Volume 2 issue 19 for website

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP An exclusive Interview with Prof B N Gangadhar, Director, NIMHANS Volume 2, Issue No. 19 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

December 16-31, 2016 / `50

Dynamic Duo: 43 Dr Prachee and HRD Minister Prakash Javdekar

Freedom of space NHRD Panel Discussion

Shape Culture, Drive Strategy

Interview

Prof R Vaidyanathan debates on issues of black money

Entrepreneur Diary

Indrani Pillai Transforming while Performing

Survey

2017 a welcome year for job seekers

2 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 67

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Update on business buzz

I have recently stepped into the corporate world and Corporate Citizen magazine has been my constant companion, guiding me about the prevailing norms and trends in corporate culture. I cannot thank you enough for keeping me posted on all the related buzz that I cannot do without.

—Swati Sinha, Indian Council of World Affairs

Get fit the corporate way

I love the features from your column ‘Health & Fitness’ from where I know how to give myself effective workouts, exercises and diet plans. And the best part is I can do it myself at home. And combine it with tips from your ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ column and you are not only beautiful from outside but also beautiful in heart. I really feel happy and healthy while reading these two columns. I have one life and one body, which I have to take care and the features in these columns help me to do that. Thank you for your commitment to your reader’s health. This cool side of business, which you have invented is really cool and fun and an eye-opener—reading through those 66-page issue after issue.

—Jaydeep Jagtap, Finance Manager

Recipe for true life-long learning

For a young person like me who is securely employed and on the prosperity path, reading through the pages of Corporate Citizen, I get expert tips from corporate honchos on how to accrue material benefits through productive work. One big lead is on how to know limits and possibilities. Reading through various interviews of corporate leaders that are featured in the magazine, the principles they apply to their own experiences, is inspiring.

The degree of self-motivation that I get from reading their life story is something that is generally not taught in classrooms. The magazine is a recipe for life-long learning.

—Anant Behere, Management Trainee

Good read on inspiring lives

While going through the magazine, there were few observations which are mentionable.

Firstly, the quality of the selection of articles and persons interviewed are really good.

It covers all domains of the industry. More important, genuine efforts are being made to find the key to their success. It covers a lot of span from their native places to education to career-an inspiring read. It also reveals their journey from being common to being great.

Corporate leaders wake up

This is with reference to a very timely story “6 Biggest Safety Risks Indian Corporates Face” which appeared in your issue 17 (November 16-30). While security environment around the corporate houses has certainly deteriorated since the army conducted surgical strikes in the POK against Pakistani terror elements on September 29—most corporate houses seem oblivious to the risks and threats they face in this kind of a complex operating environment. I only hope that our corporate leaders wake up in time to take corrective steps to prevent the impact of these potential risks. By the way, I like the colours, photos and the overall presentation of your magazine which is very pleasing to the eyes.

—G Vighnesh, Architect, Gurgaon Secondly, the print quality of the magazine— paper used and overall aesthetic is attractive. It is an ideal and readable mag for all age group.

—Prof Manoj S Khaladkar, Training & Placement Officer, Army Institute of Technology

Apprising everyone’s views

I’m an avid reader of Corporate Citizen magazine, now for almost a year but this is my first feedback letter. What impresses me the most about your magazine is your focus on family values, which is evident in columns like Dynamic Duo, Loved and Married too and Military to Management. This is something no other business magazine talks about. It also shows how much importance you give to the views of the wives of the corporate leaders, who play a key role in the success of their husbands.

—Poonam Malik, Teacher

Moving up the success ladder

While waiting in the lounge of a corporate house in New Delhi, I accidentally saw recent issues of your magazine and got hooked to them rather instantly, in fact,

from cover pages themselves. I like the way you take up stories of small-town boys who are making it big in the world of corporate India. The Dynamic Duo on Bharthi and Sreekanth and Sangeeta and Venkatesh were really very inspiring. These couples show how one can gently move up the ladder of success by dint of sheer hard work, diligence and a hunger for success.

—Yagya Jain, Management student

We look forward to your feedback We, at Corporate Citizen, believe that information should not be a one way street. Your opinion and views about this issue are most welcome. Your ideas and some new thoughts you may have, to enhance the content quality of our magazine, is most welcome. We rely on you to keep Corporate Citizen, on the positive and cool note, through your interaction on this page—just as you trust us with the content that we bring you, every fortnight. Mail us your views on: corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Guest Editorial Arun Firodia

China and India:

Will They Bounce Back?

C

hina and India were economic superpowers in 18th century, accounting for almost 40% of the world’s GDP. They were agro-based economies and derived their wealth from exporting food grains, spices, cotton, textiles, tea, and not to forget, opium. They also exported art, science, medicine, culture, music and philosophy. However, the Industrial Revolution in western countries changed the scenario. By the 19th century India was under political and economic subjugation and China was under economic subjugation, reducing both the countries to abject poverty.

World War II (1939-1945) devastated the once dominant western countries, Russia and Japan. And it presented a glorious opportunity to India and China to regain their supremacy in the economic affairs of the world. India had a strong military-25 lakh strong! She had basic industry. She was producing automobiles,

railways, ships and aircraft. Just as Japan developed her economy by becoming a supplier to the war ravaged western world after the First World War, India could have rapidly developed economically by becoming a supplier of industrial goods and by sending her people to build the infrastructure of the western world.

But India lacked confidence in her own abilities.

Her entrepreneurial class was not encouraged

to become global players. The aftermath of the bloody partition sapped her energies, and she lost the golden opportunity.

China, too, got carried away by the Communist model that was ruthlessly implemented by Mao Zedong. It led to its economic ruin.

But by now, China has become an economic superpower, second only to USA in GDP. India has a long way to go but has started its journey in that direction. How did this happen? And will the two of them regain their supremacy they once enjoyed?

Mao Zedong, ironically, laid the groundwork for China’s progress. He abolished gender inequality. All women must work, he decreed.

That increased China’s workforce by 100%. He unleashed the Cultural Revolution that turned people’s attention away from religion and festivals. He made ‘materialism’ the new religion.

Money became God for the Chinese. He forced people to leave their villages and go to towns.

Towns had schools and hospitals. That improved the education and health of the entire Chinese people. He built roads to enable farmers to cycle to their farms while their children went to schools. Realising that population control was a priority, he enforced the ‘one child’ policy. He nationalised land. That gave the government enormous strength that was brilliantly exploited by Deng after Mao’s death.

Deng established ‘Special Economic Zones’ on Chinese shores. He invited foreigners to come and set up factories to manufacture labour intensive goods. These factories were exempted from labour laws. That provided employment to millions of Chinese. He also exhorted inland Chinese-owned factories to concentrate on export. Any loss they made was compensated by offering them a piece of land on a 99 year lease on which they could build houses to be given on rent to migrant workers. That had triple benefits. Export boomed. Employment was provided to construction workers who built the houses. And migrant workers got houses to stay.

‘Just as Japan developed her economy by becoming a supplier to the war ravaged western world after the First World War, India could have rapidly developed economically by becoming a supplier of industrial goods and by sending her people to build the infrastructure of the western world’

4 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

All at no cost to the government. A booming export brought in foreign exchange surplus of a monumental size. China invested that surplus in buying mines all over the world, especially in Africa. That gave China control on minerals to fuel her industrial boom. China imbibed modern technology by inviting Chinese expatriates to return to their homeland and bring technical knowledge with them. Chinese entrepreneurs rose to the occasion and created products for the mass Chinese market and also for the world market. The Chinese government invested heavily in infrastructure. New super cities were created connected to each other by high speed mass transit trains. China continues to boom.

It is a unified country with one single aim: to overtake America in prosperity and power.

Are there any road bumps ahead? Ecological disaster looms ahead as China continues to plunder her natural resources. But China is well aware of the dangers ahead and is taking the required correctives steps. People’s aspirations for freedom of speech and dissent are presently being suppressed and that may lead to an explosive situation if the economic boom hits a roadblock.

Corruption has become rampant and would reduce the speed of the Chinese economy. President Xi is mindful of that danger and is keen to take corrective steps but how far will he succeed? China is a dictatorship and may enter into a military adventure that may severely damage her economy, just like Nazi dictatorship did in Germany. But I am sure, Chinese leadership will find solutions to all these issues, committed as they are to make China regain its supremacy in

‘The Chinese government invested heavily in infrastructure. New super cities were created and connected to each other by high speed mass transit trains. China continues to boom. It is a unified country with one single aim: to overtake America...’ the nearest future.

What about India? She had a head start over China but is lagging behind China by almost two decades. China liberalised in 1975 but at that time India went into reverse gear by the so called ‘Garibi Hatao’ policies (as well as coal and bank nationalisation). It was only in 1991 that India started taking corrective steps. Yet even after 25 years many important agenda items remain unfinished, nay untouched. India can also aspire to be a factory to the world like China. But she lacks political will to reform labour laws. Yet, India has good prospects if she realises that her destiny lies in the services sector. Information Technology has shown the way. India can replicate that story in the medical sector. The cost of medical treatment in India is one tenth of the treatment in USA. Americans who are not fully covered by medical insurance can come to India for medical treatment, rest and recuperation. The western world can look up to India for mental peace as well. India can offer yoga and meditation experience to them. Tourism is another sector

where India can offer unmatched treasures to the world. All that she has to do is to keep the country clean and eliminate juggi-jhopadis.

Andaman, Nicobar and Laccadive islands can be developed to allure millions of tourists. Indian movies, music, dance, fashion and jewellery can be as important as the IT sector. Indian teachers, doctors, nurses, nuns are already well regarded in the world. India can develop centres to develop them. Let us not forget high tech sectors like Space, Defence and R & D. If India cannot become a factory to the world, she can become the R & D centre of the world.

Are there road bumps ahead? Plenty.

Rural India, euphemistically called Bharat, remains mired in poverty, poor health and poor education. India cannot progress unless Bharat catches up with her. Reforms have to be ushered in and corruption has to be weeded out.

India also has to ensure peace externally and internally, to be able to concentrate on realising her manifest destiny. But I am hopeful that it will happen soon, may not be as fast as we wish, but let us keep faith.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents

18

Cover story

Dynamic Duo 43

Freedom of space

Corporate Citizen unleashes the beautiful story of love that has cemented into a wonderful marriage, through conversation with Dr Prachee and Prakash Javadekar 6 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Volume 2 Issue No. 19 December 16-31, 2016 www.corporatecitizen.in

09 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 13 MANAGE MONEY Evaluating the financial health by reading a Funds-Flow Statement 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why

34

16 THE TAX MAN COMETH 24 S K Jha (IRS retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax) on what is demonetising 26 INTERVIEW Prof R Vaidyanathan debates on issues of black money threadbare, and suggestions to curb black money both in India and abroad 28 NHRD DELHI Conclave How important is Work Culture?

How seriously do senior management view Employee Engagement?

14

34 Entrepreneur Diary Indrani Pillai talks about her career and life journey, how one needs to be hungry for success and what you need to really succeed today 38 Cradle of Leadership An exclusive interview with Prof B N Gangadhar, Director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) 44 HR Talk Muthukumar Thanu, Group Chief HR Officer, Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) explains how great managers increase the value of the company

38

48 CAMPUs PLACEMENT Pooja made it to the one of the most coveted placements on the campus. She shares her campus placement experience 50 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Punjabi kudi, Megha and Keralite, Libin share their togetherness and the way they’ve built a little world that stands on the simple but time-trusted edifice of mutual respect and trust 52 SURVEY Leading British recruitment consultancy Michael Page’s India Salary and Employment survey

26

50

28

44

52 December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 7

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh

58

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur / Sharmila Chand Bengaluru Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

58 PEARLS OF WISDOM For a right diet the first thing to remember is that it should not create excitement, it should not be intoxicating

Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra

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62 mobile apps Corporate Citizen brings you the best apps and services to help deal with demonetization woes 66 LAST WORD The surgical strike on black money in India and Donald Trump as President Elect of the USA has brought about a sense of insecurity in several ways

Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao Senior Sub-Editors Neeraj Varty

56 HEALTH A Half Marathon is the ultimate test of your speed, stamina, and strength. Want to know more about how to train for a half marathon?

60 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Corporate Citizen presents actors that set the silver screen on fire by performing their own stunts

Assistant Editor Prasannakumar Keskar

VP - Marketing & Sales M. Paul Anderson +919444405212 Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560 Creative Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke

60

Be A Corporate Citizen

How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen - The Cool Side of Business?

Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com.

We would love to hear from you!

8 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar On Cover Page Dr Prachee and HRD Minister Prakash Javdekar Photographers Yusuf Khan, Ahmed Shaikh Website / Online Subscription www.corporatecitizen.in For Advertising, Marketing & Subscription queries Email: circulations@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

collywood

People in the news

Pawan Goenka to be M&M MD

On a Tr(i)umphant note

Leading real estate entrepreneurs Atul and Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta, business partners of US President elect, Donald Trump, were elated with the visit to Trump Towers in New York, after his win. Terming it as a `friendly’ visit, Atul Chordia believes that apart from the ‘Trump Towers’ residential project in Pune which has received accolades for its sophisticated and quality construction.

“Trump loves India,’’ says Atul Chordia and is looking forward to further cementing the business relationship. While New York Times reported that it is a hint at Trump to allegedly use his position to further business interests. While Chordias as stated that they have discussed further partnerships with his company, in India, the Trump Organisation clarified that his business interests which are steered by his children would be separate from his political career.

Blessings from the sun Now, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has decided to use 10% energy from renewable sources for environmental sustainability as well as to bring down costs. The Indian Railways has set up 1,000 MW solar power plants and about 220 MW wind power plants.

Presently, it is already harnessing about 50 MW green energy from small installations put up by the Railways. Other environmentalfriendly measures include waste water recycling, plantations along the tracks and revival of water bodies in lands belonging to the Railways. Surely a great vision which must also accompany serious efforts towards rail safety.

Pawan Goenka, the executive director of homegrown auto maker M&M was elevated to the position of managing director. Anand Mahindra, the existing chairman and managing director is to be designated as the executive chairman. Goenka will continue to report to Mahindra.

The company said the decision is in line with the practice followed by companies across the Mahindra Group, where the position of managing director or CEO is distinct from that of the chairman.

Mahindra emphasised that as the executive chairman he will continue to oversee, and be responsible for shaping the growth strategies of the company and its portfolio of investments. Goenka joined M&M as general manager (R&D) in 1993, after working for General Motors in Detroit, USA for 14 years. He was instrumental in growing the R&D capability of Mahindra and also the launch of the Scorpio, its popular SUV. He became president of the Automotive Sector in 2005, of AFS (Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors) in 2010 and was appointed executive director on the company’s board in 2013.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood The Idea Man

Anil Bokil, founder of ArthaKranti Pratishthan, has made headlines thanks to his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (since 2013), that supposedly triggered off the latter’s nationwide action of Demonetisation. Bokil who has been working on this issue since the last one and a half decade, feels that he is happy with Modi’s decision but thinks it could have been implemented in a better way. As per news reports, he calls it ``currency compression’’ and not demonetisation. His suggestion was that Rs.50 be kept as the highest denomination. In fact, he had proposed withdrawal of high denomination notes.

He is happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in motion one of the big ideas that ArthaKranti Pratisthan, the Pune-based think-tank he founded 12 years ago, has proposed. The reason, he argues is because 70% of the population earns around two dollars and therefore there is more need of such low denomination currency. He has also proposed banishing of most of the present day taxes and have it deducted instead at bank transaction point, amongst several other reforms.

Merc to beef up India R&D Mercedes-Benz, one of the major luxury automotive is set to hire 1,000 engineers in the country next year for its research and development (R&D) initiatives in India. “Currently, its staff in India accounts for 3,500 people which has risen from a 700-strong headcount five years back. Next year we plan to recruit another 1000,” MD and CEO of Mercedes Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), Manu Saale said in a release. The Indian research team is currently undertaking important assignments to develop safety features in Mercedes-Benz vehicles, he said on the sidelines of the Safe Roads roadshow.

“We carry on R&D exercise not just for the luxury cars, but for trucks, buses as well as vans from the Indian R&D centre,” he said. MBRDI grew up to become a 3,500-employee strong organisation, making it the largest R&D centre (in terms of headcount) for Mercedes-Benz outside its headquarters in Germany. Mercedes-Benz, through MBRDI currently owns 500 patents in the country. Last year, the company extended the MBRDI centre in Pune in Maharashtra across 23,318 sq ft of floor space. “There is a bit of India in every Mercedes-Benz car,” Professor Schoeneburg, director of development, safety, durability and corrosion protection at Mercedes-Benz Cars said.

No to Demonetisation

10 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Muhammud Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank is not in favour of demonetisation. “Demonetisation does not solve the problem of the process that created it. We may clean up once but again it will come back with full force unless the government pays attention to the processes’’. Speaking to the Economic Times, he gave this example, “I was cleaning up the water on my floor and I was working very hard to get everything cleaned but I did not close the faucet that produced this water. The faucet has to be shut so that it doesn’t flood the floor again.’’

Adil Malia to write new story

Maria, UN goodwill ambassador again

The much controversial tennis player Maria Sharapova who was originally banished from the sport for two years, a suspension that was later cut to 15 months will resume her role as a United Nations (UN) goodwill ambassador when her drug suspension ends. Five-times Grand Slam champion Sharapova became an ambassador for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in 2007, but was dropped after admitting she

had used the banned substance meldonium. The United Statesbased Russian, will return to action in time to contest three of the four grand slams next year, missing only the Australian Open. “The UNDP is glad to learn that Maria Sharapova can return to the sport she loves sooner than expected and we will lift the suspension of her role as our goodwill ambassador once the reduced ban expires,” the UN said in a statement.

‘India is good now’ Dominic Barton, CEO McKinsey stated that for the last several years, people had given up on India and they were rather opting for countries like Africa, Indonesia and the USA. However, under Modi’s regime, he believes interest in India has risen as he feels the government seems serious about business. He refrained from advising clients earlier, as doing business in India seemed complicated and clients used to get frustrated. However now, Barton feels that agriculture and food sectors are the biggest two business areas in India.

Adil Malia, Essar’s long-time group president-HR, has called it quits. After being with the company for a decade, Malia was heading people management globally for the $40 billion conglomerate, employing over 70,000 people worldwide. Malia, who began his career at the age of 19 as a legal assistant, reached the top management echelons working with esteemed organisations such as Godrej, GE, Al-Futtaim and Coca-Cola before joining Essar.

Malia is leaving to wear the entrepreneurial hat along with a few other industry veterans. Together, they plan to enter the management consulting space. Malia reportedly said, “We are a group of five people and we plan to establish a management consulting organisation which is going to look at business transformation, bespoke HR practices, change management and more. It’s going to be a boutique of specific solutions for effective management of businesses.”

A much sought-after speaker, mentor and coach, Malia thoughtfully shares his reasons behind this move, as he says, “No matter how great the words be, if you do not pause sufficiently in between words, the sentence loses its meaning. Careers are no different. One needs to pause in between and periodically redirect the course. However great a story maybe, a new story has to be told. The old story, therefore, has to end!”

Malia will be serving his notice till January, 2017 and from then onwards he will dedicate his time to planning and executing his new venture, which should be out and running a few months later. A regular writer and doodler, Malia also plans to start writing a book on ‘future-smart people enterprises’ that he has been pondering over for some time.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood KPMG India CEO Rekhy to hang up his boots

KPMG has revealed that its CEO Richard Rekhy plans to retire but will continue to serve in the position till a successor is found. The board has respectfully accepted his decision after due deliberations while a new CEO will be appointed over the next few months after the board runs the succession process and the

successor is ratified by KPMG India partners, the company shared with the press. Rekhy has been serving as CEO since 2012 and this year, in January, Rekhy won a second term that would have seen him holding the post till 2020. During his tenure the company has attracted over 70 partners from other industries

and across the professional services sector. KPMG in India has around 11,000 staff. However, in recent times the company witnessed attrition of various partners. KPMG India Board said that it has respectfully accepted Richard’s decision to retire, after due deliberations and recognising his stellar professional as well as personal contributions to the India firm over the last many years as the CEO, and in his prior leadership roles. The India Board recorded its sincere appreciation of Richard’s commitment and his drive to lead the firm as being the clear choice for its clients and people alike. Rekhy said he has been incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to lead KPMG India through a time of such strong growth. He expressed that he believes it is the right time for the firm to choose its next leader.

ABP News’ Subhankar Ghose joins Zoom Subhankar Ghose, the former head-HR of ABP News has moved back to the BFSI industry as chief people officer, Zoom Insurance Brokers. In his new role, Ghose will be leading the human resource function and be responsible for talent acquisition, talent management, leadership development, compensation and benefits and employee relations. His additional responsibilities will include administration and information technology. He is also a member of Zoom’s executive management team. Ghose, an engineer who got his degree in electronics and telecommunication from the

National Institute of Technology and holds a PG Diploma in HRM from IMT Ghaziabad, has spent a significant part of his career – around eight years – in the BFSI sector. Prior to this, he worked for companies such as Muthoot Fincorp and ICICI Prudential Life. Ghose spent a little more than a year at ABP News. He started his career with a travel company, Tybros, in July 2003, where he spent close to three years. In 2006, he moved

12 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

to Sahara Global and a year and a half later to ICICI Prudential. He also has a six sigma certification from the Indian Statistical Institute and a certificate in Industrial Relations & Labour Laws from the Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning.

