Cradle of Leadership An exclusive with Dr Sanjay Pande, Dean, Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art Volume 2, Issue No. 10 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
July 16-31, 2016 / `50
Interview
Dr Prince Augustin, Executive Vice President Group Human Capital & Leadership Development, Mahindra Group NHRD Delhi Chapter
Human Capital Trends 2016
Dynamic Duo: 34 Sanjeevani and Dr S B Mujumdar
The Lady Behind The Legend
Loved and Married Too
Akanksha and Saurav on love and commitment
2 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 67
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Corporate info
Know Narendra Modi’s New Cabinet In a major reshuffle Prime Minister Narendra Modi infused new energy by expanding his cabinet and replacing some. Here is the list
Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space CABINET MINISTERS • Rajnath Singh: Home Affairs • Sushma Swaraj: External Affairs • Arun Jaitley: Finance Corporate Affairs • Venkaiah Naidu: Urban Development Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Information & Broadcasting • Nitin Gadkari: Road Transport; Shipping • Manohar Parrikar: Defence • Suresh Prabhu: Railways • Sadananda Gowda: Statistics & Programme Implementation • Uma Bharati: Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation • Najma A. Heptulla: Minority Affairs • Ramvilas Paswan: Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution • Kalraj Mishra: Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises • Maneka Gandhi: Women & Child Development • Ananth Kumar: Chemicals & Fertilizers, Parliamentary Affairs • Ravi Shankar Prasad: Law & Justice, Electronics & Information Technology • Jagat Prakash Nadda: Health & Family Welfare
• Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati: Civil Aviation • Anant Geete: Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises • Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Food Processing Industries • Narendra Singh Tomar: Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water & Sanitation • Chaudhary Birender Singh: Steel • Jual Oram: Tribal Affairs • Radha Mohan Singh: Agri & Farmers Welfare • Thaawar Gehlot: Social Justice and Empowerment • Smriti Irani: Textiles • Dr Harsh Vardhan: Science & Technology, Earth Sciences • Prakash Javadekar: HRD MoS • Rao Singh: Planning (Ind charge), Urban Devel Hsing & Urban Poverty Alleviation • Bandaru Dattatreya: Labour & Employment • Rajiv Pratap Rudy: Skill Develop & Entrepreneurship • Vijay Goel: Youth Affairs, Sports, Water Resources, River Develop & Ganga Rejuvenation • Shripad Naik: AAYUSH • Dharmendra Pradhan: Petroleum, Natural Gas • Piyush Goyal: Power; Coal; New and Renewable Energy Mines • Jitendra Singh: Development of NER PMO s Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of
Atomic Energy Department of Space • Nirmala Sitharaman: Commerce and Industry • Mahesh Sharma: Culture; Tourism • Manoj Sinha: Communications, Railways • Anil Dave: Environment, Forest and Climate Change • Gen V K Singh: External Affairs • Santosh Gangwar: Finance • Faggan Kulaste: Health & Family Welfare • Mukhtar Maqvi: Minority Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs • SS Ahluwalia: Agri & farmers Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs • Ramdas Athawale: Social Justice, Empowerment • Ram Kripal Yadav: Rural Development • Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary: Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises • Giriraj Singh: Micro, Small, medium enterprises • Hansraj Ahir: Home Affairs • G M Siddeshwara: Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises • Ramesh Jigajinagi: Drinking Water & Sanitation • Rajen Gohain: Railways • Parshottam Rupala: Agri, Farmers Welfare • MJ Akbar: External Affairs • Upendra Kushwaha: Human resources Devlp • Radhakrishnan P: Road Transport & Shipping • Kiren Rijiju: Home Affairs
• Krishan Pal: Social Justice & Empowerment • Jasvantsinh Bhabhor: Tribal Affairs • Sanjeev Kumar:Water resources, river Devlp & Ganga Rejuvenation • Vishnu Deo Sai: Steel • Sudarshan Bhagat: Agri/Farmers Welfare • Y S Chowdary: Science & Tech/ Earth Science • Jayant Sinha: Civil Aviation • Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: I&B • Babul Supriyo: Urban Devel housing & urban Poverty Alleviation • Sadhvi Jyoti: Food Processing Industries • Vijay Sampla: Social Justice & Empowerment • Arjun Meghwal: Finance/ Corporate Affairs • Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey: Human Resources & Development • Ajay Tamta: Textiles • Krishna Raj: Women & Child Development • Mansukh L Mandaviya: Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Chemicals & Fertilizers • Anupriya Patel: Health & Family Welfare • CR Chaudhary: Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution • P P Chaudhary: Law/justice electronics IT • Subhash Ramrao Bhamre: Defence
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 3
Guest Editorial Yasho Verma
It’s the Survival of the Fittest
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orporate world is competitive and the turf is growing difficult by the day. Many of the world’s leading companies have broken down, turned obsolete or acquired by stronger rivals. Companies like General Motors, Ford, Apple, IBM and so on had to innovate fiercely to stay as Titans. In India too, since early 90’s when markets had opened and competition grew enormous, the future will presumably hold much more intensity and tailspins. Survival of fittest is now a ruthless and unexceptional law. Unexpected things have happened–dwarfs have taken over giants, even companies considered dark horses have emerged as ultimate winners. In 2006, Tata Steel took over Chorus Group, one of the largest steel companies in Europe and the third largest worldwide—surprising the industry. Survival of the fittest for individuals working in companies indicates that they have to contain some remarkable qualities that should help them surf the tides adeptly. There are certain missionary qualities and then there are very crucial attributes required in professionals in
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Emotional and spiritual well-being of an individual largely go hand in hand. A leader must practice the art of following a holistic health chart as it also means health of his company and other employees. The variables that influence leaders’ behaviour are the degree of emotional distress that he may be able to withstand, coping mechanisms, resistive scale, development based on the work locus of control and personal values
businesses for ensuring survival, on their path to achieving excellence in leadership. Attitude and performance are the most significant. Attitude decides altitude– positive frame of mind, accepting challenges, winning grit, and humility. A flexible and keen learning mind enables brilliance in performance. Passion, zeal and ethics are other very important qualities. Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian himself is an excellent example of the above. Sir, Bala as he is fondly known is a classic example of courage, commitment and dedication for providing practical and relevant education after serving the Indian Army. Other than the innate professional and leadership qualities I would also like to stress upon is the overall health of future managers – Physical, Mental (knowledge), Emotional and Spiritual. To maintain health it is important to cultivate this habit for all times to come. Recently there have been incidences reported of top executives of renowned MNCs succumbing to stressful work environmentsresulting in untimely or premature deaths, which is very unfortunate and absolutely avoidable. Other than physical well-being, an individual’s knowledge keeps him above the rest. It is certainly of significance that professionals continue to read and keep them abreast of world topics and local market intelligence. Emotional and spiritual well-being of an individual largely go hand in hand. A leader must practice the art of following a holistic health chart–as it also means health of his company and other employees. The variables that influence leaders’ behaviour are the degree of emotional distress that he may be able to withstand, coping mechanisms, resistive scale, development based on the work locus of control and personal values. The toxic leaders are seen as self-opinionated and not easy to work with. In the worst forms they can be seen as highly ill-tempered and even abusive. They cultivate sentiments like that of a sadist or illustrate behavioural patterns that of a narcissist, both of which, do not at all contributing to organisation’s health and growth. I tend to believe that Laws of Universe give much better results vis-a-vis Laws of Business:
Law of Giving – More you give, the more you will receive in return. Law of Cause & Effect – The choice or a particular decision taken should bring fulfillment and happiness to both the individual and other stakeholders. Law of Intention and Desire – When there is intent to bring about positive changes for organisation’s benefit; one will work towards achieving greater performance. Law of Detachment – One must do his job sincerely and not fall into the trap of attaching to the power, a position holds or the pride in results, one demonstrates. It is a continuous process, there are both pitfalls and achievements one has to experience. A balanced and calm mind must not be daunted with either. Also in the book, ‘In Search of Change Maestros’ authored by Dr Pritam Singh spells important critical qualities and essence in a profile of a leader. The eight driving principles mentioned in the book are contextual sensitivity, compelling vision and purpose, winning streak, people connect and engagement, meaningful contribution with speed, creative destruction for transformation, evolving self and culture architecture. Another point of reference to corroborate my thoughts about leadership qualities will be one of the papers in Harvard Business Review that had explained in the article ‘What Titans can teach us’ that there is no real template of leadership lessons for all to follow—no ‘one size-fits all’ approach. A business leader doesn’t have to strive for titanhood to benefit from the lessons a titan has to teach. One
Another point of reference to corroborate my thoughts about leadership qualities will be one of the papers in Harvard Business Review that had explained in the article ‘What Titans can teach us’ that there is no real template of leadership lessons for all to follow - no ‘one size-fits all’ approach. A business leader doesn’t have to strive for titanhood to benefit from the lessons a titan has to teach can pick and choose the characteristics that will help make our companies more successful. While above mentioned qualities are prerequisites for professionals, as per my corporate experience, I will encourage the young trainees to not undermine the role of bosses in their work life. The first supervisor or a mentor and most of the times termed as ‘Boss’ is a vital figure with whom a young professional spends longer duration which may make or break one’s career. I personally feel, if the early bosses in a young
professionals work life, happen to be tough, it will go a long way in making their career bright. Professionals should not run away from such bosses because it is only them who have the capability of changing career paths of their mentees. I credit my career to my first boss. He was the Director at Tata Steel. He encouraged entrepreneurial spirit and never hand held me—he had a firm belief that the best way to train is to throw the managers in problems and allow their creative thinking to resolve matters. He was an observer and only intervened to save a drowning colleague. He was extremely intelligent to differentiate when to provide that mild support and withdraw just in time so that his help was never taken for granted and managers therefore always learnt their corporate lessons. He had cast my career’s mould and I would like to believe he did it well. Concluding, I would like to reiterate the essence of leadership. Leadership does not necessarily mean that all good human beings can be good professionals or leaders but it is almost true that those who are not good human beings cannot be good professionals or leaders. Take it from the three decade long corporate experience and these notes my mind had taken while on the journey. Dr. Yasho V Verma is a Management Thinker & Philosopher, a Mentor and a Strategy Consultant, an Academician and a veteran in consumer durables and retail. He was formerly associated with LG Electronics as its COO and Director. Currently he is consulting with World Bank. Dr. Verma is a PHD in organizational behaviour from IIT Kharagpur. He can be reached at yasho.v.verma@gmail.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 5
Contents 30
Cover story
Dynamic Duo 34
The Lady Behind The Legend
An in-depth and insightful interview with Sanjeevani, the iron lady who plays a major role in her husband, Dr Mujumdar’s realisation of his dream of Symbiosis 9 COLLYWOOD
Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 13 MANAGE MONEY
Dr Anil Lamba on Leverage Analysis 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 16 NHRD DELHI CHAPTER Human Capital Trends 2016 20 CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP An exclusive with Dr Sanjay Pande, Dean, Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art 6 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Volume 2 Issue No. 10 July 16-31, 2016 www.corporatecitizen.in
26 INTERVIEW An in-depth interview with Dr Prince Augustin, Executive Vice President - Group Human Capital & Leadership Development, Mahindra Group 38 THE TAX MAN COMETH – 14 Trust is a Must by S K Jha (IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)
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40 CORPORATE HISTORY FabIndia - Redefining ethnic India
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42 CII CASE STUDY CII – Western Region 2nd EdgeFarm - HR Case Study Writing Competition 46 SURVEY An in-depth survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on Banking’s Future lies in Fintech 50 STAR CAMPUS PLACEMENT Naini Jain on her first break
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52 CORPORATE QUIZ Entrepreneur or Employee? - Test to find out what you would be best at...
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53 CORPORATE CONNECT Ten corporates to support India squad for Rio Games 54 LOVED AND MARRIED TOO Akanksha and Saurav on love and commitment 56 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Udta Punjab – B-Schools take notice! 58 PEARLS OF WISDOM Let’s go beyond any ideology by Osho
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Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian
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Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh Assistant Editor Joe Williams Senior Business Writers Mahalakshmi Hariharan / Rajesh Rao Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur / Sharmila Chand Bengaluru Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra VP - Marketing & Sales M. Paul Anderson +919444405212
60 HEALTH Ansoo Gupta, COO, Pinstorm Technologies and Founder, One Shoe Trust on health and fitness 62 MOBILE APPS An interview with Amit Dange, CEO, Deltin Globus 66 LAST WORD Skills Transformation in Smart Cities by Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, 5F World, Pune City Connect and Social Venture Partners, Pune
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Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560 Creative Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar
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On Cover Page Sanjeevani and Dr S B Mujumdar Cover page pic Yusuf Khan Photographers Yusuf Khan, Ahmed Shaikh Website / Online Subscription www.corporatecitizen.in For Advertising, Marketing & Subscription queries Email: circulations@corporatecitizen.in (Corporate Citizen does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. All unsolicited material should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage) Tel. (020) 69000677 / 69000672
collywood
People in the news Google CEO Pichai’s quora account hacked?
Being rich is no thrill for Azim Premji
Being rich has never thrilled the Wipro chairman Azim Premji, he said, while delivering his thoughts of his own journey as a philanthropist which started in 2001. “The success of Wipro has made me a very wealthy person. I have never felt the need for such wealth, nor any thrill at being wealthy. I have always felt intuitively that such large wealth cannot be the privy of any one person or family,” said Premji. The Azim Premji Foundation is present across the diverse aspects of the education sector, from running or supporting schools to influencing policy, according to Premji. He also touched upon following the path of integrity which ‘was not easy’ and ‘was particularly difficult in the early stages of my life when we were trying to estab-
lish that we cherish integrity’. Meanwhile, he extended his support to philanthropic causes where he has already donated more than 39 percent of his wealth, as he exhorted business leaders to play a more important role in the development of society. “Driven by my own instinctive understanding and beliefs and influenced by many ideals of trusteeship, I have irrevocably donated about 39 percent of the wealth of Wipro to the Azim Premji Foundation. I would like to donate much more to this foundation and I will do that in the course of the rest of my life,” he said. He also added, “Business leaders, with their ability to create businesses and ability to scale, need to play a very important role in social service.”
It was not a happy week for Sundar Pichai. The CEO of Google’s Quora account appears to have been hacked by a group called OurMine. This is not the first time OurMine is in the news for all the wrong reasons, as it had previously broken into Facebook’s boss Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts. OurMine, a three-man hacker outfit has been posting messages on Quora through Pichai’s account; it’s also connected to his Twitter account. As a result, OurMine was able to publicise their hack to all 508,000 of his followers. OurMine has been targeting major tech executives of late, including Spotify’s Daniel Ek. It isn’t clear how the group is gaining access to their accounts, but it likely doesn’t involve system breaches of the social networks their targets have accounts with. Instead, the group claims that it uses various exploits to pull passwords from celebrities’ browsers. OurMine is attempting to re-brand itself as a ‘security firm’ and offering its support to those it targets so that these incidents don’t occur again. It’s probably not the best way to garner your potential customers’ trust, but that’s the way OurMine seems to enjoy doing business.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 9
collywood Aerial take-off for Rajini’s Kabali
Sujoy Bose to head NIIF Sujoy Bose has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Ltd. Bose, the Director and Global Co-Head, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington DC, has extensive international experience in the infrastructure sector including experience in raising funds from international investors. The Government has established NIIF with the aim to attract investment from both domestic and international sources for infrastructure development in commercially viable projects. The NIIF has been incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013. The establishment activities of the NIIF are underway and steps are being taken to operationalise the initiatives with different investors including RUSNANO, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority(ADIA) and Qatar Investment Authority(QIA).
Just not land, even the skies seem to have taken Rajinikanth seriously, as a special aircraft of the Malaysian carrier Air Asia, the official partner of the film, decked with the superstar’s image took fans to see the first day, first show of Kabali, Tamil gangster movie, in Chennai from Bangalore. The plane’s exterior had a huge image of Rajinikanth as the Malaysian gangster Don Kabali, along with the name Rajini Star and the name of the film branded all across the body of the aircraft. The flight will connect ten other cities, including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune and Kochi. Also starring Radhika Apte, Kishore, Kalaiarasan, Dinesh, Ritwika, Dhansikaa and Winston Chao, the film is expected to release in over 2000 screens worldwide.
Messi’s Tata endorsement stays Lionel Messi might have quit international football, but his endorsement with the Tata Motors is intact, according to sources. Argentine superstar Messi called it quits soon after Argentina’s campaign came to a standstill after they were defeated by Chile in the 2016 Euro football recently. “This does not change our association with him,” said a Tata Motors spokesperson. Last year, in November, in a major marketing initiative, Tata Motors had roped in the soccer superstar as global brand ambassador for its passenger vehicle portfolio in a two-year contract, which can be extended. Tata Motors was seeking to engage with young people through its association with Messi, who was seen promoting the company’s latest hatchback Tiago – the first time that Messi endorsed an Indian brand.
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Aveek out as editor-inchief of ABP Arup Sarkar takes over as editor-in-chief of Anandabazaar Patrika (ABP) Group after his brother Aveek Sarkar stepped down from the same post. Arup will take over the mantle of editor-in-chief, while the former will continue in the capacity of vice-chairman and editor emeritus. Aveek will also oversee the digital properties of the group and support news operations within the group. Until now, Arup was in charge of the group's Bengali magazines. The ABP Group owns and operates publications (newspapers and magazines) and TV news channels. The company's magazines include - Anandamela, UnishKuri, Sananda, Anandalok, Desh, Fortune India, and The Telegraph in Schools. The newspaper portfolio includes The Telegraph, Anandabazaar Patrika and Ebela while the television channel bouquet includes ABP News, ABP Ananda and ABP Majha. Meanwhile, a day after Aveek stepped down, MD and CEO Dipankar Das Purkayastha addressed employees at the annual MD review at the group's Mumbai office he said the company had a good year in FY16, registering 10 percent revenue growth, despite the West Bengal government's decision not to advertise with them.
Sania tops sartorial chart
India’s tennis star Sania Mirza, who off and on flaunts lehengas, saris and anarkalis in bright colours at events has topped a list of Best Dressed Sports-Persons. In a survey conducted by online ethnic marketplace Craftsvilla.com to celebrate World Ethnic Day, Sania received 62.9 percent votes as the Best Dressed Sports Celebrity in Ethnic Wear. Saina Nehwal, who often incorporates kurtis with denims, taking the second spot with 18.8 per cent votes was placed behind the tennis sensation. Squash player Deepika Pallikal came in third with 9.3 percent of the votes. Others who feature in the survey are shuttler Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa and shooter Heena Sidhu.
IDBI’s NS Venkatesh on Laxmi Vilas Bank board
IDBI Bank’s Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) N.S. Venkatesh is set to join Lakshmi Vilas Bank as Executive Director and whole-time member of the board. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved Mr. Venkatesh’s appointment. This is the first time the central bank has cleared a second whole-time member’s post in the Karur-based lender’s board. Parthasarathi Mukherjee, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the bank is the other full time member on board.
Deepak Premnarayen, new IMC president Deepak Premnarayen is the new President of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC), India’s leading chamber of commerce which engages itself in addressing critical issues driving Indian businesses with a focus on sustainable growth. Premnarayen succeeds Dilip G Piramal in the role and has earlier been associated with IMC as its vice president. Premnarayen comes with a rich four-decade experience; he is the executive chairman and founder of ICS Group, an asset management, real estate, retail, hospitality and financial services company, which operates in the Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia and Africa. The group is headquartered in Mumbai with offices in Delhi, Bengaluru and Johannesburg. He is on the board of FirstRand Bank Limited, Africa’s No.1 financial services group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He is also a member of FirstRand’s Directors’ Affairs and Governance Committee and the Chairman of FirstRand Bank India Advisory Board. “I am privileged to be elected as president, IMC for the year 2016-17 and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the chamber for reposing confidence in me and honouring me with this responsibility,” said Premnarayen, on his new role.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 11
collywood
Unfair to question his patriotism: Rajan’s parents “Let anyone question his policies, or style of functioning. But isn’t it unfair attacking someone personally, questioning his patriotism?” Questioned Reserve Bank of India’s governor Raghuram Rajan’s parents, over the controversy surrounding his second term in
office. He would have been happy to continue in his position if the government had intervened in the controversy over his second term promptly, opined his parents. “I feel if the government had responded promptly when the attacks started, possibly he wouldn’t
Adani forays into financial services Billionaire Gautam Adani is taking his port-to-power conglomerate into financial services, as his Adani Finserv, the latest business entity in the $10-billion Adani Group, is set to launch a non-banking finance company (NBFC), possibly through a partnership with Australian giant Macquarie, as it joins a growing list of conglomerates that have
branched into financial services. Adani, 54, will pump in ` 500 crore to float the NBFC unit, which will lend to infrastructure and real estate. Macquarie is in advanced discussions to combine its own NBFC with Adani Finserv, sources directly familiar with the matter said. Macquarie Capital’s India head Gaurav Gupta, an investment banker close to
12 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
have come to this decision,” Govindarajan, Rajan’s father was quoted in The Indian Express, recently. He added, “The entire world is watching this, the way he was subjected to a series of attacks and controversy, but as a father, I need not speak for him.” Rajan had come under severe attack from BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who had questioned his dedication to India, and called him an American agent. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and later the Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke out against these attacks, their defence of Rajan was widely seen as coming too late. Rajan’s mother, Mythili, said in the same interview, “Let anyone question his policies, or style of functioning. But isn’t it unfair attacking someone personally, questioning his patriotism?” However, she added, “It doesn’t matter even if he didn’t get timely support from the government. He may be hurt but it won’t affect him in anyway.” Adani, will spearhead the latter’s financial services foray and hold a small stake in the business. Adani Finserv plans to build a full suite of financial services even as the NBFC would look to build a `1,500-2,000 crore balance sheet, funding infra-building in Asia’s third largest economy. Adani Finserv is also expected to enter asset management and securities business as it looks to expand the footprint, sources added. But the ongoing discussions with Macquarie are only for NBFC operations, for the time being at least, the sources added. Adani, Gaurav Gupta and Macquarie declined to comment on this development. Adani Finserv has already taken up space at Bandra-Kurla Complex, the financial district of Mumbai, and has started recruiting senior executives to launch the operations.
