the most trusted diamond jewellers in Goa, we believe in speaking the language of our customers. The jewellery business is extremely personalized. We don’t just sell a product. We try to meet and fulfil the needs and desires of our customers. We try to make them feel special and by doing so we sometimes become a part of their celebrations and their happiness. That to us is most satisfying.

Invest in the best professionals

H

aving had the opportunity to sell homes to some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country, business advice has been continuously coming my way.

When I started out somewhere in the mid 1990s as a youngster, I was fortunate to be working with a renowned architect who always advised me to invest in the best professionals, set them free, respect and empower them, and in this way they will be the best assets to me in the long run. More recently though, a successful industrialist advised me to look at problems as opportunities. The bigger the problem, the bigger is the opportunity.

Suraj Morajkar Deepak Tripathi Director, Tulip Diagnostics

Owner, Sun Estate Developers

When you purchase property through us, you also buy peace of mind.

SavoirFaire

We enjoy the rare distinction of not having a single dispute in any of the hundreds of properties that we have sold over the years. A strong grasp of legal procedures & documentation, coupled with stringent due diligence, including ‘at site’ investigation, has been the hallmark of our performance. 18 years – zero litigation.

In a place like Goa, is this a rare feat? Ask around.

P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M I N T H E P R O P E RT Y B U S I N E S S 601A/602A, Dempo Trade Centre, Next to Bank of India, Patto Plaza, Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel: 0832-2438559 Cell: 09823054987 / 09823551005 / 09823179987 E-mail: sales@pmg-goa.com | www.pmg-goa.com

Premium Real Estate in Goa: villas, land and select apartments

COVER STORY

www.twitter.com/businessgoa

Datta D. Naik

pantaleao fernandes

CEO, KDN Group of Companies

I got the best business advice from Buddhist philosophy

L

earned professors have taught me the science of management. I have also read many books on management written by renowned management consultants.

But the best business advice to me neither came through management courses nor through books. I got the best business advice in Buddhist philosophy. At some stage in my life I realized that a good Manager or a good Entrepreneur should essentially be a good person with intellect (Pradnya) and character (sheel).

Buddhist Philosophy shows you the path to become a good human being. The cardinal principles of Buddhist philosophy are the law of impermanence and the law of

middle path. The first law tells you that the World is changing all the time. The only constant in life is change. Therefore one has to be flexible enough to adapt to ever-changing circumstances in life. The second law advises you to avoid all extremities and to pursue the middle path.

Buddhism also preaches eight fold way of good living which includes right speech, right deeds, right livelihood, right intensions, right efforts, right perspective, right memory and right concentration. Buddhism prays for the welfare of all human beings. My exposure to Buddhist philosophy has made me pursue rational, balanced way of life free of malice and greed. It has helped me a great deal in my entrepreneurial career.

V.B. Prabhu Verlekar Devdas Naik Chartered Accountant

T

he best business advice that I have ever received came from within the pages of Napoleon Hill’s ‘Laws of Success.’ I read a line which said “Always provide more than what your clients are paying for”. This line has stayed with me ever since and is a part of all my dealings with clients.

Always provide more than what your clients are paying for

T

he best advice I ever received has not come from just one person but from a host of experts in the field of business education.

Over the years, they have advised me that one must ensure that good education should not be constrained by syllabus and academic details. For management studies, unlike other disciplines, emphasis should be laid on an all round development to promote inter cultural exchanges and build relationships with every sphere of life. We have successfully introduced this concept at the Goa Institute of Management where we work closely with NGOs and stress on industry training.

PFX D’Lima

JULY 2013

I

n the year 1984, Mr. Borkar, Senior Manager at Photofone India Ltd gave me some friendly advice when I was still trying to find my place career wise. He said “Never ever be a vendor” though he was a vendor himself. He firmly believed that there was no growth at that level. I took his word seriously and looked at options. And found my true calling.

Till date, I am grateful and thankful to him. This for me was the best advice I ever received.

Former Director, Goa Institute of Management

Good education should not be constrained by syllabus and academic details 34 Business Goa

Managing Director, Highland Group of Companies

Never ever be a vendor

K.K. Sekhar

Partner Milroc Real Estate

T

he best business advice I ever received came from my father. It was simple, but made a huge difference in my life. It was around the time we were setting up Milroc. He advised me that the real estate business has a lot of opportunities, but at the same time, it also has a very bad image and lacks transparency, trust and timely completion of projects.

He told me to do an honest job with all the above qualities and success will surely come my way. I prize his words.

My father told me to do an honest job

In a business where ‘brokers excuse’ is a common refrain, we value the worth of reputation.

SavoirFaire

In Goa, word gets around. Fast. Transparency in paperwork and pricing is the foundation of trust in the Real Estate business,yet greatly lacking in this profession. But we have made it the bedrock on which we have built our business. There is no substitute to having a good reputation. We prize it. So when people say ‘brokers excuse’, we call them – with confidence.

P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M I N T H E P R O P E RT Y B U S I N E S S 601A/602A, Dempo Trade Centre, Next to Bank of India, Patto Plaza, Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel: 0832-2438559 Cell: 09823054987 / 09823551005 / 09823179987 E-mail: sales@pmg-goa.com | www.pmg-goa.com

Premium Real Estate in Goa: villas, land and select apartments

FOCUS goa: fishing

The traditional ramponkars are content about the ban, asking a few about it, they said ”this is like a vacation” for them. Working all year round with their own set of problems with trawler owners and the Government, they understand why the ban is important

FISHING BAN IN GOA

Fishing in troubled waters TiLYA FERNANDES takes a look at the fishing ban and its effects on Goa

F

ishing, for Goans, is a cultural and traditional occupation.

Everyone knows that the state of Goa survives on a staple diet of fish, curry and rice. Hence when the annual fishing ban dates were announced in May this year, there was a lot said and done against it. It was a surprise as a regular ban of 45 days is witnessed every year but this is the first year that the ban has been prolonged for 61 days.

Earlier the fishing ban would last maximum for 47 days that is from June 15 to July 31.

First there was an extended time period for the ban and then came the Government’s decision to permit 10hp-motorized canoes to fish during the 61-day fishing ban period – this drew flak from trawler owners. With the latter hitting out at the State environment minister in the latest missive. With a ban that affects 36 Business Goa

JULY 2013

the people adversely lot of them were seen at the meetings being held against it. Some were present to make themselves heard whereas others came to understand the plight of the ‘ramponkars’.

A few were present the day Cutbona Boat Owners Union President Seby Cardozo and Vasco Boat Owners President Synder Furtado reiterated that they were not against the traditional ramponkar community. Agnelo Rodrigues, President of The Goenchea Raponkarancho Ekvott (GRE), said that the mini-preening nets were used only in catching solar prawns and not to catch any other form of fish. He said scarcity of marine resources has been of great concern to GRE and it requests the government to entirely ban all forms of destructive fishing.

With the current ban on fishing, restaurateurs around the city are walking a tight rope trying to strike a balance between supply and customers demands.

“The Goan’s taste for fish continues – fishing ban or not.

Frozen fish is available but it is

“The Goan’s taste for fish continues - fishing ban or not.

Frozen fish is available but it is expensive,” says a restaurant owner in Panaji

expensive,” says a restaurant owner in Panaji. “There is a demand for fish from regular office-goers. A fish-curry-rice plate now varies between Rs 40 to Rs 80 around the many restaurants in the city. Some have even hiked the rates,” he said. Another restaurant owner

An old Goan House in Siolim.

A swanky apartment at Miramar.

An exotic, eco-friendly house in Aldona.

A sea-facing plot at Dona Paula.

A corner office at Patto Plaza.

A smart, modern villa at Porvorim.

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P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M I N T H E P R O P E RT Y B U S I N E S S 601A/602A, Dempo Trade Centre, Next to Bank of India, Patto Plaza, Panjim Goa 403 001 Tel: 0832-2438559 Cell: 09823054987 / 09823551005 / 09823179987 E-mail: sales@pmg-goa.com | www.pmg-goa.com

Premium Real Estate in Goa: villas, land and select apartments

FOCUS goa: fishing said that profits have been diminishing due to the expensive rates of fish, as the hoteliers are wary of passing on the burden to the customer.

The Government issued a notification under sub-section (i) of Section 4 of the Goa, Daman and Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980.

“The Government of Goa, having regard to the need to conserve fish, hereby prohibits fishing by fishing vessels fitted with mechanical means of propulsion including canoes fitted without board or inboard motor along the sea coast of the state of Goa and the territorial waters of the state of Goa for a period of 61 days with effect from June 1, 2013 to July 31, 2013 (both days inclusive),” the notification reads. They also decided to enforce the ban with the help of the Navy and the Coast Guard so as to ensure that vessels from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka do not venture in Goan territory during the ban period.

The Government gave in to the demands of a section of fishermen and also of some Salcete MLAs, when the Cabinet had decided to totally exempt fishing vessels with outboard motors of less than 10 horsepower from the monsoon fishing ban. The cabinet decision came in for much criticism from trawler owners who termed it a U-turn and alleged that the Government is trying to create a divide within the fishing community.

Most fishermen in Goa favour a longer monsoon fishing ban along the west coast of India than the current ban period of 47 days from June 15 to July 31.

While the fishermen also agree that each of the Indian coasts should have its own uniform ban period, there are differences over the date of commencement of the ban and its duration.

Various stakeholders from the Goan fishing industry met Vijay Kumar, Director General of the Fisheries Survey of India, Mumbai, along with state fisheries officials, including Director of Fisheries, S Verenkar.

He announced to the press that 38 Business Goa

JULY 2013

The Coastal Police have been asked to keep vigil on major fish landing centers in Goa and the Coast Guard has also been requested to assist in the enforcement of the ban

all the four major fishing jetties in Goa — Chapora, Malim, Cutbona and Vasco — will be sealed, thus grounding about 850 fishing trawlers across the state.

Director General of the Fisheries Survey of India, Mumbai, Kumar arrived in Goa to meet Goan fishermen and to study the impact of the fishing ban on their business. Besides discussions, the fishermen were told to fill a form detailing whether the ban has benefited or hurt their interests, their views on the period of the ban and related details.

With the fishing ban coming into force from June 1, most fishing trawlers have dropped anchor at the Cutbona jetty, the major fishing jetty in South Goa, while others which are out in the high seas are expected to return to the coast and remain anchored at the jetty for two months.

Workers engaged in various tasks on the trawlers were seen preparing to leave for their native states to be with their families during the break. The marine fishing industry in Goa engages migrant labour force from states like Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Nearly 5,000 workers are engaged in the over 400 fishing trawlers at the Cutbona jetty, revealed sources.

Fuel pumps at the jetties will also be sealed and oil companies have been asked not to supply diesel to these pumps during the period. Verenkar said the coastal police has been asked to keep vigil on major fish landing centers in Goa and that the coast guard has also been requested to assist in the enforcement of the ban. The fishing ban applies to all mechanized fishing vessels or trawlers and also to canoes fitted with outboard motors of over 10 horsepower.

The 1,200 mechanized canoe owners had threatened to come on the roads if their demand to continue fishing during fishing ban period of 61 days beginning from June 1 is not met.

Representatives of All Goa

Ramponkarcho Ekvott (AGRE) called on labour minister Av e r t a n o Furtado to put forth their demand to continue fishing during the two months of monsoon when the ban will be in force. The Cabinet, thereafter decided to curtail the fishing ban period in Goa from the proposed 75 days to 61 days. The ban will now be operational from June 1 to July 31, both days inclusive.

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the fishing ban is applicable to all motorized fishing vessels. It will not be applicable for manually

The fishing ban in Goa has 2 main objectives: 1) It allows several species of fish to spawn and provides adequate protection.

2) It prevents fishermen from risking their lives in the choppy monsoon seas operated canoes. Traditional fishermen are exempt from the fishing ban which applies only to mechanized boats. The ban occurs uniformly in the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat in order to avoid differences.

A little bit of history on the fishing ban is: Goa observes an annual Fishing ban like several countries over the world. The fishing ban that has been observed in Goa from the year 1981 during the monsoon period lasts approximately a month. The

CM Parrikar clarified that the fishing ban is applicable to only motorized fishing vessels and that traditional fishermen are exempt from the fishing ban

fishing ban in Goa has 2 main objectives: 1) It allows several species of fish to spawn and provides adequate protection.

2) It prevents fishermen from risking their lives in the choppy monsoon seas.

The current ban lasts from June 15 to July 31 and follows an interim order of the Supreme Court. During the ban, one can see most of the fishing trawlers anchored at the 2 main fishing jetties in Goa. Some fishermen are questioning the objective of the fishing ban period stating that the 45 days ban had failed to create any impact in fish breeding.

They want the Government to carry out a fresh research on the ban period, post 61 days. The Government should come out with more practical solutions in this regard, the fishermen feel.

The traditional ramponkars are content about the ban.

One member said felt that the ban period “is like a vacation”.

Working all year round with their own set of problems with trawler owners and the Government, they understand why the ban is important. In the market places around Goa there is very little tussle witnessed. People walk through the markets to check on the fish prices. “If the fish is too expensive, then we cook vegetables or chicken. But I come to check every day,” said Sweta Raikar,a mother of two while shopping. Initially everyone was angry about the news that there wouldn’t be fish but as the ban has progressed there is little to offer but everyone seems happy. Till the Goan family gets some kind of fish to throw in their curry, we are a content state

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INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH

NARAYAN BANDEKAR

www.businessgoa.in

“The biggest economic challenge is to increase the revenue of the State without burdening the aam admi“ Newly installed President of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry opens up to Business Goa about the economic challenges faced by the state and his plans as Chamber President of an office bearer for long.

How do you feel being the President of Goa’s oldest and most respectable trade and industry organization?

Membership of my company, M/s Rajaram Bandekar (Sirigao) Mines Pvt. Ltd with GCCI dates back from 1969. From 2006, I am actively associated as the Chamber’s Managing Committee member and during the last 4 years as Vice President.

I believe that one must spend a reasonable amount of time in contributing to one’s community and one’s people. The business community is my fraternity and it is my strong desire to contribute to its growth and prosperity. I look forward to the collective wisdom of the Managing Committee, other various Committees and each and every member of the Chamber in this endeavour.

The Chamber is indeed the oldest and most respectable trade and industry association.

I am honoured to be elected unopposed as the President of this August Body. It is an onerous responsibility, more so in the present state of the economy of Goa.

Nana Bandekar

You have waited your turn to head the 105 year old GCCI. You have nurtured and served the Chamber in the capacity 40 Business Goa

JULY 2013

What according to you are the biggest economic challenges to the state in recent times?

The biggest economic challenge is to increase the revenue of the State without unduly burdening the aam admi and more so industry, trade and commerce.

Today, we are operating in an extremely challenging environment, particularly, in the backdrop of the ban on the Mining Industry and its Exports.

The current ban on mining is having a bad effect on the overall economy of the State.

Another major concern is the lack of good employment

opportunities for our youth.

New businesses, providing alternate opportunities of employment, and income generation, will have to be encouraged. A conducive policy and a responsive administrative framework, will have to be setup to attract fresh investments, which will help in creation of good employment opportunities and revenue generation for the State.

What do you feel will be the fate of the mining business?

As a stakeholder, when do you think the ban will be lifted?

Goa is one of the few states where legal and ethical mining has been conducted for more than half-a-century.

The traditional mining companies have, by and large, followed the rules and regulations. The sudden upsurge in demand for low grade iron ore and the high price-offer from China coupled with absolute lack of regulatory mechanism, triggered the entry of a lot of unscrupulous fly-bynight players into the mining, trading and export to China and this led to excessive mining.

Based on the Shah Commission report, mining operations came to be suspended by the State Government and the Centre and then followed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court is set to hear Goa’s mining ban matter this month. The State Government has since put up the proper regulatory and monitoring mechanisms in place and I am positive that it will be able to convince the Supreme Court. I also hope the Centre will do the same. I can’t say when the ban will be lifted, but I am sure that the State Government under the able leadership of Shri Manohar Parrikar is

doing all that is necessary to put up a strong plea before the Supreme Court for early resumption of mining and I expect a verdict from the Hon’ble Supreme Court modifying its Order soon, say by September, to restart sustainable mining.

Are your iron-ore buyers in Japan and China sympathetic to Goa’s cause? Are they waiting for the ban to be lifted? Or have they gone on and tied up with new suppliers?

No industry can afford a protracted disruption in their supply line. Howsoever, with our long term relationship, the overseas buyers may be sympathetic to us, they cannot wait indefinitely for our supplies to begin. They have already tied up with other suppliers in Australia, Brazil etc. Eve when the mining activity resumes in Goa, it will be an uphill task for our mining companies to regain the lost business opportunities.

Moreover, demand for low grade and the price tag is likely to fade.

The industrial climate is also subdued with talks going on that certain big brand industries are looking at relocating away from Goa. Comment.

It is true that the industrial climate is subdued, but this is because the world over there is an economic crisis.

Regarding companies relocating, at one time when certain northern hilly states were offering substantial tax concessions, there were a few that started new units there, but most of them regretted their decisions due to problems such as infrastructure, logistic and labour. Goa, despite certain deficiencies, is still an attractive destination for new investments.

www.facebook.com/businessgoa

To ensure that Industries keep coming to Goa we need to finalise our investment policies and streamline and reduce the time frame involved in clearances.

The State Government has already streamlined the plot allotment process and have put in place a new transfer and sub-leasing policy. The new investment policy is likely to be announced soon and we are sure that this will give impetus to substantial investments in the State.

What is the Chamber’s stand on the MOPA airport issue?

Air Passenger traffic the world over is rapidly increasing. We need to have an airport that caters to the needs not only of the ever growing passenger traffic, but to cargo demands also. We need a modern airport which can cater to a much higher number of flights, which has large cargo terminals with special facilities like cold storages, which can

Being a Vascoite I have strong emotional attachment to Dabolim Airport, but as President of Goa Chamber, I must see the bigger picture and accept the fact that an international airport is required for the future development of Goa cater to maintenance and servicing of aircrafts, which has night parking facilities for aircrafts etc.

Being a Vascoite I have strong emotional attachment to the Dabolim Airport, but as President of Goa Chamber, I must see the bigger picture

and accept the fact that an international airport is required for the future development of Goa. With as much modernisation as possible, we should continue with Dabolim for civilian traffic, but at the same time we have to provide for a modern airport soon.

What are your immediate objectives as the Chamber President?

The main objective of the Chamber is to protect and promote the interests of trade, industry and commerce in the State and improve performance.

The current ban on mining is having a bad effect on the overall economy of the State.

At this juncture, it is important that the Chamber assumes its leadership role, in bringing back on track, the State economy, and stand by the Government, in providing help to those who have been affected. The challenge before the Chamber is to help

the Government in getting fresh investments, which will match local skill sets and provide employment to local youth.

