V 2, 8th issue all pages for website by Corporate Citizen

Cradle of Leadership An exclusive with Anil Shastri, Founder-Chairman and Dr Arya Kumar, Director, LBSIM Volume 2, Issue No. 8 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Interview

Hari MenonÂ

CEOÂ and Founder, Bigbasket.com

Dr Bimal Arora

Chairperson, Centre for Responsible Business

Dynamic Duo: 32 Abha and Y P Singh

Legal Eagles An in-depth interview of a dynamic couple, former civil service officers, now leading lawyers

Loved and Married too

Disha and Harsh on love and commitment

June 16-30, 2016 / `50

2 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

feedback

Magazine with a difference!

Corporate Citizen is definitely a business magazine with a difference. The narration and presentation style is very fluidic and makes the articles interesting and easy to comprehend. One can almost sense the absence of jargons, which makes it appealing to the young readers. Simultaneously, the wide range of topics in every edition - from food to lifestyle to entrepreneurship- makes this magazine a vibrant collection of interesting stories. It’s like a zephyr in the monotonous world of business magazines. Congratulations to the entire team..! Wonderful job! —Santosh More, Bengaluru

Wonderful reading

I was going through Corporate Citizen, and found your article on ‘ Data Science for Business Decisions’ (issue dated April 1-15) very informative. Barely a few months in the city, I chanced upon Corporate Citizen in the bookstore trying to get familiar with Bengaluru’s media landscape. Reading through it and going through the back issues online, I found the interviews chronicling the heads of businesses to be robust and present a well-thought-of picture of them and the businesses they represent. The people being featured also speak very well of the publication and this cements itself as a publication for decision makers. Great job, Team Corporate Citizen! —Shah Jahan, Bengaluru

Cradle of Leadership – a satisfying read

There are many magazines that focus on corporates, but very few which take the effort to highlight the prestigious institutes which shape the corporates of tommorow. The Cradle of leadership series in Corporate Citizen is a very satisfying read, which makes me pick up copy after copy of the magazine. Keep up the good work! —Asim Divedhi, Mumbai

Good concept

I quite like the concept of your magazine, Corporate Citizen, and look forward to read every issue of it. The stories are gripping and are told in a simplified manner. I would like to congratulate the editorial team for doing such a great job... Keep it up! —Varun Rai, Mumbai

Suggesting a column on young entrepreneurs I do receive magazine in my office and find it

Goyal’s Speech Interesting TOP POSITION

UNION POWER Union Energy Minister Piyush MINISTER, PIYUSH GOYAL TALKS ON VISION OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT INDIA Goyal’s speech appeared in (issue dated June 1-15) of Corporate Clifford Mohan Pai Citizen made an interesting Leadership GPHR, Associate Imperative Vice President, HR, read. Goyal is one of the handful Infosys BPO Ltd ministers in the Modi government who are considered ‘real achievers’. Usually such speeches are nothing more than a PRO exercise of the particular ministry, DYNAMIC DUO: 31 but this speech was successful in putting forth the challenges before the country in this domain. It had rightly pointed out the double standards applied by the Western Uttara and powers when it comes to energy Deepak on love and and environment issues. The obcommitment vious lack of interest of the system to work enthusiastically on any good project was also obvious in the interview. Let’s hope Mr Goyal’s enthusiasm and zeal rub on the people not only in his ministry but in the overall government as well. However, in my view, an additional piece on a critical view of the claims made by the minister or a fact file would have made the piece more balanced. Volume 2, Issue No. 7 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

NHRD CEO PANEL DISCUSSION

June 1-15, 2016 / `50

INTERVIEW

Jhean Carlos and Jenny Gautam

Wheel of love LOVED AND MARRIED TOO

CII - Western Region 2ND EdgeFarmHR Case Study Writing Competition

1ST RUNNER-UP SECONDARY CATEGORY

- VS Gokhale, Mumbai

worth reading. The contents are different and the layout is simply superb. The interviews give a good blend of the business and personal side of the corporate leader. I feel it would be nice to include a column by a young entrepreneur who speaks about his journey on how he started and his business today. I am looking forward to reading more success stories of corporate stalwarts and young entrepreneurs in the issues to come. Keep up the good work! —Vinay Misra, Mumbai

Visibility of the magazine

I am a regular reader of the Corporate Citizen magazine and quite like the contents. However, the magazine is not easily available on the stands. Please ensure that it is easily available on the stands. Also, the visibility of the magazine on social media platform seems to be low. The team needs to promote the magazine more on various platforms like Facebook and Twitter so that it reaches more and more people. —Rama Prasad, Bengaluru

FORM IV (RULE 8) STATEMENT ABOUT OWNERSHIP AND OTHER PARTICULARS ABOUT CORPORATE CITIZEN 1.Place of Publication : Balwant Printers Pvt. Ltd., 925/5, Mujumdar, Apt., F. C. Road, Dist. Pune – 411004, Pune, Maharashtra 2.Periodicity of its Publication : Fortnightly 3.Printer’s Name : Dr Suresh Chandra Padhy Whether Citizen of India : Yes Address : Svy No. 55/2-7, Tathawade, Near Wakad,Off Mumbai-Bangalore Bypass, Dist. Pune – 411033, Maharashtra 4.Publisher’s Name : Dr Suresh Chandra Padhy 5.Editor’s Name : (a) Dr Suresh Chandra Padhy Whether Citizen of India : Yes Address : Svy No. 55/2-7, Tathawade, Near Wakad, Off Mumbai-Bangalore Bypass, Dist. Pune – 411033,Maharashtra (b)Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Whether Citizen of India : Yes Address : Svy No. 55/2-7, Tathawade, Near Wakad, Off Mumbai-Bangalore, Bypass, Dist. Pune – 411033,Maharashtra (c) Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh Whether Citizen of India : Yes Address : Svy No. 55/2-7, Tathawade, Near Wakad, Off Mumbai-Bangalore, Bypass, Dist. Pune – 411033,Maharashtra 6.Name and address of individuals : (a) Sri Balaji Society, who own the newspaper and are S. No 55/2-7, Tathawade, Near Wakad, partners or shareholders holding more Off Mumbai Bangalore Bypass, than one percent of the total capital Dist. Pune – 411033. (b) Sole ownership is with Sri Balaji Society only. I, Dr Suresh Chandra Padhy, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true, to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date: 10.06.2016 Sd/ Dr Suresh Chandra Padhy Printer/Publisher

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Guest Editorial Ganesh Natarajan

Forgotten Virtue of Gratitude

n a flight from New York to Los Angeles a couple of decades ago, the stewardess wheeled the refreshments cart down the aisle after a couple of hours in flight. A young Indian, a software engineer fresh off the boat written in his demeanor asked for a can of orange juice and grabbed it from the hand of the stewardess, and was quite bemused when the lady fixed a steely glare on him and asked “What’s the magic word?” She meant “Thanks” of course! While young Murugan or Rao or Patil or whatever the young man’s name may have been, could be forgiven for a momentary lapse of good manners in a strange country, there is no doubt that as a nation, we don’t say “Please” and “Thank you” as often as we should. And what is more unfortunate that we probably don’t even feel grateful for those who helped us in whatever little way—word, deed or actual help—to get us to where we are today. We all owe a debt of gratitude to our parents and very often to elders in the family including siblings, teachers, friends and career advisors who have all taught us a few things about life. In my own case, I have acknowledged many times my school vice principal Algernon Fitzgerald, who drilled 4 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

There is no doubt that as a nation, we don’t say “Please” and “Thank you” as often as we should. And what is more unfortunate that we probably don’t even feel grateful for those who helped us in whatever little way into me that in the little school of Bishop Westcott in the village of Namkum near Ranchi, it would not be Physics, Chemistry or Maths but the high quality of English

language training that could be used to build some competencies that would carry me through in my future life. And the very tough Director of the Birla Institute of

A recent case in point is Professor Bala, the founder and leader of the Sri Balaji Group of Educational Institutions in Pune. When we set out on one of the first initiatives of Pune City Connect, to print a book with the case studies of 28 corporations in the city who had done stellar work in Corporate Social Responsibility and made a real difference to the social fabric of the city, it was Prof Bala who willingly came forward to sponsor the book

Technology, Harish Chandra Pandey who brought discipline to all our lives in our rather rowdy college days in the seventies. Through the 35 years of my career including 25 as CEO of first APTECH and then Zensar, there has not been a month where I have not acknowledged, privately and publicly, the role that good English communications and time and work discipline have played in shaping my career and the two gentlemen who instilled these qualities in me. Through our work and career as well, there will have been coaches and mentors who influence all of us at some stage in our careers. For me, it was fortuitous that the primary role model I ever had was one who

was my very first Managing Director, Kewal Nohria of Crompton Greaves. KKN, as he was known, would win us over immediately by his ability to remember our names even when we were just management trainees in a large organisation. And his ability to put people at ease and request us to share stories of success we had achieved rather than trot out excuses for failure in the early stages of our career. Recently, I had the privilege of spending an hour with KKN at the house of his son, Harvard Business School Dean, Nitin Nohria and we recalled those days and the learnings that had given me a more positive and humane attitude in my own CEO career. I have acknowledged too the influence on my work style that Vijay Thadani, Director of NIIT had, who demonstrated so amply that love for one’s colleagues is a virtue that should be a matter of pride and not embarrassment in the workplace. Why would anybody refuse to acknowledge people that have contributed in big or small ways to our success? A simple “thank you” takes nothing away from us and on the contrary, brings us the goodwill of those whom we thank. A recent case in point is Professor Bala, the founder and leader of the Sri Balaji Group of Educational Institutions in Pune. When we set out on one of the first initiatives of Pune City Connect, to print a book with the case studies of 28

corporations in the city who had done stellar work in Corporate Social Responsibility and made a real difference to the social fabric of the city, it was Prof. Bala who willingly came forward to sponsor the book. And was joined later by Arvind Sethi of EY who put a top team of designers to develop a truly world-class publication with us. As Pune City Connect grows and increases its contribution to “Swachh, Suvidya, Digital Literacy and Skills” in the city, we will be helped by many philanthropists, industrialists and agencies but we will continue to remember these early supporters with great fondness and gratitude. For any young readers who are in the early stages or the mid-point of their career (Savitha, are you reading this?), this is one piece of advice I would always give—to be liberal with your expressions of gratitude even as you should be quick to “forgive those who trespass against us”. Life and work are complex as it is and the best way to do hard and good work is to bear no malice towards those who slight us and acknowledge the support of those who cheer us up and help us on our way. And stay happy yourself!

Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Global Talent Track and Pune City Connect. June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 32

Cover story

Dynamic Duo 32

Legal Eagles An in-depth and insightful interview with former civil services officers and now leading lawyers, Abha and Y P Singh who have excelled in their respective professions and have maintained an envious work-life balance.

9 COLLYWOOD

Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 13 MANAGE MONEY

Dr Anil Lamba on Marginal Costing Principles and breakeven analysis 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 6 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Volume 2 Issue No. 8 June 16-30, 2016 www.corporatecitizen.in

16 INTERVIEW A conversation with Hari Menon, Founder & CEO, Bigbasket.com 20 CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP An exclusive with Anil Shastri, Founder-Chairman and Dr Arya Kumar, Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM)

28 Tête-à-Tête An in-depth interview with Dr Bimal Arora, Chairperson, Centre for Responsible Business 38 THE TAX MAN COMETH – 14 ‘Of Facebook, satellite channels, liquid gold, art and attar’ by S K Jha (IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax) 40 CORPORATE HISTORY ‘Crust of Joy’ - Pizza Hut

43 CLAPS & SLAPS Our brickbats and bouquets for the fortnight 44 CII CASE STUDY CII – Western Region 2nd EdgeFarm - HR Case Study Writing Competition 50 SURVEY An in-depth survey on ‘Are Indians paid enough?’ by Global Consultancy Group, Deloitte 54 Placements through CSR Nithya R and Goutam Majhi on their journey of getting placed, thanks to Accenture’s CSR activities

56 June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 7

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

56 LOVED AND MARRIED TOO Disha and Harsh on love and commitment

VP - Marketing & Sales M. Paul Anderson +919444405212

62 HEALTH What to eat and what not to…

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

58 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Bollywood stars in Parliament 60 PEARLS OF WISDOM Has life been unkind to you?

Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur / Sharmila Chand

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

64 MOBILE APPS The world is now in your ‘Wallet’

Creative Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke

Be A Corporate Citizen

How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen - The Cool Side of Business? Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you! 8 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar On Cover Page Abha and Y P Singh 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

It’s business with pleasure for Cook Shah Rukh Khan and Sania Mirza with Tim Cook, Apple CEO

A religious place, Bollywood and a cricket match venue may not necessarily be connected to business, but Apple CEO, Tim Cook had other ideas as he felt that it was here that all were interconnected and made India’s heart beat when it came to consumption of the

Internet. Cook set off to take part in a Hindu ritual at a temple in Mumbai and signed off the day with a Bollywood party hosted by Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, which was attended by several celebrities including actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Madhuri

Dixit-Nene and Aishwarya Rai, AR Rahman, Mahesh Bhatt and Farah Khan. From there, he set off to watch an IPL match in Kanpur. It was not just fun, but business as well for Cook as he went on to inaugurate the Apple development centre in Hyderabad and have a

meeting with the Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. This Apple’s new office in Hyderabad will focus on developing maps for Apple products. The company will hire up to 4,000 new employees at this office, Apple said. He announced the setting of an app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru by early 2017. The Cupertino-headquartered company has not disclosed details on the kind of investments that it is making into these new centres. After all the fun he had, Cook touted that the next significant market for Apple would be India. “Do what you love, put your heart into it and enjoy what you do,” was the success mantra for youngsters, according to Cook.

Former IPS officer, now a Governor After a debacle showdown in the Delhi elections, the BJP leader and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi set off as Lt Governor of Puducherry, a post that has been vacant for the past two years. The Union Territory was under the additional charge of Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The appointment comes after the Congress-DMK alliance won 17 seats in the 30-member Assembly. The AIADMK, which contested the elections on its own, won four seats while the BJP could not get even a single seat. The post has been lying vacant after the Narendra Modi government sacked UPA nominee Virendra

Kataria on July 2014. Bedi, who joined the BJP just before the 2015 Assembly elections in Delhi and had been the party’s chief ministerial candidate said, “I am there for the benefit of the country. I am here to give my best every day, each day. I am grateful for the government's decision. They trusted me,” said Bedi about her new assignment. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with whom Bedi had differences as part of the India Against Corruption movement and against whom she had fought the polls, congratulated Bedi in a tweet, “My best wishes to Kiran Didi (elder sister) for this new role.” June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood Sanjay Pugalia breaks his Network18 connection Editor-in-Chief of CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar for over a decade, Sanjay Pugalia has signed off his role with the company. Pugalia is known well in both print and electronic media and his 25 years as a journalist is enough proof. He was earlier with Star News, Zee News, Aaj Tak, Navbharat Times, BBC Radio and Business Standard. Pugalia, who is taking a month’s break, declined to comment on his future plans when contacted by Medianama. Meanwhile, there has been a reshuffle in media groups. Alok Joshi, the Executive Editor at Network18 has been announced as the Managing Editor of CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar, and Dharmendra Singh has been elevated to Deputy Managing Editor. Network18 had appointed Santosh Menon as Chief Content Officer to handle the digital businesses of the Network18 Group, including moneycontrol. com, firstpost.com, news18.com, pradesh18.com, and in.com. Manish Maheshwari has joined Network18 as the CEO of Web18, where he will lead digital and e-commerce assets, audience growth, content monetisation, business development, inorganic growth, mergers and acquisitions and product management. 10 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Tasks made easy by GOOGLE From buying movie tickets to getting a right restaurant everything is just a touch away as the ‘Google Assistant’ helps you with daily tasks. Indian-born Sundar Pichai also unveiled ‘Google Home’—a voice-activated product that brings ‘Google Assistant’ to any room in your house, a new messaging app called ‘Allo’ and video calling feature ‘Duo’ as the company kicked off ‘Google I/O’, at its annual developer conference in Mountain View, California, recently. The ‘Google Assistant’ is conversational—an ongoing two-way dialogue between you and Google that understands your world and helps you get things done. “The assistant is an ambient experience that will work seamlessly across devices and contexts. So you can summon Google’s help, no matter where you are or what the context. It builds on all our years of investment in deeply understanding users’ questions,” Pichai wrote in a blog post. ‘Google Home’ lets you enjoy entertainment, manage everyday tasks and get answers from Google—all using conversational speech. With a simple voice command, you can ask Google Home to play a song, set a timer for the oven, check your flight, or turn on your lights. The messaging app ‘Allo’ comes complete with the ‘Google Assistant’ so you can interact with it directly in your chats, either one-on-one or with friends. Allo includes ‘Smart Reply’ which suggests responses to messages based on context and comes with fun ways to make your chats more expressive, including emojis, stickers and the ability to get creative with photos. ‘Duo’ is a companion app for one-to-one video calling. Best of all, both Allo and Duo are based on your phone number, so you can communicate with anyone regardless of whether they’re on Android or iOS. Both apps will be available this summer.

Sachin Singhal joins PayU

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises (right) receives the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award from Nitin Nohria, Dean

Sunil Bharti Mittal honoured by Harvard B-School

The founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal, received the Alumni Achievement Award of Harvard Business School. The award is presented annually since 1968 and is the highest honour given to any alumni of the institute. “I am truly honoured to receive this recognition. Harvard Business School’s renowned management programme helped me validate and sharpen my work towards putting together the building blocks to create one of the leading global telecom companies —Bharti Airtel,” said Mittal. Mittal serves on the Prime Minister of India’s Council on Trade & Industry and has held various prestigious positions like Vice-Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He was also felicitated with a Padma Bhushan, country’s third-highest civilian honour, in 2007.

Flipkart hires Upadhye Flipkart has hired Abhijit Upadhye as the Vice-President of Business Development and Harish Abichandani as the CFO, according to the Economic Times. Prior to this, Upadhye was the Senior Director, Worldwide Supply Chain and Relationship Partner for McDonald’s Japan and will now report to Ekart head, Saikiran Krishnamurthy. He has about 20 years of experience in strategy, supply chain, sales and consulting, having worked at

companies like McDonald’s for most of his career, and Infosys. Abichandani, former CFO, Tata Teleservices, will now be reporting to Flipkart CFO Sanjay Baweja. He has experience in US GAAP, financial planning, private equity, capital market operations, MIS, reporting and compliance, treasury and taxation.

Sachin Singhal joins PayU India as the head of consumer business. He will be responsible for designing effective business strategies and bring in growth by taking the company’s plans to diversify the consumer business to the next level. The inception of the consumer business category roots back to the recently announced partnership between PayU and India’s leading bank, IndusInd, to redefine the digital experience for Indian consumers, by bringing the full suite of consumer banking products online and powering the same through payment innovations and online ecosystems enabled by PayU. The consumer business category would aim

at unifying Indian banking services with latest fin-tech innovations by PayU and create a paradigm shift in the way banking and payments are done in India. “At this stage of our growth in our business, it was imperative to bring on board someone with a vision and entrepreneurial passion. Sachin brings valuable industry knowledge and experience to PayU India which will help us design effective business strategies and more innovative solutions for our consumers and help PayU grow its presence,” said Nitin Gupta, CEO and Cofounder, PayU India on the new appointment. Sachin, with over a decade-long experience in business and technology, during his last stint with Bharti Airtel, has led channel marketing and mobile internet growth. He also led some of the major innovations in mobile internet at Airtel, like One Touch Internet (which won MWC GSMA 2015 award for best consumer mobile application), Airtel Zero (sponsored data platform), and Wynk Movies.

tadka India’s tax rate ranked one of the 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.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood LeEco hires executives from Myntra

New Benelave brand face, Bebo

New brands and Bollywood celebrities are synonymous. Kareena Kapoor Khan will now be the face of Benelave, assaying different roles in the campaign which weaves in the regional flavours of India and the brand’s features with catchy phrases, ‘Beautiful can be tough too’, ‘shower hua iqrar hua’, to name a few. Conceptualised by creative agency Caakwan, the integrated 360-degree brand campaign, ‘Looks good, works great’, brings out the seamless adaptation of Benelave and Kareena’s personality traits—individuality, style, strength of character and warmth that helps build, sustain and boost better relations all round—the foundation on which Benelave’s brand philosophy ‘Better Bathrooms Better Relations’ is built. “Benelave is positioned as the branded alternative at a consumer-friendly price point. With this campaign we are aiming for two clear targets for Benelave, increase the brand decibel and recall in the consumer mind and aim to capture 12-15 percent market share in the mass market segment,” said Sandip Somany, JMD, HSIL Limited. Commenting on the new role, Kareena said, “I am extremely enthusiastic to partner with Benelave.”

Mohit Kapoor joins DBS’ new tech hub

DBS Bank has appointed former Bank of America executive Mohit Kapoor as head of its technology hub in Hyderabad, Telangana. The technology centre called ‘DBS Asia Hub 2’ (DAH2) is the bank’s largest tech hub outside its home market of Singapore. Kapoor was formerly global delivery leader and chief technology officer at

Bank of America - Continuum, in Hyderabad. He will report to Surojit Shome, DBS India CEO, and Paul Cobban, COO of DBS’ Group Technology & Operations. “DAH2 will support the bank in strengthening its technological capabilities across the region as well as its digital banking strategy. Its plan is to recruit 1,500 people

12 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

over the next two years,” the bank said. “DBS is hugely committed to India, and our investment in DAH2 further underlines this. With this facility, we will be able to develop and retain digital intellectual property, have greater ownership and control of technology, and accelerate new ways of working. It will also allow the group to further leverage the potential of the Indian talent pool in the field of information technology,” Shome was quoted in the release.

