INTERVIEW Natwar Kadel, Senior Manager, ER Planning Team, Hyundai Motor India Volume 4, Issue No.12 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
Survey
Digital Consumer Insights Survey 2018
September 1-15, 2018 / `50
SESSION
Rubber industry stalwarts discuss the ups and downs in the industry
Loved And Married
Meghashyam Shirodkar and Arwa Poonawala on togetherness and why love counts
Dynamic Duo: 76
Sagacious Strategist Sidharth Balakrishna, Group Strategy Head and Executive Director, Zee Group and Surabhi Shukla, Executive Publisher, Elsevier, on their journey of courage together
CHANGE MAKERS
Young change makers under the EduMentum umbrella
2 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 67
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Your issue dated Aug 1, was by all accounts an outstanding issue—with big stalwarts like Padma cORpORATE STALWART Bhushan awardee, Lt. Gen. Taking Stock Satish Nambiar (retd.) and Ashish Chauhan, MD & MINDMINE SUMMIT CEO, BSE, on the cover and their insightful interINTERVIEW views. Each story in your magazine is a heart-warmDYNAMIc DUO: 75 ing reminder of the preciousness of human life and LOVED & MARRIED TOO experiences. I can’t believe that it’s already been four years since you started the SURVEY magazine. I have really enjoyed reading Dr Sanjeev Nair interview, the different roles he plays in the corporate world and his love for theatre and art. Given the state of the economy of our country, it is clear that we desperately need many more people like Sanjeev Nair and Ashishkumar Chauhan—that is, individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. — Priyanka Nair, senior finance manager Volume 4 Issue No. 10 Pages 68
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I have been reading your magazine for the past several months and I must say that I am impressed with the overall layout of your magazine. It is different from most other business magazines as it has a mix of business and human-interest stories. Most other business magazines are full of data and statistics and carry no content on the human side of business; while your magazine does focus on the human side of business—the passion, aspirations, trials and tribulations involved in achieving business success are just as important as are data and statistics. I am an executive with a prominent recruitment firm, and related very well with the Mindmine Summit covered in your August 1 issue. Not only was it informative it was also spot on with regards to the issues faced by recruiters on a regular basis. Yes, we have a lot of qualified people and yes, most of them are unemployable, the education system does not cater well to the needs of Industry. I am glad that there is a realisation to this effect and am glad that corrective steps have been initiated in this direction. — Kuljeet Singh
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Dr Sajeev Nair, Senior VP-Learning & Development & Head-Manufacturing, Reliance Industries Ltd Prajakta and Anand Gupta-their common vision for work and marriage
PwC’s 21st Annual CEO Survey
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Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Sudha Murthy Editor-In-Chief’s Choice
Wedding lessons from Russia
The newly married couple are made to remember they are living in a peaceful, independent Russia because of their ancestors’ sacrifices
Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian
S
udha Murthy in her inimitable style has conveyed a very solemn and important lesson she learnt on her visit to Russia. In that country, it is a tradition for newly married couples to seek blessings of martyr soldiers in war memorials. This is a mark of gratitude. They believe that irrespective of victory or defeat, the martyrs have sacrificed their lives for the country. The newly married couple is therefore made conscious of the fact that they are living in a peaceful, independent Russia because of their ancestors’ sacrifices. Therefore, they must seek their blessings once they tie the nuptial knot. A WEDDING IN RUSSIA A wedding is a great event in everyone’s life. In India, it is done with a great deal of ceremony. In our films, a large number of stories are based upon weddings. The amount of money spent sometimes constitutes the entire life’s savings of a person. It is an occasion where young boys get to meet young girls, old people talk of their ailments and women exhibit their finest jewellery and silk saris. Recently I was in Moscow, Russia. Moscow city has many war memorials. Russia has won three great wars in its history, which are a source of pride to them. They have built war memorials and erected many statues of the generals who were responsible for the victories. The first war was between Peter the Great and Sweden. The second war was between Tsar Alexander and Napoleon of France. The third one was against Hitler in World War-II in 1945. There is a huge park in Moscow, known as Peace Park. In the middle of this Peace Park there is a large monument. There is a pillar, and on the pillar the different battles fought by Russia have been mentioned along with dates and places. The park has beautiful fountains. In the
4 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
summer, flowers of many colours bloom and the place is a feast for the eyes. In the night it is decorated with lights. Every Russian is proud of this park and it is a spot visited by many tourists. The day I went to the park was Sunday. It was drizzling and cold, though it was summer. I was standing under an umbrella and enjoying the beauty. Suddenly, my eyes fell on a young couple. It was apparent
that they had just got married. The girl was in her mid-twenties, slim and blond hair and blue eyes. She was very beautiful. The boy was almost the same age and very handsome. He was in a military uniform. The bride was wearing a white satin dress, decorated with pearls and pretty laces. It was very long so two young girls were standing behind her holding up the ends of the gown, so it should not be dirtied. One young boy was holding an umbrella over their heads so that they should not get drenched. The girl was holding a bouquet and the two were standing with their arms linked.
It was a beautiful sight. I started wondering why they had come to this park in this rain soon after getting married. They could have surely gone to a merrier place. I watched as they walked together to the dais near the memorial, kept the bouquet, bowed their heads in silence and slowly walked back. By now I was very curious to know what was going on. There was an old man standing with them. He looked at me, my sari and asked, ‘Are you Indian?’ I replied, ‘Yes, I am an Indian.’ Since we were chatting quite amicably now, I decided to use the opportunity to ask some questions. ‘How come you know English?’ ‘Oh, I worked abroad’ ‘Will you tell me why that young couple visited the war memorial on their wedding day?’ ‘Oh, that is the custom in Russia. The wedding takes place normally on a Saturday or a Sunday. Irrespective of the season, after signing the register at the marriage office, the married couple must visit the important national monuments nearby. Every boy in this country has to serve in the military for a couple of years at least. Regardless of his position, he must wear his service uniform for the wedding.’ ‘Why is that?’ ‘Love for the country is more important than wedding celebrations. We elders insist on continuing with this tradition whether it be in Moscow, St. Petersburg or any other part of Russia. On the wedding day they have to visit the nearest war memorial.’ This set me wondering about what we teach our children. Do we Indians have the courtesy to remember our martyrs on the most important day of our lives? We are busy shopping for saris, buying jewellery and preparing elaborate menus and partying in discos. My eyes filled with tears at the thought and wished we could learn a lesson from the Russians.
(This picture is used for representation purpose only)
Irrespective of the season, after signing the register at the marriage office, the married couple must visit the important national monuments nearby. Every boy in this country has to serve in the military for a couple of years at least. Regardless of his position, he must wear his service uniform for the wedding
(An abridged, real-life short story by Sudha Murthy, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation) September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 5
Contents 18 Dynamic Duo 76
Sagacious Strategist Sidharth Balakrishna, Group Strategy Head and Executive Director, Zee Group and Surabhi Shukla, Executive Publisher, Elsevier, talk on how they met and how they gathered the courage to break barriers
9 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 16 Expert View Finding effective out-of-the-box solutions for country’s strong upward growth path 26 SESSION Rubber industry stalwarts discuss about the ups and 6 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Volume 4 Issue No. 12 September 1-15, 2018 www.corporatecitizen.in
downs in the rubber industry, their expectations from the government and more 32 INTERVIEW Natwar Kadel, Senior Manager, ER Planning Team, Hyundai Motor India, talks on the HR transformation practices
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36 CORPORATE HISTORY Success story of ‘Wonderchef ’ co-founded by celeb chef Sanjeev Kapoor 38 CHANGE MAKERS Young changemakers under the EduMentum umbrella—their enthusiasm, their can-do attitude and their noble intentions 42 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Christel House (CH) alumni, Akshay V and Sindhu Kumari, talk on the boon of quality education and how they managed to break free from the vicious cycle of ignorance
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44 LOVED AND MARRIED Meghashyam Shirodkar and his better half Arwa Poonawala on togetherness and why love counts 46 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Vidya Dubey on her campus placement experience and why right choices are important to move ahead in life
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48 TRAVEL Why Cape Town is loved and voted as the best city in the world? 50 UNSUNG HEROES The impressive tally of medals earned by Rajkumari Rathore in rifle shooting and how she achieved her dream
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contents
Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com
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Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur mathurpradeep1@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com
52 HEALTH Experts tell what works best in taking care of your skin 54 SURVEY Digital Consumer Insights Survey 2018, to understand and address the tightrope between convenience, privacy and fraud prevention
Bengaluru Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com
58 BOLLYWOOD BIZ A look at the biggest choreographers turned directors in Bollywood
Manager-Circulation circulations@corporatecitizen.in West : Jaywant Patil, +91 9923202560 North : Hemant Gupta, +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G, +91 9941555389
60 MOBILE APPS The best apps to recover lost data on your android phone 66 LAST WORD To build a better world for future generations
Assistant Editor & Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com
Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com
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Be A Corporate Citizen
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Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar On Cover Page Surabhi Shukla and Sidharth Balakrishna Cover Page Pic Vivek Arora 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) 67117601/9
collywood Indra Nooyi to step aside after 12 years
People in the news
Long-time leader Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo Inc. will step aside as chief executive, handing the future of the company to one of her lieutenants. Nooyi, 62 years old, steered the maker of Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Doritos chips for a dozen years through the changing landscape, defeating an activist investor’s attempt to break up the company. Ramon Laguarta, a 22-year PepsiCo veteran who was promoted to president last year, will take over as CEO, according to company sources. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi will step down on October 3 after a 12-year stint at the helm of the food and beverage multinational. The 62-year-old India-born executive has spent 24 years at PepsiCo. The company announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta to succeed Nooyi as Chief Executive Officer. However, Nooyi will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Commenting on the move, Nooyi said, “Leading PepsiCo has truly been the honour of my lifetime, and I’m incredibly proud of all we have done over the past 12 years to advance the interests not only of shareholders, but all our stakeholders in the communities we serve. Growing up in India, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company.” And she went on to add, “Ramon Laguarta is exactly the right person to build on our success. He is a terrific executive with a long and proven track record of growing businesses. He has a deep understanding of the changing preferences of consumers and other critical trends unfolding around the world, and he has demonstrated that he knows how to navigate them successfully. Ramon has been a critical partner in running the company, and I’m confident he will take PepsiCo to new and greater heights in the years to come.”
IndianAmerican Seema, CEO of Democratic party Indian-American, Seema Nanda, who took over as CEO of the opposition Democratic National Committee (DNC) recently, has vowed to fight for the soul of the country and help elect Democrats in every corner of the US. “We are fighting now for the soul of our country, for our democracy and for opportunity,” said Nanda. In this capacity, she will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the powerful DNC. “Democrats are offering the positive solutions so desperately needed right now -solutions forged by the strength of our diversity, the rigour of our ideas, and the decency of our values. Since Trump took office, it’s been clear that the number one best way for us to set our country back on track is to elect Democrats in every corner of our country. That’s why I took this job,” Nanda said in her first message to Democratic supporters. Nanda said supporting the Democratic party is synonymous with building a future for the children that they can be proud of. “My promise to my two teenage boys is to do all I can to create an America that is bright, fair, and that works for everyone, where opportunity for all means something,” she said. September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 9
collywood SQS India ropes in Viswanathan
Balaji Viswanathan has been appointed as Managing Director & CEO (Key Managerial Personnel) of SQS India BFSI Limited. Viswanathan comes with over 24 years of professional experience in the financial services domain, of which 16 years have been in the Financial Services Industry and eight years in the Outsourcing/ Offshoring of Financial Services. His last assignment was as Senior Director in charge of Global Delivery for BFSI services at Concentrix which is the outsourced business division of SYNNEX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company listed on the NYSE. He has also worked with Serco, Reliance Jio Payments Bank, Yes Bank and HDFC Bank where he garnered a strong domain knowledge of Core Banking Systems, Cards, Transaction Switching, apart from being responsible for operations and technology at Master Card International on the payment network side.
HCL Tech displaces Wipro as No. 3 HCL Technologies Ltd surpassed Wipro Ltd to become India’s third biggest software services provider, marking the first change in the pecking order of the country’s $167 billion IT outsourcing industry in six years. Noida-based HCL Technologies said its dollar revenue rose 0.8 % to $2.05 billion in the quarter from the preceding three months. Bengaluru-based Wipro’s dollar revenue declined 1.7% sequentially to $2.03 billion in the first quarter. Last year, Wipro’s full-year revenue totalled $8.06 billion, about $220 million more than HCL Technologies’ $7.84 billion. However, billionaire Shiv Nadar-led HCL Technologies expects its dollar revenue to grow by as much as 10.4% in the current fiscal year, implying that it expects to end FY19 with $8.65 billion in revenue. Azim Premji-led Wipro, which does not give a full-year revenue outlook, will need to grow 7.32% this year to retain its third position, a tough ask as the firm has not reported
this level of annual growth since 201213, when it grew 7.1%. Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., which edged past Infosys Ltd in quarterly revenue in the June quarter of 2012, has not been considered in the list as it is only listed in the US. HCL Technologies’ rise has come on the back of years of underperformance by Wipro and a more aggressive approach in acquisitions. Until a few years ago, both companies used to generate significant business from managing data centres or offering infrastructure services to their clients.
Tata AIA Life elevates Srivastava
10 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Tata AIA Life Limited, a private life insurer, announced the elevation of Rishi Srivastava as the new Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of the company. He is currently Chief of Proprietary Channels, Product, Marketing & Corporate Communications at Tata AIA. Rishi Srivastava will take over from current CEO Naveen Tahilyani who moves to Hong Kong as Chief Executive Officer, Group Partnership Distribution, AIA Group, Hong Kong. Rishi, who has more than 20 years’ experience in finance and insurance, had joined Tata AIA in 2016. His appointment as CEO and MD of Tata AIA Life Limited is subject to regulatory approval from insurance regulator IRDAI, according to a company release.
Bhaduri joins Zing HR as advisor
Abhijit Bhaduri, the former chief learning officer at Wipro, who now is a full-time consultant, has joined the HR technology service provider, Zing HR, as an advisor. Bhaduri has always been enthusiastic about technology. His book, The Digital Tsunami, says it all. He
has always held interesting views on the future of work and the way jobs will change with increasing technological advancements. He has been vocal about the same as a speaker at various events. “The Digital Tsunami is an opportunity to re-imagine the employee experience. Technology is the enabler, which will make this happen. That’s when businesses will get their ROI and employees will get an experience that is memorable,” said Bhaduri. Bhaduri was HR director at global IT giant, Microsoft, before he joined Wipro in 2009. Prior to that, he worked with multinationals, such as PepsiCo, Colgate and the advertising agency, Mudra Communications. Bhaduri is also an author of three books. Two of them are part of a series called MBA, which stands for Mediocre But Arrogant, and Married But Available. He has also authored a management guide book, titled Don’t Hire the Best. Bhaduri is on the advisory board of the prestigious chief learning officer (CLO) programme of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a part of the Governing Council of MICA, formerly Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.
