19th issue all pages for website

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP An exclusive with Dr S B Mujumdar, Founder and President of Symbiosis, and Chancellor of the Symbiosis International University Volume 1, Issue No. 19 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Corporate Culture

A panel discussion on Women in Leadership: Pride of India Inc Interview

Samar Singh Shekhawat, SVP, United Breweries Ltd

Dynamic Duo 19

Jayati and Saugata Mitra

Right Chemistry

December 1-15, 2015 / `50

cover inner

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Bhubaneswar invoked my writing memories

A

s a teenager, I had nerves of steel, but deep beneath this tough exterior, was the yearning in my heart to become an accomplished writer. Reading was my passion since my childhood and I voraciously read novels and even non-fiction. I considered the noted Tamil author Late Ragavan Thambi (his real name was M N Venugopalan, who was also the story writer of the famous Bollywood film, ‘Gangvaa’, of the 1980s which starred Rajinikanth as the hero) as one of the most outstanding writers and measured him as my competitor.

In those days, that is, when I was barely 1920 years of age, to be a writer was considered a great honour. The society had a special place for creative writers. Those were the times when magazines dominated the reading scene and there were a variety of them to choose from, be it in English or any other regional language.

I used to spend most of my leisure time writing poetry, short stories, titbits and so on. I used to then send them to various weeklies and newspapers but 99.9 percent of my contributions used to be rejected outright. The rule in those days was that whenever you send your unsolicited contribution by post, you were required to send a self-addressed envelope with adequate postage stamp pasted on the same. I was however, not aware of the protocol to be followed – so, for example, I used to write stories in school note books on both sides of the pages and send them to the editor. After all, I was working as a cleaning boy in a restaurant in Madras and that was the best I could do. I wonder whether my work was rejected because of this, which could have been seen as a casual attitude by the editors.

However, I was not dejected and was instead

Dr (Col.) A Balasubramanian receiving the Rastriya Sambadika Gourav Sanman award for Journalism and Media Development in Bhubaneswar from National Journalist Welfare Board (NJWB)

In those days, that is, when I was barely 19-20 years of age, to be a writer was considered a great honour. The society had a special place for creative writers. Those were the times when magazines dominated the reading scene and there were a variety of them to choose from, be it in English or any other regional language more determined to send the next one, after every rejection. My friends, though, (all of them between the ages of 18 to 20 years) used to read the manuscripts and appreciate the same.

Sometime along the way, I reached out to the President of the Madras Writers’ Association (in those days the state was not named Tamil Nadu;

it was called Madras), through a letter by post.

One Mr K R Kalyanaraman (Maharam), who was the then President and was in his fifties, used to reply through postcards, to any letter that you sent him. However, one day, he physically came to the Egmore Vega Restaurant where I worked as a cleaning boy and asked for me. My

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 3

BLOWING MY OWN TRUMPET Dr (Col.) A Balasubramanian, presenting an award to wellacclaimed Tamil Actor Dhanush

I went to Bhubaneswar recently to receive the award from a Union Minister and in the presence of two more ministers, National President of the Press Club, many editors, former High Court Judge, and a hall full of journalists. I feel blessed. I feel Lord Venkateshwara has taken note of my interest in journalism

supervisor presented me to him. I was dressed in a half pant. He smiled at me and invited me to his house in Spur Tank Road in Madras. He was a Brahmin and very well respected, but had no hesitation in inviting a hotel’s table cleaning boy to his residence.

On reaching his home, he treated me with dosas and coffee and introduced me to his family members. Within a few minutes, R Soodamani, a very famous lady writer also joined us. She was a disabled lady in her middle age. He glanced through my stories, gave a few of them to R Soodamani to read and asked her to mentor me. Thereafter, meeting her regularly at Mr

Kalyanaraman’s residence had become the most exciting part of my life. Soodamani taught me writing skills and encouraged me. I often wonder, why should a stalwart like Mr Kalyanaraman care for a small time person? Because he was a great man - the greatness of a man is reflected in such gestures.

Thanks to Soodamani’s guidance, my first story appeared in the monthly, ‘Thanjai Amudham’. Within a short time, I emerged as a star short story writer of that magazine. My first Novel ‘Innoru Ethihasam’ was serialised in the magazine and got a lot of publicity. My stories also began appearing in another popular

4 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

magazine called ‘Muththaram’ which was owned

by M Karunanidhi and edited by Murasoli Maran. Several other magazines also published my stories. The reward money though, was insignificant. It varied between ₹20 and ₹50 for each contribution, but seeing my byline in print thrilled me. I wrote many stories and articles even in English magazines.

In fact, when my parents saw a girl for me and got me engaged -- she was from a rich family. (By the way, I saw her for the first time in the marriage mandap only). Perhaps it was only because of my status as a writer and the bit of popularity that I had got due to it, that her father happily agreed to give his daughter to me.

In order to introduce myself to my would-be wife I had sent the latest edition of Muththaram where my short story, Kallipoo, meaning `Cactus Lily’ was published; that was the name given to the Indo-Pak War. A few lines highlighted and put in the ‘box’ were “Agree, I am not born as a Napoleon to try and win the world. But, have I not been born at least as a human being to try and win a few hearts?”

These two lines are deeply entrenched in my heart and have guided me throughout my life.

After marriage, my wife used to hate to see our room scattered with bits of paper. I pursued writing and used this skill of mine also as a weapon to attack the DMK in the AIADMK newspaper ‘Sama Needhi’ after my father-in-law, a politician, was murdered by DMK men. I wrote regular articles on this issue under a pseudonym

Dr (Col.) A Balasubramanian receiving an award for excellence in education, from noted Actor Raj Babbar, on the occasion of Navratri Festival, in Pune

Nevertheless, the editor in me was not sleeping. When I fractured my right leg, last year, I was recuperating at the Ramachandra Hospital, in Chennai, for a month. This break, from my otherwise hectic schedule, made me realise, that I had reached the age of 70 and the time available to me is very less now. So I should start doing all the constructive things I wanted to do. One of them was to bring out a magazine. Thus was conceived the idea of ‘Corporate Citizen’ which is doing so well name as I was by then serving in the Army. One of the articles was captioned, ‘The Smugglers’.

Two lines from that powerful article were: ‘Karunanidhi, now you are not the Chief Minister but the head of smugglers. Where are they? You may ask. Just stand in the Assembly and look at the treasury benches. They are there.’

As a student of MPM in Symbiosis I wrote an article, ‘Industrial Relations and Industrial Unrest in India’ which was published in the Institute’s magazine ‘Harbinger’. That brought me the award of ‘Most Creative Student’.

However, after I entered the field of Management Education, the situation changed.

Time had become the most precious resource and therefore could not indulge in my passion too often. Yet, I took time out to write a few books on Management.

Nevertheless, the editor in me was not sleeping. When I fractured my right leg, last year, I was recuperating at the Ramachandra Hospital, in Chennai, for a month. This break, from my

otherwise hectic schedule, made me realise, that I had reached the age of 70 and the time available to me is very less now. So I should start doing all the constructive things I wanted to do. One of them was to bring out a magazine. Thus was conceived the idea of ‘Corporate Citizen’ which is doing so well.

Recently, I was surprised to get a call from Mr Sanat Mishra, MSc, LLM, MJMC, MBA & MSW, General Secretary, National Journalists Welfare Board, Orissa State Press Club - who has been following me and reading my editorials in Corporate Citizen. He said that the Press Club of Odisha has decided to give me an award for my contribution to journalism and media! I still feel that I am not worthy of this award. For, the other person who received the National Award was Mr Barendra Krishna Dhal who is a former President of the National Union of Journalists India, a Sahitya Akademi Award Winner, the Odisha Correspondent of AajKaal and has much more recognitions to his credit.

I have received many awards and have presided over many functions to give awards but was initially reluctant to accept this particular award. Therefore, I tried to avoid this recognition as I felt that I didn’t deserve it. However, Mr Mishra persuaded me and I was taken in by his affection and sincerity. I went to Bhubaneswar recently to receive the award from a Union Minister and in the presence of two more ministers, the National President of the Press Club, many editors, former High Court Judge, and a hall full of journalists.

I feel blessed. I feel Lord Venkateshwara has taken note of my interest in journalism.

DR (COL.) A. BALASUBRAMANIAN editor-in-chief

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 34

Dynamic Duo 19

RIGHT CHEMISTRY An in-depth and insightful interview with Saugata Mitra, Chief Peoples’ Officer, Mother Dairy and Jayati Mitra, a leading human resource consultant and Director of Abbscissa HR Services, on how they’ve managed to strike the right balance between home and work

9

MANAGE MONEY

Dr Anil Lamba on Trading on Equity-How to use Fixed-Cost Assets or Funds to Magnify Returns

10

WAX ELOQUENT

Who said what and why

12

COLLYWOOD

Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World

16

INTERVIEW

An interview with Samar Singh Shekhawat, Senior Vice President, United Breweries Ltd

21

BOOK REVIEW

Easy HR Ready Reckoner-Reviewing the book, `Reality Bytes’-The role of HR in today’s world’ by Aparna Sharma 6 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

Volume 1 Issue No. 19 December 1-15, 2015 www.corporatecitizen.in

22

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP

An exclusive with Dr S B Mujumdar, Founder and President of Symbiosis, and Chancellor of the Symbiosis International University

30

CORPORATE CULTURE

A panel discussion by eminent personalities from the corporate world on “Women in Leadership: Pride of India Inc”

40

TÊTE-À-TÊTE

A candid conversation with Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai, author of the book, “Corporate Chanakya”, Director of SPM Foundation, who is also part of the Mumbai University team

22

12

42

CORPORATE HISTORY

Cadbury: The saga of sweetness

44

44

THE TAX-MAN COMETH

“Collecting taxes is not like collecting honey” by by S K Jha {IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax}

46

HEALTH SURVEY

‘India’s Diabetic Dilemma’Survey by Abbot Ltd, throws light on India’s eating habits, and correlation with diabetes

16

42

40

50

DEBATE

Corporates’ choice: Ghar ka khana ya bahar ka?

53

BEYOND THE BOTTOMLINE

Be the nice guy

50

54

STAR CAMPUS PLACEMENT-11

Parixit Kosada and Yogita Zope, on their first break

57

CLAPS & SLAPS

Our bouquets and brickbats for the fortnight!

30 December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 7

54

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh Assistant Editor Joe Williams Senior Business Writers Mahalakshmi Hariharan Rajesh Rao

53 58

MOVIE BIZ

Meet Karthik Subbaraj, who gave up a high paying corporate job to become a filmmaker, and against all odds, succeeded

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty

58

Bangalore Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Pune Bureau Dinesh Kulkarni / Suchismita Pai / Kalyani Sardesai

60

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560

Remedy for terrorism by Sri Sri Ravishankar

62

MOBILE APPS

Payments go digital

63

62

FEATHERLITE

Tweets from the corporate world

66

THE LAST WORD

Living in dangerous times...

Safely! by Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO at Zensar Technologies

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur / Sharmila Chand

60

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 / December 1-15, 2015

Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Creative Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke Graphic Designer Anil Walunj Photographers Yusuf Khan/Ahmed Sheikh/Shantanu Relekar 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

MANAGE MONEY DR ANIL LAMBA

Trading on Equity:

How to use Fixed-Cost Assets/ Funds to Magnify Returns

I

n the previous issue, we had considered a case of two identical companies, A & B, both needing to raise 2 million. A planned to raise 1.9 million by way of a public issue of shares and borrow 100,000. B was issuing shares worth 100,000 and planned to borrow 1.9 million. The rate of interest on loans was assumed to be 15 per cent.

The money would be put to identical use by both the companies and even the profit earned by both was to be the same. The question posed to you was, whose shares would you like to purchase?

In order to ensure that we were interpreting the term ‘profit’ in the same way, we had then discussed how profit was calculated.

First we calculate the Gross Profit by deducting Direct Expenses from Sales. Gross Profit less the Indirect Expenses gave us Operating Profit or PBIT (Profit Before Interest and Tax).

Then we deduct the Income Tax to arrive at PBT (Profit Before Tax) And finally when Tax is deducted from PBT, we get PAT (Profit After Tax).

PAT belongs to the owners. Usually a portion of PAT is distributed amongst the shareholders as dividend, and the balance is retained within the organisation.

This undistributed profit, which the shareholders are legitimately entitled to, effectively becomes a further contribution of the shareholders towards the company and accordingly appears on the Liabilities’ side of the Balance Sheet, along with the Equity Share Capital.

Which figure do you think the shareholder is most interested in?

Though you might imagine that the shareholder is more interested in dividends, a prudent investor would actually be happier with a healthy PAT. When an organization earns an impressive PAT, the shareholders may either receive large dividends, which would naturally make them happy, or a bigger component may be transferred to reserves – and this could make them even happier.

This is because when reserves increase, the net worth of the shareholder goes up. Consequently the book value of the shares also goes up, and this can result in stock-market appreciation of the value of the shares. Often, the gain through market appreciation is far more than the dividend the shareholder would have received.

A and B are identical companies.

But to what extent will they remain identical?

Their sales will be the same, and so will the direct expenses and therefore their gross profit. Their indirect expenses and their PBIT figures will also be the same. But here the similarity must come to an end. The interest obligations will vary as they have borrowed differently.

Since the similarity between A and B ends at the PBIT, any comparison between the two can begin not later than the PBIT stage.

Let’s assume that both are generating a PBIT on capital employed at the rate of 30 per cent.

Take a look at this table.

STATEMENT SHOWING CALCULATION OF PAT A

B

Equity shares of 100 each

1500,000

500,000

10% Loan = Capital Employed PBIT (@30%) (-) Interest = PBT (-) Income Tax (assurned @40%) = PAT

500,000 2000,000 600,000 50,000 550,000 220,000 330,000

1500,000 2000,000 600,000 150,000 450,000 180,000 270,000

On the face of it, it appears that even though A and B have invested identical sums in their businesses, are running businesses with identical turnovers and expenses, the PAT (the profit that belongs to the owners) in the case of A is higher than in the case of B. Now look at the earnings per share. This is calculated as PAT divided by the total number of shares.

A

B

PAT

330,000

270,000

Number of Shares

15,000

5,000

22

54

= EPS (Earning Per Share)

You will see that A has an EPS of 22, but B’s EPS is 54! Even though B earns a lower PAT in absolute terms, you can see that it enjoys a substantially higher EPS. In other words, the owners of A have invested 1500,000 and earned 330,000, translating into a return on shareholders’ capital of 22 percent. In the case of B the percentage return on an investment of 500,000 works out to 54. The question that begs for an answer is: WHY? Two organisations have launched identical businesses, with similar investment outlays. They make and sell similar products, at the same selling prices, with costs of manufacturing, selling and administration which are also the same. Why then are the owners of one taking home a 150 per cent higher return than the owners of the other business?

It’s not that one makes tables and the other software. Either both are making tables, or both are making software. It’s not that one runs a hundred-room hotel and the other has two hundred rooms. Both have either one hundred or two hundred rooms. Then why should the two earn differently? The focus of any business enterprise should be on maximising returns for the owners. Many believe that profit is the automatic result of the ability to make and the ability to sell. If this was true, then shouldn’t two organisations with identical capabilities to make and sell also have the same profits? Let’s now find some answers.

There are three reasons why B earns so much more than A. ...to be continued Dr Anil Lamba is a corporate trainer of international repute on finance management. His clients comprise several hundred large and 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 atanil@lamconschool.com December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 9

WAX ELOQUENT

EMBRACING TRANSFORMATION TO Building prosperous India is not an impossible task

“We in India, are currently in a crucial phase of nation-building. Our mission is to build a prosperous India. An India where our farmers are capable, our workers satisfied, our women empowered and our youth self-reliant.

This not an impossible task.”

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, said recently while speaking at the Sixth Global Focal Point Conference on Asset Recovery Courtesy: Business Standard

Combining passion and speed of startups with the wisdom of corporates

Corporate structure with a spiritual culture

“Globally, corporate houses are run by CEOs, but Patanjali will be run by sadhus and acharyas.

We are preparing 500 sadhus to take over. They will run the company the Patanjali way: a corporate structure, with a spiritual culture. There is no one in our company who is paid crores as salary. Most companies have administrative costs of around 10 per cent of their revenue, but in our case it is just two per cent.”

Baba Ramdev, brand ambassador of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd Courtesy: http://www.businesstoday. in/magazine/corporate/baba-ramdevspatanjali-ayurved-forays-into-indias-rs5300-crore-instant-noodles-market/ story/226011.html

“What we feel is that the new innovation could come from what we call corporate garages. If we can combine the pluses of passion and speed of startups with the wisdom of corporates, it will be a powerful combinations.

Economy is moving fast and you got to be nimble. There are going to be new ideas that create value, that will threaten our and others’ existing businesses. We want to play in the startup space by creating a startup ecosystem that allows us to leverage our strengths and create value for entrepreneurs and our shareholders.”

“In India, the need for changes in education is partly reflective of the workforce changes.

We’re also seeing a growing focus in India around the use of data to drive the change.

The passion and thoughtfulness that I see in educators here is second to none. We see people driving real change here.”

Anthony Salcito, Vice-President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft Courtesy: The Economic Times

Anish Shah, Group President for Strategy, Mahindra Group Courtesy: The Economic Times

India is many markets rolled into one “India is many markets rolled into one. There are users of both the Mercedes and Nano (cars). The high-end consumers are no different from consumers of developed markets. Multiple technologies will work in India, as India is a vast country.”

Sunil Sood, MD and CEO, Vodafone India Courtesy: Business Standard

India- 50 million PC market in next 10 years

“In India, PC is not shrinking and tablet is canablised by phablet and devices like two-inone convertible PC. Smartphone and PC are still necessary for most people. India will be a 50-million personal computer market in 10 years. I don’t think users will be satisfied with just one device. People will have at least two devices- smartphone and a PC – and that will drive growth for PCs.” Yang Yuanqing, Chairman, Lenovo Courtesy: www.economictimes.com

10 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

People driving real change in India

India moving from Mobile First to Mobile Only country

“India is fast moving from a mobile first, to perhaps a mobile only country. Therefore, the analytics uptake will be such that the solutions are made available in cloud and mobile first.”

Sriram Rajan, Executive Director, Analytics Business Unit, IBM India/South Asia Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com

SHAPE INDIA’S GROWTH

A look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in business world

Optimistic about India

It is private enterprise’s job to get businesses ahead “I think it is not the government’s job to really see how businesses get ahead; it is private enterprise that needs to do it. Government’s job is to create the environment and they have done far more than what is necessary.”

“Every time I am here I am just amazed by the country. The opportunities are phenomenal, and challenges are what they are. You can’t be a global investment bank like Morgan Stanley and not be optimistic about India as a country. It is impossible.”

Tom Nides, Vice- Chairman, Morgan Stanley Courtesy: The Economic Times

India-UK strengthening cultural and economic ties “The great partnership between India and the UK extends beyond economic ties to the boards of the bard and the beaches of Bollywood. We have some of the best cultural exports in the world- and it’s about time we celebrate this together.”

Manish Prasad, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Equities, JM Financial

David Cameron, British Prime Minister Courtesy: www.financial express.com

Courtesy: www.livemint.com

Challenge of connecting the world “If we want to help people feed, heal, educate and employ themselves, we need to ensure they can connect to the internet. The challenge of connecting the world will require us to take many different and complementary actions in the coming years.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and vice-chairman, International Chamber of Commerce Courtesy: Times of India

Making the government understand “When we started NASSCOM, the government didn’t understand the IT industry.

We explained to them and made them understand why government support is critical. Once they understood, look how an industry was made.”

Saurabh Shrivastava, Chairman, Indian Angel Network Courtesy: Business Standard

For the first time India’s states ranked on ease of doing business “This year, for the first time, the World Bank and the department of industrial policy and promotion have ranked India’s states on ease of doing business.

This promises to kick-start competitive federalism, encouraging states to liberalise to attract investment.”

Ajay Kanwal, CEO-ASEAN & South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank Courtesy: The Economic Times

Digital transformation is the way forward “With power shifting to the millennials, the road ahead for India’s sophisticated digital upgrade looks promising. By embracing this transformation, we are shaping India’s growth as a technologically empowered, knowledge-based young economy. Digital transformation is a big deal for India and the world-and is the only way forward.”

Deb Deep Sengupta, Managing Director, SAP Indian subcontinent

Creating India’s Hardware Ecosystem

“Everyone in Silicon Valley says India can’t make hardware, so it was purely a huge emotional choice for me to do a stealth project. It had to be an underdog story to prove all the logic wrong.”

Keyur Patel, Silicon Valley based Investor and Chairman of Fuse Capital, who has taken interest in Kerala based startup Fin Roberts Courtesy: The Economic Times

Courtesy: www.livement.com

We need ‘Find in India’ and ‘Mine in India’

“We have to compare ourselves with China.

We consume only 10% of what they do with a similar population size.

That indicates the kind of growth potential that exists in India, when we open up. For Make in India, we need to have ‘Find in India’ and ‘Mine in India’.”

Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Resources Courtesy: The Economic Times

Taking lessons from India

“It’s not just that we learn from the big brothers like North America. There is so much focus on India and the kind of growth that is happening here…

People say, if it works for them, let’s see what we can pick and learn.”

Akhil Saxena, Director of Operations, Amazon India Courtesy: www.livemint.com

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 11

COLLYWOOD

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

SpiceJet appoints Vinay Nambiar as UAE country head India’s low-cost carrier SpiceJet is ramping up focus on international markets with the appointment of Vinay Nambiar as country head, UAE. Nambiar joins the airline from Arik Air in Nigeria, where he held the position of Vice President for the UAE & Gulf Region. With more than 16 years of experience in commercial aviation for the UAE, Asia Pacific, Indian subcontinent and the African markets, Nambiar has spearheaded crucial roles associated with driving sales, competitor activities, channel performance, maximising revenue and market intelligence, amongst others. SpiceJet operates 250 daily flights to 40 destinations, including 34 domestic and six international.

SBI ropes in PK Gupta as MD PK Gupta will be elevated as managing director of the State Bank of India, in place of corporate banking head P Pradeep Kumar, who is superannuating this month-end. Gupta, who holds the rank of deputy managing director (DMD), is presently managing director of the bank’s investment banking arm, SBI Caps. The appointment of the 1960-born Gupta is for a period up to March 2020, according to a notification. Six officials from the bank were interviewed for the post last month and Gupta was

the senior-most among them.

