Volume2 issue 20 for website

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP Prof. R. V. Rajakumar, Director and Professor, IIT-Bhubaneshwar Volume 2, Issue No. 20 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

January 1-15, 2017 / `50

Loved & married too

Vishal Vyas and Meenakshi Shinde, on their journey of mutual trust

top position

Interview with Mohan Sitharam, Chief People Officer, Subex

Survey

Global Cities 2016 report reveals why India is the new investor destination

Dynamic Duo: 44 Soni Laila and Subhrarabinda Birabar

Lord of Logistics

cii-iwn summit

Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank and Usha Sangwan, MD, LIC India, on their achievements and leadership

2 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 67

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Guest Editorial Anil bokil Economic theorist, activist and founder, ArthaKranti Pratishthan

My Rendezvous with Modiji

The ball has now started rolling. The process has started, now let it take its own time and complete, and then we can evaluate it. It is just the beginning of the process; it is not an event where we can quickly conclude. We should not jump to any conclusions. The demonetisation is a shock which will be absorbed and further avenues will open up. We have to be very optimistic about the future.

We don’t have any political philosophy and alignments—ours is a holistic approach and we consider that all of our 130+ crore people are ‘One Family’. We will not do or accept anything that can harm even a single person in this family. The ArthaKranti proposal is an economic solution and not a political solution. It is a well-researched scientific approach designed to transform the current grim Indian socio-economic scenario to a bright one Meeting Modi

“Modiji was very curious about our suggestions and wanted to communicate further with us. Today also, I feel that he has taken our proposal in the right spirit and has sincerely followed it up. If you have to bring transparency in the economy, it will be through bank transactions“

We met Shri Narendra Modiji, the then Gujarat CM, on 29 July 2013, at his office in Gandhinagar. What we talked with Modiji...rather we presented to him the entire ArthaKranti proposal. Demonetisation was one of the five points of the proposal.

After the presentation, Modiji had asked one question—if (only) one thing has to be removed first, what would it be? High denomination currency or flawed taxation system? We said at that time also that it is required to be done simultaneously. It can be adopted and executed in phases, but both things are necessary. Because starting point of black money generation is tax evasion, we have to remove flawed taxation system also.

The vehicle that rotates this black money in the society is the high denomination currency.

The cash transactions leave no footprints and

are thus non-traceable, non-transparent and unaccountable. A huge amount of black money is thus generated by tax evaders in India.

History of Indian trade and business

In the long history of Indian trade and business, we are used to doing business by ‘Order’ and not by ‘Law’. Indian people are not against any taxes, but they are against the compliance. By nature we are against compliance. And it is true, not only for Indians, but across the world. Wherever there is a compliance requirement, there will be a resistance.

Since very early times, the Indian traders and manufacturers used to make huge donations to society—to dharmashalas and annachhatras. But when the British ruled India, they started collecting tax in the form of currency (money) and not in the form of grains or other produce. That marked beginning of the reJanuary 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Guest Editorial sistance. So, Indian psyche was always against such tax payment—requiring compliance. Everyone welcomes contribution and everyone is willing to contribute, that is the history of India.

So, the British put in a distorted and complex form of taxation in India through the government machinery and took the money and profit to Britain. Their interest was just to collect huge revenues, because India was very resourceful then and is also now. It was a very lucrative business for them.

Post-Independence

After the British left India, we continued with the same tax and governing system which the British followed, without tuning it to our culture, our desires and our comfort. We just went on making it more and more complicated. The taxation system started becoming more ambiguous, unjustifiable and unexplainable. Only the law practitioners and chartered accountants took interest in it. The economists and practi-

“Demonetisation is just a correction and not a developmental step. So, it should not to be linked to the growth or development process. It may make some negative impact on growth, but only temporarily.

Nothing has gone wrong now with the demonetisation—it’s a post-process analysis and the process is still ongoing.It is a process and let the process complete first”

check the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) ledger also—the huge and serious problem banks are facing today is NPA. It can be addressed by giving a certain commission as a fraction of bank transactions in India. Consolidated, it will be a huge amount, which will not only produce additional revenues for the banks, but also help reduce and remove their dependence on lending interest rates.

Third point

The third point is that there will not be any tax on cash transactions. Looking at the large illiteracy, poor spread of banking network and overall non-monetised rural economy, it is not justified to put tax burden on poor people. It will not be equitable.

Fourth point

To move to traceable, transparent bank transactions, our suggestion is to demonetize higher denomination currency notes, say above 50 rupees. But it should not be done in one go, but in a calculated manner and in stages. In the first stage only 1000 rupee notes be withdrawn, which will be replaced with required number of 500 rupee notes. Then, after one year, 500 rupee notes will be withdrawn and 200 rupee notes are introduced as a provision and a precautionary measure. Then, observing and monitoring in an appropriate time frame, 200 and 100 rupee notes are also withdrawn from circulation.

Fifth point

tioners, most of them were from the western school of thoughts and whatever they did was for the British—it was completely off-sighted.

taxes should be abolished, in a phased manner and not in one go. That was our suggestion regarding the implementation.

First point of the ArthaKranti proposal

Second point

The first point was to withdraw the present taxation system completely, because it is so distorted. It is a human tendency to avoid taxes and is found globally. That’s why we see so many people all over the world indulge in businesses in tax havens around the world—it is not India specific. The proposal makes a fundamental correction taking into account this human nature.

The first point was to abolish all taxes except import duty. Main purpose of import duty is anyway not revenue generation, but balancing international trade and it can also be used as an anti-dumping duty. It can help protect domestic trade and industry. Thus, except import duty, all 4 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

The next thing was about government tax revenue. There should be a single tax, non-declaratory (requiring no compliance), and that would be a bank transaction tax. Only the receiving or credit end has to pay tax. It will be automatic and will not require any compliance. The banking system itself will deduct decided amount of tax and distribute it to different government levels-central, state and local. To do this important exercise, banks will also have a share, as a commission in the deducted amount. Today, banks’ revenue is just lending rates, in the form of interest. So our suggestion is, banks will get a commission on the velocity of circulation of money. That will be more sustainable. It will

And the last suggestion was that, a limit be set for cash transactions (say ₹2000), to enjoy legal protection. As such, cash transactions exceeding this limit will not be illegal, but, they will not have any legal protection. They will be done at own risk and in available lower denominations.

Modiji’s response

After our meeting with Modiji, as per our observation, he was very curious about our suggestions and wanted to communicate further with us. Today also, we feel that he has taken our proposal in the right spirit and has sincerely followed it up. If you have to bring transparency in the economy, it will be through bank transactions. And we believe, the Jan-Dhan Yojana and similar schemes came to his mind even before he became prime minister.

The demonetisation shock

Given the huge proportion of cash transactions in India’s economy, demonetisation has been a shock. Demonetisation is just a correction and not a developmental step. So, it should not to be linked to the growth or development process. It may make some negative impact on growth, but

Pics: Shantanu Relekar

only temporarily. Nothing has gone wrong now with the demonetisation—it’s a post-process analysis. We cannot jump to any conclusions right now and it is not the right time to do so.

It is a process and let the process complete first.

Once it concludes, then only we can go for any observations or inferences.

Introduction of ₹2000 note

It is just a provisional measure. Taking out 85 per cent of total cash value in one go—it could shock and collapse the economy, if such a provision was not made. The government had to provide a bypass. So, we think introducing 2000 rupee currency notes is just a provisional adjustment.

Proposal and implementation

Our proposal is about a systemic correction and therefore related to ‘order’. Of the ‘law and order’, the government has chosen the path of ‘law enforcement’ while we proposed setting the ‘order’ straight for things to fall in line. Government has the power while we, as an NGO, do not have that power to enforce law.

We believe in providing solutions

The five-point ArthaKranti Proposal has been there in the public domain for last 16 years and we have presented it to all the consecutive governments since then. It did not start as a thought process; it is an evolution of process rather. It emerged from group discussions, people coming together and thinking and discussing—what would be the best solution. We ought to provide solutions to the society. And our stand is not to

put forth problems and describe issues but to provide solutions.

Is it feasible to limit cash transactions?

ArthaKranti demands limiting maximum currency value to say 50 or 100 rupees. It does not propose any limit on cash transactions.

As stated in the fifth point of the ArthaKranti Proposal, cash transactions exceeding the set limit will not enjoy any legal protection. It is like you contribute to the government by way of Bank Transaction Tax and avail the relevant benefits. Look at how our society is polarised— around 70 per cent of our population lives under US $2 a day, that is, around `130 of daily consumption. This 70 per cent of our population can easily manage with 100 or even 50 rupee notes. Then, why do we need 500 and 1000 rupee notes? And 85 per cent value in total currency in 500 and 1000 rupee notes is no way justified.

Surgical strike on black money

It is media’s perception, we don’t buy it. You have to know that money which evades tax is black money. So, to address the problem, we have to correct the mechanism first. The black money generation and occurrence of counterfeit notes both have to be addressed. The withdrawal of high denomination currency notes can restrict movement of black money but not the generation of black money. So, now the government has to go after the sources of black money generation.

Demonetisation advantage in the long run

There were two parallel economies running in India—one legal and the other underground economy. But now it is going to be a single economy. Things will be completely under the control of legal economy, which will provide a big boost to the banking system and overall capital formation process. Because huge amount of cash will enter the bank, there is a certainty that interest rates will drop, making way for a cheap and easy capital to every segment of economic activity like housing, education, farmers and industry.

This will in-turn increase GDP and increasing GDP will create more avenues for employment.

Black money parked abroad

It will come back to India as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for India is very high. But, thanks to population of 130+ crores, India has a huge market potential—to be a very lucrative market. If this measure of demonetisation checks corruption, the biggest hurdle in FDI coming to India will be removed. The growth rate of India is going to attract FDI, so Indian money stashed abroad will come back to India in the form of FDI and not in the form of Foreign Institutional Investors/Investments (FII). This will create a number of employment opportunities. We are certain that hereafter, most transactions in the economy will be transparent and that will check the corruption. It is a linear and progressive thing to happen.

(As told to Rajesh Rao) January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 24

Cover story

Dynamic Duo 45

Lord of Logistics An in-depth interview with Subhrarabinda Birabar, Group CEO of Canada based Sandhu Group of companies, and his chartered accountanthomemaker wife, Soni Laila

09 COLLYWOOD

Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 13 OPINION

Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) explains what does the ascension of Donald Trump to US presidency mean for climate change 14 WAX ELOQUENT What our corporate leaders have said about trends and their experiences in the year 2016 16 TOP POSITION Mohan Sitharam, Chief People Officer, Subex provides an insight into the resurrection of Subex that makes an inspiring story 6 / Corporate Citizen / January 16-31, 2017

Volume 2 Issue No. 20 January 1-15, 2017 www.corporatecitizen.in

13 CORPORATE COLUMN Vasudevan Easwaran, Senior Manager, Centre for Behavioural Excellence, Wipro Ltd on why responsiveness is a Mantra for Managerial Success 20 THE TAX MAN COMETH Former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, S K Jha—on how people stoop low in pursuit of money and calls for simplicity

14

32 new year resolutions 2017 New Year resolutions of corporates for their personal and professional lives 34 Cradle of Leadership Prof. R. V. Rajakumar, Director and Professor (Electrical Sciences), IIT-Bhubaneshwar, speaks about how the institute came up from scratch 42 CII-IWN Summit Shikha Sharma, MD and CEO, Axis Bank and Usha Sangwan, MD, Life Insurance Corporation of India, speak about their achievements and women leadership qualities

34

13

48 STAR CAMPUS PLACEMENT Sumit Milmile shares his experience of campus placement with Corporate Citizen 50 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Corporate couple, Vishal Vyas and Meenakshi Shinde, talk about their journey of trust 52 SURVEY London based commercial property consultant Knight Frank’s Global Cities 2016 report reveals, why India is the new investor darling

16

42

50

48

20 January 16-31, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 7

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

58

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

60

60 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Corporate Citizen presents the best movies centred on mental health

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

62 mobile apps Corporate Citizen brings the best gadgets to help you get good sleep 66 LAST WORD The reason to be cautiously optimistic about the coming year-by Ganesh Natarajan

Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao Senior Sub-Editors Neeraj Varty

56 health Researchers have identified a variety of practices and habits that can help anyone maximize the hours one spends sleeping-12 simple tips to improve your sleep 58 PEARLS OF WISDOM Swami Chaitanya Keerti underlines need to search for love, beauty and truth, instead of wasting time in fighting and in jealousy

Assistant Editor Prasannakumar Keskar

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

56

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 / January 16-31, 2017

On Cover Page Soni Laila and Subhrarabinda Birabar Photographers Yusuf Khan Website / Online Subscription www.corporatecitizen.in For Advertising, Marketing & Subscription queries Email: circulations@corporatecitizen.in (Corporate Citizen does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. All unsolicited material should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage) Tel. (020) 69000677 / 69000672

collywood

People in the news

ICICI to make 100 villages digital in 100 days ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, recently announced that it will transform 100 villages into ‘ICICI Digital Villages’ in as many days to provide digital ecosystem across the country in the wake of the demonetisation. This will allow villagers use digital channels for banking and payments transactions. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank continues to be a catalyst to accelerate development in our country. We strongly feel that technology can play an important role in putting development on a fast lane. By leveraging technology, we converted Akodara in Gujarat from a village to India’s first digital village last year. Its success motivates us to scale up the initiative a big way—we will now convert 100 villages across the country into digital villages. We will create a cashless ecosystem at these villages, provide vocational training to 10,000 villagers in first 100 days and offer them credit linkages so that the villagers can start their own business ventures.

I am confident that this large project will contribute significantly to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a Digital India.”

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Z Irani tweeted, “I thank Chanda Kochharji for pro-active approach in helping digitise villages adopted by me under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.”

Mrs CM makes onscreen debut Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made her on screen debut with Amitabh Bachchan in a music video.

She has lent her voice to songs in Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangaajal and Kunal Kohli’s Phir Se. Amruta has now decided to step in front of the camera.

And giving her company is Big B himself. According to media reports, the music video was shot at South Mumbai’s Opera House. Choreographer Ahmed Khan got Bachchan and Amruta to shake a leg in the song, produced by Bhushan Kumar. Dressed in red, Amruta looked glamorous. “It’s a beautiful song, titled ‘Phir Se’, which will see Amrutaji seeking admission to a performing arts institute headed by Amitji. There is a conversational scene between them,” Ahmed Khan said.

NSE head Chitra Ramkrishna quits Managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE), Chitra Ramkrishna has quit, according to an NSE statement. The resignation comes at a time when the exchange is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO), slated for January. “The board of directors of NSE accepted her resignation,” the statement said. Ramkrishna tendered her resignation due to personal reasons. J. Ravichandran, who serves as group president (finance and legal) and company secretary at NSE, has been named interim managing director and CEO of NSE. Ramkrishna’s tenure would have ended in 2018. She was appointed as NSE head in April 2013 for five years.

While NSE’s market share has grown to 86 per cent in cash equities and nearly 100 per cent share in equity derivatives in her tenure, the exchange has also faced a number of controversies such as the ones over its proposed listing, alleged irregularities on its co-location platform and hiring of external consultants at senior levels.

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood Snapdeal founders own very little of it

Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal together own less than 6.5% of the company and had to raise nearly $2 billion over the past seven years, documents with the Registrar of Companies show. They together held about 8.5% in the company at the end of 2014. Chief Executive Officer Bahl currently holds 3.94%, while Bansal, the Chief Operating Officer, holds 2.44%. The largest shareholder in Snapdeal (Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd) has nearly 33 % shares. The other top investors are Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, eBay Inc., Foxconn Technology Group and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The shareholding pattern assumes 4.5% of Snapdeal stock that has been set aside towards employee stock options. Meanwhile, Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal own 14-15% together; Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma controls 20% of the payment platform; Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati own 10% in the company.

US has talent shortage, say Infosys, Cognizant

Two of India’s largest software exporters, Infosys and Cognizant have warned that there is a shortage of talent in the United States, a concern that has to be looked at

by President-elect Donald Trump when he assumes office. Trump, who won the election on his anti-immigrant and anti-outsourcing campaign, had warned of policy changes that would retain jobs for locals, while throwing illegal immigrants out of the United States. Trump targeted IBM, the US technology player which has a sizeable presence in India, and other outsourcers such as HCL Technologies and TCS during his campaign.

Talking on the issue, Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer of Infosys, at the Credit

Suisse 20th Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference said, “There is a talent shortage; that is something that has to be balanced. It is not that the H1B visa employees are coming in to displace jobs. If you look at many other high-tech companies, they all hire H1B visa workers because there is an inherent shortage.”

Cognizant, which is headquartered in the US but follows the offshore model with the majority of its workers in countries such as India, said the US does not have enough graduates passing out who can handle the disruptions in technology.

Sikka, a US citizen, said Infosys was hiring more locals and expects the Trump presidency to be more business-friendly.

Jha tops HR Power Profiles Prabir Jha, global chief people officer, Cipla, tops the list of Power Profiles, with 1,35,361 followers, as the most viewed human resources professionals on LinkedIn in India this year. He is followed by Anuranjita Kumar, managing director and chief human resources officer, Citi, South Asia; Nathan SV, human resources leader, Deloitte; Vikash Modi, president—human capital management, YES Bank; Sanjay Jorapur, chief human resources officer, Hero MotoCorp; Srinivas Chunduru, executive director, Piramal Group; Harjeet Khanduja, vice president human resources, Reliance Jio; Yuvaraj Srivastava, chief human resource officer, MakeMyTrip.com, and Srikanth Balachandran, global chief human resources officer, Airtel. Power Profiles campaign is a list of the country’s most viewed profiles on LinkedIn, which includes professionals and entrepreneurs from across industries, such as technology, finance, Internet, human resources and other.

10 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Four India-born CEOs on Fortune Businessperson list

Akshay Kumar helps martyred jawan Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has sent financial aid of `9 lakh to the family of Prabhu Singh, a jawan martyred in Pakistan sponsored terrorists recently. The terrorists had mutiliated Prabhu Singh. After reading newspaper reports about this, Akshay Kumar managed to procure telephone number of Prabhhum Singh’s father Chandra Singh and deposited the amount in his bank account. Chandra Singh said, “Akshay Kumar himself called me up and sent money on my acccount. I plan to spend the money on education of Prabhu’s sister and daughter. Akshay Kumar has promised me to send more money if needed.

Shell may move 400 jobs to India, Malaysia Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell recently announced its plan to shift nearly 400 jobs to India and Malaysia.

The move is aimed at improving the company’s finances against persistently low oil prices. Shell told 380 staff at its finance operations in Glasgow that the office would be closed and they were facing ‘involuntary severance’. These jobs will be moved over a 15-month period to locations such as Shell’s offices in Chennai in India and Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. The company stated that the decision was a sign that the capability of its other centres has evolved to be able to handle the activities that are currently performed in Glasgow at a significantly lower cost.

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Mastercard’s Ajay Banga are among four leading India-born CEOs who have featured in Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year list which has Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on its top. Nadella has been ranked fifth among 50 global corporate heads by Fortune magazine in its annual ‘Businessperson of the Year’ compilation, followed

by CEO of Milwaukee-based maker of water heaters A O Smith Ajita Rajendra on the 34th spot, HDFC Bank’s Managing Director Aditya Puri on the 36th position and Banga on 40th. Zuckerberg took home the annual honour of Businessperson of the Year, with Fortune saying his success rests on three pillars of “his unique ability to look into the future, his otherworldly consistency, and the business discipline he has nurtured in an industry quite often enamoured with bright, shiny objects.” The 2016 list includes ‘star executives with wildly varying styles and approaches, but one thing in common: They deliver, big-time,’ according to Fortune. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, calling Nadella a “great leader” for the technology giant, said Nadella “has done a great job improving perceptions of the company in ways that can advance its agenda with developers, industry participants, and investors.” Under Puri, who has led HDFC for two decades, Fortune said there has been nothing boring about its growth, from a pipsqueak with USD 40 million in revenues to one of India’s largest banks with USD 5.6 billion. The list of 50 business tycoons also includes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at number two, Alphabet CEO Larry Page at four, Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma at ten, Apple CEO Tim Cook at 11, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick at 15 and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at 29.

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Indian American Seema, Nikki in Trump’s team President-elect Trump announced his choice of Seema Verma, one of the leading experts on Medicare and Medicaid, to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“I am pleased to nominate Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” said President-elect Trump. “She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems. Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans.”

Reacting to the nomination, Mrs Verma said, “I am honoured to be nominated by President-elect Trump. I look forward to helping him tackle our nation’s daunting healthcare problems in a responsible and sustainable way.”

Her nomination comes days after Indian-American Nikki Haley was named as US envoy to the United Nations by Trump. Haley had scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in US administration. “Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party

affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and country,” Trump said, referring to his former critic with whom he sparred bitterly during campaign. The 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants from Punjab, Haley is the first woman tapped by Trump for a top-level administration post during his transition to the White House.