Mittal, honchos mull on start-ups French President Francois Hollande, Cisco executive chairman John Chambers, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Alphabet’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt among others discussed the future of start-ups and the value they can add, at a meeting held in Paris recently. Also present at the meeting were Robin Li, co-founder of China’s Baidu, Oliver Samwer, founder, Rocket Internet, Jimmy Wales, co-founder, Wikipedia, Yuanqing Yang, CEO, Lenovo and Mathias Doepfner, CEO of German media group Axel Springer, who discussed strategies around the digital transformation of societies, and other related topics. The meeting was hosted ahead of the launch of the Viva Summit in Paris, which is touted as the “Davos for Start-ups”, and is focused on bringing together players in the digital space. Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com
manage money Dr Anil Lamba
Leverage Analysis Leverage refers to an exponential impact on the bottom line due to a certain change in the top line. If sales in year 1 are 100 and profits 20 and, in Year 2, if sales were to double to 200, the profit would rarely, if ever, just double. It would increase three or four fold or even more. Leverage is caused by the presence of fixed costs in the costing structure. When sales increase, the variable costs increase proportionately, but fixed costs do not increase. This results in a less-than-proportionate increase in the total cost – and a more-than-proportionate increase in the profit. Here’s an example: All in ₹ Sales Variable Costs Contribution Fixed Costs Profit
Year 1 100 units 25,000 10,000 15,000 10,000 5,000
Year 2 200 units 50,000 20,000 30,000 10,000 20,000
We can see that when sales increased from 25,000 to 50,000, profit increased from 5,000 to 20,000. A 100 percent increase in sales resulted in a 300 percent increase in profit. This is the leverage effect. You will appreciate that if this organization had no fixed costs, then the Contribution and Profit would have been the same. Now, if sales doubled, the profits (represented by Contribution) would merely double. There would be no leverage effect. On the other hand, if the fixed costs were even higher, the leverage effect would be even greater. However if the fixed costs were higher, the organization’s break-even point would also be achieved later since it would now have to produce and sell more in order to break even. The term leverage is often used in the context of borrowing. An organisation that borrows extensively is called a highly leveraged organization. When an organisation borrows, it has to bear higher interest costs. Interest is a fixed cost – and this is what leads to the leverage effect. Interest, however, is not the only fixed cost that an organisation bears. Other fixed costs would also have a similar effect. The word leverage has been derived from the word lever, which is an engineering term. Using a lever, it is possible to lift greater weights by exerting less effort. The lever works on the principle of fulcrum. Similarly, when a highly-leveraged organisation increases its turnover by a certain percentage, its profits increase by a larger percentage. The fulcrum in such cases is the fixed cost. When fixed costs are higher, the impact on profit is greater. Let’s understand leverage By now you are quite familiar with this equation of calculating profits:
Sales (-) Variable Costs Contribution (-) Fixed Costs Profit Leverage is caused by the presence of fixed costs. However, there are two types of fixed costs: Operating fixed costs and Non-operating fixed costs Operating fixed costs are those that are necessary to run your operations. These include salaries, rents and overheads. Non-operating fixed costs are those on which operations do not depend, in the sense that the operations would continue regardless of whether these fixed costs were incurred or not. These are the financial fixed costs or interest. Operations demand money. It does not matter to operations whether funds are procured from owners or from borrowed sources. It’s only when the money comes from lenders that there will be an interest cost. Of the two types of fixed costs, operating and financial, one is within your control and the other is not. The fixed cost within your control is the financial cost. Whether to borrow or not to borrow is your choice. However, operating fixed costs are dictated by the nature of your operations. Are you a motor car manufacturer or a software development organisation or a trader? Your operating fixed costs will, to a large extent, depend on your activity. (to be continued) Dr Anil Lamba is a practising chartered accountant, financial literacy activist and an international corporate trainer. He is the author of the bestselling book ‘Romancing the Balance Sheet’. He can be contacted at anil@lamconschool.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 13
wax eloquent
Today is certainly India’s time Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in business world
Reform to transform Swadeshi, a future global idea
“My aim is reform to transform… at the end of my term, success for me means people should experience change…if I am only able to claim certain achievements, I would not consider that as success. We are Indian in our approach but international in our outlook.” Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Courtesy: Economic Times
India a diverse market
“Across the globe, we have very few markets which are as diverse from customer perspective as well sector and adoption perspective. That is where India offers great opportunity for many upcoming entrepreneurs to launch and test and fail fast.”
“Swadeshi is not protectionism. It is a philosophy that links culture and economics. It rules out the idea of ‘fit-all’ model for development and makes development culturally compatible. This actually is the future global idea. Development means taking the best ideas, testing them in a new situations, and throwing away what does not work.”
S Gurumurthy, co-convenor, Swadeshi Jagran Manch Courtesy: Economic Times
Anupendra Sharma, co-founder, SLP Courtesy: : http://yourstory.com
Bootstrap or funded
“I see many Indian founders feeling a sense of pride while quoting how much funding they have raised. This behaviour needs to be changed as it distracts wannabe entrepreneurs from the basic purpose of entrepreneurship. I know very few bootstrap companies from India because media simply ignores them in the frenzy of covering funded ventures.” Rakesh Mathur, veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur Courtesy: http://yourstory.com
14 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
India for America
I think India, more so than China, is a place where American business and also American diplomacy can take root. They are a democracy, share our values-it makes more sense for us to work with them on strategic national security, giving them F-16s, giving them the weapons to defend themselves and really be the policemen for Asia. Aaron Schock, Ex-U.S. Rep.
Courtesy: http://www.pjstar.com/
Shaping country’s education and employability ecosystem
“Realization is the seed of change. Plan and propositions are the action plans for making things happen. When the seeds and the soils are ready, the only things that are required – execution followed by monitoring and controlling.”
Swapan Kumar Mujumdar, academician, management expert and director, Institute of Management, JK Laxmipat University
Courtesy: http://www.eurasiareview.com/
Getting India’s football fan hyper-connected
“India is not just home to one of the world’s largest football fan bases, at 170 million and growing, but more than 20 million football fans already are active on social media. That’s where our content comes in.” Asaf Peled,
founder and CEO, Minute Media
Courtesy: http://www.businesswire.com/
Rains have lost their significance on the economy
Still a lot to do
“What else does a business need? We need a government that encourages business, creates sensible regulation, moves with reasonable speed and most importantly, is consistent. Today is certainly India’s time – it has been working for twenty plus years to build a foundation, but there’s still a lot to do. We can’t stop at getting 300 million Indians in an ‘okay’ position and let the rest be.”
Shane Tedjarati, president and CEO, Global High Growth Regions, Honywell International Inc Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/
Decision-making in democratic setting
“You have to respect the decision-making process in government. You provide an input, and try and persuade people. You will get your way sometimes, but you’re not going to get it all the time. At such times, you shouldn’t have too much vanity, because decision making is very complex and there are many people at higher levels than you who are going to have a say. This is how governments in a democratic setting work.” Arvind Subramanian, chief economic advisor, Union Government, New Delhi Courtesy: www.livemint.com
“Apart from the trading moves that you get, the market actually does not consider the rains to be that important because the rains have lost their significance on the economy. The reason why the rains become a little bit more important this time is because of two years of drought.” Ridham Desai, managing director, Morgan Stanley
Courtesy: www.livemint.com
Whether you can be an entrepreneur
“Ultimately, the question is not whether you can be an entrepreneur. Of course, you can. The question is not even whether you want to be an entrepreneur. Almost everyone does. The more pertinent question is: what are you willing to go through to become one? What are you willing to give up for it? What pain you are willing to endure to achieve your goal?” K Ganesh, chairman, Portea Medical and partner, GrowthStory.in Courtesy:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Exits for investors
We can ride this Brexit storm “We are in such a strong position today because of reforms, because all the macro numbers are very strong. So, I think we can ride this storm very successfully. I am sure our economic position is so strong today, I don’t think it is going to make any difference to India.” Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC
Courtesy: www.livemint.com
“The word exit in the current state is not the right one for the Indian ecosystem as it is time for execution. Anybody who gets involved in any of these startups would only look at execution and not look to pay off existing shareholders.”
Nikesh Arora, former Google executive and former president & COO, SoftBank Corp
Courtesy: Times of India
Indian actors are not a joke
“To convince another part of the world that Bollywood is not just jokers who break in to song and dance, was very difficult. I’m literally ploughing the ground and making people understand that Indian actors are not a joke. We’re one of the most prolific film industries in the world. We speak Hindi which is spoken in one country, but 40% of our business comes from outside of India.”
Box-office pie has grown “The good part is the overall box-office pie has grown, so while Bollywood’s contribution to it might have reduced because Hollywood has upped its game, but Hindi films are also growing at an equal pace. India, as a country, has a great geography and demography. Any option works with that kind of population.” Devang Sampat,
business head, strategy, Cinepolis India Courtesy: http://www.livemint.com/
Priyanka Chopra, Actress
Courtesy: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36606833
Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 15
NHRD delhi chapter
‘Organisational Design Top Priority For India Inc In 2016’ Though perennial issues such as Leadership, Culture and Learning continue to rank high in importance, Organisational Redesigning has emerged as the top priority for Indian HR decision makers in 2016 By Pradeep Mathur
H
ow is the business landscape for Corporate India in the remaining six months of 2016? Is it positive or negative or something else? Have the flavours of the Human Capital Trends of 2015 died down or they may stage a return with a bang this year too? Are there any new and emerging trends which may sizzle and fizzle on the turf of India’s fast-changing business runways and what is going to become the ultimate buzzword for the business and HR leaders who are keenly watching these talent trends but are confused as to what do they really mean for them? With sweeping global forces reshaping the workplace, the workforce and the work itself; the year ahead looks promising for Indian corporate leaders as ‘Organisational Design’ (OD) has emerged absolutely on top of the list of most important Human Capital Trends in the country, followed by Learning, Leadership Awakening, Shaping Culture in Organisations and Design Thinking (DT), said S V Nathan, Senior Director and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte India. “By the way, OD tops the list in the Global Human Capital Trends Survey too for 2016,” Nathan pointed out, adding, “As companies strive to become more agile and customer-focused, organizations are shifting their structures from traditional, functional models toward interconnected, flexible teams. No wonder, as many as 91 percent Indian survey respondents ranked OD
16 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
as the leading trend in line with the global survey and slightly short of the APAC respondents.” Presenting a “pretty solid and meaty report” on HR trends in India titled ‘Deloitte India-NHRDN Human Capital Trends 2016’, before an impressive gathering of about 200 top HR leaders and CEOs in Gurugram (Haryana) recently, Nathan pointed out that, Leadership Awakening which incidentally was the most important trend last year, “fell to number three position this year in the ranking with almost the same percentage (88 percent) of importance in the survey.” The business leaders had gathered to attend the fourth Human Capital Conclave on the theme of “The New Organization: Different by Design”. The report, by the way, was based on responses from more than 239 corporate leaders across India who took part in a comprehensive global survey of about 7,000 HR and business leaders in over 130 countries in the fourth quarter of 2015, he added. It said that most Indian business leaders recognise that the structure of their workplace needs to be redesigned in order to address the four powerful forces that are driving unstoppable change in business: demographic upheavals, the rise of digital technology, rapid innovation in business models and the evolving relationship between employers and employees. “Globally, it is time for a new OD that responds to both the pace of disruption and changing ex-
Globally, it is time for a new OD that responds to both the pace of disruption and changing expectations of employees. But Organisational Design isn’t only an HR issue -S V Nathan S V Nathan, Senior Director and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte India.
pectations of employees. But Organisational Design isn’t only an HR issue. The entire organisation must embrace the need to sense and respond to changing market shifts by taking action now if they’ve to successfully attract and retain to keep up with their peers worldwide.” Therefore, exercising caution about the other three trends, namely Engagement (83%), People
Pics: Dr Vivek Arora
Analytics (83%) and the Gig Economy (82%), Nathan said, “Just because you see them out here in this list doesn’t mean that they are not important. It is just that they have not figured out in the top five.” Nathan said, “You’ll find that these kind of trends are going to be consistent over the coming years as well. The orders will go. For example,
even between Leadership Awakened and Culture, with both getting 88% response, nothing is very different but you just have to stack them up. But compared to last year, OD which was very new then has suddenly come up absolutely on top this year. Similarly, DT (85%) is another new trend which has made its place in the top five in 2016,” he explained.
The Gig Economy, he pointed out, is also “a new trend in India that is coming up fast” because it is “all about people who are temporary— like specialists, workers, operators and even those who have virtually retired from organisations— who work for some time into your organisation and then go away but they also make significant contribution to the Gig Economy.” July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 17
NHRD As for Learning (89%), Culture (88%) and Leadership Awakening (88%)-regardless of whether they have moved up or down, Nathan said, “It is important for us to know that these are among the top five trends in India at the moment.” Taking these trends one by one, Nathan then went on to describe the state of affairs about each one of them. “There is good news about OD as 88 percent organisations in India are either currently restructuring or planning to restructure their company shortly, slightly better than the rest of the world because people have woken up in India and their focus is on building an agile, more customer centric organisation which is a significant shift from the traditional way,” he said.
S
imilarly Learning also offers good news because, “It’s the best and possibly the biggest part of the Indian Culture as all of us believe that Learning Curve is the Earning Curve. So, it’s important for us to learn and continue to learn. No wonder, many companies are making strides in adopting new technologies and about 66 percent say that they are using advanced videos as a way of learning. On the job learning also continues to be one of the biggest ways in which we have our Indian employees learn from one another,” said Nathan. Talking about Culture, the next in the list, Nathan said, “How do we shape culture and drive strategies in the organisation are a big concern for most Indian firms. But only one in four or 26 percent believe that they have the right culture which is a bit sad.” Does Changing Culture play a key role in delivering business strategy, Nathan asked and then himself replied, “Everybody now agrees that a Changing Culture is needed in organisations but isn’t it also a fact that it is not easy to change the culture of an organisation because you’ve to start culture change from the top and that’s not easy.” Yet, he pointed out, “good news is that many Indian organisations are looking at it pretty seriously and considering how can we better our culture and lots of efforts are taking place in this area.” As good HR professionals, he said, “We’ve an opportunity to assume the role of a champion in this area and monitor and communicate the values that we have in our organisation.” Describing Culture (88%) as the way things work in our organisations, Nathan said, it has very strong equation with Engagement (83%), though Culture ranked several places ahead of Engagement in terms of importance. Hence, he said, “If you build better Culture, you build better Engagement and please remember, both are extremely critical human capital issues in India today.” Talking about why Design Thinking (DT) has moved up the priority list for India and the world, Nathan said that DT is all about “crafting 18 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
employee experience” and it is becoming “central to all business decisions,” with 85 per cent executives ranking this trend as “important” or “very important.” It has become extremely important for organisations because “today employee demand a simplified and intuitive work environment which allows them to be focused and flexible in the accelerated market place and managing the demands of professional and personal life. In contrast to the global base line, he pointed out; the Indian counterparts surveyed reported a higher understanding (48 percent as against 40 percent) and adoption (24 percent as against 12 percent) of design thinking
adding that, interestingly the capability gap across the three remains the same with 2 out of 5 respondents not ready to meet the requirements. The relative importance of digital HR and contingent workforce (The Gig Economy) in India are also pretty high at 82% when compared to respondents across the globe (at 75%), Nathan said, adding, “Perhaps this is in recognition of the urgency to address these challenges in light of the growing digitally savvy and entrepreneurial Gen-Y workforce in India.” The report, Nathan said, also talks about a relatively new but “very serious concern” noted among top Indian corporate leaders: A lack of
It said that most Indian business leaders recognise that the structure of their workplace needs to be redesigned in order to address the four powerful forces that are driving unstoppable change in business
in HR and talent programmes.” “While we’ve made considerable headway in integrating this concept in the ways of working for the HR function and in fostering collaboration and creativity across the organisation, 4 out of 5 respondents share that we’ve yet to develop capabilities to innovative programmes and structures, and redesign the work in itself,” As companies become more customer focused, DT is “increasingly becoming central to all business decisions”, with 85 percent executives ranking this trend as ‘very important’ said Nathan. Today’s employees, he continued, “demand a simplified and intuitive work environment which allows them to be focused and flexible in the accelerated market place and managing the demands of professional and personal life.” People analytics is also seen as relatively more important in India than globally, Nathan said,
bench strength in leadership roles. Taking on Leadership challenge, Nathan then pointed out that more than 22 percent organisations in India do not have a leadership strategy in place, but the rest claim to have a leadership development strategy in place and that’s pretty good news. Nevertheless, with 68 percent of respondents across India expressing serious concerns about their “leadership bench strength” it cannot be overlooked, said Nathan. “Because if the capabilities and readiness of potential successors to move into key professional and leadership roles is not enhanced significantly then you just cannot sit comfortably with yourself,” he added. “In fact, Leadership has got to come to positions which are not at the top but which are across levels in organisations. I don’t think we’re doing that very well. So, that’s the big challenge because leadership is really not at the top but
N
Global Human Capital Trends to Watch in 2016
HRDN-Deloitte’s “Global Human Capital Trends Survey 2016” report identifies the top ten human capital trends for 2016 and reveals that Organisational Design has rocketed to the top of the agenda among senior executives and HR leaders worldwide, with 92 per cent rating it “a key priority.” Presenting the 124-page report, titled “The New Organisation: Different by design,” is perhaps the largest ever global talent study with more than 7000 responses in over 130 countries across the globe. Jeff Schwartz, Sr Director Human Capital Global Leader—Human Capital Talent Strategies and Marketing, Eminence, and Brand at Deloitte, said that the central theme of this year’s report is that in order to drive positive changes in our companies, “we need to redesign the organisation, especially in terms of how teams operate, how leaders operate and overall how things get done in top corporate organisations.” Jam-packed with several useful findings that would affect not only HR leaders, but all global business leaders, Jeff said that disruptive changes in digital technology, business models and workforce demographics are radically reshaping the world of work today. Hence, to meet the demands of this rapidly-evolving business ecosystem, business leaders across the world (92%) see a need to “redesign the organisation.” Companies in 2016, Jeff said, are entering a “golden age” of people analytics—and progress could accelerate. This year’s report, he pointed out, showcases “how organisations are responding to the sweeping changes underway by empowering teams, creating a new management model and developing a younger and increasingly inclusive leadership structure.” Listing out the major findings, Jeff said, “the demographic upheavals have made the workforce both younger and older, as well as more diverse. Millennials now make up more than half the workforce, and they bring high expectations for a rewarding, purposeful work experience, constant learning, development opportunities, and dynamic career progression.”
At the same time, he added, Baby Boomers working into their 70s and 80s are being challenged to adapt to new roles as mentors, coaches and often subordinates to junior colleagues. Narrating the top five trends for global executives, he said, besides Organisational Design, these include Leadership Awakened (89%), Culture (86%), Engagement (85%) and Learning (84%) in that very order.” The rest of the top trends, Jeff pointed out, include Design Thinking (79%), Changing skills of the HR organisation (78%), People Analytics (77%), Digital HR (74%) and Workforce management (71%). “Culture and Engagement continue to find place in the top five. The rise of social networking tools and apps leave companies more transparent than ever,” he added. “We’ve entered a zone where most firms
He also cited the Gig Economy as a key human capital trend. The survey, he said, revealed that as many as 42 percent executives expect to see a significant increase in the use of contingent have become Naked Organisation. No wonder, executives increasingly recognize the need for a deliberate strategy to shape their corporate culture, rather than having it defined for them through Glassdoor or Facebook,” he added with a smile. He also cited the Gig Economy as a key human capital trend. The survey, he said, revealed that as many as 42 percent executives expect to see a significant increase in the use of contingent workers in the “next three to five years.” Taken together, the 2016 report sketches out a vast and varied series of changes and challenges. As the pace of change accelerates, business and HR leaders who move aggressively to address these trends will likely gain an advantage over their competitors and find themselves on the winning edge in the global completion for talent.
happening across various levels,” Nathan opined. But that’s not all, he added, “Equally important is the task of identifying strong leaders. In fact, currently, the biggest angst in our organisations is, how do I build leaders who are acknowledged as the leader by one and all. But this cannot be done unless we have better data, excellent training programmes and better ways of assessment.” “By the way, we do a fantastic job on assessment. But I think we have got to do a still better job on developing people past the assessment,” Nathan pointed out.
T
he need of the hour, he therefore suggested, is “to invest in and deliver high impact programmes addressing the needs of leaders at every level including senior leaders, next generation leaders, women and diverse leaders, and millennial leaders - expanding exposure to challenges including global skills and experiences and rapidly changing technologies." While the relative rank of HR organisations' capability building dropped six places, the survey reported the emergence of new priorities and capabilities including organisation design, design thinking and managing the growing temporary and contract workforce (Gig Economy). "While the respondents this year are generally satisfied with the performance and capabilities of HR, this is paired with a trend towards driving more investment to HR- indicating improving prospects for innovation and development in the function in the coming year," Nathan said while suggesting that there is still lot of work to be done to bridge the capability gaps to meet the Human Capital challenges ahead. “Leaders who could do it will enjoy important competitive advantages in the coming years,” he said. So, what the future looks like for Indian businesses? “It’s very bright. We all feel very confident as there is lots of optimism in the air. The general business outlook is that we are doing very well,” Nathan said. But what does it mean for the state of HR in India? Answers Nathan, “Physicians, they say, heal thyself. Sadly, only 41% of people who are in this field really believe that they have a career out in the organisation they work in. So, we’ve got to do better in this.” “With reports of more and more investment coming in our field, we’ve to move away from just compliance to becoming architects of what happens in our organisations because we cannot just be the enablers of businesses any more. We’ve got to change our mindset as enabler is the world of yesterday, the world of tomorrow is really being partner in a business,” Nathan concluded with a gusto, asking the HR leaders to make sure that when they leave the Conclave, “they had an agenda ready in their mind for their organisation.” mathurpradeep1@gmail.com
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 19
Pics: yusuf khan
20 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Cradle of Leadership
Prof (Dr) Sanjay Pande, Dean, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai
Canvassing for creativity It is both a privilege and a challenge to helm Asia’s numero uno college for applied art, namely the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai. But the softspoken dean, Dr Sanjay Pande is up to the challenge— balancing an erudite academic scholarship with the detailed eye of an illustrator and book designer. “Creativity is great,” he says, “but it has to be linked to commerce and a canvas.” Unsurprising, given that the focus of this sister of the Sir JJ School of Art has always been the vivid needs of the advertising industry, with its specialisations in photography, stage design, illustration, typography and calligraphy. With a persistent demand for autonomy that only seems to get louder by the day, here’s finding out just why he and other faculty believe it’s the best course of action for the institute. After all, he’s taught here for close to three decades before helming its august portals. By Kalyani Sardesai
This is your second year as dean of an institute as iconic as the JJ School of Applied Art. What is the reason for its enduring status?