While this will bring in substantial revenue, caution is necessary to preserve the fragile ecology of the State.

What activities are you planning with the various heads of sectors that you have appointed?

The Chamber is not a sectoral organisation. Our membership extends to all sectors of the economy. To give focused attention to each and every sector, we have specific Committees which are headed by experts from those sectors.

My Managing Committee and various Committee Chairmen are a blend of youthfulness and experience. I have given them full independence to devise their own programmes and activities and they will soon be submitting their plans. My only mandate

JULY 2013

Business Goa 41

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH to them is to work towards developing an ecosystem that will spawn entrepreneurship in their individual sectors and that ultimately should lead to an all round development of those sectors.

Goa’s industrial and economic policy is awaited. What are your expectations from the Task Force that has been appointed to draft the policy?

While we should make all out efforts to attract new investments in the State, we should adequately address the problems faced by the existing industry in the State. The Chairman and members of the Task Force are all existing entrepreneurs who are well aware of the systems in Goa. Their experience is a valuable guide to what we should do and what we should not do to make Goa an attractive destination for investment. The Government has also appointed

42 Business Goa

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NARAYAN BANDEKAR

www.twitter.com/businessgoa

The Chamber is not a sectoral organisation. Our membership extends to all sectors of the economy.

To give focused attention to each and every sector we have specific Committees which are headed by experts from those sectors. My Managing Committee and various Committee Chairmen are a blend of youthfulness and experience KPMG as consultants to guide the Task Force. I am sure that they will together come up with a meaningful and practical investment policy and that it will be implemented with equal enthusiasm.

What about IT? We have been talking for long about the IT policy. Is the Chamber looking at promoting IT? If yes, how?

It is true that the State has lagged behind as far as IT/ ITES industry is concerned. Since 2004, the Chamber has been trying to promote Goa as an ideal

IT destination. The Chamber had helped in drafting a good IT policy way back in 2005 and its implementation could have made a positive difference to the State’s IT scene. But the Government failed to implement it in the right spirit as a result of which no good IT investments have come to Goa. What we need is that either the Government should create good infrastructure like IT Park or IT Habitat for setting up IT units or encourage private sector to set up such infrastructure and then invite mid size IT companies

to set up shop in Goa. The Chamber, jointly with the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce has set up a 48-seater IT Incubation Centre at Verna. In less than 20 months, it has encouraged setting up of about 8 IT units, two of which have already moved out of the incubation centre and are currently providing employment to about 90 IT graduates.

We are sure that with proper infrastructure and an enabling IT Policy, Goa could still make it big in IT sector

STARTING YOUNG Karan Parekh

“One of my major problems was collection of raw materials. I tried tying up with scrap dealers and even with the municipalities and Panchayats to provide me with whatever plastic waste was generated by them” parekh recycling

“I consider plastic to be worth more than gold” Karan Parekh talks to ALISHA PATEL about his initiative to solve the State’s garbage woes through his startup, Parekh Recycling

Karan Parekh

A

fter completing his MBA from the prestigious Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Karan Parekh decided that he wanted to make a difference. “Though I had a job in hand, I wasn’t too keen on taking it up,” he says.

So he moved back to Goa. “My Dad was then Mayor of the City of Panaji and I noticed him struggling to tackle the city’s garbage problems, and I sensed an opportunity arising from the problem.” After careful research and numerous trips to major plastic markets like Mumbai and Daman, Karan studied the process of recycling plastic thoroughly and decided to invest in recycling plastic not only as a means of earning a living, but more as a way of doing something good for society.

Parekh Recycling began production on January 1 and since then the journey has been a continuous learning process.

As a company, Parekh Recycling processes and recycles waste plastic. They recycle everyday objects which are used and thrown out and turn them into plastic granules which can be used to manufacture new items.

“It is a huge process which

largely involves the unorganized sector. Whenever someone throws something out, it gets picked up by the municipality and then picked up by rag collectors.

This plastic is bought by us from them and recycled,” explains Karan.

Speaking about the operations, Karan explains that there are roughly seven types of plastic that can be recycled. However the difficulty that they face here is segregating these types of plastic. Types such as HDPE, PP and LDPE are the three major types of plastic which Parekh Recycling works with. All plastic looks the same, the skills lie in being able to differentiate between the various types, states Karan. For this, he has employed a special team from Delhi who are in charge of sorting through the plastic.

Once the plastic is sorted, it is cut and washed till a point where it could easily pass off as brand new plastic. After that, the plastic is warmed in a mixture called an Agglomerator. From there, they move into the final stage of manufacturing which is called extrusion where the cut and washed plastic is melted to form plastic granules. Despite being in the market for less than a year, Karan has already secured contracts with a large number of trading companies and manufacturers whom he supplies these recycled plastic granules to. “The granules I make can go into making almost all types of plastic components. Most of the HDPE type plastic which I recycle comes from plastic bottles and

cans which then get converted into plastic bags,” informs Karan as a means to emphasise that the much targeted plastic bag is also a recycled product.

Like any young professional stepping out into the business sector for the first time, Karan too faced his share of difficulties.

“One of my major problems was collection of raw materials. I tried tying up with scrap dealers and even the municipalities and Panchayats to provide me with whatever plastic waste was generated by them. Tying up with Municipalities and Panchayats was not economically feasible for me as I had to send in my own team to collect the plastic.

Also the scrap dealers who come from the unorganized sector have their tie ups with dealers in Mumbai, Gujarat, etc. These ties are oftentimes generations old.

To get them to break these ties was quite a task, but eventually it did happen and they began supplying their plastics to me,” he adds.

The Government too has not been helpful he wistfully admits. Despite the fact that Parekh Recycling is doing everything they can to ease the Government’s burden of plastic waste disposal, they have not received any help or support in return. “My major costs are electricity which I strongly feel could be given to us at a subsidized rate; ultimately we are helping the Government and whatever support they can offer us would be greatly appreciated,” he states. Karan also admits that though he did underestimate the number of problems that he would face when setting operations in place, he slowly but steadily solved each and every one of them.

Despite all odds,

Karan feels that the journey has been very satisfying at the end of the day. “I know I am doing something good for society and right from the start, when I began chalking out my plans, they were never based on profits but rather on the amount of plastic we would be able to recycle,” he asserts. Though he reveals he did have a projected target in mind he feels he has not reached it largely because of the lack of waste plastic available in Goa. “I consider plastic to be worth more than gold,” chuckles Karan.

On a more serious note he says that though the trend of recycling plastic has picked up in Mumbai and Daman, it is yet to catch up to Goa. He also reiterates his view that as opposed to going to rag collectors it would also help the Government if the same amounts of plastic came to Parekh Recycling, an organized tax-paying body.

Stating that the journey hasn’t been as smooth sailing as he initially envisioned, Karan describes it as a steady learning process. “I am still in the initial stages of operations and I feel after completing a year I will have the solutions to each and every problem that could crop up,” he says with confidence.

That’s not it though for Karan. He is brimming with ideas to solve the State’s garbage problems and is also looking into the options of extracting furnace oil from rubber tires. “This will happen later though,” he reveals with smile

Segregating plastic waste

44 Business Goa

JULY 2013

ENTERPRISE Babuli Kamat Ghanekar

Ghanekar believes in diversifying and expanding his business and apart from the existing stores in Panaji and Margao, he plans of expanding into the other towns of Goa, as well

Kamta Trading Company

version of his family name “Kamat”. He soon was offered the sole distribution for the MCBauchemie (India) Pvt. Ltd and products from NCL Industries Ltd. Babuli Kamat Ghanekar of Kamta Trading Company talks about his Through his innovative thinking enterprise to JANICE RODRIGUES and dedication, Ghanekar continued to add new lines “Our USP is that and products and thus we just don’t sell increased the sales five products. We folds. offer solutions, we Ghanekar believes in and expanding provide technical diversifying his business and apart knowhow. If you from the existing stores in Panaji and Margao, he have a problem, plans of expanding into we send our the other towns of Goa, engineers to as well. His affiliation for diversity doesn’t restrict have a look at it itself to the stores, Babuli and accordingly also joined Birla Sunlife suggest the Insurance Company as product and even an IRDA Certified advisor train your labour in and within a year, has a member of using the same. “ become Gold Club & MDRT Million Babuli Ghanekar Dollar Round Table, an Babuli Kamat Ghanekar and son Tejas association of insurance agents worldwide. home is a place where Ltd. an associate Company of borers attacks and can be used Passing on the baton to the dreams are nurtured MC-Bauchemie Muller GMbH as substitute for plywood,” adds younger generation, Babuli’s and given flight to, but & Co.Essen, Germany. “The Ghanekar. son, Tejas joined the family this man had a dream to set up products became so popular that He introduced a number of business in April 2012. Armed a shop to help build those very even some real estate consultants other products as well, including with an MBA from Berlin homes. Babuli Kamat Ghanekar, started similar dealerships with Woodlock White Adhesive University, Tejas studied at a through his business enterprise competitor companies as their manufactured by ICI India college run by the Indo-German Kamta Trading Company based in suppliers,” states Ghanekar.

Ltd and 3M brand adhesive – Chamber Of Commerce. Though Panaji, has been helping people He even trained with the both of which became highly he was offered an opportunity to to build their dream homes for same company in 1992, as well recommended brands in the work in Singapore, Tejas refused the past three decades. as, a course in IRP (injection, state. the lucrative option and joined Joining the family business repairs and protection) of Babuli believes in ideating the Kamta Trading Company while still pursuing his studies, concrete structures in Singapore, and is always on a quest to as a partner, instead. Recently, Ghanekar learned the nuances apart from attending seminars – bring in new ideas into the having undergone training at of running a business right from national and international, that trade. In this light, he took over MC-Bauchemie Muller GMBH & the age of 16. Later, giving up has helped him in furthering his the dormant family firm Kamta Co. Essen, Germany in repairs his dream of acquiring an MBA business.

Trading Company, the name is and rehabilitation of structure from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute “We introduced the Birla derived from the Portuguese of Management, he tried to White cement, as against the salvage the then crumbling Vambanad brand of white family business – that of cement which was popular at the manufacturing and exports of time,” says Ghanekar who also fruit and fish products, but lost give us some related history of it to fate. “In 1984, I started the how the Vambanad brand died business all over again, and this out as Birla White replaced them time, I ventured into the trading in the market. He later introduced of cement and other building the Bison panels, which was a material,” reflects Ghanekar. unique product manufactured Backed by his younger brothers, using cement and wood particles Babuli introduced a new line and German technology, which of construction chemicals, also became a favourite among earlier alien to the Goan public.

Goan builders and contractors.

He began as the distributor “The Bison Panel is a unique Well stocked: The Panaji store of MC-Bauchemie (India) Pvt. product, free from termite and

Helping build homes

A

46 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Passing on the baton to the younger generation, Babuli’s son, Tejas joined the family business in April 2012. Armed with an MBA from Berlin University, Tejas studied at a college run by the Indo-German Chamber Of Commerce

and other products, he hopes to use his expertise to practice in bettering the family business.

“Tejas had submitted a thesis during his Final year on a manufacturing project which will soon take off,” says the proud father. The project, he states, will revolutionise the construction industry and will improve the construction quality with crackfree waterproof structures.

With a client base of some of the top corporate firms in the state, including the his first client – Kamat Constructions, JVP Nirman, Alcon and Nanu to Milroc Development Company, Commonwealth Developers, Edcon, Vedanta, Goa Glass Fibres, Ghanekar’s firm has come to be one of the preferred dealers in the constructions material sphere of the state. He

boasts of a client base beyond the boundaries of the state as well.

“Our USP would be that we just don’t sell products we give you solutions, we give the technical knowhow. If you have a problem, we send our engineers to have a look at it and accordingly suggest the product and even train your labour in using the same,” says Ghanekar.

With improvements and new technologies coming into the market every single day, Babuli strives to keep himself and his business abreast with these advancements. “Just like doctors who have to update themselves with new medicines, we also have to do the same to keep an edge over the other dealers,” he adds. The growth of the business has been attributed to this fact, and through the word of mouth, Kamta Trading has become a highly preferred name among others

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Business Goa 47

JUNE 2013

INDUSTRY

“Diamond tools are used for quarrying, cutting and processing of natural stones like marble and granite, which are commonly used as flooring material. When we extract these natural stones from the ground we require something called a wire saw

Diamond tool industries

Razor Sharp

Debkumar Sen of Diamond Tool Industries takes JANICE RODRIGUES on a tour of the world of diamond tools

DebkumarSen

Technology used by Diamond Tool Industry

T

he Diamond Tool Industries and its affiliate Shatul Engineering manufactures diamond tools, wire saws and their components used mainly is stone quarrying machinery. With its head office based in Mumbai, Diamond Tools, forayed into the Goan industry scenario with the setting up of their then 200 sq.mts. shed in 1996 in the Kakoda Industrial estate, and started production the very next year and expanded as years went by.

The use of diamond grit in the tools it manufactures, giving the company its name, is a highly expensive and specialized industry, “Diamond tools are used for quarrying, cutting and processing of natural stones like marble and granite, which are commonly used as flooring material,” states Debkumar Sen, General Manager of the Diamond Tool Industries.

The company was one of the first to bring the technology of wire saw cutting into the country, “When we extract these natural stones from the ground, we require something called a wire saw – essentially a long wire of about fifty meters, which is drilled into the ground and then connected to a machine rotating 48 Business Goa

JULY 2013

at high speed and pulled, as this happens the rock is cut out into massive blocks,” explains Sen. Using the wire saw mechanism, quarrying has taken a turn for the better. Prior to the introduction of the wire saw, people would use dynamite to blast the stones out of the ground, but in this process you would get pieces which are oddly shaped, while with wire saws one would get a whole block cut out from the hill. “These huge blocks are cut down to smaller blocks and are sent to the processing factories where again diamond tools and wire saws are used to slice and polish them,” adds Sen. While the Shatul Engineering factory manufactures wire saws for quarrying purposes, the Diamond Tool Industries factory manufactures segments and saws for stone cutting and processing, none of which are technically used in the state. “Goa doesn’t have that kind of stone.

The stone found in Goa is mainly laterite and is easily broken down even using a hammer, while stones like marble and granite are of a much harder variety, and requires specialized tools,” explains Sen. While most factories follow relatively simpler procedures

of manufacturing their products with two or three processes, diamond tool manufacturing is a complex and elaborate procedure, “Every product goes through about 17 to 18 different processes till it reaches its final stage, and the whole process takes about 3-4 days,” remarks Sen. Starting off with the mixing of a range of metal powders, including iron, copper, cobalt, tungsten and sometimes silver.

These metal powders have to be mixed in a specific manner using a solvent. After the powder is thoroughly mixed, it is the dried.

Following which the diamond grit is added to it, “Diamond grit, is technically diamonds of very small size, they are pure carbon crystals in sizes smaller than a sugar grain, and are especially manufactured for industrial purposes,” explains Sen. A process called Validation is carried out to mix the diamond and the metal powders together, and to achieve this, a certain resin is used. This mixture is passed through a machine called a ‘validator’ which combines the powdered metals and grit and gives an output of tiny pellets of the size smaller than a mustard seed.

These pellets are then processed through an automatic machine which compresses the mixture into small silvery tubes and cuboids in about a centimeter in length which fit into each other like nuts and bolts.

These are then assembled and put into a furnace where they are further reduced – “by reduced we mean oxidation reduction to avoid rusting,” adds Sen. These reduced components then go through the process of hot-pressing, where the metal powders are heated to a very high temperature so that the tubes and cubiods merge as one whole component. Each of these centimeter long components are then drilled and cleaned and later assembled into a wire saw, stringing them on to a wire of varying lengths.

The raw materials used by the company – essentially metal powders and diamond powders, and sourced locally as well as imported. “Some metal powders are available locally like iron and copper, and a certain amount of tungsten. Cobalt and other powders are imported from France, Belgium, England; while the diamond grit is totally imported from the world’s fastest growing economy – China, which has the world monopoly over the sector now. We cannot use the diamond grit or dust that comes from the cutting of the diamond stones, the grit is especially manufactured and called

which is essentially a long wire of about fifty meters, which is drilled into the ground and then connected to a machine rotating at high speed and pulled, as this happens the rock is cut out into massive blocks

synthetic industrial diamond powder,” explains Sen. The company has its clientele in marble and granite processers as well as quarry owners across the country as well as in the international markets. “In the stone processing sector, we have clients in Bangalore, Chennai and Rajasthan, while in the quarrying

sector we have clients in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. India is a very large producer and consumer in the stone markets, though we also export to Brazil, Angola and have just started exporting to Russia on a trial basis,” comments Sen. Although the Diamond Tool Industries and Shatul Engineering, are one of the largest producers of diamond tools in India, the company has to strive to keep ahead of competition through the various in-house quality checks conducted.

“We have to give our best quality as the products are very expensive, each wire saw would cost over a lakh of rupees” asserts Sen. Though the

company is not affiliated with any particular certification body, they assure that each product is up to the international standards and are continuously involved in research and development. Also, though the company doesn’t follow any particular motto, Sen sums up that they work on the principle of ‘continuous quality improvement through innovation.’ The company further aims to bring its innovation in the sphere of stone polishing thought its current R&D work in the field. “We can see the future of industrial products; there is a long way to go. Currently, we are working on a kind of wire saw that will be used not only for cutting but also processing of stones,” states Sen. Speaking about why the company chose to set up the industry in Goa, Sen states that is was difficult to run an industry in a metropolitan area like Mumbai.

Additionally the government too, was discouraging the rise of

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new industrial factories in light of supplying power and other amenities, and being an easily accessible and well-connected place, Goa fit the bill perfectly, “We didn’t need much space to set up the factory, but our major concern in setting up anywhere other than Mumbai would be the language barrier, and Goa was an ideal place as everyone spoke either English, Hindi or Marathi and it has an educated workforce,” affirms Sen. From the 200 sq.mts. and the 500 sq.mts. sheds when the company set up in Goa, the industry has now grown to 1700 sq.mts. for both its units. The journey of the company in Goa seems to have been a good one with a very few setbacks, including Goa’s power problems. “I think Goa is better than other places in the country.

Labour in this part of Goa is easily available and everyone is educated and hardworking,” concludes Sen

JULY 2013

Business Goa 49

“Customers liked our uniqueness in products and after sale service which encouraged our promoters Cosme Matias Menezes Group to expand the store and have gradually taken it to its current size and the depth in the product range that we offer now. We give great attention to sourcing, quality, design and reliability to make sure that we

GOAN BRAND

CMM Arena megastore, merces

Furnishings and beyond The CMM Arena Megastore offers all the needs of a home under one roof writes Janice Rodrigues

B

uying a house but wondering about the furnishings? Decided that you’ve had enough of the old look of your living room? Or tired of running from pillar to post for the various needs of your home or office space? You wouldn’t have a negative answer for the questions if you visit the CMM Arena Megastore.