Dayanand Allapur joins Cognizant
Dayanand Allapur, global head-HR, business services at Capgemini will start his new innings at Cognizant as the global head-HR, digital operations. Allapur started his career in 1993 with Pennar Aluminium. In 1996, he joined Citicorp Overseas Software as manager-human resources, and became instrumental in scaling up its workforce to over 350 employees in 18 months. In 1998, Allapur set foot in the IT industry by joining iGate Global Solutions (Mastech) as its vice-president HR & business services/director-global resources. During his tenure at iGate, Allapur was responsible for global locations including UK, Australia, the US and India. He played a key role in the integration of the Australian firm which was newly-acquired by the company. He was head-HR & people development, (India, APAC, EMEA) between
2003–2004 and looked after people development for 9,000 employees. He led a 70-member HR team spread across 10 global locations. Allapur’s stint with iGate was the longest in his 25-year old career. It is here that he evolved as a global HR professional working across geographies. He climbed up the rungs to become vice-president and head-human resources, Americas, of Patni Computer Systems, which was acquired by iGate, and also moved to Boston during that period. A postgraduate in human resources from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, he headed a 30-member team and was responsible for HR deliverables for over 3,500 employees in the Americas (USA, Canada, Mexico & Latin America) which generated over 80 per cent revenue for the company. He shouldered the role for five years, between 2005–2010.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 11
collywood Shoppers Stop appoints Uma Talreja Fashion retailer Shoppers Stop has appointed Uma Talreja as customer care associate, chief of marketing and customer officer. In her role, Talreja will be responsible for evolving customer-centric strategies and create seamless shopping and service experience across the customer lifecycle. With over 20 years of diverse experience and demonstrated success of working in brand marketing and digital initiatives across retail and fashion industries, Uma will lead the transformational role that enables business, brand, marketing, and services strategy, said Shoppers Stop. Her focus will be to leverage consumer insights and data analytics to create initiatives that help meet the changing needs of the customers. Commenting about the move, BVM Rao, Customer Care Associate and Head HR -
Shoppers Stop, said, “We are delighted to have a seasoned marketing professional like Uma, who shares the same vision like us, and can help make informed decisions that will have a positive impact on delivering delightful customer experiences.” Talreja brings with her skills in Marketing Management, Retail, Customer Relationship Management, Brand Implementation, and Digital Transformation. With a Master’s degree focused in Management Studies from the University of Mumbai, she has held several leadership positions with companies like Raymond, Burger King, Tata Trent, Aditya Birla. She had also been associated with Shoppers Stop for close to five years in her earlier stint.
Bajaj joins Renault–Nissan Alliance Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance has appointed Indo-Canadian, Arun Bajaj, as the senior vice-president of human resources for the Alliance, an initiative to restructure human resources. In his new role, Bajaj will continue current responsibilities of managing HR at Nissan apart from managing talent management for the Alliance. He will report to Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault–Nissan Alliance. He will replace Marie-Francoise Damesin, who retires as executive vice-president of human resources for the Alliance. Bajaj, who is a graduate from McGill University, Canada, will take on the responsibilities from August. “I would like to thank Marie-Francoise Damesin for her contribution to Groupe Renault and the Alliance by supporting the sustainable
performance of the companies and the 450,000 employees,” said Ghosn. Bajaj started his career at Ford Credit Canada in 1995. He became a legal counsel at Ford Motor Company of Canada in 1999 and later joined Nissan Canada in 2003, as general counsel. He became director-HR, Nissan North America in 2006. There he was responsible for the provision of all HR services for manufacturing in the US—for over 1,500 administrative employees. He managed policies and employee relations programmes with the help of a staff of 45 human resource, medical/safety and communications professionals. Bajaj assumed positions of increasing responsibility in human resources management at Nissan, to become corporate vice-president, global human resources in 2014. He was based out of Japan for most of the tenure.
12 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Surendra Rosha named HSBC India CEO The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) announced the appointment of Surendra Rosha as Chief Executive Officer for HSBC India, subject to regulatory approvals. “Rosha succeeds Jayant Rikhye, who is taking a leave of absence for medical reasons,” the Bank said in an official statement. Rosha, who is currently HSBC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group (FIG) for Asia-Pacific, has 27 years of experience in the financial services sector. He began his career in financial services when he joined HSBC’s India operations in 1991. Rosha, currently HSBC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group (FIG) for Asia-Pacific, will succeed Jayant Rikhye. Rosha holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Bombay University and a Masters’s degree in Business from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. “His 27 years of experience in financial services makes him ideally suited to leading our bank in India and driving forward our strategy in one of HSBC’s key markets,” said Peter Wong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of HSBC. Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com
wax eloquent
India is taking off
Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world
Use volatility to your advantage rather than fear it
“Every election has been a source of uncertainty for markets and 2019 is no different from that perspective. The uncertainty of elections will induce higher volatility in markets in near-term, which can’t be wished away. However, one must use volatility to their advantage rather than fear it.”
In digital space greatness is happening in India
“Many times we don’t take pride in the things we have been able to do. We still look somewhere else thinking greatness is happening there. Believe me in the digital space greatness is happening here.”
Nilesh Shah,
managing director, Kotak Mahindra AMC Courtesy: https://www.financialexpress.com
RS Sharma,
outgoing chairman, TRAI Courtesy: Mint
Getting women to c-suite positions “I think after stepping down as CEO I can work with other women to figure out how to get them to c-suite positions, as a mentor and supporter. I see the struggles women go through, and you cannot expect every woman to be a superwoman. It just does not work because there’s one constraint we all have, and that’s that there are only 24 hours in a day.” Indra Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo
Courtesy: https://www.livemint.com
To democratise AI Sales as a business area has evolved Good music demands honesty and spirituality
“When power comes and we want more money and more money, then you leave beautiful things out and you go to gross things. We need to invest a certain sense of spirituality, honesty and love to make beautiful musicals.”
“Sales was earlier a lot of hard work—a lot of relationship building and information gathering. You earlier needed a smart communicator, with an ability to build relationships. Today, a sales guy need not necessarily be a social person. Today he can be a nerd. Think of Facebook, even Mark Zuckerberg, and look at the kind of company he has created.”
Snehashish Bhattacharjee, global CEO and co-founder, Denave Courtesy: https://www.moneycontrol.com
Elites across the board have a responsibility
AR Rahman,
“This is a time where the news that you get is hurting India’s global image—the lynchings, the narrow-mindedness…we have to work collectively and the elites across the board and I am not just talking about corporate elites, even political elites have a responsibility.”
Courtesy: https://www.thestatesman.com
Courtesy: https://www.thehindu.com
music composer
14 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Kaushik Basu, former CEA and ex-World Bank chief economist
“Today, less than a per cent of data globally is used meaningfully as intelligence. That needs to change for us to take advantage of all the data coming in. Our objective is to make sure that it is (made) possible in the country by the local ecosystem. And that’s why one of our biggest efforts in the space of artificial intelligence is to create local talent.” Prakash Mallya,
MD, sales and marketing group, Intel India Courtesy: https://www.thehindu.com
Money in sports is only going to grow
Everywhere the 8020 rule plays out
“Money in sports is only going to grow. You can see where the new deals are happening. Cable TV is only going to survive for two things - live news and live sports. Everything else is moving to platforms like Netflix, Jio TV and Amazon Prime. There is going to be nobody watching cable TV for any other reason.”
I think the needle has moved
Parth Jindal, MD, JSW
Krishnan Rajagopalan, global CEO, Heidrick & Struggles
Cement & JSW Bengluru Football Club Courtesy: Economic Times
“India is very important for us not so much from the revenue, but from the innovation point of view. It offers a great environment to experiment. I know our new digital platform will roll out faster in India than in the US. India’s domestic market is taking off. For long, it was about the promise of its potential—a lot of conversation and little action. I think the needle has moved.” Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Samit Vartak,
Blockchain is going through a hype cycle “Internet is about information; Blockchain is about transactions. Today, there are information systems and financial systems across the world. With Blockchain, information and transactions can be combined into one. You don’t have to have multiple systems. Blockchain is going through a hype cycle. The adaption will happen over time because the technology has to evolve. Look at the dotcom era; no one expected things to change so fast and, today, everyone uses services on the internet.”
Fashion is no longer limited to trends
“As opposed to fast fashion that offers customers more and more clothes so that they are able to keep up with ever-evolving trends. Sustainability encourages people to buy less so that they discard less. The progress has been slow; more people are making these conscious choices and I have no doubt that this ‘movement’ will be the new normal in the times to come.”
founder and chief investment officer, SageOne Investment Advisors
Courtesy: https://www.moneycontrol.com
Frans Kempen, Blockchain lead for logistics and supply chain solutions, IBM for BeNeLux region Courtesy: https://yourstory.com
One skill I haven’t mastered yet “There is one skill I haven’t mastered yet. While making a movie, one should have the cool head of a viewer—it is fantastic equipoise which can help one make smart decisions. A viewer calls a film bad if s/he does not like it. But if s/he likes it, then s/he comes back and spends ₹500 more on the ticket. That kind of clarity is required when you invest ₹50 crore in a film.” Kamal Haasan, actor and filmmaker
Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com
It is a question of belief
Anita Dongre,
“I started in healthcare and I have never diverted from it. All profits made here have gone back into the business to build it. I have not had the desire to say ‘OK now let me go and start a hotel or put up my own buildings.’ I would rather keep the money in stocks and develop the business. When you put everything in one thing, you want to preserve it.”
Courtesy: https://www.indiatvnews.com
Courtesy: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com
fashion designer
“My experience has been that everywhere the 80-20 rule plays out, whether it is the GST benefit, from unorganised to organised, 80 percent of the benefit would be sucked away by the top 20 percent of the companies who have the right positioning who have the competitive advantage because the remaining players do not have the capability.”
Dr Vijai Maini, MD, Surgipharm Ltd
Rule for newcomers
“I don’t think someone gets more advantage or now things have changed—the opportunity was always there for everyone. I think, if you have luck, passion, x-factor and are hardworking, the thing will come out in front of the camera and people will love you.” Tusshar Kapoor, actor
Courtesy: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com
Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 15
Expert View
The two sides of the Indian economy by S K Jha
(IRS (retd.) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)
T
While there are many indications that our country is on a strong upward growth path, there are an equal number of negatives—poverty, malnourishment, growing population, inadequate job opportunities, poor infrastructure, corruption—that hold it back. We need to think out of the box to find effective solutions...
he International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated a few days ago that the Indian economy is like an elephant which is on the verge of running. The IMF also visualises that it will have a smooth running for at least 30 years till the Indian workforce remains young. The only condition is that in future the present parameters of the economy should not go into reverse gear. The IMF is not alone in cheering the upswing of the Indian economy as many international rating agencies also hold a similar view. The World Bank as per data at the end of 2017 has placed India at the sixth position displacing France with a GDP of $ 2.60 trillion. It has been foreseen that in a very short time, India will reach the fifth position displacing Britain. Forbes has made a calculated guess based on the pace at which the Indian economy is rising that it may reach the fourth position by the end of 2022. The Indian GDP growth at the moment is the highest amongst the major economies in the world. It was 7.7 % in the last quarter of fiscal 2017-18. The short term disturbances due to demonetisation and the punch from GST are now things of the past. The IMF has lauded the rollout of economic reforms, particularly GST. The industrial growth output data for the month of June 2018 at 7 % is much to our satisfaction. Things on the economic front are good, but we have a long way to go. We have become the sixth largest economy, but our per capita income is still very low, at 130th in the world. We are also very low in human development index. We still have the largest number of poor people. We have malnourished children. We are not doing very well in the health and education sector. Our infrastructure is so poor that with monsoon rains our cities like Delhi and Mumbai get flooded. Our people keep on dying in several states due to flooding caused by rains. There is a rising demand for jobs which are not growing to the expectation of the youth. There are strikes for more reservations in government jobs which at many times turn ugly when agitators burn public property. So we have both good and bad sides in our economy. Our
good side will not shine until we take curative steps for our bad side.
Losing democratic dividend
The single biggest cause of our problems is our ever increasing population. The population at the time of independence and partition was 33 crores, but now it is roughly 134 crores. We have added more than 100 crores to our population in the last 70 years. It is expected that by the year 2024, we will become the most populated country in the world overtaking China. Geographically, in size, China is more than three times bigger than us. India comes at the seventh position as per the size of countries in the world. While the
16 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
population of our country is increasing at a very rapid pace, our geographical area remains the same. There is a mismatch between the size of our country and the size of our population. The demographic advantage of having a young work force is becoming a disaster as there are no proportionally matching employment opportunities. Our economy is still mainly agricultural as 70% of our population depends upon farming though its contribution to the GDP has come down to about 15%. With rising population, farmland is getting splintered and the yield is getting reduced and this has led to many farmer suicides. We have limited resources, as only about 4% of our population pays income tax and about
only one crore entities are registered under GST. Many of the entities have registered to claim refund. The total income from taxation is about Rs 17 lakh crores. Even the basic needs of infrastructure are not met by this. The flooding during rainy seasons is caused by illegal constructions and by the lack of planned drainage system and proper roads. Our industrialists think twice before investing in the country due to poor connectivity and bad infrastructure and this causes more job shortages. We have to evolve a population policy at the earliest. China did this in 1979 when it an-
educating our people through advertisements to have smaller families has failed to give the desired results. Educated people are having smaller families, but in rural India and among the uneducated, this has not worked. Ideas like curtailing voting rights or subsidies of those who do not restrict their families to less than two children are being thought of. But there may be legal issues. Some say that government jobs should be restricted to members having small families. Drastic steps have to be taken as it is the need of the hour. The sooner the better, in the interest of the future generation.
