12th issue - Unity in Diversity by Corporate Citizen

Exclusive interview

with New AICTE Chief, Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe www.corporatecitizen.in

Dynamic Duo: 12

Unity in Diversity Parimal and Pramod Chaudhari Interview

Dr. R Palan, Chairman & CEO, SMRT Holdings Berhad on talent management NHRD Delhi Chapter

Human Capital Conclave on Emerging Trends for India Inc Love Ke Baad Shaadi Bhi-3

Bhavna and Rajesh Agrawal

The magic of IMAGICA

Rajesh Dhaktode, VP– HR

CII’s prize winning Case Studies-5 NEW SERIES

Volume 1, Issue No. 12 / Pages 68 / August 16-31, 2015 / `50

2 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

Mother

the love-hate factor

or centuries, a Mother has come to be seen as an epitome of selfless love. She is attributed with qualities so divine that a famous Jewish proverb says, “God couldn’t be everywhere, so he created Mothers.” Indeed, Mothers are a ubiquitous fraternity and quite paradoxically, most sons love to hate and hate to love them when they are around! Posthumously, most of us remember our Mothers more fondly, realising their true worth as birth-givers and the ones who had been at the receiving end of the ups and downs that their families go through. Pardon me if this seems like a sweeping statement, but they are based not only on my observations in day-to-day life but also on research done by several scholars and psychologists across the world, on the mysterious and complex mother-son relationship. In a thesis titled, ‘Sons’ Remembered Communication Experiences With Their Mothers: A Research Proposal’ by Sheila A. Bray, the author quotes several researchers and scholars who have psycho-analysed this relationship. Bray refers to Michael Gurian, a pioneer in the study and application of gender studies whose findings state that “the vast majority of men admit to needing to work on the relationship with their mothers: on boundaries, on feelings of guilt about their mothers, and on issues concerning a wife’s/partner’s role in relation to their mother’s role.” He writes of the mother-son bind; a relationship in which the adolescent son wants to destroy the emotional dependence on his mother while at the same time retain it. Kindlon and Thompson (1999), in ‘Raising Cain’, state that a mother has tremendous psychological power and that the emotional bond a man has with his mother is likely to be the most deeply rooted connection in his life. For many boys she is the only person they can trust. However, according to Klein (1984), in

I have named an auditorium in memory of my mother, Raththinatnthamal

The way in which man sees the world, the people in it - all the relationships they are ever likely to have, is welded to the bond with their mothers. This bond, this relationship is the cornerstone of all future relationships. Yet it is a bond infused with and surrounded by misunderstandings, fears, and a dark, almost unfathomable mythology - Olson , in ‘Sons and Mothers’ ‘Mothers and Sons’, men, unlike women, seem to find it difficult to share their feelings and memories about their mothers that go beyond reverence or simple expressions of disagreement. Olson (1981), in ‘Sons and Mothers’, explains: “The way in which men see the world, the people in it - all the relationships they are

ever likely to have is welded to the bond with their mothers. This bond, this relationship is the cornerstone of all future relationships. Yet it is a bond infused with and surrounded by misunderstandings, fears, and a dark, almost unfathomable mythology. It is perhaps the most misunderstood, misconstrued, and puzzling August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 3

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

relationship of all, because by the very process of being reared in its mystique men can barely see it all; there seems to be a prohibition against seeing it clearly.” Druck (1985) adds: “Men do not often discuss their unresolved feelings about their mothers. While they play a key part in their relationships with other women, these emotions are often hidden away out of our awareness. Men’s deepest feelings toward their mothers remain some of their best-kept secrets, even from themselves. Yet a large part of what men expect from women, and of themselves as men, dates back to their childhood experiences with their mothers.’’ ... Today, my mother is no more, but I remember and respect her more fondly than I did when she was in flesh and blood. I have named the auditorium at Sri Balaji Society campus in her memory. However, I would like to share my first-hand experience, where, when she was alive, I had bitter feelings towards her for dividing the family; of causing a rift between my two maternal uncles and for being harsh to my elder uncle’s family. I confess to having performed the duty of an adult son quite mechanically and with little affection – whether it be sending Money Orders regularly to her ever since I began serving in the Army and thereafter; or being there when she needed me. Whoever we are in the corporate world, the Mother Factor is one that concerns one and all in various measures of love, hate, anger and gratitude. Hence, I thought, this topic, being so universal in nature and one which every boy or man can identify with, needs to be spoken and debated, instead of being suppressed within our deep psyche.

My mother is no more, but I remember and respect her more fondly than I did when she was in flesh and blood. I have named an auditorium in her memory. I confess to having performed the duty of an adult son quite mechanically – like sending her financial help or being there whenever she needed me

e were two siblings – my sister and I. We grew up in poverty. In the 1940s, my father worked as a labourer, first in Malaysia and then in the Singapore Municipality. We hardly ever saw him, as he would visit his village just once in four or five years. So, our mother was our only parent, closer to us. She had two brothers, of whom her elder brother too was a labourer in Singapore, like my father. In fact, our village, Kandithempettai in Mannargudi district of Tamilnadu, is known for sending migrant labour to Singapore since the last several decades. The proliferation of a large labour workforce over the last so many decades has recently resulted in the Singapore government rejecting entry to passport holders from this district. Presently, 4 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Mother and Child with Apple - sculpture by Henry Moore

the migration is towards London. But that is another story. My mother’s younger brother studied up to Std. VIII and was serving in the Madras Fire Service. Since my elder maternal uncle (Mama) was away, my mother grew close to her younger brother and was very fond of him. He stayed with us. While my sister and I were well looked after by my mother, I guess my resentment began after the marriage of my elder Mama (uncle), who, like my father, would visit the village once in four to five years and on one such occasion, got married. He left his wife behind and over the years they were blessed with two daughters and a son. My mother began to take particular dislike to my elder Mama’s wife (my Mami). Quarrels and arguments became the norm and the peace of the house was lost. My mother constantly harassed my Mami. My elder uncle, who loved his sister immensely, was pained by her brutality and decided it was time to sever ties with her. He constructed a house in the same village, and shifted his family out. The family split. My mother too had no qualms about severing all connections with my elder Mama and his family. I was banned from communicating with them. Silently, I witnessed the domestic rift over the years. It hurt me deeply, as I loved my elder Mama for his kindness and generosity. I was deeply agonised that I would never meet him. In the meanwhile, although he had cut himself off from my mother, he used to clandestinely send financial help to my younger Mama without the knowledge of my mother. So, love was not lost between my Mamas, despite the family rift! Now, the rift between my mother and my Bada Mama further widened when my younger Mama got married to my sister. So he was left alone with his family while now my mother also became a relative-in-law to her daughter. Bada Mama used to come from Singapore once in five years, but I was banned from meeting him. Later, after I joined the Army, I was not present in the village when he came for his holiday. However, whenever I came to the village on my annual leave, I used to look up my Mami, who was very fond of me. The fact that there was a rift in the family always bothered me and I always considered my mother as the chief villain. On one occasion though, Bada Mama happened to visit the village when I too was on my annual leave. I was married by then. I was very keen that both brothers should meet and make up. I convinced my mother about the reunion and invited all of them over for a meal. Emotions ran high and everybody was crying out of affection as well as guilt.

fter the meal, my Bada Mama called me over to his house and questioned me about the reason for my mother’s animosity towards him, angry that he and his family were singled out by her hatred. Nevertheless, he appealed to me that at least my generation should patch up and not bear any grudge as his generation had. Incidentally, that was to be the proverbial last supper, as my Bada Mama died two months later. Thereon, after several years, my younger Mama suffered a paralytic attack and I looked after him for five years before he passed away. Here too I witnessed indifference towards my younger Mama’s care, even by my own sister. So, I often wonder about the state of our society where every kind of personal relationships seem to have reached the nadir. I hope my dreams of building an old age home will be realised, so as to offer solace to the

mother-son relationship is complex, in many ways unknown and not understood, and warrants research. Studies such as this increase the possibility of talking about this relationship in ways other than previously talked about. By sharing personal experiences, by understanding distinct types of relationships and communication behaviours within each of them, the opportunity is presented for developing healthier and more satisfying relationships.” Footnote I have observed that daughters are preferred over sons. Is it justified? In my case it was my sister who looked after my mother till the very end as I was away on military service. Generally, that is what usually happens with men who leave home to pursue a career. But why is it that everything is acceptable from

My story comes from a rural backdrop but today’s family serials on television also showcase the complexities of love-hate relationships revolving around mothers and mothers-in-law in the urban landscape. Hence, as a scholar observes, by sharing personal experiences, the opportunity is presented for developing healthier relationships elderly who are unwanted by their near and dear ones. Deep within, my younger Mama too suffered the pangs of separation with his elder brother. During one of my trips to see him, he too appealed that I should not forget Bada Mama’s family. So, in a sense, both my Mamas were deeply afflictedwith the friction and fissures that broke the family apart. On hindsight, I feel my mother’s ears were poisoned by relatives and villagers who ensured, perhaps out of jealousy and viciousness, that our family stayed divided. After her death, I have turned magnanimous over her actions, believing that she must have been misguided. Ironically, I also remember her for being a loving mother and taking care of me. I seem to have pardoned her for her misdeeds and, like I said, honoured her by naming an auditorium in her memory. My story comes from a rural and illiterate backdrop but today’s family serials on television also showcase the complexities of domestic love-hate relationships revolving around mothers and mothers-in-law in the urban landscape. Hence, Shaila A Bray’s research paper aptly summarises thus: “The

a daughter? My sister, for example, was very manipulative. Yet, my mother hardly had any ill feelings towards her. Noted psychoanalyst Dr Meryle Gellman perhaps answers my curiosity when he states in his blog, “The impact a mother and daughter have on one another seems to be timeless. No matter how old each one is, they seem to trigger enormous amounts of emotional energy. Both are activated by female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. A little girl is nurtured by these hormones, and a blueprint is established for the rest of her life. A girl’s brain seems to be wired differently from a brother’s and a father’s, and girls seem to just thrive from staying within a relationship (with their mother). Self-esteem seems to be enhanced by feeling as though a girl is a part of a relationship.”

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian editor-in-chief August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 30

Cover story Dynamic Duo 12

Unity in Diversity

Pramod M. Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj India Ltd, and his wife Parimal, who is also a Director on the board of the ₹ 1,012 crore biotechnology engineering company in Pune and looks after its CSR initiatives, don’t do anything else together. They take vacations abroad as a couple, but otherwise agree to disagree and go their own separate ways.

wax eloquent Who said what and why

Collywood Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World

top position An interview with Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe, the New Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

manage money Dr Anil Lamba on Good Financial Management--Rule 2

NHRDN Delhi Chapter The Third Human Capital Conclave on “Leading in the New Way of Work: Emerging Trends for India Inc,” organised by the National HRD Network in Delhi 6 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Volume 1 Issue No. 12 August 16-31, 2015 www.corporatecitizen.in

interview An interview with Dr. R Palan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SMRT Holdings Berhad, listed on the ACE Market of the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd in Malaysia

CII case study on Talent & Succession Planning CII’s prize winning Case Studies- V

tête-à-tête A candid conversation with Rajesh Dhaktode, Vice President – HR, at Adlabs Imagica

cc trend Trendy twist to Yoga--Young techies, Aditi and Jyothi enjoy their work and social life - the only difference being they have forged their friendship into a lifestyle entrepreneurial venture

Love Ke Baad Shaadi Bhi-3 Bhavna and Rajesh Agrawal-The corporate couple who talk the walk and walk the talk when it comes to shared dreams and goals and good old team-work

drive in Top five small cars that will hit the roads this year

cyber crime A look at how cyber looters are using electronic mail and fraudulently pilfered personal data

survey Employee Financial Wellness Survey 2015

star campus placement-4 Nikita Rai on her first break

pearls of wisdom Heaven’s Stock Exchange by Pope Francis

44 August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 7

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh Assistant Editor Joe Williams

bollywood biz Top endorsing celebrities and the astronomical sums they earn through endorsement

Senior Business Writers Mahalakshmi Hariharan Rajesh Rao

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur Anuradha Shukla

mobile apps Best mobile apps for your travel needs beyond the bottomline Why the tortoise won the race...

Bangalore Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai Kalyani Sardesai

health Food for nutrition, nature & livelihood

citizen claps & slaps Our bouquets and brickbats for the fortnight!

astro Fortune favours the bold & lucky

the last word Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies and Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation and the Pune Action Task Force on Greenhorns in Management

Be A Corporate Citizen

How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen - The Cool Side of Business? Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com We would love to hear from you! 8 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560 Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Design & Art Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke Graphic Designer Anil Walunj Cover Story Pic Prakash Jadhav Photographers B Vijay Kumar / Yusuf Khan / Ahmed Sheikh Website www.corporatecitizen.in For Advertising and Marketing queries Email: MANSHA.VIRADIA@corporatecitizen.in (Corporate Citizen does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. All unsolicited material should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage) Tel. (020) 69000677 / 69000672

feedback

Wonderful reading

Corporate Citizen is indeed a wonderful reading experience. The profiles of successful corporate leaders are very inspiring. Also, there is an interesting variety of articles which are very informative and written in an easy-toread manner. The designing and the quality of paper is very good. Keep it up. -Sanjita Sathe, via email

Right balance of positive news

A good read every fortnight--Corporate Citizen strikes a right balance of positive news from Corporate India. The June 16-30 issue was great. The interview of Nita and Raj Bhambhani was very insightful, grasping the nuances of the banking world. Each and every article in the magazine gives clear understanding of complex topics. - Govind Sharma, Coimbatore

Keep it up

The magazine is really outstanding. Good editing, very good stories, and the layout is amazing. The stories are something different and the concept is what makes it look distinct from other. Keep it up. Anthony D’Costa Senior Editor, Mumbai via email

Great beginning

What makes a good reading is all there. Hats off to the team of Corporate Citizen. You guys are doing a wonderful job. My special mention should go to the Editorial Team. The editing is very good which makes this magazine one of the best. The contents are different and the concept makes it look different from others. I wish entire team grand success. The stories, on corporate heads, are very inspiring. And not to forget the superb layout, which is outstanding. And it is just 12 issues old. A very good beginning and wish you all the best -Suresh Kumar Email Bangalore

The piece by editor-in-chief is inspiring Corporate Citizen, the cool side of business, is a readable bimonthly. It has all the elements of a quick read. The piece by editor-in-chief is inspiring, apt and to the point. The magazine covers the ‘offhand’ side of market and the people behind it. All-page colour is another attraction. In-depth life stories about business families help readers to connect with them and understand the humane aspect of their lives. Giving a brief about business happenings around the world is a must. The magazine having national coverage is commendable. Features on automobile, health, Bollywood, personality development, money matters etc are worthy read. The contributions by known columnists gives life to the magazine.

-Nikita Rai, Student via email

t was the eve of Republic Day in 1996 which also happened to coincide with the 25th anniversary year of the Indo-Pak War of 1971. I was then the director of the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS). One of my closest friends was Prakash Kardaley, the then dynamic Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Pune. I admired him for being a peoples’ journalist by stretching his pen beyond the news columns and addressing their issues. To facilitate this interaction, he had formed the Express Citizens’ Forum (ECF), which highlighted citizen’s issues with the powers-that-be and took them to a logical

Unique War Memorial for the ‘Known Soldier’ end. ECF had become a formidable citizens’ pressure group and its voice was heard with respect, in the corridors of the local-self and state government too. Kardaley’s remarkable quality was that he would put his ear to the ground, listened to what others were saying, and then astutely picked up ideas that he thought were for the larger public good and doable and implement them with extreme finesse and effect. Being the first of its kind of forum launched by any newspaper in India, I too had become a member of the ECF and sometimes attended the vibrant meetings where many a senior former defence officer discussed hot issues like

Isn’t it distressing that India has no war memorial of its own, dedicated to our martyrs of the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars?’’ There is one, he added, for the martyrs from the Navy which is in Pune, constructed by the Indian Maritime Foundation. Otherwise the government has not even thought of having an independent memorial for our war heroes, rued Prakash Kardaley. I listened to his passionate story and said, “Why don’t you have one in Pune? You could dedicate the war memorial to all the soldiers and officers from Maharashtra who were killed in wars or internal conflicts postindependence, August 15th 1947.’’

-James Mathew, Pune via email

Outstanding contents

While the magazine offers a very IIPMish feel (unfortunately) however to my surprise, behind the glossy exterior, the content stands out very well. It picks up relevant and contemporary issues and offers a fresh (much needed these days) perspective on the”human” side of business. - Jyothi Salunke, Co-founder, YogaKult and into Channel Sales Analytics, Bangalore, via email HEALTH

garbage, bad roads, drinking water pipeline for Pune, tree plantation and so on. That was the time when the city, in its early 1990s was blossoming into an industrial destination and thus attracting an educated migrant population from all over the country. Hence, issues of urban governance and provision of basic amenities and public utilities were topmost in the minds of citizens. Kardaley and I often met in the evenings over beer and the friendship further strengthened after his son, Amol, joined the institute. That night we happened to get talking about the Prime Minister who, on that Republic Day too, continued the tradition of

Late Prakash Kardaley who pioneered the National War Memorial project against the backdrop of the War Memorial, Pune

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 1

A brilliant idea

CC is really different among the conventional business magazines available on the stands. It is a brilliant idea of coming out with a magazine that covers the lighter side of the business world. The page layout and design is so well presented, I enjoy every page of the magazine and it is getting better by every issue. Especially the cover stories and interviews are what make your magazine stand out from all the rest. Keep it up CC team. - Jagdish Kesarkar Head (Sales), ABC Products, Hyderabad

Keep it up

Hearty congratulations

Hearty Congratulations to the entire team of Corporate Citizen magazine as you all are doing really a fantastic job. All your editions are read with high degree of enthusiasm and respect.

FROM THE DESK OF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Egging the Egg on The ubiquitous egg, scrambled, fried or tossed has had its love-hate relationship with egg-lovers. The scientific research in the past on the boon and bane of consuming continues to baffle eggetarians. But, a recent US advisory health panel has delinked the overconsumption of “dietary cholesterol” as a nutrient which need no longer be a cause for concern. This would mean that egg lovers need not restrict their consumption as part of a balanced diet. But, will this cause a shift in diet patterns where other animal-based cholesterol-rich food, with risk factors linked to heart disease and obesity, see higher intake? With childhood malnutrition on the rise, this directive might just be a blessing in disguise for mid-day meal schemes in India. But, is egg truly the ‘manna‘ for all?

By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

lmost a one-third of children continue to show signs of malnutrition at age 12 with high rates for economically- and socially-marginalised children and those in rural areas,” states an international study of childhood poverty by ‘Young Lives’ involving 12,000 children in four countries over 15 years, across Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. But recent remarks by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan earned

him the bouquets by PETA to make mid-day meals egg-free. However, the State Women and Child Development Department Principal Secretary J N Kansotia had in April proposed to either introduce egg curry or boiled eggs in anganwadi meals on an experimental basis. With the study also stating that about 56 out of 1,000 kids below five years in India died of malnutrition in 2012, egg has once again come under the scanner for public debate.

I am thoroughly impressed with the contents and layout of this magazine. The editorial job at Corporate Citizen is doing a brilliant job. The editing is good and every story is told in a different manner. The concept is unique and stands out. The stories, on corporate heads are very inspiring. My good wishes to the entire team of Corporate Citizen. Superb layout and great job...wish you all the best. -Prakash Kumar, Bangalore, via email

58 / Corporate Citizen / August 1-15, 2015

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 9

wax eloquent

India has a vibrant entrepren One idea for the world from India?

“Is there one invention from India that has become a household name in the globe? Is there one technology that has transformed the productivity of global corporations? Is there one idea that has lead to an earth shaking invention to delight global citizens? The reality is that there is no such contribution from India in the last 60. The only two ideas that have transformed the productivity of global corporations - The Global Delivery Model and the 24-hours workday - came from the company called Infosys.” NR Narayana Murthy, Co-founder, Infosys Courtesy: http://m.ibnlive.com/news/tech/no-earth-shaking-invention-from-india-in-60-years-narayanamurthy-1020845.html

Culture of giving “I don’t like the word philanthropy because it has a connotation of patronage and feudalism. It says- I’m giving you something I own. You should remember that you are successful because of a variety of reasons, and so you have an obligation. You must give willingly as part of an obligation and not because you get the respect out of doing philanthropy.” T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education Courtesy: www.livemint.com

Govt has a growth vision

Indian startups, be close to your heart and country

“A vision for a nation with such a large unrealised growth potential is essential. This vision has been well elucidated by the government. India has a vibrant and noisy democratic voice that is rarely in unison. This is why the legislative process is unduly long and tedious, but it is certainly no longer derailed.” Deepak Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation, said in his annual letter to company’s shareholders.

Stay with your customers and employees forever

“Think of two and stay with them forever: customer satisfaction and employee perception. Commonsensical as they may appear, most entrepreneurs don’t pay attention to these as structured, expertise-led and predictably periodical exercises. Like customer satisfaction as a measure of good management would always stay, so will measurement of employee perception.” Subroto Bagchi, Co-founder and Chairman, Mindtree Courtesy: www.livemint.com

“India has a vibrant entrepreneurial culture. They’d do better if all of them don’t aim to become the next big thing in the Silicon Valley. They should focus on developing solutions for their market, pick issues that are close to their heart and country.” Jeremy Basset, Director, Global Marketing Strategy and Ventures, Unilever Courtesy: Economic Times

Democratisation of Information “Digital India is all about democratisation of information at all levels with openness, accessibility, connectivity, networking and decentralisation. It demands a whole new way of thinking about India and the Indian government for the young generation and is about the total transformation of government institutions and infrastructure to deliver real development equitably to all citizen.” Sam Pitroda, Advisor to former PM, Manmohan Singh on public information, infrastructure and innovation Courtesy: The Economic Times

Courtesy: The Economic Times

Smart city- for and by citizens

“People are wondering about what exactly a Smart City would be. Smart city is a city that provides more than what a citizen expects. Before he wants it, we provide it.” Narendra Modi, Prime Minister said while recently launching government flagship schemes as part of Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All mission. Courtesy: www.livemint.com

10 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Social impact using technology

“Only 10% of Indians speak English. Delivery of education in regional languages is imperative if we are to achieve our mission of widespread social impact using technology-driven initiatives such as MOOCs.” Sushil Vachani, director, IIM Bangalore Courtesy: Economic Times

eurial culture

What our corporate leaders have to say about some of the recent trends... Compiled by Rajesh Rao

Building a Brand

Vision for disruption

“A brand has to meet an unfilled need. That is the first rule of building a brand. We keep observing if consumers are asking for a brand or a solution. That goes a long way in offering us brand-creation opportunities.”

“Each one of these startup companies I have invested, is questioning the current state of world and looking at improving things not just incrementally but by disrupting it. I look for a passionate and a hungry team, with a vision for disruption.” Naveen Tewari, Founder, INMOBI, said on what he looks for while investing in other startups. Courtesy: Times of India

Give opportunity for people involvement

Darhsan Patel, CEO, Vini Cosmetics (company behind Fogg deodorant)

“People inherently want to feel involved in their work and feel that they are contributing meaningfully. As companies, it is our duty to provide this opportunity to them.” S Ramadorai, advisor to the PM of India in the National Council on Skill Development

Courtesy: Economic Times

Courtesy: Times of India

Purpose of education is to empower

“I believe in a gift economy, so all I ask of my students is to pay it forward instead of trying to pay me back. At the end of the day, purpose of education isn’t merely to do more or get more. It is to empower one to give back to others.” Ravi Gulati, co-founder, Manzil, a small after school learning community in Delhi’s upscale Khan Market. Courtesy: Business Standard

Way to think about black money “Much more important thing about black money is to understand why do we create black money in the first place and address those things. To me, black money is more important in terms of what it signals we are doing- arbitrariness, tax rules, discretion, corruption, all these things. We need to be very serious about addressing them.” Arvind Subramanian, chief economic advisor to NDA government Courtesy: The Indian Express

Visioning creativity

“Being creative means to have ideas and to work with those ideas together with the right people who can understand and realise them. Creativity with no vision, or developed with people who have no talent to build something is worthless.” Karl Lagerfeld, creative director, Fendi Courtesy: Business Standard

The changing framework of Indian economy “The whole framework of the Indian economy is changing in a direction where a lot of economic activity will take place in the area of start-ups and if we don’t act then such companies will start moving out of India……We must realise that there are new business opportunities, new economies which are coming.” UK Sinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Courtesy: www.livemint.com

Working in government yet outside “One thing I learnt while being in the government was the bigger the idea, the lesser the opposition. The other thing is you are fine as long as you don’t invade someone’s turf. The need for building a consensus around whatever you want to do is very important.” Nandan Nilekani, entrepreneur, bureaucrat and politician Courtesy: Economic Times

Actor-audience chemistry

“It inspired me, there is no recommendation, no corruption. Acting is a nude art, whatever you are, the audience can see it. In other professions you could fool people. Acting is an experience that helps one find out yourself, what you are.” Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Film Actor, said while talking about how he got mesmerised by the chemistry between the audience and the actors, the first time he saw a play in Delhi. Courtesy: Business Standard

Truth about innovations

“Most innovations is the result of collaborative work, of diverse individuals with different points of view and different expertise. Most innovations is the result of discoveries from learning. You don’t plan your way to an innovation, you act your way. Most innovations are not completely new: using the combination of old ideas, (or) a reconfiguration of some old ideas, to solve a new problem or address a new opportunity.” Linda Hill, Harvard Business School professor and author of Collective Genius, a book about innovation and leadership. Courtesy: www.livemint.com

rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood

People in the news

Intel President, Renée James to step down

Ratan Tata backs Net initiative for women After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the country the tag of digitised nation, Tata Trusts, chaired by Ratan Tata, tied up with Google and Intel to help women access the Internet in large numbers under this initiative. The three-way initiative comes on the heels of the Digital India programme launched by Modi, who pitched for a digital revolution in the country. Modi also exhorted the industry to boost domestic production of electronic devices, which account for the second largest

imports, under the ‘Make in India’ programme. The country’s top industrial houses have pledged to invest over ₹ 4.5 lakh crore under Digital India. Reminiscing how people were forced to wait for 10 years to get a phone connection during his childhood, Tata said deeper penetration of the phone has empowered the entire population now. The initiative aims to cover 4,500 villages over the next 18 months, starting with Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and targets to reach out to about five lakh women.