With the sprawling structure that cover over 30,000 sq.ft. and the convenience of its location, in Merces just a few minutes’ drive from the commercial hub of Panaji city, the CMM Arena Megastore aptly suits the idiom of ‘all needs under one roof’.

From furniture to electrical appliances, to furnishings, the Megastore houses every aspect that makes a house a home.

Beginning with a 10000 sq.

Ft. property in 2005 and housing a limited range of furniture and appliances, the company later diversified into the furnishing markets, with OoNA which brought in furnishing products that complement the furniture.

“Customers liked our uniqueness in products and after sale service which encouraged our promoters Cosme Matias Menezes Group to expand the store and have gradually taken it to its current size and the depth in the product range that we offer now,” explains Hari Kaul, General Manager (Retail) at the CMM Megastore.

Spread over two levels, the store’s 11 departments include of home furniture, office furniture,

Dining table sets available at CMM

home appliances, home furnishings, home décor, a mattress experience centre, lighting, modular kitchen, fabrics, blinds and housekeeping. “Our range is carefully sourced from within the length and breadth of the country as well as imported, to meet the expectation of our design conscious customers,” says Kaul.

With renowned brands like Arena, Space Wood, Godrej, Furniture Craft, Sony, Samsung, LG, IFB, Toshiba, Voltas, Racold, Bajaj, Haier, Siemen , Bosch, Philips, Voltas, Italian modular kitchens by Aran Kitchen World, Europlak, Beth modular stainless steel kitchens, OoNA, FnS, Corelle, Hush, Weaves, Snoozer, Springfit, Peps, Sleepwell and

a long list of many others, customers can be confident of quality assurance.

Having consulted and learned from various professionals in the design space like interior consultants, architects, builders; the store’s team strives to ensure that the products are suited to the local environment and tastes. “We give great attention to sourcing, quality, design and reliability to make sure that we can meet customer expectation in the entire range of home and office products. We also see to it that the customers are happy even after the sale of the products and hence only keep brands that have service centres in Goa,” explains Kaul.

CMM’s premium lifestyle brand OoNA, finds a prominent space in this store, and retails lifestyle products like bed and

Exclusive range of home furnishings

50 Business Goa

JULY 2013

table linen, floor and wall covering, mirrors, crockery, cutlery, glassware, home décor, personal care, accessories, stationery and chandeliers by Kapoor’s. “OoNa is a trendy lifestyle brand and aims to bring modern contemporary home products available to design conscious customers. The brand has now grown to a chain of four stores situated at Merces, Panjim, Mapusa and Calangute.

We are planning to expand geographically to medium sized towns with relatively high per capita income and home spending population. It will either be in a standalone format or with CMM ARENA Home and Office concept like CMM Arena Megastore,” Kaul elaborates.

The store takes pride in its USP of its unique product range, followed by a dedicated team who ensure safe free delivery, installation and after sale service which is free during the warranty period. The research that the team conducts backs this claim. “Most of our products are exclusive to our store and suitable to the weather conditions prevailing in Goa and specifically sourced to meet local needs.

can meet customer expectation in the entire range of home and office products. We also see to it that the customers are happy even after the sale of the products and hence only keep brands that have service centres in Goa,” explains Hari Kaul, General Manager, Retail at the CMM Megastore After all, the CMM brand has a long standing relationship with Goa and strives to give its people the best,” states Kaul.

The problem of “one size fits all” policy of most multinational brands is eliminated here at the CMM store which believes in individualized service to its customers. “If you like a particular sofa set but the upholstery doesn’t match your walls, we have a dedicated interior staff who will help you choose the right fabric and colour and customize the product to suit your taste,“ explains Kaul.

Under this “Makeover” category, customers get customized furnishing – curtains, upholstery, cushion covers, bed covers, chair covers etc made exclusively for their home from 800+ fabric options in cotton, polyester and linen, printed and textured fabrics in jacquard and satin weave.

“We do blinds and curtain rods also under this section and are planning to add more products like flooring and wall paper

soon,“ he adds.

Additionally, the highly organized format of the store ensures that customers don’t go in circles to find what they are looking for, “We have sections for everything and a map that will guide you. We also have tags put to each of our products, so that the customer can inspect each item for himself, at his leisure, without having the hovering presence of the sales staff, though we are always here to assist the customers when needed,” states Kaul. The Store’s wide customer base includes locals, tourists and second home buyers as well as corporate and institutional customers like Banks, Hotels, Property Developers, Architects, Interior Designers and Industrial Houses within the length and breadth of the state. “We also undertake turnkey projects for 50+ workstation setup for call centers, ships, corporate offices and deliver productive automated office comfort on time with minimum loss of working

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Office furniture

hours,” explains Kaul.

The company, under its expansion plans, has designated a part of the store to the modular kitchen segment which is to open shortly. This section will include BETH Stainless Kitchens suitable for Hospitals, Canteens, Cafeterias, Hotel Kitchens as well as to home buyers.

Moving to other towns is another aspect of the expansion plan, with another 6000 sq.ft.

Store in Duler, Mapusa that offers all top brands under one roof. “We are also working on an online store – www.cmmarena. com, which we plan to launch before Ganesh Chaturthi. In

addition, we are launching a loyalty program which can be used by our customer from any of our 9 stores under the banner of ARENA, OoNa or Megastore formats anywhere in Goa and accumulate points and redeem them as and when they want. This reward program will help customer to know their points on the click of a button either on their mobile or on the website,” adds Kaul. The CMM Arena Megastore presents, in a smart, un-crowded setting, a range of high quality, world-class merchandise with depth and range to suit its clients and great value for money

JULY 2013

Business Goa 51

professional dossier

Looking back, I feel I have achieved everything that I could have asked for.

However, I sincerely hope that the next generation of doctors in my family carries forth the works of healing people with the same beliefs that I have instilled in them

DR SUNIL NADKARNI

The Healing Touch

B

ack when I was a student, we were still under the Portuguese rule and had to go to Mumbai if we wanted to study further. Fortunately for me, Goa attained freedom by the time I reached college and I was able to finish my studies in the State that I grew up in. The options available to us for higher studies as well were quite limited as compared to today. As a result, I opted for Science after passing my SSC exams. I had an option to choose between Maths and Biology and due to my lack of interest in Maths, I went with Biology. During those days, if you chose Biology, you were restricted to either Medicine, or Dentistry at the Graduate level. Though my family never pressurized me to choose the former, it was pure interest in the field that made me take up medicine. Through hard work and dedication I got into the Goa Medical College on merit and was a part of its second batch of MBBS graduates. The education system when I was studying was very different compared to that of today. In those days, we had two post graduate options – Surgery and Medicine. Obtaining a seat at this level was judged merely on your marks in the same subjects at the graduation level and not the entire course. My then boss and Head of the Department of Surgery, Professor Arya Varma who was one of the greatest surgeons of his time, forced me to join surgery as he felt I would make it big in that field as

Mandovi Clinic at Porvorim

52 Business Goa

JULY 2013

opposed to medicine.

After finishing my studies, the opportunities available were plenty. I was even offered a job at the Goa Medical College, but refused because I always wanted to start something on my own.

With that in mind, I set up my first office in a rental premises just off the Mandovi Bridge in Porvorim in 1975. As work began picking up, I later shifted the hospital to its current premises in 1982 and expanded the reach and works of the clinic.

When I started the hospital, we began with just two people – me and a gynaecologist!

During this time, because I was operating out of my own space, I introduced Orthopaedics and Trauma units to the Clinic and thereby broadened the reach of the hospital. Seeing the overwhelming response and the growing number of patients coming to the hospital I decided to rope in specialists from cities like Mumbai dealing in laparoscopic surgeory.

One of the highlights of my career took place in 1986, when the Mandovi Bridge collapsed and all connections between the North and South Goa were cut off. It was during this time that my skills as a doctor and as a manager of a hospital grew.

Many sick and serious patients who could not get across the river to the Goa Medical College were referred to us. Despite being full, we never turned away any of the patients which came to us. Though we did lose a few patients, we made a decision to never deny a patient of whatever medical treatment we could offer. Seeing the pitiable conditions prevailing in those days and the plight of desperate patients, I took a call not to let money be the reason for

“I strongly feel that one must always enjoy their profession.

I have never been money minded and always believed that treating and curing my patients is my number one priority”

Dr. Sunil Nadkarni

denying patients the treatment they deserved. They paid whatever they could, and some didn’t pay at all. In this way and by the grace of God, I built the Mandovi Clinic from scratch and earned it a reputation for quality treatment at reasonable prices.

Coming from a family of doctors definitely makes it easier for us to understand each one’s schedules and make time for each other. My daughters and sons in law have all excelled in their respective fields. My wife, however, is whom I am most proud of. Despite having the opportunity to join me at the Mandovi Clinic, she chose to stay on at the Goa Medical College because of her profound love for teaching and research and today she is the Head of Department of Histopathology.

Luckily, till date I have not had any major professional struggles. When I began my practice and set up my hospital, I was also practicing at a clinic in Vasco. For this, I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Mesquita for offering me a room to practice from – completely free of charge.

I practiced in Vasco till about 1984 before giving it up due to the limitations in operating on patients in the port town itself. I hail from a village in Sanguem, and when my father was still alive, I would go to the village once a week and offer free consultation to the villagers. After my father passed away, my daughter and I continued our mission work, every Sunday. Sadly, we weren’t able to continue on because we realized that a majority of our patients coming to the clinic, would come in on Sundays.

I strongly feel that one must always enjoy their profession. I have never been money minded and always believed that treating and curing my patients is my number one priority. Looking back, I feel I have achieved everything I could ask for and I do not have any major plans but I sincerely hope the next generation of doctors in my family carries forth the works of healing people with the same beliefs that I have instilled in them -As told to ALISHA PATEL

LADY POWER

Harpreet does not believe that one must starve themselves to lose weight. She encourages healthy eating and healthy substitutes and suggests that her patients analyze whatever they eat Harpreet Pasricha

Eat healthy. Think better.

ALISHA PATEL speaks to the nutritionist about her new venture, Diet Clinic

Harpreet Pasricha

T

here’s something about Harpreet Pasricha’s personality that exudes her love for dietrics and good health.

A well known personality in the diet and health industry, she has been actively involved in the wellness space for years. He tryst with dietrics and nutrition began when her brother advised her to take up something different, as opposed to joining the already saturated field of MBBS graduates. “I always wanted to study medicine; the human physiology was something that fascinated me. My brother recommended that since I was interested in the field, I should take up something different, but similar. Though I wasn’t too keen on getting into the field of dietrics, I took it up out of respect for my elder brother with the assurance that I would be able to drop the 54 Business Goa

JULY 2013

course after a year if I wasn’t happy. Once I began studying however, I took a fond liking towards the subject and since then, there has been no looking back,” recollects Harpreet.

What Harpreet learnt in college has stayed with her since, and she summons up experiences where they studied how foods work on the body and conducted interesting experiments. This according to her is what enthused her about dietrics and slowly grew into a passion. After graduation in Dietrics and Clinical Nutrition from the reputed Christian Medical College in Ludhiana, Harpreet began practicing privately, a continuation from her consultancy which she used to take up even while she was still in college. “I used to represent my University at Table Tennis and my days would begin as early as four in the morning due to practices and would go on into the late hours of the night where I would take on freelance consultancy for family and friends. Your practical experience is more important than bookish knowledge and I worked hard at gaining whatever practical experience I could,” she informs.

Growing up in a family which was a part of the Indian Defences, Harpreet grew up in cities spanning the length and breadth of the country. What brought her to Goa, however, was her husband she states who is also a part of the defences but permanently posted in Goa. Dr. Harpreet always dreamed of setting up her own clinic rather than working for someone else.

When she moved to Goa, she began working to make this dream a reality, but was met with cynicism along the way.

“A lot of people told me that a diet clinic would never work in Goa because the people here stick to their staple diet of fish curry and rice irrespective of the calories and that the concept of a

nutritionist would not work in Goa and I would be better off working in a metro like Mumbai or Delhi.

This skepticism in people’s minds made me rise to the challenge and stick with my plans of opening the Diet Clinic in Goa and I’m glad I did. The concept has been very well received and people are becoming increasingly health conscious,” she says with the pride of having achieved her dream.

Clearing the air about the common misconception that being on a weight loss plans involves starvation, Harpreet reveals that on the contrary, their plans encourage their patients to eat. “We don’t believe that one must starve themselves to lose weight. We encourage healthy eating and healthy substitutes and encourage our patients to analyze whatever they eat,” she asserts. Harpreet admits that while everyday brings in new challenges, it is constant research and study that help keep her

Personally, I feel I am in a wonderful profession. I incorporate whatever I have learnt at home and the results are clearly visible on my family abreast with the individualistic needs of her patients.

Harpreet’s passion for health and nutrition has not only helped her successfully set up her own clinic which boasts of a list of celebrity clients including Urmila Matondkar, Shweta Menon and Ilena D’cruz to name a few, but also a franchisee chain of clinics in Panjim, Margao and Vasco. “It’s wonderful having a franchised brand and I make sure all the consulting dieticians are personally trained

by me,” she says. As a woman in a profession that requires constant care and attention, it is tough at times to maintain a balance between family and work, she admits, but also goes on to credit her family and her support systems which have been her backbone when times were tough. “Personally, I feel I am in a wonderful profession.

I incorporate whatever I have learnt at home and the results are clearly visible on my family.

My three year old daughter has already picked up our eating habits and picks fruits over chocolates if given the choice,” she chuckles.

Apart from designing weight loss packages, Harpreet is also involved in conceptualizing special menus for patients suffering from migraines, acidity, hypertension, diabetes, asthma and other medical problems. Her aim is to inculcate in society an understanding of the power of a proper diet and regularized eating habits. She presents a holistic, integrated set of ageless principles and timeless techniques that can solve complex medical problems.

Looking ahead, Harpreet reveals that on a personal front she is content with where she is but would like to get into meditation as well apart from her regular workouts. “Business wise, I am always looking to spread my works and I am hoping that by the end of the year, the franchisee will have grown to seven outlets spread across the State and by 2014, have twenty outlets, nationwide” she reveals.

On a concluding note, Harpreet states that despite being in the industry for over ten years, she has never failed to be amazed by the power of nutrition and has witnessed time and time again how something as simple as an understanding of the importance of food can bring about huge, transformational changes in people’s lives

CAMPUS GOA

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Part time Executive MBA programme begins at Goa Institute of Management

Nitin Kunkolienkar felicitates Atmaram Deshpande

Goa Institute of Management (GIM), one of the premier B-schools of India today inaugurated the three year part time PGDM-PT (Executive MBA) programme for the new academic year 2013 – 2015.

Going by Goa Institute of Management’s records, a number of working professionals including corporate employees, entrepreneurs and officials from the public sector in Goa head back to the classroom each year. The new batch of the PGDM-PT (Executive MBA) programme with 52 students onboard include public sector officials, entrepreneurs and employees from companies such as Syngenta, Sesa Goa, P&G, and Vendanta among others. On the occasion of the inaugural of the new academic year, alumni Atmaram Deshpande, Principal, Police Training School, was felicitated for his achievements.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sunil Rai, Director, GIM said “GIM is committed to the task of providing the industry and

society with excellent manpower developed in Goa itself. This year we have designed our PGDM-PT curriculum in a way in which it lays greater emphasis on entrepreneurship, SMEs and family owned businesses. Our objective at GIM is not only to offer a degree, but to also help students to be able to make a positive change in their work place.”

He added, “The three year part–time executive MBA programme open to professionals with work experience and working individuals from various spheres aims to do just that. GIM is one of the best B-schools of the country and we offer the very best to our students”.

Top notch faculty members including Harvard and Cornell affiliated faculty, IIM fellows and industry leaders are an active part of this EMBA course. The PGDM-PT course is conducted at the Ribandar campus of GIM over the weekends which makes it convenient for working professionals to attend

Xavier’s inaugurates NSS unit St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Mapusa inaugurated its NSS unit on June 25. Manager of the school, Fr. Arlino D’Mello was the Chief Guest. Fr. Arlino is also the parish priest of Cunchelim.

The function began with the lighting of the lamp followed by vice-principal, Brian Duarte’s talk on the importance of social service and he urged the NSS volunteers to provide their selfless service to the Nation.

Principal, Dr Elvis Gonsalves welcomed the gathering and oriented the new NSS volunteers about the NSS activities and advised them to follow the motto of NSS ‘Not Me but You’.

Fr. Arlino highlighted the importance of dignity of labour and conservation of nature.

The last academic’s report of activities was read out

by Programme Officer, Rita D’Silva. Later, the Chief Guest

Fr. Arlino D’Mello lights the lamp

was introduced to the audience

by Programme Officer, Lena Gonsalves. Programme Officer, Nirmala Baretto proposed the vote of thanks. The N.S.S Unit has been very active over the years in working towards the betterment of the community they function in with various camps and street plays being conducted periodically. The NSS unit has also undertaken cleanup activities

BG CROSSWORD 44

QUIZZARE

Talk on poetry held at Carmel College A talk on British (Romantic) and American (Modernist) poetry by Dr. Kamalakar Bhat was held at Carmel College for Women, Nuvem, on June 29.

Dr. Bhat is Associate Professor, Post-Graduate Department of English, Ahmednagar College, Maharashtra.

Dr. Brian Mendonca introduced Dr. Bhat, drawing attention to the act of writing a poem and its elusive nature. In his talk entitled ‘Revisioning Things: Valuation and Revaluation 56 Business Goa

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of Things in Poetry’ Dr. Bhat dwelt on strategies used by key poets in literary studies (from Wordsworth to Wallace Stevens) to re-invest things with a new sense of value - like Keats does in his ode ‘To a Grecian Urn.’ Principal of Carmel College Dr. Sr. Aradhana AC stressed on the fact that poetry, like life, is an intense experience. Roxana Singh, Head of Department, introduced the English faculty to new students. Glenis Mendonca proposed the vote of thanks

Across: 1 – Sachin Tendulkar’s record sports management deal was with this company (8) 5 – Betting company based in the UK (9) 7 – Julian _______, founder of Wikileaks (7) 8 – ____ Energy, leading wind farm developer in India (4) 10 – 1982 science fiction film starring Jeff Bridges (4) 12 – Modern metric system is also called the __ system (1,1) 13 – United Nations, in short (1,1) 14 – Tata Administrative Services in acronym form (3) 16 – Skywalker, the protagonist of Star Wars (4) 17 – _______-Benz, original name of Mercedes-Benz (7) Down: 1 – World’s largest retailer (7) 2 – Major international hotel chain, located in Goa at Cavelossim (8) 3 – ______ Motors, GM’s rival from 1921-1931 (6) 4 – Les ______ FC – the football club (6) 6 – Capital of Ukraine (4) 9 – San Francisco based pharmaceutical company (5) 11 – Popular undergarment brand in India (4) 14 – Abbreviated form of the TV show starring Paris Hilton (1,1,1) 15 – Single lens reflex, as its popularly known in the field of photography (1,1,1) answers to crossword 43 Across 1. Mortgage 5. Debeers 7. Tang 8. Likes 9. Teva 10. Forum 12. GNU 13. Stan 15. Panda Down 1. Modiluft 2. Rubik 3. Gustave 4. Angostura 6. Eastman 11. Ritz

BOOK SHELF

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Rick Conlow AND Doug Watsabaugh

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Superstar Leadership T here are those rare souls who are excellent bosses, who achieve great results while retaining their staff’s loyalty, affection and exemplary performance. Who are these elite performers – these Superstar leaders? And how can you become one?