We have to transform our youth into job creators from job seekers. We need to have more start-ups. We need to have more entrepreneurs both big and small. The government should devise ways to become competent facilitators Focus on education
nounced the one-child policy. The law made by China was stringent, as defaulters had to pay a heavy fine. The bad effect of this policy was that there were large scale abortions in China but the good thing was that the rising population was controlled. The country has now liberalised this policy in 2015 as now a couple can have two children and it may go up to three children shortly. We also have to go for some tough legislation if we desire to solve this pressing problem of population explosion. In a democratic country like India we cannot force our people to have fewer children. The fact remains that something out of the box has to be thought of, as merely
Many feel that the best investment for better returns is in education. Today, developed countries are those that realised this in advance and opened big universities of high standards. Research, innovation and technologies proved to be the success mantras for developed countries. We are far away from this situation and we have to make up for the loss of time. We have to allocate a big proportion of our existing resources for education. Our people have to be fully educated so that they prove to be helping hands for nation building rather than being begging hands. Educated citizens understand their duties while asking for rights. Emphasis on research and new technology in higher education will boost our economy in many ways. Today, we are the world’s biggest importer of arms as we do not have the necessary technology to produce modern armaments ourselves. We are not good enough in the export sector and this can be changed if we produce cost-effective sophisticated items and this can happen only with innovation and new technology.
Create job givers not seekers
Employment opportunities are limited today, and with modern technology and automation, it is feared that jobs will further get reduced. With the rising population, more hands need to be given jobs. This is the real challenge. We have to transform our youth into job creators from job seekers. We need to have more start-ups. We
need to have more entrepreneurs both big and small. The government should devise ways to become competent facilitators. The government should also work on the service sector and see that our youth are welcomed all over the world. We have succeeded to a great extent in the software field and now we also have to evolve other service sectors. The mentality of our youth needs to be changed to put an end to the hankering for government jobs. There is a limit to government jobs and our youth should widen their horizons. They should be ambitious and innovative. There is always going to be a crowd at the bottom of the pyramid when there is lot of space at the top. Our youth should be helped by the government to show them the way to reach the top of the pyramid. There will not be just one pyramid but many pyramids to climb.
Cancer of corruption
Our economic system and our national health are contaminated by one very dangerous infection diagnosed as ‘corruption’. We have limited resources for a large country, but even the same does not reach the target as our delivery system is corrupt. As per our late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, only 20% of money allocated reaches it’s destination, while 80% is eaten away by the corrupt system from the top to the bottom. For the majority of us, corruption is in our DNA. We cannot look beyond this. We have created scams and have people like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. There is some improvement in fighting this deadly infection today, but the fact remains that our system is really sick and we all will have to stand together to eliminate this altogether. After all, the tax that we pay to the government is our hard earned money! Last but not the least, we all have to think about our country and our economy. We must aspire to contribute from wherever we are. If the country grows, we grow. If the national economy gets stronger, then more jobs are created for our youth. Let us introspect, and think for the country.
CC
tadka
Floating solar power plant
India’s largest floating solar power plant opens in Kerala. Built on the Banasura Sagar reservoir in Wayanad, the floating solar power plant is a breathtaking sight! Interestingly, earlier this year, China had commissioned the world’s largest floating solar power plant. As India looks to up its focus on renewable energy, the setting up of multiple solar power plants across the country will come as a definite boost.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 17
Cover Story
76 Dynamic Duo:
Surabhi Shukla & Sidharth Balakrishna
Sagacious He’s still under 40 but even a cursory look at his LinkedIn profile makes you wonder: How could someone achieve so much at such a young age? But age is just a number for strategy consultant Sidharth Balakrishna who made a qualitative difference in each company he worked for since 2004, after he completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta. The list includes global corporate giants like Hindustan Lever, Shell, Accenture, KPMG and Vedanta. Currently working as Group Strategy Head and Executive Director for Dr Subhash Chandra’s Zee media conglomerate, Sidharth is also a full-time Board Director, Siti Networks & Voice Snap. Corporate Citizen enlights you with this corporate big wig who, besides authoring five books, is an Economic Times columnist and international guest speaker at some of the best management institutions across the world
Strategist By Pradeep Mathur
Tell us about your early influences.
Besides parents who obviously play an important role in everyone’s lives, I was deeply influenced by my teachers even at my Montessori school where they taught us everything including how to fold your clothes, cut vegetables etc. Many years later, my father wrote to my principal for giving me a very good grounding. I was born and brought up in Delhi, went to Don Bosco, for my schooling. I used to play sports for Delhi. So, I’d been balancing sports and academics right from the beginning and luckily doing well in both. But reading about personalities also influenced me a lot. I read the entire literature on Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi at a very early age. Gandhiji’s autobiography impressed me a lot because, unlike others, he was very critical about himself. I spent more time in reading and sports than with my friends.
Since you’ve studied at two of India’s best institutions— Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and IIM Calcutta—tell us a bit about your experiences.
It’s true that whatever I’ve achieved today is all because of my alma 18 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
maters where I learnt the most important lessons of my life. People say they’re very tough places but it wasn’t so for me. All three years of SRCC, I was not only among the top 20 in the university but also led the Delhi University table tennis team. At IIM Calcutta also, I found it fairly easy to cope with the pressure. What helped me was my reading speed. You do get a lot to study there but since I read much faster than most others, I had no problems. First year, where most people struggle, is common to all but in the second year, you have electives and you have to specialise. I specialised in Marketing and Strategy. I passed out in 2004. Mind you, IIM Calcutta is known for its engineering focus and I wasn’t an engineer, yet I did pretty well there. There were about 20 students in our batch who really inspired me to move to the next level. Besides top-class faculty, it’s the environment at the IIMs and the peers that you have that really helps you. One of my batch mates who later became MD of top American venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, was really brilliant. He led the investments into Ola, Zomato, Micromax, Grofers and all that. He was ranked No. 1 in IIM Calcutta and there were few others including one Sardarji from IIT Delhi who, people believed, would surely get the Nobel Prize one day. When
Besides top-class faculty, it’s the environment at the IIMs and the peers that you have that really helps you. Actually, every IIM has some such students who help raise the bar and push everyone. Plus the experience of the professors and overall discipline also plays a big role. If a student gets such disciplined learning for 4-5 years between graduation and post-graduation, it really makes his career
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 19 September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 19
Cover Story you speak to him, you realise he’s somebody special. Actually, every IIM has some such students who help raise the bar and push everyone. Plus the experience of the professors and overall discipline also plays a big role. If a student gets such disciplined learning for 4-5 years between graduation and post-graduation, it really makes his career. But if doesn’t happen, bachche bigad jaate hain. More so if you send them to second-rate colleges with poor discipline.
Why did you specialise in Marketing & Strategy?
In the first year, you get to see all the courses and then you understand where your capabilities and interests are. So, I realised Marketing & Strategy were something I liked and that remained with me. In fact, one of my books is also on marketing.
How was your career journey like?
In March 2004, I joined Levers. I started by selling soaps first in Mumbai and then Vellore but I got an offer on campus from British Gas (BG) which is now part of Shell. By October, I switched over to British Gas in Delhi. I was working in its commercial and strategy unit. We were looking for new countries to enter into, which businesses to acquire in India. We were bringing Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) into India. We were looking for new terminals in Gujarat and at mergers and acquisitions and buying a gas-based power plant. I was also involved with policy and regulations. I worked on some natural gas regulations for India and Dr Hasmukh Shah Adhia, now in Finance, who was Energy Secretary at that time, was impressed with my work. I had submitted some white papers to the Ministry of Petroleum. I was then in Accenture from 2007 to 2009 when it was relatively new to India. We were doing a project for a large steel client who wanted to enter into India and for some telecom companies I launched in India. We also worked for a retail giant who wanted to set up retail stores in India. I was helping companies wanting to enter India. At KPMG also I had a similar role. I also did advisory work for Indian companies wanting to bid forward projects or power projects and so on. I was in Vedanta from 2010 to 2017 and there, I worked first as project manager to set up a natural gas pipeline for which I won the National Award. It involved setting up of a 700-km long natural gas pipeline from the oilfield in Rajasthan to the refineries on the Gujarat Coast. Incidentally, Rajasthan is the biggest onshore oil field in India. It was the only heated gas pipeline project which got completed ever in India on time and within budget. The refineries belonged to Reliance and Essar. For seven years I was with Vedanta and it’s now 16 months with the Zee Group. While I’ve been in strategy, I’ve led many different kinds of projects, some in renewable energy, steel, retail, telecom, etc.
If the factual content is high, your reporter doesn’t need to write a story because the computer will do this job. This is called Robot Journalism and this gives the reporter time to focus on opinions, analysis and predictions, because people today do not want just facts. They also want analysis
Let’s say we’re entering into an African country. So, based on previous data, we look at the potential growth rate of the market, then try to find a local partner. We do a lot of assessment as to who would that partner be to set up a joint venture or even a 50-50 partnership and also look at the political landscape. We look at whether this is the right country from a growth perspective. Doing just one project in a country is not beneficial. That is a mistake the Indian government sometimes makes. They give you a lot of concessions, but only for one project. No company wants to come for just one project. China is much better in this respect.
I’ve been doing lots of interesting things at Essel. I’ve been working extensively on Artificial Intelligence, Digital Media, Augmented Reality—how to bring these technologies into the news room of Zee TV and make it far more digitised. For instance, we are bringing technology where, if the factual content is high, your reporter doesn’t need to write a story because the computer will do this job. This is called Robot Journalism and this gives the reporter time to focus on opinions, analysis and predictions, because people today do not want just facts. They also want analysis. Say if the PM has given a speech, then the story can be written by a computer. The same is true for a cricket match. People don’t want just an update. They also want to know why India won or lost and that can only be done by a reporter. In video content also, we’re trying to bring in technology. Even the first script evaluation for a movie is now being done by a computer. It tells you how strong is the script and its characters. Then you can give feedback to the scriptwriter telling him, ‘very weak from page 8 to 18’. You can use these tools as an aid to your work. Similarly, on data analysis, if you want to know what your target audience is watching and at what time, you can. Actually, the entire model of Netflix in this respect is very useful because their algorithm is top class. It promotes people to watch more because you get exactly what you want and we’re also trying to customise stories as per the viewer’s choice on our home page. Besides this, I’m revamping Zee’s education business. We want to expand a lot as a group into education, especially the business of media art and creative art. We have a company called Zee Learn, which aims at teaching students New Journalism skills, Film Making and all that. Also, I’m trying to work out new models to generate revenue from advertisements. I work closely with the Chairman, Dr Subhash Chandra, more on group level strategy covering these things.
Tell us about your work in the Essel Group.
Since you’ve worked in many core areas where India is
What factors do you keep in mind while making a strategy for a company?
20 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
not doing well like energy, renewables, steel, water, oil & gas, telecom and retail, etc., what should we do to meet our requirements?
It’s difficult to give a solution but these are the areas which have long gestation periods which means you’re setting up a power plant or water treatment unit which takes three to four years to set up and the government has a major role in it. We have to move away from giving project-based exemptions to making the entire environment conducive to set up these projects which are there for the long term. For example, earlier the private sector went into it, but now the highways authority is making roads. People go into such things with lot of euphoria and then they find that returns are very poor. Another issue is bank rates are very high in India. You get industrial loans at five-six per cent abroad whereas in India you pay 12-13 per cent for loans, so you don’t get the money back, which is why the steel sector, for example, is a big contributor to the NPA problem of banks. There should be more systematic ways for the redressal of these issues, which plague the economy as a whole. Secondly, there is always a problem with project management. It is also related to not having world-class contractors to execute them. There are lots of things which delay projects. If there are excessive rains, all projects are delayed. Contractors themselves are financially not very solvent and you’re ultimately getting it executed through contractors. Why Delhi Metro was able to complete its project on time was because Metro Man E Sreedharan had this philosophy clearly laid out: ‘Pay your contractors on time’. Things like that are very important. The same was true for the Rajasthan pipeline project which I executed. In India, except for L&T, there is hardly any world-class contracting agency because most of our other contractors go bankrupt. Those are the challenges we have to meet and they require more focussed thought. The government also needs to move away from just talking big and try to find out solutions to these issues sincerely.
You’ve written five books. What made you write them?
I used to read a lot. So, somewhere this thought developed that I will not just read but also write which others read. So, I first wrote a work of fiction which found no publisher. Then I started writing academic books, which are published by Pearson, the world’s largest publisher. I’ve written books based on case studies about projects that I’ve worked on or companies that I have had direct contact with. While in consulting, I had the benefit of interviewing people from the top management. Therefore, the books are able to give a unique perspective or something new which people don’t know about. Two books are on case studies and one book is about preparation for the CAT exam. One book is on analytical reasoning and the other book on building your reading comprehension and vocabulary. Besides the books, I’ve written several articles on energy as I’m a regular columnist for the Economic Times.
You are a guest speaker at many top institutions. What do you speak on?
On helping students develop their thinking and developing their analytical and strategic thinking skills. I talk about subjects, which are not taught in colleges. How to think and solve problems? How to get new perspectives on giving solutions. I also teach them how to ask for the right data and how to look at it.
Do you think our teaching models and syllabi need drastic revamp?
Management education is still better, but the engineering institutes are definitely out of touch with ground realities and the same is true even for University curriculum. For example, our PM keeps talking about how India needs to be a leader in artificial intelligence but nowhere it is being taught. If at all, it is taught in IITs, where it is about the programming language for AI, which is Python, but they do not teach how to use it. On the other hand, China has become a world leader in artificial intelligence. A lot of big Chinese companies are there in this field. These are the areas where the jobs are coming and there is a deficit of trained people over there.
Do you think India’s corporate leaders of tomorrow must be well aware of AI and such other digital technologies?
Certainly, otherwise their companies would lag behind others. Remember: The world’s most-rated companies including Google, Amazon and Apple are using technology the most and so if you want to survive, you have to learn these new technologies.
What’s your biggest success so far?
Energy, renewables, steel, water, oil and gas... These are areas which have long gestation periods. So, we have to move away from giving some project-based exemptions to making the entire environment conducive to set up these projects which are there for the long term
What I’m proud of is: I’ve managed a lot of different kind of areas of work. I’ve been able to do what I really want and that has really helped me. For example, I’m the youngest director in the history of my company today. One of the youngest, non-family directors in Zee and that has come because I’m able to perhaps bring to the table a lot more perspectives and understanding of today’s trends and technologies than others.
Any message to the youngsters who are confused: What to do after class XII?