Myntra will make profits by 2017-18 Myntra, which acquired smaller rival Jabong earlier this year, aims to hit $2 billion in revenue run rate and also turn profitable by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, driven mainly by a rapidly growing user base. Myntra chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan said Myntra’s acquisition of Jabong had also boosted the company’s numbers, adding that it wants to turn EBITDA-positive in the next financial year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) is an indicator of operating profitability. “This year, if I put it in a historical context, has been the best year Myntra has ever had—we grew 80 per cent

year-on-year. We hit $1-billion run rate during the year, in terms of annualised run rate...and that’s primarily because our monthly active user base grew. And that wasn’t during a sale month—but on an ongoing basis,” said Narayanan.

Narayanan, who expects Myntra

12 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

to post 100 per cent revenue growth next year, said the company wants to improve its net promoter score (NPS)—a leading indicator of customer satisfaction—to about 60 per cent by the end of the next financial year, from current levels of about 50 per cent. The fashion retailer will curate clothing lines based on fashion trends and also launch a mobile app-based chat support service for customers to enable users and the brands listed on the portal to interact. Narayanan said, “October was a historical month for Jabong as well because we became unit-economics positive for the first time.”

More highprofile exoduses at Flipkart Two leading chiefs of Flipkart Internet Pvt.Ltd-vice-president & private label head Mausam Bhatt and senior vice-president of engineering Peeyush Ranjan have resigned.

While Bhatt’s next move is unclear, Ranjan is moving to join online rental platform Airbnb Inc. in the US. Adarsh Menon, who headed Flipkart’s electronics business, will replace Bhatt. Flipkart’s current engineering chief Ravi Garikipati will take over the responsibilities of Ranjan, who was one of the company’s high-profile hires from the Silicon Valley. Ranjan, who joined Flipkart in May 2015 from Google (Alphabet Inc.), moved back to the US gave up his day-to-day responsibilities of overseeing Flipkart’s engineering function. He helped launch the company’s San Francisco office where engineers and computer scientists are working on mobile technology, machine learning and other newer technology areas. “A few months ago, I had to move to the US due to personal reasons. Around that time, we had set up a research lab in Palo Alto that I was overseeing—we’re doing some very cool things in the lab there. However, due to the personal reasons I spoke about, around that time it became clearer that I would have to spend a considerable time in the US, which is why I have decided to move on,” Ranjan said.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

Corporate Column Vasudevan Easwaran Senior Manager, Centre for Behavioural Excellence, Wipro Ltd

Being responsive

Mantra for Managerial Success!

“I want this to be done at any cost, I don’t care how!”

“If you can’t do it, we will get someone else to do it!”

“Shape up or Ship out!”

“I am not here to solve your problems!”, Do these words sound familiar? Have you come across situations when you have seen bosses who are mostly loud, on the edge of their emotions and create threatening environment at work?

Some may call this behaviour as aggression.

Alongside the aggression, such managers may exhibit few other behaviours. They may disregard other’s opinions or be ruthless in communication and behaviour. Leader with such behaviour would be devious, use volume instead of reason, insult and use fear or threat to get the work done.

They may end up being undesirable for subordinates and peers. Aggression itself is not a negative behaviour, but the way in which it gets demonstrated matters.

Won’t it be interesting to know as to why certain people behave in this manner? Often it is seen that people who are aggressive have reasons for that. They may have been victims

bring in some energy and freshness, doesn’t it?

Let us now look at the qualities of a manager who adopts responsive approach.

• They do not intimidate or get intimidated by the team members.

• They work from the position of collaboration and interdependence.

• For them, public victory and team victory is what matters.

• They are beyond personal gains, stays grounded and understands the team.

• They are able to pre-empt situations and works towards resolving it.

• They may use stern messaging to communicate the emotion, but not by shouting or being offensive.

• They stand up to their word.

• They act as a facilitator for team and expect the team to respond appropriately.

• They lead by example and are self-disciplined.

The advantages of being responsive are far reaching. There is overall positivity, mutual respect and an environment of trust and confidence in the team. Such teams are able to take better decisions and are object and goal oriented.

A mature manager needs to be in control of emotions and show resilience. He manages anger and apprehension and think with clarity during testing times. The manager resolves conflict and creates an environment of cooperation. This is essential for making appropriate decisions and inspiring the team members. The team looks up to such managers for guidance and support. Despite all this there may be situations where things can go out of hands. What approach do managers take during such times?

Here are some practices us e d by manage rs who adopt responsive approach.

• Control the urge to react, respond instead.

• Check on your impulses.

• Take a step back and analyse the situation.

• Be objective; separate the issue from the person.

• Understand the triggers of what caused the unexpected/ unwanted behaviour.

• Show emotional resilience.

• Use empathy; understand others point of view with an unbiased approach.

• Have a collaborative approach to solve issues.

As Peter F Drucker says, “Managing yourself requires taking responsibility for relationships.”

Managers need to do a balancing act. They need to meet organisational goals without jeopardizing the work environment. Let’s look at responsiveness as a Mantra for Managerial Success and derive the desired results. vasudevan.easwaran@wipro.com

“A mature manager needs to be in control of emotions and show resilience. He manages anger and apprehension and think with clarity during testing times”

of aggressive behaviour during childhood or early career life and as a result unknowingly picked it as best practice. Another case could be that such person is a victim of low self-esteem or superiority complex and demanding respect. Often such managers follow theory X (Theory X is a behaviour where there is a constant need to supervise, punish or penalise employees to get better output). In their managerial roles, such people create a lot of unpleasantness in the work environment. Consequently, probability of anxiety and distrust among the team members is high, they may not be able to take decisions on their own, and may resort to appease the boss. As a result, long term goals may get sacrificed. Who would excel in such an environment? What can be done to curb the aggressiveness? According to me, responsive approach is appropriate. When we look up for meaning of the word responsive, we find receptive, open to suggestions, approachable, sensitive, empathetic etc. as alternatives words. Well, all the above does

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 13

wax eloquent- best of the 2016 quotes

ALL SAID AND DONE

Take a look at what our corporate leaders have said about trends and their experiences in the year 2016

Reform to transform

“My aim is reform to transform…at the end of my term, success for me means people should experience change. If I am only able to claim certain achievements, I would not consider that as success. We are Indian in our approach but international in our outlook.”

The real test

“The real test comes when they (foreign industries/investors) are making their due diligence to decide whether India is the place to invest, not just on the basis of Mr Modi’s promise.”

Ratan Tata,

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister,

industrialist and current chairman of Tata Trusts

Courtesy: Economic Times

Courtesy: http://www.firstpost.com/

Reframing of what human beings really want “To ensure that people never need to go to a hospital or to see a doctor-wouldn’t that be a very nice healthcare system? Whereas enterprises that we are promoting and celebrating are about treating people who have got ill already. So it’s a reframing of what human beings really want. So what about clean water, no pollution in the cities? Aren’t these all health care issues?”

Arun Maira, former member, Planning Commission of India and former chairman, Boston Consulting Group

I can use my vintage to advantage

“I’ve not necessarily found a magic formula for hiring the most able leaders. But I’ve now been in business for quite a while so I can use my vintage to advantage. I’ve discovered a methodology which I’ve used consistently over time and it has stood me in good stead.”

Anand Mahindra,

chairman & managing director, Mahindra Group Courtesy: http://zeenews.india.com/

14 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Courtesy: Mint

India can grow at 8 to 9 per cent “The Indian economy in the recent past has shown that it has the resilience to grow at 8 to 9 per cent.

The “potential” to grow at 8 to 9 per cent at least for a decade exists. We have to make it happen.”

C. Rangarajan, former Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and former Governor, RBI

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

We have taken a big leap in technology “India has done many things without looking at the West. India moved from ‘no identity’ to ‘online identity’, whereas the other countries are going from ‘no identity’ to ‘smart cars’, and then to ‘online’. So we have taken a big leap in technology.”

RS Sharma, chairman, TRAI Courtesy: Financial Express

Shouldn’t India protect its national interests?

“What I have a problem with is, when we (India) take care of our national interest by protecting our industry and service sector, the U.S. says we are obstructive.

Shouldn’t India too, like other countries, protect its national interests?”

Nirmala Sitharaman,

Commerce and Industry Minister Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/

India is a laboratory for innovation

“India is a laboratory for innovation, because you’re operating under so many constraints…

How do you take stuff to mobile when the broadband is not too strong? How do you produce interesting solutions—the idea of hundred dollar laptop, a hundred dollar tablet?

The Indian experience would help, not just to developing countries, but also to the developed world.”

Raja Mohan,

foreign policy analyst Courtesy: www.devex.com

Indians have the highest ego per unit of achievement

Never had the thrill of being wealthy

“The success of Wipro has made me a wealthy person. I have never had the need or thrill for being wealthy. I have always felt intuitively that somehow such wealth cannot be the privy of any one person or any one family.”

Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro Courtesy: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

“The biggest challenge for all of us, not just politicians or bureaucrats, is that we, Indians, have the highest ego per unit of achievement. I would humbly request, we be open-minded to those who have performed better than us.”

Narayana Murthy, co-founder, Infosys

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

Difference between Mallya-Air India losses “What is the difference between Vijay Mallya who lost `10,000 crore and Air India which lost `30,000 crore? Bank money is lost (in case of KFA) and public taxpayer’s money is lost (in AI’s case)” Mohandas Pai, former Chief Financial Officer and HR Head, Infosys

Courtesy: http://www.firstpost.com/

GST makes the nation one unified marketplace “The GST is certainly a path-breaking tax reform, one that can bring about a tectonic shift in the way we do business.

The historic legislation ushered in a new era of taxation in India that makes the nation one unified marketplace.”

Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises Courtesy: www.firstpost.com

India’s growth a journey, not a destination

“The quest for India’s growth prospects to improve is a journey and not a destination. So, we are improving methodologies, we are killing crony capitalism, we are trying to have fair taxation, we are trying to obstruct the blocks to infrastructure.”

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, investor

Courtesy: http://www.moneycontrol.com

Illiterates of 21st century “Illiterates of 21st century are not going to be those who cannot read or right. Illiterates of 21st century are going to be those who cannot learn, relearn and unlearn.”

Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank Courtesy: http://www.dnaindia.com/

India was like a ‘one-eyed’ king in land of blind “I think we have still to get to a place where we feel satisfied. We have this saying — ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’. We are a little bit that way.”

Raghuram Rajan, former governor, RBI

Courtesy: Indian Express

Development in democracy is slower but stable

“Development through democracy is the biggest challenge today because in the heat of the moment, people call for becoming some kind of an autocratic society. In a democracy, development may be slower but it is stable.”

Ravi Shankar Prasad, IT Minister

Courtesy:Financial Express

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Top Position

The word “loyalty� has different meaning at Subex when compared to any other companies I have worked in the past.

Every Subexian had an option to leave the company when crisis struck, but did not opt to move out and stayed back and we are thankful to every one of them who bailed the organisation out of a probable bankruptcy to make it what it is today

PICS: yusuf khan

16 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

The Perfect People’s Person Mohan Sitharam, Chief People Officer, Subex, is a man who wears many hats; other than being the Global Head for People Initiatives with the leading provider of Telecom Business and Operations Support Systems, he also manages varied functions of HR, Quality, IT, PMO, Admin and Travel. That said, he is armed with plethora of experience in areas such as transformational change initiatives, leadership development, mergers and acquisition, public listing, to name a few. In conversation with Corporate Citizen, he provides an insight into the resurrection of Subex that makes for an inspiring story....

By Namrata Gulati Sapra You hold the prestigious designation of Chief People Officer. Could you elaborate on the responsibilities involved?

As glorious as it sounds, truth be told is that I am just an HR professional like the many you meet on a daily basis. The additional responsibility of other enabling functions like Quality, IT, PMO, Admin, Travel etc takes me closer to business. Besides, being a CPO does not impart any glamorous status as such, it is just making us more responsible, accountable with anything that is to do with the people of an organisation.

If you are a CPO, you are in a servant-leadership role wherein you’re responsible for every concern or a need of the people in your organisation. It’s simply a job with accountability attached to it.

Subex could be touted as the ‘Phoenix of corporate world’ for it has risen from its own ashes. Tell us about the starting point of the downfall and how it has sprung back?

Every acquisition is a bet. You bet on a new geography, a new product, a new technology or on a new talent. But what’s important for any organisation is to not bet the organisation itself. Unfortunately, there are many acquisitions in the industry wherein the acquiring company bets itself and when it does that, the stakes are high. It just determines the future from thereon. We weren’t immune to that. At Subex, we did make one such “not so intelligent” acquisition, which took us down the ladder. It is said when you are in a deep mess,

you have got to keep your mouth shut and it was obvious that we were away from the media while the bricks were put back to the wall. In early 2015, when Surjeet (in his swanky club house) articulated his efforts, I knew I must be on the team, though at that point we still had a daunting debt. The business was a profitable one always and the financials were always in black. We did not look like it because the interest accrual being higher than the EBITDA. The good news is that, thanks to the efforts of the captain and our financial controller among my other senior colleagues, we are a zero debt company generating decent profits now.

According to you, what is the one factor that turned around the story for Subex?

Simple answer-it is “Our People”. This is a personal journey for many Subexians. I am inspired by their statements that the only goal they had was to get the company back to where it belongs. The word “loyalty” has different meaning at Subex compared to any other company I have worked in the past. Every Subexian had an option to leave the company when crisis struck, but did not opt to move out and stayed back and we are thankful to every one of them

who bailed the organisation out of a probable bankruptcy to make it what it is today.

Where does Subex stand vis a vis other telecom companies as of today?

It is a paradox! On one hand, we can take pride in the fact that Subex operates in a niche area, but on the other, must be mindful of the cons.

Being in niche space, the advantage could be lesser competition while on the flip, it lends you lesser headroom to grow. We are the leaders in our core products-revenue assurance and fraud management, but catering to only Telcos limits the size of the “prospects” funnel.

“If you are a CPO, you are in a servant-leadership role wherein you’re responsible for every concern or a need of the people in your organisation.

It’s simply a job with accountability attached to it”

What do you aspire to provide the next wave of growth for Subex?

We are building an analytical layer to provide business intelligence through data science to our customers. It is the logical ancillary growth for Subex as we have large data of our customers, whom we have served for almost two decades.

With all our good efforts and little bit of luck, Subex will be known for its Analytical competency in a couple of years to come. The second strategic initiative for Subex is to provide solution in Internet

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Top Position

During industrial era, we said man is a machine, then we said man is different from machine and now when the world says machine is a man, it is important for an HR person to believe machine is different than a man. Once we are clear on this philosophy, we will do everything to treat our people as people and retrain them to not only face but embrace the new situation

of Things (IOT) scenario. Please understand when everything is going to be connected, one need not hack your computer; rather hacking your coffee mug, car or camera results in similar damage. With the luxury of IOT, comes multiplied threat of high vulnerability.

The hackers then will be active for “breach of control” and not limited to breach of data.

From technological perspective, our fraud management products have the capability to identify attempts of control breach on the operators’ network. So, we want to believe we have an advantage to be conspicuous in this space as it emerges.

What is your opinion on robots taking over workplace?

It may not be a choice but all of us may have to work with some bots in the team. It is important to embrace any change which is good and inevitable too. As far as the job loss due to AI is concerned, it is not an issue of man v/s machine but it is a scenario of relevance v/s not relevant.

And it is a scenario of man and machine collaborating in harmony.

During industrial era, we said man is a machine, then we said man is different from machine and now when the world says machine is a man, it is important for an HR person to believe machine is different than a man. Once we are clear on this philosophy, we will do everything to treat our people as people and retrain them to not only face but embrace the new situation.

What about the women workforce at Subex? And how can they be empowered?

While there are focused effort, we would have loved to see better number than almost 25% of Subexians being women. Even before amendment to maternity benefits, Subex had special needs leave up to a year. Women make use of this post maternity to spend time with little ones. We have recently had our day care called happy feet active within our campus. There can be infants and toddlers at our office while

18 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

their parents are at work. While there can be many other initiatives, I can only say we are on right track.

What practices does Subex follow to ensure that women workforce can strike a healthy work-life balance?

As mentioned, “happy feet” our fully operational day care is a happy place for the children and since it is in the same premises, the mothers can see their kids every hour or so. People have flexi hours and we do not monitor their log in and outs. People work from home every week when they have their errands to run.

I did mention about the special leave. We have embraced good practices even before laws have stepped in.

Now for the other side of gender! What is your take on paternity leave?

On a lighter side, with a 16 year old girl of mine, I will not benefit that policy anymore.

The responsibility of parenting is equal on both and though I honestly think paternity leave cannot be at par with maternity.

Most of the companies like us have a week off.

What is the one mammoth moment in your corporate or personal life that you would like to recount?

That’s a tough one! Honestly, there’s no particular moment. What I am thankfully surprised is the distance we have covered in building our competence and being relevant to the company and Industry. Someone like me, who studied in a small school in vernacular medium doing decently well in a discipline like HR requires to be thankful to life and people around. It gives an essence of achievement at the same time a giant sense of responsibility. I can never end any conversation without recognising the great team I have always had in every company I have worked. I would have been a lesser professional today without them.

Your message to aspiring corporate leaders of tomorrow?

Be yourself, enjoy what you do and do it with professionalism and honesty. namratagulati8@gmail.com

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The Tax Man Cometh-25

Pursuit of Power and Pelf

by S K Jha

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

Instances abound where we reduce to our lowest in the pursuit of money, property and power, willing to battle it out on the streets, in the court rooms and police stations and bring long-built reputations to the dust. Should we really fall so low?

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�

O

ne small incident that took place when I was serving in the Income Tax department still makes me wonder about human nature. I was posted at the Mumbai office and was associated with the work of conducting raids. One day, a smart young man walked into my office and told me that he wanted to give some information for an income tax search. I told him I would not take the information unless the evaded tax was substantial, and also unless the information was specific about the location of the hidden assets. The young man was very emphatic that he had very intimate information about the unaccounted assets and also that the tax evasion was of a sizable amount. I decided to heed to his request and asked him to give information supported by documentary evidence.

What he then told me was really surprising.

He had come to give information against his own mother. He gave graphic details about the entire unaccounted asset in the form of huge cash, jewellery, plots of land and other properties in her name. He even gave details of lockers in her name in several banks. He clarified that she was his natural mother and that his father who was the wealth creator had died a few years ago. To my query as to why he wanted to create a problem for his mother, he said that she wanted to give all the money and property to his sister and that he was very angry with his mother. I tried my best to explain to him that he was going to ruin his family in the heat of his anger, but it had no impact on him. He warned me that if I did not act on his information then he would approach another officer. The raid did take place, but it gave me a lot of pain. The department got sizeable tax

revenue in crores of rupees, but it compelled me to ponder over human nature. Can a person fall so low for the sake of money or jealousy?

Real life drama

The incident narrated is not an incident in isolation. Such things happen every day and everywhere. Lust for money and power together with ego and jealousy have been the reasons for many problems. They have wrecked families and business empires. In this context, I am reminded by a real life story concerning an illustrious business house which has now virtually diminished, although the family still lives in a landmark bungalow in Mumbai. The story about the family and the group companies has been in the public domain as it has played out in the court rooms and in police stations.

The patriarch of the group had one son and one daughter and his wife. The son married the second time after divorcing his first wife from whom he had two children. The daughter of the patriarch came back to him after taking a divorce from her husband. The family drama started after the group companies went into liquidation and it reached its peak after the death of the old industrialist. The divorced daughter of the family got a sex change done at a leading hospital and became a man. This new man filed cases against his brother and his second wife who has been a Page 3 persons in the tabloids of Mumbai. There were many civil and criminal cases. The mother of the family collaborated with her daughtercum-sex changed man in the fight against her son and his socialite wife. The socialite lady was also accused by her step children of stealing the family jewellery and expensive paintings. The time came when the son also rebelled against his new wife so as to be on the other side. The family drama continued and the wealth vanished, and now only a few crumbs remain. The genesis of the family drama was family wealth and the actors of the drama were the brother, sister, mother and wife. The family battle turned the sister into an elder brother after a sex change. The wealth got lost, and so did the family reputation.

There was a similar high profile court room

20 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

drama relating to a highly respected business family, which was also connected with our independence movement. The family has several horizontal and vertical units starting from the founder of the group. One of such units had no child born, and the problem related to the succession of the companies of the unit and also the vast properties. On the death of the widow, who was running the companies and owning the properties, the auditor produced a will by the widow, as per which, the companies and properties would go to him. There was long drawn litigation as the members of the larger family of the widow challenged the validity of the will.

