9th Issue by Corporate Citizen

Corporate Citizen T he Co ol Side Of Bu sine ss

cradle of leadership: Dharmendra Jai Narain (DJ), Director, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)

Volume 1, Issue No. 9 / May 16-31, 2015 / `50

Love ke baad Shaadi bhi-1

A series on couples who tied the knot after being in love Corporate History

Rolls RoyceJourney of the world’s most luxurious car

Dynamic Duo 9

Mala and Sanjay Bali

CII’s prize winning Case Studies-2 New Series

Blissful Bonding

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

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

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

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

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

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

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 1

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

The National War Memorial as it stands today in Pune

laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti. As you know, the India Gate is a war memorial that commemorates the 90,000+ Indian soldiers that fought for the British and its allies and died in World War I. Under its arch is a memorial - Amar Jawan Jyoti - the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. An eternal flame burns here in memory of the Indian soldiers who died in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. Kardaley expressed sadness at the fact that the tomb with the flame was but an offshoot of a memorial built for soldiers who fought for the British in World War I and that the small flame served as a remembrance of an `unknown soldier’ who fought the 1971 Indo-Pak War. “Is it rocket science to know the name of each and every war martyr? Isn’t it distressing that India has no war memorial of its own, dedicated to our martyrs of the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars?’’ There is one, he added, for the martyrs from the Navy which is in Pune, constructed by the Indian Maritime Foundation. Otherwise the government has not even thought of having an independent memorial for our war heroes, he rued. I listened to his passionate story and said, “Why don’t you have one in Pune? You could dedicate the war memorial to all the soldiers and officers from Maharashtra who were killed in wars or internal conflicts post-independence, August 15th 1947. ’’ By then we had had two bottles of beer and he seemed to be suddenly excited, his eyes twinkling, seemingly, with dreams of what to do next. I said, “Pune is a hub of the Indian army, being 2 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

the headquarters of the Southern Command. Your ECF members are mostly senior retired defence officers and a large section of the readers too come from the uniformed background. So, it should be easy for you to campaign on this issue.’’ I was delighted to know that I had sowed a thought process so volatile and fertile in Kardaley’ mind that it fructified into the first ever War Memorial in South Asia that has been erected through citizen’s contribution, with names of post-independence martyrs belonging to the Army, Navy and Air Force hailing from Maharashtra, inscribed on marble. I humbly wish to put on record that beyond germinating the idea of the noble cause and giving a donation of `25,000 from the SIMS, I had no role to play in the magnificent memorial. In a magnanimous manner, Brig. N B Grant (retd.) along with stalwart former defence officers and eminent civilians worked hard to convince the Southern Command, which I must add here, was initially reluctant, to give the land for the memorial. The foundation stone of the War Memorial was laid by the then Army Chief, Gen V P Malik and was donated to the nation, a year later by the then Governor of Maharashtra, P C Alexander, on 15th August, 2000. The War Memorial Today, the unique War Memorial of Pune stands proud in all its magnificence at Morwada Junction in Pune Cantonment. Located on Ma-

hadji Shinde Road catering not only to local but also interstate vehicular traffic, the monument is already a prominent landmark of the city. The citizens’ initiative in erecting a post-independence war memorial in Pune was preceded by celebrations in December 1996, to commemorate the silver jubilee of India ‘s decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971, leading to the birth of a new nation, Bangladesh. Kardaley thought of a brilliant idea to hold a series of lectures by war veterans of the 1971 Indo-Pak War in the city to build up the fervour. Hosted by a joint committee of The Indian Express and citizens of Pune, this was the only citizen-oriented celebration of the silver jubilee in the country. It was then that the need to have a post-independence war memorial was acutely felt. A committee of citizens formed by The Indian Express resolved in January 1997 that during the golden jubilee year of independence, without waiting for the government initiative, citizens would begin the initiative of such a memorial in Pune as a mark of their gratitude for the guardians of our frontiers. The committee under the chairmanship of Brig. Grant approached the Southern Command of the Indian Army for a suitable piece of land which was earmarked by the Pune Cantonment Board. The citizens’ committee functioned as a catalyst for fund raising. A reputed MES contractor under the supervision of the Chief Engineer, Pune Zone and HQ, Pune Sub Area, carried out the design and construction.

After Pune, a National War Memorial on similar lines was built in Chandigarh

The memorial is an 18 metre high tower dressed in cherry brown granite with marble panels carrying names of the martyrs on three sides. Names of over 2,000 officers and men hailing from Maharashtra who laid down their lives in action since August 15, 1947 till date have been inscribed on marble plaques. The names have been listed year-wise and alphabetically. A volume comprising names of all martyrs from the three services from all over the country is kept for inspection at the memorial site. Over `22 lakh was collected through a lot of hard, voluntary campaigning. However, in the December of 2008... A few years later in 2008, the Southern Command surprisingly changed the name of the National War Memorial into the Southern Command War Memorial, thus relegating the memorial to just one command. I feel saddened that such a colossal and historic effort by citizens was watered down. The Southern Command has also uprooted the board which had the names of the donors, but has promised to put it back. Maj. Gen. SCN Jatar, Sashikant Mehendale and several other eminent citizens wrote to the Southern Command authorities urging them to retain the original name and the board. Maj Gen Jatar stated in the letter, “Sir, every rupee of the `22 lakh collected by the citizenry was a result of toil and affection. At a time when neither the government nor the Indian Army had not even thought of such a memorial with names of each and every mar-

tyr inscribed on marble plaques to give identity to their noble sacrifice, it is the citizens of Pune who had so thoughtfully contributed towards making this historic monument. “Moreover, the citizens who contributed substantially were promised that their names would be put up on boards at the entrance of the memorial as acknowledgement to their magnanimous contribution. Former editor of The Indian Express, late Prakash Kardaley had steered the citizens to build this unique memorial as the defence forces always felt that the civilian counterparts did not respect the noble sacrifice made by them. So, Mr Kardaley inspired the civilian citizenry to make a noble gesture which has gained historical importance in the defence and socio-cultural history of South Asia. By confining it now to just one command of the Army and by closing it to the public, you are burying an important chapter of history.’’ Thanks to citizen’ pressure, it was renamed `National War Memorial Southern Command’. Maj. Gen. Jatar and Qaneez Sukhrani are still pursuing the issue. The citizens of Chandigarh followed the model of Pune and set up a second National War Memorial for which too Prakash Kardaley was the guiding light. The Chandigarh War Memorial is dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the country since independence and lists the names of martyrs from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It is located in the serene and beautiful Bougainvillea

The citizens of Chandigarh followed the model of Pune and set up a second National War Memorial for which too Prakash Kardaley was the guiding light. The Chandigarh War Memorial is dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the country since independence and lists the names of martyrs from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh garden of Chandigarh and was inaugurated by the then President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 17th August, 2006. I am indebted to my dear friend Prakash Kardaley for having inspired the civilian citizenry to honour the brave soldier (because of whom we all can live in peace and sleep peacefully) and in whose honour two magnificent War Memorials have been built, with individual names inscribed in marble, to be remembered for posterity! This miraculous realisation of two war memorials by citizens is a classic example of how we, as citizens, can play a pro-active role in governance and bring about the change that we want to see and be. It also points out to the fact that if the idea which has been conceived is carried out with precision and with a focussed mind, it will succeed. I am reminded of John F Kennedy’s famous statement, ``ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’’ At the same time, it is pertinent to mention here as to why the government finds it difficult to be proactive in such issues? Does it always have to be citizens who should be picking up cudgels for the public good?

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian editor-in-chief May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Contents 28

Cover story Dynamic Duo 9

Blissful bonding Sanjay Bali, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics India (P) Ltd and his wife, Mala, former HR head of Hindustan Times and presently a Consultant, managing her own firm, MBB Consulting, are a sterling example of how the values of family support can be the pillar of strength on which rests their personal and professional happiness and success

wax eloquent Who said what and why

Collywood Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World

manage money Dr Anil Lamba on Good Financial Managementâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Rule 2

expert talk Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies on the value of an open mind

cradle of leadership An interview with Dharmendra Jai Narain, Director, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) 4 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Volume 1 Issue No. 9 May 16-31, 2015

Love ke baad Shaadi bhi-1 A romance so genuine that it led to marriage

beyond the bottomline Mentor-Mentee Magic Match

start-ups Home-getaways or takeaways with traditional local flavours and world cuisines are just a click away with MealTango.com

cii case study CII’s prize winning Case Studies - II

survey Explore the fascinating story of India’s retail Market

10 22

corporate history A look at the stupendous journey of the world’s most premium luxury car, the Rolls Royce, for over a hundred years

star campus placements-1 Karuna Dusane, Nishtha Sharma, Suruchi Dutta, Saurabh Kishore Singh and Amresh Kumar on their first break

bollywood biz The business of Bollywood Promotions--See how movie producers are increasingly taking innovative steps to promote their offerings, besides the use of social and digital media

pearls of wisdom Gopinath Chandra on how to stop the mind from wandering

featherlite Tweets from the corporate world

48 May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 5

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

mobile apps A look at the best cab service apps to bail you out of any location, with just a few taps of your phone

Assistant Editor Joe Williams Senior Business Writer Mahalakshmi Hariharan

health Beware of excessive use of dietary supplements

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur Anuradha Shukla / Kriti Sharma

Astroturf Fortune favours the bold & lucky

Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh

Citizen Claps & Slaps Our bouquets and brickbats for the fortnight!

Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Kalyani Sardesai Chief Marketing Officer Subash Krishnan +91 9823021013 Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Design & Art Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke

51 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! 6 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Graphic Designer Anil Walunj Photographers B Vijay Kumar / Yusuf Khan Ahmed Sheikh / Prithviraj Mallick Website http://www.corporatecitizen.in/ For Advertising and Marketing queries Email: subash.krishnan@corporatecitizen.in (Corporate Citizen does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. All unsolicited material should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage) Tel. (020) 69000677 / 69000672

feedback

Impressive leadership stories

Your editorial in 1st April issue of Corporate Citizen, has astonished me as well. It was interesting to read your experience of having supernatural powers with you, though I do not know whether scientifically such supernatural power exists. It was interesting to know, from your editorial, several incidents, which took place in your career, because of your supernatural powers. Whatever it may be, I must say that with your full faith in Balaji and with your kind heartedness of helping others, God is giving you the strength to be successful in running Sri Balaji Society. You have endeared me so much that I do think that you have some magic wand or wonder drug always keeping me in touch with you though we do not meet personally. The cover story of Mukesh Corporate and his wife has Citizen impressed me very much. I have known the entire Malhotra Family and have visited their residence in the past on the birthday of Bahari Malhotra. I wish you every success in your mission and would be happy if I get some occasion to meet you personally. I also read the Corporate Citizen issues of January, February and March, with keen interest. Your loud thinking, from the Deskof-Editor-in-Chief, is thought-provoking and inspiring. It is indeed encouraging to read the leadership stories of eminent celebrities and also to read several other articles. I have started recommending to my colleagues and to my students to pay subscription for these journals. —Dr P C Shejwalkar Founder Director of Institute of Management Development and Research (IMDR), Pune. T HE CO OL SIDE OF BU SINE SS

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP: SUNIT TANDON, DG, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MASS COMMUNICATION (IIMC)

Volume 1, Issue No. 7 / April 1-15, 2015 / `50

Dynamic Duo 7

Mukesh and Ritu Malhotra

SWEET SUCCESS

Baby Sitting Dads

Meet the dads who quit jobs to be with their kids

Pune NHRD Meet:

Women Do Matter in the corporate world

Youth India Survey:

India’s youth is social media savvy

Corporate History:

Forever Lux: Lather that lingers on

Congratulations!

Singapore’s smart phone saga I recently read an editorial by Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian on ‘Know thy Neighbour’. I totally agree with him on how we need to take some time off from the cyberspace and get real with real social relationships, not social network relationships only? I was in Singapore recently and I wanted to travel and experience the city through their most efficient metro system. However, I was shocked every time I boarded the metro. All I could see is thousands of heads bent down all looking into their mobiles. Not a single person looked up even for a few seconds. They looked like robots, they knew exactly when their station arrived and looking down into their mobiles they walked in and out with ease, got onto the escalators and through the exit with ease. They had mastered the art of reaching their destination without looking up at people and only looking down at their mobiles. I remember telling my husband jokingly on how if we keep going like this, maybe after 100 years, human beings will have very weak neck muscles and probably no one will ever look up. Infact, they will have no clue what it is like to look up, look into

I want to compliment to you for the Corporate Citizen. Good features and illustrations. Congratulations! —Prof. J. Philip President, Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME)

Parapsycology in your Editorial helped clear some questions I had in my mind since a long time. —Seema Agrawal AGM-Marketing, Nilon’s Enterprises Private Limited via mail

Conveys life lessons powerfully

“Truly different”

It was a pleasure to go through the Magazine – Corporate Citizen. Its simple yet conveys important life lessons powerfully. The concept of

I did get to lay my hands on Corporate Citizen, when I was flying from Goa to Bangalore. It is quite

someone’s eyes and strike a real conversation. After witnessing all of this while in Singapore, I decided to do something unusual. While waiting for a bus at the stop I decided to strike a conversation with the person sitting next to me. I looked at her and said “Hi I am from India, my name is Shehnaz.”. She looked at me surprisingly and then gave me one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. She was probably shocked that some stranger was actually making a conversation with her. We spoke for five minutes and I we learnt so much about each other. She was from Philippines visiting Singapore. We shared so many beautiful notes about the city we both were touring. I am definitely not against technology. I love the smart phone but I definitely love talking to people, looking into their eyes, striking a real conversation. I don’t want to see emotions to know what they feel. I want to see their real expressions and emotions when I talk to them. After all a real expression cannot be faked!

—Shehnaz Chawla, via email

different from other corporate of business magazines. I say that because the contents are different such as cradle of leadership and the interviews of people. The tadkas on the facing pages is something which adds to the colour of the magazine. I am sure this magazine will go a long way in catering to all. —Rajeev Sahakari, Ponda, Goa via email May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 7

wax eloquent

Make in India gets Global connection

Steaming On as Ministry of External Affairs, India unleashed ‘the Lion’ in France, in a video that showcased PM Narendra Modi’s trip in a never-seen-before style. The PM’s International soiree on ‘Make in India’ evoked reactions that added to global corporate chatter on India’s potential business might opened up new legal wounds around the Satyam saga Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

“There were institutions in India that seemed beyond scrutiny. Well, they no longer are. We are reforming institutions in ways that has not happened in decades. We are building a tax regime that is predictable, stable and competitive. We will now

address the remaining uncertainties. The Goods and Services Tax is a long needed revolution that is becoming a reality. “ “We do believe that FDI is important and it will not come in the country without a globally competitive business environment…We have removed lot of regressive taxation regimes.” “I believe that there will be a strong partnership between King of the Earth – Lion, and King of the Skies – Eagle.” – PM Narendra Modi in his recent visit to Germany where he bid German investors to engage with India in its ‘Make in India’ ideology.

“There is a common saying: gumboots to gumboots in three generations. … It implies that an enterprise grows and declines in roughly three generations. TVS Group has many successful fourth-generation leaders in business.” – Suresh Krishna, recently appointed chairman of the Chennai-based TV Sundram Iyengar and Sons, the group holding company; on how TVS Group’s 3rd generation leaders make it a global conglomerate. 8 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

“With its expanding population and impressive economic growth, India represents tremendous opportunities for Canadian companies. But we have only begun to scratch the surface of our true commercial potential. That is why Prime Minister Modi and I were pleased by the scope and volume of bilateral initiatives and commercial agreements that took place during his visit.”

– Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister

“In India, a ‘no’ is a kind of an invitation to start a discussion. In Germany, a ‘no’ is a ‘no,’” he said. Indians are “more open to experimentation” than Germans.” – Jochen Riepl, Chief Executive of railroad-tie maker Rail.one, in the backdrop of PM Narendra Modi’s first business visit to Germany.

“As honourable Prime Minister said, we will roll the red carpet for the foreign investors and not red tapism. This belief forms a part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign…” – Jayant Sinha, Indian Union Minister of State for Finance; leading a current delegation to the UAE on India’s smart city concept.

“India has a problem the way business is done. But it all was pre-Modi period… A company needs “clear, transparency of rules. It needs stable rules.” – Paul Hermelin, Chairman and CEO of Capgemini Group (France)

“Neither country is performing to its best potential. We have a very large population in Canada with connections in India — we have opportunities for trading in clean energy.”

– Louise Comeau, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, prodding Modi and Harper to make strong commitments to reduce greenhouse gases ahead of the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

“…Prime Minister was in Toulouse to visit Airbus which has indicated that they intend in the next five years to increase their sourcing from India by 500 percent. Currently, it is in the vicinity of 400 million dollars, by 2020 they indicated that this will be ramped up to two billion dollars as part of their contribution and their involvement with Prime Minister`s `Make in India` programme.” – Syed Akbaruddin, MEA official spokesperson

“...At more than one billion people of working age, India’s labour force will be larger than the combined labour force in the United States, the euro area, and Indonesia….The potential benefits to be reaped from your collective work efforts could be enormous. So, we know India can run - judging by your cricket record. I believe India can fly.” – Christine Lagarde, Chief International Monetary Fund (IMF)

“German companies have been very active in India for decades. They were always the front runners actually whether it was after the Second World War or whether it was when the reforms started in 1991 or after the Asia crisis in 2003.” – Bernhard Steinrucke, Director General, IndoGerman Chamber of Commerce

“It has taken six years in a dynamic economy, (that) is too much…”Six years is much, much better than what was done earlier….”We have come a long long way and this is very good news. Next time we have any such scandal, wish we can prosecute in 2-3 years.” – T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, on the conviction of erstwhile Satyam chief B Ramalinga Raju and others in the now infamous `7,000 crore corporate fraud.

“What matters to India does matter to global markets….A quarter of Indian population is without electricity and there are concerns over air quality and other environmental indicators. Developments in India will have far-reaching consequence for regional and global energy markets.” – Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency (IEA); at a workshop on India Energy Outlook, New Delhi. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood

People in the news

Yuvi’s foray into business

Flamboyant Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh begins a new innings. This time not on the cricket pitch, but in business. The Indian Premier League’s costliest player this season, Yuvi – as he is known to millions of fans -- is floating a venture fund that aims to support young entrepreneurs by investing in start-ups across sectors. The 34-year-old cricketer will put about `50 crore -- mostly his own money -- over a period of three to five years in the fund YouWeCan Ventures. The venture is expected to raise over `300 crore from other investors during the period. Cricketers, the wealthiest among the nation’s sportspeople, are known to put money they earned playing for the country and from endorsements in businesses, but no one else has floated a venture fund. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has investments in several, mostly sports-related businesses, but not through such a structured fund. Singh’s idol Sachin Tendulkar had invested in the restaurant business. Robin Uthappa has part-funded a start-up, a Bengaluru-based tiffin service, but Singh’s plan is much more elaborate. This new find will fund start-ups in healthcare, sports products, services and fashion, travel and tourism, hospitality and e-commerce. The plan is to offer seed capital ranging from `10 lakh to `25 lakh.

KV Kamath appointed as chief of BRICS bank KV Kamath, Chairman of the ICICI bank has been appointed as the head of the New Development Bank of the group of BRICS countries. Earlier in April, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley had informed fellow members of the five-nation BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc that India was in the final stages of nominating candidate for the president’s post of the $100-billion New Development Bank (NDB) to be headquartered in Shanghai. India will preside over the operations of the bank for the first six years, followed by five-year terms for Brazil and then Russia. Kamath was instrumental in transforming ICICI Bank into the conglomerate that it is today. Under Kamath, ICICI Bank undertook a series of acquisitions of non-banking finance companies between 1996-98, that ultimately led to the stupendous growth of ICICI Bank. Kamath serves as an Independent Director on the boards of global oil giant, Schlumberger, Lupin and was former chairman of Infosys. The BRICS Bank, which will be called the New Development Bank, will be headquartered in Shanghai, while India has got the right to nominate the first president. Kamath began his career in 1971 at ICICI. In 1988, he moved to Asian Development Bank and spent several years in Southeast Asia before returning to ICICI as its Managing Director and CEO in 1996. He retired as the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank in April 2009, and took up his current position as non-executive Chairman. Earlier, Former FM, Yashwant Sinha and Former Minister of Disinvestment, Arun Shourie were doing the rounds for this post. 10 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

best ceo award goes to aditya puri

Xiaomi Launches Mi 4i Smartphone In India

Xiaomi, at its first global launch event in India has come up with its Mi 4i smartphone, putting aside all speculations about ‘I is coming’. Xiaomi founder and CEO, Lei Jun launched the Mi Band fitness tracker and also announced it as a giveaway for the audience, in his first appearance on Indian soil. It features a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display, with a pixel density of 441 ppi. The screen of the Xiaomi Mi 4i smartphone is fully laminated with OGS Corning Concore, and comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a second generation 64-bit Snapdragon 615 SoC. Xiaomi Mi 4i’s runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, along with MiUi 6. MIUI 6 also supports six Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil.

