Volume2 issue 24 for website by Corporate Citizen

BUDGET 2017 ANALYSIS AND OPINIONs FROM EXPERTS AND CORPORATE LEADERS

Volume 2, Issue No. 24 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Corporate stalwarts Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw

Healing the world Guest Talk

Montek Singh Ahluwalia on the role of MNCs in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world

Loved & Married Too

Dr Sameer Thukral & Dr Aliya Sayed on mutual trust

Breaking the mould

Raveena Tandon on challenges facing women entrepreneurs

March 1-15, 2017 / `50

2 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

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Diverse and comprehensive

I’m an avid reader of Corporate Citizen. Indeed very impressed with the coverage, which is diverse and comprehensive, for existing and potential readers who are primarily in the corporate sector. Of course, professionals from all walks of life including entrepreneurs would gain much from the newsletter. Kudos to the editorial team! —G Udayakumar, CEO, CORE MIND

Good guide for young corporate managers

I recently went through some of the issues of Corporate Citizen. These are remarkably wonderful in terms of content, layout, coverage and photography. The articles are in-depth, positive and informative. Very rarely have I come across a magazine, which has high value in terms of corporate, social and personal values. Hence, it is a good guide for young corporate managers. —Rajendra Mahulkar, Entrepreneur

In-depth feature on BITS Pilani

The feature on Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani in the 22nd issue of Corporate Citizen, is marvellous and exhaustive. The interview with the Director is self-explanatory. I do not remember any such vast coverage of BITS in media, to my knowledge, without an advertorial. Heartiest congratulations. —Yash Goyal, Jaipur

Keep it cool

Browsing through the magazines at a newsstand recently, I came across the Corporate Citizen magazine and picked it out of curiosity. Reading through the featured articles and columns, I found them interesting in their own way. Expected hard-core business stuff, but to my surprise, the articles are good and inspiring read for everyone. Had expected business related stories on corporate world, but to my surprise it was cool side of business as you promise. —Shilpa Ghodke, MBA student

Crisp for eyes

I aspire to start my career as a graphic designer, for that reason, I have subscribed to various glossy international magazines. While discovering the latest design and layout global trends, I find Indian magazines are improving lately. Reading the Corporate Citizen issues over the last 12 months, I have observed that its design and layout is quite crisp for eyes-your attempt

carrying the tradition forward I loved reading the Dynamic Duo story featuring Mr and Mrs Parag Satpute, in the 22nd issue dated Feb 1-15th 2017. It's interesting to see that such an accomplished person lives such a grounded and humble life. It gives a good lesson that no matter how big you become in life, you should never forget your roots. There are other business magazines which focus on corporate leaders but none of them present the human, relatable side of these stalwarts in the way Corporate Citizen does. In a crowded marketplace of magazines, Corporate Citizen does well to set itself apart from the rest. I congratulate the team behind the magazine and wish them all the best in carrying this tradition forward. I shall eagerly look forward to the next issue of CC. Keep up the good work.

-Hrishikesh Ganore

to balance the content (text and pics) is laudable. Give it some more and you have reached. —Samarth Patil, Design Student

Inspiring DUOS

Congratulations to your team for delivering fortnightly dose of corporate updates. I love reading anything and everything I come across. From all the other magazines in Indian market, I thought, not one more when I saw Corporate Citizen. But it is different and what I loved most is its simplicity and the way you present stories of inspiring Dynamic Duos in every issue. These couples are not so famous yet, reading their stories inspire me. Especially their tips on work-life balance-very knowledgeable. Your attempt to cover life stories of people coming from all walks of life, are treasure pieces. —Zainab Doshi, Sun Technologies

Wonder how corporate giants create legacy

My friend introduced me to Corporate Citizen

magazine and I am grateful that he did so. Though I do not belong to the corporate sector like my friend, I like to read about the corporate world. I always wonder how corporate giants create legacy, what is required to do so and how to maintain it successfully. Corporate Citizen answers these questions. —R Ranganathan, SME owner

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 new thoughts you may have, to enhance the content quality of our magazine, are 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

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Guest Talk Montek Singh Ahluwalia

It is very important to keep an open mind 4 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

ou should keep your mind open on all important issues and weigh them because it is not very obvious what the answers are and you know the answers also change over time and with circumstances. Please keep in mind that there is no one correct answer. I remember, as a student, there used to be a joke, which was frequently told before the examination – that, in an examination, one student raised his hand and said to the invigilator, ‘Sir, I think there has been a mistake, because this is last year’s question paper.’ He was told, ‘My dear boy, the questions are always the same, it is the answers that change’. That was a joke at that time but as I get older, I realise that perceptions change over time and therefore it is very important to keep an open mind. My subject for this talk is, ‘Multinational Corporations: Are they Saviours or Saboteurs?’ The short answer is they are neither. It is quite wrong to treat them as saviours; I don’t think MNCs by themselves will solve problems. I think it is also wrong to call them saboteurs. Now having said that, I am very aware that in the political sector, both the extreme left and the extreme right, are very anti-MNCs. But I think you need to take a balanced view and look at the issue in that perspective. And my view is - the impact of a Multinational Corporation, depends on where it is or period in which it operates. For example, historically, there is no doubt that The East India Company was a highly exploitative multinational corporation. It wasn’t simply engaged in competitive trading - it was actually using the political/military power of the colonial rulers to essentially extract as much surplus as it could. So there is no question that the impact of the multinational was negative of course. That is not only true of India’s experience; it’s true of China, when, in the mid-19th century, you had opium wars and Europeans forcibly opened up China to trade for political control. It is also true in Latin America, in the 1950s-1960s. United Fruit Company single-handedly but on the strength of American political power controlled small economy. Now in that environment there is simply no question that the multinationals are an extension of the

colonial power. However, that is not the environment they are in today. In an environment where nations are sovereign and can protect their sovereignty, multinationals compete in markets not just with themselves but also with Indian companies. Furthermore, the kind of world you want is where Indian companies begin to compete with multinationals and indeed go abroad to compete in foreign markets. Quite honestly, the only real sign that we succeed is if in competition we can beat the MNC. Baba Ramdev among the many things he does, has promoted Patanjali and is giving a stiff fight to multinationals. I applaud that, for it is the right approach. There are many others who are doing that - makers of Indian snack foods which are becoming quite popular, thanks to globalisation of taste. I mean there are one million Indians in America and real test of competitive success would be more and more of them start producing on their table, Indian food products. That way our companies can also be multinational. But the other side of coin is we should be quite willing to have multinationals coming. Now look at it from the point of view of trade policy. ‘Are you in favour of allowing reasonably free import? Now if you are, then it doesn’t make sense to say to the multinational that, look you can import, you can send the products here but don’t make it here.’ In fact the ‘Make in India’ campaign, when it was started, what the Prime Minister was saying that, ‘Look I invite all the foreign companies to make in India; the idea was - why just importing, why can’t we make in India?’ So let’s be very clear about it this.

it is very important to recognise that we are living in a global economy; we cannot and should not shut the door. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao once said in Singapore, that Chinese history shows that whenever China closed itself off, it did poorly... It is very important to recognise that we are living in a global economy; we cannot and should not shut the door. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao once said in Singapore, that Chinese history shows that whenever China closed itself off, it did poorly and when China opened up, it did well. Recently, President Xi Jinping in Davos said, more or less the same thing; he said ‘It is a bad idea. You can always shut your doors and windows and think you have kept the wind and the rain out, but you also keep the light out’. That is the fundamental point - that an economy must be open, it must import, and it must export. Certainly, our experience with the opening up of economy, during 80s-90s—a policy that has been continued by several different governments of all political complexions. That process of opening up has undoubtedly been favoured. In terms of overall economic growth of the country and even in reduction in poverty, the experience has been very good, so it follows that if you don’t have an open economy, you must encourage Indian companies to go abroad and compete and must encourage foreign companies to come in. I will just remind you of the experience we have in the automotive sector. Way back when I was a student, there were only two cars you

could buy in the country - the Ambassador and the Padmini. Both produced by Indian companies, they did not change for 30-40 years. The change in the automotive sector came when Maruti as a public sector company was setup and it brought in Suzuki. The clear decision was taken that it is not possible to produce a good car without bringing in technology, because the original idea was to produce an indigenous car. They brought in Suzuki and overtime, Suzuki was interested in increasing its own equity and internationally we had opened up economy by the 90s. More and more automotive companies from outside came and since then completely indigenous design of an automobile by the Tata’s came in - they even export some. I think we are going for a success in an open environment and that means we also have to allow multinationals to operate. (Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a stalwart economist and the former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. This piece comprises excerpts of his speech (through video) at the recently held 7th Annual National Conclave of Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (Indian Student Parliament) in MIT College, Pune. The topic was Multinational Corporations: Are they Saviours or Saboteurs?) March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 20

Cover story

Corporate Stalwarts

Healing the world In conversation with the dynamic woman, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Country Head, Biocon, about her inspiring personal and professional journey leading a global biopharmaceutical enterprise on a mission to heal the world

09 COLLYWOOD

Chatpata Chatter from the corporate world 13 corporate life Ways to reprogramme several aspects of yourself to turn into a better you 6 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Volume 2 Issue No. 24 March 1-15, 2017 www.corporatecitizen.in

14 WAX ELOQUENT What our corporate leaders say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world 16 THE TAX MAN COMETH-28 Former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, S K Jha on what’s different in this year’s Budget? What’s in it for the common citizen? All these and more, unravelled...

28 passion Architect-Painter, Iqbal Chaney’s journey of pushing boundariesthose of the heart and the art

30 Cii marketing conference Keynote speech of Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond Ltd, at recently concluded Confederation of Indian Industry-Marketing Conference 34 budget 2017 - reactions What industry, corporate, educationists and sector-heads had to say on the Budget 2017

Corporate Assessment Know how women are working overtime to take their startups to the pinnacle of success. Challenges they face and how they overcome them 44 All aboard abroad! Swaminathan Iyer’s experience on working in the land of Kangaroos 46 Startup Story How Bengaluru based Giftxoxo, an online gift portal aspires to muscle itself up in the gifting business with insights on their business model and journey since inception 48 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Neha Upadhyay shares her experience of campus placement with Corporate Citizen

BUDGET 2017

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 7

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

58 50 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Dentists and professionals Dr Sameer Thukral and Dr Aliya Sayed on their remarkable journey together

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur / Sharmila Chand Bengaluru Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra

58 PEARLS OF WISDOM Dada J P Vaswani on how to break free from the shackles that bind you

Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560

60 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Corporate Citizen brings the best book-to-movie adaptations in Bollywood 62 LAST WORD Ganesh Natarajan on the changing face of startup India

Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty

52 SURVEY Economic Opportunities and Challenges for 2017 56 health Zuzana from California encourages other women to be fit and healthy

Assistant Editor Prasannakumar Keskar

Creative Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar

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 / March 1-15, 2017

On Cover Page Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Cover Page Pic Courtesy-Biocon Photographers Yusuf Khan 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

‘The Met,’ New York honours Nita Ambani

Nita Ambani, becomes the first South Asian to be honoured by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York for her philanthropic work in the areas of education, sports, healthcare, rural transformation, urban renewal, disaster response, women’s empowerment and promotion of the arts. The Met, recognised as one of the most iconic museums in the world, is currently located at three celebrated sites of New York -The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters -and houses over 5,000 years of art from around the world. The Met was impressed by the diversity and scale of the work carried out by the founder and chairperson, Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani. The direction she gives the foundation has helped it to focus its work on sustainable urban and rural transformation as well as healthcare, education, grassroots development through sport, and women’s empowerment, according to a statement. The foundation supports Indian art and aims to take it across the globe. It has benefited over 10 million Indians, touching the lives of individuals across over 10,500 urban and rural areas. Nita Ambani said, “I am delighted and humbled by this honour for our work at Reliance Foundation. It is truly gratifying that our efforts, especially in education, sports, health and rural transformation are bringing smiles to millions of people. This recognition from a distinguished global institution like The Met is a tribute to our commitment towards sustainable development and social empowerment, and will inspire each one of us at Reliance Foundation to constantly do the best to make the world a better place for the next generation.” Nita Ambani’s work in developing sports in India was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which elected her as its first Indian woman member, and she is the only member from India in the IOC.

Anil Misra, new CHRO of Magicbricks Anil Kumar Misra has joined the Noida headquartered Magicbricks as its CHRO. Misra had recently quit Fidelity National Financial, where he was vice president & chief human resources officer. Getting back into the online business domain, after having worked with Just Dial for about two years earlier, Misra is the first ever CHRO at Magicbricks. Its head-HR, Anupama Beri continues while Misra joins in. “The new role has been created in line with the company’s ambitious plans in terms of business revenues and their presence in the market,” reports said, quoting Misra. Misra brings in 13 years of experience across industries and companies including Just Dial, Tesco, Patni Computer Systems and the Oberoi Group of Hotels in the past. A science graduate and a doctorate in performance management from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Misra will be responsible for the entire HR processes in addition to leading the creation of an excellence centre for development of capability and leadership in the company. March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood Birla prize for NCL scientist

The B M Birla Science Prize for Chemistry 2015 award was recently given to Rahul Banerjee, a scientist from CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), for developing a methodology of synthesising porous covalent organic frameworks with exceptional chemical stability for gas storage and proton conduction. This is a major breakthrough in porous material research, as these materials have the porosity and crystallinity of metal organic frameworks and also exceptional chemical stability of traditional porous zeolites or carbons. The award has been instituted by BM Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad. Banerjee joined CSIR-NCL’s Physical and Materials Chemistry Division in 2008 after completing his post-doctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has published more than 120 research papers in international journals, and has many citations to his credit. Banerjee is also the recipient of the Humboldt Research Fellowship 2016, and the Thomson Reuters Research Excellence-India Citation Award 2015.

Major reshuffle at Tata Motors

Tata Motors Ltd’s Managing Director and chief executive, Guenter Butschek recently announced new roles and responsibilities for its top brass. The exercise is aimed at reducing the number of management layers to speed up decisions. The new structure, which allocates roles based on product lines, will be effective very soon, and reduce the layers to five from the current 14. The former chief executive at the Airbus Group SA, who completed a year at the Tata group flagship recently, has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of a company that has seen domestic passenger car sales and market share roughly halve in the past two years, with profit boosted mainly by its UK unit, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc. Girish Wagh, in-charge of project planning and programme management in the passenger vehicle (PV) business unit will head the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (CV) business. Ramki Ramakrishnan, vice-president for the CV business, will head the customer care and after-sales services for CVs. Anil Sinha, head of manufacturing operations for passenger cars, will lead the quality function of the company’s CV business, sources said. The top two levels (L1 and L2) of managers will be responsible for execution of strategies formulated by an executive panel, comprising the managing director, function and business heads. Tata Motors has picked close to 120 high performers for the L1 and L2 positions.

Sanjiv Puri elevated to CEO of ITC

PepsiCo’s Kaul now Ola’s COO Ola has announced the appointment of PepsiCo’s Vishal Kaul as its chief operating officer (COO) replacing Pranay Jivrajka, the taxi app’s first employee. Jivrajka has been appointed as a founding partner, and will continue to work closely with Ola’s co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, the company said. Kaul will head Ola’s operations and expand its reach. The mobility opportunity is massive with over 300 million trips happening every single day in urban India. Ola’s operations are currently spread across 100 cities. “I am delighted to join Ola and be part of solving mobility needs,” said Kaul, on his appointment.

10 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Sanjiv Puri was appointed as the chief operating officer (COO) after leading the FMCG business of the conglomerate as President from 2014. Diversified group ITC is taking steps to elevate its COO Sanjiv Puri as chief executive officer and plans to split the post of executive chairman and CEO after incumbent Y C Deveshwar stepped aside earlier this year. In a regulatory filing, ITC has said that its nomination and compensation committee at its meeting took up the matter splitting up the role of the executive chairman of the company between chairman and chief executive officer in the month of February. Puri joined the company in 1986. Deveshwar steps aside as executive chairman and CEO, after two decades of holding the posts. He is now a non-executive director and chairman of the company for a period of three years.

Mphasis gets new CEO as Blackstone rejigs ops

Dev Bajpai on HUL board

Hindustan Unilever appointed Dev Bajpai as a director on the board of the company. Bajpai (51) was appointed executive director (legal) and company secretary and as a member of the management committee of the company in May 2010 and took on additional responsibility of corporate affairs in 2012. Prior to joining HUL, Bajpai has worked in Maruti Udyog, Marico, The Indian Hotels and ICICI Venture Funds Management.

Nitin Rakesh takes charge as Mphasis CEO from Ganesh Ayyar with private equity giant Blackstone Group, the new owner of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services provider, rejigging operations to leapfrog the digital transformation story in its mainstay US market. Rakesh stepped down as CEO of Nasdaq-listed Syntel abruptly in November after being at the helm for two and half years. He, who was instrumental in driving Syntel’s IT automation platform SyntBots to offset cost pressure in the traditional business, has held multiple roles including president of Americas and head of its North American operations. “The combination of Nitin’s professional track record as CEO of a US-listed, BFSI-focused IT services company and personal qualities of creativity and collaboration is ideal to lead Mphasis in its next phase of growth,” said Amit Dixit, director of Mphasis and co-head of Blackstone Private Equity in India. Last year, the world’s largest private equity firm Blackstone Group had announced a $1.1-billion deal to acquire Hewlett Packard’s 60.5 percent stake in Mphasis, factoring in the payout to minority shareholders. Blackstone Group concluded the acquisition of Mphasis for $825 million after the open offer to public shareholders fizzled out. Ayyar, who has been CEO since 2009, had been in office for eight years before his contract came up for renewal in January.

Kurien relinquishes Wipro post

Serving Wipro for two decades, vice-chairman T K Kurien calls it quits with the company, after straddling different roles in the $7.5-billion IT firm. He will leave ahead of the end of his current tenure, which ends in March. TK, as he was fondly addressed, served as Wipro CEO for five years before being elevated as its vice-chairman early last year. TK has invested in a few startups in the artificial intelligence (AI) space and in mobile payments startup ToneTag. This is not the first time KT sought to leave the company, but the board asked him to stay with the firm for his full-term. But despite the hard work and despite being the hard taskmaster, everybody in Wipro are of the opinion that Kurien struggled to make

the company grow. Revenue growth was way short of those of its peers. Wipro’s high exposure to the oil & gas industry proved to be a handicap when oil prices slumped. And Kurien couldn’t get other sectors to make up for this loss. Meanwhile, automation and newer technologies like cloud, mobile and AI began to redefine the way IT services were being delivered. And Kurien had to restructure the company to deal with this. Phil Fersht, CEO of IT advisory HfS Research, said Kurien injected a great deal of focus on automation, analytics and digital technologies, overseeing the early days of Holmes (AI platform) development and setting the seeds for the DesignIT investment (Danish design firm acquired for ₹595 crore in 2015) and the smooth succession of Abid (Abidali Neemuchwala) to CEO. Jessie Paul, founder of marketing advisory firm Paul Writer and who was previously chief marketing officer at Wipro, said Kurien put in place processes and operational efficiency in what was seen as a happy-go-lucky business. March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Dr Vijay Bhatkar new VC of Nalanda University Dr Vijay Pandurang Bhatkar, a technocrat who is considered the father of the Indian supercomputer, has been appointed the new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar. President Pranab Mukherjee, in his capacity as visitor to Nalanda University, named Bhatkar for the post. He will hold the office for a three-year period from the date of his appointment as per the Nalanda University Act, Sec. 11(3). Bhatkar, 70, replaces Gopa Sabharwal who resigned last year, followed by the resignation of Chancellor George Yeo, after the dissolution of the Mentor Group which functioned as the governing body of the university. Born on October 11, 1946 in Pune, Bhatkar was educated at IIT, Delhi, Sir Visvesvaraya National

Institute of Technology, Nagpur and MS University, Vadodara. He is known as the architect of India’s initiative in supercomputing, the Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Pune founded in 1988, leading to the development of the first indigenous supercomputer Param 8000 in 1991, followed by Param 10000 in 1998. He has also served as member, Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet at the

Flipkart CEO with fewer sentinels

Centre, and governing board of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, the fourth and third highest civilian honours in India. Established in year 2010 as a Central University, Nalanda University is spread over a 443-acres campus and started offering academic programmes in 2014. It is a dream project of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Shujaat Khan to head Centrum Capital Centrum Capital Ltd hired co-founder and managing director of private equity (PE) fund Blue River Capital, Shujaat Khan to head it. Khan will be managing director and head of the asset management businesses at Centrum. Khan will head strategy, governance, fund raising and investment decisions at the alternative asset business. It plans to raise funds from high net worth individuals and family offices, and institutions in India and abroad. Centrum currently manages a private equity fund—Kalpavriksh— and co-manages real estate funds along with India Property Advisors Ltd (IPAL). “At Centrum, we have a plan of setting up a large alternative asset management platform, bringing current PE funds and new alternative investment 12 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

funds (AIFs) under a single roof. We will launch AIFs for structured credit and distressed debt funds,” Khan said recently. “Global as well as Indian investors have an appetite for investments in Indian alternative assets and we want to use such interest from high net worth individuals, family offices and corporate groups to create an opportunity in pooling all such investment options under one roof,” he added. Prior to co-founding Blue River Capital, Khan was a managing director and investment committee member at ChrysCapital LLC. Earlier, he was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch International, based in Singapore, working on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions across Asia, including India.