Renée James, the Intel Corp. president will step down in January 2016, to pursue an external chief executive role, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said in a statement. During her 28 years at Intel, James has held roles of executive vice president and general manager of the software and services group and COO of the chipmaker’s online services, data centre services business among others, according to the company’s website. Meanwhile, Intel also announced the departure of Arvind Sodhani, the president of its venture capital arm. Sodhani would retire in January, handing over the reins to Wendell Brooks, president of mergers and acquisitions. Sodhani, whose career with the company spans 34 years, is a vice president too.

Pune smartest with smartphones Pune tops the list of smartphone users for managing train travel. The city has been ranked at the number one spot across all major metros in India, according to a survey conducted by RailYatri.in, based on the mobile usage of over one million train travellers on the platform. Despite a much smaller population and a lower train density compared to many larger metros, Pune accounts for one out of every six train travellers who use technology to better manage their train travel. Pune travellers are a highly aware segment and make well-informed choices when it comes to their app selection, according to RailYatri. Com A Pune traveller is 12-times more likely than a Mumbaikar to use mobile apps for managing his/her train journey, eighttimes more than a Delhi-traveller, and four-times more than a Kolkata traveller, according to RailYatri.in sources, and in the process has culturally enriched the city known as the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Even today, Pune still holds on to this revered position and is one of the fastest growing cities in the Asia Pacific with a high percentage of educated population. 12 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Anuraag Srivastava, Tata Teleservices Chief Financial officer Anuraag Srivastava will be the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tata Teleservices Limited. Anuraag brings with him over 20 years of experience as a finance professional, with the last decade spent in leadership roles in finance in consumer goods and telecom businesses in multiple geographies across India , USA , UK and South Asia. Prior to this, he served Indus Towers as Senior Vice President of Internal Audit and Assurance. Before that, he held significant positions at Future Axiom Telecom Limited and Glaxo Smithkline as well. “I’m excited to be a part of Tata Teleservices that has established itself as a trusted and one of the most relied upon innovative telecom brands in the country and is rapidly scaling its

businesses across the markets,” said Anuraag Srivastava, about his new role. “These are exciting times for the telecom industry and Tata Teleservices is at the heart of this evolution. I look forward to working closely with the management team to capitalise on the company’s impending growth opportunities,” he added.

Premji leads top 10 Indian Govind Rajan comes to philanthropists Online marketplace Snapdeal.com said that it has hired ex-Bharti Airtel Executive, Govind Rajan, as its Chief Strategy Officer, effective August. Rajan was previously Bharti Airtel Ltd’s chief marketing officer and chief executive officer of Airtel Money. Earlier, he was at Hindustan Unilever Ltd for over 15 years, working across categories. He also led sales teams in several terrains and channels from modern trade to rural. Rajan holds a masters in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Madras. Snapdeal.com has been overhauling its management team to take on competitors such as Flipkart and Amazon India. The company recently has hired ex-Bharti Airtel executive Anand Chandrasekaran as its new chief product officer and ex-Procter and Gamble executive Amit Choudhary as Sr Vice President of corporate finance.

It’s not just Bill Gates who is donating millions to charity. Top Indian industrialists, CEOs and entrepreneurs too have been donating millions for causes like education, healthcare and rural development. Wipro chairman, Azim Premji, who was the most generous Indian of 2014, according to the Hurun India Philanthropy List, has allocated an additional 18 per cent of the stake he holds in the company for philanthropy, taking his total contribution for charity to more than 50 per cent, according to media reports. “Apart from the Tata Trust, nothing comes close to the commitment made by him on this front,” according to sources, who went on to add that now he has two engines to carry on his philanthropy—the Azim Premji Foundation, and the newly formed Philanthropic Initiatives, formed to make grants to NGOs. August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 13

collywood Four IndianAmericans, ‘Great Immigrants’

Biocon CMD in elite influencer group

Abraham Verghese, Madhulika Sikka, Preet Bharara, Rakesh Khurana Danoff

Four Indian-Americans are among 38 individuals being honoured for having helped advance and enlighten our society, culture, and economy as Great Immigrants: The Pride of America by Carnegie Corporation of New York. As an Independence Day ‘Salute to Great Immigrants Who Help Make America Strong’ and their accomplishments, the corporation for the tenth year

took out a full-page public service ad in The New York Times. The four Indian-Americans honoured are, Preet Bharara US Attorney, Southern District of New York, Rakesh Khurana Danoff, Dean of the Harvard College and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership and Development, Madhulika Sikka, Vice President, Executive Editor, Mic (India) and Abraham Verghese, Physician, Professor, Author (India).

14 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

The only person from India in the prestigious ranking of global life sciences influencers, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson of Asia’s premier biopharmaceutical enterprise Biocon has received another global recognition. She is featured in The Worldview 100 of the prestigious US-based Scientific American magazine, which has drawn a spotlight on the visionaries who continue to reshape biotechnology—and the world. Kiran is the only person from India on this list. Mazumdar-Shaw appears on the list alongside scientists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, legislators, administrators and key media figures. Scientific American says ,The Worldview 100 list is a “collection of extraordinarily talented and effective people” and describes them as seminal figures who are as complementary to the emergence of the field (of biotechnology) as two parents are to a child. The list was compiled from nominations by dozens of leaders in biotechnology and biosciences globally. The nominators were encouraged to select living experts currently working in the sector from a range of contributing areas, including industry, academia, public policy, finance, law and beyond. The top ten on this exclusive list include Bill and Melinda Gates, Francis Collins, Bob Langer and Craig Venter. The list also includes seven Indian Americans, but Kiran is the only one from India. Sangeeta Bhatia, Atul Butte, Anita Goel, Ganesh Kishore, Raju Kucherlapati, Ram Sasisekharan and Rajiv Shah are the Indian Americans.

Biologist Kamal Bawa elected to Royal Society India’s most prominent biologist and evolutionary ecologist, Kamal Bawa has been elected to the prestigious Royal Society in recognition of his pioneering contribution in the area of conservation science. Bawa, 76, a distinguished Biology professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, joined former and current fellows like Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and about 80 Nobel laureates. Established in 1660, each year the London-based Royal Society’s existing fellowship proposes about 700 candidates for election and then elects up to 52 fellows from England and the Commonwealth countries, and up to 10 foreign fellows. “I am interested in developing new paradigms of conservation that take into account the need to alleviate poverty in biodiversity-rich areas through sustainable use of biodiversity,” said Bawa, who joined the University

of Massachusetts 36 years ago, in a university release. “I also remain interested in the sustainable use of ecosystem services including such provisioning services as non-timber forest products. My third distinct interest in sustainable studies is land use and land cover change and its impact on biodiversity,” he said. Bawa is the second University of Massachusetts faculty member to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society after Roger Davis, who teaches in the program in Molecular Medicine.

Khosla to lead Consumer Business Avantha Group Company CG has appointed Shantanu Khosla as Executive Vice President and Managing Director Designate of the Consumer Business of CG. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, he joined as a Management Trainee in Richardson Hindustan Limited that was rechristened as Procter & Gamble India in 1985. Shantanu has served there ever since, in multiple roles. After several stints abroad in Newcastle UK, Kobe Japan, Singapore and Malaysia he returned to India in 2002 as CEO & MD of Procter & Gamble India. In his 13-year stint, he grew the revenue 15 fold - to US$ 1.8 billion making it one

USL exits United Breweries

of the fastest growing consumer companies in India. He served as the MD of two big legal entities in India - P&G Hygiene and Health Care Limited and Gillette India limited. Shantanu brings with him a rich experience of managing consumer businesses across markets, product categories and functions.

Diageo-controlled United Spirits Limited (USL) has exited from United Breweries Ltd. by selling its entire 3.21 per cent stake in the company for ₹ 872 crore, giving rise to speculation that Vijay Mallya may lose control over the company that makes the Kingfisher brand of beer. United Spirits sold its stake to Heineken International BV at a price consideration of ₹ 1,030 per share, according to United Spirits in a BSE filing. The company has placed an order for sale by way of a block trade on NSE of 85 lakh equity shares held by the company in United Breweries Ltd. (constituting 3.21 per cent stake) to Heineken International BV, according to sources. USL further said, “the sale consideration net of brokerage is ₹ 872 crore, resulting in profit on this transaction.” In November 2012, Diageo had bought a controlling 55 per cent stake in USL, for about ₹ 11,000 crore, from the Mallya-promoted UB Group. USL said that following the completion of this sale, it will hold no shares in United Breweries and will cease to be a promoter of United Breweries. The sale is part of the process of monetising non-core assets of the company, USL added. Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 15

People think the AICTE is corrupt - it was in a worse position a few years ago. Thankfully, that has reduced substantially, even perception wise and reality wise. Whatever unscrupulous elements are still there, need to be weeded out by making it totally transparent. That may not be a big challenge now because in the last three-four years it has really improved to a great extent, thanks to automation and e-governance. And that is a kick-start advantage for me 16 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

TOP POSITION

AICTE needs to be

enabler, not mere regulator Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe, the dynamic educationist who has been at the helm of versatile educational institutions is a visionary—be it as the Director of the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP), where he played a major role in turning it around to get it on par with IITs, or as Professor, Head of the Department, Dean of Academic Affairs and Deputy Director of IIT Guwahati, where he played a significant role—along with two former Directors and colleagues at IIT Guwahati—in taking it from its conceptual stage to among the top global-100 newly started institutes. Known to be humble, unassuming and a great mentor to his students, Sahasrabudhe seems to be just what the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) needs – a progressive scholar and visionary. After all, the purview of AICTE is vast and impacts most youngsters pursuing higher technical education. It covers programmes of technical education including training and research in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Town Planning, Management, Pharmacy, Applied Arts and Crafts, Hotel Management and Catering Technology, etc., at different levels. Corporate Citizen interviews Dr. Sahasrabudhe on his new and powerful assignment just before taking over as Chairman of AICTE By Vinita Deshmukh From being the Director of the College of Engineering, Pune, to the Chairman of the All India Council of Technical Education, how does it feel? It is a bigger role to play, as it envisages the administration of a large number of institutes in the entire country. As Director of the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP), I needed to take care of issues pertaining to just one institute. Now the challenges are much larger as there are many varieties of institutions under the umbrella of the AICTE which includes new and old government and private institutions as well. So obviously, how to tackle situations arising out of that would be the most challenging. Moreover, the last decade has seen a big change in the number of institu-

tions, ensuring access, to large extent equity, but the challenge is one of quality of education and outcomes. You have had a multi-dimensional career in the field of education. You have been at the helm of a variety of educational institutions. How would these experiences help in the enormous responsibility that you have just taken over? I should begin with my college career. At the graduation level, I had got admission at IIT, Madras, but I opted for a government aided private college, BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli, in Karnataka where I belong. At that time, I did not know the value of getting admission in IIT. Secondly, the financial constraints of

the family also added to that decision. We were two brothers, but ours being a joint family, my four cousins, aunt and grandparents were also dependent on my father because my uncle had passed away at a very young age. Being the eldest, I thought I should not financially strain my father by opting for IIT. After engineering graduation, I did my Masters and PhD at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Then I went to Arunachal Pradesh. I worked there for eight years, first as a lecturer and then as assistant professor in a very brand new type of education system, which had the modular pattern of 2+2+2 pattern after class X till graduation in engineering with vertical mobility and lateral exit and entry. That system is very ideal. In fact, it should have been replicated elsewhere, but unfortunately many experiments which are worth pursuing are not taken to their logical conclusion. When we do not pursue such fruitful experiments, then they seem as if they have failed and we discontinue them. Presently, it is being pursued in a diluted form. The education pattern was simple - after Std. X, for the first two years, one compulsorily went through hands-on vocational education -- like the technical subjects in classes XI and XII elsewhere. Exactly on the same pattern, one studied Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics and also opted for one technical skill, be it carpentry, welding, machinist, electrician, electronics or computer technician, and so on. So, by the end of two years, one would have acquired one skill. Those who qualified through these two years with a minimum acceptable academic level were allowed to move ahead, not everyone. The rest who did not make it further were already empowered with a skill through which they could get employed. The idea behind this pattern was that in the

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 17

TOP POSITION North-East there is a variety of manpower requirement and also there are a lot of dropouts because of the rigour of maths in engineering. The system thus took care of both - the manpower requirement and employable dropouts who could do skilled jobs. So, at the end of these two years, students who were not good in theory could go for practical work (pursue a vocational career); those who were a shade better in theory, could go for a diploma course, and those who were brighter in theory, could opt for a degree course. That was a very attractive concept; also it was hands-on training right from the first year, so the engineers who came out were absolutely practically oriented. But subsequently, all students began to want a degree; therefore the whole concept got diluted. This mode of education still exists at the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) in Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology (SLIET), at Longowal in Punjab. Thereafter, I joined IIT Guwahati, as Associate Professor when it was taking root in 1995. In the 11 years of my tenure, I held positions of HOD, Chairman-JEE, Chairman Library, Dean-Academics and Deputy Director, and in 2006, I was invited to join as Director, College of Engineering, Pune. After working under a unique educational model and a stint at NERIST Itanagar, you were appointed Associate Professor at IIT Guwahati when it just came into being in 1995. What was your experience there? I joined as Associate Professor, and being the first to join and the only one in the mechanical engineering department, I became the head of the Mechanical Engineering department at IIT Guwahati, right away. We were hardly ten faculty members and two to three senior professors. The challenges were in terms of non-existence of buildings; even land was not fully acquired. The classes started at the Institution of Engineers building in the city, with accommodation for faculty in rented flats scattered all over the city, and accommodation for students in make-shift hostels, in an under-used marriage hall, and a building built for a polyclinic but never used for a polyclinic, etc. After about three years we had a transit complex built on the campus for housing mechanical engineering labs and workshop. Then we started moving into the campus, which was 20 kms away from the city. For the initial five to six years, we were shuttling up and down until the hostels and the residential quarters came up. The good thing was that, because IIT Guwahati was the first IIT to have come up after more than four decades after the original five IITs were set up, we had good support from all IITs to develop it. This is not the case with the present eight IITs which have just started, as each IIT has been given the responsibility of mentoring one IIT. Also, IIT Guwahati had

I have had experience of being at the helm of a state government supported private college BVBCET, the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, one modular type of vocational institute NERIST, a new IIT, and also Maharashtra state government’s very old–150+ year old–college, COEP. So I have seen technical education from all quarters and have a pulse on the general problems at each such institution and their perspectives. This would surely help me in my AICTE tenure no problem getting faculty as the then existing IITs required only an incremental number of faculty. Alumni of any IIT who were abroad and wanted to return to India preferred to work in IITs. So, when the other five IITs had no vacancies, they would naturally opt for IIT Guwahati. Moreover, the government too had offered special perks for faculty. Now when suddenly eight new IITs have begun and several faculty members of the older IITs are retiring, vacancies abound everywhere. Hence, recruitment of faculty for upcoming IITs has become a bigger challenge. So, I have had experience of being at the helm of a state government supported private college BVBCET, the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, one modular type of vocational institute NERIST, a new IIT, and also Maharashtra state government’s very old—150+ year old—college, COEP. So I have seen technical education from all quarters and have a pulse on the general problems at each such institution and their perspectives. This would surely help me in my AICTE tenure. How did COEP decide to get you as its Director? Actually, Dr. F. C. Kohli, former Chairman of TCS and father of the software industry in India, who is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of COEP wanted a person from the IIT system to help transform this institution into an IIT-like institution, because at one time this was a great institution where people like Dr. Visvesvaraya studied, but over the decades, its quality had considerably gone down. So he wanted systems which were followed in IITs to be introduced. He was keen on getting someone from the IIT system, and Professor Ashok Misra, the then IIT-Bombay director and a couple of other IIT directors probably suggested my name, and that’s how I was pulled out from IIT Guwahati to become Director of COEP. How did the turnaround of COEP take place? Does it bear semblance with an IIT today? There were a multitude of activities that took place; my contribution is very little. I was just a man who volunteered to do something, leading from the front, that’s all. The Board of Governors

18 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

itself is an amazing board, right from Dr. Kohli, now 91 year-old, energetic and passionate about contributing to engineering education in the country as its chairman, to stalwarts like Prataprao Pawar, Atul Kirloskar, Professor Sonde, Professor Emeritus in IISc Bangalore and former Chairman NBA and Vice-Chancellor of Goa University, Professor Dhande, Director of IIT Kanpur, Dr. G. B. Pant, Director of IITM, Pune, among others. Their vision and commitment has helped in propelling the tremendous metamorphosis of COEP into an international brand once again. The gap analysis between IITs and COEP, first-hand experience of IIT level education to both faculty and students of COEP to bridge the gap, faculty and student empowerment, 24X7 availability of labs and library, setting up of alumni and industry supported labs, visits and talks by eminent academicians, industry leaders and Nobel laureates, design and innovation workshops, research academies, etc., has brought COEP closer to being on par with IITs. Secondly, Dr. Kohli requested each one of the Board members to contribute at least 100 hours a year for the institute and take active interest in its functioning, which normally does not happen with most of the Board of Governors of other institutes. In the normal course, most Board meetings are held once in three or four months, and members just attend them. In contrast, Dr. Kohli requested them to interact with the stakeholders - students, faculty, staff, alumni - and engage with the institute. The government also supported through total autonomy and did not interfere in our affairs. The alumni were convinced about the transformation that was happening. Industry saw great benefit in associating with the COEP. So what has been the outcome of all your joint efforts? You need to have some role model. We decided that although COEP was once a great institute, today IITs are recognized as the world class institutes in India. So, we conducted a thorough analysis of what IITs do and what we were doing and where we were lagging behind. We analysed and immediately constructed our own vision, mission and

changed the system - every three years by rotation, we had a new person as HOD. This way, new ideas kept coming. Almost all IIT systems were replicated. It was a beginning but more importantly, it gave a lot of opportunities for students to perform through different types of competitions due to the availability of round-the-clock laboratories. This changed the ambience in the institute and students could compete at different events. They have beaten IIT-Delhi, IIT- Bombay and other IIT students too. The students are bright, they know what to do, they can Google, get the information, analyse and make use of the same, but the support by the institution, mentoring and creating academic ambiance is more important. What do you say about AICTE being seen as a corrupt body and unfriendly institution? There are two issues that come out of it. People think it is corrupt - it was in a worse position a few years ago. Thankfully, that has reduced substantially, even perception wise and reality wise. Whatever unscrupulous elements are still there, need to be weeded them out by making it totally transparent. That may not be a big challenge now because in the last three-four years it has really improved to a great extent, thanks to automation and e-governance. And that is a kick-start advantage for me.

strategic goals and worked on how to bridge that gap as expeditiously as possible. Then we realised that just stating the vision theoretically would not be meaningful. So we sent faculty from COEP to IIT for an entire semester. The faculty who were sent in batches, attended classes there along with students of IIT, understood how the classes were taught, how the assignments are given, how they were evaluated, how their semester exams took place, how their laboratory classes were held, and so on. They were made to see for themselves an entire life cycle of a student at an IIT. This empowered our faculty, got them charged up to realise the vision. In order that students too know the IIT culture, we had live video conferencing classes of IIT Bombay beamed to COEP, and mind it, it was an interactive two-way communication just like what hap-

pens in a normal class. Whatever classes were held in IIT B, our students were seeing and listening to the lecture. They could interact and ask questions too. It was almost like a live classroom for our students. This was much before online lectures or MOOCs came into existence. So, not only did the students get the taste of about 15-16 courses, they also understood what was expected of them. And they started demanding other courses of IIT at COEP. So this way the gap could be bridged very fast and whatever laboratory equipment was required we purchased or got in the form of donation from the alumni or industry. So the style of functioning gradually started changing here. Similarly, in the administrative set up too, earlier we used to have fixed HODs. Once someone senior-most became the head of the department, he would remain there until he retired. But we

What will be your other challenges, as Chairperson of AICTE? Many of the institutes do not have enough faculty and more important, most lack quality faculty. So how do we encourage them to have more faculty and quality faculty? And how do we imbibe good teaching abilities among them? In schools and high schools, teachers are trained through a B.Ed. or D.Ed. degree and then they can join the teaching profession. However, in engineering colleges, you do your BE or ME and straightaway become a faculty. So maybe an early faculty induction programme is one possibility. Then, spotting bright students doing their Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme and encouraging them to join as teaching fraternity is another way of improving the quality of faculty. Also, supporting them to do their PhD as and when they complete a couple of years of teaching would motivate them to keep their teaching jobs. Focus has to be on the outcomes, accreditation, continuous quality improvement, industry and societal interaction, stakeholder satisfaction etc. Thus, I feel, AICTE should be more of an enabling organization, rather than a mere regulatory authority. Of course if someone does not behave properly, indulges in bad practices and is untruthful, harsh penalty would be there, but beyond that, we need to see the vital aspects of how do we empower them, how do we bring about an enabling climate amongst the students as well as teachers in these colleges. So, a facilitative role is more important than a headmaster kind of a role. First

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 19

The Indian industry keeps on cribbing about the ‘employability’ of Indian engineering graduates, that they are not up to the mark. If that has to improve the industry too should come forward and support-only then they would get better engineers, productivity will increase and profitability will also increase encourage them, support them, make them understand that this is the right way of doing it, and if someone doesn’t respond or lies to the authority, then certainly stringent action has to be taken. So, how would you go about training the faculty? The recruitment of faculty is very important as without it, the teaching and learning process will not be effective. Maybe a short three month course, before they start teaching for the first time, which trains them in pedagogical methods and methods of dealing with new era students. This new generation is skill and screen based. Today, no one will take down notes; probably their handwriting is so poor that they will not be able to write like we did. They may be able to type faster. I think with the new change in the environment, how we have to engage ourselves and keep students interested in the class is what the real challenge is. Classes need to be more discussion based, case-study based, rather than being one-way lectures. This initiative will have to be collectively done and not at an individual institute level. By clubbing three to five institutes together, some kind of funding can also be thought of. The other issue is that the Indian industry keeps on cribbing about the ‘employability’ of Indian engineering graduates, that they are not up to the mark. If that has to improve the industry too should come forward and support -- only then they would get better engineers, productivity will increase and profitability will also increase. So the industry also has a role. It’s not always only the government, even the industry and society should be concerned. I am sure we can put together some part from colleges, some from the government and industry and I think within one to two years, quality will become visible. When I

say industry should be a partner, then it’s not just for their recruitment drive, but also in supporting courses, allowing student internships in their industry, making students familiar with industry practices, sabbaticals and so on. They should not come just at the end of four years, recruit and say that so and so is not good. What did they do during the four years when the students were in the colleges, is the question we should also ask the industry. Some industries are already involved, but if more colleges have to improve, more industries have to put in effort. What do you think of the number of MBA colleges today? I think the number of admissions are getting less, so some of them are getting closed on their own. Some don’t have good quality faculty, may be some of them will have a natural death. The survival of the fittest is likely to happen; it is already happening. Many educational institutions, both engineering and management, have started closing down in different states. What are your views on the MBA curriculum? Besides faculty training and industry involvement, curriculum change is also very important. Many a times, the curriculum is not revised for a long time, so we keep working with outdated systems. So naturally when students come out of such systems they will not be able to participate in industry processes. So the curriculum has to be up-to-date and relevant, always, both in MBA and engineering programs. Case studies are very important, I don’t know how many smaller colleges follow this practice. IIMs, ISB or Kellogg School develop excellent case studies and that is how students really engage and learn best practices.