Wow, HDFC Bank has been voted as the best managed company in India by investors and analysts in a poll conducted by FinanceAsia, a leading global financial magazine. The bank is followed by other leading companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Idea Cellular, Infosys and Reliance Industries. In the same survey, Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank has been voted as India’s best CEO, ahead of CEOs of TCS, Infosys and Idea Cellular. The bank has also ranked third in corporate governance and investor relations. In its 15th year of conducting the survey, FinanceAsia received responses from over 250 portfolio managers and analysts from around the world. The magazine quizzed investors about the best managed listed companies across Asia, in addition to the best senior executives and best policies around dividend payments. Our heartiest congratulations!

N Venkatram set to be Deloitte CEO

N Venkatram, the audit and enterprise risk practice head at Deloitte Haskins and Sells, will supersede Udayan Sen as the new CEO of the auditing major, as the latter ends his eight-year term on March 31, 2015, according to sources. Venkatram emerged as the top candidate in a partner nomination process that was used to elect the new CEO. The change of guard comes at a time when Deloitte, along with other major auditing firms, is all set to face its toughest phase on account of audit rotation

where it could see most of its auditing clients changing their auditors in next two years. May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Sumit Mazumder takes over CII reins

Welcome aboard…Sumit Mazumder, Chairman & Managing Director, TIL Limited, has been elected as the President of CII for the year 2015-16. He succeeds Ajay Shriram as the new President. TIL is the manufacturer of India’s largest range of material handling equipment in technical collaboration with world leaders like Manitowoc Crane Group, USA, Astec Industries, USA and Mitsui Miike Machinery Co, Japan. Mazumder is also the Executive

Chairman of TIPL (Tractors India Pvt. Ltd.). A graduate of St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, Mazumder obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Sam Houston State University, Texas, USA. He also undertook the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA. The Company is a distributor for Caterpillar, USA, in India, Nepal and Bhutan for earthmoving, construction, mining equipment and power systems. The strategic and organisational decisions are made by a Council of Past Presidents of CII, which charts its long term vision and adapts it to the emerging eco-system. In addition, CII has a number of dedicated national councils, committees and task-forces, headed by CEOs who frame policy suggestions and action agendas on specific sectors and issues. Regional Offices are headed by chairmen and deputy chairmen, while state and zonal offices have their own chairmen and vice chairmen.

Datar Dhamaka enters Oman

After tasting success in Dubai and Bahrain, the Al Adil Group, better known as Datar Dhamaka, has now made inroads into Oman where it launched its first outlet in Muscat. This outlet was inaugurated by Dhananjay Datar, founder chairman of Al Adil Trading & Supermarkets. Datar, popularly known as Masala King, From a single store and humble beginnings in Dubai, Datar has become the 14th most powerful and influential Indian in the Gulf, according to the Arabian Business ranking. He has been recognised by the Forbes Middle East magazine, which has ranked him 44th among the top 100 businessmen in the entire Arab world. Al Adil Trading offers a wide range of products covering pulses, atta, masalas, spices, sugar, ghee, pickles, basmati rice, other rice varieties, biscuits, namkheen and many other products at half price to their customers. 12 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Not quite a golden moment for Aishwarya Kalyan Jewellers withdrew its controversial advertisement featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, following backlash on social media and an open letter from activists. The actor, who is brand ambassador of the Jeweller, was shown reclining under a parasol held over her head by a dark-skinned boy, in an adverting published in newspapers on 17th April. Soon after the open letter was published, the publicist of Aishwarya Rai, issued a clarification. It says, `The final layout of the ad is entirely the prerogative of the creative team for a brand. However, shall forward your article (the open letter) as a viewpoint that can be taken into consideration by the creative team of professionals working on the brand visual communication. Thank you once again.’ The open letter to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was written by activists Farah Naqvi, Nisha Agrawal, Enakshi Ganguly, Bharti Ali, Madhu Mehra, Shantha Sinha, Harsh Mander, and Mridula Bajaj. It says `We wish to convey our dismay at the concept of this advertisement, and that you have, perhaps unthinkingly, associated with such a regressive portrayal of a child to sell a product. Further, the extremely fair colour of your skin (as projected in the advertisement) contrasted with the black skin of the slave-boy is obviously a deliberate `creative’ juxtaposition by the advertising agency, and insidiously racist.’ Replying to the open letter and clarification from Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s publicist, the Jeweller issued a statement through its Facebook page. `The creative was intended to present the royalty, timeless beauty and elegance. However, if we have inadvertently hurt the sentiments of any individual or organisation, we deeply regret the same. We have started the process of withdrawing this creative from our campaign, ‘it said.

Next Gen Wipro

Rishad Premji, elder son of Wipro promoter Azim Premji, has been appointed to the board of directors of the `45,000 crore company effective May 1. Father, Azim Premji will be 70 this July 2015, and Rishad’s elevation to the board clearly indicates he will represent the ownership interest in India’s third-largest IT firm. Azim Premji and family own 73.39 per cent of the shares in the company. Rishad, 38, joined Wipro in 2007 and has since taken on a number of critical roles. In a letter to Wipro employees, Azim Premji said, “These past eight years have given Rishad an in-depth view of the organization and makes him well positioned to guide Wipro and carry the mantle of ownership in the years ahead.” Wipro CEO, T K Kurien said Rishad has been a “terrific contributor”. “He’s extremely hard-working and I have never seen him ever being not part of the team. In a way, while he represents ownership, I think he represents management more. It requires maturity to handle that and he has done that well over the years.” Rishad has said it is an absolute privilege and honour to be invited to the board of Wipro, a company built over the past 70 years on the bedrock of uncompromising integrity and the hard work of thousands of Wiproites. Rishad did BA in economics from Wesleyan University, US, and MBA from Harvard Business School. He worked with Bain & Co for two years and with GE Capital in the US for four years. Heartiest Congratulations!

Audi TT launched in India at `60.34 lakh

Audi at the coast of `60.34 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) launched the new 2015 TT in India recently. The new TT will go up against sportscars like the Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK. The new generation TT is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine that develops 230PS of power and 350Nm of torque. The TT employs a complex Quattro four wheel drive system that sends power via a six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox to all four wheels. The percentage of torque to each wheel varies according to the drive mode and grip levels to provide almost go-kart like handling. The TT can do the 0-100kmph sprint in 5.3 seconds and boasts of a top speed of 250kmph. The TT isn’t the round bubbly sportscar it used to be in its first generation. This new generation TT is more sharp edged and sporty that ever before. It gets the trapezoidal family grille with sleek LED headlights on either side, with lines almost entirely carried forward from the Sport Quattro concept. Large and muscular wheel arches, the signature TT silhouette and those wheels at the cars extremities give the TT a very purposeful look. At the rear, the 2015 Audi TT gets a completely redesigned bumper and a set of LED taillight.

Chimelong Ocean Resort in Mumbai soon Chimelong International Ocean Resort, Zhuhai, China has now entered into Indian market by interacting with the potential agents in Mumbai. The exclusive event was initiated by the Akquasun Group in association with Outbound Konnections. The Resort houses Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Penguin Hotel, Circus Hotel, Hengqin Bay Hotel and Hengqin International Circus City. The resort is located within one hour by ferry from Hong Kong, half hour by car from Macau, centre of Pearl River Delta. Elaborating on the India market Paula Lau said, “Chimelong is keen to explore productive business ties with the key Indian outbound players to target the high-end leisure traffic from India. Their current marketing initiative in Mumbai was a step ahead in this direction. ” Accessibility with 144 Visa which is free of charge for immigration, 24 hours border crossing between Macau and Zhuhai. Adequate recreational areas like bars, pubs, cafes, nightclubs,

KTVs, cinemas, theatres, teahouses are the USP of the resort. Chimelong International Ocean Resort has to its credit the biggest ocean amusement park in the World. May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 13

manage money In the previous issue we had discussed what a Profit & Loss Account is, what it contains. In this article let me dwell a bit on the Balance Sheet. By Dr Anil Lamba

Good Financial Management – Rule 2 In the previous article we had discussed Rule I of Good Finance Management. Let us now turn our attention to the second rule. As per this rule you must invest your money in such a way that the assets will generate an inflow of funds before the liabilities demand an outflow. In the process of studying Rule II, you will also learn how to read a Balance Sheet. In fact, I believe that to a certain extent you already know how to do this. In case you disagree, let me prove it to you. Let’s imagine that you are a banker and two individuals, A and B, approach you for a loan. You ask both to bring you their Balance Sheets. Take a look at their two Balance Sheets, reproduced below: Balance Sheet (A) Liabilities Assets Share Capital 450 Fixed Assets Reserves & Surplus 300 Long-Term Loans 200 Current Assets Creditors 50 1,000 Balance Sheet (B) Liabilities Assets Share Capital 150 Fixed Assets Reserves & Surplus 100 Long-Term Loans 650 Current Assets Creditors 100 1,000

750 250 1,000

Study the two Balance Sheets carefully. If YOU were the lender who would you be inclined to favor? Which one of these would you feel comfortable lending to and which one would you be reluctant to give a loan to? If you have reached ANY conclusion based on your study of the two financial statements, you have just read a Balance Sheet. If you voted in favor of A, I would agree with you. Let’s now discuss what it is about A that gives confidence to the lender:Both A and B seem to be similar as far as the Assets’ side is concerned. The difference is on the left hand side of the Balance Sheets. It lies in their method of funding. The first thing to remember about analyzing a Balance Sheet is that perspectives vary. What is a good Balance Sheet for an equity investor may not be so for a lender. In this case, you were asked to wear the hat of a banker, a lender. Now how is a banker as an investor different from an owner 14 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

An owner whose personal investment in the business is substantial is likely to be more committed to its success, and more involved in its running who also invests? The difference is that an owner not only invests the money but is also responsible for running the business. A lender, to that extent, is a passive investor, making only a financial investment and having no other involvement. Thereafter, whether the investment will be serviced on time and whether the loan will be repaid on time or not depends on how well the owner, who is the active investor, runs the business. If the owner is totally involved in the running of the business, gives it enough time and attention, and is able to bring good results, the lender’s investment will be protected. However if the owner messes up by neglecting the business or managing it badly, the lender will also suffer. An owner whose personal investment in the business is substantial is likely to be more committed to its success, and more involved in its running. However, if the owners’ financial stake in the business is small, and consequently stands to lose less if the business runs into trouble, the lender is justified in fearing the possibility of neglect. Perhaps the owner has larger investments in other businesses, and would devote more time and effort to those. A lender, consequently, derives comfort from a situation where the owners’ stakes are higher. ...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 at anil@lamconschool.com

Expert Talk

By Ganesh Natarajan

here is an old cliché that two things work best if they are open – an open parachute and an open mind! And for people leading teams and companies in the corporate sector, keeping an open mind is probably one of the best pieces of advice they can get. And, they need to take it for sure! As one goes through a career, there will always be unique experiences and new inputs that will confront us, and how we tackle, absorb and assimilate these experiences often determine how effectively we learn and the success we will attain in our careers . In my own career, I have been through successive experiences that taught me more than reading a million management text books would ever have. My most profound learning has been the ways to relate to colleagues at work. When I took up my first job in the eighties in Crompton Greaves’ Switchgear manufacturing factory in Nasik, I had come into the industry after living in fairy traditional middle-class environments where respecting elders and others, was very much part of the growing up process. The early experience in the manufacturing unit was no different, respect given to very senior visitors from the Mumbai corporate office often bordering on the obsequious! Moving to run my own entity in Mumbai, I transported the only culture I knew into the new firm in spite of having the privilege of working with very young colleagues who would have been glad to be treated as friends rather than subordinates. But the real eye-opener for me came when I

The value of an open mind Today the world is changing at an even faster pace and to be successful, do keep that mind open, let all kinds of new ideas and inspiration flood in and be the best leader you can learn to be !

I had come into the industry after living in fairy traditional middle class environments where respecting elders and others, was very much part of the growing process

joined the very high energy and strong relationship oriented computer consulting and training firm NIIT in the late eighties. Creating by professionals with a large cohort of IIM and other MBAs in the mix, the atmosphere of total camaraderie and informality first came as a cultural shock but within the short time span of three years, became a preferred mode of relating to colleagues and everyone up and down the corporate hierarchy. In 1991, when I got headhunted at the age of thirty-four to become the CEO of APTECH, an environment of informality and friendliness was the culture I could transport from Delhi to Mumbai and in spite of having a direct subordinate group in their late forties and early fifties, I found it extremely easy to relate to the twenty-year olds who formed the marketing and technical base of the company. This air of bonhomie and the creation of span busting vision communities led to our incredible success in the next nine years of very high retention and motivation levels and incredible success in racing the top of the computer training industry in India and many global destinations. The ability to keep an open mind and adapt my management and leadership style has continued to be one attribute that has taken Zensar from its early beginnings in 2001 to become a eight thousand people strong firm touching half a billion dollars in revenue and a track record of growth and low employee attrition that is the envy of the industry. I have seen in most of my colleagues across fourteen nationalities, the willingness to realise that generations now change every five years or so and there is much more we can learn from young colleagues than by relying on traditional styles of management. Today, the world is changing at an even faster pace and to be successful, do keep that mind open, let all kinds of new ideas and inspiration flood in and be the best leader you can learn to be! (Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar and the President of the HBS Club of India)

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Cradle of Leadership-8

Dharmendra Jai Narain (DJ), Director, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)

16 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Dharmendra Jai Narain, Director, Film & Television Institute of India

Finding filmy feet Since its humble beginnings in 1960, the renowned premier film school of India, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has come a long way. Today, the FTII is commonly regarded as a centre of excellence across the world. Films made by the students of the institute have enjoyed excellent reception at festivals in India and abroad and have gone on to win national and international awards. The institute has been famous in producing numerous stalwarts like Jaya Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah to Rajkumar Rao and Rajkumar Hirani. Truly, the alumni of the FTII have left an indelible imprint across all facets of Indian cinema and television and built up an excellent reputation in allied industries. By Mahalakshmi Hariharan Corporate Citizen met up with Dharmendra Jai Narain, fondly known as DJ, Director, FTII. DJ, an ardent music lover, bureaucrat, singer, composer and writer, fun loving, versatile and full of life. On a nostalgic note, he took us through his early days in college, his journey from a musician to being a director of the renowned FTII, the prestigious centre and its achievements and the way forward for this premier institution. Back in 1998, there was a popular band called “The Aryans” formed by DJ, then an officer in the Indian Civil Services, K.M. Sadasivan (Sadu)and Jai Walia, scriptwriter and title music composer for television serials. Together they formed the big band “Aryans”. The theme song of their first album ‘Ankhon mein tera hi chehra’ was a major hit then. Their music was refreshingly original, exciting and amazingly melodious. The creative repertoire was matchless. Their public performances and concerts were incredibly energetic, entertaining, pulsating and astoundingly interactive. Aryans today occupy an immortal and unique place in the history of rock and pop music in India. Today, they are a six member rock band with five albums. Excerpts: CC: Tell us about the changes that have happened at FTII after you took over.

Pic: Prithviraj Mallick

DJ: I feel very close to the students, staff and faculty here. There is a sense of transparency and fairness around. FTII has been India’s finest institution, one of the best in the world and I feel proud to be associated with it…I can’t believe that it’s been four years already. In the last budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley proposed

FTII to be accorded the status of an institute of national importance. The bill is with the cabinet now. Currently, we are restructuring and revitalising the syllabus which is essential for the growth of the institution. It’s a very important development for FTII now because it’s a very creative place. Even the greatest of the people who have passed out from this place ask why is this happening… Because you see, nobody wants change, they are sceptical about it. They want to preserve the heritage. So I have said that May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 17

We are trying to do different things which will improve the environment at FTII and take it to the next stage. We are trying to maintain it and I am glad we are really successful. Every institution may say, “We had our golden era,” but we say “Our era continues... Entrance gate of FTII

we will definitely preserve everything. You see, we had to keep pace with the times and there were some systemic issues too, which we realised, must be addressed. Last year, our FTII students won 19 awards out of 60 national awards. So apart from the awards and accolades, we thought something has to be done to improve the health of the institution and I am glad we are doing it.

So what are the different initiatives taken at FTII today?

We have initiated the National Students’ Film Awards in the last three years where students from any institution or academic institution can compete. Any student who has made any film as part of any curriculum, can showcase his/ her talent on film-making. Last year a student from Ahmednagar, who could not even speak decent English, won the best director award. He was competing with the best people at FTII. So this was definitely an eye opener. You see stories can be told in many ways through the digital medium. We have also come up with some exceptional international student exchange programmes where we send about 20 students from FTII each year to an international exchange. So out of 80 students who are learning film-mak18 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

ing, about 20 per cent go for this programme, which is fully paid by the government. This activity has been there since a while now, but in the last two to three years we have strengthened the programme by sending students to various international exchanges like Beijing, Cape Town and other parts of the globe. We are trying to do different things which will improve the environment at FTII and take it to the next stage. We are trying to maintain it and I am glad that we are really successful. Every institution may say, “We had our golden era,” but we say “Our era continues.” So despite problems and challenges as an institute, we work and continuously strive to churn out the best students.

What is the criteria to get into this institution or join a particular course? Take us through your selection process.

Our selection process at FTII is extremely strict, we select one out of 100 students or even one out of 50 or 60. We take only 12 students per stream, out of 4,500 applications. We take a total of about 130 students, in various streams like direction, cinematography, sound recording, sound design, editing, acting, and art direction and production design. For acting and direction alone, there are close to 1,500 applications.

There’s a written test, audition, three to four day workshop where we judge their orientation, we give them on-the-spot tests and then they come for an interview. So you have to cross four levels. It’s not like an engineering classroom. We train students in the classical format, there’s practical training. We give them an education perspective, we give them all perspectives of Indian cinema. There is a love for independent cinema, and you won’t find many students rushing towards Bollywood. Technical students do go for commercial film making.

How about infrastructure up-gradation and government funding?

Infrastructure up-gradation is taking place in a massive way. We will soon have new acting studios, a new knowledge centre, new classrooms, new residential accommodation, and new technical equipments. We will spend about `200 crore in the next five years, out of which `80 crore will be spent on equipment, infrastructure and buildings. We currently spend about `14-15 lakh on each student per year and we offer stateof-the-art facilities, and some of the finest teachers who come from different parts of the world to teach here. We will need more infrastructure, more resources and support.

Cradle of Leadership-8 moved to Pune in 1933, where it established its own studio and has produced many films in both Marathi and Hindi.

FTII is a unique and noted film institute of India. What do you think of the various private institutes for acting and other branches of film making that have sprouted over the last few years?

We would like to have competition, in fact more competition is always welcome. We are genuinely working for the sake of art and churning out people for new independent cinema, without any expectation. We want our students to set new benchmarks, new paradigms. Apart from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata and a few other institutions that are coming up, unfortunately I don’t really hold the rest in high esteem. We feel they are like shops. They run some short term courses of three months on production, editing and so on…Just think about it, teen mahine mein kya hota hain? I remember there was this girl who had given `1.5 lakh to a production house to do a course of three months and they said pay more! We would like to have centres in the North and North East, maybe in Arunachal Pradesh, but discussions are on… nothing concrete as of now. There’s so much of requirement, I am sure the government will take a look at these plans. Pic: Prithviraj Mallick

There were issues on the completion of courses…in fact a few years ago, you had mentioned in one of your news reports that the whole schedule will be on track by 2015…What’s the status now?

Well, there were some syllabus issues in the past but we are now restructuring the courses. There is a difference between syllabus and curriculum. There was a dire need to relook at the syllabus. Courses ran for too long and were getting delayed. Cinema is not classroom activity. Hence, the length of certain courses have been altered, giving enough time for students to think. There will be a new syllabus for the new batch this year. We will announce the dates this month. No changes in subjects, just the length of certain courses like screenplay writing, art production, will be altered.

Take us through the history of FTII.

FTII is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It is aided in part by central government, and situated in the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company. Since its inception in 1960, FTII has become India’s premier film and television institute, with its alumni becoming the biggest known actors and

directors in the Indian film industry. It is being accorded the status of an institute of national importance by the Government of India. FTII is a member of CILECT (International Association of Film and Television Schools), an organisation of the world’s leading schools of film and television. The institute started running its courses from 1961. The Television Training wing, which was earlier functioning in New Delhi, shifted to Pune in 1974. Thereafter, the institute became fully aided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It’s been more than 50 years now. We’ve had great names who have provided a spark to the space.

Take us through your Prabhat Museum.