When students come to JJ, it’s not just a legacy they inherit, but the full benefits of an atmosphere that encourages creativity to thrive. Little things add up. Our faculty—which is a winsome blend of professional experience and academic qualifications—goes all out with the students. Then again, we don’t have any formal break, though classes are conducted between 8:45 am and 3:30 pm. Students can choose to
go pick up a chai or a snack when they want to—a subtle but effective way to impress upon them that both freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. Exam time which brings with it a flurry of nerves is dealt with by allowing students to listen to music while they are creating or painting something; for the simple reason that you are at your most imaginative only when you are relaxed. Each of our classrooms is wellventilated with ample moving space and light for the students—an absolute must for the fine arts. Then again, there is this well-equipped July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 21
Cradle of Leadership illustration studio, and photography studio with the latest equipment. There is a separate room for spray painting as well as an audio visual room. Each facility is carefully chosen to provide students maximum exposure to their craft. The institute’s library has more than 10, 000 books and many periodicals in its collection—and it is one of the most popular places in the college. Similarly, we have a Print-shop with four printing machines and a complete infrastructure of a Silk
Screen Printing Studio to explain to the students the intricacies of the printing process. So you see there is a lot of stress on learning by doing, above all else. Come February, and there is an exhibition of the students’ work where industry honchos and the general public get a chance to take a
closer look at what they’ve been doing. This is also the time when placements take place. There is no compulsion of dress code either—students wear what they are comfortable in. Besides, all through the year we have ad gurus like Prahlad Kakkar, Piyush Pande and the rest addressing the students—this affords them an exposure that goes well beyond books--and makes for a peaceful atmosphere on campus. In all these years, we have not had a single episode of student unrest and discord —there is no need actually! There is an open-door system of communication and voices are heard. Long after they have passed out, you have students, continuing to come to the college and fondly reminiscing over the time they spent here.
Art and technology need to go hand in hand. It’s a super-fast world and students must adapt to the newer ways of selling and marketing from telecommunication to mobile-based applications
Please tell us about the admission procedure and courses?
Being a government college, admission criteria are strictly adhered to. All entries happen through the Common Entrance Test. There are three government colleges in the state that teach fine arts—the other two are at Nagpur and Aurangabad. JJ is the most coveted, though. There are 500 kids who are taken on for the undergraduate programme—namely the Bachelors’ of Fine Arts, with specializations that start in the third year in the following streams, namely: Photography, Stage design (given the massive increase in events and award functions), illustration, typography and calligraphy. For the Masters’ course in Fine Arts, there are only about 20 seats in all—that’s how stringent the criteria become as you go on.
What are the challenges before the JJ Institute? What changes would you like to see in the system?
Well, the syllabus definitely needs to undergo a change and become more contemporary. Advertising is changing by the minute and the canvas is becoming broader and more competitive with newer media entering the fray every day. What we teach here has to reflect that fully. Also, we (the current management) would like to press for a uniform syllabus for all the three government applied arts colleges at Nagpur, Aurangabad and JJ. This will not only assure quality education, but also bring in a level playing field and an assured standardized education for all. As things stand today, a student from Nagpur can’t be brought to study at JJ--despite being in the same year—for the syllabus he or she happens to be studying there is different. Secondly, there have been these longstanding vacancies for professors—some of them since 1993. Sure, we have an enthusiastic 22 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Famous alumni of Sir J J School of Applied Art The main entrance of the college
staff of 22, but we are largely supplemented and powered by guest lecturers and visiting faculty. This needs to change. It is my personal opinion that the system of evaluation needs to be revamped completely. Abroad, there is a very effective and holistic system of having a student make a presentation to the jury. The presentation is interactive, detailed and gives every opportunity to the candidate to showcase his knowledge and skill. I would like to see the same happen here—written examination replaced by viva voce.
For the last decade or so, the demand for autonomy simply seems to get louder. Why is this so?
Well, from the time GH Rajadhyaksha was
dean, there seems to be an evolving consensus amongst faculty for autonomy at various levels—academic, administrative and economic. A proposal to the effect has been made to the state government—and for starters we are looking at academic autonomy that we believe will give us the leeway and space to contemporize and standardize the syllabus in a manner that will keep in mind the latest socio-economic-cultural and industrial trends. So be it a one-year course that exclusively focuses on copywriting for ad agencies, or short term design courses that keep in the mind the ever-advancing technological changes, it gives us a lot more room for manoeuvre. Visual media is in a constant state of flux, there are new modes of expression every day and the student must be versatile and able to grasp them—as well as add to them. We would also like to include the JJ School of Architecture under the all-encompassing umbrella of design— for architecture is an indispensable part of print media. Similarly, with au-
Advertising is changing by the minute and the canvas is becoming broader and more competitive with newer media entering the fray every day. What we teach here has to reflect that fully
Subhash Sharma
Creative Head, Sketch Multimedia, Mumbai
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Vikram Gaikwad
Creative Head, Creative Land Asia
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Vinayak Gaikwad
Creative Head, Mudra Advertising
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Nana Patekar
Indian actor and filmmaker
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Rajiv Rao
Creative Head, Ogilvy & Mather (creator of Vodafone zoozoos)
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Ajmal Mohammad Head of Art, BBH India.
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Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena chief
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Salil Maladkar
CEO, Idea Communications Pvt. Ltd
Arun Kolatkar Poet
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Raj Thackeray MNS chief
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Vikas Sabnis
Ilustrator and caricature artist
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Randolph Correia
musician and actor (Bombay Boys)
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Gopi Kukde
Advertising Genius and the brain behind the ‘Onida’s Devil’.
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Brendan Pereira Award-winning creative director and designer
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Raj Kamble
First Indian to be nominated to the British Design and Art Directors (D&AD) and the first Indian to win the prestigious One Show Gold Pencil.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 23
Cradle of Leadership
Home is where the art is JJ Institute of Art at a glance
Both the JJ School of Art and The Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art are known to turn out the finest artists of the day—be it in the pure arts, or for the requirements of the advertising industry. But the predecessor for both is the Sir JJ School of Art set up by noted philanthropist Jamshetjee Jeejebhoy in 1857. It was run by the British government. Despite doing good work from the outset, there was a moment during the tension fraught years of the second World War when a committee reviewing excess government expenditure recommended that the school be shut down, claiming “it only helps individual artists, but is of no use to society in general.” Thank God that did not happen, due to the efforts of the dean: To make redundant this argument, he duly set up a Commercial Art Section or CAS with the objective of providing artistic training for commercial purposes. This section would make a direct contribution to the British government’s war effort by designing public awareness posters and government propaganda. The exercise worked, and the school did not have to down its shutters. Soon the batches trained at CAS found that they were in considerable demand from the commercial industries of Mumbai to design material. Not only that, the nascent advertising industry also snapped up talent, thereby creating a set of people who would be considered the founders of the Indian advertising industry. CAS became popular among applicants to the Sir J.J. School of Art, as it offered a direct means of earning a livelihood to skilled artists who had completed the course. Soon, this once-small section of the school began receiving more student applications than the main part of the institute. By this time, India had gained independence. In 1961, both institutes began to operate separately. The JJ Institute of Applied Art came into existence with VN Adarkar as the first dean, while the JJ School of Art continued with courses on painting, sculpture, metal works, textiles and interiors. 24 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Creative works by students of JJ Institute of Applied Art
tonomy we will be able to appoint faculty and staff that we feel will be best suited to honing the students the way the ad world deserves. JJ is one of the best known brands in the country, and it would be great if students could get a degree from an autonomous institution that is able to own the scope of its syllabus and systems.
Where do you see JJ in the next few years?
To see it rank amongst the finest colleges internationally and become a deemed University. For this, art and technology need to go hand in hand. It’s a super-fast world and students must adapt to the newer ways of selling and marketing from telecommunication to mobile-based applications. They can’t resist change, they have to ride it—see what the audience needs, and then articulate the needs through their work. For that, the course needs to become more professional and relevant.
You started off in the art department at Hindustan Thompson—then went on to become a professor. Along the way, you’ve also managed to find time to create some memorable caricatures, apart from designing and illustrating over 200 story books. Tell us more?
It has been a long and wonderful innings, no doubt, and I am grateful for all that I have seen and learnt. I was born and educated in Nagpur and opted to study fine art in an era where such a course was usually seen as the resort of the lazy and the disinterested. Luckily, my parents, even in those days were liberal and forward-thinking and let me follow my inclination. I passed out from RTM Nagpur University in
1983, “first class first” as they say. I was awarded a fellowship for the same by the Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalay. Over the years, I also completed my Masters in Fine Arts and PhD from Nagpur. I worked as a visualizer in the art department of the ad agency Hindustan Thompson in New Delhi. I was also a sales associate at the Hyatt Regency. But then, teaching was a passion from the start. I had had a taste of how wonderful and rewarding it could be during my fellowship that required me to teach a bit. In 1986, I joined JJ Institute
there could be no more apt subject for my art than Saddam. The jury loved the detailing and I won.
What, according to you, are the qualities that have made you who you are?
A depiction of the casual, collaborative campus culture at JJ institute of Applied Art
Dedication to your chosen path in life is absolutely fundamental. When you are dedicated, there’s no end to what you can achieve with your time and energy
as a professor of advertising and for over 28 years I taught theory. Being in a transferable job, I have also been posted to the fine arts colleges in Nagpur and Aurangabad. I served as lecturer at the Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalay from 2004 to 2014 and lecturer at the Government School of Art, Aurangabad between 1994 and 2004. Along the way, I have kept in touch with the love of my life—illustrating and caricaturing. Luckily, as a lecturer I had weekends to indulge my art to the fullest. A particularly memorable episode was when
none other than the late Balasaheb Thackeray, himself a ferociously talented cartoonist--went through a caricature I had done of him. He had dropped in to visit the dean MG Rajadhyaksha over a cup of tea—when I was summoned to his cabin. To my surprise and nervousness, Balasaheb was carefully poring over my work. Thankfully, he really liked what I had done and was very appreciative. Apart from this, I have also done a lot of work for the Illustrated Weekly when the iconic media man Pritish Nandy was at the helm. They were mostly political cartoons and he used to really like my work. I have also been very active in the field of publication design and have worked on over 200 story books. Over the years, I have also entered competitions as they are great fun—and keep you on your toes apart from acquainting you with the great work that others are doing. An outstanding episode was winning the award for Best Caricature in a competition conducted by the Hindustan Times. This was in the late 80s, when Saddam Hussein had just begun to make a mark on the world stage with his brand of aggression; the Iran-Iraq war was in full sway--and I thought
I would say dedication to your chosen path in life is absolutely fundamental. When you are dedicated, there’s no end to what you can achieve with your time and energy. Be it my illustrative work or teaching in class, I am committed to everything I take up. It’s the same attitude that I have tried to inculcate in my daughters. Neither of them is inclined towards the arts, but that’s fine. As long as they give 100 per cent to everything they do.
Tell us more about the famous spirit of this college that turns out creative men and women, not only in the world of art and advertising, but also politics, film and theatre (though the college has little to do with cinema!). From Uddhav and Raj Thackeray to Nana Patekar, Smita Patil, Ravi Jadhav and Arun Kolatkar—what is it about JJ that makes the imagination soar?
Like I explained to you, the raison d’être of this college is to encourage creativity at all levels. And creativity has a way of spilling on to other canvases as well—hence the presence of so many JJ alumni in so many other fields as well. Creativity is not just training, it’s a way of life, it’s an attitude that goes beyond merely carrying out the technicalities of one’s job. One of my favourite examples is that of the late Gautam Rajadhyaksha, celebrity photographer extraordinaire. He had a way of getting under the skin of his subjects and capturing their best likeness in all spontaneity. Be it Asha Bhonsle, Kajol or Madhuri Dixit—he would ensure the model of the day was relaxed, at ease and in a great mood. He would put on music, possibly crack a joke and amidst the laughter and bonhomie, the shoot would result in the most historic photographs ever. That is the kind of dedication we want to encourage. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 25
Interview
‘Putting employees first’ Dr Prince Augustin, Executive Vice President - Group Human Capital & Leadership Development at the Mahindra Group has over three decades of experience in the field of Human Resources. A post-graduate MBA in Human Resources from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management in Pune, Prince also holds a degree in Law specializing in Labour Law from the Government Law College, Mumbai and a Doctorate in Management from BITS Mesra, Ranchi. Prince has been associated with leading companies such as the Associated Cement Companies Limited and Castrol India Ltd, in the past, before joining the Mahindra Group in August 2003. He talks to Corporate Citizen about the various HR practices that promote a vibrant corporate culture at the Mahindra Group By Mahalakshmi Hariharan Of late, a lot of people are talking about an economic slowdown. Equity markets are on a topsy-turvy ride since the past few months and company earnings haven’t been impressive either. At this point in time, will there be any change in the HR policies? Back in 2008-09, a lot of companies stopped hiring; a lot companies also decided against an increment for employees. Are we seeing something of that sort again? What is your view? See what happens is – like when there is day and there is night, there is sunshine and there is rain. There is winter and there is summer. So likewise, the economy also passes through 26 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Pics: Yusuf Khan
similar phases. I have seen several cycles like these. In the early 2000s, we found there was a big economic upheaval and massive downsizing. When India got coupled with the global economy, the global upheaval started affecting India as well. So what happened to the US, affected India in 2008-09…and many people thought that we should not hire, but Mahindra was hiring, setting up of plants, and we carried on with other activities too. So when the economy improved, Mahindra was able to capitalize on the upswing. Economic cycles are here to stay and only the innovative will be able to turn the tides into opportunities. Hence these are pangs of growth which the country is going through, and it’s time to reinvent and relook at ourselves. We need to identify the systems and practices that will help to build businesses that are sustainable and which can manage the upsides as well as downsides. Generally when an upswing happens, people become a little complacent. So I have a philosophy that I have learnt from British Petroleum. What they say is – you should run the business in the best of times as if it is the worst of times. So you therefore manage costs in such a way so that you don’t have to downsize people. In Mahindra we have this philosophy embedded in our Core Purpose which states that “We will challenge conventional thinking and innovatively use all our resources to drive positive change in the lives of stakeholders and communities across the world, to enable them to Rise.” Tell us about your hiring plans for this fiscal. We are quite optimistic about our hiring plans. Our hiring strategies are based on the nature of our businesses which are very diverse and in different phases of growth. Therefore there would be hiring, but it would be selective. As we have seen big growth, we have created capacities for ourselves and we will ensure that this capacity can be leveraged to manage growth for the next three to five years. What’s the strength of the entire Group? There are a total of over 200,000 people and if you take the ecosystem, it may be over 300,000 to 350,000 employees. We have thousands of stakeholders associated with us. We also have 25 manufacturing plants in India and facilities in China, Europe, Australia, Russia, US and many other parts of the world. So, it’s a huge group which provides employment, not just directly but also indirectly, in dealerships, suppliers, both rural, urban, and if anything goes wrong with it, which means India is going in the wrong direction. The growth of the country and the growth of the group are therefore very closely interlinked.
What are the qualities that you look for while hiring candidates, especially youngsters? The first thing that I look for is if the person has curiosity and then I look at his power of observation. I see how creative he/she is. I believe that whatever the job is, curiosity and creativity are absolutely essential. A room can be made differently, can be painted differently, and the pictures can look different and that can make the room distinct and different. Every person has a role to play and the curiosity, power of observation and actions of a person can tell a lot. We have also identified five leadership characteristics at the Mahindra Group that are critical for influencing a culture of accepting no limits, alternative thinking, and driving positive change. These are: •Whole-brain thinking – Encouraging the seamless combination of logic and intuition •Managing fear and leveraging failure – Accepting that risk-taking often results in failure but that this can offer valuable lessons to be leveraged in future success •Multiplier – Unleashing people’s energy and passion through well-directed questions rather than the provision of answers •Mindfulness – Using focused attention as an antidote to the busyness that consumes many leaders •Trust–Trusting others and showing willingness to admit mistakes We look at how people manifest the three pillars of Rise and the five leadership characteristics. How do your attrition numbers look like? And how do you manage to retain talent? The attrition numbers vary throughout the Group depending on the profile of the employees. For instance, in our IT business, employ-
ees who want to experience different roles in a short span of time are highly mobile, while in our manufacturing businesses, employees like to stay longer and build a career. Overall, people like to stay with the Group for a very long time because of the growth opportunities and a culture of empowerment, transparency and trust. We are focussed on the long term growth of our employees. We also encourage people through a lot of training and development programmes. In fact, Anand Mahindra himself spends ten days a year in various talent management processes so as to ensure that we as a Group have talent aligned to our core purpose and values. Each of the business heads spend 40-50 percent of their time on people matters. So enabling our employees to rise is the first priority for us and the Group is known for empowerment and helping people to pursue their interests. Take us through the work culture at Mahindra Group. Is there enough flexibility given to women employees? We do have a very positive attitude; diversity is one of our key themes; we have Anita Arjundas who is the Chief Executive for Mahindra Lifespaces, as the Chairman of the Diversity Council. We are looking at various hues of diversity, be it gender diversity, cultural diversity, generational diversity or LGBT so that we have a diverse group of people who will challenge conventional thinking and bring about a positive change in the company. We also have a very caring environment. Our workplace is safe and it encourages growth for people and especially women to pursue opportunities they would like. What are the different steps that you take in the Group to curb attrition levels? We have a very strong employee engagement model, called ‘MCARES’, where M stands for
We are focussed on the long term growth of our employees. We also encourage people through a lot of training and development programmes. In fact, Anand Mahindra himself spends ten days a year in various talent management processes so as to ensure that we as a group have talent aligned to our core purpose and values. Each of the business heads spend 40-50 percent of their time on people matters. So enabling our employees to Rise is the first priority for us and the Group is known for empowerment and helping people to pursue their interests July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 27
Interview Mahindra, C stands for Career, A stands for Alignment, R stands for Recognition, E stands for Empowerment and S stands for Strive. The MCARES survey is administered annually to our employees and 76867 employees participated in the survey in FY16. Post the survey, senior leaders plan actions based on the insights generated from statistical analysis of the data. Our hiring process is very strong and we are able to get the right people for the right roles. We have an excellent talent management process which helps people to align their thoughts and aspirations to the goals that they want to pursue. Our reward and recognition policy is also equally good as we follow the best practices globally. We have ‘Shadow Boards’ in Mahindra which give the young managers a voice at the highest levels of decision making. Our approach to development is on a laddered basis with different strokes for different folks. Therefore, we have a plethora of practices by which we connect people. This is what helps in terms of retention, in terms of engagement, and that’s what helps people to contribute their best to the organisation. Markets regulator, SEBI, has recently granted you a licence to open a mutual fund division. Will you be hiring for that division as well? Yes, we will be opening up an asset management company soon. We will follow a selective hiring process in this area. There will be a lot of opportunities going forward, including for those from rural areas. Tell us about the CSR activities by the Mahindra Group. Aligned to the ‘Rise for Good’ mission, we focus our CSR efforts on the constituencies of girls, youth, and farmers, by supporting them in education, health and livelihood enhancement, with innovative programmes that harness the levelling power of technology. ‘Rise for Good’ also entails running our business with integrity, responsibility and transparency, caring for the well-being of the planet and striving for the welfare of our employees, customers and the community. As a result of our collaborative efforts in CSR, Mahindra & Mahindra has been ranked number one out of 216 companies in the 2015 Economic Times study on ‘The Best Companies for CSR’. We work with different foundations like the KC Mahindra Foundation, Nanhi Kali Foundation, Tech Mahindra Foundation, where we
invest two percent of our profits for CSR activities. Set up by Anand Mahindra in 1996, Project Nanhi Kali supports the education of over 1.2 lakh underprivileged girls in ten states, providing both material and academic support. Mahindra Pride Schools provide livelihood training to the youth from socially and economically disadvantaged communities and have already trained over 16,000 youth so far. M&M also sponsors the Lifeline Express trains that take medical treatment to far flung communities. Tech Mahindra’s social work is currently focused upon three areas – School Education, Employability and Technical Education. SMART or Skills for Market Training is Tech Mahindra Foundation’s flagship programme in employability, which is built on the vision of an
We are quite optimistic about our hiring plans. Our hiring strategies are based on the nature of our businesses which are very diverse and in different phases of growth 28 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
educated, enlightened and employed India, and a belief that educated and skilled youth are the country’s true strength. The programme started with three centres in 2012 and is currently running in 80 centres at 11 locations across India. We also have a Social Ambassadors Program where we work with schools to run a career counselling program for students. We train our employees on how to have conversations with children, how to do career counselling, and share with the students on how there are over 200 career opportunities in today’s world. Hence, CSR becomes a form of leadership development for our employees, and at the same time, focuses on bettering the lives of the underprivileged students in municipal schools. Tell us about your education. My father was in the Army and so I had a very spread-out education. I initially studied in a village called Omallur in Kerala. Later, I went to Dehradun where I studied for two years. Thereafter, I came to Nasik. I did my schooling from the seventh standard to eleventh in
charge of both employee relations and management development. I have been associated with the Mahindra Group since the past 14 years and must say it has been a very fruitful career. Here, I have handled various roles such as industrial relations, management development, strategy, transformation, change management and I have been very lucky to work with colleagues who have been very good. When I joined the Group, it was a comparatively smaller group, with a size of less than a billion dollars, employing about 20,000-25,000 people. But today, we are spread over 100 countries, having one of the best people practices in the country with a turnover of nearly $17 billion and over 200,000 employees. We have a great set of colleagues working together and Anand Mahindra has been extremely
as a whole, and organisations like Mahindra are making it to the top. There is global acquisition, integration of global organisations, and most of our acquisitions have really proved out to be a great value creators. If you take the case of Satyam, everybody thought the company would disappear…but we were able to transform it. We bought a Korean company called Ssangyong and were able to transform and make it profitable. If you take Swaraj of Punjab Tractors, we acquired it and transformed it too. The Mahindra Group is known for acquisitions and transformations. It also creates organic growth. For instance, if you take the case of Mahindra Financial Services, which was started by Ramesh Iyer in 1991, is now a huge financial services corporation today and one of
We will be opening up an asset management company soon. We will follow a selective hiring process in this area supportive. We’ve worked with great leaders like Dr Pawan Goenka, Rajeev Dubey and Anish Shah… the best people in the industry and that has been the secret of our transformation; you get the best people, mentor them and ensure that they are engaged and rewarded. Here, I am responsible for change management, ensuring that we get the best talent from across the country and ensuring that strategic initiatives and policies are aligned and integrated across the board.