Three industry executives from Myntra and Qualcomm have joined hands with Chinese Internet company LeEco, to strengthen its leadership team in India. Shrinivas Bairi as senior director of R&D from Qualcomm where he was Director - Engineering, and has worked at the systemon-chip maker for 17 years and Manish Aggarwal as vice president, marketing communications for Smart Electronics Business, are the new faces on the board of the company. Aggarwal, the Myntra’s vice president marketing and head of monetisation will be the LeEco’s content marketing business; Divya Dixit has been brought on board as director, from Percept Live where she was marketing head. LeEco is looking to set up its R&D centre in India as part of its ‘Make in India’ journey. The Internet major is planning to increase the headcount of its R&D centre based in Bengaluru substantially. The company has sold over 10 million phones in China over a year and 5,00,000 in India in just over three months. LeEco is also setting up in-house Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) in 10 cities across India which will be implemented by end of 2016. The company has invested over $10 million for the cloud and data infrastructure. (Compiled by Joe Williams)

manage money Dr Anil Lamba

Marginal costing principles and break-even analysis Apply marginal costing principles to understand your business better, and to take financially intelligent decisions

The Contribution per plate works out to And the Fixed Cost is

20 12,000

Break-Even point can be calculated as Break-Even Point = Fixed Cost/Contribution (C) per plate The break-even point, accordingly, works out to 600 plates per month (12,000/20). If Sam feels he can easily get far larger orders per month he will probably go ahead and set up the business. To understand the profit that his business is making, Sam must now keep track of the number of plates of sandwiches sold per month. If he sells say 1,000 plates a month, Sam knows (without waiting for the accountants to compile the data and to prepare a P&L a/c) he has made profit of 8,000. 1,000 plates 30,000

(-) Variable Cost

10,000

=Contribution (-) Fixed Cost Profit

20,000 12,000 8,000

In the following month if he sells 2,000 plates, what would be the profit? We do know that if Sam has made a profit of 8,000 on selling 1,000 plates, profit will not double to 16,000 if sales double. Due to the leverage effect, which comes into play whenever there is an element of fixed cost, profits will increase more than proportionately. Sales

60,000

(-) Variable Cost

20,000

=Contribution

40,000

(-) Fixed Cost

12,000

Profit

28,000

When the sales increased from 1,000 plates to 2,000 plates per month, the profit went up from 8,000 to 28,000. When the Accounts 13 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Contribution

62,000

(-) Fixed Cost Profit

12,000 50,000

Perhaps Sam feels that it would be difficult to increase the volume of sales at the existing price of 30 per plate, but he can definitely get more business if he were to reduce the price to 20 per plate. Now he wants to find out the sales needed to achieve his desired profit of 50,000. The new selling price (SP) is 20. The VC per plate will remain at 10. Contribution will now drop to 10 and the relationship of C to Sales (PV Ratio) is now 50 percent, meaning C is 50 percent of Sales, or Sales is twice the C. To earn a profit of 50,000, Sam must generate Contribution of 62,000 (50,000 + 12,000), where he needs Sales of 124,000 (twice the amt of C), or 6,200 plates at a SP of 20 per plate. Quantity(@20perplate) Sales

6,200 plates 124,000

Contribution

62,000

(-) Fixed Cost Profit

12,000 50,000

This table should be read from bottom to top

2,000 plates

Before he takes a pricing decision, Sam must study the market and determine whether it will be easier to obtain orders for 3,100 plates of sandwiches at the old SP of 30, or whether it would be easier to get orders for 6,200 plates at the reduced selling price of 20. (to be continued) (All in ₹)

Quantity(@30perplate)

3,100 plates 93,000

This table should be read from bottom to top

(All in ₹)

Quantity(@30perplate) Sales

(All in ₹)

The Variable Cost per plate is

Dr Anil Lamba is a corporate trainer of international repute on finance management. His clients comprise several hundred large and medium sized corporations across the globe. He is the author of the bestselling book Romancing the Balance Sheet. He can be contacted at anil@lamconschool.com

(All in ₹)

The Selling Price per plate is

Department submits the Profit & Loss Account to Sam showing a 250 percent growth in profit due to a 100 percent increase in sales, Sam will not be surprised. In fact, he will be expecting it. With the help of marginal costing principles he had known this long before the accountants (who will arrive at the figure using a far more tedious method) could figure it out. Sam now gets a bit ambitious and feels he must earn a minimum profit of 50,000 per month. He needs to know the sales that he must achieve to get the targeted profit. Now he needs to calculate backwards. If he wishes to earn a profit of 50,000 and he has to bear fixed costs of 12,000, then his business must generate a C of 62,000. And, in his case PV Ratio is 66.67 percent, that is, C happens to be two-thirds of sales (on a plate of sandwiches which sells for 30, he makes a C of 20). He must therefore generate a sale of 93,000 (3,100 plates at a selling price at 30 each). This can be arrived at by dividing Contribution by PV Ratio, that is 62,000/66.67%.

(All in ₹)

n the previous issue we had considered one example of application of marginal costing principles to understand your business better. In this article, let us consider another example. Example 2: Sam makes exotic sandwiches which are loved and appreciated by everyone. He is often told by friends that he could make pots of money if he were to start a business supplying sandwiches to offices or for parties. In order to make up his mind Sam wants to first know the break-even point of the business. Let’s say Sam decides to price a plate of sandwiches at 30. The variable cost (VC) per plate (that is the cost of bread and other ingredients) works out to 10. Sam would also have to incur a fixed cost per month (towards rent of the place to be used for business, staff salaries and so on) of 12,000.

wax eloquent

Hitting the bull’s eye, Embrace digital transformation

INdia

“Our industry is change or die. The role of IT is fundamentally changing. For last several decades, it has been about taking existing businesses and making them more efficient with IT. What’s happening now is that IT is evolving so quickly that it’s enabling all kinds of new businesses and new business models. All this is making companies jump up and embrace digital transformation.”

We are in India for the next thousand years

“We are patient people. We are not in India for a week or a quarter. We are in India for the next thousand years. Our horizon is very long. We are focused on best, not most. So it doesn’t bother me that we don’t have top market share. I don’t have the goal to have the top share next week or next quarter.”

Michael Dell, CEO, Dell

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

Modi-Obama get along really well “It’s remarkable, considering that PM Modi is conservative while Obama is progressive and their politics couldn’t be more different in some ways; but in other ways they really like each other and get along really well.” Kal Penn, Indian American Actor Courtesy:Economic Times

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Taxing personal life but exciting professional life “Golf takes eight hours. I would rather spend that much time in five client meetings. That’s how I manage to hold 400-plus client meetings a year these days. My personal life is taxing, but my professional life is exciting. Growth is like a tonic, which keeps me going despite the lack of family time.”

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

Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com

Startup ecosystem

Gaining strength and confidence from crisis

Gunit Chadha, CEO (Asia-Pacific), Deutsche Bank

There are very few companies which have been tested, shaken, twisted or turned the way Nestlé has been (in the past one year). But, we gained strength and confidence from that and I believe Nestlé will grow further. What I learnt is that one can face existential threat even in areas where one has been in a comfortable position. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and MD, Nestlé India

Courtesy: Business Standard

“Achieving dynamic scale is important to tap huge money. While investors are getting increasingly excited about India, nobody has created huge cash flow. That slows down the investment excitement. But on the flip side, it also means there is an opportunity for startups to create huge cash flows.” Jan Metzger, MD and Head, APAC Telecommunications, Media and Technology, Citi Corporate and Investment Banking

Courtesy: http://yourstory.com/2016/05/ disruptive-digital-media-strategy/

14 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

India a big market with specific needs

specific needs. ”

“Even though India is a big market and it will be among the top three markets in the world by 2020, it is a very specific market that has got very

Sumit Sawhney, CEO and MD, Renault India Courtesy:Business Standard

India has its own advantages “India has its own advantages when dealing with counterparts. The size of your pocket doesn’t determine the nature of your relations with friends. Historical relations, social nature, bilateral behaviour, vision, leadership, and your market size… these are all our advantages. Our country that imports 75 percent of its energy needs for transportation fuel. If I look at oil and gas consumption as 35 percent of the total consumption, then 75 percent of that is what is driven by foreign trade, so I have to have a dynamic relationship with the world energy community.” Dharmendra Pradhan, Petroleum Minister Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/

Be fast-acting cowboys “In India, we gave our team all-round software engineers and asked them to be fast-acting cowboys instead of calm, clear-headed computer scientists, and they took those instructions and have done an amazing job.” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon Courtesy: Times of India

Content side of media business “It was never 50:50 (content:business) for me. I am a content guy who likes to think of the business. In the technology field everyone at the top is a technologist. But in this business (media) there are no content guys (at the top). For the industry to grow and flourish you need more content people to be on the business side.”. Parry Ravindranath, Managing Director, International Bloomberg Media Group Courtesy: Business Standard

Operating with risk appetite

Doing smartly on and off the field “The one thing that we have learned is to set systems. Once you set systems, if there are any faults, you understand where to correct them. If there are money losses, you know where to stem the tide. So we are doing that smartly, not only on the field but even off the field.”

John Abraham, Actor and Owner of NorthEast United FC in ISL Courtesy: http://www.goal.com/

Mantra to retain clients “The mantra to retain clients is to ensure high levels of customer focus in everything you do. We are obsessed with consumer satisfaction and we take every feedback very seriously to ensure it’s dealt in such a way that it does not repeat. Technology plays a big role to innovate and bring long term solutions for simple issues which consumers might face.”

“It’s too early for me to speculate, as I don’t see myself handing over control anytime soon! Biocon has always pursued a business path that is relatively risk-ridden and this, we believe, is why we are front-runners with very little competition. I hope this business culture of pursuing innovation that has intrinsic risk will endure beyond me.”

Manoj Agarwal, co-founder, Giftxoxo

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and MD, Biocon

Courtesy: www.entrepreneur.com

Courtesy: Financial Express

Where is this Indian youth? “Today, everyone wants to target India’s youth. Ask this question—‘Where is this Indian youth?— to a media guy in India, he will say the Indian youth for him is in some eight-odd cities; whereas a digital content creator will probably say Mumbai or Delhi. But the answer to that question actually is—every possible corner from Jammu to Kanyakumari.” Arunabh Kumar, Founder & Group CEO, The Viral Fever & TVF Media Labs

Story is ahead of us “We’re very small compared to where the market is and most of the story is ahead of us. Whatever place we are in today is that of a starting point and I don’t see it as an ending point.”

Binny Bansal, CEO, Flipkart

Courtesy: Times of India

Courtesy: http://yourstory.com/2016/05/disruptive-digital-media-strategy/

Compiled by Rajesh Rao : rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Interview

‘Basket’ of possibilities As of 2016, the food and grocery market in India is worth `3,52,800 crore. Despite that, not many online players have managed to tap into this enormously lucrative market—that is, with the exception of Bigbasket. With more than 14,000 products and over 1,000 brands listed on their catalogue, Bigbasket is known to be India’s largest online food and grocery store, and is a trailblazer which has consistently gone against conventional methods of doing things. To evaluate the success of Bigbasket and its plans for the future straight from the horse’s mouth, Corporate Citizen had a candid conversation with its revolutionary CEO Hari Menon. Read on. By Neeraj Varty

ccording to a report published by Nielson (earlier in the year) based on a survey conducted in 60 countries, a quarter of people who took the survey were ordering groceries online and 55 percent intended to do so in future. Another study states that the food and grocery retail in India is in excess of ₹3,52,800 crore of the total ₹58,80,000 crore retail market in India. While the overall growth of retail is fuelled by the 30 crore middle-class population, the e-tailing part is growing owing to the massive adaptation of ecommerce among the younger generation. India’s booming online sector holds a great potential, a fact which did not escape the imagination of Hari Menon. This is probably due to the fact that Bigbasket is not Hari’s first venture. Over a period of time, Hari had also been an integral part of quite a few companies. 16 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Prior to starting Bigbasket, Hari co-founded Fabmart, one of the pioneers in the e-commerce in India and its physical extension – Fabmall. And before venturing out with Bigbasket and Fabmart, Hari was the CEO of India Skills—the vocational education joint venture between Manipal Group and City & Guilds (UK), as well. A lesser-known fact is that, Hari had also served as the Country Head at Planet Asia— which was one of the first Internet services businesses in India, and had begun his career with Wipro as a Business Head in the info-tech business. In 2011, along with Fabmall founders VS Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, VS Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari, Hari cofounded Bigbasket, with an aim to make the hectic life of the metro-resident easier. Bigbasket promised timely delivery of a wide range of options in every food category including Fruits and Vegetables, Spices and Seasonings,

Packaged Products, Beverages, Personal Care products, Meats, and many more. Bigbasket wasn’t the only one that sensed the potential in the online food space, though. The entry and funding of hyper-local delivery startups along with the growing interest of some big names generated a lot of buzz in the e-groceries segment. Gurgaon-based PepperTap raised $10M last year to expand to 10 cities by the year end. Bigbasket’s closest competitor Grofers had raised $35M at a $115M post-money valuation. Paytm and Ola have announced their entries in the grocery market with Zip and Ola Store, respectively while Amazon had launched Amazon Kirana. Among the larger corporates, Reliance Direct Fresh and Godrej’s Nature Basket have started selling groceries online. Other players in this segment include Gurgaon-based Satvakart, Mumbai-based Localbanya, Bengaluru-based ZopNow and Jiffstore and Chandigarh-based

Jugnoo. However, Bigbasket stands apart from the competition in one crucial aspect. Among all the players in the groceries segment, Bigbasket seems to be the only one not adhering to convention. It has opted for the inventory lead model (which involves directly sourcing the produce from the farmers and holding inventory as opposed to directly sourcing it from suppliers on demand) while other startups are opting for zero-inventory model. The inventory model helps Bigbasket to extract significantly higher margins as it buys directly from brands and manufacturers, whereas other hyper-local startups operate on wafer-thin margins. These startups essentially source products from retailers and get paid two10 percent of the order value as commission. This strategy seems to be working, as Bigbasket raised $150 million in fresh funds in March 2016, giving it additional firepower against smaller rivals Grofers and PepperTap, both of which have shrunk operations after an expansion spree led to losses without yielding sufficient sales. Bigbasket also has a significant private-label portfolio, which accounts for about one-third of its revenue. The company sells fruits, vegetables, meat and bread under the brand name Fresho and staples under the Popular and Royal brands. The next round of funding might just take Bigbasket’s valuation to anywhere close to $1 billion. This might be enough to give a regular person airs, but not to Hari Menon, who remains grounded. This is probably due to the fact that despite his lofty achievements, Hari was born into a middle-class family that lived in Bandra, Mumbai, and was always taught to lead a life that gave him a settled life, a stable job, etc. When he graduated from BITS, Pilani, it was the urge to experiment that pushed him to try out something new. When we caught up with him for a chat, the grocery czar was softspoken, modest and went straight to the point.

Today, consumers are spoilt for choice. With so many options to buy, what is Bigbasket’s value proposition?

When it comes to groceries, it is not a price game. We are not discount players, and nor are the grocery shops. I think e-commerce companies should focus on building a longterm sustainable model and stop depending on discounts for attracting consumers. Though buying customers is important in the beginning, continuing that as a business model is not sustainable. Also, discounting doesn’t work in food, because customers become skeptical about the quality of the product. It is a subconscious thought process. Our value proposition is convenience. Customers can order items from the comfort

Pics: Shantanu Relekar

“When it comes to groceries, it is not a price game. We are not discount players. I think e-commerce companies should focus on building a long-term sustainable model and stop depending on discounts to attract consumers. Our value proposition is convenience. Customers can order items from the comfort of their homes and have it delivered to them” of their homes and have it delivered to them. Also, the entire supply chain is controlled by Bigbasket. We don’t outsource at all. That ensures quality. For grocery, it’s very important to have instant and safe deliveries unlike regular couriers. It requires things like cold storage, etc. We have chillers and freezers in the delivery vans and we deliver even ice-

creams. There is a huge demand of chilled and frozen items today. Of course, some people are set in their ways when it comes to shopping offline. Habits take time to change. However, the success of e-commerce players has shown that customers are open to try new things and gradually adapt to change if it makes their life easier. June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 17

interview Which parts of India do you cover?

We are currently aiming at 25 cities, and we don’t plan to expand in the near future. We are fully operational in 21 of these cities, and will cover the remaining in the next few weeks.

What are the changes taking place in the online grocery space?

There are two types of models in the online grocery space: You either own the inventory or you use an on-demand, hyper-local model, where once the order is placed, contact is made with the supplier and the product is sourced. The on-demand model will see a change. The more control you have in this space, the better you can deliver. If you do this through an outsourced partner, there will be some issues. Also, if you own the inventory, your gross margins will be better, rather than sharing with a partner. There are certain items for which a customer goes to a specific store to buy them. For example, a lot of people say, “I will buy bread only from ABC Bakery.” So, what we want to do is create a marketplace for specialty stores. If you are coming from a particular pin code, you would be shown stores only from that area. All our models are actually inventory-led. We never go and pick up from neighbourhood stores. Financially, commercially, economically this model doesn’t work for us because of margins, quality, etc. You get dependent on someone else’s quality, availability and the same margin will now get shared between two people. For these reasons, we have decided to control the entire supply chain.

You have introduced an express delivery option. How has that impacted business?

There has been tremendous impact. Consumers buy grocery basically in certain ways. They have a planned buy. Grocery is the only item for which you have a list. You will decide what to buy during the week and then buy over the weekend. This is the category we have been in since we have started. Planned buys are normally the large buys that customer does. Average number of items that a planned buy basket has is 26 items/products. And in the beginning of the month it can go up to 5060 items, depending upon the size of the family. This business cannot be delivered on two-wheelers because they are large. It is not possible for us to send two-wheelers because then we will have to send some 15 two-wheelers to a house to complete an order. This is basically the first part of our model which we are doing currently. Around 60-65 percent of the orders happen through this manner. Second thing a customer does is buy emergency items or things like fruits, vegetables and meats, which typically because of low shelf price, is 18 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

bought more often in a month. It means that such items get over before the month end. These are the orders we are targeting with our one-hour express delivery option. We want the customers to try this service rather than walk all the way to a grocery store. I am happy to say that the adaptation of the express delivery option has been phenomenal, upwards of 70-75 percent of our existing customers. The overall volume of purchase has also gone up. So far, we have achieved 99.3 percent on-time delivery. Presently, we have time slots within which we promise delivery.

How has the adaptation been in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities?

It’s only been a month since we launched the service. There is a long way to go but we are happy with what we have seen so far. In a Tier 1 town, the value proposition for the customer is time. In Tier 2 towns, that won’t be the priority. If you want to succeed in a Tier 2 city, you must provide them products that they don’t get there easily. If you just offer them the same products that are available in the local markets, they would much rather prefer to go out and buy them, as there is no problem of traffic nor are they pressed for time. Assortment is more important there.

What is your customer base?

It is about 13 lakh and rapidly growing. At the last count, 80 percent of our customers were female. Our marketing spends have been low. We are largely dependent on word of mouth. In Bengaluru and Hyderabad we have been targetting clusters of buildings/gated societies. We do events, distribute fliers, and convert a couple of people. After that the word spreads. Residents of societies are normally connected on an intranet, as a result, good news goes viral. For instance, someone put us up on the Bangalore IIM Alumni website. So long as we can deliver—going viral is good for business. The bad news is that if we mess up—there is a danger of that going viral too.

What are your major challenges?

One thing that has not changed in all these years is the inefficiencies in the supply chain. But that is a universal challenge. There are other challenges which are specific

to our online format. In the online space, people expect 100 percent satisfaction. If even one item is short they crib that they have to now go to the market, whereas if they were buying offline they could look for substitutes or go to another store. Earlier, sometimes the picker picked and packed the wrong product. However, this has now been addressed. We have invested in special scanners which record the order and if the picker scans the wrong product the scanner shows the error. Presently when we send goods, the delivery boy is taken straight into the kitchen. This has its own requirements. To minimise the time spent, the uniform for the delivery boys is sandals since these are easy to slip out and slip in. It also saves the danger of smelly socks. The delivery is done in open cartons, not plastic packets. But still the process takes time and the delivery boy is held up till the process is completed. We now want to tell the customer that they should trust us on account of our sophisticated systems. If there is a problem that arises, call us and we will give a refund. The purpose is to save time for the delivery boys.

You deal with FMCG products which are in the organised sector. How do you deal with the unorganised sourcing like fruits, vegetables?

The most difficult products we work with

“I am happy to say that the adaptation of the express delivery option has been phenomenal, upwards of 70-75 percent of our existing customers. The overall volume of purchase has also gone up. So far, we have achieved 99.3 percent on-time delivery”

are perishables like fruits and vegetables. To combat that we have built collection centres at the farming locations themselves, where we immediately take possession of the farm foods and initiate the process of delivering them to the consumer. We have also appointed agronomists who work with the farmers and guide them in ensuring the best output for the crops.

total, we have 60 national sourcing centres and collection centres put together, and they are set to increase to 80 in the near future.

How is the market in India for organic produce?

Right now we have 15 collection centres, which should go up to 22 soon. We have a mix of organic and non-organic collection centres. We buy the products on location at the farms, and transfer them to collection centres. This way, we are reducing the number of middlemen between the farmer and customer.

The market for organic foods is huge. They literally fly off the shelves. That is why most of the times they will be out of stock on our website. There is a tremendous gap between supply and demand for organic foods in India. The reason for that is that you have to find sufficient suppliers, then get those suppliers certified by government agencies. We are actually trying to work with the government to streamline the process. Organic is poised to be the next big revolution in the country; it is only a matter of time.

What percentage of your products come directly from the farmers?

What is your revenue? Can you give us some numbers?

How many collection centres do you have?

Sixty percent of the fruits and vegetables we sell come directly from the farmers, and this percentage is set to go up to 80 percent soon. We have certain products like onions, oranges and apples, which come from a central place. Our onions come from Nashik, our potatoes come from Agra, our oranges come from Nagpur and our apples come from Shimla. These our single-point collection centres for the entire country. We call them ‘national sourcing centres’. These sourcing centres have a lot more holding capacity then collection centres. In

Let me give you a sense of our overall numbers. We closed FY 2015-16 with revenues of ₹700800 crore. For this year, we are aiming to at least triple the revenue and customer base.

Going forward, do you feel artificial scarcity, like we saw with onions last year, can be eliminated by the online model?

Unfortunately, no. The supply sources are still the same. For example, we buy onions from Nashik, and if there is a supply issue on that end, it will

affect all platforms equally, online or otherwise.

Many online players are also opening offline outlets to provide customers a touch and feel experience. Are you open to that idea?

No, we are not. Our focus is in the online space and we do not want to deviate from that. If you try to do too many things, you might not succeed in all of them.

What kind of wastage are you seeing in transportation and processing, and how do you combat that?