Prabhat Museum houses artefacts, original contracts and partnership deeds of the Prabhat Film Company in addition to costumes, properties, equipment, posters and stills of archival value. Prabhat Film Company, popularly known as Prabhat Films was an Indian film production company and film studio, formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, towards the end of the silent film era, by the noted film director V. Shantaram, along with V.G. Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal and S.B. Kulkarni. The company

The institute had hit a rough patch earlier, how is it today after your taking over, particularly regarding the agitation by students? There were also some issues relating to the administration of the canteen facilities of FTII…there was a Supreme Court hearing in favour of the employees of the canteen department, where does the issue stand now?

On the students’ agitation, that part is over. It’s a story of the past. In the past four years, students have been very cooperative and wonderful. There is a lot of transparency in the curriculum today. This is a high risk profession that is highly insecure and students know that they have chosen an intensively creative path. Students know the fact that we too have our compulsions and know that such agitations will only delay the curriculum. So we both have moved on now. Students are willing to cooperate and these kind of agitations are not in the air anymore. Students too are very sensitive here. Any student can walk up to anyone and feel free to communicate, without any hassles. We see to it that there is no communication gap. Regarding the administration issues of the canteen facilities, there are administration issues in any institution, there are some disciplinary issues. We have provided employment to some of the dependents of the canteen staff and are trying to help them in different ways. May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Cradle of Leadership-8

Notable alumni n Danny Denzongpa, Actor n Jaya Bachchan, Actor and Politician n Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Actor n Mithun Chakraborty, Actor n Naseeruddin Shah, Actor n Om Puri, Actor n Pitobash Tripathy, Actor n Rajkumar Hirani, Director, Screenwriter & Film Editor n Rajkummar Rao, Actor n Raza Murad, Actor n Santosh Sivan, Cinematographer, Director, Producer & Actor n Shabana Azmi, Actor n Sriram Raghavan, Director n Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Director We believe acting courses were stopped sometime in the 1970’s, what was the reason then? Have you started this course again?

Oh yes, the acting courses resumed long ago. Rajkumar Rao, who acted in the movie Queen is from FTII. Rajkumar Hirani, Pitobash Tripathy, Divyendu Sharma are all from FTII. Every second or third actor is from our institution. This institution has produced some of the best actors, directors, cinematographers, sound designers, screenplay writers, editors and Art Directors Production Designers.

In India, filmmaking is generally not looked upon as a lucrative career option as against other professions...what are your thoughts?

You see, to be a film maker, one has to go against the normal crowd. It is a line worth pursuing. Times have changed. This is a “3 Idiots” era. But it’s a wonderful profession, a wonderful medium to discover yourself, very satisfying, but it has its own insecurities.

Your take on independent filmmakers?

Well, they are all wonderful filmmakers in their own right. India has such a big film base, so you need to be different, you need to be creative…you need to create your own signature. You cannot follow a given model.

FTII’s summer film appreciation course is very renowned. Please tell us about it – the course, who participates and what have been the benefits for the participants.

We teach about 60-70 persons who are or wish to be connected with film studies, research, media, cinema movement or show some serious inter20 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Individual attention is given to each student. We encourage them to meet the faculty one-on-one for consultation throughout their course, thereby creating an environment that promotes personal development and learning est in understanding art, learning cinema. The duration is one month. The advertisements are out in April. There is a particular mechanism to select students.

Tell us something about your faculty.

We have different types of faculty members, namely, permanent, external and visiting faculties. Visiting faculty members are professionals who come in for a short duration. Most of them here are FTII pass outs. External faculty members are semi-permanent, selected through a panel process, whereas permanent faculty members include those who are experienced in film making and have qualifications from some of the eminent institutions of the country. So it is a good mix of all. All in all, we have a good faculty. We have 50 faculty members today. The number is quite optimal as of today.

Take us through the quality of students at FTII today.

A lot of seniors say that our students today have gone ahead from what they were, their work in direction, screenplay is simply wonderful. Our students come from hugely diverse backgrounds and are extraordinarily talented. They may be different in appearance, with big beards, long hair, but their work is wonderful. Individual attention is given to each student and here we encourage them to meet the faculty one-on-one for consultation throughout their course, thereby creating an environment that promotes personal development and learning.

How has social media and YouTube helped Independent movie-makers in film making?

Social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have a lot of relevance today. It did provide a platform, but because it is now an overcrowded

Cinema is not classroom activity. Hence the length of certain courses have been altered, giving enough time for students to think. There will be a new syllabus for the new batch this year. We will announce the dates this month.

Take us through your college and ‘musical’ days.

FTII--The oldest and most prestigious film school, in Pune

space, for ambitious people it’s a let-down. For amateurs, it’s good, so depending on the objective, if you want to make a small amateur platform, this is the best platform. If it’s a big release, it’s not a wise thing to do.

How challenging has your role been since you took over in 2011?

My role has been very challenging but, I am enjoying it, there were times when I didn’t sleep for many days, over issues with cops, society, students. For a long time, it was an isolated campus. Now, it is a very rich location. Those well off and senior retired officials and residents at the high-rise buildings close by do have issues with students making noise. I say, allow students to enjoy their freedom. Let them sing even at 11 pm, but neighbours always have issues. So I spend too much time trying to settle these matters. When I joined FTII, I thought I can watch one movie every day, but I have hardly watched, maybe five or ten movies till date. So I am missing that fun.

Tell us something about your family.

I have one wife (laughs) and two kids. My daughter is pursuing her education in the social sector. She wants to change the world. She is a wonderful singer too. My son is in the tenth standard, studying at the Bishop’s School. My dad was a freedom fighter. We are five brothers, I am the youngest of all. Because I was the youngest of the lot, I was always pampered by my siblings. They would always help me.

I was a decent student in college. I remember I had then scored fourth in the UP merit list and received a scholarship of about `2,500-3,000 from the Government after two years. I was living in Lucknow then. With this money I went to buy some books. On the way, I used to watch this guitar shop daily, which always fascinated me. That day I decided to visit the shop and came out after three to four hours after I bought some guitars and musical instruments. When I got home, my mom was shocked that I had got some musical instruments instead of books. But the moment I struck the first note, something happened. I had composed my first song on day one itself. That’s how I began composing songs. I somehow wanted to be the ‘Beatles’. We were a band of idealistic youngsters. We wanted to change the world. So we started working for UNICEF. We later formed an NGO called ‘Kshitij’ in Lucknow. We started working towards different literacy programmes. We adopted many slums and villages across Lucknow University. We always felt that there was a problem in the system—the inequitable, political and social system. We thought there should be a change in the system. So we had a lot of discussions with the people working in the fields of Bihar and Chattisgarh. Later, we decided to fight student elections in the late 80’s, but we realised that we are not the violent types. Meanwhile, we had formed a lot of bands like ‘Dreams’ and ‘Shankhnaad’. As a youngster you always keep experimenting. We used to participate in all college festivals and were quite popular.

Tell us about your career.

I had got selected to IIT Kanpur for my PhD, and had also cleared the GATE scholarship. I also got a merit in the University so got a chance to teach monetary economics in the same University. Within a few days of my joining IIT Kanpur, I became the president of the music council. I used to compose my own songs. I was so thrilled then—studies going smooth, scholarships happening, decent academics, fan following, popular at college, freedom--

what more do you need from life, I thought. This is ‘the’ most desired life--with studies, music and everything under the roof. Aaj toh purane yaadein taaza hogayi. Later, I was also a professor of Mass Communication at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. I also served as Defense Spokesperson, Southern Command in Pune during 1997-98.

Did you ever think that you would be the director of this prestigious institution someday?

I never ever even remotely thought that FTII would happen to me. We all seek change at some point in time. When I was working in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in Delhi, I was asked to take up this role at FTII. That makes you realise that you can never plan your life.

Tell us about your book, Soldiering On. Do you plan to write more books in the future?

“Bahut zyaada questions hain yaar, kitna research kiya hain” (laughs). Well, ‘Soldiering On’, is an anthology of the saga of the Indian Armed Forces during the last 100 years. I wish to write more books but I don’t get the time. There are some ideas, though.

What is your motto in life and advice to youth today?

I have strongly believed that you don’t plan your life. Be passionate and honest. I believe in the philosophy, “If it can be done, I will do it.” I am very optimistic about life. Even when most people in FTII feel something cannot be done, I always feel, it can be done. I too have faced challenges, but if you stay put and hold on, without giving up, you will succeed. After all, there are no shortcuts to success. Stay focused, be determined and you will achieve it. As we wound up our interview late in the night, we see DJ walking towards his bungalow which is adjacent to where his office is, at the FTII premises. He is seen striking a chord with his students, waving out to them…indeed it was a wonderful experience to meet him. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Love ke baad Shaadi bhi-1

Marriage is... a lifetime of sharing

It is not often these days that college romance fructifies into a wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. Starting from this issue, we bring to you real life romances that got sealed in marriage. Read on...

In love, will commit—how’s that for the mantra of a lifetime? For IT professionals, Sweta

and Gaurav Machalla,

marriage was a logical progression of the relationship that started in college, and has become a journey of understanding, mutual respect, and giving in when needed – their recipe for a happy marriage By Kalyani Sardesai

ontrary to what Bollywood would have you believe, a love that endures is not about grand gestures and dramatic moments. It is instead, simply a feeling of comfort. Ask Gaurav and Sweta Machalla—both former passouts from the same MBA College. “The moment when you realise that what the two of you share is rare and precious, that’s the moment that remains in your memory all your life,” says Gaurav. Married for over five years, and a three-anda-half-year old son, Karthikeya, to complete the circle of happiness, this is one couple unfazed by stories of divorce, chaos and live-in relationships that seem to be the case with ambitious professionals in major metros these days. “If you understand each other, respect each other’s dreams, give in every now and then—and laugh together, you should be okay,” shares Gaurav. “It’s as simple as you keep it—and just as sweet.” In case you’re hoping for weepy proposals and gushing poetry—forget it. Gaurav and Sweta didn’t need any of that. They used to hang out together in college. Similar academ22 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Gaurav and Sweta Machalla with their little bundle of joy, Karthikeya

Pic: Vishal Koul

Wedding bells, a nat ural culmination

In comfort zone with each other in college

ic backgrounds—electronic engineers both pursuing an MBA (systems); both Punjabis (he, from Gurgaon, she from Bilaspur); and a simple ability to talk to each other -- got them off to a good start. “Our comfort level with each other was just great. We were the best of friends, being a natural foil to each other. He is outgoing and friendly, I am reserved and quiet. We studied together, got things done. And then, one day Balaji Institute decided to give weekly offs instead of having all seven days working. That one holiday without each other made us realise that we were more than friends,” recollects Sweta. This was followed by a college trip to Shirdi—which just confirmed what they had been suspecting all along—that they were meant to share their lives together. “But we were both firm on the count that both families need to approve. Marriages are for a lifetime. We need everyone’s blessings to make things work,” says Sweta. Luckily, there was no opposition— not even a whiff of it. The parents approved. Gaurav’s parents met Sweta at his sister’s wedding in Mumbai—and liked her on the spot. “I did not even have to introduce her. All my near and dear ones—they just knew that she was meant for our family. My mom immediately whipped off her gold chain and put it around Sweta’s neck as shagun,” smiles Gaurav. But he would agree that just about 30 per cent of college romances end up in marriage. “The reasons for you coming together during

The Machallas: seven secrets of a successful marriage

Shared values with regard to the institution of family. A rock solid edifice of friendship and time spent together in college. An understanding of each other’s professions. A willingness on Gaurav’s behalf to give his chosen life partner the support she required: be it taking time off from work or moving to another city to take up a good job offer. Listening to each other, and respecting differences. Similar socio-cultural backgrounds. They complement each other’s personalities. While she is quiet, he is the outgoing one.

professional courses are usually quite obvious —company, support, friendship and sometimes just someone to study with!! Making each other your family is a different story—and depends on where life is going to take you in the days to come. However, most people who come together during a professional course, are quite

mature and realise where they are headed at the outset!” he expresses. That said, a few confusing moments are nevertheless the lot of even the most straightforward situations. “My father wanted to keep things simple. Instead of an elaborate engagement in August 2009, followed by a big fat wedding In December, he wanted to do it all in one swoop. However, we had to consider that Sweta’s family were rather traditional and wanted all the pre-wedding rituals in logical succession,” says Gaurav. “So dad told her father that we would be in Bilaspur for three days in August. They were welcome to do things just as they pleased—but within that time frame,” he smiles. “It was hectic, but fun. A traditional wedding, but as unfussy as possible.” While Gaurav is currently working as IT project manager with Sunlight Associates Gurgaon—a company that comes under the aegis of Sunlight Insurance Canada, Sweta is taking a break from work to look after Karthikeya. “Whether I choose to work or not—he’s always hugely supportive,” she says. “For instance, after we graduated he was immediately picked up by a company, while I chose not to say yes to offers as we were both newly married. After six to seven months, however, I had an offer to work in Noida with Corbus—which would mean that we would be separated for some time. But he did not stop me—he knew it was important for me to have the ‘fresher’ tag off my back,” she says. At the moment though, the Machallas are based in Gurgaon with Gaurav’s parents. A strong work ethic combined with an equal commitment to family unites the Machallas. “My days are hectic—like most IT professionals. But my weekends are for family alone. It’s an unwritten rule that I never switch on my laptop at home,” says Gaurav. “Keeping that work-life balance is crucial.” What do they think about the debris of broken marriages that seem to be a sore point in the IT/corporate world today? And is having a partner from the very same world a good thing? “Most problems can be worked out—if you keep up a conversation with each other,” says Sweta. “Being from similar backgrounds May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Made for each other

ring Sharing is ca

In college, our comfort level with each other was just great. We were the best of friends; we studied together, got things done. On one weekly off, we stayed without each other, which made us realise that we were more than friends - Sweta you are in a better position to understand the ups and downs of your professional lives... provided you choose to do so. It is entirely possible that one of you may be doing well, even as the other is going through a lean phase. Support your partner—listen to them— and work through problems.” Gaurav adds, “The male ego that insists you should be doing better than your wife is a great dampener! I personally feel that it is absolute rubbish… there were these two months when I was between jobs and she was at work. I looked after our baby—even took him along with me wherever I went—what’s the big deal? Family is a responsibility that both must share.” Despite the domestic bliss, the Machallas have a bone to pick with the so-called ‘stigma’ of divorce. “It’s like the person has been branded for life, which is not correct!! There could be any number of reasons why a person has chosen to end things with her/his spouse, and it’s never a good idea to be judgmental.” Besides, he 24 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

says, divorce is not inherently a negative thing. “It is an important set of checks and balances to keep the institution of marriage going. However, before you opt for divorce, you must first give your hundred per cent commitment to your partner.” Another advantage that most corporate professionals do not enjoy in the course of job hopping between major metro cities both in India and abroad is the grace of having elders at home. “In most cases, at least, having older people to guide you is a blessing,” he says. “They have seen life, and they can help keep tempers down, and smoothen the equation between husband and wife.” That works, alright, coupled with dollops of humour. “He is the talker, while I am the listener,” smiles Sweta. “But we both love pulling each other’s leg. Parenthood has not changed that part of our bonhomie. He loves ribbing me as I do tend to have a bit of a temper.” Gaurav couldn’t agree more. “It’s fun to fight-actually,” he says gleefully.

So who apologises and makes up after a fight? “No one,” retorts Sweta. “We simply start talking to each other again—or rather he will take up some non-controversial subject and attempt a conversation. And all is well again.” But the one principle from management college that applies to married life as well is being honest at all times. “By honesty, I don’t just mean speaking the truth. It means having the dignity and integrity to deal with the consequences of one’s actions. If you show that decency to your partner—just as you would to your colleagues---most things would fall in place,” rounds off Gaurav. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

tadka

Squandering away our rights India is the second most populous country in the world with 127 crore people, which is more than 1/6th of the world’s population. Yet, Only 55 crore people register their votes in Indian elections. Sadly, statistics show that it is the educated class which votes the least, while voting is maximum amongst slums.

Beyond the bottomline

Mentor-Mentee Magic Match

Adopting a mentor-mentee approach with a new employee helps arm him/her with valuable information, knowledge and experience and fosters an environment of high achievement and productivity

By Suchismita Pai

t is that time of the year again – when words like ‘Campus recruitments’, ‘pay package’ and ‘placements’ are bandied about. In a match made in corporate heaven, businesses scoop up the brightest young minds they can find across the world. So, what’s next? Along with excitement, enthusiasm and eagerness, there are also expectations. The organisation expects the new hire to start delivering results while the freshly minted employee might often expect to have more time till he understands more about the company, culture and ethos. Initial training and orientation often fail to integrate the novices into the organisational machinery. Among the top three reasons for quitting an organisation are leadership, overall corporate culture and contribution to organisational goals. Mentoring addresses all these reasons and fosters a sense of belonging at the work place from the very beginning. Benjamin Franklin has famously said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” In times past, employees often had enough time to engage and learn, and apprenticeships tried and tested the newbie before he would be called upon to step up. But living in the times of corporate giants, with operations spread over several countries, this is no longer an option. Engaging the new employees

beyond the regular “junior- senior” hierarchies is crucial for the growth and development of all parties concerned. A five-year study focused on the value of mentoring at Sun Microsystems concluded that “mentoring has a positive impact on mentors and mentees, producing employees who are more highly valued by the business.” The study with over 1000 employees found that five times the number of employees in the mentored group improved their salary

spiritual leader, guru and in reality it is all this and more. A mentor is someone who can listen, help you grow, push you if needed and advocate for you as and when needed. It also translates to on-the-job-training for mentors to assume leadership roles better and advance their own careers. For the organisation, it provides an opportunity to use their own employees instead of outside consultants as internal experts for professional development, while observing and evaluating them for further advancement and

Engaging the new employees beyond the regular “junior- senior” hierarchies is crucial for the growth and development of all parties concerned grades as compared to the others. Mentees were promoted five times over those who were not in the programme. But the gain accrued to the mentors as well who were promoted six times in the test period as compared to the non-mentors. It also reduced attrition rates substantially for both mentors and mentees, which in turn affected the financial well-being of the organization. A recent article states that 71 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs to their employees. The dictionary defines the word mentor as adviser, guide, confidant, confidante, counsellor, consultant, therapist, master,

responsibilities. Harvard Business School defines leadership thus: “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” Mentoring helps practice habitual leadership by empowering your people and showing them that you care. It helps link employees with valuable information, knowledge and experience to those who need it and fosters an environment of high achievement and productivity. So hitch the young star to an older one and watch them blaze a trail across the sky! paisuchi@gmail.com

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Start-Ups

Home food is a click away Craving for exotic delicacies need not always mean a trip to the next speciality restaurant in town or a trip abroad. One can now savour world recipes within the confines of your own home or at host-led gatherings--be it South African Bunny Chow or Australian Lamingtons, Indonesian, Burmese or Thai cuisine and their vegan counterparts–or regional specialties of Maharashtra, Kerala, Assam, Rajasthan or tribal food from Bengal. Home-getaways or takeaways with traditional local flavours and world cuisines are just a click away with MealTango.com. Mutual passion for food and entrepreneurship that brought Pune-based young entrepreneur couple Neeta Valecha and her better-half Saket Khanna together also helped shape their enterprise, MealTango.com. It promises a line of ‘home’ and ‘away cuisines’ through home kitchens across the world dishing out home cooked meals on to your plates... By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar “There are limited numbers of restaurants, but so many home kitchens around the world,” remarks soft spoken Neeta Valecha, Chief of User Experience at MealTango.com. But, behind the soft façade emerges a stoic entrepreneur. Buzzing with ideas, her enterprise with hubby Saket Khanna, Director, MealTango.com, is one such offshoot of her inspired concept of bringing in home cooked meals, available across global kitchens and served by hosts registered under MealTango.com.

Stepping Up the “Aloo-Paratha’

What began as a home-stay concept for the newly wedded couple in 2012 for tourists, students, boarders and professionals through home rental listing services such as Airbnb and 9flats websites at their London home at Angel Islington, took on a new path when Neeta realised the yearning of travellers on the go for authentic home cooked food. Saket explains, “In my stay abroad for six years, rarely did I get a chance to dine in homes. Unless you are married, or do your own cooking, dining in homes while you are abroad is difficult. Even when you eat out, the flavour of food in Indian restaurants abroad is not the same as home-cooked Indian recipes.” In the initial days at London, Neeta had yet to apply for her work visa but often cooked Indian dishes for her globetrotting guests and boarders -- sparking off their home-cooked meal hosting concept. In one such instance, Neeta’s spark played host to a global Bollywood photographer of Indian origin who was invited to savour her home-cooked Indian flat bread variant – the ‘aloo paratha’. The appreciation and gratitude expressed by the guest provided the awakening moment for Neeta and Saket to explore the pos26 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

“…We cannot change hosts every week as they are selected after fulfilling stringent physical parameters of food quality standards, ambience, hygiene and authenticity of recipes. Thus, we can have more hosts in a particular city for a particular type of food genre. As against a central kitchen service or a restaurant, food prepared by our host is not mass produced – thus nutrition is also not compromised.” sibilities of adding home-dining for their global stay-in guests. The ‘aloo paratha’ moment provided Neeta the deja vu experience to connect travellers to authentic home cooked meals irrespective of their travel destinations. “The concept was Neeta’s and then we looked online to explore if similar ser-

vices existed at all. There were no concerted effort by others in this space,” noted Saket. “We decided to work on our big idea but maintained it as a stealth project. We did not share our intentions until we decided to come to India end 2012 to build our website here. They did not think this concept would be viable in the Indian market. “We came to India to build the website at low cost, perhaps road test it in Pune and launch it globally, say in the UK, which seemed like the perfect destination for our product -- in an English speaking socio-cultural scenario known for its concept of Sunday lunches, high teas and year round tourist turnovers,” added Saket. However, a representation at a local farmers’ market in Pune surprised the young couple as 150 people signed up in a single day for their meal hosting programme. “We realised that although most locals were hesitant to allow strangers into their homes or visit unknown hosts for meals, there was a segment in India that definitely was open to the home dining concept,” explained Saket. “Setting up shop in India and finally launching the site in 2013 was cost-effective and gave us access to excellent talent while also keeping a check on our operational costs.”