Others included Varsha Purandare (DMD and chief credit officer), Dinesh Khara (MD, SBI Mutual Fund) and Sunil Srivastava (DMD,

12 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

corporate services and new business). The other three serving MDs at SBI are B Sriram (national banking group), V G Kannan (associates and subsidiaries) and Rajnish Kumar (compliance and risk). SBI has made changes in the portfolios of three of its four managing directors (MDs), after Praveen Kumar Gupta assumed office as the fourth MD. Gupta who takes over as MD, group executive for

corporate banking group, would be looking after compliance and risk. Rajnish Kumar, who assumed charge as MD on May 26, will now be heading the national banking group (NBG), replacing B Sriram. Sriram will now look after the corporate banking group. However, there is no change in V G Kannan’s portfolio as the group executive for associates and subsidiaries.

Indian-American politician Swati gets Obama’s recognitation Swati Dandekar, the Indian-American politician has been nominated as Executive Director to Asian n Development Bank with ambassadorial rank by US President Barack Obama. The first-ever ever Indian-American to be elected to Iowa House of Representatives in 2003, Dandekar, dekar, 64, would replace Robert M Orr, who has held the position since 2010.

She was the first Indian-born American citizen en to win a state legislature seat in the United States. Obama announced his intent ntent to nominate Dandekar to this is top US position in Asian Development elopment Bank (ADB) along with otherr key administration appointments and nominations. “I am confident that thesee experienced and hardworking individuals viduals will help us tackle the important mportant challenges facingg America, and I am grateful ful for their heir service. ce.

I lookk forward ard

to working with them,” Obama said. A member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, Dandekar was also member of the Iowa Senate from 2009 to 2011. Thereafter, she served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors. Dandekar, who with her husband Arvind migrated to the US in 1973, also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002. She received a Bachelor of Science from Nagpur Universit University and a PostGraduate Diploma from Bombay University.

Deepak Singhal takes over as RBI executive director Deepak Singhal has taken over as the new w Executive Director (ED) at the Reserve Bank of India. Singhal willll look after Central Security Cell, Corporate Strategy and Budget Department, partment, Department of Corporate Services, Human Resource Management Department (including HR Operations Unit), Rajbhasha asha Department and Right to Information Act Division. Meanwhile, nwhile, K K Vohra, Executive Director, who was earlier looking king after these departments, will now look after the Deposit Insurance ce and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). The portfolios off other Executive Directors remain unchanged. Prior to his appointment ment as ED, Singhal was the Regional Director in-charge of Reserve rve Bank of India, New Delhi. He has also earlier headed aded the Department of Banking Operations and Development, Human Resource Development Department and Premisess Department at the Central Office, Reserve ve Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India Office at Belapur, Navi Mumbai. He holds a Master’s degree in Management and is a Certificated Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.

Nokia designates Sandeep Girotra chief of India

Nokia has designated Sandeep Girotra as its India chief. This is ahead of their plans to merge the company and AlcatelLucent. Girotra who was Vice President and Head of India, Nokia Networks, would oversee the combined company’s customer operations across India, driving the execution of strategy and ensuring superior customer service, underpinned by a strong focus on innovation and quality. Nokia in April, had announced the acquisition of French firm Alcatel-Lucent in an all-stock deal valued at 15.6 billion Euros ($16.6 billion). “Sandeep Girotra would become the head of India as part of the planned combination of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, after and subject to the successful closing of the public exchange offer for Alcatel-Lucent securities announced on April 15, 2015,” said the company’s release.

Girotra joined Nokia Networks in 1996 and has held a number of different roles in India, heading the region since 2011.

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 13

COLLYWOOD RIL appoints Raman as sports unit’s CEO

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) appointed Sundar Raman, former chief operating officer (COO) of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, to head its sports unit. Raman’s appointment comes in less than two weeks after he resigned from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He was IPL’s COO since the 2008 inaugural season of the popular league. “Sundar Raman is joining Reliance as its CEO-Sports. He will be responsible for consolidation and integration of RIL’s sports portfolio, including its Foundation activities in sports. In addition to the existing sports properties of RIL, Sundar will be driving newer avenues of growth in this area and also integration with digital services of Jio,” the company said in an emailed press note. Jio is a reference to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the telecom unit of RIL, which is preparing to launch its 4G high-speed services. “The opportunity to be engaged in integrating the entire sports portfolio and make sports an integral and important element in RIL’s growth will be an exciting journey,” Raman said in a statement. Raman resigned when his continuance in BCCI looked in doubt after the board’s new president Shashank Manohar publicly expressed his displeasure in July over him continuing in office despite being censured in a report submitted by a panel headed by former judge Mukul Mudgal that probed the 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal.

14 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

Rungta joins Housing.com as marketing chief Housing.com roped in Nikhil Rungta on board as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) as part of the strategy to strengthen the top management team. “Prior to Housing.com, Nikhil Rungta was the Senior Vice President Marketing at Reliance Jio, and he was the first CMO for Google in India, where he held that position for four years,” the SoftBank-backed realty portal said in a press release. Rungta, with over 20 years of experience, has played key business leadership roles at start-ups like Yebhi and d Yatra. com, it added. Housing.com g.com has made several appointments ntments at senior level after its board on July 1 this year sacked ed co-founder and then CEO EO Rahul Yadav. Rishabh Gupta was appointed interim CEO in July, while Jason Kothari ri was appointed as the Chief Business Officer in August to drive ive the company’s growth in India. ndia.

In September, Housing.com .com appointed Keerthi Kiran an as Vice President, New Real Estate tate Projects. Last month, Mani Rangarajan was appointed nted as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Nandini Mehta as General Counsel. On Nikhil’s appointment, Housing.com Chief Business Officer (CBO) Jason Kothari said, “for the last two decades, he has worked in leadership

roles across sales, marketing and e-commerce with both multinationals and start-ups.

He has a deep understanding of the Indian consumer market and has used a mix of traditional marketing and digital media to grow world-class businesses and brands from the ground up.” With presence in 50 cities and employing about 2,500 people, Housing.com provides independently verified listings of homes. The portal, which was founded in 2012, has raised over US $ 100 million from various investors.

Louisianan Governor Jindal suspends presidential campaign Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal ended presidential campaign as his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.

In a statement released by his campaign, the 44-year-old said it was an honour, to be part of the process but this is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for President. Jindal, who is leaving office at the end of this year after completing his second term as governor, said he has not given much thought about whom he might endorse in the Republican presidential race. The remaining candidates rushed to praise Jindal in tweets and statements. Jindal had difficulty raising money, his campaign reported on October 15 that it had just $261,000 cash on hand. His advisers acknowledged, that finances influenced his

decision, although they said the campaign had no debt. Jindal campaign manager Timmy Teepell told reporters that at the outset of the race, he did not think that the governor would be excluded from the main debates. “I think that this whole debates gambit was

a bad idea from the start,” Teepell said. “As a party, we should be embracing debates. We shouldn’t be afraid of ideas. We shouldn’t be afraid of debating.” As the months wore on, Jindal struggled for attention in the 2016 scrum and most often got it only when elbowing into a dispute between other candidates or referring to his rivals as Democrat-lite. “I’ve come to the realisation that this is not my time,” Jindal said on as he announced the decision to suspend his campaign.

Jindal ran for governor and lost, then ran for Congress and won. The 44-year-old governor said he wasn’t ready to endorse another candidate, but intended to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. He was elected governor on his second try, in 2007, at age 36.

Power couple Rohan, Lakshmi split It’s official. Rohan Murty, son of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and Lakshmi Venu, daughter of TVS Motors Chairman Venu Srinivasan, are divorced. They were granted a mutual consent divorce by a family court in Chennai. The Ivy-league educated couple - Rohan went to Cornell and Harvard while Lakshmi studied at Yale - were engaged in August 2010 and married in a high-profile ceremony in June 2011 in Chennai. Their reception in Bengaluru was the most coveted event in the city’s social calendar that year.Rohan and Lakshmi, who separated two years ago, filed for divorce in April this year. Trouble in paradise first became public when the entire Murthy family was conspicuous by its absence at the wedding of Lakshmi’s brother Sudarshan to LMW scion Tara in September, 2014. A source close to the couple said: “They are both

lovely people. They came together and then some differences cropped up. These things happen.

They have now gone their separate

ways. Hopefully with this behind them they will both move on and find life partners who are more suited for them.”

Sembcorp appoints Tuli as CEO and country head for India Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, who have set up India headquarters in New Delhi, appointed Vipul Tuli as the Chief Executive Officer and country head.

Tuli, in his new role as the India head, will focus on furthering growth as well as managing Sembcorp’s investments, governance and key stakeholder relationships within India. He is also appointed as global head of group strategy at Sembcorp, according to a company release. Prior to joining Sembcorp, Tuli was with McKinsey & Company for the last 23 years. India is one of Sembcorp’s key markets, and an integral part of the company’s emerging market strategy. Sembcorp is one of the leading foreign investors in India’s power sector, with over 3,400 megawatts of thermal and renewable power capacity in operation and under development.

“India is an important market for Sembcorp. The establishment of the new India headquarters reflects our commitment as a longterm investor in the country,” said Sembcorp Industries Group President and CEO Tang Kin Fei. “With a strong background in the industry, we believe that Vipul will help accelerate Sembcorp’s growth,” he added.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 15

INTERVIEW SAMAR SINGH SHEKHAWAT SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED BREWERIES LTD

INTRODUCING SPORTING VALUES INTO OUR CORPORATE CULTURE CAN SPEED UP INDIA’S GROWTH STORY, SAYS SAMAR SINGH SHEKHAWAT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED BREWERIES LTD

By Pradeep Mathur and Kalyani Sardesai

P

eople think that you have to have a flamboyant, luxurious lifestyle to succeed in the marketing of liquor products. More so, if you represent a brand as popular as Kingfisher, which is synonymous with ‘good times.’ But, there are a few who love to be unconventional. Samar Singh Shekhawat, Senior Vice President of United Breweries Ltd, is one such. A classically trained FMCG professional with more than 25 years’ experience in leading organisations, Shekhawat is undoubtedly the most high-profile marketer in the country today. Yet he turns out to be quite down to earth in a tete-a-tete with Corporate Citizen. Impeccably well spoken with a magnetic charm of his own, Shekhawat is as outspoken as he is creative. A passionate sportsman who has a wealth of experience in leadership roles in blue-chip global companies, this Rajput from Rajasthan comes out as one of marketing’s most original thinkers and influential speakers today. His story gives an insight into his unique character and personality which also symbolises India’s growth story through periods of significant changes in recent history. Excerpts of an interview on his career so far:

Tell us about your early life...

I was born in the tea gardens of Assam. My father was the longest serving tea planter in the history of India’s tea industry. We lived in big, colonialera bungalows with lots of servants, lots of shikar and shooting. We had lots of elephants, cows, dogs, chicken and hundreds of goats. It was like growing up in George Orwell’s farm with open jeeps and trucks around. It was a very simple, sports-oriented, outdoor life, very masculine and macho which today’s kids cannot even imagine.

We had no telephones and no newspapers.

What was your first job?

I got placed on campus with the British MNC, Cadbury’s. Initially, I worked at its India head office in Mumbai as brand manager on Bournvita, as part of its market research team but within a month I was transferred to Bengulur to help the launch of Dollops premium ice-cream. Now, just imagine, I was an arts graduate, putting up an ice-cream factory, negotiating with contractors, engineers and civil supply people to buy plateheat exchangers, boilers and cold storages and I knew nothing about this ice-cream business.

Interestingly, since I grew up driving trucks on the tea gardens of Assam, as part of my job, I was asked to drive those massive trucks, transporting ice-cream from Delhi to Hyderabad, Delhi to Mumbai, Bengulur to Mumbai, staying at dhabas at night with cleaners. It was around 1989 or so.

Today, you ask any MBA student to do it, he will quit the job. But I did it. Of course, later we hired truck drivers to transport ice-cream. However, soon they transferred me to Madras (I love to call it by the old name!) and I was there for about six months.

How was the Chennai experience?

I found it a really pleasant place and experience.

I didn’t know the language, the city, the culture, anything about it, but I learnt about a hundred words of Tamil and adjusted. Then I was moved back to Hyderabad where I stayed for about three and a half years. In between, I was promoted as Area Sales Manager and in 1992, I got married.

My wife is from the erstwhile Bikaner royal family which I didn’t know until later.

Was it a love marriage?

No, it was an arranged marriage. She was also working but gave up her career after we were

16 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

blessed with our daughter. When I got married, my uncle, Admiral VS Shekhawat was the Chief of Naval Staff and my father-in-law was Chief Secretary in the Himachal Pradesh government.

Since it was Governor’s rule in HP at that time, the President, Prime Minister and the entire bureaucracy attended my marriage at Delhi’s Himachal Bhawan.

Post your marriage, where were you posted?

Soon after my marriage, I was transferred from Hyderabad to Mumbai because the company was sold to Hindustan Lever and I was moved to launch Walls ice-cream. But after some time, I felt I had done enough of sales and enough of ice-creams, so I moved to Delhi where my wife’s family was, and joined Energiser Batteries as brand manager. Within a year, they were transferring me to Shanghai but China wasn’t the story then that it is now. So, I was not very keen to go. Then I got an opportunity to work with Dabur in Delhi where I stayed for five years, from 1995 to 2000, to start up their range of natural products.

How was the Dabur experience?

A new company was created and I used to report to Pradeep Burman himself. This was my first encounter with an Indian company. A little old school, very conservative, but I got a lot of respect as a person. I started a new business there and when it turned profitable, I felt it was time to move on.

So what did you do?

It was towards the end of 2000 that I joined PepsiCo, the second largest American food and beverage MNC in the world, as marketing manager for the launch of its Tropicana fruit juices in India. For two crazy years, I worked with

PICS: YUSUF KHAN

But I did it. Of course, later we hired truck drivers to transport icecream. However, soon they transferred me to Madras (I love to call it by the old name!) and I was there for about six months

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 17

INTERVIEW At 50, there’s no way I can afford to be smug. My company could very easily decide to hire someone younger who would not cost as much, unless I retool & revalidate my position. I belonged to a generation that hung on to the wave of the economic boom post liberalisation, sure enough, but today a lot of us are older without having really acquired any new skills in the past 15 years. Don’t let that happen to you PepsiCo where I had to report to Vibha Rishi who was the Director Marketing. For finance, I used to report to Hong Kong, for marketing I would go to Brussels in Belgium and for business, I had to report into Bradenton city in Florida, United States. My passport got thicker and thicker as I would keep shuttling between these places. But then I was transferred into the beverage business.

Till 2006, I worked with various brands of Pepsi, handled key accounts for them, including the Northfield marketing. In between, I was made General Manager. But, meanwhile in 2006, this whole revolution in food and grocery retail marketing started off. So, I moved to Kolkata with Spencer’s retail chain of stores owned by the RPG Group. I joined as the Vice President of its food and grocery business and worked there for four years, till 2009. Those were amazing years.

When I joined in 2006, they had 55 stores and in just two years, we opened 350 more stores.

always present at all the big fashion shows. That I watch all the Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club matches and watch all the IPL matches too.

That I don’t do any work at all. But the fact is that

How was the Kolkata experience different from the rest?

Kolkata was an amazing experience. Kolkata is not a city. It is a philosophy of life. It is so different.

You go through various phases when you work in Kolkata. The first is shock. How can things be so slow, so dirty and so lazy? Then there is anger.

Then there is resignation that nothing is going to change. Then there is acceptance and then there is love. So, I think, I left Kolkata somewhere between the stages of acceptance and love.

Where did you go next?

I went to Bengaluru in November 2009 to join United Breweries or the UB Group, famous for its Kingfisher brand, as its Senior Vice PresidentMarketing. It has been a great journey in the past six years. I’ve met so many wonderful people and learnt from every person. People who know me feel that I’m now in exactly the right job. They think I have a very colourful life. They think I choose the Kingfisher Calendar Girls. They think I usually have lunch with the Virat Kohli and dinner with Chris Gayle. They also think I attend all Formula One races and that I’m 18 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

it is all true, by the way. I do all this, but I keep telling people that at the end of the day, it is a beer company and I’ve got to sell something, that I don’t personally drink.

Your advise to young MBA students One piece of advice for the young kids is that everything that you are in life is a result of someone who took a chance on you. Someone hired you instead of someone else. Always be grateful to that person and pay it forward—just the way it was shown in a movie called Pay It Forward which has Kevin Spacey. Someone did you a good deed, you pay that good deed forward because it is the only way by which you will keep that chain going.

Who do you admire the most?

I admire sportsmen and sporting values a lot, especially those of tennis players. They

Life’s Lessons At a business symposium at a leading management institute, Samar Singh Shekhawat, Senior Vice President, United Breweries Ltd held forth on ‘leadership and necessary life skills,’ and shared his learnings from his many-splendored corporate career. He had the students at the event hanging on to every word with simple but solid and workable mantras, presented with his innate wry humour. Excerpts from his talk: Life has a totally different way of teaching you, in the classroom you learn your lessons and take a test. But life couldn’t be bothered with that particular nicety, it gives you your hardest tests whenever it decides, and leaves you to learn your lesson. The question is how will you go from there? And how will you validate the trust your company has invested in you?

On leadership, the eternal nature v/s nurture issue People say leaders are born not made, but that’s not necessarily true. Here’s why. Take for example a child born to two sportsman parents, already has an environment that’s readymade for encouraging sporting excellence, but the physical hardiness he gets from them constitutes the gift from nature. So it is with young leaders and managers. While the educational institute you went to definitely makes a difference, as does the training you were exposed to. Leadership is not a popularity contest, it is a very lonely job, and any outward sign of uncertainty is seen as weakness. Remember the movie Chak De India where the coach cleverly managed to unite the team against him, even if it meant becoming the villain himself! But the important thing was he did unite the players into a cohesive unit. I say the same to my team, if all of you are equally unhappy with me, maybe I am doing something

right! Leadership is contextual and time bound.

Different situations demand different leaders.

Can you imagine a Narendra Modi today breaking not one but three walking sticks in the course of a speech, shouting: “We will fight them in the land, we will fight them in the water, we will fight them in the air, we will fight to the last man.”?!! “No, you can’t. But Winston Churchill did that just before the fateful Battle of Britain against the fascist powers during the Second World War, and that particular address to the nation was seen as the most effective and inspiring piece ever spoken by a leader.

Like I said, context and timing are key. Similar is the case with management leaders. Decisions taken today may not work tomorrow. There are no absolute answers.

On backing talent with discipline Two young cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli started their careers simultaneously.

While, there has been no success story quite like Sachin’s, a hard to believe but true fact is that it was Vinod Kambli who was the more gifted of the two. But early success went to his head, and he lost the plot. Take an example of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. I have the privilege of knowing both of them well. While Rohit is the more talented of the two, it is Virat who has actually performed. But the day Rohit gets his

are supreme athletes. Even if you’re a diehard Federer fan, you can’t get yourself to hate Nadal because he’s so humble. You see the speeches they make, so full of respect for each other.

There are no scandals to their names. I have the greatest of respect for them all—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They kill each other on court but when they give their acceptance speech, they are so full of praise for their opponents. They understand what happened to your opponent is not a matter of celebration. Sport teaches you to respect your opponents. We badly need these values in our corporate culture today.

So you want our corporates to imbibe more of the sporting culture in their functioning?

Absolutely. If it were left to me, I wouldn’t hire anybody who hasn’t played a team sport. Today

when we go for recruitment, we find that in batches upon batches, not even a hand goes up when we ask them if they have played a sport. I don’t even mind if you’ve not played competitively, I’m OK if you’ve played a sport even recreationally. But I feel sad when I realise that our children have just stopped playing sports. I, however, also feel that it’s not their fault entirely. Parents put so much pressure on studies and beating competitions that our kids find it nearly impossible to even think of doing anything else. Once they reach the plus two stage, they’re busy facing competitions— first it is for IIT/ PMT, then for MBA seats, then for jobs, then marriage and the rest. Their whole life has got reduced to facing nothing but competitions, one after the other. It’s not a joyful experience at all. Being successful doesn’t mean you give up completely on your basic values. not everyone’s into sports, it is hugely important for youth to have a passion, be it for writing, philately, digital media, whatever. Above all, be disciplined whatever path you choose, whether it is a career with an established organisation, or setting up your own venture.

Retool—to stay relevant At 50, there’s no way I can afford to be smug.

My company could very easily decide to hire someone younger who would not cost as much, unless I retool & revalidate my position. I belonged to a generation that hung on to the wave of the economic boom post liberalisation, sure enough, but today a lot of us are older without having really acquired any new skills in the past 15 years. Don’t let that happen to you.

head and heart together, he will smash records.

I cite the example of sportsmen because I feel they are the truest competitive spirits ever, being a sportsman myself, someone who has played practically every sport under the sun, I cannot over emphasise the importance of playing a sport to keep a healthy outlook towards life and the opposition. It therefore appals me to come across younger and younger recruits who have never played a sport in their life. Our educational system is partially responsible, the overemphasis on academics which honestly does not impart you the skills to tackle life. While I do get it that

Comparisons are odious, unless with your own self There will be moments in your life when your peers will be promoted over you, or maybe you will report to someone younger than you. But do remember, getting into the rut of comparing salaries, perks, awards and possessions with others will only lead to unhappiness. Please do note, you do not have the complete picture or the truth about what the person has gone through to get where he or she has. Chances are you may not be willing to pay the price yourself. Hence, the only relevant competition is with your own self.

Make new mistakes, every time Make the most of your time as management trainees, for that’s the only time in your life that you will have the buffering, sans the accountability, for decisions and mistakes you make. By all means, get it wrong---but for heaven’s sake—make a new mistake every time!”

What is your observation about the quality of people in India’s corporate world?

Corporate India to my mind is full of the most selfish, egotistical, self-centred and unidimensional people you can think of. They’re most boring, totally insecure, completely political. If you want to rise in India that seems to be the way, which is so unfair, because it goes against everything that we’ve been taught when we were growing up. The kind of upbringing we’re currently giving to our youngsters doesn’t prepare them to face the real challenges of the corporate world and it is not like this everywhere else in the world.

What kind of education should be given in our management schools?

If you could answer that question, you could build the character of the nation. We have Gen X, Gen Y in play at our workplaces which have gone truly global today. We’ve to deal with global customers in diverse time zones. So our management students must be equipped with tools and techniques to delight global customers.

They’ve to learn how to communicate effectively with ease. But all this cannot be done in one go at a management school. The corporate world requires grounding in core human values which need be nurtured and promoted over a period of time. But given the pressures of syllabus and time constraints, I don’t know how much could be achieved at management schools. But I won’t blame them either because, frankly speaking, you cannot change an individual’s basic character much at the PG level.