20 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Is it a mammoth task? What steps will you take to fill this gap? The most important thing is dialogue. Dialogue has to be there. We need to hold meetings in different regions, get heads of different institutes and their managements and understand their problem. We say that we want good quality faculty but we cannot generate it overnight, so for that also a format is required. So, institutes could send10% of their existing faculty for qualification upgradation each year. That is what we successfully did at COEP -- if someone says it is not possible, the experiment of COEP is there for all to see. Ten years ago there were only 12 faculty members with PhDs at COEP; today there are 115 - some of them were selected because they had PhD degrees and some were allowed to go to different IITs/ Indian Institute of Science, for three to four years with full study leave and they all came back, empowered. So you have to invest some money in terms of empowering faculty. Will the AICTE become a progressive body under you? Like I said, regulation is certainly required, otherwise some of these institutes may get away with just anything and quality will further suffer. But at the same time, the facilitative role of AICTE should be highlighted. It should have a friendlier attitude to understand and help. Helping out, mentoring, facilitating is more important. We often say that the role of a teacher has changed from mere teaching a class and conducting an annual exam to that of being a mentor, guide, friend, philosopher and facilitator to make students learn, and learn to become life-long learners. The role of AICTE is expected to be exactly the same, that of being a mentor and facilitator to make the institutions understand outcome-based education, importance of accreditation, stakeholder interaction and satisfaction, and not merely get embroiled in inputs to the system. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in

tadka

The wondrous Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple in Puri is home to several wonders. Its flags always flap in the opposite direction of the air. No bird or planes fly above the temple, and from any place in Puri, if you look at the temple, you will always find the Sudarshan Chakra at the top of the temple facing you.

manage money In the previous issue we were discussing how to read a Balance Sheet By Dr Anil Lamba

Good Financial Management – Rule 2

n the previous issue I had emphasised that if one wishes to read Balance Sheets, it is essential to re-arrange the number of items on the Sources’ side and reduce them to two (Long Term Sources and Short Term Sources). Similarly the Assets’ or Uses’ side can be reduced to two: Long Term Uses, comprising Fixed Assets and Short Term Uses represented by Current Assets or Gross Working Capital. Let me now elaborate upon why I had classified Working Capital as a Short Term Use. An organisation that l Keeps inventory at a threemonth consumption level, l Takes one month to convert it to a finished product, l Keeps a finished-goods inventory of another one month l And then sells the product on a three-month credit to customers, will have a working-capital cycle of eight months and be able to obtain 1.5 rotations in a year. On the other hand, an organisation that l Keeps inventory equal to one month, (by making sales and production forecasts and an inventory-need analysis and arriving at optimum inventory) l Cuts down the production time to 15 days (at the same time applying quality-control measures to ensure that hastening production does not compromise quality), l Reduces the finished-goods inventory also to 15 days, l And then sells their product on 30 days’ credit (realizing that period of credit is not the only criterion considered by customers while making a purchase, and that customers also take into account product quality, pre-sales and after-sales service, and if necessary, by offering customers a small discount) can bring down the cycle to three months, thereby achieving four cycles in a year, leading to a higher turnover with the same investment as in the first case and consequently far higher profits. For the limited purpose of our discussion, however, it does not matter whether money comes back in 3 months or 8 months. When an investment gets converted to cash in less than one year, it is called short term. The new look of the Balance Sheet (BS) which has been brought down to two items on the left and two on the right will be as shown here:

Balance Sheet Liabilities Assets Long-Term Sources (LTS) Long-Term Uses (LTU) (comprising Share Capital, (made up of Fixed Assets) Reserves & Surplus and Long Term Loans) Short-Term Sources (STS) Short-Term Uses (STU) (comprising Current Liabilities) (represented by Current Assets) You are now ready to read Balance Sheets: There are only three types of Balance Sheets If you now take a large number of Balance Sheets, and present them as having two items on the Sources’ side (LTS and STS) and two items on the Uses’ side (LTU and STU), you will see that all Balance Sheets must fit into one of only three types. Every BS has three possibilities, and can only be of Type A, Type B or Type C. Balance Sheet A Liabilities Assets LTS 80 LTU 80 STS 20 STU 20 100 100

Balance Sheet B Liabilities Assets LTS 90 LTU 80 STS 10 STU 20 100 100

Balance Sheet C Liabilities Assets LTS 70 LTU STS 30 STU 100

80 20 100

Take a close look at the three statements. You may think that there are surely any number of combinations besides those shown here. So what do I mean when I say that these are the only three types of BS possible? To understand this classification, it is important to read the statements horizontally and not vertically. Only then will you realise that the actual numbers don’t matter. Type A Balance Sheet is when the long-term sources and the long term uses match, and the short-term sources and short-term uses also match. If the long-term sources amount to 70 & the long-term uses are also 70, if the short-term sources are 30 & the short-term uses are 30, it is a Type A Balance Sheet. Type B is when the long-term sources are more than the long-term uses, in which case the short-term sources will be less than the short-term uses. And, when the long-term sources are less than the long-term uses, and consequently the short-term sources are more than the short term uses, the BS will be called Type C. ...to be continued Dr Anil Lamba is a corporate trainer of international repute on finance management. His clients comprise several hundred large & medium sized corporations across different countries of the world. He is the author of the bestselling book Romancing the Balance Sheet. He can be contacted at anil@lamconschool.com August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 21

NHRDN Delhi Chapter

The Widening Leadership Gap

The Third Human Capital Conclave organised by the National HRD Network, in New Delhi, attended by over 250 HR and business leaders, debated intensely on several trends affecting human capital vis-a-vis the emerging challenges of an increasingly complex business landscape, brought into sharp focus by the recent NHRDNDeloitte Survey Report on Global and Indian Human Capital Trends for 2015-16. Corporate Citizen, media partner for this event, covered every aspect of this intellectually stimulating conference By Pradeep Mathur

22 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

he National HRD Network (NHEDN), an apex body of HR professionals, committed to enhancing the capabilities of its over 12,500 members is spread across 30 chapters in India. Established over 28 years ago, it is an autonomous, not-for-profit organisation, playing a catalytic role in grooming HR leaders of tomorrow. Recently, they organised their third Human Capital Conclave in New Delhi’s Welcome Hotel Sheraton on the subject, “Leading in the New Way of Work: Emerging Trends for India Inc.” Attended by over 250 top HR professionals and business leaders from all across India, the high-voltage event witnessed some of the top HR professionals discussing big ideas in the context of the “new way of work” at global organisations that require a dramatic change in strategies for leadership, talent and human resources. There were seven intense sessions held during these two days, starting with the release of the NHRDN-Deloitte Survey Report on the Global and Indian Human Capital Trends for 2015-16. This was followed by high-powered panel discussions on six different themes where top CEOs, CHROs and seasoned HR leaders tried to find solutions to the emerging critical challenges in the increasingly complex business landscape. Topics such as how barriers between work and life have been all but eliminated because of new mobile technologies which have put employees in the “always on” mode, and thus altered the balance of power in the employer-employee equation, demographic changes in the workforce, how HR organisations could face the challenge of this new world, engage and develop teams and how human capital strategies can empower companies to take on this rapid change were debated upon in detail. Other concerns addressed were, how can companies be more proactive, aggressive and agile as they prepare to grow bigger, and how could their HRs become a strategic partner in this change. CEOs on the Future of Human Capital: Are we ready?—a panel discussion chaired by Dwarakanath, Advisor, Human Capital, Max Group, brought out CEOs’ perspectives on the topic. Others on the panel included Sameer Maheshwary, CEO, GE Capital and Yogesh Agarwal, Daffodils Software Pvt. Ltd.

HR integral to get organisations future-ready Human Capital is seen as the new strategic differentiator between successful and not-so-successful businesses in modern times. Organisations that will stand out in the next few years will be the ones that are able to leverage their human capital to surpass their targets. This requires rethinking recruitment, training and engagement processes and re-aligning them to business needs. It will also necessitate the use of technology and analytics to gain insight. The question that arises is: Are organisations ready for the incoming change?

P Dwarakanath (PD)

Advisor, Human Capital, Max Group NHRDN had done a survey a couple of years back in association with Wharton University. We reached out to top global business leaders and asked them to identify five key business issues. All business leaders named ‘Talent’ and ‘Leadership’ as one of the issues. The issues are the same across the globe, but in India the leadership gap is much wider. While businesses have grown exponentially after liberalisation, capability building has not taken place. Almost all CEOs are faced with the challenge of having the right human capital mix.

Sameer Maheshwary

(SM), CEO, GE Capital I’ve been with GE for about 16 years. I stayed this long in GE Capital because it has helped me grow as an individual. When I started my career at GE, I was in the audit department. Every four months we would be given the option to choose our assignment. So I went to my manager and told him that I wanted to work in a certain e-commerce project because I

‘To be future-ready and meet present day human capital challenges, there needs to be a deeper alignment between industries, organisations and institutes for labour education’ had previously worked in an e-commerce company, I knew a lot about that area and it really excited me. Surprisingly, my manager refused. He said, “Sameer, if you know about that area, then I’m not going to assign it to you. We want our people to know about things that they have not known. If I give you this project, I will be doing a disservice to you because you are not going to develop as an individual.” This approach really made me think. GE has taken me from one level to the next, every two to three years. Even when I thought I wasn’t ready, they pushed me to try. I spent many years in the US and Japan. When I came back to India in 2011, I noticed a big change in aspirations. Fifteen years ago, you basically left your career growth to the organisation. You said, if I do a good job, they’ll take care of me. They’ll find a path for me and I will go from one level to the next. Individuals typically would be loyal and stay in an organisation for a very long time. Times have changed. When I talk to younger individuals now, their aspiration levels go through the roof. They want to manage their careers themselves, and they don’t feel connected to the organisation. If they don’t feel that they would like to head where the company is headed, it becomes a problem. They want very fast growth. I have people who come and sit in my office, one year in a role saying, what’s next for me? Where is my career headed? Where are you going to take me from here? They’ve already charted out the skills they want to develop so that they can get to a higher place. There is also a steep change in how a leader communicates. When I started my career, the leader would come to a town hall, talk about the goals, take a few questions, and move on from August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 23

NHRD Delhi chapter

‘It’s not possible for the CEO to always reach out, so the HR team is the face-to-face connection for hundreds of team members’ there. But things have changed. We’ve got a very young population in our call centres, and the old way of one town hall a month or a quarter just does not work anymore. There is so much information out there, thanks to WhatsApp and Twitter, youngsters have the information even before they reach my office. So I have to connect with people online, ask them what’s on their mind on an everyday basis. And that’s a big change, I believe. My company is a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital. It’s a multinational and government owned bank. There are two different sets of cultures, and we had to employ interesting techniques to bring it all together. The HR has done a fantastic job, and helped me build trust with the leadership as well as the staff. We encouraged the staff to communicate, tried to understand their pulse, and what they really had in mind. And then we reached out to them with the things that needed to be done, how emails had to be addressed, how the youngsters had to be spoken to. The managers spent a lot of time with their juniors, developing and training them. It’s not possible for the CEO to always reach out, so the HR team is the face-to-face connection for hundreds of team members. Even with the issues of talent calibre, the HR team plays a huge role. They work with the functional leaders to identify the gaps, and then work with the employees to understand their skills. They deliberate on the coaching that needs to be given to specific people who can be developed to move ahead in the organisation. So HR is a huge strategic partner in driving company culture, feeding information back to the CEO, developing talent.

Yogesh Agarwal (YA)

Daffodils Software Pvt Ltd I am founder and CEO of a company that creates software solutions, web and mobile apps for business needs. We also have a couple of ERP products, and B2C mobile apps. We are at a stage where companies are growing pretty fast and looking for talent. Talent gap is a consistent problem. Skill requirement is not being met by skill availability. One of the primary reasons for that is that educational institutions are not providing skills that organisations are looking for. For instance, it’s very difficult to find relevant talent to handle digital marketing. Marketing as a skill is changing from what it used to be ten years back. Even if companies train people, there is a war for talent. As soon as you train individuals with specific skills, companies get into a war to get the candidate. So talent and skill gap is a major challenge. There is a flood of opportunities for people, and ethics and policies are forgotten by employees when they get new jobs. This poses an issue for the organisation which depended on the candidate to get the work done. To be future-ready and meet present day human capital challenges, there needs to be a deeper alignment between industries, organizations and institutes for labour 24 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Leadership is India

ith the gaps between the urgency and readiness to address HR issues widening, leadership, and learning and development emerge as crucial for Indian business houses Could you ever imagine that Indian corporate firms whose annual results show impressive growth year after year face a severe leadership crisis today? Obviously not, because with such consistent performance at hand, at least leadership should not be an issue of concern. But curiously, it is so. If the latest NHRDN-Deloitte India Human Capital Report 2015-16 is to be believed, most Indian companies today face a nationwide leadership crisis. No wonder, India Inc. has rated leadership as the top human capital issue for this year. The report is based on a comparative analysis of India with Deloitte’s global survey of 33,000 business leaders and HR executives across 106 nations worldwide. According to the study, the most worrying factor is that the gaps existing between urgency and readiness to address HR issues are widening. Presenting the latest HR report card in the study at the 3rd Human Capital Conclave in New Delhi, SV Nathan, Senior Director and Chief Talent Officer of Deloitte India, said, “Without doubt, leadership emerges as the top-most challenge for most Indian companies because people have been so much focussed on growth in the last two decades that they did not invest in developing the next generation of top executives and rock-star CEOs. There is certainly a strong circle of top leadership in our businesses but no tag team.” Citing his latest survey data showing an overwhelming 90 per cent respondents claiming that there exists “serious gaps in leadership practices” in top Indian companies, he said, “perhaps this is very telling” but the fact is that they have “serious difficulty in finding qualified candidates for their top executive positions.” In fact, “even the country is struggling with this,” Nathan said, adding, “I don’t think anybody should be surprised about it because if you look at the choices we made over the last few years, in

any organisation that we are part of, the struggle is always about leadership and perhaps that is why it has reflected so prominently in our survey.” Even globally, he pointed out, leadership has always been a major concern for business houses. The capability gap, which is the difference between the urgency/ importance index and readiness index, stood at 36 per cent globally, while India has witnessed a slightly higher gap of 38 per cent. Another thing that has stood out sharply is a trend called ‘People Data Everywhere.’ It has scored the lowest both in terms of urgency and readiness which is quite a surprise in today’s digital world, however understandable, as it is still picking up while companies focus on HR trends. Naming other top trends for 2015, Nathan said, “After leadership, most respondents have named learning and development, cultural engagement, reinventing HR practices and performance management as the top issues which demand immediate attention.” Taking them one by one, he said, “I’m reminded, many years ago my guru used to tell me, there are only three reasons why people stay in organizations. One, if they learn and if there is a learning and development culture in the company. Second, if there is career growth. And, third, if they feel like they own it, when they are highly valued in the organization.” But it does not seem to be the case especially for the millennials who consider job hopping is the new normal for their generation. “So, this is the biggest change that we find in this survey because learning and development has catapulted from tenth to number two position which is a very big hike. We also feel that learning and development will ultimately help resolve the leadership issue too.” In fact, in the case of learning and development, the capability gap for Indian business stands at 32 per cent, which is four per cent higher than both Asia (28 per cent) and the world (28 per cent). Commenting further on this, Nathan said, “I think India is also getting to realize that there are different ways that people learn. Right in front of our eyes, there’s a lot of change that has

happened. Jeff Schwartz, Senior Director Human Capital Global Leader for Talent Strategies and Marketing, Eminence, and Brand Deloitte Consulting India, very briefly talked about this digital world of HR learning which is very different today. In fact, just in the last one year, if you look at what WhatsApp has done to us, you realize, it has given us a lot of pocket-sized information that people get to learn and, how nice it would be if you just use the mobile devices for learning. But I think there’s a different way you got to be looking at learning and development.” Taking up the next issue concerning cultural engagement, he said, “Though it has moved up just one position from last year, the fact remains that everybody realises the importance of engaged employees who put their heart and soul into their job.” “Re-inventing HR,” Nathan pointed out, “is at number four and thus dropped a little bit from previous years, but it again reinforces the fact that most firms feel that HR needs an extreme makeover today as it’s a critical priority area for them.” “Similarly, performance management is still very much in the zone as everybody realises how challenging it is to tap the full potential of your employees. So, if you just take the top ones, India is clearly saying that there’s something which we need to look at,” Nathan said, adding, “simplification of work for people feeling overwhelmed and HR analytics are the new trends coming up fast.” So, he concluded, as per the survey, the biggest challenges for business growth include failure to develop leadership, culture engagement, deficiency of skills within HR and reskilling HR as well as lack of efforts towards retention of employees, to name a few. Talking about the Indian business outlook, Nathan said, “There’s a lot of optimism in the air. Though some recent articles in the Economic Times say there’s a little bit of flutter, most respondents expect a strong growth this year and positive business climate under the Modi government which is very good news for us all. But it also depends on what our leaders think about and what our business of tomorrow is going to

be,” he said. The report card incidentally also said that most Indian leaders largely rate their HR solutions to be “good” (40 per cent), but 50 per cent respondents also felt that there is room for improvement. It also talks about an increase in HR investment in the next 12-18 months. Nathan said, “Earlier when you go up to your CEO and say, hey listen, I want a technology, he would always say, we can push this off. Not anymore, because people are recognizing its importance. No wonder, seven out of 10 organizations are planning a significant

In fact, in the case of learning and development, the capability gap for Indian business stands at 32 per cent, which is four per cent higher than both Asia (28 per cent) and the world (28 per cent) five to six per cent hike in their firm’s HR and this is also an opportunity for us to look at how we can rise and shine.” There was some good news for workers also as the report talked about an average salary hike of 10.7 per cent in 201516 with pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences and infrastructural companies expected to lead in increases. The average salary hike predicted for this year is slightly higher than the previous year’s 10.3 per cent. Incidentally, the survey also compared results from India (about 150 business and HR leaders) with global and Asia Pacific results from Deloitte’s comprehensive survey of more than 2,500 business leaders and HR executives in 94 countries. According to Kamal Singh, Director General, National HRD Network, “2015 is going to be a critical year for both HR and talent teams because it will require creativity and bold leadership as the talent management landscape has changed dramatically but organisations have not caught up with the technological and demographic changes. So, a fundamental re-imagining of the practices of HR is required rather urgently.”

PicS: Sumit Sawhney

Inc.’s top HR priority

education. Rather than an industry picking people up from campus, the alignment should begin much earlier so that the whole education delivery program is centred around the industry. We should engage with the talent a couple of years in advance, and train them before they join the organization so that time can be saved. It will also help educational institutions in developing programs more aligned to industry requirement. There is also a requirement for stronger policies or guidelines so that people can be more responsible towards their job.

PD:

Mr Maheshwary, you spent 16 years in GE and are now managing a JV. From a culture perspective, they are very different, one is a giant multinational, and the other is a giant public sector entity. How did you manage the cultural integration? What were the key challenges you faced?

SM: In any joint venture, it all starts with having common goals and values. Between SBI and GE, two values stood common: Integrity and Passion for growth. No matter what, laws and regulations needed to be complied with, and people, valued. These two points brought the partnership together. It was very interesting because there were two CEOs in the company - me from GE, and the other one from SBI. There’s a lot of mutual respect. There are areas my counterpart is more skilled at, there are areas I take care of. Culture is always driven from the top. We are always on the same page. Every day at four o’clock in the evening, we sit down together and go through the key issues and give our responses in case there is disagreement among the folks about what’s working for us. We need to show our staff that it’s not about GE or SBI, it’s about growing the business and growing with each other. As soon as our priorities are understood by the leadership teams, their people begin to follow as well. Aligning the leadership team takes effort. We recently had a half-day event on developing trust. It was a priceless contribution to our internal dynamics. In the end, it’s the customer who matters. We will do what is best for our customer. I may have made it sounds easy, but HR interventions are critical in developing a unique culture. PD: Mr Yogesh, you talked about the scar-

city of capabilities and the challenges faced therein. What sort of challenges did you face being a start-up CEO in terms of hiring, retaining and training people, and how did the HR team contribute to it?

YA: Rather than calling it skill shortage, the challenge is of skill mismatch. There’s a huge repository of knowledge resources available at our offices. There are plenty of people who have skill-sets that you don’t require. We take up talent and train them. That’s how we dealt with this challenge. The other thing is, even though people say they have aspirations to become an entrepreneur, they are sceptical of joining a start-up. HR plays an important role in providing the right kind of messages and educating people on the benefits of joining a start-up. They provide a brand to the start-up. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Inspiring Lives Interview

Dato’ Dr. R Palan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SMRT Holdings Berhad, listed on the ACE Market of the Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd, is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School. He is a passionate trainer, author, speaker, consultant and a successful entrepreneur who is dynamic, versatile and has been highly committed to developing best practises in the field of human resources for over three decades. An author of over 15 books, Dr. Palan has a strong business and technology orientation and has pioneered several innovations in the field of learning. While he has worked in different countries with both for-profit and non-profit organisations from a variety of industries, Dr. Palan has had a long track record as an entrepreneur. In an in-depth and insightful conversation with Corporate Citizen, Dr. Palan talks about his career, people and talent management, entrepreneurship, youngsters today, and his future plans while also touching upon his personal space.

By Mahalakshmi Hariharan Take us through your education and career.

Well, like most Malaysian Indians, I went to India to do my medicine, about 40 years ago. But in India, you guys are so brilliant that it was really tough to compete with you. To get a score of 99 per cent was way too difficult. Sadly that year I missed my entry into medical school by one or two points. So I started doing my B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Madras. Subsequently the next year I got into medical school but I didn’t opt for it as it would take seven years. So I did my Bachelors in Chemistry and tried my hands at being a chemist. However, I found it wasn’t an easy job being in the lab, doing quality testing and so on. Thereafter I decided to go and do a Masters in Social Work from the Madras School of Social Work. I was keen on pursuing Human Resource Management (HRM). I finished that...but somehow my heart was always in the industrial world so I went on to gain a qualification back in Malaysia in HRM. Later on, I went to Leicester University in UK to do a work psychology programme. Thereafter, I did a PhD from the California Coast University, USA. Then subsequently, I went to the Harvard Business School and University of Ballarat, Australia for my second PhD. I have always had this quest and desire to engage in lifelong learning because the more you learn, you realise how little you know. But if you ask me to define my career, I would say my career is largely in the world of Human Resources. But of course, entrepreneurship was always in my blood.

As an entrepreneur, as a CEO, how do you manage your employees?

Peter Drucker, the famous American management consultant, educator, and author always says, “It is difficult to manage people but not impossible.” That’s my conclusion. You’ve just got to be present, attentive, you got to listen with your eyes and ears open and engage your employees. Be a friend to them but at the same time, do not forget the ultimate purpose of why we are together. Sometimes, we get separated from some people and they go on and become great successes because they find something better. Sometimes we find people who enjoy working with us. As a CEO I believe that if you need a good night’s sleep, have the right people for your work. Again, in any organisation, trust and loyalty should be the rule than otherwise. Every business has to function with a social cause. Sometimes it is not about focussing on high potential alone, because you need to carry everyone along in the organisation. People are the heart and soul of your organisation. Many a times, the CEO is not worried about external factors…not about profitability or political stability but is highly worried about internal practises that they can control.

So how about people who jump jobs, despite a good work culture…Tell us about your experience. Well, sometimes I did find people getting more money elsewhere and I say, “Ok, Please go

26 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

in Dubai Dr. R. Palan at the Asia HRD 5 Awards 201

ahead…Good luck.” See, you just can’t compete at that level. At the same time, what is not acceptable is that if someone is there at Rs 1 lakh and jumps for few more thousands in six months time. The problem is that we have created this menace in the society. Parents and companies have also added on to it. Sadly, we have a shortage of talent. So we poach talent from one company to the other without realising when salaries go up without the appropriate productivity gains, industry suffers. Sooner or later, people are going to be retrenched because you went up from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh within a year and couldn’t perform, then you will be asked to go. So the key to me is that we should educate people…but unfortunately in today’s society people say you can grow only when you jump jobs, which is one of the fallacies and myths that prevail in companies. I have also seen people working in large corporations go out and create new corporations like Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani who worked in Patni Computers went on to create Infosys. I could have afforded a Mercedes 25 years ago but I never bought it then, I got it only when I turned 50 because that was the time I decided that I could genuinely afford it and I had earned it genuinely. So always ask the question, “Have you earned it?” Just like we focus on students and youngsters, we also need to focus on the industry. Talent management is about productivity, performance and of course making sure how employees have a good quality of life. Jim Collins once said, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” Similarly, people leave people, they do not leave the organisation. In my own practical experience I have seen that if you have the leadership presence, you can retain people because people just want to work with you.

How do entrepreneurs start off, especially while dealing with issues like shortage of finances and people? How did you deal with it?

Look, life is not easy…success is not easy. I remember watching this movie and reading this life story of the earlier Mr. Ambani. If you see him, the gentleman was a nobody even when he was 70 years old. Like for instance, Narayan Murthy

PicS: Yusuf Khan

People leave people, they do not leave the organisation. In my own practical experience I have seen that if you have the leadership presence, you can retain people because people just want to work with you August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 27

Interview and Nandan Nilekani and other co-founders were only employees once upon a time. They couldn’t find the money or funding then, but they went on. A decade ago, I had not thought of making an acquisition worth $500 million, but once I did that, I felt confident that I could make a billion dollar acquisition. When I started off at the age of 19, my father was no more. From my father’s side, I had very little to go on, other than a family background and a track record. I had no money to start off. I started off with a mere $25 but with tremendous courage, I carried on. There are hundreds of moments in life when you feel so depressed, you wonder why things aren’t going well, but they are all compensated when you find success.

How about people who could not be as famous as the personalities you just mentioned?

Look, for the hundreds of people who became famous, there are hundreds and hundreds of people who are not famous but they still made it at a different level. They are successful in their own way. If you cannot become a Nandan Nilekani or Narayana Murthy, who cares! Just be someone who is happy with what you do and have a quality of life you aspire to. I believe success is not about how many millions you earn, but it is asking yourself at the end of the day—are you happy with what you are doing? Do you have a decent quality of life? Can you give your spouse, children, a decent quality of life ?Are you responsible? Are you contributing to the development of the nation?

times and such things, but I believe that the intersection of hard work and opportunity is luck. In fact, as per astrology, it was said that my father was fine, but he passed away the next month. There’s a chicken and egg story—once the chicken is out and it starts running, people think, “Wow, just look at it.” But if you think of it, there was a long process of the hatching of the egg involved. So that process was hard work. While luck may or may not be 100 per cent, sometimes it’s strategy, intuition. Sometimes you are at the right time, at the right place. You work very hard all your life and all of a sudden an opportunity comes your way, and while you are ready for it, you catch hold of it. Even though I don’t believe in astrology, I still will not stop people from following it. My wife is religious, she likes going to the temple because she gets peace of mind there. But I also tell her that at the end of the day, do what you have to because God is not going to come and do it for you. We

to be one of the best trainers, one of the best HR officers. I wanted to be one of the best CEOs in my area of expertise in the learning business. I aimed that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and take my company public, which I did. I wanted to acquire a University, which I did. At one point, I remember I was sad that I couldn’t become a doctor, because in the first year I missed a seat by one-two points and in the second year my father passed away. But today I own two universities, where I employ hundreds of doctors working for me. So the key is-- what is it that you want? For me, I just wanted to help people to learn and perform. I wanted to provide access to education to as many people possible. In the process, of course, God has been kind. I’ve had a good life. But if money is the principle focus, then it defeats the very purpose of life.