Spark to Marital Harmony

Whether it was running a library at hometown Jabalpur or cooking up a meal for roommates in Mexico, Neeta, the IT professional in the Data Warehousing domain was “always an entrepreneur at heart”. She quietly discovered a similar entrepreneurial streak in her ex-Infosys Manager Saket, stationed in Virginia, US in 2009. A tech geek himself, Saket had by then launched his first start-up in the U.S. – LikeBucks, a product search engine, in 2010 but sold it off in 2011 as he embarked on his move to Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Despite the distances, cupid struck through a common acquaintance as Saket, now pursuing an MBA from Oxford University once again met Neeta in 2012 in Pune, as she pursued her IT career here. Marriage took Neeta to the UK and what began with one ‘aloo-paratha’ meal has now transcended into a concept that boasts of 160 published hosts online and around 800 plus total hosts globally who have evinced interest in being part of their meal service programmes. “Although all our hosts might not be listed on the website yet, there is every possibility that you will find one of our hosts in almost all important global destinations and extending by the day,” said

Pic: Ahmed Sheikh

Youthful synergies: Bonding ties over global cuisines

Saket. Till date, we have proven an increase in our count from 100 people dining per month with our in-home dining service to 1000 a month, which we are optimistic to take to a lakh, monthly.”

Business Model, Future Potentials

“Our revenue model is very simple. A host can sign up on our site for free. Once selected as part of our host list, they work out their costs and their price per meal per person. We take a small cut of around 10 to 20 per cent of the total one-time hosted meal. We remit the hosts through our payment gateways (separate for domestic and international hosts) for the service provided,” explained Neeta. “Our costs are primarily disbursed for maintaining and running of our website, the payment gateways, our sales and marketing team who promote our hosts and other in-house staff,” she added. “Till date 1000 people have used our site for in-home dining offers and now we are looking at launching bespoke home cooked take-away meal services at Pune’s Magarpatta area. We are work testing this zone with an approximate potential of at least 50,000 people,” said Saket.

A Twist to the Office-Goers

To bring respite to office goers who are often bored of set-lunch menus available at restaurants

or home catering services, Saket says, “Our advantage is that hosts can change their menus or even meal courses every day which brings in variety. But, we cannot change hosts every week as they are selected after fulfilling stringent physical parameters of food quality standards, ambience, hygiene and authenticity of recipes. Thus, we can have more hosts in a particular city for a particular type of food genre. As against a central kitchen service or a restaurant, food prepared by our host is not mass produced – thus nutrition is also not compromised,” adds Neeta. “With a 30 pre cent quarter on quarter growth, we are also looking at developing the MealTango apps to tap savvy Smartphone Gen-Y and Gen-Z guests,” said Neeta. “We are looking to clock a four digit turnover figure in the next two to three months,” adds Saket. Quoting on an international survey, Saket explains that in an overall $ 2 trillion world travel segment, about 8 per cent per cent of tourists travel explicitly for local food experience. “I would imagine that India’s potential would be 2 per cent of this ‘travel for food’ segment as India figures in the top 60-70 destinations for world travellers.” “In fact, 30 per cent of our business has come out of nowhere in the form of property getaways as well-heeled hosts have called on us to host theme meals for guests via MealTango.com

at their Swiss Chalets, some combining health food get-togethers with a Zumba fitness regime or even organising a ‘make your own pizza’ on special wood fired ovens. People have also come forward in offering properties to host international cuisines or tie-in with local festivities and events. ‘Green Tokri’ in Pune offers special farm fresh meal tours and tractor ride packages. We are currently in talks with Cox and Kings for a credit line for MealTango.com. We are hoping to firm it up in our discussions in April this year,” he added. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

tadka

Skewed population ratio In India, for every 1000 men there are 918 women on an average. This uneven sex ratio is due to rampant female foeticide, preference for boy child and a narrow mindset. Kerala has the highest sex ratio of 1,084 women to 1000 men, while Haryana has the lowest ratio of 877 women to 1000 men.

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 27

Cover Story

Dynamic Duo 9

Sanjay and Mala Bali

blissful bonding Sanjay Bali, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics India (P) Ltd., and his wife, Mala, former HR head at Hindustan Times and currently a Consultant managing her own firm, MBB Consulting, are a sterling example of how the values of family support can be the pillar of strength on which rests their personal and professional happiness and success

By Vinita Deshmukh

28 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

uccess stories are aplenty in the corporate world but how many give credit to strong ties to the family for their achievements? Leading corporate leader Sanjay Bali who is presently the senior vice president of Samsung Electronics India (P) Ltd and his ever-smiling wife, Mala, a former HR head in leading companies and now a consultant, are a rare couple who have laid the foundation of their married life on a firm family footing, where both their parents have played a crucial role in their happy, contented and successful married life. Also, the Balis have broken the Indian tradition (except in some pockets of the country such as the North Eastern states) where a bride gets married and lives with her husband’s family. When Sanjay proposed to Mala, she was committed to taking care of her parents in their sunset years and they were already 70 and 80 years old respectively. It was a case of ‘marry me, marry us’. Without batting an eyelid, Sanjay agreed and they moved in with her parents after they got married. Both Sanjay and Mala were able to climb the corporate ladder and achieve stupendous success. Their two sons grew up in their grandmothers’ loving care while the young couple found their feet at their workplace. While both reside in a plush neighbourhood of Delhi and have an expansive home with classy furniture, décor and vibrant paintings that depict their love for art, their humility, simplicity and warmth are lessons on how culture and morals need not be forgotten with affluence. Also, bringing up children is a blend of the sweet and sour, of love and discipline. Corporate Citizen spoke to both of them to find out what it takes to achieve the best in the corporate world, live in a joint family shoulder the responsibility of bringing up two children. So, first in the line of questions was, how did they meet? Sanjay, the quieter of the two says, “Ours is a love marriage. We were working together at Eicher Motors in Chandigarh when we met. During the two years we were there, we liked each other and decided to get married.’’ Sanjay graduated from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) while Mala graduated in MA in HR &IR from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, joined Eicher as a Management Trainee.

Jab we met…

Confesses Mala, “sparks flew, HR is a function everyone loves to hate. I joined the company and moved into the Bachelor House where people would go on about ‘HR sucks,’ I was riled and since Bachelor House was among Sanjay’s responsibilities we had several run-ins. Then realisation dawned that I was not resident housekeeper and I backed off.’’ The khit-pit notwithstanding, says Sanjay, “I was attracted to her passion for work, people and her ability to speak her mind.’’ The relationship cemented when Mala who by then was living on her own got ill and Sanjay stretched out a hand to May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 29

Cover Story help. Says Mala,“I was laid up and he took charge, got hold of a doctor and was there every evening to get me all I needed.’ Adds Sanjay, “We’d become good friends. I was genuinely concerned about her. I was not just doing my job or trying to look good. When I popped the question you could have knocked me down with a feather with her ideas of looking after her parents and moving in with them. Let’s just say that sorted she became quite relaxed and I was left stewing.’’ With marriage went Mala’s job. “It was an Eicher policy to promote professionalism at work. So spouses and relatives could not work together and one of us had to go. Sadly it was me. With Sanjay moving in with us it was unfair to expect him to give up his job as well”.

Son-in-law moves in

1992 was an eventful year – getting married, having our own apartment, becoming a contract worker with employment renewed every 3 months and shuttling between Delhi and Chandigarh – parent’s home and mine was quite a hoof! Adds Sanjay, “And what about me? In 1993 I was transferred to Eicher Faridabad and wound up Chandigarh on my own as you were expecting and laid up. Barely had I moved in and there was Aditeya – everything happened too quickly. Did his parents have any objections? “What do you think? Living in Kota, dad working in

Family time: Sanjay Bali, Aditeya and Mala

30 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

the Railways, mom a housewife they were quite shocked and really apprehensive. Meeting Mala and her parent’s, finding they were really old and health issues were genuine helped but to say they accepted my moving in with them would be untrue. That came with time and finding common roots like our fathers’ villages in Pakistan were 30 miles apart. That was a big cementing factor as the parents got to know each other better. Without us around they formed their own equations and got along just fine.

I took Sanjay’s mom’s help and she was a super teacher who over-extended her brief and taught me how to manage the domestic side of life. I used to find juggling work, home, in-laws, baby and our respective extended families quite tough and not wanting to trip up I was paranoid. Gradually with Sanjay’s help we made things simple and do-able - Mala Bali

Daughter-in-law plays her part

Managing my parents and family, drawing the line with them in places where well-meaning was not necessarily well received was a hard lesson in renegotiating boundaries. Sanjay’s parents didn’t drink or eat non vegetarian food and were particularly sensitive on that front so respecting their sensitivities and managing the kitchen was down to me. I took Sanjay’s mom’s help and she was a super teacher who over-extended her brief and taught me how to manage the domestic side of life. I used to find juggling work, home, in-laws, baby and our respective extended families quite tough and not wanting to trip up I was paranoid. Gradually with Sanjay’s help we made things simple and do-able.

Camaraderie between both parents

Says Mala, “It is amazing how different our parents were and yet how well they clicked. The four of them would spend the mornings together, eat breakfast and lunch and socialise with visiting relatives on both sides. With Aditeya’s coming they got too busy to miss me, I was at work. After I lost my father, they stayed with mom and Sanjay’s mom took charge of the house for a while giving her all the support, and space to recover. I loved her for it. Adds Sanjay, with mature insight on the time, “When you love a person you do it. When her father passed away in 1995, my parents spent

I love nature and top of my list would be Great Wall of China, Great Barrier Reef, the Tropical Rainforests, Kerala’s Backwaters, the Himachali treasures, African Safari, the list could go on. I miss doing these with family because in the last 8 years we haven’t been able to get away on a family vacation - Mala

so much time with her mother I think it clicked every which way. The initial misgivings seemed so small and petty in the face of such a huge loss.’’ What strikes you in this relationship is the way the family bonded, everyone rallied around Mala’s mom and the whole ended up becoming bigger than the sum of its parts.

More Culture Shock

The path of true love was never smooth, remarks Sanjay, “from bachelor heaven to the world of inlaws, I had to learn to share newspapers and often come home to a drink with them, which was just culturally strange and unsettling. I couldn’t see myself doing this with mine. Mala’s father was a tea connoisseur who mixed his own tea and trusted no one but himself to make it. Father–inlaw making tea every morning was too much to deal with. And the pressure to produce a baby, I couldn’t believe how embarrassingly direct they were! We had Aditeya in October 1993 and while we were thrilled ,Mala’s father was over the moon. They were inseparable. Mala went back to work when he was a few months old and my inlaws and he turned into a threesome. Everywhere they went he went, including waiting outside the High Court as a little toddler for Nana to wrap up his cases and regale them with stories after.’’ Mala took two year sabbaticals both times she had children. Her first one started well before a baby was ever in question and for that she never stopped cursing the Eicher policy. Was it difficult to get back to work? Says Mala,“I was really anxious and stressed but finding a job was surprisingly not as difficult as I’d thought. When you are professionally qualified, willing to learn

and dirty your hands, you also get employed. From Eicher to DHL the harder part was transitioning into a new role. Coming from a Plant set up where I’d managed Training, HR Operations was a steep learning curve. Plus my heart lay in Training which I had absolutely nothing to do with expect organize so it was frustrating not to do the things I wanted and knew I was good with. After I had Adiraj 3 years later I then joined PwC HR Consulting. It was my first stint in consulting which I’ve grown to love.’’

Values from grandparents

Sanjay says he is indebted to Mala’s mother for the values she gave the children. “We were lucky because Mala’s mom was a big educationist. She was born in Burma where she had her early education. She finished schooling in Dehradun after her father retired and settled there and went on pursue BSc and MSc at Isabella Thorburn College, Lucknow. She became a Chemist and taught at IT for 13 years. While there she received a scholarship and went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston in the mid 1950’s to spend a year studying there.’’ She had enough stories to tell the children and education, cross cultural differences, hers travel featured big time.’’ Adds Mala,“My mother’s my hero. Aditeya and Adiraj blossomed in her love and care. From bird watching expeditions at the Okhla barrage at 5 a.m to watch migrating Siberian cranes, to dried flower and leaf collections, yoga, and swimming, baking and reading they had a whale of a time. A voracious reader, she also had a large collection of stamps and coins that took up hours to research and maintain. No TV with nani. There

was so much to do and learn. “Having been a teacher she was an asset at the PTA’s which she attended with great gusto. It was what she’d done all her life and she loved carrying on. Teachers warmed up to her and forgot to crib in the face of her vast experience and earnestness. She didn’t expect any favours but her fine sense of balance put things in perspective. She set the standards and had us all accountable for our bit. The kids were expected to do their work, I was expected to ensure it was done and she would intervene if needed. She was particular about work and attending school.’’

Opposite poles attract but…

Sanjay has the trademark cool disposition, is blessed with organisational skills and a system in place for everything he does. Mala is a stickler for “a place for everything’’ but is quite chilled out beyond that. It’s here they clash sometimes. Says Mala candidly, “What a terrible temper and thank god it shows up once a year. More than that would be unbearable. The reason for the rising mercury could be anything – a messy room, homework not done, getting late going somewhere. It’s best to keep a distance and stay away such times!” Sanjay, adds, “Problems of plenty, multiple options when it comes to dressing up and the indecisiveness of wearing this or that, gets my goat when we have to go out. And with the kids it’s when they are careless, leave things lying around - I hate it.’’ So, what are the similarities between them? Sanjay says, “We are very sensitive to vibes and Mala makes a lot of effort to keep our home perceptibly warm and positive which I really appreciate. There are a few things we are completely alike in, for example our love for art and we choose together. I’m now used to her picking up something we’d really liked and creating an occasion if there isn’t one to induct it into the house. I’m fanatically clean and she has exquisite taste. I’m glad we’ve become a blend of both.’’ May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Cover Story

If you ask the CEOs what their top most priority is, at least 50 per cent of them would want to get good talent for their own company and create a talent succession pipeline. From that perspective, no company can ignore the invaluable contribution of HR. - Sanjay Bali Philosophy in children’s’ upbringing

Sanjay: I believe discipline is important. As far as kids are concerned there is the old saying if you repeat an act, a habit is formed, if you repeat a habit and it becomes character; your character becomes your destiny. So discipline is the bottomline. They have to keep doing the right things and I don’t tire of reminding them.” We are against an entitlement mentality. The nature of achievement is personal and it’s based on what you do and not what you inherit. Both my boys understand right from childhood, they have to create a professional world, earn a living and make a name for themselves. Mala: I’m a parent first and take delight in who my children are. I’ve created a home and nurtured an atmosphere that we all want to come back to everyday. Sometimes it takes roots and sometimes the children want to fly so I keep my eyes and ears open to go with the flow. Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother. Sanjay: Beetles and gazelles, really we don’t live in a jungle. My father was working in the Railways and I learnt from him how important it is to tell children their boundaries. You can’t tell them you are infinite because everybody has finite resources. Once they understand that boundary, they talk sense. They can’t come and tell me tomorrow, you don’t have a Ferrari because someone else has it. They understand what my finite resources are. So subtly and not crudely you need to tell them where you stand. There are differences in life with thousands below you, and thousands above you, but what you have can always improve with a little bit of hard work. Character is destiny, the root of which is hard work and making it your habit you can do something better in life.

Support staff

With both of us working, we don’t depend on parents to do stuff around the house. Our support system is set up to deliver that. Says Mala, “our staff which is the driver, cleaner and household help have been with us for 19 years. The cook regretfully retired 3 years back. Adiraj was 32 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

born in front of them. They are an integral part of our family and keep an eye out for the kids.’’

How about holidays?

Mala: Fabulous and too few to name. I love nature and top of my list would be Great Wall of China, Great Barrier Reef, the Tropical Rainforests, Kerala’s Backwaters, the Himachali treasures, African Safari, the list could go on. I miss doing these with family because in the last 8 years we haven’t been able to get away on a family vacation. Mom was ailing and we did not want to leave her and then the kids had their boards so those years were out. Sanjay: That’s true, the last and best holiday we had was eight years back when we went to Tanzania where my brother was. Serengeti National Park was magnificent and the migration of the wildebeest in Gorongoro still gives me goose bumps. It is one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in the world.

Their take on HR

So, what does HR mean to a company today? What’s the multi-national perspective? Elaborates Sanjay, “Companies innovate, they invest in technologies and reap in money at a given time. HR is all about how to manage the lifecycle of an employee and how to create an HR brand for your organisation. This involves so many things from the perspective of an HR. So that whole journey makes it very beautiful. So, how important is HR today, in the backdrop of attrition? Says Sanjay, “If you ask the CEOs what their top most priority is, at least 50 per cent of them would want to get good talent for their own company and create a talent succession pipeline. From that perspective, no company

can ignore the invaluable contribution of HR. “Today’s generation is more aware, well connected and has immense information on its fingertips, thanks to Google. If you are able to give this generation the value that use of technology should be for the right purpose, it will do a wonderful job for the country.

Minds of young corporate managers

When asked about his views on young corporate managers who freshly enter the industry today, Sanjay feels, “when we graduated, we felt more comfortable in companies which had manufacturing facilities. But today it’s a technology driven world and so you have youngsters wanting to launch their startups, create service companies – in short, a business model through the help of technology. Two or three decades back, it was unimaginable to join a Robotic company, just as investing in Infosys seemed unwise -- but IT is a buzzword in India today.” However, Sanjay rues that youngsters today quit their jobs too easily. “This generation is more competent, but my only advice is give some time for success. Quitting jobs often gives an impression that we are not secure people. So that gap needs to be bridged. You need to be patient, you need to learn, there is no short-cut for success and you have to get that experience to grow in life.‘’ Mala’s take: “This generation aspires to do professionally, socially and materially better than their parents Young corporate managers are more mobile, adaptive and handle a larger spectrum of choices at younger ages. There are many more foreign educated and travelled people and

people who’ve worked abroad and want to come back to create greater value. Of course there’s significantly greater use of technology both at home and work enabling multi-tasking and managing hectic social and travel calendars. But there are critical skills to be acquired like learning on the fly, being organized, picking up requests / suggestions from senior management, timely sharing of information, time management, asking for help when the going gets tough, knowing when to stop and not letting open issues drift. People who want to work internationally need to understand business on a global scale, figure what differs country to country and not overthink challenges and end up overcomplicating things. So building the right skills is as important as aspiring to do better.

Humility essential for youngsters

Sanjay: If you look at the India government report, you have educated people but not skilled enough to be employed. A youngster feels if I do a summer internship in a good company, I am stable, which is a misnomer. The gap comes from this short term approach. However, people are willing to groom them if they are humble. Humility has to be taught, for it is the most important thing when you start and don’t know anything about the company. Last year with Samsung, I had some 90 people from IIM, XLRIs and everybody wanted to be in a strategic planning role. Strategy is fine but what about execution and implementation of plans? I want execution to come first. I think that ability to learn execution in the market is what will be the greater asset of youngsters today.

The urban vs rural competency

Sanjay: I think the trend has already started changing. For example it came to the FMCG companies much before and maybe not in a highly structured manner. For example Procter & Gamble may have 80 people on the company’s role, but they have 1500 sales managers attached to their distributors and these distributors are there for the last15-20 years. These grassroots professionals require a different level and kind of expertise. Those from premier colleges may be misfits for this kind of job. Samsung has 6000 service engineers working on HCL, Reliance and those who have service contracts with us. A decade back, you went to an innocuous AC repair shop whose owner might be educated or not, but today an engineer from XYZ college does that repair job for you. As a customer you certainly get far more confidence in the engineer.