So what needs to be done to bring the desired changes?

The problem needs to be tackled at the primary level. We first need to correct things at that level.

A child gets 90 per cent of education at home.

How parents treat each other and how sisters and brothers are treated matters. My parents have been married for 53 years. Even today my father opens the car door for my mother, pulls out the chair for her, and on cold nights in Jaipur, he will sleep in my mother’s bed to warm her bed and then move over to his when she arrives so that she gets a warm bed. How many people do that today? Those old-school values have just gone past. Today people push you, shove you, step on your line, just to move ahead. Look how bad we are as travellers. We Indians are the rudest travellers in the world because we are brought up that way. We feel bad saying sorry. We rarely admit our mistakes. All this matters a lot while restoring corporate relationships.

So what you’re saying is that not much is possible when you’re dealing with grown up students?

Yes, to a great degree. I was once on a flight

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 19

INTERVIEW team members too. I measure these things through their ability to deliver against shared objectives within the given deadline.

Today people push you, shove you, step on your line, just to move ahead. Look how bad we are as travellers. We Indians are the rudest travellers in the world because we are brought up that way. We feel bad saying sorry. We rarely admit our mistakes. All this matters a lot while restoring corporate relationships with Kapil Sibal when he was the union education minister. He told me we need 17000 more universities in the country. I asked him, what about the primary institutions? There is a complete mess over there. We need many more schools. We need to improve salaries of our primary school teachers. We need to make it a respected profession. In the good old days, people who started schools were genuinely interested in moulding the character of their students but today it has become a highly commercial venture. You look at the salaries of teachers in primary schools, it’s pathetic. Overseas, professors and teachers are like superstars, they are paid handsomely and corporates fund their programs. That’s why they attract the best minds of the country into their education sector. If I could be made PM of India for just one day and asked to pass just one law, I’ll make sure that our primary school teachers are treated well and education for the girl child is made compulsory and absolutely free! We are 1.2 billion people. Look at the human capital we have! Why should India not be number one

nation in the world? But our problem is that we are indisciplined, have no sense of purpose and we have a crab-like mentality.

What are three qualities you look for when hiring for your team? How do you measure the team’s success?

Firstly, an attitude, definitely! It is my belief that aptitude can be taught—but not attitude.

Either you have it or you don’t. Interest, passion, energy, all of this counts. I also like it when they have a point of view—it’s alright if they get it wrong, they’re just so young—but I like to see a mind that thinks for itself; I like people with points of view. Passion to go the distance is another plus—in other words, I like livewires---people I have to hold back, rather than push! Naturally, other factors like the job and the organisational fit play a role too. Also, the ability to see the bigger strategic picture; two, an abundance of curiosity and asking the right questions at the right time and three, great management skills as well as individual creativity that inspires other

20 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

But how do you know who is the right candidate?

Experience tells you whether this person will fit into your organisation’s culture or not but it also depends on how far you’re willing to extend the envelope. Do you truly want the organisation to change? In that case, you’ve to hire people brighter than you. Bill Gates says, “The secret of my success is that I surround myself with people smarter than me.” The best salesman may not necessarily be the best CEO and the best CEO may be a total disaster as a salesman. You hire different people for different skill sets. For those skill sets, they have to be better than you. So, hire the right people and give them access. Though today’s kids have far more access than we ever had, they want more. I mean, I was scared of my father but my daughter will sit on his lap and pull his cheeks and pinch his lips. I never had the guts to do so. But today’s kids also expect that kind of access with their bosses. In the old days, I would meet my CEO maybe once in two years but today my brand managers are meeting the MD every second day! Access is so much higher. So, you need to share and empower them, co-opt them into the joint vision of the company and stand up for them and, most importantly, berate them but in private, not in public. I like stretching high performers by encouraging them to lead cross-functional projects. Sometimes it helps in developing individuals for the good of themselves and the business.

In today’s VUCA (volatile, unpredictable, complex & ambiguous) environment, who is a good leader?

All leadership is contextual, but having said that, things have changed like never before in history. Today’s leader has to be accessible, techsavvy and willing to listen. In our day we saw the CEO probably thrice a year. But today, any youngster can walk into my cabin and ask to be heard. Of course, transparency and impartiality are timeless. Thanks to the advent of technology and assorted media, leaders are under more scrutiny than even before. Everything matters.

How you interact with your colleagues, how you respond to their success; even the manner in which your wife deals with your colleagues is noticed! Employees are smart. Today instead of fighting amongst themselves, they’ll get the bosses to fight. You have to find a way around that. Given the multiplicity of demands and challenges, I have a simple mantra. When in doubt, over-communicate! Today’s position of authority needs you not only to lead, but also to be seen doing so. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

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O

ne of the striking a s p e c t s ab out Aparna Sharma’s b o o k ,’ R e a l i t y Bytes,’ is that it is not an intimidating tome on HR. It’s a slim book of 192 pages, to be precise. And an easy read. And can be finished at one sitting.

That’s not to dismiss the depth of the content, though. In fact, it packs in quite a bit with ten chapters on the management of human resources.

After all, it’s a book on HR, a guide of sorts, a ready reckoner for students of management who have chosen the HR path, or for fence-sitters who just need a little push in the HR direction, or for entrepreneurs and start-up folks who don’t have an HR unit or can’t have one, but want to know about HR nevertheless, or for line managers, or management trainees; basically, anyone interested in the field.

The first chapter starts rather encouragingly with a blurb right at the top of the page that says – If you thought a company’s customers are only outside it, think again!

The company’s first customer is its “Employee”.

There are other blurbs that contain interesting bits of information. Here’s a nugget of wisdom from yesteryear

contemporised to today’s corporate world: “The oldest management guru of India, Chanakya, had advised rulers to look for slightly older farmers with fallow fields as their spies. Since their fields were fallow, they weren’t very busy and were happy with the compensation. Also, since they were farmers, no one suspected them and they collected a lot of information this way.”

Dealing with the fundamentals of HR, the text sets out to explain various HR topics in a readerfriendly manner, ranging from the three ‘T’s – talent acquisition, talent development and talent management, going on to competencies, compensation and benefits, HR analytics, exit interviews and challenges in today’s human resource management. And that is just an overview of the ten chapters.

For there’s much more in each of these chapters apart from the main topic, there are caselets or mini case studies at the end of each chapter, and no, they don’t run into more than two pages, if at all.

What’s more, all of the book comes straight from the horse’s mouth as it were, because the author has been more than 18 years in the HR world, having worked for several MNCs and that explains the common-sense,

FOR THERE’S MUCH MORE IN EACH OF THESE CHAPTERS APART FROM THE MAIN TOPIC – THERE ARE CASELETS OR MINI CASE STUDIES AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER practical approach to the field with realistic examples. Consider this reference to Lagaan while writing on competencies - and how Aamir Khan puts together a cricket team based on each member’s competency, including a man who can spin the ball well

with his crippled hand.

Or some hardboiled advice offered while explaining change management – namely, the only thing that can help you face challenges and survive is rationality. So, don’t react, but respond, adapt. The blurb in the chapter drives it home further by quoting Charles Darwin: ‘It is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’

The language used is crisp and direct, there is no jargon that confuses or tries to impress. What’s also a plus is that there are relevant tables and diagrams dotting the book, which make comprehending the concepts easy.

If there’s a flaw, it is that there could have been a keener eye out for editing, which would have lent the book a more professional feel. geetrao@gmail.com

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 21

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP

WHEN CAN WE GET EDUCATION FREEDOM

?

Despite a vast educational system, India has the lowest gross enrolment ratio, compounded by a mismatch of educational excellence, equity and employability. Many of the ills can be traced to a skewed regulatory education system, says DR S B MUJUMDAR, founder and president of Symbiosis, and Chancellor of the Symbiosis International University, making a passionate plea for freedom in education.

BY VINITA DESHMUKH

D

r S B Mujumdar is a distinguished academician and educationist. He is the Founder and President of Symbiosis – a multi-lingual, multinational and multi-disciplinary educational group of international repute. He is also the Chancellor of Symbiosis International University.

In appreciation of his long and illustrious contribution in the field of education, the President of India awarded the prestigious ‘Padma Shri’ to Dr S B Mujumdar in 2005 and Padma Bhushan in 2012. Dr Mujumdar was also conferred the ‘Punyabhushan’ award in the year 2009.

Symbiosis was established in 1971 by Prof. Dr S B Mujumdar to cater to the needs of foreign students studying in Pune. He was then Head of the Department of Botony at Fergusson College, Pune. He started the ‘Symbiosis International Cultural Centre’ and conducted various activities for Indian and foreign students. ‘Symbiosis’ provided them opportunities to study together, work together, play together and also enjoy their free time exchanging information about the culture, values, traditions, festivals, ideas, etc., of their respective countries. Over the years he observed that education is the best medium to bring together Indian and foreign students. He established institutes based on the need of the society.

22 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

PICS: YUSUF KHAN

India has the largest system of education, perhaps larger than USA, UK and even China. And in spite of that, it is indeed a paradox that the largest system has the lowest Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 23

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP Symbiosis is a family of 44 academic institutions, imparting quality education for over 40 years. It is host to over 27,000 Indian and International students on campus and over 1,00,000 students off campus.

These campuses epitomize the Symbiosis motto, ‘Promoting International Understanding through Quality Education’ and are a beehive of international students from all across the globe, thriving in the bosom of Indian culture and hospitality. Many of these campuses are fully residential and have recreational facilities which include swimming pools, amphitheatres and health care centres. Keeping its excellent track record in mind, in 2002, the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India conferred the ‘Deemed to be University’ status on Symbiosis, and further in 2006 the University Grants Commission, Government of India withdrew the word Deemed and renamed the University as Symbiosis International University.

Corporate Citizen spoke to Dr Mujumdar - an epitome of humility and dignity - on higher education in India and about the young generation of India, as he sees them through his lenses.

What is your take on the higher education system in India?

India has the largest system of education, larger than USA, UK and even China.

And in spite of that, it is indeed a paradox that the largest system has the lowest Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). GER is really a barometer of the education status of any country. Take for example, the USA which has 94 per cent GER which means out of 100 youth in the age group of 17 and 24 as many as 94 are in higher education.

Russia has 75, United Kingdom, 62, Brazil 36, China 26, whereas India, only 20. This means, 80 out of every 100 youngsters in the age group of 17-24 in India are still outside the area of higher education. And this, in spite of the fact that ours is the largest education system in the world.

What a contradiction…

It is a paradox.

This, despite the fact that India has so many private educational institutions besides the government ones...

Consider this: we have about 687 universities and fortunately or unfortunately, they are of various types.

There are about 45 central universities

There should be only one regulatory authority, an accreditation body. That body should invite applications from universities and institutions and give you an A, B, C or D grade, depending on your financial capacity, your talent. The solution is to have only one window for uniformity and allow universities to flower in their own way 24 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

and about 322 state universities – both of which are funded by the government. Then there are about 190 private universities and 128 deemed universities. Another paradox is that 70 per cent of higher education is provided by the private sector. Only 30 per cent is provided by the public sector, which means the government spends a huge amount on 30 per cent of educational institutions as against 70 per cent which are purely in the private sector.

However, when the private sector provides so much higher education, leave aside encouraging it, the government looks upon it with suspicion. And that is the tragedy of today’s higher education system. Maybe we unnecessarily say that there are too many universities, too many colleges in India. In the USA, for example,which has 1/5th of India’s population, there are more than 3000 universities. Not that all the 3000 universities are good.

Only few, hardly 10 or 15 Ivy League American Universities are ranked among world class universities.

Now there is always a cry that not a single Indian University is in the list of 100 top world class universities. It is impossible that any university in our country can be among top 100, the chief reason being that the parameters that are applied to world class universities are totally different. Say for example Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton… name any. They have their emphasis on research, on excellence, on innovation and most importantly there is an element of exclusivity. Out of 1,000 applications, those universities are so selective, that only the most talented students are selected.

Now, let us take the expectations from Indian universities. The government and the public both demand that universities show excellence in studies as well as in the quality of education. Then as I told you, there is need for expansion. If you want to create a world average of GER which is 27, then we will have to create 800 new universities and 40,000 new colleges which is just impossible for any government.

Can’t private universities fulfil this mission of reaching the world GER average?

As I told you, the government doesn’t allow the private sector to come forward.

The worst part is that whereas the licence raj has disappeared from the industry, it is very much rampant as far as higher education is concerned. How many councils have control over higher education? There is a medical council which controls medical education, AICTE controls management and technical education, the Bar Council controls legal education, the Architectural Council controls architectural education. There are as many as 17 councils which control various disciplines of education. And as if this number is not adequate, there is an apex body called the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Now under these circumstances and the expectations which I narrated, expansion is necessary. We want 50 per cent reservation in our colleges. And we also expect that every graduate who

comes out of university or college must be employable. So we need excellence, expansion, equity and employability. Now under these circumstances, is there a remote possibility that any Indian university can be among the top 100? No. And those which are in the top 100 are invariably private universities in USA, UK, or China. And they enjoy a high degree of freedom and autonomy. The government just doesn’t interfere with them.

With regulatory authorities actually throttling private universities, should the regulating bodies be scrapped?

There should be only one regulatory authority, an Accreditation body. That body should invite applications from universities and institutions and give you an A, B, C or D grade, depending on your financial capacity, your talent & infrastructure and so on.

The solution is to have only one window for uniformity and allow universities to flower in their own way. I’ll go to the extent of saying that with the tremendous diversity in the geography and demography of our country, there is no point in having a single Act, one single uniform set of rules. Why should you have the same norms for the University of Tripura, or Meghalaya or Pune and Delhi? Sometimes I feel that university education should be a state subject. We made a big mistake. Till 1976, education was a state subject. In 1976, something happened and it became a concurrent subject.

A mistake in what way?

If it is a state subject it means the state will have its own body to decide how many medical colleges and engineering colleges it should give permission to. We need not go to the central government’s HRD department. Now, because it has become concurrent, the powers of the state government have been subordinated. For example, if the central government gives me permission to start an engineering college and the state government doesn’t want it, I have to go to the High Court, as the Central Act overrides the State Act.

What do you think about the recent gazette notification by the University Grant Commission (UGC) which states that a Deemed University cannot operate from cities other than where it is originally located?

I’ll give you a recent example. Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, a deemed university, has already opened eight campuses in different cities. According to this UGC regulation, you cannot open more centres. Because it happens to be a Sanskrit University, the Ministry of HRD asked UGC to amend the particular clause of restricting the number of off campus centres a university can open, only for Sanskrit University. Whereas in the case of Symbiosis, it declined permission to open an off campus centre in Hyderabad, although the state government there gave permission. We have purchased land, constructed buildings and have appointed staff too. Such adhocism has become rampant.

Every government has its own subjective assessment.

So, what is the solution to this adhocism?

The only solution is - I have very often stated this and people are tired of hearing my sentence - we got political freedom in 1947, economic freedom in 1991 but what about educational freedom?

When are we going to get that?

What, according to you, is the state of higher education in our country, especially, management colleges?

As I told you higher education is strangulated by rules,

More than 65 per cent of India’s population is below 39, more than 54 per cent of India’s population is below 25. So India is the youngest nation and there is place for higher education. Now if you can’t give jobs to our youth, then this dividend is likely to become a demographic disaster regulations and articles of the Act. Unless this strangulation disappears, there can be no progress in the quality of education.

So would you say because of this very low percentage of GER which you mentioned, is it having an adverse impact, on the quality and employability of young managers?

Employability of our youth has to be discussed separately. We have what we call the demographic dividend, the period in the life of a country where the aged population is less, birth rate falls and we have a large young population that constitutes the workforce. For example, today, more than 65 per cent of India’s population is below 39, more than 54 per cent of India’s population is below 25. So India is the youngest nation and there is place for higher education. Now if you can’t give jobs to our youth, then this dividend is likely to become a demographic disaster. Goondaism and extremism will be on the rise, which we are already witnessing today. To counter this, the so called conventional colleges which churn out graduates should start skill development courses. Prime Minister Modi has rightly given thrust to Skill India.

Every youth in this particular age group must have some skills.

Otherwise what can happen is what happened in Uttar Pradesh.

For 22 odd clerical posts, there were lakhs of applications. For a constable’s or a soldier’s post, the applicants are graduates, post graduates and even PhDs. That is the defeat of the present higher education system. And today ITIs have become useless.

They churn out low end, mediocre skilled manpower. So why not have skill colleges like the skill universities that exist in Germany, China and the USA. That will solve our problem of employability. Employability is a sacred issue for which we need an education system which will make our youth employable. But here we are talking about management education, professional December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 25

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP education. This is a separate issue.

There are about 35,000 colleges in our country. Why not ask them to start at least one wing for skill education? They have the infrastructure ready and all the government needs to do is to give them a grant. We need at least 1,000 skill universities and 10,000 skill colleges. And only then will our youth become employable.

What do you think of the `Study in India’ concept as envisioned by the present government, where it wants to encourage foreign students to come to India and study?

Instead of us going abroad and opening branches there, it is always better to attract foreign students here who will then become our cultural ambassadors. They will be carriers of goodwill as far as India is concerned. But, before that, we must make the environment, friendly for foreign students. Why should they come to India?

By the way, only Afro Asian countries send their students to us. And even in those countries, only lower middle class families send their children to India. Those who are well off still send their children to Europe, USA and Australia. One lakh Indian students go to USA every year and we lose four billion dollars in foreign exchange. As against that, only 30,000 to 40,000 foreign students from Afro-Asian countries come here. And we provide them a very unfriendly environment. I need not go deeper into the difficulties that are faced by African, Chinese or Thai students, for that is a separate issue, but certainly the police department, the general public or for that matter, even the government treats them shabbily. In fact, our government has no machinery to attract foreign students to our country. Whereas the USA has tremendous machinery to attract foreign students through their embassies and consulates. Every embassy has an education attaché. We don’t have any education attachés in any of our embassies in Afro Asian countries. We have an education attaché only in the American embassy.

So, firstly, there has to be a body to promote higher education abroad. In fact, UGC used to send committees to various countries like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, to organise education fares. It has stopped doing that now – it should revive that. Secondly as I told you, they should appoint education attachés in at least the major African countries. There should be a special International Cell in the HRD ministry or UGC. At present the welfare of foreign students is taken care of, not by the UGC or HRD. It is taken care of by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). ICCR is a body of the Ministry of External Affairs. How does it have anything to do with foreign students in India? Everything is done without logic.

Science, Education and Research (IISER) in Pune. They enrolled students, but the directors didn’t know whether they could give diplomas or degrees. So the government had to move a separate bill in Parliament to declare that all IISERs which attract students for pure science are also empowered to give degrees.

But will that have an adverse impact on institutes like SIBM or any other?

Absolutely not! As I told you there is not much hunger for management education - all over the world, the interest of youth in management education is declining. Even in Symbiosis, even in India. We used to get lakhs of applications for SIBM, but not now. We get a few thousands only.

How do you see the whole journey of management education from the time you started to now?

There was a time when management education was the ultimate moksha. Once you get admission -- if you got into IIM good enough, but even if you got into some other institution of some repute, like say, Symbiosis, IMDR, PUMBA -- it was seen as a big triumph. But then politicians and industrialists smelt money in this, and they started private and autonomous educational institutions which were initially not affiliated to any university, nor approved by the regulatory authority. Ultimately AICTE had to step in and bring in a rule that even private educational institutions, even if they confer a diploma, will have to take the

One lakh Indian students go to USA every year and we lose four billion dollars in foreign exchange. As against that, only 30,000 to 40,000 foreign students from Afro-Asian countries come here. And we provide them a very unfriendly environment. The police department, the general public or for that matter, even the government treats them shabbily approval of the AICTE. Many institutions did that but now, as far as Pune is concerned, I am told there were 170-odd B Schools out of which 50-55 have closed down. There are 174 applications with the AICTE from management institutions all over the country who want to close down. Because all over the world, especially in India, the trend is, if you don’t get a job or only get a clerk’s job after doing an MBA, then what is the use?

And in addition to that, there is recession.

That’s strange… So there is no vision, there is no thinking…

So, what do you think is the future of management education?

There is no desire.

Management education will have to look at fresh innovative strategy. Management institutions in future should not depend only on teaching marketing, finance, HR. It must include certain courses from labour laws, literature, language, music, so that students who come out of good management institutions are not only good at marketing but are good candidates to occupy any chair in any organisation, not necessarily industry. He or she can be a good candidate for the IAS and can compete in UPSC or MPSC examinations. So the overall personality development would be important. Soft skills is another area that MBA institutions should look at. Again it means you have to make every MBA not only employable but he should get employment in a good industry at a higher salary package.

What do you think about the move to give IIMs permission to award postgraduate MBA degrees while others give post graduate diplomas in management?

Just like there are central, state, private or deemed universities, the government has already created institutions of national importance. And there is a separate bill introduced in Parliament that empowers them to confer degrees. IITs are already institutions of national importance and therefore they were giving undergraduate and post-graduate degrees. But IIMs were not institutions of national importance. Now they have got the status. Another classic example is the Indian Institute of 26 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

are PowerPoint presentations, there are virtual classrooms, and so on. So I often say that technology will not make a teacher jobless, but a teacher who doesn’t use technology in the classroom will be replaced. A teacher must bring technology into the classroom. Merely using a black board, white chalk and giving lectures is not enough. Every classroom should be a seminar, every classroom should be a question-answer session.

It’s a good idea… that the classroom should become a seminar.

Yes! The classroom should be a seminar, the classroom should be a workshop. It is a two way process. Formerly, when I was a professor, it was a one way process. I used to deliver lectures, students used to write down notes. So I used to transfer information from the textbook to the notebook. The teacher’s role now has become that of a mentor, guide, rather than one who is imparting information or disseminating information.

You can’t cheat today’s students.

Could you tell us about budding corporate managers? From the time you started SIBM and now, what is the difference you find in youngsters doing the MBA program in terms of their attitude, in terms of everything?

The first difference that I see in MBA students today and MBA students then is that they rely heavily on technology.

Merely giving them any kind of job is not enough. For that you can give vocational education or as I told you skill education.

But MBA is not skill education. It is professional education and so students want to enter into a profession at a managerial level.

Every MBA student aspires to become a manager, which is not possible these days.

Now, AICTE also insists that MBA colleges have permanent faculty but most of the colleges cannot cope with that…

Absolutely! These are outdated rules. They bring the rules from Harvard and Oxford. For example, why should every professor be a PhD? Why must every associate professor be a PhD? It is very difficult to find them. And my personal experience is that a good researcher may not be a good teacher or a good teacher may not be a good researcher. Do you want researchers in educational institutions or good professors who teach quality education?