Revathy Reddy, HR director at InsideView Revathy Reddy was appointed as the HR director of InsideView, the San Francisco headquartered marketing intelligence solutions company for its India operations. Reddy will be responsible for innovative HR systems and processes, delivering strategies and providing overall leadership to the HR function. She will also be responsible for InsideView India’s strategic framework for talent management and engagement, leadership development and further refining the organisation’s strong culture, aiming to make InsideView an employer of choice. “InsideView has a strong and proven team of leaders and we are delighted to have Revathy join us. We are relying on her deep experience in leadership development, talent management, and employee engagement to further enrich the value of the organisation’s human capital. Revathy has taken to the rudder from the very first day and the initiatives she is planning are sure to put us on the map of one of the most favoured organisations to work with, in India,” says Sesha Rao, MD, India operations, InsideView. “This is an exciting new phase for me. The culture in the organisation is electrifying. I would like to carry forward my professional passion,” said Reddy. A postgraduate in human resource management from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Revathy joins InsideView from Microsoft India Development Centre.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

manage money Dr Anil Lamba

Evaluating the financial health by reading a Funds-Flow Statement In the previous issue, we saw the sources side of the Funds-Flow Statement. Now, let us look at the uses side Continuing our discussion on reading a Funds Flow Statement from where we left off in the previous issue, we had raised certain questions for the management viz, Q1. Why have your sales stopped growing?

Q2. Even though your sales have not increased, why have you made this substantial investment in a plant?

Q3. How would the shortage of working capital be made up in future? etc.

Keeping this doubt at the back of our minds, let us first do a clinical analysis of this Funds-Flow Statement and see if the company has complied with the fundamental rules of Good Financial Management which demand that healthy organizations:  Must use long-term funds for long-term purposes  Must use short-term funds for short-term purposes  May use long-term funds for short-term purposes  Must never use short-term funds for long-term purposes.

Let’s evaluate how the organisation fares on this front. The profit of 4,00,000 is a long-term source.

Funds-Flow Statement Sales Uses Profit 400,000 Redemption of bonds LTS @5% premium Decrease in 700,000 Plant purchased Working Capital STS Sales proceeds of 250,000 Dividends paid investments LTS 1350,000

210,000 LTU 900,000 LTU 240,000 LTU 1350,000

So is the sale proceeds of investments of 2,50,000. However 7,00,000 from reduction of working capital is a short-term source. This means that the total long-term sources amount to 6,50,000 and the short-term sources to 7,00,000. On the Uses’ side, redemption of bonds of 2,10,000 is a longterm use. Purchase of a plant, 9,00,000, is also a long-term use. So is the dividend distribution of 2,40,000. Or, since dividend is necessarily a distribution of profits, a better way of looking at this would be to eliminate 240,000 from the Uses’ side as well as from the profits on the Sources’ side.

The new equation that emerges is: Total long-term sources = 4,10,000 (profits after deducting dividends + sale proceeds of investments) Shortterm sources = 7,00,000 (reduction of working capital) However, the entire utilisation of funds of 11,10,000 is on the long-term account! It is obvious that this organization has been guilty of using short-term funds for long-term purposes! This, as you know, is absolutely not done.

The question that now arises is: Can we condone them for this crime? The crime of using short-term funds for long-term purposes?

Perhaps we cannot quite condone it, but the severity of the crime may reduce if we find that this organisation had at its disposal so much excess working capital that, despite reducing 7,00,000, the working capital that it is left with continues to be adequate not only for its current needs, but also for the increased requirements which are going to arise when the new plant begins to operate. Reducing working capital, by itself, is not a crime.

In fact, any organisation that has an excess investment in working capital (or, for that matter, in any asset), must reduce and bring it to an optimum level. So, let us now take a look at the statement showing change in working capital again and see if this organisation can afford to reduce its working capital. A healthy organisation will ensure that it maintains a Current Ratio (current assets: current liabilities) in the region of 2:1 and a Quick Ratio (liquid assets: current liabilities) of a minimum 1:1. The Current Ratio in year 1 works out to 1.94 : 1 (19,40,000 / 10,00,000), which is close to the norm of 2 : 1. In year 2, it has reduced drastically to 1.2 : 1 (14,40,000 / 12,00,000) which is way below the norm. As I have explained earlier, Current Ratio falling below the norm may not, by itself, be a cause for concern as long as the Quick Ratio is maintained at 1:1 or more. So let’s now quickly calculate

Statement showing in Work Capital Year 1

Year 2

(A)

1200,000 500,000 240,000 1940,000

800,000 560,00 80,000 1440,000

(B) (A)-(B)

1000,000 1000,000 940,000

50,000 1150,000 1200,000 240,000 700,000

Current Assets Inventories Debtors Bank Balance Current liabilities Short-Term Creditors Net Working Capital Decrease in Working Capital

the Quick Ratio. The Quick Ratio in year 1 is 0.74 : 1 (7,40,000 / 10,00,000), well below optimum. In year 2, it has fallen further to 0.53 : 1 (6,40,000 / 12,00,000), which is even lower. This organisation had a good Current Ratio in year 1, which has become bad in year 2. It had a bad Quick Ratio in year 1 itself, which has become worse in year 2. Does this appear to be an organization which can afford to reduce working capital? Certainly not! Now let’s go into the details of the working-capital statement to understand how the reduction in working capital has been effected. This is because in the current year the company has made a huge investment in plant, indicating that it plans to produce and sell more. What I simply cannot understand is that on the one hand, the organisation is planning increased production, and on the other, the physical inventory is actually going down!

This definitely does not reflect efficiency, but rather shoddy inventory management, giving rise to a fear that even though the company now has improved capacity and will be looking at increased levels of production, it is probably going to run out of inventory and will not be able to achieve (to be continued) production targets.

Dr Anil Lamba is a practising chartered accountant, financial literacy activist and an international corporate trainer. He is the author of the bestselling book ‘Romancing the Balance Sheet’. He can be contacted at anil@lamconschool.com December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 13

wax eloquent

Changing the Dynamics

Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world India story for Japanese companies

Power of ideas

“The world has moved to the power of ideas.

I always say this to all our young people that there were times when only monarchs or government could do and change things for the people. Then it moved to large corporations.

Today, five people in a new startup can not only change a country, but the entire world.”

“Japanese companies must rapidly move into the Indian market as the process of infrastructure creation and reforms will throw up ample opportunities for investment. They must learn from Maruti’s India story which has brought in a culture of manufacturing excellence to India.”

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Courtesy: www.business-standard.com

Mukesh Ambani,

chairman, Reliance Group Courtesy: Times of India

If India starts innovating for itself…?

“Entrepreneurship has captured the imagination of the people of India. There are lot of good innovations in labs and universities all over India, but they don’t know how to commercialise it. If India starts innovating for itself, it will be a fundamental shift, changing the dynamics of the ecosystem. The biggest problem is government regulation. But the current government’s attitude is positive and startups are seen as engines of job creation.”

Venktesh Shukla, chairman, TiE Global

Courtesy: Times of India

Objective and effective marketers We welcome competition

“We welcome competition because it expands the segment and also helps us to differentiate ourselves. It is good if more competitors are coming so long as they are able to expand and sustain it.”

Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India Courtesy: www.just-food.com/

14 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

“Yes, we live in a digital world, but what moves us as people hasn’t changed in a million years. Not from the time we gathered around a fire to hear a story. And storytelling is still the most powerful weapon marketers have. This arrow gets sharper with data and discipline in execution. We’ve got to recognise the fundamental way in which digital clutter is affecting our ability to be objective and effective marketers.”

Arvind Krishnan, MD, BBH

Courtesy: Economic Times

India to surpass China, as our largest market “In 2017, we expect India to surpass China as our biggest market. The Indian market is a big enough for us to make in India and the government is supportive of local manufacturing. We react to our customers fast by producing locally.”

Pete Lau, founder and CEO, OnePlus

Courtesy: Times of India

We won’t actively pursue competition

“Till my last breath, I will not target any Indian company. If competition occurs between the brands by itself, that’s all right, but we won’t actively pursue them. Yes, we will help control their price for the benefit of the consumers. We’ll show them the way to do it—that is the work of a sanyasi.”

Baba Ramdev, yoga guru and founder, Patanjali Ayurved Courtesy: Financial Express

We don’t need Broadway

To win against competition

“The kind of theatre the corporates are patronising are efforts in the wrong direction, including the attempt to bring Broadway here. We don’t need Broadway, we have got Hindi cinema. Broadway serves the same purpose in the west as Hindi commercial cinema does here. It’s got jaadugari; it’s part discotheque, part magic show and part music concert.”

“In all industries, businesses, 20% of customers account for 60% of revenue, that’s no different in our business. Identifying that 20%, making sure that churn is low and we get a disproportionate share of their wallet, is very important.”

Naseeruddin Shah, actor Courtesy: Times of India

Big emerging market

“There are always problems occurring in business deals. But India is a big emerging market. There are new players coming into this country and they are looking carefully…that is why I hope this sort of controversy (Tata-DoCoMo) will not send a negative message to Japanese investors.”

Gopal Vittal,

India CEO, Bharti Airtel Courtesy: Economic Times

Kenji Hiramatsu, Japan’s ambassador to India Courtesy: Mint

India to create stronger leaders “Globally, companies are very open to Indian leadership and CEOs. Given what is happening in the country now, there is an opportunity for India to create stronger leaders.

There is innovation happening in startups that will drive its own crop of leaders; the transformation required in IT services will create a whole bunch of new leaders to transform business models and even Make in India will drive new leaders in the manufacturing sector.”

Krishnan Rajagopalan, executive vice president and managing partner-executive, Heidrick & Struggles

For every success, there are a few failures

There is nothing a man can do that a woman can’t

“Impact investment is for patient capital. It needs more time when compared to so-called hyper-growth companies. But now we see that they are not that hyper at all—for every success, there are a few failures, as there is room for only few companies to reach that scale ($1 billion valuation).”

Courtesy: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Dreams can come true

“First-generation entrepreneurs’ can-do attitude has evolved from the fact that they have seen their lives change within a decade or so, if not years. Their focus on wealth creation comes from the greater ambition and aspiration levels consolidating across India as well as a belief that dreams can come true.”

Shreyasi Singh, author of the book ‘The Wealth Wallahs’ Courtesy: https://yourstory.com/

“It is very important for women to participate in sports, business, and politics for India to realise its full potential.

I come from a state with the worst gender ratio in the country, which is shameful. But I believe there is nothing a man can do that a woman can’t. India is a young country and I believe that young Indians will be important for the prosperity of the world’s future.”

Sakshi Malik, First Indian female wrestler to win a medal (bronze) at the Olympics (Rio 2016)

Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Realising your goals “I always had a strong passion, and felt a conviction to give myself the opportunity to try to achieve my dream. You don’t know until you try. I believe everyone owes themselves a chance at creating their path and realising their goals. This doesn’t come without rolling up your sleeves.

If you care deeply enough and work hard at it, you can see your hopes become a reality.”

Prabal Gurung, fashion designer

Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/

Nagaraja Prakasam,

software engineer-turned-angel investor Courtesy:http://www.forbesindia.com/

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 15

The Tax Man Cometh-24

Short term pain, long term gain

by S K Jha

(IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)

Demonetising was surely a surgical strike, and painful too, but there were multiple compulsions that led to the action. While demonetisation alone will not curb black money or deal with the other issues it purports to address, in the long term it promises to yield rich dividends

Unlike the regular tax desk which is manned by a tax officer whose job is to levy tax on you, this desk is manned by a non-serving tax officer who wishes to share his experience of 35 years in the tax department, while, discussing tax provisions.

It is advantageous to know how the tax department thinks and acts when, as said by Benjamin Franklin, “In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes�

G

reat news, surgical action again!!

But this time, the target was not terrorists hiding in PoK but the dirty money hiding behind our hard earned money. The attack this time was launched by our Prime Minister when he addressed the nation on the evening of November 8, 2016. The announcement was made that with effect from midnight that day the currencies with denominations of `500 and `1,000 would cease to be legal tender. The country was rocked with high intensity tremors as it was a sudden and most unexpected announcement.

Panic gripped the nation, it was reported that in several parts of the country big jewellery shops were kept open till past midnight that evening to help hoarders bring black money to convert the dying money into trustworthy gold. The impact of this announcement was really severe as it affected more than 86 per cent of our currency in circulation in value terms. We have currency of `17 lakh crore by value in circulation which included high denomination currencies totalling about `14 lakh crore. The situation became panicky as these notes were also held by common people across the country, despite the fact that in the address to the nation the Prime Minister had clearly said that small people, artisans, farmers, housewives and people with tax paid money in their possession should not worry. The direction was to deposit the demonetised currencies in their bank accounts by 30th December 2016.

Rich people with unaccounted cash got a shock on the declared death of their money, while the common people were also scared due to a lack of understanding of the situation.

There is inconvenience to the people caused

by the action and the government and RBI accepts this, but with a rider that it is a purely temporary problem. Some sections of people and some political parties have criticised the action as hasty, draconian and without any advance planning. The basic question then arises as to what was the need for such a big operation? It was an operation which was well thought out against the pressing reasons as explained by the government and which is also agreed by a large section of our people. I proceed to give an outline of the many reasons.

In recent years, the circulation of high denomination currencies had increased and the same was not in line with economic growth. Between 2011-2016, the circulation of all notes grew by 40 per cent but the circulation of `500 denomination notes grew by 76 per cent and that of `1,000 denomination notes by 109 per cent. This was a serious cause for concern, and added to it was the high velocity circulation of counterfeit currencies of these high value denominations. On investigation, it was found that the main source of these counterfeit currencies was a mint in Peshawar in Pakistan which was run by ISI and this mint was exclusively used for printing our currencies.

It has been gathered that this mint in Pakistan was importing paper and ink from the same places abroad from where we imported these materials for printing our currency. The Pakistani mint had almost succeeded in printing fake currencies for us which almost looked like our genuine currencies. The fake currency had invaded our country in a big way and was ruining our economy.

Dawood Ibrahim supported agents were in the loop to propagate fake notes and they were transported through many countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Thailand. The Indo-Pak border continued to be an area from which it regularly came, in addition to other country routes.

Ammunition for terrorists

Terrorism has been one of our biggest problems and the same was fed by the counterfeit currency smuggled into our country. To some extent, terrorism was also fuelled by black money and big denomination money transported through hawa-

16 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

la channels. We all know that the Kashmir problem has given our country a serious pain which was not dwindling. An army of young boys was created in Kashmir to pelt stones on our security forces and keep the problem hot. These boys were paid `500 or `1,000 notes on a daily basis for their unlawful work by separatists and agents of Pakistan based terrorist organisations. This fact has been admitted by some of the arrested boys.

Whenever Pakistani terrorists were neutralised by

our security forces, we found high denomination notes on their persons. This problem was not limited to Kashmir but even Naxalites and terrorists from the North East also used illegal hawala money for their insurgency activities.

Corruption is again a problem which is killing our country. High value currency was used for this. Black money is earned through illegal work like corruption, drug trafficking, gambling, betting and even in normal business by manipulating the accounts. High value currencies were the preferred black money carriers for logistic ease.

Demonetisation of high value notes immediately put a brake on these movements.

The effect of demonetisation in addition to

controlling terrorist activity and corruption and also having some impact on black money will be felt in many ways, both in the short term and long term. Immediately, the problem will relate to logistical issues of filling the vacuum in the cash market created by 86 per cent of old currency by new currency. This will require quick printing and dispatch of new currencies from the mint to the banks and to other retail units for immediate payment on demand. This will also require calibrating ATMs as per the requirement of the new currencies. The long queues being seen before banks and ATMs are a manifestation of this logistical problem. This problem is acute as India is a cash based economy with cash GDP ratio of 12 per cent as against 3.0 per cent in Brazil and 3.7 per cent in South Africa, and other BRIC countries. But this will be a short term effect, of maximum two months. The other short term effect will be felt in our cash based economic sectors like small retailers, construction sector, etc.

There is also a fear that in a few quarters from now our GDP may fall, as cash will be in short supply to trigger small businesses. There will be less demand due to less cash spending. However,

accounted bank transactions will become more robust. With the fall in interest rate, yield from bonds will increase. Reduction in corruption will also help the sentiment of business in India. There may be some upheaval in the capital market initially due to fear caused by the reduction of cash in the market, but ultimately the capital market will rebound with better health. Investors should pick up shares of blue chip companies when the price is low due to initial uncertainty, and hugely benefit in the future.

The property market will ultimately become healthy and come within reach of the middle class. Land deals for developing property involves substantial back money. Land price will go down with the reduction of black money and so will the selling price of developed properties. Similarly areas like professional education, particularly medical education where capitation fee is demanded, will become more affordable in the absence of black money. Gold price and jewellery price will settle down for the better.

One most important impact will be psychological. People will feel scared to evade tax and amass black money. People will think twice before indulging in dirty business to earn unaccounted money.

Demand for bribe will reduce. With the reduction of black money spending, there will be improved social parity.

Crimes in the society should decrease. Not only human psychology but even the economic mood of the country will get a positive boost. Old notes have to be deposited in bank accounts. It is presumed that the entire `14 lakh crore worth currency which have been demonetised will not go back to the banks as a part of it will be too black to be deposited by the holders for fear of action against them. Say, if out of the `14 lakh crore if `four lakh crore has not gone to the bank, then to that extent the liability of RBI will get reduced, and that will be a benefit to the government. On some deposit, the government will recover tax and penalty and that will add to revenue collection. Consequently, fiscal deficit will get reduced, thus improving the health of our economy.

One most important impact will be psychological.

People will feel scared to evade tax and amass black money. People will think twice before indulging in dirty business to earn unaccounted money. Demand for bribe will reduce the fact remains that despite some negatives in the short term, the medium and long term effect will be really good. Even in the short term, there will be an immediate positive impact on terrorism and corruption.

Plenty positive

Less money particularly high velocity black money will reduce inflation. The consequent result will be declining bank interest, so low cost borrowed money will help business and industry and so in the medium term and in the long term there will be a rise in the GDP. The immediate fall in GDP in a couple of quarters from now will be very temporary and the economy based on

No panacea

Yes, demonetisation is a big action to curb corruption and black money, but it will not end all.

It is something like an open heart surgery to save the life of a patient with blocked arteries. The life

of the patient gets saved with the surgical procedure, but to not fall sick again, he has to change his lifestyle and take regular precautionary drugs.

Similarly, with the surgical operation of demonetisation, our ailing economy with black money is temporarily cured, but to eradicate the problem forever we have to be ever vigilant and take precautions in future. We have to identify the sources and causes of black money and nip them in the bud. With GST coming, there will be some automatic improvement in the status of tax evasion and black money, but we have to go further. As per some estimates, black money in the form of cash is not more than 10% of the total black money and the substantial chunk of it is in immovable property, gold, share market invested through participatory notes, and some kept abroad in tax havens. We have to immediately implement the amended benami property law, the Real Estate Regulatory Act—recently passed—to deal with the problem of black money invested in properties. We have to administer black money legislation for dealing with assets kept abroad along with using the Prohibition of Money Laundering Act more frequently and sending tax evaders to jail. The entire country is facing inconvenience after demonetisation due to the illegal work of some rotten eggs within us. We citizens have the duty to remain vigilant about these rotten eggs and inform the tax department or other such departments. We have to follow the old adage that prevention is better than cure.

I am reminded by demonetisation in USA in 1969. There was huge black money and corruption was very common in USA then.

A strong banking system developed against the cash based economy. We are fifty years behind the US, but we have to start some day to eradicate our problem and then why not today?

In independent India, this is the second time when demonetisation was done. The first time it was in 1978 but that did not affect a lot of people.

The demonetization was for `1,000, `5,000 and `10,000 currencies which constituted only two per cent of the total currencies in circulation.

The other currencies not demonetised have also significant value and thus demonetisation could not pierce the hole in black money.

Let us recall the situation when money in the form of gold, silver and other metallic coins got replaced by paper money in our country. This happened in 1861. How we might have felt.

We might have felt cheated to receive paper currency in pace of gold coins. But ultimately we might have felt better, as paper currency was more convenient to carry. Now it is the turn of plastic money.

One plastic card is adequate enough for multiple transactions both inside and outside the country. Our heart is heavy to say goodbye to our loved high value currencies, but let us give a chance to the humble plastic card.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Cover Story Dynamic Duo: 43

Â’ Dr Prachee and Prakash Javadekar

Freedom of space

For Dr Prachee and Prakash Javadekar, marriage is walking together but giving space to each other. Friendship culminated into love, when Emergency was declared in 1975. Until then, they were good friends, with a soft corner for each other. Both held official posts in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), of which they were volunteers as college students. Incidentally, love got its expression in the prison and thereafter, when he underwent an unexpected open heart surgery while he was detained in Yerawada Jail, under MISA. Prachee also served in Yerawada jail for four and a half months. They could not talk to each other, so they exchanged letters. The love story blossomed into marriage, which is now of 39 vintage years.

18 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

By Vinita Deshmukh

‘I

Jab We Met

was in pre-degree year of college in 1973, when I started working for the students’ organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Then, I took on an active role by assuming the official role of Mantri for ABVP and was its spokesperson too. It is here that I met Prakash. He was quite senior to me and was already working in the bank.