The trend of consultancy

Mala: Connecting with customers and

developing innovative solutions to suit their changing needs. Having courage of conviction and committing to a course of action to get started. Dialoguing skills in involving clients in articulating their issues and developing a shared picture of what success looks like with them. As a consultant it does not help to become judgemental about differences because as the project spirals out and grows it is critical to explain key actions to diverse stakeholders. The consultant must deal with their concerns so as to operate at a minimum level of noise and if necessary help others save face in difficult situations. People need to feel respected and you need to be authentic. In my work I help companies to spot talent early in the game and help prepare them for leadership roles. We run a whole development process like a development cycle or coaching or a combination of both. This adds value by identifying the right folks and shortening their development cycles through targeted exposure. The development cycles are all customised to the participant groups and get them to go

As a consultant it does not help to become judgemental about differences because as the project spirals out and grows it is critical to explain key actions to diverse stakeholders - Mala Bali

beyond their usual boundaries in very different ways. These range from classrooms, outdoor simulations, customer impact assessments, action learning projects which can be live projects in new functional / geographical areas. For most as it starts to come together there is often a sense of disbelief in what a disparate group has managed to accomplish and the value it has managed to create. To see people move into their aspirational roles, break functional silos and move into general management is satisfaction unparalleled. To see them inspiring others is a beautiful transformation. I know some good must be coming out of this because I have clients who are now on their 4th and 5th project and want to take the work to more people because they see value in it.

Women in the corporate world

Mala: What I am noticing right now about the role of women is that it is being seen in the context of economic and social issues of today. Change has begun and among educated women one can see shifts in mind-sets. The desire to manage the best of both the professional and personal worlds, knowing when to choose one and let go of another or how much of each to hang on to. There is no right or wrong; it is just what feels right. As to why there are so few women at the top positions in India, this went viral since the 2012 release of the Randstad India’s Workmonitor survey. We see 76 per cent respondents believe there are not enough women in top positions in their organizations, even though 89 per cent women want to take up leadership roles. We know the lack of these opportunities is one of the reasons why Indian women are leaving jobs to pursue their passions or walk away because they’ve had enough. Many of those opting for entrepreneurship including me are excited by the prospects of continuing to work, managing the pace and managing our family. So ‘how can one have an exciting, challenging and lucrative high flying career and still be a good mother and wife remains an important question which doesn’t have a single answer? In the kind of work that I do which is inclusive and developmental in flavour it would have been a real shame to exclude my own family. Inspired by the challenges my clients take on and their sense of responsibility and commitment to themselves I found I could give up familiar ways and habits and learn to enjoy myself in a new rhythm and structure. So I got back to exams and certifications, supervised practice for that rap on the knuckle, networking with the best folks in the world and finding I have an unbelievably talented peer group with super levels of advocacy. It’s fun to make up the rules as you go along. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 33

cii Case Study-2

Organization Churn for a Creamy Future by

Dr. Asha Naik, Professor, BIMM and Dr. Archana Shrivastava, Professorw, BIMHRD

CII Western Zone case study competition: Winner of 2nd prize

` 5 0 , 0 0 0 /-

Author: Dr. Asha Naik

Co-Author: Dr.Archana Shrivastava

Asha Naik started her career with Center for Organization Development as a research and consulting associate. She has several years of corporate experience which includes, Head Human Resources at Fujitsu ICIM and Global Head â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Human Resources at Tata Technologies. In academia, her contribution is as, Subject Expert in the field of Human Resource Management and Leadership, Advisor Academics- Sri Balaji Society , Doctoral Program Guide Symbiosis International University , Chair Professor - National Institute of Bank Management Dr. Naik has worked in India, Thailand, Germany and the U.S. Her areas of expertise are Sustainable Leadership, Organization and Individual Behavior.

Dr. Archana Shrivastava is a professional having a diverse experience of 16 years. She pursued her education in the field of Electronics and Telecom Engineering and later did MBA with HR specialization. She was awarded her Doctoral degree in the area of Employee Engagement. She has worked in the corporate sector and has taught in leading B schools across India. Her areas of research interest in which she has published papers, articles and case studies include employee engagement, leadership, human capital, organizational stress and organizational behavior. She firmly believes human resource management is the fuel that can propel ordinary people to achieve extra ordinary results.

Introduction This case study is about a mid - sized company from the dairy industry. The company Govind Milk and Milk Products Private Limited is located in Phaltan, Maharashtra and was set up in 1996.The case study covers the demands of organisation change as it transformed itself to meet the requirements of the next growth phase to achieve competitive advantage. Highlighting the unique features of the dairy industry, it covers the leadership vision required to lead the company into a non - linear growth phase and the challenges faced. Finally it covers the impact of organization change from the perspective of the employees. Corporate Citizen, the Exclusive Magazine Partner of the event, will publish the series of eight top Case Studies, one by one. 34 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

cii Case Study-2 Govind Milk and Milk Products Pvt. Ltd. (Govind), was set up by the erstwhile princely family of Naik Nimbalkars. Acutely aware of the needs of the people in the area that makes up Phaltan, the family ensured that the growth of the company also led to the social and economic development in the geographical area in and around the company, a radius of about 100 kilometers. The proximity to the well- developed city of Pune and the socially developed ecosystem of Phaltan has led multinational companies such as Cummins India to shift their base to Phaltan from Pune. The case study will reveal that the promoters of Govind and the partnership approach adopted by them in the first phase of growth have contributed in large measure to the overall development of Phaltan. Having established the production processes which gave quality products to the customer, Govind which was largely an input driven company started its transformation towards becoming a pan India and global brand. This transformation was led by Mr. Rajiv Mitra the Managing Director of the company. For the first time in twenty years of its existence an external expert professional was brought in to lead the company in its next phase of growth. Mr. Mitra was passionate about making Govind a market leader in the dairy industry. The vision of the leaders was and continues to be, as Mr. Mitra says, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Value to the farmers and quality to the consumers.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It was this very vision that provided the fodder for transformation into the next phase of growth. The new goals for growth of the company set by Mr. Mitra were non - linear. He envisioned a larger pan India and global presence and believed that the strategy for this would be to create a Govind brand to reach an increased customer base and for instant recall. He also believed that for the success of this approach, the employees would need to develop a different mindset; a new set of competencies and the organization would need a culture of meritocracy. Mr. Mitra provided the leadership for this transformation by introducing and implementing several initiatives for organizational change such as induction of external talent, implementation of technology, introduction of focused consulting, strengthening the organization culture, and introduction of work processes which impacted the employees and their productivity.

Historical Background

Phaltan is a taluka in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is about 59 kilometers north-east of the city of Satara and about 110 km from Pune (Exhibit 1 & 2). Phaltan State was one of the non-salute Maratha princely states of British India, under the central division of the Bombay Presidency, under the states of the Kolhapur-Dekkan Residency, Satara Agency and later the Deccan States Agency. The Hindu ruling family descended from Naik Nimbaji Nimbalkar, a Maratha who received a grant from a Mughal emperor in the 14th century. The ruler had the title of Raja, or Naik Nimbalkar. Phaltan also has the rare privilege, that one of their princesses, Saibai was the wife of the beloved, 17th century Emperor, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Major HH Raja Bahadur Shrimant Malojirao Mudhojirao Nanasaheb Naik Nimbalkar IV

Rajiv Mitra, Managing Director, Govind Milk & Milk Products Pvt Ltd

The Milk Federation of Phaltan was created to collect milk from various cooperatives and send for further processing. However the Federation did not work well and could not protect the interests of the dairy farmers. This led to the establishment of Govind Milk and Milk Products Ltd on August 21, 1995. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar decided to set up an organisation, firmly rooted in the philosophy of partnership and welfare of the farmers was the last Ruler of Phaltan. Phaltan acceded to the Dominion of India on the 8th of March 1948 making Phaltan a part of the State of Maharashtra. Phaltan has traditionally been a cattle grazing area. Breeding cows and milking them for the processing units has been the dairy farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional occupation. The Milk Federation of Phaltan was created to collect milk from various cooperatives and send for further processing. However the Federation did not work well and could not protect the interests of the dairy farmers. This led to the establishment of Govind Milk and Milk Products Ltd on August 21, 1995. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar decided to set up an organization, firmly rooted in the philosophy of partnership and welfare of the farmers. From 80 liters initially to a collection of several hundred liters, Govind had to encounter many problems. Lack of skilled manpower and absence of a proper distribution/collection system for milk, were only a couple of them. Undeterred with these May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 35

cii Case Study-2 obstacles, every member of Govind decided to persevere against all odds. Under the leadership of Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar, many committed team members put in their heart and soul, working round the clock to make Govind a success. Sighting their sheer perseverance and quality consciousness, Cadbury India became their first major client and provided a much needed boost which was needed in the early days of Govind.

Overview of Indian Dairy Industry1

India is the world’s largest producer of dairy products by volume and has the world’s largest dairy herd. The country accounts for more than 13% of world’s total milk production. Milk production in India has developed significantly in the past few decades from a low volume of 17 million tons in 1951 to 110 million tons in 2009. Currently, the Indian dairy market is growing at an annual rate of 7% having a market size of USD 70 bn. The market is projected to grow to USD 120 bn by 2017 and 140 bn by 2020 at a CAGR of 16%. No discussion on the Dairy Industry in India can be complete without a reference to the initiative Operation Flood. India’s dairy sector witnessed a spectacular growth between 1971 and 1996; this period was known as the Operation Flood era. An integrated cooperative program aimed at developing the dairy

cattle genetics. The dairy industry in India is not yet optimized. There is tremendous growth opportunity in this industry. New and emerging markets, friendly Government policies, easy availability of credit and a new found interest in the organized sector provides an opportunity for the growth rate of the dairy industry to match the rapidly growing Indian economy.

Govind Milk & Milk Products Pvt. Ltd.

Govind Milk and Milk Products Pvt. Ltd (Govind) established with an intention to help the farmers since the Milk Federation could not provide adequate support to the dairy farmers, has emerged as a renowned, quality conscious company for milk and milk products in the state of Maharashtra and other adjoining states. The production facility at Phaltan is a prime milk shed area, resplendent with abundant water, fodder and power supply. At Govind, the best procurement and processing systems are practiced to process milk and produce milk products. A well planned system functions perfectly in tandem with the cattle farmers for fresh milk procurement. There is excellent connectivity between the farmers and bulk coolers to transport and store the collected milk. A fully integrated dairy processing

Fodder management is very essential for animal farm management and accounts for 70% of the cost. To helps farmers get a guaranteed market for his green fodder product, Govind has introduced Contract Fodder Production where the farmer agrees for an annual contract to provide green fodder at a fixed rate.The scientists at Govind have trained the dairy farmers in green fodder preservation techniques known as silage industry was implemented in three phases, with The National Dairy Development Board designated by the Government of India as the implementing agency. The major objective was to provide an assured market round the year to the rural milk producers and to establish linkage between rural milk production and urban market through modern technology and professional management. The Operation Flood was one of the world’s largest rural development programs which ran for 26 years and eventually helped India to emerge as the world’s largest milk producer. Estimation suggests that Indian dairy production is growing at a rate of about four percent per year; consumer demand is however growing at approximately double that rate. In response to increasingly strong demand for milk products, the Indian dairy industry is growing its milk production in several ways. Dairy farmers working directly with buyers from the organized sector generally have access to modern extension services, which provide support for them to improve management, feeding, fertility and veterinary care for the dairy cattle. Many of these extension service providers offer artificial insemination services as well, that aim to further improving milk yields with new dairy IUF Dairy Industry Research, Retrieved from: http://www.nddb.org/English/AnnualReports/nddb-annual-report-2012-2013.pdf on 8th Jan ‘14 , 9:37 am 1

36 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

unit at par with International standards, with the capacity to process 8 lakh liters, is currently in use at facilities in Phaltan. The efficient front end of the dairy unit is supported with an equally robust backward integration. Well maintained harmonious relations with the cattle farmers is achieved through the practice of partnering in true spirit by providing and facilitating timely veterinary guidance and services and imparting the required knowledge on latest global techniques to help increase the yield. The Dairy farmers have been educated on many indigenously developed solutions like free housing, calf rearing, and balanced food production, achieving extraordinary results. The synergetic association with cattle farmers has resulted in the upgrade of technology and processes benefiting the community at large. Govind does not own the farms or the cattle but relies on the dairy farmers to provide the most critical raw material to the company. In its mission to ensure benefit to framers and quality to consumers, Govind has undertaken some unique partnering initiatives with the dairy farmers. A team of veterinary experts from Govind Milk conducted extensive research over a period and devised a unique low cost concept of Loose or Free Housing for the cattle (Exhibit:3). It facilitates free movement of cattle or livestock in a designated area which offers access to water and feed. The total area depending on the number of cattle is

cii Case Study-2 India is the world’s largest producer of dairy products by volume and has the world’s largest dairy herd. The country accounts for more than 13% of world’s total milk production. Milk production in India has developed significantly in the past few decades from a low volume of 17 million tons in 1951 to 110 million tons in 2009 demarcated with fencing made from low cost resources available collection takes place efficiently under hygienic conditions. with the farmer like bamboo, dried branches of trees to name a Govind acts as guarantor and aids dairy farmers in procuring few. To protect the animals from heat during day time there is loans from the bank. The wealth of knowledge developed by the provision for offering shade to the animal. A brush strategically scientists at Govind is passed on to the dairy farmers in novel mounted in the free houses takes care of the natural instinct of an ways. As Mr. Mitra says, “Improving production is not an easy animal to rub its body against some hard surface to groom itself feat and requires a holistic approach. You cannot just change (Exhibit:4). The cattle gets a natural environment to live in which feeding, without changing genetics, or housing, or health care, has resulted in easy let down of milk, improving both the quality or any other factor in that respect. Step by step you would have and quantity of milk. The poultry on the farms have a symbiotic to change all. This requires a dedicated, well informed, approach relationship with the cattle. They wean the cattle off the pests and that Govind is so successfully following.” As per Dr. S Gaikwad, keep the cattle healthy and happy. Less use of medicines reduces who heads the partnering initiative, “The cattle farms of the antibiotic residue in milk yield. The free housing area also successful farmers have been developed as model farms and serve creates excellent manure. as training centers for other framers. Learning from a fellow Fodder management is very essential for animal farm farmer who has benefitted by implementing the new techniques management and accounts for 70% of the cost. To helps farmers is proving to be an effective tool in re skilling the farmers.” get a guaranteed market for his green fodder product, Govind The unique partnering model used by Govind, has benefited has introduced Contract Fodder Production where the farmer multiple stakeholders. It promoted the concept of ‘happy cow’ agrees for an annual contract to provide green fodder at a fixed that is at the center stage of all dairy activity. The quality of rate. Phaltan being a rain deficient area goes through lean life and economics of the dairy farmer has improved. This periods of green fodder availability. The scientists at Govind has benefited banks as farmer is able to repay loans in time. have trained the dairy farmers in green fodder preservation Insurance companies stand to gain as cows are healthier and less techniques known as silage. The green fodder available in times prone to disease or death. The consumer gets better quality milk of plenty is cut by chaff cutter and preserved with jaggery, curd, and milk products. salt, mineral mixture treatment enabling farmers to get green The Dairy activities of Govind have generated substantial fodder even during dry season. The scientists at Govind came employment in the area of Phaltan. The ecosystem perpetuated up with solutions like Azolla, hydroponic fodder and inclusion by Govind is helping the interdependent relationship of three of sprouts in cattle feed. Azolla are high in mineral and essential industries i.e. crop farming; dairy farming and poultry in the fatty acid content and increase milk production by 10 to 15%, fat region. The increasing per capita income from dairy farming by 3 to 5 points and standard and world class innovations non-fat content up to 9.0 for cow introduced has succeeded in Exhibit 1: milk(Exhibit:5). Hydroponic retaining many young farmers in Location of Phaltan on the Map of India fodder rich in enzymes, Phaltan. vitamins, minerals, protein The dairy industry is having excellent antioxidant completely dependent upon the properties, can be grown within continuous and quality input of eight days and needs much less milk. The elaborate explanation water and space(Exhibit:6). of the procurement processes Through its 42 service centers, at Govind brings out clearly under its Annual Veterinary that over the years, through the Service Contract system, Govind practice of a true partnership supplies high quality progeny model, where the dairy farmers tested semen to farmers at low also prospered through the rates. Artificial insemination with growth of the company, Govind superior quality imported semen has succeeded in creating a improves the progeny of cattle harmonious environment stock. In Community Milking through which the company Source: www.mapsofindia.com/india Parlors milking machines continues to get a quality supply have been installed and milk of milk through the year. May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 37

cii Case Study-2 The unique partnering model used by Govind, has benefited multiple stakeholders. It promoted the concept of ‘happy cow’ that is at the center stage of all dairy activity. The quality of life and economics of the dairy farmer has improved. This has benefited banks as farmer is able to repay loans in time. Insurance companies stand to gain as cows are healthier and less prone to disease or death. The consumer gets better quality milk and milk products

Exhibit 3:

Free Housing for Cattle

Advent of a new leadership

The detailed planning and continuous research and development under the leadership and strategic thinking of Mr Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar played a pivotal role in bringing Govind to a comfort zone. The Indian dairy industry has a growth rate 16-18%.and Govind could boast of a CAGR of 20-22% The company was able to sell whatever it produced. A situation any company would aspire to be in. All analysis would show that the company was doing well, had the confidence of the milk suppliers and was operating in a secure market. This is a stage described in literature when complacency can set in, and the organization starts regarding success as an entitlement. It is also when the organization may lose sight of the true underlying factors that create success in the first place. Unless the rhetoric of success replaces penetrating understanding and insight, stagnancy is likely to follow.2 However this did not happen at Govind. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar, at this stage of the company’s growth realized the risk of linear growth. For further and consistent growth the organization needed to be known beyond the existing boundaries. There had to be a conviction that their product could face different levels of competition and succeed. There was no way Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar was resting on his past laurels. He wanted to take Govind to new heights. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar wanted to make Govind a household name not just in Phaltan or Maharashtra but have a pan India presence. He realized except Amul, all the other domestic players in the dairy industry cater to specific regions only. Lack of cold storage facilities was the biggest inhibitor for regional players trying to gain a national presence. The sale of

Exhibit 2:

Details of Phaltan l Country l State l Administrative Division l Headquarters l Total 2

India Maharashtra Pune Division Satara 10,484 km2 (4,048 sq mi) Source: http://satara.nic.in/

How The Mighty Fall-Jim Collins

38 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

liquid milk accounted for 75% of total sales but the milk market was very competitive and price-sensitive with typical margins of 4%-5%. In sharp contrast the market for value added segments showed great promise with a healthy growth rate of 20-30%. This signaled positive opportunities for Govind. It required to measure up to quality standards to achieve scalability for pan India presence. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar knew fully well that this would require a different type of effort and investment. The levels to which Govind could grow and the commensurate returns Govind could get, enticed him to go ahead. As per recent estimates, India exported only 87,800 tones of dairy products out of its total production of 132 million tones (<0.1%). He envisaged a tremendous export potential to milk deficit countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea etc. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar found himself in a situation where several companies reach, which Collins calls the first stage of success.3 His company was doing very well and had become a well-known name in Phaltan and Maharashtra. Yet the environment for Dairy industry in the country was becoming very exciting. Could Govind become a big player in this environment? There were many opportunities though fraught with risk. Should he contend himself with the profit making organization that Govind was, or pursue his dream of making Govind a force to reckon with not just in India but globally as well. There were several options at this stage, should Govind think of acquisitions to create a pan India presence, should they enter into strategic mergers, with some of the large players, diversify into some related food businesses or think of strategic growth themselves. Surely Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar must have evaluated all of these. He had a divine dissatisfaction with the current comfort zone and was convinced that Govind needed to be known beyond the 3

How The Mighty Fall –Jim Collins.

cii Case Study-2 Mr. Rajiv Mitra, set out to create a strong Brand Identity for Govind. He envisioned that every morning when the family buys milk it is not just milk but a piece of Govind they would have chosen to buy. The consumer should move from an uninvolved to involved purchase i.e. milk should move from commodity category to product category and subsequently to a brand category existing boundaries. He was also of the firm belief that that their product could face competition and succeed. Like a true leader, demonstrating faith in the company he decided to take the bold plunge, setting a clear agenda, Govind Milk & Milk Products will transform from a local company to a global company; from a family run company to a professionally run organization. This, the company would do it by itself with the help of the loyal partnership of the farmers. As in the early stage, the growth of the company must lead to the growth of the farmers as well. Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar realizing that this transformation would need a different approach, took the first step of implementing change in his organization. He did this by seeking the help of a professional to come and lead the company to the next stage. He presented the value proposition to Mr. Rajiv Mitra and over several meetings, encouraged him to join the company at this exciting point. Mr. Rajiv Mitra had built a high reputation for creating brands, had a deep connect with the market place and is known for increasing market share in the organizations where he worked. He also had a good understanding of the Global markets. A culture friendly, pro – employee approach is evident as one meets Mr. Mitra. His conviction regarding immaculate systems and processes for the growth of a company is also quite evident, finally his enthusiasm for continuous value creation must have been the qualities which attracted Mr. Nimbalkar to bring him to Govind to lead the change. This initiated the first stage of the three stages of Kurt Lewin change model. Kurt Lewin, a physicist and social scientist, developed a Exhibit 4: change model involving three Brush for Cattle Grooming stages; unfreezing, changing and refreezing.4 For Lewin, the process of change entails creating the perception that a change is needed, then moving toward the new, desired level of behavior and finally, solidifying that new behavior as the norm. This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves a breakdown of the existing status quo before you can build up a new way 4 Lewin’s Three Step Model- Robbins, Stephen P. and Timothy A. Judge, Essentials of Organizational Behavior 11th Ed. p.