And oratory skills, communication skills… so many things are involved for a professor…

I have seen many teachers who were not PhDs but they were inspiring. And the role of the teacher has become redundant in the conventional sense of the word.

Could you elaborate on this?

I joined Fergusson College in 1963. That time there used to be 100-150 students in a classroom. I was teaching Botany. I knew more details about a topic in Botany than the students. So I used to give them lectures. I used to explain the topic. I used to demonstrate the plant or animal. Now because of advances of technology, the Internet has become their guru. So if I select a particular topic, say evolution, the student knows much more about evolution than his own teacher. So as far as content is concerned, it is available on the internet. Even delivery – technology has entered into the delivery of education too. There

When you say they depend on technology are you saying it is good or otherwise?

No, it is good. They use multimedia to gain information and knowledge; they are not dependent on the teacher for information. The second difference is that students have become autonomous which means they know their responsibility. They are aware of the quality of the teacher. They are aware of the facilities that are provided by the management institute, the quality of education that is imparted to them and therefore they are absolutely aware what return they get for the money their parents pay to the college. Secondly, they have become assertive and demanding. You cannot fool them. If some teacher is not good, they will not hesitate to approach the director that this is not a good teacher, please dismiss him otherwise we will agitate.

They have become bold. They have become assertive. They have become more demanding. And thirdly, more than management, it is students themselves who form a placement body, as they call it. They go to the industry and present their institution to top corporate managers. So the confidence level of today’s MBA students is considerably higher than the level of confidence of students many years ago. Today’s student is very aware and alert.

That’s a good thing.

What you mentioned is the good part, but there is another part – the social problem -- drug and alcohol addiction, suicides and so on. Do you think that has increased? What is your observation?

Yes! It has increased tremendously. It has increased for the

Technology will not make a teacher jobless, but a teacher who doesn’t use technology in the classroom will be replaced. A teacher must bring technology into the classroom. Merely using a black board, white chalk and giving lectures is not enough December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 27

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP simple reason that there are nuclear families and most of the parents have either one or two children. They are liberal in giving them pocket money. I was aghast when I realised that some parents give pocket money to the tune of ₹25,000 to ₹35,000 per month. Whether you like it or not, for many professional courses, students belong to reasonably higher middle class families and they pamper their children. Bad habits are formed more at hostels than in homes. Day students are less susceptible to drugs.

Now it is a very serious problem. It is increasing every year.

For example this year we suspended as many as 10-12 students, and all of them were living in hostels.

Surprisingly a few years back it was restricted to boys but now girls are also involved in consuming alcohol and drugs. So this is another side to present day students. And surprisingly if you want to rusticate a student, you can only do it if some drug is found in his room.

However, there are some really intriguing cases. His attendance is very satisfactory, his academic performance is satisfactory, his periodical tests performance is also satisfactory and at the end of it he comes out of the examination in flying colours. Which means some students at least, though addicted,

consume substance with responsibility. They know where to stop. Some students candidly admit, yes, I drink, so what? It’s an experience. I drink beer or whisky or take drugs. What is so great or bad about it?

So how do you handle that?

You can’t. You can terminate a student only for the possession of drugs, which is a crime. You can’t terminate him for poor attendance or poor academic performance. No. These are difficult cases. There are a few professors in Symbiosis who are educated abroad. I asked them the same question. What is the situation at Harvard? They said, it is the same. But there the difference is that they do it with responsibility. They know how much to go, where to stop.

What about public drug parties which are raided by the police.

Why is it that the institute supports students in such cases?

Why should we not? Do you think we should disown the students? After all they are our students. They are the sons and daughters of parents who are away from them. The institution has a responsibility. Yes they might have participated in a rave party but do you mean that because of that I should disown them? They need to be counselled. Yes, you have made a mistake, don’t repeat it. I’ll be the last person to spoil a student’s career merely on the basis that he was found smoking hashish or he participated in a rave party where alcohol was consumed.

So you say instead of police action, reforms through counselling are more important…

Absolutely. I believe police action is also sometimes arbitrary. Yes they are young people, they have come on some picnic. Not that all students take drugs. Not that all students consume alcohol.

Do you think the time has come, like in the USA, to have counsellors in every educational institute?

Counsellors do counselling and therefore every teacher should be a counsellor. You need not appoint a separate counsellor. As I told you a teacher has lost his traditional role of teaching. The blackboard and chalk have become redundant. Then you can at least become a mentor. You can at least become a counsellor.

If every teacher adopts 10 students and meets them over a cup of coffee every evening and discusses topics freely, it would be the best form of counselling. Why in the classroom? We must become unconventional. Sometimes I feel that the traditional architecture of the classroom should also be changed. These rectangular classrooms and these rows of benches and boys and girls sitting, resembles more like an industry, like an assembly line production

What’s your take on the institute of marriage? Do you think youngsters have become more inclined to favour live-in relationships? What is the future of a family unit?

The future generation will have to look into a dictionary to know the meaning of the word `family’. Where is the family?

What do you mean by family? Live-in relationship -- isn’t that like a family? So the definition and concept of family is also undergoing a massive change. We are getting more and more Americanised.

Could you elaborate on the term ‘being Americanised’. In terms of preferring pizzas and burgers and eating habits we have definitely become that…

28 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

Future classrooms should have no walls. Students should be encouraged to learn outside the classroom, more than inside. They should participate in community services and outdoor activities. And now because of technology, the wall has become the laptop and Internet know these contributions or sacrifices made by parents go a long way in shaping the children’s personalities. Now that you have mentioned about my daughters, take it from me that the 21st century belongs to girls/ women. In the 2015 UPSC examinations, all top four posts went to girls. You take any competitive examination, girls outshine boys. So the time has come to take more care of boys rather than girls.

So, is it time for 50% reservation for boys?

Girls are very shrewd. Boys fall prey to so many temptations like alcohol, smoking. Girls are also doing it, but not to the extent that the boys indulge. Parents traditionally gave more freedom to sons than daughters, but now they have to take more care of their sons rather than their daughters.

What are the challenges in life that you faced that you remember. Are there any challenges that still hurt you or make you feel proud that you overcame them?

At this age of 81, I am really a contented person. Yes! Many storms did come. But I had the courage to overcome them. And perhaps certain values that I might have adopted from my reading, from my parents, might have given me the inherent courage to face the bad times. Now I have come to the conclusion that simplicity, spirituality and honesty - if you have these three qualities - you need not bother about anything. I have realised that.

There is something called ‘soft power’. Prof. Joseph Nye, a Harvard professor coined this term. Soft power means winning somebody more by attraction than by coercion. Winning somebody not by military power which he calls hard power or coercion or sanctions. He gives examples of Hollywood, colas, pizza, books and novels as soft power. America has succeeded in winning the hearts of the people in many countries because of this soft power. You need not employ hard power or military power to win a country. No. It’s useless. But Americanise the minds of the people. One lakh students go to America every year.

Don’t you think they get totally Americanised? Many of them settle there, for America is a land of opportunity for talented people. It provides wonderful salaries, and retains people. It encourages them to do research and they do it. They create an environment which is favourable and those less talented are thrown back to their own country. This is soft power.

As a father of two daughters, what is it that you instilled in your daughters that has made them into women of their own?

To be honest, I have not done anything deliberately to inculcate values, or my views, or my ideas either on Vidya or Swati. But may be the environment in which they have grown up might have influenced them. How did their father create Symbiosis?

How did their mother get up early in the morning so that Vidya could study well to get admission at B.J. Medical College. You

That’s wonderful. And what is the philosophy you live by? How do you keep yourself fit?

Like I just said – simple lifestyle, minimum needs, spirituality, honesty and integrity. People say that everything is changing. I don’t agree. There are some immutable values which have not changed for millennia. Honesty has not changed. Integrity has not changed. These are the good values for your own benefit and for the benefit of your organisation. If I start taking donations, for a few years I’ll be a prosperous educationist, but then I’ll be killing my institution with my own hands. So you have to avoid temptation. In order to avoid temptation, you have to make your lifestyle simple.

You still go around in your Ambassador car, despite so many flashy models available….

I like my Ambassador. And I’ll tell you why. In 1978 I had a very bad accident. I was travelling from Mumbai to Pune and near Talegaon, the driver dozed off and the car had a head-on collision with a truck. The truck driver did not flee and I was taken to hospital by him. The car had made a 180 degree turn. It was a terrible accident and many people told me, Dr. Mujumdar you were saved because of the Ambassador. The doors are so strong and thick. So it has given me a second life. It is a good car but unfortunately the company got closed. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 29

CORPORATE CULTURE

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WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP:

PRIDE OF INDIA INC

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IT WAS IN THE YEAR 2013, A LAW WAS PASSED, MAKING IT ESSENTIAL FOR CORPORATES TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE WOMAN ON THEIR BOARD, WHICH HAS MADE AN IMPACT TODAY

BY PRIYANSHI MATHUR

O

vercoming all negative notions, the new generation women have proved themselves even in uncharted waters. Back in 2013, India passed legislation for any company that was listed on the stock exchanges, making it essential to have at least one woman in their board of directors. It was a landmark law, given that at the time, more than two-third publicly traded companies in India did not have women board members. It is well known that women, despite starting their careers with equal levels of intelligence, education and commitment, were not making it to senior management positions as much as their male counterparts did. While things today may appear differently, has there really been a shift in attitudes?

A panel discussion, chaired by Veena Swaroop, Director HR, Engineers India Ltd, delved deep into the issue of women in leadership. Burning topics, such as the presence of glass ceiling in organisations, merit versus reservation for career advancement, and the lessons for 30 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

q n SIMIN ASKARI

Vice President Corporate HR, DS Group

o VISHPALA REDDY

VP, Market HR India, American Express

p SEEMA BANGIA

Head HR, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd

q VEENA SWAROOP

Director HR, Engineers India Ltd

individuals as well as organisations to further the cause of women, were freely discussed. The panel consisted of noted members of the HR diaspora from various organisations, including Vishpala Reddy, VP, Market HR India, American Express; Seema Bangia, Head HR, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd; Shalabh Mundra, Vice President, UltraTech Ready Mix Concrete Division, Aditya Birla Group; and Simin Askari, Vice President Corporate HR, DS Group.

What made the session truly interesting were the probing questions Ms Swaroop asked to each panellist.

These included: n How is diversity of thought due to women employees impacting organisations? We often hear that there is a glass ceiling. What do you think, is there really a glass ceiling? o What initiatives have been taken at your organisation to facilitate women improvement? p How do you perceive women employees vis-a-vis men employees? q Statistics show that till the middle levels we have 40% women and if we reach higher levels, it comes down to 8 per cent. What can we do to retain women beyond the middle levels? r What advice would you give to the audience on how they should help women rise in their career?

The discussion brought in a variety of views, describing both, the achievements as well as the pain-points, endeavours being pursued at different stages to support women, as well as areas that still needed intervention. Read on to know Ms Swaroop’s opening remarks, and answers by each panelist to her above-mentioned questions:

Glass ceiling is not a physical reality, but rather a virtual one. The data and statistics prove that.

The good news is that working women have now realised that if they start asking, begin to have an open mind, develop risk taking ability, then they will succeed. It is like a two-way course. As a result, there is a change happening VEENA SWAROOP (VS)

Director HR, Engineers India Ltd Corporate diversity is the force multiplier and a game changer for growing organisations.

Diversity brings in different perspectives to the table. Girls are being encouraged to join the B-schools so that the classrooms would have more variety in thoughts. Having said that, why is this issue being researched so much around the world?

We generally talk about it only in women’s conferences, are we not stereotyping this too?

Stereotyping female roles starts right from childhood. This attitude needs to be contained.

Women are not present in senior position in companies, because they began very late. Until my mother’s generation, women would not work outside households. Today, I find both husband and wife are working. So, things are changing, and I’m optimistic that the future will see many more women at top positions.

I believe that we don’t need any bogus system or false criteria for rising in positions.

Organisations work on bottom line results,

so if there is a good performer, why would anyone want to deprive that performer of good assignments? Prior to the EIL, I was working in ONGC. The ONGC has 14% women - very high for a public sector company. Some of the women are the best process engineers, instrumentation engineers and commissioning engineers at ONGC. Their work speaks for them. So, women need to have the confidence in themselves.

I think the public sector is a little better off. We have a written test where both the girls and boys perform to the best of their abilities. Very often we find an equal number of girls and an equal number of boys coming up. We identify the best performer who is going to take the organisation forward. The objective is: let the best person win, be it a boy or a girl. But to have this kind of a vision, the mindset of both the men and women need to change fast.

VISHPALA REDDY (VR)

VP, Market HR India, American Express n Organisations understand that diversity in no longer a legacy. There is a scientific proof as

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 31

CORPORATE CULTURE to why it is important to have diversity in teams.

However, the difference is in terms of confidence levels. If you ask a male boss, “can you make it to the top?” research suggests, 76 per cent of them would say yes. But when the same question is asked to women, 50 per cent reply with “maybe”.

When a new job is internally available, men would speak to their supervisor even if they possess only 70 per cent of the skills needed for the job. But woman will hesitate unless they have 100 percent skills needed for the job. Men will ask when they need an appraisal. Women will hesitate. So there’s a lot that women themselves can do. But the organisation and the leadership have a role to play too. o Glass ceiling is not a physical reality, but rather a virtual one. The data and statistics prove that. The good news is that working women have now realised that if they start asking, begin to have an open mind, develop risk taking ability, then they will succeed. It is like a two-way course.

As a result, there is a change happening. p At American Express, we take diversity very seriously. We have a lot of onsite activities where we provide for our employees, including on site clinics, and pregnancy care programs. We have an extremely active Women Interest Network, which is spearheaded by senior members of the organizations. The network develops as well as projects women across the organization. We work on creating ‘readiness’ in our women employees for their potential, and for this purpose we don’t just have day or week-long programs, but also programs with longer gestation periods. We also connect women not just internally but at an external forum as well. Collaborations with other Ivy League organizations have helped them learn from each other’s best practices. We are providing many platforms to our high potential women employees, and I think it’s working for us. q At American Express, we have been introducing our senior women leaders to the concept of sponsorship. Sponsorship is one step beyond mentoring. Through a mentoring set up, the women employees meet the sponsors once in a month or two. A sponsor is someone who can vouch for the work ethic and reputation of a colleague. A sponsor is interested in the individual’s work achievements. One cannot just go up to somebody and ask that person to be a sponsor. Sponsorship should be earned.

Sponsorship happens if you are good and if you are working extremely hard. You will encourage that person to build a network around her

and build relationships. There are rules so that those who are sponsors and those who are getting sponsorships, have a role to play. It is not a one-way relationship. I think the concept of sponsorship is very important and we very often see our senior most women say that it is not enough to just have a boss or your direct supervisor as your sponsor, but you should be looking at multiple sponsors, who could be external to the organization or internal. But mostly it should be people who are in a position to influence. Often in talent conversations, that push makes a big difference. The one voice on the table who would say with conviction that this person can make a difference. r From an organization’s standpoint, the key thing should be measurement. The diversity ratio at certain levels is more and at other levels it is less. It is really a business leader’s metrics and not an HR metric. More than just representation, the metrics can mean that a certain percentage of diversity is required for different roles. From an employee’s standpoint, it is not about differentiation between men and women. It is about creating an inclusive culture, and encouragement to women. We need to not

Women are not present in senior position in companies, because they began very late. Until my mother’s generation, women would not work outside households. Today, I find both husband and wife are working 32 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

only connect people, but also share their success stories as well as their challenges. We sometimes overlook simple things like that.

Seema Bangia (SB)

Head HR, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd n “Equal opportunities” is a common phrase in companies right now. But equal participation of women and men in decision making processes at all levels needs to become the norm. Mahindra & Mahindra is a large conglomerate with about 2.25 lakh of people across sectors. I come from Mahindra Defence. It’s a male-dominated sector and I was one of the few women who joined the organisation back in the days but I believed HR processes remain constant wherever you go.

In the last few years there has been an increase in women employees. We now have about 5% women, and this paradigm shift happened because of the organisation’s efforts. o Our CMD is none other than a woman, Ms Anita Vikas. We encourage more women at the executive board level. But, we need to encourage more women also at mid managerial levels. I agree with my co-panellists who said it should be performance-centric rather than woman-centric.

For that we need a conducive environment to be created. So that when women are performing, they are recognized for that performance. p People in many organisations have really gone out of their way to support the gender diversity initiative. A well-known car brand has once-a-week grocery market for employees on their campus. Some of these organisations are

coming from different places working in construction sites and in tough and difficult environments. Going forward, the situation will become like China, where majority of the design and quality managers are women. The challenge for companies, however, is how do we initiate systems which nurture and support women. o First of all, we try to get the right talent in the right position, irrespective of the gender.

So, in case we have women for difficult jobs, we are creating systems so that the actual work becomes easier. When I talk about our businesses in apparel sector and retail, the percentage of women placed in these sectors is high. When it comes to manufacturing, the increase which is happening is slow. Although the sectors are different, there will be a gradual increase in the years to come p We are focusing a lot on increasing recruitment of women in functions like HR, finance, corporate communications and also

breeds discrimination and I am not in favour of it. In most Indian organisations, the scrutiny on the performance of women is probably a little harsher than that of men. Obviously, I am happy to see more women in companies, but that is not necessarily the end of this discussion.

Organisations need to hire women not merely because they are women, and not merely for diverse views; it should be based on merit of doing a good job. I am waiting for a day when we are sitting around and talking about great leaders, some of whom just happen to be women. o You could say that there is glass ceiling to a certain extent. But if you have the conviction, if you have the will, if you have the competence, there is nothing that is going to hold you back.

We don’t see a lot of women in the leadership positions. It maybe because they are under a lot of societal pressure, a lot of restrictions, a lot of other responsibilities that they need to overcome and perform with these pressures. And, that

We need to take a step forward. We need to understand that a woman may have issues at home which would affect her performance. It is important to not penalise them for that going overboard also. But at Mahindra, we have taken a very balanced approach. We have the usual things like extended maternity benefits, but other than that, every policy is the same for both genders. q We also identify women employees who work very hard and have the urge to walk the extra mile. After we identify them, they go through a mentoring process by participating in various forums with which we have tie ups. r As I said earlier, I think a lot of efforts and initiatives are being taken by the organisations and now it is up to the women employees to take that forward. Women should come out of their comfort zones and say that yes, we can do it. To give a specific example, we have hired a few women employees who like to work in a maledominated industry like ours. With the focus on ‘Make in India’ initiative, this is the time for women to evolve and walk that extra mile.

SHALABH MUNDRA (SM)

Vice President, UltraTech Ready Mix Concrete Division: n Most women start out with great merits, but due to lack of support in the system or in their families they tend to go slow. This is happening in the sector where I am working. We have been working for last many years in cement, readymix concrete and construction sectors. While traditionally, it has been dominated by men, in the past decade itself, many women engineers and planners have joined the planning and design sections. We are also having women

taking women from engineering colleges to work in factories and shop floors of our manufacturing facilities. In the cement industry, we have increased the diversity in our sales force and have more women working in sales, customer support, and some have graduated to become the in-charge of a city. So, we are gradually seeing the improvement happening. q Apart from the fact that companies are doing a lot for women, women themselves need to step up. After working for 8 to 10 years, they tend to take it slow due to lack of support. So that is where they need to make great efforts.

Lots of women were in that stage of life where they were under pressure or anxiety, but have risen to senior leadership positions despite those stresses. So this is one area which I feel would help women grow from middle level to senior leadership positions. r One major point I would like to make is that organisations are supporting women in various ways, but women themselves need to become more determined to prolong their careers.

SIMIN ASKARI (SA)

Vice President Corporate HR, DS Group n When we talk about leadership qualities, most of them are masculine in nature. Women are stereotyped as emotional, non-aggressive and soft spoken. I see a lot of organisations trying to bring in more women in their workforce. There are now regulations in place which mandate the presence of women board members. But such reservation

probably restricts them from rising further. p We have a decent number of women in the workforce, even in our manufacturing We have policies which are gender neutral but specific to women also. We find a lot of women in senior leadership positions as well and we definitely don’t discriminate based on gender. q We need to take a step forward. We need to understand that a woman may have issues at home which would affect her performance. It is important to not penalise them for that. We have a group within our organisation who tries to counsel women if they have performance issues due to some problems at home, and how we can handle that. But the fact is that it is up to the women to be motivated enough, and try to hang in there in spite of the cultural mindset of the society. r As HR leaders responsible for recruitment, we must make sure that we ask the right questions. If someone wants us to recruit only male candidates, then we need to ask them for the reasons behind such a requirement. Try and make sure that there is equal number of women to be evaluated for any particular role and then recruit the best man or woman, based on competence. If we do not even provide the opportunity, then we cannot expect diversity to happen.

(The panel discussion was part of the National Human Resource Development Network’s 3rd Human Capital Conclave 2015 that was held in New Delhi) priyanshimathur@gmail.com

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 33

COVER STORY

You will never find a perfect match. You will never find a perfect person and if you just keep on looking for a perfect person, it is impossible to get one in this world-Jayati 34 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

COVER STORY Dynamic Duo: 19

Jayati and Saugata Mitra

RIGHT CHEMISTRY Saugata Mitra, Chief Peoples’ Officer, Mother Dairy and Jayati Mitra, a leading human resource consultant and Director of Abbscissa HR Services have cracked the code of the work-life balance and the seeming dichotomy of success versus harmony. They are successful professionals, and are equally at equilibrium in their personal lives. What is the secret of their success?

S

augata Mitra, Chief Peoples’ Officer, Mother Dairy and Jayati Mitra, a leading human resource consultant and Director of Abbscissa HR Services are sterling examples of how success is attained with love and harmony as the main ingredients.

Son of a research scientist Dr. G N Mitra, Saugata Mitra is a well-known corporate leader.

Having worked for premier multi-nationals and created a niche through innovation and intelligent human resource development, he has over two decades of experience in Fortune 500 companies.

This well-known professional started his career with American transnational Union Carbide, followed by Japanese multinationals Sony and Sharp, after which he successfully in India-entry strategies for Japanese companies as the CEO of an Indo-Japanese business venture. Presently, as Chief People Officer & Member Management Team of Mother Dairy since 2007, Mitra has been providing Leadership and driving business and people agenda including Transformational interventions for organizational growth. At Sony he was Head, Human Resources & New Business.