If you can make your passion your profession, that’s the best thing. But if you’re going for that, you have to work really hard. There is no substitute for hard work if you want to go into creative fields like filmmaking, music, media, photography and things like that. You just cannot take it easy because then you have to make a name for yourself and that requires seven-eight years of sustained effort. But if you don’t want to work hard, you can go for conventional courses like engineering, medicine, law, etc.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 21
Cover Story
travelling They say Jodiyaan to upar se hi ban kar aati hain. But sometimes jodiyaans are also made at a friend’s party. Zee’s Group Strategy Head and Executive Director, Sidharth Balakrishna, and Executive Publisher of Elsevier scientific journals, Surabhi Shukla, also experienced something similar when they met at a common friend’s party. How did it all happen? How did they overcome the North-South divide? As the couple is all set to celebrate their tenth marriage anniversary along with their cute, nursery-going son, let’s hear how this inspirational couple gathered the courage to break barriers and keep things going strong even today...
together By Pradeep Mathur
Do you remember the 2014 Arjun Kapoor-Alia Bhatt-starrer romantic blockbuster ‘2 States’ is inspired by an autobiographical novel of the same name penned by Chetan Bhagat, it narrates how a couple who wanted to marry faces all kinds of problems primarily because they belonged to different states and family backgrounds. The story of Surabhi and Sidharth also looks similar except that here the IIM-Calcutta boy belonged to Delhi’s Tamilian Brahmin family and the Allahabad University’s Zoology-girl came from a traditional Brahmin family of Allahabad.
Jab We Met
“It was in January of 2008 when we met for the first time at a common friend’s party. Sidharth is basically an introvert. I noticed him in the gathering. He was just smiling but not talking much. He also must have noticed me somewhere. At that time, I was in Noida working for leading publishing company Tata McGraw Hill Education as Commissioning Editor for books on Computer Science, Mechanical, Civil and Chemical Engineering with 22 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
a team of Development Editors. Sidharth was working as consultant for Accenture in Connaught Place. Soon we exchanged phone numbers and started talking and discovering that we had common interests. We both loved books and travel and that got us really talking more about books, places, food and what not! While I had not been out of India even once, Sidharth had already visited some 13 countries by then and had lots of stories to talk about. I would naturally get excited when he would talk about this or that place. So much so that sometimes we would keep talking on the phone for two to three hours without even realising it,” recalls Surabhi.
Shopping and talking
Was this ‘talking’ happening only on the phone, or elsewhere too? “Oh yes, it continued much beyond our mobiles as Sidharth would often come to visit me at Noida’s Great India Place (GIP) shopping mall. We used to meet there and talk, which was very exciting, as I started feeling that I wanted to be with him,” she says, adding, “What I liked about Sidharth
I enjoy writing and teaching. On Saturdays, I make sure that I go somewhere to teach as a guest lecturer. Earlier I used to play TT but not so much today. As for travel, I recently went to Canada which is full of amazing scenery. The same is true for Eastern Europe. Incidentally, I liked Muscat a lot. It’s a beautiful city—very different from Dubai and other Gulf capitals
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 23
Cover Story was, that unlike others, he was very simple, down to earth and had a lot of knowledge about everything. You can talk to him on any topic and have a very meaningful conversation.” “Another thing, if you talk to people, they generally say yes to go with the flow but Sidharth won’t. If he doesn’t agree, he’ll immediately challenge you and give you a different perspective. I really liked that and so we soon became the best of friends.” What about Sidharth—did he also feel the same way? Was it really love at first sight? “I can’t say that, but yes, it’s true, I do take time to open up with people but, with her, I was able to communicate and share things pretty quickly.” When did they realise that they were actually in love and would go for marriage? Recalls Surabhi, “We met in January 2008 and by April-May, we felt, we must take the next step. We got married in October of the same year! Ten years down the road, we also have a son who’s the light of our lives. We’re still in love and it’s growing with each passing year.”
North Vs South
But how did this miracle happen? How did they convince their unwilling parents? “Oh, it wasn’t as simple as that. There were lots of twists and turns because we weren’t sure how they would react, as our parents were absolutely poles apart. In fact, their very first meeting was a disaster. It didn’t go well,” reveals Surabhi. “Sidharth comes from a multi-cultural family, his father from Tamil Nadu and mother from erstwhile Pakistan, now Punjab. On the other hand, ours is a Brahmin family from UP. Both sides had their own reservations but his parents resisted a lot more because they wanted to continue with their South Indian traditions and language which couldn’t happen with me. Being staunch Tamilian Brahmins, they’re very adamant. My parents also had issues because, leave aside South India, there had never been a marriage even outside UP in our family. So, it was quite a cultural shock to parents on both sides. It really looked like the movie 2 States,” she thoughtfully explains. “It’s true that my parents were a bit hesitant at first, but I was quite insistent. When they realised that it was going to happen anyway, they accepted it,” says Sidharth. But why did their first meeting not click? Was it because of language/caste issues? “No, I don’t think so. They probably felt that maybe their meeting was happening too soon as they didn’t get enough time to know each other better and that too was true. But, we both had turned 27 by then and made up our mind that we couldn’t wait any longer. So, our stand was, you better meet up, bless us, and say yes to this union.” “But this was obviously something,” adds Surabhi, “that they were not comfortable with. His parents wanted a greater say on issues like whether the boy is right or the girl is right and things like that. We were both 27 and just not in the mood to give them that kind of freedom. So, they were obviously not happy with that.”
I believe in what Gandhiji said: When your thoughts, words and actions are in harmony, you’re happy. I believe in that and I would never like to be hypocritical. That also helps me in reducing stress
24 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
What about his siblings? Did they not influence them? “I’ve a sister but she’s much younger, 11 years younger. She’s getting married in March next year,” he says, adding, “She obviously wasn’t in a position to influence them. Maybe my father was a bit surprised and shocked because I didn’t discuss this issue in detail with him, and he wasn’t expecting me to do this,” Sidharth admits rather apologetically. “Once we got married, luckily, we faced no such issues and the best part is: We’ve been travelling together quite a bit over the last nine years. For official work too, sometimes she travels, sometimes I, and then we join each other after work at some common place . So, it has been quite good,“ he says smiling.
Around the world
Butts in Surabhi, “Until the birth of our son, Shreshtha, we used to travel a lot. We must have explored not less than 13-14 countries together, but now our priorities have changed. Everything revolves around Shreshtha. Now, we don’t make plans much in advance. We make impromptu trips. Recently we made a trip to Bhutan and were simply amazed to see its lovely waterfalls.”
Parental support
Who looks after the son when both have gone on a trip?
We both loved books and travel and that got us really talking more and more—about books, places, food and what not! While I had not been out of India even once, Sidharth had already visited some 13 countries by then and had lots of stories to talk about. I would naturally get excited when he would talk about this or that place
“My parents --, they’ve relocated from Allahabad to Delhi, taken up a house on rent nearby so that they can be there for the child immediately, because you can’t leave him 24x7 with maids and other people. Shreshtha is now in nursery, growing up very fast, and needs constant attention. Though he can now go to a day-care, you still need somebody to look after his needs,” says Surabhi gratefully. She then quickly adds, “They’re a very, very big support. I don’t think I could have managed my job without my parents. Now I can travel at ease. I don’t have to worry. That is not all. They also make sure that Shreshtha gets the right values. So now I can just pick up my bags and travel any time.”
Money matters
How important is money? Money is important, but, argues Surabhi, “It is also important for people to work, especially women. For me, it is absolutely critical. If I didn’t get the support of my parents, I would be sitting at home but, in that scenario, probably even our marriage wouldn’t last. I’ve been working since I left college. Though it’s absolutely great to be at home and spend time with your son and family, I also need intellectual stimulation. I’m not someone who’d be happy attending kitty parties. I need financial independence. I don’t think I can now go back and start asking people for money, whether it is two rupees or two lakhs. For me, money is important but I’m not crazy about it, and the same holds true for Sidharth. We spend money on things we like, like international travel, but we’re happy to have just one car. It’s a sedan and we don’t have any urge for a bigger car. Similarly we’ve just one house. We’re happy with basic things—one car, one house and one child (laughs).”
While Sidharth goes on to say, “Money has always been secondary to us because we aren’t moved by any strong desire on this front. Like Surabhi, whatever I do, it’s very much out of passion and I do a lot of things without pay. It has helped me also in my career. In fact, I got my current job because I was doing lots of things outside of work, like writing books or teaching. In fact, during my interview, Chairman of Zee’s Essel Group, Dr Subhash Chandra, asked me, would I work for him till I become a teacher one day? So, money has not been a primary driver for me. I’m very keen on doing what I want to do. Even otherwise, I come from a family where we’re comfortably well-off. My father has also been an IITian, with an MBA from IIM and worked with BHEL. Later he became the chief correspondent for the Economist magazine in India. Though he wasn’t a journalist, he worked more as a consultant, and I feel I picked up my interest in writing from him.” Since both are working professionals, whose writ runs in the house? Pat comes Sidharth’s reply, “It’s very easy. She does what she wants. Hum argue karte rehte hain, but in the end her writ prevails over mine in all household matters.” Other than work, what keeps them busy? “We share an immense passion for travel. While Sidharth has gone to over 50 countries, I’ve been to only 15 so far and have a lot to catch up,” says Surabhi. Which places did they like the most? “We enjoyed Norway a lot, particularly the train ride from Oslo to Bergan Hill Station which is the world’s most scenic ride. The seven-hour journey brings you across Europe’s highest mountains and plateaus, and takes you through spectacular natural wonders. We also liked Prague and Budapest which are very vibrant compared to the highly commercialised and very cold Paris. I somehow like Europe a lot more than the US which doesn’t excite me,” she points out. “I enjoy writing and teaching. On Saturdays, I make sure that I go somewhere to teach as a guest lecturer. Earlier I used to play TT but not so much today. As for travel, I recently went to Canada, which is full of amazing scenery. The same is true for Eastern Europe. Incidentally, I liked Muscat a lot. It’s a beautiful city—very different from Dubai and other Gulf capitals. I also liked some small places in Europe like Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, jahan pe kuch hota nahi hai but still you enjoy the place.”
Life’s philosophy
What do they believe in? “I strongly believe in the theory of karma. Whatever you do, good or bad will come back to you. I read a story about conscience when I was in Grade II, which said that our conscience is like a triangle. The first time you do a wrong, the edges get round and if you keep on doing that, your conscience becomes a circle. It doesn’t pinch you anymore,” Surabhi says with conviction. Sidharth, however, has a different take on it. “I believe in what Gandhiji said: When your thoughts, words and actions are in harmony, you’re happy. I believe in that and I would never like to be hypocritical. That also helps me in reducing stress,” he points out.
How would they like their son to be?
“Though it may sound clichéd, it’s very important to me that he becomes a nice and sensitive human being who believes in an inclusive approach in life and is sympathetic towards all,” Surabhi concludes with a smile. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 25
session
Rubber Industry
Treading
26 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
softly... Despite rubber being a ubiquitous product with wide applications, little is known about the industry. A highly labour intensive sector at its raw material procurement stage and with a potential to grow at a compounded rate of eight per cent, this industry plays a significant role in the nation’s economy. In a bid to bring the industry out of it’s low-key status and catapult it to centre-stage, the 10th Indian Rubber Expo - 2019 is to be held early next year. In what turned into a group discussion at the curtain-raiser to the Expo in Pune recently, Vikram Makar, Chairman and MD of Oriental Rubber Industry, Chairman of IRE 2019, Vishnu Bhimrajka, Director of Polmann India Limited and Chief Convener IRE 2019, and Vinod Bansal, Chairman WR, All India Rubber Industries Association, spoke about the ups and downs in the rubber industry, their expectations from the government and much more. Corporate Citizen brings you the excerpts By Ekta Katti
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How is the rubber industry currently doing?
Vikram Makar: There are slight tremors in the industry owing to demonetisation and GST. Due to this, units which weren’t streamlined had to be restructured. The business, in terms of potential, has increased for the organised sector. Currently, the automobile industry is doing well. Which means auto component suppliers are performing better, as compared to agri and industrial based products, which are languishing at the moment. The influx of new projects is slow as companies are focusing on unfinished projects. Unfortunately, we have protected the raw material chain leaving the finished product unprotected. So, we face a significant threat of imports from countries
which have large scale production. Looking at the current situation, I would say, even the auto component industry has to be watchful since our materials are under anti-dumping act of India. To reverse the situation, I think the government should first protect the finished product and then the raw material. Vishnu Bhimrajka: India is one of the topmost countries when it comes to rubber consumption. Tyre manufacturers typically have a large turnover which is handled by 40-50 large companies. The rest constitutes of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) which comprises eight per cent of our country’s GDP. The mission of the government is to increase this to 25 per cent by the end of 2030. The volume growth has been positive.
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Session What are the technologies used in the rubber industry?
Vishnu Bhimrajka: The technologies used are largely indigenous. Indian entrepreneurs are doing pretty well in terms of technology and innovation. This has attracted a lot of international companies as they see potential. Usage of technology depends on the individual players.
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Are the Indian roads good enough for the quality tyres that are being produced?
Vikram Makar: In just two decades, the country has witnessed a sea change. It is nice to see the government so committed to provide us better roads. Unfit roads do affect the tyres. However, it also causes a setback for other resources like fuel, time, etc, which have now become valuable. People these days have a defined time to reach their destination. Hence, we need to have roads that can handle such a density. If connectivity has to be good, roads have to be good. Today, villages no longer accept kaccha roads. Most villages now have tar roads. Concrete roads in the cities are getting better. When it comes to the quality of roads, we are working towards it. It is not that we lack the ability to make better roads, but we need to be consistent. Road conditions are improving. Vinod Bansal: All the National Highways that have been built are of good quality. Come to think of it, maximum traffic moves on the highway. City traffic may look huge, but it is limited. These days even highway traffic is skewed. To sum up, city roads still need to buck up in terms of quality. But highway roads have set a benchmark.
Vishnu Bhimrajka: Today, India uses most of the technology that are used abroad to build roads. Depending on the road requirement, there are different specifications which are handled by the Public Works Department (PWD), state governments or the central government. If there are any political issues, it could hamper the quality. But otherwise, be it standard tar roads or modified bitumen roads, India has the best technology to build roads and they are using it. Most road projects come with international consultancies which have set specifications for building roads. The quality of the road depends on factors like soil, location and the engineering part of it. In short, it is a little safe to say that the quality of roads is improving.
As per a study by the Rubber Research Institute of India, the Indian industry is losing its momentum due to cheaper import of natural rubber. What is your take?