Flipkart’s new CEO, Kalyan Krishnamurthy has his task cut out as he is left with just three senior leaders to steer the day-to-day operations after a spate of senior management exits. In all, as many as 12 Flipkart senior management staff have now left the e-commerce firm over the past one year. Two more senior executives, engineering heads Hari Vasudev and Ashish Agrawal have resigned, joining three others who left earlier. In all, as many as 12 Flipkart leaders at the level of senior vice-president, the second-highest executive rank, have now left the company over the past year. Krishnamurthy’s leadership team now comprises newly promoted chief operating officer Nitin Seth, chief technology officer Ravi Garikipati, another engineering head Ravi Krishnaswamy, apart from finance controller Rajnish Baweja. All of the other leadership roles in functions including finance, legal, product and categories at the company are unoccupied, raising questions about Flipkart’s ability to manage its businesses and whether Krishnamurthy will be stretched too thin as CEO. Krishnamurthy directly oversees Flipkart’s retail and advertising businesses and is also steering Ekart, the company’s massive logistics arm (though this is formally under Seth). Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

corporate life Swati Sinha Learning & Development Manager, Centre for Behavioral Excellence Team, Wipro Technologies Limited

Make yourself a better you!

While your core personality cannot be changed, there are ways to reprogramme several aspects of yourself to turn into a better you. Here’s how!

need permission from everyone who is important in your life, having their support will ease the pressure of the daunting changes you are working on.

Tap your potency: To reprogram me yourself, you will need to activate your potency and ‘want’ power - your physical, mental and emotional involvement throughout the process of reprogramming. You can learn to tap into your potency by: a) Defining the reprogramming through repeated personal, positive, present tense statements (that override negative belief and negative thoughts) b) Pinning your new programme on your vision board (where you can see it daily and follow) c) Visualising yourself practicing and succeeding in the new programme (which stimulate the subconscious mind into accepting them as reality, directing behaviour towards achieving the desired goal) and d) Constantly reinforcing your inner voice with positive self-affirmations like “I can…”, “I will…..”, “I am…” and “I choose” which help bring about the new attitude.

4 To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly -Henri L Bergson

Do you believe one cannot change one’s basic personality?

Most experts concur that an innate personality trait cannot be changed. Once a person develops one’s basic personality (between the ages of 3-10 years), natural psychological characteristics do not change much. If that is the case, are self-improvement interventions futile? Should we drop our efforts towards evolving ourselves for the better? The answer is NO! Research shows that even if your core temperament stays the same, you can reprogram and change several aspects about yourself. By modestly changing your beliefs, attitudes, expectations, word preferences, body language and goals, you can reprogram yourself into a new and better you! Self-improvements are crucial changes that determine one’s survival and success in this dynamic world. Any change can be quite challenging, hence needs vision, wisdom and willpower for a desired turn-around.

Here are five essentials that you could use as a compass in your journey to a better you:

Identify the new programme required: Our progress stems from

self-improvement and they in turn begin with self-awareness. Knowing yourself, your habits, your motives, and your values make it easier to identify problem areas that need to be reprogrammed and transformed. Identify the new thoughts or habits required to transform you into a better you. This identification will help choose programmes for the necessary improvement and change.

Seek those vital permissions:

Each of us requires permission and affirmation to change. Even before you embark the journey of reprogramming yourself, give yourself the permission to unlearn, fail, relearn, practice and finally consolidate the desired change. It is equally important to get permission from the significant others in your life who will be affected by your change to succeed in your endeavour. So, tell them what you intend to do and why. While you do not

Take baby steps before giant leaps: Change is often scary. One rea-

son why some do not change even though they want to is fear. Often this fear is unidentified and nebulous, and can act as a strong force in derailing one from initiating the change. Hence, initiate your journey with unintimidating, progressive and minor alterations. This way your mind treats it as a possible program and helps you keep your commitment to change. Reprogram one thing at a time in an environment that feels safe to you. Like Leo Babauta says, “Make it so easy you can’t say no.” If you ever feel unsure or anxious at any juncture, refurbish those thoughts towards a positive shift and regain your goal to reprogram yourself.

Practice skilfully: Reprogramming

oneself for a better personality goes beyond an intellectual comprehension of the concepts. It requires practice: perform, repeatedly, in the face of all obstacles until the new behaviour becomes natural and integrated to the new self. Begin by ascertaining a practice schedule which outlines the essentials like what, how often, when and where. Record meticulously and reward liberally every effort made in the right direction. As for mistakes -- go easy on yourself. Stick to a pace you can sustain. One per cent improvements add up surprisingly fast. So do one per cent declines. Rather than trying to do something amazing from the beginning, start small, practice well and gradually improve.

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 13

wax eloquent

Optimism around India

Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world Long to be in the startup community

I sense the dynamism of India

“I sense the dynamism of India. India has been doing really well and growing really fast. There is a growing market here that is primed for foreign investment as well as domestic investment.”

When I retired at the end of 2012, and looked at a new life, I hit upon investing with the startup community as a new page in my life, leaving big business, crores of rupees, large competitive challenges behind. I really long to be in the startup community and look forward to that day with greater vigour.

Arun Kumar,

Ratan Tata,

Courtesy: http://www.indiawest.com

Courtesy: Times of India

CEO, KPMG India

interim chairman, Tata Sons,

Tech investing in India looks incrementally better “If you are an entrepreneur starting a business today, what’s up for grabs is not just the digital market but the next decade’s $5 trillion Indian economy. With larger and more accessible markets, improving capital efficiency, more sectors of the economy becoming addressable and companies increasingly going after global markets, each year of tech investing in India looks incrementally better.” Ashish Agrawal, VP, Sequoia Capital India Advisors

Formula for my success

“When what you sell is just white in colour, with no price differentiation and no value addition…You are the difference. A lot of the decisions I take are impulsive and intuitive. There is very little point in over analysing.” Anup Rau,

country head, Edleweiss General Insurance Courtesy: Economic Times

14 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Courtesy: Mint

No other way to achieve it but sustainably “I don’t have concerns about market size or whether it will become large or not. It will. The question is, can we do it sustainably or not. And honestly there is no other way to achieve it but sustainably, because unless you’re making money on everything you’re selling, over a period of time as you get larger you lose more money.” Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal Courtesy: http://www.sify.com

Resilient Indian economy “The investors are in a mood to invest. There is a palpable optimism around India and the way this entire demonetisation exercise that happened, has reinforced how strong and resilient the Indian economy is.” Rashesh Shah, chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Financial Services Courtesy: http://www.moneycontrol.com

Startup path to reduce time to market

“As a company you have to be humble enough to know that you won’t create everything. It is about reducing the time to market. We have Start Path where we sponsor investments in very small companies that have interesting ideas.” Martina Hund-Mejean, CFO, Mastercard

Courtesy: Economic Times

More work for Indian IT companies in US

Demographic opportunity

“Between 2010 and 2030, World Bank estimates suggest, the population in the 15-59 age group will increase by more than 200 million in India, while it is expected to decline in many developed countries. India’s young workers could produce more output, consume more goods and catapult the country to the position of an economic powerhouse.”

Make maximum bang for the buck “India has lot of competing demands and one cannot set aside that reality. If money is scarce, then at least we should invest sequentially and intelligently in a way that we can make maximum bang for the buck.” K Sujata Rao, former union health secretary and

“Sure American citizens should and would have priority in getting jobs, but since there is extensive shortage of IT people in the US, this need would create additional work for Indian IT companies and not less.” Shalabh Kumar,

founder, Republican Hindu Coalition Courtesy: Times of India

author of the new book Do We Care Courtesy: https://scroll.in

Jayan Jose Thomas,

associate professor of Economics, IIT-Delhi Courtesy: Mint

Startups are not easy “There are struggles at every stage. The key is to take it one milestone at a time. For me, the primary motivation was the thrill of solving a complex puzzle to get to that next milestone, the joy in learning, and the sense of accomplishment after achieving every milestone. It’s not a part-time job, and it’s not an easy job. To build a startup of significant value, you need to commit 7-10 years of your life.” Jyoti Bansal, founder, AppDynamics Courtesy: Times of India

Heavy-handed influence on the economy Need of a dedicated mentor

“For people like us who have spent their entire career in technology, we understand that it’s really hard for people to learn a new skill without a mentor. Online videos or classroom formats are poor substitutes for building real projects without the help of a dedicated mentor.” Vikalp Jain, co-founder and president, Acadgild Courtesy: The Financial Express

“As long as the state continues to exert a heavyhanded influence on the economy, these vestiges of the “License Raj” will create huge scope for cronyism and corruption. That means, in concrete terms, India needs to improve its investment climate and get the government out of the business of being in business.” Milan Vaishnav,

senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington

Courtesy: http://in.reuters.com/article/milan-vaishnav-book-politics-india-idINKBN1500B2

Audience’s love is my award “I am not a box-office king. Till today, I never signed a film on the basis of its capability to do business. I prefer to choose a film from my heart. All the films I’ve done till now are those which touched my heart. Other than audience’s love, I do not think about any other awards.” Aamir Khan, actor

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

Probability of success

“Bringing business principles and skills to solve important social problems is important because it increases the probability of success both in terms of scalability and sustainability. I strongly believe that investing on a commercial basis and doing good is possible at the same time and there is increasing evidence that supports this thesis.” Vikram Gandhi, investment banker

Courtesy: Business Standard

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 15

The Tax Man Cometh-28

Budget’s the Buzzword

by S K Jha

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

What’s different in this year’s Budget? What’s in it for the common citizen? What are the main thrust areas of the Budget? What has the finance minister sought to do with the Budget? All these and more, unravelled...

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”

ike us, the country also makes a budget of income and expenditure. The national budget is a constitutional responsibility of the government of the day. Although it is a financial statement, yet it is much more than that. It sets the direction of our economic activity in the year to come. This year’s budget was tabled in the Lok Sabha on February 1, and it will be remembered for two firsts. For the first time, the Railway budget, with its colonial history, got merged with the National Budget and it is also for the first time that the date of presentation of the budget was preponed to February 1 instead of the last day of February every year. It was felt that the Railways required more financial nourishment for the work of modernisation and for the safety of passengers and hence it was expedient to link it with the central allocation of resources. The presentation date of the budget was advanced so as to give a full year to the government for expenditure in the planned sectors, as in the past, the activity did not start before May. The government also felt that an early start in the year will give more time for collection and revenue mobilisation.

Sensex thumbs-up

The presentation of the budget always evokes comments from economists, corporate biggies, columnists, media commentators, the political class -- and this year has not been different in that sense. At least for some time, the buzzword in the market will be the budget and its contents. The top headline was that the Sensex rose by 486 points, which was again a first for a budget day. 16 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

The Sensex is all about market sentiment and the sharp rise in the Sensex meant that the market was happy. The most important reason for happiness was that the budget presented did not have negatives. Some highlights of the budget at a glance are as follows: ➻ Tax rate halved to five per cent for income of ₹ 2.5 lakhs to five lakhs ➻ Ten per cent surcharge on income of ₹50 lakhs to 1 crore ➻ 15 per cent surcharge on annual income above ₹ one crore will continue ➻ Cash transactions above ₹3 lakh banned. Penalty of equal amount to be levied ➻ Corporate Tax for SMEs with turnover up to ₹50 crores cut to 25% from 30% Companies falling in the category of SMEs are 96% of the total number of companies ➻ Custom duty on CNG halved to 2.5% ➻ Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.2% next year, 3% the following year ➻ Political parties banned from taking cash donations of more than ₹2,000 as against ₹20,000 presently permissible. Tax will be levied if this is defaulted and also in the case of late filing of Income Tax Returns ➻ New scheme of issue of bonds for political donations which will be like a bearer bond to be deposited by political parties in the declared bank within 30 days. The scheme ensures keeping the anonymity of donors who contribute with donation out of white money ➻ Aadhar-based health cards for senior citizens and also a

scheme for them to ensure eight per cent guaranteed returns ➻ For liberalisation of FDI policy and for ease of doing business, FIPB abolished ➻ Railway PSUs to be listed ➻ Payments Regulatory Board to be set up within RBI to regulate digital payments ➻ Negotiable Instruments Act to be amended to deal with cheque bounce cases ➻ Legislation to confiscate properties of economic offenders who run away from the country ➻ Big relief in long-term capital gains on the sale of immovable properties so as to get the benefit of lower and also indexation of cost, the threshold period has been reduced to two years as against three years earlier. Also, for old properties the cost will now be frozen on April 1, 2001 as against April 1, 1981 earlier. ➻ Service charge on e-ticket booked via IRCTC waived ➻ Capital expenditure of Railways fixed at ₹1.31 lakh crore ➻ Rail safety fund of ₹1 lakh crore over five years ➻ Disinvestment target of ₹72,500 crore up from ₹x 56,500 crore ➻ Gross Market barrowing pegged at ₹6.05 lakh crore ➻ Tax benefit for start ups for three out of seven years of operations ➻ FPI to be exempt from indirect transfer provision ➻ Integrated public sector oil companies to be created to compete with global giants ➻ Direct tax collection growth 15.6 per cent, indi-

‘The Sensex rose by 486 points, which was again a first for a budget day. The Sensex is all about market sentiment and the sharp rise in the Sensex meant that the market was happy. The most important reason for happiness was that the budget presented did not have negatives’

rect tax 8.3 per cent ➻ Total expenditure pegged at ₹21.47 lakh crore ➻ Capital expenditure up 24 per cent ➻ Highest ever allocation of ₹48,000 crore to MNREGA ➻ Infrastructure investment pegged at ₹3.96 lakh crore ➻ Infrastructure status given to affordable housing sector and also tax relief for this sector ➻ ₹10,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks ➻ Presumption tax would be six per cent from SME with ₹ two crore turnover opting for digital payment as against eight per cent for others ➻ Lending target under Mudra Yojana Act at ₹2.44 lakh crore The perusal of the highlights gives us the essence of this year’s budget. The budget speech of the Finance Minister also illustrates the intention of the government. This year’s budget is mainly for the poor, middle class, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women and youth. Special emphasis has been given on capital expenditure in road construction and railways to have better connectivity in the country, which is very important for economic growth and at the same time it will provide employment. The housing sector, particularly affordable housing has been given tax exemption. The threshold limit for affordable housing earlier was on

2017

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the basis of built-up area, which now has been liberalised to make it on the basis of carpet area. This will increase the living space by about 30 per cent of the dwelling limits while continuing to get tax relief. Even the clusters around the metros have now been included for more relief, giving the status of non-metro threshold limits for these clusters. Thus, in these clusters now bigger tax free dwelling units can be constructed. The intention of the government is to provide affordable houses for all.

Rural thrust

The other core area of the budget is development of rural areas and agriculture. Higher allocation has been made in this sector. This was necessary as even today, we are an agriculture-based economy and the major proportion of our population lives in villages. More development activities in the villages will help put a brake on the undesired high migration to the cities. Our cities today are choking and are unable to provide civic amenities to the people due to the large influx from rural areas. People will never like to leave their homes if they get suitable employment in their villages. The biggest challenge in our country is unemployment. For the last three years, our private sector has not been expanding and thus the process of job creation has slowed down. There is a limit for government jobs as it increases the establishment cost of the government without increasing productivity. There has to be an increase in entrepreneur activity if the menace of unem-

ployment is to be solved. With this intention, the budget puts special focus on Mudra Banks and more funds have been given to them. The Mudra Bank concept was started last year and its objective is to give loans to smaller people to start their own business. On an average, each of these small set ups will employ four to five people and in the process a substantial number of jobs will get created. The budget seeks to reduce the rate of taxation in the lowest strata and thus reward honest taxpayers with smaller income who withstood the pain of demonetisation. But, at the same time it wants to punish economic offenders who run away from the country to escape the process of law..

Mallyas, beware!

In the budget, an announcement was made regarding a new law which will enable the government to confiscate the properties of such economic offenders. Persons like Vijay Mallya will attract this new law to lose their assets. The other core area of focus is to have a lesscash economy in the country. Transaction in cash above ₹ three lakhs has been banned. Such transactions will attract penalty of an equal amount. Persons doing digital or transacting through banks will get tax incentives. There is a provision in the Income Tax Act of presumptive taxation as per which a person having a turnover up to ₹2 crores can pay eight per cent tax on the presumed income. To promote digital transaction, this eight per cent will be six per cent for people opting for them. Tax concession has also been provided on the procurement of card swiping instruments. Demonetisation was a process considered March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Less tax on long-term gains

One good proposal for taxation of long-term gains on the proceeds of immovable properties has been made this year. The rate of long-term gains is lower than the standard rate of 30 per cent and there is also a benefit of indexation of cost which reduces the gain. The property used to fall in the category of long-term asset, giving

18 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

rise to long-term capital gains only when it was held for three years by the owner. The budget this year proposes to reduce the time limit of three years to two years. The budget also proposes to freeze the cost at the market value of the property in 2001 as against in 1981, in respect of old properties. This will reduce the taxable gain on the sale of properties, as the cost will get increased, and added to this there will continue to remain a system of indexation. With the new proposal, more properties will be eligible for less tax under the long-term gains scheme. Some more good things are seen this year. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which gives approvals for FDI has been abolished. The purpose is to give more ease to doing business and reduce redtape. FDI will come through automatic routes as per set guidelines. There is a proposal for the integration of public sector oil companies to convert them into a big entity. The new entity will be seen as a big player in the global market and that may help the country while making fuel purchases. The

necessary for the country for the eradication of black money. Common people suffered, but there was no chaos, no riots, as they hoped for a better future. Our elections and donations to political parties mainly work on black money and the budget this year starts some clean-up as a next step after demonetisation. Earlier, cash donations up to ₹20,000 were allowed to political parties and this was used by all politicians to collect anonymous donations. This anonymous donation in cash constituted a major part of the income of political parties which was all black money. This year’s budget has reduced the limit of cash deposits from ₹20,000 to ₹2,000. Incomes of political parties are exempt income under section 13A of the Income Tax Act. The Budget proposes to tax the income of political parties if they take cash donations of more than ₹2,000 per donor and if the returns of income along with the audited accounts are not filed within the time limit. Also, a scheme of 'bearer Bond' exclusively for political funding has been announced which can be purchased from the tax paid accounted money and donated to political parties who can encash them within 30 days by depositing them in their disclosed bank accounts. The scheme has been designed to maintain the anonymity of the donors while at the same time to keep the transactions in white money.

2017

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The Tax Man Cometh-28

‘The budget this year proposes to reduce the time limit (on longterm gains on immoveable properties) of three years to two years. The budget also proposes to freeze the cost at the market value of the property in 2001 as against in 1981, in respect of old properties. This will reduce the taxable gain on the sale of properties’

other commendable thing is to keep fiscal deficit at 3.2 per cent and three per cent next year. Lower fiscal deficit will keep inflation in check and even rating agencies will appreciate this. The budget speech of the Finance Minister has also indicated some odds for the economic situation in the coming years. We may not have the continued advantage of lower crude price. Crude price in the world market is rising as per OPEC trends. This is not good news for us as we import more than 70 per cent of our needs. Secondly, the world is moving towards protectionism as we see with happenings in Britain and in the US. Our export has been suffering last year and it may suffer more this year. It will be tough to keep a low revenue deficit and to have a positive balance of payment. One good thing is that we have a foreign exchange reserve of 362 billion USD and that can finance our imports for one year. Budget making is a very tough job for our Finance Minister as we have a very narrow tax base of direct taxes. Only 1.9 per cent of our population paid income tax in FY 2015-16. How can we allocate funds for our needs when only a miniscule of our population contributes towards the income of the country? We expect our country to look after us, but forget about our own duties. The Finance Minister in his speech said that there are more people buying cars and going for foreign country holidays than paying income tax. He expressed his anguish. We have to come together to make India great again. Think of our past, think we were called a Golden Bird, and then join in this mission.