He was the Parishad karyakarta and would often talk to all of us, juniors. Somewhere along the line, both of us got more connected because of our common interest in reading. Also, each time that he would tell us something, he would ask me particularly, as to whether I had understood what he said or not, and would prod me to read so and so book to get better knowledge of that subject. I remember that both of us attended many Parishads and conferences together. We used to also have lots of academic debates and discussions. Prakash used to often visit my house. My parents were really ahead of the times-they never said you should not talk to boys. I am talking of four decades back when the community was very conservative in this regard. There was no open culture then, but all my friends, whether boys or girls, used to come home and my mother used to lovingly serve them idlis, appes and many other delicious dishes.

So, were you just friends or had you already fallen in love?

We had not exactly fallen in love with each other but we were judging each other. We were thinking that yes, we could get tuned better over the course of time, but then the Emergency came in 1975. On 11th of December, Prakash sat in satyagraha at the University of Pune and I sat at MES Garware College. Prakash was soon detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and I too got imprisoned for four and half months. Both of us were lodged in different sections of Yerawada Jail.

Dr Prachee, a research scholar and educationist, has been a dynamic Director of the Indira Institutes for 11 years. She has several books to her credit and significant education-related stints with the government. She has founded the Javadekar Educational Consultancy and offers expertise for the establishment of new educational institutes. She is a very creative housewife and a fantastic cook. Her approach to child upbringing is practical. She has single-handedly taken up the responsibility of bringing up their two sons, as Javadekar, being a politician, hardly had time for home.

Corporate Citizen unleashes the beautiful story of love that has cemented into a wonderful marriage through conversation with Dr Prachee. Read on…

How was it like there?

I learnt most of my life’s experiences in Yerawada Jail. No University could have taught me better lessons that the Yerawada Vidyapeeth.

Can you elaborate?

I had an opportunity to stay with eminent women leaders of our country like Jaywantiben Mehta, Ahilyabai Rangnekar, Pramilabai Dandawate, Mrunal Gore, Hansaben Rajda amongst several others. Noted litterateur Aruna Dhere became my good jail friend. We used to sit together and Ahilyabai used to explain Marxism December 16-31 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Cover Story with great proficiency. I got an insight into the principles of Samajwad; what is the difference between Hinduism and Samajwad? What is the commonality in all `isms’? The answer to which is that all `isms’ are for the ultimate welfare of the people; only, the ways and means are different and different tools are used for their manifestation.

The toughness that all these leaders demonstrated and the family values they spoke about, when in jail, taught me a big lesson of life. Jaywantiben told me, “Medha (that was my maiden name), our family life is always like this. When I am in jail, Naveenbhai takes care of my family.”

Ahilyabai used to tell us how hard Rangnekar worked for his party but how despite that, they kept family values intact. Even Pramilatai used

So, how did your love story continue?

I was released from jail in early 1976 and Prakash, who was detained under MISA, was released in January 1977. However, while in jail, Prakash was operated for open heart surgery. It so happened that you had an option to go for medical check-up when in jail. So Prakash one day requested for a medical check-up so that he could meet his friends when he came out. Instead, the doctor detected a hole in the heart and he had to immediately go in for an open heart surgery. He was on parole and was operated upon at the Aundh Chest Hospital by Dr Ashok Kanitkar. I used to go and meet him in the hospital, which was surrounded by policemen. While he was recuperating, we used to sit under one particular tree, and a policeman would escort us there. So, our love story flourished in the premises of the Aundh Hospital.

When I met Prakash on 11th June, just before he was to be operated upon, I asked Prakash what he had planned for both of us. He instantly said, “Don’t dream about your life with me. I don’t know whether I’m going to survive after this surgery or not. You please don’t count on me.

For, even if I survive, I don’t know if I will get my job back. Also, I don’t know when I will be out of jail. You are aware that Nelson Mandela is in jail for many years.” I don’t blame him for saying that, as, in those days, such a surgery was the rarest of the rare and the survival rate was almost zero per cent. Also, he used to give global examples to point out the uncertainties in his life. He suggested that I should concentrate on finishing my graduation. He said, “You are quite brilliant and you need to get more degrees and make a good career.”

However, I was then determined to have him as my life partner. I told him, “No, I will wait for you. You will come out of this, and whatever it takes, I shall take care of you and family.” I was only in the second year of college and knew nothing about what it meant to take care of a family or what it meant to earn, but I gave him my word. I had small experiences though, of giving private tuitions, working for Lakme and selling soap for Lux when it was first introduced in the market. I had done door-to-door selling so that I could pay my college fees. This was training by my parents to be self-reliant.

Prakash smiled and said, “Now you come to see me after 10 days, on 23rd June, which is my birthday.” I agreed and went to meet Prakash on the designated day. He never uttered a single word about our future. I reiterated that I would take up the responsibility and he should not worry about that. He said he would like to dedicate his work for the country and we left it at that.

After he recovered completely, he went back to jail but when he came out on parole, I still remember he came to our house, which was in a wada.

He could not climb up the stairs, so he asked me to come down. My father also came down to see him. I took this visit as a positive note from his side. He was released in January and resumed his bank job. That’s when he said I could talk to my parents about our marriage. My mother was a bit concerned about he having undergone a heart surgery, but she told me to go ahead, since I had made the decision.

Prakash waited for his sister’s marriage to be fixed and done before he told his family. His parents were not too willing as they had certain reservations about me, as I was not so good looking compared to Prakash.

However, he was firm with his decision and that meant a lot to me. We got married in 1977. I feel his parents never accepted me whole heartedly as a member of the family. Prakash always used to tell me not to get disappointed with remarks about my looks, as in those days it was common to talk about it openly.

‘I used to go and meet him in the hospital. While he was recuperating, we used to sit under one particular tree, and a policeman would escort us there. So, our love story flourished in the premises of the Aundh Hospital’ to tell us that Madhu’s first love was the Samajwadi Party – that’s how I learnt what it takes to build and keep family unity. I think we could sustain with each other for the last nearly 40 years, despite Prakash, like other political leaders, being too busy with party work because of my upbringing in the Yerawada Vidyapeeth which laid the fundamentals and the foundation for me.

Where was Prakash Javadekar then?

He was put up just across where I was imprisoned. Men were kept in one cell and women in another. There was no opportunity to talk to each other so we started exchanging letters. They were not love letters but I think both of us started liking each other and mutually expressed that we would like to make a life together. So the mental process of our togetherness started in the jail then. I was in the second year of college and gave my examination from the jail itself. I got the lowest marks of my life as I had not attended a single day of college. Finally this took a toll on my overall percentage and I could not get a first class in B.Com. There was a time when I felt bad about it but I think that whatever has been planned for you, your destiny takes you there. You have to keep doing what you think is right-what they call, dil ki suno. The movie, ‘Three Idiots’ which shows this philosophy, came much later.

20 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

And you never felt afraid as a young girl as to what could happen if he got a heart attack?

Revamping of our Education System Union Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar, completed his graduation from Pune’s MES Garware College of Commerce. During his graduation, he became the member of ABVP. For 12 long years he was the senate member of Pune University (now Savitribai Phule Pune University). As part of the students’ movement, he was quite active during the Emergency declared in 1975. Before making his debut into politics, he was a banker.

He worked in a bank for almost 10 years. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990 to 2002. He also held the position of the Executive President of the State Planning Board, Maharashtra; and Chairman of the Task Force on IT, Government of Maharashtra. What is the scenario of education in India under his leadership as Union Minister of Human Resources and Development (HRD)? An overview...

Focus of education of the HRD Ministry

£ Accessibility: access to primary, secondary and higher education £ Quality: comprising innovative education and good quality teachers £ Affordability: that is, lack of money should not be a hindrance in anyone’s education £ Accountability: All teachers, institutes and everybody involved in education should have accountability as they shape the future of India £ Equity: means that personal or social circumstances do not become obstacles in achieving educational potential and that all individuals reach to their potential.

This is social justice.

School education

Envisioning one common syllabus across the country for IBs, ICSC, CBSC, and SSC instead of having several patterns that puts students on different standards of secondary school education..

On higher education

IIMs and higher educational institutions to get more autonomy so that they are able to compete in the market based on their quality and grow accordingly.

Under the proposed IIM Bill, IIMs will get more autonomy. As of now, they cannot offer degrees as they are incorporated as societies.

Government is planning to make amendments in the law so that they can offer graduate and post graduate degrees in future.

Favouring autonomy in colleges...

To encourage institutes to come

forward and volunteer to become autonomous by providing degrees on their own strength. There are three types of autonomy in the education sphere. There are those that are affiliated with the universities. In this case, although they are granted degrees by the host university to which they belong, they are given the freedom to have their own curriculum and conduct their own examinations.

Then there are colleges which are fully autonomous wherein they have their own courses and also give degree certificates. Javadekar had stated that, “However, the one institution that is recognised internationally is the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, despite the fact that it does not have any recognition from the AICTE or affiliation with any University. I feel this is a typical sample of a world class institute as envisioned by our PM, Narendra Modi. Thus, our aim is to free education institutes of higher education, from the clutches of the regulatory regime and help them blossom, where quality in education there, would reign supreme.’’

Execution plan for autonomy

Colleges will get different levels of autonomy depending upon their grading. It goes beyond only the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ranking and are scrutinising the educational institutions by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which was launched by the HRD ministry in September 2015.

This is a methodology to rank all institutions of higher education in India. There are separate rankings for different types of institutions de-

‘Under the proposed IIM Bill, IIMs will get more autonomy. As of now, they cannot offer degrees as they are incorporated as societies pending on their areas of operation like universities and colleges, engineering institutions, management institutions, pharmacy institutions and architecture institutions.

NIRF uses several parameters for ranking purposes like resources, research, and stakeholder perception. These parameters have been grouped into five clusters and these clusters were assigned certain weightages. The weightages depend on the type of institution.

Around 3500 institutions voluntarily participated in the first round of rankings and the first result of grading was out in April 2016. It is uploaded in the public domain in our website www.mhrd.gov.in.

Reforms of regulatory bodies like AICTE and UGC

The University Grants Commission (UGC) undertakes maintenance

of standards in teaching and research and quality assurance in Universities, frames regulations and schemes and disburses grants to the eligible institutions.

The UGC has now notified several regulations with the objective of sustenance and improvement in the quality of higher education and for undertaking academic reforms. The regulations are available at http:// www.ugc.ac.in/page/UGCRegulations.aspx.

In order to encourage research and development in the country, UGC has laid out schemes, awards, fellowships, chairs and programmes under which financial assistance is provided to institutions of higher education as well as faculty members working therein to undertake quality research covering areas of knowledge across disciplines including revival and promotion of indigenous

December 16-31 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Cover Story I am a very positive person – I tend to indulge in wishful thinking, but positivity helps me realise it. I have always said to my colleagues and people who work for me -don’t get depressed-go step by step and you can achieve what you want. During my tenure as Director of the Indira Institute, there was not a single faculty who had completed his/her doctorate. I appealed to all my faculty members to do their PhD. Seventeen faculty members completed their doctorate, subsequently.

You are now married for 39 years; what is it that you like about him?

He is a very honest man, he is very committed, he is very logical, rational and his grasping power is amazing. He is a very fair person; he will never pass any judgement on anybody. I think he is one of the rarest of politicians who works with the brain – meaning, his ideology, his commitment and his intellect go hand in hand.

How did you cope up with children?

‘The most important value is to make childern think. For this, we have to expose them to different kinds of experiences to make them understand on their own as to what is good and what is bad; what is right and what is wrong’

He left his first and last job in 1980. He was working in the Bank of Maharashtra while I was lecturer at Wadia College. One day, Vasantrao Bhagwat who happened to be our sanghatan mantri visited us and asked me if I understood the meaning of Prakash working full time for the party. It meant that Prakash did not belong to me, as much as he belonged to the party. I said yes, fine. He told me I would have to earn, look after the family, raise the kids and also take care of Prakash, without getting angry with him. I really admire that in those days the sanghatan mantri used to come and talk to us. They used to visit me at least four to five times in a year to see me, not to see Prakash. He might have been out somewhere because all these years he used to be out at least 265 days in a year, and the 100 days that he would be in Pune, he used attend political functions or tour.

I needed to enhance my earnings so I started writing for the first time in Loksatta for which I used to be paid `75 per column. I used to write four articles in a month and this `300 was kept aside to pay the fees of the rickshawala who took my children to school. Then I started giving tuitions at Wadia’s for extra income. So though it was a low period, I said let me cope, I could not lose the battle like that. I had no right to disappoint my kids or Prakash. I also wrote a few books. In 1990 Prakash got his ticket for the graduate election. He got elected, but I said there is no guarantee that he will become an MLA so I decided to pursue my doctorate. I think, during that period I realised what it meant to take up the responsibility of a family - financially, physically, and mentally.

When did you get the time to write so much?

Once the children went to bed, I used to read and write between 11.30 pm and 2.30 am. I said to myself that I couldn’t keep complaining that I didn’t have time. I had to see how I could take out time. I had become mobile, as by that time I had a scooter of my own, otherwise Prakash and I used to share a Luna. I still have that Bajaj Scooter-MGF 3248. In 1990, Prakash got elected as an MLC so I had decided that, politics being an uncertain field, I had to further climb up the next ladder of my career. I could not do injustice to my children. The earnings that Prakash would get as MLC would go towards expenditure for himself. He could contribute some part to me, but my children were growing; we had different needs, we had to see how to cater to them. We were never able to give them any branded 22 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

shoes, something that they never even yearned for. They enjoyed simple things in life like my parents taking them to the Kamla Nehru Park and buying balloons, eating sweet corn in the rainy season and enjoying reading out and reciting poems.

So what is value child upbringing, according to you?

The most important value is to make them think. For this, we have to expose them to different kinds of experiences to make them understand on their own as to what is good and what is bad; what is right what is wrong.

I never sat with them to take up their studies; I used to read a lesson and ask them to tell me the substance of it and how they could connect it to other subjects. I used to have a connector for the chapters – I’ve written the book `Reet Abhyasachi Khatri Yashachi (way to study for success).

It was recommended by the Maharahtra Government for its Operation Blackboard Yojana.

Prakash never had time to look into their studies; at times he used to forget who is in which standard. However, whenever he used to get some time, he would take them to the gardens to make them understand the process of flowering; he would take them to Rasayani to understand what environmental pollution is, or take them to a river bank to see why the river had turned black. We never thought that one day he will become a minister for environment.

In 1992, when I was pursuing my PhD, I met Kumud Bansal, IAS Officer, who asked me to work with her for the DPEP (District Primary Education Program) Project. I told her I would love to work but I needed to earn because I had to sustain my family. Then she made an exception and I became the only person taken on deputation on this prestigious government project, which was a worldwide project. I worked for this project for eight years. I got a deep insight into the policies, the manipulation of reports by international agencies, so that the results portrayed were the way they wanted to picture India. I was the media and documentation in-charge at DPEP.

languages. These schemes are at http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/XII-PlanGuidelines.aspx.

UGC has also notified Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) for enhancing student mobility and providing a wider choice in subjects and for facilitation of quality education through innovation and improvements in curriculum; teaching-learning process; examination and evaluation systems; notifying a credit framework for skill development for aligning skill education with formal education; launching several skill development schemes; enhancing the coverage of scholarships/fellowships; undertaking equity promotion on a wider scale; strengthening university-industry linkage and; student centric initiatives.

The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA)

The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) to provide strategic funding to eligible higher educational institutions of the state. The central funding would be in the ratio of 60:40 for general category states, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories. The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/ union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions. The funding is based on critical higher education plans of the state. A total of 316 state public universities and 13,024 colleges will be covered under RUSA. Funding will be made available to private governmentaided institutions also, subject to their meeting certain pre-conditions

for permitted activities based on laid down norms and parameters.

The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.

RUSA’s funding pattern

RUSA adopts a completely new approach towards funding higher education in state universities. The key principles for RUSA funding will be performance-based funding, incentivising well performing institutions and decision making through clearly defined norms.

These principles will help establish and rely upon a management information system to gather the essential information from institutions.

RUSA will aim to provide greater autonomy to universities as well as colleges and have a sharper focus on equity-based development, and

improvement in teaching-learning quality and research.

RUSA’s funding eligibility

In order to be eligible for funding under RUSA, states will have to fulfil certain prerequisites which include creation of a State Higher Education Council, creation of accreditation agencies, preparation of the state perspective plans, commitment of certain stipulated share of funds towards RUSA, academic, sectoral and institutional governance reforms, filling faculty positions and so on.

Under the scheme, an initial amount will be provided to the State governments to prepare them for complying with the above requirements. Once eligible for funding under RUSA, after meeting the prerequisite commitments, the States will receive funds on the basis of achievements and out-

‘The yardstick for deciding the quantum of funds for the states and institutions comprise the norms that reflect the performance in key result areas (access, equity and excellence)

Prakash Javadekar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Dr Prachee and Prakash Javadekar giving quality time to students of a blind school in Pune

comes. The yardstick for deciding the quantum of funds for the states and institutions comprise the norms that reflect the performance in key result areas (access, equity and excellence). The State plans will capture the current position of the states and institutions with respect to these indicators, as well as the targets that need to be achieved.

The State Higher Education Council will undertake this process of planning, execution and evaluation, in addition to other monitoring and capacity building functions.

IIT initiatives

IITs are modern temples. Javadekar had earlier stated that, “The IIT council has given a nod in principle to our proposal to increase the IIT student strength to 1 lakh from the current 72,000 by introducing a new concept of ‘non-resident students’.

This should be achieved by 2020. “ The council has also approved the Prime Minister Research Fellowship programme that will select 1,000 bright BTech IIT students and give them direct admission into PhD programmes with a higher scholarship. IITs will become part of the Global Research Interactive Network which entails foreign faculty, joint supervision of PhDs and students spending a semester in foreign universities.

In BTech, 4,000 additional seats will be added to the current 10,500.

In MTech, seat strength will go up to 12,000 from 8,000. In PhD programmes, it will be enhanced from 3,000 to 4,500. Through the PM Research Fellowship, the government wants to solve the problem of faculty crunch in IITs. Even BTech passouts from IITs who have job experience and are interested in research would be enrolled in PhD. Research initiatives have begun on IIT campuses, including incubation centres. The Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana, aims at more interaction between industry and academia. Industry-specific research proposals or requests are taken up by teams from IIT faculties and students.

Reversal of brain drain

Under the Global Research Interactive Network, the best brains, doing PhDs, will be given PM's scholar-

December 16-31 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Cover Story How does it feel to be a minister’s wife?

I never thought on those lines as Prakash never became a minister in the Maharashtra ministry, although I thought he had a big chance. In this case too, we were absolutely unaware he would become one. He got a call that morning at 6.20 a m from Modiji himself who said, ‘Aapko shapath leni hai (you have to take oath as minister) and Prakash instantly said that he would take up any responsibility that he gave him, with full commitment. We were in Delhi then. When I called up both my sons, Apoorva said that perhaps he had dreamt of such a moment, but he had never uttered anything about it. But he must have visualised that one day he would have to shoulder such a responsibility, and the preparedness of the mind reflected in his reply to Modiji. We all felt very happy for him.

How do you keep yourself busy?

I run the Javdekar Educational Consultancy, which is perhaps the first of its kind in India. I help out groups to build up their private educational institutes and universities. I am writing case studies of big MNCs for publication in renowned journals.

The education scenario is changing-more than MBA and engineering, preference is steadily shifting to skill development and hence, Skill Academies will be the flavour of education in the near future. When I

all the transitions from her from day one. The boy does not shoulder the immense responsibility that she does, in her role as griha laxmi. The boy and the girl should be on equal footing. We have to accommodate, we have to adjust, but many youngsters don’t understand that complementing each other means they have to do it at various levels. They have to adjust with each other over four quotients – financial, intelligence, social and emotional. However, we never talk about these important criteria – we only delve in superficial and materialistic things when it comes to the vital relationship of a young couple – that is, marriage.

Parents need to train them…

Parents should be telling their sons and daughters what it takes to be together in a marriage – both should be trained to handle stress, they should know what it means to support their spouse in every way, including what equitable distribution of work means. If she knows how to make rotis and he knows how to clean the toilet - I think that is equitable distribution of work.

Prakash used to help me so much in the running of the house – he used to volunteer to get the wheat milled from the flour mill. He never said it was not his job. It is important that a couple respects and has faith in each other. Responsibility and enjoyment go hand in hand. In fact, responsibility should be seen as a beautiful moment to share and enjoy.

You have to feel comfortable with your own company too, and this kind of walking together has taught me how to enjoy one’s own company.

We both enjoy being together as well as enjoy being by ourselves. We give space to each other and yet we are there for each other.

‘Parents should be telling their sons and daughters what it takes to be together in marriage – both should be trained to handle stress, they should know what it means to support your spouse in every way, including what equitable distribution of work means’ joined Indira Institute of Management in 2000, it was the only institute with a 60 student intake for MBA. When I left Indira, it had 14 institutes and 14,000 students, and every institute had been formed by me. So, I am well versed with every application, every procedure and every norm. With this experience, I now offer consultancy without indulging in unethical practices. I have formed the Brick College, Indira’s Architectural College, Anant Kumar’s Bangalore Engineering College, Tolani Institutes, to name a few. Presently, I am working on setting up skill centres and working with Pradhan Mantri Kushal Yojana (PMKY). I am convincing big MNCs to set up skill development centres.

What do you think it takes to keep a marriage going?