Vikram Makar: No. I think we are in deficit for natural rubber in our country. We don’t have enough of it, hence it is a necessity to import natural rubber. With limited landmass, we also have high cost of manual labour. The cost of labour is sky rocketing compared to nations like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and others where the cost of labour is cheap, with higher landmasses. Hence, they have surplus rubber. On the other hand, we are industrialised but are deficit with regard to rubber. For the next three years, we only have 30 per cent dependence of natural rubber. But somewhere there is a momentum loss.
We expect the government to be facilitators. The government should have a holistic approach and consult stakeholders when it comes to antidumping duty —Vinod Bansal
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Natural rubber is a seasonal crop which grows in abundance in the equatorial region, which gives them extended time for tapping. On the other hand, it’s a task to yield natural rubber in the tropical region. We have four defined seasons where the weather is not conducive for tapping. So those are gaps for this seasonal crop which we need to align and abide by in terms of demand and supply. Vinod Bansal: As a matter of fact, I feel it’s the other way around. Outside rubber is cheaper than Indian rubber. Vishnu Bhimrajka: The yield of this natural crop (rubber) is based down south in Kerala, where there are plantations. Before, they had protection, but now there’s a lobby and tax. Over time, taxes have been slowly phased out. On the contrary, there has been a restriction on import. There are demand and supply challenges on and off. And that has caused problems for rubber producers. The top rubber producing countries have better yield of natural rubber. We are one among them, then why can’t we have good yield of natural rubber? It’s the question of technique, adaptation and other aspects. Rubber consumption is growing, and I don’t think there’s an impact from the import of cheap natural rubber. In fact, at whatever cost rubber comes in, it would benefit rubber production.
What does the industry expect from the government?
Vinod Bansal: We expect the government to be facilitators. The government should have a holistic approach and consult the stakeholders when it comes to anti-dumping act of India. If they do it on the basis of a knee-jerk reaction, it affects everyone. The government should review anti-dumping duty imposed on the raw material, carbon black, as it hurts local rubber manufacturers. Secondly, being a labour-intensive sector, the rubber industry has a huge potential to export. As most of the units are in the MSME sector, the government should encourage this. The industry outside is moving towards low cost countries like China, India and others. India has got a huge advantage over China. China may be good when it comes to large consignments. But India is good in every segment. So, I hope the government encashes on this situation. Vikram MakAr: The government needs to focus on rubber as an important sector. Most of the significant sectors depend on rubber, which is a critical component to build a nation. The government has to come up with a long term policy, say a modernisation fund where capital is available at low cost. Primarily, all in the non-tyre sector are small and medium enterprises. To scale up growth, there should be cer-
Pics: Yusuf Khan
Rubber consumption is growing and I don’t think there’s an impact from the import of cheap natural rubber. In fact, at whatever cost rubber comes in, it would benefit rubber production —Vishnu Bhimrajka
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 29
Session
We want the foreign policies of the government to be more focussed. It should promote and encourage tariff and agreements which are favourable to Indian rubber producers ÂVikram Makar
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tain resources which should be allocated. No small and medium enterprise will take capital which is expensive. With global competition, small and medium enterprises need to up their game. The government here can bridge the gap to accelerate growth. There could be institutes and centres of excellence which could focus on this issue. With that, we want the foreign policies of the government to be more focussed. It should promote and encourage tariff and agreements which are favourable to Indian rubber producers. At the moment we have all tariff agreements which are favourable to overseas companies. So, we have Korea and Japan which can sell material at zero per cent duty, Thailand is also getting a preferential rate of duty. But when we have to go and export, we already have a high rate of internal duties.
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How does the automotive sector contribute to the growth of the rubber industry?
Vinod Bansal: When it comes to the consumption of tyres, the automotive sector is the leader. There is a huge replacement market which means the sector is doing quite well. Vishnu Bhimrajka: The automotive and transport sector have boosted the growth of the rubber industry. There has been an escalating growth in the number of two, three and four wheeler usage in the country. Currently, there are 150 cars per 1000 people in India. In the coming days it is going increase tremendously. India is unique because we have several automotive giants stationed in our country. With the Chinese coming in, it clearly means that the domestic demand is huge. When it comes to the manufacturing of cars, you have an integration of several components. This gives a chance to the MSMEs to grow. In short, the automotive sector helps in the growth of the country’s GDP. Vikram Makar: Overseas companies have now realised the worth of Indian rubber. They are sourcing our components for their ventures. The consistency put forth by companies like Maruti, Hyundai, Tata all point out that indigenous capability is fully adequate not only to meet the local market, but also serve the overseas market. India is yet to reach that global scale. Global scale can be achieved by enabling them to market their products, and scale up quickly. The government in that sense is moving in the right direction to have corridors with right infrastructure where industry can quickly be set up.
There is vast scope for rubber in motorsports. Is the Indian rubber industry targeting this sector?
Vishnu Bhimrajka: India is getting active in motorsports. We have a huge circuit up North and South. But the volume of rubber usage by
this sector is not that large, it hardly could be couple of hundreds. Vikram Makar: It’s yet in the nascent stage. We need more depth of knowledge when it comes to Formula One or motorsports. In Europe, for example, in Germany, where there is no speed limit, they have validated tyres which run at high speed. So, anyone who enters this field needs to have a tyre which is tried and tested. Currently, the rubber industry is focussing on aerospace which is a growing sector. The aerospace sector is at the top of the product segment pyramid, which is driven by the need of the nation. Once that is achieved, motorsports will follow.
Is there a plan of action to attract millennials towards the rubber industry?
Vishnu Bhimrajka: The new crop of entrepreneurs – the second and third generations, are smart and well qualified. They already have the aspiration to pursue education to get into this industry. As a matter of fact, the rubber industry already has youngsters who are up and running. They are hungry and have an appetite for learning new things. Vikram Makar: The rubber industry in India has already proved its worth, unlike other sectors which have a cycle for growth. Rubber and its applications have a stable demand. It’s not a commodity, if the auto demand goes down, the industrial demand goes up. Hence, rubber has always been in demand. When there is a see-saw in the economy, this industry is sitting stable on a plateau. The application of rubber has become diverse. To add to conventional rubber products, there are the thermo plastic elastomers (TPEs), thermo plastic rubbers (TPRs), and engineering materials like nano materials, such diversity in a field surely attracts millennials. Secondly, the definition of rubber is changing to a high-end application. With the advent of technology and polymers, variation is endless. Thirdly, colleges which provide courses on polymer and rubber have enough curious minds who understand this industry’s vast scope. Also, colleges in the west have dropped rubber from their curriculum. Skilled teachers are also diminishing there. However, in India, students still want to get into this industry. We are already blessed with good colleges which offer these courses. There is constant demand for tyres. Youngsters these days are quite fascinated by fancy tyres. They want to spend on better looking tyres. It’s only a matter of time till tyre becomes essential in fashion. To top it, the Rubber Skill Development Council (RSDC) is nurturing skills and talent. This large group of skilled employees can have a fruitful job in the rubber industry. ektaakatti@gmail.com
The Indian Rubber Expo (IRE) to be held in January 2019 Making its debut in 2001, the IRE which is Asia’s largest rubber expo has grown leaps and bounds. The 10th International Exhibition and Conference will be held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai in January 2019. This flagship event is organised by All India Rubber Industries Association. The association safeguards and promotes interests of the rubber industry. It has more than 1200 active members. This expo offers a unique platform for Indian companies to meet and collaborate with overseas companies. IRE will showcase the latest technological developments in the rubber industry and also talk about the current market status, facilities and services on R&D and quality control. This will also be an opportunity to be informed about the changing government regulations and controls pertaining to the rubber industry. IRE is planning a 15 cities road show across India in order to promote the India Rubber Expo 2019. The road show will commence from Ahmedabad and tour 15 cities across the nation spreading awareness, creating more opportunities and encouraging more and more people to participate in the India Rubber Expo 2019. “The Indian growth story needs to be authenticated as India is set to become one of the largest rubber hubs globally in the coming years. This growing industry, which has come out in a big way is carving its fantastic growth trajectory,” said Kamal Chowdhury, President, All India Rubber Industries Association. “The expo is a hub of new ideas, innovations and products encompassing the entire canvas of the world building a large ecosystem for key manufacturers and decision makers. With all your support we aim to organise many such more expo’s in the years to come,” said VT Chandrasekhar, Vice President, All India Rubber Industries Association.
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32 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Interview
Right Attitude is the
Mantra
He has the distinction of being the youngest and the fastest growing employee in the organisation, to make it to the senior HR level role in a short span of time. Senior manager, ER Planning Team at Hyundai Motor India, Natwar Kadel, says that if you have a good attitude, patience and the ability to trust your instincts, you can beat any competition. In an exclusive interview with Corporate Citizen, Kadel talks on the ‘attitude’ he learnt, the HR transformation practices and why human element will always remain important while evangelising technology for overall HR function By Rajesh Rao Tell us about your career decision to move from finance to the HR field.
My Bachelor’s degree in Commerce probably made me lean towards finance. So, once I completed my graduation, I started working with an audit firm, for about a year, while at the same time undergoing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme with ICFAI University. Later I realised that I was more of a people’s person, hated being a desktop jockey; and was excited about leading from the front. So, I quit the audit firm and underwent Masters in Social Work with a specialisation in Human Resources instead. I chose this course over MBA in HR, because I was clear that one needs to understand the human psyche and it’s complexities, to be able to manage people at the grass root and other levels and to be successful in the HR function. On completing this course in 2007, I was placed in Hyundai and since then I have been in the same organisation.
You joined Hyundai as a trainee
and in a short span of time became the youngest senior HR manager. How did you achieve it?
Hyundai is a very aggressive organisation. If you delve into the Korean history, the Korean economy came to a naught fifty years ago. Today they have resurrected their economy and are considered to be one of the fastest growing developed country in the world rather than being classified as a developing country. Companies like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, are prominent brands all over the world. What has turned them around in the last fifty years, is their aggressive nature and their flexibility, a trait common with Hyundai. Therefore at Hyundai, we expect employees to be persistent, resilient and flexible. These qualities worked for me, because I am extremely persistent, passionate and highly flexible—so, I managed to fit into the culture very well. When I started my career, the first thirty days my assignment was to scan papers. It was a shocker, making me wonder if I was indeed recruited for the right job! Any holder of a
master degree thinks that they are supposed to get into strategic thinking and innovation right away. I realised that, this was not what a job is all about—you have to start from ground zero and work your way up. However, I took it very positively and I can confidently say that this has held me in good stead today. Those thirty days, I went through the entire history of the organisation—all the norms, policies, approvals and how it evolved. In those thirty days, I just didn’t scan the papers but read every bit of it. So, though I am with the organisation for last twelve years, I feel like I am with the organisation since it started in 1998. Since then I lapped up every opportunity to learn to keep growing. I am the youngest and the fastest growing employee—the youngest department head now.
Did you go through any specific training regarding the organisation’s culture?
There was no specific training that I had undergone, there was no classroom training to
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 33
Interview
Technology will never replace the human intelligence. Technology will automate routine tasks like payroll, perhaps undertake the analysis of trends, surveys etc. No matter how high the level of technology is, it will never replace the HR function teach you how to fight battles. My daily routine was my training. One of the skills I learnt was the firefighter skill. A fireman’s job is to extinguish the fire. He doesn’t go out with a plan but needs to think on his feet at the site of how to put out the fire. That is something Hyundai teaches you every day. You may have the best of plans, but at the last moment if things don’t go as per plan, you need to think and act as per the situation to make sure that the outcomes meet expectations. It is this ability to think on ones feet, manage with available resources and flexibility, which will be needed in the future. At Hyundai that is ingrained in us, equipping us to handle complexity at work and other exigencies.
How did you strike a balance between following the company’s best practices while adapting to the local norms?
This is a situation every MNC faces. They all come with their philosophy and best practices, but understand that to be successful they have to be respectful to the law of the land and adapt with a healthy mix of their own policies and local practices. At Hyundai, this understanding is further strengthened with the understanding that today’s policies may be redundant tomorrow. In a dynamic world where information is at your fingertips, employees are mobile, expectations are high, and one has to follow international practices and standards with just the right amount of local ethos.
What challenges do fresher’s face when they join an MNC or are moving from an Indian company to an MNC?
I don’t think there is any significant difference between an Indian or an MNC company. Indian companies, with high level of diversifications and induction of the foreign educated next gen owners/promoters, have pretty much evolved into global entities. The only difference between these two organisations in the higher incidence of people from different nationalities working together, both sets of employees need to understand and be respectful of each other’s
cultures. But, the best advantage that Indians have is that we already live in a country with diverse cultures, languages and practices, so adapting to another way of life is organic. We Indians can go to any part of the world and fit in; it will take just few days to adapt to it. I am very sure that no Indian will face any problem in any MNCs due to this trait of being highly flexible. We are accustomed to diversification from the very beginning, no MNC culture is ever going to faze us.
What role does ‘attitude’ play in one’s career growth?
In the school and college one is taught about the right attitude, but no one makes an effort to explain what this ‘attitude’ is all about. Most of the institutes teach everything that
34 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
there is to know, but forget the importance of teaching that attitude is even more important than knowledge. Take a look at leading CEOs earning a big package, if you dig deep you will know that what sets them apart is not just their talent, but their attitude on each and everything in their life. So teachers must explain to students, during the course, as to what is good attitude. They have to be prepared to go the extra mile, be down to earth, be highly flexible and willing to learn. Nobody has been successful without starting from ground zero. I feel that quality is missing amongst the students and I can only blame those around them for this sorry state of affairs. Everybody talks about competition; going to the highest bidder is all that conversations are about. People shun the fact that it is not the salary which deter-
mines growth but good attitude, patience, an ability to trust oneself to beat competition, are the steps to achieve success.
The need of the hour is being knowledgeable about the current trends. Do today’s youngsters lag in that case?
I find a lot of dichotomy in this area. On the one hand, students are ill-informed despite having access to information at their fingertips. Neither do they read up the newspaper or news on their mobile phones, yet on the other hand I am surprised how they can crack the tough competitive exams with unheard of marks. They are highly competitive, but do they have the right knowledge? Is the question. During my time, we would read a lot, go to libraries and read up on a variety of subject. That trend is almost extinct. Students have to inculcate the habit of widening their knowledge and be aware of what is happening in the world around them over and above their subjects. Are we providing them the right opportunities? Are we giving them the right value education? Are we quipping them with the right attitude, flexibility, patience to help them move ahead? We need to answer these questions.
Millennial’s today want fast results and they are into job hopping. As an HR how do you deal with these millennials?