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen Claps for Harman Singh Sidhu whose innovative campaigns and PILs finally directed the Supreme Court to ban liquor shops within 500-700 meters on national and state highways

Corporate Citizen slaps any form of disregard for women or their achievements, irrespective of religious or societal biases that often push women to be apologetic about their super performances in their chosen trade

This directive too saw its calling some 20 years ago in 1996 with a freak road accident - a fall of about 50 feet in the accident, which has since left Sidhu paralysed neck down. A young man at 26 years then, his mishap found solace in his dedication for road safety measures in the years to come. But, the recent SC judgement has had its own share of helplessness, the never ending judicial procedures and even life threats from the liquor mafia. Sidhu started off by creating a website that provided comprehensive information on safe and responsible driving and within two months of its launch, website traffic touched over 1 lakh hits. This was the start of Sidhu’s tryst with his own NGO - ArriveSAFE in 2005 on road safety and sustainable transportation. In 2012, his survey on liquor shops along NHs lead him to file several RTIs with the Excise Department and the NHAI (National Highway Authority of India), for more information. He found that there were 185 liquor vendors on the 291 km NH1 (between Panipat and Jalandhar) alone – which meant one liquor vendor every 1.5 km! He had questioned the authorities saying that “You tell people not to drink and drive. But you allow liquor shops along highways making it easy for people to buy and drink. How can any awareness campaign have impact?” Ironical, but Sidhu crusaded all along and in March 2014, a favourable court order directed a ban on liquor vends and their visible existence from the highways – the result lead to more than 1,000 vends being shut down in Punjab and Haryana. But, both Punjab and Haryana approached the SC and managed a stay for state highways on the same directive. Sidhu realised soon enough that this was done as liquor vends are a prime source of income for state governments and that besides offering liquor to a larger customer base, liquor could also be sold at comparatively high rates along these highways. Despite such revelations and almost working against state authorities, he relentlessly travelled along NHs in the Punjab and Haryana belt to check compliance with the 2014 court directive. Finally, in December 2016, a three member judge bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur observed that availability of liquor along the highways is an “opportunity to consume” and there are alarming statistics on the occurrence of road accidents. The SC also stressed on the need for proper enforcement of law as it too faced non-compliance from state governments and had to come down heavily on state governments for not heeding the centre’s advice on de-licensing of highway liquor vendors.

Recent twitter troll and backlashes against Kashmiri teenage actor Zaira Wasim by religious caretakers criticised her role as protagonist wrestler in the biopic Bollywood flick ‘Dangal’. Playing the role of a young iconic real life wrestler Geeta Phogat, prompted a fraction of the society branding her role as contrary to religious tenets. Her participation in a film on wrestling did not go down well with alleged religious caretakers. While the movie turned out to be one of the highest grosser of 2016, there was a sudden pressure on the young 16-year-old in her choice of profession which lead her to apologise and disregard her own achievements–a gesture that has shaken all rational thinking individuals. In her hurried social media apology, her words were targeted at those (who) “have been offended and displeased by her actions or by the people she recently met,” and categorised her statement as an open confession. For a budding talent who mesmerised audience in her role, her statement that she was not proud of what she was doing, is a sure-shot hit on the confidence of a young girl and that of all talented young women who wish to progress. Her saying that she wants to stay away from being projected as a teenage icon is a slap on all youth trying to rise above the ordinary scales of life. “I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri youth, I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my footsteps or even consider me as a role model. I am not proud of what I am doing and I want everyone, especially the youth, to know that there are real role models out there whether they are in this time or in our history. To even consider me as a role model would be disgracing them and their disgrace would be our disgrace,” she said. If religious or political caretakers can sour the passion for the young starlet, fortunate enough to be educated at St Paul’s International Academy, Sonwar – imagine the plight of other young women, less fortunate than her. Zaira’s case echoes similar sentiments that caused three bright teenagers (drummer Farah Deeba, guitarist Aneeka Khalid and vocalist cum-guitarist Noma Nazir) and their all-girls music band ‘Pragaash’, to quit their passion following religious rulings that were issued to them. Their win as star performers in Srinagar in their first public appearance at the annual ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition in 2013; did nothing to up their support for their art. Instead, they succumbed to political and religious pressures that prevented them from rising above the ordinary. (Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar) March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Corporate Stalwarts

Cover Story

Corporate Stalwarts

D r K i r a n M a z u md a r - S h a w

Healing the

World From wanting to ‘green the world’ through eco-friendly enzyme technologies, Biocon’s mission changed to ‘heal the world’ by developing affordable life-saving drugs for patients across the globe. Behind this world class enterprise is a dynamic woman – Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who has created a revolution in manufacturing world class, affordable pharmaceuticals. Featuring her inspiring personal and professional journey from the 1970s

20 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

A pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India and the head of the country’s leading biotechnology enterprise, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an internationally acclaimed biotech magnate. A first generation entrepreneur, she has made India proud with a globally recognised bio-pharmaceutical enterprise that is committed to innovation and affordability in delivering world-class therapeutics to patients globally. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, Asia’s leading bio-pharmaceuticals enterprise. Named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, she is recognised as a global thought leader for biotechnology. Under her stewardship, Biocon has evolved since its inception in 1978 from an industrial enzymes company to a fully integrated, innovation-led, emerging global biopharmaceutical enterprise committed to reduce therapy costs of chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases. As a global influencer, she is ranked among Fierce Biotech’s list of the ‘World’s 25 Most Influential People in Biopharma,’ Forbes’ ‘100 Most Powerful Women’ and Fortune’s ‘Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Asia-Pacific.’ She was also featured in 'The Worldview 100' listing of Biotech Visionaries in the prestigious US-based Scientific American magazine. She was also ranked second in the Global Medicine Maker Power List 2015, a top UK-based medical publication. U S-based Chemical Heritage Foundation conferred her with the ‘2014 Othmer Gold Medal’ and Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy awarded her its coveted ‘2014 Global Economy Prize.’ The US based Business Foreign Policy magazine has named her among the ‘100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2014’. She has been awarded the Padma Shri in 1989 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005.

Pics: Biocon

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was also inspired by my teacher, Anne Warrior, while in school. She taught me to think for myself, to excel in everything I do and to do things differently and creatively in order to make a differenceâ&#x20AC;?

March June March 16-30, 1-15, 1-15,2017 2016 2017/ / Corporate CorporateCitizen Citizen / / 21 21

Corporate Stalwarts Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw at foundation stone ceremony for Biocon

As a 25 year old entrepreneur, she made her mark through her biotech startup

In this in-depth interview to Corporate Citizen, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, gives an insight into her courageous foray into the biopharmaceutical world, as a woman entrepreneur and how she has created an ‘inclusive’ world for affordable medicines in lifestyle diseases like diabetes and cancer, that has gripped the world today.

inated by men. This boosted my confidence significantly. It set a strong foundation for me to work diligently, aiming at excellence and competing with the ‘best’ in the industry.

Today, you are a role model for women as well as the corporate world. Who were your role models when you were at school and college? What did you imbibe from them?

I graduated as a Master Brewer from the Ballarat Brewing School in Australia in 1975. My aspiration was to pursue a professional career in brewing. However, I was unprepared for the hostility and gender bias that I faced from the brewing industry. It was this rejection that saw me turn to entrepreneurship quite by accident and set up a biotech start-up in India, where I leveraged my fermentation knowledge to produce enzymes and biopharmaceuticals instead of beer. When I started Biocon, I was 25 years old with no business experience and limited financial resources. In the 1970s, entrepreneurship was an unusual career choice for women and biotechnology was unheard of as an industry sector. I was daring to start a business in a male-dominated society and that too in a sector that no one was familiar with. Fuelled more by drive and vision than by business expertise, I approached the venture with the single-minded aim of succeeding. I was determined to build a world-class biotechnology enterprise and show the world that it was possible to produce high quality, high technology products in India based on cutting-edge R&D.

All through my growing years, my father had been my role model. I inherited from my father the art of defying convention. A man far ahead of his times, he believed in the equal treatment of men and women and always encouraged me to take the road less travelled. He also taught me that risk and failure are intrinsic to any business and counselled me to persevere in the face of adversity. I was also inspired by my teacher, Anne Warrior, while in school. She taught me to think for myself, to excel in everything I do and to do things differently and creatively in order to make a difference.

Your father encouraged you to pursue a very unusual course, Fermentation Science. What did you think of his advice then and how did it change your life?

My father had trained at the Brewing School at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh in 1946 and had returned to become the first Indian brew master. When I failed to make it to medical school, he urged me to take a plunge and test the waters as a brewer. In the 70s, brewing was a fairly nascent stream in India and there weren’t many professional brewers. I took on the challenge to prove myself in a vocation unexplored by Indians and more so by women the world over. Brewing was, after all, the oldest biotechnology and it suited my aptitude for applied science. It was a life-changing experience for me. When I joined the course, I realised I was the only woman in a male-dominated career program. However, far from intimidating me, these adversities strengthened my resolve to be successful. I learned to fend for myself in an industry that was dom22 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Biocon has grown from a seed to a stalwart tree. How did this mind blowing success story happen?

Which was your first product?

When I started Biocon, I initially focused on making industrial enzymes, exploring ways in which to replace polluting chemical technologies with eco-friendly enzyme technologies. It was about disrupting industrial processes and it worked. My products succeeded in getting several industries to switch from using polluting chemicals to ecofriendly enzymes. Having attained success in enzymes, I leveraged my knowledge of biotechnology to try and disrupt the healthcare industry by introducing affordable biopharmaceuticals for patients who needed them the most. Over time, we built the knowledge, expertise and skills essential for developing cutting-edge biopharmaceuticals. We also built state-of-the-art world-class manufacturing facilities to create global

Ale & Arty a book authored by Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Blessed with a supportive family

scale for producing high quality biopharma drugs at a cost that makes them affordable to a large global patient pool. From wanting to ‘green the world’ through eco-friendly enzyme technologies, Biocon’s mission changed to ‘heal the world’ by developing affordable life-saving drugs for patients across the globe. When I began my pharmaceutical journey, I had a choice to develop lowcost generic pharmaceuticals or complex, capital-intensive biopharmaceuticals. I chose the latter and invested in disruptively innovative engineering process that could deliver affordable pricing and make a difference to global healthcare. It led me to make long-term investments in creating ‘best-inclass’ complex biologics manufacturing capabilities. I leveraged the advantages of cost, scale and knowledge that India offers. Over time, Biocon successfully developed both novel biologic drugs as well as affordable biosimilars. In doing so, I brought advanced biopharmaceuticals against diabetes and cancer to patients in India and other developing countries at price points that made them affordable and thus accessible. We are now leveraging our experience in India and emerging markets to take affordable biopharmaceuticals to a global patient pool. Biocon today has one of the largest portfolios of biosimilar insulins and antibodies in advanced stages of development for approvals in the developed markets. We are confident that, together with our partners around the world, we can build a strong global presence in biosimilars to address the huge need for affordable access to these life-saving and life-enhancing biologics.

environment. As a young, 25-year-old woman entrepreneur, with no business background and limited financial resources, I had to surmount a lot of credibility challenges. Professionals did not want to work for me as they felt that I could not provide them ‘job security’ being a woman, and some even assumed I was the secretary to the Managing Director (MD) and not the MD. Suppliers told me they were reluctant to give me credit because they did not have confidence in my business abilities. Banks and financial institutions were reluctant to fund me and some even suggested that my father should be the guarantor for any loans. I succeeded against these odds because I understood that all challenges can be surmounted with perseverance and ingenuity. I was driven by the spirit to create a business that would leverage Science for the benefit of society through affordable innovation. What spurred me on this mission of making a difference to global health was the realisation that a significant proportion of the world’s population does not have access to essential medicines and, where healthcare does exist, it is unaffordable.

“Women in India have strong representation in middle management levels across diverse sectors like banking and financial services, information technology, pharma and life sciences, retail, engineering, consumer goods and so on”

What were the challenges you faced as a woman, in a field that was male dominated?

When I started Biocon in 1978, resources were limited, the available infrastructure was primitive and I had to function in a fairly hostile business

What, according to you is the status of women in the corporate world of India today?

Like most Asian countries, India today is home to a new breed of women who exude self-confidence irrespective of what strata of society they come from. They display a sense of self-belief that allows them to excel in any domain and compete with their male counterparts on an equal footing. Many of them are outperforming their male colleagues and assuming leadership roles in their respective fields. Women in India have strong representation in middle management levels across diverse sectors like banking and financial services, information technology, pharma and life sciences, retail, engineering, consumer goods and so on. India is now taking proactive steps March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Corporate Stalwarts

All about Biosimilars

Biocon has among the largest and most diversified portfolios of biosimilars, spanning monoclonal antibodies, generic insulin and insulin analogs and other recombinant proteins under development for advanced markets of US, Europe and Japan Biocon is also equated to biosimilar category of drugs– how do you explain the efficacy of such medicines to a lay person especially patients suffering from cancer and diabetes to adopt the same under medical guidance?

How can biosimilars be made accessible to all viz pricing policy etc?

The introduction of biosimilars, which offer comparable levels of safety and efficacy as original biologics, has transformed thousands of lives in some parts of the world. The challenge now lies in making these cutting-edge treatments widely available globally. Global regulations and guidelines need to evolve if biosimilars are to make as much of an impact as small molecule generics have in the past 25 years. ‘Interchangeability’ is an important issue globally that regulators will need to address if patients are to be offered the choice of taking the original biologic drug or substitute a biosimilar drug, just as they currently do with generic versions of chemically synthesised small molecule drugs. US biosimilar regulations have not addressed the issue, while in Europe there are country-specific rules on biosimilar interchangeability. The lack of clear guidelines on interchangeability with reference biologics is likely to be a cause for concern among physicians until they gain confidence with the usage, experience and outcomes of biosimilars. However, payers are influencing biosimilar decisions in the US even as the government works out guidelines for interchangeability. Leading US pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company, CVS Health, recently left out Sanofi’s blockbuster Insulin Glargine product Lantus from its 2017 formulary, replacing it with Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s biosimilar version of Lantus. Such exclusive arrangements could mean deemed interchangeability for the patient subset covered by the PBM. Biosimilars uptake could also see a boost as more regulators back data extrapolation, which will allow a biosimilar to be approved for multiple indications without undergoing clinical testing in those conditions as long as the reference product itself was approved in those conditions. The world over, there is a need to create a smarter regulatory pathway that not only cuts down the cost of development but also ‘time to market’, which in turn benefits patients by improving access to affordable drugs. This requires concerted efforts by global regulators and healthcare professionals to minimise development costs through greater harmonisation, mutual recognition and abridged clinical development. As the global regulatory paradigm for biosimilars

Biologics like insulins and monoclonal antibodies have emerged as a class of highly effective transformational life-saving drugs targeted at chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer. Given the high cost of innovator biologic therapies, follow-on biologics or biosimilars are providing cost-effective alternatives to these expensive medicines. Biocon is among the pioneers in bringing the benefit of high quality, yet affordable biosimilars to India, giving patients, physicians and payers a wider option of affordable therapy. Biocon used a proprietary technology to produce recombinant human insulin in a cost effective manner and introduced this product as Insugen® in India in 2004, thus providing access to a safe, effective yet affordable alternative to imported insulins to diabetics in India. In 2009, the company developed and launched a long acting basal Insulin Glargine, BASALOG®, for patients in India. By enhancing patient access to insulin, Biocon has emerged as the largest insulin producer in Asia and the fourth largest globally. Recently, Biocon's Insulin Glargine became the first biosimilar from India to be launched in Japan, one of the world’s most stringently “The world over, there is a need to create a regulated markets. smarter regulatory pathway that not only cuts We also introduced the world’s most affordable follow-on Trastuzumab (CANMAb™) down the cost of development but also ‘time in 2014, which enhanced access to a more to market’, which in turn benefits patients by affordable treatment for HER2-positive improving access to affordable drugs” metastatic breast cancer in India. This important life-saving drug has already made a significant difference to the evolves the cost and complexity deterrents are expected to lessen. lives of several thousand patients. Biocon has among the largest and most diversified portfolios of What is Biocon’s contribution in getting biosimilars or other drug biosimilars, spanning monoclonal antibodies, generic insulin and insulin category under its mantle affordable to the larger Indian market analogs and other recombinant proteins under development for advanced especially the poor or the not so affluent population? markets of US, Europe and Japan. In partnership with US-based Mylan, Biocon has been playing a significant role worldwide in reducing the cost of we are co-developing a high-value portfolio of six biosimilars for oncology therapy for chronic diseases in India and other emerging markets. Biocon enand autoimmune indications -Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim, Adalimumab, tered the diabetes space over a decade back, when the disease was assuming Bevacizumab, Etanercept and Filgrastim - and three generic insulin analogs epidemic proportions in India but treatment was by and large inaccessible to Glargine, Lispro and Aspart for the benefit of patients across the globe. most due to the high cost of treatment. By introducing India’s first indigenous

24 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

insulin in 2004, Biocon enabled the price of the insulins to come down by more than half, similarly we have enabled the cancer care to be made affordable with the launch of our novels and biosimilars. Besides this, we also run compassionate care programs for the underprivileged. Biocon Foundation has been making an enduring impact in enabling social and economic inclusion through its preventive health, education and community development programs, for over a decade now. As a part of our fight against cancer, we have been constantly engaged in enhancing awareness, providing early detection, timely prevention, safe and efficacious treatment of diseases like diabetes and hypertension, oral cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. We have endeavoured to create a comprehensive and integrated ‘e-LAJ’ clinic network that can deliver affordable and effective healthcare to underserved rural and urban communities in India. ‘eLAJ’ clinics are technology enabled primary healthcare clinics which are equipped with multiparameter monitoring device capable of conducting multiple diagnostic tests and are staffed with doctors, technicians and pharmacists who are trained to provide high quality healthcare services including generation of EMRs (Electronic Medical Records) for patients and dispensing medicines. As part of our patient support program for people with diabetes, we have been creating awareness on diabetes management and counselling people on ways to lead a healthy life through lifestyle modification. We collaborate with the medical community and enable them to organise Diabetes Detection Camps and Patient Education Programs. Recently we collaborated for The Diabetic Food Trail®, a first-of-its-kind initiative targeted at the general public, which offered Diabetes-friendly healthy food menu options at over 200 restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru.

What are future goals for Biocon as a leading player in the biosimilar category in the world market?

We have laid the foundation for growth through our strategic investments in creating a differentiated product portfolio supported by a strong scientific talent base and global scale manufacturing facilities. Biocon has among the largest and most diversified portfolios of biosimilars, spanning monoclonal antibodies, generic insulin and insulin analogs and other recombinant proteins. In partnership with US-based Mylan, we are co-developing a high-value portfolio of six biosimilars for oncology and autoimmune indications - Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim, Adalimumab, Bevacizumab, Etanercept and Filgrastim - and three generic insulin analogs - Glargine, Lispro and Aspart. Collectively, these represent a global addressable market opportunity of about USD 60 billion at current reference product pricing. Our Marketing Authorization Applications (MAAs) for proposed biosimilar Trastuzumab, Insulin Glargine and Pegfilgrastim have been accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for review. The US FDA's acceptance of our regulatory filing for Trastuzumab is another major milestone for us as this is the first U S regulatory submission through Biocon and Mylan’s joint global biosimilars program. For biosimilar Adalimumab, we have made good progress in global Phase III trials across multiple sites. Our RoW-focused clinical trials for biosimilar Bevacizumab are in Phase III stage and global trials for the asset in Phase I. Our clinical programs for biosimilar Filgrastim, Etanercept, Lispro and Aspart are in the pre-clinical \ scale-up stage. The clinical progress in four of the nine biosimilar molecules that we are jointly developing with Mylan positions us among the first wave of pharma companies to be making these products for the US and EU.

to increase the ambit of contributions that women can make. The country has passed a law to raise women's representation in corporate boardrooms. Moreover, initiatives have been unveiled to encourage more women entrepreneurs. India is trying to embed greater gender diversity into the nation’s culture to help channelise the power of women in bringing in transformational change for a much greater economic value addition.

You, a woman, as boss. What are the leadership skills that you portray, as head of this esteemed organisation with over 8,000 employees? What does it take to keep the team together and manage male ego (in case you have experienced it).

I believe in empowering my employees to assume challenging responsibilities that involves decision-making. It is my belief that problem solving is a great way to motivate employees. I also believe in recognising talent and rewarding star performers. In building Biocon, I have created a company where women professionals can work shoulder to shoulder with their male colleagues and where men and women have mutual respect. It is this sense of mutual respect that

“I believe in empowering my employees to assume challenging responsibilities that involves decision making. It is my belief that problem solving is a great way to motivate employees” enables people to work together as a team for the greater common good.

Security of women is in question in the premier IT city of Bengaluru. How do you address it and how do you think it should be addressed?

As a society we need to bring up every boy to understand that the responsibility for sexual misconduct lies squarely with him. Ordinary Bengaluru citizens also need to come forward to reclaim the city and protect its women-friendly reputation. We cannot remain apathetic to the subject of sexual assaults and let miscreants get away scot free. We need to speak up and protest whenever and wherever we witness sexual misconduct. The political establishment needs to send out a very unambiguous signal that sexual crimes against women will be dealt with sternly. The police should take a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards sexual violence, take swift action whenever any such incidents are reported, name and shame the culprits in public and make all efforts to ensure that the guilty don’t go unpunished.

You take keen interest in civic issues of Bengaluru, which is admirable. You have spoken of civic and public transport infrastructure in Bengaluru, which is found wanting. How do you think it can be improved?