Coimbatore and from there on, I went to St Joseph’s College at Trichy for my pre-university and completed my graduation from Loyola College, Madras. I then pursued my Master’s in Business Administration from SIBM (Symbiosis Institute of Business Management), where I passed out in 1984. Thereafter, I did my law from the Government Law College and my PhD. in general management. I have worked with organisations like Associated Cement Companies Limited which laid strong focus on industrial relations. I was very lucky to have worked with an excellent boss — Mr GM Govil, who taught me to handle industrial relations in different situations deftly and calmly. I handled very difficult and sensitive issues like strikes, downsizing, restructuring, productivity enhancement, shop floor cultural transformation and so on. At that time, ACC had over one lakh employees. Post that, I had a very good stint with Burroughs Wellcome, where I was looking after industrial relations as well as HR for sales and marketing division. Later on, I moved on to Castrol India Ltd, where I was in
In so many years, what are the changes that you’ve seen as an HR professional? When I started my career, HR was primarily industrial relations. So you manage workmen, manage unions and focus on talent management. However, over a period of time, I have seen that the leadership has become very progressive and the right to employment, right to association, and the right to reward has become very important. Today when we speak of the principles of human relations, we look at the principles of talent management and grooming. They start right at the base and go right to the top. Also India is really going global, so organisations like the Mahindra and the Tatas are setting standards. Last year, the Mahindra Group was recognised as one of the top companies for leaders to work for globally. The list has the likes of the Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, and we feature amongst the top ten companies. Also the leap that we have made year on year in the Great Place to Work Rankings, from 38 in 2013 to 28 in 2014 to 25 in 2015 and finally 19 in 2016, has only affirmed our belief in the external recognition and strength of our employer brand. Currently, India is really poised for growth. ‘Make in India’ is creating a big brand for India
the most profitable companies. Our auto and tractor businesses have grown organically and inorganically. Tech Mahindra has grown both, organically and inorganically. If you look at Club Mahindra, it started with an idea of Arun Nanda that there is an opportunity to build a business out of trust. Mahindra Lifespaces is about affordable housing. So in a period of 30 years, we have caught up with the global standards. Our understanding of people and people development has changed phenomenally. We are able to integrate India ethos and Indian philosophy with global management systems. On the personal side, how do you manage stress with so much of workload? I don’t get stressed nor do I have any issues of work-life balance because I believe that if I am able to align my work and life, I will be able to create a perfect work-life balance. That’s the philosophy I have been living with so far. I have a very supportive family. My wife understands that I have to travel extensively and my children have also been very supportive. My mother was with me for a major part of my life and she has given us the best of education, best of opportunities, so I must say God has been very kind. I have had a very good career, good family, and good society to live and work with and now at the Mahindra Group I have found an organization that blends with my philosophy of life. I have not only grown in Mahindra both personally and professionally but have on my own contributed significantly to build a culture, a journey of transformation and in a small way building the foundation to create a company of tomorrow. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 29
cover story Dynamic Duo: 34
Sanjeevani & Dr S B Mujumdar
The Lady Behind The Legend
S
She is shy and unassuming. But there is no doubt about the silent but all-pervading role of Sanjeevani, Dr S B Mujumdar’s better half, in helping build the vast educational conglomerate that Symbiosis now is, be it through the sacrifice of her own personal goals, timely advice or physical support at all crucial junctures of the growth-trajectory of this vast temple of education By Vinita Deshmukh
Symbiosis and Dr S B Mujumdar are synonymous. With his two daughters, Vidya and Swati too at the helm of affairs of this esteemed educational conglomerate, the silent contribution of the strongest pillar of their support often goes unnoticed. That is, Sanjeevani Mujumdar, wife of Dr Mujumdar and mother of Vidya and Swati. Although by designation she is the honorary director of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial and Museum, her voice is omnipresent in the management of the colossal educational organisation that comprises 44 institutes providing a variegated fare of courses, hosting around 30,000 Indian and foreign students in them at different locales. Married now for 53 years, Dr Mujumdar, confesses, “Ninety per cent credit goes to her for sustaining our marriage, as temperamentally, she is more balanced and very accommodative. She was brilliant in academics but sacrificed her PhD in order to look after the family.” Admiringly, he states, “Sanjeevani used to make at least 50 cups of tea every day for visitors who would come to our Fergusson College house when I was very active in University politics and was on the threshold of launching Symbiosis.” States daughter Vidya, “Although my father is my idol, I always seek the advice of my mother first for any issue regarding Symbiosis, when I need help. She is the only one who tells me the truth about certain decisions that I may have taken. In order to give us good education, she sacrificed her doctoral degree and now that we are well settled, she devotes her time to the Ambedkar Memorial and is a professional to the core.’’ Adds younger daughter Swati, “My mother is a living example of patience, perseverance and positive attitude. She has all these qualities which have made her children succeed in their lives. Therefore I think all our success and also the success of Symbiosis is largely attributed to her upbringing, her presence, her guidance and most importantly her support.” States Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian, President, Sri Balaji Scoiety and Editor-In-Chief, Corporate Citizen, “Mrs Mujumdar is the backbone of Symbiosis. She has helped many as a mother. She has always given a shoulder to anyone who goes to her and that includes me. During a critical time in my life, I lost all hope and
30 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
contemplated leaving the world. It is she who called me at midnight and asked me not to take any wrong step and that she is around for me. She is very generous, homely and does not know what power means. She works silently and provides strength to her family as well as the Symbiosis family. She is a great thinker with excellent analytical capabilities. Whenever Dr Mujumdar faces any struggle she is his Senapati. She used to host several foreign students at home and those staying in the hostel would also go to her when hungry and she never disappointed them.’’ A shy and unassuming person, Sanjeevani Mujumdar, in this interview to Corporate Citizen hesitates to speak about her significant role in the success of Symbiosis, but reveals the selfless, hardworking and value-oriented life that she leads and providing the much needed cushion for the family which has reached great heights in the educational field. Excerpts from the interview:
You were born and brought up in an academic environment?
My childhood was spent in the company of students and colleagues of Padmabhushan Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, the stalwart social educator from Kolhapur. He promoted mass education through his Satara based educational trust, Rayat Sikshan Sanstha. My father, being the Principal of its Training College as well as the Rector of its Remand Home, I spent my childhood in Satara. I bear within me the deep influence of Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil’s ideology, of which I had a close view, as he used to sometimes stay in our house, for two month at a stretch. Thus, we never took factors like caste and religion into account. So much so, that we did not even have any knowledge about them. To give an example, most of the inmates of the Remand Home, had been abandoned by their parents - leave alone which religion they belonged to, their parents had not even given names to them. It was my father who named these orphans and decided which religion should be cited in their birth certificates. Till I passed my matriculation examination (11th standard then), I was a student of Rukadi College which is eight kms from Kolhapur.
Pics: Yusuf Khan
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 31
cover story Shahu Maharaj donated this expansive campus to the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. It was my father who established the high school as well as training college there.
Tell us about your family environment
“I bear within me the deep influence of Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil’s ideology, of which I had a close view, as he used to sometimes stay in our house, for two months at a stretch. Thus, we never took factors like caste and religion into account. So much so, that we did not even have any knowledge about them. In fact, my father who was in charge of the Remand Home used to name the orphans and put a name of a religion as it was mandatory for a birth certificate” — Sanjeevani
Although my father was a graduate in Agriculture and took up a government job, he soon quit and joined the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, which gave him a meagre salary. He never worked for the sake of money; he lived by principles and social values. These have remained ingrained in me. Hence, I am a believer of dignity of labour. For example, I do not feel ashamed to do any kind of work at home. I still cook myself and would not hesitate to do the laundry or cleaning of utensils.
We were raised like sons
We are two sisters in the family. My elder sister was a Professor. She too returned to the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha after passing her M.Sc and served there till she retired. My father raised us like sons. He never made us feel that being girls, we were different. He gave importance only to education and not to money or anything else. Even in those days, when women were rarely educated, my mother was a trained teacher. She had passed her Std VII and worked as a teacher with the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. In those days, there was no age criteria for pursuing education and our home was in the campus. For me, it was like stepping out of my home and into my class. I was admitted straight into Std II, without attending Std I. Later, Karmaveer Patil started the Science College at Satara in 1958. That
was the year I passed my Matriculation and came to Satara. It was the first ever Science College there, and I was a student of the first batch. I lost the opportunity to get admission for the medical science course by two marks. So I decided to pursue B.Sc in Zoology.
Jab We Met
Mujumdar Sir joined the college as a lecturer when I was in the last year of B.Sc. That was his first job too. Initially he was recruited as a demonstrator and then became a lecturer. We came to know him as a studious man and a good teacher. Being the first batch, there were hardly 10-12 students. As part of the course, Mujumdar Sir took us to Mahabaleshwar on a study trip. We students were all good friends, so we paid more attention to sightseeing than the academic part of it. In the evening he decided to test our knowledge. He said, “You have spent your parents’ money to come here. Each one of you should tell me the botanical names of 25 species that you have seen today. You have been here for the last two days and now it is time to check what you have learnt.” My sister Vijaya and I could easily recount the 25 names. Others were taken aback. He reprimanded them and said he would be asking them the same the next day. Both of us made the others recite the names throughout the night fearing his wrath, and by the next morning, they had learnt them by heart. That was the first time we realised that it was our prime duty to concentrate on our studies. Dr Mujumdar himself was quite studious. He never gave a single lecture without making elaborate preparations. He was a class apart. Thanks to him, we never needed any coaching class or reference notes. I passed B.Sc. with good marks and immediately got admission for M.Sc. at the University of Pune. My father desired that both we sisters pursue M.Sc. and so both of us came to Pune.
So, when did you both take a liking for each other?
We were in love with each other when I was doing my B.Sc. It was his brilliance that attracted me towards him. He lived close to our house. A very conservative atmosphere prevailed then. One evening he proposed to me, asking me whether I would marry him. I told him that I would consult my parents and we would proceed if they consented to the proposal. He too was very clear that we must have the consent of both our parents. After all, he was a Saraswat Brahmin and I was a Maratha. Five decades back, love marriages were frowned upon and if they were inter-caste, it was even worse. When I told my parents, they said they would think over it for a couple of days before giving their decision. After about four days, my father summoned us and gave us his consent. Most importantly, my mother was a very courageous woman. She read the Dnyaneshwari and was God-fearing. But she was educated and that made a lot of difference. All my father’s relatives came to attend my sister’s wedding which was held at our native village Rethare, near Karad. My father’s brothers 32 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
and my cousins lived in that village. My mother bravely summoned them all and told them without mincing any words that her younger daughter (I) had found a groom for herself and they had given their consent to the alliance. Now it was up to them, whether they wanted to continue relations with us, henceforth. Many of them were taken aback. So much so that my cousins were not in talking terms with me for several years. They felt disgraced that I should have married out of caste. I was convinced that he was in love with me, when, during the long Christmas vacation, he suddenly returned from home. We were puzzled. We thought he’s come back because he is studious-minded. However, my intuition told me that it had something to do with his feelings for me. Soon, he got transferred to Shrirampur and I went to Pune for my post-graduation. Thereafter, we kept in touch through letters.
Zoology, I needed to do research in the university’s laboratory. That would take five to six hours. I would go in the morning and return home at lunch time. I would then cook, have lunch, feed Vidya and go back to the laboratory again. PMT buses would be available at one hour frequencies. I would return home by 6 p m.
Symbiosis in their life
The story of the Mauritian student who fell ill and was attended to by his girlfriend who passed on food through the window of his hostel room is well known. When Dr Mujumdar went to see him, he felt he should do something
We married with our own money
My father made the mistake of going to his (Dr Mujumdar’s) native village to seek the consent of his father. My mother in law was against the marriage. He returned from there dejected. But both of us had resolved that we would not cause any trouble to our parents and we would get married when we desired to. I was in the first year of M.Sc. when we decided to get married during the Diwali vacations that year in 1959. We did not look for an auspicious day and we got the wedding cards printed with our own names, as hosts. We decided to spend our own money on the marriage instead of taking money from anyone else. His father was a lawyer and his family was well off. My Dr Mujumdar (extreme left) and Sanjeevani (on the right) with former Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi father too was the Principal of a College. But we did not want anything from anyone. We wanted to be on our own. Therefore, we about the foreign students who came to study here. Then he started interviewwent to Panhala with a few friends and got married. My parents, my maternal ing foreign students in Pune, which the Kesari newspaper would publish every aunt and sister were also present besides a couple of friends. The total number Sunday. V.S. Walimbe was the editor then. Dr. Mujumdar’s objective was to of people attending the wedding was around 20. The expenditure came to study the problems faced by the foreign students. He continued conducting about ₹1, 000. We borrowed money from his friends and repaid them later, interviews of foreign students from different institutes like the Film and Telin instalments of ₹25 or ₹30. At that time, he was working as a lecturer at evision Institute of India, Wadia College, Fergusson College and so on, for a Gokhale College in Kolhapur, where the salaries of staffers were not given year. This gave him a deep insight into the different situations they had to face on time. Nevertheless, we had resolved to be self-reliant. He said once we during their sojourn here. got married, he would shoulder my responsibility. Until we got married, my father would give me pocket money, as we were living in the hostel. But Dr Your home was a home for foreign students? Mujumdar insisted that I should not take money from my father after we got Several foreign students have lived at our Fergusson College house. Let me give married. Instead, he would send me money. Actually, he was struggling to an example. There was an American student, John Owens. He had come in meet both ends but yet he did not burden my father. 1971-72. Symbiosis had just been formed then. In fact, he had been provided accommodation in a bungalow in the vicinity of the college. At that time, Dr Mujumdar was a Foreign Student Advisor at Pune University. So every new Tryst with Pune foreign student would meet him. John fell ill within a few days of coming here. Later in the second year of M.Sc, he got a job in Fergusson College and we He had high fever, so he came to our house to meet Dr Mujumdar. Since he were allotted a house in the premises. had to go for a lecture, he asked me to take him to our family doctor. We went He worked with Fergusson College from 1963 to 1982 as Professor of to the doctor in a rickshaw and returned home. At that time, Dr. Mujumdar’s Botany, and he was also the Rector of the Boys’ Hostel. I passed my M.Sc. elder brother who was a judge, was posted in Pune and stayed with us with in 1964 and won a UGC scholarship. I got three opportunities – as a lechis wife, three children and my mother in law. Now, this American student turer at Fergusson College, or as a Research Assistant with the University insisted that he wanted to live in our house and did not want to go back to of Pune and a scholarship for Ph.D. Vidya was five months old then. I went the bungalow, where he said he could sense that the women were not happy to meet Leela Mulherkar who was then the head of the Zoology departwith his presence. ment and a PhD guide. I told her, “Madam do you rightfully feel that I I told him, “John, if you wish you can live here in this living room. I cannot should pursue higher studies? I too feel the same way but what about my provide you a bedroom.” He said it would be fine with him. He agreed and child? Who will look after her?” stayed for several months with us. He went back to USA after his education. She said, “since you are getting the UGC scholarship, you should opt for Before that, we got him married to a Maharashtrian girl. He has two sons and Ph.D. That way you and your husband can adjust timings with each other.” he has given them Indian names – Devendra and Siddhartha. He has retired Fortunately, my maternal grandfather found a baby sitter for me; now, and is still in touch with us. she was a very pious, elderly woman from Karad. Since my subject was July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 33
cover story There was another student who lived with us by the name of Kawas Behroji. He was an Iranian - many Iranian students studied in Pune in 1973-74. He arrived in Pune and a couple of days later went to the Camp area with other students, where his wallet was stolen. So, he came to our house. Then the fees at ELTIS (English Language Teaching Institute) were `300. He had paid it, but came to ask for a refund as he had become totally penniless. He wanted to return to Iran. We thought over it. Dr Mujumdar said, ‘Let him stay with us in our house. We will provide him accommodation and inform his parents.’ Then there were no mobiles then. We sent a letter to his parents and informed them about the incident. Then his father sent money. He too lived in our house for six months and felt great about it. We almost became his
mandatory to have seven trustees, he could gather six. Then, Dr Mujumdar told me, “I’ll give your name too, and you too become a founder member.” That was how my name got attached to it.
How did the name ‘Symbiosis’ come about?
Dr Mujumdar thought of that name because it is a botanical name. It is his creation. I only helped him as a duty-bound wife. He decided to start a law college first. The ILS Law College had been established in 1924 or 1927. There was no other law college, so he thought if a law college was started it would do well. There would be morning and evening batches to facilitate working professionals too, who wished to pursue the course. We had a very good response, with 1200 students joining the course in the very first “One evening he proposed to me. I told year. The faculty was also good. Justice B M Deshmukh, former Chief Justice of Maharashtra was the then chairhim that I would consult my parents; he man. Several top notch law professionals like B G Kolse too believed that consent of both parents Patil and Mohite were among the faculty.
should be sought as we were from different communities— Sanjeevani foster parents. He would help me in cooking and sometimes make Iranian dishes like kebabs. He studied in Wadia College and Symbiosis and returned to his country after completing his graduation. Many Iranian students studying in Fergusson College would come to our house in the afternoons during examination time saying, ‘Vahini feed us something.’ They would eat chapati with vegetables and return to their classes. We did not like to send anyone hungry from our house.
Symbiosis in their lives
Symbiosis started in 1971, but till 1976-77 the office was at our house in Fergusson College. When Dr Mujumdar decided to start the Symbiosis Trust, he had four friends with him - two of them were his students – Satish Chiwale and Anil Dandekar. Then there was Sudhakar Bhosale and James Ramlal, a foreign student who was pursuing his PhD and would visit us often. It was
The Mujumdar family: Three Generations
34 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Could you tell us about the birth of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Museum and Memorial?
Mai Ambedkar gave us these exhibits in 1982. Actually, she wanted to set up a museum in Delhi. She met Indira Gandhi as well as the then chief minister of Maharashtra, A M Antulay on several occasions, but did not get any response from them. At that time, my brother-in-law was posted in Thane and a lawyer there by the name of Mr Thakur, was related to Mai. Once, she met my brother-in-law and told him that she had to vacate the flat in Delhi and she didn’t know where to keep the articles that were used by Dr Ambedkar during his lifetime. She mentioned that she wanted to keep them in a museum. He said he would be happy to set up a museum and took the initiative. He brought the articles and kept them here in our house. Later in 1990, we were allotted land for the museum from the state government. We put up a signboard to indicate the venue of the proposed museum. There was a lot of opposition from the media and from some political parties. Dr Mujumdar made me the honorary director of the museum as he thought that I had the capacity to withstand the hue and
Daughter Speak cry and work towards it. He told me, let people say what they want; we should continue our work. Therefore I started looking after that project on the two acre land. It started work in 1990, when it was just a garbage dump. Now this has become a tourist spot in Pune. Dr Mujumdar felt that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s museum would not be complete unless it had a library. Thanks to central government funding, we could renovate the museum and construct the library building. We also have a study centre in it where 800 students study. The fees are a nominal ₹300 per month. You would be surprised to know that candidates appearing for UPSC, MPSC, banking and other competitive examinations come here and study well and quietly. They queue up from 6.45 am, waiting for the study centre to open its gates. As for the museum, we have the maximum number of articles of Babasaheb in India, right from his Bharat Ratna Award to his death bed, dining table, chairs – totally, we have 278 articles and his 490 books which he used himself and jotted notes on. We have set up a conservation laboratory as we need to do conservation work to maintain these articles.
Can you tell something about your passion for greening Symbiosis campuses
After all, the museum needs to be self-sufficient. How much money can we take from Symbiosis? I work on an honorary basis but others get salaries. Once, while coming here I noticed a tempo standing near the SIBM building and a man was taking flower pots out of it. I asked him what was he doing and he said he was providing flower pots to the SIBM on a monthly rental basis. When asked how much he charged, he said `60 per month. Then I thought, if we start growing such flower pots in our museum premises and provide them at `40 instead of `60, then the museum would also get some revenue. Today, we provide flower pots to all Symbiosis institutes and get rent for them.
How do you feel now, being an integral part of an internationally acclaimed educational institute?
I believe in God. After both of us decided that we would not take financialhelp from anyone since the time of our marriage, we have never looked back. When we came from Kolhapur to Pune, we literally brought our luggage in two wooden cartons which included two aluminium pots and a stove. Even today we live a simple life. We have worked hard and our daughters work hard. Now, our grandchildren are also dedicated to Symbiosis. Because of the values we have inculcated in them, they too feel they should work devotedly. There are no considerations of money in it. Even today, Dr Mujumdar stays put in Symbiosis throughout the day . During the nights he is busy with something or the other, often spending his time in reading till 2 am That is his level of dedication to Symbiosis. If a new institute is to be opened, he studies what course will do well, what is the need of the hour and for whom. Now, when skill development has become the keyword, he has promptly set up a skill development university at Indore. There is no doubt about his studious nature and intelligence. He also has vision. And he is totally selfless. He lives a simple life. Even today we eat Pithla Bhakari at home. He has no attraction for food from five star hotels. Even his clothes are selected by me. He is always engrossed in thought as to what new can be introduced. The Symbiosis is the outcome of all this. I have no claim to stake any credit in it. To be frank, he never paid attention towards home keeping or running the house. He was totally devoted to Symbiosis. Even today if you ask him the going market rate of commodities, he would not be able to answer.