There is very little wastage. The difference between our online model and the store model is that we have only one stocking point, from where the food is delivered directly to the customer. The scope for wastage is therefore minimised. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

tadka

Uber Cool Uber is the world’s most valuable startup, pegged at $62.5 billion. Launched just seven years ago in 2009, Uber is available in over 66 countries and 449 cities worldwide, and is the 48th most powerful company in America.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Cradle of Leadership

/ Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management ////

Shaping Value-driven Leaders

Most good management schools in India aspire to be like IIMs. But there are a few who believe in charting out a course of their own. One such is Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM), consistently ranked amongst the top B-schools in India, whose credo is, ‘Only knowledge takes you beyond the obvious’, and has taken management education beyond the set parameters of entrepreneurial skill and social commitment

By Pradeep Mathur

t is difficult to write about an institution built by a son as a tribute to the memory of his father. More so when the father was the second prime minister of India—Lal Bahadur Shastri—tallest of leaders who truly personified whatever was best in India’s culture, tradition and values. How difficult the task was and how the son built the institute brick by brick over the last 21 years is a moving story. Not only had he to make sure it was a centre of excellence among premier B-schools in India but also to impart management education imprinted by the values that were dear to his father. Today, if the Delhi-based Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM) is ranked 24th in the Ministry of HRD’s list of top 50 management institutions in India, the credit mainly goes to second son of Shastriji, who like his late father, is a low-profile and unassuming Congress leader-cum-educationist who is busy quietly establishing quality educational institutions in the name and spirit of his great father in different parts of 20 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

the country. He established LBSIM in August 1995 and worked hard to make it a fitting memorial to the ideals and vision of his great father. In just a few years, LBSIM emerged as one of the top business schools in the country and has improved its position ever since. Located in the south-west district of Delhi’s Dwarka sub-city, the institute is easily accessible to all students living anywhere in the Delhi/NCR region as it’s very close to the Sector 11 station of Delhi Metro. The institute attracts the crème de la crème of students who compete in the Common Admission Test (CAT) for its very popular, full-time PGDM (General) and PGDM (Finance) courses. Recognised by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the institute also offers a full-time PGDM course for executives and another one for part-timers. It has another course, Masters of Computer Applications (MCA), in its kitty, affiliated to Delhi’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The institute has also got membership from globally recognised accreditation agencies like

the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), and its programmes are accredited by NBA (National Board of Accreditation), IAO (International Accreditation Organization), USA, and AIU (Association of Indian Universities), to name a few. Incidentally, it also has the prestigious Bloomberg Finance Laboratory and IBM Business Analytics Laboratory which offers training and research in most advanced areas of finance and economics. To know how challenging the two-decade long

Pics: Dr Vivek Arora

“Along with professionalism, we have also kept Shastrian values and ethics on a very high pedestal in our teaching curriculum. We have always kept our fee structure not only low but perhaps the lowest in the country. Our focus is to provide high quality management education which is affordable and accessible to all. Going beyond rankings, what makes us different is our focus on imparting value-based education as a tribute to the vision of Shastriji who believed in simple living and high thinking”

— Anil Shastri, Founder-Chairman, LBSIM June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Cradle of Leadership

Students at the LBSIM campus

journey of LBSIM has been, Corporate Citizen spoke to both—its founder-chairman, Anil Shastri (AS) and its equally down-to-earth director, Dr Arya Kumar (AK), an economist and a product of Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS, Pilani, Rajasthan). While Anil looks an exact replica of Shastriji, reflecting the same humble, soft-spoken and dignified image, Dr Arya comes forth as a true guru in the best traditions of India’s ancient wisdom and culture. Over to AS and AK:

and Corporate India had started feeling the need for trained graduates with professional degrees in management education. With the unleashing of economic liberalisation and globalisation, there was going to be a quantum jump in job opportunities for such graduates. Moreover, I had worked 17 years at Voltas in senior positions. So I felt, why not go in for management education to produce high-quality, value-based MBAs? That’s how we conceptualised LBSIM, initially on rented premises at RK Puram, of which I’m the chairman.

Tell us how you conceived the idea of a management institute in the name of Shastriji?

What role do you play as its chairman?

AS: Actually, way back in 1994-95, I felt we should do something constructive to perpetuate the memory of Shastriji. Though successive governments have been doing little things off and on in his name, nothing very significant was being done. So I thought maybe we can think of doing something in the area of higher education and that’s how this idea was conceptualised almost 20 years ago.

But why did you go for management education?

AS: In 1991, economic reforms had been initiated

AS: As chairman, the one thing I ensured from day one was that LBSIM would be totally professionally managed, which meant I would not get involved with its day-to-day operations. As chairman of the board of governors, I, along with the board, draw out the broad policies, decide our motto, mission and vision, and then pass them on to the director for execution. That practice continues even today.

Is professionalism the key to its success?

AS: Yes. But along with professionalism, we have also kept the Shastrian values and ethics on a very high pedestal in our teaching curriculum. Another thing that distinguishes us from the rest is that we

“We did face some problems like getting the completion certificate, occupation certificate and such other government clearances. But since we truly believe in the Shastrian values of perseverance and patience, we waited and waited, without succumbing to any kind of pressure to give bribes to get the work done. Finally all clearances came to us, though a bit late, but they did come at last” — Anil Shastri 22 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

have always kept our fee structure not only low but perhaps the lowest in the country amongst private business schools. Even today, for a comparable management institute near our ranking, we’re charging the lowest fee in the NCR Delhi region. Our focus is to provide high-quality management education which is affordable and accessible to all. It is this resolve to pursue excellence that the Ministry of HRD in its latest report, released on April 4, has placed us at number 24 among the top 50 institutes in the country. In fact, after IIMs and government universities, we are number eight. But going beyond rankings, what makes us different is our focus on imparting value-based education as a tribute to the vision of Shastriji who always believed in simple living and high thinking. AK: We also give a distinct thrust to create an eco-system for the promotion of entrepreneurship on the campus. Around 10 percent of our alumni are entrepreneurs whom we involve actively in entrepreneurship development programmes. We try to inculcate an attitude of ‘can do’ and spirit of entrepreneurial leadership in students. We offer specific courses such as Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Digital Marketing, e-Commerce and Business Analytics which encourage students to go for ventures of their own. We’ve established an LBS Entrepreneurial and Incubation Centre to create an ecosystem on campus to encourage students to take up entrepreneurship as a career option. Some of the key activities include inviting entrepreneurs to share their experiences to inspire and motivate the students, organising workshops on entrepreneurship themes, providing mentoring support to startups, connecting startup teams with angel investors, venture capitalists and seed funding sources, business plan competitions, startup connect events and undertaking research in the area of entrepreneurship.

Did you face any financial difficulties in bringing it up?

AS: The institute took an initial loan of around Rs 28.60 lakh, which was fully repaid in 2003. That was all. Since then, it is all self-generated and nothing is siphoned out of the institute. Whatever has been earned is ploughed back into the institute for the common good of the students. It has never been treated as a commercial activity or a business venture. It runs on no profit, no loss basis and we’ve maintained that all along our journey. That’s why I said, ethics and values matter a lot to us. No trustee or board member draws anything from the institute. We only pay them some honorarium when they visit us for some meetings.

Besides funds, did you face any other difficulty over the years?

AS: Yes. When we shifted to our own building in Dwarka, we did face some problems like getting the completion certificate, occupation certificate

and such other government clearances as there is blatant corruption all over, from the top to the bottom. It was a little difficult for us to handle. But since we truly believe in the Shastrian values of perseverance and patience, we waited and waited without succumbing to any kind of pressure to give bribes to get the work done. Finally all clearances came to us, though a bit late, but they did come at last.

How did you manage to get 24th ranking in the MHRD list in such a short period of time?

AS: I think it’s because we never compromised on the quality of education. No non-PhD is taken into our faculty. Our teaching methodology and infrastructure stand out. It includes a video-conferencing room, a huge library having the best of books and journals on management, state-of-the-art computer labs and the Bloomberg Lab—which ensure very high academic standards. That’s why top companies visit our campus every year. By the grace of God, we’ve maintained a 100 percent placement record all these years. AK: Our ranking has gone up from 32 to 28 to 24 to 19 in just last two years as per different rankings. As per the latest rankings announced

by the HRD Ministry, we are 24th all-India and eighth among all private B-schools. We’re now in direct competition with giants like MDIGurgaon, IMT-Ghaziabad, Delhi’s FORE School of Management and International Management Institute which is headed by Prof. Bakul Dholakia of IIM Ahmedabad-fame. People have started giving me feedback that academic rigour has improved significantly in the campus and that gives me a lot of satisfaction because besides giving a sharp focus on the Shastrian values that we consciously inculcate amongst our students, we’re also very professional in our approach to

admissions, faculty selection and placement processes. In fact, we are also going for very active collaboration with the industry through our Industry Immersion programme. We also have an LBS Corporate Relations Cell which works hard to develop a long-lasting relationship with the industry and corporate bodies.

Can you name these values that you talk about so eloquently?

AK: Oh yes. These are basic Shastrian values namely; self-discipline, honesty and integrity, fairness and firmness, collaborative spirit and

“At LBSIM, we try to develop a ‘can do’ attitude among our students and inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurial leadership. My message to such an aspirant is to grab such an opportunity simply to enhance his/her competencies. I can assure him that we’ll do everything to develop his personality with strong values to help him respond effectively to future corporate challenges” — Prof (Dr) Arya Kumar

Nurturing excellence: Prof. (Dr) Arya Kumar, Director, LBSIM

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Cradle of Leadership commitment that favours a passion for excellence by encouraging an attitude for lokasangraha or working for the good and welfare of all - to name a few. After all, we’re preparing future managers and business leaders for the country. And, what could be better than doing so through the perennial wisdom emanating from Indian scriptures, Vedantic knowledge, yogic psychology as well as Puranic literature and epics, especially the Bhagwad Gita.

How are you applying the innovative and reformist ideas you learnt at your alma mater BITS, Pilani, at LBSIM?

AK: I’m trying to create a distinct niche for LBSIM in many respects. Since LBSIM is granted full professional autonomy, we have introduced a specialisation in e-Commerce and added new courses in Business Analytics, Digital Marketing and Small Business Management for PGDM students in the last one year. On the examination

What about accreditation by international agencies?

AK: Getting accreditation from the Association of MBAs (popularly known as AMBA, UK) is a bit easy but we’ve chosen to take it from AACSB, which is pretty difficult because it is ranked as one of the top-most accreditation agencies for management schools. We already are a member of AACSB and therefore have taken a call to go for its accreditation. Until last year, only three B-schools in India including IIM Calcutta, TAPMI Manipal and ISB Hyderabad had got it. IMT Ghaziabad is the fourth one which got it in April this year.

What if you don’t get the AACSB accreditation?

AK: It’s very important for us. We are in the process and confident to get it. Otherwise we’ll not be able to grow and create our own niche. We may be able to survive but the pace at which things are

AK: At LBSIM, we try to develop a ‘can do’ attitude among our students and inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurial leadership. Attitude matters a lot. So my message to such an aspirant is to grab such an opportunity simply to enhance his/her competencies. I can assure him that we’ll do everything to develop his personality with strong values to help him respond effectively to future corporate challenges. After all, you need a winning edge in life, and in order to get it, you need to strive for excellence, which is what LBSIM is known for.

Please give us a brief account of your distinguished academic journey. Dr Pranab Mukherjee, President and Dr Hamid Ansari, Vice-President at an LBSIM event

reform front, I’ve made sure that students are shown all their marks within seven days of the evaluation of their answer sheets and if there is any discrepancy, they can resolve it then and there. But that is not all. Previously, if one course was being taught by three faculty members, they would not talk to each other and set their question papers independently. But now, in one year, I’ve made sure that there is a lot of collaboration happening among the faculty. Similarly, earlier, nobody used to bother when a guest faculty from outside was invited, but now our faculty gets involved so that they get trained and become competent either to take that course independently or contribute jointly in the very next session. So we are on a journey to keep introducing innovations in teaching-learning process for strengthening academic rigor to provide distinct experience to students in management education. 24 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

happening in the field of management education, at least 25 percent - 30 percent institutions out of about 4,000 will close down in the very near future. The situation is very bad. As it is, we’ve reached a point where seats are not getting filled in a majority of institutions, engineering as well as management. That’s a very clear reflection that we have grown in numbers without making education purposive.

What are your future plans?

AK: Right now, I’ve two major priorities. One is to get international linkage, purposive—not ornamental. I want linkages that work, that deliver. My second priority relates to our hostel. My longterm plan is to have an independent hostel within a distance of 3 to 5 km.

Why should a student take admission at LBSIM?

AK: I did my post-graduation in 1977 and PhD in 1982 from BITS, Pilani. I started my teaching career in 1978 at my alma mater. But in 1983, I joined as an economist in the Strategy department of Canara Bank and thereafter spent two decades in India’s banking industry in different capacities. I took over as Chief General Manager and Zonal Head for the Delhi office of the Industrial Investment Bank of India in 2001 and contributed in project financing, reconstruction of sick units, and overall business development of the Zone. In 2003, I re-joined BITS, Pilani and steered entrepreneurship development on campus, including looking after the Technology Business Incubator as also served as Dean, Students Welfare Division and Faculty In-charge for Alumni Affairs. Subsequently I got an opportunity to lead the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM) as Director in November 2014, where I’m trying to take this institution to the next level of growth, in tune with the fast-changing needs of our times.

LBSIM building

Tell us about your family. Is your wife also working? What are your children doing?

AK: My soulmate has been serving as Associate Professor in the Physics department at BITS, Pilani. Along with her professional responsibilities, she also takes care of home management, particularly caring for our old parents. My son, after doing his post-graduation in physics, did his MBA from BITS, Pilani and has been serving leading corporates for over five years. He is currently with the Times of India Group. My family has been a source of great strength to me in pursuing deeper interests and in doing what I like the most.

Who has been your role model?

AK: I had my father as my role model. He inspired me to go for PhD in 1982 in the area of Financial Management of Higher Education with an intensive study of BITS, Pilani. He had served in the Indian Army for 16 years and then joined BITS, Pilani in an administrative capacity and worked there for more than 33 years with all its institution builders. Today, at the age of 93, he still keeps himself busy working as Editor for the English version of Akhand Jyoti for the last six years. This

magazine has a huge circulation among more than 2 crore followers of Shantikunj, a spiritual organisation of the All World Gayatri Parivaar, headed by Dr Pranav Pandya, who was recently in the news as he refused to accept the Rajya Sabha seat offered to him.

Do you support the IIM Bill, now before the Parliament, which gives IIMs power to award MBA degrees while denying it to other PGDM colleges like LBSIM?

AS: I think it is not fair. They can’t have two sets of guidelines, one for IIMs and the other for nonIIMs. Maybe what they can do is to give the same power to award MBA degrees to the top 50 institutions that they can decide, irrespective of whether they are IIMs or non-IIMs.

AICTE says all PGDM colleges must have permanent faculty. What is your view?

AS: A good management institute must have regular, full-time faculty. Yes, it is difficult to get good faculty but they must try to meet AICTE guidelines. If we can have the requisite number of faculty, why can’t others have them? However,

“Whatever has been earned is ploughed back into the institute for the common good of the students. It has never been treated as a commercial activity or a business venture. It runs on a no profit, no loss basis and we’ve maintained that all along our journey” — Anil Shastri

management education also requires a good blend of teaching by corporate executives having passion for teaching.

What is the future of management education in India?

AS: It is very good if you go to a top-quality B-school. However, if you go to some B- or C-grade management college, then it may not be so good. So, you have to take an informed decision about it.

What are the new trends in management education?

AS: There are lots of changes happening in the curriculum because of the demands from the corporate world. Since management institutes cater to the requirements of the industry and corporate houses, they have to oblige them and introduce new electives as per the demands of the industry. So, if they want so and so course to be dropped and something else introduced, you’ve got to do that. Gone are the days when you had everything very simple—finance, marketing and HR—and that’s all. Today there are lots of other electives like Treasury Management, Investment Management, Risk Management, Retail Management, Infrastructure Management and Strategic Accounting & Control, to name just a few. Another trend that we find is that now engineers do not want to go into the field of their specialisation. For instance, a civil engineer doesn’t want to go out into the field and work at the construction site. He prefers doing an MBA because that will fetch him a cool, air-conditioned job in an IT company—TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL or the rest—with a solid pay-package. The same is June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Cradle of Leadership the case with mechanical and electrical engineers. I’m saying this because most of the students from management schools are picked up by these IT and consulting companies.

What are your future plans?

AS: We have a limitation of land size, providing a hostel is turning out to be a big challenge. We’re trying to get something on rent but ultimately we’ll build our own hostel.

Tell us about your own academic journey.

AS: Alma maters have always played a very significant role in a person’s life. In my case, I studied in Delhi’s St. Columba’s School and St. Stephen’s College which have contributed immensely to what I’m today. They laid the foundation and helped

keting, sales, HR, corporate affairs. I faced a lot of difficulties and challenges. I also faced strikes because of its highly unionised staff. So, whenever I get stuck, I apply my learning of those good old days.

What changes have you noticed in the corporate world over the years?

AS: Corporate culture has changed a lot. Loyalties have come down. Company loyalty was very high in those days. People used to complete 25 years and get awards in Voltas. Now, we can’t think of anybody completing 25 years in a company. In Coca-Cola, they are giving gifts after five years because five years is also a big thing. But let’s be realistic and frank. If I stuck around Voltas for 17 years, it was because there were not many oppor-

Students at a brainstorming session

me in becoming more articulate. Similarly, as a student of economics at St Stephen’s College, I developed my analytical abilities which helped me a lot in my 17-year-long corporate journey. By the way, I also did an Advanced Management Programme at Ashridge Business School of the UK.

Do you also run a management institute in Bareilly in UP?

AS: Yes. Encouraged by the good response we received here in Delhi, we set up an institute in 1996, in Bareilly. Three years ago, we set up another institute in Indore too, and a polytechnic in a village called Manda, 63 km from Allahabad. We are also planning to do something in Hyderabad. In Indore, it is an ITI and PGDM. In Barelliy, we offer MBA and an undergraduate B.Com and BBA course too. All these institutions are named after my father.

You’ve also worked in the corporate sector, has that helped you in setting up LBSIM?

AS: That has been a learning experience. During my 17 years at Voltas, I saw so many things—mar26 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

AS: Actually, I was never keen to be in politics. But being from a political family, perhaps politics was there in my blood and when I got an opportunity way back in 1989, I availed it, though a bit reluctantly. I contested the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi and won the elections by a huge margin. For a while, I also worked as a Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. I’ve been in the Congress Party right from the beginning and presently I’m in the Congress Working Committee. I’m also the Chairman of the Hindi Department of the party. Other than this, I’m also associated with some trusts and societies which look after various socio-economic and cultural activities. Some are in the name of Shastriji. There is a Hindustani Chetna Manch also of which I’m the chairman. We do programmes to create awareness

A student at the lbsim library

tunities around. There were very few companies like the Tatas—Voltas was a Tata company, you had Bajaj, the Birlas, Dalmias, Hindustan Levers and some MNCs like ITC, Godfrey Philips and a few others. That’s all. There were no Ambanis and no Coca-Cola and Pepsi. So, the choice was very limited. Today, globalisation has resulted in the creation of lots of jobs in India. Today’s generation gets very many opportunities to create lots of wealth. In fact, if today you see India’s 30 crore middle class prospering in a big way; it is all because of the wealth that has been created in the country in the last 25 years. You go to Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is different. I went to Pakistan last November and was taken aback because there are either rich people or the very poor. There is no middle class. You don’t find shopping malls and markets bursting with people as you find them here in India. Things are pretty bad even in some western countries. India is today among the fastest-growing economies in the world and that is not a small thing.

about socio-economic issues.

How did you enter into politics?

Many people believe there was some foul

How does it feel to be the son of such an eminent father?

AS: I naturally feel proud to be his son. I feel touched when I see people remembering him so fondly even today. Generally politicians don’t command much respect today but he remains an exception. His slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ is still very popular and touches many a heart even today. When I go to malls, airports, railway stations or such other places, I find young couples coming up to me for a photograph or wanting to speak to me—that only goes to show that the younger generation also remembers him because they perhaps find him to be different from other politicians today. All this naturally makes me feel proud being the son of such a great man.

Don’t you think PM Modi also remembers Shastriji quite often in his speeches? AS: Yes... I do notice it and feel happy about it.

play in Shastriji’s death. What’s your take?

AS: I was pretty young, around 16 and my father was 61 at the time of his death on January 11, 1966. I was not with him when he died in Tashkent, hours after he had inked an agreement with Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan to formally end the second war between the two nations which India had won decisively under his dynamic leadership. But then how did he die all of a sudden is something that raises questions. There clearly was gross negligence. Many people including eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar (who had gone with him to Tashkent) say that his face had gone blue, that there was no call bell or a telephone in his room. His place of stay was also 20 km away from the city and by the time the Russian doctors came, it was all over. So, questions arise as to why there

death. He has done it in the case of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Now, he must set up an inquiry to bring out the truth. I’ve requested him to do so in national interest. Though it is very difficult to say whether anything would come out of such an inquiry because most of the eyewitnesses have either died or got eliminated; nevertheless, the files must be declassified as is being done in the case of Netaji. At least the negligence part will come out more clearly, if he orders an inquiry into this matter.

What should be done to make India of Shastriji’s dreams?

AS: In terms of management education, I can tell you that even though Shastriji had no formal education in management, he practised all the mod-

education and other social causes. It was his sole wish to work for the AAP and there was nothing that I could do to stop him from doing so.

How do you view the politics of Arvind Kejriwal?

AS: He’s very controversial. But on some issues, even Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh have praised him because sometimes he does things which are out of the box. The way he raised the issue of Modiji’s degrees was quite remarkable.

What is your philosophy of life?

AS: Like my father, I also believe in simple living and high thinking. Shastriji wanted no discrimination among Indians and true equality for all. I also feel the same way.

The lbsim auditorium

was no medical-aid facility for him? Why was there no oxygen cylinder for him? Normally, it is kept ready whenever a prime minister travels and he was going to be there in Tashkent for seven days! Even his red diary in which he used to write everything including his daily chores was missing. Similarly, his thermos which he used to keep with him all the time was not there. So, there were too many things missing. Though they claimed he died of cardiac arrest, my mother had great doubts and she always suspected foul play.

What needs to be done now to clear the mystery?

AS: This issue has been in discussion for a long time. A couple of years ago, there was a demand raised through an RTI by one Mr Anuj Dhar to the then prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, but his reply was that because of security reasons, it was not advisable to declassify the files relating to Shastriji as it may affect our relations with a friendly country. But I strongly feel that now the time has come, and the Narendra Modi government should declassify files related to Shastriji’s

ern concepts of management, albeit unknowingly. That’s perhaps why he was so successful in all his initiatives. If you study the biographies of great leaders, you’ll realise that they became great because they followed the basic concepts of management which are taught today. So, if you want India of Shastriji’s dreams, you must know that Shastriji used to emphasise on providing job-oriented education to our youth so that they are able to stand on their feet quickly. Similarly, he would not have liked to see all these hundreds of mushrooming management shops minting money. He would have got them closed and encouraged only those that believe in imparting value-based management education.

After serving the corporate sector for 17 years, your son has become an MLA from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). How do you like it?

AS: That’s his choice. How can I stop him? He is a mature young man in his early 40s who has a mind of his own. He is an Aam Aadmi Party leader and a social entrepreneur involved in the promotion of

New arrivals displayed at the library

How would you like to be remembered?