To remedy the situation and transform Bengaluru into a world-class smart city, all stakeholders need to work together towards the common goal of addressing the challenges in the areas of infrastructure, social and civic set-ups. One of the ways of tackling traffic congestion on Bengaluru roads is through the creation of smart phone apps that enable increased carpooling by Bengaluru’s citizens. Improving the public transport system will also go a long way in traffic decongestion. The government needs to complete the first phase of the Namma Metro and ensure that the second and third phases of the Metro rail project are started expeditiously. Expanding the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s bus fleet will also help March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Corporate Stalwarts Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw with the Othmer Gold Medal

Dr Kiran MazumdarShaw receiving the prestigious Padmabhushan award from APJ Kalam in 2005

“The truth is that women are under represented in the science and engineering workforce because of reasons that are totally unrelated to their aptitude for Science” provide an efficient public transport system to the city’s denizens. The government also needs to put its weight behind the TenderSURE scheme, which has already resulted in well-designed, world class roads in some parts of the city. We should not allow NGOs to derail the agenda for better city roads by unfairly criticising the TenderSURE scheme. Also, serious efforts need to be made to transform Bengaluru into a pedestrian-friendly city through the construction of well-designed and standardised footpaths.

What is the potential for biotechnology in India, now and in the near future?

Biotechnology has already delivered a number of societal and economic benefits to India which in turn have been shared with other global economies. The Indian Biopharmaceutical Industry is already one of the largest producers of vaccines with ‘one in three’ children in the world being immunised with a ‘Made in India’ vaccine. On the Agri-Biotech front, genetically modified Bt Cotton has made India into a leading exporter of high quality cotton. India's computational scientists are building scale in genomic sequencing, big data analytics of health and biological data as well as scientific data mining, which are being tapped for developing cutting-edge novel therapies for a global patient population. Biotechnology is a new frontier for India and with the right resources, policies, infrastructure and vision, it has the potential to lead to a USD 100 billion Bio-economy by 2025. This growth trajectory will encompass all facets of this transformative technology by augmenting agricultural productivity, addressing the economic challenge posed by an enormous disease burden as well as by reducing the carbon footprint through eco-friendly industrial processes and renewable biofuels. 26 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Receiving the Honorary Doctorate from Ballarat University, 2004

The trend of ‘Second Careers’ is fast becoming popular with women who take a break after a child is born. What is your opinion about women going in for second careers?

I believe that starting a family should not be a deterrent to a woman’s career goals. There is no reason for a woman not to get back to her work environment after taking maternity leave. Women should be encouraged to develop family support systems or explore the option of day care centres to raise their children. Companies need to do their bit by designing/enabling organisational structures such as flexi-time options and crèches on their campuses to allow women to return to work.

Do you think women are less ‘scientific’ oriented or is it a myth? Please elaborate.

It’s an absurd statement. Knowledge doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender; its power is there for everybody to harness. The truth is that women are under represented in the science and engineering workforce because of reasons that are totally unrelated to their aptitude for Science. Women are often discouraged from joining Science, Technology, Engineering and

learn to manage and mitigate risk. They need to remember that leadership is about perseverance and endurance.

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw receiving the Padmashri Award from the erstwhile President of India Mr Venkataramanan in 1989

Please tell us about your philanthropic activities channelised towards health and education.

At the BIOMAb EGFR launch in 2006

My philanthropy is largely focused on healthcare and I really want to make a difference to peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. In our country, I feel the poor are absolutely neglected and sometimes exploited by the powerful section of the society. In order to address some of their health challenges, I have also allocated a large part of my philanthropy funds to primary health care for rural and urban rural communities. Besides offering regular health services I am also promoting the use of technology in healthcare services to ensure we make a larger impact on improving the health of our people. I have helped to create e-enabled healthcare centres introduced as eLAJ clinics, where technology is used for early detection and treatment which leads to better outcomes. The Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Center, my philanthropic initiative in partnership with Dr Devi Shetty is an outcome of our joint vision to create a sustainable affordable cancer care model that leverages advanced technologies, state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and best-in-class talent to address the challenges associated with this debilitating disease. Our unique cancer care model enables the poor to access treatment at costs subsidised by those who can afford it. My philanthropic efforts in education have been directed at improving the quality of education, primarily in rural schools. Through Biocon Foundation we have been empowering rural children by helping them improve their learning capabilities especially in Mathematics and English. For over a decade now, the Foundation has been providing over 10,000,0 Chinnara Ganitha maths workbooks, especially developed for enhancing mathematical skills of the students, across government schools in rural and semi-urban Karnataka. Through Biocon Academy, I have directed my philanthropic efforts towards imparting advanced learning to young biotech graduates through experiential learning in order to impart highend skills to make them industry ready, thus addressing the skill deficit of the biopharma sector.

Why do you think India is now among the top nations in lifestyle diseases like diabetes and so on?

Mathematics (STEM) at the undergrad level. Many women working in the STEM fields also tend to drop out of the workforce mid-career as they often perceive a gender bias in performance evaluations. The scenario is however rapidly changing. Women make up around 40% of undergraduates in Science. There has also been a rise in the enrolment of women in graduate programmes in Pure Sciences, from 7.1% in 1950-51 to 40% in 2009, 2530% of Science PhDs are women, according to a 2015 report by The Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia. Moreover, women engineers grew four times from 4.8 lakh in 2001 and to over 20 lakh in 2011.

What is your opinion of young corporate managers, in terms of their professionalism? What is your advice to them?

Young corporate managers today are as professional as they can be. However, I think many of them seem to be in too much of a hurry to succeed. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to success, which they need to understand and be willing to learn and succeed. They must channelise their innate leadership instinct and try to make a difference in their own lives as well as in the lives of others. They need to

India, like many other developing nations, is witnessing rapid urbanisation and concomitant transition from a traditional to a modern lifestyle. This is leading to dietary changes, reduced physical activity, high-levels of stress, and a rise in other unhealthy behaviours, which have led to a very high prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other life style induced diseases. Most of these chronic diseases can be remedied in their early stages by primary care providers. However, India suffers from a big gap in preventive and primary healthcare delivery. At present there is a disproportionate focus on specialist care even though a robust and effective primary care programme supported by strong preventive health education and early screening and diagnosis, can make a big difference.

What does leisure mean to you? Holiday, or any other?

My love for art and music helps me relax and also keeps me intellectually stimulated. Travel is an abiding interest as it helps me indulge my sense of exploration. I enjoy taking short breaks with my family, especially to US and Europe. Some of my favourite destinations are New York, California, Toronto, Paris, Dublin and Spain.

What is the philosophy of life that you live by?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Failure is not final, giving up is.â&#x20AC;? I have lived by this code throughout my life and believe me it has paid rich dividends. (As told to Vinita Deshmukh...vinitapune@gmail.com) March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 27

passion

The

myriad hues of

Architect by profession and painter by inclination, Iqbal Chaney's journey is all about pushing boundaries-those of the heart, and the art. Painting is something he does only on the weekends, but the process of putting brush onto paper is healing and all encompassing

Passion

By Kalyani Sardesai

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Will do, will do-just won't do." The long away words of his art teacher at school continue to resonate, even as Iqbal Chaney prepares to brush yet another landscape to life. "The thing with water colours is that, you have to get it right the first time. If you don't, you just start all over again," he exhales. And therein lies both-a promise and a challenge. To himself, to his art. With two successful exhibitions in his kitty, the noted architect evidently wears the painter's coat with equal aplomb-despite a break of so many years, despite not having all the time in the world to devote to it. The secret, he says, lies in feeling intensely about whatever one chooses to do--holding nothing back. And realising it's never too late to work on your life's passion-so what if long years have been dedicated to another path. "Painting was a significant part of my student life," he says of his school days at Pune's St Vincent's High School. "We had a wonderful teacher in Subedar Sir, who would really motivate us to express our imagination in colours. What's more, he wouldn't allow us boys to take the discipline lightly, refusing to accept anything less than our finest effort," he reminisces. The love of art was nurtured at home as well, considering his mother was good at it-not to forget several other family members who were artistically gifted as well. But life and careers have a way of branching into unexpected territory. "It was the admission season of 1963. My dad and I had made the trip to Mumbai's iconic Sir JJ School of Arts at Fort. As you know the campus has three sections-Commercial Art, Fine Arts and Architecture," recounts Iqbal. As luck would have it, admissions for the commercial section (had been filled entirely for that season. "As we walked towards the school of Fine Arts, we happened to run into the principal of the College of Architecture. Before I knew it, I was enrolled into architecture," he smiles at the memory. 28 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

But no regrets there. "I have had a wonderful and diverse innings as an architect. It has taken me to different countries, for training and work, including the UK and Libya and has added an assortment of experiences to my repertoire," he says. But the spark of true passion stayed, however dormant. "Every now and then I would meet my friend, the celebrated watercolourist Milind Mullik and he would simply ask one question of me: when was I going to take up painting again?" A question with no easy answers given Iqbal's full workdays and pressing schedules. Work was demanding, but that little voice that kept saying

'follow your heart' just never gave up. So, one fine day in 2011, after a gap of well over 30 years, he decided to do the deed. "I had to train myself all over again, but the process, however painstaking, was completely worth it," he expresses. Bit by bit, weekend after weekend, another little world took shape. A world that paid detailed tribute to vivid landscapes and settings. A world brought alive by attention to detail and form-as envisaged by the painter's own eye. A world that demands both: sharp technique and sensitivity to nuance. So how does his training as an architect influence his painting? "Well, as an architect one is

‘One of the nicest things about art is that it takes you away from the monotony and stress of day to day living. However challenging it may be, the process of creating something new, from conception to execution, is nourishing and fulfiling’

used to imagining a scene in 3D and being able to hold onto a scale and perspective is useful indeed," he says. His first exhibition was held in 2013 at the Ayatana gallery, Pune and was a clear-cut success, bringing in both the applause and the sales. Encouraged, he went on to convert a space in his Mundhwa office into an art gallery that was formally named Gallery Honeydew. "It seemed the logical thing to do as galleries are hard to come by, and one has to book months in advance to exhibit. So we took this little architectural studio and made it into an art studio where I held my second

exhibition in 2015. That, too, was received warmly,” he says. Amidst all this, his wife Nina plays both-supporter and critic. "She is very interested in all that I create, and is spontaneous in her expressions of approval and disapproval. If she thinks something is not up to scratch, she asks me to take a little more time over it. And she's usually right.” Which brings us to the question: how does he feel when he paints? "Exultant," he says simply. "It's a great stress buster; and one of the nicest things about art is that it takes you away from the monotony and stress of day to day living. However challenging it may be, the process of creating something new, from conception to execution, is nourishing and fulfiling." And what would he have to say about the age old 'perspiration versus inspiration' debate? "There's simply no getting away from the nitty gritty of process. You have to work your way up to the standard you have set for yourself-and that is that. But you must stay inspired through it all," he says. His love for painting does not stop at selling the work and receiving feedback from his audience. "All the proceeds from the sales of my paintings go to the Iqbal and Nina Chaney Foundation for kids less privileged,” he says. "The focus of the foundation is education. We support needy and deserving children in their academic endeavours to the extent we can." To speak of which, he does believe that love of art should be promoted in students from the word go. "Unlike science and computers, art education is reachable and inexpensive. You don't need expensive labs or instruments, just a dedicated will to introduce students to the joys of colour. Besides, the ability to imagine is a crucial aspect of a child's personality. It is what makes a

personality complete, and ultimately helps them optimise their potential as human beings. Unfortunately, the Indian mindset is driven by the sole consideration of what brings in the maximum economic returns. Hence the lop-sided attention towards science and engineering at the expense of the humanities and the arts," he shakes his head "This attitude even manifests itself in the quality of graduates coming out of colleges of architecture nowadays. They know so much about software-and so little about design-which is essentially about creativity. And now comes the latest diktat, I hear, that only those from a science background may apply for an architecture course. I just don't understand the logic," he shrugs. "To my mind, art is unfettered by academic constraints; it is the one faculty that is innate to human nature." No easy answers there, so it's back to his paints and palette for the day. Water over rocks; the sun setting in the background, or a natty little cafe he's seen in his travels. So many stories out there, waiting to be brought to life. And a never-ending expanse of canvas. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 29

keynote CII Marketing address Conference

Adapt New technology is changing the way we live—it is influencing every single bit of our behaviour. It seems like the world of technology is the elixir, a miracle. However, it’s not only technology—there are some very big catastrophic underbelly changes that are happening in this world, and technology is one of the very big. In this evolving business paradigm, the marketers really need to know how they are going to contribute to the evolving paradigm of new business. In the new world what’s happening? There are some real political challenges, which will wipe out businesses models.

Revise However, Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond Ltd believes that the important thing is not the conventional logical story, but how the story will change to a newer kind of model. In his keynote speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Marketing Conference, recently held at Conrad Hotel, in Pune, Behl talks about the changing and evolving world, the business scenario and how to embrace the disruption. Corporate Citizen brings to you his pragmatic address on the new era and how all of us as nation builders can take India to the world By Rajesh Rao

change 30 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Entire world is getting reborn

In the iconic 90 years existence of our company, Raymond Group, we are getting as much reborn as the entire world is. Just think about it—90% of global value, which was created in last nine years, is by the companies that are less than nine years old. A simple fact—50% of the jobs that existed before, does not exist. What jobs you know as conventional jobs, are not going to exist 10 years from now. So, what are we studying for and what are our education system building us for.

Startups—everything is not hunky-dory

Look at the turmoil with startups—a company which is valued at 1.3 billion dollars, got sold for 17 million dollars—in one year 95% destruction of value. Indian company Jabong, they refused to sell it at $1 billion, but same promoters one year down sold it for $70 million. AskMe has shut down, everybody knows that Flipkart had to retrench over 1000 people. Recent news stated that over 31 companies have been banned by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). So, it’s not that everything is hunky-dory there, things are really changing.

Three factors of change

What is the biggest one factor, which is going to define humanity and define the business models, in the next 5–10 years? 99.9 per cent of the people will say technology—I am in the 0.1 per cent who doesn’t agree with that. Yes, technology has a very important role and that’s why it’s in the top three, but it’s not the topmost. The biggest thing that is happening is demographic imbalance, across the world. There is an underlying factor which marketers and business people must know, and it is all about demographic imbalance, which is changing the world very dramatically. I feel either we are not able to relate to it or we are not able to consider our businesses to back it. The last is dramatic rebalancing of economic power in the next 20–30 years and there is our opportunity to see how marketers embrace this whole shift in consumption, earnings, GDPs and how we really configure our business models to capitalise on this opportunity that we see.

Living beyond technology

The world in 19th century had population under one billion people—less than today’s population of India lived in the whole world and there were multiple issues like diseases, natural calamities, wars, and human species were not able to deal with them. By 1950, the population came to about 3 billion and today it is over 7 billion. The other part of this analogy is the complete imbalance that has happened in the last 150–200 years on the planet—it is dramatic and is already defining in lot of ways-the way we live our lives beyond technology. Today 18% of the world does not have access to clean drinking water and 18% of 7 billion is more than a billion. It basically means that the number of people that were there on the planet about hundred years ago, same number today don’t have access to clean drinking water. Over 38% of the world today don’t have access to clean sanitation and obviously this will lead to diseases. What is technology going to do beyond a point, when humanity is going to get subjected to no water, no sanitation—all these are issues we have to worry about and think about. Unfortunately there is no political statesmanship in the world to take these issues upfront and deal with them. There are talks happening at various forums, but do we have a solution—answer is no.

Aging population

The median age of the world today is around 29 years and for India it is 27 years, Europe is 42 years and Japan is 45 years. The average life expectancy in the last 50 years is gone up by 15 years—people are living longer and getting older. But, the average retirement age has not changed, it is still 60 years. So, the amount of life people are spending post retirement without any economic activity, is 15 years more. People use to spend 10 years post retirement and now it is 25 years, it has more than doubled and they are mentally active, physically active, and demand employment, because they are entitled to. People don’t have any economic activity after retirement age, are getting irrelevant, so they want everything they are entitled to. Lot of factors are contributing to this evolving demographic imbalance. Countries in Europe and US has gone through industriali-

“Indian numbers are good—our fiscal deficit is well under control, our overall results are very good, demography is in our favour, we are getting younger. India has got this whole population demography aspiration, everybody wants to do good, have better house, have better living, which is going to help us. So, it’s a huge demographic dividend, also lot of pride for the Indian continent” March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 31

CII Marketing Conference

Future is not far Open source is a big thing

Almost every intellectual capability is open sourced today. Crowd sourcing—people are saying the future is do it yourself and make it yourself. If I want a T-Shirt why should I go with the design that a brand gives me, I can design my own T-Shirt and print it—that’s going to be the future and it’s not very far of.

Lending Club

There is no bank in the world that will give you one dollar loan. The Lending Club gives you one dollar loan—it’s a group of 900 people, it runs on faith—but the rate of interest is 18 to 25 per cent. It’s a multi-billion dollar business. Tonight you want to drink beer, want a one dollar loan, go to Wall Street, street number 42, and pick up your one dollar.

Value Chain Disruption

Then there is value chain disruption—this is the order of valuation. So, if you can’t do ecosystem disruption, at least do a value chain disruption, if you want to be there. Or you can at least try value chain efficiency. So many cars came in the market, but Maruti brand is same with 65% market share. There is a legacy advantage, but you have to convert that into an opportunity.

New VUCA

Everybody knows VUCA, but the new VUCA is different. Volatility is gone and vibrancy is there. Uncertainty has become certainty and complex world has become crazy—it’s crazy world in terms of the way things are moving. Instead of ambiguity, I am going to introduce a new term here—today the world is not about destruction, it’s about disruption. If you cannot disrupt yourselves to evolve and if you don’t do it somebody else will do that. Disruption is not more of a same thing, it’s also not new things—it is a very different form of transformation. 32 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

sation and hence their resources were higher, as resources were higher, the healthcare there was more advanced. Because healthcare was more advanced, people have better life expectancy. So, people in one part of the world are all developed economies, where people live longer.

Median age that divides

Average median age in Africa is 18 years today, younger than India by 10 years—again they are not able to deal with resources, diseases and famine. Fertility rate of European Union is under two whereas of Africa is four, which means Africa will increase by 30 crore more people in next 20 years. But, the death rate in Africa is higher than Europe. Over 50% of under 14 year old are in one continent called Africa. Nine of the most illiterate countries are in Africa. So, there is no education, there is lot of youth, no resources—nine of the most illiterate or ill-equipped education countries are in Africa, where the youth are growing.

Unpredictable Black Swan events

These are the events you can’t predict, nobody can, no technology can, no humanity can. These kind of recent events in Dhaka, Paris, Nice, Turkey Pakistan and Kashmir—nobody can predict.

There are number of Black Swan events in the last five years that outweigh events that happened in last 50 years. Every day you hear the news about people dying somewhere or the other in the world, in terrorist attacks. Surprisingly, what comes in news and gets all the media attention is what happens in Nice, Turkey, Belgium, US, or Orlando. However, the number one continent, with highest terrorist attacks in the world is Africa, with 35,000 deaths due to terrorist attacks in 2015. But, nobody has heard about it and why would anybody hear about it. So, all these demographic and socio-political challenges are going to create a very different kind of monsters. In Africa, resources are not there, education is not there—that’s were terrorism happens today and that’s going to grow overtime.

Modern issues of employment

Textile industry in India is a manpower intensive industry and the biggest issue we are working on is manpower. We are in process of partnering with a French company, asking them to go to all our locations and come back with recommendations as to how do we get robots to do the job of 10 thousand people. So, we are experimenting in India itself. The payback period of a robot is un-

der three years in India today, while in China it is under one month. There are modern issues of employment—the estimate that world economic has today is that there will be 2 billion jobs lost in the next 15 years, which means one-fourth of the world will go jobless. And these are blue and white collar jobs, which will go away. It’s a challenge unless we are re-skilling ourselves in the evolving world.

3D printing, not very distant future

The 3D printing looks like a distant technology, but in our industry it is not so distant. We are having fashion shows with 3D printed garments, almost every month now. We have setup a design house in Italy and London. We have got couple of machines on pilot basis, so we don’t have to travel there, pick samples or courier samples. So, this is not a very distant thing—in fact human organs are being 3D printed now. In a recent surgery, Dutch surgeons have 3D printed an entire skull dome and have successfully placed over the brain of a patient. Now food are being 3D printed and even houses are being 3D printed. Recently there was a conference in Mumbai on 3D printing houses. So, this is not very distant future, it is already happening. Big surprise will be when 3D

“The biggest thing that is happening is demographic imbalance, across the world. There is an underlying factor which marketers and business people must know, and it is all about demographic imbalance, which is changing the world very dramatically” printers will start cloning themselves. I wonder, what will happen to the gun control law, if 3D printers start making guns.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

If you walk into London and Oxford streets, there are these Google glasses installed in lot of stores there. All the time in the world there are fashion shows happening. All you need to do is—if there is a show happening—you just need to put on those virtual glasses and you are connected live to the show, giving you a front row virtual experience. You can actually touch and choose the dress that the model is wearing and after you remove the glass the shop will give you that dress. So, the idea of transaction and economy is less than a nanosecond in today’s time. Earlier, we would make a person walk wearing a dress, then we would select it, then design it, then tell the factory to make it and then you would be able to buy it. It would involve around 6–12 months working time—today it can be custom made immediately. So, all these things are completely unwiring the old and rewiring it new and technology is very important there—that’s virtual augmented reality.

Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) is when one system starts talking to another system. If I am brushing my teeth with an Internet of Things toothbrush, it will take sensitivity of my gum and before I keep back my brush, it will inform my dentist. My dentist will then give prescription based on the database of my health condition and history. The medicine prescribed gets automatically messaged to my chemist, and my chemist knows that by 9 am I will be in office and I have a break from 9:30 to 9:40, and between that time the medicines are delivered to my office. That’s Internet of Things at work. So, the way IoT is going to move, is going to be dramatic.

Predictive and prescriptive

To be more into predictive, Amazon is a great example. Amazon, today, packs a product for you before you buy, they are so advanced. They know your past 10 years history and habits. Prescriptive—a lot of data can talk to each other and can actually prescribe you. This is the beauty about healthcare—people say telemedicine is a big thing, but I say it is about nanorobotics.

People are not going to consult—when the medicine reaches you, with the help of robots you can self-administer it. Everything is going to be self-administered—nanorobots will be doing the job. It will be no more about you going to the doctor or doctor reaching your house.

Cognitive robots

Cognitive is when you start putting emotions in robots. If you are sad and sitting in front of a robot, it says, “Why are you sad? Let me crack a joke for you”—and robots are doing that. And then the next level of cognitive is visual and text. Cognitive is the next generation and that’s when robots start replacing humans.

Indian numbers are good

It’s the beauty about how the world is dramatically shifting, partly also because of the demography we talked about. So, clearly Indian numbers are good—our fiscal deficit is well under control, our overall results are very good, demography is in our favour, we are getting younger—till 2037 India will be getting younger and after that the paradigm shifts and Indians also start getting older—that’s the predictions. So, 20 years at least India is safe, which I think is great. The numbers are staggering—70 lakh college graduates every year. Why because India has got this whole population demography aspiration, everybody wants to do good, have better house, have better living, which is going to help us. So, it’s a huge demographic dividend, also lot of pride for the Indian continent. Even if we don’t worry about the world, let’s make for India, there is so much of consumption.

Three takeaways

Social change is inevitable—the whole fabric of humanity will change. First time in the history of mankind, humanity is behind time and technology. Humanity would usually decide what technology is, but today technology is ahead. Extra byte data, how do you manage? Humanity is behind, so we are doing applications. Secondly, it is a different world, the biggest leveller is the world of internet and wireless. So, clearly it is a smarter world and you have to outsmart it as a marketer, if you want to really win in this world. Lastly, the new business realty is disruption—I cannot change my company until I completely disrupt legacy. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Budget 2017- Reactions

BUDG ET 2017 While old harpings continue with what was ‘missed’ in the most current Union Budget 2017, it is also worthy to note, if the changes that were made or ‘not’, would help create a template for future growth. The limit placed on anonymous cash donations to any political party at ₹ 2,000, steps up the Modi Government’s ‘corruption’ cleaning driving and could tag well with his demonetisation to remonetisation plan. Industry players welcomed the various measures to promote digital economy. The budget deficit control of 3.2% was seen as pro-industry with a scope of increasing the viability of technology companies for automation initiatives. Industry watchers believe that there has been a broader shift of the government’s focus towards outcomes, rather than justify its source of funding. By advancing the Budget announcement ahead of regular schedules, hints that bureaucrats will now have to be proactive on administrative tasks to get the ball rolling for earmarked projects and the related expenditures; this now has to be tallied over one full year as against the nine month cycles that they are used to. The 9.9% outlay hike in the education sector may perhaps tab India’s need to gain maximum literacy potentials for all. The budget is however seen as ‘flat’ with no real growth focus in any of the corporate sectors especially healthcare which has seen no signs of price reduction of life saving drugs. Corporate Citizen presents a slice of what industry, corporate, educationists and sector-heads had to say on the ‘Jaitley Budget’ 2017

Compiled By Team Corporate Citizen

Industry Leaders Speak...

Pankaj Patel President, FICCI

“The biggest take away from this budget is the reform introduced in the area of political funding whereby any anonymous cash donation to a political party will now be limited to ₹2,000 and that they would now have to take all their donations above ₹2,000 through cheque and digital payments. The government’s demonetisation move was an attack on the stock of black money and the measures announced in the budget on electoral funding will help attack the root cause of corruption of India. FICCI had represented to the government for bringing in such measures that will enhance transparency in line with the tenets of good governance. FICCI has been emphasising the need to have a strong education and skill development framework in the country in order to capitalise on the demographic dividend that the country has. The move to measure annual learning outcomes in the schools, setting up of an innovation fund for secondary education to encourage local innovation, ushering reforms in UGC for providing greater administrative and academic autonomy to good quality institutions, launching of the SWAYAM platform for online courses and linking it with DTH channels and enhancing the reach of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Kendras–will considerably build on the gains made in the areas of education and vocational training and help empower youths get jobs.” 34 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Fintech and Digital Economy

S Durgaprasad

Naveen Surya

Co-Founder, Director and CEO, Bahwan CyberTek

MD, ItzCash & Chairman, Payments Council of India

“Exemption of import duty on all types of PoS devices, additional 10 and 20 lakh POS terminals, no service charges on IRCTC bookings and incentivise schemes on digital payments for merchants, along with ban on cash transactions above ₹3 lakh will provide a huge boost to the country’s digital payment revolution. Also, as per recommendation of the Dr Ratan Watal Committee - creating a Payment Regulatory Board (PRB) within RBI is a great start and we believe will provide additional direction towards bringing parity between physical cash and digital payment transactions, along with ‘Inter-operability’ and access to a unified payment infrastructure with absorption of merchant discount rates by the government.”

“The Budget has a number of steps that are paving the way in making India a digital economy. With the first step of demonetisation taken towards this promise, the budget has further highlighted steps in this direction, such as ‘Aadhaar Pay’, a mandate to digitise all government receipts and the restrictions of cash transactions up to ₹3 lakh. These calls for robust technology players in the payments space that can help enable such an environment, in collaboration with the government. The budget has been presented with a fiscal deficit of 3.2% which is expected and it is likely that there will be higher capital outflow from emerging economies like India, since the US Federal Reserve’s intention is to increase policy rates this year.”

Bipin Preet Singh

Group Chief Executive Officer, Flytxt, Dubai “Digital India is definitely on the move and the Union Budget 2017 has proposed many technology initiatives like geo-tagging of rural assets, the use of analytics in tax administration and promotion of Aadhar enabled payment system that hold promise to further this digital push. Digitally connected - India will create more opportunities for enterprises across verticals to launch novel digital services and make consumer living better.”

Jay Chen

Founder & CEO, MobiKwik

“Big digital push is the thrust of this budget and is a very welcome and the right move for the future economic growth. I commend this progressive budget that has invested heavily on technology and digitisation. The focus on digital payments will lead to revolutionary transformation in payment habits of Indians. Digital payments will be the new normal in 2017 and we are very excited about this. As we become more digital, India will see new taxpayers and better transparency in incomes. Upgrading of digital infrastructure to support cashless transactions in rural and semi urban areas will encourage more merchants and consumers to transact on non-cash and online platforms.”

Vinod Vasudevan

CEO, Huawei India.

“We at Huawei Telecommunications India, are pleased to note that the current budget strongly supports the progressive vision of a Digital India. The allocation of ₹10,000 crore towards BharatNet will give an overall boost to broadband connectivity in the country. The success of the BHIM app and announcements related to its promotion, Aadhar based swipe machines, and tax exemption to those who use Aadhar based POS machines, will all help accelerate acceptance of digital payments. Furthermore, initiatives like ‘Digital Village’ and ‘Digi-Gaun’ will significantly extend the benefits of digitisation to rural India and contribute to a Better Connected India.”

Dewang Neralla,

MD & CEO, Atom Technologies, Mumbai

“Special focus on digital payments in the union budget and acceptance to specially look into the various committee recommendations on digital payments is a welcome step. Tax breaks on the POS devices as well as other devices will hopefully ensure affordability for the devices and help foster better penetration for digital payments.”

Deven Mehta

Managing Director, Smart Card IT Solutions Ltd, Mumbai “Overall it is a growth oriented budget with the government undertaking multiple measures to provide the necessary impetus to the economy. Government’s decision to launch Aadhaar based smart cards with health information for senior citizens is one big constructive step which will help millions. India is one of the few countries which lack a secured national identity card. I feel going forward we will see all Aadhaar cards being converted into chip based smart cards thereby enhancing the safety and security of one’s identity and information. Abolition of FIPB is one such encouraging measure which will enhance the ease of doing business in the country.”

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Budget 2017- Reactions entrepreneurship

education

Aparna Sharma

Independent Director at T S Alloys Ltd and Author of ‘Reality Bytes’ – ‘The Role of HR in Today’s World’

K G Suresh

Ketan Kapoor

Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication

IIT-IIM alumnus and Co-founder & CEO, Mettl, Gurgaon

“The government has kept its focus on skill development, entrepreneurship and job creation in the budget. Lot of thought has gone into creating the skill ecosystem in the country and the support provided in the budget in terms of mindshare and capital allocation will surely sustain this momentum. The ambitious target of skilling one crore people over four years (2016-2020) via fresh trainings (60%) and RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) (40%) with an outlay of 12,000 cr signals the strong will of this government. The creation of 100 Skilling Centres with a focus on international jobs are steps in this direction. The aim of Sankalp program is to provide market relevant training to 3.5 cr youth, mason training to 5 lakh people by 2022, STRIVE with a focus on improving the quality and market relevance of vocational training in ITIs and strengthening the apprenticeship programmes through industry cluster approach are steps to strengthen the efforts of vocational and job oriented training.”

“One of the redeeming features is the 9.9% hike for the education sector with an increased outlay of ₹79,685.95 crore (2017-18) from the previous ₹72,394 crore in 201617. To boost higher education, the current budget has allocated ₹250 crore for capital expenditure for setting up of Higher Education Financing Agency from a token of Rs one crore last year. Other major highlight is the ₹50 crore allocated for the world class institutions plan. This assumes significance in the wake of repeated criticism that Indian universities rarely figure in the list of top institutions worldwide. In its plan to reform the UGC, good quality institutions will be enabled to have greater administrative and academic autonomy. The decision to establish a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions, would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from administrative responsibilities.”

healthcare

other speaker

Dr KK Aggarwal

National President, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and President, Heart Care Foundation of India “With proposals for 2 new AIIMS, 5,000 new PG medical seats, eradication of diseases like Kala Azar and Filariasis, safe water for areas hit by fluoride and arsenic, the mission to eradicate tuberculosis, 1.5 lakh health sub centres being transformed in the health wellness centre, separate health cards for elderly, ₹6,000 aid for every pregnant women, accreditation of colleges and indirect health care by increasing budget for road safety, agricultural, rural health and Swachh Bharat, the current budget is a step forward. However, IMA wants an AIIMS in every state and overall increase in the budget to 2% of GDPO to cover 80% of population who are not availing government health services. An Amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules has been proposed which will ensure availability of medicines at reasonable prices and help people get access to life-saving medicines. New norms are also being formulated for the medical devices sector in order to encourage investments.” 36 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Ravi Saxena,

MD, Wonderchef Home Appliances “The government has extended the scope of affordable housing for the poor, given massive tax relief to not only entry-level income individual taxpayers but also to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). There are provisions for massive infrastructure investments targeted at employment generation. Reduction of personal income tax rate for income up to 5 lakh is a bold and expensive step, but would hopefully increase compliance dramatically, thus paving the way to 10% of the population paying taxes over the next 10 years, up from a mere 3% as of now. A ‘less-cash’ society would also expand the tax-net to small traders and outlets, which otherwise escaped the net. Agriculture and farm sectors get the desired support. It is also true that there are no big bang reforms. But after seeing some reckless big bangs over the last one week in a country far west, one feels almost relieved that the way to reforms in India is more sure and steady yet relentless.”

“The budget has come across as flat; with no particular focus on growth in any sectors, especially for the corporate. I am very disappointed with no concessions or reduction in prices of at least on life saving drugs/ medicines. In particular, there has been no respite for senior citizens. Anyone else being paid well for one’s skills is almost being punished by introduction of surcharge of 10%. Is this how we are expecting to reduce the disparity of income in a democracy like India? Is this how we’re going to enforce honesty and tax compliance? Lots to ponder; we are just a little behind the U.S in terms of the tax rates and without any Social Security measures - which is a huge safety net they have.”

housing and real estate

Suresh Rangarajan,

Founder CEO, Colife and Founder and MD, Artha Properties “This has to be the best budget ever for real estate sector in many years. Granting of infrastructure status means cheaper access to funds and lower risk weightage accorded by banks when disbursing these loans. This will be a macro economic boost for the realty sector. The affordable segment definition now has been revised to carpet area of 60 sq mtr in the urban areas and developers are eligible for tax rebates and the time to complete a project has been revised upwards to 5 years. Further, there is a big boost for landowners and joint development agreements where the capital gains tax payment has been now linked to possession and not at the time of signing the agreement.”

Vinit Vyankatesh Deo, CMD, Posiview Consulting

“The proposal that tax payers will get a deduction up to ₹2 lakh per year, irrespective of interest paid on housing loan for a property which is rented out. The FM seems to have taken the view that most rich and higher middle class tax payers buy properties to get rental incomes or for tax benefits on the interest paid on housing loans. His rationale seems to be that allowing such people to deduct the full interest paid from their other incomes such as salary and business means giving them an undue advantage. On the contrary, making investments in second houses, unattractive, it will have adverse effects. Because, if rental properties become less lucrative, investors will divert their savings to mutual funds, stocks, gold etc.”

sales management

Kishor Pate,

CMD Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd “The announcement that one crore rural houses will be created by 2019, and the outlay for rural housing under PMAY is ₹23,000 crore from the previous ₹15,000 crore, will help address the housing needs of the homeless and those living in ‘kachha’ houses in the rural areas, and potentially help reduce pressure on urban areas. The total allocation for infrastructure at ₹3,96,135 crores is good news for the real estate sector, as the correlation of infrastructure with real estate growth is a well-established fact. Affordable housing given infrastructure status will mean cheaper loans for developers of budget housing and significantly boost the government’s target of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022.”

KT Prasad

Country Sales Director, Zendesk “While I feel that overall this was a cautious budget, it was probably needed considering emerging global developments. As the FM pointed, India nevertheless continues to stand out as a bright spot among global markets. Reforms in UGC, 100 new skill centres to be launched and the `4,000 crore allocated to launch skill acquisition and knowledge awareness should empower the country’s youth and education further. The initiatives to simplify tax filing for the average man and reducing the tax bracket at the entry level are also welcome steps for the economy at large.”

Anuj Puri,

Former-Chairman & Country Head, JLL India “There are no additional income tax incentives to first-time home buyers or providing higher tax savings on housing loans and house insurance premiums. Nor did it raise house rent deduction limits. Promoters of affordable housing projects will benefit from the following announcements instead of the earlier timeline of completing their projects within 3 years, they now have a cushion of two additional years. This will be beneficial for landowners and land prices can ease. On the FDI front, the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) is set to be abolished and a new roadmap is to be announced- will give the real estate sector access to significantly more funding than it has today.”

transport

Sudhakar Reddy,

CEO and Founder, Abhibus.com

“Increased allocation for National Highways and moves to set up five special tourism zones in partnership with states are positive announcements for our sector. Focus on digital infra development and announcement of AadhaarPay are positive moves for travel ecosystem.”

Ramanan Subramani

Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Chief Spokesperson of Spoors Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad “The 5% reduction in tax will put a lot of startups (MSMEs) to utilise the money in creating more employment. The proposal to have startups pay tax for 3/7 years is welcome measure in creating greater wealth and employment. With digitisation as the key focus, companies like us will be contributing and enabling governments and other organisations in automating their processes in the shortest possible time.”

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 37

corporate assessment

Breaking the mould They say it’s a man’s world, but Indian women are taking the bull by the horns. They’re working overtime to take their start-ups to the pinnacle of success. Yet, not all are succeeding. What challenges do they face and how can they overcome them? By PRADEEP MATHUR

ntrepreneurship is all about launching and running a business. It generally begins as a startup. Until a few years ago, it was considered a man’s domain, but the tide has begun to turn, and with PM Narendra Modi’s Stand-Up India push, it is gathering momentum. Today the startup scenario is experiencing a paradigm shift with lots of women boldly setting up their own businesses, giving stiff competition to men. But if you think they’re having a cake walk, you’re wrong. In fact, breaking age-old stereotypes and working effortlessly is quite a task for many. They face challenges not typically shared by their male counterparts--in finance and funding, marketing, access to resources, mobility, and, most importantly, obtaining the support of their husbands and in-laws. To shed light on some of these issues, Delhi’s FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) organised an interactive panel discussion recently to explore the theme ‘Can Business be an Agent for Change?’ On this occasion, it also launched a startup initiative titled ‘Dyuti’ (a synonym for Goddess Lakshmi) which it hopes will generate gainful entrepreneurial opportunities for women in the jewellery industry. To discuss key challenges women entrepreneurs face and how they can overcome them, FLO invited three very successful and articulate businesswomen from three different fields--politics, cinema and fashion—represented by Princess Diya Kumari (Rajasthan), Raveena Tandon (Maharashtra) and Kalyani Saha Chawla (Bengal) respectively. The idea 38 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

was to not just discuss issues they face but also suggest ways to overcome them. But before taking it up, let’s just take a peep into the professional and personal lives of these three gorgeous ladies who have gone through all these stages in their distinguished careers. A BJP legislator from Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur constituency, Princess Diya Kumari belongs to Jaipur’s illustrious royal family. The only child of erstwhile Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Bhawani Singh and Padmini Devi, she studied in Delhi and Jaipur and later did a course in decorative arts from London. Personally groomed by her grandmother, the legendary beauty Rajmata Gayatri Devi, she currently manages her family businesses and heritage which, among other things, include City Palace, Jaipur (that’s also partly her royal residence) and Jaigarh Fort, Amber and two trusts and two schools. She also runs three palace hotels in Jaipur and Mount Abu. Mother of two sons and a daughter from her marriage to Maharaja Narendra Singh Thikana of Shivad, like her grandmother, she finally plunged into politics in 2013 when she formally joined the BJP before a crowd of two-lakh people in the presence of the then Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi, BJP president Rajnath Singh and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia. Raveena Tandon doesn’t need any introduction because we all know her as the ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’-girl of film Mohra who gave us box-office hits like ‘Dilwale’, ‘Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi’ and ‘Ziddi’, to name a few. Not many, however, know that she’s also a producer, PETA activist, social entrepreneur, TV host, newspaper columnist, an ex-model and former chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India (2003). A

veteran Bollywood star of over 25-years’ standing, Raveena got high critical acclaim for her mesmerising performances in some hard-hitting women-oriented films like ‘Shool’ (1999), ‘Sandhya’ (2002) and ‘Satta’ (2003). But the film that won her the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actress was Kalpana Lajmi’s ‘Daman’ (2001) in which she played the powerful character of Durga Saikia, a lower caste girl from a poor family. Daughter of renowned producer-director Ravi Tandon who made popular films like ‘Khel Khel Main’ (1975), ‘Anhonee’, ‘Jawaab’, ‘Majboor’ and ‘Khud-daar’ (1982), Raveena is married to film distributor Ravi Thadani (2004) and is mother of Rasha (2005) and Ranbirvardhan (2007). Incidentally, she is also mother to two other girls she had adopted as a single mother in the 1990s. As Vice President of Dior’s marketing and

(From left to right) Bela Badhalia, Princess Diya Kumari, Vinita Bimbhet, Raveena Tandon, Kalyani Saha Chawla and Jayanti Dalmia

Breaking age-old stereotypes and working effortlessly is quite a task for many. They face challenges not typically shared by their male counterparts--in finance and funding, marketing, access to resources, mobility, and, most importantly, obtaining the support of their husbands and in-laws

communications ventures in India, Kalyani Saha Chawla has been overseeing the world’s most luxurious brand’s market positioning, PR activities and product placements with high profile Indian celebrities for over a decade. A prominent page-3 personality within India’s elite society circles, Chawla is an experienced retail and manufacturing entrepreneur. She began her career as a

marketing representative and correspondent for the Indian Express, looking after their four very diverse magazines, following her graduation in Commerce from Chennai. Having launched a leather-crafting business and bric-a-brac boutique in Calcutta, Chawla moved to Delhi to launch her own leather goods exporting company in the late 90’s-- following the break-up of

her marriage to hotelier Sanjeev Tyagi - and met Vishal Chawla of Ravissant fame. She started designing jewellery together with Vishal for export and as it started making big, Kalyani had a fairytale kind of marriage with him in 1998 against stiff opposition from Vishal’s family. A patron of art and fashion, Kalyani is today a proud mother to her teenage daughter Tahira Tara. March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 39

corporate assessment Moderated jointly by Vinita Bimbhet (President, FLO) and Bela Badhalia (FLO Governing Body Member and Past Chairperson of FLO’s Jaipur Chapter), the jam-packed, hour-long panel discussion turned out to be quite exciting for over 200 women entrepreneurs, many from Jaipur. Corporate Citizen brings to you excerpts of this thought-provoking discussion which not only gives you a peep into the lives of these celebrity entrepreneurs but also shows how they faced these challenges and wrote their success story. Initiating the session, Vinita Bimbhet said, “We all know that unleashing the power of female entrepreneurship can have a dramatic effect on a country’s economy. Statistically speaking, India’s 2025 GDP can increase from 16 per cent to 60 per cent simply by enabling women to participate in the economy on par with men. The only way to achieve this is to have more and more startups by women entrepreneurs and thereby more employment opportunities for women and that’s what we at FLO keep trying. But we find that family support turns out to be quite a big issue for many women.” Taking it forward, Bela Badhalia, intervened, “So, let’s begin with Diya Kumari to know if business could be an agent of change for women?”