It is a long time now and the auditor is dead, but the matter is still subjudice. I am not here to say anything about the validity of the will or the merits of the litigation, but the issue to be noted is that big wealth creates problems of various natures and gives rise to many claimants. There is no peace to the departed soul when big properties are left behind.

Human nature and human behaviour have been the cause of much litigation choking our courts, but in a large number of litigations the issue revolves around properties. In many court related cases, it has been noticed that false documents were created to usurp somebody else’s property. Property is also used as an ideal destination for parking black money. There is a vicious yearning for owing properties by any means, whether by force or forgery or through black money. As a taxman, I have been witness to this painful fact. It is also ironical to see that in many cases the properties are acquired in some other names or bogus names, and the real investor of the money does not think twice about not putting his name on the purchase documents when the same person will think twice before giving away a penny to charity. Such a property transaction is called benami property transaction, and it is done to protect the real owner from action by the government against him, as the property is either illegally acquired or purchased through black money. To deal with this problem a law was passed in 1988 but due to inherent defects in the law, it did not produce the desired result.

We should have enough money to look after our basic needs, as the non-fulfilment of our primary needs gives us pain. So, the role of money is limited to the eradication of our pain, and not beyond that.

Excess money may lead us the wrong way. We may get tempted to live a lifestyle that is not good for our health...

Recently an amended legislation in the name of the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act 2016 has come, effective from October 29, 2016. The new law is very strict.

The properties involved in such benami transactions will be seized by the government and then auctioned. The benamidar, that is the person whose name has been used, can be sent to jail for a period ranging from one year to seven years. There is separate penalty and jail up to five years for not speaking truthfully and hiding the true ownership. The new legislation, if administered properly, can be an effective tool in fighting black money.

Devious means

There are many instances of human endeavour to amass wealth by any means, whether fair or foul, and also of the efforts of the government to plug the loopholes in the system. Sometimes real new ideas are used to make money which are legally

and ethically not correct, but they really go on until they are caught. Recently some youngsters were caught running call centres in the suburbs of Mumbai only to activate extortion from US citizen residing in the US. The modus operandi adopted was to play on the fear in the minds of the targeted people who had evaded tax, and the possible action against them by IRS (Internal Revenue Service of USA). The callers from the call centres posed as persons from the IRS and used to convince people to deposit the tax evaded money in the bank accounts prescribed by them.

These call centre boys were working in association with some people based in the US who used to provide them details of the targeted victims.

The racket was detected with the help of an insider whistle blower and the amount thus swindled exceeded `500 crores.

Making big money is never need based. It is for fun and for kicks. Donald Trump has said, “Money was never a big motivation for me except as a

way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.� The reason behind making money in many cases is not mere enrichment but for getting power. A rich person wields power. He also purchases power. Bertrand Russell was a mathematician who got the Nobel Prize for Literature.

He says that power is man’s ultimate goal, and is in its many guises the single most important element in the development of any society, social power. That is, power over people and is the main cause for the lust for power. Money or economic power is one important form of power. This human nature promotes the game of earning more and more money and in the process to gain more power. The history of human nature is as old as the history of the very existence of human beings.

The great battle of Maharabhat happened because the Kauravas denied the demand of five villages to the Pandavas out of the big empire in which the Pandavas had at least an equal stake. The Kauravas wanted to keep power with them alone.

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 21

The Tax Man Cometh-25

A simple lifestyle gives you freedom. An expensive lifestyle enslaves you. Create a simple lifestyle, regardless of how much money you earn. Simple living will remove unnecessary demands on your life and free your mind to make the right choices.

Simplicity will reduce your stress and make you happier Money as a means

Wise men always advise us that money does not give absolute happiness and at best it is one of the many means to happiness. We should have enough money to look after our basic needs, as the non-fulfilment of our primary needs gives us pain. So, the role of money is limited to the eradication of our pain, and not beyond that.

Excess money may lead us the wrong way. We may get tempted to live a lifestyle that is not good for our health, or we may go down the path of a sinful life. This may give us a feeling of happiness, but that is not happiness. There is no harm in earning money the rightful way, as the same gives us satisfaction. There should not be a race to earn money, and then pursuing an improper path. You may reach your destination and earn huge money in an improper manner, but your conscience will prick. You may come up against the laws of the land as well.

To illustrate my point, I give the example of a few of my friends who visited me after the recent order of demonetization of `500 and `1000 currencies. They had a big pile of such currencies with them which they had earned in illegal ways on which tax was not paid. They were caught between the demon and the deep sea. If they deposited these currencies in their bank accounts as per the requirement of the scheme, then they would attract the attention of the Income Tax department and if they did not, then it would all reduce into waste paper.

I did not have any legal advice to give them.

They expressed pain over owning the ill gotten money. They were repentant about having earned that money in illegal ways. On the contrary, I met some honest friends of mine who were least perturbed with the demonetisation scheme. They told me that it was a good scheme, and honest citizens would have a problem for a few days till the ATM functioning became normal.

Lured by riches

Wise men may think otherwise, but the chase for money and power by people was there in the past, it is there in the present, and will continue in the future, as this process is governed by human nature. Our country has been the victim of invasion by some very cruel invaders, and the reason for this was our wealth.

India was one of the richest countries in the world and invaders came to loot and they did not spare even our temples. The devastation of the Somnath temple is an indication of the fact that for invaders it was the loot which was most important. Our wealth attracted the East India Company which started by doing business with us and then their lust for power resulted in our subjugation. Wars have been fought all over the world for both political and economic power. In the present day world, wars are being fought in the Middle East for the control of oil and gas. The countries and their people remain engaged in their craze to get money and power.

For the sake of fast money some people are en-

22 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

gaged in the business of kidnapping and drug trafficking. Money is more important than human lives.

I am reminded by what Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” The majority of us fall in the category that Dostoyevsky indicated. The self is more important than the all. The human nature of selfishness is also supported by what Albert Camus said, “To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.” However, this view is against the ethos of the Indian tradition which believes in human compassion. Our saints said that wealth belongs to the society and to god, and the same has to be given back to them.

Money and problems regarding money will remain. We have to try to look beyond money for a satisfied life. Animals do not have money, but they are competent enough to look after their needs. We have invented the concept of money and then remain worried thinking about it. If we have less money, we are worried. If we have more money also we are worried. In my opinion happiness with money can be achieved depending on how we spend the money. I conclude this column with what Med Jones said, “A simple lifestyle gives you freedom. An expensive lifestyle enslaves you. Create a simple lifestyle, regardless of how much money you earn.

Simple living will remove unnecessary demands on your life and free your mind to make the right choices. Simplicity will reduce your stress and make you happier.”

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for the 302 km long Agra-Lucknow Expressway, India’s longest greenfield expressway The state of the art expressway which has reduced the travel time between Delhi and Lucknow from nine hours to six hours was recently inaugurated with a display of simulated landing of Indian Air Force (IAF) jets. This display was as per the central government plans to use highways as runways. Therefore the Uttar Pradesh government has built a two km stretch on the expressway for landing and take-off of jets during “war-like emergencies”. The India’s longest expressway was completed in 23 months by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). UP government claims that though the estimated cost was `15,000 crore, the project was completed in `13,200 crore. It spans through 10 districts, 236 villages and 3500 hectare land, four National Highways, two state highways and five rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Isan, Sai and Kalyani). Its design speed is up to 120 kms per hour and it has automatic traffic management systems. The six-lane expressway is expandable to eight-lanes. It has four railway over bridges, 13 major bridges, 57 minor bridges, 74 vehicular underpasses, 148 pedestrian underpasses and nine flyovers. The entire corridor is lined with metal beam crash barrier and wire fencing on both sides and will have green belts along it. The expressway will boost development in tier 2 and 3 cities along it and allow manifold increase in the realty prospects. Two farm mandis, a logistics hub, IT city and a residential town are planned along it. Deepak Kapoor, President Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI)-Western UP and Director, Gulshan Homz says, “With the construction of this ultra modern Expressway, cities situated in and around this will open up new doors for industrial corridors in these regions. It’s a proven fact that with the better connectivity and good road networks, chances for development and growth of the regions increases. We have great expectations with these projects as we see lot of scope of realty development in the regions.” The expressway will also provide faster transport to agricultural producers, handicrafts and small industries. Speaking at the inauguration, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said this expressway will not only encourage agriculture by providing new mandis where the farmers will be able to sell their produce at competitive rate, free from middlemen but also provide industrial corridor where private entrepreneurs would be encouraged to set up food processing units, construct cold storages, warehousing and milk based industries and small handloom units.

Corporate Citizen slaps the indifferent attitude of the Indian Railways authorities for not taking effective steps to curb railway mishaps, especially the ones caused due to fractured rail tracks The recent train tragedy wherein 146 people died after the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur Dehat has brought the focus back on the Indian Railways’ poor safety record and neglected proposed measures such as the need to fix “rail fractures.” While India has world’s fourth largest train network, rail fractures-cracks that develop on tracks because of contraction and expansion-have been the cause of 75% of railway accidents in the country. A total of 1,680 derailments took place on the 64,500 km network between 2000 to 2010, killing 2,429 people.

There were 78 derailments in 2010-11, 55 in 2011-12, 48 in 2012-13, 52 in 2013-14 and 60 in 2014-15. Nearly 60% of Indian Railways tracks are from the British era and 30% of the rolling stock is believed to be over-aged while 38,195 bridges are more than 100 years old. A railway document says funding for track renewal plans have been coming down progressively over the past six years. The 2012 rail safety committee headed by Anil Kakodkar had recommended allocation of `103,110 crore at the rate of `20,000 crore per year to improve safety, renewal of tracks and bridges, and mechanised track maintenance with ultrasonic flaw detectors. However, the suggestions were not implemented and plans to set up a rail safety fund also remained in cold storage. The Railway Ministry had decided to draw up an action plan to prevent mishaps due to a fractured rail in May 2014. The Action Taken Report (ATR) on the recommendations of the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Railways on “Major Railway Accidents during the last five years—Causes and Remedial Measures” which was tabled in Parliament in March 2015 underlined the need to fix zero-discharge toilets on all passenger coaches to get rid of the problem of corrosion of rails dropping of excreta and other measures like developing corrosion-resistant Nickel-Chromium-Copper rails and Copper-Molybdenum rails, anti-corrosive bituminous painting of rails, greasing and sealing of liner contact area on corrosion prone areas are under trial in different railway zones. The Railways also commissioned a study on rail corrosion due to micro-organisms and remedial measures to the Centre of Elecro-Chemical Research Institute (CECRI). However, the critics say the finance ministry’s go-slow mode with regard to the safety fund was adversely affecting the railways. They point out that out of the `1,19,183 crore sought by the rail ministry for the safety fund, the finance ministry agreed to provide only `1,11,683 crore.

(Compiled by Prasannakumar Keskar) January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Cover Story

Subhrarabinda Birabar—a heavyweight of India’s logistics industry—travels through his tenacious journey of how, as a youngster, he overcame challenges of hailing from small town and with dogged determination,conquered every step that he countered to achieve his goal

If rebelliousness, impulsiveness and ambition were to merge together and manifest into one individual, the name of that person would be Subhrarabinda Birabar or Subhra as he’s fondly called by his family and friends.

Currently the Group CEO of Canada based Sandhu Group of companies, he’s guiding the fortunes of its various global enterprises-in logistics, iron ore, real estate, cement, hotels and resorts, to name a few. Subhra has played a key role in the development of some important ports including Dhamra and Kakinada. He is also member of five core committees on port infrastructure of the CII (West India). Subhra’s career journey proves what really matters is a burning desire and a belief in your own self. If you have it, you too can make it.

Hailing from a middle-class family, Subhra’s parents wanted him to become a computer engineer. His heart, however, was not in it. He left engineering, tried several things before finally realising that he’d love to study Supply Chain Management in the Logistics industry, and that too from IIM Ahmedabad. He hasn’t looked back ever since. Having worked in several companies including Ranbaxy, VISA Group, L&T, Dubai Port World, Jafza India Group, Gammon Infrastructure and Arshiya Ltd. in his almost 23-year long career, Subhra personifies how small-town boys are doing big in India today. In this interview, he explains how small things in life count more than anything else 24 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Illustration by Kiyan Gupta

By Pradeep Mathur

Pics: Yusuf Khan

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Cover Story Could you take us on a brief journey of your early days?

I come from Odisha-one of the poorest eastern states of India—next only to Bihar, from the bottom. But I was fortunate that I had better exposure to life than many others because both my parents came from a very good educational background. My father, being a bureaucrat, and mother, principal of a school, they made sure I got good education and grooming in Bhubaneswar where we lived. In those days, most parents thought about four professions only—you become either a doctor or an engineer or a civil servant. And if you failed to get into any of these three, then you become a probationary officer in some bank. That was all. Management education, per se, was not even perceived as an option because private sector jobs were not regarded very highly. Being the eldest son of my parents, they wanted me to become an engineer.

Then why did you not go for it?

After plus two, I got admission into a computer engineering course which was quite a big thing in those days. I’m talking about 1989. I was doing my first year when, I realised that that was not what I wanted to do. I gave up engineering and came back home. I wasn’t able to fathom a lot of things and didn’t know what to do next. I was turning out to be quite a rebel in the family. Then my parents said, if not engineering, do something at least in the science stream-because science was considered better than arts. So, I completed my BSc, and then got into management.

Why management?

the challenges this sector was facing. I found that in the majority of cases, there were loopholes in the logistics of the supply chain. It was here that things were going haywire and people were not getting the products. You must have seen frequent media reports as to how food grain is rotting at one place, onions and tomatoes rotting at another place and people dying because of starvation in Bihar, Orissa and such other places. So, all that affected me deeply and that’s why I felt I must do it to make a difference.

But not many people go for it?

Earlier people didn’t know its importance but lately it’s becoming a sought-after thing. Due to the growth trajectory seen in manufacturing, retail, FMCG as well as ecommerce industries, the logistics sector is poised to grow at a CAGR of over 12 per cent in the next couple of years. No wonder, more and more students are going for it.

Though when I did it, there was no such thought in my mind that I’ll be making money out of it because, as I was telling you, I was more concerned about the challenges India’s logistics sector was facing and I wanted to contribute something from my side like a social entrepreneur.

I realised the importance of logistics in a vast country like India where, on the one hand, our population was growing at an alarming rate and on the other, distribution and delivery of products and services was turning out to be a huge problem in many parts

I had a chance reading of Business India and Business World magazines around that time. I came across an interview of Mr Ratan Tata where he talked about some of his new business initiatives and I got hooked onto that. I felt, why I should not go into the corporate world because if India had to progress fast, it needed private sector involvement at an aggressive pace. I could see that government had limited funds and unless the private sector put in money in big infrastructure projects, things wouldn’t change.

But my parents thought very differently because they both came from government backgrounds. They didn’t like the commercial profitability considerations of the private sector and disapproved the fundamentals of free market economy. They wouldn’t look at profiteering as the primary motive of work. So, there was a sort of clash of ideologies in the family. So, after completing my graduation in science, I went for my management education in Delhi and thereafter moved to IIM Ahmedabad for my PG Diploma in Logistics Management.

Why did you choose Logistics Management?

Because at that particular point of time, I realised the importance of logistics in a vast country like India where, on the one hand, our population was growing at an alarming rate and on the other, distribution and delivery of products and services was turning out to be a huge problem in many parts. Since everybody requires something to eat and something to wear and that required a huge amount of money to be transacted, I could see that the logistics sector was poised to grow exponentially in the years to come. After all, if India has to grow, the logistics chains have to be in place so that food and other livelihood products are available throughout the country. This growing realisation made me choose Logistics Management.

How did you find the course?

It was pretty good and the more I studied it, the more intensely I realised 26 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

What transformation took place in your personality when you were there at IIM Ahmedabad?

Actually, at IIM-A, I put the course aside for some time because I wanted to experience the intellectual spark in its environment. It’s something that you have to feel to describe it. The way its teaching faculty looks at a problem, the way they explain it and help you understand it—is very different. They’re very analytical. They re-instilled the faith I had in my abilities but which was dwindling because I wasn’t sure whether what I was doing was right: Was I becoming a rebel without a cause? But the way they allowed me to express myself, I realised my rebellion wasn’t without a cause. I learnt a lot of things and I’ll remain indebted to IIM-A for all of that.

You also got your first job in 1994 from there itself?

Yes, I got into Eli Lilly Ranbaxy. It was a joint venture of the world’s second largest American pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, and Ranbaxy, India. I was made in-charge of logistics for north Bihar. The Dewas factory of Ranbaxy was producing drugs in collaboration with Eli Lilly and they had to reach all over India. I was heading two divisions and my job was to ensure that these drugs from the Dewas plant reached the remotest areas in Bihar and nearby places. It was a supply-chain management job. But after about a year, I began feeling that this wasn’t the place I’d like to continue for long because of certain societal issues. In 1996, I left this job. Then I moved into international trading. I joined London-based VISA Group, as Deputy Manager. They deal with international trade and marketing of cement and steel plant raw material from China, South Africa, Indonesia and such other places to India. I was there till 1998 and this experience taught me the basics of the international shipping logistics. It was around that time that the Port Development Division of Larson & Toubro, called International Seaports (India) Ltd, was getting into a joint venture with the largest rail road operator of America and the largest trans-ship owners of Thailand. I was recruited for one of their port projects. We signed the first project of `1000 crore in Dhamra in the Eastern coast of Odisha. Then we were doing another deepwater port project in Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh). In West Bengal also, we were trying to do a port project. So, that’s where I got my real exposure to the

sent back to India, after two years, as head of their free zone operations in South-East Asia. I slowly started feeling complacent because, at 36, I had become the Director and the India-head of Jafza India Group (2006-11).

There were no new challenges coming up, because, unfortunately, Dubai was going through a bad phase around 2009 due to the real estate bubble burst in Dubai World’s real estate subsidiary, Nakheel. Though I was drawing a very hefty salary and trying to do many things, nothing much was happening on the ground because there were financial restraints. At that time, somehow the feeling of swadeshi took over me. I thought why I shouldn’t work for Indian entrepreneurs? That was the point when I joined Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd as Director, heading their entire port sector under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Abhijit Raja who was owner of the entire group.

Where were you posted in India?

Out of 23 years of my career, for almost 13 years, I’ve worked in Mumbai. Four years I worked in Chennai and for about two years, I was in Dubai. From Gammon’s India container terminal project at Mumbai Port, we could acquire two new ports at that time-one in Paradip and another in Goa during my tenure. We were running those facilities but there was a slump in Indian business and an overall slump in the container related business over the last three years. So, we had to come out with some new solutions. By the time I left it, we could achieve a world record of getting 6400 cars shifted in one day in a vessel carrier. But after three and half years at Gammon, the same thing happened again, and I started looking for some new challenges. I joined Arshiya International Ltd as its CEO from 2015 to March 2016. It was India’s first fully functional Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZs) developer company at that point of time. Now there is one more, Chennai-based Balaji Logistics. But when I joined it, the company was doing badly. Financially, it was in the doldrums. But within one year, I doubled its revenues from `5.5 to `10 crores per month. Similarly, its container utilisation was under 600-700, but I turned it to around 1200 which was then a record.

They had never achieved it in the ten years of existence. But again, the problem with them were their NPAs and other losses. I could see the financial health of the company was not improving beyond a point. So, I felt, it was again time for a change. shipping and logistics industry. I worked in L&T for about four years (1998-2002) and learnt a lot.

What was your next destination?

The development of adjoining roads and proper infrastructure around ports/ SEZs/ airports/ ICDs is challenge number one. The second relates to policy measures about this sector. You have to have a coherent policy because infrastructure around ports and SEZs and airports go hand in hand

By 2002, I’d developed a good understanding of the port sector and the bulk market. So, I thought, why shouldn’t I now move into the container market?

Somehow, I turned out to be the right person at the right place because the Dubai Port World also wanted to enter the Indian market at the same time. They had a joint venture with a firm, J M Baxi, in Mumbai, for their company, Visakha Container Terminal Ltd. They took me to set up their container terminal facility in Visakhapatnam and I was given a seven month target to make that operational. With our detailed planning, we could make it operational in just six months. So, people around recognised the ability to deliver. Subsequently, I was pulled into the Dubai Port World. I went to Dubai to work for them.

I was looking after their entire free zone operations. Subsequently, I was

Where did you go then?

I then moved to my present employers, the Sandhu Group of companies—a Canadian conglomerate—in May this year as its Group CEO in Mumbai.

They’re into diverse areas—from Logistics to Real Estate and from Hotels to Finance. Since they’re basically from Punjab, they want to put up a facility in logistics to create a free-zone SEZ and real estate infrastructure. The real estate infrastructure will suit those who work in such zones, having multiple meeting rooms and business facilities.

Having rich experience, they want to develop this entire zone. But it’s a very challenging task because you’re creating something out of nothing.