AS: I would first like to be known as Shastriji’s son, then as a congressman and finally as a proud citizen of this country who believes in secularism in the truest sense of the word. For instance, I don’t believe in a secularism which encourages me to hold a Roza Iftaar party just to please my Muslim friends and to thereby ask for their votes. I don’t believe in that kind of secularism. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com CC

tadka

India's fiscal deficit

In April, the first month of fiscal 2017, India's fiscal deficit came in at `1.37 lakh crore, or 25.7 percent of the budgetary estimate for the year. The government's revenue for the month fell short of target by 33.6 percent.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 27

Interview

‘Sustainable’ business = ‘Responsible’ business If we are to truly make India a global manufacturing hub—as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his ‘Make in India’ mission—and change India’s image into a quality manufacturing destination, it is imperative we adhere to the goal of ‘zero defects, zero effects’, that is, achieve quality through ‘sustainable’ practices. Turning India into a preferred location for new manufacturing and carve a place in the global supply chain hinges on building a culture of quality and responsible business, says Dr Bimal Arora, Chairperson, Centre for Responsible Business

Dr. Bimal Aro

By Pradeep Mathur

hen Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme in September 2014—aimed at driving economic growth by positioning India as a new centre for global production—he hoped that India would soon emerge as the global destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), surpassing the United States of America as well as China. Describing it as ‘the biggest brand created in India’, he also called for ‘zero defects, zero effects’ as a national goal for both MNCs and others having their manufacturing units in India. The idea was that, their products must not get rejected in the world markets and the growth in the manufacturing sector does not undermine the environment. It also signified production mechanisms wherein products have no defects and the process through which they are made has zero adverse environmental and ecological effects. The slogan also aimed at preventing 28 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

products developed in India from being rejected by the global markets. Thus, realising the importance of standards, the Indian government had asked its Bureau of Indian Standards to develop standards for 43 products for manufacturing quality under its ‘Make in India’ programme. It had also decided to upgrade standards for basic consumer services like potable water and waste collection and

disposal and to revise the National Building Code. Thus, to support his global call for ‘Make in India’ and the mission of ‘zero defects, zero effects’, a three-day international conference and dialogue on India and Sustainability Standards, was held in New Delhi recently. Organised by the Delhi-based Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), with as many as 50 partners, 23 sessions and 600-plus delegates and top

corporate thinkers and leaders, it turned out to be a landmark event as, perhaps for the first time, it initiated a truly intellectual debate in India on how Indian business leaders should respond to the Prime Minister’s vision for his ‘Make in India’ programme. Some of the key partners of the three-day event included the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, ISEAL Alliance (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance), UNICEF, UN Development Program (UNDP), C&A Foundation, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), German Development

ora, Chairperson, Centre for Responsible Business

to enable active exchange among company executives, government officials and Indian and international standard setters and policymakers, Corporate Citizen spoke to CRB’s chairperson, Dr Bimal Arora, an astute thinker, strategist and author on sustainability, CSR and ethical trade with extensive experience of working in diverse sectors. Excerpts: What does the word ‘sustainability’ mean? That’s true. It’s a complex concept and, to some extent, it’s a jargon. When you talk to the layman about carbon footprint and climate change, it is all jargon, except when it comes to smog in Delhi or China or acute water crisis in different parts of Maharashtra and elsewhere. Until it comes to that, we don’t understand it. Some people blame Delhi’s smog on farmers in Punjab, some on automotive emissions and such other things. Some people think it’s something for other people to worry about. But sustainability concerns us all because it’s not just about your environment or cities or rivers or businesses or jobs, it’s about all these and more. It’s about meeting your needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own demands. What would happen if we don’t do it? If we keep exploiting natural resources without supporting the earth’s life support systems, then all the things that I mentioned above will keep happening and that’s what is happening. With growing economic growth, these things are bound to happen. In our quest for more and more economic prosperity, we’ve brought things to a point where there’s going to be acute water crisis, air crisis, emission crisis, effluent crisis and the rest, because every business has an externality. The world is changing fast and hence all these externalities have to be internalised. You can no longer work by leaving your effluents untreated, taking natural resources for granted and continue to prosper by treating them as externalities.

Corporation (or GIZ), Alliance for Integrity, Okhla Garment & Textile Cluster (OGTC), Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), Bombay Textiles Research Association (BTRA), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and Cotton Connect, among others. To know how sustainability standards can be adapted and implemented in India and how the conference agenda was designed

What are the issues related to sustainability? When we deal with complex issues within and beyond businesses, we have to see their connectivity. If there’s smog in Delhi, we have to obviously see how the people in the automotive industry—who produce and sell cars—contribute to it. What can they do to improve their products? Do they follow the global emission standards accepted by the government or not? Do the raw material they procure to develop their product come from sources where it doesn’t harm the environment? All these questions come into play because these environmental issues are related to the level of India’s economic

development and that’s where the sustainability standards come into the picture. What are sustainability standards? These are voluntary, usually third party-assessed, norms and standards—relating to environmental, social and ethical issues—that companies adopt to show the performance of their products in specific areas. There are roughly 500-plus such standards and the numbers are increasing every year. The trend started with the introduction of eco-labels and standards for organic food and other products in the late 1980s in the United States and the European Union. Why did they go for it? The objective of these labels was to provide customers with information about the environmental costs of their food choices. For example, organic labelling was primarily meant to prohibit the use of synthetic chemicals in their food products. The broader objective was to start a chain of ‘sustainable foods’ which could take care of many interests, lowering the carbon footprint of foods at all stages, reducing consumption, supplying healthier foods, promoting sustainable agriculture and encouraging more efficient use of land and water resources. What is the scenario on these standards in India? Compared to the global landscape of these certifications, the performance of Indian companies is pretty bad because not many are really aware of these standards and certifications. Some also say they don’t care where the raw material for their products comes from, how it is produced and what harm or benefit it has for the environment. Right now, their only focus is in putting

‘For the past 20 years, most of our suppliers have been following what you call the tick-box approach. Rather than understanding why they need to follow a certain standard, they have just been ticking out boxes as per the demands of the buyers’ June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 29

Interview all these material together and selling it to the market and they don’t want to go beyond this. But when sustainability comes in, then you have to start thinking about all this. What have you been doing in this respect? Our effort has been to bring this debate to a level where people and industries can relate and understand what sustainability standards mean for them. It was with this very objective that we designed this conference. So people from different sectors like apparel, electronics, tea, fair trade, gold, infrastructure, forestry and energy efficiency had creative brainstorming sessions amongst themselves. Then there were workshops on women’s empowerment and skill development. In each such discussion, they discussed how our manufacturing units in these sectors could get certified with a particular sustainability standard to become part of the global supply chain. They discussed all sustainability-related issues with international subject experts in the apparel sector including labour exploitation, wages, working conditions, effluents, chemicals, dyeing, water usage and exports, price, quality and the importance of the time factor, to name a few. What has been the approach of our suppliers? Based on our experience of working with buyers, sellers, auditors, inspectors, government departments and other organisations, I can say, so far, these things have not been much thought through in India. Hence, for the past 20 years, most of our suppliers have been following what you call the tick-box approach. Rather than understanding why they need to follow a certain standard, they have just been ticking out boxes as per the demands of the buyers. OK, since you want me to source water from sustainable sources, maintain a wage register, have labour representation and so on, I’ll do it and tick out the boxes. That’s what has been happening all these years. What has been the approach of the neighbouring exporters? It’s even worse. In 2012, certified textile factories in Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore caught fire, killing nearly 250 people and injuring over 600. A similar incident happened in a certified Dhaka fashion factory in the same year claiming over 120 lives. Then, in 2013, there was an eight-storey commercial plaza building which collapsed in Dhaka with a death toll of over 1,100 and injury to 2,500-plus. Such tragedies keep happening in our part of the world. Why is that so? Our analysis is that first of all most suppliers 30 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

don’t understand what these standards are all about and why they should be complied with. Secondly, even though there may not be any lack of intention on their part, factory owners generally depend on their managers who come and do their paperwork. Now, these people, without internalising the standards and effecting any required changes, just do the paperwork so that when auditors come and check their papers, everything looks fine. But in this process of ticking out boxes they sometimes overlook if the fire safety equipment is at a particular height or not; or if a safety door is locked or not; or if there is a child out there or not; or do they have a register for wages or whether the building they work in has developed cracks and those

where and we have been trying to tell the world about this. Our fear is that even big Indian companies like the Tatas, Birlas and Reliances are also taking this from their own suppliers. How do you wish to address this disconnect? There are two to three challenges. First, the standards which have been set outside of India, in the so-called developed or Western world, actually do not reflect our realities. No voices from our part of the world are going there. So, we have a four-pronged objective: one, creating a larger awareness on standards as tools and frameworks to define and achieve sustainability. Two, define sustainability for each sector of our

chai pe charcha... Dr Bimal Arora, Chairperson, Centre for Responsible Business with delegates

kind of things, which, if ignored, may lead to big tragedies. But all this is happening for the last 20 years. What is the big learning out of this? It is that this model is not working. Our suppliers are simple, normal and not very qualified people. When they come to do their job, they have a thousand other things in their head and maintaining a sustainability standard is just an additional thing to them. They do this because they have been asked to do it. They don’t believe in it. How does it impact them, their factory, their country’s economy and its image abroad— they don’t know and no one explains it to them either. So, clearly there is a disconnect some-

own businesses, set those targets or frameworks and work towards achieving them. Third, raise the voice of our people and sensitise the western world about the Indian realities and fourth, help the government build a policy framework on this subject. So, that was the basic objective of creating this whole forum, raising the profile and pitch to the required levels so that people can actually pay attention. How far were you able to meet this objective? With 50 partners, 23 sessions and around 600 delegates and speakers, the three-day conference exceeded all our expectations as it generated a huge interest among participants. We succeeded

in achieving its goal of convening international and Indian stakeholders to initiate dialogue, build understanding, and exchange proposals centred on paths going forward on sustainability across a range of industry sectors, commodities and themes. Some of the key partners of the three-day event included the Government of India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change; Ministry of Consumer Affairs; ISEAL Alliance (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance—which has emerged as the authority on good practices for sustainability standards and its code of good practices); UN Development Program (UNDP) and UNICEF. Other equally important partners were Switzerland’s C&A Foundation (which works for workers in the apparel industry), Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), German Development Corporation (or GIZ), Alliance for Integrity, Okhla Garment & Textile Cluster (OGTC), Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), Bombay Textiles Research Association (BTRA), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and Cotton Connect, to name a few. But is it really making any impact on the ground? Oh yes, so much so that the GoI is challenging the United States of America. It’s challenging the European Union on very strong issues. For the first time, India is asserting its viewpoint that these are the things we need. We’re not saying that we won’t comply with Western sustainability standards but what we’re saying is that they must also understand that the stakes should be natural and inherent. It should not be stretched to include those who may be working with ulterior motives. Nature is pure. Hence, only pure intentions can keep it intact. After all, our businesses also need to grow and strengthen our economy. Our people also need jobs; we also need energy to grow fast, which means there will surely be some impact on the environment. Now, we need their support to mitigate those impacts. What is the net result of this exercise? What we are looking for is how Indian businesses get glued into this process of voluntary standardisation. We don’t want them to fail this critical test in becoming part of the global supply chain. We want them to learn it fast so that they do not repeat the mistakes that have been made globally. You know, even such big global players like Walmart, Mark & Spencer’s, Swedish multinational retail-clothing company H&M, branded sportswear firm Puma, German luxury cars manufacturer BMW and Volkswagen and Japan’s Toyota, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Honda and America’s Ford and General Motors have learnt it over the years. They had to recall their cars in huge numbers. In fact, some of them

‘When you talk to the layman about carbon footprint and climate change, it is all jargon, except when it comes to smog in Delhi or China or acute water crisis in different parts of Maharashtra and elsewhere.... But sustainability concerns us all because it’s not just about your environment or cities or rivers or businesses or jobs, it’s about all these and more. It’s about meeting your needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations‘ meet their own demands’ are struggling even now. How to improve their products is a constant worry for them. How to get their suppliers in China, Malaysia, India and Latin America behave—they are struggling with all this. Tell us a bit about CRB. It’s a non-profit organisation. We were incubated through a three-year development partnership project between the German government’s sustainability enterprise GIZ, America’s Social Accountability International (SAI) and the global value chain in Brussels called the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). These three came together in 2010 to create a centre to train suppliers in India. But when I joined them in 2010 to set up this organisation, I said, this

requires not just training but it requires thought leadership, research and convening meetings of all stakeholders. So, we did all that. This is what we’ve been doing for the last five years—offering capacity building for developing and implementing voluntary standards in various sectors including textile and apparel, food and beverage, leather, natural minerals and stones and electrical and electronic equipment. We’ve also been involved in researching, capacity building of suppliers and companies, engaging with policy makers and organising events. What were you doing when you joined CRB? Actually I had just come back from the UK where, after completing my Masters from the London School of Economics, I had done my PhD in Sustainability and CSR from the International Centre for CSR, Nottingham University Business School. What’s your next move going to be? We’re institutionalising this international dialogue and conference. We’ve already started work for our November 2016 dialogue and putting our thoughts in its designing. We had 50 partners this time but we’re aiming for 100 partners for the next meet to bring all stakeholders together to create a forum offering vibrant engagement and where different sets of standards from overseas and from India are hotly debated, policies discussed, businesses participated and engaged. Once this kind of constant engagement starts happening, western standard setters will start appreciating how Indian businesses work. For, until someone goes and tells them how things work here, they won’t truly understand our issues. Similarly, many of us also believe that the people outside India are biased against us and interested only in money. That also is not correct. Our effort will be to clear all such misunderstanding and contribute meaningfully to organisational productivity, environmental sustainability, business continuity and growth for all. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com

tadka Mumbai, the king of civic bodies Mumbai is the richest civic body in India. The budget for the Bombay Municipal Corporation for 2016-17 is `37,052 crore, up 10 percent from the previous year’s budget of `33,514 crore.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Cover Story Dynamic Duo: 32

Abha and Y P Singh

Legal Eagles

Former civil services officers and now leading lawyers Abha and Y P Singh excelled in their respective professions and made a mark—sometimes to their detriment—as honest officers become uncomfortable colleagues for the corrupt. But they stood their ground, balancing their act through integrity and pragmatism, be it as professionals, parents, even as in-laws By Vinita Deshmukh

P Singh, an officer of the Indian Police Service, 1985 batch, Maharashtra cadre has done his masters in Economics and is an LLM gold medallist from Mumbai University. He has served in a number of stormy positions in the Maharashtra State Police, Food and Drugs Administration, and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Singh quit the police force in 2005 after serving for about 20 years. He has since taken to the profession of law. In a short span of about 10 years, he has excelled academically as a lawyer. A firm believer in the power of integration, he is considered to be an authority on issues which have simultaneous implications across civil, criminal, statutory and administrative laws. Among others, his opinion is frequently sought by the media on a multitude of complicated issues relating to law and the government. His long stint in the bureaucracy, an intense bout in investigation and his expertise in diverse areas of law give him a unique position. A prolific fiction-writer, Y P Singh has authored two books. His first book, ‘Carnage by Angels’, deals with the complex mechanism of corruption in the police department. His second book, ‘Vultures in Love’ traverses through the intricate socioeconomic dynamics specific to the government, against the backdrop of

32 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

the services—income tax, customs and the Central Bureau of Investigation. His father served as Deputy Director General, All India Radio. Abha Singh is a renowned lawyer, specialising in human rights, women’s issues and crime. She is a former civil servant currently practising as an advocate at the High Court of Judicature at Bombay. She is a renowned social activist who has done considerable work in the realm of women’s rights, gender equality and justice. She did her schooling from Loreto Convent and graduation from Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow, where she topped her batch. She has done an M.Phil on Child Rights from JNU, New Delhi and her LL.B. from Mumbai University. In 1994, she cleared the UPSC examination and joined the Indian Postal Service. Her father was a gallantry award-winning police officer. Her mother had the unique distinction of being the first woman from her village to attain post-graduation in 1961 from Allahabad University. She worked as a Customs Appraiser at the Mumbai Custom House from 1991-94 and then joined the Indian Postal Service in 1995. During her stint as Director, Postal Services in Uttar Pradesh, she pioneered the usage of solar panels to power post offices—thereby making advanced postal services available to the remotest of villages.

Once the husband and wife have decided to be complementary to each other, there is no question of abhimaan (pride); itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a question of synergy. Rather than enhancing the problem, creating conflict, which leads to retardation of both, why not be complementary to each other, and make two plus two equals five? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Y P Singh June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 33

In North India, a swanky car is given as dowry to a bridegroom working in the civil services... So my mother had asked him which car he would like to have. He had replied that he would not like to sit in a car gifted by his in-laws — Abha Singh Abha Singh was third runner-up and lead woman finalist in the Times of India Lead India Competition in 2008. Both are dynamic in their thoughts and in their profession. Corporate Citizen spoke to them at length to get an insight into what makes them stellar professionals at work and a perfect match at home.

Jab we met

Well, it was on the engagement day! Says Abha candidly, “We both come from traditional Rajput families, and it was a choice made by our parents. We had not seen each other until our engagement day—January 14, 1987.’’ Adds YP Singh, “We were from a background where it was taboo for the girl and the boy to discuss marriage. It was our respective dads who talked about the proposal for almost two years.’’ At that time, Abha was pursuing her M.Phil in Child Labour from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi while her parents were residing in Lucknow. Says she, “One day, I saw my parents coming to meet me in college and my mom said, “Oh, I have bought an engagement ring and tomorrow is your engagement.’’ I was quite taken aback. My mom insisted that there can be no better proposal than this. She explained why. In North India, a swanky car is given as dowry to a bridegroom working in the civil services, which is considered an elite practice. So my mother had asked him which car he would like to have. He had replied that he would not like to sit in a car gifted by his in-laws. My mother convinced me that I would not get another boy with such exemplary character. She also told me he held very high values and didn’t drink too.’’ “However, my younger sister, who is now Commissioner, Income Tax, said, “We want to see the boy first!’’ I remember my father’s line. He told my sister, ‘ So you think you are so intelligent that you can question my choice?’ So he was my father’s choice as well.’’ Says Singh, “I had seen her only in a black-and-white photograph which was not very inspiring! Since I was getting hundreds of proposals, without thinking much about the photograph, I asked my parents to decide for themselves on this one too. It was my father who thought her to be the right choice from the very beginning—because of her family background, education, values and so on.’’ What was his impression about her when he saw her for the first time at the engagement? Replies Singh, “Of course, at that time, a person has some sort of scepticism. But it was like resigning yourself to fate.’’ Adds Abha, “My father-in-law had four conditions: she should be tall, healthy, beautiful, highly educated, convent-educated and with strong values. A lot of proposals were coming from girls who had studied in the Hindi medium. The convent-educated bit was a bit surprising, as the Ramcharitmanas which was broadcast every morning on radio was composed by my father-in-law. He was a senior bureaucrat, having retired as Deputy Director 34 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Abha and Y P Singh - pillar of support for each other

General of All India Radio. He died in 2007. Last year, his digitised Ramcharitmanas was released at 7, RCR.’’

After marriage…

Y P Singh was posted in Akola soon after marriage but Abha had spun dreams of appearing for the civil services. For Abha, it was a complete change of environment from urban Delhi to rural Akola. Says she, “I didn’t know Marathi. As Deputy Superintendent of Police, he was always on tour. There were no channels or cable TV then for entertainment.’’ Adds Singh, “And I had to drive not less than 300 to 400 km a day in the rural areas because there was a rule that if any murder took place, you had to be there two nights. So, working for 17–18 hours a day was the normal schedule. But that was fun.’’ Therefore, says Abha, “My only solace was books. I finished my M.Phil for which I came back to Delhi for a year. I had decided to take the UGC scholarship programme and got the scholarship the same year that I got married. At that time I was getting a monthly scholarship of ₹1,800 per month, with an annual grant of ₹5,000 for books. I appeared for the civil services exam. In the first attempt, I got Customs and was posted at Bombay Customs. At that time I was pregnant and my son was born in October 1989. I worked for four years at Bombay Customs. When my son was four years old, I cleared the exam for the Indian Postal Service in 1993.’’ When Abha was appointed as Customs Appraiser, Singh took a transfer. Says she, “In fact, he used to be SP, Wardha those days—a post which came with a lot of fanfare and luxury. Despite that, he requested the DG for a posting

to Bombay. And it was unheard of that an IPS officer asked for a posting.’’ Elaborates Singh, “At that time I was told that an IPS officer should not give a written representation for a posting. They said it didn’t befit the stature of an IPS officer to make a representation. That representation is made at the level of constables and sub-inspectors. Thus, I was compelled to request a deputation to Food & Drugs, which, I am happy to say, gave me a different kind of knowledge.’’ Abha got government accommodation at the Income Tax Colony on Peddar Road, while Singh’s posting at the Food & Drugs Administration came without a house or vehicle. Says Abha, with much appreciation for her husband, “I remember he would take a bus up to Grant Road and take the local train to MHADA. This is how he used to travel, despite being an IPS officer!” Adds Singh, humbly, “Then I bought a Bajaj Cub scooter.”

I always go by reason; not passion — Y P Singh

I will not tell her to leave her Bombay Customs job.’ He (my father-in-law) always thought his son quit his job because of me. Singh: Once the husband and wife have decided to be complementary to each other, then there is no question of abhimaan (pride); it’s a question of synergy. Rather than enhancing the problem, creating conflict, which leads to retardation of both, why not be complementary to each other, and make two plus two equals five? This is what synergy is meant to be.

It was such a noble thought…

Singh: “No, not a noble thought; it was a pragmatic thought.” Abha: And he didn’t regret it. I remember, those days getting a refilled gas cylinder was very tough. So once, a week passed by and both of us were struggling on a stove, cooking food. The gas agency guy would assure us that it would come that day, but nothing happened. One day, I got a little agitated, so I took a taxi and got the gas cylinder home. And then I remember having told my dad, what kind of situation I had put myself in. Leaving behind the comfort of an SP’s bungalow, where you had people to run errands, we were here cooking food on the stove, for a whole week. If it had been some other man, he would have made me resign, but my husband stood by me.

If you want to see that you are not victimised by corruption, take up the cause of honest officers. If you have honest officers, there will be no corruption and you won’t face any injustice — Y P Singh

But how did he feel, since he was an SP after all? “I don’t forget my past, it remains with me most of the time. During my college days, I used to drive a scooter. My father was given a house at Hyderabad Estate on Napean Sea Road. Sometimes I used to go to my college, Elphinstone College, on a scooter. So, I enjoyed this phase too.” “Our career thrives on observation and if you are moving in a four-wheeler, your observation gets constrained. If you are on a scooter you might suddenly see something weird in a slum, take a left turn, go into the gallis of the slum, analyse the behaviour, analyse the dynamics, because whatever we see, there has to be a history associated with it.”

Given the typical male ego, that too of someone who is an IPS officer, it is entirely to your credit that you sacrificed a lot to make the life of your working wife more comfortable. Was there any thought about women’s empowerment behind that?

Singh: “I always go by reason, not by passion—that is a one-liner I always follow in my life. Generally we see Westerners having these one-liners which become the beacon of their lives. So mine is very simple—go by reason, not by passion.” Abha: In August 1991, when I was to join as Customs Officer, we decided to leave our son at my parents’ place, as it would have been too stressful to work as well as look after him. I visited my in-laws who were also staying in Lucknow. From there, we were to go to the station to take the train to Mumbai. I still remember, my son was sleeping Beyond work: Abha Singh as Cusin the veranda, it was the month of April, toms officer in Mumbai, was quite maybe. My father-in-law had this in his a celebrity, while her husband mind that bureaucracy might corrupt kept a low profile me—in the sense that I would become powerful and arrogant and neglect my family and my husband. He held the impression that once women get power, the house breaks, a family doesn’t work. He wanted me to be a teacher. So he sarcastically said, “Yeh bechara Abhaga bachcha baahar so raha hain, isko maalum nahin hai iski mummy naukri karne jaa rahi hai, sarkari (this unfortunate child is sleeping in the veranda; he has no idea that his mother is going for work in a government office).” Turning to my husband, he said he was making the biggest mistake by permitting me to work. My husband may not remember this, but I remember it very well: he replied, ‘I am not going to impose anything on Abha. It has to be voluntary; if she doesn’t want to join, she will decide. But

My dad’s retirement inspired me to quit

Singh: See, let me tell you frankly—the day I saw my dad retiring, I lost interest in government service.