‘India’s 2025 GDP can increase from 16 per cent to 60 per cent simply by enabling women to participate in the economy on par with men. The only way to achieve this is to have more and more startups by women entrepreneurs and thereby more employment opportunities for women’ —Vinita Bimbhet

Agent of change

Rooted in reality and totally unspoilt by the glamour of royalty, Diya Kumari said, “It definitely can be an agent of change for women and I’m saying this with my own personal experience. I represent Sawai Madhopur constituency which is a very backward area. Though we have a tiger sanctuary, industrial development has been next to nothing because of obvious environmental concerns. There is a huge unemployment problem too.” “So I began working with the poor women of my constituency including those in the rural areas to try and include them in the economy. We started with just 10 women because there were many other problems as well to attend to. We have child marriage. We have female infanticide and there is acute lack of education, especially among women who don’t go to school after a certain age. So I started off with a skilling centre. Women there wanted me to help them. They wanted jobs. They said we want money in our hands because we’re not respected in our houses. We don’t bring in anything. So we’re not treated well. I therefore thought and decided to give them skills--basic skills like embroidery, stitching and making household handicraft products. We started teaching them that and now from ten women, we have more than 300 women who are, thankfully, doing very well economically as we’ve linked them up directly with retailers, etc. A chain has been established whereby their talent in handicrafts has been linked across the market needs and a reasonably profitable economic ac40 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

tivity has begun.” “Seeing the market response, we encourage more and more women entrepreneurs to come forth and help us in this endeavour. We need all the help we can get. Women definitely have what it takes to run businesses,” she concluded.

Respect and economic independence Intervened Raveena Tandon, “I’ve observed

something very, very important in what Diya just said. When we women meet and talk of empowering rural women, we often miss this point that rural, uneducated women are not treated well in their homes because they don’t bring in money. So, let’s understand that the respect factor and the confidence are extremely important for women.

More than men taking that responsibility, it is very important for them to take up their own responsibility. Therefore, the idea of helping such women through skilling centres was a great initiative which will go a long way in making them economically independent and thereby contributing more significantly to their family earnings and getting due respect from family members as well.” Added Kalyani Saha Chawla, “Economic independence is indeed the most important thing for a woman. I know it from my own experience because my husband and I were separated when my daughter was barely two years old and it was very difficult. It happened primarily because of finances. I left my marriage on this very issue. I left him without a single penny of alimony from

a very, very wealthy family I had married into. Although I’m doing business with my husband because we’re best friends now, it wasn’t easy at that time. People ask me what keeps me going and I tell them that the only motivation behind all my businesses has been my daughter Tahira Tara who is 17 now. I knew my daughter was my responsibility and will be for the rest of my life. She has always been my driving force. Today I’m very proud of the fact that I’m bringing up

my daughter without making any compromises on anything. I educated her in one of the best schools in England.”

Balancing business and family But how did you manage the work-life balance because most young mothers who start businesses find it difficult to run their families and their companies? Chawala: You’re right because being a mother while running a business is indeed very challenging. But there are ways to strike a balance. I was very fortunate that I had the full support of my parents. My mother has been the biggest stabilising force in my life. She gave up all her

enjoyment to baby sit my daughter for 10 years when I was in Kolkata! I don’t know what I would have done without my mother. If I’m financially independent today, it’s largely because of my support system and that’s extremely important for all women. No matter how comfortable you may be, no matter which family you come from, the real wealth comes from this mental space because your real confidence comes from there. I’ve been working with the best luxury brand in the West

and at the same time, I’ve recently launched my new company, Koi Communications, basically a media communication firm. Dior is obviously a part of it, but that’s not all. I’ve also launched two more businesses. One is a fashion website called Lulu & Sky which ladies will love because my target audience is the 15-to-50 age group because today 15-year-olds are dressing like 50 and 50-year-olds want to dress like 15. So I’ve covered them both. The other is a silver business which I’ve launched with my ex-husband. And, if today, at this age and stage, I’ve started these new businesses, it’s not because of my wealth but because of the way I lived and that comes from an independence I have earned--an independence of thought and independence of mind. No wonder, I lead a life which most people may

find enviable, but I tell all my young friends that if you really want to enjoy life, it’s so important to be financially independent.

Gender equality and family support Kalyani, you had your mom to support you but most people don’t have any such support. Raveena, how did you get into the film industry? Were you on your own? Tandon: I’m in this industry by default. I never

had any dreams of becoming an actress. In fact, when people asked my dad, a producer-director, when he’d launch me, he’d just laugh. This was because Mahesh Bhatt had also launched his daughter Pooja Bhatt. But my dad would look at me in disbelief and say, “Isko? How?” I was little plump. I still am, but in those days I was rolly-polly and a little laddoo like. Even in my class, I was a back bencher, not wanting to put up my hand even if I knew the correct answer because I was conscious that everyone would look at me and I’d be teased by the mean boys and girls of my class. But I’ve been very stable because of my family environment. My dad always made us work to get things. Vacation time meant work—washing of cars would fetch you ₹10/- and so on. I was always treated equally with my brother on everything. If he wanted to ride a bike, I was also taught how to ride a bike. I even knew how to change the tyres of my car in case I was stuck somewhere with a puncture. And, for quite a while, I was a tomboy. Ekdum bindaas. My husband always says, ‘maine shaadi karke tumhe ladki banaya,’ because I was always like that, and till date, I’m always ready to fight my own battles. So, family support is important, but the fact is that you need to stand up on your own feet. If you want to do something, it must come from within. Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are. I’ve also learnt it the hard way. But I know if I have to save my business interest, I have to defend or fight for it. I don’t care if in the process I’m seen as aggressive. Chawala: I totally agree with Raveena. If I’ve taken a decision, I go for it. It doesn’t bother me as to how people will see me because there is somebody up there who tests me constantly and blesses me with good fortune.

You’re not just an MLA, Diya Kumari. You also take care of your palaces, museums, hotels, foundations, trusts, NGOs, skilling centres and what not. You’re also a wife, mother, sister and all of that. Did you also have full support of your family? Kumari: Oh yes, I’m lucky that way. My parents

always backed me, though in Rajasthan, they don’t, really. They’re very conservative in their thinking. They still are, especially in Rajput families. But my parents treated me like a boy, like a son. There was no difference. For them, I was March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 41

corporate assessment everything and they supported me in everything I did, right from looking after the family businesses, museums, schools--which by the way I started on my own, taking inspiration from my grandmother—the late Gayatri Deviji—because I wanted to do something in education in Jaipur and my father was most encouraging. Even when I was growing up, I was totally free to do what I wanted to do. By the way, I chose my own husband! That’s not very common in our state, in our

had male actors dressed and dragged with long wigs and hideous costumes in the role of women. Slowly and steadily, women came and evolved in the industry and today they’re in a commanding position. Initially, every decade used to produce at least one prominent woman-oriented film. For example, there was a Jhansi ki Rani in the black and white era, followed by an Anarkali, then came a Mother India followed by Mughal-e-Azam.

‘In today’s world, having a good product is not enough. You also need to market it well. You also need good distribution networks and money collection processes. Even if you don’t have a store, you can run a business sitting at home. You can do it digitally. All you need is a laptop to scale up your business’ — Kalyani Saha Chawla culture, but I was given the freedom to take my decisions, make my own choices and be responsible for them as well.

We know you (Raveena) as a leading Bollywood actress. But tell us your own experiences as to how the content of our films changed for women in this industry? Tandon: This question has a very long answer

because it’s a long story but I think my story is more or less the same as is of every woman connected with the film industry. As you know, when our film industry started producing films, initially men used to enact women’s roles. We

Past President of FLO, Ms Abha Dalmia (left) felicitating Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon while the current FLO chief Vinita Bimbhet (centre) looks on

FLO President Vinita Bimbhet (right) felicitating Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur’s royal family

42 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Coming down to more recent years and jumping straight to the 90s, you saw some of my own films like Satta, Daman and Shool which had very strong women characters. In fact, I even won the national award for Daman. These films showed stories of empowered women and that’s what the trend is even now. In recent times, you saw films like ‘Mary Kom’, ‘Kahaani’, ‘NH10’ and a lot others. In fact, in two of my upcoming films ‘Maatr’ (The Mother) and ‘Shab’ (The Night), both based in Delhi, I’m playing very strong women characters. Maatr in particular deals with the issue of violence against women and how our justice system is failing them. So, our cinema has

changed over the years. Today we have some great women directors like Tanuja Chandra, Farha Khan, Kalpana Lajmi and Sai Paranjape who made wonderful films like ‘Katha’, ‘Sparsh’ and ‘Disha’, etc. Their cinema is taken very seriously. But that’s not all. Today women are also heading lots of movie production companies like Eros, Balaji, Times Movies and so on. I’ve seen the advent and also the increasing corporatisation of cinema which is helping us make meaningful films. So, yes, it’s a win-win situation for women but there is still a long way to go and I’m sure soon the gender inequality in Bollywood will be a thing of the past and a right balance will emerge. But let’s not look at it as an issue of gender equality alone. Let’s also give credit to merit and hard work because women have worked very hard to claim this position.

Is Maatr inspired by the Nirbhaya’s story? Tandon: No, it’s a fiction film and not inspired

by Nirbhaya’s case. But since you asked this, let me tell you. A few days back I had met Asha Devi, mother of Jyoti Singh or Nirbhaya. Her wounds are still fresh. She was in tears because even four years after the tragedy, the death penalty awarded to the four offenders has not been executed. Just think, if this is true for the most-talked about case which stirred the conscience of the nation, what can you expect in other cases?

You’re running so many businesses Kalyani, what tip you would like to give to ladies who want to scale up their businesses? Chawala: In today’s world, having a good prod-

uct is not enough. You also need to market it well. You also need good distribution networks and money collection processes. Even if you don’t have a store, you can run a business sitting at

‘We’re certainly breaking the glass ceiling in many areas, especially in professional careers, be it flying fighter planes or going in combat mode or taking part in artillery operations. This is the right time to give our women opportunities. It’s the time to support and encourage women entrepreneurs because entrepreneurship is ingrained in our DNA. It’s all about discovering your own inner ‘Shakti’ ‘ - Raveena Tandon

home. You can do it digitally. All you need is a laptop to scale up your business. But you need family support which is very, very necessary. If your mother-in-law and husband keep asking you, “Ye kya kar rahi ho,” then it becomes difficult. So, you need to involve everybody, because we don’t just marry a guy. We marry a whole family, the whole society. If you have their support, then doing business becomes easy. But today it has become very technical and competitive. I’m not discouraging anybody, but today, it’s not the same thing as I had in my time. Today, you also need a lot of investment and other things, depending upon what you’re doing, but raising funds or getting a loan from a bank is not that easy. Bimbhet: Here I must intervene to tell you that FLO has a platform called Swayam where we give

you consultancy, mentorship, finance, legal advice, a place to work at and an e-commerce platform like what Kalyani just said. You can put it online and just sell it. We also have an online platform as we’re doing everything to encourage women entrepreneurship. Chawala: That’s amazing.

Are entrepreneurs born or made or a little bit of both? Tandon: I honestly think that all women are

born entrepreneurs. I strongly believe that we manage our homes, we manage our children, we manage our husbands, we manipulate our in-laws, we enjoy our parents and give them all our love. We manage the whole moolah coming into the house. We make our own home budgets. We bargain with our ‘bhajiwala’, ‘machhiwala’, ‘doodhwala’ and the rest and still save money. We’re far better at managing people. We’re better communicators. We’re better at multi-tasking. We also know how to manipulate, but besides being really smart at knowing how to do and what to do, you’ll be surprised to know that in India, 30% women today are working at very senior management positions in the corporate world, while globally this figure is only 24%. So, that way, we are much ahead of the so-called developed countries who call us the third world, though we’ve had a woman Prime Minister, many women CMs and even a woman President in our country! Secondly, though women are taken very seriously at senior positions, it’s not the case at middle-level management. That’s why those starting small businesses or trying to become entrepreneurs need full encouragement, especially if they’re doing it from home. Giving such startups a helping hand is extremely important to bring that percentage up. Thirdly, I do feel that India right now is at a point where women are emerging as leaders in every sector. I won’t say they’re superior because it’s not a male-female kind of a battle, but we’re certainly breaking the glass ceiling in many areas, especially in professional careers—be it fly-

ing fighter planes or going in combat mode or taking part in artillery operations. This is the right time to give our women opportunities. It’s the time to support and encourage women entrepreneurs because entrepreneurship is ingrained in our DNA. It’s all about discovering your own inner ‘Shakti’. Each one of us must discover that because there is a ‘Devi’ in all of us. So, just go out there and give your best shot and, like I said, everyone can stand up and be counted.

What’s your take on this issue, Diya Kumari? Kumari: Very similar to what Raveena said. All

women have it in them. We’re genetically made like that and it is just that we don’t realise our potential. We’re not given the opportunities, not enough encouragement from families, mostly by men and mothers-in- law. But, given the right opportunities, platforms and direction, we can do as much as we want to. Sky is the limit. Chawala: I also agree with Raveena because their passion for work, their excellence on the job and the changes they have wrought have taken women to the top of their game. They’re changing the rules every day. So, whether you like it or not, we’re there. We’re the only beacons of hope today and we deserve a standing ovation. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com CC

tadka

India preferred market despite demonetisation disruption

India continues to be the preferred market within Asia, despite disruptions caused by recent demonetisation drive, as the economy is in transition towards greater formalisation, lesser corruption, better infrastructure and improved governance— says the recent Japanese brokerage, Nomura report.

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 43

All aboard abroad!

Bowled over by

Australia Swaminathan Iyer has always been a globetrotter but he has his heart set on Australia; one of the primary reasons he is trading his Indian citizenship for an Australian one. More on his experience on working in the land of Kangaroos...

By Namrata Gulati Sapra Becoming an Aussie

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I work as a solutions architect for an IT major in Australia. I first came to this country in the year 2008 after finishing my Bachelors (Engineering) in India for a two-year Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program. I left Australia after completing my Masters in the year 2010 in pursuit of employment opportunities in India and Singapore. Finding a job as an immigrant graduate without a Per44 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

manent Residency during those times was difficult. After acquiring about three years of experience, I decided to migrate to Melbourne on a Permanent Residency Visa in the year 2014â&#x20AC;?, Swami explains.

When in Australia, do as the Aussies do

The techie talks about the work ethic and culture prevalent in Australia: Punctuality: Although it varies with profession,

people are generally punctual. Lesser traffic on roads, ease of public transport are some of the contributing factors. Workload: This too varies with the profession but given my experience in the IT industry, it is largely seasonal. Workload tends to come down as the year closes (say, November, December). Competition: Melbourne and Sydney are global hotspots hence competition for jobs is often fierce even for someone coming in with specialist skills. Good English, relevant experience and

Melbourne and Sydney are global hotspots hence competition for jobs is often fierce even for someone coming in with specialist skills. Good English, relevant experience and a professional outlook amongst others are a deal breaker when it comes to securing an employment offer a professional outlook amongst others are a deal breaker when it comes to securing an employment offer. Dress culture: People are expected to dress professionally and be presentable at work. Most of the large firms have a corporate culture in place. Most of the companies allow their employees to wear casual clothing on Fridays. Work from home and overtime: A lot of firms permit flexible work practices, allowing their employees to work from home. If the nature of the role involves you to be in a specific work location, you are not expected to stay in office beyond your scheduled time. Any overtime is

usually compensated for. This, however, can naturally vary as per one's profession and role. Appreciation: This is very specific to the kind of people you get to work with and the attitude of the team in general. But if you have done a good job, appreciation is quick to come by in word or otherwise. Incentives and pay cheque: Australian pay is generally good and is protected by good labour laws. It allows one to lead a very decent quality of life even though the cost of living is expensive. I find the incentives in Australian firms far superior in comparison to India. Apart from the standard incentives like health insurance, a lot of employers provide car allowance depending on your role and function. Career prospects: As with any new place, it is generally hard to make inroads for any immigrant when you are new but as you spend more time and develop professional relationships, career prospects open up both internally and externally.

Finding work over a cuppa

“The coffee culture is big in Australia and a lot of people find jobs while meeting hiring managers over a cup of coffee.” Politics at work: This really depends on the team, your boss and you as an individual. Relationship with boss: Again, it depends on who you are as an individual and who you get to work for. When it comes to work, good bosses are generally very professional and accommodating. Also, employee labour laws are very strong in Australia and any abuse of authority can quickly work against the supervisor.

Moving from a Developed to a Developing Economy

“I intend to work in Australia for another couple of years. Apart from the obvious, high quality of life that I am able to lead, Australia is usually at the leading edge compared to a lot of other countries in terms of early technology adoption. Acquiring some good experience here and then taking this experience to an emerging economy like India would be more fruitful from a career standpoint in the longer run”, says Swami.

Being a global citizen

Swami signs off by expressing his love for the Aussie culture, “I feel part of the country that is diverse and progressive and very immigrant friendly in general. You have people from many ethnic backgrounds embracing Australian Citizenship. In short, I feel like I am a Global Citizen, citizenship which is not indicative of your race or cultural background!” namratagulati8@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Startups

Revamping the

‘gifting’ idea

Expressing love, friendship, gratitude, charity or even solidarity in the form of a gift has had its fair passage since the Roman or the Egyptian era. Times have moved on from the medieval ages when gifting of an animal tooth, or bark of a tree, good luck charms or even cattle, expressed not just your emotions but also ‘who you are’. While the psychology of gifting remains quite the same, the expression of what a ‘gift’ can be has taken on a new meaning. For a society that lives on instant gratification, the emerging trend of ‘experiential’ gifting has gained ground where social standings are interspersed with ‘lifestyle’ portrayals of what we gift or receive. And, filling in a part of this space is Bengaluru based, Giftxoxo that aspires to muscle itself up in the ‘gift-ing ’ business, estimated at a $30 billion industry in India - a major share raked in from corporate gifting and online ‘gift’ portals. Co-founder, Manoj Agarwal, shared his insights on the business model and his journey since Giftxoxo’s inception in 2012 By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

took three MBA graduates and a technocrat to conceive a platform that sells sentiments in the form of tangible and intangible gift ideas. Manoj Agarwal, from IIM-Kozikhode, Kushal Agrawal, alumni of Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai; Sumit Khandelwal of TAPMI, Manipal and Abhishek Kumar from IIT, Bombay run a portal that offers to take on the drudgery of ‘gifting’ in a fast-paced world, onto their shoulders. While we all love to give and receive gifts, Giftxoxo stages to break the cycle of ‘boredom’ of either receiving or giving recycled 46 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

From (L) to (R): Abhishek Kumar, Manoj Agarwal, Kushal Agarwal and Sumit Khandelwal

gifts; while also enhancing both sentiments and generosity that goes on to portray who we are as a brand or a personality.

Conception to Conviction

It all began in 2012 as Manoj toyed around with new ideas whilst working with Flipkart in his marketing role handling its gifting segment. He gained awareness on the ‘business of gifting’ that had taken off quite well globally. With Sumit in tow, the duo observed some interesting trends in the global gifting industry and replicated a few ideas, which finally conceptualised the framework for Giftxoxo as a potential platform

for buying gifts and gifting ideas. They worked around market potentials in this segment and gradually built a model based not just on tangible gift ideas but as a company that would thrive on the intangibility of selling a complete experience. Abhishek and Kushal joined in within a month’s time and their four and a half years journey together today works on three basic verticals that are strategically linked to each other. In the initial years, the founders were confident about their concept and managed to lure in investors who were keen on working with them. Manoj Agarwal, Since they had tailored part of the model based Co-Founder, Giftxoxo and Frogo on their understanding of the markets prevalent

in Europe, investors were willing to invest in an almost similar concept in the Indian market too. “Investors found our product good and went ahead with the funding,” said Manoj Agarwal, Co-Founder, Giftxoxo and Frogo. On their very first corporate pitch with PepsiCo, “They were initially a little perplexed when we explained the concept to them since the whole idea was new but after we explained the business model to them, they asked to do a test run. Based on the initial positive feedback,

PepsiCo went ahead with the concept and hired us for their gifting needs.” There was no looking back since as they have had prime clienteles in L&T, Accenture, Acer, Infosys, and Asian Paints and have managed to tap some 700 odd corporate clients with their Reward and Recognition, Employee Engagement, and Incentive Management programmes. Due to the global nature of their solutions, they enable solutions at international destinations too across UK, USA, France, New Zealand, Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Canada, besides India. “Giftxoxo has become one of the few startups that has managed to break even within no time and has been successful in

their venture....with more than two lakh happy customers and a fast growing global presence, said Manoj.”