As a founding member of Sony India, he set up the organization from inception and provided leadership in driving people and business agenda from scratch. Wherever he went, he brought in new lines of business and innovation with considerable positive impact on the bottom line.

Jayati Mitra, educationist, is a post-graduate in Chemistry, a leading HR consultant and is Director, Abbscissa HR Services. Petite Jayati Mitra, besides being a leading human resource

BY VINITA DESHMUKH consultant, is a passionate housewife and doting mother. The tastefully decorated home in Delhi reflects her warmth and love for nature. A deeply spiritual person, Jayati has an elaborate sanctum sanctorum for worship. Tall and handsome Saugata Mitra is a scholar, besides being a wellacclaimed corporate leader. He has scripted several books on management.

Corporate Citizen speaks to this dynamic couple who have successfully balanced work and home, with harmony and happiness writ large on their faces. They have played the perfect parental role for their only son, Arijit

Jab We Met It was an arranged marriage, says Jayati. Saugata Mitra’s proposal came through the matrimonial ads in the Times of India newspaper. He hailed from Bhubaneswar while she was from Delhi.

‘Seeing girls’ to select a marriage partner was common practice then, and parents’ consent to the proposal, of paramount importance. In fact, for Saugata, ‘seeing girls’ was not a new experience, as he had accompanied several of his young uncles to the homes of young prospective brides, when proposals for marriage came by.

He confesses, cheekily, ‘More than the matchmaking, it was the food served there that I used to delight in.’

Then, he was 28 years old, working for Union Carbide, a job he clinched soon after his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune, and she had freshly post-graduated in Chemisty from Miranda House, Delhi.

Saugata states, “I met her when I was working

in Union Carbide. I was about 28 then. I told my parents that I wanted to get married and needed somebody who was a professional and not a typical housewife. So I started reading the matrimonial ads in the Times of India and found a girl who had studied Chemistry. She was staying in Delhi then. I was in Kolkata for some work, so she came to Kolkata to one of her relative’s home and we met each other for the first time. Our chemistry matched instantly.”

However, they did not exchange a single word between them, when they met for the first time at her uncle’s place in Kolkata. Says Jayati, “My mother had accompanied me, and he had his father, mother and maternal uncle with him.

When we met we did not talk. For the first one hour I was talking with his father on the subject of Chemistry. I found myself very comfortable with him, so it immediately broke the ice and I did not feel odd about having ‘gone to see a boy’.”

Quips Saugata, on how his father was impressed by Jayati: “On a specific question my father asked her as to how did she know he was a teacher, she had immediately replied, ‘Because there is a red pen in your pocket, along with a blue pen’.”

Adds Jayati, “I was very comfortable with the people from the academic world, because I always had an inclination towards academics. I had never interacted with people from the corporate world. My father is an IPS officer and his circle of friends was always made up by government bureaucrats. I had a different perception of people from the corporate world and thought they had an arrogant streak in them, and hence felt I would feel the same about Saugata, as he had passed out

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 35

COVER STORY from one of the premier B-schools. Though we did not talk during that meeting, I noticed there was a definite cultural fitment and felt that maybe our natures matched. Back then, we never used to think much about the person, and in marriage matters, parents’ views were important.’’

So, the chemistry worked and they were married in January 1993.

It’s been a happy journey Two decades down the line, the contentment and happiness can be felt in their beautiful home. In fact, the romance too seems intact. So, what went right with the marriage? Says Jayati, “He is a largehearted and very good human being. He is very fond of people. He is not totally an extrovert, but he loves to talk to people, and I am the opposite.

When you get married and spend so many years together, there is always something to learn from each other. I have never analysed about his positive qualities and negatives.”

Cooking is something she had to learn after marriage. “I got married after completing my MSc and I was not good at cooking. He used to invite friends over for dinner regularly. So the positive thing is I learnt cooking. People say I am a good cook but he does not agree; he is always comparing me with my mother, who is an excellent cook. By the way, he too cooks well.’’

Saugata, adds Jayati, is very fond of home cooked food. “Sometimes I come back from office feeling tired and still have to cook the dinner.

Then, he also chips in to help me make the dinner.

When I see he is enjoying himself making the meal, it brings in me a renewed energy.’’

Saugata talks proudly about her care, saying, “After 23 years, her caring and her concern for me has become a habit. For example, if she is travelling, I know she will call me at about 6 p m.

If the call doesn’t come, I become concerned and start worrying – it has become such a habit. She is very understanding too.’’

The true test of their relationship came when Saugata turned entrepreneur and lost a lot of money. He confesses, “I am very bad at financial management. If I have a hundred rupees, I spend it all. She is the opposite – she is a good money manager.’’

How did that happen? Reminisces Saugata, “After five years in Union Carbide and ten in Sony, I started a venture which incurred loss due to recession. It was a joint venture with a UK based company. So for one or two years we had to go through a very bad time. It was purely my miscalculation. I used to be very extravagant.

After that, I have given her the management of our household finances. She is very methodical and thinks about future consequences before taking any step. She understands your need -what time you require what.’’

Analysing the situation further, he states, “Very often in the corporate world, you go through

Human resource is an animate resource, it has feelings, emotion, and intellect. Instead of energizing them, the general tendency is to see how to kill their spirit. When you start killing that spirit, you alienate them and ultimately you will suffer-Saugata those trials and tribulations. I have realised that there is money in corporate life, no doubt, but then the fear of losing money is also very high.

You are used to a particular way of living because of that money. You develop spending habits; then you become attached to your affluent lifestyle.

With that the stress starts, and that is how it gets into a vicious circle.’’

Tryst with the corporate world Saugata: My first job was through campus placement as a management trainee in Union Carbide. I was offered a monthly salary of Rs.3,500, which was huge money at that time.

Union Carbide brought me into the corporate world and it was an excellent experience. Its work culture was ahead of the times. Multinationals treat management trainees like their sons-in-law. They used to have the business acumen of modernday MNCs and the human touch of traditional companies. It was a very good mix, which is not seen nowadays. My father was very happy when I got picked up for this multi-national. He had initially wished that I take up Science and pursue a bureaucratic or engineering career but when he found that I had no inclination towards that, he encouraged me to pursue MBA. Also, he realised that with the opening up of the economy in 1991, there was a good future for capitalism. I appreciate his vision and the support he gave at that time when it was generally a socialist world in India.

Jayati: My ultimate aim was to be in academics and teach. After marriage, I went to Kolkata.

Immediately, I started teaching Chemistry for Std XI and XII. Chemistry was my passion and I love this subject. I have always been a serious kind of student. Teaching came to me so naturally that I didn’t have to prepare to teach the students.

Then we came to Delhi and I took a break when our son was born in 1994. My husband pushed me into HR. I was very apprehensive in the beginning. When our son, Arijit, started going to playschool, I thought of pursuing my PhD because my parents were in Delhi, and they were a big support for me. However, he said that PhD would take a long time and to start again in academics would be quite a struggle. He said that I should try HR for the next two years. So I gave it a try and started on my own from the very beginning, in 1997. Very soon I began

36 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

HR consulting. In 1997 I started working with corporates and at that time HR was a new concept.

There were no computers, no Internet and no job portals. My HR consulting work started initially with research and reports and then went on to research and recruitment. We were one of the very first HR consulting firms to start using job portals, which then was a new concept.

My company’s name is Abbscissa HR Services and we have been running it for the last 18 years. Abbscissa is a mathematical term in Geometry. An abscissa on a graph, with X and Y axis perpendicular to each other, is the shortest distance of a point from its coordinates and from both the axes. So for us, the literal meaning was that we show the shortest and the best to the clients. Now of course, we have diversified into other areas of HR consulting. Apart from research and recruitment, we are into HR interventions, HR consulting projects, HR systems and so on.

I had pursued a part-time course in HR, alongside. Once my consulting firm became fullfledged, I had to give full time to the office. My husband was always busy, travelling to Tokyo and Singapore and all other places for his work. But my parents were here and they were a big support for me, and my child has literally grown up with them. He used to be with them for the whole day.

From Union Carbide to Sony Saugata: I moved to Sony because Union Carbide got taken over by the Khaitans. The original owners had sold their stake in India after settling the Bhopal case.

Terrific Trio: Mitras with son Arijit, on a holiday

Today, even as a director, I do the same thing.

One thing has to be understood, which very often corporates forget, is that in a business, one resource without which nothing moves is people. You may have the material, you may have the market, the machinery, but one resource that makes all the resources move is the human resource. Every time, there is a focus on reducing cost, there is too much fingering around this valuable resource. Human resource is an animate resource, it has feelings, emotion, and intellect.

Instead of energizing them, the general tendency is to see how to kill their spirit. When you start killing that spirit, you alienate them and ultimately you will suffer. Their focus shifts from the job to revenge… an alternative path. And when it starts going that way, the management has to struggle to handle them. And once the disease creeps in, to kill or cure is extremely difficult.

The Sony experiment

If the family institution is not managed well, you will find an increase in neurotic cases. We were selfmade people. Now, the children of these self-made people get everything on a platter-Saugata Secondly, at that time the primary job of HR was trade union management, industrial relations, long term agreements, compliance and basic HR interventions. I grew up very fast in Union Carbide. I faced strikes, sit-downs, agitations.

In HR, if one has learnt industrial relations and know how to handle 200 or 300 people confronting you in a situation, the rest is very easy. In the five years with Union Carbide I grew from being a management trainee to a manager, and in those days becoming a manager was quite an achievement. There was no concept of a vice president or other such fancy designations. Even a deputy general manager was considered quite a big position. Very few people would reach the level of general manager and retire.

Sony was coming to India at that point of time, in December 1994. So I decided to move from Union Carbide and I was the first employee of Sony. I started Sony’s entire operations in India. I was with Sony for ten years. That work

culture never left my life. At Sony, I used to look after the sales and HR. I had 1,000 employees in the factory. I ensured that Sony did not face labour union problems, gathering from my Union Carbide experience. I realised that a union is never formed by the workers. A union is formed with some support from a departmental supervisor. Also, unless there is support from the management, a union is never formed. So I knew how to tackle these intricate issues and so in Sony, even after ten years, there was no union.

Lessons from Union Carbide Saugata: At Union Carbide, besides the statutory parts of the job, I learnt how you involve with the people. The role is very tricky, because as a management person, you are perceived as an employees’ person also. But if you become too much of an employees’ person, then you face problems from the other side. Learning how to balance the two is very important.

In Sony, I ensured right from the start of recruitment that 80% of the workers would be women. I took people from the lower middleclass who came with aspirations. From among them, I sent many to Singapore and Malaysia, which they would have never even dreamt of.

They were never made to feel like workmen.

When you send someone from the factory to Malaysia, Singapore or Tokyo, other co-workers become enthusiastic to learn, so they can also get a chance to go abroad. So this way we did away with the feeling of alienation. Everybody got involved in how to do better, there was a sense of belonging. From group dynamics it became individual performance-oriented. As a result, the aspirations of these girl operators, who were Std X or XII pass grew so much that they would not marry anybody below the status of an engineer.

So this had its negative aspect too, but that is a separate issue.

When you move them from one platform to another, there is a sense of belonging, knowledge enhancement, a feeling of success, and economic independence. We used to throw parties at fivestar hotels, spending ₹14-15 lakh and everybody from the operators to the MD would join. As a result, even today, that company is doing very well.

I left Sony primarily because they had taken a decision that they need to reduce the number of manufacturing units worldwide. I designed an excellent VRS programme for people going out. There were about 1,000 such people, with an average age of 20 to 30 years. I designed the VRS scheme in such a way that they got four months’ salary for every year of service they completed in the company, plus ₹ Two lakh in addition, and three years’ medical cover free. I also hired naukri. com for re-employing these people.

Now, I thought, if I offered them an option, I should not be treated in a different way. So I also

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 37

COVER STORY decided to take VRS. Whatever scheme they were given, I said I will take the same. Since I treated them as equals, I didn’t want to be treated as someone special. When I applied for the VRS, 970 people applied for VRS within the next one hour. The management was surprised because what would have taken many days, was over within one day. They requested that the factory be kept running for three more months, so they could clear VRS settlements. So after ten years with Sony, I left and started a venture with a UKbased company.

Being a mother, definitely those fears are there. But somehow, there is also a belief on our upbringing which will perhaps help him to know what is right and what is wrong. Now our son is 21 years of age and his father is really a friend to him and has been very open with him-Jayati

Venture with UK based company The venture was about computer-aided design.

While at Sony, I was the head of HR, handling new business and the software business. I used to go around the world and get business for Sony in India. So I thought about starting something new and had a joint venture with a UK-based company. But at that point of time recession came in and I lost a lot of money there, about ₹3.5 crore at that time.

In the meantime, because of my experience with Sony, I used to be an advisor to the MD of Sharp Corporation, an Indo-Japanese company in Pune. It wanted to bring a lot of Japanese SMEs to India. Then I decided to go back to the corporate world. In the corporate world, you always give to the vendors and to the people. The position also ensures you are in a power to give. Whereas in business, it is different. You have to ask. My wife works on her own, so while calling her clients, if somebody does not pick up the phone, she will call back ten times. In my case if a person does not pick up the phone in the first instance, I will never call back.

In your own business you have to go to your own field circle. You have to go and sit at the reception, keep on waiting, which at times is very humiliating. When you are used to certain things, certain protocol, when that does not happen, it affects you psychologically. You are not used to that shift in power structure.

With Mother Dairy Then I decided to return to the corporate world, and the Mother Dairy offer came up. I was called one day, and was told that they wanted to corporatise this company and as I had huge MNC experience, I could find solutions to the problems they faced. It was a farmers’ organisation, where they give remunerative prices to the farmers and provide affordable nutrition to the masses.

Mother Dairy is a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) but operates as a private sector organisation. It is not a Government of India undertaking. No government rule is applicable to Mother Dairy, it is applicable to the NDDB. NDDB was created by a Special Act of Parliament, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Kurien. Mother Dairy is a subsidiary and

follows the rules of the private sector.

The challenge was to give remunerative prices to the farmers while giving affordable nutrition to the common man. Milk is the only affordable nutrition product available. So they wanted to corporatise it, changing Mother Dairy from a traditional organisation to a corporate one.

Naturally, it had a pro-government image, but they wanted to change it. I was given an offer which was less than my last salary. At that point of time, I also had an offer from Bombay Dyeing, which was offering 40 percent more than what I was getting at Sony. I thought for a day or two. I said to myself that money would come if it had to, so let me take the Mother Dairy offer. So that was how I entered the Mother Dairy enterprise and continue to be with it even now.

Mother Dairy today is not what it was about eight years back. Today it has been declared one of the top-three FMCG companies and one of the top 30 `Great Places To Work For’ organisations.

It has become a huge brand. Today, I feel proud that it has corporatized, that it is one of the best organisations, counted amongst the best FMCG outfits and lastly, it gives the sense of satisfaction that you are working for the nation.

Bringing up son Jayati: Arijit has always been pampered by Saugata, while I have been the disciplinarian.

Father and son are very fond of each other. I have always been a strict mother, focusing on his studies. Presently, he is doing his final year of Engineering at Symbiosis, in Pune. I ensured that in this kind of environment, though we live a fast life, we devote our evenings to him. Spending

38 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

time with him was very important to us. As soon as my husband came from office, he would be with him and the best part was, till Std X, my son used to sleep with him and without each other they were never ever able to get good sleep.

When he went to Std XI, all of a sudden he started saying he was a grown-up boy. Now, even when he comes home for his semester breaks, he will cuddle with him and sleep with him - so that’s the kind of relationship they have. Now that he has grown up, he discusses career, and future things.

Saugata: There are problems, when you have a single child. When he left for the hostel, I took at least six months to settle down. We are so close. And with me it was less of studies and more of other things in life. Let’s go to Singapore, let’s do this, let’s do that and so on. He is very intelligent. He knows that he cannot take his mother for granted but with me he knows how to get things, by arm-twisting and blackmailing me emotionally. And he knows I will give up. She doesn’t give up. She is a stickler, totally.

The relationship Are you not afraid that he stays in the hostel in an environment which is very liberal?

Jayati: Being a mother, definitely those fears are there. But somehow, there is also a belief on our upbringing which will perhaps help him to know what is right and what is wrong. Now our son is 21 years of age and his father is really a friend to him and has been very open with him. And I think that is the best part. As soon as I start from the office, the first thing I do is to give him a call, talk to him about his college and his day. He generally discusses all sorts of things with me including

light and funny moments……even when he is upset or feeling low.

What keeps the marriage intact Jayati: You will never find a perfect match.

You will never find a perfect person and if you just keep on looking for a perfect person, it is impossible to get one in this world.

Saugata: The only institution that has survived in the world is the family. For this generation, as a psychological support system, the joint family concept is gone. Siblings are also not there.

Mostly there is a single child and this is the only institution they have to fall back on.

If the family institution is not managed well, you will find an increase in neurotic cases. In the generation we came from, we had to work.

Whatever we have built, it is with our money, and not our parents’. Yes, parental money would be there, but the focus was on one’s own achievement.

We were self-made people. Now, the children of these self-made people get everything on a platter.

When I came to Delhi 22 years back, I wanted to buy a house. All the way from Bhubaneshwar, I came here and worked and got myself one. Now for these kids, they have it readymade.

Philosophy of life that both live by Saugata: Life is a combination of your inherent traits and what you have learnt through your childhood and the socialisation process. As you move on in your life, for me, giving is extremely important. Giving means how helpful you can be to others without any motive. If you have a motive, then it is a typical give-and-take.

The second most important thing is that today you are neither part of the Indian philosophy, nor part of the Western philosophy. The moment you opt for the Western philosophy, you look for the Eastern philosophy. You may have never visited your relatives, but when you are in hospital, you expect your relatives to come and visit you and take care of you. By virtue of the Western philosophy, your social connect is minimum. But when you are in trouble, you want the Eastern philosophy.

Jayati: My philosophy in life is not to make your life too complicated. Be happy, be a nice person at heart, and I firmly believe that if I don’t do bad to others, things should be okay for me. I have never craved for materialistic things. I have been grateful to God for whatever he has given to me. Keep your needs to the minimum, because needs are never-ending. And do not be artificial; be what you are; be truthful and be a transparent person.

Advice to young corporate managers Saugata: Most youngsters do not see their potential but see others’ potential. That leads to stress. What I am, I should measure myself against myself. That leads to progress, happy progress.

To a high sense of happiness. Now if I compare myself with what Mukesh Ambani is doing, I can never be happy. The greatest problem today is comparative deprivation. It is not why I have not got it, it is why he has got it. This is a disease.

It was there earlier too. But earlier it was called jealousy. Or crab culture. Now, since he has got it, I am unhappy and since I am unhappy, my present performance goes down and when my present performance goes down, I am caught in multiple unhappy situations. My only advice is, measure your growth against yourself. Measure your success against yourself. Measure your happiness against yourself. You should be that measuring unit.

Jayati: I always tell B-school students to stay connected to their roots, which is very important.

Arijit has always been pampered

by Saugata, while I have been the disciplinarian.

Father and son are very fond of each other-Jayati

When you run after money, everything looks very fancy and glamorous and very nice. But at the end of the day or after some time, you will get tired of it. You have to come back and get connected with your roots, which will stabilise you. That is going to give you the real support. And I would tell parents too that while the children are growing up, they will have some tantrums. Parents should make it a point to make children understand that they are always there with them. I think that’s very important. He or she should try and come back to them when they are in trouble. They should know that they have support, not just financial but moral and emotional support to fall back on.

loving person. That’s my complaint!

Saugata: I like to travel, but I would like to travel in a larger group. And since she talks very less, even if we go, the interaction level is very low.

As a result, when it is a larger group, it is more fun to travel. You know, I have an invitation to go to Lahore for a South Asia conclave, so I have already organised five-six families to go with us.

So there would be a lot of interaction. For me, travel means group travel. We do go, but there is no extensive planning, lavish destinations or itineries. We simply book a flight and go.

What about leisure activities?

Saugata: I write books. My first book was published in 2008 by Sterling Publishers. It was called ‘Eighteen Management Competencies No Business Professional Can Ignore’.

Jayati: Which I co-authored with him. I did a lot of research for that book. So the research part was done by me and the writing part was done by him. I am also very fond of listening to old Hindi songs and Rabindra Sangeet.

I love to paint too.

Saugata: My second book was on leadership titled, “Leading Change, Changing Lives”. This book I coauthored with Bhaskar Chatterjee, a gentleman and a senior IAS officer who was secretary in the Department of Public Enterprise. The book was published by Tata McGraw-Hill in 2012. It was released by Mr. Narayana Murthy at the World HR Congress in Mumbai.

With regard to the concept of the book, we have covered CK Prahlad’s bottom of the pyramid approach.

The simple meaning of leadership is measured in terms of how many people’s lives you have impacted. So, more the lives of people you impact, the bigger the leader you are. This is the very basis of leadership. We also see in CK Prahlad’s theory, that at the bottom of the pyramid, there is a market that exists and we have about two billion of the world’s population below two dollars. There were 11-12 leadership stories covered in the book.

The third book was mainly about Brand Odisha, which was primarily for my state from where I started my childhood. And the book which I am in the process of writing is totally different, it’s called ‘The Resurrected’. I am trying to write on common people who led normal lives and worked their way up. I thought I should write about, common people, who are so courageous. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in

Leisure and holiday Jayati: He is not fond of travelling; he’s a home-

(with Rajesh Rao and Dinesh Kulkarni)

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 39

TÊTE-À-TÊTE

THE CORPORATE CHANAKYA The author of three books including the most aptly titled “Corporate Chanakya”, Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai holds a vision regarding the modalities of management in the present and the future, with a perspective on the past, through Chanakya By Vinay Sethi

A

s modern technology gallops toward the future, a sudden hearkening to the past occurs, signaling that it might be disconcerting and discomforting as well. On a closer look however, this connection is so succinctly brought out and made relevant to the present that one is astounded as to why this association hadn’t been thought of by management experts earlier. The man, who has been highly successful in connecting the past through Chanakya to the present system of Corporate Management, is Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai.

The author of three books including the most aptly titled “Corporate Chanakya”, Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai holds a vision regarding the modalities of management in the present and the future, with a perspective on the past, through Chanakya. Pillai spreads the knowledge of Chanakya to millions of people across the globe through lectures, workshops, training programs, radio shows and articles. Director of SPM Foundation and part of the University of Mumbai team, he designs various leadership programs.

A conversation with Dr Pillai is not only enlightening but also invigorating vis-à-vis the different aspects of management. In an interview with CC, Dr Pillay made some interesting points and also gave a lot of information that will make the reader learn so much more with reference to Management.