What’s your role in this big story?

I’m trying to help them in the realisation of their vision to becoming market leaders in these areas. They trust me with the investment plans. So, it’s a challenging role which gives you a kick to do lots of things in a very uncertain business environment.

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 27

Cover Story How are you doing it?

You plan various business verticals and accelerate growth through geographical expansion. Since they’re cash-rich and you’re sure about funds. You’re not working in a struggling company. But that’s not all.

They’re also looking positively at every opportunity which crops up. Should we invest there, should be invest here? So, lots of discussions take place.

For instance, if you want to get into logistics, maybe a logical conclusion would be trading, or housing because you’re creating huge mega logistics infrastructure facilities so that people could stay somewhere. Lot of foreign dignitaries who’ll be coming there will need a hotel, a conference room and such other things. So, you have to plan all that. But the good thing is that you know what the group’s competencies are because they have the global exposure, so international logistics fits into their outlook naturally. The sky is the limit but all we try and do is to relate and integrate things.

How has been your experience so far?

It’s been very good. It’s the seventh month and we have the entire road map ready.

Questions like re-structuring and how and where the international headquarters will be are being looked into. Right now, we’re working from Mumbai, though travelling all over. But my travelling has reduced a bit because with video conferencing and other things, you can talk to all your team mates in different parts of the world.

Since you’ve seen India’s logistics industry from very close quarters, what needs to be done to make it world class?

Which Indian industry leaders have inspired you?

Most certainly, it’s the chairman of L&T, AM Naik. He’s an engineer. He has never studied management but he’s managing an almost 20 billion dollar company. When he took over, L&T’s turnover was just one billion dollar. But if you look at his life history to know how he evolved, you realise how much hard work he had put in to reach to this stage and the only thing that kept him going was that perennial hunger: How to do better?

Because I was once part of L&T, I have seen him from close quarters. He is now 75 plus and yet puts in 18 to 20 hours a day. Most of the time, L&T recruits only from IITs, but he was the only non-IITian and just because there was a constant hunger in him to prove himself that he was better than the IITians. I am also inspired by the stories of late Dhirubhai Ambani, as also Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani Group, especially the way he established the most modern Mundra Port.

We badly need spiritual education in our curriculum. It’s important to learn how to combat stress in today’s times.

If you have a little bit of spirituality, keep it alive as it’ll help you fight depression. Also, all days are not going to be sunny. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst

The challenges are two-fold. One relates to infrastructure because you can create the best of facilities in a 600 acre area for logistics but as soon as you come out of it, then what? You need good roads and other transportation infrastructure. This is where the government’s role comes in. But I’m happy to say that I’m seeing a lot of change happening in the last two years or so. A lot of dynamism is coming into this sector because of the initiatives of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, who understand the problems of this sector and know how to solve them. So, development of adjoining roads and proper infrastructure around ports/ SEZs/ airports/ ICDs is challenge number one. The second relates to policy measures about this sector. You have to have a coherent policy because infrastructure around ports and SEZs and airports go hand in hand.

Why are not many Indian firms part of global logistics chains?

Two reasons: One is our inherent habit of taking things for granted.

Even if we create an SOP, we don’t follow it. You have to follow SOPs strictly in the logistics industry. The ‘chalta hai’ attitude must go.

Secondly, we have very poor road infrastructure and poor connectivity and inadequate air and seaport capacities. If you compare our logistics sector with that of developed countries, you realise we do not have the economy of scale due to fragmentation of the industry and lack of skilled labour and manpower. But remember, America is a 200-years plus-old democracy whereas we’re just 70 years, so things will take some time to reach to that level, but our Prime Minister is working very hard to bridge this gap fast and make India the most competitive player in the global economy.

28 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

What strikes you the most in such individuals?

I would say, despite the fact that they came from small towns and ordinary families, they had a hunger inside which kept propelling them to greater heights. But we have many around us in the field of sports today. Look at the achievements of India’s Cricket team Captain M S Dhoni who comes from Jharkhand. Look at P V Sindhu and others who’ve done us proud during the recently concluded Rio Olympics.

Why are not there many women in our corporates?

The corporate gender gap in India has been pretty unfavourable to women all these years. But things are changing and changing for the better. Corporates have started recruiting more women because they’re good at multi-tasking, are sincere, dedicated and have a very stabilising presence as compared to their male counterparts.

Tell us about your family—what do your wife and kids do?

We’re a very small and compact family. I’m heading towards 44, having been a rebel in the family, I had a love marriage and my wife is from Gujarat. She’s a Charted Accountant and much more stable and thoughtful than I am. She was working as the finance head of a reputed business group but not any longer. We have a son who’ll be appearing for 10th standard exams this year and a daughter who is studying in Class 4. We live in Mumbai.

Where are your parents and other siblings?

I’ve got two younger brothers. One is in Delhi and the youngest is in Louisiana in USA. My parents don’t like to stay at one place for more than two months because they feel more comfortable in Bhubaneswar. After all, we have most of our friends, relatives over there. Whenever they come over to Mumbai, they find I’m busy with my office and kids have to go to school, they get bored after some time. So, we keep going there.

What’s your advice to youngsters facing tough job markets today?

We badly need spiritual education in our curriculum. It’s important to learn how to combat stress in today’s times. Honestly, even I’d have gone haywire if I hadn’t stuck to my spiritual beliefs. If you have a little bit of spirituality, keep it alive as it’ll help you fight depression. Also, remember, not all days are going to be sunny. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.

Cover Story Dynamic Duo: 44

Soni Laila and Subhrarabinda Birabar

True Love Triumphs

We all romanticise it in Bollywood movies—love and marriage across religions, caste and regions— glorifying it as the victory of good over evil, but in real life it does not always work out so.

Crossing the hurdles of religion, caste and states to be with the person you love is not easy even in this 21st century. Subhrarabinda Birabar and Soni Laila defeated all prophets of doom to prove that true love triumphs over all barriers

By Pradeep Mathur

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 29

Cover Story

They say love is blind. In fact, that’s the very foundation of most inter-faith marriages the world over. But in India, falling in such blind love is easy, but getting married to the man you love is not. More so, if it involves not just inter-religious but inter-state and inter-caste sensitivities too.

And, that exactly was the case with Soni Laila and Subhrarabinda Birabar when they fell in love and decided to tie the knot before any family drama could separate them. Recalling those early days and how they finally got married, says Soni, “Oh my God, our marriage was one hell of an affair!!! You can imagine (how difficult it would have been for) a Hindu boy meeting an Aga Khani, Ismail girl, through a common friend and deciding to get married within just three months of their first meeting!”

That’s because, in our kind of marriages, families are not okay if one partner is Hindu and the other Muslim. Moreover, they also say, a girl marries not just the spouse, but his whole family and if they’re not happy, then it’s anybody’s guess as to what her life would be like.

So, what was her biggest worry when, knowing it all, she decided to go for it? Says Soni, “More than anything else, I was deeply concerned about the approval of my in-laws because, after all, they were going to be my family.”

Why didn’t she explore the idea of going through a love-cum-arrangedkind-of marriage? “See, in our case, it didn’t look very bright at that stage; so we decided to go through a court marriage,” Soni confesses.

But wasn’t that a pretty difficult choice? “Oh yeah, that decision was certainly very tough for both of us because we were going through the most challenging times in our relationship and, moreover, we were in the course of setting up our small nest. We both were in good jobs. Both were Taureans. Both were strong-headed and both wanted to grow. We therefore managed to set-up our grahasti from scratch and on the strong foundations of our love and trust.”

However, that was not all. “Later we also took on the responsibility of the two younger brothers of Subhra, my two devars,” Soni points out, adding, “Honestly speaking, this one step boosted our self-confidence manifold and made us ready to face any challenge, howsoever big or small.”

30 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

So, how did it all begin? After all, she’s a Gujarati and Subhra, an Odishi?

Even their family backgrounds were very different? Soni reminisces, “That’s very true. In fact, I was the eldest among three sisters in a closeknit family. Both my parents were into business in garments. Right from the beginning, I had a flair for mathematics, accounts and numbers. As I grew and took B Com, chartered accountancy became an automatic choice. As I came from a Gujarati business family, I always dreamt of being in the business world. In fact, my maternal grandfather used to be a very successful businessman in Penang, Malaysia. And, by virtue of that, our annual holidays in Malaysia used to be great bliss. Incidentally, since my birthdays would always come during the summer holidays, they were celebrated with lots of surprises and gifts in Malaysia,” she reminisces with nostalgia.

Going further down the memory lane, Soni adds, “Childhood was indeed the happiest time of my life. Though I chose to become a CA, my younger sisters preferred the medical profession. While the younger one became an Ophthalmologist, the youngest is a dentist and they’ve also got married to doctor husbands. In fact, one is a Cardiac Surgeon while the other is a Specialist in Medicine and they both have settled in Malaysia.”

But then, post-marriage, why did she leave her job as, being a chartered accountant, she was doing pretty well? “Oh yeah,” admits Soni with a twinkle in her eyes, adding, “I was indeed doing pretty well in my job as I was heading the finance and accounts of many companies. But, post marriage, quite often, I would take breaks for this or that, and that didn’t seem right. So, after a while, I thought of taking a sabbatical for a year or so, to spend some quality time with my kids. Hence I left my job recently.

Right now, I’m enjoying the best part of my life with my son and daughter.

But, as they say, you can’t keep a fish out of water for long. So, I too will be back in action pretty soon,” she says, rather confidently.

How does she spend her time with her kids and what are they doing?

Says Soni, “Our son Shouryadipta will be appearing for his Class 10 exams and daughter Shoumya is in Class 4 in Ryan International School in Chembur (Mumbai) and, trust me, managing them is much tougher than a corporate job, though Subhra may disagree. Lol!” she says with a teasing smile on her face while Subhra just nods his head, amused.

What would they like their kids to become? Both Subhra and Soni are in full agreement. Say Subhra, “We both want them to be independent and be an asset to the society. We want them to pursue their own dreams rather than doing what we want.”

Does she regret not being able to go back to work because of her growing kids? Promptly comes her reply, “I really love working. In fact, work is worship for me. Thankfully, my kids are now grown up and so, I think, it’s just the right time for me to go back and utilise my talent and skills.”



What does she think about the recent trend where most girls, working as professionals, want to delay their marriage so that they may advance their career dreams? “No, I don’t agree, though it’s true to some extent because a new value system is certainly emerging in our society where some working girls think along those lines under the influence of their rather westernised thinking,” Soni says thoughtfully.

However, on second thoughts, she adds, “It’s not her age that matters so much but how loving and encouraging her husband is that motivates a girl in her career. I know many who married early and are doing exceedingly well because of the emotional support they get from their husbands and in-laws.”

But doesn’t the family suffer when both parents are working and have little time for kids? She nods in agreement, adding, “It’s true but to some extent only because there is a positive side to it too: kids quickly become independent. The important thing is not the quantity but the quality of time you spend with your kids.”

Post marriage, what were her early experiences, with Subhra changing jobs every two to three years? “That’s true,” she says, adding that Subhra had quite a few change of locations in his job which were demotivating to her career, but since

they had decided to be together always, she didn’t mind resigning and looking for new assignments.

But did Subhra help her in household chores in those early days? “Oh yes, he did, whatever little time he could manage. In fact, apart from the usual hiccups, everything else we took in our stride,” she recalls, smiling.

Who calls the shots at home? “See, he only takes the major decisions but leaves all home-related matters to me and generally doesn’t interfere,” but continues she, “Subhra has a habit of punching holes at times,” Soni adds, joking.

What are her hobbies? “I love painting and gardening and we both love going on holidays, at least twice a year. Besides visiting different parts of India including Odisha, MP, J&K, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra, we’ve also visited some exotic foreign locations in Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Norway and Dubai. In fact, we loved Switzerland a lot.”

But they had stayed in Dubai also for about two years, so how was that experience? Prompt comes her reply, “Dubai was too mechanical. But I love Chennai and Mumbai for their excellent work culture.”

So, if she’s to give some advice to youngsters on what keeps a marriage going, what would it be? “Honestly, no preaching to youngsters as they’re far more intelligent. But I’ve only one request: don’t move away from each other just because you have some difference of opinion. Work on those differences and iron them out by removing the creases of your ego, especially by the better half, that is by the one who’s more well-off,” she says. And, then quickly adds, rather thoughtfully, “See, differences are bound to be there in any relationship but you’ve  got to accept them because you both come from two different backgrounds and had different upbringings.”

How important is money? Says she, “It’s important as everybody weighs you on your wealth and the position you hold in an organisation, but it’s not everything. It’s just a catalyst and you should know how best to utilise it in making your life beautiful.”

What are her plans for the future? Smiles she, “Plans are aplenty. I’ve written to the CA Institute for reforms in the courses conducted by ICAI. Back in the corporate sector, post GST-era, I’d like to see and contribute my bit in doing anything to make India become an economic superpower in the near future. Also, along with a corporate career, I’d like to do something in the field of education and career counselling for the young. Apart from that, I’d like to build some old-age homes for our senior citizens. We badly need them, especially in our metros,” she says, adding, “Please wish me good luck.”

And, what is the philosophy of her life? “Live and let live. Make this world a better place for all,” Soni concludes with a broad smile on her radiant face. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com

I was indeed doing pretty well in my job as I was heading the Finance and Accounts of many companies.

But, post marriage, quite often I would take breaks for this or that, and that didn’t seem right. So, after a while, I thought of taking a sabbatical for a year or so, to spend some quality time with my kids



Shouryadipta, Subhrarabinda, Shoumya and Soni

Subhra with Soni  Subhra’s parents with Shoumya, Shouryadipta, Soni and Subhrarabindan

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Resolutions

To build a strong leadership team “The year 2016 was a turning point for Quick Heal, by getting listed in stock exchange. Being Chairman and MD of a Public Company, I was pulled between investor requirements and business development.

My 2017 resolution is to build a strong leadership team that can prioritise thoughtful strategic planning for years ahead, motivate workforce team and continue strengthening our core IT security business. On personal side, my spouse and I plan to construct our new home. We are looking forward to create an epitome of unique architectural design with grace and style.”

Kailash Katkar, CEO & MD, Quick Heal Technologies

Striking a worklife balance

“I am not sure if I can call it a New Year Resolution only…I feel strongly about Diversity & Inclusion beyond gender diversity.

If I can do something about providing jobs for differently abled people, I will be happy.”

S.Venkatesh, Management Board Member | President – Group HR |RPG Enterprises

for

To ensure I have more time for family

Making Peps a star brand

“My new year resolution is to ensure that I go to drop my son to school on every Monday, have a lunch date with my wife every Saturday afternoon and call my Mom every single day.”

Mohit Gundecha, CEO & Co-founder, Jombay

To do the Oxfam trail

“As a fitness enthusiast my goals are very simple: to do the Oxfam trail and complete the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.”

Sameer Barde, Senior Director, APCO

32 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

“I believe in living a purpose driven life.

Therefore, each and every day starts with a resolution as I don’t have the luxury of waiting for a new year to come!

Right now my sole focus is on the task of taking our brand, Peps, which is currently the most vibrant and aspired mattress brand and establishing it as a star brand.”

K. Madhavan, MD, Peps Industries Pvt. Ltd

Intensifying skill development

“My New Year’s resolution is: How can I help my children to grow up as good human beings? How can I really contribute sincerely to the society (especially those not as fortunate as me), continue on the health and fitness regimen by being aware of what I’m eating, spend more quality time with my parents, learn and contribute effectively at work place and continue to have fun and enjoyment in life.”

Sameer Khanna, VP & Head HR--Region India, Ericsson

To explore the Seven Sisters

Finding a new approach to the way I live

“My New Year resolution for 2017 is not to change my life but to find a new approach to the way I live. This is what I live by every day and motivates me to take on every challenge I face with enthusiasm.”

Parul Thakur, General Manager of J W Marriott Bengaluru

“I have three major resolutions. The first is to develop greater competency in dealing with newer technologies as a value-addition to self, the second is in keeping with my love for traveland entails visiting the Northeast and exploring the Seven Sisters. Last but not the least is to come up with a fiscal plan to minimise liabilities like credit card bills and loans.”

Rommel Sharma, software development manager, Adobe

“This year we will keep our city clean and help two underprivileged children.”

Subhrarabinda Birabar, Group CEO, Sandhu Group of Companies

To hone my mental skills

To help our PM in his initiative

“Our New Year’s resolution is simple—to do our best to help our beloved Prime Minister’s various brilliant initiatives to move in the correct direction so that they are well on their way to achieve their respective positive results for the good of our countrymen and countrywomen, especially for the less privileged.”

Ashwini Malhotra, MD, Weikfield Foods Pvt Ltd

Keeping our city clean

Writing a book

“My New Year’s Resolution has been the same for as long as I remember: ‘Do what you did; Just do it better this year!’ I would strive to build on my strengths rather than fret over the weaknesses. A case in point-I do light, random exercises on and off for a few months but never have bothered putting a place a regular regime; but have consistently being working on skills such as writing, public speaking and interpersonal communications. So this year’s resolution-write a book!”

CA Vinit Deo, CMD, Posiview Consulting Partners

Quality time with kids

“Making conscious efforts working towards good health; spending quality time with kids and providing them different exposure.”

Tanuja Raje Sardesai, Associate Vice President, Axa Business Services

“I have started to believe in meditating for the better and would love to hone my mental skills. This should also help me in speed up writing a book I have started upon “Why not to start a startup”-inspired by my experience, fellow entrepreneurs’ success and failure stories and what to expect in the journey beyond hard work.”

Shubham Jain, CEO, GrabOnRent

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Pics: Sidhantha De

Cradle of Leadership Prof. R. V. Rajakumar,

Director and Professor (Electrical Sciences), Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneshwar

IIT Bhubaneshwar

Challenges of a New IIT

Prof R V Raja Kumar, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneshwar, and a Professor in Electronics & Communication Engineering speaks about how IIT Bhubaneshwar came up from scratch in 2008 and how in a short span of time stands tall on its own sprawling 900 acre campus, providing education to over 1250 bright engineering aspirants of the country and aims to find its place among the top IITs in the country through academic and research excellence

By Vinita Deshmukh

34 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

If you have money, it is easy to build the physical infrastructure. Most important, however, was of raising quality faculty, the most important of resources, and ready interim infrastructure to run the operations.

That was the issue.

Getting the right faculty remains a challenge even today.

This faculty scarcity exists since all the IITs recruit from the same pool of available PhDs in the country January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Cradle of Leadership You have always been an academician. Tell us a bit about your educational journey.

I have always been in academics. I did my engineering from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. After that I did my masters as well as PhD from IIT Kharagpur. While pursuing my PhD, I was selected for faculty position at IIT Kharagpur.

Initially, pursuing a career in academics was not on top of my priority. My dream was to take part and contribute through a lead role in Research and Development for big national projects. But then an academic career, I realised, has a beauty of its own, dealing with students, not with machines. So I continued in academics and also pur-

was that each of the eight new IITs started simultaneously. They should have been spaced apart.

But not having opened an institute for a long time, perhaps the ministry thought that these institutes should be opened simultaneously and it is possible to have them come up at the same time.

Thus IIT Bhubaneshwar was started in 2008 along with its seven other sister institutes. I was a professor at IIT Kharagpur, heading the Vodafone-Essar_IIT Centre of Excellence in Telecommunication. IIT Bhubaneswar got started with IIT Kharagpur playing the mentoring role. Students were admitted and they were taken to IIT Kharagpur. The first batch of 120 students lived

sued my other dream of contributing to important national projects like, for example, designing of communication systems and sonar systems for defence through DRDO, besides other projects executed for companies. These systems are in use by the defence sector, today. So while serving as a faculty at IIT Kharagpur I could also contribute to such national projects. Now, for the last six years I have been engaged in institutional creation through founding or near-founding assignments as Director or Vice Chancellor.

in IIT Kharagpur for one year.

Prof Damodar Acharya, by being the director of IIT Kharagpur, acted as the director of IIT Bhubaneswar. MHRD requested the state government for space and the response from the state was quick. I heard that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was keen that the IIT should come up on a sprawling land of around 1,000 acres. So the state government generously provided land of 936 acres.

Tell us about the birth of this new IIT in Bhubaneshwar. How was this institute begun from scratch?

Let us go back 15 years. How many of our youngsters had the opportunity to get educated in IIT after their plus two? Merely 4,000 to 5,000. The next 10,000 aspirants were also nearly equally brilliant and deserved IIT quality education.

Therefore, with the objective of providing admission to a large number of such meritorious students, new IITs were started. One difficulty

What teething problems did you face?