Why?

Singh: My father held a high post, and was so passionate about his work that he wouldn’t take even a day’s casual leave. Every working day, he would be in office. And suddenly at 9 a m, on the first day of retirement, he found he had nothing to do. He became a wreck, in the sense that he could not bear that he had become a nobody from a somebody. The higher you climb, the harder you fall. So his fall was very hard. Then I said to myself, what’s this nonsense government service? And I quit.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Cover Story The CBI tenure

Abha: I think his three year stint in the CBI was the most crucial phase of his career as he dealt with the Panna-Mukta oilfield scandal, the US-64 scandal (pertaining to UTI where about 2 crore people lost their money), Pavan Sachdeva case because of which the markets crashed. Instead of being appreciated for exposing these mega frauds, he became a bottleneck for the government. They repatriated him from the CBI. Singh: What happens is that first they pat your back and once the case is successfully investigated, you become a villain. Your disposition doesn’t change, but the disposition of the powers that be changes. I have worked on the case, now I should push it still further, making sure the culprit goes to jail. At that time, the superiors change their colours like a chameleon. This includes the political bosses as well as An honest officer, Y P Singh won many laurels your own bosses. I was there as an IPS Officer with the CBI for three-and-ahalf years. At CBI, you have to deal with complicated cases, corporate cases, etc. So it takes one year to comprehend. Then it takes another six months to build up the case by carrying out investigations. By the time you have cracked the investigation, these people see that they have a goldmine with them (using investigations to blackmail and extort from the accused).

So did you feel dejected?

Abha: In fact, if you read the book Polyester Prince written by Hamish McDonald, two pages have been dedicated to YP. It mentions that here is this young SP, CBI, who made a case on the wrongdoings of Reliance and when it became troublesome, was repatriated. They treated him in such a harsh manner. One fine day, the phone went dead. They disconnected the landline and it took three to five years to get it; there were no cell phones then. They didn’t want the media to get to him to know why he was shunted out. That was when we evolved. If we are the ‘dynamic duo’ today, it was because we withstood that time when we were being harassed, because he was an honest officer. Singh: To put in a one-liner, to tolerate any injustice is a sin. If one person tolerates an injustice, the injustice gets multiplied. So I hit back and fought court cases against the government after I quit in 2005.

Going through all this, how did you manage to cope with the crisis?

Abha: I had shed too many tears because here was a genius, a brilliant man unearthing such cases in the CBI, yet he was being treated badly. He penned a book and dedicated it to me and his father where he wrote, ‘To my wife, who believes, truth triumphs’. These were my values, I was brought up by a very principled father and I thought you cherish an honest man, you cherish 36 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Y P Singh works on all these five computer screens, simultaneously. Says he,“multitasking becomes easier as I can work on my legal cases, do research, see progress of our shopping mall in Lucknow and so on.’’ Unique, isn’t it? his quest for justice. But here I saw a system which was out to destroy and trample. So that made us very strong. Today, what we are, is because of that struggle in the nineties. I was barely 29. And after what I saw in the system, we both decided to pursue Law. Singh: I always see opportunity in adversity. Every adversity should be taken as an opportunity. Abha: I would like to reiterate that the system is suffering because you never cherish an honest officer; you never stand by him when he is taking up your cause. Singh: If you want to see that you are not victimised by corruption, take up the cause of honest officers. If you have honest officers, there will be no corruption and you won’t face any adversity or injustice. There are three types of criminals in India: 1) common thieves who steal, get caught and are arrested, 2) corrupt officers who rob the poor by filling their coffers from the money meant for government schemes for the poor, and 3) the worst, the ones who victimise honest people—because that kills the system. Abha: He had quit his job and I was posted in Lucknow as Director, Indian Postal Services. I was allotted a beautiful bungalow with a garden in Hajrat Ganj. YP said, “I am not in any position to impose on you because I have myself quit my job, but for my parents, it would be humiliation that their only daughter-in-law is not staying with them but has opted to stay in a government house instead.’’ That sentence stuck in my mind and I opted to stay with my in-laws, although my daughter and my mother-in-law were not getting along too well with each other.

What is it that keeps a marriage?

Singh: Marriages break because of non-application of mind and emotional

frivolity. People these days are so intellectually frivolous. In marriage, one should go by logic and reason. That’s why in the West there are more incidents of divorce because they are logical. They feel if they are incompatible, better that they part ways, rather than pull along, cemented by some prescribed social norms. Abha: No, but a marriage is of the hearts. I don’t agree that it’s all logic and reason.

Do children’s upbringing suffer if both parents are working?

a lower level, you won’t face too much of a resistance. The resistance will be manageable. But once you assume a bigger role, once you get profoundly anchored in the services, it is best to stick to your principles and stick on for some time, because if you stick on for very long, you won’t survive. Then you will be marked and dumped in inconsequential positions where there is no work. In every government service there are dozens of such positions where a person can be posted and he will be without work – a way to clip his wings. There are two kinds of officers – one says no, I will maintain my personal integrity, but it’s not my job to ensure the integrity of others. He is a passive officer. And the other— the active, honest officer is the one who says, I will be honest and I’ll make others honest too. Passive honesty does more harm than good.

The civil service is the spine of the country and the government is the biggest NGO. If we are able to make the systems work, then all the corrupt persons will fall in line — Abha Singh

Singh: A lot of women today say, we are not taking up jobs because we have to look after the children and that should be the first priority. I say, we also love our children. Both my children have grown up with babysitters. And both of them are toppers. My daughter stood 35th amongst the 30,000 students that appeared for the Common Law Entrance Test and my son stood 73rd. Parenting is all about not having a very intensive intrusion into the lives of your children. Give them space, you only have to guide them to grow. You don’t have to push them. But you have to give them a lot of love; it has to be unconditional. Abha: My mother-in-law would often say, if my son is happy, then I am happy with you, otherwise your achievement is irrelevant to me, and your achievements are meaningless if my grandchildren don’t do well. So I still remember, I would always tell my children that they are the real crowns on my head. The day they falter, all my success will be treated as zero, because they will say, oh, the mother wanted to be ambitious. That made my children go forward. Even today, my children are very responsive. Singh: One of the values we follow is, don’t go by the dictum, ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child.’ Don’t go by that. Go by the principles of management. First comes individual initiative which is most important. Coercion never leads to any positivity. Coercion has to be done in a very restricted manner. Being coercive means losing your temper, behaving in an irrational manner. Some children tend to be obsessively idealistic. So if there is something obsessive in their thoughts, you have to be a bit strict to neutralise that. Because you know that at that particular point, logic does not prevail. Otherwise, let the children be on their own, let them study on their own, let them learn on their own. Just keep guiding. My son was fond of technology, so am I. When he was a child, I used to take him to the Dockyard every Sunday on my scooter. Then, I used to go along up to Vashi by train to see how that bridge was being constructed. My son and I, we would watch the progress. We would also see what size were the insulators, what KV transmitters, and how the electric cables were being laid. Every Saturday we would go to Nehru Science Centre and Museum. These are the effective collaterals which help in building up a child’s personality.

You have both seen the civil services and know all that happens to an honest officer, so what advice would you give to a young civil services aspirant?

Singh: I would advise that you cling on to your principles. Conflicts will be there; don’t indulge in such conflicts too much because you are still very tender and it’s very easy to crush a tender person. So go with the system at

How can bureaucracy improve?

Singh: We are going downhill. If we are able to stop this slide, that itself would be an achievement. But instead of stopping this slide, we are working to make it worse. Materialism is intense. The passion for money is enormous. Values have crashed. Our values are there with us only so long as we visit a temple and pursue our superstitions. But we totally forget our values once we are out of the temple or out of a spiritual discourse. Hedonism has captured the world. The principle of Hedonism is that we live for pleasure. So unless and until there is change in values, things won’t improve and to change these values, there has to be a very robust system, like it’s there in the West. In the West, they have values because they are intellectually advanced; here, we are intellectually primitive. In my book I have discussed the concept of the ‘paradox of intelligentsia’. About 4 lakh, very high academically brilliant people try to get into the civil services, and the first 100 are chosen. Obviously they are the ones who are enormously intelligent. Since they are so intelligent, you expect them to be honest. However, the same intelligent person becomes a wicked guy once he is in the power game. If an intelligent person becomes vicious, he uses his skill to meticulously destroy the system. That is why our country is lagging behind in so many ways. We do not grow beyond seven to eight percent per annum GDP, when we can easily grow 11 to 12 percent. That minus four percent growth is because of corruption, inefficiency, lack of intellectualism. We only know how to praise ourselves, fooling ourselves about our intellectual or developmental growth. It’s the social welfare index which is getting undermined. Abha: My take is, the civil service is the spine of the country and the government is the biggest NGO. Forget corruption. If we are able to Family holidays make the systems work, especially investigative agencies It's all about globetrotting to like the CBI, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, etc, then all discover new the corrupt persons will fall in line. But when your antidestinations corruption system becomes corrupt, there is no fear of the law. In the West, there is minimum human interface. If you are speeding, it is the camera which will catch you and your ticket comes to you. Here, if you are speeding, your traffic constable comes, you give him ₹100, you go scot-free. No lesson is learnt. If you ensure that the government personnel performs his job properly, governance will improve. vinitapune@gmail.com June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 37

The Tax Man Cometh-14

Of fb, tv channels, liquid gold, art and attar... by S K Jha

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

As a taxman, life is not all about debits and credits and accounting. One also faces unique challenges, gains many an insight and learns a few uncommon lessons

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” ‘Not just pals, taxmen too tracking FB, Twitter for your foreign trips pics’, was a headline in a leading national daily recently. The information given on Facebook or in Twitter is in the public domain for anybody to see, then why is it surprising if a taxman sees it to collect evidence of expenses incurred by you? The message is clear: Taxman and taxpayers are both part of the same modern society, and if you underestimate taxmen, then you do that at your own peril. Like any other common person, when I joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), switching from my career in nuclear physics, I had the similar apprehension that I would only be doing accounting and reading tax laws. But I was wrong. I had to be innovative. I learnt facts about different trades. The process of constant learning and my passion to excel while detecting concealed income gave me tremendous job satisfaction and also earned me awards and appreciation from the highest in the government. “Sometimes, a short walk down memory lane is all it takes to appreciate where you are today,” said Susan Gale and at the moment I am doing just that—sharing a few of my experiences. Revenue losses… plugging holes It was the mid-nineties. There were only a few satellite channels then. It was a new thing for the country and a new thing for the tax department as well. Taxation policy was not very clear to the channel owners. All the satellite channel operators were working in association with foreign companies registered in Hong Kong or Singapore. The foreign companies had hired the services of satellites to uplink signals that had no connection with India. Operators in India produced programmes which were sent to 38 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

foreign companies for getting telecast. Indian operators collected advertisements from Indian companies and the money collected used to go to the foreign associate companies after the deduction of commission, retained by the Indian operators as their income. The Indian operators functioned as agents of their foreign associate companies. There was no tax deducted at source when the money was remitted to their foreign associate companies, and there was no objection from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) either. For the Indian operators, the commission they got was their income, and the production cost of the programme was the expenditure. For the foreign associate companies, advertisements sent from India was their income, while their major expenditure was satellite hiring charges. There

downlinking was done in India by the cable operators and signal receiving sets. The uplinking and downlinking were not actions in isolation, but they together completed the radio transmission. The advertisement income was earned in India by the foreign companies against the programmes downlinked and shown in India. I sent my report based on my case study to the apex body of my department and they issued a circular in 1996 as to how to tax foreign satellite channel companies operating through their associates. Tax then began getting deducted against remittance. The issue was contested, and as on today, income in the hands of foreign companies is taxable as royalty. It gave immense satisfaction to me personally as the country got its legitimately due taxes.

‘I took the stand that the satellites were placed in the geostationary orbit and downlinking was done in India. The uplinking and downlinking were not actions in isolation, but they together completed the radio transmission’ was no complaint and no administrative direction, yet I decided to have a look into the matter as our money was going out of the country and there was no tax on the foreign companies. I thought that something was amiss. I contacted all the Indian operators and they were very cooperative and explained to me the detailed mechanics of the business. The issue raised by them was simple: that the foreign associate companies could not be taxed as they were working outside India and even the satellites which were used for uplinking the signals were outside India. They relied on the legal position that a non-resident company cannot be taxed in India unless the services are rendered in India. They also took protection from the stand of the RBI, as remittance out of the country was permitted without any withholding of tax. I applied my knowledge of physics and radio communication to locate holes in this standpoint. I took the stand that the satellites were placed in no man’s land in the geostationary orbit of the earth, and

Evading tax, the high-tech way There was a case of a big company where I conducted a search. This was a unique case where we had a chance detection of gold and other precious metals kept in liquid form in large pots in the factory complex. The problem was how to test the metal kept in the solution and find out the weight of gold and other precious metals so kept. We had no precedent in the department, of such a case. Normally, the department has registered valuers who value gold, diamond and precious other metals but in solid form. The company accepted that there could be small traces of gold and other metals in the solution, but refused to specify the weight, as, according to them, the quantity was too little. We had to find the correct weight of the metal in the solution in such a credible way that the same could not be challenged and litigated. There was no way to quantify the concealed income of the company unless we identified the metal and measured the quantity. We did not have any clue as

had been invented by the famous Moghul Queen Noor-e-Jehan and here I was seeing the process and valuing it.

to how to go ahead. I recollected my career days in nuclear physics when I had visited Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, in Mumbai. I recollected the existence of a division of BARC which dealt with metal in all forms. I approached BARC with factual details of my case and sought their help. There was no such instance earlier, when any such assistance had been sought by the income-tax department, from BARC. To my utter delight, BARC agreed to help us. They devoted significant time to taking samples from each pot in the presence of witnesses. The report of the chemical analysis was received by us in three weeks and the result was mind-boggling! The report gave a clear finding of the weight of gold and other precious metals, the value of which amounted to many crores, thus we were able to locate hidden asset and concealed income of a really huge size. Even I was overwhelmed by the help we got from BARC in locating black money. Intricacies of the perfume pricing The one search action which had great learning for me was when I conducted a search against all the big ethnic perfume (attar) manufacturers in Mumbai. It was a mass search action at around 25 premises and about 300 officers and staff from the department were deployed, in addition to about 100 police personnel. The search action was a huge success, as sizeable cash and valuables were seized. We also seized unaccounted imported cars. The icing on the cake was the detection of one newly construct-

ed building of eight floors in upmarket central Mumbai which was unaccounted. The building was sealed and a deemed seizure was made. The real learning process for me was when we searched the factories where attar was being produced. We saw attar being produced using a very traditional method of distillation. Big pots called ‘deng’ containing water with petals of flowers were put on wood and cow dung fire. The lids of the pots were sealed with cotton mixed with wet earth. Bamboo pipes emanated from the lid covers slanting down into copper containers kept in water to cool them. The containers contained mild sandal oil. The yield of the perfume oil was very less compared to the quantity of petals. It was very important for us to learn the process in order to evaluate the cost of the produced attar. We did not have any registered valuers in this trade and so we ourselves, with the help of some chemical engineers whose services were requisitioned by us, made the valuation of the stock in the factories and in the shops. The persons raided admitted that ethnically-produced attar had very high value and the costliest is Rooh-e-Gulab and Agar wood perfume. Against a 100 kg of rose petals just 2 gm of rooh-e-gulab is produced. Agar wood itself cost about `5 lakh per kg. The market price of agar perfume and rooh-e-gulab depended on buyers, mainly from Arab countries. The end result of this search was that the department collected a huge amount of tax, and I got some insight into an old trade I was not familiar with. The rooh-e-gulab process

Antique and authentic as ‘fake’ Yet another search action from which I learned a lot and where once again there was no precedence was the search against a well-known person of Mumbai. The gentleman searched dealt in antiques and was also an art connoisseur. His sea-facing bungalow in Mumbai was full of paintings by leading Indian painters. Our problem was we did not know how to value the cost of the paintings or the antique furniture in his showroom. Our problem multiplied when the person searched took the position that the paintings were not originals, but copies made by nameless painters, and even the pieces of furniture for sale in the showroom were not antique but purposely given an antique look. Our job was to first verify the correctness of the stand taken by that person and secondly, to assess their value. The department had no registered experts to help us. My thinking process led me to the doors of professors of fine art of a leading university and also the Directorate of the Govt. of India dealing with old and historical items. With the help of highly credible professional expertise, we could estimate that the paintings were original, and even the furniture for sale were, in fact, antique pieces. The valuation was done by the experts and we succeeded in bringing huge concealed income into the tax net, and in the process learned a lot about paintings and antique pieces of furniture. I close this column with a saying by Henry Ford, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”.

tadka A third of ATMs in India are non-functional A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) survey stated that a third of India’s cash machines (ATMs) do not work at all. This is a challenge as functioning ATMs are seen as vital to driving financial inclusion. The RBI surveyed almost 4,000 ATMs across the country with a sample size fairly representing geographies and bank categories.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 39

f J o o t s

Cru

Corporate History

For almost six decades now, the Red Roof logo has stood for the ultimate pizza dream. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza company with over 5,000 store locations and 11,000 branches spread over 94 countries. Read on for the full, delicious story of a brand that redefined pizza for the whole world By Kalyani Sardesai

elieve this or faint: they delivered Pizza to a space astronaut and he loved it! The White House orders from them every now and then, and in every corner of the globe, whether or not they speak English, the logo is instantly recognisable. With over 300 million pounds of cheese for their pizzas, they’ve surpassed every other competitor in the game. And to think, the humble pizza is just about the staple of every Italian home. But as they say, entrepreneurship knows few boundaries; it took a pair of American brothers to foresee its tremendous potential—and play it to the hilt. Simply put, they took the Italian out of Pizza—and put their signature stamp to it. As things stand today, Pizza Hut is much, much more than a name. It is one of the best-loved symbols of the Great American lifestyle. ‘Gather around the good stuff’ or ‘Now you’re eating’ are slogans that tell of the ultimate yuppie aspiration: eating cool, delicious, convenient food surrounded by those you love. Add to that a few tons of cheese, chicken, bacon, sausage—and a variety of utterly delicious toppings, and you have the perfect comfort food for every season and reason! With over 6,000 outlets in just the US, to say nothing of 5,000 store locations and 11,000 branches spread over 94 countries, the story continues to add new chapters every day. About 15 percent of the restaurants are company-operated, while the rest are franchised.

How $600 funded a billion-dollar tree

The fifties were a happy and hopeful new time in Western History. The World War was over, the US economy was limping back to normal, and it was now a decade to look forward to pursuits other than survival. 40 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Obviously, tasty—yet affordable food had to be part of the script. And that’s where the brothers Dan and Frank Carney, both students at Wichita State University, came in. Sure, pizza was something that the Italians ate—but it was sufficiently loved by the American palate to have a solid chance if it were brought to the US. Just a few tweaks here and there, and it could be reinvented as the ultimate convenient food for university kids like themselves, and other regular, office-going folk. So in 1958, they borrowed $600 from their mom, and got going. They rented a small space and purchased second-hand equipment to make pizzas and set up shop. On the opening night, they actually gave pizza away to encourage community interest. With only 25 seats and a room of nine line letters on the sign—the building looked like a hut, so the name ‘Pizza Hut’ seemed logical. Besides, a restaurant dedicated completely to pizza was an utter novelty, and people were curious enough to gamely try it out. And, the rest, as they say, is probably the one of the most spellbinding sagas in gastronomical history. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc, it has grown from humble beginnings to become the world’s largest restaurant company.

The first Pizza Hut restaurant east of the Mississippi was opened in Athens, Ohio in 1966 by Lawrence Berberick and Gary Meyers. In 1973, Pizza Hut landed on English shores— and found a whopping audience in the Queen’s own land. Over-the top, cheesy, colourful and lots of fun—it was a stark contrast to staid English cuisine and was an instant hit. As things stand today, Pizza Hut’s global presence includes countries like Canada and Mexico in North America, Pakistan, India, UK, Australia, Sweden, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Nicaragua. Other Asian countries include Qatar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Macao. Pizza Hut was one of the first American franchises to open in Iraq. One helluva story for a pizza? But then…

Pizza is more than pizza! It’s an experience

The crowning reason, as per experts, for its brand longevity is its ability to transfer itself to any location in the world. In each specific culture, the brand adapts itself. To cater to different audiences, cultures and geographical locations, Pizza Hut has

Other Asian countries include Qatar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Macao. Pizza Hut was one of the first American franchises to open in Iraq

several different restaurant formats: family-style dine-ins, takeaway counters, storefront delivery and mixed bag locations that have carry-out, delivery, and dine-in options. Quite often, Pizza Hut is smartly placed inside food courts and conglomerated restaurant locations, surrounded by smalltime food chains that honestly can’t hold a candle to Pizza Hut’s repertoire—or its clear-cut, distinct positioning as transparent and reliable. The menu keeps pace with the local palate too. Some full-size Pizza Hut locations have a lunch buffet, with ‘all-you-can-eat’ pizza, salad, bread sticks and pasta bar. Whatever they do, they make sure they are heard and seen—loud and clear at that! No shrinking violet this brand!! It goes with saying that innovative methods— and some sleek, spiffy advertising reflective of current aspirations and sociopolitical trends—have worked for the pizza giant.