As a trainer and mentor of many, how do you think we can shape the future generation?

I have always had this quest and desire to engage in life-long learning because the more you learn, you realise how little you know. I strongly believe that the intersection of hard work and opportunity is luck

How are you as a boss to your employees?

Well, there are two sides to this. There are people who really support me, and there are people who criticise me. People who support me often say, “Hey you are a lovely boss. You are so trusting, engaging, so fantastic and likeable.” And there my critics who say, “My God, you are so nice that you don’t fire the fellow. You are so good that you actually don’t do this. And you are so indecisive when it comes to firing people.” So one of the things I recognise, which comes back from my own culture and tradition, is that I try to give people as many chances as possible. But there are things I take very seriously. I want people to respect one another. I want people to be as ethical as possible. There are few minimums that I insist upon. I like to empower people, I like people to learn on their job. I recognise their right to be someone like me. So if they want to go out for ten years and do something like me, that’s fine. I might sulk when they leave, but certainly I wish them well because I respect their right to do what they want to do.

When you started your journey, did you believe in things like astrology and luck? My grandparents believed in astrology, auspicious

have to do it. For me, I would like to feed ten poor people which will get me closer to God than going to the temple and do ten things more than the other person does. I think respect for humanity is more important.

What do you think of youngsters today who think making money is the most important thing, over pursuing their dreams?

I always tell young people—look, making money is secondary, but following your dreams is primary because when you follow your dreams, you will find that money will follow you. Today, it is not because I went after money, but because I had this life-long mission of helping people learn and perform which has helped me. Probably Mukesh Ambani today has a nice car and today for a young individual working in companies like Infosys or Wipro, it is not very difficult to afford a nice car. In fact, it is quite easy. But the question is, what is it that you want to be best at?

Tell us about your experience in choosing your dreams over money.

When you love your work, that’s your line. Great work will only count when it’s meaningful work. Jim Collins, the famous American author and lecturer continuously asks, “What is it that you want to excel at?” People like Shahrukh Khan, Kamal Hassan find their joy in being the best at what they are. At one of the points of my career, I wanted

28 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Look, there are three stakeholders here—one, a youngster, second, your parents and third your teachers. Children become what they observe. So parents have to be great role models. If you want the kids to be ethical, then it is important for parents to be ethical too. If you want your kids to be polite, then it’s important that we be polite. If you want kids to respect one another, then it’s important that the parents respect one another. As teachers, we need to ensure that we empower future generations— we prepare future leaders. Steve Jobs rightly said, ‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Keep searching. Don’t settle.’ So just go and search for that one thing which makes you happy.

Tell us about your experience.

I remember, my mentors would always ask me “What is it that you want? Why is it that you want?” And I would be so angry and irritated because they would keep asking me these questions. Then I realised in my 40’s that it is important to look deep inside yourself. I would say some of us find our passion much earlier, while some of us find it late and some of us get lost, because of peer pressure.

What do you think of the peer pressure that most youngsters go through in today’s times?

Most people associate you with the brands you work for. Sometimes people come and ask—hey, are you working for Infosys, TCS, Wipro? That’s because people always identify you with these brands. There is tremendous peer pressure today. In a country like India where marriages are largely arranged, people keep asking if you are

The key is -- what is it that you want? For me, I just wanted to help people to learn and perform. I wanted to provide access to education to as many people possible quisitions or do you have enough funds in your kitty?

We’ve always used a couple of options—I am a prudent investor. I never like to be over-geared. So we use a mix of internal funds, bit of borrowings because we are public listed and we do raise a bit of money. We had a private placement, we’ve had some borrowings, some internal funds. I strongly believe in planned growth; profitable but planned.

When did you list your company?

working with big names like Infosys, Wipro etc. I remember there was this guy who left our company saying he couldn’t find any alliance unless he worked with HCL, Tata or Wipro. The same thing happens in Singapore too. People ask you if you are working for Singapore Telecom or Singapore Airlines. So unfortunately there’s this peer pressure. To me, this is something we cannot run away from. It is part of life and society. As parents, teachers, mentors, we should guide youngsters. Like I said earlier, you just need to do what is politically right, which is making sure that governance is in place. Having said that, I would also say, keep looking, but at the same time maintain some balance, because you need a job to live the next day…but make sure whatever you do, you do it well. My teachers always taught me, “Always respect whatever you do…respect your profession.” The whole idea is that when you do that, you respect yourself.

In that case, how do you think one should grab opportunities?

I remember I had found this 19-year old guy who was working for India Cements, when we had started our software operations in Chennai. This young boy came for an interview with his father--trust me, it was a huge cultural shock then. His father was seated outside. After the interview, when we gave him the job, his father interviewed us. He was from one of the good schools, not the top schools. He came from a conservative family, but was a brilliant kid by any stretch of an imagination. In the next ten years, he grew to hold a leadership position. Well, everyone wants to go to IIT and IIM, and I don’t think that is wrong

at all. People aspire to get into a good school but unfortunately the law of life always says that excellence is in a minority, and the average will always be a majority. So we are always going to be challenged, and therefore must only make sure that we get the right opportunity. When I look back, there were many defining moments and they were opportunities. In everybody’s lives there will be opportunities. The question is, how well we grab the opportunity. For example, Dr. (Col.) A. Balasubramanian, Founder and President of Sri Balaji Society is such a motivational personality. He does what he wants to, he is an opportunist. We want most of the kids to be inspired by him. However, not all kids are going to be like that. All five fingers are not the same. But every person is going to be tremendously good at something.

Take us through your future plans.

At the moment I am focussed on building universities in Malaysia and building our HR software and HR professional services. I am also focused on our next succession plan, a line which will take over from me. I have two sons and a daughter. My sons are studying. My nephew who has worked for various organisations like Accenture, has just come on board. I always like to believe that I am one of the most successful Indian business families where we separate family and professional management. I started my career as a trainer and today whatever speaking I do is because I think I just have an opportunity to inspire people. The purpose of my life is to help people learn and perform to achieve their full potential.

Will you raise capital from the market for ac-

We listed our company on the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 2006 and I acquired another listed company two years ago. Because we are a public listed company, I follow the stock market closely. Every time the market drops a cent, you know how many millions are involved. Our company is right now quoting at 40 cents.

How do you deal with the sudden fall and rise in the market?

I just think you need to look at the fundamentals, but unfortunately you’ve heard of the herd mentality, so everyone goes to one buy on one counter and others follow. That’s what Warren Buffet says in his principles of investing, “You buy when everybody sells…and you sell when everybody is buying.”

With so many hats on, how would you like to be remembered? I always like to be remembered as a person who helped people. I make sure that hundreds and thousands of people earn because of me. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in (With inputs from Pradeep Mathur)

tadka

Colonial hangover? Here is an interesting fact. India has the largest English speaking population in the world, and the official language of the Union of India is English. No wonder it is the coveted destination for many western Multi National Corporations.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 29

Photographs: Prakash jadhav

‘‘For the past 42 years that I have been associated with Pramod as his wife, there is not a single day he has not woken up at the crack of the dawn’’ -Parimal Chaudhari

Parimal and Pramod Chaudhari with their son, Parth

30 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

cover story

Dynamic Duo: 12

Diversity

Pramod & Parimal Chaudhari

Unity in

Pramod M Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj India Ltd, and his wife Parimal, who is also a Director on the board of the `1,012 crore biotechnology engineering company in Pune and looks after its CSR initiatives, don’t do anything else together. They take vacations abroad as a couple, but otherwise agree to disagree and go their own separate ways. He continues in hard-core engineering, while she is into journalism, academics, aesthetics and design. And that’s what keeps them together, they tell Corporate Citizen

oing everything separately, Parimal Chaudhari laughs, is what has kept their marriage going for more than four decades. “We don’t agree on anything,” she says. “Except to disagree!” adds Pramod. Their disagreements are usually about the act of visiting museums and taking walks around new towns and cities. She loves it, he doesn’t. Yes, they go on holidays together: she is ‘the boss’, deciding where to go; but “he looks out from his window, I look out of mine.” She knows things like art, history and culture better, while he relies on his heart for what he likes. So he accompanies her on tours of art galleries and museums. “But my feet ache!” he complains. He had every reason to ‘whine’, as Parimal describes it, on their first trip to Rome. During the pre-Google days, doing research on European art before being able to see it was truly a labour of love. A die-hard Bernini fan, she wanted to see most of his work. And Borghese Palace in Rome was something she just had to see. “It was close to

By Sekhar Seshan the hotel where we stayed. So I dragged Pramod along. The palace has a huge campus and the central building is a long walk. Added to that, it started raining. More frustration! Pramod whined, but I pretended I did not hear him, and kept walking towards the palace building.”

Legging it together

But when they finally reached the magnificent building, it was only to discover that the palace was shut down for restoration work and art cleaning! “I was in tears. I pleaded with the Security Staff in English, but he did not understand a word of what I was saying. Then I spoke in Marathi. I am not sure what it was about the sound of the language or the exasperation on my face, or both, but that did the magic. The security let us in.” Pramod sat on a regal chair in a corner while Parimal went about feasting her eyes on anything and everything she could lay them upon - Bernini’s majestic sculptures of Apollo and Daphne, David, Pauline Bonaparte; paintings of Caravaggio and Correggio – and she had it all to herself, with no

other visitors in the palace! “To this day, Pramod remembers the day as one of supreme penance. I have it recorded in my mental diary as a special blessing,” she adds. Both husband and wife, however, enjoy travel – the wilderness, staying in a hut in the middle of nowhere… “He loves logistics, which I hate. So he takes on all the boring stuff,” Parimal explains. “But he’s okay with taking whacky holidays.” Through the years, they have been providing a support system to each other in their own diverse endeavours. She has, Pramod says, been his mainstay through what he calls "the roller coaster of this life". Back in 1970, when Pramod popped the question, Parimal replied that she wanted to study; so he waited for three years till she went to the tenth standard. Her second condition was that she didn’t want a baby very soon. He agreed; and even agreed to pay for her education. “I don’t know how he had the gall to say that, even though he had the responsibility of looking after his young sister,” she says. She married him when she was

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Cover Story “Like democracy, marriage is one of the most exploitative and sloppy governing institutions there can be. Expecting it to be blissfully happy is an anomaly’’

Holidaying at the Great Wall of China

just 17, and went for her PUC examinations wearing a mangalsutra. And though she had studied science till then, because she had aspirations of becoming a doctor, she switched to arts - because she realised that a career in medicine would clash too violently with her husband’s engineering job and dreams.

Early toughening

The newlyweds set up home in a two-room flat in an old wada in Pune, where water had to be fetched from a common tap downstairs and cooking was on a kerosene stove. The Chaudharis’ first home was 478 Narayan Peth in Satpute Wada of Poona. It measured about 400 square feet, set into the deep recess of the ancient wada - traditionally a large building in which many families lived, with a central courtyard - and was on a second floor which was reached by a sturdy staircase with a steep gradient. Every time you climbed it, the gastrocnemius muscles in the calves felt ‘exercised rather rigorously’, Parimal remembers. Presumably, she means that they ached terribly! The greatest luxury the house had was that it was self-contained, with a separate toilet and bath. In retrospect, she says: “The cacophony of the wada life did not disturb us that much.” Although technically they were three people living in - Pramod, Parimal and Pramod’s sister Usha - the transit guests, both friends and relatives, were so many and so frequent at almost any hour of the day, that they were hardly ever just three at the table. There was no running water in the kitchen. The only municipal tap, which gave water at a low pressure at the best of times, opened

in the storage tank. Drinking and cooking water had to be fetched from downstairs. Summers were even more demanding when the water pressure dropped to all-time low and all the water had to be sometimes fetched from downstairs. “I imagine our arms got stretched by a few inches carrying the buckets,” she laughs. The wada was so close to the centre of Laxmi Road - the main thoroughfare of the old city - that when distant acquaintances came shopping, they pretended to look up Pramod and Parimal; but really they would just come upstairs, complain about the hard climb, use the loo, get treated to a cup of tea or coffee and then vanish, to reappear during their next shopping excursion. Cooking was a slow, long-drawn process. Burshane gas was a dear commodity, and it ran out without warning - it specially had a tendency to do this precisely when guests were expected. So every once in a while, she had to resort to the slow flame Umrao stove that worked on cotton wicks dipped in kerosene. “My fingers got black, the food smelt of kerosene and chapatis turned out rubbery!” she says.

Academic endeavours

While Pramod went to work at Bajaj Tempo and then tool manufacturing company Widia India, Parimal managed the home and studied for her B.A in English, Philosophy and Psychology, then went on to earn a post-graduate degree in Communications and Journalism. She excelled in academics, standing first in both. “Brains,” says her admiring husband, who himself is an engineer from the Indian Institute

32 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

of Technology, Bombay - which gave him a “Distinguished Alumnus Award” in 2006 - with an Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School under his belt. “Good teachers,” she herself says. She then worked at The Times of India as an intern before joining Business India. “That was great exposure,” she recalls. “I went and stayed for four months in a hostel in Bombay, and got engaged with the journalism and people of the city. When Parimal was studying for her B.A at SP College, Usha was working at improving her score to obtain entrance into medical college. “We would get so tired of such guests whose visits interfered with studies, that we often locked our own house from the outside and moved to the room opposite, courtesy our landlord, so that we could study. Of course at the end of the academic year I got a good score at the exams and Usha made it to medical college,” she says. “We had so little of everything then. Our expectations from life were minimal. For all the ‘less’ in life, what I recall most of that time filled with many guests, was that it was happy times and overall a satisfying period of my life.”

Workaholic by habit

Pramod, however, felt the brunt of married life in more ‘real’ ways. Money kept finding several ways to vanish. His pay was just not enough. Just about three months after marriage, he took up an additional three-hour job to do after his regular job, to augment the income. He never complained, but he was never around the house either. He left home at 7 in the morning and came home at 9

pm. That was the beginning of his workaholic life. “For the past 42 years that I have been associated with him as his wife, there is not a single day he has not woken up at the crack of the dawn,” Parimal says. “He takes a piece of paper and draws up a ‘to do’ list which can be categorised under four heads: Meet/visit/Visitors; Respond/ Follow-up/ Connect; Plan/ Review /Decide; Miscellaneous. Pramod loves packing each moment with activity that leads him to accomplish all this. So there is never a moment free. His idea of a good Sunday is to micro-plan the rest of the week after the proverbial siesta!”

Not a minute lost

Whenever he goes on work with a driving distance of three hours or so with a band of his associates distributed in other cars, he has a few of these people join him in his car for the first 30 minutes and then the other batch of people after that for the next 30/40 minutes, depending upon the work concluded and so on. All through his travelling time, he uses his car as a mobile office. Not even a moment is lost over the travel. Even the time at international airports, before and after long flights, is stuffed with appointments where he has to complete some or other kind of work-related discussion or an assignment. Parimal recalls the day after Pramod underwent his total knee replacement surgery: “We had kept away all the office people, newspapers and his cellphone so that he could recoup faster. But even before I could reach the hospital the next morning, he had managed to win over the wardboy, nurses and care-giver to give him his newspaper and phone, and was busy writing instructions and emails to his people in Praj!” More often than not, holidays are also interlaced with work. In the early years, this obsession with work irritated and even offended Parimal. But now, she uses these work breaks to walk around and see museums on her own. But two distinct memories well up when Parimal remembers their holidays together. Both have to do with mesmeric experiences with Nature. Travelling in and around Coorg, they were at a friend’s place - the quintessential sprawling Coorgi coffee estate, with a plush home and meandering gardens. It was dusk and the friend ushered them, along with the other guests, to sit around an old well there. “We were intrigued by such a strange request. Soon, there were small birds that began hovering in a spiral over the well like several aircraft wanting to land in the same place and at the same time and not wanting to crash. As if waiting for the right cue, one of them dived into the well, then the next, then the next and soon there were over a couple of thousand birds that had dived into the well; never at the same time,

but one after the other, in a single sharp drop. The way they swept in was like in answer to a calling coming from the cavernous well,” she says. “According to our host, the same birds came each evening at the same time and used the shelter. At day break they all rose and took flight into the sky; again one after the other and never crashing.” But nothing can compete with the mesmeric moment they had with the Moon bang on the Equator amidst the grasslands of Kenya, devoid of any electrical lights for miles and miles.... as it rose

Motherhood gives focus to whatever else you are doing... Fatherhood, obviously, didn’t – one day, Pramod forgot to pick up the baby from the crèche -Parimal

holic of the first order!” It was her standing as a journalist that helped him get a telephone connection for the budding Praj.

Parallel careers, babies to nurture

At the company’s 30th anniversary celebration on April 4, 2014, Pramod also came out with a surprising fact: Parimal was his boss in Praj. He himself had quit Widia and joined Praj only after the company had got going. Since then, of course, he has taken over as its executive chairman, while his erstwhile boss oversees the activities of Praj Foundation, the CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of which he is the Managing Trustee. Then, in December 1986, their son was born. And now they both had babies to look after – she had Parth, he had Praj. “Even 12 years after marriage, it was a foolhardy decision,” she says. “But you do wild things when you are young.” She continued studying, attending evening college at Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. Here, too, she stood first in the deemed university with an aggregate of 72 per cent in her ‘integrated course’, keeping

Parimal Chaudhari’s work station at home

up like a large luminescent ball from the earth over the horizon. “Words can never describe it - to see the moon rise from the earth rather than mountain or building. The sight would beat any Spielberg movie set!” she adds. As Parimal continued to progress on her career path – learning Marathi and getting articles in that language published in a range of newspapers and magazines like Sakal, Maher, Kirloskar and Stree – Pramod was busy building the new company he had started in 1983-84 after telling his erstwhile boss, “Sir, I want to be in your chair. And since only one of us can be in that chair, it is better that I go.” Says Parimal: “He was a worka-

her top-scoring record unbroken. “Motherhood gives focus to whatever else you are doing,” she says. Fatherhood, obviously, didn’t – one day, Pramod forgot to pick up the baby from the crèche: “I could have killed him!” Parimal says. She however continued in journalism while Pramod was working to build Praj - taking it to a position where it has a solid reputation of having set up ethanol plants for customers in India and around the globe, and morphing it into a global process engineering and biotechnology company with major interests and achievements in research and development. While 95 per cent of the company’s business was ethanol and breweries till

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Cover Story just five years ago, emerging businesses have now grown to almost of a third of its total portfolio. Parimal went to the University of Pune’s Department of Communications & Journalism, where she had studied, to start work on a Ph.D – but was roped in to conduct the examinations. So she joined as a teacher, for a six-month tenure in a reserved-category post – but it became ‘open’ and she continued for six years. In 1991, she went off for six weeks on a Rotary Club exchange programme for media studies, visiting Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary; then a television workshop in Delhi, followed by a Fulbright Scholarship in the USA in 1993. Keeping to her reputation for academic excellence, she finished the required 35 credits in just nine months – while back home, Praj went public and its Initial Public Offering was subscribed a whopping seven times.

Scripting and re-scripting

At Syracuse in the US, Parimal met another Indian, also a Maharashtrian: Sanjay Dabke, and they became friends. Back in India, they teamed up to start their own company, Turtle Communications, where they made educational and corporate CD-ROMs. They also made short films on social issues, and two series of 12 each on finance and traffic issues. Today, Turtle continues to create video films for non-governmental organisations to make fund-raising presentations to foreign agencies, corporate bodies launching initial public offerings and other clients. Why 'Turtle'? "In 1997, when I made my first film for the US FDA on ayurveda, for a company that wanted to launch herbal medicines in the US and the UK, I wanted a catchy name, one that would make people ask just that question!" she laughs. "Also, it's a cross-cultural name; and I think an amphibian connotes creativity and benignity." In 1999, she went to Cambridge – and loved the place. She applied for, and got admission to a one-year course on script-writing and creative writing. “I was bicycling all over the place, like any other student,” she recalls. Parth, whom her parents and in-laws looked after when he was younger – so that he was never without supervision – was now old enough to go to hostel. One of her most cherished memories of her Cambridge stint is of having met Edward de Bono; she studied lateral thinking, and is now a certified trainer in the subject. Around the same time, when the global economic upheaval affected business fortunes around the world, Praj began using a sociometric tool to measure people’s abilities and match them to their work in the organisation. The company was big enough to try out this new system of innovation and thinking skills; and this generated a lot of interest in it at the turn of the century. Four years into the new millennium, Praj effected a turnaround and crossed its long-awaited milestone of a ₹ 1,000-crore turnover.

In 2009, I initiated a drive to encourage intrapreneurship, which is entrepreneurship by employees within an organisation; each treats their area of responsibility as their own business-Pramod Then, in 1995, Pramod decided to go to Harvard. “My wife was studying and studying, and I was stuck with only an IIT degree!” he jokes. He also invited Parimal to join the company’s Board of Directors: “She had a variety of skills, which helped increase the family approach.” Adds his wife herself: “I helped in feminising the engineering space, bringing in gender parity.” Today, she is also on the Managing Committee of the Praj Foundation, which they set up seven years before the government made CSR mandatory, and is Chairman of the company’s CSR Committee. “We were quite ahead long before compliance was needed,” adds Pramod. “For us, giving started very, very early: Infosys got into it after it became a ₹ 3,000-crore company, we were just ₹ 600 crores.” Parimal also initiated an Art Foundation for Marathi language, drama and cinema.

The second joint venture: a book

The couple also had what Parimal refers to as a “second joint venture after Parth”: they wrote a book in 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Praj. She tried to learn technology from Pramod

34 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

– but she didn’t even know what resins are. “But I am a good editor for facts and numbers,” she adds. The book, titled ‘As is What is’, is a biography of Pramod and Praj. "This is his story," she has written in the 'Author's Note' of the book. "What perhaps is my dubious yet unique contribution is that he certainly couldn't have told this story, this way, without me." Complains the protagonist, in his epilogue: "She refused to write about herself and her contribution to this journey." How do their philosophies about work and marriage differ? “For Pramod work is everything. For me I work so that I can do everything else,” Parimal answers. She has, however, never worked for money except when she was a journalist. Her views on marriage are probably the most interesting: “Like democracy, it is one of the most exploitative and sloppy governing institutions there can be. But the other institutions are far worse. Expecting it to be blissfully happy is an anomaly. It can be treated like a good negotiation: one plods, navigates, wins some rounds, loses some rounds and eventually, one hopes, one cumulatively wins!” she adds.

Batting for clean technologies

Pramod, an ardent promoter of renewable energy, is on various committees including the Committee on Development of BioFuels, Planning Commission, and the Committee on Project Exports constituted by the Government of India and Confederation of Indian Industry/Exim Bank. Pramod is Chairman of CII’s National Biofuels Committee. As part of the global bio-energy movement, he says he is “getting out of the confines of Pune and India”. And sustainability is part of Parimal’s CSR, strengthened by his own efforts. Praj has ridden its technology into areas like

zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems to help clients clean up their act and fight their pollution problems. After the Madras High Court ordered the closure of 720 dyeing units in the textile hub of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu to protect the Noyyal river, the company commissioned a 700-kilolitre-per-day (klpd) ZLD unit for Veerapandi Common Effluent Treatment Plant Pvt. Ltd (CETP). It began by setting up a pilot plant, which experts from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Board, Anna University and IIT Madras okayed; then a fullfledged plant. The technology comprises innovative multi-effect evaporation and crystallisation to solve the problem of groundwater pollution due to discharge of colorants. The Praj process also enables the recovery of process condensate and salts, which are reusable in the textile dyeing units. The company has since got repeat orders for larger projects. The company’s work in other bio-based products and processes besides bio-fuels has been recognised by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), which gave Pramod its tenth anniversary award in the 'BioIndustrial' category last year. The company’s R&D centre Praj Matrix, set up to accelerate the development of bio-based technologies, is the first of its kind in the tropics conducting research on various bio-based processes right from laboratory to pilot scale under one roof. Praj also offers home-grown turnkey solutions to cater to the biodiesel market, through a separate division set up to promote this business line.

Tying the knot... Love is like the wind. You can’t see it, but you can feel it.

Doing everything separately, Parimal Chaudhari laughs, is what has kept their marriage going for more than four decades. “We don’t agree on anything,” she says. “Except to disagree!” adds Pramod.

Beyond business is fun

But Pramod finds that doing things beyond business is more exciting. “In 2009, I initiated a drive to encourage intrapreneurship, which is entrepreneurship by employees within an organisation – each treats his or her area of responsibility as their own business.” Symbiosis took the concept seriously, and introduced a course. He has since instituted an annual Intrapreneurs Awards contest and ceremony. The Chaudharis have taken Praj beyond CSR into what they call PSR, personal social responsibility - under which employees, their wives and children get engaged in community action. “For example, we took a batch of them to a forest to work with, and help, the local people,” Pramod explains. “We also went to clean the backwaters of Pune’s Khadakwasla dam.” Every year, an employee gives eight hours of his or her time to the PSR project, which adds up to a staggering 10,000 person hours. Pramod has done a lot for his alma mater, donating two biotechnology laboratories for cell culture and bio-processing. “He surely cares about IIT-B in a big way,” Parimal says. “He has given substantial financial contributions for setting up the Pramod Chaudhari Chair for Green Chemistry and Industrial Biotechnology there. Together,

Thread ceremony.. Their son Parth receives a sacred thread called Yajñopaveetam

we have also financed and set up the Parimal and Pramod Chaudhari Laboratory for Cell Culture.