Superstar Leadership identifies key habits of the best and worst bosses. This 31-day book uses nine key performance drivers to help leaders evaluate and quickly increase results and sustain them. Each evaluation and activity hones your leadership skills, transforming you into a Superstar Leader.

Do you want to earn more money for your company?

Electrify your department?

Increase customer loyalty, sales, and productivity while

simultaneously decreasing turnover, improving innovation, and having fun? Superstar Leadership will show you how.

Among other lessons, you will read about: 1. Why 50 percent of managers fail, and how to avoid being one of them 2. The seven keys to employee motivation 3. The high-performance formula that will catapult your career success 4. The nine strategies of a Superstar leader 5. How to create a highperforming team and exceed your goals About the Authors Rick Conlow is the CEO and cofounder of WCW Partners, a

global management consulting and training firm. He has helped numerous companies like Target, Costco, Andersen Windows, and Canadian Linen reduce complaints, improve profits, and increase sales. Rick has been a general manager, vice president,

training director, program director, and national sales trainer and consultant.

He has authored 11 books, and regularly facilitates presentations to audiences of all sizes.

Doug Watsabaugh is the COO and cofounder of WCW Partners. His knowledge of experiential learning and skill at designing change processes and learning events have enabled him to significantly improve the lives of thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations in various industries, including Coca Cola, Accenture, Hasbro, 3M, and General Mills.

Doug is also the author of seven books

Goan Students receive Goa Education Trust Scholarships to the UK

CAMPUS GOA

Scholars felicitated by Vice Chancellor of Goa University Dr. Satish Shetye, Ambar Timblo (Fomento Group) and Shrinivas Dempo (Dempo Group) and the British Council

G

enevieve Fernandes, Annabelle Viegas, Laurette Reynolds, Richa Narvekar, Harshada Pujari and Jagdish Menezes were the 6 worthy winners of the Goa Education Trust Scholarships 2013, The judging was administered by British Council.

Short listed to 12 finalists, the students were felicitated by Vice Chancellor of Goa University Dr. Satish Shetye at a celebratory ceremony at Cidade de Goa. The ceremony was also attended by interview panel, chaired by Sam Harvey, Director British Council West India. The other two panelists were Prof. H A Ranganath, Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and former VC of Bangalore University and 58 Business Goa

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Prof. Janaki Andharia, Head, Department of Urban and Rural Community Development and Chairperson of Centre for Disaster Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Now in its fourth consecutive year, the Goa Education Trust Scholarships funded by the Trust set up by the Dempo and Fomento Group of Companies and managed by the British Council, UK’s international organisation for educational and cultural relations, have supported outstanding Goan students who have displayed remarkable academic achievement.

The Goa Education Trust Scholarship (GET) has been conceptualized by the industrious Dempo and Fomento groups from Goa. GET is aimed to provide

Shrinivas Dempo, Prof. Janaki Andharia, Dr. Satish Shetye, Prof. H A Ranganath, Ambar Timblo and Samantha Harvey (all sitting) with the scholars

The GET Scholarship has been conceptualized by the Dempo and Fomento groups Goans an efficient medium to pursue the best available opportunities in education, in whatever areas they desire. It will provide scholarships and/ or research fellowships etc. to eligible students for their post graduate studies in the United Kingdom in all spheres, fields

and departments. Both the groups are well known in Goa as also in other parts of India for their contribution towards social causes ranging from education, medical care and child and women development.

Both the groups have long felt the need to provide Goans an efficient medium to pursue the best available opportunities in education, in whatever areas that they desire. It is with this intention that the seed of forming a channel for higher education was germinated

HR MANTRA

Happiness is a reflection of a positive spirit. It is a choice, but not everyone makes it for the simple reason that they are unaware that they have this choice

Look Happy

The Biz Step Undertake a happiness audit.

Just ask people to answer truthfully : “ Are you happy at work?” It is imperative that you address any issues they identify that make them unhappy The Biz Point Where there is hope there can always be happiness.

This principle applies until the moment you die

A

good reflection of motivation is a happy look on someone’s face, especially a team leader.

It is one little thing they can do everyday: look happy Look happy: • Coming to work • When asked to help with a problem • Greeting customers • Showing a director around your office • Seeing team members • When team members have exciting news to tell you • When starting team meetings • When team members make a positive contribution Happiness is a reflection of a positive spirit. It is a choice, but not everyone makes it for the simple reason that they are unaware that they have this choice. Therefore they react 60 Business Goa

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Take a look at what makes you happy at work and then look happy

instinctively to events and behaviour of other people. They see something funny and they instinctively laugh, which makes them happy. Or something goes wrong and they instinctively frown because they are unhappy.

Analise, an executive officer working for a government agency, tells of her boss Jenny, the head of department: “Jenny is one of this people who has severe mood swings. Most mornings she comes in and is bright and bubbly. She just breezes through the day. As a result we feel good and we are bright, bubbly, and breezy too.

On some occasions however she is called to meet her senior executive and comes out of his office an hour later eyes down with a long drawn-out face, full of woe. We know instantly that she is in a bad mood and that she will snap at us if we say anything. So we avoid her and go about our work with our tails between our legs.” For most people happiness (and conversely unhappiness) is infectious. One person’s mood can have a major impact on another. Amit, a personnel manager in a company distributing industrial cleaning agents, confides, “When I go home in the evening I only have to open the door and see the look on my wife’s face to know what mood she is in. The same when I telephone her, the tone of her

voice in answering the call tells me everything. It can relax me or it can put me on my guard.”

Sanil, a middle manager with a transport company, says, “If you want a favour from our boss, for example an unscheduled day off, then you have to wait until he’s in the right mood to approach him. If you pick a bad day he will never give you the decision you want.”

Most people are totally unaware of the impact of their moods on others, let alone on their decisions. They are not even aware sometimes that they are in a bad mood. Bad spirits are often deceptive.

One of the skills in motivating people is therefore to develop a high degree of self-awareness and to that extent to choose positive, happy moods that radiate across to others. This is relatively easy to do. All it requires is for you to go looking for the good things in life that make you happy. Believe it or not, there are enough of these good things around that if you go looking for them, you will find them. Conversely, if you focus solely on the negative, on problems, on bad behavior and things that go wrong, you will be in a permanent state of misery.

As a result, your face will show it and this will have a harmful impact on your team.

The key is to wake up every

morning and consciously identify some aspect of your forthcoming day at work that you are looking forward to. Happiness and motivation then become a selffulfilling prophecy as everyone begins to look on the bright side.

This can even be done in times of adversity. After all, it can only get better. That’s the spirit Harvey Ross Ball was an American commercial artist. He is recognized as the earliest known designer of the smiley, which became an enduring and notable international icon. The State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts (now known as Hanover Insurance) had purchased Guarantee Mutual Company of Ohio. The merger resulted in low employee morale. In an attempt to solve this, Ball was employed in 1963 as a freelance artist, to create a smiley face to be used on buttons, desk cards, and posters. In less than ten minutes the smiley face was complete.

The use of the smiley face was part of the company’s friendship campaign whereby State Mutual handed out 100 smiley pins to employees. The aim was to get employees to smile while using the phone and doing other tasks.

SERVING ACES

Successful people delegate abundantly and groom the hands that they employ to handle as much of their load as they can thus freeing their own time to focus on bigger and more important things. It’s not just mundane or boring jobs that are delegated.

The Delegation Conundrum To delegate or not is every hands-on entrepreneur’s dilemma. Often costing him business opportunities and a view of the bigger picture

P Nilesh Amonker The Columnist is a natural entrepreneur.

An alumnus of the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, he traverses diverse businesses like info tech and real estate nileshamonker@yahoo.com

Delegation as a concept can almost effortlessly give you multiple heads and arms and if practiced diligently, it can truly accomplish what an individual human being can never even imagine to do on his/her own

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erforming miracles and seemingly impossible feats is largely considered to be the privilege and in the realm of Gods and divine beings only.

Hindu mythology is replete with stories of such great feats and miracles – and what appears to be common across these divine beings and the scores of Hindu gods and deities, is that these divine beings are invariably shown with multiple arms or heads. An unfair advantage no doubt, especially if you consider that these multiple arms can carry and are capable of using simultaneously several magical “astras” or weapons to carry out their divine work!

Whether you are a business manager or a professional or even a home-maker, the pressures in today’s world are tremendous and what we require to stay ahead in the game is nothing short of an impossible feat and that too, on a continuous basis! Day in day out, we are expected to balance the demands made on our poor mortal beings and we have to continually keep improving ourselves throughout to meet such demands.

Of course, we have our own earthly devices and weapons such as computers, smart-phones, and machines of different kinds to help us in our endeavours; but where we usually fall short is the multiple arms and heads! Imagine a scenario where we could actually have multiple arms and multiple heads at our disposal. Needless to say, that would give us immense power and we too, could possibly perform seemingly miraculous feats!

The good news is that it is indeed within our means to enact such a scenario by simply employing more hands and practicing the art of delegation.

Delegation, as a concept, can almost effortlessly give you multiple heads and arms and if

practiced diligently, it can truly accomplish what an individual human being can never even imagine to do on his/her own.

However, most people, struggle with successful delegation and suffer from what I call the “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” syndrome. The difficulty stems from our need or sometimes compulsion to control outcomes – ceding control to somebody else seems too risky or too scary a proposition. Other reasons for not delegating could be a strongly rooted belief that only we know how to do things best – which actually translates into having no confidence in the hands that we employ. Sure, you can handle the task way better than anybody else; but is that really the best use of your time?

Besides, if somebody else does a passable or half as decent a job, would it make any substantial difference to the outcome? If it’s a repetitive or routine job, can somebody be trained to do a reasonably good job by investing a little time? These questions need careful pondering and beg to be answered if you hope to achieve anything beyond your individual capacity. The other mental impediment to delegation

is a widespread albeit erroneous notion that results achieved “by the sweat of thy brow” are far more creditable and deserve more applause. Far from the truth – so long as the results are there to be seen, nobody really cares whether you do it yourself or get it done from somebody else. So free yourself from this “Martyr” syndrome as well and focus your time, attention and energy on the larger things that you and you alone should do.

Successful people delegate abundantly and groom the hands that they employ to handle as much of their load as they can, thus freeing their own time to focus on bigger and more important things. It’s not just mundane or boring jobs that are delegated. Generous delegation of challenging work will not only empower your staff but will also give them growth and a sense of satisfaction. This is the key to not only grooming employees but also retaining them in the long term. It’s a well known fact that it is not money or compensation that keeps people committed to their job. Rather, it’s the opportunity to learn and grow and to hone their skills and to handle work that is personally

Generous delegation of challenging work will not only empower your staff but will also give them growth and a sense of satisfaction. This is the key to not only grooming employees but also retaining them in the long term

rewarding that breeds loyalty.

If you choose not to delegate, your overall performance is limited to what you can achieve personally as an individual by utilizing the resources of time, effort and knowledge that you alone possess.

The belief that you can do a task better and faster than anybody else leads to a vicious cycle of too little time and too much to do and lots of undue stress. On the flip side, if you delegate, you not only enable yourself to increase your productivity but multiply it manifolds.

Effective delegation requires that you clearly communicate what is expected of the other person.

To start with, explain to the person what outcomes are expected. When the bigger picture is clear, it is far more easier to work towards achieving the goal So how does one delegate?

Effective delegation requires that you clearly communicate what is expected of the other person. To start with, explain to the person what outcomes are expected.

When the bigger picture is clear, it is far more easier to work towards achieving the goal. Establish clear milestones and checkpoints.

And however tempting it might be, refrain from watching every move and action over their shoulders. Delegate the results, not the process and clarify what resources you are willing to make available for the job. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

At the same time, delegating a

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task or a job to somebody does not mean merely instructing the person on what’s to be done. It involves entrusting the entire matter to the other person. It’s an unwritten mutual contract between you and the other person. For the other person, it means a commitment to understand the job and try to meet your expectations; while to you, it means a commitment to give the person the necessary resources, full authority and recognition for the job in question.

Delegating does not mean abdicating responsibility. You grant authority to the person you delegate the job to but you continue to remain responsible for the outcome. At the end of the day, the buck stops with you!

A word of caution here – tasks that are sensitive to the very existence of the organization or with high criticality should seldom be delegated. Tasks that are critical to the success of a project or the organization and have a low tolerance for mistakes are often better done yourself.

Barring these, most other tasks can easily be delegated.

The easiest way to get initiated into the art of delegation is to go into “vacation mode thinking”. Assume you are going on vacation in a week’s time. You automatically begin to channelize your thinking into figuring out ways to get things done while you are away. At work, you’ll think about who will deal with the telephone calls and the meetings that are scheduled and who will handle the clients. On the home front, you explore who would look after your pet and water the garden in your absence. This is a perfect state of mind to be in from a delegation perspective and will jumpstart you into delegation mode.

Whether you are a businessman, a homemaker or an executive manager, the work that you are primarily responsible for is what your business is and if you desire to perform impossible feats, you would do well to remember: Work ON your business, not IN your business!

JULY 2013

Business Goa 63

Letter from America

Most Indian companies are ready to take on competition. Let us hope that some ‘rogue’ companies and politicians do not slow down India’s economic growth for personal gain

Foreign Investment in India The author writes about the impression that India’s flip flop on foreign investment policy is creating in the investor countries

Jay Dehejia The writer used to be a senior corporate executive, now a social entrepreneur. He spends most of his time between Goa and New York jay@dehejia.net

I

t is that time of the year when my wife and I come to Goa. We enjoy the monsoon, the lush green trees, and the view of the cappuccino-colored ocean, while the service industry takes a breather from the hectic tourist activity.

But on to business activity in India, I am amazed at the massive bureaucratic controls that the Indian government places on businesses in this country. Take the case of the entry of foreign multi-product (multi-brand) retailers. For several years, the government banned companies like Wal-Mart and Tesco, from starting businesses in India.

After much debate by the Group of Ministers, the government announced on September 1, 2012 that foreign companies can set up 51/49% joint ventures in this sector as long as certain conditions are met. These conditions included a) minimum of US $ 100 million in Foreign Direct Investment of which US $ 50 million must be for retail stores and the rest for back-end operations; b) a minimum of 30% of the products had to be sourced from smaller companies in India, with purchases of agricultural products not qualifying under this 64 Business Goa

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category; c) retail stores would only be allowed in cities with more than 1 million population; d) FDI may not be used to buy out existing Indian retailers, warehouses and back-end operators. Foreign companies are waiting for further guidelines and perhaps other restrictions before they seriously consider starting business here in India.

I wonder if the government is serious about opening up this sector for investment by foreign companies!

Manmohan Singh in 1991, as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narsimha Rao removed many restrictions to foreign investment. India’s economy grew at a fast pace, and the ‘Hindu’ rate of growth was soon forgotten. Now in 2013, the Manmohan Singh government under the guidance of Sonia Gandhi is moving backwards.

Professors Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya of Columbia University have for decades argued that protection and trade barriers have hurt India’s economic growth. As late as 2010, Panagariya continued to be bullish about India’s GDP growth. In an article in Business Standard he wrote: ‘From the policy perspective, India has gone from a near autarky to near free trade in industrial products and services. Till 1990–91, India had across-theboard import licensing except in the case of a small minority of products subject to open general licensing. Foreign investment was generally not permitted. The situation today is significantly different. The average tariff on industrial products has come down to 12 per cent. Most industrial products and services sectors are open to foreign investors. Foreign investment has risen from $100 million in 1990–91 to $61.2 billion in 2007– 08.” Would he be as bullish in 2013?

If we agree with the economists, why are business pragmatists, like Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer, not setting up retail operations in India? Let me try and answer that question, and highlight some of the issues they face when doing business in India.

The most important factor that businesses thrive on is medium to long-term stability of rules and regulations. The case against Vodafone still continues even after India’s Supreme Court agreed with Vodafone that no taxes were due on their transaction to buy a stake in an Indian mobile operating company. The then Finance Minister, and now President of India, decided to backdate a ruling. Where is the consistency and stability?

Secondly, foreign companies find Indian labour laws draconian.

Companies in the United States believe in free enterprise with government role in business minimized. Corporate policies on Human Resources are a matter for each individual company to decide. If, for any reason, a company needs to downsize and reduce its workforce, there are no government laws and regulations that stop them from laying off workers and staff.

Even in France, where labour laws are stringent, Laxmi Mittal was able to negotiate with the French government and the unions to reduce the workforce.

Reducing the workforce in the Indian organized sector is close to impossible.

The third factor that affects a US company’s investment strategy is clarity of rules and regulations. We have seen in the case of multi-brand retailing operations that the government has put forward a policy that is still being refined with a lot of the wording left open to interpretation. It is impossible for any company to start a new

operation in a foreign country unless the regulations are clear and transparent.

The Indian judicial system is considered to be excellent for all parties involved. However, the latest judgment of the Supreme Court against Novartis’ claim of patent infringement by an Indian company manufacturing a generic equivalent has sent a negative message to companies who wish to ensure that their patents and trademarks are fully protected. I am not saying that the Indian Supreme Court is either right or wrong; I am only commenting on the vibes and messages that this judgment sends to US companies.

‘Lobbying’ in Washington is a practice that is clearly understood and accepted. Lobbyists are formally registered with the US Congress. All meetings between the lobbyists and government officials and Congressmen are recorded and available for review. Wal-Mart used lobbyists to try and convince the US government to put pressure on the Indian government to open the multi-brand retail sector.

Many members of the Indian Parliament found the use of lobbyists offensive and tried to use a perfectly legitimate dialogue between two governments to block Wal-Mart’s entry into India.

I suspect that these Members of Parliament may have had their own (hidden) agenda!

I am not suggesting that the entry of mega retailers like WalMart will improve an Indian’s quality of life, or India’s economic growth, or even bring down the cost of living. I believe in fewer government regulations, and I believe in open markets and free trade.

Most Indian companies are ready to take on competition.