If you have money, it is easy to build the physical infrastructure. Most important, however, was of raising quality faculty, the most important of resources, and ready interim infrastructure to run the operations. That was the issue. Meanwhile, there was a concern about availability of quality faculty adequate for the eight new institutes in the country. Almost about a couple of decades back, there was concern in the country about the number of PhDs produced in the country.

36 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

So, fortunately, it was out of that concern that the IITs had enhanced their PhD intake. Therefore the turnout of PhD scholars was good to some extent, and it helped IITs to recruit the best of them for faculty positions while a fraction was raised from applications from abroad. However, getting the right faculty always remains a challenge even today.

This apart, in the meanwhile IIT Kharagpur lent its extension centre located at Bhubaneswar for use by IIT Bhubaneswar for its operations which could be started at Bhubaneswar in 2009.

Also subsequently the state government gave part of Toshali Bhavan which was unfinished to IIT Bhubaneswar to serve as an interim infrastructure. Construction of the permanent campus was started in 2011. Somehow, the academic infrastructure was not ready even by April 2015, when I took over as its Director. Getting the infrastructure ready from the Project Management Consultant (PMC) and shifting the operations to the permanent campus was a very big challenge.

You have called for applications for permanent faculty from across the globe. Is this unprecedented?

No, we conceived this global search for faculty ambitiously and consider it as a crucial step.

Through this process we intend to reach out to NRI PhD students and bring a select of them back to India in the role of faculty of IIT Bhubaneswar. Though some IITs have done it earlier, we are going global one-step ahead with several innovations.

We are inviting applications for selections to be carried out at Boston and Los Angeles from across global universities. We are going to draw experts from reputed universities abroad into our selection committees and carry out permanent faculty selections. Also we have been sending notifications for faculty positions to several universities. .

In the beginning, the Bhubaneshwar IIT campus was spread elsewhere besides the IIT Kharagpur premises‌ As I mentioned, IIT Kharagpur accommodated the first batch of IIT Bhubaneshwar in the first year, i.e., in 2008. Later some constructions were quickly made in the extension centre of IIT Kharagpur at Bhubaneswar and the students were moved to Bhubaneswar in 2009. A large sized workshop building was constructed to accommodate some laboratories and classes.

In the space of IIT Kharagpur at Bhubaneswar two small buildings and a hostel were constructed to serve as transit infrastructure. Newly constructed apartments belonging to bank officers but which were not occupied were taken on rent. So we converted 200 such apartments into a hostel and also as faculty quarters. That’s how the beginning was made for IIT in Bhubaneswar.

Subsequently, Toshali Bhavan, where I operate

How many of our youngsters had the opportunity to get educated in IIT after their plus two? It was merely 4,000 to 5,000. The next 10,000 aspirants were also nearly equally brilliant and deserved IIT quality education. Therefore, with the objective of providing admission to a large number of such meritorious students, new IITs were started

from, was identified for administration and to house a few of the Schools. It belongs to the Govt. of Odisha and at that time it was unfinished and unused for several years. The state government offered this facility to us. IIT Bhubaneswar completed the finishing work and it became another transit campus. Another building was taken in Madanpur to serve as a hostel. Even the laboratory equipment was put up in the premises of the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) and some Workshop equipment was put in the Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC). IIT Bhubaneswar has been operating from eight different transit places till June 2015.

So when did it finally move to the present campus at Aragul?

When I joined as Director, IIT Bhubaneshwar on April 22, 2015, I asked colleagues about the date for moving to the new campus. The initial uncertain plan was to move 50% of the operations to the permanent campus as soon as an academic building was available, which meant the year 2016. I found out that two hostels, the

mini market, guest house and one block of staff quarters were ready. It did not take time for me to decide about what to shift and said, ‘We are moving all students and some staff to the campus in July 2015 itself.’ Only two months’ time was left from May to July. I found newspaper reports from early 2013 onwards saying that IIT Bhubaneswar would be moving to the new campus in the next six months, but that did not happen till mid-2015. So it was a constant six months away, and unless a drastic step was taken to make a beginning, the same status would continue. It would seriously delay the growth of IIT. To shift academic operations or administrative offices, there were no academic buildings any way near the completion stage. So then it seemed practical to shift the students into the hostel buildings that were ready and provide them good transport service to bring them to the various transit centres in the city. We had to work on a war footing, put up all services including a make-shift, round the clock medical facility in the staff quarters, filled the big gaps in the boundary wall (the largest one was nearly half a km in size) against stiff resis-

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Cradle of Leadership tance from some local miscreants by providing police protection to the contractor and officers of the PMC and made it habitable. Unless we completed it by mid July, the new semester would begin and we would not have been able to move till the beginning of the next semester, i.e., Jan 2016. We shifted the students, volunteering faculty and staff families to the permanent campus on 18th July 2015. Then on, steadily, we began working on the completion of the Aragul campus by claiming speedy construction, weekly inspection for quality check and regular progress monitoring, applying pressure on the PMC. By the end of December 2015 we got one lab complex, equipped the same within one week through several proactive steps and we promptly shifted academics of the first two years of BTech to the complex by the beginning of Jan 2016.

Subsequently, the buildings of the Schools of Electrical Science, Basic Sciences and Civil Engineering were completed in July 2016 and we shifted all classes and the majority of the laboratories to the new campus. In almost all the buildings some unfinished works and defect clearances are pending, but it did not deter us from shifting, and we have been engaged in getting these done, though after occupancy. By August 2016, 85% of the operations of the institute have been happening in the permanent campus, starting from zero one year back.

of our colleagues felt, certainly with a good intention, that girls should be shifted subsequently for security. I said, “Shifting girls subsequently will unsettle everything. All that we need is extra standard of security. We will put security of that standard right now and move them.” All my colleagues supported the decision, and worked on a war footing with me in this endeavour. We put all types of services like telephone, networking, electricity, water, security, house-keeping, mini-market, hospital, ATM and catering and made them operational. Overall, we could save a lot of money going in the form of rentals and other facilities. Within one year, 85% of all our operations have been happening at the Aragul

So instead of students continuing to stay in the bankers’ colony you shifted them here?

Yes. From three different locations where they were staying, we shifted the students to one location in the Aragul campus. What I realised was that if you do not move aggressively, the procrastination would continue and that would not be not good for the reputation of the institute. Some

38 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

What makes a class of institutions differ from another class is its academic culture.

IITs are known for their academic culture and standards.

Academic culture is defined by what typically happens between the four walls of a classroom, a laboratory, what kind of examination is held and how students pursues their studies and how a teacher takes their classes

campus, housing 1250 students. The students could get their much needed hostel and campus life and stability for the institute.

Is this the biggest IIT campus?

Typically a new IIT has around 500 acres of land; IIT Kharagpur has the largest campus as it rests on 1,400 acres. And of course the second largest is IIT Bhubaneswar. We presently have 1,250 students because from this year, the BTech intake was increased from 180 to 260. And from the next academic year we are going to increase the student strength by another 90. We are doing this in spite of shortage of hostel facilities (our two hostels at the permanent campus were already saturated in July 2015) to compensate for the earlier shortage of growth and to match with the mandated growth. We took a hostel of NISER which is only 3 kms away from our campus and housed the postgraduate students there to facilitate the growth. Around 60 of our research scholars are still at the IIT Kharagpur Research Centre.

MHRD set a target of 2500 students by 2020, to help serve the aspirations of the society. The next phase of construction of hostels, play fields and academic buildings is now being taken up. .

Coming back to the question of increasing the number of students for IIT admissions, could you elaborate on how it would not affect the quality of students…

There are serious challenges in raising quality while expanding. But the challenges can be faced and taken care of if we work in a spirited manner. I would like to quote from my previous assignment, wherein I was the first full-time Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technology (RGUKT), in Hyderabad. It is a six year B Tech degree course and it was started with a startling and very risky figure of 6,000 stu-

dents. Have you heard of any institute starting with 6,000 students in its first batch? The new IITs started with an intake of 120 because that is reasonable. Added to that, selecting rural students, making them employable with no history of the university, was another formidable task.

But I believe that nothing is impossible. I took up the challenge and worked to make it a reality.

Tell us about the difference between a new IIT and an established one…

For a new institute, it is always easy to script its future history at a higher level than a senior IIT and work towards that and make it happen. It is easy to create a better beginning than to start with a lower beginning and make a cultural change later, because the cultural change is the toughest thing and also you may make a lot of enemies who may create nuisance and hamper constructive work.

Therefore new IITs and for that matter, any new institution, has a very high potential to have a better beginning than a senior IIT and realise it. New IITs can leverage on the well-established brand name of an IIT. Today, the eight new IITs started in 2008 are already established to certain levels.

The academic and administrative practices are almost like the senior IITs because people from the senior IITs have gone as directors, though there are some variations in the culture across them.

What exactly do you mean by ‘difference of culture’?

What makes a class of institutions differ from another class is its academic culture. IITs are known for their academic culture and standards.

Academic culture is defined by what typically happens between the four walls of a classroom, a laboratory, what kind of examination is held and how students pursues their studies, and how a teacher takes their classes. On high level attributes, it depends on what standards of education happen, and on the low level attributes what percentage of classes are typically taken, Also the type of home/self-work assignments given to a student and even the standards of question paper and research carried out by the faculty also come under academic culture.

Certainly, the quality of faculty is an important factor in defining academic culture. After academic culture, comes governance and transparency and then infrastructure. The academic culture and governance of the new IITs are almost the same as the old IITs, whereas the infrastructure is still coming up.

So do you rate Bhubaneshwar as among the highest?

I would say that so far, it has been somewhere in the mid-range of the new IITs, but I am hopeful that within a year from now, it will come to the forefront of the new IITs. On some fronts, we are also aiming to be ahead of the senior IITs.

What about the students’ culture?

Youngsters everywhere, in any profession, have a certain psyche, mindset, and attitude. What have you observed?

In the past when I myself was a student, what the students used to ask for was, treat us as equals and give us representation in the academic senate and other bodies. Now, unfortunately, parents have been typically distancing their kids from the society in the name of cracking the entrance test. They are sent to coaching classes after school. As a result, general awareness and proficiency has seriously come down, despite the availability of the world of information at the touch of a key. Creative pursuits are put on hold - all in the name of success in the entrance test.

Most of the coaching centres concentrate on examination success than actual enlightening, development of critical thinking, intuition and analytical capabilities of a student. That is not education and it is undesirable at this crucial stage of development of the student.

Therefore, normally when the students come here, we find that they also need to be trained on what is right and what is wrong. A fraction of them appear to be burnt out by the coaching centres and show lack of interest in education, in spite of having cracked the JEE. Today they appear to be more guided/misguided by seniors rather than self-guided. Also we find a lack of variety and variation in thinking, whereas we desire and expect a lot of diversity. A number of them are still mould-able and therefore there is a good chance for bringing them back to education in their chosen direction.

Only a small fraction of them have the habit of reading newspapers. General awareness is very low and therefore you need to bring in a culture where you promote general awareness and give them an opportunity to carry on creative pursuits. I will give you an example from my experience here. Because of the huge campus, we had to provide transportation for mobility between hostels and academic buildings, initially. Certainly I did not like students waiting for up to even half an hour for the bus and wasting their precious time, instead of walking or cycling in the beautiful and green environment. Therefore, we encouraged them to adopt the cycle culture which got set in to some extent only with some level of reluctance. Then, one fine morning, we declared in advance that from the next month onwards the buses would be withdrawn. To show their displeasure, students got misguided and

boycotted classes for one day before listening to the logic behind the move. That was not expected from a mature IITian. Of course, now they acknowledge that with a change in the culture, their physical reflexes and activeness is much better. I am sure that I don’t need to mention here about the benefits of cycling and expected the students to understand the wellness aspect of the cycle culture and never expected them to use the boycott mechanism to communicate to us.

But did the boycotting continue or did you put the buses back?

No. Fortunately, they returned to their classes, but after being counselled. Certainly, they needed counselling in such cases too. It is 100% cycle culture now. We didn’t put the buses back. Now they keep coming and saying, ‘Sir I am feeling so good!’ Almost 80% of them go on bicycles, and the rest by foot. Earlier, if you asked them to run for 200 metres many of them found it difficult.

Now they are able to run.

Tell us about your effort to make IIT Bhubaneshwar a green campus…

The campus had some greenery earlier with cashew trees. Unfortunately the cashew trees were cleared to a good extent when the buildings came up. But then it is such a huge campus and a lot of valuable plantation can be done.

Therefore, after my joining, we took up massive plantation drives. During the last year we planted about 5000 trees, and 15000 this year.

They were all theme based plantations. We have over a 21 km periphery and we planted 7000 teak trees to cover the entire periphery at 3 m spacing. The ones we planted last year are already eight to ten feet tall. I didn’t want to wait and in order to get the value we did peripheral plantation even in the other three campuses which are not inhabited-we broke open and made them accessible. For the avenues within the campus, we planted 10-12 feet tall trees to

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 39

Cradle of Leadership

Bright students from IITs are not coming forward to join research programmes.

We want more and more BTech and masters’ students to join our PhD programmes. How to do that? Creating high valued fellowships is one way give a mature look. As a result, suddenly within a couple of months, people found out that the campus looked different.

How many trees are there now?

We have almost 20,000 trees. Last year it was 5000 and now an additional 15,000. So we have about 20,000 trees planted along the periphery and along the roads, and all as per some theme.

We had mango orchards with 62 varieties of mangoes. That’s the exciting point. Then we thought we will plant some small varieties of trees also, like blackberries which have additional value. We also have amla, blackberry, litchi as well as several flowering varieties. The avenue plantation is of the flowering type with multiple colours. When it is in full bloom, it looks like a garland with multiple colours over stretches of 250 mts each. Then, we went in for some leafy varieties and some medicinal varieties of plants like neem and kadamb in the second row along the avenues.

Do you use solar energy?

Yes, in fact the campus is planned such that it draws zero energy. Whatever is our energy requirement, is generated within the campus. And we also have zero discharge-reusing waste water. it is available in abundance and it needs disposal.

IIT Powai and others get huge funding from big corporates. How is the situation for Bhubaneswar IIT? Actually, right now the HRD Ministry is providing the fellowships to PhD students from IITs and NITs. This fellowship is sizable, even a man and wife can live on that, after paying the institute fees.

But in spite of that bright students from IITs are not coming forward to join research programmes. We want more and more BTech and masters’ students to join our PhD programmes. How to do that? Creating high valued fellowships is one way. Some industries and well established alumni of senior IITs have been coming forward to create endowments to provide high valued fellowships. While industries are coming forward to institute such fellowships at the new IITs, it will take some time for the alumni to rise to the level of creating fellowships.

HRD Minister Javadekar was talking about giving autonomy to IITs...

IITs are governed by a Board of Governors. The finance committee has a government representative and follows government approved salary structures for faculty and staff, government rules for procurement of equipment and building infrastructure and for staff leave. IITs enjoy academic autonomy and flexibility and scope for innovation. Common issues of the IIT system is dealt by the IIT Council comprising Chairpersons of the Boards of IIT, Directors of IIT, Secretary of MHRD and chaired by the HRD minister.

The present model is working out well. Certainly, as Director I cannot go overboard and take a brilliant faculty member at a salary higher than what the government has fixed, nor can I fix up and order procurement of equipment worth Rs 1 crore within a day, bypassing government financial rules. While there may be some rare instances when a director may feel constrained, most of the times a director may feel like going as per commonly accepted, or government approved norms. Autonomy is important for creating excellence, and certainly IITs enjoy a relatively higher level of autonomy than other categories of institutions today.

What is your vision for IIT, Bhubaneshwar, in the next five years?

Thank you for this question. Personally, I would

40 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

like IITs to be amongst the top global class institutes and IIT Bhubaneswar may be smaller in size, but should be nothing short of the top three IITs in the country as far as standards are concerned. What counts is the faculty, academic culture including programmes and teaching-learning, research, governance, and infrastructure. I called upon our faculty and staff to stop thinking that we are a new IIT in functioning and in spirit.

Soon after my joining, I realised that while there were some strengths, there were some gaps in the institute’s culture. Though it is not easy and also not appreciated, I have personally engaged myself in fixing the gaps, particularly those in the culture. A good part of the work has already been done with fairly good success in the last one year and it will continue for one more year. I took the preparation of a perspective plan for growth on my shoulders, involved all and created a detailed one, including academic programmes. Very high standards are being adopted in faculty selection. Thanks to the central government, each of the IITs started in 2008 is sanctioned a grant of around `1200 crore for the next three years, for the institutes to grow and I am confident that we would be able to achieve a good level with that. Though in the process we are ending up with numbers, there is no short cut, we shall be patient and shall raise faculty of global class. To get adequate numbers, we are going across the globe in search of faculty. Next month we will have selections abroad, apart from in Bhubaneswar.

Students are the main stakeholders. We collect student feedback about teaching of courses and teaching standards, centrally share it with the faculty and use it for positive purposes. Faculty who have exhibited excellence in teaching and research are felicitated every year. Efforts are being put to make the education holistic, participatory and encouraging creativity and innovation. The existing design and innovation centre is going to be expanded many fold in size

and objectives. We give high importance towards finding solutions for national and regional technology-related problems. We are focusing on areas like energy, water, climate change, waste utilisation, affordable infrastructure, rural connectivity, micro-manufacturing, energy materials, Internet-of-things and signal processing.

Do you have Counsellors for students?

Yes, particularly because students need guidance, more today than yesterday. Fortunately, I have found that the student culture here has been better than in senior IITs. But then, every human being can face different kinds of problems due to the complexity of life today. Recently, our student counsellor got a faculty position elsewhere and resigned. We are now in search for another and shall find one soon, though every faculty does the job. We are also calling upon students to rise to the level of providing guidance rather than be in a position where they need counselling. It will certainly take a year more before I expect significant improvement in the culture.

The percentage of girls is 13% – it is on the lower side. In fact, it is the same ratio in other IITs too. Unfortunately, this year the number of girl students figuring in the merit list of JEE for IIT admission dropped slightly below 10%.

IIT coaching is expensive and the lower middle class may still be giving priority to the education of the male child, and restricting the education of the female child to the nearby areas

What is the percentage of girls and boys?

The percentage of girls is 13% – it is on the lower side. In fact, it is the same ratio in other IITs too.

Unfortunately, this year the number of girl students figuring in the merit list of JEE for IIT admissions dropped slightly below 10%. A concern that was discussed in the IIT Council too under the chairmanship of HRD minister Javadekar.

Very contrastingly, at RGUKT, where more than 85% of students are from rural areas, 51% were girls against 49% boys in 2014. For those admitted at RGUKT, government provides free education, including free books, clothing and stay in hostels. On the other hand, IIT coaching is expensive and the lower middle class may still be giving priority to the education of the male child, and restricting the education of the female child to the nearby areas.

What social background do IIT students generally hail from?

The majority of them self-declare in the JEE application that they are from lower middle class, but when their parents come in big cars, you wonder.

There is a spread of students coming from different social backgrounds. Recently, the HRD Ministry launched the IIT-PAL, an important initiative in which study material for IIT JEE preparation is made available online. The objective is to make this facility available to everyone, by leveraging technology. This could also perhaps draw more girls and the lower middle class into IIT education and may be a good step to curtail the commercialisation of the coaching system. Therefore, according to me it is a great step taken by the HRD Ministry towards the democratisation of IIT education by providing universal access including for girls, rural and economically weak candidates.

Are students with vernacular education at a disadvantage?

There are weaknesses when it comes to speaking or written communication skills.

They need special training. We have put such a training in place. They are able to understand or grasp subjects well, as that much of English is taught even in vernacular schools. It is the expression that becomes a problem. So, some of the students need to be given different kinds of English coaching-while a fraction of them are trained on literature, others are trained on basic conversational English language itself.

We, at IIT Bhubaneswar are trying to make English language training participatory, for effectiveness.

What is the philosophy that you live by?

Whatever life has given you, explore it to the fullest extent, live up to what it offers and return as much as you can to the nation by putting in your best. The director’s position is an opportunity to shape up an IIT which can be realised only if you can set the right aim, or dream about, give your best, struggle if necessary, realize it and contribute in the process. Honesty, integrity, vision and hard work are pre-requisites for a genuine contribution. When you are straight forward, your doings are honest and are there to serve a pious objective, you need not fear anything. Finally, what can be more rewarding than self-satisfaction? Though it may sound Utopian, it is the naked truth.

What is your advice to aspirants of IIT? True education including subject learning and developing associated cognitive skills is more important than training on blind procedures aimed at only cracking the entrance test in a short time, else it may make you lose your appetite for education. True education can also get you into an IIT. The majority of IITians today go into a mould-they fix the timetable of their academics and career as per what most of their peers and seniors do-complete academics and then go abroad or take up a job. So, their course of journey is fixed, more by their peers than by their heart. I would advise them to pursue what their hearts want, dream big and realise it, while also becoming a good human being with your own personality and stamp your own signature.