Mutual trust and giving space to each other is very important. I have decoded what goes to build a harmonious foundation to marriage, which revolve around-Samanta (equality) Swatantrata (freedom), Samwad (dialogue) and Sahayog (collaboration).

Why do you think youngsters these days are less tolerant in a marriage relationship?

At the Hiraben Nanavati Institute, there is a certificate course in marriage counselling and I am one of the guest faculty there. I always tell students there that we do not share our experiences of being with each other. Every mother passes through lots of stages in her life in terms of experiences, but when it comes to discussion about marriage with her son or daughter, it is all about festivities, shopping, mehendi ceremony and what’s going to be the menu for the wedding reception. Nobody has time to sit together, to talk about how the young couple will complement each other; whether they have understood each other or not; whether the boy’s family has made the girl familiar with his relatives and friends. You have to be fair to the girl and give her some time to adjust to the new family. You cannot expect 24 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

What are your activities as the wife of a prominent political leader?

Since the last six years, I am running a forum in Delhi called `Kamal Sakhi Manch’ which is a forum of all spouses of elected MPs and we meet three to four times in a year. When I started it, Nitin Gadkariji was the president and Advaniji was there as our senior leader. The objective was to establish a bond between the families of MPs who were otherwise strangers to each other. The theme was ‘ek paksha ek parivaar’ (one party, one family). When I started it, there were only 30-40 women. Many would hesitate to leave their homes and come to Delhi for the get togethers. Their Personal Assistants would call me up and say how can they come alone to Delhi? I used to tell them that there would be people to take care of them. Gradually, it started picking up; everybody started knowing each other. Now, Kamal Sakhi Manch has over 200 members and each one gets a turn to host it. The recent ones were hosted by Sumitratai Mahajan and Smriti Irani, Bharti Singh (Lt. Gen. V K Singh’s wife), Mrs Jaitley and so on.

What are your sons doing?

Our elder son, Dr Ashutosh is a dentist and a well-known writer. My daughter-in-law, Manasi, is working as a professor at the Hiraben Nanavati Management Institute. They have a daughter, Arohi. Our younger son, Dr Apoorva has done his PhD from Boston University. He has joined as Research Director at Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL) of RBI.

Your philosophy of life…

Having a positive attitude is very important in life. One should never shun one’s responsibilities. Finally, do what you do with happiness and give happiness to others.

ships of `60,000 a month. Javadekar had stated that, “The best brains are going to foreign labs only because they get research funding and opportunities. We're offering funding, research infrastructure and an opportunity to go to top labs abroad, where we have contracts.

They would go there for six months or a year and can come back and complete their research This would curtail brain drain.’’

IIT in Jammu too…

According to news reports, Javadekar had stated when he inaugurated the transit campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Jammu, that , “Ninety students have enrolled. I appreciate that Jammu and Kashmir has been keeping pace with education despite decades-long turmoil with gross enrolment figures higher than the national average. Compared to the national average of 23.6 per cent of gross enrolment in higher education, girls pursuing higher studies in Jammu and Kashmir have a 27 per cent gross enrolment, more than the 25 per cent of boys, and both the figures are higher than the national average.‘’ About NPTEL…

NPTEL is an acronym for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning which is an initiative by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for creating course contents in engineering and science.

NPTEL as a project originated from many deliberations between IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) during the years 1999-2003. A proposal was jointly put forward by five IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras) and IISc for creating contents for 100 courses as web based supplements and 100 complete video courses, for 40 hours of duration per course. Web supplements were expected to cover materials that could be delivered in approximately forty hours. Five engineering branches (Civil, Computer Science,

‘Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana aims at more interaction between industry and academia.

Industry-specific research proposals are taken up by teams from IIT’ Electrical, Electronics and Communication and Mechanical) and core science programmes that all engineering students are required to take in their undergraduate engineering programme in India were chosen initially. Contents for the above courses were based on the model curriculum suggested

by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the syllabi of major affiliating Universities in India. Presently, there are 420 web courses and 509 video courses developed and hosted, which can be accessed freely through the websitehttp://nptel.ac.in.The web and video courses comprise Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Environmental Science and so on.

The SWAYAM Project…

With a view to providing access to the best quality learning resources across the country, the project 'Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM) has been started. SWAYAM provides an integrated platform and portal for online courses, using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and covering high school till all higher education subjects and skill sector courses to ensure that every student benefits from learning material through ICT.

Progress of Swachh Vidyalaya

Swachh Bharat: Swachh Vidyalaya is the national campaign driving ‘Clean India: Clean Schools’. A key feature of the campaign is to ensure that every school in India has a set of functioning and well maintained water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Water, sanitation and hygiene in schools refers to a combination of technical and human development components that are necessary to produce a healthy school environment and to develop or support appropriate health and hygiene behaviours. The technical components include drinking water, handwashing, toilet and soap facilities in the school compound for use by children and teachers. The human development components are the activities that promote conditions within the school and the practices of children that help to prevent water, hygiene and sanitation related diseases.

Water, sanitation and hygiene in school aims to make a visible impact on the health and hygiene of children through improvement in their health and hygiene practices, and those of their families and the communities. It improves children’s health, school enrolment, attendance and retention and paves the way for new generation of healthy children. It is the role

of policymakers, government representatives, citizens and parents to make sure that every child attends a school that has access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene facilities. This is every child’s right.

On night schools

Javadekar had stated that, “Night schools as important institutions that make education inclusive and our government’s top priority would be to improve their condition. I have myself studied in a Zilla Parishad school so I can identify their problems and challenges.”

“Education is essential for uplift of society. I salute the spirit of these poor students, who are pursuing education in night schools, after putting in 8-10 hours of hard work during the day.”

Doing away with Rote learning

States Javadekar, “Positive transformation of children is only possible if they are allowed to be curious and ask questions. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness. Why do we lack innovation in India? It’s because we don’t allow questioning. Innovation is essentially a process of rebellion.

Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything? The emphasis will be on education that contributes to character building and not merely help in getting jobs. I know that many states are opposed to no-detention policy in RTE Act.’’

December 16-31 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Interview

Skewed policies swelled

Black Money

Prof R Vaidyanathan, who teaches Finance and Control at the Indian Institute of Management, Bengalore (IIMB), has been a keen advocate of demonetisation of `500 and `1000 notes and is currently writing a book, “Black Money, Tax Havens and India’s wealth abroad.” Debating the issue of black money threadbare, he offers suggestions to curb black money both in India and abroad By Geetha Rao The Modi government has demonetised notes of denominations `500 and `1000. What is your opinion on the move and the issue of black money? Will it curb the menace of black money?

If you look at the data over the past 10 years, you will observe that there has been a deliberate skew towards having higher number of currency notes of denominations `500 and `1000.

This has grown from 52% to 70% to 85% over the past 10 years or so.

At the same time, there has been a deliberate reduction in `5, `10 and `50 notes. This has

been done to suit the ATM manufacturer or to create black money.

But a country like India requires more notes of denomination `5, `10 and `100. Small businesses run on these notes. Even before denomination, many people found it difficult to get notes of `10.

The earlier UPA and RBI regime is responsible for this. That is why there is such a huge mess. This is a terrible situation.

What is actually happening is that with 85% of the notes being in the denomination of `500 and `1000, it is actually the remaining 15% that sustains the economy! How can it sustain 100%

26 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

of the economy? But it actually does.

In most developed countries, it is the smaller denominations that are more in number. In the USA, you can exchange your dollar for coins at a cash vending machine. Coins are used at many places. For example, at laundromats, you must use coins for a wash of clothes.

We in India should also have cash vending machines. Every chaiwala should have this. As I said, our economy is made up of 80% of these small fellows.

Coming to another point, coming up with `2000 notes is bizarre. What is the point, really?

After all, anyone who can handle `2000 notes can

“Black money should be tackled on a war footing. My suggestion is that the government should pass a law saying that all the black money that is parked abroad belongs to the government. In case a person needs to hold money for trade purposes, he should get permission from the RBI to do so” already had or will have an impact?

The real estate sector has already come down by 30% in the first few days. In the NCR and Gurgaon, what was selling for 100 has come down to 70% already. This will be seen in other cities like Bangalore, too.

There will be some amount of reduction in the GDP. That’s because 15% of the cash is sustaining 100% of the economy.

There will be a price reduction which will benefit the common man.

Borrowing will be in white. A woman vegetable seller will be able to borrow in white at 12% per month rather than what she was doing so far-borrowing at 4% per day. This will benefit the customer.

What loopholes do you think will be exploited by people who possess black money?

use credit and debit cards and Paytm and the like.

So, why have `2000 notes? Is there pressure from intended black money stashers? The whole purpose of having demonetisation will be defeated.

Carrying `500 and `1000 notes and transporting them is easy. During the Tamil Nadu elections, the Election Commission seized `100 crores made up of these notes.

That’s why I suggest having only `100 and may be `500 notes. I think having `100 notes is enough, `500-OK, chalta hai.

Another point is that we can’t run the economy for the convenience of the ATM manufacturers. The machines must be around for the convenience of the common man.

I think the demonetisation move is good. But the government should not do a U-turn. That will make it lose its credibility.

In what ways has demonetisation

This is more of an urban phenomenon, not rural. A lot of people are getting the help of their cooks, drivers and dog-walkers to exchange their black money by giving them incentives.

A college owner in Chennai has promised each of his students a motorcycle if they exchange his black money for him. If a motorcycle costs `60,000 and the owner asks each of his students to exchange `2 lakhs for him, he still saves `1,40,000. If a hundred students exchange `2 lakhs each, the owner makes about `2 crores.

It’s a win-win situation for both!

But beyond a point, say `5000 to 6000 crores, black money hoarders can’t do anything. That’s why most politicians are so upset. That is why they are willing to join hands and align now with their sworn enemies of the past against demonetisation.

What other steps can be taken by the government to curb black money?

The government can pass a law or an ordinance saying that each individual can hold only `10 lakh rupees in cash. If he has to hold more than that, he must get permission to do that from his banker. Holding more than `10 lakh in cash per individual should be made a crime.

In addition, black money should be tackled on a war footing. My suggestion is that the gov-

ernment should pass a law saying that all the black money that is parked abroad belongs to the government. In case a person needs to hold money for trade purposes, he should get permission from the RBI to do so. Today, we have to still deal with these on a case-to-case basis.

Also, there is a lot of jewellery, gold, rubies, diamonds, etc., placed in lockers abroad belonging to the rich-like, for instance, Maharajas. These have been there for 30-40 years. A law should be passed by the government to say that even these belong to the country.

There are statues made in India out of different metals that have been and are then displayed in museums in other countries. Get them all back with the help of a law that says Indian wealth abroad belongs to India.

What I firmly believe is that domestic black money spells ‘no confidence’ with the government. It is a crime, but in a sense, it is used for productive purposes to some extent. But foreign black money denotes ‘no confidence’ with the country, and amounts to treason. Also, it is useful for nothing, it is idle. It only helps foreigners, as their banks use it for their benefit.

When we take action on all the steps mentioned above and bring all the black money back to India, the story will be complete. geetrao@gmail.com

CC

tadka

MIA Third In Customer Satisfaction Survey The Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has secured the first position in Southern Region airports and overall third position in India in the customer satisfaction survey.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) carries out customer satisfaction survey through an external agency at 52 airports that consider airline, customs, immigration, airport security, staff performance and respect to passengers as key parameters.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 27

NHRD Delhi chapter

Shape Culture, Drive Strategy How important is work culture? How seriously do senior management view employee engagement? While it was not given the due seriousness it deserved, it has now become a CEO-level issue, something that can be measured and used to drive strategy, said panellists at a recent NHRD Conclave By Pradeep Mathur

PICS: Dr vivek arora

28 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

H

ow good is the Work Culture of your organisation? Do senior leaders understand what Culture means? Do they realise their responsibility in refining that Culture? How important is the issue of Employee Engagement to them? What efforts do they make to design and create conducive working atmosphere, great workspaces and flexible benefits for their workforce? Do they use the power of Culture to drive employee behaviour, innovation and customer service? Do they think it’s a potential competitive advantage?

These were some of the questions that formed part of an intellectually-stimulating, inspiring and engaging panel discussion on the theme, “Culture and Engagement driving strategy and business results” at an NHRD Human Capital Conclave held recently in Gurgaon.

Chaired by an extremely articulate and versatile Pooja Bajpai (Director, Deloitte), the panel consisted of four very eminent HR leaders of Corporate India including Sameer Khanna (VP & Head HR—Region India, Ericsson), Deepa Chadha (CHRO, Jabong), Sushil Joshi (CHRO, Delhi International Airport Ltd) and

Sandeep Tyagi (Director HR, Samsung).

Pooja: Culture is today not just an HR topic. It’s a business issue. It cannot be driven just

by HR. Global as well as Indian trends strongly confirm the same, whether we like it or not, the cold, hard truth is that the responsibility for Culture leadership lies solely with senior leaders. They’re the ones who can change policies, procedures, systems, incentives, and more, which can then formalize the desired Culture and reinforce it over time. But it’s also true that senior leaders can’t change the Culture alone. It has to be then carried forward by the employees and in that context Engagement becomes key.

It’s not just about having T-shirts printed with a few words that become Employee Engagement. We talk about people being logged ‘on’ and logged ‘off ’ but employee experience is always ‘on.’ Hence it’s really critical for us as HR professionals to be able to work very closely with business leaders and see what we can do in our own space to create that impact.

When we look at organisations like Indigo Airlines in India and Zappos (an online shoe company) globally and the kind of ‘employee empowerment’ culture that they stand for, the top 10 values they promote and talk about, we realise why they’re ranked number one when it comes to Culture. The same is the case with the American entertainment MNC, Netflix, whose latest video, which has gone viral, also talks about Culture. They say what they offer as part of Culture is not luxury, but an environment where you get lots of freedom and great colleagues to work with. How does that really get built in? Again, it’s not just by writing words like ‘integrity’, ‘passion,’ etc., in their Vision-Mission statement, but it’s all about how their senior leaders act. It’s their actions that build the Culture. Who are you promoting and who are you letting go? What is your reward structure? All these matter. So, if I’ve to simplify it, what defines Culture is a set of some-said, some-unsaid rules. It’s really the way people behave, the way things get done—that’s really what Culture is -something you do when no one is watching you.

So, let me begin by asking Sushil Joshi, if he could share with us his DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited) experience, how the Vision of setting up a world-class airport was achieved much ahead of time? What it took from a leader’s and employee’s perspective and from the Culture stand point to get where it is today Sushil: I’ll talk less about the concepts and perhaps more about the raw experience. Like any HR person, I’ve also come the hard way.

There are lots of things we do in HR but there is one space which is still not fully conquered.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 29

NHRD Delhi chapter

Pooja Bajpai

‘What defines Culture is a set of somesaid, some-unsaid rules. It’s really the way people behave, the way things get done—that’s really what Culture is—something you do when no one is watching you’

Director, Deloitte That space is where the business and employee’s engagement blend together and where the employee’s engagement is not pumped as a separate activity. They are not separate from each other. So, I’m talking about how HR can move into that space in a very systematic manner. Of course, the space is not easily available. There is a vacuum and we can move in provided the Culture of the organisation is there to accept it and put HR in that space, provided HR himself is ready to move into that space.

HR first needs to understand how the organisation is making its revenues. But since the revenue models keep changing, HR must also know how the organisation will make revenues tomorrow and understand this shift very, very clearly. As HR, we may not be able to run the business but we should understand how the business is being run. Our success depends on our ability to contribute in that space.

Let me give you an example. You all remember the story of Tata Nano. Of course, Nano did not succeed finally in the market but that’s another story. The creation of Nano was considered an almost impossible thing when it was conceived. In fact, every engineer in that

organisation had rejected that idea. That was the state of disengagement. They did all kinds of zero-based costing and came to the conclusion that this car could not be made in `1 lakh.

Then came Ratan Tata, a visionary leader, who said, nobody has been able to make a car at this price. So, even if you are not able to make it, it’s okay, but imagine if you are able to do it, you will be the only people in the world who’ll be called as the ones who made it. So, just try it. If it’s not made, it’s on me. If it’s made, it is on youand that set the ball rolling. The right brains of all the R&D engineers started thinking. These were the same people who had rejected the idea but then they started thinking as to how it could be made possible.

Pooja: That’s great Sushil. But now may I ask Sandeep Tyagi of Samsung, to share his views on how HR and business need to go hand in glove, and how HR needs to fill in that space from a Culture and Engagement perspective to impact the business?

Sandeep: Today’s HR expectations are very, very different. HR is now expected to play a role

‘It definitely helps if the leader is driving the Culture in a particular direction and is more open, more transparent and more responsive but in case it is lacking, then the pressure from peers, employees and industry is also important because you are competing in a world with the likes of Apple, Google and others. We’ve got to be doing similar things. We can’t be in a cocoon.

We’ve got to open out’

which is more than a business partner. Culture is one such, in terms of shaping the strategy of the organisation. Whether you talk of openness or the business environment—all such responsibilities are being given to them apart from the normal work of HR. To my mind, HR’s role is that of a catalyst. It cannot, on its own, drive Culture and the right business environment but it can certainly play the role of catalyst. We, at Samsung, do a lot of innovative things through HR in creating that space because traditionally companies from oriental cultures are seen to be very closed and hierarchical. But, at Samsung, we’re trying to open it out. Six monthly, we have senior leadership meetings where freedom is given to all people to discuss issues involving Business and Culture. You can be as open as possible which is followed by another Open House. People are very free to give their opinions and suggestions-some of which may not very palatable, but that’s the kind of thing we get out of people.

Secondly, quarterly, we want the people at head office to reach out to our branches and areas sales offices located in India’s remotest areas.

We’re a large organisation having over 25000 employees. They’re supposed to visit and own one office, one branch. They have to understand employee problems and resolve them instantly through their influence at the head-office and act as the channel of communication. This open and two-way communication is taken very seriously at Samsung, where HR plays a very big role.

Pooja: The need for open communication reminds me what the then RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan, said about how the 81-year-old central bank needed to change its working Culture, with less bureaucracy, more communication and openness to outside thinking, and improved compliance. It was quite unexpected to hear from an eminent person like Rajan to talk

Sandeep Tyagi

Director HR, Samsung 30 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

about the need for an open Culture. So, we had the RBI chief wanting a change in its Culture and here we have Deepa who comes from Jabong (an online Indian fashion and lifestyle e-commerce portal) where Culture is the competitive edge.

Let’s hear from Deepa how Jabong’s Culture has been used to drive these things.

Deepa: Fundamentally, it’s the values of an organisation which impact our behaviour and which further take their own shape on the processes and policies of the organisation.

When these lead to repeated experiences by the majority of our people, we call it the Culture of that organisation.

For example, when we say, “Oh, it’s an open door policy,” it means they have a very transparent culture because somebody’s belief has led to this change. So the next obvious question is: What are the determinants of this belief? To explain, I’ll go back to the example Manoj Kohli, Executive Chairman at Softbank Energy (ExMD of Bharti Airtel) gave when he spoke here.

One key determinant is the leader’s personality and his own Vision. Second come the business goals of the organisation. Third is technology and its changing avatars. In 2009, when Manoj Kohli, with a mobile device in his hand said how it’s going to transform the world, nobody believed him.

He probably knew how advances in technology and its changing avatars were going to determine the business of lots of go-to-market-models.

Fourth, again, is what Kohli said very rightly-the customer is changing. The customer, in terms of demographic dividend, is changing pretty fast.

It’s really two contrasting demographics in different parts of the world. On one side, you have America and Europe who have a rapidly greying workforce and on the other side, you have India and Africa who represent one third of the world’s population with a very young-average age of 27, or 70% population below 30. These contrasting demographics also have contrasting temperaments to which we, as HR, have to respond to. So, technology, contrasting temperaments, personality and Vision of the leadership, and the business goals are very important pillars that determine Culture. HR has to respond to all these pillars by doing some social engineering, whether it’s for hiring or compensation or the rest.

But there are some shifts also taking place.

I’ve spent several years in very large organisations like Oracle and Genpact and, of course, Bharti Airtel where I worked as VP, Global-HR. However, my last three months’ experience with online fashion retailer Jabong is very contrasting. It’s a whole host of shifts that are determining the Culture of the organisation. A large organisation would have more layers and much defined rules in terms of spans or reporting relationships. But in a typical e-commerce portal, millennial space is very fluid, very broadband

Deepa Chadha CHRO, Jabong

‘Technology, contrasting temperaments, personality and Vision of the leadership, and the business goals are very, very important pillars that determine Culture. HR has to respond to all these pillars by doing some social engineering, whether it’s for hiring or compensation or the rest’ and very flowing. It cuts across all hierarchies in terms of interactions. If I talk about compensations, it has very fixed grids. But we’re now putting skills in the game. So, it’s more focussed on retention bonuses and much larger focus on income plans and e-sops and so on.

In my industry, everyone is looking for the next Jack Ma (Chinese business magnate and founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group)which is very hard to find. You simply say, pay

whatever it takes to the next Jack Ma on board.

But there is a lot of aggression, risk-taking which is where the leadership vision is focused on.

Temperament is also very important because of demographics. The average age in my organisation is 26 years and my CXOs will all be less than 35 and CEOs maybe maximum 40 years.

Incidentally, Jabong’s mantra is, “Be you—be bold, be real, be true” and I live by it. But the organisation demands very contrasting skill-sets because technology is a reality here as Jabong’s core business is to sell fashion and lifestyle products through a technology-based e-platform.