Promoting innovation

He is also associated with many incubation activities through the Society of Innovators and Entrepreneurs, SInE, which is a business incubator unit at IIT-B. “A balance of innovation and entrepreneurship is the way forward,” he asserts. Adds Parimal: “He is expressing his penchant for innovation and entrepreneurship through SInE by being its Pune chapter, making space and giving time to this activity.” Credited with the introduction of the continuous fermentation process in the Indian distillery industry, Pramod has made his company a world leader in molasses-based ethanol plant and technology, with clients in India, South East Asia, Africa and South America. As Parimal says in the

book: “He is a man who knew what he wanted and worked to get it.” Proof: he has created a successful company despite a 19-month disaster when he launched his entrepreneurial career as co-promoter of Rapicut Carbides. “That was a different learning experience,” he says. Back in 1983, Chaudhari “got into the trenches” in what was the 'war' of his life. He suggested to Alfa Laval management that they join hands, but was rebuffed. So he decided to take on the multinational in direct competition: with just a small rented table space and repeated trips to the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce and Industry for fax and teleprinter services. Talking of his 'strong inner belief' that alcohol had a big future, he says in what is apparently an unintended pun, “This spirit sustained me.” Pramod needed that spirit, through the 'heartbreak' of a terrible seven-year patch that Praj went through from 1995 to 2002. But he went on to build his company into an inspiration for millions of young technopreneurs. And Parimal, whatever the two say, is marching with him on every step of his way. sekharseshan@hotmail.com

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 35

cii Case Study-5

“THE TRIUMPHANT TRIKAYA” An Entrepreneurial dilemma A Case Study in Talent & Succession Planning by

Prof J.A. Kulkarni, Associate Professor, ASM Group of Institutes, Pune and Dr Sandeep Pachpande Chairman, ASM Group of Institutes, Pune

CII Western Region EdgeFarm-HR Case Study Writing Competition

Finalist

Author: Prof J.A.Kulkarni

At a young age of 30 years Prof. Kulkarni became the General Manager Operations at Walchand Nagar Industries. Moved on to take up higher responsibilities as CEO with Test Steels Ltd in 1986. Shifted to Bajaj Auto as General Manager and worked directly under the supervision of Mr. Rahul Bajaj for 8 years. In 1994 he took over M&M Operations including Ford Motors as GM Operations and worked directly under Mr. Anand Mahindra. He also worked as Plant Director at Whirlpool India Ltd for the Launch of No frost Refrigerators in India. Finally Served in Tata Motors where he was selected as First GM for their Car Plant in Pune Till Retirement in 2004. Prof. Kulkarni joined ASM Group in 2004 as Associate Professor which is permanently affiliated to University of Pune. During the previous 12 years as faculty he has authored Two Text and Reference Books- ‘Case Studies in Management’- Published by Pearson Education in 2011. He has also developed and copyrighted several new concepts in Business Management and by now authored 25 Research Papers which have been presented in several National & International Conferences. He has just started on a manuscript of his 3rd book on ‘Managing for Sustainability’ which would be published in the next 6 months. 36 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Author: Dr Sandeep Pachpande

Dr. Sandeep Pachpande is a true mix of both academic excellence and industry exposure. A BE in computers from the University of Pune, he is an MBA topper from the Leeds Metropolitan University, UK after which he went on to complete his PhD in International Marketing from University of Pune. His specializations and interests are in international marketing and internet technologies. With over 12 years of teaching experience and 5+ years industry experience in various companies in India like Forbes Marshall, Boost InfoTech and Lowe engineering, UK he was the recipient of the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ award of CSI He has presented papers in number of international and national conferences and has also published a book on “case studies in management” published by Pearson group. Presently, he is the Chairman of Audyogik Shikshan Mandal (ASM), a premier education trust providing quality education right from KG up to the PG level. Under his leadership ASM group of institutes has grown to over 10 institutions in Pune & Mumbai and has over 5000 students studying at ASM. Sandeep has traveled to 24 countries on various assignments, study tours and delegations and is truly global in his thought, words & deeds. Apart from education his interests lie in horticulture and real estate development.

cii Case Study-5 The major issues are, inadequate and long term talent creation and management along with lack of appropriate succession planning, leading to slide down in business acumen and unavoidable dependency on few major clients and lack of future growth focus. The Authors, have interacted with one such promising Industry to highlight common issues which need to be addressed Synopsis

The Case study revolves around serious issues usually faced by many medium sized organizations in India. The Owner/ promoters are quite enthused to start the enterprise and move it up the growth trajectory till such time they start facing acute situations of stagnancy and resistance in sustaining the momentum and ability to steer and manage business needs. The major issues are inadequate and long term talent creation and management along with lack of appropriate succession planning leading to slide down in business acumen and unavoidable dependency on few major clients and lack of future growth focus. The Authors have interacted with one such promising Industry in Small/Medium Scale Sector (An Automobile ancillary) and developed this case study to highlight common issues which need to be addressed by such industries in time to avoid lack of readiness for “Make In India” Requirements Key Words: Entrepreneur, talent Management, succession planning, Installed Capacity, Ancillary unit, OEM.

The Case Study Entrepreneurial Dilemma

Mr. Ram Jorapurkar was trying to relax in his arm chair in his new spacious residence at a serene location in the city of Nasik in Maharashtra. His restless mind was busy chewing the remotest and latest happenings in his personal and business life reminding him of the successful and not so pleasant incidences of his climb to the present state of affairs. Ram Jorapurkar belongs to a highly orthodox and traditional family background. Born and brought up in Mumbai, the hectic of life style however had its influence on right from his school age. His mind even then was busy trying for an alternate way of life compared to the regimental environment at home and the surroundings. While maintaining the decorum at home Ram started looking for breaking out from the shackles of conventional schooling and higher studies, definitely not inclined to study for a 9to5PM job/career in a government office or Industry as an employee. At an early age of 17 to 20 years he expressed his aptitude towards doing something unique unconventional and dare devilish in a dire contrast to the expectations of the family. At 20 years he had developed his friends circle and acquaintances with some political big wigs who understand his revolutionary approach provided him with the necessary out let to his frustrations of not being able to tread the family dictum. For Ram being able to earn a regular salary through a job was never of any fulfillment or career he always looked for entrepreneurial opportunities even before he completed his studies. But for his parents this was an unacceptable behavioral or growth norm, they expressed their dislike to Ram and sometimes through family friends urging him to amend his approach to life and follow the time tested way of settling in a job as career and getting married and following the family traditions as adapted by his elder brothers. It was some time in 1980s that Ram decided that enough was enough and decided to quit the family ambience and took up a part time job

as a stepping stone for his future objectives of being his own employer. While working in the job in a Paint manufacturing firm in western suburbs of Mumbai, Ram strengthened his links with the political contacts to leverage resources for plunging in to an entrepreneurial venture. However the lack of formal education and training in the technical aspects any product or process technology hindered his aspirations to latch on to a firm business idea. For some time he took up marketing activity of his employer products to familiarize himself with how people in business behave and interact on professional matters, wanting to learn by himself the way in which procurement and selling functions are handled in business. Simultaneously Ram tried to look for opportunities to engage himself in the businesses of the customers to his present organization then. In around 1990 or so Ram decided to step out of his regular employment and start catering to the sundry requirements of paints and its derivatives as a small agent to stock and sell the products himself. Ram had borrowed a two wheeler from his friend on rental basis meet his travel requirements for his selling agency and had hired some small go down to stock his daily and weekly requirements for sale. During his nearly 4-5 years of hard work as a selling agent for Industrial and domestic requirements paints and chemicals, Ram could tie up with few of his friends who were interested in developing some engineering sheet metal components & related surface coating to the customers of paints in Furniture and Auto ancillaries industries. This called for some investments and partnering with some small scale units in Western suburbs. Ram leveraged his contacts and Industry friends for necessary help in acquiring necessary seed capital and borrowing limits from Banks to meet his investments and working capital needs. However his earnings were not sufficient to allow him to settle down for some time but his family members continued although from distance that for the sake of family prestige at least he should get back to settled way of regular earnings, this became more intense since his father also retired from his regular daily work and his elder brothers had stable jobs and had got married and took care of his parents. There was also a pressure from his elders to get him married and settle down as incase of his brothers. However Ram was convinced that his efforts of establishing an independent business would result in success all he needed was some more perseverance and hard work for which he was ready to face any amount hard work and sleepless nights. By the year 2000 Ram was able to breathe little safely and had developed his business with seemingly assuring savings and decided to settle himself on the family front and got married and started staying in an owned apartment in Mumbai. Unfortunately he lost his beloved father around this time (It was Ram’s father who while expressing anxiety at times was discretely supportive and believed in Ram’s capabilities as an entrepreneur). Ram as per his basic instinct was satisfied with the progress he had made in his business and felt that he needed to move out of Mumbai to look for opportunities to grow his business. It was around this time Ram decided to explore market opportunities in the neighboring city of August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 37

cii Case Study-5 Nasik. Ram carried out an informal market survey of likely customers to his business of sheet metals and surface coating. He could through some leads and contacts in Industries Nasik .For few initial years Ram used to do up and down trips to Nasik, irrespective of his personal and family concerns he continued to exert himself to the maximum till such time he was convinced that Nasik Industries offered him a better and long term business prospects compared to his efforts in Mumbai based customers. It was in 2003-04 Ram decided to spend more time in Nasik and started staying in Nasik in rented house and reduced his frequency of travel to Mumbai but due to Schooling and other difficulties he maintained his family in Mumbai. All said and done the constant rush of business related activities, negligence towards timely and proper food and family matters Ram suffered loneliness and he was losing his otherwise robust health. As destiny had in his bad luck during his far of stay in Nasik two of his beloved children the eldest daughter and youngest son were victims of Cancer at an early age of 10 & 6 respectively. This was a near fatal and body blow to Ram and his wife who had at times lost complete hope of stability and happiness in their family life and were totally distraught &

Ram Jorapurkar belongs to a highly orthodox and traditional family background. Born and brought up in Mumbai, the hectic of life style however had its influence on right from his school age. His mind even then was busy trying for an alternate way of life compared to the regimental environment at home and the surroundings. While maintaining the decorum at home Ram started looking for breaking out from the shackles of conventional schooling and higher studies shattered in their confidence level, There was no one to work as anchor to their lives and no place to find any solace. For quite a few months Ram decided to stay put in Mumbai to provide some company and support to his wife and the only daughter Tejashwini who gave them some comfort as a child (She is now grown to be a promising youngster doing her Engineering studies at Nasik). After the Initial turbulence the never say quits nature of Ram pulled him back to the business he had just initiated in Nasik. Perhaps Ram started engaging himself more rigorously in his enterprise in order to get out of the deep depression he and his family members had undergone. Ram finally executed all the initial investments and organizational details for his maiden venture and named the enterprises by the omnipresent meaning as ‘TRIKAYA Industries’. The Location was an ideal one since it was amidst all major industries in the Satpur Industrial Estate of Nasik with its main customer the M&M ltd Nasik being very much in the vicinity. The Uniqueness in the establishment was so evident that it surpassed all the sacrifices & challenges a human being could face in oneself and without any sort of support from any one nearer to him. He was determined to test his capabilities come what may at times being called as heartless human. During this time he toiled 38 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

hard with the determination of the Phoenix.

About Trikaya Industries

Renamed as Trikaya Coatings Pvt Ltd started in an area of nearly 75,000 sq ft enough to accommodate installation of all essential equipment for handling of sheet metal bodies ( Load Carriers) of SUVs and related items, Degreasing and surface coating units for such jobs, necessary requirements for sheet metal component repairs including welding sets and cleaning and de burring operations. The capacity installed to meet the Batch type surface coating of Load bodies of M&M jeeps(for Bolero and Armada versions to start with, the unit had to keep in pace with varied requirements of its major customer the M&M ltd and its strategic sourcing plans. Trikaya, understanding the manufacturing strategies of its major customers had to expand/diversify vertically to be able to effectively take up manufacture and surface coating of huge structures like cargo bodies for M&M ltd .This called for fresh investments in high capacity high speed presses and also identify with the help of its own customers the procurement of sheet metal and connected tooling’s required for the complete manufacture of load bodies for the cargo vehicles of M&M. This called for real ‘guts’ to risk investments based on only one major customer like M&M. M&M ltd also true to its principles of professional practices provided all the necessary help and guidance to Trikaya for its vertical growth in terms supply of complete carriers ready for final assembly on to the vehicles. The above while straining the business and in particular the financial limitations of Trikaya offered the toughest journey so far the entrepreneurial guts of Ram Jorapurkar. It is worth noting that Ram was carrying out all his responsibilities effectively in spite of staying alone in Nasik and only when the time permitted or combining with business needs could visit his family in Mumbai. The Installed capacity by 2012-13 has grown up to several Sheet metal Presses of capacity varying between 75 T to 315 T at the rate of 16000 strokes per day on a 12 hour shift basis (i.e., 110 Load bodies manufacture per day) The overall Investment in Plant and Machinery is around ₹ 1.50 Crores as on date) Trikaya adopts both batch type for sheet metal and continuous process for surface coating operations. AS regards process quality the standards required and managed by TRIKAYA are around Cpk > 1.33 and are driven by it OE customers and process rejections below of less than 0.50 %. In order to achieve better utilization and operating margins the unit has to operate around 85% capacity utilization. The Organizational structure is more centralized and Ram and his immediate team is empowered to take all daily and operations decisions. The present operative strength of personnel employed including Ram is 60 Workmen and 25 Supervisory and staff functions. Ram with his down to earth management style and having himself grown up from the ranks has effectively managed the overall morale of his employees. This is vindicated by non existence of any labor union at TRIKAYA and every one at the operative level rising to the challenges time and again to enable successful implementation of growth and diversification plans. Ram is highly proactive in not only with his customer requirements, is also constantly tuned in to the minute issues at the factory. He has set in himself as a role model of untiring efforts in spite of major issues and singularly focused on his TRIKAYA of which he can never get detached even for rest and relaxation.

cii Case Study-5 TRIKAYA is a direct supplier to its OE customers and does not so far have any agencies for distribution marketing. For that matter it is 100% dependant on the business plans of its OE customers. It has met its finance requirements for Capital equipment partly from its own resources and partly as loans from Banks. Its working capital are bank finance which it responds meticulously by repayments The present issues in production process are maintaining rework requirements to minimum which call for appropriate investment in terms of tool reconditioning facility, to reduce time spent in de burring and other rework. Especially with its customers demanding ready to assemble parts and subassemblies it would absolutely necessary for TRIKAYA to be ready with improved processes, may have introduce Robotic Weld lines for accuracy and assured quality as manufactured. The existing competition even though manageable could offer tough competition as the market for Auto Industry tags on to growth in its market place and fresh investments by OE and few major competitors. TRIKAYA also has to keep a close watch on product substitutions which might adversely affect its current lines of manufacture. The major competition is from Mungi Bros Pvt Ltd and Panse Auto pvt ltd for stampings including auto ancillary major JBM, MUSCO & Reliable Tech Pvt Ltd. TRIKAYA is a direct supplier to its OE customers and does not so far have any agencies for distribution marketing. For that matter it is 100% dependant on the business plans of its OE customers. It has so far met its finance requirements for Capital equipment partly from its own resources and partly as loans from Banks. Its working capital requirements are served through bank finance which it responds meticulously by scheduled repayments. The major suppliers to TRIKAYA are Bhushan Steel Ltd, Sana Steel Ltd and have around 26 sub vendors for subassemblies and finished parts for cargo body.

FUTURE PLANS of TRIKAYA

Immediate growth plans include catering to NMC cargo manufacture and Look for opportunities in the Railway coach components such as seats and toilets components in view of 100% FDI policy announced by GOI. Trikaya also has plans to explore export potential for its process and supply capabilities of OE customers abroad. While aiming at these future plans Trikaya is aware of the global standards productivity and quality standards of its operations (*Working towards Zero Defect level).and implementation of TS16949, lean manufacturing, TQM, 5S and other quality and productivity global standards and 100% schedule adherence. Trikaya aspires to be in the row of â&#x201A;š100crore turnover companies by 2018 with 15 to 20% profit (EBITDA) margins. The larger focus would be to improve its financial leverage for future investments along with organizational restructuring for Strategic Business approach and to broad base its training and development of its personnel for present and future business plans. Better Cash flow management is a highly essential aspect on which it needs to work relentlessly. (Trikaya has got nearly 40 to 50000 sq ft land available for its future expansion and diversification plans.

TRIKAYA at CROSS ROADS

Even though Trikaya is almost three decades old, the top management is constantly worried about the Strategic product and process changes at its OE customers since its entire business is dependent on the continuity

of OE business and the respective growth plans of its competition. Trikaya has grown to a level of operations (Threshold Limits) that that any major change in the Auto Industry would be directly influencing its business prospects. Not having an independent product of its own is one of the major risks Trikaya carries over its prospects. The new product while ensuring utilization of existing capabilities has to be in line with the current process technologies available at TRIKAYA as would also be only marginally stretching its Skill levels of its operative personnel. Even though raising project finance may be not a very difficult task but it has to avoid playing itself into the hands of unscrupulous VC funds. Besides it is handicapped by lack of the basic strengths of Project planning function in terms of a comprehensive approach and long term perspectives of assured business growth in future. In Terms of Finance, Technology and people strengths Trikaya has been successful so far but does not express adequate confidence for achieving its future Strategic Plans. Besides the partners and rest are so much used to present levels and lines of business that any future project would almost need a paradigm shift in its capability to draw itself gradually out of the clutches of job work to manufacturing product of its own. This, what is on the top of mind for Ram Jorapur, the addicted Entrepreneur who perhaps has so far put in best of his capability and efforts and looks forward to pragmatic and feasible growth plan for his creation the TRIKAYA.

Assignment Questions:

u Do you feel that the Entrepreneur in Ram Jorapurkar has come to a threshold limit in terms of his Entrepreneurial Scope and long term stability who will manage Trikaya further?? v What would you decide or would have decided differently some time ago in the Business Cycle of TRIKAYA to avoid the CROSS ROADS syndrome /situation Talent required for Growth strategy?? w What business or product project plan would you offer to TRIKAYA for long terms prospects and perpetuation of its healthy growth so far?? Project management Skills??

Disclaimer:

n The views expressed in the published CASE STUDIES belong to the Author / Co-Author (s) of the respective case studies, and not necessarily those of CIIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. n The copyright of these case studies, however, belong to CII. Reproduction, in any matter, without prior permission from CII is expressly prohibited. n NOTE : CII has given exclusive permission to CORPORATE CITIZEN to publish the CASE STUDY only, in full, and without any changes/ modifications. n Reproduction in parts is not allowed. n For further information, please contact: Sangita Das, Head - Policy, Industry & Practices, CII Western Region, Email: sangita.das@cii.in

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 39

tête-à-tête

Although, a new concept in India, theme parks are fast capturing public imagination. Adlabs Imagica, in just over two years, has become one of the most popular theme parks in the country. Positioned as India’s first and only International standard theme park, the `1650 crore project is spread over 300 acres in Khopoli, off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and is operational since April 2013. Corporate Citizen engages Rajesh Dhaktode, Vice President – HR, at Adlabs Imagica, in a candid conversation where he speaks about Imagica, his experience in the extremely demanding service Industry, and his idea of a fun day out! By Neeraj Varty

Adlabs Imagica is projected as India’s first and only international standard theme park. What do you mean by that?

When we say international standards, we mean that everything is procured from internationally certified vendors. The process which we follow adheres to the world’s highest standards. When you and your family visit Imagica, you get the same high quality experience which you would get at any international theme park anywhere in the world. Our aim is to deliver an unparalleled experience to our customers. The excitement of Imagica should start not when they reach the park, but from the very thought of Imagica, from the point they open our website, when they book their tickets, and on the way to the park. Our intention is to leave a smile on their faces which would stay long after their day at the park is over.

There were reports that Imagica is set to expand to Delhi and Hyderabad. When is that expected to materialise?

There may be plans in that regard, but I won’t be able to comment on them at this instance.

What are your current footfalls?

Till December 2014, we had over a million footfalls (1.56 million). I do not know the exact number currently, but they are definitely increasing.

Imagica has original characters like Rajasaurus, Tuti-Futi, etc. Are there any plans to monetise them?

That will happen. We have many characters. These are part of our character parade. Our aim is to first create awareness among the people that there is this kind of entertainment available in India, which is an alternate entertainment to the traditional outlets like cinema, television, etc. In a cinema, you go and watch it and then come out and forget about it. A theme park is an inclusive experience where you see, touch, enjoy and interact with the characters. A theme park leaves you mesmerised. We have some rides which we have made in the Indian context like the Mr. India ride, which we can relate to. So yes, the character monetisation will come, but first our aim is to delight our customers and leave them with a good feeling about the park and have them come back again and again.

40 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Pic: Shantanu Relekar

“India loves theme parks”

“When we say international standards, we mean that everything is procured from internationally certified vendors. The process which we follow adheres to the world’s highest standards” For most of us, the idea of a fun day out would be at a theme park. However, for someone like you who work there, what is your idea of an ideal day out?

A lot of people ask me this. It feels great to work at a place which is so entertaining. I love theme parks. Just taking a stroll through the park is exciting. To answer your question, as long as you do go out, (whether it is for a picnic, a drive, etc), it is a good day out. Today, most people would rather sit at home and watch TV all day on their day off. I think that is sad. People should go out and enjoy outdoor activities. They revitalise you in a way the TV will never be able to.

Fun at Imagica

What kind of roles do you hire for, in a theme park and how many?

When we opened up, theme parks were a relatively new concept in India. So we needed to train a lot of people specifically as regards to their roles. Firstly, the theme park is an engineering marvel, so of course we employ a lot of engineers to build and maintain the attractions. We have a lot of seasonal employees, as theme parks have peak seasons which require additional employees. We have a hotel called Novotel (of the Accor group) coming up, so we will be looking at more staff in that regard. One thing I would like to point out is that Imagica has made a lot of employment opportunities to locals in the area. We are an extensive service oriented industry. We needed to impart extensive training to the locals on the various attractions, safety, etiquette, etc., and to their credit, they have been very receptive. We also employ medical personnel who always need to be available on the ground, fire marshals who are on standby, etc. Approximately 2000 people.

You have a lot of experience in the service industry. How different is it working for a theme park, as compared to your previous experiences? Prior to Imagica, I was working as a Chief Hu-

man Resource Officer for Thunderbird, an international casino company which operated in South East Asia. Before that I worked at a chain of airports. I have also worked at an international cruise company called Carnivals, which is again a part of the service industry. There is a unique pattern in the service industry in the sense that it extensively depends on people. It is a people business. So in that sense working for Imagica came easy to me, as I have been a part of this industry for a long time.

Historically, India has not been a big market for theme parks, due to various factors such as disposable incomes. Has that situation changed? You will be amazed to know that cruise liners, casinos and theme parks internationally are visited in large numbers by Indians. Indians are big fans of theme parks, but there was a wrong perception that India does not have the same standard of quality as prevails internationally. That is not the reality. India is beginning to accept that we can match and even exceed international standards, but the process is usually gradual. In the beginning, there was a belief that e-commerce in India would never take off, but look at the case now.

How do you balance work and family?

I spend as much time with my family as I can. I love reading my children’s books, travelling with them all over India (Goa in particular), and just having a good time. After work, all my time is dedicated to my family.

neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Disclaimer - Rajesh Dhaktode speaks in his personal capacity and not as a spokesperson for Adlabs Imagica

tadka

Strange family members! Shetpal in the Solapur district of Maharashtra goes one step ahead when it comes to living in harmony with nature. Each household not only worships cobras, it lives with them. The cobras move around the houses freely like members of the family. Reportedly, there hasn’t been a case of cobra bite in the village till date.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 41

CC Trends

Trendy twist to Yoga The recent flurry over International Yoga Day had its insinuating moments with both political and religious seers brandishing their thoughts on Yoga’s relevance in modern times. As spiritual consciousness nudged at scientific temperament, the greater public debate continued on whether invoking the ‘Sun’, the ‘Air’ we breathe in can actually demonise or defy our religious sentiments. Despite religious brickbats, practitioners of this ancient healing therapy continue to vouch for its potential benefits. The trend is now going younger as ‘Yoga’ or ‘Union’ that aligns all universal and ethereal elements finds new meaning with GenX and GenY too. Bucking up the trend are two techies - young ladies from Bangalore – who have framed up their start-up concept – YogaKult, to salvage Yoga from its “serious” or “boring” notions to a lifestyle cult for all By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

uddies Aditi and Jyothi come across as any regular young techies, enjoying their work and social life - the only difference being they have forged their friendship into a lifestyle entrepreneurial venture --YogaKult. Both with masters degrees in Biotechnology found mutual camaraderie in the ITES (IT- Enabled Sector) whilst working for a KPO (Knowledge Process Organisation) in Bangalore. Their mutual enthusiasm for healthy

Perfect balance in partnership - YogaKult

living gradually fed their need for a start-up. Devised on the concept and benefits of traditional yoga but with a modern trendy tweak, their aim is to add a fun factor to yoga, making it inclusive across all ages and gender groups.