Millennial’s today are the larger workforce, they have different work expectations and work ethics. How to match the two while keeping the organisation objectives intact is a challenge most HR professionals face today. We need to speak to them in a language they understand, engage them in ways which excite them and make them comfortable enough to give their best to the organisation.
About this adaptive work culture— are the organisations gradually incorporating the idea of worklife balance into their corporate culture?
We all talk about work-life balance, but what is exactly this work-life balance all about? If you execute the work at the right time—no organisation would want to extend your working hours. But, I feel at the initial stage of your career, your work-life balance is not important, what is important is your career—it has to be focused on and self-driven. I say, find your way to balance work-life. Bring some innovation and find smart ways of work—I am sure every organisation will be interested in that. The change has to begin within ourselves.
With integration of AI and machine
learning for the hiring process, will there be any human element left?
AI and data analytics are tools for taking the right decisions, not a replacement for decisions. One can have enough data and use algorithms but usage and interpretation has to be done by individuals or a team, else all data is useless. I strongly believe that decision making will become sharper and more scientific with these tools, but will never replace the process for decision making itself.
While organisations are evangelising technology for overall HR function, what will be HR’s role in the future?
Like I said before, technology will never re-
very important, but are a far removed from practical experience. When we interview students, we see that they are academically very good and their scores are very high, but when we ask them to solve a problem, only two out of ten are able to take on the challenge. Rest are fumbling. There has to be lot more industry-institute collaboration, where industry requirements can be built into the curriculum. Field knowledge is very important, but Indian institutes are yet to evolve in that area. One or two month internship cannot bridge the gap to make students corporate ready. To bridge the gap, industry and institutes should work together, right from designing the curric-
Everybody talks about competition; going to the highest bidder is all that conversations are about. People shun the fact that it is not the salary which determines growth but good attitude, patience, an ability to trust oneself to beat competition, are the steps to achieve success place the human intelligence. Technology will automate routine tasks like payroll, perhaps undertake the analysis of trends, surveys etc. No matter how high the level of technology is, it will never replace the HR function. If I equate the hand to an organisation, each finger will represent a function like production, sales, finance, procurement, quality and so on. Each finger can perform only a certain set of tasks independently, but it is the thumb which optimizes the functioning of each finger; without the thumb, they are incomplete. So is with HR—seemingly useless but absolutely necessary for efficient performance. Having said this, the role of HR has evolved and continues to evolve into that of a facilitator; for example how do we engage millennials? How so ever we help people facing career challenges move into a new role? How do we chart a succession plan for the organisation? These are critical decisions which define the future of the organisation. These are roles and decisions, where technology can be of immense help, but will still need the final mile connectivity through a skilled professional. So, I believe that the role of HR will exist, albeit in a different form.
Is there a gap between what industry requires and what academia are grooming students for?
Currently, there is a large gap between what industry needs and what academia offers. Colleges focus on theory which is definitely
ulum/programme to making internships more meaningful i.e. working on real time projects rather than time bound training, which are low on content. This experience is bound to bring students closer to industry/corporate culture and make them aware of issues and challenges of a real time work environment—it will be an advantage when they take up jobs. In the interim, students can equip themselves by keeping themselves abreast with the happenings in the industry, they must read up on case studies, keep up with trends, talk to people from the industry as often as they can, attend external seminars etc. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com
CC
tadka
India's largest microbrewery The pub city of Bengaluru has another feather added to its spirited cap. The city will be home to the largest microbrewery in the country. Called Byg Brewski Brewing Co, the brewpub is nothing short of a magnum opus. It spreads over 65,000 square feet in Hennur and is opening doors on May 31. The second-largest microbrewery, Hoot at 40,000 square feet, is also located in Bengaluru.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 35
Corporate History
Cooking up a storm with Wonderchef In less than a decade of its existence, ‘Wonderchef ’ the premium kitchen appliances company founded by celeb chef Sanjeev Kapoor and former Sodexo Pass India MD Ravi Saxena, have scripted a success story that is hard to ignore. Riding on the back of increased demand from the ever discerning Indian consumer with a taste for good looking, high quality cookware and state of the art kitchen appliances, the products are available in over 5,000 outlets across India By Kalyani Sardesai
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rom soup makers to juicers, the perfect serrated knives to cut meat and just the right container to make that kheer and while, ensuring the milk doesn't stick to the bottom. It took a chef to understand the importance of highly customised cookware and kitchen appliances, that would bring home both health and good taste to lakhs of kitchens across India, even as it took into account ever stressful lifestyles and the need for easy to use kitchen accessories. But it took a quick on the uptake entrepreneur to realise that there was indeed a difference between serving up yummy food and manufacturing food equipment. Aided by partner Ravi Saxena, Sanjeev Kapoor managed to survive that first tough year of 2009 even though the "revenues were so pathetic, so miniscule that they were best not recounted," he said. But an established chef, not to forget a banker's son, Kapoor knew well enough the importance of managing to survive those first 1,000 days in any new venture. Sure enough the tide did change in their favour as soon as they revamped their business plan.
The trial and error route
Wonderchef designs, manufactures and com36 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
mercialises kitchen appliances including knives, baking tools, flasks and other related accessories—an exhaustive list for sure. In the first year the plan was to sell direct to home, inspired by a popular US brand. But the simple target of selling a three set non-stick pan for ₹8000 each proved tough in practise. "I realised then, how tough it was to actually sell goods," reminisces Kapoor. The next option was to sell through TV. The reason we held back was simple, goods sold via TV tended to have a dubious reputation and this was far from a good thing for high quality kitchenware. After all, a product is known by the company it keeps and somehow sauna belts and electric combs did not seem like good compatriots. Some brain storming later, the partners came up with a win-win plan, a hybrid model that would combine television alongside the path of retail by tapping into malls and shopping outlets. Kapoor said he was warned against the latter by several retail bigwigs given that operational costs would hit the roof, but evidently, there is something to be said about the importance of letting the brand hold in its own along side others in select malls. And it worked. three years later, the brand clocked in ₹50 crore in revenue. The risk had paid off
No compromise on quality
Amidst the ups and downs, a single fact stands out, there are always takers for high quality products with an eye for detail. Although, it’s designs are conceptualised inhouse, Wonderchef ’s products are manufactured through contracts across 70 factories in India, Italy, Korea, UK, Germany, China, Canada and USA. The company has a finger on each and every aspect of production though, from ensuring use of virgin aluminum and treatment of surfaces to eco-friendly and food grade coatings, which helps keep prices down. These are sold to Indian customers across 3500 towns and cities through Premium Retail, Television Marketing, Internet, and through a channel of over 15000 self-employed, motivated & trained women. Saxena heads it while Kapoor is a key partner. Stylish, sleek and painstakingly engineered keeping the importance of healthy cooking in mind, the Wonderchef range can hold pride place of ace in not just the connoisseur's kitchen but also the young and busy yuppie with needs more functional than anything else. Advertised by brands like Home Town, Home Centre, @Home, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop and Hyper City, the Wonder Chef brand is visible in just the right company in over 5000 outlets across the country. Backed by the Wonderchef warranty and prompt customer service, the product is slowly benefiting from word of mouth as well.
Sanjeev Kapoor (right) along with the former Sodexo Pass India MD Ravi Saxena
It took a chef to understand the importance of highly customised cookware and kitchen appliances, that would bring home both health and good taste to lakhs of kitchens across India From strength to strength
June 2018, saw the company score another huge goal even as it raised ₹70 crore from Amicus Capital Partners, a mid-market focused private equity firm, which valued the nine-year-old firm at ₹700 crore. This is the third funding raised by the company, it received ₹30 crore from Zurich-headquartered investment firm Capvent in 2015 and raised another ₹40 crore from French group Labruyere Eberle last year. Kapoor said the money would be used to diversify portfolio, strengthen the brand and further increase capabilities. The company said it clocked revenues of ₹180 crore in FY17-18 and said it hoped to more than treble it to ₹600 crore in the next five years. Also on the anvil are plans to expand its retail footprint with three more stores in Gurgaon. This is part of the bigger picture that is looking at setting up 40 company-owned stores across the country in the next two years, at an investment of close to ₹20 crore. “Gurgaon is our largest market, with the highest average selling price, of ₹3,800. The city also accounts for five per cent of our total online sales, which is quite a bit,” shared Ravi Saxena, managing director, Wonderchef. The customers
are brand conscious and keen to try out the latest ranges of kitchenware, he said. The brand also has big plans to expand overseas on its own. The reason is simple: Global brands cost almost double of Wonderchef and it isn't a good idea to dilute its brand positioning by partnering with them, explained Saxena. The company is especially keen to tap markets with NRIs who are completely acquainted with Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe books and want to try a home grown brand.
Challenges ahead
In the days to come, Wonderchef will have continued competition from well-entrenched brands like La Opala, Milton and Prestige as well as global players. But given the sheer popularity of its brand ambassador Sanjeev Kapoor and the entrepreneurial hold of Ravi Saxena, it should more than hold its own. On a plus, the brand has managed to establish itself as a partner in healthy cooking, a big point in today's health conscious world. Besides its omni-channel strategy and massive presence on social media have only helped its cause. kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com
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Change Makers
Young Change Makers 38 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
These young cohorts from Jamui, Munger, Fatehpur Sahib, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Sonipat, are working towards making education accessible and sustainable for the less privileged. Some of them are highly qualified, having studied at the best institutes in India and the world can offer, and have given up great careers to follow their passion in changing the world of Indian education. Truly inspiring, they are role models of a kind for today’s generation. At the recent graduation ceremony of these six units held in Bengaluru, what was more than amply evident was their energy, enthusiasm, dedication to their work and creative solutions to problems they faced as they went about making education for the less privileged more accessible and sustainable. Each startup had used unique localised solutions to handle their problems. What was even more stirring was that many of the change makers held impressive educational qualifications, coming from IITs and other reputed institutions, and had even held dream careers, but they had changed tracks to work for the less privileged. Their passion for change is a ray of hope, and one feels reassured that education is in good hands.
Loop Education Foundation
The current Cohort '18 during the base camp in August 2018 with SD Shibulal, co-founder, Infosys & Permanent Trustee, Advaith Foundation; and Mr. Sanjay Purohit, Strategic Advisor, EduMentum & former executive vice president, Infosys
When youth combines with a burning desire to change the existing systems and create a better, equal tomorrow for everyone, miracles do happen. Proof of this are the many young change makers from across the country who make up the six education start-ups under the EduMentum umbrella, supported by S D Shibulal, co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, and his wife, Kumari Shibulal, through their Advaith Foundation. Their enthusiasm is infectious, their cando attitude inspiring and their intentions noble
By Geetha Rao
Take for example Ashish Navalakha, who studied civil engineering at IIT, Kharagpur, and later worked at Oracle for a year. “Life was easy at Oracle. But I wanted to have my skills and talent to be used better,” says Navalakha. So he decided it was a good time to take a risk as his responsibilities were few and his parents were financially secure, later he quit Oracle to join Teach for India (TFI) through the fellowship in Hyderabad. “I taught school girls of grade III and IV, handling all subjects except languages,” he says. “Then I worked on a project with a social startup which worked with rag pickers. Following that, I was at Barefoot College in Rajasthan growing plants in a desert.” Next was working with the Malala project there, following which, he was part of a project on building low cost community toilets. “Realising that my strongest connection was with education, I came back to Hyderabad to the school where I had taught first under TFI,” he adds. He soon co-founded Loop Education Foundation. It must have not been an easy journey, but today, his parents have accepted that he is happiest in the field of education, doing the work he is doing. His co-founder, Vikrant Varun Patro, gave up working in the corporate sector after four years with ICICI Bank. He too found his true calling in education for the less privileged in 2012, when he taught as a TFI Fellow, and then stayed back working with a low-cost private school in Hyderabad. Says Vikrant, “I felt that something should be done for community schools and community teachers.” And now, there’s no looking back, despite societal pressures. “Working in schools September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 39
Change Makers Discussion with mentor Shashi Nair
seemed more important to me,” he adds, as he feels a sense of satisfaction that teaching can bring. Navalakha and Vikrant co-founded Loop Education Foundation in July 2016, along with two others.
Vidhya Vidhai
Meanwhile, in Chennai, there’s Ram Prakash Krishnan, who while in college, used his creativity to convert history books into comic strips. He studied engineering from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and worked with the United Breweries Group (UB Group). However, his passion for education saw him switch to studying MA in Education at Azim Premji University. He then co-founded Vidhya Vidhai in Chennai along with Regila Marinus Dass. Why did he make the switch from engineering to education? He says, “I realised that I had not learnt anything at school. I had only used the method of rote learning and used it throughout the 14 years of schooling. The textbooks taught me nothing. I hated science, but joined engineering. I did not join Arts because society looks down on people who join arts. But still I was not happy with engineering. Around the third year of engineering, I started teaching using dramatics and mime in a school. I began to make comics for history text books. After engineering, I joined the UB Group at Kolkata. But I felt I must follow my passion for teaching, and joined Azim Premji Univeristy for an MA in Education. That changed my world.” Today, his parents have accepted his career choices and he says his father has complete confidence in him and his work. Regila came with a background in social work, having done her Bachelor of Social Work at Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work in Mumbai. “I always knew I wanted to work with children,” she says. Finally, she joined the course in MA in Education from Azim Premji University.