MA in Sanskrit in Kerala, I perused the sayings of Chanakya in Sanskrit. I found that many of his sayings can be easily adapted as well as interpreted with special reference to Management studies. It didn’t take me long to get the association of ideas joining hands with Management. My teachers and professors also lauded my ability to relate Chanakya’s sayings more with Management than Economics. They also guided and mentored me into looking at the Management aspects of Chanakya’s teachings.

Is there any aspect of Chanakya’s teachings in the Arthashastra that may not have got the importance it deserved and you would like us to know?

Yes, there is the whole philosophy of Anvishikee i.e. the higher intellect.

By the “higher intellect” we do not mean the intellect of a highly intelligent human being but the intellect that is full of training toward ethicality.

Ethicality has its own importance and at times gives way to pragmatism.

Nonetheless, it is always prudent to behave in an ethical fashion. This aspect is very much relevant in today’s corporate scenario for MNCs that operate in different countries and cultures, and therefore while pursuing business interests, need to draw a moral line somewhere.

Yes, there is the whole philosophy of Anvishikee i.e. the higher intellect.

By the “higher intellect” we do not mean the intellect of a highly intelligent human being but the intellect that is full of training toward ethicality

How did you manage to meld two time-frames, one in which Chanakya existed, and the present with its stress on Corporate Management?

Any Indian who has been to school and studied history will be well acquainted with the intricacies of Chankya’s teachings. What is important is for the casual reader of history to incorporate the sayings of Chanakya in a modern era. When we look at history, we impose our present on it, instead of dissociating the existence of certain modern-day features. However, human feelings and behaviour no matter what the period of existence, is by and large the same over huge periods of time. Chanakya’s sayings were limited to a population that did not even think of globalisation but his prudent advice can be easily seen on a global plane e.g. “When opportunities are lost, obstacles arise.” If this saying is not applicable to management all over the world in today’s scenario, then what is?

Through “Arthashastra” Chanakya has more to do with Economics, then how did the idea strike you that Chanakya can be easily associated with Management?

Economics and Management are inextricably linked. While studying for my 40 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

How do you see youngsters today?

Do you think that they can relate to the sayings of Chanakya? What is your advice to them?

There is no end to the suggestions that one can give to youngsters. Suffice to say however, that they should a) have a vision for their company if they are owners or are thinking of venturing out on their own; b) the higher they go up the corporate ladder, they have to be within the learning curve and take care not to fall off. Stagnation is the first step toward decay and c) they shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking that what happened during Chanakya’s time today is irrelevant. Events have an uncanny way of telescoping themselves through time. We, as human beings with our definition of time, also need to channelize events in a systematic fashion so that we don’t get caught in a time-warp.

You have also presented Chanakya’s ideology to audiences abroad. How do they relate to it?

Surprisingly, the attitude to Chanakya’s ideology is more positive in people who belong to countries such as the US, Indonesia, Japan and Sri Lanka.

As an example I would like to illustrate the place of enlightenment of Lord Buddha – Bodh Gaya – which is looked after in such a systematic fashion

Chanakya has dealt with all these with a high degree of sophistication. It is not simply taking a mantra from a historical book and making it applicable today designating and focusing on specific fields so that micro possibilities do not get neglected.

When putting Chanakya into a modern perspective of Management, what areas did you focus on?

If you will look closely at the broader areas, management has a lot to do with leadership skills, the intricacies of management and of course, the most important, in today’s highly competitive fields, training. Chanakya has dealt with all these with a high degree of sophistication. It is not simply taking a mantra from a historical book and making it applicable today. Every aspect of it has been handled with an eye on modern-day relevance.

How do you deal with stress, at work and at home? What do you think discipline is all about?

Let us first look at discipline. There are two, external and internal. Simply put, one with internal discipline needs no external discipline.

Conversely, no amount of disciplining externally will help if there is no discipline within an individual. Discipline is another word for control, and when one has control over the thought process in one’s mind, discipline automatically follows.

To sharpen this aspect of human life, yoga is the best way. Today the world has also acknowledged the salutary effects of yoga in all kinds of stress situations. There are thousands of stress-busters, but yoga is the mother of all stress-busters.

PIC: YUSUF KHAN

by the Japanese who revere Lord Buddha. As Indians we need to set our priorities right. That is happening, slowly but surely and you will see huge changes in India in many of its professionals by the year 2020.

As a member of the University of Mumbai, and SPM what kind of a role do you visualize for it in the spread of the education of Management?

Management in today’s world has got into a groove that is of its own making.

It needs to address a wide variety of issues. While looking at macro issues because of the growth of MNCs, unfortunately management, unlike economics, is straying from micro issues. Of course, there are areas where quite a lot of work has been done, but still much more needs to be and will be done. At SPM we are now working on a range of issues such as

Where do you think is India headed in today’s climate of political instability and uncertainty in international areas?

I see India’s future as bright with Mr. Modi’s stress on development. I believe in him we have a Prime Minister who knows what is best for the country. His trips abroad have been highly successful and we have a situation in which we can be sure of foreign investment to a huge extent. Now, it is up to the people of India as to how they manage these funds and what kind of signal we are going to send to the world. Development of each and every Indian is just round the corner under the able guidance of Modi.

On this happy note, as we took leave of each other, I was struck by the way history repeats itself, and had no doubt at all that the man I had spoken with i.e. Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillay, was Chanakya himself reborn in a different period, but with a purpose. vinset19@gmail.com December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 41

CORPORATE HISTORY

Saga of sweetness If it’s a chocolate, it has to be a Cadbury. Here’s the lowdown on India’s never-ending love affair with the chocolate brand that has traversed boundaries of strata, age and occasion.

You just need a reason- or none at all-to sink your teeth into its velvety depths By Kalyani Sardesai

F

or a nation that has a staggering range of delicious homemade, indigenous mithais rooted in its history and cultural ethos, it’s no mean feat for a chocolate brand (perceived as a phoren import) to win hearts across age and socio-cultural boundaries. But then, chocolate is chocolate--is a Cadbury !! And India won’t have it any other way.

With a whopping 55.5 per cent share of India’s ₹10,000 crore chocolate market, Mondelez India, formerly Cadbury India, is a show-stopper all the way.

Young or old, everyone has a favourite tale to narrate about their favourite Dairy Milk or Five Star.

There’s hardly a child that doesn’t remember their first traumatic day in nursery being sweetened with a packet of Gems, a teenager that has not consumed an entire box with milk-- all the better to deal with exam nerves, or a young woman who has been not been wooed with a range of Dairy Milks by a besotted suitor.

Like their ad campaign will have you know, there’s ere a Cadbury for every season and reason.

Go on, savour the taste.

Scripting the saga of sweetness Sc To sum up a long journey in short, Cadbury is a British MNC sh owned own by Mondelez International, specialising specialis in confectionery. It is the second large largest brand in the segment, right behind W Wrigley’s. With its head office in Uxbridge, Uxbridg London, it has operations in over 50 ccountries worldwide.

Established in 1824 in Birmingham by Es John Cadbury, a merchant who sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate, and who foresaw the potential of making it into a mass product-the business went from strength. Gradually, his brother Benjamin and sons Richard and George joined hands too.

But the companies most popular product ever--the Dairy Milk Chocolate--found takers from the time of its introduction in 1905. By 1914, the product was a resounding hit, and the rest, as they say is history.

In 1919, Cadbury merged with JS Fry &Sons and Schweppes in 1969. The company was

On the Other hand, the hysterical ‘Pappu Paas Ho Gaya’ campaign launched in 2005 which had Amitabh Bachchan acting as a shopkeeper, raked in the applause for sheer bought by Kraft Foods in 2010. On 4 August 2011, Kraft Foods announced they would be splitting into two companies beginning on October 1, 2012.

Kraft’s confectionary business became Mondelez International with Cadbury as a subsidiary. Chocolate confectionary, biscuits, beverages, gum and candy are the different categories the company operates in.

Sure enough, if one were to look carefully

42 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

behind the wrapper, you will find the name Mondelez!

Cadbury on desi shores Cadbury India made its debut on Indian shores in 1948. It has five manufacturing units all over India, namely at, Induri and Thane (Maharashtra), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Malanpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Baddi (Himachal.) Besides this, it has a cocoa operations office at Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu.

But that’s not all Cadbury has also played a leading role in the milestones achieved in the hitherto unknown aspects of cocoa cultivation in India since 1965.

Teams from Cadbury also conduct training workshops for cocoa farmers on the latest techniques and tools of increasing productivity.

The research has been carried out with the help of Kerala Agricultural University.

Advertising, hit all the right chords The most delicious product in the world can remain an absolute non-starter without smart advertising. One secret of Cadbury’s consistent success has been it’s savvy and shrewd repositioning at different points of time. Unlike other ads, Cadbury India’s plans to reposition were not to beat the competition--as they were already leading the pack--but necessary in order to increase the pace of growth.

Take for instance the timing of the Real Taste of Life campaign. Just before this series was kickstarted, the chocolate industry was going through a rough patch. The price of cocoa had risen steeply in the 90s and the excised upped from 16 per cent to 27. The company had no choice but to increase the price of the chocolate. Also, chocolate back then was seen as a mere kiddie product. But the Real Taste of Life campaign showed Indians across all age groups that it was utterly cool to eat a Cadbury.

The iconic series, which memorably have a bubbly young woman spontaneously performing a jig on the cricket pitch to celebrate her boyfriend’s century, and a pregnant woman demanding a Cadbury from her husband as the baby in her womb demanded it too, won hearts and brought forth spontaneous laughter and tears.

This campaign went on to win hosannas as ‘The Campaign of the Century’ in India at the Abby Awards.

On the other hand, the hysterical Pappu Paas Ho Gaya campaign launched in 2005 which had Amitabh Bachchan acting as a shopkeeper, raked in the applause for sheer comic value. The ad showed everyone on campus celebrating the much-awaited passing of Pappu, a rather slow but lovable young man by eating Cadbury.

Cyrus Broacha’s move This ad brought home the points that it was absolutely ok to eat a Cadbury, in this ad, funny man Cyrus Broacha is shown selling Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate on the street, even as people are giving various whacky reasons for why they eat Cadbury.

Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye This was a much more broad-based attempt to increase the number of occasions on which

With a whopper of a 55.5 per cent share of India’s `10,000 crore chocolate market, Mondelez India, formerly Cadbury India, is a show-stopper all the way

people could treat themselves to a Dairy Milk and gradually replace traditional Mithai with Dairy Milk on all festive occasions. A particularly adorable ad under this campaign was the attempt to reach out to rural audiences with the hilarious Jab Radha Miss Palampur Bani. The ad showcased the celebrations of Radha the cow winning a beauty pageant by eating Cadbury.

Roll call of honours Cadbury Dairy Milk: It has been a star from day one--possibly the mix of dark cocoa with sugar and milk has a lot to do with dairy loving desis embracing the chocolate like none other. Other popular variants include: Fruit & Nut, Crackle, Roast Almond, Cadbury Dairy Milk Wowie, and Cadbury Dairy Milk 2 in 1. It is without a doubt, India’s reigning chocolate.

Five Star: Launched in 1969, the chocolate is a winsome mix of chewy and velvety chocolate.

The second largest brand after the Dairy Milk, its variants like 5 Star Crunchy and 5 Star Fruit and Nut are much loved too.

The Celebrations range: These boxes of chocolates contain assorted chocolates, or chocolate covered almonds and nuts, and

Cadbury is a British MNC owned by Mondelez International, specialising in confectionery. It is the second largest brand in the segment-right behind Wrigley’s. With its head office in Uxbridge, London, it has operations in over 50 countries worldwide

positioned to replace conventional gift items like boxes of malai burfi and ladoos on festivals like Diwali and Rakhi. The latest ad, for instance, shows the playful camaraderie between brother and sister, with the sister telling the brother that while she can protect herself, she realises he saved up his pocket money to buy her Cadbury Celebrations.

When the brother lunges for a taste of the chocolate, she pertly tells him that she is quite capable of looking after both herself and her chocolates!

Perk: The wafer cover chocolate launched in 1996 also famously marks the debut of the effervescent model-actor Preity Zinta who is leading a students’ hunger strike, but eating Perk on the sly. The ad, endearingly cheeky and youthful, took both Zinta and Perk straight into the hall of hame. It also has other variants like Perk XL and Perk XXL. Eclairs: The Cadbury Dairy Milk Éclairs is one of the most popular brands in the Éclairs category. The newly launched brand in this category is the Cadbury Éclairs Rich Brownie.

Silk and Bubbly: The latest uber luxe chocolates to hit the market have the ads playing on the velvety and lush textures of the chocolate through irresistible photography and music.

Thus, we find that constant reinvention and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ethos has played a huge role in the product’s enduring success. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

CC

tadka

No country for cars?

India has one of the lowest car penetration in the world (18 cars for every 1000 people).

The country of San Marino has the highest car penetration in the world (1,263 cars per 1000, whereas the war torn country of Togo has the lowest (Only two cars for every 1000 people)

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 43

THE TAX MAN COMETH-5

BY S K JHA (IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)

Collecting taxes is not like collecting honey

The relationship between the taxpayer and the tax-collector is anything but that of bees gathering honey from flowers. It is one of fear and mistrust, which leads to further hiding and stashing of the lucre. A healthier approach can stem the menace of black money

Unlike the regular tax desk which is manned by a tax officer whose job is to levy tax on you, this desk is manned by a non-serving tax officer who wishes to share his experience of 35 years in the tax department, while discussing tax provisions. It is advantageous to know how the tax department thinks and acts when, as said by Benjamin Franklin, “In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes”

K

autilya in Arthashastra said, “Collect taxes like the bees gather honey from flowers without causing pain.” The same thing was said by sage Vyas in the Mahabharata when he said that the king should behave like a bee while collecting tax from his subjects. The relationship between the flower and the bee is the ideal relationship that should be present between the tax collector and the taxpayer. I was wondering whether such a situation exists. My experience in the tax department has been just the opposite. The flower welcomes the bee as it knows the bee is its admirer and propagates its fragrance. The bee also knows that the flower is its kind host and so only need-based honey should be collected without harming the flower.

On the contrary, the relationship between the taxpayer and tax collector is a relationship of fear, hate and mistrust. A taxpayer likes to hide from the tax collector, and a tax collector does not trust his conduct. My experience says that the mistake lies on both sides. I proceed to discuss a few incidents.

It was my first month in the income-tax department. I was excited about my new career but knew nothing about it. My excitement went high when I was told that I had to go on a search duty the next day. I was to report at office at 7 in the morning. I reported in due time and found that I was part of a group of about a hundred

officers. We were asked to board the buses. The buses took us to Delhi airport. The leader of the group ordered us to board the chartered plane. We did not know anything about our destination. Once in the aircraft, we were given breakfast and blue-coloured sweaters and were told that we were flying to Srinagar for a big search action against all leading men of a particular trade. We were told that Srinagar was cold and hence we must wear the given

44 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

sweaters. The leader briefed us about the search and what we were expected to do. The traders had not been filing income-tax returns despite running very successful businesses.

The group was very happy going to Srinagar.

I had never been to Kashmir and was thanking the department for selecting me for this operation. The group was divided into 15 subgroups headed by a team leader and were given search warrants. Detailed maps of the locations

of the proposed search action were also given.

We reached Srinagar airport in a very good mood and each sub-group proceeded to the prescribed destination in pre-fixed taxis. We all were wearing the blue sweaters. Our happiness suddenly vanished and fear gripped us when we reached our prescribed destinations. There was a violent reaction when people there came to know that we had come for an incometax search action. We were manhandled and literally chased. We ran for our lives. A few of us were thrown into the nearby lake. Our blue sweaters identified us in the crowd, much to our detriment. We realised this later. Our lives were saved after the police force was deployed in different parts of Srinagar. The search was abandoned and there was a wide media coverage about this ugly incident. I still get chills down my spine remembering this incident. I learnt in a violent way that we are people not liked by taxpayers, particularly those possessing black money.

The second incident was in Mumbai, ten years into my service in the department. I was the team leader of a search party conducting search at a residential premises. A big joint family was living there. The search action continued peacefully for the whole day. We unearthed substantial hidden wealth in the form of cash, jewellery and other assets. We also got locker keys and details of unaccounted bank accounts. We collected the items to be seized in the hall and started preparing an inventory.

Suddenly, something happened that scared us. The male members of the family went missing and six to seven middle-aged women collected in the hall. They had their hair untied, let loose, and they were holding lathis. They started behaving like possessed souls during a tandav dance. My team members got scared by their swinging lathis and left me alone with the proposed seizure. I knew that it was a stage-managed show to drive us out so that the seizure of assets was not made. However, I too was really scared as the women became violent and dreadful. My team members had informed the control room and soon lady constables came and the women were taken away. The search action was completed. That incident reminded me of my first violent experience at Srinagar.

The incident I am going to relate now is about a search action I had concluded and was in the process of transporting the seized assets.

The search action was conducted in a one-room tenement where a big family resided. The family had no furniture and fixtures except for one iron chest. We recovered huge quantities of priceless heavy antique jewellery from the chest. We were really surprised to recover such priceless items. It was midnight when we were moving with the seized items when a crowd of at least a hundred people assembled and threatened

our tax collection system is not like honey collection by bees from flowers. Taxpayers do not welcome tax collectors and at times tax collectors are overenthusiastic and bypass principles of natural justice. The fight between the two sides leads to unnecessary litigation and frequent search actions. It becomes a vicious circle and the end result is the generation of black money and revenue locked for years in litigation. The trust deficit between the two sides is one of the important reasons of our money going outside the country into tax havens. We need to fight on two fronts. First, we have to educate our taxpayers and potential taxpayers and instil confidence in them about our tax collection system. Second, we have to transform our tax collection system from being

The male members of the family went missing and six to seven middle-aged women collected in the hall. They had their hair untied, let loose, and they were holding lathis.

They started behaving like possessed souls during a tandav dance. My team members got scared by their swinging lathis and left me alone with the proposed seizure. I knew that it was a stage-managed show to drive us out so that the seizure of assets was not made us, preventing us from leaving with the seized material. We were scared, but kept our cool.

We moved with the stuff, with six constables we had for security. We tried to explain to the crowd that the seized assets would be returned after proper explanation was given in the office, or taxes paid on the seized assets. The items of our seizure were shown by the department on TV as they were really priceless and the owners were not the poor persons from whom we had seized them.

The next incident I will discuss is about the behaviour of taxmen. I was not part of the search team in this case, but was a coordinator.

One search team member reported to me after the search which concluded with a huge seizure of jewellery. I was complimenting him for the big seizure when he opened up, saying that he did not give enough opportunity to the persons searched to explain, and this helped him to make a seizure of all assets of a doubtful nature.

I did not approve of this, and the searched person was given an opportunity in our office to explain the source of the seized assets. This small incident shows the mindset of a section of our officers to collect tax and make a seizure that is legally not due to the department.

The incidents discussed above indicate that

mere collectors to facilitators for the collection.

Officers can help honest taxpayers by advising and helping in filing tax returns. The trust has to be established. For real tax evaders, there will always be a strong investigation department. We have to evolve a system to stop black money generation—and that is the only way to solve the problem of black money. As the adage goes, ‘Prevention is better than cure’, so it is better to identify the root cause of black money and nip it in the bud.

CC

tadka

Interesting facts about RBI The first Indian to hold the position of the Governor of RBI was C D Deshmukh. He was the third governor of RBI. RBI or the central bank demonetised notes in the denominations of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 in 1938. They were then reintroduced in 1954 and again demonetized in 1978. RBI can print these notes according to the RBI Act of 1934.

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 45

HEALTH SURVEY

T India’s Diabetic Dilemma

Nutrition, lifestyle and demographic transitions in the country have led to a decline in overall health

BY NEERAJ VARTY

46 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

here is no doubt that Indian cuisine is one of the tastiest cuisines in the world. However, studies have now shown that it is far from the healthiest. India has one of the largest numbers of people with diabetes in the world.

A survey by Abbot Ltd, one of India’s largest pharmaceutical company, shines an interesting light on India’s eating habits, and their correlation with diabetes. Corporate Citizen brings you the results of this fascinating survey.

Indians love to eat. It is one of the favourite past times of our countrymen, who love a distraction from rampant corruption, pollution and myriad problems plaguing the country. India has perhaps the most diverse forms of cuisines in any country, differing sharply from the North to the South, from the East to the West. While we pride ourselves on our tasty cuisine, it may be time to ask ourselves whether it is actually healthy.

India has the third highest population of obesity, trailing only the United States and China. Nutrition, lifestyle and demographic transitions in India have led to a decline in overall health—and for many, that also means a rise in diseases such as diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Federation, India, today has a diabetic population of 65.1 million compared to 50.8 million in 2010. India now carries 20 percent of the global burden of diabetes. A recent survey conducted by the Association of Physicians of India (API) showed that 90 percent of people surveyed with uncontrolled diabetes in India, and continue to believe that they have control over their eating habits, despite facts suggesting otherwise.

In order to find the root of the diabetes rise in India, Abbot interviewed 4,000 diabetic patients across eight cities, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, Trivendrum and Kolkata, to find out more about their eating habits, and to study any relation between the food they eat and their health. The results are shocking, to say the least.

WHO WERE SURVEYED?

For the survey, 2,281 women and 1867 men who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 18 months or more were considered across 8 cities in all the major states in India. These respondents were selected by probability sampling and are accurate representatives of the people in the areas they reside in.

CARBOHYDRATES OVERLOAD

THE YOUTH IS AT RISK

India’s craving for rice, fine-flour rotis or upma - all carbohydrate-based foodstuffs high on calories but low on much-needed fibre is a big cause for concern. Rice accounts for 48 percent of the daily calorific intake of most Indians, and most types of white rice are known to rapidly increase the blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are supposed to comprise only 60 percent of the plate, but seven out of eight cities surveyed have gone over the recommended limit.

Diabetes is usually considered a disease which affects older people. This however, is not the case with India. Mumbai has a staggering 67 percent of diabetics, under 45 years of age, which is just marginally better than Kolkata and Lucknow, which have 65 percent of its diabetics under 45 years. It is interesting to note that both Kolkata and Mumbai are fast food loving cities, whereas Lucknow is the birthplace of the delicious but heavy Awadhi cuisine.

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 47

SURVEY

OVERWEIGHT CITIES In a shocking revelation, 69 percent of the diabetics surveyed in the national capital, turned out to be obese. Hyderabad and Chennai aren’t far behind, with 66 percent and 63 percent of the candidates being obese. Interestingly, these cities are known for their tasty cuisines, with Delhi popularly known as the food capital of India, Hyderabad known as the go-todestination for Biryanis, and Chennai being hailed as the world’s 2nd best city for food, by the BBC.