You have single-handedly brought up your two daughters. What values did you inculcate in them?
Firstly, when we had daughters, people said since ours is an inter-caste marriage, the future of our daughters would be bleak. People do speak and we have to hear it. You know how it was in those days. I always
Dr. Swati. S. Mujumdar
Principal Director, Symbiosis Open Education Society, Director, Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning
“She has the great ability to bind people and family together” My mother is a big pillar of support and strength for our entire family. I think it is only because of her that we have come this far as children. She has always been there as an epitome of strength and courage, no matter what the situation. In fact, at every event of our and our children’s lives, whether big or small, she has always been present. Not only us, but her grandchildren too are so attached to her, that they call her ‘Aai’ (mother). This word also symbolises a mother. She has the great ability to bind people and keep the family together. She is also a living example of patience, perseverance and a positive attitude. She has all these qualities which have made her children succeed in their lives. Therefore I think all success and also the success of Symbiosis can be largely attributed to her upbringing, her presence, her guidance and most importantly her support.
believed, be it a daughter or son, the child should study well and make it big on his/her own. Therefore, the first decision I took was to enrol them in an English medium school. I did not want them to face the problems I faced. We were really brilliant in academics, but when it came to conversational skills, we lagged behind. I enrolled both of them at St. Joseph’s School. Others would tell me that their children made it big despite being students of municipality run schools. Dr Mujumdar Sir did not thrust anything on me; he gave me freedom to do whatever I wanted to. Therefore, our daughters got good education, initially at St. Joseph’s and then at Fergusson College. Vidya then joined B J Medical College and Swati did her B C S and went to the US for her post-graduation.
What is it that keeps a marriage going? What is your advice to youngsters?
Both spouses must be like-minded and have common goals to achieve. The rest is inconsequential. Petty factors like whether I got a `10,000 worth saree or not become negligible. What is of importance is, what are you going to leave behind you.
How do you feel as a mother?
I am a proud mother. Even my grandchildren are achievers. It feels good to be assured that our children will continue what we started. Some 15-20 years back, when both our daughters were abroad, we would feel anxious as to what would happen to this institute in the future? Would we get good people to run it? What would happen if it goes into the wrong hands? But we no longer have any such apprehension.
Do you go out on holidays?
No. Just the two of us have never gone on an outing together. We like to be in the midst of people. However, we have our holidays with our children and grandchildren. Besides, I call up both my daughters and my grandchildren every day. We are totally involved with them. Recently, we had been to Goa to pay obeisance to our family deity. And if we do not meet for a week, we all go out for lunch or dinner together.
What is your philosophy of life?
I feel we have been blessed in this life, so we must do whatever we can. We do not know if we are going to get another chance with life. July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 35
cover story
Sanjeevani Mujumdar The Brain Behind The Brand Despite belonging to different castes in an era when society was too conservative to accept such marriages, Dr Mujumdar and Sanjeevani tied the knot without parental support. Both believe that if each has a goal to achieve, petty reasons for disharmony in marriage do not rise at all. Dr Mujumdar gives an insight into how he met his future life partner and how successfully their marriage rolled through the 53 years
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How did you fall in love with her?
When I did my M.Sc. I stood first in the university. At that time, UGC used to give research scholarships of `250 per month to students who intended to do their PhD. My name was recommended by the head of department, but the Registrar changed his mind overnight and gave the scholarship to some lady who had very ordinary academic credentials. This was 14th August 1960. I had to spend a year without a job because all colleges had started by then, all posts filled, not even a Demonstrator’s post was available. I had to go back to my native place, and suffer humiliation. My father was a very prosperous advocate and he got taunted that his son was jobless. That was a frustration point for me. I scrambled for money. My father kept `2000 in my account, but never asked how I spent it. He understood my state of mind. I started drinking and gambling and got into bad company. A year later, I applied at various colleges and got the first interview call from Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. Later on I got calls from other colleges, but I had decided I would join the college that invited me first. That is how I joined the Rayat Shikshan Sansthain Satara as demonstrator-cum-lecturer. I used to study five to six hours to prepare for one lecture. Very soon, I became very popular. Students from other local colleges too started attending my lectures. I found one girl taking a lot of interest in my teaching. She was intelligent, very sincere and when we used to convene our botanical excursions, she used to take keen interest in me and the tour itinerary. She was Sanjeevani. That started our contact.
Cross-currents
We found that I liked her and she liked me, but we came from different castes. She belonged to the Maratha community, I belonged to the Saraswat community. There was opposition, particularly from my family and also hers, to a certain extent. I decided, ‘Okay, if this is the case, I will marry this girl only when I am not in Rayat Shikshan Sanstha.’ Her father was a life member of the Sanstha and therefore influential, so he had me transferred to Shrirampur so as to disconnect me and my proposed wife. I felt that was unjust, but I swallowed it. Since this college too came under the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, I applied elsewhere. I got the job of Assistant Professor, Gokhale College, Kolhapur. That’s when we decided to marry, but without anybody’s support. When she was studying M.Sc. Zoology my father-in-law used to send `250 per month to her. No sooner did we marry, he stopped sending the money 36 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
which was another slap on my face. I said ‘Okay. This plight will also change.’ After nine months at Gokhale College I saw an advertisement for a Professor’s post in Fergusson College. But accommodation was very expensive in Pune and the college did not have any of its own, I did not take up the job... A year and a half later, I received a letter from Principal Kogekar of Fergusson College saying he had persuaded the resident rector who had retired, to vacate the premises and so he can provide me accommodation too. My wife was doing her second year M.Sc, and staying at a hostel in Pune, so I coming to Pune was another attraction for me.
Her sacrifice for the family
When Vidya was born, she was doing her PhD under Dr. Mrs. Mulherkar, head of the Zoology department. After some time it became difficult for her to manage home which had my brother and his family, my widowed sister and her family, my mother, and foreign students who came off and on - all staying with us. So she declined the research fellowship, for the family’s sake. I desired to pursue my doctorate but when I was denied the PhD scholarship, I started taking interest in university politics. I contested the senate elections, got elected as the professors’ representative, and contested the executive council elections. Then in 1969, during the Diwali vacations I witnessed the trauma faced by the young Mauritian boy when he fell sick at the hostel. I decided to form the Symbiosis Society, with its office in my bungalow. That was when I told my wife, who I address as Sanja, that I would devote my time to teaching, my university politics and to Symbiosis. From that day she single-handedly managed the home affairs. Everyday my wife used to prepare not less than 50 cups of tea for visitors while I was in the academic and executive council, and visitors came from both within and outside Pune. It was like dabbling in politics. Then, Swati was born. My brother had got a promotion, so he left. My sister’s family got their own accommodation. By that time I resigned from my post in Fergusson College. I also resigned from all positions in the University and became full time director of Symbiosis. That was in 1980. Imagine, Symbiosis was established in 1971, from 1971 to 1980, I worked as a professor at Fergusson College as well as for Symbiosis.
What do you like about her as a wife?
Her total devotion to her work. And attitude towards the family. To be very honest, I know nothing about finance, but she is very sharp. She is very simple, has no airs. She doesn’t like publicity. She likes her work, her house and she is happy. If you ask me what attracted me to her or her to me, there are no answers. A moment comes when it clicks. Later on the families also got reconciled. They love you and forgive you once they love the grandchild. Temperamentally she is more balanced than I am, that is required in marriage. If both are short tempered or hot tempered, the marriage won’t last.
What keeps a marriage together?
The husband and wife should live a symbiotic life, there has to be give and take. ‘Symbiosis’ is not just a biological term. It is the basis and foundation of life.
Daughter Speak Dr Vidya Yeravdekar
Principal Director of Symbiosis Society
‘She has been part of every important decision of Symbiosis’
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My mother has been a pillar of support for all of us; she is there for us at a personal level and for Symbiosis at a professional level. Of course she is a great support for my father, but mainly for the whole organisation. She has been a quiet worker for so many years. When Dada started Symbiosis, she was obviously one of the founding members, but she never ignored the family, almost till my children grew up. She played a sacrificing role like all mothers ideally do. Though she was highly educated and had almost completed her PhD, she sacrificed that too when both Swati, my sister, and I started going to school. Otherwise she would have completed her PhD and probably been a professor somewhere. But she gave up her own ambition for the family. Probably she had the vision that what Dada had created as Symbiosis would become so big, and someone would need to be at home to take care of us. But now of course, she is a professional and manages Symbiosis Society's Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Museum and Memorial, and the Afro-Asian Cultural Museum. She works very hard and always comes up with new ideas. I was a member of University Grant Commission (UGC) for six years. Whenever I went to Delhi, I never travelled alone and would always have Aai (my mother) or someone else travelling with me. Most of the time, because my children were at college, Rajiv would be home when I travelled, and Aai would come with me to Delhi. As a UGC member, I would have a hotel to stay in and a car at my disposal. Aai could have easily gone around Delhi shopping, as any other woman would do. Instead, she found out that the Ministry of Culture was located in Shastri Bhawan and visited it. She inquired what this ministry did, whether it provided funding to museums set up by private organisations, and so on. She did not meet the minister, though there was easy access. I remember when once she went to meet a deputy secretary of Minstry of Culture and said she was from Symbiosis, he told her, he knows Mujumdar Sir of Symbiosis and asked her what work she did there. She said she was his wife. The person couldn’t imagine that his wife was a simple lady like her, and that she came to his desk just to inquire. By simply visiting and inquiring at the ministry office, she got a grant of over `4 crore for the Ambedkar Museum. People who are quiet like her can do a lot. Apart from that, she takes care of the education of all our employees. Those who have not even passed their tenth standard, she gets them enrolled into these open schools and the Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vidyapeeth. Many of them have now graduated, so she has done great service. Initially she gave her life for the family, and now she is doing so much for Symbiosis. When I came back from abroad, my children were still young and going to school. I had my medical practice and then I joined Symbiosis. My mother would take care of my children and has almost totally reared them herself. Apart from taking care of them, she has also instilled the right culture and values in them, which I feel as a working mother I wouldn’t have been able to. All that I am today is because of her - though my father is my idol, if my mother had not provided me that platform and support, I probably would not have been able to do what I am doing today. She has been part of every important decision of Symbiosis. She is the one
“All that I am today is because of her – though my father is my idol, if my mother had not provided me that platform and support, I probably would not have been able to do what I am doing today” person who can tell you, ‘Don’t do this’. When you are going up the ladder and you are at a certain position, there are very few people who will actually tell you that there is something wrong in what you are doing, and you should not be doing it. Apart from that, when I am in Delhi on Symbiosis related work and if I feel there is some failure, or something I don’t know about, or things don’t happen the way you want them to because there is bureaucracy and there is a system you have to work with, the first thing I do is call her, asking her advice as to what I should do. You need such people in the family who are supportive. The way she has evolved as a person, from her role as a mother and grandmother and now to a professional at this age is amazing. No one would do this at her seventy-plus age. She is a very simple lady, her needs are very less. At her age, she is very punctual about her food, exercise and health. I pray to God, who has given both my parents excellent health, to continue to do that. vinitapune@gmail.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 37
The Tax Man Cometh-16
Trust is a Must
by S K Jha
(IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)
A deficit of trust puts the spanner in the works between tax payers and the tax collecting machinery. We need to build trust to encourage people to pay taxes more pro-actively, and minimise the adversarial image of the tax collector. For this the tax department requires a makeover, both in its manner and approach to tax collection
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”
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ecently while addressing a conference of senior officers of the tax department, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was a trust deficit between tax payers and collectors which had an adverse impact on our tax base and tax collection. The Prime Minister further said that while there should be respect for the rule of law among citizens and the fear of the long arm of the law for those who evade taxes, people should not fear tax administration.
What is trust?
We need to discuss trust, and like love and respect, it is something people take for granted until they lose it. What then is Trust? It has two delineations: The firm belief in someone or something, or the state of being responsible for something or someone -- the one is proactive, the other is reactive, but both indicate that trust is an elusive concept. Why? Because it is sentimental, and sentiments are idiosyncratic: They depend upon each individual and are produced by our history, culture and emotions. And yet, trust is what fuels and sustains the world we live in. The American political scientist, Francis Fukuyama in his book ‘Trust’ has demonstrated that it is the engine of prosperity. Every investment banker knows that a trustable company trades at premium with its peers. For an organisation to have staying power, it must be built on trust. For a business to be profitable, it must have the trust of its customers. And for a relationship to have any degree of quality, it must be filled with trust. Trust is a must or the relationship will hurt. Why is there trust deficit between the tax payer and the tax collector? There are many reasons. Our present income tax legislation is in continuation of the Income Tax Act, 1922 when 38 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
tax was collected for our British masters. Our Central Excise and Customs Laws also originated during the British days. During pre-independence days, we Indians might not have liked paying taxes out of our hard earned income to the British Crown. This historical fact of aversion towards the tax collecting department by our people in preindependence days might have continued, though to a lesser extent. Even today, people do not fully trust that their money is going for a good cause. The various scams in the country have eroded the confidence of tax payers. Paying taxes is seen as losing money to poor infrastructure and poor government welfare measures.
Biased presumption
The other reason for the trust deficit between tax payers and collectors is the non-friendly disposition of our officers. The presumption in the mind of many of our officers is that tax payers are not honest, income tax returns filed are not believed to be true, and scrutiny proceedings start with this presumption. Proceedings should be unbiased. Tax evaders should definitely be punished but every tax payer is not a potential tax evader and this should be the belief of our officers. Some of our tax notices have very crude narratives. For example our notice U/S 131 of the IT Act 1961 stipulates the condition that a person visiting the tax office cannot leave the office until he secures the permission of the officer sitting before him. This unnecessarily instils fear in the mind of the people visiting a tax office. Notices for tax collection and penalty notices are not polite, but threatening. There can be no harm if tax payers are told in a polite tone about the penal provisions, but there is no need to threaten a tax payer before he is pronounced a tax defaulter or evader. These threatening notices are issued in a routine manner, where they should
have been restricted to proven tax evaders and tax defaulters. These notices create bad blood and put the department in a bad light. Complicated tax legislation and lengthy proceedings before the tax officers also make our tax payers unhappy when visiting tax offices. The trust deficit widens when the tax payers are asked too many questions that are not relevant for the verification of their income. Sometimes tax payers are not treated well, and they start doubting the competence and integrity of the officers. But sometimes the fault lies with taxpayers who want to hide their income and they play all the tricks. The undeniable fact of the existence of tax evasion and black money makes our tax officers feel that tax payers are dishonest, when at the same time, the majority of tax payers believe that they are subjected to unnecessary harassment. There is mutual suspicion on each side regarding the other.
Willful tax defaulters should be arrested. Such provisions exist in the Income Tax Act. Our countrymen and our honest tax payers will appreciate the action of the department if they see the black sheep of the society going to jail
Stories of harassment
The perception built over the years by adverse media reports and stories of harassment has also put the tax administration in bad light. There is corruption in our society and there is corruption in the tax department as well, but these stories about corruption are exaggerated. Stories about the tax department are believed, as many of us do not like people who take money as tax from our hard earned income. Some unethical tax practitioners who are the interface between the department and their clients also play a bad role in telling their clients that the department is bad and the officers are corrupt, when they should have been ambassadors of the department promoting the cause of tax payment. Yes. There are problems and there is trust deficit, but we have to look for solutions. Our country cannot grow without resources, and for that our tax collection has to grow. Our tax GDP ratio is
16.6 percent, which is well below the emerging market economy and OECD average of about 21 percent and 34 percent respectively. We are below our peers in the emerging market by 54 percent. To achieve higher tax revenue, the most important necessity is to widen the tax base. In our country of more than 125 crore people only 5.43 crore people pay tax as per the latest statistics. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recently concluded conference of senior tax officers asked the officers to widen the tax base to 10 crore, and this is only possible if the trust deficit is reduced. Our Prime Minister suggested the ‘RAPID’ formula, where R stands for revenue, A for accountability, P for probity, I for information and D for digitisation. The objective of revenue gathering should be achieved by the tax administration doing their work in the most transparent manner, open to probity and accountability. Information should be gathered scientifically, and digitisation will help the process, avoiding physical contact or minimising contact with tax payers and thus reducing scope for any alleged harassment.
Be open and transparent
The problem of trust deficit can be solved or reduced by pursuing the following steps: 1. Be Open 2. Be Competent 3. Be honest 4. Be Connected with tax payers 5. Display good judgement. People do not trust an unknown commodity and hence it is essential that our tax department be open. It should inform about its structure and function to the common people. It should clarify the doubts in the minds of the people. The officers manning the department should be competent and they should be in a position to explain the complicated legislation and procedures in a simple way for the understanding of both existing and potential tax payers. This will erase the fear of the people for the department. For a department which is collecting money from the
people, it is a must that the officials are honest and they are also seen as honest. People will not mind paying tax if they are convinced that the tax collecting system is honest and that their money goes into nation building. Tax officers should remain connected with the people and their problems. They should work as friendly facilitators in the process of tax collection. People should be treated as valuable customers and there should be a direct relationship-connect. People will trust the officers and will come to them with their problems, if they can be solved. The officers should play the role of mentors. Finally, as the proof of the pudding is the eating, a fair judgment and an honest tax order will instill tremendous confidence in existing and potential tax payers. A good and balanced tax order will reduce litigation and will also help the department in early tax collection.
Under scrutiny
Ninety-two percent of income-tax comes from voluntary compliance in the form of advance tax, tax deduction at source and self-assessment tax. For the balance eight percent, notices are issued for scrutiny assessments, and sometimes survey and search actions do take place. People receiving notices for scrutiny assessment feel this is an act of harassment if, in their view, they have correctly disclosed their income. To minimize this situation, it is suggested that notices should not be issued in a mechanical way by randomly selecting the cases but based on due analysis of information. The department gets routine information from third parties periodically -- from banks, mutual funds, registrars of properties, etc. In addition, data from other departments like the Central Excise, Customs, Service Tax and state government departments should be considered. Our network will generate cases where enquiry should be made, and notices for scrutiny should be issued only for such cases. Nobody will feel harassed if there is a
genuine case for scrutiny. The search and survey actions should be done professionally by the officials. Tax payers will understand if the rule of Law as prescribed in the legislation is followed, provided the officials visiting their places avoid high handedness. The officials doing the thankless job should do it with humility and respect for the people around. There cannot be any mercy for tax evaders. The department should go ahead and penalise these evaders and prosecute them. But, here too, officials should follow the due process of law. Willful tax defaulters should be arrested. Such provisions exist in the Income Tax Act. Our countrymen and our honest tax payers will appreciate the action of the department if they see the black sheep of the society going to jail. In one line, our tax officials should act professionally but with a human touch and values that make all the difference. As renowned author and management trainer Shiv Khera said, “Professionalism: It is not the job you do, it is how you do the job”. There will be no trust deficit between our tax payers and tax collectors if our tax officials follow this principle.
CC
tadka India’s golfing links India is one of most interesting countries to play golf in. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata is reckoned to be the oldest golf course in the world outside of the British Isles. It was established in 1829. Despite the historic significance, Golf is still an elite sport in India, as there is only one public golf course in India, the Qutub Golf Course in New Delhi.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 39
Corporate History
redefining ethnic India
It took an American to appreciate the potential of desi art and craft to build a one-stop retail store for garments, fabric, furnishings and ethnic lifestyle product-that ranks amongst India’s best known and profitable brands By Kalyani Sardesai
I
ndia's jaw-dropping diversity brought together a single platform—that singular buzzword for colour, drama, ethnicity and the desi way of life—The one brand that comes to mind each time you need the perfect wooden furniture for your new home--or take a gift for your friend abroad--a brand that not only sources its product through community-owned companies but actually has them on board as shareholders...
FabIndia anyone?
And to think an American entrepreneur started it all. As far as ironies go, this one's a beauty. A `1,000 crore 'Make in India' story scripted by a foreigner, long before it was fashionable to do so.
Flashback to the Sixties
John Bissel was born in Hartford, USA. His love for India—thanks to his dad's account of India during World War II—was married to his love of hand-woven fabrics when he started work at the massive American chain Macy's. Soon, he got his chance to marry his love of India with his love of textile when he was given a two-year grant from the Ford Foundation to show Indian villagers how to make art and craft for export. The experience taught him a lot: India had untold potential when it came to all things aesthetic—not just the knowhow how to make the world sit up and take notice. With rare insight, he foresaw the enormous power of Indian textile—and how it could be an opportunity to help the traditional artisans gain a dignified standard of life. His grant expired, but his interest remained and he went on to start FabIndia Ltd in that bought local textile-based items like rugs and carpets and exported them. The year was 1960. The business went from strength to strength and by mid-sixties turnover exceeded `20 lakh. Gradually, he ventured into domestic retail in 1976 with its first store in Greater Kailash, New Delhi. Today, it has over 180 stores across India 40 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
From textiles and handloom fabrics (upholstery and drapery, ready to wear clothing) to stationery, furniture, home accessories, ceramics, organic foods, and body care products, and home furnishings, FabIndia does it all and abroad, and managed by his son, William Bissel. It helped perfectly that the setting up of FabIndia coincided with the shift in European and American tastes abroad from the razzledazzle of synthetic stuff like polyester and nylon to natural textures and fibres. “It was the best thing to happen to our business,” he said. From textiles and handloom fabrics (upholstery and drapery, ready-to-wear clothing) to stationery, furniture, home accessories, ceramics, organic foods, and body care products, and home furnishings, FabIndia does it all.