Simple Education Foundation
Another young team is Rahul Bhanot and Mainak Roy, who are now co-founders of Simple Education Foundation, Delhi. Both had envi-
Many of the change makers held impressive educational qualifications, coming from IITs and other reputed institutions, and had even held dream careers, but they had changed tracks to work for the less privileged. Their passion for change is a ray of hope, and one feels reassured that education is in good hands able educational backgrounds. Rahul holds an MBA from the University of Nottingham, UK, followed by a master’s degree in Computer Science from Coventry University. He then became a TFI Fellow. Mainak, an engineer in electronics from SRM University and a TFI Fellow, is also an Acumen Fellow. But they took the road less travelled and made their foray into education. Today, they work in collaboration with a government school and manage it. Asked why he sought a career in the development sector, Mainak says, “Initially, I saw myself becoming a professor. After my engineering, I did not have the means to go in for higher studies. So I thought let me teach for a year, write a few papers and then try for a scholarship for my Master’s. I became a TFI Fel-
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low. It was not a nine to five job, so it gave me the evenings free for research, etc. However, while I was teaching at the school in Delhi, one of my students Tabassum died of dengue. I myself had been treated for dengue and my father had me flown to Kolkata for treatment and I had recovered in a week. That was a shocker to me—that Tabassum had died for want of opportunity. And here I was who had believed that opportunity did exist, but it was your fault if you didn’t make use of it. That was when I realised that there were many children who had no access to opening. I wanted to change that and that’s why I decided to stay on in the field of education.” Rahul Bhanot was with him as a TFI Fellow and they started thinking about how the current education should
Education holds immense value
Six organizations formed the Cohort Alpha of EduMentum in 2017 - Loop Education Foundation (Hyderabad), Sanjhi Sikhiya (Punjab), Vidhya Vidhai (Chennai), Simple Education Foundation (Delhi), Samarthya (Delhi) and i-Saksham (Jamui, Bihar)
Kumari Shibulal was the first woman in her village to attend college and it wasn’t just her parents but her entire village that played a role in this. Everything we have today and where we are is because of the education we received. Quality continues to remain a concern in the education space. Even though our enrolment rates have improved and currently stands at over 90 per cent, a lot still needs to be done to improve the way our children learn. Instead of using a no-touch model where we would just externally support the work done to improve the space, we decided to use a more involved model. We created the ShikshaLokam platform to be able to work with the community and with all stakeholders like school leaders, teachers, social sector organisations and more. EduMentum, similarly aims to enable this community engagement. This has become more of a community building exercise. The previous cohort with six organisations has now become a community. Scale comes from participation and sharing of resources. The six cohorts from different states are all sharing their knowledge with each other while doing their own work in their spaces. SD Shibulal, permanent trustee, Advaith Foundation; Patron, EduMentum; co-founder, Infosys
Mentors of Cohort Alpha with Mr. SD Shibulal studied his Master of be changed. In 2017, Computer Applicathey operationalised tions from Jawaharlal Simple Education, Nehru University. using the holistic Says Shravan, “We approach to educaare PMRD (Prime tion, taking all stakeMinister’s Rural Deholders like students, velopment) Fellows. teachers, principals We were working and the community with the District into the big picture. Magistrate on facilitating MNREGA and its de“The idea is to partner with government schools livery, among other things.” Following that, they in an immersive way and make it an excellent decided to work in the field of education as they school,” he says. had first-hand experience and understanding, starting with schools and then offering a twoi-saksham year fellowship programme in leadership for the In Bihar’s Naxal affected areas like Jamui and local youth. Hence, i-saksham was born. Munger, there is another cohort positively impacting children’s lives and giving the local youth a sense of purpose and direction in their lives Samartya through i-saksham. It comprises Shravan Kumar In yet another part of Delhi and in Sonipat, Jha, who is a graduate from Banaras Hindu UniHaryana, the team of Samarthya is working on versity, and an MBA from Symbiosis Internationeducation using a different approach. The team al University, Pune. Shravan is also an Acumen members of Samarthya are enabling parents to Fellow. His like-minded co-founders are Ravi be accountability and governance partners in Dhanuka who is an MBA from Institute for Rural government schools. Management Anand, and Aditya Tyagi who has Like in other EduMentum cohorts, the
co-founders of Samartya, Sidharth Chopra and Sahil Babbar come from well-qualified education backgrounds. Sahil Babbar got his MSc in Maths from BITS Pilani, Goa, and then went on to becoming a TFI Fellow. While teaching at a school in Delhi, Sahil realised the potential of the children studying there. He saw that all that the children needed was guidance and direction. And thus, Sahil and five co-founders started Samarthya in May 2017. Sidharth secured a B.Sc. from Punjab University, Chandigarh even as he managed an after-school programme for children. Later, he became a Teach for India Fellow and taught school children for about two years.
Sanjhi Sikhiya
In Fatehpur Sahib in Punjab, seven young co-founders who wanted to bring the glory back to Punjab, set about establishing Sanjhi Sikhiya (meaning Collective Learning) in March 2017. The challenges, which this cohort faced were quite different from the others—Punjab had gradually changed: the per capita income was declining, farmer suicides were increasing, there was an exodus to Canada, New Zealand and Australia. And there was drug addiction. But the team was unfazed. “All seven co-founders had some background in education,” says Simranpreet Singh Oberoi, a Young India Fellow, working with Genpact CSR, who had run a school in Bihar. They decided the best way to handle the challenges were to work in education and they worked in schools in Fatehpur Sahib to offer children meaningful engagement and preserve Punjab’s talent. They also began a fellowship: Punjab Youth Leadership Program (PYLP). “Punjab needs youth role models,” says Simranpreet. PYLP trained them in leadership, fostering systemic education change through capacity building. geetrao@gmail.comw
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World’s largest visa centre India Inaugurates World's Largest Visa Centre in Bangladesh. Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla, told the media that "This is the largest Indian visa centre in the world and possibly the largest anywhere". Bangladesh is constitute one of the largest numbers of visitors from a single country to India, the report said. Last year the country issued 1.4 million visas to Bangladeshi nationals. India has 12 visa centres in Bangladesh, which is the highest number the former has in any country in the world, the report said.
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Alumni Spotlight-7
Tapping the ‘Elusive’ Boon of Quality Education While ‘exclusivity’ and the gaps thereon for quality education remains a challenge for millions of children in India; youngsters like Akshay V and Sindhu Kumari, former students of Bengalurubased Christel House India, along with many others of their ilk have managed to break free from their vicious cycles of ignorance, physical and psychological trauma, hunger, malnutrition, disease, lack of opportunity and a low self-esteem. Both, Sindhu’s father, an auto rickshaw driver and Akshay’s single-parent; his mother had the fortitude to send their children to Christel House (CH) that not only met the kids’ frugal needs but helped them to access quality education and medical care. While ‘education is life itself ’, for Sindhu; Akshay as the current Alumni Secretary of CH, strongly feels that there is a need for quality education backed by a strong moral support system for all children irrespective of their socio-economic status By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
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veryone deserves to be educated but not everyone can afford it. Possibilities of everyone receiving quality education is an unsure proposition but, individuals like us are achieving what many would have deemed as impossible…” said Sindhu Kumari, a Senior Audit Associate at one of the top auditing firms in Bengaluru. She attributes her achievements to her eight years of intensive training at Christel House from Grade 4; following which she completed her B.Com and a post-graduation Diploma in HR - both, from Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru. And, getting this far was not an easy task either. She attributes her success to her mother and the support system provided by Christel House (CH). “My mother made it possible for me and my brother. She got to know about Christel House from our neighbour. Yes, they definitely are really happy and proud of what I am today. If not for Christel, they (family) have no clue as to where I would have been in life and are always thankful to CH” said Sindhu. For Akshay V, an architect and co-founder of his own design firm, his journey too was propelled by his association with CH. “Just the fact that education and food was given for free was the single reason for my mother to admit me to CH. Today, I stand as a role model and an influencer to my peers and my community,” he said. For someone whose family struggled for the basic needs; he stands tall today. “I am the earning member of the family now and able to afford the basic things we need. I’m able to take on responsibilities and duties from my mother and support my siblings in building a good future for them too.”
Darkness to Light
Christel House(CH), runs schools in India and abroad aiming to transform the lives of impoverished children around the world—by helping them break the cycle of poverty and groom them into self-sufficient, contributing members of society. “Life actually did throw bricks at us, and these bricks were real rock solid bricks. My parents couldn't afford quality education for me. That's when Christel House gave me an opportunity to lay my firm foundation and the teachers, and the staff, and even my parents predominantly played a huge role, in who I am today,” said Sindhu. For Akshay, his association with CH besides moulding him academically also provided him with a social and a moral connect; inculcated basic core
He started out as a Junior Architect with an architectural firm - Shilpa Shrungar for two years, “While I was freelancing post work hours and on the weekends, I also worked towards co-founding my very own architectural design firm ChaMaRa Design Studio with a college mate. We have started to operate full time and also gradually gaining inroads into the construction industry.”
The Stepping Stones
Sindhu explained that Christel House is built on a set of core values where she found herself getting attached to the traits on ‘responsibility’ and ‘integrity’. “Christel House taught us how to
“Just the fact that education and food was given for free was the single reason for my mother to admit me to Christel House. Today, I stand as a role model and an influencer to my peers and my community” - Akshay V, Architect and Co-founder, ChaMaRa Design Studio values in him from a very young age. His association with Christel House started at Grade II till Grade XII; then on he pursued his B. Arch from Acharya’s NRV School of Architecture.
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“Christel House has also played an important role in helping us grow personally. And in fact, it still helps me, every time that I visit Christel House; I see similar inspired and driven versions of me. The best project you’d ever work on is you, and Christel House gave me the blue-print to succeed” - Sindhu Kumari, Senior Audit Associate, Bengaluru
live our lives with integrity and to be responsible individuals,” she said. “All the core values and principles that I learnt at CH form part of my personal constitution and govern all of my actions and decisions, which has helped me excel in whatever I do and helps me to stand-out amongst my peers and competitors. In a profession where honesty and integrity play an integral part, I’m truly proud and privileged for having imbibed these values,” said Akshay. The career guidance and mentorship programme at CH called the ‘Jiva’ programme is a stepping stone for most of the students which enable the students to interact with other successful alumni. “Not just any prolific role models; our institution always told us about graduates from our school who made it big. Today, I hope to stand as a role model for all the budding Christel House children,” said Sindhu. In keeping his promise, Akshay who is the secretary for the Alumni Group for CH hopes to contribute on a larger scale in the coming years. “The alumni members contribute a small amount towards CH annually. Personally, I have always been in touch with CH through the College and Careers Programme. I have been helping my juniors in their application and admission process for universities for the past few years.” “However, there is very little that I’m doing right now to help people from similar backgrounds, because this is just the start of my career. Helping
my siblings to achieve their dreams and see them succeed in life like I did is my top priority, as they never had the opportunity to go to CH” he said. “I do have plans of reaching out to individuals from similar background in a larger level, but it will take time. But I’m an active member of various social groups in Bengaluru - ‘Let’s Spread Love’ - which helps in facilitating the process of food and cloth donations to underprivileged children across Bengaluru and ‘Ugly Indians’ that works to keep the city’s public places clean through an anonymous group of individuals.” For Sindhu, giving back to the community and CH is an aspect of her life that she has yet to reach. “But it is 100 per cent on the cards. I want to give back to Christel House for all they’ve done for me. And I’d always consider myself to be a part of the Christel House fraternity.”
Life’s Learning
It is never one thing and as Akshay said, “Because I am a wholesome product of CH. Probably, honesty and integrity are the most important things that have truly influenced my personal and professional life. Hard work and perseverance have always been the key traits that help me to excel in whatever I do.” He believes that education should be a tool to combat the world and that one needs to acquire professional/academic knowledge, equipping oneself to kick-start ones’ work-life. “Sheer determination and focus needs to be given in achieving academic records. But, education shouldn’t be confused with knowledge. You need to educate yourself with social skills, relationships, communication and learning about things beyond textbooks and classroom teaching. Education is hope for people like me.” “A wholesome educational system like CH is a must for underprivileged children. A greater participation and active involvement of people like us, who have worked hard and understood the value of quality education is a must. Government agencies should be able to create and mul-
tiply similar education system in parallel to CH. Influencers and beneficiaries of CH need to join hands with the government to achieve this in the future,” Akshay said. Sindhu feels that CH was integral to moving on from a life where she couldn't even afford education, to a life where she is a well-educated and successful professional. “Christel House has also played an important role in helping us grow personally. And in fact, it still helps me, every time that I visit Christel House; I see similar inspired and driven versions of me. The best project you’d ever work on is you, and Christel House gave me the blue-print to succeed.”
Dreams and Action
The confidence in Akshay places him as a strong role model and he hopes that others might just pick a page from his life. “I think my life and the progressive journey that I have had till now and, my future endeavours, should set an example for my peers and people who are/were from the same background as I was before,” he said. Sindhu in an inspirational mood jogs her memory to her graduation day in 2012 and spoke of a pact that she had made with Mrs Jaya George (Head - Education at Christel House India) – “I am going to be sitting on her chair at Christel House. I want to serve at Christel House and ensure every child can get what I got for almost eight years at the ‘House’. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com
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Exide plans India’s largest battery recycling plant Exide Industries Ltd set in motion efforts to turn its Haldia unit into one of the biggest battery-making centers in South-East Asia, churning out everything from recycled lead to finished products. India’s largest automotive battery maker embarked on this mission by laying the foundation stone for two greenfield projects in Haldia, which are likely to entail an investment of close to `5.5 billion.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 43
Loved & Married too It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into a wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real-life romances got sealed in marriage
the
singular faith of togetherness Currently based in Thane, Meghashyam Shirodkar and his better half Arwa Poonawala are proof positive that over and above every so-called difference of caste, community and culture, it is love that counts. Seven-year-old Dhruva completes their circle By Kalyani Sardesai
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On Diwali, little Dhruva looks forward to Shankarpalas and chiwda; come Eid and it’s a sumptuous repast of Sheer Korma that he partakes of. Amidst the various delicious flavours of his mom’s kitchen—it is a lingering taste that stays on: a joyful celebration of diversity, tolerance and all the differences that ultimately make us human. For this, he has his dad Meghashyam Shirodkar and mom Arwa Poonawala to thank. In these jaded times, some stories do stand out for the most heart warming reasons.
Back to the beginning
Meghashyam and Arwa first met in 2005 while they were both employed with EXL Services, Magarpatta, Pune. It was pretty much the first job for young Meghashyam from Kolhapur, and he spent quite a bit of his time pursuing his love of Crosswords and puzzles in the staff common room. Things went on like this for some time: it was largely work and the crossword, until one
day, he began to discover (to his annoyance) that someone else seemed to be solving them before he got the chance. A few days later he discovered the ‘culprit’ who happened to share this relatively unusual passion for word games and puzzles: his co-worker Arwa Poonawala. Then on, both decided to solve them together, thereby establishing the foundation of a lasting friendship. From the outset, they got along beautifully. Despite-or perhaps-because they were such opposites in terms of personality, they complemented each other well. “I loved the fact that he was outspoken and candid enough to stand up for what he believed in. He’s not the one to hide behind a false facade, but will
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take the situation head on. Besides, he speaks beautifully and is a talented quiz master to boot. (Meghashyam is a quiz master of some repute, balancing his banking work with his passion for quizzing.) Currently employed with Edelweiss as AVP, Business Excellence, he nevertheless, makes it a point to quiz on the weekends. On his part, he liked her company for her gentle and understanding ways, and the relationship simply went from strength to strength. “She is quite a people’s person and very easy to get along with. I tend to be a bit hot-tempered and so her nature is the perfect foil to mine,” he says. In some time, marriage was a logical and
natural enough question to discuss; never mind the disparate backgrounds: He’s a Maharashtrian while she’s a Bohri Muslim. Nevertheless, says Meghashyam, it was simply a matter of waiting for Arwa’s parents to come around. “Mine is a liberal family from the Konkan, and inter cultural marriages in my home have been happening for generations. So they were pretty fine with it,” he says. But Arwa’s parents took some convincing. “They just didn’t see it coming,” she reminisces. “However when they saw how happy we were together, they gave us their blessings, wholeheartedly.” The duo were married in a civil ceremony in 2008 with both families in joyful attendance.