An educational institution should not be like a poultry farm where you cannot distinguish one bird from another. You may have a much better chance to be in your career if you listen to your heart. Examination success may get you into an IIT, but it is your true education which will matter and there is no short-cut for true education. Lastly, at this juncture the country needs your performance excellence at least at par, if not more than you and your family needs. vinitapune@gmail.com

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 41

CII-IWN Summit

Purpose, Passion

Usha Sangwan,

Shikha Sharma,

MD, LIC of India

MD and CEO, Axis Bank

Woman leadership is an imperative for economies that want to perform at the highest levels.

Women managers bring rich and diverse perspectives to the table. Their complementary working styles often enhance productivity and ensure high levels of collaboration and success. Poised on the cusp of transformation, India today needs women to lead, step up and bear the mantle of progress, innovation and change. Two successful women, Shikha Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, Axis Bank and Usha Sangwan, Managing Director, Life Insurance Corporation of India, have broken barriers, found a voice and encouraged others to do the same. They captivated the audience, talking in a session at the recently held two days summit “WomeNation: Power of Us�, a flagship initiative of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Indian Women Network (IWN), at Hotel Trident, in Mumbai.

Corporate Citizen brings you the achievements of these two women leaders in diverse field, as they converse with Rajkamal Vempati, chairperson, CII Western Region-IWN and executive vice president and Head HR, Axis Bank

By Rajesh Rao 42 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

and Leadership PICS: Yusuf Khan

Rajkamal Vempati,

executive VP and Head HR, Axis Bank

(Moderator)

Fundamentally, the question of diversity is the entire theme of culture and valuing differences—it is lately that we are recognising the differences in trend. Typically, when you are in the board room, you are pretty much the only person in that gender. Do you really think that the question of celebrating differences in culture of inclusivity is coming to the fore or there is more that needs to be done? As an insight do you feel lonely out there?

Shikha Sharma: The world is becoming

more and more complex. There are very few stable businesses and stable business models. In a world like that nobody has the right answers. So, the

more minds that you can apply at it, the more rightly you can get better solution.

Having minds with beautiful skills is really going to be helpful to solve the problems. I do think that there is a greater acceptance of diversity to retain them and it is becoming an economic encouragement. But we have to see if it is happening in every aspect. We generally see more women in different aspects of business and social life. Even the recent Olympics was interesting, if you look at the number of women who made it, it is very heartening. It is fun to see we are in different parts of society. We are seeing more women taking the challenge and move on, than not taking the challenge.

If it is lonely out there—I think it is quite lonely for both men and women.

Usha Sangwan: To my mind the need

for gender diversity is not a political need, it’s not may be a business need also, it is more of a socio-economic need. In any society the nation has to do a lot, I don’t think we can afford that 50 per cent of the population is not contributing to the growth of the nation and society. It’s imperative—it’s a luxury not to work—the society has spent money on you and your education, you don’t want to waste that and not use it to optimal. I do agree that if I am a housewife I have contributed economically and have a social value. But, am I using my potential to the optimal that’s the question to be answered. The nation has to ensure that each and every citizen of the country is contributing to his optimum. So to me, it is important, as an

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 43

CII-IWN Summit individual, as well, as a society and the nation, to ensure that every citizen, man or woman, contributes to their maximum.

I do see lot of change happening. Earlier in our time, there could be a question in my mind, whether I should work or not work. The next generation, I don’t think they think twice, when deciding to work.

Big revolution is happening and women are coming to workforce in much more meaningful way. I would only like that they should not hold themselves back.

They should contribute their maximum and understand their potential—there is huge potential in each one of you. You just have to understand that, and explore it and demonstrate to the world that you are second to none.

Both potential and leadership has no gender. But there are many stereotypes for leadership, mainly male and female leader that

come to the fore and get talked about. If you are asked to reflect on your own personal style, are there differences that you see in the management team? Seeing a council and having a mentor, is that difficult challenge and how have you gone through it?

Sharma: I think the leadership style, what is slightly different from women to men, is in the society claim and conventional thought of the public as well. It seems very happening and women are taking on more challenges, but we do still see statements, comments, behaviour, which suggests that society was not very empathic. Then off course the physical differences between man and woman that we are relying on, are also creating basic differences—such as acceptability and acceptable behaviours. Society does not accept certain behaviour from men and women. Our films talk about cyber cul-

Usha Sangwan, MD, LIC of India Sangwan has been the managing director of Life Insurance Corporation of India since November 1, 2013. She joined LIC as direct recruit officer in 1981. She has earned the distinction of being the first lady managing director of LIC, the largest insurer in the world serving over 300 million policies. She is also on the boards of Axis Bank, Ambuja Cements, BSE Ltd, Voltas Ltd, Gic re, LIC Singapore, LIC Nepal, LIC Srilanka. She has over 30 years of experience in insurance, marketing and financial sector. Sangwan has worked in almost all core areas of life insurance. She has been featured in Forbes List of 50 most powerful Business Women in Asia in 2015.

Sangwan holds a master's degree in Economics and a postgraduate diploma in Human Resource Management.

“In my case, I take every barrier as a challenge and not as a problem.

The more you can handle those challenges, the more empowered you feel. That has to be your attitude towards blocks and barriers. I don’t feel let down by blocks, I feel more empowered that I have to face these challenges and handle it. So, it rather empowers me” 44 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

ture, so there are societal differences that it talks about. I think, that weighs upon women sometimes and they tend to react and go overboard to compensate. That is probably a pattern that I have seen.

Intrinsically, women are over the years genetically programmed to be more accommodating…it is also because we still have societal issues that we have to deal with outside-the-work place—you may not be cooking at home or cleaning the home, but you are still expected to supervise—so that set of functionality resides very much on the table in India today. So, women are forced therefore to take the slots, and say now I am at work and now I am at home. That in the sense is quite good actually, because you don’t get very obsessive and tend to give space more easily. I think, if I have to look at patterns I have seen in terms of women leadership, these are the patterns that you will see.

Women are forced to time manage better and because of that they will seek space better. The negative is, we still have problems, sometimes we do seem to be compensating that by unnecessary aggressive behaviour—I don’t think it is productive.

You just need to incorporate yourself and do what’s right.

Sangwan: I think Shikha has been very modest in telling about leadership style.

First, I would like to comment on Shikha’s leadership style. I have seen her closely sitting in the board room—handling the board. Being a CEO, she has the quality of feminism and dominance both combined.

Very graceful lady—she will listen to everybody. I think that comes naturally to all of us because we have been listening from childhood, till our husband comes in and starts talking. Shikha listens to every board member and she has a knack of picking up your thoughts and ideas and converting them into strategies. That’s a big leadership quality. The point I would like to make about is that all of you may have your own unique qualities of leadership, which we are not aware of. So, most important in leadership is that we have to understand ourselves completely and confidently. Most of the time we don’t understand ourselves, we don’t know our strengths, we don’t know our weaknesses, we don’t know how to position ourselves in leadership role. Position yourself in the role and then learn as you go on. Understanding self is very important.

Secondly, they say that gender diversity and gender differences has to be celebrated—so leadership styles also have to be

celebrated. I don’t like to differentiate between female or a male leadership style.

Within male leadership style also you will see varieties of shades and ways they handle people. For me leadership position is a position of responsibility. So, if you want to be a good leader, you should be ready to take on that responsibility. As a leader you have to have a very clear vision and very clear objective, as to where and how you want to take your organisation or business ahead. You have to be clear about the objective. These are principles of leadership I have learnt during my journey to this position. The first challenging assignment which I was given was manager personal of a very difficult division and till that time I was not in a very prominent position. I remember, I went to my boss and asked what do you expect of me and he said only two words “Usha be fare and firm”. It is one mantra which is very important for me till today. Other things I have learnt from various positions I held is, work without fear or favour and be forward looking. So, these principles help you in your position and you can take very unbiased decisions. And once you take unbiased decisions, you don’t have any hidden agenda and your objective is clear to you and your team—people come along, people respond tremendously. There is no dearth of followers, there is dearth of leaders. If you are beyond any personal agendas and you have your clear objectives, you can articulate well with your team and you can take them forward.

Sharma: As Usha has talked about the fact that we are on the same board—we are very lucky to have Usha on the board.

And we are lucky that in the world people are now seeking out gender diversity. It helps in the quality of the conversation.

But, when I go back and talk about it, one thing I worry about in women leadership in a world where there are fewer women than men, is the issues of ethics. Sometimes women hurt themselves because of this over-compensation, they become too aggressive or they are too loud, or they try to kind of grab space. When you do that, then you build resistance. I do not forget the interactions that Usha has made at the board. There is lot of conversation that happen but she has never raised her voice, never been aggressive. She has been very upfront, very precise, and incisive about her inputs, and she plans it very well.

When you see Usha, you see an embodiment of how you can be feminine and also be very clear and assertive. If I have to give

port systems. One thing that I internalised many years ago is that human nature is fundamentally a giving nature. You make more friends asking for help than giving help, so just go and ask for help.

In your career there would have been road blocks or barriers that you have faced and tackled, how have you managed them?

Sangwan: I don’t think there is any-

“One thing that I internalised many years ago is that human nature is fundamentally a giving nature. You make more friends asking for help than giving help, so just go and ask for help” - Shikha Sharma

one piece of advice based on everything that I have seen is that women have lot of traits—you can fail in the workplace if you become overly aggressive. You don’t need to be aggressive.

How you seek councils? Women leaders having goals may not have that network to draw energy from councils and advise. Can you share with us on what you have done?

Sharma: If I look back at my career, I have

been very lucky. I have been forced into situations, I have tried to do things which I am not ready for. Because I was forced to do things—I came to the table knowing that I knew much less than those around me. Therefore I was not embarrassed to ask my colleagues, my juniors and experts in the area. I didn’t say that I don’t know, I will figure it out and come back. Once you get into that mindset and you are not carrying the burden of knowing everything or not being the expertise, I think, it actually opens up all the bottlenecks. You can go and ask anyone. Our networks may be different, but we have networks, we have sup-

body in the world who can say, I didn’t have problems, barriers or blocks. It is the mindset with which you handle your life. Life cannot be a straight line, it has to have ups and downs. You have to have that attitude, that I have to take life head-on and I have to handle blocks and barriers, as it comes my way—and not to be taken aback from it. In my case, I take every block as a challenge and not as a problem.

The more you can handle those challenges, the more empowered you feel. That has to be your attitude towards blocks and barriers. I don’t feel let down by blocks, I feel more empowered that I have to face these challenges and handle it, so it rather empowers me.

I can tell you many times the main problem that most of working and career women face is during the postings, as and when it happens. Particularly in public sector whenever you are posted or promoted, if you have small children, you have to leave them and take decisions. Many times I was told during my career that you have to choose between your family or your career. Whenever that question was put to me or solution given to me, I always felt more empowered to ask them if they will ask this question to men ever, to chose between family or career. If men can go forth with their career, why not women. So, that rather strengthened my resolve, to make it good at home as well as at office. Of course there were difficult times but I always overcame them. Life always gives you choices and always think it is your life. Every person writes his own life story. The choice in front of me when I was promoted was— my children were small— either to accept promotion or forgo. I knew that even if I forgo, the problems will not go. I knew that I have to be forward looking—how can I take care of my children and also take care of promotion. It is not easy, but if you have an attitude to find solution and not get bogged down by problems, you can find solutions. Of course you have to pay a price, you have to compromise somewhere, you have to sacrifice

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 45

CII-IWN Summit our heads—we have to forget about those barriers and have that conversation, and move on. When we do that and don’t get aggressive and have that conversation, I think lot can change. We have all those blocks in our head—what other people will say and what will they do—we don’t talk then and that creates the problem. Invariably, if you find the space for conversation and you talk, you will always find the way forward.

somewhere, but that is your choice. Don’t have regrets about it. Make a conscious choice , be clear and go at the depth and you will see that friends, family and everybody supports you in your journey. If you are double minded thinking that this is happening to me and nobody is helping me...if it is your life, make it your life and be a heroine.

Among different countries we are second lowest in terms of women participation and that is because women dropout during early stages of education and career. How much interplay of ambition, condition, good cultural expectation, has a bearing on that, what’s your perspective?

Sharma: Conditioning and mind-set

change definitely has a role—Usha has been saying repeatedly that don’t wait for anybody else to come and change, you start changing.

I will tell you a story about me personally. I was the first born girl child in the family. I was told that my grandma cried when I was born because the first child in the family was a girl. But my father was in the army and for him it didn’t matter and he treated me just like he treated my brothers. His ambition for me was as for my brother—he wanted me to do well in school and my career. The home that I lived in, I was given equal opportunity among my brothers—that’s how I grew up. So, it was important for me to do well in school, college and my career. I found my life partner, Sanjaya, who was my batch mate at IIM-A—that made a big difference. Because, ultimately life partners help and support each other. My motherin-law comes from a very traditional and cultured family from Benares. The culture was about, that women are supposed to be at the house, but interestingly in her family whether it was girl or boy, on education level they were given equal opportunity.

But very few women worked. My motherin-law was a fantastic school teacher and an outstanding singer, I have ever heard.

She never stopped me from working. The great thing is, she was very proud of me, about the fact that I made a career.

We adjusted and we were a happy couple—both husband and wife adjust and that’s what life is about. But to me the big thing was—that goes back to what Usha said—if you believe that you are doing the right thing and you are doing it in the right way, the traditional mindset will change. We keep those barriers in

Sangwan: I think, men are ambitious,

they are career conscious and they are working very hard in the organisations, wherever I have seen them. Women also are endowed with many qualities, but there are three qualities I would like to mention about, which helps them to be stronger and helps to make their place in the society and career. First is love and respect—give love and respect to your

family, your people, and your workforce, as much as you can give. It comes back in double measure—I strongly believe in it.

That helps you to build relationships.

Second is communication—the great strength of women to communicate. But we don’t communicate, we keep on expecting but we don’t communicate. We are complaining—husband has not done this thing, I have to do everything, I have to take care of family. Husband returns from work and says he is tired and asks you for a cup of coffee or tea. I want to say, have you ever told him that you had this meeting in the office, this all happened and this is how I have handled. Do you have any advice to offer—why don’t you be smart and engage him and tell him, why don’t you make a cup of coffee for me. Women are smart, but you have to show smartness in your day-to-day life with your near and dear ones also and it

Shikha Sharma, MD and CEO, Axis Bank

Sharma joined Axis Bank in 2009. Sharma has more than three decades of experience in the financial sector having begun her career with ICICI Bank in 1980. In ICICI group she has worked across various verticals like project finance, retail banking and investment banking. Her last assignment was as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company. Sharma is

46 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

a B.A. (Hons.) graduate and has done a postgraduate diploma in Software Technology. She also completed her MBA from the IIM - Ahmedabad.

Sharma has also been listed in prominent publications, such as Forbes List of Asia’s 50 Power Business Women - 2012, Indian Express Most Powerful Indians – 2012 and India Today Power List of 25 Most Influential Women - 2012.

“Don’t be shortterm in your thinking, think the long-term and the more you think the long term, life becomes easier.

Plan your life for long-term, make sure it’s sustainable”

works—your husband will also be happy to do something for you.

So, communication is a big tool in our hands. If your child is not coming up to your expectations, sit down with him— it is not about spending lot of time with your child. Most of the time I am told that I am not spending lot of time with my child. First thing is take out all that guilt, take out all negativity from your mind and focus on your work and on your family. The only obligation that you owe is to your consciousness. The moment you ask yourself, whether I am doing the right thing—take out that guilt feeling. It’s not about spending time with your child, it is about spending the right timing and the right type of communication happening with your child. I think, my children are best teachers to me. One question my daughter asks every time I talk to her— she is in Malaysia—you are in this position, what have you done for women? So, your children can be your friends, your guides, your teacher—they are so smart.

Today’s generation is so smart that they call us technologically challenged. Take the point which you want to convey and ensure that the other party listens, whether it is your child, husband, in-laws, your union people, your colleague, your boss.

Communication is very important.

Third area is you can make your way with least resistance and temptation—not delegating in office or to your child. The point I want make is, to be out of guilt and construct your child’s life in a very purposeful and meaningful way. Delegating is one and second thing is teach them some life skills, which is very important. I thought that I am a good mother—I treat my son and daughter rightfully, never ask my son and daughter to go to the kitchen. Today my son is better cook than my daughter. Don’t think that cooking is a female skill or you should not be doing it because you are a senior officer. Cooking is a life skill. If your child is eating out, eating fast food all the time—it is not good for their health. So, I tell my children that you must learn three life skills— cooking, swimming and making friends.

The point I want to make is, don’t have any guilt feeling, be sure you are bringing up your child in the right time, teach him the right values that will help them to start their life on their own feet. I have seen many women spoiling their children, be it housewife or working woman, out of guilt or out of pampering—please don’t do that because as a mother you have a role to play. And on Parents’ Day,

be in touch with your husband. Life is not take-it-as-it-comes, you have to plan, work for it and make it happy.

What are your thoughts and aspiration for the newer generation and what are you thankful for?

Sangwan: I am thankful to god every

morning when I get up that I am in living and everything is fine. So, I thank god for everything in my life. I love my family—I am very thankful and have lot of gratitude for them. I tell everybody, the moment you think you are able bodied very healthy person, you have food on your plate, you have something to do which is worthwhile in life—you are a blessed person. So, I am a blessed person that way and I thank god for that.

The new generation, they are very smart, they know themselves, they know where they are going. They are very aspirational. They want to achieve a lot in very little time. And our role as mentors, as parents is to tell them what we think is right. Have a conversation, not to just tell them what is right or wrong. We think children don’t listen and we stop telling them and in the apprehension they will not listen to you. It depends on how you talk, how you communicate and children will definitely listen. You have to convince them with logic.

I feel that the younger generation is going pretty fast—are taking credit and then they have to repay and work for and may be they are taking lot of stress in the process. They are not thinking in thousands and lakhs, they are thinking in crores and want to have it as soon as possible. They need to balance somewhere and be strong enough to face all challenges in life.

Sharma: As Usha said we are among the fortunate women and there is lot to be grateful for. My father has been a big influence to the family. I am grateful to the family I was born in and the family I was married into—I feel I am lucky. My teachers, they instilled the competence in me in the early stage. I owe the organisations that I worked with for giving me the opportunity. And I really owe a lot to my colleagues. I think, you become what you are because of lots of people and I am grateful to all of them. India is a great place, we have lot of good things going for us.

Two things that bother me about the new generation is—there is world of opportunity out there and that world of opportunity is much wider than what was there, when we started our career. And

“There is no dearth of followers, there is dearth of leaders. If you are beyond any personal agendas and you have your clear objectives, you can articulate well with your team, you can take them forward” - Usha Sangwan

it seems we get confused and it seems we get carried away a bit—you have a world of opportunity, you have a world of information and both of those can influence you, and you can make the right choices and you can make the wrong choices. It’s important to remember that life is becoming longer. If life expectancy was 65 years twenty years ago, today it might be 75–80 years. The world is changing, there are lots of opportunities, lots of information, you can get confused and life can get very wrong. So, don’t be short-term in your thinking, think the long-term and the more you think long term, life becomes easier. As you think long-term, plan your life for long-term, make sure it’s sustainable. Don’t get carried away. Do not fall to the lifestyle trap, because you are not going to be able to sustain. Learn new skills and adapt to the changing world. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Star Campus Placement

Sumit and his best friend Safwan

Surmounting fears is half the battle won

What was your experience with the entire process of campus placement?

The first hurdle to pass on my placement was the aptitude test. But as Maths is my favourite subject, I did not have much of a problem in that area. The only section that was a little problematic was the verbal section, for which I had to prepare a lot. So with hard work, I cleared the aptitude test. After the short-listing of candidates after the aptitude test, students had to undergo personal interviews, most of which would be technical. I was well prepared with my summer project and all the questions they could ask me. In the first round, I was asked a few technical questions. As I came from an engineering background, it was not at all difficult for me to answer those questions. Students who gave interview after me and before me were shortlisted, and went for the second round. I was not called. My confidence was getting low because I had given a very nice interview. Then, after three students were shortlisted, my name was called and I was sent for the second round of interviews. It was the HR round wherein they mainly checked our communication skills and confidence. The second round too went well.

But as other students were still waiting, I had to wait until all students gave their interviews. Twenty five students gave the first interview and eight were shortlisted for the next round. When they were about to announce the results, I was extremely nervous. They announced four names and my name was not among them. Then, at the end, they called my name. It was like a dream come true. I could not control my emotions and tears started to roll down my eyes.

Hailing from the small village of Kalameshwar in Gonhi taluka of Nagpur district, Sumit Milmile has hit the bullseye in the corporate world. Sumit came to Pune for studying, did his B.Tech (EnTC) and is today placed at Evalueserve in the role of Business Analyst.