BLOOD SUGAR OUT OF HAND

South India (and Kolkata) have a sweet tooth and they just can’t help it. An absurdly large 87 percent of diabetic surveyed in Chennai can’t resist sweets and as a result, have no control over their blood sugar. This is true for other south Indian cities like Bengaluru (73 percent) and Trivendrum (77 percent). Kolkata, the home of the Rosagulla, is also unsurprisingly on the list with 77 percent.

IMPROPER EATING HABITS Of all the statistics, perhaps the most alarming is the fact that seven out of 10 surveyed diabetics across the country have imbalanced meal plates. Indians seem to love their food too much, and are unwilling to give up on their favourite foods, even at the risk of their health.

48 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

INDIA’S EATING HABITS AT A GLANCE Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata consume the most calories in a meal in India.

However, Mumbai is also the fittest, with 70 percent of the respondents exercising daily. Hyderabad and Chennai exercise the least, at 23 percent and 31 percent respectively. Trivandrum consumes the most meals in a day (4.3), as compared to Hyderabad, which consumes only three meals per day. Kolkata has the maximum number of people (15 percent) who adhere to fasts despite being diabetic. Throughout India, sweets, chocolates and ice-cream remain the most difficult food items to give up once the respondents were diagnosed with diabetes.

neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 49

DEBATE

CORPORATES’ CHOICE

Ghar ka khana ya bahar ka?

Eating out or ghar Ka khana? Just what is it that today’s Corporate Citizen chooses, given the demands on his/her time, thanks to work and travel? Kalyani Sardesai finds out more

50 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

RAJESH AGRAWAL VP, Investor Relations & PR, Uflex Ltd. I am a foodie, and ghar ka khana is my cuisine of choice anytime and every time. Of course, that’s not always possible given that I travel quite a bit, both nationally and internationally these days.

When it comes to business lunches or even social gatherings, I stick to a dal, roti and subzi--even though the very concept of buffet is something I am principally opposed to. Just think of the waste: starting from a soup, you have a choice of lots of veg and non-veg dishes. There’s also biryani, and a live pasta cum pizza counter to say nothing of a selection of sweets!

I can’t help but balk at the wastage of food and resources, and strongly believe it can be avoided.

My wife and I love experimenting with different cuisines--in fact, just the other day, we enjoyed a memorable meal at Peshawar in Mumbai.

We also have friends and relations visiting us from Delhi, who make it a point to get us some tasty sweets and savouries-ranging from fresh kulchas and chhole to Punjabi sweets like doda and phirni.

Though I am a Marwari, the defence touch in my home has always ensured we go easy on the oil. Having said that, one certainly does not bother about

calories or any such thing when we occasionally indulge in the ghee soaked dal, baati choorma (A Rajashtani-Marwari dish of choice). In fact, the more hot ghee you put over the dal and baati, the tastier it is. (laughs.)

This is not to say we are not health conscious -- in fact, since 2012, an ongoing concern has been to keep both cholesterol and weight in check. We stick to one dal and vegetables at lunch with phulkas--and avoid rice. At night, we have two veggies instead of one, and no dal. As far as possible, I avoid mixing rice and roti; experts say it’s not a good idea to mix the two.

Having said that, good food is one of life’s greatest joys--and one of my favourite things to do is cook my ‘famous’ chicken curry for friends and family.

Since I do enjoy an occasional drink, especially a single malt, I stick to green tea sans milk, and unsweetened black coffee.

Ultimately, everything you eat breaks down to sugar, so choose your indulgences wisely.

fabulous cook, and comes up with a host of dishes with her unique signature touch--be it chhole or pizza!

I am not someone who takes a lot of stress, in fact I believe in being as positive as possible--so simple, wholesome, balanced meals do the trick for me most of the time.

Neither of us are much for experimenting with different cuisines--we like our Indian khana, thank you very much!

However, dinner, as far as possible is a light meal. I usually choose of one of the two options: dalia or khichdi. You get all the health and nutrition you need-sans the calories.

Of course, calorie counting is not something I bother with when I indulge in my all time favourite comfort food: doodh roti with lots of sugar!

DR GIRISH KULKARNI Founder, Startup Capital

AMIT PANDEY Senior Vice President, Head – Procurement, SCM, HR & Admin, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. I love basic ghar ka khana, and stuff that is home-made and simple. It helps that my wife is a

I love home food, not just for its comforting flavours, but also because it’s quite rare! My business requires me to travel both nationally and internationally, for anywhere between 15 to 20 days a month. Being a pure vegetarian and teetotaller in this day and age is quite a challenge, but I manage!

Getting Indian food in the Middle East is not tough, but

“I personally love Chinese and European food, and given our recent travel to South East Asia, Malaysian cuisine as well,” says Nandita Mathur December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 51

DEBATE China and Europe are a different story altogether! Their definition of veg food includes egg and sea food based sauces, and it takes quite a bit of effort to explain to the chef or restaurant manager that egg is not veg !! Veggie food available in the West European and Mediterranean market is bland and raw, and does not really satisfy my taste buds, so packets of khakra and theplas come in handy.

Visiting South East Asia and the sight of all those joints of meat belonging to different animals strung up at road side stalls to dry is rather overwhelming, but each to his own. One tries not to be judgmental, but instead, stick to what one believes in. I am a teetotaller, and despite being part of several events and dos, I have never felt the need to pick up a drink or two.

After all this, home is definitely where the heart and palate belong--no two ways about it. Simple, tasty Indian veg fare--aah! Pure heaven.

SAMEER BARDE AVP, Corporate Affairs, Nestle The last few months have required me to spend most of my time in New Delhi-Gurgaon. I am supposed to be home for about three weekends a month--but that rarely happens given the recent pressures of work. Everyone loves home food--but it is increasingly rare of late.

Breakfast is usually at home, and lunch in the office--so even though Delhi is a foodie’s paradise I have not really had the chance to eat out all that much. And of

Food is, worldwide, the great connector of people and conversations revolving around food tend to be both interactive and interesting. I am not one of those who believes in cutting out on food in the name of health course, there’s always good old Maggi whenever I feel like it!

Typically, whatever I eat these days is a mix of convenience, comfort and availability. Since one has neither the time nor inclination to cook at the end of a long work day, I have hit upon a simple but effective way of eating healthy--and keeping it easy: No cooked meals in the night, just seasonal fruit and raw salad.

This not only saves me time in the kitchen, but also keeps those calories in check. I am a typical Puneite--whose choice of snacks would be bhel, misal, chaat and all those spicy items that aren’t terribly healthy but oh-so-delicious (laughs.) Also given a choice I would eat nothing but desserts all day. However, that is a pipe dream, given my ongoing battle with the bulge. I love Indian mithai -- especially the entire range of Bengali sweets like cham cham and sandesh, much more so than cakes and chocolates. Actually, any sweet made of milk works for me -- but these days, I restrict myself to a tiny portion, if at all. South Indian food is another hot favourite--it’s far healthier than other options, and the way Udupis make it, it generally tends to be consumed straightway, thereby ensuring its freshness.

52 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

NANDITA MATHUR Deputy Manager, The Times of India I would say my lifestyle is a judicious mix of eating out and cooking at home. Given our hectic schedules, it is not always possible to prepare dinners--so both my husband and I often grab a bite somewhere out. Breakfast and lunch, though, are usually homecooked. On one level, neither of us make a big fuss over food--we eat whatever is available. On another, we are both avid foodies.

I personally love Chinese and European food, and given our recent travel to South East Asia, Malaysian cuisine as well.

Indians, to quite some extent, tend not to like international cuisines as they find it bland

and tasteless. I do agree our desi spices have their own charm, but considering the fact that the world is coming closer together, mainly for business, it is both practical and reasonable to develop a palate for having stuff that you don’t on a regular basis. It is also the polite thing to do--to eat what’s served before you. Food is, worldwide, the great connector of people-and conversations revolving around food tend to be both interactive and interesting. I am not one of those who believes in cutting out on food in the name of health; working out for 30 minutes daily does the trick for me! kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

CC

tadka

India’s massive movie industry India’s cinema industry is more than US and Canada combined in terms of ticket sales of Rs 3.2 billion per year. And if you include the pirated movie industry, the movie industry is the biggest in the world.

BEYOND THE BOTTOMLINE

Be The Nice Guy There is cut-throat competition and so your ‘sales force targets’ customers in the dog-eat-dog world. There are business sharks in the rat race who might be engaged in fierce competition

By Suchismita Pai

I

t is that time of the year – the season for celebrating the victory of good over evil.

If there is one lesson to be learnt from this festive season, it is about the nice guys winning. But do good guys win?

If not always, at least most of the times.

Business communication is replete with warlike terminology. There is cut-throat competition and so your ‘sales force target’ customers in the dog-eat-dog world. There are business sharks in the rat race who might be engaged in relentless and fierce competition, and ruthlessly kill the competition.

Is business then all about aggression and elbowing others out of the way? It might seem that way, but it is not always that way, say experts. `Collaboration is the new competition’ reads a piece in the Harvard Business Review. While it may sound like a cliché to talk about the globalised business world, no one has all the answers in such a world. With business becoming less assembly line and more inclusive in terms of the people, the place and target market, the need to collaborate is more than ever before. You cannot lead by riding roughshod over everyone when it is all about team work.

When it is no longer about the ‘boss’ and the ‘employee’ and more about being first among equals, it takes cooperation and collaboration rather than competition to succeed. Richard Branson, founder of the very successful Virgin Atlantic Airlines when asked about whether aggression is necessary in business has said “There are lots of ways to get your point across and make your business successful without being aggressive. Always remember that you love what you do and your role is to persuade others to love your business, too, and, therefore, to want to work with you. I hope we are successful at Virgin

THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS AND MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT BEING AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER THAT YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND YOUR ROLE IS TO PERSUADE OTHERS TO LOVE YOUR BUSINESS, AND TO WANT TO WORK WITH YOU

because we engage with everyone in a positive, inclusive manner rather than in an aggressive, combative or negative way.”

A professor at the Wharton School of Business also says that ‘giving’ or being less aggressive and threatening can be very powerful, both personally and professionally. The non-aggressive people, he says, earn the respect of their colleagues without being threatening. People who feel more secure and less threatened are more likely to be loyal and get better results.

So while the good guys might have to engage in war sometimes and fight battles, it seems the best way forward in business is to be the nice guy.

So while ‘cracking the whip’ might have worked in another time, for now we can all do well to imbibe the lessons the festive season has on offer.

Season’s greetings everyone ! paisuchi@gmail.com

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 53

STAR CAMPUS PLACEMENT-11

Preparation is the key In the advent of the India growth story, more and more companies are coming forward to choose the best talent. Hence, it has become very important for every student to put his best foot forward, given the tough and competitive environment. Students are learning to mould themselves to cope with the changing demands of the corporate world. In view of the same, Corporate TA Citizen caught up with two dynamic students, PARIXIT KOSADA and YOGITA ZOPE, who have successfully completed their post-graduation from a leadingg management college and are well placed with one of India’s leading corporatee houses. Both these young, bright students take us through their journey from the campus to the corporate world

By Mahalakshmi Hariharan Today, Parixit Kosada and Yogita Zope, are successfully placed with Hindustan Unilever (HUL), in the department of supply chain management, with a package of Rs 7 lakh, after completing their post-graduation from a leading management college.

Campus Placement Yogita and Parixit had always dreamt of getting placed with a leading corporate house, that too with HUL. Says Parixit, “I always wanted to work for HUL. This was one of my dream companies. We went through a resume screening, followed by a group discussion and a personal interview,” adding, “I had to go to HUL Mumbai, where they have their headquarters, for the interview process. There were students from many colleges who were present for the interview process. My process started with filling up the application form, followed by a Power Point presentation, in which the head of supply chain department briefed us about the profile and the work culture at HUL.” Yogita was always keen that she gets a good work profile which would build a strong foundation for her career and take her ahead.

“Since I was majoring in operations, every company that was coming to the campus was looking to hire students who are well-versed with their basics and have sound technical knowledge of the subject. Keeping that in mind, I first started working on my resume, started revising my graduation concepts and started reading the Economic Times regularly, so that I was well-informed about my sector. Thus I started preparing to achieve my goal,” says Yogita.

At the group discussion round, Parixit was asked to prepare a case study in which he had to organise events with limited funds and make the college event a grand success. Post this round, there was a personal interview round, where technical questions asked. “There were 54 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

many questions from subjects like Inventory Management, Material Requirement ment Planning and Total Quality Management nt that were asked. After clearing my first round nd of personal interview, I gave the second round d of PI which also based on functional knowledge. dge. Here, the interviewer asked me a lot of questions uestions about HUL, number of brands that at fall under the umbrella of HUL, just to o try and check my knowledge and interest est for the company,” said Parixit.

Adds Yogita, “It was a hardcoree technical round. They were lookingg out for candidates who would add d value to the company. I too went nt through two technical rounds, ds, where they asked various technical nical questions and each of the interview view lasted for almost an hour. There were ere questions from every subject of our ur specialisation subjects. But I was well prepared and pretty confident while hile answering all questions, which helped ped me crack both the technical rounds. s.”

Yogita did her summerr internship with the Standard d Chartered Bank, in the department of banking operations, where she reengineered the processes involved in banking liability operations by digitizing them. Her work was appreciated by the bank operations head and her projectt stood out as one of the best projectss in the college.

Yogita Zope

“I spent 365 days in the campus, attended many HR meets which enhanced my knowledge. My faculty mentored me very well.

Determination, Dedication and discipline, indeed helped me achieve my goals,” says Parixit

Parixit Kosada

Experience at the campus Says Parixit, “My experience on the campus was simply superb. We celebrated every festival, studied hard and even took part in extracurricular activities. I spent 365 days in the campus, attended many HR meets which enhanced my knowledge. My faculty mentored me very well. I also participated in the inter-college competition in which each of us had a chance to show our expertise in various streams of dancing, plays and so on. Not to forget, the DJ party was always a stressbuster for me.”

When Parixit joined college, he didn’t know anyone, but slowly and gradually he started making new friends and getting to know people closely.

“Initially, it was difficult for me to make friends.

There were people from different walks of life, different backgrounds but as the induction process started, I began communicating and started feeling comfortable,” reminisces Parixit.

Parixit has learnt the importance of time management in his college, and started managing daily studies, surprise tests, in very less time.

“As it is said - All work and no play makes Jack a dull, boy, so, I got enough experience here in studies as well as

other curricular activities. Determination, Dedication and discipline, indeed helped me achieve my goals,” adds Parixit.

Meanwhile, Yogita believes that every day is a new experience and each day we get an opportunity to solve a problem, to learn and to move ahead in our life that is why it is truly mentioned her dean-Problems are Opportunities.

“I would call my institute as a finishing school because it was here where we learned to believe in ourselves, it gave us the confidence and willpower to face the toughest times in our lives. My college has completely changed my life and my personality. It taught me the importance of time, how to manage ourselves and how to live with people of diverse culture and behaviour. My 365 days in college made me work hard and achieve my goal. I completely owe it to my faculties, who helped me achieve my dream,” says Yogita.

Yogita was not much into extracurricular activities but made it a point to network with leading corporates who visited her college and made many friends. “I hardly used to participate in any of the extracurricular activities but never missed the DJ party of the college. That apart, I made a lot of friends, built a huge network with experts from various fields, which I believe will help me in my future,” she adds.

The college schedule was pretty hectic, but Yogita

PIECES OF ADVICE TO JUNIORS FROM PARIXIT:

x Work hard x Never give up x Prepare well x Stay motivated x It is very difficult to be 100 per cent prepared for any interview because at the end moment, there could be a question from any stream, any subject, during your personal interview.

Hence, be well prepared. x Study regularly x Application of each concept is important x Success is never ending and failure is not the end

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 55

STAR CAMPUS PLACEMENT-11 PIECES OF ADVICE TO JUNIORS FROM YOGITA:

x Preparation is the key x Keep your fundamentals very clear and strong x Stay informed. Read the newspapers. The Economic Times is your bible, so make notes of the important news articles and revise them before you sit for the interview x Work on your communication skills, if needed. In the group discussion process, interviewers also judge your soft skills such as communication, team work, listening skills, apart from your knowledge x Before you appear for any interview, study the company thoroughly. First look at the profile and not package. Remember, a good package will keep you happy for the next 2-3 years but a good profile will keep you happy forever and money will automatically follow.

Hard work always pay off

Yogita (R) with her sister, Tilottama (L)

“My college completely changed my life and my personality. It taught me the importance of time, how to manage ourselves and how to live with people of diverse culture and behavior,” recalls Yogita thoroughly enjoyed her early morning newspaper sessions, surprise tests for which she had to be well-prepared all the time, learning from the faculties and meeting experts from the corporate world.

“It helped us immensely to learn and gather practical knowledge about various business activates and real world scenarios,” she recalls.

Education and family background Parixit did his schooling from the Gujarat Board and passed with distinction in 2007, post which he opted for the science stream and passed his higher secondary from the Gujarat High Secondary Board in 2009. Later, he did his graduation in Mechanical Engineering from Gujarat Technological University in 2013 with distinction, and joined a chemical company where he worked for a year, before he decided to pursue his post-graduation. Parixit’s parents are retired teachers. He has two elder sisters, who are married.

Yogita, who hails from Mumbai, started from a vernacular medium and completed her HSC in the science stream from Mumbai University. Later, she did her B.Tech in Fiber and Textile Processing Technology and joined Mandhana Industries Ltd, a manufacturing and exporting company for fabric and garments, where she worked as export marketing executive for about one and a half years.

During this time, she worked with various international apparel brands such as H&M, s.Oliver and Inditex.

“I was deeply involved in coordinating plant and corporate business activities at this company, where I

56 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

was handling a very small part of supply chain of textile manufacturing firm at that time. I was also recognized as youngest potential employee of Mandhana team to build strong customer H&M and converted 12 lacs metres fabric booking in just eight months. This triggered my confidence and I decided to expertise in this field by doing postgraduation in operations and supply chain management so that I can get more polished and understand business in a better and bigger way,” said Yogita.

Yogita’s dad works for MTNL, while her mother is employed with the district court. Interestingly, Yogita’s sister is also pursuing her MBA in the same college, who is an ex engineering student of the prestigious VJTI, Mumbai. Her family has always supported her in every walk of life.

Hobbies Parixit--My hobbies are playing volleyball and cricket .I like to travel and explore new places. I like to read about the automobiles industry and space research.

Yogita-- I like to work with various NGOs. I am currently associated with the Umang Foundation, where we teach underprivileged students in its project ‘Gurukul’. Cooking is my passion. I also love to make various crafts from waste products. Home décor is something that interests me.

Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in

CC

tadka India’s leather Industry Every year, India produces two billion sq. feet of leather, and the Indian leather industry accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s leather production. The total production of the Indian leather industry stands at US $ 11 billion for 2014-15, out of which goods worth USD 6 billion were exported.

CLAPS & SLAPS Corporate Citizen claps for the former world number one tennis player, Serena Williams, after she chased down a crook who allegedly snatched her phone She’s truly a superhero! Sensational tennis star, Serena Williams, chased down a crook who allegedly snatched her cell phone at a Chinese restaurant. Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki were also present during the incident, when a man tried to steal Serena’s cell phone off the chair beside her. But the alert tennis superstar gave him a chase and nabbed the thief to get her phone back. The 34-year-old American, who has 21 majors titles under her belt, wrote the entire incident in an interesting way and posted it on her Instagram account.

Serena tweeted, “So yesterday at dinner the craziest thing happened to me. I was sitting enjoying some Chinese food and this guy stands next to me. It was only two of us sitting at a four person table just chatting like we have not seen each other in years. Anyways I digress, so this guy is standing next to me and something (I have now dubbed it my superhero sense) told me to watch him. My phone was sitting in the chair but I just didn’t feel right. He was there too long. “Is he a customer?”

I thought “Is he waiting on the bathroom?” Nonetheless I tried to shake his eerie feeling. However, I kept watching him from the corner of my eye. Then when least expected, low and behold this common petty thief grabbed my phone and swiftly left. I looked at the chair, than shouted “Omg that dude took my phone!!” Not thinking, I reacted (hence the superwoman photo) I jumped up, weaved my way in and out of the cosy restaurant and chased him down. He began to run but I was too fast. (Those sprints came in handy) She added, “I was upon him in a flash! In the most menacing yet calm, no, nonsense voice I could muster I kindly asked him if he accidentally took the wrong phone. He stumbled on his words, probably not expecting this to happen. While he was thinking of the right thing to say, eventually he said, “Gosh, you know what I did! It was so confusing in there. I must have grabbed the wrong phone.” Meanwhile, my phone was ringing, my superhero sidekick quail man was face timing me so he could not possibly deny the allegations. I swiftly thanked him and left.

Superhero? Maybe? She believes that always listen to your superhero inner voice. Fight for what’s right.

“When I got back into the restaurant I received a standing ovation.

I was proud. I just showed every man in there I can stand up to bullies and other men. It was a win for the ladies.”

Corporate Citizen slaps the unacceptably high levels of pollution, this Diwali, due to high use of fireworks It’s high time that we start saving our environment and protect the health of the citizens of our country. Centre for Science and Environment has released the results of the exposure monitoring that it carried out on Diwali night as well as the analysis of the official ambient monitoring data on the evening of Diwali. Sadly, the data shows a dramatic build-up of pollution as crackers begin to take effect and hit dangerous levels of exposure.

The ambient pollution level on Diwali may have seen a slight improvement over the previous year due to comparatively less crackers and mild wind in some parts. The recorded wind speed during 2015 Diwali was 1.19 metre per second in contrast to 0.62 m/s in 2014 – the wind speed in this Diwali had almost doubled.

But from the public health perspective, direct exposure to toxic emissions matters most.

“Delhiites will have to do a lot more to control crackers to reduce such dangerous levels of exposure and protect public health,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhry, Executive Director, CSE after they carried out exposure monitoring, the level of pollution within our breathing zone at the time crackers were burst and found alarming levels of exposure.

People breathed several times higher pollution than the ambient level monitored by DPCC: Overall, during Diwali evenings people breathed an hourly average that is at least 3 to 4 times higher than the ambient monitoring recorded at the DPCC stations. Official realtime monitoring also indicates high peak build up during Diwali the festival. CSE also tracked the changes in real-time data and found rapid build-up as the evening progressed.