Let us hope that some ‘rogue’ companies and politicians do not slow down India’s economic growth for personal gain

THINKING HAT

Before the industrial revolution, people were valued for knowing a trade. However, when machines took over physical labour, those skills became devalued and most people either performed simple, repetitive tasks or managed those who did

Game of Uncertainties The writer discusses how today humans are competing with technology in a bid to prove who’s the smartest

Kailash Kattalay The columnist is a tech guru and academician with a strong interest in strategic grooming of organisations kailash.kattalay@gmail.com

N

ot so long ago, we depended on human knowledge for many things, such as setting up travel itineraries, trading financial instruments and buying media.

All these are highly automated today. As we progress, new areas such as making medical diagnoses, legal discovery and even creative output are becoming mediated by computers.

Before the industrial revolution, people were valued for knowing a trade. However, when machines took over physical labour, those skills became devalued and most people either performed simple, repetitive tasks or managed those who did.

By the late 20th century, a knowledge economy began to take hold. Now, workers’ value lie not so much in their labour, but in specialized knowledge, much of which was inscrutable to their superiors. In order to thrive, enterprises had to tide over frequent uncertainties by keeping them young by overthrowing conventional human wisdom.

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Now, we are entering a new industrial revolution and machines are starting to take over cognitive tasks as well.

Therefore, much like in the first industrial revolution, the role of humans is again being rapidly redefined. Organizations will have to change the way that they learn to play the game of uncertainties.

How can organizations empower employees whose skills are being outsourced to the cloud?

The true nature of knowledge has been a source of fierce debate for over two thousand years, beginning with a disagreement between Plato and his most famous student, Aristotle.

Plato believed in ideal forms. To him, true knowledge consisted of familiarity with the forms and virtue (which, in modern terms would be closer to ability than to morality) was a matter of actualizing the forms in everyday life. Plato would have felt comfortable as a factory manager whose workers carried out instructions to the tee.

Aristotle, on the other hand, believed in empirical knowledge, that which you gain from experience. In contrast to Plato, we can imagine Aristotle as a Six Sigma black belt, constantly analyzing data in order to come up with a better way of doing things.

Both methods – the indoctrination of principles and the collection of data have played a role in learning organizations.

The difference now is that much of the learning is being taken over by machines.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the algorithms blend Platonic and Aristotelian approaches just like humans do. Initially, their thinking is driven by time honoured principles supplied by human experts. Then, as

While much of the discussion about the rising tide of technology focuses on cognitive skills, that social skills will be just as important more information comes in, the computer begins to learn from its own mistakes, getting better and better at its task.

This process continues at accelerating speeds. Much like the rise of the knowledge economy empowered knowledge workers, because they possessed expertise that their bosses didn’t, computers are now coming up with answers that knowledge workers themselves can’t understand. That will prove incredibly disruptive in the years to come.

Just as the first industrial revolution transformed business and society, this new algorithmic age will bring not just efficiency, but significant, cultural changes.

While the future is uncertain, some of the shifts are already becoming clear: Bayesian Strategy: The knowledge economy coincided with the rising influence of business strategists. Highly trained executives would analyze business conditions and devise intricate plans for the future.

Managerial performance, therefore, was widely evaluated as a function of their ability to “execute the plan.”

However, good strategy is becoming less visionary

and more Bayesian. Strategic plans will play a similar role to “gut feeling” that will be honed through an evolutionary process of simulation and feedback. One little noted consequence of the knowledge economy is the rise of intangible value, which often far exceeds tangible assets in corporations. Brands, therefore, became tightly controlled assets that were nurtured and protected.

The Human Touch: While much of the discussion about the rising tide of technology focuses on cognitive skills, that social skills will be just as important. Many of the fastest growing professions are those which emphasize personal contact. As computers take over more of the work, the role of humans will increasingly focus on caring for other humans.

The function of organizations in the industrial age was to direct work. The function of organizations in the algorithmic age will be to focus passion and purpose.

Managers, rather than focusing on building skills to recognize patterns and take action will need to focus on designing the curricula, to direct which patterns computers should focus on learning and to what ends their actions should serve

focus goa: airport

My personal view as a man on the ‘spot’ on whether Goa needs another airport is an emphatic “yes” and this nod comes from the logical conclusion based on factual premises. A decision from the mind rather than from the heart

An Airport for Goa Ralph de Sousa makes out a compelling case for an international airport in Goa by relying on historical facts and current challenges

Ralph de Sousa The writer is a first generation entrepreneur, involved in travel and hospitality with establishments in Goa, Delhi, Kerala and the UK chairman@thedesouzagroup.com

T

he Goa airport came into existence in 1923, when the erstwhile Portuguese government acquired a large area and constructed a grass runway. The only existing building at this site was a multipurpose shed with very minimum basic facilities. This airstrip catered for light aircrafts which flew in once in a way, whenever a government dignitary, or an army officer visited Goa. This primitive airstrip was replaced by a better airport in the year 1950 with an asphalted runaway and a control tower besides an arrival/ departure shed. The frequency rest and refuelling of flights by now were around once a week.

This created a connectivity between Goa, Portugal and other countries. In the year 1955, Goa launched its own international 68 Business Goa

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airlines TAIP – Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa, and the operations of TAIP carried on till December 1961. Goa was connected by TAIP to Colombo, Daman, Diu and Karachi.

From Karachi onwards TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portuguesa, ferried the passengers to Europe, with Cairo or Beirut as stopovers.

After liberation, the Goa airport was declared as an Armed Forces airport with the Indian Navy taking it over and setting up a naval base in Goa. The commercial domestic flights of Indian Airlines were permitted to land at the airport and the first flights to touch Goa were the Bombay-Cochin flights which made a stop-over in Goa. On these flights, 2 seats were reserved for Goa and all empty seats on that flight were put on sale. The first aircraft to land here was a Dakota with its legendry tail wheel, and later these aircrafts were replaced by Viscounts and then by the Jets.

Today, the domestic traffic has increased to 47 flights with little less than a hundred landings and take-offs per day round the year, and still growing.

On 4th November 1985, the Charter flight of CONDOR landed in Goa from West Germany, followed by flights of Air Europa and Inspiration East from the UK. These were the three direct

flights per week from Europe and they operated from November to April each year. Today the traffic has increased manifolds to 1100 charter flights coming to Goa during the same months, in 201213, with 2200 landings and takeoffs during the six month season.

Besides, we have daily international schedule flights operated by Air Arabia, Qatar Airways and Air India. At the moment, there are at least another three more international flights awaiting slots at suitable timings to start their operations in Goa, one being from Europe and two from the Gulf region.

The airport is shared between the Navy, domestic schedule flights, international charters, international schedule flights and private aircrafts with the peak period being from November to April each year.

The pressure of so many flights, coupled with insufficient and outdated infrastructure at the airport, creates such a chaotic situation that in the mid 90s, Goa’s airport was declared as the worst international airport in the world. And for last two decades it is among the five worst airports and continues to be so till today.

This millennium, night landings and take off were permitted and all the charters as well as the international schedule flights were unceremoniously

pushed to the night slots. This has limited the scope of flights into Goa as the major international airports in European cities suspend their operations during nights. Hence, one had to obtain slots in Europe, which are always fully taken up and hence rarely available, at such times that the Goa bound aircraft reach Goa at night time.

This is a huge set back to the hospitality industry in Goa and to the people of Goa who undertake international travel. One of the most sought after slot in Goa by international charter flights was the Friday slot, as this gave an extra day of vacation to our visitors from Europe. The trade struggled for years to keep it going but finally lost it to the night landing slots.

The domestic flights also have restricted timings to operate as the mornings are reserved for Naval exercises. The Navy uses the airstrips on evenings and nights, too.

In order to improve the chaotic situation at the airport a new terminal was planned in late 90s and this is yet to be in operation 15 years later. As per today’s requirements, the new terminal is not only outdated but insufficient as well, and that too after spending `350 crores on it!

With the Dabolim airport being an Armed Force Airport and totally under the control of the Indian Navy, further expansion of any sort is improbable. For last three decades, politicians and activists in Goa have debated and are debating the issue of pushing the Navy to Karwar. Prior to the establishment of Sea Bird at Karwar, such representations were made to the Governments to shift the base to Cochin.

Till date, this has not met with

focus goa: airport any success. The successive governments in Goa have been helpless with the representations wrongly made to them as this issue does not come within their jurisdiction, it being a matter to be handled by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

Representations forwarded to Delhi are neither being heard nor taken cognizance of and they have only succeeded in emitting more heat than light.

Now Goa being an Armed Forces airport, what will be the fate of Goa in case of an external security emergency?

India definitely does not have the friendliest neighbours in Pakistan and China, and any external aggression or even a threat of one will lead to an external emergency being imposed which will render the Goa airport shut for all civilian flights and operations. We have fought wars in 1962, 1971 and 1974. These were the times when the military hardware was not so sophisticated and Goa, except during the last war, was not within the hitting distance of the enemy. Today with the deployment of long range missiles and bombers, Goa falls well within the target area of the aggressors.

As things stand today, the Navy is still around and firmly anchored in Goa and the availability of slots for civilian landings is as per the allocations of the Navy. The pressure on the available timings is so high that the practical time landing slot period has reached a point of saturation, and to add to this, the apron space available to park the aircrafts is limited inspite of recent extension in the area.

As my work involves extensive domestic as well as international air travel, the breath-taking view of Goa that one sees from the skies turns into a horrific nightmare once you land and walk into the terminal.

In today’s aviation world, all new airports are constructed as per the present and futuristic requirements and the module are of the Hub and Spoke designs.

New aircrafts which carry 900 70 Business Goa

JULY 2013

The present airport is wonderfully located in the center of Goa, but has reached its saturation point and also has its limitations. It will make a good domestic airport and should be further upgraded for this purpose

After liberation, the Goa airport was declared as an Armed Forces airport with the Indian Navy setting up a base here. The first commercial domestic flights of Indian Airlines to land at the airport were the BombayCochin flights which made a stop-over in Goa passengers and more are the airlines of the future and these aircrafts will dictate the travel patterns of the world. As per the new emerging flight patterns, we have Hubs emerging in Qatar, Singapore, Japan and Sydney on the Middle Eastern-Far Eastern sectors and the Asia Pacific routes. The gap between Qatar and Singapore is up for the grabs and the one who steps forward and grabs this opportunity in establishing a Hub will be the sure winner. And Goa fits the bill.

All the airlines will land only at Hubs and from there on smaller aircrafts will service the various cities round the Hub which will serve as the Spokes. The Hub will not only handle the air traffic to Goa, but will act as a port of call and handling to feed the Spokes in other parts of India and some of the neighbouring countries in the region as well.

Hubs are also the main refuelling stations for long distance flights and intercontinental cargo transit areas and these services will be extended to the Trans Pacific and Euro Australian flights.

Investment in a Hub is significant and they have seen the light of day worldwide with private investors’ participation.

They have to be fully integrated airports with every required facility whether for the aircrafts

or passengers, and with the state of the art facilities which include duty free shopping, cafes and fine dining restaurants, sufficient areas for customs clearance and a large area for immigration authorities. Goa has been authorised to issue visas on arrival for 11 countries cleared by the Union Home Ministry, and another 16 countries will be added to this list shortly. The requirement of space for airlines maintenance and repair hangers which are absent, the apron space and a second parallel runway are no longer options today. Telecheck in kiosks, airline ticketing and check-in counters, security areas, Forex, taxi and hotel counters besides aviation and dark offices form and integral part of the airports. Lounge area and visitors galleries with proper facilities have also to be in place.

Every good international Airport has multi arrival and departure terminals and with an attached airport hotel for passengers in transit and proper medical facility in the form of an emergency hospital.

It has a special cargo terminal as ferrying of cargo makes the airline operations viable. Today, the absence of this facility at the Goa airport has discouraged many an airline from landing into Goa. The cargo terminal has to be a fully integrated project with warehousing, logistics, refrigeration and customs facilities in place. The area required is vast, almost the size of our present airport, as besides the cargo of local origin, international cargo in transit has to be handled, too.

This brings us to the key question – do we need a second airport for Goa? My personal view as a man on the ‘spot’ is an emphatic “yes” and this nod comes from the logical conclusion based on the above factual premises. A decision from the mind rather than from the heart. With the Navy so firmly rooted to the ground, the growing demand for the slots, the multi-fold growth in air traffic and operations under restrictions, leave alone the

absence of a cargo terminal and ‘the Hub and the Spoke’ model of operations, Goa needs a fully integrated airport to address our needs and much more.

Now the second inevitable question – Where do we have this second airport?

It will have to be in a place with sufficient availability of land, favourable wind currents, geological stability of the land, with the required geographical conditions including the topography and with an integrated connectivity which covers the distance of 105 kms from the Northern to the Southern tip of Goa and 65 kms from the Sahyadri hills to the Arabian Sea, through a road and rail services. The suitability of the site depends on the above factors and more, and has to be assessed by specialists and experts in these respective fields. These highly qualified and technically savvy scientists and experts have to decide on the right spot.

As I am nowhere close to these requirements, I do not qualify to make statements or pass judgements on the sites chosen by the professionals. Personally, I have no preferences and I would go by the professional verdict given after years of research and deliberations, on the suitable site for a second airport for Goa. The present airport is wonderfully located in the center of Goa, but has reached its saturation and has its limitations.

It will make a good domestic airport and should be further upgraded for this purpose. It has no role to play in the International Air Traffic handling and this should be the mandate of the second airport.

For someone involved in the travel and hospitality sector for the last 26 years and who has been flying out from Goa airport for 45 years, the present airport riddled with restrictions, threats and uncertainties does not take me to a comfort zone.

We need an international Hub for Goa located on a site chosen by the experts, while the present airport is to be used for efficient Domestic operations

focus goa: power

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Voltage Stabilizer and Invertor manufacturers have a field day in Goa! The writer feels that the Power situation in Goa is at its nadir

I Binayak Datta The columnist is former CFO and Vice President, Finance of Zuari Industries Ltd. He is a practicing Chartered Accountant and motivational speaker binayak.datta@bsnl.in

Out of a total plan size of Rs.3320 Crores and Rs.4700 Crores for the Financial Years 2011-12 and 201213 respectively, the energy sector received an allocation of 200crores (6%) and 300 crores (again 6%) consistently

t can never be overemphasised how important electricity is in terms of basic amenities to citizens as also in terms of basic infrastructure for industries.

I think nobody will be in doubt about the extremely deplorable condition with regard to Power and Electricity and the way they are managed by the current regime in Goa. Further, nobody will surely differ on at least one point – that they need drastic improvements and more – a strong will for improvement.

Out of a total plan size of `3320 Crores and `4700 Crores for the Financial Years 201112 and 2012-13 respectively, the energy sector received an allocation of 200 crores (6%) and 300 crores (again 6%) consistently.

This is the 3rd largest allocation in the Goa annual plans after general economic and social services and transport.

Yet we see there is a vast scope for improvement in management of this sector, as well.

Power Requirement: Although compared to the tertiary sector, the secondary sector including manufacturing is smaller in terms of contribution to the SGDP, what it raises even more concern is that year after year the proportion of the secondary sector is steadily falling.

Table 1

It will be seen that the share of manufacturing in the SGDP is not only shrinking (from 30% 6 years back to 25% now!), also the SGDP growth itself has been coming down and the consequent manufacturing activity is dwindling.

If we see the Growth of the Manufacturing Sector only over the years.

Table 2 Year

Growth in SGDP %

Growth in Manufacturing Sector in %

2006-07

10.02%

10.35%

2007-08

5.54%

3.52%

2008-09

10.02%

5.68%

2009-10

10.20%

8.57%

2010-11P

10.15%

6.53%

2011-12Q

8.94%

5.05%

Source: economic survey 2012-13

So when 5 years back the SGDP was growing by 10%, our manufacturing industry was also growing by 10%; today the GDP grows by 9% whereas the manufacturing activities grow by only 5%.

Hence we see, industry which should be the rightful biggest chunk of consumer (65%) for the States Power Resources which is actually shrinking if one were to compare with the growth in the economy!

Power: The anticipated power requirement and availability position is as follows: for 2013-14:

figures.

I say this when the Government’s own figures for transmission and distribution losses is at a staggering 14%!

The 2 fold points for consideration a.Increase in Capacities to bridge current deficits as also to sustain planned growths b.Better management of existing availabilities: i. Better maintenance ii. Better power transmission, distribution and loss controls a) Whereas in the areas of Increase in Capacities, the Government has done the following Purchase Agreements in the last 2 years as reported by them: 1. 20MW from RGPPL 2. 8MW from NHPC 3. 14.5MW Allocation from NTPC MaudaII 4. 37MW from NTPC & VVNL 5. 270MW from new Coal Block at Chhatisgarh 6. 14MW Sipat I 7. 5MW Vindhyachal IV (these are as reported in the Economic Surveys of the last 2 years) With all of these, the State can seemingly tide over all shortfalls that are currently experienced.

The fact however is that the progress of these projects have not been quite reported in the public domain.

Table 3

Source: Central Electricity Authority Energy

Year

Growth in SGDP %

Share of manufacturing in SGDP in %

2006-07

10.02%

29.39%

2007-08

5.54%

28.83%

2008-09

10.02%

27.69%

2009-10

10.20%

27.28%

2010-11P

10.15%

26.39%

Source: economic survey 2012-13

72 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Peak

Requirement

Available

Deficits

MU

MU

MU

3219

3075

144

%

4.5%

We find that although there is a shortfall in the availabilities in terms of total energy, it is manageable and far less when compared with the all India

Requirement

Available

Deficits

MW

MW

MW

460

437

23

%

4.9%

b) Transmission: There has been an estimate made for providing underground cabling at Mormugao at a Cost of `45 crores. The award and progress

Goa’s uniqueness lies in its size, its ecology, its infrastructure potential and its manageability. If we do not devote adequate amounts of seriousness to the infrastructure and fruitfully harness the potential, we will have nobody else to blame other than ourselves

of the job is not available in the public domain.

Transmission losses as stated are to the tune of 14% and there are no significant improvements in controls.

Given this situation, we find the power situation in terms of stability of supply is abysmal.

Power Instability: a) Domestic: Over the period of last 2 months ie May and June 2013; the number of outages in Domestic Supply at Mormugao were as follows: Table 4 Week

No of outages

Shortest

Longest

01-04

288

0.10 hr

5.50 hrs

05-11

595

0.01 hr

6.15 hrs

12-18

643

0.02 hr

4.80 hrs

19-25

613

0.02 hr

5.15 hrs

26-31

598

0.01 hr

6.25 hrs

01-08

577

0.01 hr

6.78 hrs

09-15

593

0.01 hr

6.11 hrs

16-22

543

0.01 hr

4.31 hrs

23-27

380 (5 days)

0.01 hr

4.56 hrs

If the peak shortfalls were only 4% it is amazing what sort of Power Transmission Management we are witnessing!