of operating. While the model may appear simplistic there are several levels of analysis that need to be made at every stage. The decisions regarding the need for change, what needs to be changed, the establishment of priorities, the process and the pace of change and finally the measurement of the results of change come out of an extremely complex situation analysis. (Exhibit:7). The simple model offered by Lewin has stood the test of time. The simplicity and the wide applicability of the model helps the change agents through their journey of transformation. The joining of Mr. Mitra as the Managing Director started the process of transformation at Govind. He was the man entrusted with the audacious task of leading the complex transition. Mr. Mitra is a city bred person born, brought up and educated in Calcutta. He had lived and worked in Calcutta, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, London and Abu Dhabi and worked in sectors like Telecom, IT, FMCG and Retail but his rural exposure was limited. It was Mr. Sanjeevraje Naik Nimbalkar’s conviction that the transformation process needed a leader who understood a larger landscape and hence he took the bold step to bring in Mr. Rajiv Mitra. Undaunted by the lack of dairy industry experience Mr. Mitra took charge. In an interview to the magazine Corporate Tycoons, Mr. Mitra says: “The fundamentals of business are three things, understanding of systems and processes, understanding of people and understanding of money. One who has mastered these three things can prosper in any business.”5 According to the Force Field Analysis to make change happen, the driving forces for change have to be strengthened and restraining forces have to be reduced (Exhibit:8). Lewin recognized that change is a process where the organization must transition or move into the new state of being. This changing step, also referred to as ‘transitioning’ or ‘moving,’ is referred to implementation of the change. This is when change becomes real. It is also, consequently, the time that most people in the organization struggle with the new reality. It is a time marked with uncertainty and fear, making it the hardest step to overcome. During the change phase people begin to 5

Corporate Tycoons,Vol No. 2, Issue No. 9, December 2014

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 39

cii Case Study-2 Exhibit 5:

Azolla Feed for Cattle

The current procurement levels of the existing facility is 8 lakh liters of milk of which around 3 lakh liters of milk is sold in retail form through an established distribution channel. The balance milk is used for production of milk products like skimmed milk powder, ghee, butter milk, butter, paneer, shrikhand and amrakhand...ice-creams, cheese and ready mix packets learn the new behaviors, processes and ways of thinking. The more prepared they are for this step, the easier it is to complete. This stage can be likened to the image of a spider’s web. The organization can be viewed as a complex web of systems, relationships, structures, assumptions, habits, processes, and so on that become interconnected and interdependent over time.6 Just making cosmetic changes may not lead to any significant change results. Also, altering one strand of the web may lead to the breaking of several interconnected items, or unfreezing as described in Lewin’s model. Mr. Mitra who has participated and led several transformation experiences was acutely aware of this phase of transformation and the challenges it would present.

Metamorphosis at Govind

Mr Mitra now at the helm of affairs with a strong backing of the Board chalked out his priorities. In his words, ‘I studied the whole value chain from cow to consumer and I had a gut feeling that I will be able to bring value to the company and myself.” His change vision consisted of three elements; to create the Govind brand, to scale pan India and globally and to create a culture of performance and meritocracy. All the three elements were essential for the next phase at Govind, as also interdependent. To achieve these he would have to work through several interconnected parts of the existing culture at Govind. 6

Cawsey and Deszca toolkit for Organization Change

40 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

The Govind Brand

Mr. Rajiv Mitra, set out to create a strong Brand Identity for Govind. He envisioned that every morning when the family buys milk it is not just milk but a piece of Govind they would have chosen to buy. The consumer should move from an uninvolved to involved purchase i.e. milk should move from commodity category to product category and subsequently to a brand category. He firmly believed that for global market expansion a strong brand image was indispensable. Also a strong brand would help him sell processed milk and milk products. The overriding vision at Govind speaks of value to the customer. It is clear that the growth of the organization depends upon retaining the existing customers and at the same time creating new market places. Creating a strong Govind brand is fundamental to customer engagement and expansion. In addition to the farmer, the employees at Govind now needed to think of the customer as well. As per his early conviction the branding process at Govind was taken on a priority, where a new logo was unfolded and all the branding collateral was created. In the new growth phase where an outside perspective was as essential as the focus on continuous quality in all the products, he realized that the employees needed to be reskilled. Also new talent had to be inducted. While the existing employees had to be reskilled the new employees had to be inducted to the culture of Govind. The new market strategies implemented, also called for reskilling of employees. Many workshops were organized to reskill the employees. This is because the biggest ambassadors of the Brand are the employees of an organization. Some of these activities were extended to the dealer and supplier networks as well, since the last mile connectivity was provided by them.

Exhibit 6:

Hydrophonic Fodder

cii Case Study-2 Exhibit 7:

Kurt Lewin’s Model of Change

Introduction of Technology

Having a share of global dairy market would also require modernizing and introducing new technologies. While Govind was a leader in the procurement processes, its business processes were still archaic. Mr. Mitra took the services of a leading IT firm to implement a companywide business process integration technology process; SAP. Introduction of technology to replace manual work introduces two main challenges. The first one is in equipping all the employees with skills and competencies to utilize the system. The second challenge comes from the owners of the information. All of a sudden, their purpose and relevance in the organization becomes a question and out of the fear of being rendered irrelevant they demonstrate a tendency to block the optimum use of technology. Several organizations struggle to get the optimum benefit of a technology implementation when they are not able to tackle these two challenges. Introduction of SAP replaced decision making based on gut feeling and individual interpretations to taking informed managerial decisions. As it is with any initiative associated with change introduction of SAP was also met with apprehension and cynicism. The employees used to manual ways of doing things wanted to know the importance and relevance of such a technology for the dairy industry and particularly Govind. In the words of Mr. Ashok Bahekar, Senior General Manager, Govind, “Any change is difficult to implement and so was the case with SAP. It was a novel experience for the employees of Govind, but when they found that they had no option and also when the early benefits of the use of SAP were noticed things started falling in place.” Mr. Rajiv Mitra was convinced that a pan- India and global presence needs to be powered by technology. He was determined that the technology be adopted and that Govind gets the optimum benefit of it. He communicated endlessly to put to rest the fears of the employees by educating them on the advantages of SAP. It was communicated to them that the new technology will not lead to obsolescence, but would open new opportunities for them to innovate and grow. The benefits accruing out of SAP implementations were reinforced. Soon the employees started

The Values Document articulates the five values of developing strong work ethics, becoming dependable and responsible, demonstrating a positive attitude, honesty and integrity in all transactions and finally being thorough professionals in all aspects of behavior. These five values lead to the betterment of the individual employee and the organization. His actions provide the medium through which organization goals will be achieved. realizing SAP helped in timely and transparent decision making. It created sequential processes with interdependence on each other’s work. This meant every ones contribution was important and teamwork was a compelling reality. The errors were rectified at each stage hence did not become cumulative. Manual monitoring reduced drastically. There was an overall reduction in errors, losses and quality of output increased. The technology implementation helped Mr. Mitra in taking employee engagement to new levels. It was no more based on a sense of loyalty to the leader but was based on genuine participation in the business processes of the organization. The engagement also moved from a sense of entitlement to performance. Lewin proposed that the less the culture of an organization is frozen the more it is open to the initiation of new ideas the easier is the change process. The early acceptance of the business process technology demonstrates that the culture of innovation which was developed for the procurement process provided the resilience needed for the adoption of technology in the business process as well.

Exhibit 8:

Force Field Analysis-Kurt Lewin

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 41

cii Case Study-2 Exhibit 9:

Level 5 leadership – Collins.

Human Resource

Having introduced a critical technology initiative and already having a plant with state of art technology, Mr. Mitra simultaneously focused his attention to the people aspect of the organization. He realized having a business plan, infrastructure, strategy in place is not enough, the challenge lies in the implementation. His analysis showed him that the company was well staffed with competent dairy professionals, dairy scientists, veterinary doctors to take care of the supply aspects of the business and accountants to take care of financial aspects. Mr. Rajiv Mitra was convinced that this was not adequate if the organization had to transform to a market driven organization. Govind needed non Agro functional specialists as well. Hence he set out to recruit functional specialists in Sales and Marketing, Supply chain management and Human resource management. Having specialists in each function started creating a different culture. Since the employees were largely from the same location and had joined the organization in its early days they were complacent and overly dependent on the owner leader. There were no human resource processes or policies; the function was run on individual based practices. For a large organization this was not appropriate. This would involve spending a lot of time and each situation demanding a different solution. The HR department took on the task of framing Human Resource policies and formally documenting the processes and systems. A proper Organizational chart was prepared clarifying the reporting relationships. Proper job titles and job descriptions were developed which minimized role ambiguity. Role conflict was mitigated to a large extent by these initiatives. To bring in the culture of meritocracy appraisals were conducted and employees, for the first time were given formal letters for increment. Leave policy was put in place. There was 42 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

more transparency because of Human Resource systems and processes in place. Changing a culture is not easy; possibly establishing a culture is easier than bringing about a change. While the performers and the more professional in approach were very happy with the change, some felt unhappy with what was happening and tried to use roundabouts to make themselves heard. This is a natural process. Change brings with it fear, fear of the unknown and its impact on self. It becomes the responsibility of the leader to alleviate these fears through transparency and continuous communication. The term ‘Level 5 leadership’ put forward by Jim Collins refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities identified.7 “Level 5 leaders are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution and not themselves.” (Exhibit: 9) Mr. Mitra’s entire focus is towards the organization, the document prepared by him on organization values confirms the same. The Values Document articulates the five values of developing strong work ethics, becoming dependable and responsible, demonstrating a positive attitude, honesty and integrity in all transactions and finally being thorough professionals in all aspects of behavior. These five values lead to the betterment of the individual employee and the organization. His actions provide the medium through which organization goals will be achieved. Several levels of skill and competency building exercises are undertaken at Govind. Continuous learning provides for the creation of a proactive culture. It develops new insights and broadens outlook at the same time creating strong team bonds. Mr. Mitra has always been committed to the growth of employees. As a wellness initiative Govind introduced Vipassana for all its employees. Vipassana is one of World’s most ancient techniques of meditation, which was rediscovered by Gautama Buddha. All the Directors, management, staff & workers, supervisors went through intensive programs on Vipassana. This approach helped in creating a common language among the employees. It also helped in creating a we-feeling, and a sense of engagement with the organization. In fact the initiative was so well received that it was extended to the farmers as well. The farmers and milk collection center agents also opted for a 10 day Vipassana course. It helped them to become positive, less stressed, honest, disciplined and dedicated to their task.

Challenges

The four essential elements of a leader are the ability to gain and disseminate knowledge in real time. Knowledge takes various forms; it can be about the industry, the market place, employees, processes and products. The leader also needs to develop a strategic change vision. The vision has to fit into the overall vision of the company. He needs the essential competencies of working with and influencing teams groups and the organization as a whole. And finally he needs to create value. Value creation has to be for all the stakeholders, the employees, the customers and the shareholders. In the transformation 7

Good to Great- Jim Collins

cii Case Study-2 process we find Mr. Rajiv Mitra providing leadership using all the four essential elements. Mr. Mitra brought the technology, people and the processes that were needed to put Govind on a global map. In this pursuit the greatest challenge was in building the right team. Since the operating offices of Govind are in Phaltan which is about 100 kms from Pune and 300 kms from Mumbai makes it difficult to get professionals to relocate to Phaltan. Higher compensation packages to entice incumbents may not be a long term solution. Govind now had to perform the balancing act of on boarding specialists and yet contain employee cost. There is a big difference in the profiles of the existing employees and the new employees. For harmony this gap needs to be reduced through team working on some real cross functional activities. Govind used a top-down” or push model for bringing about organizational transformation. Though change can be more effectively internalized if it has the top management support over dependency on the top leadership for the transformation process can be self-destructive. Relying on top down pressure for organizational transformation may lead to superficial compliance which will defeat the very purpose of change. The transition from a family run company to a systems and processes focused organization was met with resistance from many quarters. The management was committed to transformation and would not let any factor impede its progress. To manage the resistance associated with any change process Mr. Mitra identified a group of people which were critical to the organization. The outcomes of change were communicated to them and they were convinced that the initiatives would lead to the growth of the organization. This helped in creating change agents. For the sustenance of change many more change agents need to be created.

Way Forward

Having succeeded at the first phase of the change process Mr. Mitra continues on the journey of transformation. To illustrate Mr. Mitra realized that it was difficult to curtail cost of production as the electricity bill itself was to the tune of 40 lakhs per month. Situated in Phaltan which has abundant sunshine, harnessing solar energy to cater to power needs of the plant only seemed logical to the Managing Director. The specialist from Govind, convinced Mr. Mitra of the many benefits of switching to solar energy and educated him on the subsidies offered by the government for adopting clean energy. In spite of the huge initial investment in solarizing the plant, Mr. Mitra saw merit in switching to solar energy. The efforts in this direction are underway. The current procurement levels of the existing facility is 8 lakh liters of milk of which around 3 lakh liters of milk is sold in retail form through an established distribution channel. The balance milk is used for production of milk products like skimmed milk powder, ghee, butter milk, butter, paneer, shrikhand and amrakhand . The product range is in the process of growth as well, through the introduction of ice-creams, cheese and ready mix packets. The sale of milk in pouch packing started in the year 1999 with around 2000 liters/day. The present sale is around 3

lakh liters per day. This growth is the result of delivering the best quality at a reasonable cost. While the process of transformation is now internalized and the benefits are visible the process of change continues at Govind as they have to achieve still many more milestones. Currently, the main plant at Phaltan in Pune district caters to the entire western Maharashtra. The plant in Turbhe in Mumbai caters to Mumbai and parts of Gujarat. Third plant is in a place called Yamkanmardi in Belgaum which caters to Hubli, Dharward, Belgaum and Goa. The fourth plant, in Sholapur which covers Latur, Osmanabad Sholapur and Hyderabad. Yet another plant is coming up near Nashik which will cater to North Maharashtra area. The pan India journey had started. Lewin called the final stage of his change model as refreezing to symbolize the act of reinforcing, stabilizing and solidifying the new state after the change. The changes made to organizational processes, goals, structure, offerings or people are accepted and refrozen as the new norm or status quo. Lewin found the refreezing step to be especially important to ensure that people do not revert to their old ways of thinking or doing prior to the implementation of the change. Govind has made a leap of faith; and the journey of transition from good to great has started. “We have come a long way towards achieving our vision of happiness to the farmer and value to the consumer. Further growth that we have envisioned from here can only happen through the sincerity and dedication of our employees and untiring efforts of our channel partners. Our strong and responsive consumer connect will lead us to where we wish to be.”-Rajiv Mitra - Managing Director. At Govind the transformation journey continues as new milestones become part of the growth story. The ability to be nimble to optimize the new opportunities, the new markets and new customer base presents a great feature that has been cultivated in the organization culture. The continuous improvement programs envisaged by Mr. Mitra may further help in enhancing the adaptive capacity of the organization. To achieve competitive advantage Govind must achieve a favored position in comparison to their competition and perform in ways that are unique, difficult to imitate and create great value. An ability to adapt and transform quickly will assist Govind in managing strategic change.

Disclaimer:

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

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Survey

India’s Retail Survey

Re-tell

The Indian retail landscape has become one of the most complex across the globe. From gift wrapped personal delivery to cash on delivery and even easy monthly installment (EMI) schemes, Indian retail has come a long way from its dark ages. In the backdrop of a recent in-depth survey by Knight Frank of more than 30,000 retail outlets across the top seven metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata, Corporate Citizen explores the fascinating story of India’s retail Market

By Neeraj Varty

ndia loves shopping. To put that in perspective, currently, the total retail spending in the top seven cities of India amounts to `3,58,600 crore (US $60 billion). Mumbai alone accounts for 29 per cent market share, followed by NCR and Bengaluru, at 25 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The total retail spending in the top seven cities of India is projected to more than double to `7,65,000 crore (US$ 127.5 bn) by 2019. The majority of this penetration is by brick and mortar stores. E-tailing, however, is fast picking up. Currently, NCR has the highest penetration of E-tail in India, at 3 per cent. The corresponding number for Mumbai and Hyderabad is 1 per cent each. E-tailing is the sector which is projected to witness the most growth, from `7200 crore (US$ 1.2 bn) in 2014 to `83900 crore (US$ 14bn) in 2019, resulting in a phenomenal annual growth rate of 64 per cent. Now let’s look at the cities. Bengaluru has the highest per capita penetration of modern retail in India, at 1,323 sq ft per 1,000 population. This is followed by Pune and Chennai, at 1,002 and 1,001 sq ft per 1,000 population respectively. Kolkata has the lowest penetration of modern retail in India, at 569 sq ft per 1,000 population. However, Mumbai ranks the lowest, at 1,047 sq ft when the population for households earning more than `300,000 per annum is considered. This implies that among the high income group, Mumbai residents are the least serviced in modern retail terms, despite Mumbai accounting for the highest share in the retail market, at 29 per cent. 44 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

In a country with severe land shortages, mall space is hard to come by. There is a huge disparity in mall space across the country. NCR, for example ranks first in terms of mall space per capita in India, at 536 sq ft per 1,000 population. This is followed by Bengaluru and Pune in second and third place respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, Hyderabad is ranked last when it comes to per capita mall space penetration in India, with just 193 sq ft per 1,000 population. Mumbai, too, fares poorly in terms of mall space penetration per capita, at just 350 sq ft per 1,000 population. This is much lower than the average penetration in the top seven cities. When it comes to products sold, apparel is the largest product category in India, with a share of 22 per cent in the occupied modern retail space of the top seven cities. This is followed by department stores and food and beverages categories, at 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. What’s interesting is that the top three categories represent around half of the total occupied modern retail space in these seven cities. Even in these categories, Indians have a clear preference for foreign goods, and that too from a few select countries. Brands from more than 33 foreign countries are sold through modern retail outlets in India. However, the top seven countries contribute towards a majority of the share in this, at 78 per cent. USA contributes a massive 35 per cent of all foreign brands present in India. This is followed by the United Kingdom, at 12 per cent, While Italian and French brands account for an 8 per cent share each, Japanese, Swiss and German brands represent 5 per cent each.

neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Highlights → Retail spending across cities to more than double in the next five years → The share of modern retail will rise from 19 per cent to 24 per cent in the next five years → USA contributes 35 per cent of all foreign brands present in India, followed by the UK → Share of brick, mortar modern retail to drop from 17 per cent in 2014 to 13 per cent in 2019 → The top seven cities will require retail space of 4.3 mm sq ft/annum for the next five years → E-tail spending to drive modern retail; expected to touch `839 bn from the present `72 bn → At 1,323 sq ft per thousand population, Bengaluru has the highest per capita penetration of

modern retail among the seven cities

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Survey

Total retail spending and penetration of modern retail in 2014 Total spending in ` bn

Space in sq ft 17%

Top 7 cities

19%

Pune

Kolkatta hyderabad

12%

bengaluru

n E-tail

319 319

90%

225

80%

21%

n Brick and mortar retail

1,037

82%

1% 18%

Chennai

899

74% 86%

238

79%

16%

3,586

81%

23%

NCR Mumbai

549

76%

n Non-modern retail

Note : brick and Mortar Modern Retail + E-tail = Modern Retail

Projected total spending and penetration of modern retail in 2019 Total spending in ` bn

Space in sq ft Top 7 cities Pune

13% 14%

Kolkatta hyderabad Chennai

74% 15%

13%

bengaluru n Brick and mortar retail

18% n E-tail

67%

12%

75%

n Non-modern retail

46 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

589

507

77% 14%

1,919

692

88% 11%

545

2,434

83%

7% 5% 13%

7,650

76%

12%

18%

NCR Mumbai

11%

69%

1,155

Note : brick and Mortar Modern Retail + E-tail = Modern Retail

13%

Accessories

Books, Gifts and Music

Sportswear

Footwear

Personal Care

Watches and Jewelry

Electronics

Hyper/Supermarkets

Home & Lifestyle

22%

Entertainment

Food and Beverages

Department stores

Apparel

Product category split of occupied modern retail space in the top seven cities

Country of Origin of foreign Brands in India USA: 35%

UK: 12%

Italy: 8%

Japan: 5%

Switzerland: 5%

Germany: 5%

France: 8%

Others: 22%

Brand Wise split of occupied modern retail store space Top 7 cities

18%

bengaluru

17%

Chennai

18%

hyderabad

18%

Kolkatta

32% 31%

NCR Pune n National

39%

11%

41%

10%

29%

23%

13%

Mumbai

n Foreign

32%

40%

18%

42%

18%

30%

20%

n Regional

36% 46%

35%

18%

22%

6% 34%

50%

11% 10%

n Local May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 47

corporate history

For whom The

Royce Rolls

A look at the stupendous journey of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most premium luxury car, the Rolls Royce, for over a hundred years By Kalyani Sardesai

It is the ultimate symbol of not just success, but the kind of success of a chosen few that belong to a rarefied stratosphere. With the starting price tag pegged at `4 crore and well, much beyond, it gives a whole new dimension to the term opulence. Welcome to the hallowed portals of the Rolls Royce, a quintessentially English production that went on to win the hearts of the rich and the famous the world over. And no, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bother with advertising. For the question that begs asking is not whether you ought to own a Rolls, but whether you are big enough to even consider one.