Fab with a heart
In a major travesty of justice, it is an age-old fact that the village-based artisan get peanuts out of their produce as the rest is taken away by the middlemen. To do away with this, FabIndia has brought in an artisan-shareholder system through "supply-region companies" incorporated as subsidiaries. Here the craftspeople collectively own 26 percent of the equity in each company, based in nationwide centres, with Artisans Micro Finance, a FabIndia arm holding 49 percent, and employees and other private investors holding the balance. In 2005, FabIndia became a founder-member
of All India Artisans and Craft Workers Welfare Association (AIACA), along with designers like Pritam Singh (Anokhi), Ritu Kumar, Madhukar Khera and Laila Tyabji. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2010, the company made all its 842 employees shareholders. As of today, FabIndia links over 55,000 craft based rural producers to urban markets, thereby creating a base for skilled and sustainable rural employment.
The marketing strategy with a difference
Over the years FabIndia has consistently and willfully distinguished itself from the competition. Urban India has been as much on their radar (especially since William took over), as has the export market. On the one hand, their in-house designers have been asked to modernise and update their line of home-linen, ready-made garments keeping in mind the tastes and preferences of urban India in a manner that is both appealing and affordable. On the other, their artisans are taught the basics of quality control, the importance of finish and attention to detail that make all the difference between a good piece and a great one. While his father was the visionary to set up shop, William has been largely instrumental in shifting the focus to the domestic market, en route to becoming a retail chain. Gradually, the retail overtook exports. Slowly and steadily, they expanded on their strong base, to add its non-textile range in 2000, organic foods in 2004, personal care products in 2006 and ethnic jewellery in 2008. From the mid -2000s, it opened multiple and larger stores in cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, apart from setting up shop in upcoming places like Coimbatore, Dehradun, Vadodara and Durgapur. In The figures have kept up just great: From ₹90 crore in the early 2000s to over ₹1,00 crore in sales (end 2014-15.)
The Fab Maths of it
By 2014, FabIndia emerged as one of India's two most profitable ethnic wear and goods brand with over ₹54 crore in net profit. According to executive director Sunil Chainani, "We did not discount our stuff just to meet a top line. Workable businesses need profits and cash flow. For instance, we steered clear of opening stores in prime locations and top notch malls as the rentals would have impacted margins." FabIndia also make nearly 90 percent of itsmerchandise in house, helping to keep inventory tight and costs under control. On the other hand, most brands in the same category have been offering steep discounts to move unsold merchandise, resulting in the depletion of profits and more than a fifth of sales taking place during end-
The Fabulous Roll Call Of Products Most of FabIndia’s product range is textilebased. Non-textile products include Organic Foods (since July 2004), Personal care products (since 2006) and Home Products (launched in 2000)
The textile range includes ready to wear outfits and accessories for men, women, teenagers and kids; bed, bath, kitchen and dining linen, floor coverings and carpets; upholstery curtains and fabric. They use natural of-season sales (which is not a good thing).
Controversies
A major controversy arose in early 2015 when Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani spotted a camera positioned to record near a changing room at a FabIndia outlet in Goa. She called the police. However, the courts reprimanded the cops for acting in haste and arresting four employees arbitrarily.
...And a touch of the competition
Despite its strong position, the brand faces stiff competition from western wear and foreign brands and has to be on its toes all the time. Also, it does not advertise and focuses on word of mouth. Question is: will it continue to work in the days to come? Besides, a few years ago, the company had acquired UK-based apparel
fibers like cotton, silk, wool, grass, linen and jute
FabIndia Organics, in keeping with its focus on holistic and wholesome living, keeps organically farmed cereals, pulses, grains, sugar, spice, fruit, preserves and herbs, tea and coffee Their range of authentic Personal Care products list shampoos, hair oils, moisturizers, body scrubs, face packs, hair conditioners and special skin care products brand, East which did not do well. "The trouble with East was that the styles were too western," said CEO Subrata Dutta in retrospect. Recently with an idea to cater the modern Indian youth and also the international buyers who are fond of Indian textiles and clothing, FabIndia launched a western wear brand 'Fables'. The brand was first launched at Fabindia’s Connaught Place store in Delhi but later on, was made available all over the country. Dutta hopes that Fables would contribute at least 10 percent to the company's revenue within the next 18 months. An average Fable garment is priced between ₹2,000 to ₹5,000. But despite the winds of uncertainty and unforgiving competition, ever FabIndia is in a stronger position at most and is one of the brands to watch out for. Being desi sure looks good. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 41
cii Case Study-7
A Dilemma in Succession Planning: V- Splash a Technology based IT Solution Provider By, mr sankar mukharjee & mr antanu roy
CII - Western Region 2nd EdgeFarm HR Case Study Writing Competition 2nd runner-up secondary category
Mr Antanu Roy
Administrative Assistant Health department, Govt. of West Bengal Atanu Roy is a writer and a government servant with an immense interest onResearch and social works. He has completed B Sc from Calculated University, West Bengal. Atanu Roy also a MBA from IGNOU in the specialised area in Marketing and HR. He is presently working in Health Department as an Administrative Assistant under Govt. Of West Bengal. and magazines. His interest areas cover Social Science, International Politics, Science and Technology, and so on so forth
Mr. Sankar Mukharjee
Asstt. Professor and Research scholar, Bengaluru school of management study GITAM University Sankar Mukherjee is a Research Scholar and parttime Faculty at Bengaluru School of Management Science (BSMS),GITAM UNIVERSITY. He has completed MBA and M.phil in the area of Marketing Management. He has had a rich corporate experience spanning over 12 years in different World renowned organizations across sectors. He has many publication in different nationals and Internationals Journals, Chapters in the books and case research in the different magazines
Corporate Citizen, the Exclusive Magazine Partner of the event, will publish the series of top Case Studies, one by one 42 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
cii Case Study-7
Organisational culture is different from national culture. Organisational Culture manifests in symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Organizational Cultures are together level as practice. Organization development (OD) de-mystifies the need of good governance that depends on the Organizational culture. The core complexity of Succession planning of an organization relies on the organization culture that marks the holistic development of the concern organization.Sucession planning is a part of Organization culture leads to Organization development INTRODUCTION: “Recently i met with the heads of Human Resources of Global 100 companies, and in a confidential survey they stated that their companies mis-hired people 80 per cent of the time and mispromoted people 75 per cent of the time. That’s right, HR’s chosen methods of selecting talent produce high performers only 20-25 per cent of the time” (US consultant Brad Smart) Above situation vividly manifest the most challenging and undoubtly uphill task that today’s contempory HR play in selecting the successor for the right place. As a formal practice, succession planning has a relatively recent history. True King, Emperors and Prophets have all sought to ensure their succession, by overseeing the development of favourite sons or followers (with, at best, mixed results). But the sense of succession planning as a structured process encompassing leadership at a multiple layers in organizations probably began with British army and Civil Service in the 19th century. It has been given momentum by two 20th-century forces: the increasing complexicity of modern corporations and the need by the new discipline of HR (Human Resource) to justify its existence. And here lies at least part of the problem. The qualities that make people talented are often also those that make them unique, difficult to classify and unpredictable. The more HR tries to make talented people fit standardized talent management and succession planning processes, the more likely it to fails. Hence, Succession Planning, therefore, initially referred to a relative simplistic process of : •Identifying who would or could step into the shoes of the most senior leaders; •Grooming them over a period of years as “ Crown Prince” ; •Supporting their transition into their new leadership role. Succession Planning can either be a secret process or an open one, or somewhere in -between. There is different key theme in making Succession Planning as a constructive mechanism to embrace the challenges business house faces putting across the boundaries of the sizes of the business. Job Modelling aims to cover only the most senior jobs in the organization plus short term and longer tern for the post. Another aspect, is Succession planning about replacement, or about making the most intelligent use possible of the talent within an organization? It implies some form of continuous monitoring to ensure that, as the environment changes, leaders are evaluated on their ability to deliver under the changed circumstances and encouraged to vacate their roles to others better adapted to the new environment. So, Should effective approaches to succession planning include knowing when it is time for leaders
to move on, and helping them to do so sans creating rancour and disruption? How organizations go about Succession Planning vary widely in how they approach from informal to highly formal. Because this process has a great potential to objectivity. The bottom line of Success Planning seems to be that it is nowhere near to simple as it might seems at first sight. Succession Planning: An Odyssey to the World Organisations are to balance between internal features and characteristics of external environment which is part of the contingency theory of organisation science. The theory suggests that the organisation has to understand the dynamics of its environment in order to be able to adopt the changing demand of the outside and inside demand. Organisational environment followed by organisational development. The concept of organisational culture has become popular since early 1980s. Organisational culture is different from national culture. Organisational Culture manifests in symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Organizational Cultures are together level as practice. Organization development (OD) de-mystifies the need of good governance that depends on the Organizational culture. The core complexity of Succession planning of an organization relies on the organization culture that marks the holistic development of the concern organization.Sucession planning is a part of Organization culture leads to Organization development. Earlier Succession planning restricted as a part of best Organization culture and their subsequent practices that become a common Human Resource planning (HRP) which graduated to Strategic Human Resource Planning.Sucession planning is more of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) that is pivotal to Organizational accomplishment of sustainable growth and competitive edge. There is a sequential approached that most of the Large scale Organization and dominant players (Organizations) across the varied sectors plays in designing and developing Succession Planning in accordance with the dynamic nature over their nearest competitors in recent past. First, to prepare and develop management stuffing plan for anticipating needs in different time frame. The staffing plan depends on the external and internal factors under the boundaries of Economic factors overall manpower factors etc. Second, Stuffing and development is concerned with recruitment, selection and placement. Third, to ensure a congenial organizational environment to retain desired managerial personal. Fourth, In order to develop a good performance appraisal system to get feedback on managerial personal and to review their progress and short falls. July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 43
cii Case Study-7 Fifth, preparation of management resource inventory is the final steps of succession planning. Such inventory consists of personal data, records, skills, potential career goal and path. Data become a lethal instrument to whirl the wind of accuracy in taking timely strategic decision in today’s business and management. As Succession planning is under the gamut of Strategic Human Resource Planning, it is imperative under the contempory business rivalry to edge over while eliciting t the real data and mining the data followed by meta data analysis to abolish the wrong method of decision in time frame.Steping into the realm into the Big Data ecosystem that taking its momentum in today’s business activities it is quite apparent that future Succession Planning will reach its near objectives across the all sizes of Organizations. Significance of Succession Planning and its paramount role in today’s business perspective across all the sector in India Globalization and rapid change of dynamic nature in business demands the organizations mission to be accomplished in a sustainable way that triggers the need of Succession Planning across the boundaries of all types of business like B2B(Business to Business) and B2C( Business to Consumers).Succession Planning become an integral part of strategic business practice which is more prevalent in large scale industrial sectors. On the contrary, Small and Medium size enterprises are also in the fray of unnatural and uncertainty of business competition arousing on the influence of demographical , social and pychologophical changes across the national and international business perspectives. In order to stay in the competitive periphery, small and medium scale organizations (SMES) attempts to adapt the short-term Human Resource Planning (HRP) by overlooking the need and paramount significance of Succession Planning. Small and Medium size enterprise have only 10 percentage written succession Planning, 38 percentage have informal unwritten succession plan and 52 percentage does not have any Succession Plan at all. Moreover, it is more critical for the technology based service providers for the large techno giant to retain (Retention) their skills as well core competencies mapping based on the inventory with the ever changing needs and demand of their employee’s organic growth perspectives. Start-ups Eco-system is looming over Indian business environment with a much needed Government focus through Digital India Platform. Under this encouraging business sentiments Succession Planning makes a big stride forward to talent acquisition and most challenging Talent Retention. The rivalry between Software Giants and Start-ups is going to harness a big episode of David Vs Goliath in tomorrow’s Indian Business Environment. Here, Succession Planning will be a game changer in strategic decision making of any organization to surpass their business competitors by creating a talent pool for the future needs. Succession Planning in Technology based IT solution providers in cross road Considering the robust path of the process that encompass Succession Planning, it is being observed that small companies are in highly unstructured path of adopting the methods of it unlike large formal organizations. So, the effective monitoring in this sector tends to concentrate on helping the entrepreneur to grow in alignment with the development of the business- no easy task! But the magnitude of the business that deals with the entrepreneur determines the degree of Succession Planning in the areas of its significance. Technology based solution provider will need to have capabilities building in accordance 44 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Globalization and rapid change of dynamic nature in business demands the organizations mission to be accomplished in a sustainable way that triggers the need of Succession Planning across the boundaries of all types of business like B2B and B2C. Succession Planning become an integral part of strategic business practice which is more prevalent in large scale industrial sectors. On the contrary, SMEs are also in the fray of unnatural and uncertainty of business competition arousing on the influence of demographical, social and pychologophical changes across the national and international business perspectives with the pace of their clients. Any laps of this Succession Planning process from their end can lead to a significant emotional stressespecially for the founders – as valued employee gradually become left behind. Managing Succession in such an environment requires very unique approach to fulfil the need of their client. Managing and developing the core competencies in line with the augmenting need of the business environment demands the proper development the skills and leadership competencies. Scenario of Skills and its retention in India The latest major problems staring at India’s top internet service providers is Attrition, especially in top management like Flip Kart, Zomato, Ola which have been aggressively recruiting top talents with millions of dollars they have raise from PEs, Venture Capitalist and Angels Investors are grappling with an exuduous of management level executives, Consumer Internet companies in India are growing so rapidly that they have not builder the fundamentals concepts of retaining people specially at the top level. Under this perspective, other Internet Service Providers for the large techno giants have been confronting with the same types of problem in retaining the desired skills and competencies. Such an organization called Vsplash Techno Lab based in Hyderabad have had the same Human Skill Retention(HSR) Problem that they faced while engaging with last phase of the project with their International famed client owing to the dearth of their succession Planning. Objective of the Case Study 1. The objective of the Case is to understand the merit of the Skill Retention under the Succession planning for the techno based IT
cii Case Study-7 solution providers to the large IT companies. 2. Another area of this case examines the need of succession planning in accomplishing the organizational growth and their reputation to complete the project given by their clients. 3. This case is a eye opener for the Small Scale IT service providers to be ready with appropriate Succession planning for their ethical practice in their business. 4. This case elicit one of most intriguing fact about Poaching that commonly happen between Small Scale IT solution providers and Large IT companies. This case is a reflection of the result that Succession Planning can be an alternative approach in Organization practice particularly Small Scale IT solution provider to prevent exodus of the top level skills from their organization. ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE: VSplash was founded in Feb,1999. It is a leading provider of digital media & commerce solution to small and medium business(SMBs) & local marketing aggregations. It helps partners to capitalise their market opportunity by delivering scalable Web based marketing ,advertising, directory, commerce and fulfilment solutions for corporate, educational & governments worldwide. Umesh Tibrewal was the founder CEO of vsplash who has build it into a globally recognised digital marketing solution provider with a staff of more than 300 Web designers, developers and project managers to serve leading local market aggregations around the world. Anil Balsall is the Chairman of Vsplash who is a successful corporate executive turned serial entrepreneur with broad experience in all aspects of marketing, sales and financial managements. Vsplash provides the IT based solution in designing the IT products such as:
1. Multi-media Web Designing 2. Web Promotion Services 3. Brochure and Banner Designing 4. Web Development 5. Web Design Solution 6. Graphic Web Templates Vsplash is a IT based service and its solution provider on the above major areas to the world famous America Multi-National Technology specialised in internet elated services and products called Giant Google Inc. The Dilemma of Succession planning in “The Vsplash lab”: A Case Analysis The Problem has arrived when Mr Sushil, the head of Hyderabad
campus for last 2 years has been poached by the competitor IBM by offering the cushy position as the team head of nearly 10 projects at the time of crucial phases of the time frame.Ironically, Mr Sushil was also initially being opted into this Vsplash through poaching from the same competitor IBM by Vsplash. This sudden turnaround has posed a situation which was extremely uncalled for Vsplash management. Mr Sushil has resigned without prior notice and even agreed to forgo the monitory benefit under the HR policy of Vsplash. Being a technology based leading global solution provider of digital media and commerce, and Vsplash was in the crucial phase of one project of Google Inc. Hence, they need to fill the vacancy of this coveted and skilled based position with prompt action. So, immediately with the help of another Employee of IBM who also was their acquaintance, they once again poached one of the senior members from IBM who has a rich expertise of handling this type of project. It has been a counter poaching with full of unethical practices. But this circumstance has opened lot of questions to address in the areas of strategic HR practice of technology based service provider. Under this prevailing circumstance Succession Planning can be the most near to equate the problem for the technology-based companies.Sucession Planning is like a reserve bench that need to be ready for the future strategic dimension for an organization particularly engage with technology based IT solution provider. Service sector contributed US$ 783 billion to the 2014-2015 GDP ( at constant Prices) growing at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 percentage faster than the overall GDP(CAGER) of 6.2 percentage in last four years. Service sector withstand 52 percentage contribution to the GDP in 2014-2015 has made rapid strides in the past decades and a half to emerge as the largest and one of the fastest growing sectors of Indian economy. India has the second fastest growing service sector with his compound annual growth rate at 9 percentages, just below China’s 10.9 percentages during last 11 years periods from 2001 to 2012 as per economic survey for 2013 and 2014. IT sector being the major players in the rise of augmented service sector growth, also having the major concern of attrition to be arrested. Skills inventory, Skills development and Proper skills nurturing are the forefront in designing the leapfrog growth for the holistic and sustainable growth of IT related sectors in India. The Vsplash case is the most precious illustration of the problems of Skills retention faces by IT industry particularly the small and medium industry (SMES), may open a significant question about the structural need and consolidated approaches of Succession Planning that is need of the hour now across the IT industry to prevent poaching and unethical Strategic Human Resource Planning. Even when Start-ups eco-system is taking a new horizon in India’s business environment, Succession Planning placed its imperative role in the centre of Crucial Strategic Business Decision.
Disclaimer: n n n n n
The views expressed in the published CASE STUDIES belong to the Author / Co-Author (s) of the respective case studies, and not necessarily those of CII’s. The copyright of these case studies, however, belong to CII. Reproduction, in any matter, without prior permission from CII is expressly prohibited. NOTE: CII has given exclusive permission to CORPORATE CITIZEN to publish the CASE STUDY only, in full, and without any changes / modifications. Reproduction in parts is not allowed. For further information, please contact: Snehada Fatterpekar, Executive – Human Resources & Industrial Relations, CII Western Region, Email: f.snehada@cii.in
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 45
fintech survey
Banking’s Future lies in Fintech
The Banking profession has been around for time immemorial, yet somehow it is also perceived as the sector most resistant to change. With the rapid adoption of Financial Technology (FinTech), that perception is about to change. Banking is evolving into a dynamic customer centric service in a way that no other sector has managed to, and most of the credit is due to innovations in Fintech. Leading global multinational professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers has conducted a survey of leading Indian banking and financial institutions and their customers to understand how Fintech is changing the way customers bank. Corporate Citizen presents the findings. By Neeraj Varty
46 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
I
ndia is changing. So is the Indian customer. Today, he no longer has the time for waiting in a queue and idle chit chat. Today’s customer is pressed for time, self-reliant, and demands a personalized service experience. Financial institutions needed to find a way to meet customer expectations while keeping costs down. Fintech has allowed them to do just that. Banking institutions can now save crucial man hours and costs by automating several crucial processes like payments, transfers and customer service.
100% of customers surveyed under the age of 55 have shown a preference for digital banking over traditional banking. The rise in India’s economy has led to a powerful middle class with more disposable income and tech savvy, which banking institutions can leverage using fintech. The biggest testament that Fintech is the next big thing comes from the global investor community. Funding of fintech start-ups globally more than doubled in 2015, reaching 12.2 billion USD, which is up from 5.6 billion USD in 2014. In India, Investment in fintech companies has touched 1.2 billion USD in 2015, compared to 145.1 million USD in the previous year. Let us now dive into the results of the #fintech survey
What is fintech? Fintech or financial technology is the term used to refer to any technology applied to financial services. More specifically, we can define fintech as a complex combination of financial services and technological innovations, which help banking institutions tailor make their services to cater to their customers. Technology used to make payments in new ways. These may be online payment systems or mobile payments and emerging technology such as cryptocurrencies.
New processes and programs designed to improve back and middle office processing for a variety of businesses, making them more efficient and effective.
Online systems designed to allow users to perform a variety of functions, such as peer-to-peer lending and comparing products through aggregators.
Technology which gathers and/ or analyses date to produce usuable information to improve business and target customers more effectively. Includes the use of telematics, biometrics and compliance.
The chief Fintech sectors are Software, Data and Analytics, Platforms and Payment and currencies. We can broadly segregate the fintech landscape (for banking) into three categories: 1. Payments and remittances: Focus on innovative payment solutions 2. Process improvement: Improving efficiency 3. Customer engagement: Target customers by enhancing customer experience and convenience July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 47
fintech survey
Fintech is based on the three pillars of Payments, customer engagement and process efficiency. • Merchant acquirier • Crd Issuing • Online forex • E-wallets • Money remittances • Mobile/online payments • Digital/cryptocurrencies
• Compliance and risk management • Fraud detection • Cyber security • High frequency trading • Big data and analytics
• Mobile banking • Internet banking • P2P lending • Crowdfunding • Price comparison website • Online marketplace
Why is Fintech relavant now?
Today, fintech companies cater to the entire spectrum of financial services—ranging from core banking businesses to innovative lending facilities and seamless payment solutions. Driven by digital technologies, analytics and exceptional customer experience, these companies are well on their way to competing with the behemoths of the industry, both globally and in India. The following are major reasons why Fintech is so relavant in today’s banking scenario. Demographic and social changes. The youth today has a high preference for Smartphones and consequently mobile banking solutions. This generation thrives
Fintech funding grew to 12.2 billion USD in 2014 based on the companies included in the PwC DeNono platform.
48 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
on social media, and has a high preference for self-service. Rapid urbanization Rapid urbanisation has led to a high concentration of population in cities, leading to a requirement for automation of services to meet requirements of every customer, and yet provide them with personalized service Rising economy India has seen a growth in the middle class, with increasing disposable income, which poses a tremendous opportunity for banking services.