Manoj Agarwal, Co-Founder, Giftxoxo and Frogo

Three Pronged Model

At the corporate level, Giftxoxo works closely with corporate houses across India to handle their rewards, recognition and channel incentives both globally and locally via a robust SaaS (Software as a Service) platform. “We were initially a gifting company, however, our concept has well evolved since then and we have now moved to becoming a SaaS based rewards and recognition platform. The understanding that experiences last a lot longer than materialistic rewards and will showcase to employees that their employers care for them which fosters a lasting partnership”, was an idea new to the Indian market. But, it struck a chord with corporate houses who tied up with Giftxoxo's services as part of their employee incentive schemes. “While our B2B customer base consists of CXOs, HR managers, CEOs and other senior management officials, for our B2C brand, Frogo, we have a customer base ranging in the age group 18 to 35. They are primarily salaried professionals, students, newlywed couples, new mothers and children when accompanied by their parents for some exclusive child-friendly experiences.” Following their success in the B2B segment, they ventured into the consumer space with their mobile application app Frogo - that enables selling of curated experiences and activities such as adventure sports, health and wellness and gourmet. Frogo is a geo-based app that helps consumers to discover and book ‘live’ experiences, activities and things-to-do around them. These experiences are also sold to corporate houses and individuals as gifts for various occasions, making the company perhaps one of India’s lone enterprises offering curated experiential gifting platform. With a turnover close to `40 crore in fiscal 2014-15, the company operates with 150 employees across three cities. “We partner with vendors across the country and get their experiences on our platform. We earn a commission through these vendor partners.”

Trending Pathways

With the market or industry for gift ideas gradually transcending into the areas of ‘live’ experiences, Manoj explained that they are currently moving away from the gifting segment and going towards ‘selling experiences’ as the main segment. The gifting market in India is currently valued at $30 billion. “We do not have direct competitors in India as of now who offer experiences as their core product. However, we do see competition in existing portals such as bookmyshow, yatra.com etc; which are now offering services in the ‘experiences’ field too. Our mar-

“We were initially a gifting company, however, our concept has well evolved since then and we have now moved to becoming a SaaS based rewards and recognition platform. The understanding that experiences last a lot longer than materialistic rewards and will showcase to employees that their employers care for them which fosters a lasting partnership...” ket size currently is INR 80,000 crore. With the rising per capita income and lifestyle changes, people are looking at exploring such activities in India too.” The universal appeal of ‘gifting’ someone is too tempting such that all segments and all tiers of cities have been considered for selling the idea of a gifting portal. “When it comes to gifting, everyone has a specific choice”, said Manoj. Considering that the choice of every individual is not an easy task to be fulfilled by a large sized company; the trend is for such large conglomerates to opt for experiences which are more personal and engaging. Their corporate channel engages various stakeholders within corporate houses that include both employees and customers. The consumer channel serves the requirements of people who want to explore something unique or make their day special with handpicked experiences. “We sell ‘experiences’ spread across 32 different cities in India which makes it easier for employees even in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to experience unique activities in their respective cities as well. We want to become a one-stop destination for curated experiences across geographies.” Riding on this new wave of corporate and personal gifting, Giftxoxo aims to become one of the largest curated experiences and activities company globally.” sangeetagd2010@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Campus Placement By Joe Williams

oming from a small town, Dalli-Rajhara, in Chhattisgarh, life was always about thinking small and being happy with whatever was available there. For Neha Upadhyay, moving out of the place made her the first girl from there to venture into the corporate world. And it has taken courage and commitment, especially for a girl from a region where parents are happy if the girl completes her XII and will not allow her to go ahead for further studies. But with Neha, her parents were very supportive and let her go ahead. After her XII, Neha forged ahead, coming out of St Thomas College, Bhilai, as a Commerce graduate. Things changed, and now after her MBA from one of the prominent colleges in the city, she made it to Aptech Ltd as an executive. Neha speaks to Corporate Citizen about her journey from her childhood and school days to make the cut at Aptech where she starts her life in the world of corporate:

Schooling

Good schooling or a good foundation made a big difference for Neha. It was at the NEMS Convent School where she began her schooling and completed her XII standard. “Studying in one institution till XII standard helped me a lot,” says Neha, who was encouraged by her parents to pursue her college at the St Thomas College, one of the prominent colleges in Bhilai thereafter. And it was here she had to move out of her home. “That was the first time I set off alone from my house. It was a great experience. It was tough in the beginning, but I gathered courage and went ahead,” recalls Neha. This gave a new twist to her life style as she had to do everything by herself. And it was then she understood how tough it was

‘Life is

all about

dreaming andachieving’ 48 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

The more you can open yourself to criticism, the more you can use it to enhance your performance in areas that you need improvement, says Neha Upadhyay

ferent industries out there really worked. My career would go a very long way in my life because it is this that will define me, and add value to my existence”.

Family background

Father, a businessman, my mother, a housewife and her elder sister is married and is a professor. It has been a tough journey not just for Neha but also for her parents. “Unquestionably, the day I finally got the job my parents got the relief for all the pain that they went through, all the sacrifices they made and all the decisions they took for us was fruitful. What else can it be? It was bliss” says Neha. Dreaming and fulfiling them is what makes life interesting for Neha. “Life is all about dreaming and achieving, this is what makes life interesting. The bigger the dream, the more interesting it becomes.

Six tricks to success

‘Life is all about dreaming and achieving, this is what makes life interesting. The bigger the dream, the more interesting it becomes’ to stay away from home. She passed out in flying colours, and with her parents support she made it to Pune to do her Masters in Business Management, in Telecom and Management at the one of the well-known college in the city.

Campus placement

This is one aspect every student after their professional course look forward for, and Neha was no different. It was a good beginning as she made the cut in the second round in her very first attempt. Pre-campus placement was the talk at the campus, irrespective of whether they were fresher or appearing for the interview. “Everyone was talking about campus placement, no matter if they were candidates or freshers,” said Neha who was among the first 30 candidates to be shortlisted from over 100. Getting past the first hurdle boosted her morale and there was no turning back from then onwards. “There was much more to come, but making the cut into the second round made the difference,” she said. The effects of demonetisation was on the top of the list of the four-member panel who were to grill the candidates. Being confident was the key factor for Neha as she did her homework well on the subject. She answered all the questions and the panel gave her the nod amidst celebration outside the interview room.

Opposition from outside her house

Although, her parents wanted her to go ahead

with her academics, there were other outside elements, father’s friends and some relatives who were against Neha’s education. “I did face opposition from outside my house as some of the conserved families, especially my father’s friends were not very happy about my Pune’s venture”. But, her parents stood their ground which helped and Neha to fulfill her dream. Thinking positive and being confident of her self made a big difference for Neha. Initially the fear factor did hamper her. “I always feared what will happen if they do not shortlist me?”, but she over that with her friends support. And being patience played a very important role in a placement season. “And patience is my strength too, so I always used to tell myself, “Calm down, it was just not your day”. This is just a beginning of a new innings for Neha as she steps into the corporate world. This is just the beginning, I have a long way to go,” said Neha and went on to add, “In fact I strongly believe that the journey has just begun. There is still a lot to learn, to achieve and to succeed”. For Neha, failure gives her an option to find reasons behind the set back. “Whenever I fail, I try to figure out what went wrong and what could be my area of improvement,” said Neha, who has her parents and friends to motivate her. “My family has always believed in me, my friends who motivated me and undoubtedly the professors who not only taught us theory but also taught us how dif-

Keep yourself updated with what’s going on in the country and around the world. For that, read newspapers to enrich yourself with all that is happening around you. Be open to criticism. The more you can open yourself to criticism, the more you can use it to enhance your performance in areas that you agree need improvement. Be participative. Whenever and wherever you get a chance to prove yourself, stand up and participate, not only to show others but to realise yourself what you really are capable of doing. Don’t let failure stop you or break you. It is indeed the best teacher. Learn from it and improve. Take your internships or projects very seriously. Ask questions, do not hesitate. Take decisions practically at this sensitive phase of life. Do not forget, ‘At last you are an individual’. Joe78662@gmail.com

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tadka

Firstsource bags biggest BPO order RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group firm Firstsource Solutions, the global provider of customised business process management services, has bagged a BPO order of `12kcr worth outsourcing contract, termed as the biggest in the history of BPO industry. The outsourcing contract comes from Rupert Murdoch-owned SKY Group of the UK, Europe’s largest DTH, mobile and broadband company.

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Loved & Married too

It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into 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 that got sealed in marriage

Love,

the great leveller Dentists and professionals Dr Sameer Thukral and Dr Aliya Sayed are living proof of the fact that cultural and religious differences, most touted as the greatest deal-breakers, don’t really stand in the way of trust, understanding and true love By Kalyani Sardesai

ike most young couples, Drs Sameer Thukral and Aliya Sayed share experiences, moments and a value system. Noteworthy, perhaps—that both are known to repeat the following sentence, every now and then. “Being educated is not the same as being cultured.” One guesses they know what they are talking about. How else would they find their moorings in an inter-religious marriage—widely presented as the numero uno reason for people of different cultural backgrounds not to sign up for the journey of a lifetime together. But Aliya and Sameer did just that three years ago and found both— marital happiness and true companionship. And no, religion did not get in the way. Perhaps the quiet acceptance has something to do with their common medical training and professional education; perhaps their respective cosmopolitan backgrounds have helped as well. “Perhaps,” concedes Sameer. “But at the end of the day, the quality and momentum of each relationship is decided by the communication between two people. Whatever your issues, you 50 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Pics: Yusuf Khan

need to be able to talk to each other about them. And that is that.”

Back to the beginning

Aliya and Sameer first met at a medical conference in 2008 in Bengaluru. They had several common friends, and came from the same college—MA Rangoonwala Dental College on Pune’s Azam Campus. While he was pursuing his

MDS, she was working towards her BDS. First impression of him? “He was talkative, and how,?” recollects Aliya with a smile. “We were part of a circle and we had ordered biryani. But he kept talking so much that none of us could leave the table.” For a young woman of few words, Sameer was a study in contrast. But over the next few meetings they were drawn to each other. “The conversation flowed

freely, despite the inherent differences in our personalities,” says Sameer. “She is committed, serious and passionate about all that she undertakes. I was particularly amazed and impressed with her love of animals. She helps out strays all the time, hopes to open an animal shelter one day, and I think that’s quite admirable.” For her part, Aliya liked his helpful and open nature. “Despite his intelligence, he’s not shrewd and calculating. He’s simple and child-like, and that’s what is most wonderful about him. What you see is what you get,” she says. He also played the drums very well. And as they say, a hobby always makes a person more interesting. Despite having found common ground, it helped that both took their time knowing each other—and making sure to complete their professional training first. All hell did not break loose: a quiet wedding and a harmonious marriage. “While we always had this feeling that our parents would be hugely sceptical, given the Hindu-Muslim backgrounds, when push came to shove, they were actually quite supportive,” says Sameer. Maybe because Sameer’s dad—noted dentist Dr Naresh Thukral—had enough time to get used to the forthcoming nuptials and the son’s choice of partner. “I am sure he must have had his reservations initially. None that he voiced though. He was happy that we were putting our respective degrees first,” he says. Ditto with Aliya’s folks. So when they finally did talk marriage, neither side of the family put up a fuss. “Also, if there were any concerns or criticisms offered by relatives, none of them reached us. Both sets of parents took them in their stride—and dealt with them on their level,” says Sameer. In 2013, they had a court marriage followed by a reception— and it was as simple as that. Post-marriage though, both have accepted each other’s way of life. “Though neither of us is overtly religious, I do take off in the afternoons to say my namaz. No one remarks over it—and whether it’s Eid or Diwali we have family and friends over,” shares Aliya. “I think it’s more fun that way— celebrating two sets of festivals instead of one. But then, that’s how we were both brought up—we were taught to respect different ways of life.” However, Sameer is quick to point towards both her magnanimity and generosity in adjusting to his family and home. “She takes an interest in finding out more about our traditions, and participating fully.” Even as Aliya would

The Pillars of a Marriage • Take your time knowing each other before marriage • Demarcate areas of responsibility • Respect cultural and familial differences—and celebrate them, if possible • Support your spouse; help them understand your way of life • Above all, talk to each other point out that he is patient and understanding. “It makes things a lot easier that way,” she says.

The anatomy of a marriage

“I would say it’s crucial to respect each other’s point of view, whether or not one agrees with it,” says Sameer. Aliya chips in: “Neither of us impose our will on the other.” Both work together in the family clinic, which gives them plenty of time together. Fortunately, that has not resulted in conflict as both have separate areas of specialisation: she’s a root canal specialist, whereas implants are his zone. At home, Sameer insists Aliya calls the shots all the way. “I am quite a lazy guy as far as chores are concerned and am happy to leave them

“Though neither of us is overtly religious, I do take off in the afternoons to say my namaz. No one remarks over it—and whether it’s Eid or Diwali we have family and friends over”- Aliya

to her,” he grins. “Besides, like most women she is very particular about wanting things to be a particular way and so I let her be. “However, they have a cook and that helps. And no, food has not proved to be a point of conflict either. “We are both foodies, and continue to be so, despite Aliya turning veg due to her love of animals.” Quality time consists of watching movies and taking off on long vacations together near about their anniversary that falls in May every year. “It’s an annual ritual and gives us time and space to bond,” he says. When it comes to fights though, both admit to being similarly hot-tempered. However, Sameer insists he’s the one to make the conciliatory first move. “I say sorry; and things usually get better,” he says. Though they haven’t yet made up their minds about extending their family—Sameer is clear that if and when it happens, it will be a joint responsibility. “No shirking of responsibilities there, even if I do so with housework. And with regard to career decisions, I will support her whatever she chooses to do.” kalyanisardesai@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Economic Survey 2016-17

Economic Opportunities and Challenges for 2017 India is a land of many extremes. A land as diverse as it is vast, making it very difficult to survey accurately. The Government of India has put a large amount of resources to author and publish the Economic Survey 2016-17, which has brought several interesting facts about India to light. From acknowledging the economic setbacks to highlighting potential opportunities, the survey paints a comprehensive picture of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic landscape. Corporate Citizen brings you the results By Neeraj Varty

52 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

The Economic Survey 2016-17 is a comprehensive survey which brings to light several aspects of the country and the impact of current events. Demonetisation has created many challenges for the economy. The economic growth is estimated to reduce from 7.8%to 6.8%. The unorganised trade sectors will be the most hit by this move. On the positive side, demonetization has brought a lot of unorganized sectors into the banking network, which in turn will boost the economy in the long run. Indian cities are seeing large scale migration from rural areas. Nine million people leave their homes and migrated to cities every year in hopes of a better life. This migration is both a boon in the form of readily available workforce and a curse due to the pressure on urban areas to sustain the added population. India will soon have the youngest population in the world. This demographic dividend will lead to a young workforce

which will help the economy escalate. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic dividend will also last longer than other countries like China, Brazil, and Korea. Welfare spending in India suffers from misallocation and corruption. The districts which are most poor are the ones which receive the least funding whereas richer districts receive abundant funds. Welfare allocation is an area which needs to be rid of corruption and bias to ensure collective development of the country. One of the most shocking revelations about the survey is that India has one of the lowest percentage of taxpayers in the world. Only 7 in 100 people pay taxes, and tax evasion is rampant, putting the burden of the tax on the few honest taxpayers. Property tax also continues to be evaded, and the government has not successfully managed to correct this. Let us now look at each of these points in detail.

Indians on the Move Work-related migration of 9 million people from rural to urban areas happens annually, almost double what the 2011 Census suggests. Cities will need to improve its infrastructure to bear the load of such a large populace. However, migration has shown a slight decline from previous years, dropping to 8 million people in 2016, a drop from the peak of 9.4 million people in 2014.

Annual New Migrants (in millions) 9.6 9.4 9.2

Millions

9 8.8 8.6 8.4 8.2 8 7.8

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Economic Survey 2016-17

India’s Distinctive Demographic Dividend India’s share of working age to non-working age population will peak later and at a lower level than that for other countries but last longer. The peak of the growth boost due to the demographic dividend is fast approaching, with peninsular states peaking soon and the hinterland states peaking much later. This means that India will have one of the youngest workforces in the world, and jobs will need to be created for them. If harnessed correctly, demographic dividend can uplift India’s economy in the coming years.

Demographic Dividend in Indian States and Other Emerging Economies A: India and EMs China[10]

2.4

2.2

Brazil[30]

1.82

India[45]

[WA/NWA]

1.6 1.4

Hinterland

1.2

2050

2040

2030

2020

2010

2000

1990

2050

2040

2030

2020

2010

2000

1990

1980

Number of years within 0.3 points of peak [WA/NWA]

1970

1.6 1.4

1.2 1

1.8

1970

[WA/NWA]

2.4

Korea[30]

2.2

B: India and the States Peninsular

Weak Targeting of Social Programmes Welfare spending in India suffers from misallocation: as the pair of charts show, the districts with the most poor (in red on the left) are the ones that suffer from the greatest shortfall of funds (in red on the right) in social programs. The districts accounting for the poorest 40% receive 29% of the total funding.

Shortfall in Allocation to Poor by District

Share of Poor by District

Share of Overall Poor Share of Poor N.A Highest

Wellfare Miscellaneous N.A Largest Shortfall Ideal Allocation

Lowest

54 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Largest Surplus

Few Honest Taxpayers

Taxpayers per 100 voters

India has only seven taxpayers for every 100 voters ranking us 13th amongst 18 of our democratic G-20 peers. Compared to developed countries, this number is abysmally low. This rampant tax evasion has led the honest taxpayer to be taxed at much higher rates, as India has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The burden on the honest taxpayer must be reduced by curtailing tax evasion. In that aspect, demonetisation has been a positive step, which will show dividends in the long run.

India Trades More than China and a Lot Within Itself As of 2011, India’s openness - measured as the ratio of trade in goods and services to GDP has far overtaken China’s, a country famed for using trade as an engine of growth. India’s internal trade to GDP is also comparable to that of other large countries.

78%

China

India

76%

74% 54%

20%

20% 12%

USA

Brazil

China

India

Canada

European Union

Indonesia

Property Tax Potential Unexploited Evidence from satellite data indicates that Bengaluru and Jaipur collect only between 5% to 20% of their potential property taxes.

neeraj.varty07@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Health

New age

messenger for

moms... What happens when a mom of two beautiful kids is passionate about her fitness and launches a Facebook page to encourage other women to be fit and healthy? She earns a massive fan following from around the world (over one lakh and growing). Presenting Zuzana from California...

By Namrata Gulati Sapra Reaching out to mommies…

Zuzana shares what catapulted her into the beautiful world of fitness once again, “I was a professional tennis player and after I finished my career I got married and had two beautiful children, one after the other. Their names are Giana (3) and Lucas (2). My interest in fitness started more after I had my kids. I went through unexpected two C-sections back to back. It was not easy to bounce back right away, because I Ever since I began went through a lot of pain, especially in my tummy. It was very painful and it took me a my FB page, it while to start with my fitness routine again.” has proven to be One of the ways, she realised, to reach out to more such women was through soone incredible cial media, “I know that a lot of women go journey. I get asked through the same experience as I did so I a lot of questions decided to start my page on Facebook. I wanted to inspire women and moms who from women from would like to get back in shape and feel different countries good again. I think it’s very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially after we have kids. Our body suffers a lot because we have to pick it up, carry it, we have to shower it on a daily basis, dress it up and do other things that we don’t realise exert a pressure on our bodies. Needless to say, kids are so much fun but they do take lots of energy from us every day, so it’s very crucial that we don’t underestimate our energy levels.”

Good food, healthy body

Zuzana does not mind giving in to her cravings every now and then, “I try to eat healthy but that’s not the case all the time. I don’t have a strict diet. I eat pretty much everything, but with moderation. I love chocolate, cakes, hamburgers and other good things, but I think everything in moderation is good. What about the kids? “I try to make a healthy food for the kids. That way I stay healthy with them.” She has important points to make about healthy food, “I think the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so 56 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

I know that a lot of women go through the same experience as I did so I decided to start my page on Facebook. I wanted to inspire women and moms who would like to get back in shape I make sure I have a good quality breakfast, such as, eggs, omelette, oatmeal with fruit or some good smoothie. I love soups so I like to make soups for lunch and add some healthy sandwich with it. I try to eat dinner not later than 6 pm and I usually eat some protein as lean chicken, steak or fish with lots of grilled veggies. We need lots of protein in our body so we can function on daily basis. It’s very important to eat small portions throughout the day and add some snacks in-between.”