Wind beneath their wings

Co-founder, Aditi Mukherjee, a passionate dancer too, worked in the corporate sector for a little over seven years and the last two years as an Assistant Manager, juggling her work life like any other IT aspirant. However, the long hours defeated her regular dance schedules, rehearsals and stage shows; she finally enrolled in a yoga class to relieve stress! “Initially, I was not too drawn to teaching yoga and took it up to become a better dancer and increase my levels of fitness and flexibility,” she said. Gradually, the fitness freak in Aditi pushed her to pursue a 200 hours module and gain credits via the Yoga Alliance USA certification in 2013. Post-certification, she gained the

42 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Pic: Yogakult

confidence to profess as a freelance yoga instructor. However, the artistic spirit in her no longer wished to juggle the rigors of corporate life and she took the brave decision to call it quits from the corporate world. Thus began a journey into the world of artistic yoga as a full-time teacher in November 2014. Eventually, the transition gave birth to her yoga brand- YogaKult in 2015 with pal Jyothi Salunke (Joe). Aditi, a former research analyst into healthcare and software industries, found her true calling when buddy Joe sensed Aditi’s passion for yoga. “I noticed her innate passion for yoga and kept telling her to do something about it professionally.” Aditi, calling it quits at her workplace, gave Joe the much needed nudge for a joint business proposal with her. “For me, I thought why not! Aditi was anyway freelancing in the field and for me this venture was something more of growing myself. Personally, I wanted to find out if I was capable of setting up a business, am I really inter-

ested? It was more of exploring my own business acumen too”, said Joe. Joe, who moved on from media research into market research and analytics, continues her corporate stint with an IT major into Channel Sales Analytics. With over eight years of exposure in the analytics domain and in client facing roles, it was but natural for her to shoulder the operational aspects of YogaKult, leaving training and content designing of their yoga programs to Aditi. The enterprise is a 50:50 partnership, with Joe pushing in seed capital for the enterprise. Aditi’s repertoire is based on her experience of having trained more than 300 people till date, as also catering to a not-for-profit CSR initiative in inculcating the spirit of yoga amongst children of construction workers as part of an NGO-linked activity. “The idea was to tell these children that they too could take up yoga as an alternate career and to get them interested.”

We realised that yoga was associated as a ‘boring’ fitness regime and as something which only housewives indulged in. This is where we decided to change the notion in the minds of our consumers. Friends forever

“Basically Aditi had a clientele and we used that as our primary base. When we started in January 2015, we influenced a small client base that she already catered to and plans were to replicate similar modules to a targeted and bigger client group. My role extends across marketing and sales, client reach, participant and corporate registrations, vendor and event management that also include planning marketing activities, designing brochures and other such operational aspects,” explained Joe. What started with ten has gradually grown to a strength of 60 individuals in the last six months. In fact, their event, Surya Namaskara-thon, the 108-round challenge held on April 12, 2015 at Cubbon Park, Bangalore, provided the duo a platform to identify future clients. “The event was not a competition but a health pinnacle to ‘Be the New You’. Yes, that’s our tag line. We practiced 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar with the yoga prayer. It was all about doing it the right way followed by Yoga Nidra (deep relaxation) and scrumptious breakfast,” said Joe.

Overriding delusions

“We started off via door-to door campaigning, distributing our brochures and talking to people. We then realised that yoga was associated as a ‘boring’ fitness regime and as something which only housewives indulged in. This is where we decided to change the notion in the minds of our conAdding smiles to YogaKult sumers,” added Joe. “The idea was to make people understand that unlike other regimes, yoga cannot be done in isolation and one has to rise above the physical self and in doing so, we initiate people on body awareness via coordination of movements and explain the need for simultaneous breathing techniques in the right prescribed patterns,” explained Aditi. They both believe that although yoga has been in existence for eons now, the idea is to convince people to make it part of their daily lifestyles. “We therefore program our yoga and exercise content based on their requirements. We don’t promise people that we will help them lose ‘n’ numbers of kilograms, etc. We do not have a studio yet and visit client locations, apartment complexes or corporate houses to train participants.”

Our triumph lies in seeing our students continue the regime and make it a lifestyle pattern. I have seen many of our corporate clients re-jig their sedentary lifestyle to a more active mode post our training sessions.

Business plan and goals

The duo work on a registration process that records client health issues and their individual goals so as to impart personalised training even in group sessions. Quarterly feedback forms enable them to re-tweak their modules to suit individual participants, groups or corporate. Most corporate dealings are routed via respective HR teams. “We have market parity and are not playing on the price. Our corporate rates are anywhere between ₹ 1500-2500 per hour, and we tend to restrict our groups to not more than 25 people per batch.” “Our triumph lies in seeing our students continue the regime and make it a lifestyle pattern. I have seen many of our corporate students re-jig their sedentary lifestyles to a more active mode post our training sessions,” quipped Aditi. They have thrown in a mix of Hatha Yoga, Power Vinyasa, Partner Yoga and Acro (batics) Yoga, to add punch to their sessions. For people with health restrictions, Aditi has incorporated simpler forms of particular ‘asanas’ to ease out any difficulty in doing the original pose without compromising on its health benefits, within the realms of the approved ancient yoga texts. With an online clientele base in the US too, future plans are to create a pool of instructors across strategic locations in India on a franchise scheme. “However, I am clear that even with multiple trainers, the standard and quality of our training should not be compromised. I would prefer to train my trainers personally so that wherever we operate, there is a benchmark to the service we offer”, signs off Aditi. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

tadka

What’s in a name? Coffee, English, High Court, British, Mantri, Glucose, Bus, Train, Jailor and Dollar--these aren’t just regular words, but actual names of people from Bhadrapura, a village, near Bengaluru. The Hakki-Pikki tribe, who live here are nomadic peddlers and get their name inspirations from these words.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Love Ke Baad Shaadi Bhi-3 ge at colle days thwedlock. e s e h t into a t often tory It is no ce fructifies nlocks the s to n u a in n rom te Citize lminated bility ra u Corpo e that has c eve in the sta it. of lov for we beli family un ge, and marria relationship you real life of a e bring to got sealed t W ces tha roman marriage. in

When

chalk met cheese

The Agrawals are a corporate couple who talk the walk and walk the talk when it comes to shared dreams and goals and good old team-work

By Kalyani Sardesai

he easy bonhomie they share can only come from 15 years of togetherness. The kind that starts well before marriage, and simply goes from strength to strength in the years to come. Tell that to Rajesh and Bhavna Agrawal, and they nod in unison. Lest you think they are alike, perish the thought. “We are chalk and cheese,” grins Rajesh. “We have little in common, and are far from being ‘compatible’ in the conventional sense of the term.” But who needs compatibility when there’s friendship and laughter and truckloads of memories coming from six years before marriage and nine thereafter? He’s a realist; she a romantic. He’s matter of fact and reserved, she’s friendly and outgoing. He’s a Marwari Agrawal; she’s a Punjabi Agrawal. He’s an MBA (Finance), while she has an MCA. He is Vice President, Investor and Public Relations with Uflex Ltd, Mumbai; she’s Associate Vice President, Bank of America. If that sounds impressive enough, what’s even more so is that both give each other the credit for having risen up the professional and personal ladder with each other’s support. The Agrawals met in 2000, at 20 and 23 respectively at a competitive exam coaching centre. At the outset, Bhavna was impressed by his ‘sharp, questioning mind’ that had him arguing with teachers over complex maths questions. Turning to her friend, the 21-year-old said: “There’s something about this guy…mark my words he will go far.” That she would accompany him in the journey was revealed quickly enough. “We spent a lot of time togeth44 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Bhavna, Rajesh and their daughter Prishmi make a happy family picture

er,” reminisces Bhavna. Interestingly, both were a study in contrasts. “I left home in Sehore, MP to pursue my studies pretty early in life, while she had lived in Mumbai all her life; so I guess there was a difference in perspective,” says Rajesh. “But she’s intelligent and enterprising and I loved her energy…in fact, she was the one who not only decided to pursue her MCA in DY Patil College, Pune, but also found out the admission details at BIIM, which was a newly-started college back then. So from Mumbai, we both came to Pune.” Those early days were tough. She was based in Pimpri; he at the old BIIM campus in Yerawada. “It was difficult to meet as both had long days of study; the BIIM schedule

particularly was gruelling. There would be arguments; she would feel we were not ‘compatible,’ that we did not have much in common,” shares Rajesh. “I never bought any of that. What is compatibility anyway, other than the ability to iron out incompatibility? We cared for each other, and that was enough.” There were low moments too. “I still remember the day I wanted to give up my MCA at DY Patil and return home. I was home-sick and conscious of the fact that I wasn’t earning yet… I just wanted to drop the ball,” says Bhavna. But Rajesh talked her out of it. “He said, ‘When you become vice president of a big organisation and then wish to quit, I will respect your wish. But right now, you need to do this for us.’ Thank God for his wise counsel…” In fact, it is precisely this quality of pushing her to challenge herself that Bhavna loves the most about him. “He is one guy who makes no room for complacency; each time I have achieved something, he says: Fine. So what next? He keeps me on my toes all the time,” smiles Bhavna. Not one to mince his words, he also lets her know when she has been in the wrong at the workplace. “At the same time, he is hugely supportive and appreciative of all that I do. He is also very much the hands-on dad for our six-year old daughter Prishmi,” she says. Of team work and shared dreams. From rented apartments and slim bank balances to a plush home in Kandivli and an upmarket lifestyle with all its perks, at 35 and 38 respectively, the Agrawals have made it in life together. “Both of us are from middle class homes, and we have earned our own money,” says Rajesh. “Our first goal was to save enough for a home of our own. We did that—with discipline and mutual understanding—and there has been no looking back ever since.” What works big-time in the couple’s favour is that Rajesh is a man who truly practices what he preaches. A rarity, surely, in a world notorious for broken marriages and flyby-night relationships. “Corporate jobs do have high pressures,” he concedes. “Besides, people these days are spoilt for choice; if they are independent-minded enough to choose their own partners, they are independent enough to choose not to be with them anymore.” For his part, though, Rajesh believes not helping out at home is not an option. “You can’t say that you need a break with your buddies while she stays home with the kid; it doesn’t work that day.” So even as Bhavna leaves for work at 11 am after finishing the household chores, Rajesh is back early to pick up Prishmi from day care and take her to the park. “He’s the only dad on the playground,” says Bhavna. “It makes me so proud that this giving person is my husband. I always tell my mother that while I am grateful for all that she’s done for me, my husband is the one person who has taken care of me like no one else ever has.” However, Rajesh feels he’s only doing his bit. “Look at things from the other person’s perspective, and you won’t go too wrong. Most people only pretend to do so… and that’s the problem. I remember the time I had made a presentation at BIIM on change management. I took off my shoe and asked a volunteer to step into it. The volunteer asked whether he ought to remove his shoe before he put mine

‘There would be arguments; she would feel we were not ‘compatible,’ that we did not have much in common. What is compatibility anyway, other than the ability to iron out incompatibility? We cared for each other, and that was enough’

The Secret Seven for a happily ever after: l Respect and celebrate differences; your spouse and you are not expected to be mental twins. l Help each other excel. l Look beyond set gender roles, and take on responsibilities that will go a long way in making a happy marriage. l Really and truly put yourself in the other’s shoes—don’t just pretend to do so. l Take holidays together. l Financial goals and fiscal planning have to be carried out with utmost mutual cooperation. l Meet the other person half way.

on. I told him: it was his choice. It’s the same mantra that works in a marriage.” That, apart from trust, respect and commitment. “Meet the other person half-way. It’s not that difficult, honestly.” Like eating meals prepared by the cook; or even making a meal for wifey while she puts in long hours at work. “I really don’t see how you can expect your spouse to excel at the workplace and be an outstanding cook, at the same time. It’s not fair,” he points out. Both have changed for the better since the time they met. “He’s much more social than he was; while I am a lot more organised,” smiles Bhavna. “He taught me the importance of being practical. I guess I am the one who brought in the angle of meeting friends, going for movies and attending cultural fests together.” Rajesh couldn’t agree more. “She’s this absolute bundle of energy who simply adores travel and long vacations. Thanks to her, we have had some truly memorable trips, both domestically and internationally,” he says. “Whenever she calls me from work, all excited with ‘I have an idea,’ I just know she’s making plans for another holiday together.” And even as the Agrawals charter new territory together, their relationship is based on the solid footing of being best buddies. “From the way we squabble and pull each other’s leg….our friends say we are more like siblings than husband and wife,” guffaws Rajesh. “Marriage is about comfort, after all,” rounds off Bhavna. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

tadka

Now that’s reliable! India has the best delivery boys, the Mumbai dabbawalas, with an efficiency rating of 99.9999 per cent. This is the highest delivery efficiency of any supply chain system in the world.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 45

drive in

small car choices for you

Fuel efficiency, low maintenance, manoeuvrability, lower cost of purchase, and most importantly, good for the environment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; these are the many features of these small cars. Corporate Citizen picked up the top five among them that will have/hit the roads this year

By Joe Williams

his year there will be many new cars entering our market and not surprisingly a majority of these are small cars as they occupy a huge chunk of the total car sales in India. Here are the five most anticipated small cars. Small cars are the lightest on your pocket, after scooters, of course. Small cars tend to have smaller engines which lead to better fuel efficiency. At slow speeds and in parking lots, they are easier to turn and behave quite well. Ever wonder about global warming and how your habits impact Mother Earth? These cars being fuel efficient result in fewer emissions into our environment. Small cars also require less material which means less fuel was used to create a small car. And at the end of the small carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, less of it will end in the landfill since less was used to make it in the first place. As technology advances things keep getting smaller and that is true for cars as well. Small cars are becoming ubiquitous on our roads today and this trend is likely to continue as people get smarter about what they choose to drive.

Renault Kwid ` 3-4 lakhs This crossover styled hatchback was recently unveiled in India and has been getting a lot of positive first impression from all around. The Renault Kwid is the best looking car in its segment with cladding, high ground clearance and bigger dimensions. As far as features are concerned, it will have touchscreen audio system, digital instrument display, power windows, AC and power steering. Technically Kwid will debut with an 800cc engine with a five-speed manual gearbox which will be later joined by a 1.0L petrol engine mated with an AMT gearbox. The car will be launched by the end of this year around the festive season.

46 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Maruti YRA | ` 6.00-7.00 lakhs Code-named YRA, this will be another premium hatchback offering which will replace Swift as the most premium hatchback from Maruti in India, and will be a rival for Hyundai Elite i20, Volkswagen Polo and the Honda Jazz with its bigger dimensions and new features. The new hatchback may debut with the recently displayed 1.0L Boosterjet petrol engine of Suzuki, equipped with an automatic transmission. The diesel unit could be the same 1.3L Multijet engine of Fiat as seen in Swift but in a more powerful state producing around 89bhp. Maruti will not hesitate to stuff the car with features such as push-button start, auto-climate control, front airbags, touchscreen audio system and rear parking camera. The car will be more spacious than Swift and may even offer the best in-class rear leg room.

New Ford Figo | ` 4.60-5.50 lakhs The new Figo hatchback will be completely different from the current car in terms of styling and features. The new Figo shares its styling cues, interior design and elements with the premium sibling, Fiesta and as you might guess will be the hatchback version of the Figo Aspire. The engine line-up is also likely to be revised for the new car. It may have the 1.0L petrol engine as seen in the Ecosport along with the automatic gearbox, apart from the regular 1.2L petrol engine which is powering the current car. The diesel unit could be the 1.5L, 89bhp engine from Fiesta which will also be powering its sedan sibling, Figo Aspire. The feature count will have push button start, automatic climate control, and front dual airbags, ABS with EBD and audio system with AppLink and Bluetooth connectivity. The new Figo will rival the Swift and Grand i10.

New Honda Jazz ` 5.31-8.59 lakhs

The new Jazz has been launched and due to the localisation of parts, Honda has managed to keep the prices under check this time. The new Jazz is powered by the 1.2L, 87bhp engine and comes with a five speed manual gearbox and optional CVT. The diesel unit will be 1.5L, 99bhp and 200Nm served with a five-speed manual gearbox as seen in other Honda cars. The feature list includes touchscreen audio system with Bluetooth connectivity and steering mounted controls, front dual airbags, push button start, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors and camera and as in other Honda cars, while the diesel version will come with standard features such as ABS with EBD and power windows.

Tata Kite ` 4.00-5.00 lakhs After launching the Bolt, this will be the second offering from Tata to counter the Indica image. The new car, till now known as Kite, will replace the old Indica and will be positioned below the Bolt. This will be an entry level hatchback from Tata which will look very different from the current Indica. There are chances that the new car may get power from the same 1.2L Revotron petrol engine of Bolt although without turbocharger and mated with a five-speed manual gearbox. Moreover, Tata could plonk in the new home developed 1.05L CR4 diesel engine which is the downsized version of the current 1.4L engine powering the Indigo eCS. It is still not sure if it will have an option of AMT or not. The fuel efficiency of this engine could be around 27-30km/ltr. The features will include AC, power steering, audio system, power windows and the Kite will be a direct rival to the diesel version of Celerio and Grand i10 and will likely cost between Rs 4-5 lakhs. joe78662@gmail.com

tadka

Greener India is a must India recycles 60 per cent of its plastic waste. The figures for Japan and China are 12 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Despite this, India is the third most polluting country in the world, and is likely to move to second place by 2017.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 47

cyber crime

Facing Faceless Thugs

Though lottery has been officially banned in the country, cyber looters are using electronic mail and fraudulently pilfered personal data, declaring you the winner of some high value lottery and thus exploiting the gullible among you and stealing your valuable, hard-earned money. But why does our criminal detection and penal system so helpless against such crime? By Pradeep Mathur

ow would you react if you get a poorly drafted congratulatory email with many spelling mistakes, bad grammar and wrong sentence construction saying that you’re the winner of ₹ 5.5 crore worth British lottery? Ninety nine per cent chances are that you would immediately junk it into the spam box as you had never participated in any such lottery. But what would be your reaction if you get a similar mail, but penned in a very polished manner and signed by none other than the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Dr. Raghuram Rajan, along with his photograph as well as showing a picture of the RBI on top? This time there are fair chances that you’ll find it difficult to ignore it as there is no logical reason to disbelieve a serious, official-looking mail from someone as big as Dr. Rajan! More so as, besides this petty amount, all he asks for is some very basic information about you such as your address, mobile number and bank account number, etc. And, the reward in lieu of all this simple information is a whopping ₹ 5.5 crore, an amount you had not thought of even in your wildest dreams!

To cap it all, even the tone of the letter is such that it requests you, the beneficiary, to claim the said deposited amount in British Pounds in your name which has to be “released urgently” as, following his recent meeting with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, it has been agreed upon that “keeping such unclaimed funds in the government basket for too long” will be an “unfair practice” for “one reason or the other for tax accumulation.” Hence, it implores you to claim it “within two days” by paying just the “crediting fee” of ₹ 9,500/- only so that ₹ 5.5 crore could be transferred into your account, that too, in “just 40 minutes” of depositing the required fee. No wonder, with such a luring trap in front of you, there is every possibility that you’ll pay the required processing fee in the hope that in “just 40 minutes,” the said amount would get transferred into your account, making you say Wow! However, if you’ve actually done it and are now wondering what to do, don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are many unsuspecting individuals like you who have also got similarly cheated by these fraudsters who play on nothing but your greed. “Every week, we come across at least 40-50

48 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

such persons who have almost similar stories to tell. We never send such mails asking for your personal and financial information over the email. But tell me what we can do when people approach us after having transferred the money into the fraudsters’ account?” asks a lady assistant general manager at the RBI’s Parliament Street headquarters in New Delhi who requests not to be quoted as she is not authorised to talk to the Press. “Once you’ve paid the money, recovering it is very difficult. That’s why we’ve been warning customers regularly through advertisements in newspapers, through leaflets, RBI’s website and such other sources, but we feel bad when, despite all these awareness measures, hundreds of people fall prey to such cyber criminals every year. What’s even more shocking is that most of the time, it’s not the poor or uneducated but the well-educated, intelligent people who, knowing well that there could be tricksters around, get caught into this trap because of their sheer greed to become rich overnight,” she said. Citing a recent example, she referred to a very intelligent IIT Kanpur student who initially was not willing to believe it, but eventually got convinced that

Make your password as difficult as possible. Don’t fall for lottery/jackpot emails. In case, you’ve fallen prey to traps laid down by such scammers, report the matter to the police

Picture of the leaflet RBI, Delhi, distributing on its entry gate to hundreds of people who throng its headquarters after being cheated by the cyber lottery mafia

he had been duped of his father’s hard-earned “several lakhs” of Rupees. He realised what a fool he was, as his “laalach” had led him to a point of no return! “We understand their frustration but the point is, why do you allow such people to take advantage of your situation?” she asked. So, what’s the way out? Can something be done to identify and escape these frauds? “It’s going on for many years now. This is a kind of guerilla warfare where the attackers are anonymous people. They constantly innovate and keep their modus operandi changing and sometimes they have planted their men within government systems too. But the thing is, if you understand one fundamental thing, you’ll never get cheated, and that is: Nobody ever gives you money for free. After all, how many times have you given even a ten rupee note to a beggar?” asked Delhi’s DCP (Cyber Cell), Rajneesh Garg, at the Mandir Marg police station. He also talked about many other cyber-crimes happening daily around us including hacking, phishing, cyber stalking and usage of stolen credit/debit card frauds, fraudulent real time gross settlement (RTGS) transactions and other fictitious offers of fund transfers, as also the classic

‘419 notorious Nigerian scams’, to name a few. But how can one save oneself from such traps? Giving vital tips, advised he, “Make your password as difficult as possible. Don’t fall for lottery/ jackpot emails, avoid uploading private content on internet. In case, you’ve fallen prey to traps laid down by such scammers, report the matter to the police in the very first one hour after the crime because the faster you report, the better will be the chances of any recovery, though in most cases it is next to impossible to recover the money deposited.” Is there no mechanism by which one can catch those who lay such traps? Answering this, an Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuth who, for obvious reasons, wouldn’t like to be named, said: “Well, going by the email id and phone numbers of such criminals, we can trace their origin but we can’t go far. Because most of the times these mails and calls come from abroad, mostly from African countries like Nigeria and Ghana, we’ve no way to reach their servers.” However, continuing further, he said, “Lately, going by the sheer amount of money involved, we’ve traced an important trail which leads to Pakistan—most likely to a certain Dawood

Ibrahim-type modular—which is running such fraudulent lottery schemes all across India through a well-organised syndicate, based most likely in Karachi, employing several Indian agents to suck huge amounts from the gullible,” he revealed. So, what can a common man do in such a situation? Answered he, “The way we’re increasingly getting dependent upon internet for all our needs, by 2020, conventional crimes will less in number and cyber-crimes will be our biggest menace”. So, the message is loud and clear: Cyber dacoits are all around you. They don’t use any physical violence or weapon against you. They don’t even go to a bank to rob you. They are not even present at the scene of crime. Yet they are omnipresent and out to loot you. Getting into their trap is entirely your choice. “Quite often, these criminals make phone calls to people, pretending to be bank executives, and claiming that they are updating their servers, and thus need all your banking details. If you’ve fallen into the trap, you’re gone because once the fraud has taken place, no bank or police official is going to help you much”. concluded he, with a twinkle in his eyes. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com

tadka

No Smoking

Only 110 out of 249 countries in world, representing 35 per cent of the world’s population have reached the highest level of achievement in banning smoking advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Survey

Employee Financial Wellness An insight into the financial well being of employees in America can act as a necessary eye-opener to young Indian corporates, who must plan for the future while there is time to spare. Corporate Citizen brings you the fascinating results of the 2015 Employee Financial Wellness Survey

By Neeraj Varty

ndia’s economy is on an upswing, with more and more international corporations deciding to invest here. India’s vast pool of educated youth as well as the promise of minimum government interference has gone down well with corporates. While working in the private sector comes with perks such as high pay and incentives, there is also a flipside, such as no job security and no pension. In such an environment, it is important to understand Gen Y’s plans for future financial stability. In doing this, we can take cues from the American economy. The current economic boom in India is reminiscent of the environment in America a decade back. PricewaterhouseCoopers, a leading market research firm has conducted an employee financial wellness survey to track the financial and retirement wellbeing of working U.S. adults nationwide. By looking at their situation, young Indians can take valuable lessons in how to se-

Top financial concerns: When asked about overall financial concerns, not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses and not being able to retire when they want to were again the most frequently cited issues. Top financial concerns*

2012

2013

2014

2015

Not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses

54%

Not being able to retire when I want to

37%

45%

42%

40%

Not being able to meet monthly expenses

25%

22%

21%

19%

Being laid off from work

22%

19%

20%

19%

49%

50%

51%

56%

of women cited not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses vs.

47% of men

Not being able to keep up with my debts

14%

15%

14%

Other

Not being able to pay for college

Losing my home

50 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

Gender differences for top financial concerns:

Top fi

When for une most fr

Top fin

Not ha unexpe

Not be

Being l

Not be Other

Not be

Losing

23%

of women cited not being able to meet monthly expenses vs.