Sumit shares his experience of campus placement with Corporate Citizen

By Joe Williams

Surmounting fears about the placement–were there any?

I was a little fearful about communicating in English, which I had to overcome. I practised public speaking. I took the help of my friends and started to communicate with them in English. I would expecially like to thank Pooja who helped me enormously in this. That is how I overcame my fear.

Tell us about your new journey.

I have got a wonderful opportunity to showcase my knowledge and skills, therefore, it’s 48 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Sumit having fun with friends

Sumit’s father and mother

now time for me to actually gear up and make my way to a successful career.

What really tested your mettle?

It was really a challenging phase at the time, when my friends were getting placed and I could not crack the interviews well, especially the aptitude tests. There was one or the other hurdle on the way. This not only lowered my confidence, but also created a lot of pressure. But somehow, I came through and fought for what was best for me.

Whom do you credit your success?

I would credit my success to my mom, dad, and my sisters, who have been supporting me all through. They have always been there to help me out in any problem. Friends, especially Safwaan, too have supported. Despite the fact that we were all backbenchers, they helped me gain knowledge and made me smile at all times.

How was your early academic life?

I did my schooling from K D High School at Pusad.

Throughout my schooling, I was very competitive and hardworking. I had given lots of talent search examinations and had stood first many times. I also was interested in cricket, so I have been part of my college cricket team. I did my XI from P N college of Arts and Science and my XII from Lokhit Junior College. During these two years I totally devoted my time to studies and came out with flying colours. I came to Pune and did my graduation from the GH Raisoni College of Engineering and Management in Electronics & Telecommunications. It was very tough for me since that was the first time to study away from home. In spite of that, I completed my graduation successfully. I had friends who were supportive.

Tell us about your family..

It was really a challenging phase at the time, when my friends were getting placed and I could not crack the interviews well, especially the aptitude tests. There was one hurdle or the other.

This not only lowered my confidence, but also created a lot of pressure. But somehow, I came through and fought for what was best for me

My father Prabhakar Milmile is a retired Maths professor and my mother Maya is a housewife. I have two sisters, the older one working with the Tech Mahindra and younger one with the Bajaj Allianz.

What are the six tricks that you would like to share with your juniors?

1. Set your goals and take steps accordingly.

2. Keep your knowledge updated.

3. Keep competing because there is no such thing called 'failure'. There's always a way to come out of any situation.

4. Believe in yourself.

5. Keep reading, it will increase your awareness.

6. Last but not the least, keep enjoying.... Enjoy each and every moment of your life. Keep smiling, always. joe78662@gmail.com January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Loved & Married too It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into wedlock.

Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real-life romances that got sealed in marriage

love conquers all And

Their relationship has traversed rocky terrain to reach where it has today.

Corporate couple Vishal Vyas and Meenakshi Shinde let us in on their journey of trust. Four-year-old Vihaan completes the picture

By Kalyani Sardesai

W

hen they left home 11 years ago to embark on their own little journey, they knew the hurdles were many: setting up home and hearth in a city like Pune, far removed from the security of their hometown Satara, finding suitable employment-and being without the safety net of family.

Still, both Vishal and Meenakshi were confident that the step they had taken-of marrying sans consent-was the right one. And that their faith in each other would see them through. Today, as they look back in satisfaction at all they've achieved together-Vishal is Vice President Vinsys IT services-and she a temporary housewife after a rewarding 10 years as a computer professional in various Pune-based companies-one thing is clear. "The cultural differences that are presented before a young couple as the biggest reason for not marrying outside the community don't make any difference when survival is the focus, and the two people only have each other to fall back on," says Vishal. A poignant-yetpertinent point. He's a deshastha brahmin; she's a Maratha-and this is their story as they tell it.

Back to the beginning

a government one. She did find one: in Guhagar, Konkan. That's when the friendship truly blosIt all started when Vishal Vyas-a Satara based, somed. "I used to ride all the way from Satara to electronics engineering student-cum-student Guhaghar, a distance of 200 plus kilometers, just activist-helped out a friend to set up a training to talk to her," says Vishal. institute. That's when he met a teacher at the In some time, Meenakshi reinstitute-Meenakshi Shinde. First signed from her Guhaghar job and impressions? "She spoke little, and found employment in Pune, as she did not suffer fools easily," smiles wanted to live in a bigger city. She Vishal. "She probably thought I also finished her master's degree. talked too much."

"By this time her parents had begun But gradually they broke the ice to look for a suitable marital alliance and started speaking to each otherfor her. They even finalised a match." only to discover there was much to l Believe in Deeply in love, both Vishal and appreciate. While Vishal appreciated each other− Meenakshi went from Satara to her focus and sincerity, Meenakshi over everything Pune-to talk the potential suitor out was struck by his intelligence, assortelse of the marriage. "Naturally, all hell ed interests (theatre, public speakbroke loose. Looking back, it's so sad ing, socio-political activism and l Celebrate that we were both comfortable talkreading) and his infectious energy. differences ing to a stranger instead of our fami"He has a way of connecting with l Don’t let lies," reminisces Vishal. The course people; bringing them together," she finances stop of events thereafter convinced them says. "It's rare." you from that they would have to take a firm But both had goals to achieve: enjoying life stand. "Meenakshi was summoned Vishal needed to complete his engiback home in disgrace; she was neering, while Meenakshi (slightly l Don’t let scolded and made aware of her reolder) - who had already completed arguments sponsibilities as a daughter. What her degree in computer sciencecontinue would people say?! No one else in needed to get a better job, preferably

50 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

The mantras of a marriage

where they would go-and what they would do.

"The two months that followed thereafter were a lasting lesson in life-and living. We fully knew the implications of the drastic step we had taken-and we knew we had to make it work," says Vishal. "Meanwhile, my father formally accepted us as a couple, but I knew the chasm would remain." The couple travelled from Pune to Bangalore to Mumbai to Satara-before finally heading back to Pune, looking for suitable accommodation and employment. "In those early days, there was little we could afford. I found a job first, but Meenakshi being highly qualified needed to wait before finding something appropriate." Gradually, one thing led to the otherand the two of them found their moorings. As of today, Vishal is vice president with Vinsys IT services. His work, that entails consulting, public speaking, and corporate training, requires him to travel abroad frequently, so Meenakshi has taken a sabbatical from her work to look after their little boy.

The building blocks of a marriage.

anced presence, I manage to take every task to its logical conclusion," he says.

Their life together has been rewarding in several ways. "Today, we have everything we need, but the times of financial constrain did not take away from the joy of discovery. We made great friends along the way," she says.

Both believe in respecting differences-even enjoying them. "For example, I prefer spicy cooking to the sedate fare that brahmin families enjoy as a staple. Though she is an ardent non-vegetarian, and I, a vegetarian, neither of us make an issue of it. When we go to a hotel, I stick to my veggies while she enjoys a thali of seafood. These diversities of preferences make life interesting."

Though the last decade has seen Vishal transform from a 'right wing' activist to an atheist, he is clear that none of beliefs are incumbent upon his wife who continues to be a devout Hindu.

Given his work schedules that have him travelling a lot, the parenting mostly falls on Meenakshi. "It was a well-thought out, mutual decision," she says. "This work profile, though demanding, is very fulfilling, allowing full expression

"I would say trust. Everything flows from there," says Vishal.

"Love, understanding, camaraderie.... practically everything worth having comes to you if only you trust yourself and your partner." "When we discuss something, the argu-

“The cultural differences that are presented before a young couple as the biggest reason for not marrying outside the community don’t make any difference when survival is the focus, and the two people only have each other to fall back on,� says Vishal the family had even thought of an inter-caste marriage. The Marathas are a tradition loving and clannish people, and the notion of marrying a brahmin boy was just atrocious," shares Vishal.

By this time, unable to make much headway with his engineering-given his multiple interests, Vishal was the owner of a stable and successful business, selling computers. They knew they could marry if they chose to. "However, I ensured that her family would not be able to initiate legal proceedings against us with the help of my contacts. She left home taking her ration card and other documents as proof of her age," he says.

With the help of their friends, the duo went through a simple, civil ceremony that duly declared them man and wife. A short phone call

by Vishal communicated to their families that they were both married. Now the question arose

ment is centred around the implications, not around the intentions," adds Meenakshi. "As a result, the arguments don't turn into something big."

The distance with the family still remains, but Vishal's sister was a major support around the time of Meenakshi's delivery. "This was one time we both missed our loved ones. The feeling of loneliness tends to intensify when you have such great news to share; but then, I guess that has inculcated in us a greater sense of responsibility towards each other and Vihaan," she says.

Vishal credits his wife with channelising his energy in the right direction. "I have huge reserves of enthusiasm; I can work 18 hours a day and love every moment of it. I had a tendency of taking on a lot, and not finishing it. But I have outgrown that. Thanks to her calming and bal-

to his multi-faceted personality. Besides, it's a fact that in the initial days of a child's life, it's the mother who plays the major role. Very close to his father, Vihaan insists on Skype calls with him before bed. And although he can't read, he shows a great interest in looking at his vast collection of books."

The family makes the most of the time they have together-watching movies and travelling to their farm in Satara. Meenakshi is the stricter, stay at home parent, Vishal believes in rationalising and explaining everything to their little boy. "I want to bring him up with the confidence that he can talk to us about anything, anytime," he says. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Global Cities Survey

Indian Cities emerging as Top Investment Destinations

India is a shining star on the global stage. The year 2016 has seen a rise in the investments in the country, and this trend is likely to continue. The reasons behind India’s emergence as the new investor darling can be seen in London based commercial property consultant Knight Frank’s Global Cities 2016 report, which examines the evolution of global cities and the tremendous opportunities they offer. Corporate Citizen takes a closer look at the survey to see how Indian cities compare to their global counterparts as investment destinations

52 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Bengaluru

10.5%

Mumbai

10%

Delhi

9.5%

Mexcico city

7%

Bejing

6.3%

Shanghai

6.3%

Melbourne

5.9%

Sydney

5.7%

Chicago

5.4%

Washington D.C Beijing has seen the most increase in office space rent in the world, going up a staggering 67.9% since 2007. Beijing is followed by San Francisco (54%) and Melbourne (22.6%) as cities with the most increase in office space rent. On the other hand, Singapore has shown a decline in rent prices by (38.9%) since 2007, followed by Madrid (35.7%) and Tokyo (22.2%). If we look at India, office space has become more expensive in the tech hub of Bengaluru by 8.2 %, while rates have come down in Mumbai and Delhi by 16.8% and 19% respectively, making them an ideal destination for investors.

5%

Los Angeles

4.9%

Frankfurt

4.5%

London

4%

Madraid

4%

New York City

4%

San Francisco

4%

OFFICE RENTS - CHANGE ON 2007 BASED ON END OF 2015 FORECAST

SINGAPORE -38.9%

MADRID -35.7%

TOKYO -22.2%

DELHI -19.0%

MUMBAI -16.8%

PARIS -8.9%

CHICAGO -2.0%

NEW YORK CITY -1.3%

HONG KONG -0.2%

FRANKFURT 0.0%

LOS ANGELES 1.0%

MEXICO CITY 7.3%

10% 0%

SHANGHAI 2.8%

20%

BENGALURU 8.2%

40% 30%

WASHINGTON DC 8.3%

50%

LONDON 10.2%

60%

SYDNEY 18.4%

70%

MELBOURNE 22.6%

80%

San Francisco 54.0%

According to the UN, the world’s population is set to increase by 38 crore in the next five years. This will lead to large scale migration to cities, increasing the pressure on them to support a large population. Cities are also seen as primary investment opportunities around the globe, but they need to buck up their infrastructure to attract investors.

According to Knight Frank, there are five major infrastructure projects going on in the world which investors are eagerly anticipating, and the planned Delhi-Mumbai Investment Corridor is on the list.

Another factor that attracts investors in real estate is rates for commercial purposes. In cities like Beijing, office space rates have skyrocketed in recent years, making them unfeasible for investors. India, comparatively, is quite affordable. Office space rent has fallen in Mumbai and Delhi, while it is slightly high in the tech hub of Bengaluru. However, compared to global prices, Indian cities is still quite affordable, and this is something investors don’t want to pass up on.

Return of Investment (ROI) is another parameter which plays an important role in convincing investors to pump in their money. On that front, India has done fabulously according to the survey. Bengaluru is the world’s top investment yielding city, followed by Mumbai and Delhi.

Cities like London and San Fransisco are much below Indian cities vis-avis ROI. Finally, Modern Retail has recently been introduced to India, yet compared to other global cities, India still has 89% of its trade happening in traditional format. This presents a huge opportunity for investors to make forays into India’s Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, which are huge markets for retail.

Let's look at these points in detail.

PRIME YIELDS - END OF 2015 FORECAST

India has the top three cities for return on investment according to the survey.

Bengaluru (10.5%) has been ranked as the best city for Prime Yield’s in the world, followed by Mumbai (10%) and Delhi (9.5%). These cities are way ahead of erstwhile popular destination such as Los Angeles ( 4.9%), Frankfurt (4.5%) and London (4%) in office rents worldwide

Bejing 67.9%

A

India, most popular destination for Investment Yields

-10% -20% -30% -40%

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Global Cities Survey

India appears in the world’s major upcoming infrastructure projects list There are five major infrastructure projects that investors are eagerly anticipating, which have the potential to exponentially increase trade connectivity, and a major Indian infrastructure project makes the cut. Let us consider them in detail.

➊CHINA’S GLOBAL RAILWAY LINK

China is using rail to speed up transporting freight to Europe on routes running through Russia, or via Iran and Turkey. To improve connections, a US $40 billion Silk Road Fund has been established to finance the infrastructure project.

➋

AFRICA’s INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

A major infrastructure project in Kenya is LAPSSET (Lamu Port and Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor). This consists of a new 30-berth port and oil refinery at Lamu, which will be connected to Nairobi and the borders of Ethiopia and South Sudan by rail, road and oil pipelines.

DELHI–MUMBAI ➌THE INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR The Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is a development zone that will be targeted for investment to build up new industries to support India’s rapid urbanisation. The project will be partly backed by Japanese investment. The transport backbone will be a freight rail line called the Dedicated Western Freight Corridor, which is intended to push down logistics costs in the region.

Along the corridor, smart cities are to be developed, as well as three new sea ports and six airports. The city of Dholera has been declared a Special Investment Region, with a target of tripling industrial output and quadrupling exports in the next five years. The long term goal is to create a new mega city for India. IBM and Cisco have been contracted to transform Dholera into a smart city.

54 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

➍EXPANDING THE PANAMA AND SUEZ CANALS

The Suez Canal’s lane has just been doubled in width to allow ships to sail in both directions, with plans to develop the land along its banks into an industrial zone.

Modern Trade As a result of high profile investment projects in India, as well as the projected high yields, India is becoming an attractive destination for modern trade.

➎SUPER AIRPORTS

Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, which opened in 2010, is to be expanded from a current freight capacity of 1 million tons of cargo per annum to 16 million tons. Singapore’s Changi International Airport has a new fourth terminal under construction, which will increase the airport’s capacity to 82 million passengers a year. Also, plans are being advanced for a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport, which would allow it to handle up to 102 million passengers.

GLOBAL MARKETS: MACRO COMPARISONS (2015)

AUSTRALIA

Total retail format sales/capita (U.S.$)*

BRAZIL

Traditional trade** Modern trade

CHINA

Domestic International

FRANCE

GERMANY

8,560

2,388

2,238

8,056

7,167

8% 92%

46% 52%

22% 78%

7% 93%

3% 97%

89% 11%

89% 13%

97% 3%

86% 14%

85% 15%

INDIA

RUSSIA

JAPAN

U.K.

U.S.

793

7,398

3,252

8,014

11,687

11% 89%

16% 84%

52% 48%

3% 97%

6% 94%

98% 2%

96% 4%

93% 7%

78% 44%

96% 4%

As can be seen from the figure, 94% of trade in the US and 97% in the UK is Modern Retail, whereas India is the lowest at 89% of traditional format retail in the form of kirana stores and family owned shops as opposed to the organised sector. This is a tremendous opportunity to invest in retail in India, and a lot of foreign players like Walmart and Tesco are taking notice. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Health

12

Simple tips to

improve your

sleep

Researchers have identified a variety of practices and habits—known as “sleep hygiene"—that can help anyone maximise the hours they spend sleeping, even those whose sleep is affected by insomnia, jet lag, or ‘shift’ work.

F

alling asleep may seem like an impossible dream when you’re awake at 3 a.m., but good sleep is more under your control than you might think. Following healthy sleep habits can make the difference between restlessness and restful slumber. Sleep hygiene may sound unimaginative, but it just may be the best way to get the sleep you need in this 24/7 age. Here are some simple tips for making the sleep of your dreams a nightly reality:

1

Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and Other Chemicals that Interfere with Sleep

Caffeinated products decrease a person’s quality of sleep.

As any coffee lover knows, caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you awake. So avoid caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola, and some pain relievers) for

four to six hours before bedtime.

Similarly, smokers should refrain from using tobacco products too close to bedtime.

Although alcohol may help bring on sleep, after a few hours it acts as a stimulant, increasing the number of awakenings and generally decreasing the quality of sleep later in the night. It is therefore best to limit alcohol consumption to one to two drinks per day, or less, and to avoid drinking within three hours of bedtime.

2

Turn Your Bedroom into a Sleep-Inducing Environment

A quiet, dark, and cool environment can help promote sound slumber. Why do you think bats congregate in caves for their daytime sleep? To achieve such an environment, lower the volume of outside noise with earplugs or a "white noise" appliance. Use heavy curtains, blackout shades, or an eye mask

56 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

3

to block light, a powerful cue that tells the brain that it's time to wake up. Keep the temperature comfortably cool—between 60 and 75°F—and the room well ventilated. And make sure your bedroom is equipped with a comfortable mattress and pillows.

(Remember that most mattresses wear out after ten years.)

Also, if a pet regularly wakes you during the night, you may want to consider keeping it out of your bedroom.

It may help to limit your bedroom activities to sleep and sex only. Keeping computers, TVs, and work materials out of the room will strengthen the mental association between your bedroom and sleep.

Sleep Routine

Establish a Soothing Pre-

Go to Sleep When You’re

Light reading before bed is a good way to prepare yourself for sleep.

Ease the transition from wake time to sleep time with a period of relaxing activities an hour or so before bed. Take a bath (the rise, then fall in body temperature promotes drowsiness), read a book, watch television, or practice relaxation exercises. Avoid stressful, stimulating activities— doing work, discussing emotional issues. Physically and psychologically stressful activities can cause the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with increasing alertness. If you tend to take your problems to bed, try writing them down—and then putting them aside.

4

If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep in about 20 minutes, get up and engage in a quiet, restful activity such as reading or listening to music body’s "internal clock" to expect sleep at a certain time night after night. Try to stick as closely as possible to your routine on weekends to avoid a Monday morning sleep hangover. Waking up at the same time each day is the very best way to set your clock, and even if you did not sleep well the night before, the extra sleep drive will help you consolidate sleep the following night.

8

Nap Early—Or Not at All

Many people make naps a regular part of their day.

However, for those who find falling asleep or staying asleep through the night problematic, afternoon napping may be one of the culprits. This is because lateday naps decrease sleep drive. If you must nap, it’s better to keep it short and before 5 p.m.

9 6

11

Lighten Up on Evening Meals

Truly Tired

Struggling to fall sleep just leads to frustration. If you’re not asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed, go to another room, and do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music until you are tired enough to sleep.

5

Don’t Be a Nighttime Clock-Watcher

Staring at a clock in your bedroom, either when you are trying to fall asleep or when you wake in the middle of the night, can actually increase stress, making it harder to fall asleep. Turn your clock’s face away from you.

And if you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep in about 20 minutes, get up and engage in a quiet, restful activity such as reading or listen-

ing to music. And keep the lights dim; bright light can stimulate your internal clock. When your eyelids are drooping and you are ready to sleep, return to bed.

Use Light to Your Advantage

Natural light keeps your internal clock on a healthy sleep-wake cycle. So let in the light first thing in the morning and get out of the office for a sun break during the day.

7

Keep Your Internal Clock Set with a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Having a regular sleep schedule helps to ensure better quality and consistent sleep.

Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day sets the

Eating a pepperoni pizza at 10 p.m. may be a recipe for insomnia. Finish dinner several hours before bedtime and avoid foods that cause indigestion. If you get hungry at night, snack on foods that (in your experience) won't disturb your sleep, perhaps dairy foods and carbohydrates.

10

Balance Fluid Intake

Drink enough fluid at night to keep

from waking up thirsty—but not so much and so close to bedtime that you will be awakened by the need for a trip to the bathroom.

Exercise Early

Exercise helps promote restful sleep if it is done several hours before you go to bed.