Playing town crier

Pizza Hut’s very first television ad was produced in 1965 with the theme ‘Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut’. The ad, shows a man ordering takeaway and driving his car to Pizza Hut, where he is chased by a crowd. He picks up his pizza and goes back to his house, where all of his pizza is eaten by the townspeople before he can take a bite. Frustrated, he calls Pizza Hut again... The ad showcased the irresistibility of Pizza Hut—and went on to win several awards, apart from raking in the moolah. Until early 2007, Pizza Hut’s war cry was “Gather ’round the good stuff’, and was ‘Now You’re Eating!’ from 2008 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012, the advertising slogan was ‘Your Favorites. Your Pizza Hut’. The advertising slogan is currently ‘Make it great,’ an updated version of the original ‘Makin’

Fun facts about Pizza Hut

l Pizza Hut uses up over 3 percent

of the total cheese production of the US—which means a whopping 300 million pounds annually. One of its fastest moving recipes ‘The Insider’ uses as much as one pound of cheese per pizza

l This amounts about 1,70,000

cows to make so much cheese

l In 2001, Pizza Hut supplied pizza

to the International Space Station. It was vacuum-sealed and about six inches (15 cm) in diameter to fit in the Station’s oven. It was successfully eaten by astronaut Yuri Usachov in orbit

l In 2000, Pizza Hut was the first

company to have its logo attached to the fuselage of the world’s largest Proton rocket

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 41

Corporate History

it great’ slogan that was used from 1987 to 1993. Pizza Hut does not have an official international mascot—and continues to be topical, varied—and appetisingly glocal (a winning combo of both global and local attributes.) Interestingly, the 1994 ad had the current US Presidential runner-cum-billionaire Donald Trump and ex-wife Ivana featured in a commercial. The commercial showed Ivana asking for the last slice, to which Donald retorted ‘Actually dear, you’re only entitled to half’, a sly reference to the couple’s recent divorce. In 1995, an ad commercial with entertainer-radio host Rush Limbaugh has him bragging Pizza Hut founders Frank and Dan Carney that ‘nobody is more right than me,’ yet for the first time why Pizza he will do something wrong— dia’s contribution to our global which is to participate in Pizza business today is minuscule, Hut rocks Hut’s then ‘eating pizza crust but it is growing very fast,” he l It is an adaptable, first’ campaign regarding their said. “The Indian consumer market-savvy branch stuffed crust pizzas. 2007 saw had definite preferences; he that keeps specific Pizza Hut moving into sevlikes spicy food and we need cultural nuances in time eral more interactive ways of to keep that in mind.” l It makes use of marketing to the consumer. The last few years have witthe latest technology Utilising mobile phone SMS nessed a slide in turnover due for its marketing technology and their MyHut to rising food inflation and communication ordering site, they aired sevdecreased consumer spending l Its rich brand legacy eral television commercials on pizzas and burgers. There and unforgettable stylish, containing hidden words that are 431 Pizza Hut stores in yet warm, family decor viewers could type into their India, and the revenues have l It is a win-win combo phones to receive coupons. not been up to scratch—but to of glocal values (global On April 1, 2008, Pizza Hut be fair, fast food as a segment, presence wed to local in America sent emails to cusincluding other iconic brands mores) tomers advertising that they like Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donow offer pasta items on their nuts, McDonald’s and KFC menu. The email stated “We have been affected too. As per changed our name to Pasta Hut!” Of course, this March 31, 2015 reports, Yum! Brands, which opwas just a clever tactic in conjunction with April erates Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell outlets in InFools’ Day, extending through the entire month, dia, has reported 11 percent year-on-year decline with even the company’s Dallas headquarters in its same store sales growth for the quarter. To changing its exterior logo to ‘Pasta Hut!!!’ Funny, add to the macro picture: the eating-out market in colorful, wicked and making full use of the latest the country is estimated to be $94 billion, or about technology, the advertising has gone a long way ₹5,85,000 crore, but only two percent of it is orin communicating the malleable and adaptable ganised with national and international food retail mould of the brand. Which brings us, naturally, brands. However, the recent rebranding efforts are to figuring out... expected to bear fruit soon. Despite the slowdown the company went ahead with its plans of opening 100 new restaurants over the rest of 2015 as it is The India Story positive about the long-term growth. Niren Chaudhary, director, Yum Restaurants Inc has said recently that the parent company is very positive and bullish on India. “India can be A touch of controversy the next China in terms of the number of outlets It’s not as if the brand has not had its share of tough that we have in China. In China, we have 10 times moments. In 2007, Pizza Hut, UK was pinpointed the number of outlets that we have in India. Infor high sodium content—more than two times 42 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

the daily recommended amount of salt for an adult. Similarly, the meats used as toppings—ham, sausage and bacon were salty and fatty. To conform to the levels demanded by the Food Standards Agency, the company whittled down the salt by 15 percent. In 2010, too, Pizza Hut was criticised when its supplier of palm oil, was exposed to be illegally slashing and burning the Paradise Forests of Indonesia to plant palm oil plantations.

Rebranding and The Flavor of Now

The company announced a rebrand recently— the outcome of a deliberate effort to increase sales, which dropped in recent years. The menu called ‘The Flavor of Now’, introduced as many as ten new crust flavors like Honey Sriracha, Salted Pretzel, and Ginger Boom Boom; new ‘drizzles’ and sauces; and premium ingredients like Salami, Fresh Spinach and Peruvian Cherry Peppers.

That’s not all

Pizza Hut also revised its iconic logo, designed by Deutsch LA. The new logo was unveiled amidst much fanfare—reflecting the new gen lifestyle that included delivery boxes, cups and even employee uniforms. However, brand experts opine that its legacy as the first restaurant chain to introduce pizza and Western style casual dining to the world; it has a family-styled, roofed hut, very stylish decor with a youthful and zany colour palette. So just as long as Pizza Hut upholds its status as the original pizza place and constantly revamps its style to incorporate the finer nuances of the brand perspective, the brand should continue to live on. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

tadka

This is India’s Internet speed The average speed of Internet connectivity in India stands at 2.8 Mbps, which is the slowest average broadband Internet speed in the Asia-Pacific region. South Korea ranks at the top, with an average connection speed of 26.8 Mbps, while India ranks 114 globally.

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for Rafiq Shaikh, Maharashtra’s first policeman to have scaled and conquered Mt Everest. Besides, it is not every day that your accomplishments get tweeted by the Chief Minister of any state

Rafiq Sheikh, 30, a police constable from Aurangabad, has become the first policeman from Maharashtra to scale the daunting Mt Everest, bringing loads of accolades to the state and his police department which has enthusiastically backed his pursuit for the last 10 years. Shaikh, an aspiring and trained mountaineer is also well versed in rescue operations. He underwent mountaineering training before his attempt to scale Mt Everest. Shaikh’s expedition began in April this year to scale the peak from the Sherpa South Pole, situated at a height of 26,240 feet. It’s a story of a man’s endurance that not just glorifies the stoic mountain ranges but portrays a man’s ‘stoic’ nature in rising above past failures. Shaikh’s previous attempts at scaling the summit at Mt Everest in 2014 and 2015 were abandoned due to bad weather. But, this instance, a more determined Shaikh left hometown Aurangabad on April 30 and reached Kathmandu on May 5. He ascended on his mountainous path from the base camp on May 15 when once again bad weather seemed like a dampener to their zeal. The team was detained at the camp for 15 hours due to bad weather. But, clearances from the weather and meteorological department finally egged on their efforts to proceed ahead and Shaikh successfully hoisted the tri-colour and the Maharashtra Police flag on Mt Everest that very week. Nothing beats success and this can be seen from Shaikh’s mountaineering portfolio where he has scaled 7 other Himalayan peaks such as the Sitidhar, the Tamit, the Dhauladhar, Kanchenjanga and others. Congratulating him and posting Rafiq’s photo on his twitter account, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote, “Such a proud moment! Our Aurangabad Police Constable becomes the 1st policeman from Maharashtra to scale Mt Everest!” He also expressed his desire to meet and talk to Rafiq soon. Equally delighted is the Aurangabad police department and all his present and past superiors “who have given him 100 percent financial and moral support, along with friends, and never refused a single leave application.”

Corporate Citizen slaps the alarming surge of modern slavery in India. Ironically, for a country that is moving up fast in the upper echelons of business, culture, space collaborations, it is a shame that its image has taken a beating

India is in a sad state of affairs! The Global Survey states that India has the largest population of modern slaves in the world with more than 18 million people trapped as bonded labourers, forced beggars, sex workers and child soldiers. The Global Slavery Index by human rights organisation ‘Walk Free Foundation’ said this number was 1.4 percent of India’s population, the fourth highest among 167 countries with the largest proportion of slaves. The survey was conducted across 15 states and covered nearly 80 percent of India’s population. Although India had long abolished bonded labour in 1976, gangs continue to operate and victimise folks from poor rural belts with the promise of better jobs. Most are sold into domestic work, prostitution, or to brick kilns, textile units and farms. Existing research suggests all forms of modern slavery existing in India, including inter-generational bonded labour, forced child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced recruitment into non-state armed groups and forced marriage. The current survey report comes in the wake of the Central government’s unveiling of a draft bill that envisages punishment of gangs involved in human trafficking through inspection and scrutiny of placement agencies, many of whom are accused of forcing children into bonded labour and prostitution. While slavery is as old as history itself, the Central Cabinet’s clearing of proposals that classify new forms of bondage is a tad slow. New proposals hint New Age slavery in the guise of begging rings, forced child labour and prostitution. Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, of Bachpan Bachao Andolan against child labour said that the true test of the draft bill “will lie in ensuring time-bound prosecution and rehabilitation, and fixed accountability and stringent monitoring parameters for law enforcement agencies”. The survey catalogues individual case studies to highlight social and economic reasons behind bonded labour in India. In the most primitive rural zones, the ethos of bonded labour strings in the psychological pressures of whether you belong to the “haves” or the “have nots”! It’s high time that this issue is seriously looked into!

July 1-15, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 43

cii Case Study-5

“TOO FAT TO FLY”: A case study of a Cabin Crew working with An Indian Airline Company. By, *Dr Bharati Deshpande & **Dr Jagdish Kumar

CII - Western Region 2nd EdgeFarm HR Case Study Writing Competition 2nd runner-up secondary category

Dr Bharati Deshpande: Profile

Dr Jagdish Kumar: Profile

A postgraduate in Personnel Management from University of Pune, a Doctorate in Management from Padmashree D Y Patil University in the area of ‘Stress Management’. Appointed as a PhD guide by ITM University. Teaching and mentoring in business schools from last 14 years and presently heading MMS programme and Head of the Department with Kohinoor Business School. Before joining academics, worked with corporate for almost five years, handling profiles related to training & development and performance appraisal. Area of expertise are Human Resource Management, Organisation Behaviour and Performance Management System. Area of research interest is Balanced Score Card and has published research paper in national and international journal. Presently the Chief Editor of Journal of Management Development and Research journal. Presented and published number of research papers at international conference in premier bschools like IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, Suffolk University and Flames, etc. Conducted Management Development programme on different modules like emotional intelligence, team building, decision making, etc. Edited a book on ‘HRM in the new economy’.

Qualifications: M.Com, MBA, PhD (HRM/HRD) Current Designation : Manager HRD Incharge of The Regional Training Center of Western Region Mumbai and Executive Behavioural Trainer PSU nominee in the Board of Governors of Board of Apprenticeship Training for Western Region, under Ministry of HRD Visiting Faculty in several leading business schools in Mumbai and all over India Core areas dealt: Welfare / Recuitment / Training / IR and Legal in Air India Prior to joining Air India was an Assistant Professor and Placement Officer in MS University, Tamil Nadu,was involved in Management Research and teaching MBA postgraduate students for six years; was also holding additional charge as the Co-Ordinator of the University Students Advisory Bureau, in MS University, Tamil Nadu.

Corporate Citizen, the Exclusive Magazine Partner of the event, will publish the series of top Case Studies, one by one 44 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

cii Case Study-5

‘Ms X was appointed as a trainee air hostess on 13th of February, 1987, with reference to her application subsequently followed by an interview for the above post. She was the declared medically fit by the Company’s medical officer. She had to undergo the training at the training centre at Hyderabad with stipend of `300/- per month, while accepting the required terms and conditions of the Company concerned’ This case discusses about a situation in an Airline Company registered as a company of India under the company’s act and within the territorial limits of India, where in the airline fired the air-hostess on the grounds of overweight based on the appointment clause in the contract. The company argued that the height to weight ratio could not be complied by the cabin crew who was found overweight and which was clearly outlined in her employment contract. In other words, the Airline terminated the services of the airhostess on account of her failure to maintain her weight within the prescribed limits for four years and not due to the psychological ailment (Simple Phobia) as claimed by her. Three years after, she sued the company and the court sided in the legality of her dismissal. Though the country has no antidiscrimination laws on the books, none specifically protect against weight discrimination. In April 2014, the courts forced the Airline to put the fired stewardesses back in the skies after she had been fired for being overweight. Though the lawyers argued that “pleasing appearance, manners and physical fitness was required” in the industry, the judge deemed those reasons to have “no link with the conclusion reached. Finally the Airline company had to comply with Court orders and the Airline had to reinstate the sacked air hostess and the bench also directed the Airline to pay all her dues (back wages) within three months and also grant her a Ground Job if applicable to her. Introduction: It was a cold morning in the month of December, 2013 with a cup of coffee in the wee hours of the morning and reading the Times of India, with an article captioned “Airlines likely to ground 125 overweight cabin crew members”, which further stated the airlines began running medical examination of its crew in which it was found that one in four flight attendants were overweight has led to the conception of this case study. The India based Airline gave three months duration so as to enable the Cabin Crew to bring down their weights to the prescribed limits as enumerated in the Height and weight chart followed for their cadre. The cabin crew treated it as punitive action. They even thought it is an opportunity that if they are not able to come back to their original shape they will be given ground jobs and will not be allowed to fly. This reminded me of a much known case of an Indian Airline company where in the Airline fired a woman on the ground of overweight. And the company argued that the height to weight ratio could not be complied by the subject cabin crew and it was clearly outlined in her employment contract quote “You are likely to be terminated in case you fail to keep your weight within the prescribed limits without assigning any reasons”. Subsequently, after three years, she moved to the legal aid and filled a writ petition in the High Court in her jurisdiction and as an outcome of her appeal; the court sided in the legality of her dismissal. Background of the Airline Company:

The foundation of this airline is in the year 1934 and after 1948 i.e after independence the government took 49 percent stake .National Aviation airlines was constituted as a statutory corporation under Air Corporation Act 1953 to nationalise the air transport industry. The Airline, that merged and integrated to form were: - Airways India Limited. Air services of India Limited. • Himalayan Airways Limited. • Bharat Airways Limited, Indian airlines, National Airways, Deccan Airways Limited, Kalinga Airways Limited, Indian airlines has been constantly innovating and upgrading its fleet and today is one of the largest domestic airlines in the world with a fleet of 55 aircraft including A-320s, A-300s and Boeing 737s. This airlines operates 220 flights everyday carrying more than 22,000 passengers on its network. It connects 63 domestic and 19 international stations in 15 countries like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Colombo, Kathmandu, Kuwait, and Sharjah, Muscat etc. This airlines carrier all types of cargo including dangerous goods and live animals provided such shipments. It operated mainly to the Middle East and south east airlines. In 2007 government of India announced that the domestic airlines and the international airlines to be merged as a part of merge process and a new company was established. • • • • •

Learning Objective: Human Resource Policy Code of conducts Procedure of Disciplinary action. Appellate authority

Facts of the case: The case was filed by a senior Airhostess of Airline company. The above case was registered against the Airline, which was formed under the Company’s Act within the territorial limits of this Hon’ble High Court. Now the case proceeds as per the following points: • Appointment of the trainee ( air hostess) H. Ms X was appointed as a trainee air hostess on 13th of February, 1987, with reference to her application subsequently followed by an interview for the above post. She was the declared medically fit by the Company’s medical officer. She had to undergo the training at the training centre at Hyderabad with stipend of ₹300/- per month, while accepting the required terms and conditions of the Company concerned. II. She was appointed as the Airhostess on 30th March, 1987. Her appointment as an Airhostess was confirmed by the management on 25th February, 1988 in the pay scale of ₹600-1300/-with effect from 30th September, 1987, in terms of Service Rule No.9. III. The letter of application for her change of surname on getting married was dated to be submitted on 5th September, 1990.She was June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 45

cii Case Study-5 diagnosed for Phobic anxiety by the panel doctor on 18th November, 1997. She was advised to stop flying with immediate effect. IV. An application for the requisition of annuity has been submitted by “X” on 4th December, 1997. She requested for the payment of annuity on the reference of the Panel Doctor due to her suffering of problems like; palpitation, choking sensation, dry mouth and many others. The annuity was referred to the General Manager (Medical), Calcutta along with a copy of the Medical certificate of the Panel Doctor of the Airline on 15th December, 1997. On 18th March, 1998, another letter of reminder was addressed to the General Manager (Medical), Calcutta for the arrangement of a medical board for “X” and for the sanction of the annuity as soon as possible. In reply on 5th August, 1998, the concerned authorities stated that “X” was still undergoing treatment under their Medical services and has not yet submitted any Medical certificates to support her treatment. Therefore, she was advised to report to the Manager of the Medical services immediately for inspection and Medical Review on her receipt of the referred request for Annuity. V. On 23rd November,1988 diagnosis report was produced by the Department of Applied Psychology, of the University which revealed that her Z score is 53(normal range is 60)which indicates that her visuo-motor gestalt functioning is not significantly impaired. It showed that she had poor impulse control tendency which may lead to pressure for motor activity; need for dependency and immaturity are inadequately present. Somatic preoccupation, overt aggression and infantile social behaviour with regressive tendency are elicited, so the environment is viewed as excessively constraining to her. Rorschach Psychograph reveals that she sticks to practical every day commonsense view of things. She expressed as overriding intellectual ambition without the ability to back it up. She was either being unable or unwilling to allow herself to strong emotional reaction even when a situation demands a deep emotional response. Consequently, she may be impersonal in occasions. This report is submitted by “X” to the General Manager (In- Flight Services) on 7th December, 1998. VI. On 26th May,1999, another letter of requisition for the sanction of annuity was submitted by “X”, mentioning that almost six months elapsed from the time she submitted her first letter for the requisition of annuity. For the past 21months she was without pay, so the letter was given to fulfil the desired needs and relive her of the increasing anxiety. VII. The concerned authorities in reply to her letter on 7th December, 1999, advised her to report to the Airlines Medical Department, along with all Medical papers at the earliest. On 4th May,2000, another letter for the requisition of annuity was submitted by “X” also mentioning that she had received no reply from the Concerned Authorities in regard to the sanction of her annuity. Again a letter of reminder for the requisition of annuity has been submitted by “X” on 26th November, 2000. VIII. On 30th April, 2001, a show cause notice was addressed to “X” by the companies Executive Director saying that her flying duties were not rostered. On account of her weight remaining in excess of the prescribed limit. She was advised to undergo Medical check up from time to time. However, on account of her own violation she did not follow up the Medical recommendation and treatment properly. So accordingly, she was still over-weight and not fit for flying duties and also her past attendance records were very unsatisfactory, on several occasions she remained absent unauthorised without any permission. So hereby, she was called upon to show cause within seven days from 46 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

‘Pleasing appearance, manners and physical fitness are required for the members of the crew of both sexes. The air hostesses have agreed to the early retirement age, as they need an option to go for ground duties after the age of 50. It cannot be accepted that the air hostesses are made to retire earlier than the males because of their failing physical appearance as it is a practice, derogatory to the dignity of women’ the receipt of the letter as to why her service shall not be terminated in terms of clause 9(ii) (b) of the letter of appointment as trainee airhostess. She will also be allowed personal hearing to explain her case, if so desired and subsequently she was warned that if she fails to submit any reply to this notice within the stipulated date will be presumed that she is having nothing to offer and orders will be passed accordingly. IX. Reply to the show cause notice was given by “X” on 7th May, 2001 adding that she was grounded for being over-weight of marginally 500gms, so it is untrue that she did not attain to weight checks on her own violations. It is also untrue that her past attendance was very unsatisfactory because prior to this letter there has been no letters issued regarding her attendance or non cooperation. In other words, the main reason from being grounded off flying duties was not due to over-weight but due to psychological ailment. X. On 22nd June, 2001, a letter in regard to the termination of service was addressed to “Ms X” saying that the records showed that she was over-weight even at the initial time of appointment as trainee airhostess and that she was advised to bring down her weight to the prescribed limits which was mentioned in the letter dated 10th April, 1987. There was no records that showed her reduction of weight within the prescribed limit and in this failure to bring down her weight (she was then 15.5kgs over-weight as referred by Airlines Panel Psychiatrist) , the concerned authorities grounded her off flying duties (which had been nearly more than four years). Her contentions for her psychological problems for the sanction of annuity was irrelevant from the companies point of view. In other words, The Airline terminated the services of “X” mainly on account of her failure to maintain her weight within the prescribed limits for four years and not due to the psychological ailments claimed by the Cabin Crew member. XI. The kitchen supervisor employment notice was issued on 19th June, 2001 and the last date of submitting the same was 10th July, 2001, but the application of “X” was however, received on 31st August, 2001, 21days late of the last date as held above by the lawyer of the petitioner enclosing the Court order (Copy enclosed). On 1st October, 2001, a letter was addressed to “X” saying that her application for the post of Flight Kitchen Supervisor was not considered and she would not be called for the interview due to the late submission of the application by 21days. An affidavit has been filed by Airline Company taking

cii Case Study-5 into consideration the following changes; At first there was no scope to amend the writ petition having regard to the provision of Order 6 Rule 17 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908; therefore, the learned judge dismissed the writ petition. As of now it is a settled legal proposition of law that the amendment of the writ petition could be allowed if it does not change the nature and character of the proceedings. So the writ petition could not be dismissed and could provide a strong standing to have a decision of the court in the angel of section 47 of Disability Act, 1995, which after the amendment reads as; i No Discriminations in Government Employment- No establishment shall dispense with, or reduce in rank, an employee who acquires a disability during a service. If an employee after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding could be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits, provided that it is not possible to adjust employee against the same post that he was holding before. ii. No Promotion shall be denied to a Person nearly on the ground of Disability- Provided that the appropriate government may, having regard to the type of work carried on in any establishment by notification and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such notification, exempt any establishment on the provisions of this section. So therefore, the Case as pleaded, amendment of pleading, and ground has sort for this effect that as due to physical illness namely suffering from altitude phobia, the writ petitioner could not function the job of Airhostess and due to medication of such ailment, she gained weight, Disability Act, 1995 as the applicability was done with its vigor as the National Aviation Company of India Limited is an establishment under the same act. The amendment of the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code is no more a rigid one and under all circumstances can be extended with time. The Civil Procedure Code is now held to be a procedural law as held by the apex court in the case of Sangram Singh v. Election Tribunal(1955 SC 425). The Court held that the procedural law is not a master, but a servant, not an obstruction but an aid to justice. It has been further held in the case of Topline Shoes Limited v. Corporation in 2000 that the procedural prescriptions are substantive to justice in accordance with time. The nature of pleadings done in a Court of Law are no more stricto(Latin meaning of the term strict). This has been made in pursuance of Order 7 Rule 17 of the C.P.C by inserting clause 53 under Section 141 of the C.P.C. After a prescribed amendment being done a general principal of law was that the amendment should enables the parties to agitate real question of issue for a finality of the adjudication is within the domain of public policy, with a rider the question of prejudice of the other side should be looked into and should be taken care of by the court while allowing such amendments by passing appropriate order as refer to in the case of Narayan v. Purushottam[2000 (1) SCC 712]. The amendment was based on 2 principals; a) By such amendment whether it will cause injustice on the other side. b) Whether it is necessary for the purpose of determining the real question in a controversy between the parties. According to the amendment allowed that the amendment application to be considered in the angel of basic requisite findings or on the facts already pleaded and not on some made up information that is not a part of the original facts.

ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENTS: • The Service of the petitioner was terminated on the ground that she was overweight. She was grounded due to her weight in September 1997. Inspite of lapse of four years since after her being grounded, she failed to make up the deficiency, as a result of which her service was dispensed. Clause 9(II) (b) of the letter of appointment clearly provides that the appointment shall be liable to be terminated in the event the petitioner fails to maintain her weight within the prescribed limit. • This is a “Contract of Employment”. The Law of Contract exists between the Employer and the Employee. The event the petitioner fails to maintain her weight within the prescribed limit, the Contract would be terminated. The event that the petitioner gained weight is a breach of Contract, which automatically gave the Company the right to terminate her service. As referred to in the Case Uptorn v. Sammi [AIR 1998 SC 1681]. A Contract (Service) cannot be terminated unless it is capable of being continued. If it is not capable of being continued in the same manner in which it had been going before, then the Contract cannot be terminated. Here, the Contract requires physical fitness of the workers, so if a worker is unfit on the grounds of ill-health, then the Contract comes to an end. • Once the service of an employee is terminated there is no question of reinstatement. She again has to apply and in case she applies against any vacancy and she qualifies thereof, then she may be considered as per the required necessary qualifications. • The respondent, however, did not proceed to terminate the Contract immediately after the petitioner was disqualified from flying on 1st September, 1997. The petitioner was granted opportunity to improve herself (weight). She was reminded from time to time (through 4 letters) to reduce her weight. • Even if she became a permanent employee, the terms and conditions remained the same as of when she became a temporary employee. If any modification or change is done in relation to the Contract, then it will be a part of the Original Contract only as per Section 62 of the Indian Contract Act as referred to in the Case; Juggilal Kamalapat v. N.V Intermation [AIR 1955 Calcutta 65].