The other component of my industry is its changing content and conversation. There is lot of informality and flexibility which we may have seen in a BPO. Ten years back we all tasted it. Now you find CXOs of this industry tweeting or actually fighting over there. That’s also adding spice. So, whether it’s hiring or settling scores—a lot of that is happening on social media. You can also experience it in terms of attracting the talent, being the employer of choice. These are fundamental shifts which are happening but I think the four pillars I mentioned earlier are extremely critical in determining Culture.

Pooja: You’ve raised a very important point Deepa, which talks about how a leader’s personality and vision is important in defining and driving Culture.

But here comes another question: Are leaders defining Culture or employees taking it forward? I think it’s both, but let’s hear it from our next panellist, Sameer Khanna of Ericsson. Please tell how Culture is driven at Ericsson? How is it helping drive customer efficiency?

Sameer: There was a study done by Howard Business School Prof. James L Heskett who wrote in his book, The Culture Cycle that look, if you have an enabling and purposeful Corporate Culture in your organisation, it has a 2030% increase in the profits of your company as compared to a normal organisation. Why do I give that example? Because our topic today is really about Culture and Engagement and how it enables Strategy and Business Results. That’s a key thing for us to look at and consider.

A lot of you would have heard the quote, “Culture eats Strategy for breakfast.” When I heard it first time, it sounded exciting but I didn’t know what’s in Strategy that Culture eats, but now I realise it’s true in anything and everything that you see.

I’ve been in Ericsson for four years. When I joined it, I was quite humbled when I met some people at our headquarters in Sweden who were there for 30-35 years. Even here in India, many have been working for 10-15 years. More than half of our population is five year plus. So, I tried to look at Ericsson’s policies because those en-

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 31

NHRD Delhi chapter able its Culture too. Our telecom products also have long-term life because they’re robust and solid. So, the kind of people that we need are also the people who can engage on a long-term basis with our clients. They’re not the ones who sell it and say “Okay, now I’m gone and somebody else will come,” because if the product gives any problems, we’re there to help you on.

We have a tradition of long-term relationships.

Hence the key factor is respect for an employee.

Now you’ll say, it’s easy to say ‘respect’ but then how do you explain its policy against a situation where anyone can apply for a job change in 18 months’ time without consulting the managers? If Deepa is not happy with her boss and wants to work with Sandeep, she’ll apply for a job change without consulting her manager. But when I joined Ericsson, I said it sounds ridiculous because if we talk about involving people and having faith, then why would you apply without talking to your manager?

But, the company realised that there may be 10 per cent bosses where you need to just go and apply. It’s saying, we value you as an individual. We’d love you to apply elsewhere but stay within the company, stay within the 120,000 odd employees that we have within the company. Similarly, with training. If a person gets an expensive training in the US or any other country, he doesn’t have to sign any training bond and come back and serve because the key factor is, you trust the employee and treat the employee as an adult and mature person. No wonder then that 99.9 per cent employees also reciprocate back.

Similarly, there is no need for a notice period. Sure, we have a three month’s clause. But if someone says, I want to leave in one month’s time, it’s okay. The fact is, it’s a smaller industry from the telecom perspective. IT is bigger.

We do know that a person who leaves can join us back after some time. So many boomerangs have happened. The point is that Ericsson’s Culture is a long-term one. It’s one which engages people for a period of time and also trusts them because they handle really expensive equipment. So, we love that.

Pooja: Sameer you’ve brought a very

important point from the standpoint of trust. That’s one core value of organisations that are rated top on Culture.

I talked about Zappos and Netflix. But going back to Deepa, you talked about leadership personality and this is one thing I would love to hear from the panellists. We keep hearing about companies like Google and Apple which have really charismatic leaders driving them.

So, is it leaders who are leading the organisation or is it employees, or both?

Sandeep, can we start with you?

Sandeep: Leaders have a very strong influence

open, more transparent and more responsive but in case it is lacking, then the pressure from peers, employees and industry is also important because you are competing in a world with the likes of Apple, Google and others. We’ve got to be doing similar things. We can’t be in a cocoon.

We’ve got to open out. So, you’ve got to shape the Culture together. It cannot be unidirectional.

Sameer Khanna

VP & Head HR—Region India, Ericsson

‘In Sweden, they have a concept called Fika which is nothing but gathering around for coffee. Actually, it’s a great tool from an organisational effectiveness perspective because when you’re informally gathering and talking about work and work-related matters, brilliant ideas come’ on Culture and are a big driving force, but now we’re working in a completely open society.

You are 24x7 online and on the Internet, except the time when you are sleeping. For the highly tech-savvy employees we have, whether the leadership is driving Culture or not, it’s now the other way: employees put pressure on the leadership to drive the organisation in a particular direction or in a particular Culture and become much more open and responsive.

It definitely helps if the leader is driving the Culture in a particular direction and is more

32 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Pooja: Of course Sandeep, leaders might define the larger picture to which one might march but at the same time, employees also play an important role in today’s online scenario where Twitter and social media also matter.

Sushil, would you share any specific story on this subject?

Sushil: I want to share some stories from my current employer. I want to ask: How many of you think that Delhi airport has changed the game of the aviation sector? Mind you, it has changed not marginally but dramatically. In our context, if you dive deep into the DNA of the organisation, every employee can feel it that our company can achieve anything. Nothing is impossible for us.

That’s the DNA, but it is not written anywhere.

It’s is there inside. We’re a totally non-aviation company. As a non-player, our company, GMR Consortium came to Delhi from Hyderabad. The global benchmark for making an airport of this size is roughly six years and more. But were able to achieve it in flat three years’ time. So, our DNA is very strong because we have high achievement orientation, which flows from the top, followed by utter humility—a lethal combination and there are two reasons: One relates to completing the construction in a record time, and the other for winning several global awards for our service quality. In terms of service quality, we were below 100 worldwide. But our ranking rose from below 100 to number one in flat five years! This entire journey is extremely engaging. Incidentally, our attrition rate is far less than the industry. We hang around 6-8 per cent.

Pooja: That’s very relevant especially when you have an ambitious target and you’re establishing something iconic, that too before time. But what really makes people stick to you?

Sushil: There is one more angle to this connect: People also feel that they’re part of nation-building. An airport is something of that sort and delivering it in record time is associated with nation building, again an extremely engaging and emotional thing.

Pooja: You’re right Sushil. Nation connect is indeed extremely crucial but leadership is also important in driving Culture and empowering employees.

So, Deepa, we’d love to hear your

thoughts on it too--not just from your work place but also about people in general from the industry.

Deepa: One is the leadership personality and vision, then comes technology. Third is temperament of demographics and the business core.

But from my personal experience, I’d definitely bet on the leader’s personality and vision in terms of determining an organisation’s Culture.

At the more macro level, I’ve personally been inspired by Jack Ma of Alibaba group and you know how in 2014 its valuation was higher than that of Facebook. So, one man’s vision and purpose in terms of connecting smaller businessmen across China and building up the whole world around it is indeed very inspiring.

Back home, the man who has personally inspired me is definitely Baba Ramdev of Patanjali. Again, it’s a one man’s vision but without having any pedigree there—no hiring skill-set, no structure and no compensation strategy. Yet, Baba Ramdev has built a whole new business model, a whole new product-line and is creating waves.

At a micro level, I’ve personally experienced leadership from some great CEOs and how they’ve impacted—Pramod Bhasin from Genpact. His key pointer was around an apolitical culture—whether it’s in reviews or in meetings or in leadership conversations. Again in Airtel, I can cite the example from Manoj Kohli’s operating style or Gopal Vittal’s very hands-on and process oriented style.

Pooja: Thank you for giving so many real life examples from your own story.

Sameer, I know you have a different view on leadership. Why don’t you talk about it?

Sameer: In Ericsson, we have Jan Frykhammar who is our global CEO and he’s quite charismatic and features in the glass door rankings as well amongst the CEOs. Ericsson is 140-years-old as an organisation and its key aspect is innovation.

But it’s not a strategy that keeps on flip-flopping and changing every now and then because the Strategy, the Vision and the Direction has to be the same. Jan has been there for six years now as the CEO. The vision is once set and then we keep on making implemental changes in that.

So, it could be very different for a start-up versus a 140-years-old organisation and the key thing then is, from a leader to the employees—execution is the focus. Sushil rightly spoke about the Vision and how you are able to get the Vision down to the employees’ level to be able to do it.

I just want to give another example as to how this impacts, say, innovation because Ericsson is known as an innovative company which has some 39000 plus patents worldwide. Revenue from the patents is also one of our big ones, as pretty much all mobile phones—Apple, Sam-

ed the market but that was in the early stages.

For me, that innovation is also in a smaller way, a contribution we made.

In Sweden, they have a concept called Fika which is nothing but gathering around for coffee. I never realised its power but actually it’s a great tool from an organisational effectiveness perspective because when you’re informally gathering and talking about work and work-related matters, brilliant ideas come. It’s a small innovation, a lot of it is the Culture that impacts your organisation as well.

Sushil Joshi

CHRO, Delhi International Airport Ltd

‘That space is where the business and employee’s engagement blend together and where the employee’s engagement is not pumped as a separate activity. They are not separate from each other. So, I’m talking about how HR can move into that space in a very systematic manner. Of course, the space is not easily available’ sung, etc., use the patents by Ericsson. So, one of the things we did recently as part of innovation is: we’re working out with IITs to create an ecosystem of innovation where we have the best of the brains coming in and developing something. We don’t have any rights or patents on that. They develop it and use it for the India mass market. Last year one of the winners was someone who came up with a Safer App for women who feel unsafe in the evening or at odd hours. Now you see many such apps have flood-

Pooja: I think that’s why we’re seeing this point of Culture driving innovation for a lot of leading technology organisations, be it Netflix or Zappos. I think it’s their Culture that’s helping them drive the innovation as well. Deepa hasn’t spoken for a long time. What’s your take on it?

Deepa: In our industries, innovations for us are just on the fly. A very quick example relates to the period when Prince Williams and Kate were here and how Jabong was revamping its whole fashion catalogue and its banners on the consumer app.

We had a banner around Kate Collection. So, it was all reacting to whatever was happening in the environment. Actually, it was happening on a WhatsApp group where strategy was being readied. Correspondingly the related stake holders were doing their creatives and technology was responding to that in terms of the uptime and making sure that was up and about in a couple of hours, if not days, forget months, because that doesn’t exist in my industry.

The other example was when the India and Pakistan match was happening and entire leadership was on WhatsApp, exchanging notes on how many sixes and fours were going to be hit, and what the probability of India doing well was. Accordingly, we came up with an idea as to what collection we could push in order to create the feeling of ‘India pride’. Team India T-shirts from Nike were sold at a big discount and a whole blast of performance-marketing happened in order to reach out to qualified consumers. There is lot of excitement and action which comes while responding to the environment. And very interestingly from my perspective, I take a lot of engagement strategy. I take a lot of cues from our consumers to mirror that with my internal employees as well.

Pooja: It just tells where technology is leading us, the pace at which we need to change and evolve and from an Engagement and Culture perspective, it definitely becomes the key to doing business and driving strategy. So just to sum it up, as Luis Gastner said, Culture is not just one aspect of the game but it is the game. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Entrepreneur Diary

transforming while

performing In her career, she has moved towards things that she enjoyed most at the time…from science to animation to events to what she does now—helping businesses to do better. Indrani Pillai, who didn’t have a conventional career path, says it has been a journey of both learning and adaptability. Co-founding (partner-entrepreneur), she says, is the best way for startup or entrepreneurial ventures to succeed, and entrepreneurship and creative entrepreneurship is the only path in which she can find joy while making a living. Talking to Corporate Citizen, Indrani, founding partner, White Man Brown Woman, a consulting firm aimed at optimising the performance of small and medium-sized companies, talks about her career and life journey, how one needs to be hungry for success and what you need to really succeed today

By Rajesh Rao From being a science student you chose to get into arts, animation and event management field—was it a career choice while learning or adaptability? Does academic success guarantee career success?

Perfect question for me because I have been struggling with this myself. I think most of us are taught to identify ourselves by our career. Which is unfortunate in two ways.

First, it minimizes who we are…merely reducing us to a label, without taking into account all the diverse things—Enfield enthusiast, book lover, explorer of languages— that truly define us. And second, it kind of pushes people like me—who don’t have a conventional career path—to feel inadequate because we can’t define ourselves with one word like ‘teacher’ or ‘engineer’.

In my career, I have moved towards things that I enjoyed most at the time…from science to animation to events to what I do now—helping businesses to do better.

On the surface, my career path seems disjointed, but really, it has been a journey that has led me from one thing I am good at to another. For example, it was while 34 34 // Corporate Corporate Citizen Citizen // December December 16-31, 16-31, 2016 2016

"In my career, I have moved towards things that I enjoyed most at the time‌from science to animation to events to what I do now—helping businesses to do better. On the surface, my career path seems disjointed, but really, it has been a journey that has led me from one thing I am good at to another"

December December16-31, 16-31,2016 2016/ / Corporate CorporateCitizen Citizen / / 35 35

Entrepreneur Diary obsessing about getting into research in genetics during my BSc in Zoology that I discovered that I loved putting pencil to paper to draw intricate biological drawings. That led me to film school and animation and design. Freelancing as a designer and animator led me to an events startup where I handled everything from their logo design to the production of huge stadium events and travel logistics all over the world. Events led me to the realisation that I really enjoy high pressure situations and multitasking. This led me, logically, to my current enterprise where I work with all kinds of small and medium companies on everything including design, operations, customer service, marketing…even testing recipes for butter garlic prawns at a resort client of ours. It has been a journey of both learning and adaptability.

Mine is not a conventional career path by any means but it is exciting, fresh, diverse and it’s perfect for me, for who I am. As to academic success guaranteeing anything…obviously not. A ticket from a top technical school or even Harvard needs to be matched by work ethic, contacts, drive, etc. or it can easily amount to nothing.

Between working and owning, why did you choose to take the entrepreneurship path?

It wasn’t a choice, really. I love juggling and solving multiple problems. In a conventional job, you find one thing you’re good at or assigned to and then do that for the rest of your career, even if you move upwards doing it. This doesn’t work for me. I did chase after “clarity” in my career for a while, but ended up quitting any job where I was required to do the same thing day in and day out, no matter how good I was at it. Entrepreneurship…and

creative entrepreneurship…is the only path I can find joy in and make a living.

How did you nurture and realise your entrepreneurial potential?

Well, I am far from realising my potential but I try to push myself continuously to grow and learn.

I am this way, I think, because my parents gave me tremendous freedom, forcing me to find my own path. Then, while managing events, which was my longest job and most educational professional experience, I was given extraordinary autonomy and pushed way outside my comfort zone—as far as China, alone, to manage a month-long Bollywood tour as my first introduction to events, by a boss who didn’t really believe in fear. Now, I read constantly, I travel a lot, I take astonishingly good online courses on every subject imaginable from top global schools, and I work with someone who is eager to teach me anything he knows and that I want to learn. These things over time are moving me (I hope) ever closer to being a better, smarter and more fully realised human being.

Startup and e-commerce is a big thing in India and every millennial wants to be part of the boom and be a success story, but

36 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

they are advised on transforming while performing. What is your view?

My view is that if you want to succeed in anything—relationships, business, hobbies—you have to be able to transform and adapt constantly.

The world is ever-changing. Technology, social norms and cultural norms, all change constantly and you have to be able to learn and adapt to grow. You could have been the best manufacturer in the world of type-writers 30 years ago… perfect performance…but if you didn’t adapt to the PC world, if you didn’t transform, your business died.

"I take astonishingly good online courses on every subject imaginable from top global schools, and I work with someone who is eager to teach me anything he knows and that I want to learn.

These things over time are moving me (I hope) ever closer to being a better, smarter and more fully realised human being"

Can you tell us about your entrepreneurial journey, co-founding White Man Brown Woman? What’s the idea behind it?

It wasn’t so much a journey as a chance process. My partner, Kurt Inderbitzin, was my Dean at Whistling Woods where I studied animation, my mentor for years after, and through mentorship became my friend.

That led to us collaborating on a single project during which we discovered that we had very complementary talents, that we worked well together, and that we appeared to have a real ability to help businesses and their employees realise their potential, and thus become more profitable. From that point, we just started to get more and more business… and thus White Man Brown Woman was born.

The idea is simple, we come into a business and do whatever is needed to get the business way more successful, more professional, more customer-focused, and more profitable. Sometimes this is mostly marketing…redoing the client’s website and collateral material and then helping them with SEO, PPC, and Social Media campaigns.

Sometimes it is working with the CEO to be a better leader, to raise more capital, to “up” his or her game. And sometimes we literally help manage a business for some period, to rejigger it and make it better, faster and stronger. We only work with companies and people we love and connect with at a personal level. This means we can be hands-on. This also means we really enjoy our work. What’s not to enjoy about an afternoon spent perfecting Sangria recipes or camping in the mountains to shoot a film for a beloved NGO? We work hard, but we love our

Kurt Inderbitzin

Co-founding partner, White Man Brown Woman

work so it really is enjoyable.

Why the name “White Man Brown Woman”? Where did it come from?

"For me, co-founding is best.

My partner has a lot more business experience than I have, and that helps me learn and grow, and helps our clients. On the other hand, I have more experience and, I guess, talent in design than he has"

My partner and I are, both in our personal and professional lives, very focused on issues of racism and misogyny. We think both of these issues are major drags on quality of life, on happiness in the workplace, and even on economic growth.

When we were brainstorming for names for our company we wanted something interesting, whimsical and…well… attention grabbing. As it turns out, we are ONE white man (my partner) and ONE brown woman (me), and when we put this all in a single name – White Man Brown Woman – it amused us both and seemed to mock the very racism and misogyny that we so detest. So we stuck with it. Also, the name gets a lot of attention and laughter, so it’s not a bad marketing tool.

Is co-founding (partner-entrepreneur) the best way for start-up or entrepreneurial ventures?

How did you believe in the idea of co-founding and starting the marketing and consulting firm in India?

Small and medium sized companies can’t afford big consulting firms, but they often have more problems than bigger firms because they don’t have the depth of personnel to call on to solve problems like big companies do. That presents a huge opportunity for a team that really knows how to get in there and make things better. And I’d like to think we are that team.

As for being in India, I have been here for over a decade now, so it is a huge part of my life. I’ve come to love the country, its madness and diversity, and found that it offers extraordinary opportunities.

What did you see in Indrani Pillai— as the right business partner for the business venture?

Well, she will hate me for saying this but her insanely high IQ, stunning design skills, a perfectionist drive and the ability to use both her artistic and business skills simultaneously to help our clients…a very rare gift.

For me, co-founding is best. My partner has a lot more business experience than I have, and that helps me learn and grow, and helps our clients.

On the other hand, I have more experience and, I guess, talent in design than he has, and design in everything business is essential in our opinions to success. So we complement each other in skill set, but we also complement each other in decision making, and in carrying the load when one of us can’t for some reason.

Young aspirers today work within a 3-Box strategy—my present, forget the past and be in sync with future. What is your view on this plan of action?

The old saying of those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, is as apt today as when philosopher, George Santayana, first said it. I think both people and businesses can learn from their past mistakes and the mistakes of others… and in fact, understanding these mistakes can be critical in figuring out opportunities for the future.

For example, a company that has marketed on the web and hasn’t seen their business grow…well… it’s possible to analyse that past behaviour, identify problems and then re-jigger the online marketing to produce stellar results that would have been very hard to achieve if you didn’t have the data from the past failures. This applies to personal growth too, and not just in the professional

context. Learning from the past make us better human beings, better friends, and better at relationships. So I think you need to understand the past, for sure, and be hungry for success, and understand technology (or have a partner who does) to really succeed today.

How has digital technology helped you to improve your capabilities and how is it shaping marketing and selling strategies?

Digital technology has helped me tremendously in learning and growing and enriching my view of life. Coursera and EdX have given me access to courses from top universities where I can learn anything.

I have taken brilliant online courses on behavioural psychology, world history and space travel along with thousands of students from all over the world. I follow and learn from my favourite artists and entrepreneurs through blogs and social media. I work on projects with teams on multiple continents to produce world class results. Digital technology is an extraordinary tool.

The second part of the question is a little bit like asking “how has the wheel changed the world”.

It’s just too big to answer. Online marketing is now nearly 50% of the marketing spend by small and medium enterprises, and that number is increasing. Pretty soon the terms marketing and online marketing may be synonymous. So, the short answer is that the online world is reshaping everything, and in huge ways, and with Big Data and AI coming into the picture now, this process will only accelerate. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

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tadka

Women more employable than men Women are found to be marginally more employable than men as per the India Skills Report 2017. As per the report, nearly 41% women were found to be employable, slightly higher than the 40% in males. It also shows that employability of Indians has increased, with 40.4% of students now employable, up from 33.9% in 2014.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Cradle of Leadership

With increasing recognition of mental, neurological, behavioural and substanceuse disorders classified under significant public health problems, there is a perceptible shift in considering mental health and neurosciences as a good career option

Pics: Sanjay MD

Best Neurolog 38 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

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By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is considered the ‘temple of hope’ for accident victims, trauma patients and all those battling with mental illness, depression, alcoholism or substance abuse. Established to promote medical education in post-independent India, it offers holistic patient care, training and research catering to the cross-section of society, and stands as a model multi-disciplinary mental health care institution, setting the gold-standard for others. Its current mission is to get rid of the stigma and bring awareness that mental illness is like any other illness, manageable, curable, and make mental health care more accessible. In conversation with Prof B N Gangadhar, Director, NIMHANS

Tagged as an ‘Institute of National Importance’, NIMHANS-the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-is revered as a ‘temple’ of hope for accident victim survivors, trauma patients and all those battling from mental illness, depression, alcoholism, substance abuse or similar disorders. Its origin dates back to 1954 with the inception of the ‘All India Institute of Mental Health’ (AIIMH), which was established to promote medical education in post-independent India.