Exercise can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly—as long as it's done at the right time.

Exercise stimulates the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which helps activate the alerting mechanism in the brain.

This is fine, unless you're trying to fall asleep. Try to finish exercising at least three hours before bed or work out earlier in the day.

Follow Through

Some of these tips will be easier to include in your daily and nightly routine than others. However, if you stick with them, your chances of achieving restful sleep will improve. That said, not all sleep problems are so easily treated and could signify the presence of a sleep disorder such as apnea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, or another clinical sleep problem.

If your sleep difficulties don’t improve through good sleep hygiene, you may want to consult your physician or a sleep specialist.

(Story Source: http://healthysleep. med.harvard.edu)

12

CC

tadka Rs 10,000 Notes existed in India Did you know that india initially had a Rs 10,000 note? It was in effect till January 1946 when the Reserve Bank of India discontinued Rs 10,000 notes.Eight years later, in 1954, Rs 10,000 was brought back in a fresh avatar and a Rs 5,000 rupee note introduced. Later, in 1978, the Morarji Desai government that took over after a resounding vote against the Emergency in 1977 demonetised the big value notes.

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Pearls of Wisdom

By Swami Chaitanya Keerti

The Green-eyed Monster:

Jealousy

Instead of becoming fellow travellers in search of love, beauty and truth, people are wasting their time in fighting, in jealously.

Just become a little alert and start the change from your side— don’t expect it from the other side. It will begin from the other side too

S

omeone on the internet defines jealousy as: ‘An emotion experienced by one who perceives that another person is giving something that s/he wants (typically attention, love or affection) to a third party. For example, a child will likely become jealous when her parent gives sweets to a sibling but not to her. On an interpersonal level it is a threat felt from an outsider to an important relationship in which one is involved and produces feelings of anger and fear. It is a state of fear, suspicion or envy over one’s possessions.’

This is just one aspect of jealousy—there are several other aspects of this emotion also that we suffer from in our daily life. A man becomes immediately jealous when another man attracts his woman— and the same is the case with woman also.

This does not happen only to ordinary men or women, this happens to all, and even to those rare scientists who are able to reveal the deepest mysteries of the universe, and to those great thinkers and philosophers who reveal to us the greatest mysteries of our mind. It happens to everyone who is human.

Here I would like to quote what scientists have discovered recently (Courtesy Daily Mail): ‘Scientists discover the jealousy lobe: The green-eyed monster that lives in your brain. It is a vice that few can avoid but that nobody craves.

Now that area of the brain which controls jealously has been found, scientists have announced.

It is the same part which detects real physical pain—perhaps explaining why feeling envious of your lover’s philandering ways hurts so much.

The spot which makes people delight in other’s misfortune—called schadenfreude—was also located by the team.

‘It’s interesting the part of the brain which de-

tects physical pain is also associated with mental pain,’ said Hidehiko Takahashi, who led the research. ‘Assessing these feeling of jealousy will possibly be helpful in mental care such as counselling.’

‘Envy is corrosive and ugly, and it can ruin your life,’ Richard Smith, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky told The New York Times. ‘If you’re an envious person, you have a hard time appreciating a lot of the good things

58 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

that are out there, because you’re too busy worrying about how they reflect on the self.’

In the experiments, 19 students were asked to talk of a more successful rival while having MRI scans, which monitor brain activity. A part of their frontal lobe became more active when the students felt jealous of their rivals, the Japanese study showed. They then read a story in which the subject of their envy suffered a series of misfortunes,

“It is good that we have to discover by our hands every treasure that is hidden in life…and love is one of the greatest treasures in existence. But instead of becoming fellow travellers in search of love, beauty and truth, people are wasting their time in fighting, in jealously”

including food poisoning. Their scan data showed the mishaps sparked greater activity in the ‘reward reaction’ part of the brain, which normally lights up when receiving social and financial fortune.

‘We have a saying in Japanese, “The misfortunes of others are the taste of honey,”’ said Mr Takahashi.

‘The ventral striatum is processing that “honey.”’

And there appears to be a relationship between jealousy and schadenfreude. The scientists noted

that the more jealous one person was of another, the more schadenfreude they felt at that person’s downfall. ‘We now have a better understanding of the mechanism at work when people take pleasure in another’s misfortune,’ said Mr Takahashi.

‘This is the way other needs-processing systems like hunger and thirst work,’ Matthew Lieberman of the psychology department at the University of California, Los Angeles, who

co-wrote a commentary that accompanies the report, told The New York Times. ‘The hungrier or thirstier that you feel, the more pleasurable is when you finally eat or drink.’

There’s so much to write on this subject that one would need thousands of pages. But if we just remember one point, we won’t need thousands of pages to understand—and that point is jealousy is there because love is missing: Osho points out: Love is the ultimate law. You just have to discover its beauties, its treasures.

You have not to repeat, parrot-like, all the great values which make man the highest expression of consciousness on this planet. You should exercise them in your relationship.

‘And this has been my strange experience: If one partner starts moving on the right lines, the other follows sooner or later. Because they both are hungry for love, but they don’t know how to approach it.’

No university teaches that love is an art and that life is not already given to you; that you have to learn from scratch. And it is good that we have to discover by our hands every treasure that is hidden in life…and love is one of the greatest treasures in existence. But instead of becoming fellow travellers in search of love, beauty and truth, people are wasting their time in fighting, in jealously. Just become a little alert and start the change from your side—don’t expect it from the other side. It will begin from the other side too.

And it costs nothing to smile, it costs nothing to love, it costs nothing to share your happiness with somebody you love.

(Swami Chaitanya Keerti is associated with Osho World Foundation, New Delhi. He is the editor of monthly magazine Osho World. This article is an excerpt from his book, “Mindfulness: The Master Key”)

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Bollywood biz

Movies on

mental health

Bollywood tends to play it safe when it comes to movie genres. Mental illness, in particular, is a genre producers would steer clear of till a decade ago. Unlike Hollywood, which has produced legendary movies like ‘A Streetcar named Desire’, ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, ‘Rain Man’ and many others.

In stark contrast, Bollywood has generally avoided the subject. All that is changing as audiences are becoming more and more discerning, and filmmakers are now making commercial movies on the subject.

Corporate Citizen presents the best movies centred on mental health

By Neeraj Varty

astu Budget – `1.8 cr Box Office Collection – `2.5 cr Astu is a Marathi film, about a renowned scholar of ancient scriptures suffering from Alzheimer’s goes missing from his daughter’s car and the subsequent hunt for him. Astu is not just a movie about an old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. The film is much more than just that. It is a scholar’s struggle to recall his memories, a daughter’s struggle to find her missing father and her recollection of happier times. The movie is a must watch for Mohan Agashe’s nuanced portrayal of the lead character, which is simply spectacular.

60 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Dear Zindagi Budget – `22 cr Box Office Collection – `100 cr The latest movie to be centred on mental illness is the Shahrukh Khan Alia Bhatt starrer Dear Zindagi. Dear Zindagi deals with the widely present but often ignored condition of Clinical Depression. Alia Bhatt is a successful cinematographer, but struggles with coping with day to day activities due to depression. She finds a life coach in the form of psychiatrist Jehangir Khan (SRK) who helps her deal with the root cause of the depression.

A Beautiful Mind Budget – $58 M Box Office Collection – $313 M A Beuatiful Mind is an autobiographical film on Nobel Prize winning American mathematician John Nash, who despite suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, overcame his illness and went on to make fundamental contributions in the field of game theory, differential geometry, and the study of partial differential equations. Starring Russel Crowe as John Nash, this film is truly inspirational, and went on to win four Oscars in at the 2002 Academic Awards.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Budget – $3 M Box Office Collection – $109 M One of the greatest films ever made, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is way ahead of its time. Released in 1975, this Jack Nicholson starrer is has been ranked as the 20th greatest movie of all time by the American Film institute. The movie centers on a criminal who pleads insanity in order to get a lighter prison sentence, and goes to a mental institution where he leads a rebellion against the oppressive nurse who is terrorizing the scared patients. The film was only the second ever win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor in Lead Role, Actress in Lead Role, Director, and Screenplay)

Piku Budget – `42 cr Box Office Collection – `141 cr This comedy-drama was directed by Shoojit Sircar, and stars Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Irrfan Khan in lead roles. Although not stated exclusively in the film, Bachchan’s character, Bhashkor, seems to be suffering from hypochondria, which is a mental condition wherein the person, in the absence of any physical illness, believes they must be suffering from some physical illness, often causing them to become unusually alarmed about their health. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Mobile apps

Gadgets to help you get a good night’s sleep

Life is becoming stressful. In the midst of the urban jungle we live in, getting a good night’s sleep has become a luxury. Which is why, we need all the help we can get to grab some blissful sack time. Corporate Citizen presents the best gadgets to help you get that elusive ticket to snooze town By Neeraj Varty Fitbit One Price – `6,799

Fitbit one is a fitness tracker which you simply strap onto your wrist. It not only records your heartbeats, steps walked during the day and calories burnt, it also tracks your sleep to give you detailed statistics on the number of hours your slept, the number of times your sleep was interrupted during the night, and the link between the amount you exercised during the day and the resultant effect on your sleep.

Sound + Sleep Nomad Price-`5,400

Often times, it’s hard to fall asleep due to irritating background noises such as traffic or the TV playing in another room. Now imagine falling asleep to the sound of waves hitting the shore, or trees swaying in the wind.

This compact gadget does just that, masking the annoying sounds from the background and replacing them with the most soothing sounds from nature. The device senses when you fall asleep and automatically shuts itself down.

62 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

Glo to Sleep Mask Price – `1,999

Stress can be one of the biggest obstacles to sound sleep, and this gadget is just the solution for that.

Strap this mask onto your face, and you will forget all your day’s problems by focusing on the lines of light emmited by the mask, which will slowly lull you into a meditative state.

The soft foam in the mask blocks out sunlight, so you can use it anytime during the day as well. This gadget is ideal for power naps which will rejuvenate you to face the rest of the day.

Night wave sleep assistant Price – `2,999

This device emits a blue light that shines onto your ceiling.

Match your breathing to match the beat of the light’s pulses, which slows down over a half hour period, easing the transition from being wide awake to enjoying the deepest of sleep. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

Beyond the bottomline

Leave festive lethargy behind While we understand that procrastination will lead to a heavier burden later on, we still put off tasks. Here’s how you should overcome. By Suchismita Pai

‘T

is the season’, as they say.

Winter is crammed full of festivals and celebrations for most of us. It is also the season that has shorter days and psychologically less time to work in. If the festivities and the weather are conspiring to make you procrastinate, it is time to conspire a bit on your own and beat them at their own game.

People procrastinate for many reasons, but the result is always the same: they rush to get the task done at the last minute or miss the deadline. Even though it feels frustrating to procrastinate, people still continue this bad habit. Why?  Mountain of work syndrome – After a longish period of celebration there is generally more work piling up at the office. This could be the emails that fill up our in boxes or the proposals that now have no reason not be sent out or responded to.  Disagreeable tasks – Even the most exciting work rests on the bedrock of mundane tasks. We all have our bug-bears. The things we do not like to do but which are a part of our larger job descriptions. This could be catching up with filing or accounting expenses or submitting a travel report that we are always looking to put off.  Emotional avoidance – After that lovely break with friends and family isn’t it hard to get back to work with someone we may not necessarily agree with or even actively dislike?

We put off things when we do not like those with whom we have to work on the task.  Lack of energy - Getting out of the post festival lazy mode is not always easy and makes us procrastinate even more.

We are programmed to put off tasks says

Caroline Webb in the Harvard Business review.

Based on research that says we all have a present–bias which means we take an easier present even if it means more trouble in the future. So while we understand that procrastination will lead to a heavier burden later on, we still put off tasks.

So this season here is what you need to do – Small steps – Break down a task so that it does not feel insurmountable. If you have to send out a proposal, start by just breaking it down to data collection or researching older proposals. That might be easier in our less energised, post festive states.

Go public – State your task. If you tell a colleague or promise a boss to give in a task in a

son as a a e s e iv t s e f t s o Think of the p n why it is o s u c o f d n a g in new beginn dislike. e w t a h t s k s ta ish important to fin the job done t e g d n a w e n a Start

specified time, he will not only be delighted, it will also force you to work on it. Once you share something it is more difficult to put it off.

So go ahead, set a public deadline.

Reward yourself for taking the step – If you need a treat to make your dreaded task easier, go ahead and get one. This can be either a task you like or taking an unexpected break from it so you can savour the victory you have begun working towards.

Trust yourself to be prepared – The marines whose motto is to be prepared at all times apparently work on the 70% principle which means that when you feel you have 70% of what is needed to complete the task, you should go ahead. This can be energy, information, support and resources as it is unlikely that we will have a 100% of all we need, but this is no reason to procrastinate.

Lastly, think of the post festive season as a new beginning and focus on why it is important to finish tasks that we dislike. Start anew and get the job done.

So shake off that festival lethargy and celebrate with a new resolution – to finish all the most disliked tasks first. After all, festivals should bring out the best in all of us! paisuchi@gmail.com

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 63

astroturf

Rat

(1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) Chinese zodiac forecasts for the Rat sign predict good family relations and lot of social interaction. Career might take some time to move forward but do not be lazy as this will affect your progress. Sleep well and be relaxed at all times. This is a year that you should use to advance in life, or make yourself better in some way.

Ox

(1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009) The year of the rooster 2017 predictions for the Ox is favourable. All your hard work will pay off. But be sure not to show off or become arrogant.

Finances and health too will be stable. So start saving today for the rainy day! Things will move quickly this year. Even though you have the extra energy this year you should still try to pace yourself. Keep working hard at work and at home.

Tiger

(1950, 1962, 1974, 1986,

1998, 2010) The Tiger sign which is the 3rd in the Chinese calendar will have an auspicious year. But be ready to get some news that might make your life go upside down. But don’t worry you will have enough support to overcome adversity. Although you may like leading in your life, don’t be afraid to let others help out this year.

Rabbit

(1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011) The 2017 Chinese yearly horoscope foretells that the Rabbits might feel a little shaken at times when they are

success comes with hard work and patience

After the year of the Monkey comes the year of the Rooster, which begins on January 28, 2017. The Rooster being the sign of dawn and awakening, triumph and success can only be achieved at the price of hard work and patience in 2017. (https://www.karmaweather.com) not the ones in control. Think twice before making any kind of personal or professional commitment. One great way to get ahead this year is to be focused on what you want.

Dragon

(1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012) The highly ambitious Chinese zodiac Dragon will do well in this Rooster year 2017. The Chinese horoscope forecast shows that if you correct your strategies then there is no limit to your success. Think well before making any major decision. This year is bound to seem a little crazy at times.

Twists and turns will come your way all year.

Snake

(1953, 1965, 1977, 1989,

2001, 2013) The Chinese horoscope for 2017 predicts a prosperous and successful year for the Snakes.

Projects will turn out to be profitable. Relationships will be happy and joyful. You will save money for your future retirement. And you will enjoy eating Chinese food which is less spicy. Your emotions will rule your year. Make sure

64 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

that you do not only choose pleasure above all else.

Horse

(1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014) The year 2017 will be the Chinese year for the Horses to work hard. This is not the time to sit back and relax. Nor sit and dream about glory and riches.

Do not let your impatience or anger get in the way of your work and relationships. This is a rather straight-forward and unchanging year. This is a time to get all your affairs in order and to take control of your life.

Sheep

(1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015) People born in the year of the Sheep will be blessed with excellent earnings and wealth.

You can also expect success in business and promotions in jobs.

Relationships for the goats might be a little dicey. But you have the courage to face most issues with a positive mind. Try being active this year.

Monkey

(1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) The year 2017 of the red

fire rooster will bring new opportunities for the Monkeys.

This is the period when you need to get all your ideas, thoughts together and plan for the future. And do not forget to spend time with your family.

Make sure that you keep yourself flexible this year.

Rooster

(1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005) Those born in the year of the rooster will have an excellent lunar new year 2017. Do not get carried away by success and money. Remember to take rest and spend sufficient time with family and friends. The Rooster animal sign will end up being the mediator in most cases. Work on things that will improve your life.

Dog

(1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) The Dogs in 2017, need to be careful not to get into unwanted quarrels and misunderstandings. This might be a confusing year but as long as you don’t lose track, you will be able to face all problems.

Remember good days are right ahead. You will feel more energised and in control of your life this year.

Pig

(1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) The Chinese New Year 2017 horoscope foretells that the Pigs will have a mixed year.

Career and business for the boars might be a bit slow but your previous investments will start paying off. Go easy on relationships and do not be in a hurry to get committed. Your life is begging to balance itself out, so let it.

From (http://www.sunsigns.org/ chinese-horoscope-2017)

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CORPORATE CULTURE

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

INTERVIEW

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

Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR

UNFLINCHING SUPPORT

January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

It’s Happy New Year It’s still January of 2017 and there is enormous work to be done to lift the country and the world out of the morass it has sunk into at the end of the year. I do feel there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about the coming year

I

t’s January 2018. India has taken its place not only as a full member of the UN Security Council but also as the undisputed leader amongst all nations, clocking a GDP growth of 10% for the last quarter of 2017.

Prime Minister Modi, after the breathtaking success of his demonetisation program and the success in eliminating both the stock and flow of black money in the system has been hailed all over the world as the tallest international statesman of our times. Donald Trump has done a complete volte face after being sworn in as the US President and built bridges with all nations.

And recognising the unmatchable capabilities of the Indian IT talent, he has doubled the visas available for Indian companies and provided fast track citizenship to all Indians in the US. And in a remarkable act of statesmanship, he has worked with the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to broker a lasting peace in the sub-continent and made “Aman Ki Asha” a reality between the two neighbours!

Okay, okay, wake up the dream is over. It’s still January of 2017 and there is enormous work to be done to lift the country and the world out of the morass it has sunk into at the end of the year.

Every successive appointment to the Donald Trump administration has sent shivers down the spines of the moderates and all the threats of the fashion designers that they will not transfer their attention from Michelle Obama to the new

First Lady and the other worriers in the US and the world have not dissuaded the President-elect from treading the path he promised in his campaign. The tirade against outsourcing may have initially been against manufacturing firms but the Indian IT sector is still watching to see the effect, the triple whammy of Trump, BREXIT and digital transformation will have on its fortunes, with growth rates already declining to single digits for the first time since 2008.

The implementation issues around demonetisation have created alarms all over the country and with an expected two per cent impact on near term GDP growth it will take a lot of heavy lifting to prevent a slide into a recessionary situation. The move to train and move a large segment of the underserved population towards a “Cash Mukt Bharat” is an “abhiyaan” on the scale of Swachh Bharat or Digital Literacy that gets a lot of support from industry leaders and associations. This does present an opportunity for a truly digital India to emerge on the heels of an e-wallet and e-banking aware population and if a couple of hundred thousand crores of money surfacing in banks reach lakhs of Jan Dhan accounts, it may prove to be an economic and political masterstroke for PM Modi and Government.

Our own industry represented

by NASSCOM and NASSSCOM Foundation has worked shoulder to shoulder with the Government to ensure that many of our young

66 / Corporate Citizen / January 1-15, 2017

employees work on volunteering campaigns to educate people in the surrounding slums and other hamlets in key IT cities on the virtues and methods of going digital. Digitising India is no longer a dream, it’s fast becoming a reality and in our own city of Pune, a visionary Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar and the support of many agencies like Pune City Connect with its ambitious Skills

“The Indian IT sector is still watching to see the effect, the triple whammy of Trump, BREXIT and digital transformation will have on its fortunes...”

Lighthouse and 100 per cent Digital Literacy initiative for the city will ensure that our city stays ahead of the pack. It is a somewhat sad fallout of the cash shortage in the economy that the retail and manufacturing sector has drifted into low growth after all the positive signs of a manufacturing revival around Diwali time and one hopes that by the middle of the year, we should see the economy chugging on all cylinders again.

On other fronts, there is significant promise in the New Year. The entrepreneurial juices continue to flow in the country with angel funds and venture capital available aplenty for worthy initiatives with good management teams. We have seen an excellent response from CEO and CHROs to one of our incubated start-ups, Skills Alpha which has built a category creating digital platform for career management and adaptive learning for young employees in large organisations and opportunities galore for new economy entrepreneurs who have the intellect to create something new and the staying power to build product-market connects before they seek external funding.

And when all is well with Indian cricket, all looks well for the country. The indomitable Virat Kohli has knit a first-class team together and while the real tests will follow when they tour, the competitiveness of this team and the entrepreneurial risks they are willing to take will serve as a role model for youth in every sector of business and other activity in the country. The new focus on hockey, soccer, badminton and even kabbadi will ensure that modern youth do not just have to obsess with their cricketing Gods.

So, I do feel there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about the coming year. Let’s hope you all feel the same way!

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

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