Secondly, the fact that the outages are sometimes so short causing havoc to equipments – there must be frequent trips not being properly professionally remedied days on.

There must be an investigation and reporting on this matter.

Meanwhile domestic equipments are faced with tremendous hazards so also human safety due to unplanned cuts and resumption. b) Industrial Outages in Mormugao: The Industrial Outages witnessed in Mormugao for the year 2012-13 areeven worse.

I had the opportunity of looking into the Power Stability Reports of a large industrial plant and what I saw for the last year

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is quite puzzling! I have seen outages ranging from 2 hours to 10 hours on remarks like “... to remove PG Clamp on Feeder” or say”....to attend to weak insulation”...or say”.....Jumper opened at Ponda” etc.

One gets shivers at the way the Repairs and Maintenance of this exceedingly crucial facility is dealt with by the orders of the day!!

It can also be seen that the amount of small outages – half a minute to say half an hour and the numbers thereof are just amazing and are of a major concern to the Industry.

The way forward We may notice there is a very peculiar situation facing us.

On the one hand the biggest requirement block (65%) the Industrial Requirement is slowly shrinking when compared to the economic growth, on the other hand there is growing instability of Power even though the total shortfall in terms of total energy is a manageable figure of 4%! (manageable because the losses are 14%) There must be something very drastically wrong in the process of management of Transmission and Distribution and unbridled transmission losses.

In either case, this does not bode well for the State – both in terms of Industry as well as in terms of the tertiary sectors – services like tourism.

As a well thinking citizen, I would expect that the Government takes note of this and commission a group of experts to examine the situation and come out with remedial measures both in the short run as well as in the long run.

This is the safest way of how to put a burning issue into the cold storage and the Government continues its rickety-wickety way of attending to urgent and important matters!

Let me suggest a few quick pick actions that the Government can do apart from appointing more committees of experts.

I will not again punch for the commonest of demands like a gas based power plant for neither clean power, nor a wind mill farm nor am I again going to suggest here solar farms on the ghats or mini micro hydels on the ghats etc... these have oft been repeatedly talked and have been the subject matter of many a seminar now, before and in future to come!

My takes are more basic – simple easy things that we should be doing to instil a method in this melee! a. Restructure and Corporatise the Power Purchase, Transmission and Distribution wings – if necessary in the PPP Mode – make them accountable for their revenues, losses and profits. b. Appoint state level regulatory body to see that the Public Priorities are adhered to c. Put in Systems and processes aided by appropriate SCADA systems d. Appoint accredited energy auditors immediately e. Implement Energy efficient building code f. Above all, look into the Organisation of the total revenues billed by the Electricity Department. 18% goes towards staff costs and administrative expenses and as I said, technical Losses account for a handsome 14% (not counting commercial losses for which i do not have the data with me!)

g. Last but not the least – an eye (from the top brass) on the crucial infrastructure – which one gets the feeling is missing due to other heavy systemic priorities!

Now or never Before I part with the subject, I must remind my readers that Goa’s uniqueness lies in its size, its ecology, its infrastructure potentials and its manageability.

If we do not devote adequate amounts of seriousness to infrastructure and fruitfully harness the potentials, we will have nobody else to blame other than ourselves, in the years to come.

We need to put sustainable growth drivers which can see our economy grow much faster.

In that, we need clean eco sensitive industries. We must make this State look attractive for entrepreneurs when they select their investment destinations – and in that, we have to manage the economy well. Whereas our interest payment versus total revenue expenditure is still around 11%, better than a few States, what is worrysome is that our own tax revenue to total revenue expenditure is 45.5% according to the latest RBI Study on State Finances. We find ourselves in the same classroom with Jharkhand, Odisha, Bengal and Bihar!

Let us pull up our acts and start acting fast. We do not have the luxury of time with us JULY 2013

Business Goa 73

CORPORATE HEALTH

Life need not always be black or white. One can always create various shades and try to strike a balance between work and a healthy lifestyle and lead a meaningful life

The Corporate Baggage The author talks about common work practises and its effects on our bodies Watch out to keep it moderate if not avoidable

THE CHAIR Syndrome: Hours and hours of sitting at the desk glued to your chair can achieve a lot of work, but with complimentary health problems in terms of joint pains/ stiffness in the ankle, at times causing swelling. A short walk in between, rotation of ankle joints frequently and your ankles will thank you for easing them out.

A regular back stretch at intervals would go a long way to save your spine.

Dr Hemangini Kishore Shah The columnist is an ex Medical Administrator at Ruby Hall Clinic,Pune and ex consultant in Community Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and is presently a Consultant at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine and Member Secretary, Medical Education cell at Goa Medical College, Goa hkstnp69@rediffmail.com

I

n today’s corporate lifestyle, a lot of factors conducive to the corporate environment tend to trigger health issues. To be able to avoid these health problems one needs to “BE AWARE” of these factors and “BEWARE” of the health issues that can arise out of them.

Some factors may remind you to familiar situations to your corporate environment...

The CHAI/COFFEE Syndrome: Numerous visitors, clients, meetings, discussions lead to the usual Chai / Coffee ritual.

Excessive intake of tannin / caffeine can take a toll on your health causing acidity, insomnia, palpitations etc. and may kick off underlying arrhythmias (irregular heart beats). A conscious regulation or a substitute like green tea or herbal tea would be beneficial.

74 Business Goa

JULY 2013

THE LUNCH ON THE GO Syndrome: For the busybodies, it feels so much easier to just munch something while at the laptop, eat while walking and call that lunch.

Some function at an even higher level, missing lunch altogether.

No time? Once famished, loads of food, may find its way in.

Such habits on a regular basis, is a sure shot call for a nutritional imbalance causing various nutritional deficiencies, or invite diabetes due to fluctuating blood sugar levels. Let us give food its due respect. We surely are entitled to a peaceful meal, aren’t we?

affects judgment which may lead to accidents. Let’s realize that life existed even before cell phones. A wonderful invention, it needs to be used judiciously to curb present and future health hazards.

THE AC Syndrome: Most offices, chambers are equipped with air conditioners.

Constant exposure to the AC while at work or while commuting is definitely comforting but also dehydrating leading to dryness of skin, which goes unnoticed as mentally we feel no sweat and no loss of water.

THE INDOOR Syndrome: Corporate employees who tend to be indoors most of the time, miss out on natures delight – the warmth of the sunshine and its precious gift to the body – Vitamin D. A deficiency of Vitamin D is found to be on the rise due to which osteoporosis can set in.

THE LAPTOP Syndrome: Waiting periods at airports, long car drives find people working vociferously with heads buried into their laptops. A warm or rather hot soul mate, literally heats up the lap. These rising temperatures for long periods can cause problems like dermatitis, infertility etc. Do we want that?

THE CELL O MANIA: Just like women love diamonds, men seem to be inseparable from their cell phones. A compulsive perceived need to be in touch, complete ongoing jobs, obsessive check of messages and e mails tend to creep into the routine. Research is on, analyzing the radiation hazard but why not play safe and restrict continuous use. Also its use while driving, even with the ear piece

THE ELITE CULTURE TRAP: Come business get togethers, dinners etc and alcohol seems a must. It is perceived as high class. A teetotaler? How boring!

Also the thought that best deals somehow are clinched clinking glasses is so clichéd. Regular attendees to such occasions can start off as social drinkers and then be habituated to the drink which writes its own story on every organ in the body.

THE FORGOTTEN H2O Formula: Water is called the elixir of life but somehow it takes a backseat amidst the busy schedules when work takes over as the magic potion. Reminding oneself of the body’s need is very essential.

Urinary tract infection, renal calculi etc can be kept at bay.

THE SPOUSE / FAMILY NEGLECT Syndrome: Remember you are not married to your work. Late hours at work on a daily basis, prolonged trips, frequent business parties leaves hardly any time for the spouse and children. No amount of the world’s riches can substitute the together time. Try to make time and prioritize family time for your and your family’s nurturance.

THE MENTAL PEACE Syndrome: A churning of emotions like the mythological Sagar Manthan is underway. At times, cut throat competition, unmotivated team, demanding seniors, inter personal bickering, office politics, work-place harassment can take over mental peace, fracturing the mind into pieces of frustration, desperation, anger, jealousy, anxiety, depression etc. What’s a healthy body without a healthy mind?

Taking things in ones stride, maintaining a positive outlook, planning and organizing, identifying stress busters are all needed. Well! The list goes on.

Mind you, life need not always be black or white. One can always create various shades and try to strike a balance between work and a healthy lifestyle and lead a meaningful life

investment advisory

Keep in mind that whether selling the entire company or raising a tranche of growth capital (in the form of debt or equity), what you are really selling is the future cash flow of the business

The essence of selling your business!

The writer advices you to weigh your options judiciously before you sell out your business interests

Gautam Verlekar The writer is a Chartered Accountant and Co-founder of boutique Investment Banking Group Posiview Consulting Partners posiview.goa@gmail.com

There are various ways to undertake a liquidity event including the sale to or merger with another company, or taking the public company through an initial public offering (IPO)

76 Business Goa

JULY 2013

M

ergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions can be and have always been used as a viable alternative for accomplishing a number of strategic objectives in the context of building and realizing value for emerging growth and middlemarket companies (those from startup to several hundred million dollars in revenue). The Dynamic environments of business and cyclical changes, requires such a strategic approach to achieve the next level. This movement to the next level is possible for most businesses through a jump start M&A transaction. By passing the incremental graph of organic growth or creating value out of monetized wealth is achieved

by Acquisitions and Buy Outs for Businesses and Entrepreneurs.

As every Entrepreneur will confirm starting something out of scratch is not only challenging but life sucking. Starting up though extremely challenging comes with its own set of complexities.

Letting go of something one has built, spent years going through the pains and for which one has made extreme sacrifices is nearly impossible for most people.

Eventuality such entrepreneurs look for a heritage successor or hand over the reins to last resort

assignees. Without a plan to encash your sweat and sacrifices built into the businesses, most entrepreneurs run after a mirage of unending successes. Handing over to heritage successors is a 50:50 chance of mediocrity or inspiration.

Let’s take a view of the sellside idea, essence, and a brief framework for thinking about and planning each step to make a successful ‘BUY’ or ‘LET GO’/ EXIT. Exits In many instances the distinction between selling a company and raising capital is measured by the amount of equity sold and the contractual rights obtained by the buyer. Financing growth raises the issue of long-term shareholder objectives, which many times involve eventual liquidity.There are various ways to undertake a liquidity event including the sale to or merger with another company, or taking the public company through an initial public offering (IPO). As the wave of business transitions driven by First generation baby boomers planning their legacy and succession continues, some shareholders are confronted with a multifaceted decision of

how to finance the continued growth of their business, create liquidity for their owners, and lay the foundation for operations independent of the owner/founder. Others see the opportunity to buy-out partners or create some liquidity while staying in the game for what may be deemed a second bite at the apple. This is the concept of selling a controlling interest in a company to a financial buyer (i.e., a private equity group) and rolling over or keeping a minority interest until a subsequent sale or liquidity event happens when the company is expected to have grown in value (under the watch of the new owners with their capital and value add). There are numerous examples where the sale of the minority interest in the follow-on transaction (three to five years from the first transaction) resulted in as much economic gain as the original sale to the financial buyer. So the fear of losing control when you sell substantial interest in the Company at a first bite is in 90% of the cases, more driven by psychological and sociological factors unlike all the decision the Entrepreneur has made till now which were more on logic, economics and business

Free cash flow is a key measure used by the buyer to evaluate a business. While past performance provides credibility to management’s claims, future cash flow is the foundation for valuation and usually the primary reason for buying or investing in a company

prudence.

Shareholders and partners may find a full or partial exit attractive for many reasons, including: • Diversifying away the risk of having too much personal net worth in a single asset.

• Minimizing the risk of growth by obtaining a financial or strategic partner i.e. a strategic partner looks for businesses that can be quickly integrated with its main operations and with bigger firepower is able to scale faster.

• Buying-out passive partners and making room in the capital structure for management and employees without dilution to exiting active shareholders.

Several potential solutions exist, including recapitalization, sale to a financial buyer while keeping a minority stake, or an outright sale to a strategic or financial buyer with contractual rights for some level of future performance; and there are many variations.

Recapitalization Generally a recapitalization will involve a lower cash-out (as a partial Exit or staged Exit) for the active owners than a buyout (which involves a change of control).

A recapitalization will most likely be focused on changing the relative mix of debt and equity with an eye toward the growth objectives of the company and the required go-forward capital. It could be moving Equity to Debt like in corporate re-structuring of debt or Vice-Versa for example, a leveraged recapitalization will most likely increase the debt of the company in exchange for distributions, dividends, or purchase of equity to promoters (read buy back).

This process of generating cash from business by Debt is difficult in developing countries due to risk aversion of bankers.

However it offers banks and NBFCs to use it as a route to future control of a Company for a strategic sale. This method however gets a lower valuation due to debt overloading.

Strategic Sale /Acquisitions Acquisitions for a Strategic Buyer can meet a number of goals if approached and executed as part of a long-term strategy. Some of the typical reasons executives pursue acquisitions include: • To accelerate revenue growth.

• To enter an adjacent market space.

• To expand into a new geography or obtain a physical footprint in a new location.

• To access new customers.

• To access technology.

• To strengthen the pool of talent and capabilities.

• To complete or augment a product or service line.

There are numerous examples where the sale of the minority interest in the follow-on transaction (three to five years from the first transaction) resulted in as much economic gain as the original sale to the financial buyer • To reduce costs.

• To capture market share.

• To prevent a competitor from gaining these advantages.

Thus as a Seller you need to understand that a Strategic Buyer is doing this First Phase: Find a Target company; this begins with the strategic plan that should lay the foundation to determine many of the parameters and the focus of the process. The Second phase of the process is to structure the deal, close the transaction, and integrate the business.

Both the phases are important for the Seller. You need to make your business marketable and attractive for a buyer, whether in near term or long term. As a Seller or Exiting a business, you need to look beyond the basic metric of valuation only but focus

on what value your business/ product adds to others. Whether it is technology, engineering, financial or consumer focussed, all industries have to build a USP which becomes marketable, today or tomorrow.

The financing strategy to support the acquisition is initially thought of by the buyer in the context of the overall acquisition process and is generally defined as part of the acquisition strategy (phase one), understanding that the process will determine closure of the deal.

If your Buyer company is cash flush or the ticket size/ target is immaterial in value, the financing strategy may be as simple as funding the transaction from operational cash flow or cash reserves. However, if the deal requires external funding, the sell side management must consider the financing strategy, which typically begins with understanding the acquiring or buying company. This involves: • Determining its valuation which involves subjective calculations that aim to define the fair market value of the company and financial strength.

• Establishing financial objectives and benchmarks for vetting possible acquisitions.

• Determining parameters around how much the buyer can and should afford.

• Conducting internal discussions around an ideal or preferred deal structure.

• Establishing relationships with financing sources and obtaining buy-in regarding the acquirer’s plans.

Finally, this will end up in obtaining evidence for potential sellers of the buyer’s ability to finance and close a deal.

The deal structure and financing strategy are developed by weighing a number of factors to find the optimum solution to meet the objectives of the parties involved. Among other things, these factors include the integration strategy and the valuation gap that is the value that your company is willing to pay and what is required to get the deal done.

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Buy side Managements will keep in mind some core concepts as it takes an objective view and embarks on the acquisition process: • They begin with the end in mind; set clear objectives and benchmarks to gauge attractiveness of potential target companies and particular deals.

So you need to remember that they are here with a goal and if you are not committed, should not even be at the table.

• They develop the financing strategy up-front and establish relationships with likely sources of financing, You need to verify with evidence only at an advanced stage of concluding the deal.

• The terms are likely more important than absolute valuation so a Financial Advisor is the key to save the pangs of due diligence and hard negotiations.

• Align the financing strategy with the operating/integration plan and deal structure. Thus the Operation side Process and Key Management PersonnelRetention, promotion, or removal could make or break a deal.

• Focus on value creation for the buyer and your price will come.

The essence of the finalend steps in the selling process is analysis and understanding of the shareholders’ and company’s objectives, financial and competitive position, growth strategy and initiatives, valuation and final integration of business is what a Buyer looks at and unless a Seller looks at all these objectively and honestly the bridge to closure is always shaky.

Keep in mind that whether selling the entire company or raising a tranche of growth capital (in the form of debt or equity), what you are really selling is the future cash flow of the business. Free cash flow is a key measure used by the buyer to evaluate a business. While past performance provides credibility to management’s claims, future cash flow is the foundation for valuation and usually the primary reason for buying or investing in a company JULY 2013

Business Goa 77

focus goa: industry

That the GSPCB was on the back foot, enforcing compliance among the large number of defaulting industries, particularly from SSI sector was evident, because of the small staff strength with which it ran its business prior to 2012

Being Compliant: Goan Industry, Goa Pollution Control Board and the NGT order The writer feels that small industrialists are saddled with cumbersome compliance procedures and inconsistent mechanism

Atul P Naik The writer is an entrepeneur and has served as President of Goa State Industries’ Association.

He has abiding interest in astronomy and weather patterns.

atulnaik@outlook.com

Even before the NGT order came in the first week of June 2013, the CAG Audit had pointed out that out of the 6129 SSI units reported registered

by GSPCB at that time, only 1450 SSI units had been granted consents

78 Business Goa

JULY 2013

W

hat is it that makes Industry in Goa, including the Hotel industry run afoul of the Goa Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) year after year? Does the Industry stand accused of ignoring the mandatory compliance norms and consent requirements of the GSPCB or could the finger be pointed at GSPCB itself for not making serious efforts to keep a tab on the industry and remove whatever hurdles the industry faces in applying for and obtaining the various consents?

In reality the truth could be somewhere in between.

Recent weeks have seen a turmoil within Goa’s Industrial sector, particularly the MSME sector, on account of the harsh order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the GSPCB and to other state PCBs all over the country, to close down all such industries and hotels which don’t obtain the relevant consents to operate within three weeks of their order.

Even before the NGT order came in the first week of June 2013, the CAG Audit had pointed out that out of the 6129 SSI units reported registered by GSPCB

at that time, only 1450 SSI units had been granted consents. The CAG Audit asked for an Action Taken Report from GSPCB. This jolted GSPCB to initiate action by issuing show cause notices for compliance under the threat of closure to the defaulting industries.

That the GSPCB was on the back foot, enforcing compliance among the large number of defaulting industries, particularly from SSI sector was evident, because of the small staff strength with which it ran its operations prior to 2012.