‘No discriminations in government employment—no establishment shall dispense with, or reduce in rank, an employee who acquires a disability during a service. If an employee after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding could be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits, provided that it is not possible to adjust employee against the same post that he was holding before’ June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 47

cii Case Study-5

‘According to Clause 1 of Section 47 of the said Act, there should be no discrimination in case of Government employment. There shall be no reduction in rank of an employee who acquires a disability during his service. Provided that if an employee after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding could be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits’ • The violation of the Principles of Natural Justice is without any merit because she was directed to Show Case, where in reply she admitted that she was over-weight and so on that basis the Contract can be terminated. So, there has been no infringement of the Rules of Natural Justice. ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER • Clause 9(II) (b) of the Letter of Appointment was unconstitutional because it was violative of Article 14 (Fundamental Rights and Duties) of the Indian Constitution and the Directive Principles of the State Policy laid down therein. The Order of termination was passed, also in violation of the Natural Justice. • The terms and conditions conditioned in the letter of appointment lost its force after the petitioner became a permanent employee on 30th March, 1987. • It was not really the weight which was the problem but the petitioner was in fact sick and suffering from Phobic Anxiety Syndrome in relation to flying. Here, comes the implication of the Disability Act, 1995. According to Clause 1 of Section 47 of the said Act, there should be no discrimination in case of Government employment. There shall be no reduction in rank of an employee who acquires a disability during his service. Provided that if an employee after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding could be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits. Provided that further that it is not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he may be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier. Clause 2 of the same section says, that no promotion shall be denied to a person merely on the ground of his disability. • The letter of termination issued on 22nd June, 2001 at a point of time when the petitioner could have easily avail herself of joining the post of the kitchen supervisor under a scheme issued on 19th July, 2001. So, she could have easily got an employment of the post of a kitchen supervisor. • An Airline Company is a part of the travel industry. Pleasing appearance, manners and physical fitness are required for the members of the crew of both sexes. The air hostesses have agreed to the early 48 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

retirement age, as they need an option to go for ground duties after the age of 50 years. Therefore, it cannot be accepted that the air hostesses are made to made to retire earlier than the males because of their failing physical appearance as it is a practice, derogatory to the dignity of women. It is a Contract of Service, which is terminated and that this contract requires certain physical fitness in their workmen. Therefore, the Company has the right to terminate their workmen on the ground of ill-health or when are unfit to discharge their service. • The Disability Act, 1995 says that equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation; should be provided to both men and women, who are employed as an employee or workmen in the particular Company. JUDGEMENT: 1) Ms. X was not being rostered for flying duties since 01/9/97 on account of over-weight. She did not follow medical recommendation and treatment properly. Accordingly, show-cause notice dated 30/4/2001 was issued to her as to why her service should not be terminated for overweight in terms of letter of appointment. In her reply while enclosing medical documents she sought annuity. Her request for annuity was not considered and her service was dispensed with on 22/6/2001 as per clause of the letter of appointment governing maintenance of weight within prescribed limit as she failed to maintain her weight within prescribed limits. 2) She filed a writ petition on 23/8/2001 before Hon’ble Calcutta High Court challenging the above order of termination and to consider her appointment to the post of Flight Kitchen Supervisor. 3) The aforesaid writ petition was disposed off by the Single Judge vide order dated 20/01/2004 holding that termination in accordance with the letter of appointment holds good in the present case. 4) She preferred an appeal before the Division Bench. After prolonged hearing and filing of documents including inspection of records, the Division Bench today set aside the termination order dated 22/6/2001 and reinstated Ms X in the service with full back wages to be made within 2 months on the following grounds:a) Clauses of letter of appointment should be read with various agreements, rules and regulations of the Company. Agreement provides for payment of annuity which she was entitled to. b) She was entitled to the protection under Disability Act, 1995 which provides for alternate appointment when cases of other over-weight Airhostesses were considered for appointment of Flight Kitchen Supervisor. c) There was infirmity in the judgment of the trial court. The Division Bench further ordered that Medical Board should be constituted within 3 months for adjudging her case for annuity. Stay was sought for but it was rejected. Conclusion and Management Learning’s: • Every Management must have clarity without any ambiguity in framing the Appointment Clauses in the Contract of Appointment. • Post Agreement with the Union at any point of time relevant necessary amendments need to be carried out with correlation of the Appointment Clause. • Proper SOPs to be followed on conduct of Disciplinary proceedings keeping in view of the Principles of Natural Justice (Like no charge sheet was issued and no enquiry was held in the present case).

cii Case Study-5 • Multi Dimensional thought on the Pros and Cons of HR policies and Practices keeping in view of the probabilities of future Litigations before implementation. • Appointment letters to be legally vetted by competent legal advisors specialized in Service Matters in order to avoid any future litigation. Finally to conclude the HR personnel / policies of any organization should be full proof in terms of legality, and to match the unforeseen changes in the contemporary ever changing business environment. References: • Times of India , Dec 11 2010, “Overweight’ airhostess gets back AI job” • Indian express , Dec 10, 2010, “Court orders Air India to take back sacked air hostess” • Sky News, article on “Fat Air Stewardess Jettisoned”, UK, Thursday 22 January 2004

• • • • • • •

Richa Sinha , “Calcutta HC orders AI to take back sacked air hostess” , Merinews, Dec 2010 The Times Of India Bangalore, Dec 11, 2010;Section: Times Nation ;Page: 13 High court directs Air India to reinstate overweight air hostess Telegraph Calcutta, “Hostess too heavy for airline, rules HC”, January 22, 2004 Director’s Report of Aviation Industry 2010,2011, http://www. airindia.in/AnnualReport.htm?13 https://www.google.co.in/#q=air+india+financial+state ment+2010 .airindia.in/.../orgstructure/Organization%20Struc ture-Air%20India.. Calcutta High Court Cabin Crew vs National Aviation Company Of ... on 10 December, 2010 ,” IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDIC TION “- High Court at Calcutta Jurisdiction.

Organisation Structure Exibit 1

Dir-ops#

Direct reporting

CVO- on Deputation

ED-NR ED-WR ED-ER ED- Integration*

ED-SR

Authors: This case is presented by * Dr Bharati Deshpande –Associate Professor and MMS Program Incharge at Kohinoor Business School, Kohinoor Education complex, Mumbai,bharatidesh123@gmail.com**Dr Jagdish Kumar- Manager, Air India,ajkmba@gmail.com

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

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 49

#EY Survey

Are Indians Paid

Enough?

India is one of the seventh largest economy in the world by GDP and the third largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). In stark contrast, it has one of the lowest average salaries in the world, ranking 67th on the list of the top salaried countries. The average salaried Indian makes less than `18,000 a month, as compared to an average of over `2 lakh in the USA, for the same skill set. With a view to better understand the salary status in India, global consultancy group Deloitte conducted their Annual Compensation Trends Survey, taking into account over 250 countries across 18 different sectors. Corporate Citizen presents the findings By Neeraj Varty

ndia is at an interesting crossroads in its path to being a superpower. On the one hand, the economy is skyrocketing, and is projected to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030. On the other hand, salaries of employees across sectors are not growing in the same proportion to the economy. Deloitteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive survey looks at all the crucial industries and analyses the on-ground situation pertaining to employee pay, projected hikes and rising levels of attrition. One of the key takeaways of the survey was that while increased compensation is the need of the hour, the situation is better in some sectors than others. For example, the pharmaceutical sector is doing great due to recent advances in medicines and an increase in sales of medic50 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

inal drugs. This has led to considerably better fixed pay in the pharma sector as compared to sectors like retail, where increased competition and wafer-thin margins have led to minimal increase in compensation. When it comes to the variable portion of salary, which is also known as incentives, some sectors are way ahead of others. The banking sector, which relies on its employees to sell several products such as life insurance, loans and long -term investment plans, offers a much higher incentive structure than other sectors like logistics, where there is not much scope for incentives. Low pay and insufficient hikes are starting to irk employees. Attrition rates, which signify the percentage of employees leaving the company, are going up steadily. Projected attrition for

2016 is higher than 2015 for each and every industry. One of the primary reasons for employees leaving their company is for better paying jobs in other companies. Not everything is bleak, though. Projected salary increments for 2016 are higher across all sectors than in 2015. Junior managers, especially, will see the largest increments in their compensation across all sectors. Apart from the salary, perks are also getting juicier for employees. Most companies now give insurance coverage not just for the employees but their spouses, children and parents as well. 100 percent of the companies surveyed provide medical coverage for the employee. Additional perks like assistance in purchasing cars or homes is now being provided by companies in a bid to contain attrition.

Let us look at all these points in detail, starting with the methodology Deloitte used to conduct the survey.

To understand the compensation trends for FY16, Deloitte surveyed over 250 companies from diverse sectors ranging from Automobiles, chemicals, engineering, IT, Pharmaceuticals and retail to get a clear picture. The Hi-tech and IT sector has the highest participation at 12% and 10% respectively, while the representation of the logistics sector is comparatively low at 3.2%.

The Annual revenue and employee strength of the surveyed companies can be seen above. The maximum inputs have come from companies with a turnover of more than `1,000 crore as well as companies with more than 25,000 employees. The purpose of preferring larger companies for the survey is that MNCs are usually the most receptive of changes in the salary structure and are the first to adapt them, compared to smaller companies. June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 51

#EY Survey

Key findings Highest increment vs Lowest increment The highest projected average increment is in the pharma sector at 12.1 percent, and the lowest projection is observed in the retail sector at 9.4 percent. Advancements in medicines have pushed the profits of the pharma sector up whereas increasing competition from e-commerce has put the retail industry into a crunch, thereby hampering pay growth of employees.

Highest variable pay vs Lowest The highest projected average variable pay is in the BFSI sector at 19.4 percent, and the lowest projection is observed in the logistics sector at 15.6 percent. The BFSI sector is one of the highest payers of commissions and incentives to its employees based on the business they bring. The logistics sector has paper-thin margins where on-time performance is a requirement and delays are punished with pay deductions.

The highest projected increments across industries are at the junior management level at 11 percent. Junior managers start off with low average pay and are usually given increments at regular levels based on performance and tenure, as compared to senior management who usually see a plateau in pay hikes. 52 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Coming to the Projections of FY16, The average increment projections at top, senior and middle management level are lower than the projected industry average at 10.7 percent. Similarly, The average increments at all levels in BFSI, logistics and retail are lower than respective level-wise industry average. In contrast, the average increments at all levels in pharma, infrastructure and chemicals sectors are significantly higher than the respective level-wise industry average. On a positive side, annual increments for 2016. are projected to be higher than 2015. The maximum increments would be seen across junior management at 11 percent, although increment across all levels are projected to go up in 2016.

Insurance policy

Key benefits and perks Leave encashment policy 39.1 percent of the companies allow leave encashment during tenure and after separation 60.9 percent of the companies allow leave encashment only after separation

72.8

percent of the companies have life insurance policy

79.6

percent of the companies have accident insurance policy

100.0

percent of the companies have medical insurance policy

Medical insurance coverage In a welcome trend, 37.9 percent of companies provide medical insurance for not just the employee, but also for the spouse, dependent children and dependent parents. This is closely followed by 28.9 percent of companies which provide insurance to the spouse and dependent children.

In a worrying trend, attrition across all sectors has gone up compared to the previous year. The primar y reasons for this are better pay opportunities and insufficient pay hikes. Unless the compensation issues are addressed, Attrition levels will continue to rise across all industries.

Attrition levels rising

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Placements through CSR

Jobs galore, thanks to CSR

The trend is changing. Today, candidates are getting placed not just through B-schools but also through the various CSR activities undertaken by various companies. In light of the same, meet Nithya R and Goutam Majhi who are today successfully employed as Transaction Process Associate with Accenture India Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, and Field Worker at Magrahat Social Welfare Society, respectively, thanks to Accenture Ltd’s CSR activities By Mahalakshmi Hariharan

ndian companies have been doing a lot in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) space. With the government making it mandatory for companies to devote two percent of their profits to CSR activities, more and more companies are doing their bit to make this a grand success. In the light of the same, one of the leading IT giants, Accenture is also playing its role in contributing to the society, by coming hancement Business School (LABS) offering an up with various CSR activities. effective short-term skills training programme. Let’s hear the stories from candidates like LABS-PwD training programme of DRF is LiveNithya and Goutam who have immensely benlihood Advancement Business School (LABS) – efited out of the company’s CSR initiatives. Take Person with Disabilities training programme of the example of 28-year old Nithya R, whose Dr Reddy’s Foundation. The obfather is a daily wage labourer, jective is to ensure job placements earning an annual remuneration by addressing issues of employof ₹26,000. Sadly, this amount was ability and income generation, not sufficient to sustain the family thereby improving the quality of needs. Nithya is hearing impaired life of underprivileged youth in by birth which made it difficult for India. her to find a job. However, Nithya Nithya got to know about the was determined that she wants to LABS-PwD training programme help her family. Post her higher of DRF from one of her friends. secondary education, she took up She then came to the Accenture a job with Vidhya E-info Media supported LABS-PwD centre Pvt Ltd as a Data Entry Operator at Jayanagar, Bengaluru and enwhere she was earning ₹4,000 per Kshitija Krishnaswamy, month. This amount was again Director - Corporate Citizenship, rolled herself in the ITeS domain. The facilitators at the centre counnot enough for her family and so Accenture India selled her about the course and she decided to earn more so that job placement prospects. their financial condition could improve. Since then, Nithya started experiencing a A few years ago, in 2007, Accenture began a change in her personality. The life skill topics like long-term partnership with Dr Reddy’s Foundaemotional intelligence and proactive decision tion (DRF) with its nationwide Livelihood En54 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

making helped her to mould her personality. She completed her training in April 2014 and started working as a Transaction Process Associate with Accenture India Pvt. Ltd., Bangaluru on a monthly remuneration of ₹9,500. Says a happy Nithya, “It was like a dream come true for me. I never imagined working for an MNC like Accenture. I could only realise this dream of mine through the LABS-PwD training programme.” Today, Nithya is supporting her family and is happy with the way she has progressed in life. She adds, “My journey has been a progressive one. Despite having only completed my SSC, I am placed in a permanent job at Accenture, where I have been recognised for my hard work and professionalism.” “The support from Accenture combined with my hard work has contributed to my growth. I am happy that I am independent and am able to support my family financially. I intend to save more and be able to give my family a better quality of life over the years to come,” she notes. As the LABS-PwD training programme scaled up, there was an increasing need for DRF to man-

age its operations and data flow across centers in India. This provided the opportunity for Accenture employees to use their skills through its Pro Bono programme. An online portal FOIS (Foundations Operations Information System) was developed by a dedicated project team. It allowed DRF to manage its operations and reporting in a lean and efficient manner. Realising the significance and need for skilled manpower, private sector entities are taking several initiatives to contribute effectively to the government’s endeavors. Companies and industry associations are not only boosting their in-house training facilities, but are also taking steps to make potential employees job-ready before they join organisations. The goal of ‘Skill India’ is to create opportunities, space and scope for the development of the talent of Indians and identify new sectors for skill development. Through this initiative, IT major, Accenture is advancing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for individuals by using technology to drive impact at scale. Accenture’s ‘Skills to Succeed’ corporate citizenship initiative advances employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for individuals around the globe. By collaborating with their vast partner network across industries, non-profit strategic partners and governments to create new talent pipelines to fill urgent business needs and develop replicable, scalable & low-cost, technology-driven solutions that provide skilling solutions at scale. “The Accenture ‘Skills to Succeed’ programme is designed keeping in mind beneficiary outcomes. We recognise that customising our courses to the needs of the community and current market demand is vital to equip the students with all required skills to get and retain a job,” says Kshitija Krishnaswamy, Director Corporate Citizenship, Accenture India. Accenture has also partnered with DRF for vocational training in BPO skills, Quest Alliance for vocational training in retail skills, Nithya R Don Bosco Tech for vocational training in hospitality skills and with MAYA-Labournet for vocational training in construction skills. Accenture has also collaborated with Anudip Foundation in Kolkata to provide training to women and youth in market-aligned skills training for the local job market. The initiative has been highly successful and has resulted in good placement and retention rates. Women and youth are provided with skills training relevant to the local job market. Anudip has also expanded its operations to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha and helped provide sustainable livelihood

Students at Anudip Foundation

Goutam Manjhi

solutions to the unemployed youth and women. Accenture aims to equip more than 3 million people, globally, with the skills to get a job or build a business, by the end of fiscal 2020. As part of the Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST), digital & Internet skills including social media marketing, web & mobile application development, Google analytics, mobile marketing, cloud fundamentals are being piloted across select centres in Kolkata. For instance, Goutam Majhi, who lives in a remote village, Chakparon Kantakhali in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has highly benefited from this initiative. There are six members in his family, and his father is the sole bread earner. Goutam’s dad works as a farmer, earning ₹3,800 every month, with which they barely manage to keep the family finances going. Due to family difficulties, Goutam was forced

Accenture’s ‘Skills to Succeed’ corporate citizenship initiative advances employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for individuals around the globe. The company aims to equip more than 3 million people, globally, with the skills to get a job or build a business, by the end of fiscal 2020 to discontinue his education after class X and look for a job. Fortunately, an ex-student of Anudip informed him about the MAST programme. He completed the training programme and got placed as a Computer Operator at H R Xerox and Telecom, a local company in South 24 Parganas. But today, with the help of Anudip, Goutam is placed with the Magrahat Social Welfare Society as a Field Worker (Survey) earning a salary of ₹5,000 per month. On his journey, Goutam says, “I am an Anudip ‘MAST’ graduate. I am working with the Magrahat Social Welfare Society—a job I secured through Anudip’s placement process. I am also pursing a computer hardware and networking course from a recognised institute.” He adds, “ I intend to first complete this course and then join a reputed company as a computer systems administrator. Anudip has provided me with an incredible opportunity and I am determined to do well.” “Today, I feel on top of the world. I’m able to help my father in taking care of the family,” he signs off. Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Loved & Married too

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

A beautiful

Journey

Corporate couple Harsh Kumar and Disha Kamthan on the joys and challenges of juggling work, marriage and two lovely kids simultaneously

By Kalyani Sardesai

leven, it’s said, is a nice number in a marriage. Wise enough to know a whole lot better, and yet young enough to enjoy each little surprise life brings to the table. Now based in Gurgaon, the husband and wife pair (both 37) smile at how long they’ve come. While he’s Regional Marketing Manager (North & North-east) with Dell, she’s Talent Acquisiton Head for Cloud Computing Technologies. The couple is blessed with a daughter, Anwita (7) and son, Darsh (4.5) years. And to think, it all started with a table—a desk actually. “We just happened to be seated together in those hectic first few days since we started college,” says Harsh. A crazy time of the year—all those presentations and meetings and introductions happening. But his neighbour and batchmate from a leading MBA institute, 200103 batch, was very pretty indeed. “Of course, I noticed,” he grins. Unfortunately—she did not return the compliment. “I was just a friend to her,” he says. “Most of my friends knew I really admired her, but she had no clue. Or if she did, she did not let on,” he says. Yes, he did try to tell her how he felt—several times. “But somehow, I just couldn’t. Each time I told myself I would speak to her something or the other would come up,” he shares. “Like the time we were both selected to make a presentation to a company. I thought to myself: now I will tell her!” Alas! That was never to be—at the last minute Disha fell sick—and another classmate stepped in. Two years sped by—and both were placed in separate cities. “I was placed with Maruti Udyog at Gurgaon, while she went to Mumbai,” he says. But he never could forget Disha. “We had lost touch, but I managed to procure her number through a common friend,” he relates. Six months later—when he was offered a choice of transfer between Bengaluru or Mumbai—there was no doubt in my mind, it was Mumbai for him. The move seemed to pay off. “We began to meet—sporadically, regularly and

56 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Pic: Yusuf Khan

then daily,” recounts Harsh. But then, he asked her to marry him and she turned him down. “She said she was happy just being good friends.” But as Harsh began to move away and have his parents look for another alliance for him, Disha began to have second thoughts. “She realised she missed me,” he laughs. “And she changed her mind.” Still, it took some convincing his parents as she hails from UP, and he from Bihar. “Dad asked me to think over my decision very carefully. If my wife did not adjust to the family, he warned, I would be the one caught in a no-win situation,” says Harsh. “But knowing Disha, I knew that would not be the case.” Finally, the elders gave them their blessings and the duo were married in November 2005.

The pillars of a marriage l

It’s a given that both your backgrounds are likely to be different. Understand, respect and enjoy the differences l

Reliable house-help or responsible day care is a must if both partners are working l

Demarcate family time clearly l

The start of a new innings

“There was a cultural gap for sure, initially. But then, both my in laws and Harsh were supportive,” recounts Disha. It helped that both came from professionally accomplished and academically sound backgrounds, so a career woman was not an issue. “His father was a government officer, and mother a professor. Both my parents are doctors. So a working woman was not something new for anyone,” she says. What was a challenge indeed, was the task of shifting cities and looking after kids all by herself as they were a nuclear set-up. “Corporate routines these days are rough. I did take a break after both my children were born, as I wanted to spend quality time with them. It was a considered decision, and though my career did take a back seat for a few years, we have two lovely kids, “ she smiles.