48 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Little wonder then that when the late spiritual guru, the controversial Osho Rajneesh was reported to possess not one---but hold your breath---96 of them, it had even the wealthiest people in the world—his American followers -gasping at the sheer effrontery of it all. To which, Bhagwan Rajneesh responded in his inimitable manner. “Of course, I could not possibly use 96 cars at a go. But I was knowingly creating a situation in which you would feel jealous. The function of a master is strange. He has to help you understand your inner consciousness that is full of jealousy. The Rolls fulfilled that purpose. They created jealousy amongst the super-rich of America. If they were intelligent enough, then rather than becoming my enemies, they would have asked me to help them get rid of their jealousy. Jealousy is a fire that burns you, and badly at that,” he said. It is well over three decades now since that statement, and no, the jealousy has not reduced. Osho was not the only one. Much before him, in the days of the Raj, the even more controversial Maharaj Bhupinder Singh of Patiala owned 99 Rolls Royces. When the Queen’s representative wrote him a stinging letter accusing him of “vulgar indulgence that knew no bounds,” the whimsical ruler replied that the cars were there to fulfil the city’s need for an efficient garbage disposal system. He was in good company. The Maharaja of Alwar, who used to stay at Mayfair Hotel in London, once wandered into a nearby

showroom and was cheeked by a salesperson. Furious, the Maharaja ordered seven cars and turned them into garbage collection vans at his home state in India. Rolls Royce was appalled and, reportedly gave him a few cars in exchange for restoring the rest to their due status. Amidst these massive displays of kingly egos, one thing stands out: the world’s most expensive car brings out the strangest side of the wealthiest, most powerful and accomplished men. Any surprises there?

Full cylinders ahead In 1884, Henry Royce made his first car, a twocylinder Royce 10 in his Manchester factory in 1904. Soon after, he met another owner of a motor car dealership, C.S.Rolls & Co. In spite of his fondness for three or four cylinder cars, Rolls was convinced of the sheer mettle of the Royce 10, and in a subsequent agreement took on all the cars Royce could make. There would be four models: l a 10 hp (7.5 kW), two-cylinder model selling at £395 (`38,643 in 2014) l a 15 hp (11 kW) three-cylinder at £500 (`48643 in 2014) l a 20 hp (15 kW) four-cylinder at £650 (`63,239 in 2014) l 30 hp (22 kW) six-cylinder model priced at £890 (`86,585 in 2014)

All would be badged as Rolls-Royces, and be sold exclusively by Rolls. The first Rolls-Royce 10 hp was unveiled at a glittering function in Paris in 1904. Rolls-Royce Limited was formed on 15 March 1906, by which time it was apparent that new premises were required for the production of the cars. After considering several sites Derby was chosen for its cheap electricity. Production began in early 1908. Confronted with the falling sales of Silver Ghost the company ended the one-model policy followed since 1908. In 1931 Rolls-Royce acquired the much smaller, but respected rival car maker Bentley after the latter’s finances failed to withstand the Great Depression of 1929. From soon after World War II until 2002 standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars were often identical apart from the radiator grille and minor details. In 1933, the colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black because the red sometimes clashed with the coachwork colour selected by clients, and not as a mark of respect for the passing away of Royce as is commonly stated. (But then, such talk has always surrounded the car) Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production soon began to assemble complete cars with bodies from the Pressed Steel Company (the new standard steel models) for the first time in the mid forties. Earlier on they had built only the chassis, leaving the bodies to specialist coach-builders.

In 1933, the colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black because the red sometimes clashed with the coachwork colour selected by clients, and not as a mark of respect for the passing away of Royce as is commonly stated. (But then, such talk has always surrounded the car) May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 49

The Rolls Royce owners club in India It doesn’t get bigger than a Rolls Royce Phantom. And as far as movie stars go, they don’t get any bigger than Amitabh Bachchan. Gifted to him by director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the Big B can often be spotted behind the wheel himself. Southern superstar Chiranjeevi owns a Phantom too gifted to him by star son Ram Chara. Then there’s none other than Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan who drives the Rolls-Royce Ghost which is known to pick up a speed of 60 miles in 4.7 seconds and 100 kilometres speed in 4.9 seconds. Sanjay Dutt and southern director Shankar own a Ghost as well. And since we are talking envy of the kind that has never been witnessed before, can the King of Good Times, the liquor baron Vijay Mallya himself be far behind? With the billionaires club getting younger

Osho Rajneesh poses with one of Rolls Royce. Incidentally he was reported to possess 96 of them

Paras Gupta (c)

Amitabh Bachchan with his Rolls Royce, Phantom

entrants every day, Paras Gupta, a 22-year old NewDelhi resident hit the headlines for being the youngest owner of a RollsRoyce Ghost Series II. Paras is the director of Mother’s Pride, a pre-school chain with branches across north India and Mumbai, first established by his mother Sudha Gupta. He said the car was much-admired by his other entrepreneur friends who were also aiming to own it someday.

space for their staff. The Beatle John Lennon famously had the car painted with funky patterns, causing such great fury in the London of the 1960s that one elderly lady attacked it with her umbrella, shouting: “You swine! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce?” Other orders have included fitting a footbath so that an owner could prepare for prayer in the mosque, lining the interiors with mink, while a Russian billionaire wanted a longer footwell to accommodate his girlfriend’s 44 inch legs. However, the company has been known to turn down such outrageous demands as a hot pink Rolls, and another covered with solid gold in keeping with the dignity that befits the Rolls. The Crown Prince of Brunei and his family own 500 Rolls-Royces—the world’s biggest collection ever. Boggles the mind?! Well, that is the normal effect.

Vintage vignettes The Rolls enjoys a unique advantage over other luxury brands: It is the only brand among the luxury models sold in the early years of the 20th century which is still available in the market and is also in a position to keep track of earlier coveted models, given the thriving owners’ club all over the world. Recently, there have been several attempts by still well to do members of erstwhile Indian royalty attempting to buy back models that belonged to their famous kingly ancestors. A noteworthy instance being Indra Vikram Singh, of the erstwhile royal Rajpipla family which ruled from the banks of the Narmada in Gujarat for over 600 years. As per reports, Vikram Singh is busy trying to buy back one once owned by the family, a Silver Ghost, featured in the James Bond film Octopussy. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

Why a Rolls costs more More expensive than the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti, each Rolls is an uber elusive work of art, lovingly hand-crafted, one at a time! Every component of it, even the engine. The fabulous interior is made from the finest wood and leather that man can buy. They are 100 per cent sound proof and some are equipped with armoured windows and doors to protect the powerful occupant. The Phantom series including the Coupe and Drophead Coupe are priced at `4 crore, while the Series II and 50 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Extended Wheelbase are tagged at `8 and `8.2 crore respectively.

tadka

Customised to fit in… For the super-rich Middle-Eastern royalty, it would seem the world’s most coveted car isn’t enough, it needs to be customis ed to the T. From extra high roofs to fit in tall hats and elongated floors to make room for bending servants, clients are willing to pay millions of dollars for such modifications as an extra 3½ft of plush-carpeted floor space and rear-facing seats in a Phantom model, to make

Shoppers paradise The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest mall with over 12 million square feet of space, 1,200 shops and more than 65 million visitors annually. It is part of the 20-billiondollar Downtown Dubai complex, and it is in plans for further expansion.

Star Campus Placements-1

All honed to make it big....

By Mahalakshmi Hariharan

Since the very beginning, Karuna was inclined to specialise in HR. “I completed my Bachelors in the Commerce stream and decided to do my post-graduation, specialising in HR,” adds Karuna. The induction program at SBS gave these youngsters gist of what they would learn in the next two years. After the induction program,

regular classes commence. The institution regularly invites stalwarts who lead on various facets of the corporate world—corporate leaders who coach the students, not just in academics but also in enhancing their lifestyle. Guest lectures take place in the evening at 6.30 pm, post their classes. “We had to follow a tight schedule, no holidays for the first year, we

Pic: Prithviraj Mallick

“I have always believed that every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world,” says Karuna Dusane, who has been successfully placed in the Human Resource (HR) division of the Vedanta Group, thanks to SBS.

In June 2013, a bunch of five bright youngsters, with one dream, started their journey with one of the leading business schools in the country, Sri Balaji Society. There were sparks in their eyes. There was spunk in them. They were all set to make it big in the corporate world. Their sailing wasn’t smooth—they fought innumerable challenges, obstacles, failures that came their way, but today have achieved their dreams. Their story reminds one of Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist who once said, “I’ve always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you’ve got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.” Meet Nishtha Sharma, Karuna Dusane, Saurabh Kishore Singh, Amresh Kumar and Suruchi Dutta. They have today been successfully placed with large conglomerates such as the Vedanta Group and the Trident Group, with annual packages of `12 lakh and `18 lakh, respectively. While Nishtha, Karuna and Suruchi have been placed with the Vedanta Group, Amresh and Saurabh conquered positions in the Trident Group. They spoke to Corporate Citizen, in depth, on their first break, about their college days, challenges faced and ways of overcoming them, and their dreams for the future.

From L to R, Suruchi Dutta, Nishtha Sharma and Karuna Dusane placed with Vedanta Group

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Amresh

Accept things as they are, and look realistically at the world around you and have faith on yourself and in the direction you have chosen.

Suruchi

n Most importantly, be patient and never lose hope n Maintain a good attendance record n Keep calm and stay positive n Perform well during your internship period n Work on your communication skills, if required

Nishtha

n Take your internships seriously. n Be open to learning and give your best. n Stay strong, don’t give up. n Don’t take your studies lightly.

Karuna

Be honest and have the right attitude in life. Stay focussed, be patient. Placements do take time, but work hard for it. Keep calm and get placed!

would study all seven days of the week, had to go through frequent surprise tests and so on. At that point in time they were too stressful, but today I realise how important they were, after I got placed,” reminisces Karuna, with a smile on her face. Says Suruchi Dutta, placed in the Marketing division of the Vedanta Group, “We were very fortunate to get highly experienced and qualified permanent faculty as well as guest faculty who helped us in building up on our management fundamentals, making them stronger.” “I learnt how to work in groups, how to work to tight work schedules, keep calm and be patient. My institute prepared me from day one to face the corporate world. The long academic hours, the hectic and packed regimens, busy schedule, assignments, surprise tests, economic time sessions played their part in getting us ready to face the tough corporate world,” says Nishtha Sharma, who has also got placed in the HR division of the Vedanta Group. Nishtha, a Commerce graduate and a company secretary, and had always dreamt of doing her Masters in HR, hails from Punjab. She recalls, “It was my dream to do MBA that brought me to Pune. I have always liked to deal with people and so decided to specialise in the HR stream. I still remember, when we had assembled at the Ganesh temple in the SBS and were all set to start our Masters. We knew that life was going to change for the good,” she recalls. Like most Punjabis, Nishtha aims to be an entrepreneur and start her own venture in the future. Her mother, who is her pillar of strength, has always supported her in every step she took. All these youngsters have applied the three mantras of success -- Discipline, Determination and Dedication (3Ds), something that the institution (SBS) strongly believes in for every student to achieve success. Tough times do not last, tough people do It is true that tough times do not last, tough people do. Tough people pull themselves up by the bootstraps and stay strong, keep fighting. These youngsters too did not give up. Recalls Karuna, “I remember, during my first year of college, I was badly injured during

52 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

a dance competition and had undergone a knee surgery. I was forced to go on leave then. My Dean was of the view that I should go back to my parents, take adequate rest and come back after a year. But I didn’t want to give up. I used to take physiotherapy after my classes and was on medication. I started recovering.” Nishtha who has also been involved in managing events at the college, and coordinated several functions along with her studies, says the balancing act was tough. “Sometimes we had classes from 8.a.m. to 8 p.m. Surprise tests and presentations used to drain us out. But I was determined to achieve my goal.” Adds Karuna, “Soon after my first year, I got a chance to intern with a start-up company at Gurgaon. I was staying as a paying guest in a small room, close to my workplace there, with very little facilities but decided to hold on.” Placement season begins… Once the students complete their internship, they are back in college, making presentations on the findings of their internship programs. But come September, the placement season kicks off. Indeed, one of the most crucial and testing time for any student. “The entire campus is full of mixed emotions. There is fear, anxiety, competition, encouragement and motivation from friends and faculty, there is nervousness when you appear for your very first interview round and group discussion. You do get disappointed when you are rejected by a company, but the key to come through all this is to maintain your calm and focus on your priorities,” says Nishtha. Recalls Karuna, “When the placement season began in October, most of my friends got successfully placed with different corporates. It was taking some time for me to get through. I started getting worried by December, as I was yet to be placed. I didn’t really panic but the thought that I had not yet been placed was troubling me.” Karuna cracked the fourth company that visited the campus, but took all her previous interviews as an experience. “They were basically an eye-opener to the areas I needed polishing from my side, especially organisational behaviour, application of labour laws and aptitude.” Amresh Kumar, placed with the Trident Group with a package of `18 lakh per annum,

Saurabh

n Maintain good attendance throughout the academic session.Be a curious learner. n Be strong with your concepts in all subjects, especially in the specialisation chosen by you. n Companies look for confidence, clarity of thought, communication skills during GDs n Show passion and commitment for the role and the company in your personal interview. round. Nothing beats conceptual knowledge and honesty.

went through seven rounds of interviews before he finally made it. “By the time I got to know about this opening with the Trident Group, I was already placed in another company but with a lower package. But my friend Saurabh and I thought, how about giving it a shot?” recalls Amresh. Amresh hails from the Gopalganj district in Bihar. His dad is a farmer and mom is a homemaker. Amresh completed his engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications in 2009 from RTMNU and worked with Hindustan Coca Cola beverages and United Breweries Ltd. After working for 42 months, he decided to take a break to pursue his post-graduation from Sri Balaji Society. Saurabh Kishore Singh, also placed with the Trident Group, says the selection process in Trident gave him a lot of confidence and boosted his morale. “I too can compete with the top-notch B-school students of this country and eventually win,” says Saurabh. Tough selection process Explains Saurabh, the selection process of the Trident Group was divided into four stages, namely, written test consisting of 50 objective questions on Sales and Marketing, Psychometric Test, Plant Visit (Trident Group had paid for the trip to Barnala, Punjab) and the final round. The final round was conducted by E&Y, which was divided into five phases, such as Functional Interview, Behavioral Interview, Case study based group discussion, Case study presentation and Scenario discussion. “In the final round, there were students from IIM Shillong, IIM Indore, IMT Ghaziabad, Goa Institute of Management, BIMTEC Noida and so on. That one day of the selection process at the company head office was quite exhausting. In the functional interview round, there were questions relating to the practical application of sales and marketing concepts, while in the behavioral interview round, there were questions related to my previous work experience where I was judged on the responses given towards a particular problem that was asked. In the group discussion round, a case was given to us 30 minutes in advance, on which we needed to have a discussion for 30 minutes. We were asked to respond to different

Sri Balaji Society (SBS), based in Pune, is truly an institution in itself. Built on the pillars of ‘Discipline, Determination and Dedication’, SBS provides career specific contemporary education with a strong emphasis on practical training and overall development of students. The institution believes that every student has the potential to be groomed to have a successful corporate career. Converting the right candidates to the right jobs through right training and development has always been the goal of this society. The institution believes in “One Family, One Team, One Culture, One Goal…Corporate Citizenship for our students.” scenarios where we had to think like a manager and handle a situation where my junior was not up to the mark. In the second scenario, I had to explain my superior the reason for me not achieving the targets,” said Saurabh. This interview was a different kind of experience for both Amresh and Saurabh, as they had never competed with students from other top B Schools of the country. “Though I have given several interviews in the past, I had never gone through such a systematic and indepth interview,” says Saurabh. Students who got placed at the Vedanta Group had to go through two group discussion rounds and a personal interview. The company went through their academic scores and filtered candidates accordingly. SBS trained its students well for the GD rounds. Says Suruchi, “My group discussion topics were, instabilities in the Middle East, and is promotion the real factor for the success of a movie? There were other questions like tell me about yourself, why did you choose marketing, what is the difference between sales and marketing, talk about your internship and its findings, tell us about your family background, why do you want to join this company, tell us about your strengths and weaknesses, etc. Karuna and Nishtha were asked to introduce themselves and elaborate on their

aspirations, strengths and weaknesses, prior work experiences, role models, goals in life, interests and hobbies, achievements and internship learnings. Group discussion rounds had topics like “Make in India a boon or a bane?” and “Performance Management”. After the second round of the process, they were individually spoken to by the Head HR with regards to the selection criteria being used. All work and no play? Well, that’s not true. There are a lot of extracurricular activities like sports day, dance programmes, debates and quiz competitions that are conducted in the campus. In fact, the college is quite well known for its college festival, Drishti, which is a delight for students. Not just that, the college celebrates all the festivals in its premises. Recalls Saurabh, “I had participated in the Drishti quiz competition and had won the first prize. I also won a cash prize of `10,000 in the Sri Balaji Society’s General Knowledge competition.” Says Suruchi, “I made friends for a lifetime. The best part of the learning experience is time management as we had classes on all seven days of the week. It taught us to use our time more productively. Being part of the corporate relations team enhanced my communication skills, team building and various other skills.” Amresh too made a lot of friends from different colleges of the Society, from other specialisations. “I spent a lot of time catching up with my friends during my free time. Those were indeed the best days,” he signs off. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in

tadka

Shocking fact India has a population of $1.27 Billion. Despite that, only 3.5 crore people pay income tax, which is less than 3 per cent of the population. In stark contrast, America has a population of 30 crore people, out of which 13.8 crore people pay income tax, which is nearly 45 per cent.

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Bollywood biz

The Business of

Bollywood Promotions Movie producers are increasingly taking innovative steps to promote their offerings, besides the use of social and digital media. Corporate Citizen explores the fascinating modes of movie promotions By Neeraj Varty

he business of cinema has evolved along with the art of making movies. Till the 80’s, movies would be released on a certain date, audiences would watch them and then spread the word by word of mouth. With the 90’s came the advent of television in every home, and producers adapted by releasing trailers and ads on TV. Fast forward to today, where social media and smartphone usage is rampant, movie producers are taking more and more innovative steps to promote their offerings. Just a decade back, leading actors would sign multiple movies at one time, often having three to four releases a year. Promotions at that time were limited to making a few appearances and press conferences around the eve of the film’s release, and that was that. The money involved in cinema was also relatively modest, with movies having lean budgets, backed by indie producers. Today’s movie budgets run into hundreds of crores, are backed by large corporate houses with the stakes too high. There are

A Ra.One themed HCL laptop

eight to ten movies that release every month, and competition is intense. Add to that the damage done by the piracy industry, and the picture becomes scary. Promotions have gone from being an expendable luxury to a requisite necessity. The one thing Bollywood does know, though, is to adapt fast…and how! If there is an actor who understands the power of branding, it is the Baadshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. And nowhere is his promotional acumen more visible than during the promotions of India’s most expensive film Ra.