NIMHANS today stands testimony to Karnataka’s history of mental health care system, which began with the Bengaluru Lunatic Asylum, founded in 1847 under the guidance of British medical practitioner, Dr Charles Irving Smith.

In 1925, the asylum was rechristened the ‘Mental Hospital’ that significantly shifted the management criteria of mental problems. The old asylum or Mental Hospital on Avenue Road was eventually closed in 1936-37 and moved to the new site at Lakkasandra, atop Bangaluru’s second highest hillock. More than 100 acres of land was donated by the then Maharaja of Mysore to establish the Mental Hospital, which also received significant grants from Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail. Frank Xavier Noronha became its first superintendent.

He was succeeded by Dr M V Govindaswamy, a trained doctor in the Mysore Medical Service.

He was instrumental in developing the Mental Hospital into an ‘open model’ mental health care institution. Dr Govindaswamy, the doyen of psychiatry successfully transformed the hospital into a modern institute of mental health and neurosciences that eventually redefined itself as a firstof-its-kind training and research centre in India.

Dr Govindaswamy played a vital role in the formation of the AIIMH and became its founder-director. AIIMH was based on the recommendations of the Health Survey and Development Committee-also known as the Bhore Committee-under the Chairmanship of Sir Joseph Bhore). Academic activities and courses in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry were introduced. Dr Govindaswamy successfully blended Indian psychology with philosophy to understand human behaviour better. The amalgamation of the AIIMH and the Mental Hospital in 1974 gave birth to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). Thus, Dr Govindaswamy’s vision and leadership paved the

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Cradle of Leadership way for modern neurosurgery in this institute.

He was influential in starting psychosurgery at the AIIMH. The building of the erstwhile AIIMH currently houses the administrative sections and basic science departments of NIMHANS. NIMHANS today carries forward the legacy of Dr Govindaswamy as a multidisciplinary haven for patient care and for academicians. It is a research and training institute to help patients conquer their mental health ailments. NIMHANS is an important aide to the central and state governments in establishing new psychiatric facilities, in improving existing facilities or for formulating a national programme on mental health. The institute provides a combination of research and training that promotes, prevents and offers curative aspects of clinical services in mental health and neurosciences. Its manpower development programme is gradually bridging the need for nurturing behavioural sciences with neurosciences and basic biological sciences with ancient health systems.

Carrying the flame of hope is its current director, Prof B N Gangadhar who assumed office in January 2016. Equipped with an MBBS degree from the Bangalore Medical College in 1978 and an MD Psychiatry degree from NIMHANS in 1981, he joined the institute as a faculty in 1982.

With over 30 years of experience in the field of mental health, in both clinical and academic aspects, he served the institute in various capacities such as Medical Superintendent; Head-Department of Psychiatry; Dean-Behavioural Sciences and Program Director/Head of Advanced Centre for Yoga. He was conferred the prestigious Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) degree in 2006 and DSc (Doctor of Science) from SVYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru for his research work on Yoga and Mental Health in 2012. He is also a recipient of the coveted Sir C V Raman award and ‘Doctors Day’ award from

the Government of Karnataka. He also shares over 25 awards with other primary recipients.

Prof Gangadhar spoke to Corporate Citizen on the changes needed to popularise the agenda that mental illness is like any other disorder that can be treated by doctors and medicines and on the challenges and goals to reduce the severity of mental illnesses, increase accessibility of treatment and ensure better cure.

What was the need for a central nodal institute such as NIMHANS in India?

Prof Gangadhar: Before NIMHANS, the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) was recognised as a multi-disciplinary service, as a research and academic facility with the distinction of even establishing ancillary departments such as biochemistry, biostatistics, social work etc. It took a holistic stand on problems related to the mind and brain and the nervous system.

In this, NIMHANS mirrored global thinking in its initial years and now continues to be a multidisciplinary organisation which makes it unique.

The central government is now modelling other mental health institutions on the lines of NIMHANS as ‘NIMHANS-like’ institutions.

History in the making

Can you throw some light on the history behind NIMHANS that resulted in the amalgamation of the erstwhile mental hospital (Lunatic Asylum) and the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH)?

The AIIMH was started in 1954 for promoting medical education in post independent India and was based on the recommendations of the Bhore Committee (1943-46). Three institutions were proposed - the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, the All India Institute of Mental Health in Bengaluru and the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in Kolkata. The

The Convention Centre offers exceptional facilities for conferences, seminars and media events

40 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Bhore Committee was of a singular opinion that the Mental Hospital in the erstwhile Mysore State was a progressive institute, which had developed itself as a centre for excellence and comparable with reputed international institutes. The Mental Hospital was a leader in its own right across the Indian subcontinent for adopting innovative and cutting edge technology and services for patient care even in those days-and compared very well with several leading mental health institutions globally. Hence, it was a natural choice for establishing a post graduate centre in Independent India for promoting mental health human resources for the new nation (based on training gained by Dr M V Govindaswamy, at Maudsley Hospital in London in the 1930s).

What were the main changes brought about after NIMHANS was founded in 1974? How was the functioning different from what it was under separate entities as AIIMH and the Lunatic Asylum (Mental Hospital)?

The founding of NIMHANS in 1974 cemented and strengthened the existing links and bonds between the Mental Hospital and the AIIMH. Several administrative differences existing between the two institutions were ironed out and uniform standards of administration and management were brought in. This was reflected in better service delivery and enhanced patient care. Many more post graduate courses were also initiated.

How is NIMHANS different from any other institution for mental health in India?

NIMHANS is a pre-eminent institution for mind, brain and behavioural therapy in the country. It is multi-disciplinary and provides integrated management for care and rehabilitation. It uniquely combines neurosciences (which includes neurological and neurosurgical services) along with

university status by the UGC in 1994?

NIMHANS is widely recognised as an institution of high academic standards which has been maintained right from its inception. Post its deemed university status in 1994, it brought in systematic changes in framing the curriculum for post-graduate courses in mental health and neurosciences. NIMHANS was able to offer the highest available qualification of MCh (post MS qualifications) and DM degrees (post MBBS) along with an option for an integrated undergraduate programme. Additionally, doctoral research received a greater fillip. Administrative freedom allowed faster and able completion of academic tasks.

What were the main challenges since you took over a Director, NIMHANS in January 2016?

There is need of bringing public awareness that mental illness can be treated and a good amount can be cured. Even in people who don’t get completely cured, if they continue to take medicine they can keep their illness at bay. It is only a very small fraction of patients that get eternally hospitalised, which is often depicted in mainstream cinema comprehensive mental health care (child, adolescent, adult and elderly care). The departments in the institution run super-specialty and subspecialty clinics and services. Nearly two-thirds of the patients belong to the poorer sections of the society and all obtain the same cutting edge technology and advanced patient care services at minimal or no cost. The hallmark of our innumerable teaching programs is that they are crossdisciplinary activities. A recent initiative has been on developing self-sustained laboratories and services along with translational research and novel product development for diagnosis and care. The combination of service, research and academics in its right proportion is a unique and key distinguishing feature at NIMHANS which has enabled the growth and development of the institute. Successive directors of the institute have provided able leadership and nurtured a noteworthy work culture.

What according to you are the success points that enable NIMHANS to receive continuous support from academia, industry scientists and most importantly the state and central governments?

The growing numbers of patients seeking help at

NIMHANS reflects on the increasing confidence.

The steady growth in research publications from NIMHANS and the generation of research grants on competitive applications is another measure of success. The excellence in performance of the professionals trained at the institute bears testimony to its training standards. A harmonious work culture is the basis for this success. Naturally the government and other agencies trust NIMHANS and extend their necessary support.

Standing stoic in modern times

What are your observations on healthcare education in mental health, its perception amongst students, either as a lucrative career or as a long standing academic pursuit?

Health Sciences education in mental health is at the crossroads. With increasing recognition of mental, neurological, behavioural and substanceuse disorders classified under significant public health problems, there is a perceptible shift in considering mental health and neurosciences as a good career option.

In what way has the role of NIMHANS changed after it was conferred a deemed

The growing numbers of patients seeking service with diverse expectations (including provision of help for their stay, diverse language and dramatic recovery) is a challenge on a day to day basis.

NIMHANS has to tackle several legal battles too from time to time.

Do cite incidents of commendable contributions by NIMHANS at the policy or framework level.

NIMHANS, as a premier institution, has been proactively interacting with the state and central governments. It has also been able to influence standards and processes of health care, policy development and programme and planning.

Historically, NIMHANS has contributed to the development of the National Mental Health programme by developing community mental health initiatives and subsequently the Bellary Mental Health programme that metamorphosed into the District Mental Health Programme which is the flagship programme for mental health care in India. The institution has actively collaborated and advocated for the right of the mentally ill and their families; being a recognised centre for injury prevention and safety promotion.

Consulting role

Does NIMHANS engage in an advisory role with the state or central governments?

NIMHANS is a leading advisor for the different state and central governments on road safety and suicide prevention. It has actively contributed and facilitated dialogue for the development of the National Mental Health Policy, new Mental Mealth Care Bill and also amendment to mental health related legislations like Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS) and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). The strategy of life skill education as a health promotion measure and the development of psycho-social services during and after

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 41

Cradle of Leadership disasters emanated from NIMHANS. Being a member of the Karnataka State Mental Health Authority, NIMHANS has influenced and helped establish the fixed day strategy for mental health service across all public health care facilities in Karnataka through its Manochaitanya programme. Currently the institution is coordinating with the Medical Research Council, UK, and ICMR, Indian Council of Medical Research, India, on collaborative research projects on non-communicable diseases and mental health in the Indian population. The activities under this endeavour include genetic studies and also provide for longitudinal follow up of individuals who are vulnerable to mental and substance-use problems. The ancient science of yoga has been researched and its effect on promoting mental health and managing mental and substance use disorders has resulted in its inclusion into routine protocols of best clinical practices.

The department of Neurology has been consistently recognised for the 3rd year in a row as a premier

Is there a rural to urban divide across India in the understanding of and acceptance of mental health problems?

In both the places, communities do have an understanding and it has grown. In urban areas they tend to seek help but in rural areas although they want to seek help, they might not have access to specialised help. In rural areas, they also have other explanations for mental illness and resort to rituals etc. The availability of psychiatrists is not as common in rural areas because the number of psychiatrists cannot reach out to all the districts. As with other speciality doctors, psychiatrists too find practicing in urban areas more attractive. It is not that psychiatrists are scarce in rural areas but all speciality doctors too are scarce in rural areas. Not just NIMHANS, now the government has proposed that the curriculum of the MBBS doctor needs to be enhanced and that these doctors should be empowered to address questions on mental health. We believe that medical doctors can address many simpler common mental disorders. In the training module for the district mental health programme, my belief is that psychiatry care has to be reached out by primary care centres.

What is NIMHANS’ role in eradicating the stigma attached to mental health?

We have a department of social work and department of mental health education that periodically produce manuals, newsletters and small documentary films and programmes from time to time that have educated the general public.

We broadcast several awareness programmes on Doordarshan and other TV channels. We also have collaboration with the district mental health programmes with several other states. We have extensive contact with the community across various states that educate people, train professionals to increase their capacity in the health

Availability of psychiatrists is not as common in rural areas because the number of psychiatrists cannot reach out to all the districts. As with other speciality doctors, psychiatrists too find practicing in urban areas more attractive services to enable them to meet this challenge.

What are the salient features of the recently published National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2016 conducted by NIMHANS?

The recently completed NMHS stands out as the second largest mental health survey globally and is also the most systematic and scientific study undertaken in post-independent India across 12 states covering nearly 40000 people. This unique endeavour was undertaken with the support of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The survey has resulted in a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the systems / facilities / resources for mental health care in the surveyed states and also developed the local capability of the institutions who participated in the survey in the area of psychiatric epidemiology.

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What is NIMHANS’s ranking nationally and at the global level?

The department of Neurology has been consistently recognised for the 3rd year in a row as a premier prestigious institution for excellence in academics in Neurology in the country. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recently awarded NIMHANS the ‘Vayoshresta Samman’ for excellence in research related to the elderly. NIMHANS in the recent past has established research and academic links with globally reputed organisations / academic centres of excellence including the World Health Organisation, Royal College of Psychiatry, Fogarty Foundation, John Hopkins University, University of Liverpool, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Florida, and Taipei Medical University, Maastricht University, and many more. NIMHANS has been recognised at the na-

Grassroots Management of Mental Health

What are the main changes that you would advocate to alleviate mental health problems in society?

NIMHANS has developed and has evolved into one of the largest training institutions in mental health

Family Psychiatry Center provides inpatient and outpatient therapy services to couples and families in and outside NIMHANS

tional level for the establishment of two centres of excellence under the DBT scheme (Fellowship).

What has been NIMHANS’s role in garnering support from the government for mental health education?

Historically, NIMHANS was established to catalyse post-graduate training in mental health education. Continuing its mandate, it has developed and has evolved into one of the largest training institutions in mental health for formal programs and also for short term courses. Additionally, it continues to mentor the centres of excellence for mental health education. It started the development of the scheme for supporting training of mental health professionals of the Government of India and is currently involved in the implementation of this programme. NIMHANS also exploits technology and employs tele-education

to build capacities across the country.

What is the future for mental health studies in India and for NIMHANS?

The recent National Mental Health Survey 2016 has once again brought to the fore the gross deficiency of mental health professionals which includes psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. While the attempts to train general health professionals continue, the need and demand for specialised mental health human resources vis-a-vis global standards continue to rise. NIMHANS thus would be in the forefront of mental health science education. The traditional focus of mental health science education has been on cure and care in a limited manner, but the emerging domains of prevention and promotion would help to make a positive impact on the society.

There needs to be availability of psychiatric help from primary care doctors at the very basic Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs). It should be like how we can consult our General Practitioner (GP) for an abdominal pain, knee pain or conjunctivitis without having to go to an orthopaedic or an ophthalmologist. My GP should have the ability to do the same. There is a need for more faith and ability on the primary care doctors at primary health centres. Likewise, for any mental condition, I should be able to consult my local GP and he should be equipped well to treat my condition. One main change is to understand that mental illness is like any other ailment. There has to be availability of medicines that are essential for psychiatric care at the PHCs. Patients should be made aware of their availability and that PHCs can have mental health related care or medicines. Also, medicines should be made available at PHCs to reduce the morbidity of the illness. There is need of bringing public awareness that mental illness can be treated and a good amount can be cured. Even in people who don’t get completely cured, if they continue to take medicine they can keep their illness at bay. It is only a very small fraction of patients that get eternally hospitalised, which is often depicted in mainstream cinema. The occurrence is a very small fraction which is true for any disease, and it could be so with mental illness too.

Do you conduct organ transplant within NIMHANS?

We don’t harvest organs here though we get a lot of accident victims at NIMHANS. As we do not have a cardiology set up or a nephrology unit or ophthalmology set up, we do tell the patient’s family that we can maintain the patient on ventilator and help them to go to the relevant hospitals where they can harvest the organs. But motivating patients and family in that situation is very difficult. If this hospital had all the other facilities it could be easier to motivate to harvest and use the organ on the next patient.

What measures can ensure mental fitness?

Incorporating or practicing Yoga can help beat stress. This in turn can reduce the potential of developing any sort of mental illnesses, depression or alcoholism. Just as any positive lifestyle measure gives protection, for mental disorder, taking the right medicine can actually help patients to fare better. Patients can get better with medicines which are inexpensive and safe. Managing food habits and treating other ailments alongside psychiatric treatment does not interfere with the treatment. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 43

HR Talk

Managers, bosses responsible for employee engagement Highly satisfied employees need not necessarily be highly productive, employees who are mentally engaged with their job, their boss and their organisation ultimately make the difference

By Joe Williams

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emystifying the heap of definitions around employability and fixing it as the ability to understand what is communicated in a work environment is all about understanding things which are fundamental, was what Muthukumar Thanu, Group Chief HR Officer, Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) put in a nutshell, at the 12th National Business conference.

Highly satisfied employees need not necessarily be highly productive, employees who are mentally engaged with their job, their boss and their organisation ultimately make the difference. The role of HR is more of a facilitator.

In short, great managers create engaged employees; who in turn create engaged customers, which ultimately leads to an increase in the value of the company, argues Muthukumar. Excerpts from an interview with Corporate Citizen, on these and other topics with him:

44 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

What do you think about women’s employment? Is it less in numbers? Is that due to a constraint on ability and compulsory restraints of the home or the Indian culture?

Women are more into the services sector. Their number is increasing in the core sector too. In my company, we have an equal number of men and women employees.

Interestingly, my boss is a woman. Opportunities are aplenty and the role of women is changing. There is also economic compulsion for women to work. The girl child is now being accepted as someone who is equal to a boy child. The transition is slow, but it is taking place at pace faster than one thinks.

Do you think the talk of gender parity will succeed though it is not happening even in economically advanced countries?

We pay absolutely equally whether it is men or women.

There is no disparity. In rural areas, it still exists. There women are paid less than men labourers, but that is also changing.

What according to you is loyalty? Does that play a role in an employee’s contribution to the growth of the company?

The most important thing is how one connects oneself with the company. Loyalty is nothing but a psychological bonding. Every company and every boss will have to focus on this issue, and loyalty will be the resultant factor. It’s like a grown up child-how good he is will depend on how we focus on the character and values, which will make him a better citizen rather than saying he should get his master’s degree come what may. It is about building character, and this also applies to the employer.

Attitude and performance are significant.

Passion, zeal and ethics are other very important qualities. What is your take on all these qualities?

You recruit people for attitude and train them for skills.

Skill becomes a hygiene factor. You can get a brilliant student but if attitude is an issue the company will have a big problem. People with attitude can be good only in their individual capacity, not working in a company. Scientists can have attitude when they are individual contributors.

In a company, they need to be team contributors, so in a larger context it is the attitude which plays a major role.

You are in a stellar corporate career. What have been your best moments in this corporate setup?

The best moments were when the maximum was demanded out of me and I have been motivated to do that.

The best phase happened in Tamil Nadu when we did a project execution of a landline. We used to work morning to night, never bothering when we left. We even worked on Sundays. My boss used to come and tell me let us go for lunch. This kind of connectivity and bonding helped. It was empowering, which I enjoyed the most. This happened to me at BHEL. BHEL gave opportunity. Though they did not give good money, the pay was decent. But I worked

“People with attitude can be good only in their individual capacity, not working in a company. Scientists can have attitude when they are individual contributors. In a company, they need to be team contributors” and I was satisfied. Satisfaction at the workplace is what one needs. That has happened to me in all the companies I have worked for, from BHEL to the place I am now in.

BHEL was a great learning ground. The unfortunate part in BHEL was that they could not differentiate between a good, better and bad performer. I gave my best and turned out to be the best, but unfortunately the company could do very little for me. I feel that BHEL employees can work anywhere. So we cannot underestimate a public establishment over a private establishment.

Do you feel that the present education system needs fine-tuning?

The teacher and the taught should learn the fundamentals which go a long way. In our system, fundamental science is not a major factor. We should do something on fundamentals and concepts which will enrich our education.

Do you believe our government officials are delivering duty to the maximum, or are there loopholes?

I will not be able to comment, but there are government employees who have gone to become the best. In that context it all depends on each individual to take the job and do his best to make India a better place to live in.

Yes we are proud when Indians hold big posts in the corporate world. It is the system which has given us a bad taste with bureaucrats.

joe78662@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Interview

‘Value-plus, Pocket-friendly’ Itel Mobile, a recent entrant in the crowded mobile phone market in India, hopes to replicate its global success in India on the back of a disruptive approach-making feature rich affordable devices and end to end solutions accessible across economic and geographic strata of consumers

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By Joe Williams

ong Kong based Transsion Holdings’ Itel Mobile is one of the latest among mobile companies to make foray into India. The company that began in 2006 with a manufacturing base in China, had its main market focus in Africa. It is a leading supplier of communication devices in over 40 countries and claims to be the number one feature phone manufacturer across the globe, ranking number seven in terms of mobile shipments. Having sold

more than 68-million odd devices since its inception, Itel has seen widespread adoption in the big billion markets of China and Africa and hopes to replicate its global success in India. Itel was established with a vision of empowering consumers with feature-driven and value-plus mobility solutions serving as tools to achieve their ‘Right to Progress’. This approach has enabled the brand to achieve popular adoption since its India launch earlier this year, ranking number six among feature phone brands in India, according to a Cyber Media Research report.

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Sudhir Kumar, CEO of Itel Mobile spoke to Corporate Citizen about the brand and their approach in the Indian market.

What is your strategy for India?

Launched with an aim to be the mobile brand of choice for Indian consumers, Itel’s main focus in the Indian market is to make mobile ownership more accessible and ‘within your means’ for the untapped rural and semi-urban consumers, as well as those belonging to the socio-economic classes C, D, and E. We are looking to offer ‘more for less’ in terms of product features and quality for both our smart phone portfolio and smart keypad phones, and will primarily be focusing on camera quality, long lasting battery, and 4G-LTE connectivity. The end-goal is to bring value-plus products at a pocket-friendly pricing and it can only be achieved when these areas get access to a higher interconnectivity.