15% of men

*Employ

Gener

Gen Y Boome financi

Top fin

Not ha saving

Not be want to

Not be expens

Being l

Not be

Survey 2015 cure their financial wellness before crisis strikes, like it has in Greece. America’s economy was the hardest hit in the 2008 global recession, and employees across American corporations have been feeling the pinch ever since. Many continue to struggle with meeting day to day expenses, and even those feeling better still seem to be at risk should inflation rise and/or the economy take another downturn. Not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses is the most frequently cited employee financial concern in America, and living pay-cheque to pay-cheque has become the unfortunate norm. Running out of money continues to be employees’ most frequently cited concern about retirement. With defined benefit pension plans going extinct, em-

employees think that their current salary and compensation plan would not suffice for their retirement, proper planning for a rainy day is the need of the hour. Healthcare costs also continue to be an issue, and one of employees’ biggest concerns about retirement. Yet while more employers are promoting Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as a solution, only one-third of employees report contributing to their HSA and far fewer are thinking about their HSA as an additional retirement savings vehicle -- only 16% say they plan to use the funds for future healthcare costs in retirement. However, things are not all bleak. After a turbulent half decade, the global economy is showing signs of revival. 2015 has overall been a positive year for employees across America. While many em-

Running out of money continues to be employees’ most frequently cited concern about retirement, and employees are clearly getting the message that the burden of funding their retirement is shifting to them ployees are clearly getting the message that the burden of funding their retirement is shifting to them, with over 70% stating they should be primarily responsible for funding their retirement, versus 17% saying it should be their employer and only 13% stating it should be the government. However, employees continue to struggle balancing competing priorities with 35% of them noting they will likely have to use money saved for retirement for non-retirement expenses, which is up from 27% the past two years. It is apparent that employees are not comfortable taking on the responsibility for funding their retirement, with 51% saying they would be willing to sacrifice a portion of their future pay increases for guaranteed retirement income. Given that nearly 80% of Gen Y

ployees are still facing significant financial challenges, this year’s survey shows an upward trend in key areas—cash flow and debt management continue to improve, housing issues are becoming less of a strain, and Gen Y employees are catching up with their older counterparts across the board. Overall, the survey results are trending more favourably, showing continuous signs of improvement in key areas over recent years. However, there are still significant underlying issues and concerns indicating that the majority of employees are far from achieving overall financial stability and wellness. Let us have a look at the areas of concern, as well as areas of significant improvement for employees. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Generational differences for top financial concerns: Gen Y employees appear more concerned about current expenses, whereas Baby Boomers and Gen X employees also frequently cite retiring as one of their top financial concerns.

Top financial concerns*

All employees

Baby Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses

51%

43%

52%

61%

Not being able to retire when I want to

40%

53%

40%

24%

Not being able to meet monthly expenses

19%

13%

21%

23%

Being laid off from work

19%

16%

20%

22%

Not being able to keep up with my debts

14%

16%

21%

Other

14%

Not being able to pay for college

10%

Losing my home

What would most help you achieve your future financial goals? Like last year, job security is more important to achieving future financial goals for Gen X and Gen Y, whereas a rising stock market and lower healthcare costs are more important for Baby Boomers.

To help achieve financial goals

All employees

Baby Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Better job security

20%

10%

25%

27%

Rising stock market

18%

27%

13%

12%

Lower inflation

15%

16%

14%

16%

Lower healthcare costs

15%

22%

13%

11%

Other

Improved housing market

Assistance from a personal financial planner or coach

Lower education costs

12%

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 51

2011

Survey

Cash and debt management:

2012

2013

2014

2015

hou time

Cash and debt management

Employees who find it difficult to meet their household Employees who consistently carry balances on their credit Employees who find it difficult to meet their household Employees who carry balances on their crede Employees whoeach find it difficult to meet their household expenses onconsistently time each month: expenses on time month: cards:

All employees employees All All employees

All employees All employees

49%

2011

2012

By generation

Even those 49% among 49% 38% employees earning 53% 38% Financial stress 50% 36% 48% $100,000 or more, 20% Employee financial stress is again down slightly this year, although nearly half of all employees find dealing with 33% (45%)find it difficult to meet their financial situation stressful (48% in 2014, 52% in 2013, household and 61% in 2012). 35% report that their stress level related toexpenses on 2011 2012 2013 financial issues increased over the last 12 months from 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 time(down each month. 2013 38% in 2014, 45% in 2013, and 56% in 2012).

2013 Baby 36% 31% Boomers 47% 45% 33% Gen X 49%

2014 2014 Gen Y

2015 2015 30%

2 Eve Nea emp of em 2 $10 $10 find cons 4 hou bala tim 4 cred

Even among those employees earningBy$100,000 or more, 20% of BabyNearly one-third generation: The percentage Boomers and Gen (32%) of employees earning $100,000 or more find it difficult to meet household expenses on time each month. carry balances on their credit cards. X employees who find dealing with theirconsistently financial situation stressful remained relatively consistent with last year. The percentage of stressed Gen Y employees decreased and is now consistent with Gen X.

Of employees who consistently carry balances, those Of the employees consistently carrying Employees whotoconsistently carrycredit balances find cards: it difficult make their minimum card on their cred Financial stress 2013 2014 2015 balances onwho theirconsistently credit cards,carry 72% have Employees balances on theirwho credit Of employees who consistently carry balances, those who payments on time each month: Baby Boomers 45% 36% 34% developed a plan to reduce their debt All employees credit card52% payments on time each Gen XOnce again, 62% 53% All employees Bymonth: generation (consistent with 71% last year). All employees Gen Y developed 49% 60% 52% the vast majority (83%) say they All employees 2013 Nea 2 Nearly one-third (32%) their debt reduction plan on their own of e 53% Mor Baby and only 10% used help from a financial of employees earning 53% 50% 42% (22% 3 42% 48% 47% $10 50% Boomers 45% 48%with a debt professional. 81% of those 47% $100,00039% or more 45% con earn reduction plan say they have been following consistently carry 34% Gen X 58% 5 bala 31% mor their plan on a consistent basis. balances on their 26% Finances while at work

2011

2012

2013

2014

20%

2011

2015

2012

credit cards.

2013

37%

2014 Gen Y

2015 cred 37% mak 5

One in five employees sayearning that at work each week, Morereport than that one in five (22%) of employees $100,000 or they cred 2011 2012 2013 spend 2014 2015 issues with personal finances three hours more thinking more find ithave difficult to make their minimum credit cardorpayon t been a distraction at work. about or dealing with issues related to ments on time each month. their personal finances.

Finances are more likely to be a distraction at work for Gen X and Gen Y employees

Spending habits:

Of employees who consistently carry balances, those wh Finances while at work:

By generation, percentage of employees report that issues Of employees who consistently carry balances, those who who find it difficult to make their minimum s have changed their spending credit card payments on time each month: with personal finances have been a distraction at work: in order credit to save money on day-toOf the employees consistently carrying balances on their cred card payments on time each month: h 48% last year which was down (consistent with 71% last year). Once again, the vast ma Finances while at work 2013 debt 2015 All 2014 employees 2012). All employees By generation Baby Boomers

42%

2011

39%

2012

16%

48%

34%

2013

Gen X

32%

Gen in Y2015

19%

31% 2014

26% 2015

Nearly half (48%) of employees have changed their spending behavior in the past 12 months in order to save money on day-today necessities (consistent with 48% last year which was down from 56% in 2013 and 65% in 2012).

plan12% on their 13%own and only 10% used help from a financial Mor say theythan have beenin following their plan on a consistent 29% 24%one 2013 basis. 2 More five

20% 42%

39% 35% (22%) of22% employees Baby 23% earning $100,000 or34% Boomers 31% One in five employees report that issues with 26% more find it difficult to personal finances have been a distraction Gen X at work. 44% make their minimum 8 credit PwC 2011 card 2012 2013 2014 2015 payments Gen Y 23% Employee financial wellness survey on time eachsay month. that at work each week,

37%

(22 ear2 mor mak 3 cred 3t on 11

they spend three hours or more thinking about or dealing with issues related to their personal finances.

15% of employees who are homeowners with a Of the employees consistently carrying balances on their cre imary residence and 73% of Of the employees consistently carrying balances on their credit cards, 72% have developed a plan to reduce their say2015 the outstanding balance of their 52 / Corporate Citizen / mortgage August 16-31, e with a mortgage, 97% are debt (consistent with 71% last year). Once again, the vast m debt (consistent with mortgage 71% last year). Once again, the vast majority (83%) say they developed their debt reduction is greater than the current value of

plan on their own and only 10% used help from a financia

Financial stress:

Financial stress

Employee financial stressdown is again down slightly this Employee financial stress is again slightly this year, year,nearly although half of(45%) all employees although half ofnearly all employees find dealing(45%) with find dealing with their financial situation stressful their financial situation stressful (48% in 2014, 52% in 2013, and(48% 61% inin 2012). 35% report their stress level 2014, 52% in that 2013, and 61% inrelated 2012).to35% financial issues increased over the last related 12 months from issues report that their stress level to(down financial 38%increased in 2014, 45% in 2013, and 56% in 2012). over the last 12 months (down from 38% in 2014, 45% 2013, and 56%Boomers in 2012). By generation: Theinpercentage of Baby and Gen X employees who find dealing with their financial situation By generation: The percentage of Baby Boomers and stressful remained relatively with lastfinancial year. The Gen X employees who findconsistent dealing with their percentage stressedremained Gen Y employees decreasedwith and is now situationofstressful relatively consistent last year. TheGen percentage of stressed Gen Y employees consistent with X. decreased and is now consistent with Gen X. Financial stress

2013

2014

2015

Financial stress

2013

2014

2015

Baby Boomers

45%

36%

34%

Gen X

62%

53%

52%

Gen Y

49%

60%

52%

Baby Boomers

45%

Gen X

62%

Gen Y

49%

36%

34%

53%

52%

60%

52%

Delayed retirements Delayed 36% of all retirements employees plan to retire later than they previously planned.

By generation: Most frequently cited reasons for postponing retirement:cited By generation: Most frequently reasons for postponing retirement:

Delayed retirements:

36% 20%

36% of all employees plan to retire later than they previously planned. Employees to postpone retirement Delayedplanning retirements

By generation: Most frequently cited reasons By for postponing retirement: Baby Boomers generation: Most frequentl

Employees planning to postpone of all plan toretirement retire later Delayed retirements 2013 planned. 2014 36%employees of all employees plan to retire later than they previously

2015 “I haven’t saved Baby 2015 reasons forBoomers postponing retireme 48% enough to saved retire,” “I haven’t Boomers 40% Baby followed by 54% enough retire,” 45% Babytoclosely Boomers 36% 2013 51% 2014 48% 2015 Boomers 40% Gen X 43% 35% 35% Employees planning to postpone retirement “I don’t want to by followed closely “I haven’t saved 36% Employees planning to53% postpone retirement Baby X 43%54% 35%51% 35%48% One in five employees report that Gen week, they retire yet” “I don’t want enough to to retire,” Gen Y 18% 28% 22%say that at work each 2012 201345% 201440% 2015 Boomers Baby Boome 2013 2014 2015 retire yet” issues with personal finances have spend three hours or more thinking followed closely by Gen Y 18% 28% 22% 36% 2012 2013 2014 2015 Gen X 43% 35% 35% 53% “I don’t want “I to haven’t sa

53% 2013 2014 than they previously planned. Employees planning postpone 36% of all employees plan to retiretolater thanretirement theyBaby previously 53% Finances while at work 54%planned. 51% 45%

been a distraction at work.

45%

2012

2013

40%

2014

Baby Gen Y 2015 Boomers

37%

about or dealing with issues related to

retire yet” 18% 201428% 54% 51% 48% 2013 2015 22% their personal finances.

Boomers citing 54%a loss51% 48% As the market has improved, employees areBaby less frequently of investment 36% Gen X 43% 35% value a reason postponing retirement and frequently focusing more onawhether they want 35% As theas market hasfor improved, employees are less citing loss of investment GenX Xand 43% 35% 35% Finances are more likely to be a distraction at work for Gen to retire. value as a reason for postponing retirement and focusing more on whether they want Gen Y employees Gen Y 18% 28% 22% Gen Y 18% 28% 22% to retire. 2012 2013 2014 has improved, 2015employees are less frequently citing a loss of investment As the market Reasons foraemployees delaying 2012 2015want By generation, percentage who report that issues value of as reason forretirement* postponing retirement and focusing2013 more on 2014 whether they the market has IReasons improved, are less frequently citing a loss2013 of investment value to retire. foremployees delaying retirement* 2012 2014 2015 withAs personal finances have been aenough distraction haven’t saved to retireat work: 60% 55% 53% 51% as a reason for postponing retirement and focusing more on whether they want to retire. I haven’t saved enough to retire 60% 55% 53% 51% I don’t want to retire yet (prefer to continue Reasons for delaying retirement*

2012 21% 2013 25% 2014 28% 2015

notto ready the lifestyle change of Iworking, don’t want retirefor yet (prefer to continue Finances while at work 2013 2014 2015 13%

Reasons for delaying retirement* 2013 2014 2015 being retired, etc.) for I haven’t enough to retirechange of 2012 working, not saved ready the lifestyle 13%60% 21%55% 25%53% 28%51%

retired, etc.) the market has improved, employees are less13% frequently citing loss of investment BabyAs Boomers 12% Ibeing need to keep my coverage 21% 29% a 24% 19% I don’t want16% to healthcare retire yet (prefer to continue

I haven’t saved enough to retire

60%

55%

53%

51%

working, not ready for the coverage lifestyle change of 26% 28%want value as a reason for retirement and focusing more on whether they need topostponing keep my healthcare 21%13% 29%21% 24%25% 18% 19% II have too much debt 23% 22% 24% to retire. I have too much debt 26% 21% 23% 25% 22% 28% 18% My retirement investments have declined 13%

Gen XI don’t want to retire being 32% retired, yet (prefer toetc.) continue29% working,

34%21% 25%29% 20%24% 18%19% I need to keep my healthcare coverage 34% 25% 20% 18% I have too much debt 22% 13%18% value Iinhealthcare am still supporting my children/grandchildren21% 14%26% 12%23%24% I need to keep coverage 29% 19% Reasons formy delaying retirement* 2012 2013 11%2014 2015 investments have declined I amMy stillretirement supporting my children/grandchildren 14% Other 2%34% 12% 5%25% 11% 4%20% 13% 5%18% in value have too saved much debt 26% 18% II haven’t enough to retire 60% 55%22% 51% *Respondents could choose up to two answers to this question. Other 2% 23% 5% 4% 53% 5% I am stillcould supporting children/grandchildren 14% 12% 11% 13% *Respondents choose upmy to two answers to this question.

change of beinghave retired, etc.) in value Gen Ynot ready for the lifestyle 19% 35% My retirement investments declined 22%

retirement investments declined in value 34% 25% 20% 18% IMy don’t want to retire yethave (prefer to continue Other 2% 5% 4% working, not ready for the could lifestyle change of 13% 12%21%11% 25% *Respondents choose up to two answers to this question. I am still supporting my children/grandchildren 14% 13% being retired, etc.) Other 2% 5% 4% 5% I need to keep my healthcare coverage 21% 29% 24%

I have too much debt My retirement investments have declined

26%

23%

28%

enough to re followed clo “I don’t wan retire yet”

Gen X “I haven’t Gen saved X enough to retire” “I haven’t saved enough to retire” Gen X “I haven’t saved enough to retire” Gen Y “I haven’t saved enough Gen Y to haven’t retire” followed by “I saved enough “I have much debt” to retire” by Gen X Gen too Y followed “I have too much debt” “I haven’t saved enough “I haven’t to retire” followed bysaved “I have too much enough todebt” retire”

Employee financial wellness survey 19%

22%August18% 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Star Campus Placement- 4

Keep the Nikita Rai, who completed her postgraduation from one of the prestigious B-Schools in the country talks about her first break

faith

By Mahalakshmi Hariharan

oday, Nikita, a young, bright girl, is successfully placed with the Indus Towers limited, world’s leading infra provider in telecom industry, in Ahmedabad, with a fat package with all perks and benefits. Nikita hails from Pipariya, near Pachmadi hill station, Madhya Pradesh. Her father, Shailendra Rai, is a businessman with his basic business being farming, and her mother Manjusha Rai is a homemaker. Her younger sister, Divya Rai, is currently working with TCS, Mumbai. Nikita did her schooling from St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School, Pipariya. She has been a bright student since childhood and very active in extra circular activities. She was also fond of public speaking and debates since her childhood days. She completely owes it to her parents who have been very supportive and always encouraged her and her sister to participate in all extracurricular activities. Apart from debating, Nikita has also won awards for poetry writing, painting and was a state level basket-ball player as well. She complted her engineering in Computer Technology from Priyadarshani Institute of Engineering & Technology (PIET), Nagpur University. During her graduation days, apart from studies, she was also actively

involved with a few NGOs like Zero Gravity, Sunshine, and CRY. Her journey After completing her engineering, Nikita decided to pursue her post-graduation from one of the prestigious B-schools in the country. “Those were some of the best days of my life,” reminisces a bubbly Nikita. Nikita is fun-loving, jovial and full of life. During her PG days, Nikita actively participated in all activities of the college. Along with her

54 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

studies, she was also part of the Corporate Relations Team (CRT). “This was tough as I had to sacrifice my classroom sessions, but indeed it helped me in return, as it gave me practical exposure to the corporate world, taught me how to handle human resources and coordinate,” she says. Further to being part of CRT, Nikita was also selected as the President, Student Council of her college. Her Dean and faculty had a lot of faith in her. “Initially it was very difficult to

handle two most important and crucial positions for the institute but my Dean was helpful. He stood by me on all my decisions and helped me sail my journey to excellence,” says Nikita adding, “It was slightly difficult to give the best to both CRT and the President-ship, as both required equal attention. Initially I did face problems with students as well, but by the grace of God and tremendous support from my family and teachers, I managed everything well. I must say I was

“Initially it was very difficult to handle two most important and crucial positions for the institute but my Dean was helpful. He stood by me on all my decisions and helped me sail my journey to excellence. My family and teachers also supported me a lot” blessed with an excellent team.” “It is a pleasure to see the smile on students’ faces when they get placed,” she noted. It was during this time that Nikita learnt to manage events, people, resources, time, relations, with hard work and team support. “The office timings for CRT were from 9 am to 6 pm. As the President, I use to come to college early in the morning, regularly interact with my juniors, understand their issues and resolve them. Later on, I would work on getting companies to the campus for placements. I was also actively involved in organizing various events and functions in college. After 9:30 pm, we would have our internal council team meetings and sometimes check on the juniors who were staying at the hostel. It was like working 365 days a year, selflessly and tirelessly for the institute,” recalls Nikita. Despite a hectic schedule, Nikita cleared her MBA with flying colours in all semesters, without any backlog ever. She has a lot of fond memories and experiences. She also feels blessed having a good circle of friends, loving juniors and great teammates. Nikita is fond of reading, painting and cooking, for which she takes time out. Reading and cooking have always been her passion. So despite her hectic schedule, she used to make time for her hobbies. “I remember painting T-shirts and cooking delicious food for my MBA friends regularly. It was so much fun then,” she says.

Nikita’s parents, mother Manjusha and father Shailendra Rai Nikita (left) with her sister, Divya

l Placement process The selection process comprised of screening criteria, group discussion and a personal interview. “The most important thing during your placement is that you must know which industry you are applying to, and the job profile. Questions asked in the Technical round were mainly related to financial accounting, costing, budgeting and on situations, but it was like a stress interview, similar to a rapid fire round, where a panel of three members continuously asked us questions. My patience and confidence helped me answer all their questions and create an impact on them,” she reminisces. Takeaways from the Campus Placement Experience l Nothing comes easy, hard work is the complementary element of success l One should never give up, hope should stay eternal

l Be yourself l Be confident. It creates an impact on the panel l Never compromise with your academics, your knowledge is your asset which will remain with you forever l Maintain a good attendance record l Respect the management, they do everything for your betterment l Don’t care about what others think of you because only you know your potential and talent Piece of advice to juniors l During your placements, do your homework well. Understand the job profile well, the requirement of the company, know what kind of talent are they looking for, what is the industry all about, who are its competitors, and prepare accordingly, before you go for an interview l Read newspapers regularly

and stay updated with current affairs Keep faith in yourself. By doing so, you will automatically move in the right direction There will be hurdles but remember unless you try, make mistakes, you will not learn One should never give up. There should always be hope Nothing comes easy, you should work hard to make it work

“The word, End does not mean the END but means ‘Effort never dies’ & if you get no in answer, remember N.O is ‘Next Opportunity’. So always be positive,” she signs off. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in

tadka

TN, highest per capita income In the list of States with the highest per capita income, Tamil Nadu topped the list having a per capita income of `128,366 followed by Uttarakhand with `115632 for 2014-15. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar featured on the bottom at `40,373 and `.36.143 respectively.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Pearls of Wisdom

By POPE FRANCIS

Morning meditation in The Chapel of The Domus Sanctae Marthae

Heaven’s Stock Exchange Riches are not like a statue, they are not stationary: riches have the tendency to grow, to move, to take their place in life and in a person’s heart. And the person who stores up treasures so as not to become a slave to poverty, ends up a slave to treasures

he treasures that count are those that are recognised by “heaven’s stock exchange”. They do not correspond to the greedy logic of mankind, and are destined to be consumed by “moth and rust”, and even to incite war. Thus the real secret is to conduct ourselves as authentic stewards who place all goods “at the service of others”. This practical advice was offered by the Pope Francis during the Mass at Santa Marta. “Jesus returns to a catechesis very precious to Him: the catechesis on treasures”, Pope Francis began, as he reinterpreted the day’s Gospel reading (Matthew 6:19-23). “His advice is very clear here: ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth’”. And Jesus also explains why: “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal”. In other words, the Pope said, “Jesus tells us that it is dangerous to play with this attitude and store up treasures on earth”. It’s true, the Pontiff recognized, that perhaps “this attitude is rooted in the desire for security”. As if to say “I want to be secure and, for this reason, I have these savings”. However “riches are not like a statue, they are not stationary: riches have the tendency to grow, to move, to take their place in life and in a person’s heart”. And “this person who stores up treasures so as not to become a slave to poverty, ends up a slave to treasures”. Therefore, this is Jesus’ advice: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth”. After all, the Pope added, “wealth even invades the heart, takes over the heart and corrupts the heart. And that person ends up corrupt due to this attitude of laying up treasures”. Francis then recalled that “Jesus, in another catechesis on the same theme, on the same topic, speaks of the man who has a large harvest of grain and thinks: what shall I do now? I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones”. But the Lord says: “Fool, this night you will die”. And this, the Pope explained, “is a second feature of this attitude: the man who lays up treasures doesn’t realize that he will have to leave it”. In the day’s Gospel passage, “Jesus speaks of moths and rust: but what are they? They are the destruction of the heart, the corruption of the heart, and even the destruction of families”. Thus the Pontiff also recalled that “this is the man who goes to Jesus to tell Him: ‘Please, tell my brother to share my inheritance with me!’”. And again comes the Lord’s counsel: “Be careful not to become attached to treasures!”. But “this discourse goes further”, the Pope clarified. “The passage following what was read is very clear: no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other”.

56 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

In other words, the Lord says, “You cannot serve God and mammon”. The affirmation is extremely clear, Francis remarked. “It’s true, if we hear people with this attitude of storing up treasures, they will ‘stockpile’ so many excuses to justify themselves, so many!”. However, “in the end, these treasures do not provide security for ever. Instead, they diminish your dignity”. And this also applies to families: so many families become divided over treasures. What’s more: “Even at the root of war there is this ambition which destroys, corrupts”, the Pope pointed out. In fact, “in this world, at this moment, there are so many wars out of greed for power, for wealth”. But “we can think about war in our heart: ‘Beware of all covetousness’, the Lord says”. Because “greed goes forward, it goes on, it goes on: it’s a step, it opens the door, then comes vanity — believing you are important, believing you are powerful — and, at the end, pride”. And “from there all vices, all: they are steps, but the first is greed, the desire to lay up treasures”. Francis then recalled “a very beautiful saying: the devil enters through the pocketbook” or “he enters through the pockets, it’s the same thing: this is the entrance of the devil, and of all the vices, adding to these insecure securities”. And, the Pope explained, “this is actually corruption, it is the moth and the rust that leads us on”. After all, “accumulating is really a quality of man: to make things and to dominate the world is even a mission”. But “what do I have to store up?”. Jesus’ response in today’s Gospel is clear: instead, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal”. This is truly “the daily struggle: how to manage well the treasures of the earth so they are directed to heaven and become the treasures of heaven”. “When the Lord blesses a person with treasures”, Francis stated, “He makes him the steward of those treasures for the common good and for the good of all”, and “not for his own good”. But “it isn’t easy to become an honest steward, for there is always the temptation of greed, to become important: the world teaches us this and leads us down this road”.

It’s true, if we hear people with this attitude of storing up treasures, they will ‘stockpile’ so many excuses to justify themselves, so many!. However, in the end, these treasures do not provide security for ever. Instead, they diminish your dignity One must instead “think of others, considering that what I have is for the service of others and that I won’t be able to take with me anything I have”. Indeed, “if I use for the common good what the Lord has given me, as a steward, this sanctifies me, it will make me holy”. However, “it isn’t easy”, the Pope said again. Thus “every day you must rest in your heart by asking yourselves: where is your treasure? In wealth or in this stewardship, in this service for the common good?”. This is why “when a wealthy person sees that his treasure is administered for the common good, and in his heart and in his life he lives simply, as if he were poor: that person is holy, that person is on the road of sainthood, because his treasures are for everyone”. But “it’s difficult, its like playing with fire”, the Pontiff added. This is the reason why “so many appease their conscience with charity and hand out their left-overs”. However, “that person is not a steward: a steward takes for herself what is needed and gives to others, everything, in service”. Indeed, “administering riches is a continuous divesting of our own interests, knowing that these riches will not give us salvation”. Therefore, “store up: yes, okay, build a treasure: yes, okay, but one that has real value — so to speak — in ‘heaven’s stock exchange’: there, store up there!”. Source: L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 26, 26 June 2015) August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Bollywood Biz

Bollywood Bollywood celebrities are larger than life icons. This is one of the reasons why brand advertisers bank upon these stars for their endorsements. When they aren’t in the news for their films, actors grace our TV screens promoting brands! Although, a star’s success is gauged by their films, they mint a lot more money doing endorsements. Corporate Citizen compiles a list of the top endorsing celebrities and the astronomical sums they earn through endorsements

Brandmasters

By Neeraj Varty

Salman Khan

Shahrukh Khan

202.4cr

For nearly two decades, Shahrukh Khan has been the darling of advertisers, and this year is no different. King Khan had a fantastic year at the box office with the success of Happy New Year. His IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders also won the tournament in July last year. His easy charm and media savvy persona makes him one of the most sought after actors in world cinema. By December 2014, SRK endorsed as many as 23 brands including Tag Heuer, Airtel, Dish TV, Hyundai, Emami, etc., to earn an eyepopping ₹ 202.4 crores before taxes. While he is at the No. 2 spot on the list for FY2014-15, SRK has been topping the Forbes list for the highest earning celebrity for several years prior to this, and King Khan may just reclaim the top spot this year after the release of his home production Dilwale, which releases in Diwali.