The official release on Diwali pollution does not capture these changes in evening when the crackers are burst. Ambient levels increased rapidly in the evening, official monitoring shows rapid build-up of pollution peaks 8 pm onwards. DPCC has released results of the ambient monitoring on Diwali day and compared them with last year. The plausible reasons are comparatively less cracker burning and also mild and improved wind compared to last year.

This left no room for additional pollution in the city, especially from crackers that not only pushes up the pollution spike but also laces it with deadly cancer causing substances.

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 57

BOLLYWOOD BIZ

Corporate Manager,

now Filmmaker!

Karthik Subbaraj gave up a high-paying corporate job to become a filmmaker, and against all odds, succeeded

By Neeraj Varty

E

veryone dreams of pursuing their dream career, but not many have the courage to risk everything by giving up their comfortable jobs in order to follow up on their dream. Karthik Subbaraj is an exception. He gave up a high-paying corporate job to become a filmmaker, and against all odds, succeeded. Now, he is venturing into another unknown territory with his new StartUp Stone Bench Creations . Corporate Citizen brings you the inspirational story of this young engineerturned –filmmaker-turned CEO, straight from the horse’s mouth.

ON HIS CORPORATE JOB I studied Mechatronics at Thiagarajar College of Engineering. I was placed with a software company in Bengulur, where I was earning well.

However, I wasn’t passionate about it. Since my college days, I was interesting in filmmaking.

I used to direct and perform skits, which were well received by my peers. Although I was interested in filmmaking, I wasn’t in a position to quit my job and follow my passion.

Around this time, I heard about a one day filmmaking workshop in Bengulur, by Sanjay Nambiar, a popular filmmaker in the South.

This is where I was introduced to the nuances of scripting, directing, editing and all the bells and whistles that go with the craft. After this, I used to make a lot of short films – on the street, in my house, casting my friends and family.

These self-projects helped me understand the technicalities of making a film.

ON HIS LEARNING PROCESS Around this time, I was sent to the US for a couple of years by my company. It was there that I met a lot of independent filmmakers who I worked with to make more short films. I learnt about the American style of filmmaking and the use of VFX in movies, which would play a big role later in my career.

Earlier, whatever money I made in my software job, I invested in short films, but I never got one rupee back, as short films very rarely reach the audience That’s when I thought of starting a company that distributed short films, and monetised the process

58 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

ON GETTING HIS BIG BREAK When I got back, a few of my friends told me about a new Tamil show called Naalaya Iyakunar, which is a Tamil reality show where they identify potential directors from the many contestants. The show is judged by popular directors in Tamil Cinema. I sent a short film of mine for the preliminary selection, and then forgot about it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was very good at my software job, and was sent to France for a long term project for two years.

Soon after I landed there, I received a call from the Naalaya Iyakunar team informing me that my film had been selected.

I now had a choice to make. Do I stick to my plush well-paid job, or risk everything and quit?

I chose the latter. I made up an excuse about a family illness, and told my boss that I had to return to India. I requested them to transfer me back to Bengulur, which they refused. I then tended my resignation. The company insisted that I had to serve a two-month notice period in France, which I refused to do. I went out for lunch and when I came back, they threw me out of the office. I had to call my friends at work and request them to get my belongings from my cubicle, as I wasn’t allowed back in.

I had put everything on line for this break.

If it failed, it would have been for nothing.

Fortunately, I was declared the winner of the show that season and there has been no looking back.

ON HIS MOVIES My first commercial movie was Pizza (2012), which was a low-budget thriller made in Tamil, which became a runaway success. It was

Earlier, whatever money I made in my software job, I invested in short films, but I never got even one ` back, as short films very rarely reach the audience.

That’s when I thought of starting a company that distributed short films, and monetised the process remade in Hindi, and the remake too was very successful. My next film was Jigarthana (2014), starring Siddharth. That film was again a super hit, completing 50 days at the box office. It also earned two National awards, for Best Editing and best Supporting Actor. My upcoming projects are Iraivi and Sasi, which are currently in various stages of completion.

are also into celebrity management and ad film making. The idea is create a technology and people infrastructure to help the film industry.

Currently we are very active in the Tamil Film industry, and we plan to expand on the national level with time.

ON ADVICE TO YOUNGSTERS Believe in yourself and follow your dream! neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

ON STONE BENCH CREATIONS When was in school, I used to see a stone bench in the yard. I always thought that if I ever started a business, I would name it Stone Bench. I love making short films. Earlier, whatever money I made in my software job, I invested in short films, but I never got one rupee back, as short films very rarely reach the audience. That’s when I thought of starting a company that distributed short films, and monetised the process. We needed to bring technology as well as corporate expertise in the process. I am lucky to have gotten a good team who is very creative and dedicated. We have managed to expand to other solutions too. We have launched two products – Benchflix – which distributes short films, and Bench Cast – which makes the casting process for movies very streamlined for both acting aspirants and filmmakers. We

CC

tadka

Indian students boost America’s economy A record high of 1,32,888 Indian students studying in the US in 2014/15 academic year contributed $3.6 billion to the US economy.

India is the second leading place of origin for students coming to the US, making up 13.6 per cent of the total international students in the country for the year.

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 59

PEARLS OF WISDOM

By Sri Sri Ravishankar

Remedy for terrorism

We need to educate people in human values like friendliness, compassion, cooperation, a sense of belonging and spirituality

T

errorism is an act of violence that inflicts pain and suffering, and is destructive to oneself and others. Terrorism induces fear and increases poverty, suffering and loss of life with no apparent gain to anyone. Instead of offering or seeking solutions, terrorism looks to destruction as an answer. In acts of terrorism, human values are lost.

Why do people turn to terrorism? The first factor is frustration and desperation to achieve a goal. When people are desperate to achieve some goal and are unable to do it, the desperation brings up violence in them.

The second factor is belief in a nonverifiable concept of merit and heaven: “if I die fighting for God, then I will go to heaven, because God wants this act to happen”. Who knows? No one can verify these statements. The third is a staunch belief that “my way is the only way”. Fourth is ignoring human values in order to achieve a goal and fifth is the lack of respect or honour for life itself.

Terrorism is based on a concept of God favouring some and being angry with others. This notion undermines the omnipresence and omnipotence of God. How can an omnipresent God exclude some people? How can an omnipotent God be angry? Anger and frustration arise when someone is unable to do something or control something. With this limited idea of God, you become the saviour of God rather than the servant of God. Terrorism fails to recognise that God loves variety and diversity; that many different schools of thought exist in this world.

What is the remedy for terrorism?

As long as there is limited understanding, limited wisdom, there is no way we can get rid of terrorism from this world. We have to broaden our 60 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

vision and educate people in all the different religious and cultural traditions of the world. Religious and spiritual leaders, in particular, should have a broad understanding of cultures and religions. Every mullah, every priest and rabbi should know something about all other religions. If we learn to broaden our vision and deepen our roots, people will not fall into a narrow idea of the will of God. Of course, it’s not just religion that makes people become terrorists; there can be social and political reasons also.

Terrorists are completely mistaken; they are mistaken about their religious teachings, they have a mistaken idea of freedom, and they are mistaken in what they want to achieve in life because they are inflicting suffering on others and also on themselves. Directing hatred and anger towards terrorists will not change or improve them. We need to bring transformation in them and for this we need patience, endurance, and compassion.

The only way to get rid of fanaticism in the world is through education that is broad-based, multi-cultural and multi-religious, so that a child growing up does not think that only the Bible or only the Koran holds the truth. Then, we have to value all human life value, value it more than race, religion and culture. Next, educate people in human values like friendliness, compassion, cooperation, a sense of belonging and spirituality.

Terrorism is based on a concept of God favouring some and being angry with others. This notion undermines the omnipresence and omnipotence of God. How can an omnipresent God exclude some people? Anger and frustration arise when someone is unable to do something or control something. With this limited idea of God, you become the saviour of God rather than the servant of God Spirituality nourishes the human values of compassion, love, caring, sharing and acceptance. Spirituality is also finding the way to calm the mind and go deep in your prayers, irrespective of what prayer you do or what religion you follow. It is honouring the values that are found in all religions.

If a person identifies himself with a race, religion, culture or nationality, that’s it! He remains in that position and he will fight for that and die for that and others will die with him. Instead, give him a broader perspective.

First and foremost, we are part of the Divine. Our second identity is that we are human beings. The third identity we have is that we are male or female. The fourth identity is that we belong to a particular nation. The

fifth identity is that we belong to a particular religion. If the right order of identity is understood, then human values are honoured. But if I identify myself with a religion or nationality, forgetting that first I am part of the Divine and that I am a human being, then I bring misery onto myself and onto others also. Learn how to cope with the stress of life. Stress and tension are the root cause of violence. Have a sense of belonging to this planet and to all people. Cultivate confidence in achieving a noble goal in a peaceful, non-violent manner. And finally, see that only spiritual awakening can weed out the destructive tendency in the human mind.

(Article courtesy: www.artofliving.org) December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 61

MOBILE APPS

PAYMENTS GO DIGITAL

In today’s world, almost everyone uses digital currency to shop and pay bills.

Using your debit or credit card online is a lot more convenient, and it saves a lot of time and effort. With advent of the modern-day smartphone, the process of using digital currency has become even easier and safer. In addition, you can also save a lot of money while paying bills, by simply downloading the following mobile apps

BY NEERAJ VARTY

Price – Free, 4 stars All the latest smartphones come with NFC (Near Field Connectivity) built into the devices. With Android Wallet, all you have to do is link your credit or debit card once with the device, and then you can leave your wallet at home. When you buy something at a store, all you have to do is wave your smartphone at the billing counter at an

NFC payment machine, and it will automatically make the payment by drawing from your card details linked to your Google account.

This technology is mainstream in the US and Europe, and is now fast spreading across India. It will first roll out in shopping centers, movie halls, and fast food restaurants, and then slowly be incorporated into other sectors.

62 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

The best part about Google Wallet is that it is completely safe, and has a multi-tiered authentication system including fingerprint scanners and voice identification, so that even if your phone is stolen, no one can misuse your funds.

Because Google is trying to heavily promote Wallet, it has tied up with major retailers, and is offering huge discounts if you shop using the app.

Price – Free, 5 Stars PayPal basically does everything that Google Wallet does, but is more widely adopted at the moment, especially in India. PayPal has an established presence in India, where you can link your debit or credit card to PayPal and basically leave your wallet at home. One thing that PayPal does that Google Wallet doesn’t is that it allows you to send money to anybody you want to, through the app itself. With just a few clicks, you can transfer digital currency to any of your friends or family at any time, and they will receive it within seconds. This process is much faster than RTGS, and is much more secure too.

Price – free, 5 Stars Freecharge is an app that lets you make bill payments for your prepaid or postpaid phone, DTH connection, and utility bills. The app lets you see the latest plans from you mobile carrier, choose the one that fits you best and recharge your balance within seconds. The best part about Freecharge is that with every bill payment, you get fabulous offers, such as free movie tickets, buy one and get one free coupons for most fast food restaurants and coupons for discounts on shopping at the biggest retailers. Now here is the clincher. Freecharge is owned by Snapdeal.com. With every bill payment, you get Snapdeal currency, which you can use to buy any product of that value on Snapdeal.

Similarly, on Snapdeal, especially during festive sales, you get free Freecharge currency in multiples of 100 on every purchase, which you can use to pay bills. If you shop online regularly, you can save a ton of money on your bills every month using this technique. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

FEATHERLITE

CORPORATE TWITTERATI The Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur on Thursday submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, suggesting 23.55 per cent hike in pay and allowances of govt employees. CC picks up what the social media (twetter) had to say _ the good, the bad and the ugly dilip cherian@DILIPtheCHERIAN : Will Rajan treat #7thPayCommission 23.5% hike for babus’ as an Economy stimulus? Or Inflation risk of Rs 1 lac crores&deficit load EconomicTimesVerified account@EconomicTimes: India wage bill will challenge fiscal consolidation plans: Fitch on 7th Pay Commission Sudheendra Kulkarni@SudheenKulkarni : Impl of #7thPayCommission hike in toto will bankrupt govt finances when oil prices rise.Must link it to outcomes & strict work culture norms Reuters IndiaVerified account@ReutersIndia: Panel recommends nearly 25 pct pay hike for India’s central govt employees in 7th Pay Commission Anu@kurian_anu: Is this a good time to Chuck corporate careers n become a babu? #ThinkingOutLoud #7thPayCommission Ramanjaneyulu@RamanjaneyuluGV: The #7thPayCommission makes farmers whose average income is less than Rs 3000 per month look like beggars. And that is 60% of India Indranil@indraanilC : 7th Pay Commission recommends 23.55% hike; OROP for civilians too Eggamind@Stupidosaur: Modi’s FDI and loan based project enthusiasm & 7th pay commission both remind of Germany as Wiemar Republic before it failed economically.

LAUGH ALOUD TOP TEN MANAGEMENT FUNDAS ☺ ”We will do it” means “You will do it” ☻ ”You have done a great job” means “More work to be given to you” ☼ ”We are working on it” means “We have not yet started working on the same” ♀ ”Tomorrow first thing in the morning” means “Its not getting done “at least not tomorrow!” ♂ ”After discussion we will decide-I am very open to views” means “I have already decided, I will tell you what to do” ♠ ”There was a slight miscommunication”

♣

♥

♦

♪

means “We had actually lied” ”Let’s call a meeting and discuss” means “I have no time now, will talk later” ”We can always do it” means “We actually cannot do the same on time” ”We are on the right track but there needs to be a slight extension of the deadline” means “The project is screwed up, we cannot deliver on time.” ”We had slight differences of opinion “means “We had actually fought”

Post Master in a post office told to a woman,”You have to put another stamp on this letter as it is too heavy.”

The woman replied, “How would an extra stamp make it lighter?”

The Order A customer sent an order to a distributor for a large amount of goods totaling a great deal of money. The distributor noticed that the previous bill hadn’t been paid. The collections manager left a voice-mail for them saying, “We can’t ship your new order until you pay for the last one. “The next day the collections manager received a collect phone call, “Please cancel the order. We can‘t wait that long. ”

Manish Choubey@talktomkc: @sudhirchaudhary sir...please do DNA on 7th pay commission...we are waiting for that....thanks

“Knowing Where To Kick” A car mechanic is called in after every other mechanic failed.

He listens to the engine for a few minutes, then hauls off and gives it a big swift kick in a certain strategic spot. Lo and behold, the engine starts humming like a kitten. The mechanic turns around, gives the car owner his bill for $400. The owner is flabbergasted and demands an itemized breakdown AND EXPLANATION. The bill says... ‘$1 for my time, and $399 for knowing where to kick.’

T Vilas@Neovilas: Salary hike no issue, but pension for govt babu’s.. They make up their retirement funds during their work years #7thPayCommission

Here’s some advice: At a job interview, tell them you’re willing to give 110 percent.

Unless the job you are applying for is that of a statistician.

Darshan Singh@dsphul: Can V stop D recommendation of 7th pay commission n use D expected burden 2 bring down D prizes of goods that can B shared by all equally

December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 63

ASTROTURF ARIES

SAGITTARIUS

Mar 21- April 20

Career has been on the upswing especially if you have paying attention and been attentive and made changes required for growth. Sun travelled with your career planet Saturn boosting your career by placing opportunities and success to your advantage. Healthy and energy remain good. Pay attention towards your diet and exercise routine situation can be handled well.

Nov 23 - Dec 22

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

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20

Health and energy remains good.

Keep your ears and eyes open and grab opportunities coming your way, much lucky breaks are foreseen and there is sure going to be a lucky successful month ahead. Finances and career is going well romance never ceases to happen. Be caring towards others and building up solid relationships maybe even life long friends.

GEMINI May 21 - June 21 December is the month that demands attention towards your health. Review and monitor your health, do not neglect any niggling problems. Avoid any kind of strenuous activities around your work place or home.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23

This period very conducive and favourable for job seekers and for those who employ others.

Focus on your health. Romance and love life remains good. This could also be fruitful when you are interacting with prospective buyers or investors interested in your product. Networking and socialising both for personal and professional will be good.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23

This month heralds plenty of opportunities for those of you who are seeking jobs. Build up your mood to work and employers should not hesitate towards revamping their work scenario. This period is perfect for getting things out of your way.

The period is very conducive for travelling. Overall you are in a prosperity cycle that continues well into next year. Keep a check over your finances and curb your desire to spend on luxuries, spend on only what you need.

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22

Maintain your calm and be patient with loved ones.

Arguments confrontations are not going to yield any kind of results. Temper tantrums and risky activities best be avoided.

Though your spouse or partner remains devoted and loyal to you even support to whatever your thoughts or ideas are. Make wise investments to secure your future.

Job opportunities come your way, do not neglect them, give them a thought as a change of line could unnerve you but it can also completely change your life for the better.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23

Family affairs and your entire attention would be devoted to handling and sorting out issues important for the growth of the family. The planetary power is at its lowest ebb for you and symbolically its like the midnight in your zodiac. Outer activity becomes less important as the inner within takes prominence.

You need to mentally prepare yourself at night to brace the morning and manifest what you need to during the day. The traumas and pains of the past need not shape our future. In many cases, could only be a child’s interpretation of an event.

64 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

There is happiness and prosperity surrounding you this entire month. You are at the peak of personal independence and personal power. Your personal goals are garnering a lot of cosmic support.

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20

This period is fortunate if you are seeking jobs or wanting to change your line of profession.

It will also be a good idea if you could focus on your health, get your diet and exercise regime in order. Romance will be good throughout and chances for those who are single and ready to mingle that you may find your mate at work place or while out socialising.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19

You will receive all support that you need in regards to your career or professional life. In fact if you are thinking of an elevated status then now is the time to execute your plans and make money. Those interested in higher education and seeking assistance from family will readily get the needed financial support.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22

You have the power to create conditions to your liking and have your own way of life. Take charge of your own happiness, there is no need to seek approval of others. As long as you are responsible of your own actions, others will adjust and adapt to your way of thinking. This is the time to live life on your own terms. The financial peak is also there. Financial goals will be achieved and good progress is seen all around. Health and energy will remain on an all time high.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Keep a watch your health.

Remain ambitious but be careful of overworking yourself. Pursue your career calmly, delegate tasks wherever you feel you can.

Continue to pay attention to your liver and thighs.

Address: 143, St Patrick’s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013.

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December 1-15, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 65

THE LAST WORD

Living in dangerous times... Safely!

Ganesh Natarajan

T

he recent flashpoint reached in Paris in the ISIS – West battles in the air and on the ground was tragic, reminiscent of the grievous attacks we experienced in our own country not so long ago and served to underline the dangerous times we live in. At the time of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, someone had made a point that when an individual loses the fear of death, no security in the world can truly stop a suicide bomber from carrying out her attack. The planes crashing into the World Trade Centre in New York, the merciless shootings at the train station, café and Five Star hotels in Mumbai and now the stadium and concert hall in Paris amply demonstrate the very real danger is which we live our lives and work in our cities into sharp focus.

Danger in society comes from many sources, the divide that exists between the have and havenots, fissures created by cynical community and other polarisation and the creation of movements like Maoism, al Qaeda and now Islamic State that motivate man to hate man with a fierceness that challenges all norms of human behavior. Unfortunately, nothing stops even seemingly well-todo and well educated folks from resorting to heinous overt and covert acts and organisations have to take extra precautions to ensure that the people who work for us are protected adequately from any potential attack.

Attacks on organisations can

Unfortunately nothing stops even seemingly well-to-do and well educated folks from resorting to heinous overt and covert acts and organisations have to take extra precautions to ensure that the people who work for us are protected adequately from any potential attack happen in three forms, physical acts of aggression from external and sometimes internal forces, cyberattacks on computer networks and precious data of the firm and mental violence perpetrated by unwarranted divides within the organisation created by biases and acts of exclusion. Of these, the easiest to define is probably the first and in many instances, security has been tightened at all factories and software and education campuses in the country when a real or perceived external threat from a neighbouring country has been reported. While it is arguable that law and order and safety and security of citizens should be the responsibility of city administration and the police forces, most companies have been quick to protect the safety and well-being of their employees, both within and outside their premises and taken steps to ensure that untoward intrusions or incidents are avoided to the extent feasible.

Cyber security is assuming more and more importance for all organisations as mala fide attacks and deliberate intrusion into data bases and e-mails of organisations pose threats to the confidentiality of the internal matters of a firm. Threats range from internal hacking to deliberate corruption of databases and introduction of viruses designed to damage the reliability of a firm in the eyes of its customers and shareholders. With more sophisticated weapons of mass cyber damage being invested every day, organisations will have to go beyond simple firewalls and virus

Cyber security is assuming more and more importance for all organisations as mala fide attacks and deliberate intrusion into data bases and e-mails

66 / Corporate Citizen / December 1-15, 2015

protection to employ or consult true experts in cyber crime to ensure that their data and reputation remain free from blemish.

The third area is somewhat more difficult to pin down and yet one of the most important for the long-term well being of the firm.

Stated and implicit biases exist in many human beings and whether the negative bias is towards gender, community or people from specific regions of the country of the world, managements of progressive firms will have to come down very hard on reported incidents where the core values of diversity a n d i n c lu s i on are violated by any individual, however senior in the organisation.

In a company like Zensar, which employs people from all over the country and fourteen nationalities globally, we deliberately articulate policies that make us a truly equal opportunity employer and are quick to nip even casual deviations in the bud. A vindication of this approach has been in the recent recognition of Zensar as one of the few firms in the country with nearly thirty percent of its senior management being women, complete disregard of ethnicity or community from which our associates are drawn and specific programs in India and countries such as South Africa where the less privileged are drawn into the mainstream of the company’s business.

At a societal level, it is extremely critical that as good corporate citizens we become role models of good behaviour and tolerance.

It is sad but true that the creation and strengthening of the Islamic

State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been in no small measure due to the knee jerk actions of the West with their somewhat misplaced support to Syrian rebels who subsequently defected with West supplied weapons and training to ISIS. Serial interventions in Iraq and Libya have rendered large parts of these countries as safe haven for extremism and breeding ground for terrorism. Violent extremism has reared its ugly head across Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia Afghanistan and Pakistan with Jordan and Lebanon under threat to succumb to the same wave. In our country we cannot afford, through actions or words to fan any form of divisive behaviour and we owe it to our future generations to build a climate where true tolerance and secularism will prevail.

Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies and Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation and Pune City Connect.

Printed and published by Suresh Chandra Padhy on behalf of Sri Balaji Society. Editor : Suresh Chandra Padhy.

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