Investments in indian fintech companies grew from 145.1 million USD in 2014 to 1.2 billion USD in 2015. Investment in fintech companies has touched 1.2 billion USD in 2015, compared to 145.1 million USD in the previous year.3 Many multinational banks are also looking to invest in early-stage fintech start-ups in India, and these trends are moving at a considerable pace.
Going forward, How important is Fintech Eighty percent of the survey participants stated that they would include fintech as part of their business strategy. The majority of the survey respondents believed that fintech would act as a strategic partner to banks, while very few considered fintech as competition.
Which customers prefer Fintech?
Over 50% of the surveyed customers prefer the digital, self service fintech model compared to the other 50%, who prefer the traditional ‘walk in the bank to be serviced’ format. It is interesting to note that the customers under the age 55 prefer the digital model, wheras the ones over 55 prefer the traditional model. As the current generation replaces the old, Fintech will cover 100% of the customers in a few years.
What are the emerging Fintech trends?
Consumer banking and funds transfers and payments are likely to be the most disrupted sectors by 2020. Interestingly, investment and wealth management is third in the list of likely disruptions. The payments space is by now no stranger to innovation, with a number of Indian companies providing a host of mobile apps and products that are drawing transaction traffic away from traditional banking channels to payment platforms.
neeraj.varty07@gmail.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 49
Star Campus Placement
Keep the
focus
Meet Naini Jain, a young, dynamic student who completed her post-graduation, specialising in the HR stream, from a leading management college in India and is successfully placed with the TCS Group
T
By Mahalakshmi Hariharan oday, Naini Jain is successfully placed in the department of Human Resources, Talent Acquisition - India East Team with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Campus Placement
Naini did have her share of struggle to get placed with a leading corporate house. But like it’s said – All’s well that ends well. Let’s hear her story. Reminisces Naini, “Afraid, like all were about getting placed, I began to sit for almost all the companies that fit my profile and specialisation. Seeing all your friends and colleagues getting placed and you are still struggling for it, was the hardest feeling ever. Not being placed for long was something that did bother me always but my teachers, friends and colleagues always said - you may be the last one but you will get the best of all.” After a lots of prayers and preparations, when TCS entered the campus, after two months of the start of the placement season, Naini wasn’t really prepared. “Unlike other companies, TCS is known for the filters it puts in on its processes with new and innovative selection parameters. This time it were 60 percent throughout, no backlogs, no gaps between educational degrees, starting the candidate should be open to any location and so on. There was an HR Assessment round, an online test. Later, at the assessment centre, there was a one full-day activity where different team building exercises, decision making activities were carried out, which also included extempore, case study, debates and do on. Each candidate was being evaluated on an individual and group basis. By the end of the day, all those who were selected for next round were sent an email for the final interview round in TCS premises and I was lucky to be one of them,” says Naini. It was a mixed bag of emotions for Naini with too much of clutter in her head, positive and negative thoughts on whether she would crack it or not. “I recall, that night was one of the biggest nights ever for me with all sorts of negative and positive thoughts 50 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
around… but then I decided to be just myself and go ahead with all my confidence and keep the faith. I was scheduled to be the last candidate. The interviews started and all the candidates were being interviewed for minimum 45 minutes and this added more to my fear. It was 6.45 pm. I went in for my interview while the rest of the bunch were waiting for the results. My interview went on for 15 minutes and it was a general one. Somehow when the
and help them with their goals. It taught me how to work as a team, in short, it worked as a mock drill to face the corporate world,” she notes. While the college schedule was way too hectic, it was totally worth it as it completely groomed the students. The internship program of two months also taught Naini a lot. She worked as an intern with Huhtamaki PPL (The Paper Products Ltd in Thane, Mumbai), where she conducted research and completed her project report on how a corporate HR division works.
Education Background
Naini with her friends
The exposure was immense. Be it through books or lectures, I had it all here. Along with studies, there came the extra co-curricular activities, where I was an active participant. I was a part of almost every event, seminar, convocation, HR meets and the cultural fest” results were about to come, I felt that I am not going to be selected but then something changed. When my name was announced at the end, I could not believe that I had cracked it,” she recalls. And... when one of the panelists told her, ‘You were not our last choice, Naini,’ she was all the more thrilled.
Piece of advice to juniors
Life at the campus
Naini completely enjoyed herself at the campus. “That fear of getting lost amongst those 800 student managers to the excitement of being a part of this new world where every problem was an opportunity that gave me a reason to just move forward taking along my family, friends and people around me and never look back. A debt I can never pay back to my college,” she says. She owes it to her college, her faculty. “The exposure was immense. Be it through books or lectures, I had it all here. Along with studies, there came the extra co-curricular activities, where I was an active participant. I was a part of almost every event, seminar, farewell, convocation, HR meets and the cultural fest,” adds Naini. The first and foremost challenge that knocked her doors was to be part of the Central Coordination Team for the college cultural fest, which involved a lot of hard work, planning, controlling, coordination and so on. This not only doubled her confidence but also added a lot of management skills. “With that came another addition to my resume, i.e. the corporate relations team. Being a part of such a team taught me a how to be patient, how to work for others
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Keep calm, don’t worry much about getting placed…but work hard ¿
Take your studies and faculties seriously
Naini completed her education from Kota, Rajasthan. She did her senior secondary and higher secondary studies from Modern Senior Secondary School in Kota. Later on, she went to the pink city, Jaipur, to pursue her graduation in Commerce (B.Com honours) in Human Resource Management from the International College for Girls. After her graduation, she wanted to work as a Human Resource professional but was still not ready to step into the corporate world. Hence, she decided to pursue her post-graduation in the HR stream.
Family Background
Nain’is father, Ajit Kumar Luhadia works as an Associate Director in the State Education Board of Rajasthan. Her mother, their pillar of strength, Rajkumari Jain is a homemaker who makes sure the family has the best of everything in this world. Naini’s younger brother, the pampered one, Maneet Jain is studying in the XIIth standard and simultaneously preparing for his IIT-JEE. Naini’s hero is her father who stands beside her, in both good and bad times. He has helped her take her own decisions. All in all, it’s a small and loving family who always stand by each other through thick and thin.
Hobbies
Naini is into travelling, dancing and culinary activities. “It’s been really long that I stepped out of my comfort zone, my home, to this amazing world where there’s a surprise waiting for you, every moment, to empower yourself with lots of learning and adventure. I l remember being the most notorious one in school, the backbencher who would bother my teachers and then had the courage to accept my mistake, thereby making me responsible and accountable for my deeds. I firmly believe, no matter where you land up that one baggage you carry with you is just being yourself and let that world around you accept you the way you are,” she smiles. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in
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Try and grab as much practical knowledge as you can because at the end it’s all about living in the world and not only books
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Be yourself
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India’s tax rate ranked one of worst India is one of the worst places for paying taxes and has been ranked 156th out of 189 nations by the World Bank slipping two positions from 2013.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 51
corporate quiz
Entrepreneur or Employee? Take this test to find out what you would be best at You have been given a task to perform, which people say you only have a 20% chance of success. The promised payback, though, is mouthwatering. You choose to: Let it go Decide to test the waters, but not go the whole hog Decide to plunge headlong and take your chances You've got to meet a deadline in 24 hours. Which of these three options would you choose: Seek an extension to the deadline Work till 7 pm and then decide to pick it up early next morning Work through the night till the task is complete You consider yourself to be a person who is: Well aware of one's weaknesses and is striving to improve Aware of one's strengths as well as weaknesses Supremely confident of one's strengths and don't think about one's weaknesses You apply for an entrance examination but don't make it to the final list. How 52 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
would you react? Take the failure to heart, and withdraw into your cocoon Curse the education system, as you are confident that you had fared well Decide to write the exam again the following year Your idea of work-life balance is: Working 9 to 5, and then hitting the club Working 10 hours a day for five days, and letting your hair down on weekends Work-life balance is a myth Your goal in life is: Earn well to take care of the family, and save for a peaceful retirement Have multiple houses and cars, investments in multi bagger stocks and crore in insurance To be remembered for building something from scratch Your ideal way of earning a living would be to: Be very good at one skill, and average at a few others so that you can have multiple revenue streams Pursue a job and further education at the same time in the hope of bagging something
lucrative in future e very good at one skill, and keep the focus B on getting better at it You see people smarter than you at your workplace. Your reaction is to: Compare and feel insecure Believe you are better or at least as good as them Accept they are smarter, and think about the possibilities if you were their boss You have been asked to do a task that takes you out of your comfort zone. Your reaction would be: I wasn't hired for this, so can't do it Give me a raise and I will give it a shot Relish the prospect You are heading a team that loses in a business competition. Your reaction would be: Look for weak links in the team to pin the blame on Spare the team, and blame the organisers and format Take the onus for the loss (Turn to page 59 for answers) (Courtesy: The Economic Times)
corporate connect
Ten corporates to support India squad for Rio Olympic Games Financial services group Edelweiss, are the principal sponsor, Li-Ning (apparel), Amul (dairy), Tata Salt and Herbalife (nutrition) have extended their support to one of the largest contingent for the Games By Joe Williams
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ndian corporates are not far behind when it comes to Olympic sponsorships. While the entire world corporate coming under one roof in supporting 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro which starts early next month (August), India have also extended in their own way. Over ten business houses have extending their support to one of the largest contingent for the games, the India squad for the Games. Ten corporates have come forward in backing the country's largest ever Olympic contingent with their money, according to Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association. Incidentally, this is the best ever response from the advertisers that IOA has received as so far. The event had got backing mainly from public sector companies. This year, however, IOA had signed up sports management firm IOS Sports & Entertainment as its exclusive agency to generate sponsorship revenues. It would around `10-12 crore overall expenses which is foreseen for the event and it
is assumed that over `14 crore is already their in their kitty, according to IOA sources. Among the main sponsors are, financial services group Edelweiss, are the principal sponsor, Li-Ning (apparel), Amul (dairy), Tata Salt and Herbalife (nutrition). Tomar said that a formal clothing partner, a telecom company, an Indian university and another FMCG company have come together. Incidentally, Amul, had sponsored the Indian contingent in the 2012 London Olympics. Meanwhile, despite the turmoil in both political and economic instability in Brazil the sponsors support has drawn attention from all quarters from across the globe, as these big wigs of world corporate have come together in providing products and services for the event, to ensure that sport always comes first. However, everything is kept under wraps as the sponsors are looking ahead for an eventful mega sport event. According to corporate pundits the sponsors have remained committed to the mega-event and
responded with a shift in campaign strategy. Much before hosting the Brazil football World Cup in 2014, Rio de Janeiro beat out Tokyo, Madrid, and Chicago in the 2009 bid, which in many ways celebrated as a vote of confidence in Brazil’s growing economy and middle class, as well as improved political stability and the country’s ability to host such global events. With this part of the globe (Brazil) facing a national corruption scandal, economic worries, and the Zika virus, Olympic sponsors and the brands alike are looking to usurp them at the Games. Coca-Cola, Bridgestone, McDonald’s and GE lead the Marketing Race for the Rio Summer Games according to a new analysis of by the Global Language Monitor (GLM). Among Non-Affiliated Marketers (NAM), the leaders include IBM Global Services, Siemens and Pepsi— with Starbucks and Red Bull firmly in the mix. Nike, though only an Official Supplier, scored squarely in the midst of the Top Partners. GLM used its proprietary Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) to determine these rankings at the mega event. Among them is the debutants Bridgestone. Coke, Nike, Samsung and Panasonic stands out in extending their hands in making this event and eventful one for both the sport and their products. joe78662@gmail.com July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 53
Loved & Married too
It is not often these days that college romance fructifies into a wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real life romances that got sealed in marriage.
Making it happen against all odds Relationships work if you want them to... Akanksha Saini (29) and Saurav Satnalika (32) would know. Married for just over a year —and courted for several--they worked their way through family reluctance with quiet determination. In the end, it was all worth it. By Kalyani Sardesai
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hey just bought their first house. Now based in Bangalore, married for little over a year, married life may have just begun for this young couple – but their journey together started long back. Batchmates at a leading management institute in India, for the years 2008-10, Akanksha did her MBA (HR) while Saurav was enrolled for MBA (Marketing). Though they had few common friends, they somehow, never did meet. “The first time I saw him was at the campus placements,” recollects Akanksha. Even so, the first meeting was far from memorable
54 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
– busy as they were with the group discussions. Second meeting – at a psychometric test – which Akanksha had been informed of at the last minute. “I was wondering which options were valid to tick. I asked the co-ordinator, but the man in front of me, without being asked, answered. It was Saurav. I gave him a sour look in return,” she giggles. But the test worked out well; both were chosen by the same company of at the last minute, TVS Sundram Fasteners – she for HR, he for the marketing team, and that’s when they got talking. “There were five of us chosen and post joining , we had a five-day induction programme, and
was a lot of fun. Saurav and I gelled very well indeed. At the end of the programme, we both went our separate ways. But there was a spark – and a niggling regret at what could have been,” shares Akanksha. Even so, as she joined office in Chennai, she kept hearing of him, despite him being in Bangalore. He was quite the star performer; an intelligent and promising young man – and being an HR professional, she was privy to all the inside talk about who was coming and going, who was doing well, and so on. Meetings kept happening – even as both had to travel for but it was not until they attended a program
together at Pondicherry that they discussed the possibility of being together. “It was a programme to which the five of us who had just completed a year back had been invited. Saurav and I really connected – but he did not see his parents agreeing to the match,” she shares. However, the duo was the target of plenty of good-natured teasing and nudging by their batch mates who had somehow guessed their feelings for each other. One thing led to another – conversations and meetings became frequent but even then parental approval was a big deal indeed. “I hail from Roorkee, Uttarakhand, while his family are the Aggarwals from Kolkata – who are known to be traditional” says Akanksha. “ Naturally my parents were worried as to whether I’d fit into such a conservative set-up. But my younger brother Vaibhav was a huge support to both of us.” “Also, Akanksha was positive that we’d make it together given time and patience. It was her determination that encouraged me to keep the attempts going to convince my • Trust folks,” says Saurav. Even so, the first time he spoke to • Accepting and his dad, he came up against a wall. accommodating Ditto, the next few times. “A love each other’s match with someone outside the schedules community, was not a desirable pros- • Giving due pect,” he says. Plus, he had a younger importance to both work and marriage. sister to be married off as well. Still, neither of them gave up. “Even- Spending enough tually, my parents met him. They liked time together him and found no reason to refuse. • Being ready to Similarly, Saurav’s uncle managed to travel--or make caconvince his father, and the families reer choices in the interest of family finally met,” says Akanksha. They had an impromptu roka • Celebrating (engagement) in October 2014 – differences “spontaneous and sudden, after all • Little things add that waiting – but everything fell in up to the big picture place.” This was followed by a wed- • Respecting each ding in May 2015 with the parental other families & relation approval they had both craved for.
The mantras of a marriage
Opposites attract
Post their nuptials, the couple is based in Bangalore – while she is the Assistant Manager HR with TVS Sundram Fasteners, Saurav is Deputy Manager, exports marketing at CUMI, Murugappa. “We both are a study in contrast,” giggles Akanksha. While she is the fun-loving, gregarious chatter-box, he is quiet and opens up gradually. “What I really appreciate about him is his genuineness. He’s not the one to try and impress women with flattery and fancy conversation; in fact, he is himself at all times,” she says. “He is also intelligent, driven, and very family-oriented.” “It’s not as if I am not social,” smiles Saurav. “But
Corporate careers are demanding and tough. Delays at work happen all the time – one has to be understanding and patient - Saurav
it’s like this – I need a partner to dance with me at a party. Whereas she will start dancing by herself, and pull everyone on the floor. Her infectious energy and positivity is just amazing.” Besides, he says, he loves her dedication and determination. “Whatever she takes up, be it work or relationships, she gives her hundred per cent to them. Honestly, I am lucky to have her.”
The pillars of a home
“ I would put trust in your partner – at number one,” says Saurav. “Corporate careers are demanding and tough. Delays at work happen all the time – one has to be understanding and patient. My work requires me to travel a lot too – but she is supportive and accepting.” Household duties are shared too. “I do the cooking as we both enjoy it and I don’t think I’d like to outsource it to anyone else,” grins Akanksha. “But we do have reliable domestic help,” Saurav chips in at various points. He doesn’t mind making a cup of tea if I am late, he does all that.” “Honestly, it’s no big deal. If both husband and wife are working it’s only fair to help out your partner,” shrugs Saurav. On her part, Akanksha cherishes the little things he does for her. “I never ask for gifts but I get these surprises every now and then. Be it a watch or a perfume, each gift is chosen with thought and care,” she says. Friction happens –but whoever is in the wrong – apologizes. “If one spouse is angry, it is a good idea to give him or her some time to cool
off, before you talk. It prevents the fight from escalating,” says Saurav. Despite their schedules, both are particular about having as many meals together in a day as possible. “Breakfast and dinner are together, for sure,” says Akanksha. While the usual dinners and shopping and weekends out are fine, at the crux of everything is their value system which is a blend of the modern and traditional. “We make it a point to visit our parents or have them over at every chance we get. Family is important to both of us,” says Saurav. “Sure, I have career goals and am working towards them. Eventually, I want to make the transition from HR to coaching and am taking steps in that direction. But nothing comes at the cost of family,” says Akanksha. “Besides, the corporate world offers you plenty of career choices to help you balance work and family. Workplaces are also getting more mother and child friendly with flexi hours and work from home facilities. With all that available, I do believe that I would be able to do justice to all aspects of our family life, even when we have a child,” says Akanksha. And no, their different backgrounds don’t get in the way. “At the end of the day, it’s all about perception. You can celebrate differences and overcome them, if you wish to,” says Saurav. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com
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tadka Taking ‘Stock’ India’s two major stock exchanges, Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India, had a market capitalization of US$1.71 trillion and US$1.68 trillion respectively as of Feb 2015, which ranks 11th & 12 largest in the world respectively.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 55
Bollywood biz
B-schools take notice!
Udta Punjab is perhaps the most talkedabout film of 2016. No other film has been to subject as much controversy and hype as Udta Punjab, even before the release. The movie has become a box office darling, grossing `100 crore within two weeks of its release. So unique is the phenomenon of Udta Punjab that it has now become a case study for top business schools like Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, Nirma Business School, Ahmedabad, and International Institute of Professional Studies, Indore. This edition, Corporate Citizen explores the allure of Udta Punjab for B-schools By Neeraj Varty
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dta Punjab has been controversy’s child since it went for approval at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) a month ago. The Chairman of CBFC Pahlaj Nihalani passed the film with 89 cuts, and wanted words like Punjab, MLA, Election Commission, etc. censored. Bollywood was unanimous in its uproar against this move, and the filmmakers moved court against the CBFC’s decision, which cleared the film with only one cut. This was a landmark victory by the film fra56 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
ternity, and the legal route will most likely be pursued more confidently by future filmmakers who take issue with the CBFC’s certification. While this was going on, something interesting happened. Every development in the Udta Punjab controversy garnered front page media coverage. Every debate, discussion and monologue on TV revolved around Udta Punjab. People’s curiosity was piqued. A niche movie with no mainstream appeal suddenly became the most must see film of the year. Even a leaked pirated copy of movie which circulated
days before its release could not stop moviegoers from seeing Udta Punjab in the theatres. To some, it was genuine interest about the movie. To others it was about taking an ethical stand by standing up against draconian laws. Whatever the reason may be, these viewers made Udta Punjab a certified blockbuster. The movie raked in `38.60 crore in its opening weekend, making it the biggest opening of Shahid Kapoor’s career, beating his mainstream movies like R Rajkumar and Shaandaar. It has grossed `100 crore in two weeks worldwide, and it’s not
Udta Punjab is the best example of believing in your product and fighting for it. This is something every business can learn from. In fighting for the movie’s release, the film makers made Udta Punjab more than just a movie. It became a brand something mainstream and aspirational. Udta Punjab also received good word of mouth, which is the best publicity any product can get. Udta Punjab is an example of a bold product supplemented with organic publicity, making the movie a blockbuster. The question remains though – can this model be replicated? Can a filmmaker make a film about a controversial subject, fight for its release and hope that the controversy creates cash? Or was Udta Punjab the exception rather than the rule? These are questions that can be answered through a thorough case study of the movie. Movies are a very unique business. Not only are they a great source of entertainment, as of now, they are also legitimate case studies for B-schools. Keep it up Bollywood! neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
likely to stop anytime soon. The success of Udta Punjab cannot be attributed to one single thing. Was it the CBFC controversy that made it so popular? Was it good word of mouth that attracted audiences to the theatres? Or was it a case of people taking an ethical stand against piracy that compelled them to watch the movie in the theatres? These questions seem to have caught even the attention of business schools, who are very eager to conduct a case study on the movie. Three business schools have commissioned
a case study on how an opinion war and a perception battle was fought before the release of 'Udta Punjab'. according to a Hindustan Times report, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, Nirma Business School, Ahmedabad, and International Institute of Professional Studies, Indore are planning to introduce the film as a case study in their course. The aim is to see if the phenomenon can be replicated and if controversies are invariably good for the commercial prospects of films. Udta Punjab is the best example of believing in your product and fighting for it. Like the movie’s director said, “Udta Punjab' has been a rewarding struggle for us. We stood for something and that paid off in a very big manner.” This is something every business can learn from. In fighting for the movie’s release, the filmmakers made Udta Punjab more than just a movie. A niche product became
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Indian Pros most confident A LinkedIn-led survey – ‘Your Story @ work’ observed that Indians have the highest confidence level in the world when it comes to talking about their achievements both online and in person, compared to their global counterparts. The results depict that the confidence level among professionals worldwide is at 35 percent as against 55 percent for Indian professionals. The confidence level among Indians turned out to be higher than professionals in Singapore and Australia.