What is Itel's roadmap?

Itel is creating its own end-to- end ecosystem in India. We currently have a complete hold on our supply chain, in-house manufacturing and design of all our offerings. This allows us to make good on our promise of delivering value-driven, quality products that will create their own benchmarks. Through our extensive service delivery network comprising over 700 distributors, 55,000 retailers and 500 service centres, we

have made a total of 21 devices—including 11 feature phones and 10 smart phones—available pan-India. We hope to rope in 1000 distributors and 80,000 retailers by the end of this year, as we look forward to capture a market share of over 20 percent in the Indian mobility industry.

The key USPs of the products...

The USP of Itel Mobile is its focus on battery, camera and quality. We have a dedicated R&D team that comes up with unique innovations to provide relevant solutions to mobile users and offer more for less. Quality, localisation, greater value-for-money and, most significantly, a unique service proposition of 100-day replacement warranty have been the differentiators that have helped us in achieving success on a global scale, and we aim to continue that within the Indian market. We offer more, better-quality features compared to our competitors within the same price range. With 90 percent of our mobile models standing out from the crowd due to this value-added approach, we are confident that our products will create their own segments with less or no competition over time.

resources needed to grow and progress.

What have been your best moments in your corporate career?

Whilst there are many professional accomplishments that I have been proud of over the years, the best moment, in my opinion, will be the decision to join the team at Itel. We, as a nation, stand at the exciting crossroads of digital re-evolution with endless opportunities of growth, as can be exemplified by the rise of the Indian start-up ecosystem. The need of the hour, is to ensure that this growth is not restricted to urban geographies. Socio-economic classes C, D, and E, as well as rural/semi-urban populace need to be in-

enter a corporate setup. Although we, as Indians, are highly adaptable, there is a pressing need to modify the present education system. More experience and innovation orientation is required in the pedagogy at present in order to sustain the rise of India as an economic superpower.

We are proud of many Indian CEOs doing a commendable job abroad.

But, our bureaucrats fail in many ways. What is your take on this?

I don’t agree—India is where it is because of the policies set up by the governments and the bureaucrats. We as a country have been constantly progressing, and the credit goes to the bureaucratic think-tank for providing a foundation upon which this progress is being built.

‘Stay focussed and work towards a goal that can make a positive contribution to the society and benefit a large number of people.

Go for experiences and learning instead of bigger pay checks, as talent always shines through’

What do you think about women’s presence in business and industry?

We are witnessing an entire generation of women performing exceptionally well in various fields like business, sports, politics, and entertainment.

Women are equally participative these days and are seen as capable managers. They are considered to be good at multitasking and have shown great promise across industry segments. ‘Make in India’ will bring huge opportunities for semiskilled women workers from semi urban towns.

Positive frame of mind, grit, learning mind, passion, zeal and ethics: What is your take on all these qualities?

Although it is relatively hard to become an ideal individual, a person must maintain a perfect blend of all the respective key qualities. This can be done by developing curiosity within oneself and a learning proclivity, in order to sustain constant character evolution. The biggest benefit that we today have is that we live in an era of high interconnectivity which can stimulate our learning process. Even if we acquire a single good trait from everyone around us, we can change our personality and attitude entirely for the better.

I hold firm belief in everyone’s Right to Progress, something that also ties in with Itel’s brand philosophy, and therefore aspire to empower everyone in the team with the opportunity and

corporated in this march towards progress. This is what Itel has been achieving across the globe with its disruptive approach. It makes me proud to be a part of its long-term vision to empower every Indian citizen with the technological tools needed to claim their ‘Right to Progress’.

How do you get the best out of your employees?

Employees are at their most productive professionally when they are made to feel an active and valuable part of the organisation, when they feel their opinions and ideas are listened to and considered. At Itel, all employees are given a platform to voice and express their thoughts. This makes for a highly conducive, energetic work atmosphere that allows free, open-ended exchange of ideas and creativity, and keeps the motivation levels high. We have an open culture and work with an entrepreneurial mindset. We respect individual opinions, and every team member adds value to the organisation’s overall functioning.

Do you feel that the present education system is adequate?

The education system of our country is more qualification-centric than quality-centric. As individuals are more concerned about percentage than developing their concepts and skills, the adverse effect of this approach reflects when they

You have a busy schedule. How do you find time to relax, and how do you relax?

Given the kind of vision we, at Itel, are working towards, I never consider my professional duties to be a task. Rather, I enjoy being involved with a socially-relevant business enterprise. Being a familyoriented person, I prefer spending my free time with my family in order to unwind and relax.

What is your advice for youngsters who are dreaming to join the corporate world?

Believe in yourself and your vision. Stay focussed and work towards a goal that can make a positive contribution to the society and benefit a large number of people. Go for experiences and learning instead of bigger pay checks, as talent always shines through. Financial rewards will inevitably follow if you are knowledgeable enough and have honed your professional skills.

Please share with us your corporate journey.

I have over 18 years of extensive experience in strategic business planning, marketing, sales and channel development and heading products.

Before joining Itel Mobile India as its CEO, I have been involved in the IT and telecom sector, playing my part in transforming businesses to become significant revenue drivers. I worked for a software company called Ramtek Corporation Ltd as a project manager for two years before joining Intex in 2001. The association lasted over 15 years. I identified new channel partnerships and strengthened the distribution network to extend product portfolio and global reach. This is a core area I still work on at Itel Mobile India.

Joe78662@gmail.com

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Star Campus Placement

Patience, confidence, keys to success

From a small hamlet in Himachal Pradesh, Pooja made it to the one of the most coveted placements on the campus. Pooja shares her campus placement experience with Corporate Citizen By Joe Williams

48 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

C

oming from a small hamlet in Palampur in hilly Himachal Pradesh little did she know that one day she would shine among many in an urban place in the country. Thanks to her parents she was able to get the best education and completed her schooling from DAV Public School, New Shimla and graduated with a B Tech in Computer Science from Shoolini University and finally got into the corporate world, at HCL Technologies, starting a new league in life. Patience and confidence were the key words for Pooja's success. She was always an active participant in all activities in school, both in academics and extra curricular.

Grilling Time

The process of campus placement was a grilling and testing time where you required lots

of patience. Around 300 students had applied for four different profiles in HCL Technologies.

Out of these she preferred the one for the project management office (PMO) in IT Infrastructure. “There were around 70-80 candidates for this profile, and my profile did fit into the job -my background in IT and my management skills in MBA. I went through three rounds in which the first was Group Discussion(GD).

The topic was general, on which I could articulate very well. The GD was not so tough but the further rounds were grilling in which our knowledge, confidence and flexibility to work were tested. My confidence paid off and I was shortlisted. In the second round, Human Resources (HR) wanted to conclude on the candidates. I was among the four chosen. This led to an even tougher test, because now I had to showcase myself in 4-5 minutes competing with

I was confident to speak and grabbed the opportunity whenever I got it.

I had no constraints on location or timing and I conveyed that very well

Five picks of her tricks One should be confident enough to speak and communicate.

 Before applying to any company, one must be clear of one’s goals and profile.  Whichever company you apply, you should be crystal clear about their work, the profile they are offering, and everything.  You must be clear of what you want to do and what is good for you.  You should also ask about the experiences of the seniors and alumni so that you get a clear view of the company and its profile and what would be the growth other three contenders. HR wanted to check on my flexibility to work at different locations with different timings and shifts. This round went well, as one question was put to all four and we had to grab the opportunity to speak first and convey the message. I was confident to speak and grabbed the opportunity whenever I got it.

I had no constraints on location or timing and I conveyed that very well. I cleared the second round. The last round was the technical round with HR. I went for the third Personnel Information (PI) interview, I was asked different questions from my CV, my qualities of being suitable to this role, etc. I answered them truly and with full confidence and quoted my experience with each quality I possessed. I was clear about the organisation as I had done my home work about the company well. I was prepared for the role and had done a complete R&D on the job profile through seniors and through some known people who could guide me well. I was nervous when I sat for the process but when one knows that you need to achieve the target, you do everything to get that.

Fears about the placement

“I had some fear when we went through the technical round. The technical mainly involved Excel. But I had practical knowledge on it, and with the help of my friends constantly helping me in clearing all my doubts, it helped me overcome my fear.”

The new journey

“Yes, I have a very good opportunity to showcase my talent and move towards my goals and thing big in life. And I am sure my confidence and thinking positive in all walks of life will help me in taking the new road ahead in my life.”

friends Pooja with her

Testing mettle

“One time my mettle was tested when they wanted to know why I wanted to get this role and this organisation. Therefore, to answer this question, one had to be ready and quick and prepared.”

Credit for your success

“I would credit my success to my brother, my parents, my teachers from school and all my friends who constantly helped me in my studies and helped me achieve this.

Family background

“My father is working as General Manager at SJVN Ltd., and my mother is a housewife. They both live at Palampur, and my brother is working as manager at Vodafone, Chandigarh.” joe78662@gmail.com

CC

tadka

Continuous and comprehensive evaluation goofed up Ninty-eight percent of school teachers do not know the real purpose of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), according to recent pan-India survey of 123 schools, by a CBSE-empanelled agency, Chrysalis. Experts urge teachers to do assessments a continual pattern as a part of daily coursework. But, in the current system, 60 per cent marks depend on summative assessments while 40 per cent depend on formative assessments.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Loved & Married too

It is not often these days that a 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. We bring to you real-life romances got sealed in marriage

h t r o N n e h W met South The Roys are the quintessential cosmopolitan couple. He's a Keralite; she’s a Punjabi kudi—together they've built a little world that stands on the simple but time-trusted edifice of mutual respect and trust. Two little boys complete the picture

By Kalyani Sardesai

M

egha Roy still remembers the first meal with her in-laws after marriage.

"It had been a lovely day so far. It was nice to meet my new family— everyone was sweet and accepting.

And then suddenly—to my surprise as we sat down, everyone started whispering chor! chor! " Surprised, she started looking around to find out who the chor was until someone enlightened her: the chor was no thief—or indeed even a person! It was quite simply Malyalam for rice!!!

It has been 12 years since—and the journey with her husband, she says—has been just like that moment: surprising, enriching and memorable by turns.

Back to the beginning

It was 2001—and Megha Khetarpal and Libin Roy—fresh marketing post-graduates were employed with a travel agency. He, with foreign exchange, and she in ticketing.

Being colleagues—it was natural they would interact.

"He is outgoing, friendly and spontaneous. You could put him in a roomful of 50 people and he'd manage to make friends with all of them. I really liked that about him," shares Megha. "Though, I am quite a reserved person myself, the conversation with him used to flow quite easily."

Gradually, group lunches with colleagues gave way to quiet dinners on their own. "Honestly, the entire process was very smooth and non-dramatic. So if you 50 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

ask us as to when a formal proposal happened—we don't remember," smiles Megha.

They had both spent considerable time together—a little over two years. Nevertheless, both families were concerned about the cultural differences. "It's a North-South Divide quite literally. He's a Keralite, I am Punjabi—both our diets and lifestyles are radically different. My parents expressed their worries—but I told them I quite like idli and sambar," she grins.

"So her parents had me over for a meal. They had one question: how did I plan to take care of their daughter?

Was I financially settled?" shares Libin. "But regular conversations and meetings with both sets of parents convinced them that we knew what we were doing.”

“He is outgoing, friendly and spontaneous.

You could put him in a roomful of 50 people and he'd manage to make friends with all of them.

I really liked that about him.

Though, I am quite a reserved person myself, the conversation with him used to flow quite easily” — says Megha

Finally, both sides gave their blessing and the duo were wed in 2004. "We had both: a big, fat Punjabi wedding as well as a South Indian ceremony," says Megha.

Post-marriage they lived on their own—with both sets of parents a little distance away. "In any case we all live in the same city. While my folks have always been in here, Libin's side, a retired defence family have also made Pune their retirement home."

long weekend out is a good way of spending family time."

From little getaways to Goa—to a longer cruise to Sri Lanka, they make it a point to take off as a family by themselves. Parenting is another crucial arena of teamwork. "Both of us love kids, and like to be as hands on as possible," says Megha. "For example, be it their first day at school, first annual function or any little event in their lives—we take equal pride in being there for them, handling them like a team. These days, Libin has long hours but even so, we share the duties. While studies and grades are my domain—sporting activities are daddy's turf—and the boys really look forward to their matches together," she says. Both are united in their stance that kids

The building blocks of matrimony

"From the outset, we have lived by ourselves—taking our own decisions, and fulfilling our own responsibilities. I have been a Pune girl through and through, but Libin's been an army kid, used to back-packing across the country—so both of us can adjust pretty quickly. In the beginning we both had demanding careers—and we enjoyed that phase to the full. Hours were hectic, but we would have a meal together at the end of the day," expresses Megha. "Soon the kids came along—and again we managed on our own, handling work and babies together. But gradually, it began to get very hectic and it was a considered decision to quit corporate life. (She was then working with Barclays.) As of today, Libin is Zonal Sales Manager with American Express, even as Megha has opted to join her dad in his road construction business.

"The hours are more flexible, and allow me more time with my boys—Vivaan (7) and Ayaan (5), " she says. Amidst all this, the cultural differences did not emerge as much of an issue. "I think it's all about trust and mutual respect," says Libin. "Be it an arranged or love marriage, both these factors are crucial in making it work. It also helps that she is a practical, down-to-earth realist."

For her part, Megha would recommend "an open mind"—that is accepting of differences. "There is much joy to be found in celebrating each other's rituals and way of life," she says—illustrating her point by citing her first-ever karva chauth (an annual North Indian fast observed by women for the long lives of their husband). "My mother-in-law understood that it was quite important for me—and went all out to make it special—even though she had little clue as to what exactly was involved," Megha smiles fondly at the memory. "We are supposed to rise before dawn and have a quick meal called sargi—which is supposed to sustain us throughout the day. The sargi is usually a sweet milk pudding with dry fruits. But in my case, my sargi consisted of hot and fresh dosas—made with a lot of love and care. However, the spirit of the festival— and the bonding between us two ladies— was maintained.

Isn't that important?"

Given that they both work—how feasible is to maintain the crucial work-life balance? "It's not that tough," says Libin. "With a little planning and care—you can do it. Personally, I don't carry work home. Sure, travel is an integral aspect of my life but planning a good holiday together or a

n (5) aan (7) and Ayaa with their sons Viv Megha and Libin

The mantras of a marriage

Mutual trust and respect

Giving each other due space

Believing in the institution of marriage

Celebrating differences

must be given the due space and leeway to work things out for themselves—instead of spoon-feeding them. "At the same time, we believe it's important to be friendly, communicative and approachable," says Libin.

Amidst the pressures of day to day living, the couple is particular about going out for meals by themselves, every once in a way. That, and not letting differences fester. "If one person is angry, it's better for the other person to back off a bit. Also, decisions both big and small, are meant to be taken fifty: fifty,” rounds off Megha. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

CC

tadka

Indian workers bullish on career progression Around 84 per cent Indian workers are extremely optimistic about getting an opportunity to develop and upgrade career skills over next 12 months. This shows 3 three per cent improvement from the previous quarter according to the ‘Job Confidence Index Q3’ survey by global recruitment specialists Michael Page where sample was of 580 employees in India and 4,200 employees across the Asia Pacific.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 51

52 52 // Corporate CorporateCitizen Citizen // December December16-31, 16-31,2016 2016

Salary and Employment Outlook Survey

2017 A welcome year for

Job Seekers

India’s

employment market enjoyed a good year largely unaffected by the global economic slowdown in 2016. But what’s in store for 2017? What will be the hiring situation be like next year?

Are employees satisfied with their salaries? What kind of salary hikes will we see across the corporate sector?

Leading British professional recruitment consultancy Michael Page’s latest India salary and employment survey tries to answer these pertinent questions based on the responses of over 300 employers across India. Corporate Citizen presents the results.

India has enjoyed a rather good year (with the exception of the unforeseen inconvenience faced by people due to demonetisation) and the country is expected to continue with its positive growth, largely unaffected by the global economic slowdown, due to the continued influx of foreign direct investment under the government’s “Make in India” campaign.

Companies’ employment outlooks are also reflecting this positivity. A huge majority (80 per cent) of employers surveyed in India say hiring activity will range from steady to strong over the next 12 months—numbers that are

higher than the Asian average.

Talent shortages are most evident in the fast-growing supply chain and logistics sector, especially for senior level plant managers. Rapid growth and an overall shortage of skills mean there is intense competition for high-calibre candidates. Sixty per cent of companies are expecting to increase headcount, with middle managers comprising 45 per cent of these new employees. To attract and retain employees, a large majority (79 per cent) of employers are looking to structure clear progression paths. The key will then be to continue prioritising, internal development programmes in order to retain the best talent.

One interesting observation is that companies are also going beyond gender when addressing workplace diversity. Gradually, more employers are looking to foster an environment where employees, regardless of race, age and abilities, can succeed at the highest levels. This progressive outlook will help engender innovation and productivity.

Survey results show that 83 per cent of companies have placed diversity on medium to high priority.

Overall, 2017 looks like an year to be quite positive about. Let us now look at each of these survey observations in detail.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Salary and Employment Outlook Survey Hiring Activity

60%

of companies in India will be adding new headcount to their businesses

45% of these new employees will be in middle management Hiring is set to receive a huge boost in 2017. 60 per cent of companies will hire new talent, and 45 per cent of this talent will be in middle management. 2017 will be a good time to job hop, and companies will look to attract new employees through attractive remuneration packages

80% of employers say hiring activity will range from steady to strong over the next 12 months Eighty per cent of the surveyed employers have confirmed that we shall see strong hiring activity throughout 2017. The Job market will be robust due to a good demand and supply of qualified candidates

88%

of employers are offering SIX to 15 per cent pay increments The year 2017 will see massive pay hikes across the corporate sector, as over 88 per cent of employers are set to offer increments to their employees. A growing economy and increased investment have led to good growth numbers for companies which will translate to salary increments

Talent Retention Top three factors in talent retention More and more employees are worrying about career growth as compared to pay hikes. An overwhelming 79 per cent of people surveyed regarded career growth as their priority when it comes to their retention in the company, as compared to 56 per cent who viewed salary hikes as their priority.

54 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Salary increases 56%

Career progression 79%

2 1

Learning & development 40%

3

Work-Life balance strategies Flexible working hours are great tools to retain employees. Fifty per cent of employees can be retained by offering them flexible working hours, this is closely followed by 47 per cent of employees who are happy to be able to work for home

44% of staff leave due to limited career progression

Over 44 per cent of the attrition seen across all industries have been due to limited career progression. Lack of growth in individual careers has led to a large degree of dissatisfaction amongst salaried employees.

55% Flexible working hours

47% Work from home and remote access

42% Wellness programmes

Diversity & Inclusion

83%

Of employers say diversity is a priority and have active programmes in place neeraj.varty07@gmail.com December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Health

Health

Get set for a

Half Marathon A half marathon is the ultimate test of your speed, stamina, and strength.

Want to know more about how to train for a half marathon?

Let’s sprint towards it By Saurabh

Tips On How To Train For A Half Marathon

What is a half marathon?

This race is run over a distance of 21.1 kms... Thousands of Runners... Million Miles Per Second of Adrenaline Rush...

One Race & One Target - That’s the Magic of a Half Marathon!

The distance of a half marathon is 13.1 miles, which equals to 21.1 km. Half marathons have become popular among masses and the participation has been steadily increasing. One of the reasons for half marathon becoming popular is its fair distance and the level of training it requires in comparison to an actual complete marathon. The distance is long enough to keep the race challenging and fair enough to complete with a quick recovery afterward.

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

There are many half marathon races that are organised around the globe. Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is one of such events. ADHM is an annual event that was started in 2005.

Since 2005 till date, this event has been attracting thousands of participants. A total of 34,000 people participated in the 9th edition of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, which took place recently.

So have you geared up to torque your way to the finish line? Here are few tips on how to train for a half marathon.

Train your mind first

This is probably the first hurdle for most participants. The phobia of running a long distance is not a good sign to start your training. 21.1 km is not a cake walk for sure but it’s certainly not like crossing a river of fire too. So train your mind to accept the challenge in a positive way and you will see that 21.1 is just another number.

Build a base

For every durable structure, you need a solid base.

And the same holds true for a half marathon too.

So, start running three times a week. And the target should be to run at least 15-20 km every week with an average of 5-7 km at a stretch. Missing any one of the targets, may not build your stamina the way it needs to be, at the time of the race.

Challenge yourself

It is very important that you keep adding miles to your target sprints. This can happen every week or even alternate weeks, but you need to be decisive and focused once you commit to it. For example: if you start with your daily running target as five km, then you can increase it to seven km for the next or the alternate week. This ensures you to train your body to adjust with increasing difficulty till you train yourself to run 21 km at a stretch.

Keep a balanced approach

You would find that on certain days you are able to run faster or for a longer distance. But that does not mean that you should start sprinting hard. A balanced approach is very important in this case, as a sudden pressure by sprinting can drain the juice out of your body and may leave you with no stamina at all to run the next day. Also, a regular light weight workout at a gym combined with good cardio exercises can be quite useful.