Inspecting industries all over Goa, initiating action against the defaulters etc. was probably not receiving the priority it deserved considering that the Board had to utilise the same staff for other urgent Environment and Pollution issues on hand including Mining pollution issues and the garbage disposal issues of the civic bodies all over Goa. Any industry, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Acts, has to obtain both – the Consent to operate under the Water Act and the Consent to operate under the Air Act. However, for many years after the Amended Goa

Water and Air (Prevention and Control) Rules 1998 were notified, the GSPCB was not insisting that consents under both the Acts be obtained by SSIs. Many industries thus, obtained consents either under Air Act or under Water Act. However many more Goan Micro and Small industries, which are typically run by self-employed entrepreneurs with Machining Workshops, Fabrication Workshops and such other green industries – which neither have any air stacks or boilers nor emit polluting gases or other effluents – did not realise that they too came under the ambit of these Acts and remained ignorant of the compliance aspect. There were also the issues of validity of the consents, the fees to be paid based on land, building, plant and machinery and other fixed assets (GFA), as well as the confusion created by the then prevalent list of categorisation of industries as green, orange and red. These issues too, probably deterred many micro and SSI entrepreneurs, who were wary of obtaining and renewing consents paying high fees, when they could expect or get no tangible

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focus goa: industry service from the GSPCB towards disposal of their pollutants and effluents, if at all.

The Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce (DITC) had their own list of Green, Orange and Red and CPCB had its own list, with omissions in both lists and conflicting categorisation.

Many industries found no mention as these lists were not updated for a long time. To the credit of the GSPCB, cognisance was taken of this issue and a substantial exercise undertaken along with DITC and Industry Associations in the second half of last decade, to draw an exhaustive list of revamped categorisation encompassing all types of industrial activity in Goa, after many deliberations. But then again, recently CPCB issued a circular that all state PCBs should follow the CPCB notified categorisation of Industries for the sake of uniformity across the country, and GSPCB had to see all its efforts go in vain.

Besides this, the other major issues deterring the SSIs from applying for consents were the fees, the validity of the consents and the complicated nature of the whole process of online registration and Form filling required.

Initially, in the late nineties, the GSPCB granted consent to operate with validity period of 2 years for all types of industries.

On representation from Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA) in 2002, the GSPCB decided to increase the validity of the consents for SSIs to 5 years.

As mentioned earlier, many SSIs took consents by paying fees under either Air Act or Water Act, as GSPCB was not insisting on consents under both the Acts.

But, when in 2007, the Board started insisting on Consents under both Acts as mandated by law, the SSIs were put to additional financial hardship, as they now had to pay twice the amount of consent fees under both Acts, based on their Gross Fixed Asset (GFA) and without any tangible support from the GSPCB. And these fees were much higher than those charged 80 Business Goa

JULY 2013

To their credit, the GSPCB conducted a number of workshops and seminars in the Industrial estates, jointly with industries associations

Recent weeks have seen a turmoil within Goa’s Industrial sector, particularly the MSME sector, on account of the harsh order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the GSPCB and to other state PCBs all over the country, to close down all such industries and hotels which don’t obtain the relevant consents to operate within three weeks of their order

by Pollution Control Boards of many other states.

The Industry took up the issue with the GSPCB for restructuring of the fees based on a combined consent form under Air and Water Acts with longer validity and fees comparable to those charged by other states, particularly in neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Industry associations also impressed upon DITC and GIDC to set up common Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) in various industrial estates in Goa for the common usage and benefit of SSIs located nearby.

The issue of Hazardous Waste disposal facility coming up at Dharbandora was also pursued, with limited success so far.

Taking cognizance of the problems faced by the SSIs in particular, the State Government on 5th August 2011, notified the Goa Water and Air Amendment Rules 2011, wherein the combined form was notified, the validity for Micro and Small industries under Green category was increased to 10 years, under orange category to 7 years, while also increasing the validity of consents to other categories of industries. This gave a relief

to a large number of green and orange categories of micro and small industries in Goa, as their annual financial burden came down due to increase in the validity period. For example, a Green Micro industry with a GFA of Rs 25 Lakhs, would now pay fees of Rs 8000/- each for Air Consent and for Water Consent but with a validity of 10 years, effectively paying Rs 1600/- per year without the need to go for a renewal for 10 years.

The Micro and Small Scale Industry should have been happy with this scenario, but a new problem crept up due to the implementation of the online XGN software by the GSPCB, as the only portal for the industry to apply for or renew consents, to file returns and to check for status of applications.

This NIC developed software, similarly implemented by a few other State Pollution Control Boards, was a complicated and unfathomable monster to many a micro and small industries, who were supposed to first register for the user id and get a password to operate the web based software and then learn by themselves to manoeuvre through the various sections, to upload various documents including voluminous land title documents, manufacturing process details, raw material consumption in proper format, data related to effluents if any etc. To their credit, the GSPCB conducted a number of workshops and seminars in the Industrial Estates, jointly with industries associations.

It also made available, for the benefit of the industries, a full time helpdesk at its headquarters in Panaji, assisting the entrepreneurs in uploading the data, filling the forms online etc.

But it meant that the micro and small entrepreneurs had to make trips to Panaji to fulfil l all the requirements till the forms could be successfully implemented. All this process was time consuming and very slow. In the meantime, the GSPCB went about its task of issuing show cause notices to all non-compliant industries, as per the data of industries available

with them. One problem GSPCB encountered was that though DITC records indicate around 7000 industries in Goa based on the initial provisional registrations or EM Part I, since liberation of Goa, accurate data on number of industries actually working as on date, working without permanent registration of EM Part II, closed or merged into another entity is either missing or not collated between the various arms of the industry.

In April 2013, GSPCB again formed a sub-committee, with industry representation which met in May and June 2013, to suggest means to improve compliance through various measures. Based on the subcommittee deliberations and recommendations, the GSPCB has now decided to accept hard copies of the applications for consent and also to recommend to the Government the waiver of late fees and penalties. Plans to set up helpdesks in kiosks in all the Industrial Estates across the state have also been suggested

by Industry Associations and received positive response within GSPCB. This along with a simplified two page application form specially for micro and small industries, to be filled in by personnel manning the kiosks, if implemented should see more industries voluntarily coming forward to take the consents.

The GSPCB and the Industry Associations should make joint efforts to reach out to the micro and small entrepreneurs at their place of work as much as possible, render all possible help in filling the forms and operate the XGN software and explain the mandatory requirements, the financial and administrative advantages of increased validity period for green and orange industries. This should increase the industry compliance significantly and keep up the fair name of micro and small industries in Goa as major contributors to the sustained social and economic well-being of Goa, providing employment and creating wealth for the state, entrepreneurs and youth

A ARE YOU R L L A M S O MICRO ISE ENTERPR

G N I K O LO ?

S E L A S FOR . u o y r o f g n i k We are loo

ses registered ri rp te n e l l a m S nd > All Micro a r preferential fo le ib g i l e re a a o in the State of G ated by Govt. lo f r e d n e t y n a treatment in Departments

tives n e c n I e s a h c Pur e Preferentialmall Enterprises Schem dS for Micro an For application forms and more information: www.goaditc.gov.in OR Contact: Mrs. Bertha Gracias, Mr. Satish Gaonkar OR Mr. Tushar Sawant AT 0832 2222241

The Facilitation Counter, First Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Panaji, Goa. GOVERNMENT OF GOA

Directorate of Industries, Trade & Commerce PARTNERING INDUSTRIAL GROWTH

Being associated with CII, which handles the CII Exim Bank award, I got to see firsthand the advantages of how these awards encourage organisations to strengthen their management systems, practices and capabilities to enhance and sustain their competitiveness to become world class

RELUCTANT ENTREPRENEUR

Anniversaries, Awards and Second Line There is nothing wrong in picking an award or two – more so, if they demand that you put your house in order

I Blaise Costabir The Coumnist is a first-generation entrepreneur whose company manufactures water tanks blaise@gmizm.com

I can let you in on a secret, if the owner manager has a good second line he can take a holiday. Go ahead pick some awards, it can surely do your organisation a lot of good and see you through many more anniversaries

t is always a good feeling to complete another year.

Congratulations to Team Business Goa for another year in operation, another year to look forward to. My company too, completed another year, not from the day we were incorporated but from the day we sold the first product. I believe any establishment worth its salt can only be acknowledged if it is meeting a customer’s need.

So every Company should focus on customers if it wants to stay in there and be relevant.

There are different ways or theories that companies will use – customer satisfaction surveys, customer feedback or as in the case of Apple, deciding what the customer needs and being right about it. I would like to look at another aspect of being there to serve the customer and that is building a “Second Line”.

Today, more than ever, we have all types of awards for Corporate excellence. To my mind awards come in the following ways, 1) Analytical: CII Exim Bank or Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award.

2) Perception: Corporate awards which recognise excellence to promote brand attributes or positioning.

3) Paid: Yes paid! This is where

you get a letter saying you have been selected and to be eligible you have to become a member.

We have had our share of the first two and we have had offers for the last category, they are not worth talking about. It is the analytical category which is the type which needs more visibility.

Actually I would be happy if this visibility helped more of my readers to apply for this award.

Yes, this type needs to be applied for. There are huge benefits in just applying, the bonus would be if you also win.

Being associated with CII, which handles the CII Exim Bank award, I got to see firsthand the advantages of how these awards encourage organisations to strengthen their management systems, practices and capabilities to enhance and sustain their competitiveness to become world class. This award is based on the famous Malcolm Baldridge National quality award of the US and other similar awards. I decided to take a baby step and applied for the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The investment is lower but the process is similar. The awards committee reviews every applicant on the following criteria: Leadership, Human Relations Management, Process,

Customer Focused Results, Impact on Environment and Society and finally Business Results.

After preliminary study of the documents that the company submits, some are shortlisted for a site visit. Post the visit, irrespective of the results, the team offers advice to the company under review to improve. It is like hiring a consultant.

In our case, while we scored well on most aspects, we had a low score on leadership. I was taken aback, I fancied myself as a good leader. The team leader who reviewed our performance explained their logic. They felt, if I as the head of organisation, was removed from the leadership, the organisation would have difficulty to survive as there was no second line visible. That hit me.

We did take note of this observation and made the necessary improvements. Today, we have that second line in place, thanks to the third angle view we got a dozen years ago. I can let you in on a secret, if the owner/ manager has a good second line, he can take a holiday. Go ahead pick some awards, it can surely do your organisation a lot of good and see you through many more anniversaries

Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence, 2012

82 Business Goa

JULY 2013

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Apart from those who illegally profited by the scam, even the State and Central Government agencies were parties to the loss suffered by the public

Goa’s Problem of Illegal Mining in the Ambit of Natural Justice The writer is of the opinion that the state should re-appropriate the mining losses

Daniel Albuquerque The columnist is a writer of highly acclaimed books: ‘Business Ethics, Principles’ and ‘Practices and Legal Aspects of Business’, published by Oxford University Press albuquerque.daniel@gmail.com

In modern India common law is followed, a legacy of the British legal system; whereas in Goa civil code of law, a legacy of Portuguese legal system, is the norm which is subsumed in the Indian legal system

O

nce, after collecting the newspaper as the routine of my daily chores, I proceeded to doodh-paõ (milk and bread) shop where a loud altercation had broken out. The whole quarrel happened to be over the silly dispute of one being served first who actually 84 Business Goa

JULY 2013

had come a while later. We also witness similar fracas ensuing in all kinds of government offices and agencies such as LPG gas, fair-price shops, etc., where the parties concerned are at loggerheads over unfair treatment, failing to listen to both sides of a dispute, bias, discrimination, favouritism etc. It would not be wrong to say that bulk of the grievances across not only our state and country but across the globe are of this nature. These and other injustices in our day to day experiences which are referred to a term called violation of natural justice.

Goa’s Illegal Mining Problem as a Case of Natural Injustice To illustrate a very important legal aspect of the miscarriage of natural justice that is causing distress to the mining dependents in particular and disconcerting to the citizenry in general, is the problem of illegal mining.

The Justice M.B. Shah report on illegal mining was tabled in the Parliament on 7 September 2012, which stated that the illegal mining scam cost the citizens a whopping ` 34,935 crores. Apart from those who illegally profited by the scam, even the state and central government agencies were parties to the loss suffered by the public. The commission indicted these as plundering natural resources and facilitating unrestricted, unchecked and unregulated export which made them richer at the cost of the common man of the state.

Very interestingly, the judgment by the Green Tribunal in the case of a local mining company versus Ministry of Environment and Forests (9 May 2013) develops the theory of natural justice which is quite appropriate for Goa. The judgment states that it is clear from the Shah Commission report that there is an “imminent

threat to the environment as well as untimely exhaustion of mining reserves of iron ore in the State of Goa.” As a consequence it will cause “irreparable damage to the environment and the ecology.”

Upon being petitioned that there has been miscarriage of natural justice, the judgment further explored two fundamental principles of Natural Justice, namely audi alteram partem (hear the other side) and nemo judex in causa sua (no man can be a judge in his own cause).

They felt these, of course, are guidelines and one must adjudicate “fairly”, particularly while judging between public interest and private interest.

General Application of the Natural Law In modern India Common law is followed, a legacy of the British legal system; whereas in Goa civil code of law, a legacy of Portuguese legal system, is the norm which is subsumed in the Indian legal system. Both the systems originate from the natural law whose foundation may be summed in the phrase – duty to act fairly. The ancient system of Indian law is not different from this maxim, and can be enunciated in just a single term, ‘dharma’, to be precise in adjudication, is nyaya dharma. Thus, natural justice and legal justice find the suitable confluence.

Particular Application of the Natural Law From the concept of natural justice of being duty to act fairly, a particular principle is derived in the case of public rights over the individual rights: Privatum commodum publico cedit (Private welfare yields to public welfare).

The illegal mining cases in Goa must be judged by this principle.

The illegal activities have delivered a devastating blow to

the environment and irreparable loss to the public. The principles of natural justice do not allow the perpetrators of injustice to enjoy their ill gotten fruits.

Further there have been mining companies who have filed petitions in tribunals and courts saying that there has been a miscarriage of natural justice in their case due to the sudden and arbitrary regulations by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Union of India.

However, it has been adjudicated by various judgments that the Government of India is within its rights to issue statutes and regulations in public interest.

Jurisprudence follows the following principle in this event: Privatorum convention juri public non derogat (Agreements between private persons should not derogate from the public right).

Conclusion The concerned parties in the illegal mining cases in Goa have been given an unbiased hearing by the courts and tribunals established in accordance with the law under the Constitution of India and the illegal activity has been duly stopped by the apex court. The public opinion also has been soundly in harmony with the natural justice: the guilty should be punished and what belongs to the public must be made good as appropriate restitution

ADVENTURE CAPITALIST

The secret lies in how we handle our present, neither past nor future. Today is that special block of time which holds the key to lock our yesterday’s nightmares as well as unlock tomorrow’s possibilities. We got to admit and submit unto it - to make the best out of it

If you have time, use it well. It will repay you with rich dividends The author opens up about incidents in his early career which taught him very valuable lessons about life and business

U. Mahesh Prabhu Columnist is founder and CEO of TECHNOVED a Goa based web and software consulting firm offering its services to clients across four continents indiamahesh@gmail.com

I

was sixteen then; had just dropped out of college for want of money. Life looked like a puzzle and solving it appeared to be a daunting task. “What’s going to happen to me?” I always thought. Insecurity was taking its toll. Frustrations were building.

I didn’t know if I would have money even to get a morsel of food. Suffice to say: my life was pathetic.

It was at this crucial juncture that I was endowed with an opportunity to start one of India’s first web development companies. The person who backed me was a scion of a then major industrial group in South 86 Business Goa

JULY 2013

India. “You won’t get a salary but you’ll get food to eat, place to work and a dorm to sleep.” I agreed instantaneously taking his word that I will own 35% of the company’s shares.

We pitched for a few contracts and, thankfully, we got one soon. It didn’t take us much time to get more orders flowing in. We got some decent assignments soon. Since I was supposed to own 35% of company’s share, I thought out of the money we made, 35% was supposed to be mine. “That’s not how it works!” my ‘partner’ said, adding “We first need to put this money into business, and then run an audit and then declare a profit. Only then can you have 35% of that amount!” “Oh darn!”

I thought, before asking “What about money to pay for my expenses.” “I told you at the very beginning… no salary – just a place to work, sleep and food.” It didn’t take me long to realize that I was being used. But then what would I do?

Soon I was to learn that I was cheated of my money by my partner. I was shattered to the core. I didn’t know what to do; tears came through my eyes – rather instantaneously. “May be I can talk to his father,” I thought and promptly embarked upon an appointment with this grand old gentleman who was then in his 70s.

On meeting him I told him what his son had done to me. “I don’t have anything with me…

I need at least a part of the money what he has unrightfully taken away from me,” I said.

The gentleman to whom I was pouring my heart to was referred to as Dhritarastra by many for his blind love for his son. Now, I saw for myself how true that analogy was.

“It’s between you and him – I wasn’t even involved when

The gentleman to whom I was pouring my heart to was referred to as Dhritarastra by many for his blind love for his son you made a deed. Considering this how do you expect me to mediate between you both?”

“But he’s your son!” I wanted to prevail on him.

“But this is businesses, son!” he retorted. I knew I stood no chance against a man whose career spanned three times my age. Against all that he said, somewhere for some reasons I did had, and have, the respect for him. I just went to him touched his feet and said in the most touching voice. “When I came to your son for starting this venture, I didn’t have anything but while I leave, I have a loss of a few lakhs.”

He was touched. I realized that when he said “Mahesh, I know exactly what you are feeling right now. Trust me there’s no legitimate way in which I could possibly help you.

But I will give you a talisman.

Hear it well, it has helped me and it will help you too… You may not have money, but you have time.

Use it. Use it well… and in time the time will repay you.”

I summarized it thus: If I need something and if I spend all the time at my disposal worrying or concerning about not having it, I am wasting it. But, if I spend the time in finding a way to get that thing, by learning or working hard and smart towards it… I am doing justice to the time at my disposal. I also learnt for myself that fear or hope are but two figments of human imagination.

Their chances are always 50-50.

Considering this when we fear – we waste a good deal of time first by worrying and then by doing the wrong things. So the best decision would always be to first hope for the best and work towards it by learning or doing.

The secret lies in how we handle our present – neither past, nor future. Today is that special block of time which holds the key to lock up yesterday’s nightmares as well as unlock tomorrow’s possibilities. We got to admit and submit unto it. And make the best out of it

people tree

Talent analytics is a predictive analysis of the entire work force aligned to the vision, mission and strategic blue prints. It has capacity to give 1) Talent dashboard 2) Predictive analysis at a macro level and micro level.

Talent Analytics The writer showcases a predictive art / science that can map the talent and capacity of a workforce

Kishore Shah The writer is a multifaceted entrepreneur, consultant and HR expert shahkishorem@gmail.com

I

sn’t it familiar to hear most of us especially from the HR fraternity boldly announce that, “People are our greatest asset”?

But really, is there any radical change beyond the routine maintenance?