54 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

One. Made on a budget of `160 crore, SRK left no stone unturned to promote this superhero film. Promotions started ten months in advance in January for a Diwali release. While unveiling the first look of the film, he also created a 3,600-feet long fan mail, collecting audience wishes and messages. The fan mail would then travel to 36 cities across the world to promote Ra.One. Such was the marketing clout of SRK, that everyone from colas to watches to mobile phones and socially

relevant causes, even brands that SRK has not been associated with in the past collaborated with Ra.One. SRK spend a whopping `40 crore on the film’s promotions by the time it hit the theatres. The movie was universally panned by critics and would otherwise have been a flop, but the grandiose promotions managed to get audiences into theatres, and the incessant promotions even after the release ensured the movie became a superhit, grossing `240 crore worldwide. Where SRK chose the promotions of excess, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani chose to do the exact opposite – they chose secrecy. PK was probably the most closely guarded Bollywood movie, in which no one had an inkling of the movie’s plot till the day of its release. The movie

Screenshots of the Dhoom 3 bike racing game

Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma promoting their movie PK

Yash Raj Films took Dhoom 3 promotions to a whole new level, by launching the eponymously titled bike racing game Dhoom 3 on Apple and Android phones.The game was downloaded half a million times and got a lot of user engagement, which helped draw audiences to theatres enabling the movie to rake in over `550 crore at the box office had already been in the news for almost two years due to the profile of Aamir Khan and Hirani, but curiosity peaked when a motion picture was released featuring Aamir Khan in the nude with only a transistor as cover. Twitter went wild and #pk

was the most trending topic of the week. Every week after that, the makers released an additional motion picture, featuring other members of the cast. Aamir Khan made many public appearances to promote the movie, but did not give even a minor clue about

what the movie was about. The many public appearances by the leading cast and director, but no clue as to the movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story, drove the audience crazy with anticipation, and everyone thronged to the theatres the day the movie released. Marketing gurus who had earlier criticised this promotion of austerity, now couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop heaping complements once PK became the highest grossing Bollywood movie, raking over `600 crore at the box office. Yash Raj Films, one of the leading film studios in India, took Dhoom 3 promotions to a whole new level, by launching the eponymously titled bike racing game Dhoom 3 on Apple and Android phones, which has been downloaded on over 5 lakh devices. The game got a lot of user engagement, and helped draw audiences to theatres enabling the movie to rake in over `550 crore at the box office. Movie promotions are not always on the mark though. The makers of the horror movie Agyaat took the promotions of their movie to a whole new creepy level by hanging a dummy of a human dead body on the hoardings of the film. The blood oozing out of the dummy was so grotesque

that the onlookers complained to the police and got the dummy removed. In an age of instant connectivity, filmmakers are pulling out all stops to connect with their audience. YouTube and twitter campaigns, fan contests, brand tie ups, and viral marketing campaigns are the tools for the ultimate battle for your wallet. So sit back, pop the popcorn and prepare to get wooed!

neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tax a k d ta breakup CC

Out of 3.50 cr people in India who pay income tax, 18 per cent have an income of `5 lakh and above. 5.5 per cent have an income between `5-10 lakh while 4.30 per cent people have earnings between `10-20 lakh. 70 per cent have an income of more than `20 lakh, and less than 1 per cent earn more than `1 crore per anum.

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 55

pearls of wisdom

How to “If our mind is in conflict, not balanced with our body and with the needs of the soul, then there is a fundamental disunity in our life. Only if we have unity within ourselves, we can create unity in the world around us. You can’t give something you don’t have, even if you have all good intentions” – Radhanath Swami Leadership can be a daunting task with a wandering mind. It can lead you to weird decisions, insensitive dealings, display of negative emotions, and of course low efficiency. A model for the mind To find a solution, we first look for a model that explains the working of the mind. Models are used extensively in science and everyday life; examples are wooden models of bridges, planes, or ships, Watson and Crick’s metal model of DNA and Phillips’ hydraulic model of the economy. There are also models that are not material models. The Bohr model of the atom, a frictionless pendulum, or isolated populations, for instance, are in the scientist’s mind rather than in the laboratory and they do not have to be physically realized and experimented upon to perform their representational function. Simply put, models are vehicles for learning about the world Characteristics of the mind What are the characteristics of the mind? In Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Vedic classic, featuring the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna, Arjuna eloquently puts forth the ‘mind problem’: “The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” So the characteristics of the mind are restlessness, turbulence, obstinacy and 56 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

stopmind from wandering Leadership can be a daunting task with a wandering mind. It can lead you to weird decisions, insensitive dealings, display of negative emotions, and of course low efficiency By Gopinath Chandra

strength. In case you aren’t convinced, try to closely observe your mind – just for a day – and that will definitely help. Mind – ‘the desperate searcher’ Recently I visited Bangalore, and my travel was quite eventful. I boarded the train at noon, and tired as I was, thought of beginning the journey with a good nap. But no sooner did the train start moving than I realize my identity card was missing; and without that I was no better than a ticketless passenger, as per the rules. I began the desperate search. Fellow passengers looked on in wonder as they now saw me suddenly restless. The bag got emptied with stuffs flying all around, as though hit

by a turbulent tornado. All thoughts of a nap which I cherished just a few minutes ago disappeared, as I obstinately went about searching. With every passing moment I seemed to grow in strength; I was powered by my desperation. And when I finally concluded that the card was nowhere to be found, I started searching for the railway ticket checker, in hopes that he would understand my situation and let me travel. I finally found him in another compartment, and fortunately for me, he was a man who believed in sympathy. With his blessings, I peacefully returned to my seat and nodded off. Later, a deep thought made me conclude that the incident had helped me find the

model for the mind. The mind is like ‘a person on a desperate search’. When I was on a desperate search, I too was restless, turbulent, obstinate and strong – just like the mind. Try the work that makes you happy So one easy way to keep the mind from wandering at workplace is to take up projects you are happy working at – projects that are meaningful to you, satisfying to you and give you a sense of contribution. Many a times people go for jobs or projects that makes more money or gives more prestige. That may seem a nice option in the short run, but from a long term perspective, we need to go for something that keeps the mind happy. That will help us focus well, which will automatically

lead to greater efficiency and more money. Try Meditation Meditation is intended to free the mind from the wandering habit. But from our analysis so far, we can safely conclude that meditation can be most effective when that meditation gives us joy. Consequently we meditate more effectively and derive more joy from the holy names, which in turn leads to better meditation. This cycle of cause and effect – a unique feature offered by bhakti meditation – lifts us higher and higher, until the mind totally loses its habit of wandering. Try the Joy of Love The highest love is experienced when we learn

to love God and all his children. The ultimate teaching of bhakti yoga is that we be driven by that love – in our daily activities, in our actions, in our thoughts, and in our decisions. And when we are motivated by that love, our mind is inundated with unlimited happiness – and it just cannot wander. “When the mind is turbulent, uncontrolled and restless, it is like a pond of water that is filled with mud. Therefore when we look within ourselves, all we perceive is the mud of our material conceptions of life. But when the mind is still through discipline, and through yoga, it is like a pond that has no waves and no turbulence. Then we can perceive through that crystal clear water the eternal nature of our soul.” – Radhanath Swami (Gopinath Chandra is a resident of Radhagopinath Ashram that runs under the guidance of Radhanath Swami in Mumbai and is an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduate (source:www.leasdershipandspirituality.com) May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Featherlite

Corporate Twitterati Net Neutrality is the hottest topic that has been in the news all month. Amidst controversy that TRAI may introduce new rules which would favour telcos and break Net Neutrality, India’s Twitterati weigh in their opinions on the issue. Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad Our govt led by PM Shri @narendramodi is committed 2 provide internet for all 125 cr people of India #NetNeutrality . The Indian Express@IndianExpress Net Neutrality debate: In regulator inbox, a million messages for net neutrality: Save The Internet campaign c... http://ie.iexp.in/1DPP9fv Flipkart @Flipkart We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of #NetNeutrality, for we exist because of the Internet. http://bit.ly/1apr8kW Shekhar Mohite@splitgram #NetNeutrality TRAI and TRAI until you succeed. Amul.coop @Amul_Coop Amul Topical: Net neutrality debate hots up! #NetNeutrality

TheNewsMinute@thenewsminute Here is cartoonist #AseemTrivedi’s quirky take on #NetNeutrality http://bit.ly/1JpRDm7

Laugh Aloud A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer who was walking out the door and said, “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of weeks ago.” Then the manager drew the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?” The clerk smiled and said ... “Rain. Reporters interviewing a 104 year-old woman: “And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked. “No peer pressure,” said the woman. The CEO was scheduled to speak at an important convention, so he asked one of his employees to write him a punchy, 20-minute speech. When the CEO returned from the big event, he was furious. “What’s the idea of writing me an hour-long speech?” he demanded to know. “Half the audience walked out before I finished.” The employee was baffled. “I wrote you a 20-minute speech,” he replied. “I also gave you the two extra copies you asked for. Faced with hard times, the company offered a bonus of $100.00 to any employee who could come up with a plan to save money. The bonus went to a young man in accounting who suggested limiting future bonuses to $10.00. A government employee found an old brass lamp in a filing cabinet. When he dusted it off, a genie appeared and granted him three wishes. “I’d love an ice-cold beer right now,” he told the genie. Poof! A beer appeared. Next, the man said, “I wish to be on an island, surrounded by beautiful and willing women.” Poof! He was on an island with gorgeous women fawning all over him. “Oh, man this is the life,” the guy thought. “I wish I never had to work again.” And poof! He was back at his desk in the government office!

58 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Mobile Apps

Cab Apps At Your Service

Have you been stuck outside on a rainy day, with no cab in sight to take you home? Or have you encountered stubborn auto-walas who refuse to take you home because they claim they won’t get ‘return fare’? If you live in India, then the chances are that this has happened to you more than once. Now thanks to the power of a smartphone, you can wave those annoying experiences goodbye. Corporate Citizen rounds up the best cab service apps to bail you out of any location, with just a few taps of your phone. By Neeraj Varty

Meru cabs Rating: 

Meru cabs is an innovative cab booking service which currently operates in 11 major metros in India, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata, and is fast expanding to other cities. It has an interesting feature by which you can book a cab by opening the app and tapping on the “Now” button, automatically booking your cab. The pick-up location is auto detected through GPS. You can also book for cabs one week in advance, in case you are a cautious sort of person. Meru cabs also has an ‘in case of emergency’ (ICE) feature which sends an SOS message to two of your registered contacts in case of a perceived danger. A great incentive to use Meru Cabs is that it offers `200 off on the first ride. Base Rate: `27 For every additional Km: `20 Contact number: 91-22-40520100

Ola

Uber

Rating: 

Ola is a homegrown Uber competitor, and one of the most efficient cab booking services in India. Ola works similar to Uber as regards the booking procedure and interface. Ola launched not long after Uber, in 2010 in Bangalore, by Bhavish Agarwal. Today, the company has expanded to a network of more than 18000 cars across more than 65 cities in India including all the metros and many small towns. Ola also offers its own currency called Ola money, which you can gain by referring friends, and you can redeem it to pay for rides. The best thing about Ola is that when you install the app, the first ride is for free, although this might be a limited time promotion. Base Rate: `49 For every additional Km: `12 Contact number: (022) 33553355

60 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

Despite the recent controversies surrounding the company, Uber remains one of the premier cab booking services in more than 50 countries. Launched in India in 2009, Uber is the world’s first truly global cab booking service, and is available in all the metros in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata, as well as tier 2 cities like Indore and Lucknow. Using the app, you can book a pickup which will reach you in minutes. You needn’t even know the name of your location, as Uber can track you using your GPS co-ordinates. The app also shows you the progress of the driver on the map within the app. Uber has recently ramped up its security mechanisms to ensure the security of its passengers. Base Rate: `35 For every additional Km: `9 Contact number: 1-866-576-1039

TaxiForSure Rating: 

TaxiForSure is another reliable cab booking app which comes with all the bells and whistles expected from such an app. The differentiator here is that they offer cars ranging from Indicas and sedans to premium cars such as BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar driven by skilled chauffeurs. The app also has an intuitive Artificial Intelligence (AI) which suggests rides based on your travel history, and allows you to save preset destinations within the app. TaxiForSure currently offers its services in over 50 cities in India, but we found that their network is not yet as strong as Uber or Ola. Reviews on Google Play Store and iOS are mixed as to the quality of service. While the app has great potential, it still has to iron out some creases. Base Rate: `49 For every additional Km: Not listed Contact number: 022 6060 1010 neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

health

beware of excessive use of dietary supplements

While dietary supplements may be advertised to promote health, new research shows a link between consumption of over-the-counter supplements and increased cancer risk, if the supplements are taken in excess of the recommended dietary amount

hile dietary supplements may be advertised to promote health, a forum at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2015 by University of Colorado Cancer Center investigator Tim Byers, MD, MPH, describes research showing that over-the-counter supplements may actually increase cancer risk if taken in excess of the recommended dietary amount.

Nutrition

“We are not sure why this is happening at the molecular level but evidence shows that people who take more dietary supplements than needed tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer,” explains Byers, associate director for cancer prevention and control at the CU Cancer Center. The line of research started 20 years ago

with the observation that people who ate more fruits and vegetables tended to have less cancer. Researchers including Byers wanted to see if taking extra vitamins and minerals would reduce cancer risk even further. “When we first tested dietary supplements in animal models we found that the results were promising,” says Byers. “Eventually we were able to move on to the human populations. We studied thousands of patients for ten years who were taking dietary supplements and placebos.” The results were not what they expected. “We found that the supplements were actually not beneficial for their health. In fact, some people actually got more cancer while on the vitamins,” explains Byers. One trial exploring the effects of beta-carotene supplements showed that taking more than the recommended dosage increased the

risk for developing both lung cancer and heart disease by 20 percent. Folic acid, which was thought to help reduce the number of polyps in a colon, actually increased the number in another trial. “This is not to say that people need to be afraid of taking vitamins and minerals,” says Byers. “If taken at the correct dosage, multivitamins can be good for you. But there is no substitute for good, nutritional food.” Byers says that people can get the daily recommended doses of vitamins and minerals in their diets by eating healthy meal and that many adults who take vitamin supplements may not need them. “At the end of the day we have discovered that taking extra vitamins and minerals do more harm than good,” says Byers. Source: The above story is based on materials provided by University of Colorado Cancer Center.

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 61

astroturf So this makes the perfect time to give your career the push it needs. You could make your dreams and visions into concrete reality. Start giving actions to your ideas.

Aries

Mar 21- April 20 The planets are this month in their lowest nadir, which means lowest point in your chart, the body may be seemingly asleep but your mind will be working overtime as your internal forces are stirring and visualizing. Your career can progress in the direction you want, so be very clear and precise. You may not be able to pin point how but definitely overall prosperity is seen.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 Saturn retrogrades into Scorpio on the 15th now this can be a stressful aspect, those born between May 19th to May 21st are going to be very stressed out and feel the downward energies strongly. Since forewarned is forearmed you can be mentally prepared and not get affected so much. Since the short term planets are in sync with Saturn retrograde everything tends to move slowly and irritatingly causing a down ward trend.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 Till the 21st of June you are still in your personal pleasure peak you may indulge yourself by all means only keep in mind that your pleasures should not hurt others. The new Moon on the 25th, is fortuitous as this time it occurs in your own sign. This aspect is an harbinger of money and personal happiness.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 21st of April you entered one of your spiritual periods, since half of the planets were moving through your 12th house. Though the 12th house is still strong and remains so till the 21st, you will experience internal

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 growth and would be keen on expanding your inner life. With the financial planet also affecting the 12th house you will involving yourself to good causes. Last February and March your intuition in regards to finances was excellent the same holds true this month too.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 Â Venus enters your sign on the 5th, bringing both career and love opportunities to your door. You will exude confidence and success in your personality. With Venus joining Jupiter in your sign its party time as the period is good both for your money and honey. Technically this period is a prelude to your happiness and success.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 You need to carefully monitor your health as your energy levels keep dipping off an don. Slowly and steadily your situations will improve by the end of June for sure. On the 15th Saturn moves away from the stressful aspects and by the 21st as Sun starts to make a harmonious aspect. You are still in your professional and career peak until the 21st of this month so even though everything around seems hectic still you

62 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

should endeavor to meet your deadlines.

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20 Saturn the ruler and lord of your horoscope has been retrograde since March 14th, so there has been a lot of introspection going on in your personal life. You may experience a lack of direction, could feel as if you are going backwards instead of forward. Not to worry just get mental clarity before you reset your goals.

AQUARIUS

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 The main highlight of this month is your career, it will be very active and successful. You enter your career peak on the 21st. and this goes on till July 23rd. Family will be important yet you need to focus on your career. You need to put your energies and dedication towards working hard and focus on your goals. Your promotions need to happen any time now in fact they should have happened earlier.

Jan 21 - Feb19 This is a happy and prosperous month so you must enjoy your health and energy as you are still in your yearly personal pleasure peak till the 21st of June. Concentrating on your work issues will help build your self-confidence and self esteem. Enhance your health and give more attention to your heart by being restrictive in your diet and disciplined in your exercises.

PISCES

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 Saturn the ruler of your horoscope has been retrograde since March 14th, so you need to do much introspection and review your personal as well as professional life. You may feel directionless or clueless and confused of what exactly you want out of life.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 23 - Dec 22 On the 21st of last month all the powerful planets made an important shift from the lower half to the upper half of your horoscope.

Feb 20 - Mar 20 Even though health still needs watching, yet one sees and feels improvement over the last few weeks. Saturn moves temporarily from its stressful aspect on the 15th of June and on the 21st the sun also moves away from the stress of Saturn. By the 24th, you should feel a resurgence of energy. In the meantime enhance your health through proper diet and disciplined regimented exercise. Address: 143, St Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013. Tel.: 020-26872677 / 020-32905748 Email: connect@dollymanghat.com / info.dollymanghat@gmail.com

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

MROF NOITPIRCSBUS

One Year (24 Issues) : `1400/-

NAME:

ADDRESS:

PIN CODE:

Phone No.: (Office):

(Resi):

Mobile No:

E-mail Address:

DOB:

(m m)

(d d)

(y y)

Profession:

Designation:

Company/Organisation:

Payment details: (

)

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

(

) Cash. (Only by hand)

Please fill in this order form duly & completely & mail it with your cheque payment (Do not send cash) to Corporate Citizen, Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Bulk land No 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune 412101. Tel. (020) 69000677.

May 16-31, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 63

Claps & Slaps Anjali Bhagwat

Corporate Citizen claps for cricketer, Sourav Ganguly who has donated his one year pensi on from the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), to the deceased under-19 Bengal cricketer Ankit Keshri’s family

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian skipper donated his one year Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 2015 pension to the family of the deceased Bengal under-19 cricketer Ankit Keshri who died after colliding with his team mate during a match in Kolkata recently. Keshri was fielding at sweeper cover, rushed to take the high catch as left-arm pacer Sourav Mondal too ran on his follow through. The players collided, he fell unconscious. However, Keshri suffered a massive cardiac arrest, and was declared dead. In what can be considered a cruel twist of fate, Keshri was not a part of the playing XI and was the 12th man of the side in the fateful match. He came to replace Railways Ranji all-rounder Arnab Nandi, who had taken a break. The incident happened at the Salt Lake ground during a one-day of the match between local giants East Bengal and Bhowanipore club. Dada, as Ganguly is fondly addressed, has also decided to use the pension he would be getting in future years from the BCCI to fund the treatment of injured players who are registered under the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). Ganguly, who is the current joint-secretary of the CAB, said after CAB’s finance committee meeting recently, “It’s also my personal decision to fund the treatment of injured players, the ones that are CAB-registered. As per BCCI’s pension scheme, former Test cricketers receive an amount of `4,20,000 annually. Following Keshri’s death, there were accusations that the medical facilities at the ground were not up to the mark. Ganguly assured that required steps would be taken to ensure that CAB is well-equipped to take care of any such contingencies in the future. Meanwhile, CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey informed that the board will be donating `10 lakh to Keshri’s family. “We have proposed to give this amount to Ankit’s family,,” he said.

Heena Sidhu

Corporate Citizen slaps the Jet Airways’ official who barred Indian shooters, Heena Sidhu and Anjali Bhagwat to board a flight back home, citing ‘incomplete paperwork’ with regard to the weapons the athletes were carrying even though they had all the necessary documents and clearances in place, and had travelled on the previous connecting flight from Busan to Bangkok without any hassle

Shocking! Indian shooters Heena Sidhu and Anjali Bhagwat were left in the lurch by Jet Airways after both of them were barred from carrying their shooting weapons on a flight from Bangkok to Mumbai because of “incomplete documents”. But the athletes had no trouble travelling on the previous connecting flight from Busan to Bangkok with the same documents. Heena and Anjali were on their way back from Korea to Mumbai with a transit at Bangkok. They had boarded the Korean Air flight from Busan to Bangkok and the next flight was Jet Airways from Bangkok to Mumbai. As it was a code-shared flight, they had got the boarding pass for the Jet flight in Busan itself after checking-in their weapons. After landing at Bangkok at 12.30 am, they were simply informed that they couldn’t board the Jet flight as they were carrying weapons. In fact, the weapons they were carrying were already accepted in Korea after verifying the same documents. They had to shell out an extra `48,000 for tickets back home. “It was harassment. We were not only forced to arrange for tickets, but also had to spend the night outside Bangkok airport. It all happened because of the ignorance of the Jet Airways staff about sports weapons and the documents we were carrying,” Heena was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. “Jet Airways security manager Shailesh Gala told us that our documents were incomplete. When we argued that we had DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) permission to carry the weapons from India to Busan, he said ‘back’ was not mentioned in the permission. When we asked him to give in writing the basis on which they had denied us permission to carry the weapons, he refused,” said Heena.

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

64 / Corporate Citizen / May 16-31, 2015

RNI REG. NO. MAHENG/2014/60490