Do not over-train

Challenging yourself is important but that would not mean over-training. There’s an old saying that “Do not bite more than you can chew”. So, any type of exertion or over-training will just toil your

56 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

body with fatigue hell. This may cause unnecessary injuries like painful cramps, ligament tears, and even fractures if you accidentally have a bad fall during an intense sprint. And there isn’t a need to tell you that an injury can ruin your chances of participation in half marathon, let alone win it.

Discipline your diet

Eat a balanced diet of proteins and carbohydrates.

Avoid fatty and oily foods at all costs. Keep yourself hydrated at all times when you are training and even during your half marathon run. As per your activity level, you may also go for a healthy supplement stack; which includes: Whey Isolate (High protein with less carb) along with Glutamine (optional) and Fish oil.

You can add five gm Creatine pre workout if you require extra energy (optional).

The dosage for all the above stack will depend on your body type and needs. For a person with an average height of around 170 cm with an average weight of around 85 kg, following can be the dosage: • Whey Isolate: twice a day; one scoop post workout and one scoop early morning with water.

• Glutamine: Five gm post workout mixed along with protein in water and next five gm at bed time in the water.

• Fish Oil: Two capsules a day, post-meal; one cap after your breakfast and lunch each respectively. *Note: Please consult your doctor/dietitian/trainer for your personal diet chart or supplement dosage and advice on any specific questions you might have regarding your training.

A half marathon is a fun event and gives you a great feeling when you complete it, even if you are not one of the winners. It is a great confidence booster and can be an awesome motivator for a lot of people who might have cared less about fitness before this event. So, forget about winning or losing. It’s all about participation, fitness awareness and the spirit of sportsmanship.

Go...Run...Enjoy!!

(Source: www.healthkart.com)

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Pearls of Wisdom

A Meditator’s Diet

For a right diet the first thing to remember is that it should not create excitement, it should not be intoxicating and it should not be heavy. After eating rightly you should not feel heaviness and drowsiness. But perhaps all of us feel heaviness and drowsiness after our meals, then we should know that we are eating wrongly

M

an is the only species whose diet is not predictable. The diet of all other animals is certain. Their basic physical needs and their nature decides what they should eat and what they should not; how much they should eat, how much they should not; when they should eat and when they should stop. But man is absolutely unpredictable, he is absolutely uncertain. Neither his nature tells him what he should eat, nor his awareness tells him how much he should eat, nor his understanding decides when he should stop eating.

As none of these qualities of man are predictable the life of man has gone in some very uncertain directions. But if there is even a little understanding – if man starts living with even a little intelligence, with even a little thoughtfulness, opening his eyes even a little – then it is not at all difficult to change to a right diet. It is very easy; there can be nothing more easy. To understand right diet we can divide it into two parts. The first thing: what should a man eat and what should he not eat?

Man’s body is made of chemical 58 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

If there is even a little understanding-if man starts living with even a little intelligence, with even a little thoughtfulness, opening his eyes even a little-then it is not at all difficult to change to a right diet

elements. The whole process of the body is very chemical. If alcohol is put into a man, then his body will be affected by the chemical-it will become intoxicated, unconscious.

Howsoever healthy, howsoever peaceful the man may be, the chemistry of the intoxication will affect his body. Howsoever saintly a man may be, if he is given poison then he will die.

Any food which takes man into any kind of unconsciousness, any kind of excitement, any kind of extremity, any kind of disturbance, is harmful. And the deepest, ultimate harm is when these things start reaching the navel.

Perhaps you are not aware that in naturopathy all over the world, mud packs, vegetarian food, light food, water-soaked cloth strips and tub baths are used to heal the body. But no naturopath has yet understood the point that the effects of water-soaked cloth strips, mud packs, or tub baths, on the body are not so much because of their special qualities but because of how they affect the navel centre. And the navel centre then affects the rest of the body. All these things-the mud, the water, the tub bath-affect the dormant energy in the navel centre and when this energy arises, health starts arising in the person’s life.

If the navel centre is mistreated, if a wrong diet, wrong food is used, then slowly, slowly the navel centre becomes dormant and its energy becomes weaker. Slowly, slowly that center starts falling asleep. Finally it almost goes to sleep. Then we don’t even notice it as any centre.

Then we notice only two centres: one is the brain where thoughts are constantly moving, and the other is a little bit of the heart where emotions are moving. Deeper than this we have no contact with anything.

So, the lighter the food is, the less it creates heaviness on the body, the more valuable and significant it will be for the beginning of your inner journey.

For a right diet the first thing to remember is that it should not create excitement, it should not

be intoxicating, it should not be heavy. After eating rightly you should not feel heaviness and drowsiness. But perhaps all of us feel heaviness and drowsiness after our meals-then we should know that we are eating wrongly.

Some people get sick because they do not get enough food and some people get sick because they get too much food. Some people die of hunger and some people die of overeating. And the number of people dying of overeating has always been more than the people dying of hunger. Very few people die of hunger. Even if a man wants to remain hungry there is no possibility of him dying for at least three months. Any person can live without food for three months. But if a man overeats for three months then there is no possibility of his survival.

Our wrong attitudes towards food are becoming dangerous for us. They are proving to be very costly. They have taken us to a point where we are somehow just alive. Our food does not seem to create health in us, it seems to create sickness. It is a surprising situation when food starts making us sick. It is as if the sun rising in the morning creates darkness. This would be an equally surprising and strange thing to happen. But all the physicians in the world are of the opinion that most of the diseases of man are because of his wrong diet.

So the first thing is that every person should be very aware and conscious about his eating. And I am saying this especially for the meditator. It is necessary for a meditator to remain aware what he eats, how much he eats, and what its effects are on his body.

If a man experiments for a few months with awareness, he will certainly find out which is the right food for him, which food gives him tranquillity, peace and health. There are no real difficulties but because we do not pay any attention to food, we are never able to discover the right food.

Osho, The Inner Journey, Talk #3 (Source: www.osho.com)

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Bollywood Biz

s r o t c n A w o r i e h t m r o f r e p who s t n stu Ajay Devgan Ajay Devgan is one of the most unconventional leading men in Bollywood. Son of veteran stunt choreographer Veeru Devgan, Ajay was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a stuntman. However, he made his debut with Phool aur Kaante, which became a blockbuster hit and cemented his status as a bonafide star. The movie is best remembered for its opening scene, where Ajay performed a split while balancing between two motorcycles, a stunt he repeated for Golmaal in 2006.

Throughout the 80s and the 90s, Ajay Devgan became popular for performing death defying stunts in his movies, and earned the respect of fans and filmmakers alike. Even today, Ajay is seen performing his own stunts in his latest blockbuster Shivaay, shot in the icy peaks of Bulgaria.

60 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

Movie stars are known for their looks and acting chops. Some, however, go above and beyond their calling and put their life at risk to perform their own stunts. When an actor performs without a stunt double, it not only looks much more authentic on screen, it gives them a cult status as an action star. This edition, Corporate Citizen presents actors that set the silver screen on fire by performing their own stunts

By Neeraj Varty

Akshay Kumar Akshay Kumar is the first actor that comes to mind when it comes to Bollywood stars doing their own stunts. With a black belt in taekwondo, Akshay has always been an adrenaline addict and performs all the stunts for his movies. In fact, his breakout role in the 1992 action film Khaladi was hailed for the high octane stunts done solely by him. All through, the 1990’s Akshay’s signature became action movies with death defying stunts which earned him the sobriquet ‘Jackie Chan of Bollywood’. Even now, at age 49, the superstar doesn’t shy away from doing his own stunts. That’s the hallmark of a true action legend!

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra has achieved international stardom in the last few years. One of the reasons for her popularity is that she performs all her stunts in the FBI thriller Quantico.

Back home too, Priyanka has done her own stunts for Mary Kom as well as Jai Gangaajal. Looks like she is reinventing herself as an action heroine. From Miss World to action star – PC has come a long way.

Kamal Hassan Before Aamir Khan introduced method acting to the masses, Kamal Hassan was living his roles to the hilt. This South Indian superstar would so embody the role he was playing, that he would refuse to let stuntmen do his stunts and insist on performing them himself. Once, in a conversation with none other than Jackie Chan, when asked by the legend how many bones he broke while doing stunts, Kamal Hassan replied 33 and counting.

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Mobile apps

Paytm

Best Apps to help you get through

Demonetisation woes Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dealt a surgical strike on Black Money, but it has come with a cost. The common man has been inconvenienced to a large degree due to the long queues at ATMs and banks. With a view to ease the transition, Corporate Citizen brings you the best apps and services to help deal with demonetisation woes

By Neeraj Varty

62 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

With markets facing an acute shortage of cash, vendors are increasingly adopting Paytm to accept payments. Users just need to add cash into their Paytm wallets using debit or credit card, and pay anyone from your vegetable vendor to restaurants using a generated code.

You can also pay your mobile, electricity and gas bills using the app.

Since the ban on `500 and `1000 notes, Paytm has been witnessing over seven million transactions worth `120 crore a day, helping it cross $5 billion in transactions.

Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister himself has requested people to share their demonetisation experience and feedback using the official Narendra Modi app. This will give the government an idea of real time situations in your area, regarding length of queues for ATMs and co-operation of banks in helping you exchange your old notes. You can also make your voice heard in the live survey that the prime minister is conducting regarding the public’s opinion on the implementation of the demonetisation exercise.

CashnoCash

CashnoCash is a website that went live on 14 November, and is designed exclusively to help you deal with the demonetisation crisis. You can go to the website, and either let the site pick your location or simply enter a PIN code to lookup for ATM/ banks in that particular area. The list of banks will appear with an icon on the left side against each bank showing whether there is a long wait time, queue or cash availability.

On choosing a specific bank, it also lets you update the current status such as if there is cash, long queue or availability, accordingly. You can also create an alert by keying in your email ID or notifications about cashpoints in your vicinity.

Walnut

Walnut tracks the ATM usage of its over 1.8 million users and the app will prompt its users on every ATM visit to key in details on the status of the queue.

The information can also be shared with fellow users on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

So, ATMs with a short queue are denoted by a green pin, a long queue by an orange pin and a no cash or unknown ATM by a grey pin. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for ideas, discussions and MoUs that emanated at the recent National Convention on Innovations in Green Highways, for building highways in ecologically sensitive areas and wildlife corridors

Corporate Citizen slaps at the denial of human rights to tea workers in Assam. India is the world’s second largest producer of tea and Assam produces almost half of its tea

Key speaker, Yogesh Dubey, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Forest Management, proposed a list of practical initiatives for effectively building green highways, suggesting that the National Green Highway Mission (NGHM) collaborates with other institutes for research and training in construction of ‘green highways’. He urged the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to build test areas across various corridors and depute people like beat guards and forest rangers at specific areas to enable research, training and sensitising of the local community.

The NGHM inked several pacts-one with ITC for undertaking plantation, management and sustainable harvesting activities along national highways (NHs), other with the Yes Bank for funding the plantations and another with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) on technical collaboration for fostering research and innovation. An official statement said, “NGHM will also sign MoUs with JK Papers for plantation, management and sustainable harvesting activities, with International Network For Bamboo & Rattan (INBAR) for promoting bamboo based applications across Green Highways and with World Bank for strengthening Green Highways Programme.” ITC is collaborating with the NHAI in Andhra Pradesh. ITC will develop eco-friendly NHs through tree plantation drive. NGHM was set up to facilitate plantation in accordance with the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2015. ITC’s Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division will also start a project for tree plantation on NH stretches in Andhra Pradesh (AP). Two stretches have been identified for the pilot run, covering about 264 km. The 114-km stretch on NH 40 from Kurnool to Kadapa has green area of 100 hectares and the 149 km stretch on NH 44 from Hyderabad to Bengaluru has around 100 hectares. User rights for plantation, management and sustainable harvesting along these stretches will be given to ITC for 20 years. Sanjay Singh, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division, said: “ITC’s experience in greening over 243,000 hectares will enable us to contribute meaningfully. This collaboration will significantly augment the country’s green cover, besides creating sustainable livelihoods for rural and marginalised communities.” Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, said, “The current pollution levels in Delhi are an indicator of how we have erroneously adopted the European industrial model, abandoning our very own Indian Ayurvedic tradition.”

Recent report of World Bank’s internal probe highlights the run down condition of tea workers. The internal investigations of World Bank have revealed serious labour rights abuses on tea plantations financed by it in Assam. The tea sector is India’s largest private sector employer, employing over one million people in Assam alone. Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL) is the second largest tea producer and supplier of India and has 30,000 permanent workers in 25 plantations in Assam and West Bengal. In the early 2000s, the industry was in crisis with several estates shutting down when Tata Global Beverages (TGB) turned to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank’s private sector investment arm for help and a new company-APPL- was formed in 2006 to run 24 plantations. Through the IFC, the World Bank invested $7.8m (£6.3m) in 2009 to take a 20 per cent stake in APPL to support attempt of making tea workers part-owners of the estates where they work to preserve jobs and raise standards.

But, findings of a two year investigation by the internal auditor reveals that the IFC has failed on almost every count. The World Bank findings point out several labour rights denials like deprivation of maternity benefits and basic sanitation rights. This has prompted foreign brands like Tetley’s, Twinings, Liptons, PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea, which buy from Indian tea estates to improve the conditions. The probe reveals low wages and poor living and working conditions of 155,000 people on the APPL estates have resulted in high levels of malnutrition and ill health.

In February 2013, three local NGOs complained to the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) and the CAO had found that it isn’t clear if these jobs offer a way out of poverty or are even adequate for the workers to be healthy and adequately nourished.

The CAO had also observed that no corrective steps were taken to curb serious lapses in use of pesticides, “due to which workers are exposed to extremely hazardous chemicals.” Workers’ rights to unionise and push their grievances were not met, enough steps to ensure child labour were not taken, and workers’ complaints that they were being pushed into the equity scheme were also not addressed. The companies, however, say they commissioned an independent inquiry into living and working conditions on the APPL estates and to address the problems in 2014.

Now they are likely to engage an independent organisation to audit the improvements and assess its effectiveness.

(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar) December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 63

astroturf SAGITTARIUS

Aries

Mar 21- April 20 Good to invest in high tech equipment. Online activities boost the love life from the 7th onwards. Singles find good fortune on the online dating and social media sites. Love has been good for many months now, but becomes especially so from the 7th onwards.”

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 Friends seems financially supportive. Online activities boost earnings. It will be good to be involved with groups and organisations. Good to invest in high tech equipment. Online activities boost the love life.

Singles find good fortune on the online dating and social media sites. Love will be good.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 Very good for getting involved in disciplined health regimes or for initiating these things. It is also an excellent period for job seekers and for those who employ others. There is good fortune. The career is busy and successful this month, and it will be even more successful in the coming months. Friends will come forth to help you.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 Social connections are important financially. This is a time when you learn that wealth of friendships is an important form of wealth. It’s not so much about how much you have, but about who you know and how others feel about you. Health needs serious attention. Enjoy yourself, but allow more time for rest. If you’re tired take a nap. Avoid worry and anxiety that can create heart problems.

(www.dollymanghat.com)

Fortune favours the bold and the lucky

Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Manghat, our renowned Astrological expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 Financial judgement is sound and conservative. Earnings are good but they happen with delays. Now is the time to adapt to situations as best you can.

Let others have their own way, so long as it isn’t destructive.

If you’re looking for a job this is a good period for you, and there are many opportunities out there. The love life becomes more delicate after the 21st. You and the beloved need to work harder on the relationship. You seem in disagreement. The focus this month is still on home, family and emotional wellness.

But you can advance your career through social means. Attend or host the right parties.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Even the challenges of life are meant to be enjoyed. And this is a period where you explore this dimension. Your financial planet is good. Money is earned through hard work now. It not only comes from your present job, but from other side jobs or through overtime opportunities that come. There is good family support during that period.

Health is much improved.

64 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 Dreams of past experiences happen. Nature forces you to confront these things from your present perspective and, through this, healing happens. Finances do tend to be good right now.

Love problems can impact on the health. Love seems basically happy and this is a good health signal. Until the 20th you’re not too serious about love; you just want fun and this is what you’re attracting. You gravitate to spiritual types and to health professionals. There is more socialising at the work place.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 You’re in an excellent time.

The best time for starting new things. Next month will also be excellent. You’re still in a yearly financial peak. Family expenses seem unusually high and are forcing financial changes. There is career success during that period. A pause in the career and outer activities is called for this period. (This happens anyway in most of the world as the holiday season is in full sway.)

Then will come a change in your career direction. It is an excellent period for students and they should do well in their studies.

Nov 23 - Dec 22 You’re still very much in a happy period. There is prosperity happening. Earnings will increase and financial windfalls happen. Opportunities come from all directions. Bosses can make demands that are outside the norm. Career goals will be attained. ising.

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20 Happy month ahead. You’re in a yearly personal pleasure peak. Happy job opportunities to you. Your finances are still under review at the moment. A destructive path will create pain and anguish once the initial pleasure wears off. Health and energy are excellent now. You can achieve whatever you desire.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19 Friends like to play matchmaker too. Health is much improved.

Earnings get stabilised now. You end your year as you began it – on a spiritual note. This is a time for prayer and reflection. A time to review the past year, make corrections and set goals for the future. Your own personal new year is not far off. .

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20 You’re willing to put in the work and this tends to success (love is high on your agenda until the 3rd). Career is still going strong.

You’re very serious about it and are putting in the effort required.

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CORPORATE CULTURE

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank on women in leadership and gender diversity

INTERVIEW

An in-depth interview with Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director India with Kingston Technology and Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR, at Jindal Steel & Power

Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR

UNFLINCHING SUPPORT

December 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

In chilling times

The surgical strike on black money in India and Donald Trump as President Elect of the USA has brought about a sense of insecurity in several ways

T

he last two weeks have seen more drama played out on the national and global stage than one has seen in a long time. For me, it all started the evening before the US Presidential polls, when I had just returned to Pune after a two week business trip to the US and UK and a short four day break in Iceland.

Accepting an urgent request to do a live TV panel for a television channel to talk about the outlook for the US elections, I was all wired up at my home with the crew from the Bombay Outdoor Broadcasting unit in attendance at 8.00 pm. One is used to a minor delay in starting any TV interview, but 20 minutes after the appointed time, I called up the channel’s editor only to be told “Sorry Sir the Prime Minister is speaking to the nation”.

The “surgical strike” on black money definitely has very good intentions and may be one step that redefines the economic future of our country, but in the short term, the minimal time given for any preparations in the banking sector has caused substantial distress to the common man with serpentine lines in from of ATMs and banks all over the country. The political opponents of the move have chosen to hit out at the Government in predictable ways with firebrands like Mamata Bannerjee and Arvind Kejriwal spewing venom in the streets while seasoned debaters like Anand Sharma and Sitaram Yechuri choose to make sarcastic

comments in both Houses of Parliament. Some of us who have eschewed the use of cash many years ago, had hardly a few high denomination notes to change at the Bank but the cash economy emerges at multiple levels of transactions in the country and it will probably take 50 days and more for normalcy to be restored.

In recent articles, columnists Swaminathan Aiyar and Amit Varma have pointed out many holes in the demonetisation approach. Calling the move “a blunder in every imaginable way”, Varma lists four reasons why black money does not really get addressed—only six per cent of such money is kept in the form of cash, new notes which are on the way will only create a new conversion black market, the stocks of black money may be addressed but not the flow and over six hundred million Indians without bank

All this begs the question that if our two largest markets, the US and UK, close their doors on immigrants, do we have the ability to create enough domestic jobs

66 / Corporate Citizen / December 16-31, 2016

accounts will now be queuing up to access their own money. Aiyar points out the “carnage occurring in the small finance sector”, arguing that in a country where 98 per cent of the hundred million shopkeepers deal in cash, the low business and lack of notes will create a payment crisis which would hit the NBFCs first and eventually the entire financial system. For many of us, who have believed in the intentions and the action orientation of PM Modi and team, this is a time of concern as we watch the queue drama play out on our television screens and hope that matters improve across the country soon!

On the global arena, the clearly unexpected election of Donald Trump to the highest office in the US and possibly the world left the two coasts of that country reeling in disbelief and shock. From protestors on the streets holding “Not my President” placards to the cast of the runaway Broadway hit “Hamilton” appealing to VP elect Pence to sustain a safe and equal America for all Americans, the concern and in some cases the despair of many in that country raises legitimate concerns on safety for every inhabitant of the US who is not a white Anglo Saxon. In India, some bold voices are pointing to the fact that the rhetoric of politicians is rarely carried forward in the acts of the elected after they assume office, but the early appointees to the new

administration have certainly done little so far to assuage many early concerns. It has been quite a while since the President, Congress, Senate, State Governors and even a majority of the Supreme Court bench have all belonged to the same party and the world will watch with bated breath the developments in the US in addition to shivering over the ramifications of BREXIT. In our own tech industry, which prides itself on our first generation of America goers settling down in that country and helping build some of the best software companies and the next generation working on dual shore models and plugging major gaps in skills availability in the USA, random statements like the recent one which complained about too many Asians in Silicon Valley will send sparks of righteous indignation flying from people are already American citizens and shivers down the spine of those who want to get that status one day.

All this begs the question that if our two largest markets, the US and UK close their doors on immigrants, do we have the ability to create enough domestic jobs?

Clearly the world is going to see a lot of tensions in play in 2017.

Hopefully it will at least be a happy new year for all the sufferers.

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect & Social Venture Partners, Pune.

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