Shout out to all the mommies!

The fitness enthusiast says, “I think it’s very important for us moms to find a little time during the day for ourselves, even if it is only for 20 minutes.” She goes on to talk about her workout regimen, “ I do my workout routines usually early in the morning, because otherwise I get very tired at the end of the day. In my opinion, morning workouts are the most efficient workouts. After my morning workout, I feel that I have more energy and it feels good to start the day right and it also makes us feel that we did something healthy for our body!”

Spreading the message

“Ever since I began my FB page, it has proven to be one incredible journey. I get asked a lot of questions from women from different countries. I have received a tremendous response from Indian women and I am very pleased how engaged they are and how much they want to change and start working out and feel healthier. They are so sweet and very polite and it has been an honour to answer the questions they are concerned about. It is very difficult for me answer all the questions to the last detail, because there are so many women asking so many questions!” Zuzana, however, has already found a solution to this challenges, “ I have my 2-months full body transformation program. This plan helps women to get back on the right track and build some confidence again. They will get an insight into full workouts with description, every day for a period of two months. It includes warm up, training video for a particular day and also stretching at the end.”

Mom, listen up!

Here is some first-hand advice from Zuzana to all the struggling mommies out there…

For the working mother…

My best advice for moms who have a full time job is to find 20-30 minutes a day for themselves and try to squeeze workout routine to their schedule at least three times a week. They will feel much better, more positive and happier. The best time to work out is early in the morning. If they want to try my two months program, I highly recommend it. It’s so simple and effective especially for busy moms who don’t have a lot of time during the day.

Because every mommy has a hands-on job

It’s also very important to eat a lot of veggies, fruit and lots of protein to get lots of energy during the day. When I don’t eat or if I skip a meal, I feel very frustrated. I don’t have energy and it’s not good for my kids as well.

To busy moms…

Another advice I have for busy moms is to find some time and get a relaxing massage, manicure or just go shopping. We deserve this time because we work so hard and if we just work, work, work it will have an adverse effect on our health. We need to stay healthy, strong and happy for our kids, our husbands and our family members who love us dearly. namratagulati8@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Pearls of Wisdom

By Dada J P Vaswani

I want to

Every one of you is a prince or princess of the universe. You have forgotten this and therefore you feel frustrated again and again, you feel depressed and dejected. You are not aware of your true self for you are enclosed within a shell of ignorance. Break the shell and you too will know. You too will experience the life of a prince, a life of freedom and fulfilment

58 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

well remember how one day a man came to Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani and said to him, 'I am an utter failure. I have suffered a nervous breakdown. I am suffering from an internal incurable disease. I have lost my job, my house is sold out, my furniture and belongings are mortgaged. My friends and relatives have deserted me, I have lost everything in life.' And to him Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani said, 'You say that you have lost everything. You have not lost everything, you have but lost the things that come and go, you have but lost the things, which the world gives, and the world takes away. Within you is the power that can heal any internal disease. And within you is the treasure that can deliver you from any financial crisis. Within you is a tremendous power. Trust

it and though the heavens fall yet it will deliver you, it can never fail in delivering you.' Within every one of us is the power of our greater self, but we are unaware of it. We spend so much of our energy telling ourselves we are not doing good enough, we have very little time and energy left to look inside and discover our true potential. There is a beautiful story told us in the ancient books, of a king's son. He is only three years old when the king decides to send him away to a far off city. The father wants the prince to rub shoulders with the common man so that he may be acquainted with their struggles and their strivings, so that he may know the troubles and tribulations through which they have to pass. A nurse is put in charge of a prince who takes him to a far off city.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are not aware of your true self for you are enclosed within a shell of ignorance. Break the shell and you too will know. You too will experience the life of a prince, a life of freedom and fulfilmentâ&#x20AC;? there in solitude for a week. When he returns, he says to the nurse, 'I want to go to my father and thank him for having given me this wonderful experience.' It was a bright sunny day when the father and the son, when the king and the prince met together on the steps of the palace amidst rejoicing and music. Every one of you is a prince, every one of you is a son of the king, the king of the universe. You have forgotten this and therefore you feel frustrated again and again, you feel depressed and dejected. You are not aware of your true self for you are enclosed within a shell of ignorance. Break the shell and you too will know. You too will experience the life of a prince, a life of freedom and fulfilment. There he studies in a school. He grows in years and has finished his education. And now he is asked to earn his own livelihood. He has to face the struggles of life; he earns his livelihood to pay for his food, to pay for his lodging, to pay for his other expenses. He comes in contact with some friends, who take him to the nightclub. There he experiences the excitement of life in nightclubs, he gambles, he drinks and he has affairs with many girls. Gradually, he becomes a habitual gambler. Almost every day he returns home very late at night and now he appears to be frustrated with life, this life which is sunk in pleasure. One night he returns very late; he sits outside the door of his house out in the cold. In his hands, is a knife. He is about to pierce it in his chest when the nurse who is watching him from the window

quietly opens the door, comes and meets him and says to him, 'You are late again.' And this man says, 'Yes, I am late again, I did not wish to disturb you at this late hour.' And after sometime the young man adds, 'I am frustrated with life. I find that life has no meaning. I find that life has no significance why should I not end this life?' The nurse places her hands on his shoulders, she looks straight into his eyes and says to him, 'If only you knew who you are, you would not be the man that you have become.' And in sheer astonishment this young man asks, 'Who am I?' And the nurse says to him, 'You are the future king of our country.' 'A king! How may that be?' And the nurse reveals to him his true identity. When he hears that, the royal element within him is awakened. He goes to the woods and lives

tadka

The force battles with corrupt cops About 34% of cops have been reported as corrupt in 2015; but this is less at 66% reported in 2014. A Delhi Police survey findings states ay that the department registered 88 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act against 77 policemen. In 2016, the vigilance department had conducted 55% more inquires against its men while the department received 1.09 lakh complaints on its anti-corruption helpline.

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Bollywood Biz

Best

Book-to-Movie Adaptations in Bollywood

Bollywood produces more than 1,000 films each year, making it the world’s most prolific cinema factory. The number of films being made so far, outpaces the number of new scripts written. Which is why Bollywood often turns to its most reliable fail-safe—book-to-movie adaptions. By adapting popular books to screen, filmmakers get a readymade script and a passionate fan base who is just waiting to see their favourite literature translated on screen. This edition, Corporate Citizen presents the best book-to-movie adaptations in Bollywood By Neeraj Varty

Devdas Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romantic drama is based on the 1917 Bengali eponymous novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai, this was the third Hindi version of the film after the ones featuring Dilip Kumar and K L Saigal. It earned close to `25 crore in box office collections, a figure that was astounding in 2002. Watch it for Shah Rukh Khan’s nuanced performance as Devdas, and the breathtaking dance sequences with elaborate sets and costumes. Devdas is Bollywood in its most self-indulgent avatar.

2 States The romantic comedy is based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel by the same name, which highlights differences between the many cultures and traditions in India and love that transcends these barriers. Featuring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles, the film made more than `100 crore at the box office. Chetan Bhagat is arguably the author with the most book to movie adaptations to his name in Bollywood, with books like Five Point Someone, Hello, Kai Po Che and Half Girlfriend all being translated to the silver screen. 60 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

Haider William Shakespeare has been the fascination of literature lovers for centuries now, and his works have always made for great cinematic adaptations. It is easy to understand why more movies have been made on his books than that of any other author in history. Shakespeare’s literature transcends geographies, a fact that Vishal Bhardwaj knows all too well. Having adapted Macbeth and Othello to the rustic Maqbool and Omkara previously, Bhardwaj manages to once again transport Hamlet from the icy terrain of Denmark to the lush valleys of Kashmir in Haider. In Haider, Shahid Kapoor turns in a mesmerising performance worthy of the literature he embodies.

1947 Earth Director Deepa Mehta’s period drama was based on the Bapsi Sidhwa novel Crackling India, originally published as Ice Candy Man. The film, featuring Aamir Khan, Nandita Das and debutant Rahul Khanna, made a little over `3 crore at the box office. Although, the movie didn’t exactly set the box office on fire, it was chosen as India’s entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film that year.

neeraj.varty07@gmail.com March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Mobile apps

Tax Guide with 10 Calculators

Best Apps for your Tax needs

The time to file your income tax is round the corner. For those who are confused about their tax liability, Corporate Citizen presents few apps that are simple, and yet offer complete details about tax liability and how you can reduce it. Use these free apps to ensure a hassle free tax experience By Neeraj Varty

While all the other apps in this list are for amateurs, this app is meant for professionals like chartered accountants, cost accountants, lawyers and tax practitioners. If you are none of the above mentioned professionals yet are well versed with taxation, this app is great for you. Using this app, you can make all your tax calculations like HRA exemptions, interest calculations and TDS calculations. The app allows you to keep abreast of all the latest news in the taxation field, as well as case decisions of various tribunals, High Courts and of the Supreme Court of India. The app provides an exhaustive look at the tax code, and if studied carefully, it can help you save a lot of tax on your own without the need of a consulting professional.

My Tax India Think Tax Think tax is a simple app which helps you calculate your tax liability for any financial year. All you need to do is enter your age, sex, break-up of your salary, savings, and your investments, and the app will tell you how much tax you need to pay. The app also allows you to save the results and create a template which you can use every year to save time in calculating your taxes. 62 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

It is within right of every taxpayer to try to invest smartly to pay minimal tax within the legally permissible limits. My Tax India is an app which instantly calculates your tax, tax splits, and can decide how much more investment is needed to save a given amount from your income. It also recommends investments and their projected yields so you can get a good idea on how to invest your money. Take these suggestions at your discretion, as investments are subject to market risks and you should do your due diligence before investing.

Income Tax Return Filing The income tax return filing app has all the bells and whistles that the above mentioned apps do, along with a very useful addition. It allows you to track the status of your e-filed Income-tax return, find your Assessing Officer and receive timely app notifications on any update that pertains to your tax returns. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

Corporate Grin

Never Mind,

just laugh it off Never Mind

You call her up few times and she doesn’t take your call you think she may be busy and will respond when she’s free and sees your missed calls. You send her messages urging her to call back but she doesn’t . You fret and fume and feel dejected and desolate and seethe with helpless anger. Never mind. Things won’t always be the same and any way, how does it really matter? Your appraisal for the year is over and you wait for your increment letter and perhaps a promotion that would move you into the corner office with your name embossed in brass on its door but the bubble bursts and you find yourself where you were. Never mind. Things could have been worse and any way how does it really matter? You thought you were the uncrowned king when your ego was in bloom and you thought you were

the most powerful man in the room someone else pushes you aside and now the crowd applauds for him you drown yourself in abject gloom and wonder why the sea didn’t part always for you as it did for Moses and how any one ever can take your place! Never mind. Nothing in the world is permanent and any way how does it really matter? You have chased your dreams off and on sometimes caught up with them sometimes left behind. You have run your races many a times sometimes touched the finish line and gave up sometimes. Now on your last leg you got to hand over your baton and carry on to the twilight zone. Don’t feel bad that your days are done. Never mind. No one is here to stay for ever and any way how does it really matter? -By Dilip Mohapatra

Dilip Mohapatra, a decorated Navy Veteran started writing poems since the seventies. His poems have appeared in many literary journals of repute and anthologies worldwide. Some of his poems appeared in the World Poetry Yearbook, 2013 and 2014 Editions. He has four poetry collections to his credit, ‘A Pinch of Sun & other poems’, ‘Different Shades’, 'Another Look' and ‘Flow Infinite’, all published by Authorspress India. His non-fiction book titled P2P nee Points to Ponder is a departure from his poetic passion and is a collection of his musings on various themes which are meant to act as points in a mariner's compass helping the reader to navigate his life better in rough waters. He holds two masters degrees, in Physics and in Management Studies. He lives with his wife in Pune. His website may be accessed at dilipmohapatra.com.

Vagaries of English Language! Enjoy!!! Wonder why the word funeral starts with FUN? Why isn't a Fireman called a Water-man? How come Lipstick doesn't do what it says? If money doesn't grow on trees, how come Banks have Branches? If a Vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a Humanitarian eat? How do you get off a non-stop Flight? Why are goods sent by ship called CARGO and those sent by truck SHIPMENT? Why do we put cups in the dishwasher and the dishes in the Cupboard? Why do doctors 'practice' medicine? Are they having practice at the cost of the patients? Why is it called 'Rush Hour' when traffic moves at its slowest then? How come Noses run and Feet smell? Why do they call it a TV 'set' when there is only one? What are you vacating when you go on a vacation? We can never find the answers, can we? So just enjoy the pun and fun of the English language!!

ME and MY HUSBAND... When I Take a long time to finish, I Am Slow, When my husband takes a long time, He Is Thorough When I don't do it, I Am Lazy, When my HUSBAND does not do it, He Is Busy, When I do something without being told, I Am Trying To Be Smart, When my husband does the same, He Takes The Initiative, When I make a mistake, I Am An Idiot. When my husband makes a mistake, He's Only Human. When I am out of the house, I Am Wandering Around.

When my husband is out of the house, He's On Business. When I am one day sick, I Am Always Sick. When my husband is a day sick, He Must Be Very Ill. When I want to go out for holiday I am wasting money When my husband wants to go on holidays , It's Because He's Overworked When I do good, My husband Never Remembers. When I do wrong, He Never Forgets. When I please my husband I am apple polishing, If my husband pleases me he loves me. Dedicated to all married couples, specially wife...

March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 63

astroturf Aries

Mar 21- April 20 Venus entered your sign on the February 3rd and remains there till the end of the month. Hence, you will experience money and honey both pursuing you. Though the year started with loads of social networking and becomes even stronger from February 3rd onwards, March will be generally a happy month, as you exude a lot of charisma.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 The retrograde of Venus begins on the 4th of March and continues till April 15, since he is the ruler of your house, this indicates that you may feel less confident of your own self. Mercury conjuncts with Uranus on the 26th and 27th bringing in sudden unexpected financial gains.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 For the next five or six months, the eastern sector of yourself will be more dominant. Mercury is moving forward so confidence and clarity will be apparent in your personality. Career remains a strong focus until the 20th, while the 4th house of family and personal matters is empty. Love will remain challenging from the 13th onwards, you may feel as if personal life is not that exciting and you will need to work harder to bridge differences between loved ones.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 The main headline this month is your career and requires your attention and focus which would eventually bring in success. You do not need to pay overt attention. Giving explanations will only worsen matters, so just

(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 remain calm because those who understand you do not require explanation and those who don’t understand you will never listen.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 On the 7th of last month, the planetary power shifted to the upper half of your chart that represents the outer world and your outer goals. So, your ambitions in the world are paramount now. A proper balance is required which you can do it. If you cannot balance both, then choosing career is important as the cosmic cycle is better suited at this juncture.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 Your financial planet Venus has been in your 8th house of regeneration since February 3rd, and remains there for this entire month. This indicates that you need to now pay attention in your life. It is an excellent time for estate planning. A calm approach and open lines of communication can sort matters out. Whenever you experience some disturbance at your work place, just keep your temper and angst in check. After the eclipses are over last month, your love life will be back into action.

64 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 The planetary power shifts after the 20th to the upper half of your horoscope. Now because the way the long term planets are aligned, the bottom half of your chart is still pretty strong with four long term planets there. Do not hesitate to deal with challenges and work hard towards attaining your goals.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 The western sector of your chart has been dominant since last month, precisely from 7th February onwards and remains strong for a couple of more months. This indicates that you need to start focusing on others more than yourself. Avoid being too critical for it can mar all kinds of relationships. You are still in your personal pleasure peak until the 20th so make the maximum and enjoy the fun with family and friends. side effect.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 23 - Dec 22 Your 4th house became powerful on February 18th and still remains powerful. Your 10th house of career is still empty.

Craniosacral therapy is also good. Mars, the ruler of these areas, moves into your 6th house of health on the 10th and spends the rest of the month there. dramatically after the 20th. Your health planet goes retrograde on the 4th, so avoid making major changes to diet.

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20 Your 3rd house became powerful on February 18 and remains strong until 20th of March. If you are planning on updating your new car or equipment this is the good time to shop for these things. Good time for you to catch up on your interests and life, in fact a good time to write.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19 On February 18, you began your yearly financial peak and this continues until the 20th. Earnings will be strong. Last month on the 7th, the planetary power began to shift from top half of your chart to the bottom, so its time to let go off career matters and give more attention to your family and friends encourage your own emotional well-being. .

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20 When the Sun entered your sign on February 18 you began one of your yearly personal pleasure peaks. You will exude a star like quality, regardless of your age or stage in life. Love is still very happy and very much on your terms, you just need to be yourself.

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January 1-15, 2016 / `50

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

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March 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

The changing face of startup India! For investors, accelerators and mentors in the StartUp eco-system, there are some wonderful companies emerging that use the power of the internet combined with a well-researched market opportunity that would be truly worthy of support

n every challenge lies an opportunity. Ever since doubts started to be raised on the valuations of e-Commerce, companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal and stories started to abound of hundreds of e-Commerce and other B2C startups beginning to fold up-the opportunities for entrepreneurial companies built to serve a real or latent need in the country and the world-for investors, accelerators and mentors in the startup eco-system, there are some wonderful companies emerging, that use the power of the internet combined with a well-researched market opportunity that would be truly worthy of support. Three examples will make this clear. The oldest is Studio Coppre, a wonderful initiative that seeks to enhance the work of copper artisans in the country and expand their business opportunity to national and international markets. Here is a company that started as a social enterprise committed to helping a few copper artisans in Tambatali in Pune by providing them some mentoring and some low cost automation support. The induction of professional designers with an eye for internal design and marketers well versed with the art of leveraging social networks is ensuring that Studio Coppre is a profitable entity today with an artisan network of over a hundred. Expanding their artisan and mar-

ket coverage and extending their reach to other artisan communities presents a significant opportunity which they will address in future. Skills Alpha is another example of a latent need being served. Skills Alpha uses the power of new technology to shift the responsibility of career planning and learning from the HR department to the millennial. Learners are encouraged to go on a voyage of discovery on their computers or mobile phones, understand alternative career paths within the organisation and the skills gap they have to bridge to meet the goals they set for themselves. And a host of new digital technologies – Smart Bots, Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Computing and Adaptive Learning to power their educational journey and makes it entertaining and enlightening. Finally, there is an amazing new

“Clearly, there is a need to enable startups of this ilk to be heard, get funded and scale, if India is to successfully meet its tryst with a ‘‘Startup India, Stand up India’’ destiny”

66 / Corporate Citizen / March 1-15, 2017

startup that can not only change our understanding of one of the most ignored facets of our learning but also make a significant contribution to the quest for jobs in the country. Live History India (LHI) is a first of its kind digital multimedia platform that is creating exciting content on India’s rich heritage and history and developing a platform to bring together the finest minds including historians and policy makers in the area of tourism and culture. It will also create and develop a network of key stakeholders who will help take Live History India mission into every district of the country-help people understand the stories and histories that make India, through innovative, in-depth multimedia content and expert views. The company set up by veterans in the digital technology and new age content space will be a first of its kind platform and create a community of India enthusiasts. This will play a vital role in developing India’s tourism and LHI will help local national and global audiences rediscover and reconnect with India’s history and culture. Studio Coppre, Skills Alpha and Live History India are three completely different initiatives but they have three common factors-the management team consists of experienced professionals, not “wet behind the ears” startup enthusiasts. All three use commonly available technology uncommonly well and finally they have thought through their path to profitability and are raising adequate funding to ensure their mission is accomplished without any short cuts.

Clearly, there is a need to enable startups of this ilk to be heard, get funded and scale, if India is to successfully meet its tryst with a “Startup India, Stand up India” destiny. Two recent developments give hope that the wheels of fortunes can be changed for the better. One is the setting up of a company called Zeva Capsol in Mumbai with four complementary offerings – a series of incubators, with a cloud based accelerator, a crowd sourcing funding platform for first time investors to participate in startup funding, a fund to co-invest in the platform and a well-orchestrated mentoring and corporate partnership platform to enable the entrepreneurs to scale. Set up by experienced investment bankers with global experience, this could be the kind of entity that needs to emerge in future. And right here in our backyard of Pune, a mini revolution is beginning to take shape. The Pune Smart City will soon see a unique citywide Smart Startup movement that enables entrepreneurs, mentors, hosting platforms and investors to collaborate to create an eco-system of success. Guided by an advisory team and embodying the best of public private partnerships, we believe that this meta incubator will enable multiple startups in FinTech EduTech, HealthTech, manufacturing and scientific research to blossom and make a true impact on the city and the country. The best is clearly yet two come! Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect & Social Venture Partners, Pune.

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