Perhaps due to lack of desire, limited exposure, too much of admin work or whatever that keeps them occupied, most in the HR world tend to get rhetorical or surgical and in the bargain, they generally miss the transformation bus. Most of the times, it is the CEO who pushes and makes things happen while the HR plays the role of a handmaiden, when actually the initiative for human resource development has to come from HR. The world has moved from slave workers to operators (human machines) to unionized work force to human resources to knowledge workers and on the other hand, the administrative department has moved from IR to HR to Learning and Development. There are only a handful of organizations whose HR has played a lead role in partnering ‘transformations.’

Business is all about people – both outside and inside the organization. If you know both, 88 Business Goa

JULY 2013

you make a winning combination.

But most times, we work at the cost of the other.

Keeping the above in the backdrop, have you heard of “Talent Analytics”? Also known as “Predictive Talent Management.”

This is the backbone of any business and organization. Take a look back into business history – consistent success came as long as the prime focus was talent and analytics. The moment the focus shifted, downfall was evident.

Interestingly, looking back, this is an art and science with its roots in Kautilya’s Arthashastra which defines the predictive way a King would adopt to choose his ministers. However, since this was more confined to royal families and had a generation to generation movement, its diffusion in other areas was minimal.

Following the treaty of Versailles, the Germans harnessed this concept and in their pursuit of raising an army, they needed a predictive method. For this, they employed games, simulations and to their amazement the reliability and validity was mind boggling.

Tracing it further, this art and science was then adopted and improvised by the British for their WOSBs (War Officers Selection Board) and then it flowed in to SSB (Service Selection Board) in India. For several years, this amazing art and science of finding the “right person for the right job” fit was primarily restricted to defence organizations and tested by mighty industrial houses like Birlas and Tatas who started to adopt the technique.

What is Talent Analytics ?

We have to realize that talent is the key to success and not just HR. In fact, by not applying talent analytics, we create a traumatic experience for both employees and organizations as we have always been brought up in the culture of compliance

– being trained to say “YES”.

When we learn to say “No”, it actually reflects our commitment to values. Saying “Yes” may take us far and possibly even faster but we may go in the wrong direction altogether.

However, saying “No” prevents the downfall and constructively forces us to think. We need something more rational beyond guts to say an authentic “Yes” or “No”, especially when it comes to selecting people for building business at any stage.

Talent analytics is a predictive analysis of the entire work force aligned to the vision, mission and strategic blue prints. It has capacity to give: 1) Talent dashboard.

2) Predictive analysis at a macro level and micro level.

It has an interesting origin way back in USA. During the recruitment of police, the federal government insisted that keeping in mind the civil wars and the fear of handing over arms to the new recruit, there has to be some way of predictive analysis. Till then and even now, quite a few psychometrics are descriptive of a person. This helps predict whether the incumbent has the capacity to take decisions, whether this person will be successful or whether he/she has an ability to bounce back. These competencies are extremely crucial when business is the sole function of such people.

Howard, Richard Chuck and Sally came together and built a mind boggling predictive psychometric using the fusion of actuarial sciences and psychology and created a tool which dramatically changed the decision process related to people and aligned it to the main stream of business and this is finally providing fruits to the end customer .

They soon developed a comprehensive science and art around it and created TQTM – Total Quality Talent Management,

a complete dashboard of the work force which is Excel based and one can make a wide range of decisions. What is needed is a single administration of this to the work force. It actually takes out the talent DNA which can be mapped on several roles to predict the success rate not only to take decisions but build coaching, counselling, mentoring, training around in more mutually beneficial ways.

It starts with job analysis aligned to the vision and mission.

From job analysis, it creates competency framework and then the talent analytics takes off.

This process culminates into an Organization wide Development Program (ODP) and Individual Development Program (IDP).

Talent analytics can also enable you to access the quality of the work force, especially when you are taking a major decision like merger and acquisition. I am aware of some leading companies who have burnt their fingers by ignoring talent analytics findings.

It will be funny to have a dashboard to a handcart or for that matter we are not much worried if our scooter dashboard does not function however its importance moves up as we move to driving a car and the same assumes great importance when you are flying a 747.

Similarly, business needs talent analytics more now, as we are under global siege. It will be an irony to have technological advantages while you still continue with outdated methods of human resource management.

Without understanding people, both internally and externally, you just cannot impact business.

As you venture into your business, remember the starting point is not opportunity – it’s you.

This is because you sensed and saw what others did not. You had the resolve and that’s the holistic meaning of Human Resource.

And its starting point is “Talent”.

It’s said that even luck favours the prepared mind. So when are you installing your Talent Dashboard on your laptop, tablet and build a sustainable business advantage?

BON APPÉTIT

The Banyan Tree

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Pad Thai

Interiors at the Banyan Tree

Chef Santi Buaphaeng

B

eing an international tourist destination, Goa is gaining ground as a bastion for international cuisine. Though I have feasted on some of the best in international cuisine that Goa has to offer, I was yet to experience the warmth and hospitality of an authentic Thai meal. For those of you on a similar quest, I have a secret to share: look no further than The Banyan Tree at the Vivanta by Taj Holiday Village, Sinquerim.

Aptly named and nestled at the base of a three hundred year old banyan tree, The Banyan Tree proudly boasts of being not only Goa’s first, but India’s first authentic Thai restaurant.

Being a novice to Thai cuisine, I decided what better way to experience this much r a v e d about fare Tom Yum Soup

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than with the best. On entering the Banyan Tree, one cannot help but look around in admiration.

The restaurant buzzed with an excited energy and was comfortably full with satisfied patrons.

Upon being seated, we were immediately welcomed by Thai Master Chef Santi Buaphaeng.

Chef Santi brings to the Taj ten years of experience across renowned hotel chains. He has also served various members of the Royal family in Thailand.

Sensing our unfamiliarity with the cuisine, he gave us a short yet informative crash course on the key ingredients that make Thai cuisine. He also informed us that apart from importing ingredients, they grow as many as they can in their own gardens.

Thoroughly intrigued by the Thai fare, we could not wait to sample Chef Santi’s signature dishes.

We started with the chef’s special Chicken Satay accompanied with fresh peanut sauce. The Satay, was mild and allowed the punch from the peanut sauce to take over and went down as quickly as it appeared on our plates. As Chef

Santi informed us, Thai cuisine revolves around lighter meats.

We stuck to his advice and tried the Thord Mon Pla, which are fish cakes seasoned with Thai herbs and red curry paste. Crispy on the outside, smooth and bursting with flavour, these fish cakes are highly recommended.

Accompanied with a sweet chilli sauce, this was a definite winner with us. Next on our plate was a green papaya salad also known as Som Tom. The slightly tart flavour of the green papaya combined wonderfully with the sweetness from the sweet chilli sauce which accompanied it. Keeping with the genuine warmth of Thai culture, Chef Santi warmed our souls with a flavoursome Tom Yum soup. We loved the combination of shrimp together with lemon grass, chilli and lime. Our tastebuds thoroughly tickled with the sweetness, sourness and spice that is Thai cuisine, we could not wait to see what Chef Santi’s had to offer next.

Confused by the vast menu, we eventually decided on the Chicken Gaeng Kiew Warn (Thai Green curry with herbs) which

Chicken Satay

is a Thai spin on a classic green curry. I have to thank Chef Santi for my crash course on Thai ingredients as I could easily identify the sharp flavour of the Kaffir Lime and smoothness of coconut milk. Also accompanying our Thai feast was a fish in basil and coconut sauce, the kind that has led me to believe that no one could do it better than the Thai. We also feasted on prawns tossed in garlic sauce and stir fried vegetables. Keen to give us a complete Thai food experience, Chef Santi whipped us up Pad Thai, which is a popular Thai street food dish comprising of rice noodles stir fried with chicken, egg and a variety of vegetables and condiments; a complete meal in itself.

After a meal befitting of Thai royalty, the perfect end came with Tom Tim Grob, made with rose flavoured water chestnuts immersed in icy coconut milk syrup. Though I would love to keep the Banyan Tree a closely guarded secret, the experience and the works of Chef Santi are too good to stay hidden for long.

My only advice is “Keep an open mind and an empty stomach”

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Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrates 105th AGM. Governor Wanchoo and Suresh Prabhu add glitter to the evening Outgoing President of the Goa Chamber, Manguirish Pai Raikar presented his second annual report and welcomed the incoming President, Narayan Bandekar at the 105th Annual General Meeting of GCCI. Former Union Minister, Suresh Prabhu, the keynote speaker at the event, spoke extempore on ‘Sustainable Development’ and ‘Land Uses’, citing statistics and weather patterns in the backdrop of the Uttarakhand devastation.

Governor of Goa, Bharat Vir Wanchoo underlined the importance of the Chamber and about the current economic challenges and enthralled the audience who had gathered in large numbers at the Grand Hyatt, Goa for an evening of celebrations and intellectual stimulation

Suresh Prabhu

Kirit Maganlal

Urvija Bhatkuly

Dr. Antonio Sabido Costa

Ralph de Sousa

Dr. Wilfred D’Sousa

Ramakant Khalap

Nitin Kunkolienkar

Atul Jadhav

Sandeep Bhandare

P K Mukherjee

Vineet Bakshi

Nitin Bandekar

Manda Bandekar

Nitin Dessai

Dattesh Parulekar

Dr Suresh Dubashi

Nayana Bandekar

Capt Bruno D’Souza

Madhavi Bandekar Shetye

Anil Kher

Andrea Maganlal

Binayak Dutta

Cleofato Coutinho

Gaurish Dhond

Jairam Kholkar

Sandeep Sood

Mukund Shinde

Pankaj Jain

Vishnu Wagh Narayan Bandekar

Tomoko Lobo

Rohan Khaunte

Rajendra Bhobe

Anant Shet

Abhijeet Shetye

Surendra Furtado

Ivar Fjeld

Ashton Dias e Souza

Dr. L. U. Joshi

Brijesh Sardessai

Dhirendra Thakkar

Arvind Khandeparkar

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Goa Chamber’s 105th AGM at Grand Hyatt, Goa

Girish Chodankar

Varsha Pai Raikar

Jayant Naik

Kishore Tolani

Ashley Delaney

Carlos Almeida

Jeet Tolani

Atul P Naik

Sanat Raiturkar

Michael Lobo

Nandini Sahai

Francis Braganza

Sandeep Verenkar

Khairoo Khavtay

Ramakant Verlekar

Anil Counto

Sandeep Naik

Vilas Bhangui

Parvish Kamat

Francisco Sardinha

Vikas Jarial

Shanu Panandikar

Manguirish Pai Raikar

Gangaram Morajkar

Ameet Sukhtankar

Ashwin Shah

Pratima Dhond

Governor Wanchoo

Manoj Caculo

Cesar Menezes Ramnath Kare

Ruth Furtado

Mahesh Prabhu

Suresh Babu

Ashwin Bhobe

Sanjeev Kamat

Nigel Cabral

Sharon Ghosh

Yogesh Khandeparkar

Sandesh Kundaikar

Santoba Desai

Dr. Deep Bhandare

Sanjeev Nadkarni

Joao Xavier Miranda

Kapil Kare

Kamlesh Amlani

Rohit Zantye

Krishna Naik

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Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) held its Annual Function recently. Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar was the Chief Guest for the Function and Mahadev Naik, Minister of Industries was the Guest of Honour.

The Keynote Address was delivered by Ranjeev Dubey, Supreme Court Advocate and Managing Partner of N. South Advocates, Delhi.

Shekhar Sardessai, the re-elected President of GSIA for the second term 2013-15, in his welcome address said that with GSIA is taking the lead initiative in industrial affairs. He also said that the Government has laid a strong foundation in form of transparent and fair regulations for allotment, transfer and sub-lease of industrial land by GIDC. The Keynote address by Ranjeev Dubey spoke about “Buffalo Jurisprudence: Winning Legal Wars in Indian Courts”. The function was attended by a large gathering including MLAs Rohan Khaunte and Dr. Pramod Sawant, Nana Bandekar, President GCCI, J. M. Noronha, Chairman GSPCB, Sudhir Jade, Zonal Manager, Bank of India and other senior officials

Parrikar assures reforms at the Goa State Industries Association’s AGM

Sudin Naik

Manohar Parrikar

Sanjeev Trivedi

Mahadev Naik

Naval Naik

Ganesh Shetty

Harin Bhosle

Dr. Sangam Kurade

Vikram Verlekar

Shivani Sardessai

Tushar Sawkar

Savio Mendonca

Manoj Patil

Shweta Verlekar

Mayuresh Dhume

Sudin Pai Kane

Naresh Pai

Arman Bankley

Suharsh Usgaocar

Shekhar Sardessai

Rakesh Agarwal

Rohit Pinto

Sunanda Khaunte

Sanjeev Desai

V B Prabhu Verlekar

Rajesh Khaunte

Prashant Shinde

Sonali Trivedi

Kiran Sirsat

Gautam Verlekar Parag Joshi

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Goa State Industries Association’s Annual General Meeting

Shruti Raiturkar

Sudhir Jade

Keshav Kamat

Sandeep Sardessai

Dr Tosha Kurade

Kalidas Shirodkar

Prasheel Netravalkar

Auduth Parrikar

Arun Naik

Jayant Kamat

Ranjeev Dubey

Suraj Mantravadi

Rajiv Nevgi

Avinash Bhosle

Sameer Keny

Bharat Kamat

Yogesh Gaitonde

Carlton Colaco

Sunil Pai Kane

Rajkumar Kamat

Akshata Khaunte

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British Business Group’s Annual Meeting held with Peter Beckingham in attendance

Kumar Pillai

Greg Johnson

Parind Thali

Jan Bostock

The British Business Group Goa held their Annual General meeting in the presence of members and guests who welcomed British Deputy High Commissioner Peter Beckingham. The AGM discussed initiatives undertaken by the Group during the year and the current economic situations in the United Kingdom and Goa. Following completion of AGM business, the British Deputy High Commissioner spoke to the members about his time in India and the changes he had seen during his tour of duty here.

He also acknowledged that opportunities for UK investment into Goa were achievable and that discussions between the British High Commission and the Government of Goa were progressing well.

The meeting ended with dinner with Peter Beckingham networking with the members Beryl Nasse

Peter Beckingham

Baba Naik

Ashish Prabhu Verlekar

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Pradeep Naik

Sudil Manerkar

Alison Bale

Commodore Pinto

Julia Selwood

Sagar Parab

Mr Bichu

Martin Bale

Peter Pinto

Shakil Manerkar

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Suresh Kare completes 50 years Vito Gomes wins Forbes Top of leadership at Indoco Remedies Indian Leader Award in UAE Suresh G Kare took over the reins of Indoco Remedies Ltd 50 years ago, on July 2, 1963, at a tender age of 24 years. His visionary leadership has been instrumental in achievements of many significant milestones for the company during these 50 glorious years.

Under his guidance, the company progressed steadily with a strong presence in the Indian Pharma market and is well-recognized as a reliable source for products and services to generic companies across the globe.

Indoco’s domestic product basket encompasses 18 therapeutic segments with a large brand portfolio, 32 of which rank amongst the top 5 in their respective segments. Over a period of time, Kare has created an impressive manufacturing base comprising 8 facilities spread across India. These world-class manufacturing facilities have been approved by various regulatory authorities including USFDA, UK-MHRA, Germany, Australia, South Africa, etc. Its state-of-the-art R&D centre is spread over an area of 100,000 sq.ft. housing over 200 scientists.

Indoco today engages a workforce of over 4300 employees

Rajiv and Tallullah D’Silva win national award The architect duo Rajiv and Tallulah D’Silva’s firm RT Architects has gained recognition as one of the top architectural firms of India.

They were recently felicitated by the publication ITP’s magazine ‘Architecture and Interiors India’ along with other top 50 architects of India. They were awarded the ‘IGen design forum’ by the eminent architect Brinda Somaya. The couple are thriving in the field with top class and innovative architectural ideas gaining them much popularity.

Earlier this year they had received another award, the ‘All India Stone Architectural Award’ for a project our Lady of Perpetual Succor chapel at Canacona made out of natural stone used in the best possible way

Mahesh Sonak appointed Judge of the Bombay High Court Leading Advocate from Goa’s High Court Bar, Mahesh Sonak was appointed additional Judge of the Bombay High Court. He was administered the oath by Chief Justice Mohit Shah in Mumbai Sonak, 48, has been practising law since October 1988 at the Goa (Panaji) bench of the Bombay High Court in civil and constitutional law, labour and service law, environmental law, commercial and tax laws, company law and public interest litigations.

Sonak has appeared in several high profile matters and has been standing counsel for the Central Government and appeared in many matters as amicus curiae and under the legal aid scheme. He is associated with several legal, educational and social organizations. The Goa High Court Bar Association organised a befitting dinner in honour of Mahesh Sonak’s elevation as Judge 102 Business Goa

JULY 2013

Forbes Middle East has finally revealed its much awaited Top Indian Leaders in the UAE for 2013. An honour for Goa was received by Vito Gomes, Founder & Managing Director, Aviation Services Management Ltd. for being a leader of Indian origin in the Aviation Industry.

He owns an internationally spread flight support business that caters to numerous scheduled airlines, private jets, charters, VIP and VVIP clients. Gomes has also been true to his roots in Goa and visits his office and home in the State periodically.

Being in the aviation industry for more than 25 years, Vito Gomes started Aviation Services Management Ltd. a flight support company more than 10 years ago. Now with offices in UAE (Sharjah and Dubai), India (Goa and Mumbai), U.K and with joint ventures in various parts of South East Asia, Vito hopes to usher ASM into the next phase of development. He hopes to diversify and grow towards other business fields in coming years

Lucie Masson opens French Café Lucie Masson along with Varun Sood, who share a passion for everything related to food, recently opened Patisserie Delicieux, the first French fine patisserie and cake shop in Goa in Miramar.

Following a chance meeting between the two – Lucie and Varun – to Goa began to pursue their passion of creating a range of French desserts in Goa, as they were longing for better quality of products. For a genuine French touch they roped in Chef Philippe from France who is currently working as their main chef and training the Indian team to support him. The secret of Patisserie Delicieux lies in the quality of ingredients used in making the goods and the historical tradition of sweet recipes which has never been lost or altered

quiz

49

1. Expand FICCI 2. Which stock exchange has a index called CAC 40?

3. ‘Business Legends’ and ‘Business Maharajahs’ are biographical novels written by which corporate historian?

4. Which business group owns the heavy vehicles major Ashok Leyland?

5. Sanjeev Bickchandani is the founder of which Indian job website?

6. Who is this legendary advertising person?

Answers to BG Quiz 48 1. Lisa 2.Kaun Banega Crorepati 3.Raj Rajrathnam 4.Marriott 5.Cholayil 6.Burger King Email your entries to businessgoa.media@gmail.com First all correct entry will get 1 year’s subscription to Business Goa