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 57
Pearls of Wisdom
By osho
Let’s go
beyond any ideology
Once you create a philosophy, an opinion, you are already on the warpath. If there is ideology, there is going to be fight. This is the predicament: there are people who want the world to be without wars, but they have ideologies and their ideologies create wars
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he first step toward a healthy life is to accept one’s state of unhealthiness. If mankind was only just beginning to be haunted by terrorism, things would be very easy. But mankind has always been haunted by terrorism, hence the matter is very complex. The forms of terrorism have changed – this insanity has been taking on newer and newer colours, newer and newer forms – but in the whole history of mankind, except for a few people who can be counted on the fingers of two hands, all the remaining people have been sick in one way or another. These sicknesses are as old as man himself, and that is why whenever someone has tried to eliminate these sicknesses, these insanities, insane humanity has eliminated the very man himself. The people who poisoned Socrates and who put Jesus on the cross are proof of it. What Socrates was saying was providing the right diagnosis in order to make man healthy again, but the crowd does not want to accept that it is insane. And any man who wants to become healthy has first to accept this much: that he is not healthy. This is where the difficulty comes in. There are thousands of madhouses in the world, but there is not a single madman ready to accept that he is mad. Every madman tries to prove that the whole world may be mad, but he is not. The people in whose lives an inner revolution has taken place, who have become trans58 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
formed, are that very handful of people who have accepted that they were insane, that they were sick, that they were restless. The first step toward a healthy life is to accept one’s state of unhealthiness. But if someone says to you that you are beautiful, it feels very good, and if someone says that you are not beautiful, it feels very bad. If someone says to you that you are right, it feels good, it reassures, it consoles. And if someone exposes your wounds to you, that man seems like the enemy. The causes of man’s unhealthiness are very clear-cut. First of all, man has made unnaturalness the goal of life instead of the natural. Our eyes are focused on the unnatural, instead of the natural. The more unnatural a man becomes, the more we respect him: he is a sadhu, a saint, a great soul, a siddha. Our respect inspires him to become even more unnatural, and our respect becomes a thirst within us to follow him also, to follow in his footsteps, because we see that the whole world is giving this man respect: I may be wrong, but the whole world cannot be wrong.
Danger of ideology
But how did this happen? “Once you create a philosophy, an opinion, you are already on the warpath. If there is ideology, there is going to be fight. This is the predicament: there are people who want the world to be without wars, but they have
ideologies and their ideologies create wars. What’s really frightening is I just can’t see an end to this chaos. Terrorism is going to become bigger and bigger, because the third world war is almost impossible. And the stupid politicians have no other alternative. Terrorism simply means that what was being done on a social scale now has to be done individually. It will grow. It can only be prevented if we change the very base of human understanding—which is a Himalayan task; more so because these same people whom you want to change will fight you; they won’t allow you to change them easily.
Our respect inspires him to become even more unnatural, and our respect becomes a thirst within us to follow him also, to follow in his footsteps, because we see that the whole world is giving this man respect: I may be wrong, but the whole world cannot be wrong “Terrorism simply symbolises that to destroy human beings does not matter, that there is nothing in human beings which is indestructible, that it is all matter—and you cannot kill matter, you can only change its form. Once man is taken to be only a combination of matter, and no place is given for a spiritual being inside him, then to kill becomes just play. So individual violence will increase—it is increasing. And all your governments and all your religions will go on perpetuating the old strategies without understanding the new situation. Isn’t there a light at the end of this tunnel? The new situation is that every human being
needs to go through therapies, needs to understand his unconscious intentions, needs to go through meditations so that he can calm down, become cool – and look towards the world with a new perspective, of silence. But how is meditation going to stop a suicide bomber? The terrorism is not in the bombs in your hands; the terrorism is in your unconscious. So ideology goes out the window as meditation leads to love? “… if people start meditating, if people start loving their bodies, loving their minds, and out of love peacefully transcending towards a state of no-mind, they will not belong to any stupid ideology.
Answers to ‘Entrepreneur or Employee’ Quiz For every C, give yourself 10 points, 7 points for the Bs and 5 for the As 85 and over: You have it in you to start up - the focus, risk-taking ability, fire in the belly and ability to inspire 60-84: You have some entrepreneurial skills, but that may still not be enough; take this test after a few months and check your score again Under 60: Stick to that job
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 59
Health & fitness Ansoo Gupta,
COO, Pinstorm Technologies and Founder, One Shoe Trust
“Fitness has to be wholesome and overarching”
Ansoo Gupta has had a meteoric rise in her career as a marketing and media professional and on the way collected a deep and relevant set of experience across fields as diverse as television, e-commerce, search engine marketing, social media management and print
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By Sharmila Chand
n her last role, Ansoo helped launch The History Channel on television sets across India and south-east Asia. She had a long stint at Star TV and National Geographic Channel. She came to these roles after gaining print experience at First City and Sun Publications. Ansoo is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of multinational digital brands management firm Pinstorm. She runs a multinational team across India, Singapore, Malaysia, USA and Europe that looks to help clients across the world with innovative and effective marketing solutions using digital media, while building a sound and profitable organization. Ansoo’s blend of sound traditional theories applied to modern economy, experience across traditional and new media, belonging to Gen X and working with the millennial gives her a sharp edge to analyse many new challenges with a fresh perspective and be able to adapt communication and operations to contemporary environment. She regularly speaks at industry conferences and in colleges. She was conferred Corporate Excellence Award by her alma mater Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management and an Achiever of Excellence Award in Marketing by Bombay Management Association. She is a passionate, off-the-beaten-track traveler and believes that’s the best form of learning there is and it’s what she encourages everyone to do. As her passion project, she goes around all over the country to encourage people to 60 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
explore our world and conserve our beautiful planet. She has incorporated One Shoe Trust for Responsible and Mindful Travels to raise awareness about the issues facing our planet Earth.
Your philosophy on Fitness
My underlying principle about fitness is that it has to be woven into every aspect of one’s life. It can’t be a separate activity. So everything you do has to be done in a way that keeps you fit. It can’t be achieved by just going to the gym for an hour a day. Fitness has to be wholesome and overarching.
Your idea/mantra about keeping fit?
Eat properly, sleep soundly, stay physically a n d m e nt a l l y a c t i v e . Smoking, drinking alcohol and packed juices and colas, junk food and sitting are injurious to health. I do not see fitness as a certain weight or BMI or calorie intake. For me it is more about staying active, having energy and alertness and a body free of aches and pains with all organs functioning in harmony with each other.
“I do not see fitness as a certain weight or BMI or calorie intake. For me it is more about staying active, having energy and alertness and a body free of aches and pains with all organs functioning in harmony with each other”
What keeps you fit and healthy
I don’t have a rigorous routine of gymming or yoga or zumba or pilates or whatever is the latest fad. I just weave in a lot of walking into my daily life. I love my morning walks and also I try to walk in my neighbourhood, near my office and for my daily chores as much as I can. Apart from that I try to be mindful of what I am eating. Again , no fad diets . Just try to minimize the bad foods and maximize the more nutritious foods. I don’t drink colas, almost never eat candies, pizzas, burgers and other junk food and very little coffee etc. Basically, I try to stay away from all foods that are heavily advertised to eat.
Your stress busters
I try to sleep my stress away – it repairs my other body tissues etc too. Or else I like to go on walks and think about whatever is stressing me out. Once in a while, I enjoy running on treadmill as a stressbuster too but it can bust knees as well so I keep it to a minimum. My other favorite stressbusters is watching my favorite comedy series like Frasier, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Your food philosophy
Don’t believe in fad diets. I practice portion control and I try to eat only the things made by nature, not made in factories. As a thumb rule, I try to stay away from all foods that are being advertised heavily to eat. These are mostly all highly processed foods with artificial colors and flavors and they provide absolutely no nutrition to the body contrary to whatever they might claim in their ads.
Your yoga (or anything else ) regime?
At least 3 times a week I go for a walk or do light yoga at home.
Your healthy dose as parting shots
Health is not about weight, BMI or calorie count. It is about functional your body is and to me it is measured by flexibility, stamina and strength.
Your exercise fundamentals
I am a firm believer of yoga and I am sure that daily practice is good for overall health for everyone. But we should know the right ways to perform asanas and pranayama. Right breathing is essential to good health. We don’t even realize that we are living our lives with wrong breathing – the most critical aspect of life.
Your diet fads
None. But these days I am eating lots of grains and seeds to make up for the simple carbs and simple sugars that we eat and which doesn’t provide enough fibre and minerals to the body.
CC
tadka European connection Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 BC) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, in 1498
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 61
Mobile apps
‘Forex’ cellence
Currency exchanges can be a tiresome process for customers, requiring time, knowledge of the best ongoing exchange rates, and a fair bit of risk as it involves carrying cash before and after the exchange. Currency Exchange, a new app by startup Deltin Globus Solutions, plans to streamline and fully automate the forex process, providing a one stop shop for global travelers. Corporate Citizen interviews Amit Dange, CEO of Deltin Globus, to understand why he built the app and whether Currency Exchange actually delivers on its promise By Neeraj Varty
If you think of the current forex scenario in India, most of the trade happens at local stores and in cash. Since these exchanges happen in cash, and are not safe for customers. I wanted to provide a solution which would make currency exchanges much more streamlined and hassle free. There are 50 Million international passengers in India in 2015, and 220,000 Indians studying abroad. `50 Million is exchanged daily in India. There is a tremendous opportunity here which I felt was untapped, and with Currency Exchange, this process can become much easier.
How does currency exchange work?
Currency exchange is available for free on iOS and android. Once it
Pics: Shantanu relekar
How did you think of Currency Exchange?
is downloaded, the user only has to register once, and his details would be saved for future transactions. The customer can check for the ongoing exchange rates, get the lowest rate from the app through one of our affiliates, and have the money either derived digitally via net banking, or else home
delivered through a representative from the bank. This process is completely safe and convenient for customers. In addition to existing services, we are looking to add remittances and other forex related services in our app very soon. In fact we are very encouraged by receiving requests for new services from our customers. Our focus is on customer service and ensuring that the entire process is as smooth for the user as possible.
How many downloads does the app have?
Currency exchange was launched just a few weeks ago and already it has seen more than 10,000 downloads. Going forward, we plan to promote the app on social media to encourage more users to try it. 62 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Who are your users?
Our app is used by travelers who are on the go and looking for complete hassle free and speedy service. We are noticing corporate travelers and tourists who need forex within 72 hours. There is an uptick with student travelers in recent days. We are seeing users in all age groups and across all geographies including North Eastern states!
What are your targets?
We hope to achieve â‚š 50 Lakh transactions per year by 2020 neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
Currency exchanges
Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for the first batch of women pilots inducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in its fighter squadron Heralding this historical landmark are the three women cadets, pilots all – Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawna Kanth who will undertake their stage-III training for a year on ‘Hawk’ advanced jet trainers before they graduate into flying supersonic warplanes. With their induction, the women, all well versed in flying the ‘Pilatus’ and ‘Kiran’ jet trainers marked the milestone entry of women in a combat role within the IAF fighter squadron. Hailing from Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, Avani always aspired to fly and trained at the flying club of her college. She is inspired by her brother who is in the army and has thus followed in the legacy of her family of army officers as she readies herself for her training into war zones. For Bhawana Kanth, daughter of an officer in the Indian Oil Corporation; flying was always a childhood dream and this newly inducted lass from Darbhanga district in Bihar, did opt for the fighter stream after successfully completing her stage I training. For Mohana Singh of Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, it seemed but natural to tread on the family legacy of serving the nation - being the grand-daughter of a flight gunner at the Aviation Research Centre and daughter of a Warrant Officer with the IAF. The IAF Academy in Hyderabad witnessed the landmark graduation parade, held as part of successful completion of the per-commissioning training by the flight cadets of various branches of IAF. The training has been scheduled at Bidar, Karnataka but sources say that this induction has been commissioned on an ‘experimental’ basis and that the IAF will study the results of this induction for the next five years with the IAF’s advice that the trio refrain from motherhood for the next four years. Avani, Mohana and Bhawna were among six female cadets who were competing to become fighter pilots after the government, in a landmark move, approved an IAF plan last year to induct them for the fighter stream. While women pilots have been flying helicopters and transport aircraft since 1991 in the IAF, it was last year when the government decided to allow women into fighter jet cockpits. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged this step as a harbinger for change saying, “This is just the beginning. Slowly, women in large numbers will be part of the armed forces…. There are technical and administrative difficulties which we are likely to face in certain areas, so, step by step we will see that this parity is achieved. Number will depend on how many we can accommodate depending on our infrastructure…”
Corporate Citizen slaps the shocking apathy of passengers and authorities at Chennai’s bustling Nungambakkam railway station as 24-year old Infosys techie, Swathi lay dead in a pool of her own blood for over two hours, without any medical assistance In what was a cold blooded murder, the absence of railway police too thwarted any distant chances of reviving the victim. The coldness of passengers as ‘mute spectators’ around the crime scene as they chose to either view the scene being played or board the next train in all its casualness is a slap to human sensitivity; in this, their behaviour was worse off than the animal kingdom wherein the victim’s father rightly laments, “Even crows won’t abandon their dead, but Swathi was left to die....As we talk of women’s liberalisation, women’s safety has to be prioritized.” A bereaved father, Santhana Gopalakrishnan, in his helplessness and disbelief, would perhaps be haunted by the thought or be left wondering all his life, if his daughter could have been alive, had co-passengers or others present at the station, done something to help her. It was an attack that seemed to be publicly allowed, is how the father agonises, “I don’t know if it was due to aversion or selfishness, they allowed the attack to happen,” he told news media. What smells of sheer lack of concern to help fellow brethren, the father still hopes that this type of incident should be the last one and not repeated ever. It is utter disgust in a technological era when all are connected literally that such a murder actually did see the light of the day without the police or railway protection force being intimated on time or the force being present when the attack actually happened. With the probe now being shifted from railway police to the Chennai City police, the 25-member team headed by Nungambakkam assistant commissioner of police, have ruled out any likelihood of contract killing or the possibility of mistaken identity. As new reports reveal, the suspect has been traced to that of a stalker who has been on Swathi’s heels in the past months and this is definitely a downturn in an era where the possibility of CCTVs could have nailed down the stalker much earlier and the incident could never have happened. Post-attack and murder, a Hyderabad-based digital forensic firm has submitted its report on CCTV footage, with clearer images of the face of the assailant, but the question is – had such vigilant steps been taken in the early days of stalking, could we still have Swathi in our midst? As co-passengers, do we have our rights to protect someone and not be threatened ourselves? What will make us a bit courageous to step up as humans and save many more ‘Swathis’ around us? July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 63
astroturf personality and over all demeanor are extremely important here. You may not be able to pay so much of attention to your family because career should be your main focus now.
Aries
Mar 21- April 20 21st of last month the Sun moved into your 4th house and will be spending time in that house for next 20 days. This indicates that now you should downplay your career As Saturn has been retrograde since late March. Now you should focus time on the home and family and get your priorities correct.
TAURUS
April 21 - May 20 The lower part of your horoscope has practically been in balance since May, you will be able balance the needs of your personal and professional life very calmly. You could actually be successful in both areas of your life. Especially after the 22nd you will be able to manage and overcome all obstacles in life.
GEMINI
May 21 - June 21 This is going to be a prosperous & a happy month ahead with just about a few challenges thrown in, just to break the monotony. You are still in your yearly financial peak until the 22nd so the focus on the financial issues is bound to bring in good results.
Fortune favours the bold and the lucky
Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Mangat, our renowned Astrological Expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions cosmos in its infinite wisdom throws a few challenges your way to keep things interesting and to keep you on your toes. Drive carefully on the 1st, 2nd, 7, 10 & 11th. further.
LEO
July 24 - Aug 23 Your 12th house of spirituality became powerful on June 21st and is still powerful until the July 22nd. This is a good period to focus on spiritual matters, studies and practices. Those of you who are practicing the art of meditation will have better experiences. You may experience supernatural kinds of experiences and vivid dreams that convey messages.
VIRGO
CANCER
Jun 22 - July 23 Happy and successful month is ahead of you, so relax and enjoy. Like last month you are at the peak of your personal power right now, make the changes you long wanted to make, have things your own way, since you know what is the best for you. The ‘Universal Force’ is with you. One of the problems you face with too much ease is boredom, so the
ising.
(www.dollymangat.com)
Aug 24 - Sept 23 Even though the love life is active but remains complicated, since your love planet Neptune remains retrograde all month, this weakens your social confidence. Neptune spends the month conjunct to the Moon’s South node, this brings in a feeling of lack or deficiency even where none exists. You will get the feeling as if something is lacking all the time.
64 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
LIBRA
Sept 24 - Oct 22 Last month from 19th to the 23rd, Venus the ruler of your horoscope, was having one of her solstices. She paused in the heavens and changed direction in latitude. So there was a pause in your life and a change of direction too. Around this time the planetary power shifted from the social Western sector to the independent Eastern one. You would become more independent day by day.
SCORPIO
Oct 23 - Nov 22 The month ahead looks happy and successful, with a few challenges thrown in just to keep things interesting and to keep you on your toes. You will begin the month with full on energy and the wind backing you from behind. Basically the situations are conducive to your happiness. You will witness optimism.
SAGITTARIUS
Nov 23 - Dec 22 The career which is going great guns at the moment is further going to get a boost this month. Many of you could be experiencing life time career highs. Your
CAPRICORN
Dec 23 - Jan 20 You or your partner may not be in financial agreement and this does bring in stress. Be patient as situations will resolve itself after the 22nd. Your partner is prospering but your finances seem stressed, you just need to work harder to achieve your financial goals. You will have to go that extra mile. Your personal fiancés will improve after the 22nd.
AQUARIUS
Jan 21 - Feb19 The planetary power the short term planets are now in their maximum western position this month. Though the eastern sector is still strong. On the 22nd, you enter an yearly love & social peak. Your challenge is to be popular without being totally self effacing and without losing personal independence. This was your challenge last month and even more so now. .
PISCES
Feb 20 - Mar 20 The planetary power the short term planets are now in their maximum Western position this month. Though the eastern sector is still strong. On the 22nd you enter an yearly love & social peak. Your challenge is to be popular without being totally self effacing and without losing personal independence. Address: 143, St Patrick’s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013. Tel.: 020-26872677 / 020-32905748 Email: connect@dollymanghat.com/ info.dollymanghat@gmail.com
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CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP
PROF. SUDHIR K SOPORY, VICE CHANCELLOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY (JNU) Volume 1, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
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
UNFLINCHING SUPPORT
July 16-31, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 65
the last word
Ganesh Natarajan
Skills Transformation in Smart Cities
The lighthouse project being set up under Pune Smart City initiative is an excellent example of how cutting edge technologies are being deployed for the purpose of skill development and providing a breakthrough approach to opening up new avenues for the youth
T
he presence of Prime Minister Modi in the city of Pune on June 25th on the first anniversary of the Smart Cities initiative in the country was significant, for the launch of the Pune City Lighthouse project, a path breaking endeavour that can change the process and outcome of skilling in the city and the country for ever. The Skill India Mission launched to find solutions for making 400 million citizens of the country employable by 2022 has so far been largely driven through classroom based training for imparting skills based on sector specific requirements. The constraints of the availability of trainers, training facility and the familiarity and interest towards known career options have so far limited the potential for skill development and employability readiness in a number of areas. As a result of this, we find an imbalance in the skills demand and supply equation in certain sectors and a marked lack of motivation and commitment to pursue careers by youth, who very often drop out during or just after the skills program. The problem is compounded in urban locations where in addition to the sizeable number of youth from lower income groups residing in the cities, there is a continuous influx of migrant population from the interiors of the states due to lack of op-
portunities, drought conditions and aspirations to enhance their living standards – most of whom are able bodied young people but lack skills or competencies that could enable them find attractive livelihood options. The solution lies in broadening the exposure to available career options, helping the youth to acquire cutting edge skills and demonstrate their superior capabilities to the employers and launch themselves into aspirational careers. Whether cities or rural areas, making this happen has been a challenge on account of suboptimal training resources and the limitations of training construct. However, there is a beacon of hope now with smart cities where the strength of digital access could address these challenges and find a smart solution which could be replicated in the hinterland as well in due course. The example set by Pune Smart City is a case in point. The Light house project being set up under Pune Smart City initiative is an excellent example of how cutting edge technologies are being deployed for the purpose of skill development and providing a breakthrough approach to opening up new avenues for the youth. It is a unique model of application of digital technology for addressing the socio economic and psychological issues that play a key role in the choice and methodology of imparting
66 / Corporate Citizen / July 16-31, 2016
Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu, Union Cabinet Minster with PM Narendra Modi with at the launch of Pune City Lighthouse project
skills. The Lighthouses have attractive video walls displaying multiple career options to choose from giving a subtle but strong message that technology could be a great leveller and could provide them with the access to the world of opportunities that they were denied so far. Next, the focus shifts to recognising the aspirations of the youth by helping them know their own strengths and potential to learn through easy to use technology based assessments. Instead of being forced to acquire skills for jobs they may not be interested in or have little knowledge about, the Lighthouse enables them to learn about the opportunities in various careers and helps them connect with their own strengths and aspirations. While traditional training centres have counsellors who could explain these opportunities and the youth decide to sign up for the programme, they may not be fully convinced about their readiness for the sug-
It is a unique model of application of digital technology for addressing the socio economic and psychological issues that play a key role in the choice and methodology of imparting skills
gested careers hence this is one of the main reasons for their dropping off from the course mid way through the training process. Pune Lighthouse tries to address this challenge by helping the youth understand the nuances of work performed with the skills acquired through smart applications of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality(VR). Using AR and VR for the first time in India in the context of skills training for communities, the Lighthouse enables the candidate to visualise the Service Mechanic job or Nursing Assistant job with the help of a technology enabled deep dive into the product or situation to learn about the correct methods of repairs and through walkthroughs in the corridors of a hospital to appreciate the importance of the role of the Nursing Assistant. The training programme is built around a combination of face to face learning interspersed with technology led and self paced training. The progress learners make is possible to be tracked through technology and they would be supported by mentors to help them sustain their training commitment and remain motivated. The lighthouse project is just one example of the change in life and work that smart cities can enable. As Prime Minister Modi rightly said, it is the ability to be truly inclusive that differentiates smart cities from the rest and Pune will surely lead the pack! Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect & NASSCOM Foundation.
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.