Communication and conversation are the key to working out almost everything l

pied throughout the day. Sure, I am more involved with their routines, but he definitely takes over when required,” she says. Marriage, like every other relationship of value, is about give and take; holding on and letting go when required. “If one of you is losing your cool, it’s a good idea for the other to be quiet. Also, when you show the other person that their needs and preferences are important to you, the response is also forthcoming,” says Disha. While he’s the outgoing, talkative one, she is more silent and observant. “I admire him for his

“While dating, both boy-girl tend to put their best foot forward. It’s only when they start living together as a couple that the real nature surfaces” — Harsh Kumar “ We were clear from the outset that whoever was doing better at that point of time in their career would take the lead, while the other would take a break,” says Harsh. “Besides, mothers have a natural advantage over the fathers in terms of their ability to respond to the needs of very young children, so it wasn’t an issue. However, she’s resumed her work and is enjoying it thoroughly.” Life is hectic, but the duo manage well with reliable help—and a firm policy of keeping work pressures away from home. “We don’t believe in discussing work-related issues once we walk in from work. At the same time, a five-day week is a boon as we get to spend time as a family,” they say. A schedule for the children comes in handy too. “We are united about the fact that the kids should not spend time in front of the idiot box, but instead, learn as many creative and diverse things as possible,” says Disha. “So from dance and art class to sports, they are gainfully occu-

If one person is upset, the other should keep their cool

Harsh and Disha with their children

punctuality and straightforwardness,” says Disha. “He speaks what’s on his mind, and that’s boon.” For his part, he admires her involvement with the kids and ability to multi-task. “At the end of the day, adjustment, compromise and personal space are key to domestic harmony,” says Harsh. “It’s not as if we haven’t had our fights or tough moments, but we don’t let the negativity take over.” Over and above everything, marriage is a continuous process of discovery. “When you are dating, both the boy and girl tend to put their best foot forward. It’s only when they start living together as a couple that the real nature surfaces,” he says. “It is here where maturity plays a huge role. Both of you have come from different backgrounds; respect and accept the differences. For instance, I come from a very physically demonstrative and expressive family. In their family, however, they are not so forthcoming. But beneath the surface, her parental home is more democratic, and

mine, more traditional. It’s nuances like these that have to be understood and absorbed for a couple to understand what they are all about,” muses Harsh. Quality time includes going out for two holidays every year: the first, a vacation to a new destination; the second, a trip to the parents. “We are both keen for the kids to spend that much time with their grandparents and know their traditions,” says Disha. There is a perception that corporate relationships don’t tend to last; that it’s all about living in—as per convenience. What is the couple’s take on the prevalent atmosphere ? “Honestly, we are quite neutral about this zone. Each to their own,” says Disha. While Harsh adds, “Ultimately, it’s all about commitment. Unless you know the person very well and are very sure about them, it’s not a great idea to live in, especially for the girls. All said and done, this is still a patriarchal society. On the other hand, if you care for each other—things should work.” kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

tadka

IPL, the true ‘Premier’ league The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has an annual turnover of £100 million in 2015. Comparitively, according to the brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, the Indian Premier League (IPL) had a value of US$2.99 billion last year.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Bollywood Biz

Bollywood stars in

Parliament Hema Malini Member of: Lok Sabha, elected from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Tenure: Since May 2014 Attendance: 14 percent Report Card: Hema Malini has been active in politics since she campaigned for Vinod Khanna in 1999. In 2004, she officially joined the BJP. She was a Rajya Sabha MP from 2003-2009, and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014. Her Parliament attendance record is a dismal 14 percent. However, Hema Malini is an animal rights activist, and has tried to do her part for their cause. In 2009, she wrote a letter to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner urging him to ban horse carriages from the Mumbai’s busy streets. In 2011, she wrote to the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, urging him to ban bullfighting (jallikattu).

58 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

Bollywood stars in our country are no less than idols. Their popularity cuts across all sections of society, they have high visibility and also command a cult following—traits shared by top politicians in any country. That is why it’s no wonder that actors find an easy entry and acceptance into the world of politics. Once they do get elected, however, the results are a mixed bag. This issue Corporate Citizen brings you a list of actors currently serving in the Parliament, and the impact they have had. By Neeraj Varty

Jaya Bachchan Member of: Rajya Sabha, Representing Samajwadi Party Tenure: Since April 2012 Attendance: 58 percent Report Card: Jaya Bachchan may not be active in films for a while, but she has been active in politics for over a decade. Bachchan was first elected in 2004 as a Samajwadi Party member of Parliament, representing Rajya Sabha, and in February 2010 she stated her intent to complete her term. She was re-elected in 2012. She has been very vocal in Parliament over women’s rights, especially during the tragic Nirbhaya incident. She has also been appreciated for taking her duties in Parliament seriously, having a 58 percent attence record from 2010-2013.

Mithun Chakraborty

Shatrughan Sinha Member of : Lok Sabha, elected from Patna Sahib, Bihar Tenure : Since 2014 Attendance: 77 percent Report Card: Out of all the actors holding political office, Shatrugan Sinha is the most seasoned. He is a veteran of the Bharatiya Janata Party and is the head of the BJP culture and arts department since 2006. He has also held portfolios such as the department of health and family welfare (Jan 2003-May 2004), and the department of shipping (August 2004). He is currently a member of the Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib in Bihar. Shatrugan Sinha is passionate about politics, which can be seen from his attendance record of 77 percent in Parliament since 2014. He has always been at the forefront when it comes to development initiatives in Bihar, and is often looked upon as the unofficial brand ambassador of the state.

Member of: Rajya Sabha, representing Trinamool Congress Tenure: Since Feb 2014 Attendance: Extremely low Report Card: Mithun Chakraborty joined as member of Parliament after he was nominated to be the candidate for the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament elections by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, for her All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal Rajya Sabha Assembly polls which were held on February 7, 2014. In the two years that he has been a member of Rajya Sabha, actor Mithun Chakraborty has attended Parliament for all of three days. He hasn’t raised any questions to the house, and has been absent citing health reasons. Only time will tell if he manages to make an impact or becomes just another famous name in the Rajya Sabha.

Rekha Ganesan Member of: Rajya Sabha, Congress nominated Tenure: Since 2012 Attendance: 5.1 percent Report Card: Nominated to the Upper House in 2012, Rekha is yet to participate in any debate so far and her continuous absence has raised eyebrows. More than halfway through her term, she has spent just ₹71 lakh out of ₹2.5 crore released by the government. When Rekha has been present in the Upper House, she has not asked a single question till now.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Pearls of Wisdom

By Dada JP Vaswani

Has life been unkind to you?

The treatment you receive from the outside world is only a reflection of what is going on within you. He whose heart is a flowing fountain of love will be greeted with love wherever he goes. He who harms no one will be harmed by none

hat may I do?” asked a disciple of his Master. And the Master said: “Undo what you have done!” We have set up wrong relations with people by thinking what we should not have thought about them, by saying what we should not have said about them. We have thought in terms of jealousy and hatred, of suspicion and scorn, of doubt and disdain. We have spoken words of disrespect and dishonour, of insult and abuse, of rage and outrage, of irreverence and affront, of mockery and ridicule. We have spoken words which have cut into the hearts of others, wounding them beyond repair. It is time we started upon the work of healing! How often do we not enter into controversies when we had rather remain silent! All controversy is heat: and heat is pride. Controversy puffs up the ego and so throws barriers in the way of self-realisation. What is right and what is wrong? Who can say? Let but each walk according to the light that is shown him. What is right for me may be wrong for another: what is right for him may be wrong for me. Though we all come from the One and to Him must one day return, we all are so different from each other, in equipment, in opportunities, in heredity, in traditional background. Let us only be true to the Truth as we see it. How often do we not make uncharitable remarks against others! And how hasty we are in passing judgment over the actions of others! And how quick we are in slandering our own friends behind their back! There is a touching incident in the life of the great Sufi saint, Junaid. One day, a beggar comes to his door. He looks so well-built and

60 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

strong that Junaid wonders why he has taken to begging instead of earning his livelihood by the sweat of his brow. At night, Junaid is visited by a dream in which he sees something covered with a sheet: he is asked to eat it. On uncovering it, Junaid finds a dead body. Startled, he cries out: “Lord, how shall I eat this corpse?” He hears a voice say “How did you eat it in the morning?” He remembers that in the morning he had cherished an uncharitable thought against the beggar. Junaid prays to the Lord for forgiveness. The next morning, Junaid goes out in search of the beggar. Junaid finds him sitting underneath a tree, lost in communion. After a while, the beggar opens his eyes and, on seeing Junaid, says to him: “Brother, the Lord accepts the repentance of those who offer it as soon as they realise they have erred. Do take heed that you do not commit again the sin of cherishing an uncharitable thought against a brother or of slandering anyone behind his back!”

Though we all come from the One and to Him must one day return, we all are so different from each other If I know what is right for me, let me strive to live by it. I can never know what is right for another: he will know it himself, and will shape his life in accord with it. No fighting over words, for words never reach the Truth. So it is that when Pilate asked Jesus, “What is Truth?” Jesus remained silent. The world will not improve by argumentation and hot discussion, but by radi-

ating thoughts of love and compassion. How often do we not gossip about others, when we should be minding our own business? How often do we not, as Jesus said, see “the mote in another’s eye,” when we should be careful about “the beam in our own?” Gossip, is spiritual murder. Many a promising life has been wrecked by gossip.

There is an inviolable law which governs the universe from end to end: What you send out, comes back to you! Do you gossip about others? You will be gossiped about! Do you send out thoughts of hatred and enmity to others? Hatred and enmity will come back to you, turning your life into a dreary desert! Do you send out loving thoughts to others? Do you pray for struggling souls? Do you serve those that are in need? Are you kind to the passers-by, the pilgrims on the way who seek your hospitality? Then, remember, sure as the sun rises in the East, all these things will return to you, making your life beautiful and bright as

a rose garden in the season of spring! Has life been unkind to you? Do your brothers and sisters ill-treat you at home? Do your friends and co-workers pay little heed to your words and wishes? Do you get a cold reception wherever you go? Then, may I tell you brother, what you should do? Do not find fault with others. But search yourself and see where you are at fault. The treatment you receive from the outside world is only a reflection of what is going on within you. He whose heart is a flowing fountain of love will be greeted with love wherever he goes. He who harms no one will be harmed by none.

tadka

India on a shopping spree Indians are truly on a shopping spree. The number of digital buyers in India is expected to touch 41 million by the end of 2016, representing 27 percent of the total number of internet users in the country.

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Health

What to

eat C

and what

not to

Increased production of processed food, rapid urbanisation and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars or salt/sodium, and many do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains, says The World Health Organization (WHO) and guides you towards a healthy diet

onsuming a healthy diet throughout the life course helps prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of non-communicable diseases and conditions. But the increased production of processed food, rapid urbanisation and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars or salt/sodium, and many do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains. The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced and healthy diet will vary depending on individual needs (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle, degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally available foods and dietary customs. But basic principles of what constitute a healthy diet remain the same.

A healthy diet contains

Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice) l At least 400 gm (five portions) of fruits and vegel

62 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

tables a day (twice). Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables. l Less than 10 percent of total energy intake from free sugars which is equivalent to 50 gm (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2,000 calories per day, but ideally less than 5 percent of total energy intake for additional health benefits. Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and can also be found in sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. l Less than 30 percent of total energy intake from fats. Unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard). Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet. l Less than 5 gm of salt (equivalent to approximately 1 teaspoon) per day and use iodised salt.

Practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet:

Fruits and vegetables

Eating at least 400 gm, or 5 portions, of fruits and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCDs and helps ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre. In order to improve fruit and vegetable consumption you can: l Always include vegetables in your meals l Eat fresh fruits and raw vegetables as snack l Eat fresh fruits and vegetables in season

Fats

Reducing the amount of total fat intake to less than 30 percent of total energy intake helps prevent unhealthy weight gain in the adult population. Also, the risk of developing NCDs is lowered by reducing saturated fats to less than 10 percent of total energy intake, and trans fats to less than 1 percent of total energy intake, and replacing both with unsaturated fats. Fat intake can be reduced by: l Changing how you cook â&#x20AC;&#x201C; remove the fatty part of meat; use vegetable oil (not animal oil); and boil,

steam or bake rather than fry l Avoiding processed foods containing trans fats and limiting the consumption of foods containing high amounts of saturated fats (e.g. cheese, ice cream, fatty meat)

Salt, sodium and potassium

Most people consume too much sodium through salt (corresponding to an average of 9–12 gm of salt per day) and not enough potassium. High salt consumption and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 gm) contribute to high blood pressure, which, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. 1.7 million deaths could be prevented each year if people’s salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level of less than 5 gm per day. People are often unaware of the amount of salt they consume. In many countries, most salt comes from processed foods (e.g. ready meals; processed meats like bacon, ham and salami; cheese and salty snacks) or from food consumed frequently in large amounts (e.g. bread). Salt is also added to food during cooking (e.g. bouillon, stock cubes, soy sauce and fish sauce) or at the table (e.g. table salt). You can reduce salt consumption by: l Not adding salt, soy sauce or fish sauce during the preparation of food l Not having salt on the table and limiting the consumption of salty snacks l Choosing products with lower sodium content. Potassium, which can mitigate the negative effects of elevated sodium consumption on blood pressure can be increased with consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Sugars

The intake of free sugars should be reduced throughout the life course. Evidence indicates that in both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake and that a reduction to less than 5 percent of total energy intake provides additional health benefits. Free sugars are all sugars added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. Consuming free sugars increases the risk of dental caries (tooth decay). Excess calories from foods and drinks high in free sugars also contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Sugar intake can be reduced by: l Limiting the consumption of foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugars (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages, sugary snacks and candies) l Eating fresh fruits and raw vegetables as snacks instead of sugary snacks. (The article is sourced from the World Health Organisation (WHO) http://www.who.int/. WHO Member States (India is one of them) have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30 percent and halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults, adolescents and children being overweight by 2025)

Striking a work-life balance Dr Anil Arora, Founder & CEO, Famdent has a super-busy schedule, but maintaining a work-life balance is extremely crucial for him. He is someone who strongly believes that as time goes by, you do feel you will have more time on your hands to take care of your health and fitness—but the profession has other ideas! In such a scenario, it becomes all the more important to find space for yourself and for your own well-being. While Dr Arora is not a vociferous and vigorous exercise person, but has still managed to strike the right work-life balance, following a tight fitness regime. A new start to the day

Says Arora, “On weekdays, I start with an early morning 5-km walk—weather permitting—a personal favourite, the Juhu beach or at the Gym in The Club. I plan my day during this 45-minute power walk which gets my limbs stretched and blood pumping. This is usually followed by an hour of yoga asanas with meditation—supervised and conducted by an excellent yoga teacher.” Arora prefers to keep this time all for himself when he is completely disconnected from the rest of the world. “This is the complete ME time when I completely disconnect myself—no calls, no WhatsApp, no emails. It sounds like a digital detoxification; just connecting with myself. To me, this is the perfect complement to my exercise routine,” he adds. On the weekends, especially in the evenings, he goes for a leisure swim at The Club. Dr Arora feels his focus and mental clarity have increased exponentially by following a tight regime.

Food habits

Dr Arora’s food habits have drastically changed since the time he has hit 50. He believes that simplicity in food habits is a daily choice. “I prefer to eat home food, preferably vegetarian food. I have significantly cut down on non-vegetarian food from my diet. I make sure to eat healthy, avoid junk food and fried food. My day starts with having breakfast, which is a bowl of fruits followed by oats with milk. Just before lunch, I have freshly-squeezed juice. Lunch is salad, vegetable, dal and two chapattis. In the evening, I have a cup of coffee with mixed nuts and a light dinner, similar to lunch,” he adds. Dr Arora thoroughly enjoys and indulges in different cuisines, especially when he is travelling. “I have a sweet tooth and simply can’t resist the occasional Indian sweet, like kulfi, kalakand, besan laddoo… or a piece of nut-filled chocolate,” he smiles. Truly, the above food and fitness regime keeps him going for 12 working hours.

‘Dr Arora feels his focus and mental clarity have increased exponentially by following a tight regime’ “Reading fires my imagination and gives my mind respite from strictures of reality. Kindle is now my best friend. I also enjoy watching a few television shows. My current favourites include Shark Tank and The Royals,” he notes. Dr Arora’s ‘health mantra’ - cell phone on silent mode after 11 pm! “Now my life is much simpler, peaceful and blissful!” he signs off. (As told to Mahalakshmi Hariharan) June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 63

Mobile Apps

The World is now in your

’Wallet’

Not too long ago, credit and debit cards replaced cash as the preferred mode of payment worldwide. Now, mobile wallets are here to further simplify the process, turning your smartphone into a virtual bank. Mobile wallets are way more than just your banker on the go—there is way more than meets the eye. This issue, Corporate Citizen introduces you to the future of the personal financial system

Security

Unlike your debit card which may be misused if stolen, Mobile wallets are completely secure. Due to the fact that mobile wallets usually require a biometric (fingerprint) authentication, no one except the owner of the phone can use the service, even if it is lost.

Which are some of the best wallets?

By Neeraj Varty

Google Wallet

Google Wallet is the best mobile wallet for android users. Due to the fact that Google has a very in-depth knowledge of your search patterns, Google Wallet often predicts what you are looking for, based on your history and allows for one-tap bookings and payments for movie tickets, cab rides, plane reservations, etc. Another great part is that Google Wallet lets you send or receive money from anyone in the U.S., even if the other person does not have a Wallet.

What are mobile wallets?

A mobile wallet is the digital equivalent to the physical wallet we already have in our pockets today. It is a container (or vault) to store digitised currencies which can be used upon authorisation. They provide access to goods, services or places. They can be: ▶ A personal identification like an ID or social security card, driving license, health card, payments card, loyalty card, website access or login data, and so forth ▶ Non-personal means of authentication like tickets for public transport or events, car and hotel keys, gift cards and coupons

How do mobile wallets work?

Mobile wallets encrypt your banking details into the phone’s chipset. By storing the data on the chipset instead of the operating system, wallets are protected from hacking. They use the Near Field Communication (NFC) feature on your smartphone to communicate with dedicated wallet readers, located at the billing counter of several malls, movie theatres and restaurants across the country. All the cashier does is wave the reader on the screen of your smartphone, and the billed amount is displayed on the screen. Now all you have to do is enter a password you have already set to approve the amount or even easier, authenticate using your fingerprints, and the bill is paid, as simple as that.

Why are mobile wallets better than

debit cards?

Mobile wallets let you store more than just money. They let you store your identification cards like driving license, aadhar card, etc. They also store your plane tickets, movie tickets, phone, electricity bills, etc., which you can access at the tap of a button. So the next time you want to catch a plane, checking in becomes completely paperless and effortless. When you take a vacation, all your hotel reservation, train tickets, etc. will be completely paperless. Wallets also let you send money to your family or friends anywhere in the world instantaneously at the tap of a button. It’s the most efficient wire transfer method currently available.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is the most widely used wallet in the world. Due to the humungous presence that iPhones have around the world, many retailers have installed Apple Pay readers that accept payments around the globe. The only limitation to Apple Pay is the expensive entry barrier of purchasing an iPhone, which might not be acceptable to everyone. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 64

astroturf SAGITTARIUS

Aries

Mar 21- April 20 Create the world you want to live in the and conditions that make you happy. The month ahead is conducive for studying spiritual books and doing introspection. You will attract money, experience windfalls, financial opportunities seek you out and situations ease out with little or no fuss. Health and energy remain good.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 You are in a very strong prosperity period. It is the right time to launch new products. Excellent time for teachers, writers and journalists. Students will be successful in all their endeavors. Be More patient with your family members. Your financial goals will mostly be achieved.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 Short-term results are on card but not long term happiness will prevail. Your personality is at its best as self-confidence and personal power are at a yearly high. Family support looks promising. Your money house is filled with beneficent, helpful planets. Your earnings will increase. Be cautious while driving.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 Strong support for your personal happiness is also predicted. You attract abundance and money, there are windfalls, financial opportunities seek you out and happiness naturally engulfs you. Love needs caution. Health and energy remain excellent, enhance it further by sticking to your regime.

(www.dollymangat.com)

Fortune favours the bold and the lucky

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

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 Now is the time to devote some time to your inner desires and needs. This is known as the law of cosmic balance. People may consider you selfish, but let not that bother you, for the next few months create conditions the way you want them. Have your way in life and enjoy the freedom of personal independence. Pay rises can happen. Prosperity seems strong in the month ahead. Love remains happy as friendships and romance develops. It’s all about being involved in group activities. Health remains excellent.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 You will feel and project success and happiness. Promotions are likely. Family life seems more challenging now. You need to balance your work and love life. Health needs to be monitored. Make sure you get enough sleep. Take roads that you would normally not take, be cautious yet experimental. Your financial intuition will be accurate. However, your financial intuition needs verification before you execute, as there can be disruptions. Avoid any stressful activities.

65 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 You are bound to have career success and advancement happening in life. Reschedule any stressful activities. This advice holds true for your loved ones including friend. Avoid any foreign travel if possible. You might be overdoing the travelling urge this month, don’t push things, take one by one slowly and easily. Finances remain challenging. Friends will be less supportive than usual. You may be willing to sacrifice remuneration for higher status. Do not sit judgmental about your financial future.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 It is the right time to focus on your career and your outer goals. You will have to face the challenge of keeping everyone happy around you. Be discreet and wise, overindulgence in any form backfires eventually. You need to undergo ’ego death’ you have to reinvent yourself let your old habits die for the new emergence of you. This period is all about making things happen. Personal finances will remain stressful, you may have to work much harder and organise yourself to achieve the goals.

Nov 23 - Dec 22 Time to let go off family and home affairs for a while and focus on your career or business. You are still in a very successful year, so you will be able to balance your personal and professional life. You will experience dramatic situations around you. A change of direction is about to happen for you. ising. CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20 Financially you will be good. The good news is that your partner will be supportive as he or she has financial windfalls and is likely to be more generous with you. Self confidence and self esteem may not be at its highest. This is a good thing as self assertion is called for now.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19 You will feel this phenomena in your love life this month. There could be dramas in love and with the family. Be more patient with the beloved ones. Patience is definitely the call of the hour. Finances remain challenging.

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20 Health needs attention. Love is happy. You may experience nostalgic feeling in love during this time, its will be as if you are trying to recapture happy romantic experiences from the past. Continue to gain clarity on your financial situation. See where improvements can be made. 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

Subscribe for Corporate Citizen and grow in Life

To, Circulation Manager. Corporate Citizen (Business Fortnightly) Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune - 412101. Tel. (020) 69000673-7. Email : circulations@corporatecitizen.in Website : www.corporatecitizen.in Subject : Payment of Subscription for Corporate Citizen NAME:

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

POSTAL ADDRESS:

CITY:

Building Name- Apt. Number / Bungalow Name-Number

STATE:

Landline No.:

Society Name

PIN CODE: Mobile No:

E-mail Address: DOB:

(d d)

(m m)

(y y)

Profession (If any) :

Designation (If any) :

Company/Organisation (Where Applicable): I want to subscribe : For One Year (24 Issues)  For Two Years (48 Issues)  For Three Years (72 Issues)  For Ten Years (240 Issues)

: : : :

Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No

- - - -

Subscription Amount Subscription Amount Subscription Amount Subscription Amount

: : : :

`1200/`2300/`3400/`10,000/-

I am remitting a sum of Rs. through a bank draft / cheque bearing number dated drawn in favour of ‘Corporate Citizen’ towards payment of the subscription amount for One / Two / Three Years / Life subscription. Your Sincerely, Date :

Signature of Subscriber

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

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 66

June 16-30, 2016 / Corporate Citizen / 67

Registered with RNI, under Reg. No. MAHENG/2014/60490 Pune posted Reg. No. PCW/179/2015-2017 Posted at BPC, Pune CSO 411030 on 15th and 30th of every month. Licenced to Post without Pre-Payment Licence No. WPP-252.

Corporate Citizen, Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Bulk land No 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune 412101. Tel. (020) 69000673-7. or Post Box No-4, Dehu Road Cantt. Pin - 412101. 68 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2016