58 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

244.5cr

Salman Khan has had a roller coaster year. On the one hand his conviction in the 2002 hit and run case has given him cause to worry, and on the other he has had the most successful year (commercially) of his career. His last movie Kick was the highest grossing movie of 2014, and fans are crazy about him. This popularity has made him a favourite of advertisers, and the Being Human actor endorsed brands like Thums Up, Revital, Yatra, Suzuki, Wheel, Relaxo, and Dixie Scott. His endorsements have reportedly earned him a whopping ₹ 244.5 crores for 2014, leading him to top the Forbes highest earning actor list for the year. With the release of Salman’s latest movie Bajrangi Bhaijaan round the corner, his days of a top brand ambassador may be just beginning.

Amitabh Bachchan

196.75cr

There is perhaps no actor more revered in India than Amitabh Bachchan. The erstwhile angry young man of Indian cinema captures the viewer’s imagination like none other, thanks to his imposing baritone and subtle gravitas. Mr. Bachchan is India’s most popular celebrity on Twitter, with a following of 11.8 million. With brand endorsements like Dabur, Parker Pens, ICICI, Reid & Taylor and Cadbury in his kitty, Big B is No. 3 on list, with cumulative earnings of ₹ 196.75 cr. for the year.

Ranbir Kapoor

` Due to his humble beginnings and a down to earth persona, Akshay embodies the working class Indian born without a silver spoon, which the viewers relate to Akshay Kumar

172cr

A star who continues to challenge the dominance of the Khans, Akshay Kumar had a strong year at the movies. His Holiday was a super hit while Entertainment, in which he co-starred with a Labrador, did reasonably well. He kicked off 2015 with Baby, one of the biggest hits of the year. Due to his humble beginnings and a down to earth persona, Akshay embodies the working class Indian, and endorses 13 brands including Relaxo, Dollar Club, Micromax Mobile, Eveready, Manapuran Gold Load, Honda India, Sugar Free, and Rasna, which the viewers relate to. His endorsements alone earned him an astonishing ₹ 172 cr. last year. With Baby and Gabbar is back becoming superhits in 2015, the Akshay brand is on the rise and there’s no stopping him.

93.25cr

They say an actor’s endorsement appeal is linked to his or her box office success, but Ranbir Kapoor seems to be an absolute exception to the rule. Despite back to back failures in Besharam, Roy and Bombay Velvet, Ranbir rides high on the popularity wave for his boy next door look and youthful charm. He endorses 11 brands including Pepsi, John Players, Panasonic, Nissan, Lenovo, Docomo, Hero Moto Corp, Franco Leone, and Saavan, which reportedly earned him a cool ₹ 93.25 crores in 2014-15. With upcoming projects like Tamasha and Jagga Jasoos, a hit may be just a few months away, potentially propping him further up the list for next year. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

tadka

The largest democracy in the world More than 54 crore people voted in the 2014 General Election – more people than the population of USA, UK, Australia and Japan combined, making India the largest democracy in the world.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Mobile Apps you don’t have to repeat personal details once you have registered for the first time. Over half a million users have downloaded the app to satisfactory results. Won’t you be next?

offers over 45 percent discounts on hotel rooms. The app also offers updates such as the status of your train reservation, notice of delayed flights as well as free upgrades if better seats are available. All in all, MakeMyTrip is a must have app for your phone.

Redbus (4 ½ stars)

Best Travel Apps Asking people for directions is so passé. Using just a smartphone and a data connection, you can book flights, secure train reservations, reserve hotel rooms, and communicate in local languages around the world. Corporate Citizen presents the best mobile apps for all your travel needs. Never leave town without them! By Neeraj Varty

Google Translate (5 Stars)

India is home to over 150 languages. If you are travelling in a different part of the country, or else in a foreign land altogether, language barriers can be a huge hindrance. This is where Google translate comes in handy. This is an app which translates any text or voice input you feed into it into any language you want it to. For example, if you want to buy a train ticket in China, you can simply open google translate and type or speak “Please give me a first class ticket to Beijing”, and the app will speak out the mandarin translation of the sentence. Google Translate recognises almost all the spoken

languages in the world, including most of the Indian ones, and its voice recognition engine is very efficient, recognising various accents in the same language flawlessly. Make sure you download this handy app onto your phone before your next trip.

If you are more of a roadie, Redbus is the first app you should try. The Redbus app makes it easy to choose a bus based on bus type (AC, Non-AC, and Sleeper), select a boarding point, select a seat of your choice and lets you save your card details for future transactions. Operating over 67,000 routes and with over 1,800 operators, Redbus covers the length and breadth of the country, especially those routes which are inaccessible to the railways. Prices are as per standard bus fare, and the app gives you a flat ₹100 discount on your first booking. Go try it now.

Yatra (4 stars)

The Yatra app offers everything from hotel reservations to bus and train reservations, but it specialises in airline tickets. Yatra has a reliable search engine which combs through different airlines to offer the most economical flight options for one-way or round trips, domestic as well as international. Yatra offers the best deals on flight reservations, as well as lets you book months in advance. For example, a round trip ticket to Bangkok from Mumbai can be booked for as less as ₹16,000 for some dates. This price is cheaper than most domestic routes.

IRCTC Connect (4 Stars)

Booking train tickets for Indian Railways on the IRCTC website can be nothing short of a nightmare. The website is slow, prone to crashes and not very user-friendly. IRCTC Connect, started last year, makes searching, booking and cancelling tickets a whole lot easier. The app retains passenger details so

60 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

MakeMyTrip (4 Stars)

MakeMyTrip is one of the most popular travel apps which is as versatile as an app can get. Not only can you book flights, buses, trains and hotel reservations, you can do so at a huge discount. During promotional campaigns, the app

TripAdvisor (5 Stars)

With millions of travellers reviews, photos, maps and comprehensive tour packages, you can now book your perfect trip with TripAdvisor. With over 225 million reviews and opinions by travellers, TripAdvisor makes it easy to find the lowest airfare, best hotels, great restaurants, and fun things to do, wherever you go. And booking options for hotels, restaurants and flights are just a tap away. You can leave reviews for hotels as well as check reviews left by other travellers before you book a room. With innovative features like finding the nearest hotel room around you using GPS, to using a fully functional offline mode if you do not have a stable data connection, TripAdvisor is the perfect travelling companion.

ClearTrip (4 Stars) ClearTrip is yet another multi- purpose app that lets you book train, bus and flight tickets along with its raison d’ etre – ClearTrip has a really neat user-interface, and has a host of features that lend well to international travel and overseas customers. ClearTrip lets you book hotels around the world, letting you choose from one star to five star properties. Payments can be made using netbanking, debit and credit cards, and you also have the option of directly paying at the hotel. Most hotels in India also offer free cancellations on the app. It’s the only app that lets you book tickets with an international credit card, and shows fares in ₹ (Rs) for hotels around the world. The app also offers a ₹250 discount on your first hotel or flight reservation. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Beyond the bottomline

Why the tortoise won the race...

By Suchismita Pai

ave you ever wondered why the speedy hare decided to take a nap in the middle of the famous race with the tortoise? By all accounts he was a smart, agile, able hare, used to navigating the fast track. How could he have lost to the patient plodding tortoise? This may sound like an oxymoron, but you sometimes can reach where you want to be if you slow down. The tortoise and the hare story is built on the premise of slow and study wins the race, but the common complaint these days is that we are running all the time and yet the coveted trophy is out of reach. The gains are rarely proportional to the speed at which we seem to rush about. A USA today survey found that people stated that every consecutive year after 1987 was busier than the

previous year. There is enough body of evidence to suggest that we can actually do more by being slower, adopting a more deliberate approach. When you do less, you tend to notice more and the details that you might have missed out on might be clearer. For those who have watched the movie ‘Matrix’, remember how Keanu Reeves seemed to deal with the bullets as they slow down? Seeing details help you optimise. As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman points out in his article in the Harvard Business Review -

hurried decision making is, more often than not, bad decision making, as it can have all sorts of biases. In the case of the hare, his decision to take a short nap in the middle of the race, based on the idea that he would hurry and catch up, cost him the race and his name for posterity. Experts often suggest ‘sleeping on it’ before taking important decisions. An article on CBS news Money-Watch cites research from Radboud University Nijmegen, and ‘suggests that more focus or a clear head can be just the problem. What you really need is to get the

There is enough body of evidence to suggest that we can actually do more by being slower. When you do less, you tend to notice more and the details that you might have missed out on might be clearer

subconscious involved-and sleep is a great way to do that...’ it says. Sometimes, the problem solves itself, or that slight distance gives you better perspective. Clearly the numbers, the odds and facts gave the hare reason to take that nap. Had he slowed down and postponed that decision and run on, he would have won. As to why he slept at all, according to doctors when you are caught up in the ‘hurry worry curry syndrome’ (too rushed to eat healthy and worried about it all the time) you are unlikely to take the most balanced decisions. Maybe if the hare had not hurried off the starting block and slowed down a bit the hurry, worry, curry sins would not have caught up with him. So the next time you want to get ahead, slow down, take stock and you will get where you want to be much faster. Think Tortoise and not Hare! paisuchi@gmail.com

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Health

Food for nutrition, nature & livelihood Most importantly, celebrity endorsement, from cricket to film icons, should not be allowed. But this is easier said than done. The world is the favoured destination for this business and it is our turn to be turned into food zombies

Sunita Narain

hat societies eat reflects their position on the modernity trajectory. Poorer countries have health problems because of lack of food. Then as people get rich, they end up losing the health advantage of food availability. They eat processed food that is high in salt, sugar and fat, which make them obese and ill. It is only when societies get very rich that they rediscover the benefits of eating real food and value sustainability. In India, ironically, it is happening all at once. We have a huge challenge of malnourishment and now a growing battle with the bulge and its associated diseases, diabetes and hypertension. But we also have an advantage: we still have not lost our culture of real food. The nutrition, nature and livelihood connection still exists as Indians eat local, nutritious, home-cooked meals,

which are more than often frugal. But this is because we are poor. The question is whether we can continue to eat healthy meals sourced from bio-diverse nature and built on rich culinary cultures even as we get rich. This is the real test. But to do this, we must get food practices right. We must understand that it is not necessary or accidental that the richer societies tend to lose the health advantage because of bad food. It is because of the food industry, and it is because governments have stopped regulating in favour of nutrition and nature. Quite simply, they have allowed powerful industry to take over the most essential of our life businesses—eating. We also need to understand that eating bad is about changing practices of agriculture, so that business becomes integrated and industrial. This model is built on supplying cheap food, with high resource and chemical inputs. For the past few years, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)—where I work—has tested pesticides in bottled water and then colas, thentrans-fat in edible oil, antibiotics in honey and most recently, antibiotic residue in chicken. These tests have shaken consumers,

62 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

and the Indian government has acted. It has brought in more stringent standards for pesticide residues in these foods, improved regulation of pesticide surveillance. But all this is not enough. We need a model of agricultur-

India Environment Portal Monkey jack: underutilised edible medicinal plant, nutritional attributes and traditional foods of Western Ghats, Karnataka, India Heritage on the edge: protecting traditional knowledge and genetic resources in the Eastern Himalayas, India Bringing culture back: Traditional agricultural knowledge, food production and sustainable livelihood among Chuktia Bhunjia of Orissa Pacific islanders pay heavy price for abandoning traditional diet

al growth that will value local good food production and not have to first “chemicalise” and then learn better. This is difficult. But this is what needs to be done so that we can have both nutrition and livelihood security. Simultaneously, we need to protect against bad food. Governments cannot say that eating processed food is about choice. Governments cannot stand by and watch as industry uses millions of dollars to cajole, persuade and seduce consumers to eat what they know is junk and unhealthy. The first is to ban or at least severely restrict the availability of ultra-processed food—high in salt, sugar and fat—in schools. Secondly, people need to be informed about what they are eating. To do this, labelling on food should specify how much fat, sugar or salt it contained in relation to our daily diet. Thirdly, governments need to regulate the promotion and advertising of unhealthy junk food. Most importantly, celebrity endorsement—from cricket to film icons—should not be allowed. But this is easier said than done. The industrialising world is the favoured destination for this business and it is our turn to be turned into food zombies. The way ahead then is all of the above and more. In India, we also need to celebrate our rich food cuisine, which is built on the incredible array of colours, flavours, spices and diversity of nature. We need to know that if biodiversity disappears in the wild, we will lose the food wealth on our plates. Food will become impersonal. It will become a sterile package designed for universal size and taste. This is what is happening today, where we eat plastic food from plastic cans. CSE’s recipe book First Food rejoices in the connection between what we eat and why we eat it. If we lose the knowledge and culture of our local cuisines, then we lose more than their taste and smell. We lose life. We lose our tomorrow. (Courtesy: http://www.downtoearth.org.in)

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen slaps the lethargy of corporates who have delayed appointing women directors, despite the regulator’s directive to do so Corporate Citizen claps for educationist, Nalini Sengupta of Vidya Valley School, who has a mountain named after her in the Himalayas

We are proud of Nalini Sengupta, leading educationist, renowned for her unconventional methods of teaching that enhance the skills and creativity of students, who also has the distinction of having a mountain named after her in the Himalayas. Sengupta, who is also the principal of Vidya Valley High School, has been an avid trekker and an adventure training coach since the 1970s. A team of young aspiring mountaineers started a new chapter in the history of Giripremi’s mountaineering tradition, as they successfully scaled an unclimbed peak in the Pirpanjal range of the Himalayas. It was indeed a “dream come true” moment for a team of 40 from Giripremi mountaineering club in the city as they conquered a new summit in the Himalayan range -- and as is the tradition, on 28 June 2015, they were given the honour of naming it as per their choice. Giripremi, one of the pioneer mountaineering clubs in India, is committed to promote mountaineering sport among the youth of our nation. As part of this effort, the club provides opportunities for young mountaineers through various programs. The success of this expedition iterates the success of the vision of Giripremi. Umesh Zirpe of Giripremi said, “We decided to name the peak after the principal of Vidya Valley School as she has contributed tremendously to the field of mountaineering.” In 1970, when most of the country had not even heard of mountaineering, Sengupta participated in the first Basic Mountaineering Course for women conducted at the National Institute of Mountaineering. She was selected as the coach for the adventure training programme from among the 30 cadets. Since then Sengupta has been spreading awareness and information about mountaineering. Vidya Valley High School also has a dedicated trekking club. Peak 5260 is now called Mount Nalini, making her the first Punekar to have a mountain named after. We salute this woman for her incredible spirit and sportsmanship!

Stock exchanges have come down heavily on companies who have failed to meet the deadline to appoint a woman director and boost gender diversity in their boardrooms. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has slapped fines on 530 listed companies, while the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has sent out letters informing 260 listed firms, many of which are also listed on the BSE, of its intention to levy fines. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) last year imposed a quota of at least one female director on the board of every listed firm, and warned of “very serious” consequences if the thousands of companies did not comply by an April 1 deadline. The BSE, in its statement, has said that SEBI rules meant companies who failed to comply would face a scheduled fine, ranging from ₹ 50,000 to ₹ 142,000 by October 1, 2015. After this, they would have to pay an additional ₹ 5,000 per day until they complied. A BSE spokesperson said he could not disclose the names of the 530 firms from the 5,711 companies listed on the exchange that were being penalised. The SEBI directive says that it may also take any other action against the non-compliant entities, their promoters and/or directors, or issue such directions in accordance with law, as considered appropriate. According to PRIME Database, a market research group which monitors the NSE, 105 companies out of 1,733 still had vacancies for women directors. These include private firms such as Aditya Birla Chemicals, Nissan Copper Ltd. and Infotech Ltd. as well as state-run companies such as the Bank of India, the State Trading Corporation of India and the Bank of Maharashtra. SEBI could take stronger action such as suspension from trading or freezing promoters’ share holdings, analysts have said. The companies have argued there are too few professionally qualified women to fill boardroom positions. But others say there are many women who can do the job but need support in terms of visibility and networking. Ahead of SEBI’s April 1 deadline, thousands of companies rushed to recruit women directors, with many installing the wives and mothersin-law of their top executives. Sadly, the scarcity of women in the boardroom is not unique to India. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s 200 largest companies have no women directors, according to an August 2014 report by Biz Divas. (Courtesy: www. reuters.com) August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 63

astroturf in the coming year.

Aries

Mar 21- April 20 Now that the Sun has entered your house of fun, you also enter your yearly personal peaks. Its party time and encourages you to explore the fun and pleasures of life. An overall review is important both in your financial and love life. Now is the time to do window assessment and not take any major decisions regarding investments or purchases or love life. Good period for those seeking jobs or a move professionally.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 You should now focus your energies on other people and work as a team. Teamwork brings in more success, you will succeed through the good will of others rather than on your personal merits or actions. Enjoy life without getting too serious, do not get impulsive. Health still needs watching monitoring your diet and exercise is sufficient to remain healthy.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 Things move slower in the world at large. Fortunately you will not be much affected by this at all especially not in a personal way. You will experience your levels of confidence rising and self esteem takes a boost. You will achieve a lot in whatever you put your mind and heart into. You could either move into a new house or least remodel your old house. Whatever you focus on does become a reality.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 This month your money house gets even stronger. Your loved ones including your professional bosses will be supporting your decisions and hold you in high esteem. Money can come from

CAPRICORN

www.dollymangat.com

Fortune favours the bold and the lucky

Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Mangat, our renowned Astrological Expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions various sources. Health and energy remains good you could enhance it further by a good diet and exercise.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 Â Career goals more or less should have been sorted out now is the time to build up your energies and resources to give your career the next push forward. Love life remains good and you do not have to unnecessarily worry about anything in this area. You are at your personal best too as health and energy remains excellent.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 This month is going to be very eventful and a happy month. You begin a multi year cycle of prosperity. Lady luck bestows its entire energies on you. You will experience all the happiness that life has to offer in its entire entirety. This indicates good financial success. Health and energy remain excellent the best you have experienced so far.

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 New and significant friends will

64 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

make an impression and change your thinking process to quite some extent. This can be your happiest month. Finances are still not what they should be but you will definitely see an improvement. Health and energy are much improved and next month will be better. This month indicates online romance Singles will find good romantic opportunities.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 It is the time to focus on your inner energies interests and desires. Your hard work will pay off and you will be able to achieve your targets. Health and energy does needs monitoring. Do your best to maintain family harmony. An important new relationship materialise. You will be making many more new friends.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 23 - Dec 22 Important and happy changes would be happening this month. Personally you would experience flourishes. Your personal appearance will be as important as your professional achievements. Good time to take discourses higher degrees or seminars related to your career. Give attention to your heart. Job opportunities will occur and many more coming your way

Dec 23 - Jan 20 Your Spiritual planet Jupiter has spent the past year in your 8th house so spiritual revelations are revealed to you. It is a great period to deal with real estate and do your tax planning properly. Money will be received through tax refunds or insurance claims. It is also a great period to pay down your debt or do good business deals and attract good money.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19 Health and energy still demands your attention. Love is the main headline this month. Finances can become stressful. Your personal earnings may not be at its best, yet your spouse or partner will be doing well. Promotions can happen, your professional achievements are appreciated.

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20 There is a lot of good happening in your social life and emotional life. Love still seems very practical. Office romance also remains high on agenda. Maintain a perfect balance of personal and professional affairs and you would sail through the month happily. The spouse or partner or current love will be very involved in your career and supportive to your decisions. Good networking enhances your growth. Your personal merits are important but your ability to get on with others will be most important career wise. This networking is not only for now but is applicable for the rest of the year too. Address: 143, St Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013. Tel.: 020-26872677 / 020-32905748 Email: connect@dollymanghat.com / info.dollymanghat@gmail.com

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

MROF NOITPIRCSBUS

 24 Issues : `1400/-  72 Issues : `3000/-

NAME:

ADDRESS: Building Name- Apt. Number / Bungalow Name-Number

Area:

Society Name

Landmark:

CITY:

STATE:

PIN CODE:

Landline No.:

Mobile No:

E-mail Address:

DOB:

(m m)

(d d)

(y y)

Profession:

Designation:

Company/Organisation:

Payment details: (

)

Please find enclosed cheque number dated for `1400/- / `3000/- favouring Corporate Citizen.

(

) Cash. (Only by hand)

Please fill in this order form duly & completely & mail it with your cheque payment (Do not send cash) to Corporate Citizen, Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Bulk land No 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune 412101. Tel. (020) 69000673-7.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Greenhorns in Management Ganesh Natarajan

eet Nilofer, a young engineer from Southern India who spent a couple of years in a top tier IT firm and went on to do her MBA at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. As she finished her management program, she had decided to explore options in consulting and FMCG and was just finishing her interview on campus when she heard the laughter of two people in an adjoining room and decided to poke her head in and say Hello. The two people were Prameela Kalive then head of HR at Zensar and me, both of us interviewing a group of candidates who had applied to the company that year. This group did not include Nilofer. But when the young lady poked her head in and said “I just wanted to say Hello because you sounded like such happy people”, we exchanged glances and knew that this was one enterprising young lady we must have in the organisation. It took us some effort to woo Nilofer to join Zensar, which included a visit to attend our annual cultural event “Vividha” and an opportunity to meet young people on campus in Pune. Within a few months her winning ways had made her popular across strata of managers and associates in the company. After spending a couple of years in the Human Resources team, she moved to consulting and then, when an opportunity arose for a bright youngster to join the business development team in South Africa, she jumped at it, moving initially to our Africa headquarters at Sandton near Johannesburg and then to open

In a world where sycophancy and a submissive attitude are seen as part of the package needed for career success, these young people have dared to dream big dreams and often choose the road less travelled to get them there

ng stars Nilofer, has become one of the risi other for del mo of Zensar and is truly a role y pan aspiring managers in the com our office in Cape Town. After three years of stellar performance, her restless spirit led her to apply for an open position in the USA as part of the team in San Jose California where she made the Presidents’ Club for top performers and is today opening Zensar’s eighth office in the country, in the city of Seattle. Nilofer, entering the company as a greenhorn with no clear idea of what she really wanted from life or her career, has in ten years become one of the rising stars of Zensar and is truly a role model for other aspiring managers in the company. She is one of those Zensarians who embody the Five F culture of Zensar – always Friendly with team members and colleagues, Flexible in her approach to all stakeholders including customers and community, Focused in the attainment of her own goals and KRAs at work, will-

66 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015

ing to move Fast and at the same time always willing to have Fun, at and outside the work environment. The case of Nilofer is just one exemplar in a long list of freshers who have shown that they have what it takes to rub off their greenhorn image and stand up to be counted in all the roles they play in an organisation. In the last 15 years at Zensar, one has seen many examples of young engineering and management graduates who have risen out perceived junior status in the organisation and raised their hands to accept challenges which have seen them move swiftly up the corporate ladder. Avinash Kale and Pushpall Kapadia, both engineers from Western India who joined the company around the time Prameela and I did in 2001, are today Vice Presidents, managing large portfolios of business, Lavanya

Jayaram who did her MassCom program in Pune University is today the Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President. Many others are working their up to the top on a fast track to success. What are the traits and values exhibited by Nilofer, Avinash, Pushpall, Lavanya and many others who choose to make a difference to themselves and to the organisation? First and foremost they have sincerity of purpose and the willingness to work very hard in pursuit of their dreams. The second is the unwavering commitment to the stakeholder community – colleagues, managers, customers, business partners and of course the community they work in. And third, which is what I myself learnt in the early stage of my career when I was a management trainee at the Nashik plant of Crompton Greaves, they are never afraid to challenge the status quo, ask difficult questions in search of the truth and stand up for what they believe in and be prepared to defend their stand against all comers. In a world where sycophancy and a submissive attitude are seen as part of the package needed for career success, these young people have dared to dream big dreams and often choose the road less travelled to get them there. In the increasingly competitive world we all live and work in, it is stand-out performers like this that every organisation needs and appreciates to achieve the goals it sets for itself. May their tribe flourish! Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies and Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation and the Pune Action Task Force

Printed and published by Suresh Chandra Padhy on behalf of Sri Balaji Society. Editor : Suresh Chandra Padhy. Published from : 925/5, Mujumdar Apt, F.C. Road, Pune - 411004, Maharashtra. Printed at Magna Graphics (I) Ltd., 101-C&D Govt. Industrial Estate, Hindustan Naka, Kandivali (W), Mumbai - 400067.

August 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 67

RNI REG. NO. MAHENG/2014/60490 Postal Reg. No. PCW/179/2015-2017 th Posted at BPC, Pune CSO, 411030 on 15 and 30th of every month

68 / Corporate Citizen / August 16-31, 2015