The building blocks of a marriage
The Mantras of a Marriage
The liberality extends to other aspects of his upbringing toowith both parents choosing to explain things to him rationally and peacefully rather than simply reading out diktats. “Yes, there are some definite dos and Celebrating cultural don’ts. But he knows why those differences rules have been made in the first Understanding and place,” says Meghashyam. empathy Both parents were united Giving each other about one thing though: one of due space them had to be home in the early years of Dhruva’s life. Currently Doing things on a break from work (she was together as a family employed with HDFC Bank as Branch Operations Manager), Arwa says she has no regrets as “balancing home and family is of great importance to me.” At the end of the day, neither has any regrets of their unconventional choice. “Meghashyam is the most dependable and reliable partner I could ever have asked for. The love and security I get from this relationship is my greatest earnthe Ganga-Jamuna traditions of Indian spirituality, names like Kabir, Sahil, Sameer and so ing,” signs off Arwa. on-names that could be ambiguously Hindu or kalyanisardesai@gmail.com Muslim. But somehow, neither of us could agree on a single one,” shares Meghashyam. However, when the name Dhruva came up, CC it resonated perfectly with both parents, despite its close association with Hindu mythology. “Dhruva means the Pole Star, the one constant, unchanging presence in the Universe, even as all else seems to be transient and temporary. We both loved the name and everything it symbolizes,” says Arwa. As of today, Dhruva is a happy and cheerful India has been recording the highest seven, who shares his dad’s passion for quizzing growth rate amongst the Brazil, Russia, and plays a keen game of tennis. Loved and inIndia, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies, as per recent KPMG report dulged by relatives from both sides of his parents’ titled “India Soars Higher”. The report family, he has been enriched by a gamut of diindicates that in spite of some reformative verse cultural experiences from babyhood: From steps that slowed the growth momentum Ganpati at Meghashyam’s sister’s place to Eid at in the first quarter of FY18, the economy is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2018, his nana-nani’s, he celebrates different occasions higher than the advanced economies of with gusto. There’s even a floor-to-ceiling Christthe world, which are at 2 per cent and 3 mas Tree put up in his aunt’s living room for him per cent respectively. in December, that he decorates each year!
Having lived in a nuclear set up from the beginning of their married life, the duo have nevertheless enjoyed the love and support of both families. This has helped considerably in the raising of their seven-year-old boy, Dhruva
Despite all the ominous predictions that inevitably accompany an inter cultural wedding—all that concern about adjusting to differences and so on, both partners discovered that it wasn’t such a huge deal after all. “I am an atheist while she is not. We both follow our beliefs. Thus, the question of discomfort does not arise,” says Meghashyam. As in the case of any marriage, conflicts do arise, but the important thing, according to Meghashyam is to move ahead with empathy and understanding. “Considering how much of a gentle and giving person Arwa is, it is easy enough for me to get my way most of the time. So it is absolutely crucial to ask myself: is what I am doing of equal value and happiness to my partner? Asking yourself that question regularly is the way ahead according to me,” says Meghashyam. Having lived in a nuclear set up from the beginning of their married life, the duo have nevertheless enjoyed the love and support of both families. This has helped considerably in the raising of their seven-year-old boy, Dhruva.
Bringing up the baby
Meghashyam with Arwa and son Dhruva
When their son was born, the proud parents went through a gamut of names before zeroing in on the perfect choice. “Our first options were the secular names that have arisen from
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India’s growth rate highest amongst BRICS economies
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 45
Campus Placement
Being positive is the secret of success A Commerce graduate from Jabalpur, Vidya Dubey chose the right college and made the right choices to move ahead in life which gave her the means to enter the corporate world... By Joe Williams
L
ife goes on, whether you choose to move on and take a chance into the unknown or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could’ve been. Vidya Dubey chose the former and went on to become the Relationship Manager in the Wealth Management department of YES Bank Ltd. She was a laid back girl during her school days, like any other kid of her age, but as she grew up she realised that there was something much bigger beyond it. ‘Godfather’ is the word one uses for a person who gives us a lift, but for Vidya it was the undercover recruiter in the name of Sir Bala who changed her life from being ‘I want’ to ‘I did’. Vidya is also thankful to her mother Kiran, father Vinay and her sister Shourya who have been the pillars of her success. A Commerce graduate from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, she chose the right college to move ahead in life. Balaji Institute of Modern Management showed her the way and gave her a new lease of life, as she converged into the corporate world by spending time with the right people and maintaining a proper balance in Vidya Dubey being felicitated by Anna Hazare life. It was Vidya’s post graduation stint which changed her life. Balaji Institute of Modern Management works all the 365 days of the year without hol-
46 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Vidya with her friends
‘I lacked confidence throughout my life, until I joined this college which changed me completely and I accepted the change with my whole heart and soul... It was my first stepping stone to success, which made me realise how satisfying it was to follow a routine and a fixed schedule, and this is inculcated in me forever now’ Vidya with her mother Kiran (c) and sister Shourya
Out in the wilderness Vidya
about management. It was not just academics, but getting involved in different meets of the college such as HR, to name a few. This gave Vidya a boost and she grabbed it with both her hands. Besides, the cultural events in the college too gave an opportunity for students to exploit their inner talent. It was the corporate relationship team of the college which guided the students to higher levels, especially when it came to placements. There were many who played their role of moulding the students to get set for the placement day, and among them was Dimple who with many years of experience shared her thoughts with the students, year after year. She trained the team and made them more focused in documentation and soft skills. It was maintaining a balance between academics and placements which was the key to success. Being a part of CRT is the most memorable and cherished part of the students from this college. Learning to work for others is different, and brings the highest satisfaction, which one cannot express in words. “Helping our batchmates getting into big companies, through knowledge, communication, confidence, public speaking and handling HR is the path to success,” says Vidya. Being positive in her approach and always wanting to learn were some of the qualities that helped her to be selected by Yes bank. Vidya recognised for her work by Lila Poonawalla. Also seen extreme right Col. Balasubramanian “Knowledge was definitely a pre-
idays, which is incidentally, the only college in the country to do so. Campus placement is the key note of any institution, where students wait for the call, perform well during the interview and come out triumphant. Vidya, though an amateur when she first entered the college, her two-year stint made her a perfect candidate for the interview. “I lacked confidence throughout my life, until I joined this college which changed me completely and I accepted the change with my whole heart and soul,” recalls Vidya. The management college acted as her regulator which changed her life style. “It was my first stepping stone to success, which made me realise how satisfying it was to follow a routine and a fixed schedule, and this is inculcated in me forever now.” The best part of this college is that there are over 40 corporate stalwarts in different fields who share their views. And among them was Leela Poonawala, whom Vidya always wanted to meet, as she felt she was the best person to speak
requisite, but then I thought over and realised the many qualities this college has already taught me, which were now a part of me,” said Vidya, who was appreciated for her CRT work, by none other than Shri Anna Hazare. joe78662@gmail.com
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Jio gets highest subscriber-growth rate
Reliance Jio saw the highest monthly growth rate of wireless subscribers at 5.16% followed by Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and BSNL with growth rates of 2.63%, 1.48% and 0.63% respectively in the month of April, according to TRAI report. The top 5 service providers constituted 97.42% of the market share of the total wireless broadband users with Reliance Jio leading the pack at 196.19 million subscribers. Mobile phone users saw the maximum monthly growth of 1.83%, to a staggering 401.41 million users in the month of April.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 47
Travel
Globetrotters Favourite
World travellers Sandy Samuel Jerome and Joel Jerome, co-founders - Somey’s kitchen, tell us why they love Cape Town and vote it as the best city in the world By Sharmila Chand Joel Jerome is the Founder and Chairman - Somey’s Kitchen, a brand that brings traditional homemade pickled masalas to global market. Founded originally in London, UK, Somey’s Kitchen is named after Mrs. Somey Samuel, mother of the company's founder, Sandy Jerome Samuel. Sandy, along with her husband, Joel Jerome, launched the company in 2015 in the U.K., when they realised that despite Chicken Tikka Masala being the national dish of UK and their love for Indian food in gener-
al, there was a lack of authentic, seafood and meat pickled masalas in the market. The duo formed Somey's Kitchen, with non-veg and seafood pickled masalas based on recipes by Mrs. Somey. The company soon grew further, and Sandy and Joel established their first formal production unit in Bengaluru in 2017 to retail fish, chicken and prawn pickled masalas. The company will be soon expanding to include a wide-variety of Indian ready-to-eat foods, including traditional whole-wheat, organic and gluten free chapatis and pooris. The drive and passion for innovation has made their product a crowd favourite. Because of their work and having global roles, Joel and Sandy have been globe trotters and have visited almost every major country across all continents giving them a taste of every culture, food and history.
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Which is your favourite holiday destination? Cape Town, South Africa is our favourite holiday destination. The place is just so beautiful and brings all three key elements of a holiday in one place—Beaches, Mountains and Wild Life and Marine Life. In addition to this combination, Cape Town has some splendid vineyards that are a treat for anyone who is passionate about wines. White shark encounter is a must for those who like a bit of thrill. Overall, Cape Town has so much to offer for any tourist whether it’s a honeymoon or a family holiday. It will be time well spent and you will be so amazed to bring back some long lasting memories. When did you visit last? We had visited last in November 2015. What do you like about the place? Sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean, the
Indian Ocean and Table Mountain, Cape Town attracts more visitors than any other place in Africa, with its natural setting, cosmopolitan culture and tropical climate providing the charm. Going up the Table Mountain—by foot or cable car recompenses you with panoramic views over the mountains, city and both oceans. You can also explore Cape Town’s history with a historical tour and a visit to Robben Island to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela. Restful afternoons might involve browsing the shops and restaurants at Victoria & Alfred Waterfront or relaxing on Camps Bay’s beach. The city is famous for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. The best time for a Cape Town beach holiday is from late January to late April, the tail end of the city’s dry summer months. Cape Town enjoys a temperate climate with warm, dry conditions from October to April. The city centre also boasts the Table Mountain cableway, the Castle of Good Hope, the Cape Town Stadium, and the Cape Town International Convention Centre. You can also enjoy easy access to Cape Town’s best beaches, including Sea Point, Camps Bay, Clifton and Llandudno. We visited almost every place of Cape Town except the White Shark Cage Diving. Sandy wouldn’t let me go into that, that’s something I would like to go back and experience. We would highly recommend Cape Town to anyone who loves to have a memorable holiday. Our suggestion is not to come back without going in for a Safari, visting the Two Oceans Museum, eating out at the Waterfront and Camps Bay restuarants, relaxing on the beaches, long drives on the coast to experience panoramic views of the ocean, climbing up to the peak of the table mountain and of course, the ever pleasant vineyards. Which restaurants you like to visit over there? The one thing we did in Cape Town is visiting many restaurants. We love food and especially local cuisine. For best sea food, we recommend Firefish and Baia. For best African cuisine, Moya Kirstenbosch and Test Kitchen. Our favourite was Alba which was a fine dining restaurant with Boat Experience. It serves both seafood and African cuisine. Which are the good hotels to stay there? Which is your favourite hotel to stay in Cape Town? More than the hotels, we enjoyed staying in serviced apartments right in front of the beach. This is very popular but Cape Town does offer good hotels as well. Our best hotel was The Table Bay from Sun International. Best views of Cape Town from any room. Sandy enjoyed the morning dance and worship of all the staff members. It was nice to see how they give their
The city is famous for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point the locals are just there to serve the tourists or it’s a pure local resident area with few visitors trying to get a sniff of the beauty of the place. Cape Town is unique to this culture where it really brings the locals, expats living in Cape Town and tourists all together making a nice culture to dwell in.
praise to God and start the day with some singing and dancing. It used to wake us in the morning with a smile. Tips you can give to fellow travellers for that place? Don’t miss going to the peak of the Table Mountain, enjoy some local African food and enjoy both the wild and marine life as much as you can. According to you how can that destination be improved? Cape Town is one place in the world where you can confidently say that there is nothing to improve. It’s all just so beautiful to enjoy every moment. However, the local political situation makes it unsafe for expats and tourists which should be given series consideration if you are visiting the place now. What can other destinations learn from that place? The best thing that other destinations can learn from Cape Town is to know how to blend the locals with the tourists who can enjoy the fabulous city together. Most places, we have visited makes us feel that it is either dominated by tourists and
Any interesting episode of your holiday over there which you can share with our readers? We are both meat lovers and enjoy trying different type of food especially the local cuisine. South African is home for all the adventurous meat lovers and in a restaurant called Oyo, we just went overboard trying all kinds of meat. We tried three types of meat—Deer, Crocodile and Wilder beast which then made us all throw up at the end. It was very funny for both of us as we just felt stupid to go full board but later to feel sick. This is a memory we will not forget. What kind of a traveller are you—planning well or more impulsive? We plan well that’s always been our personality as we cannot do anything without a plan. However, we always give some room to be impulsive as there is no fun without it. Lastly, what tops your mind when you travel – sightseeing, food, shopping or… Joel is all about sightseeing and trying to understand the different history and culture but Sandy loves food, shopping and lying on the beach. So every holiday we go to, has a combination of all. chand.sharmila@gmail.com
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 49
Unsung Heroes - 9
A Driver’s Daughter, now an Arjuna Award Winner
The tally of medals earned by Rajkumari in rifle shooting is really impressive. In all she has won 104 medals, which include 43 gold, 32 silver and 29 bronze. And above all, she is an Arjuna Awardee
Rajkumari Rathore with Former President Pranab Mukherjee
“Our biggest competition is never the others. Instead, it is always ourselves. It doesn’t matter if we end up with first or last place. If we do our best to do better than before, then we’ve won.” —Clint Cora
T
he daughter of a civilian driver in Infantry School, Mhow (MP) she used to hear the shots being fired at the nearby Army firing range. She caught a fancy for rifle shooting, but it was not easy for her to reach there. Her father decided to make way for her. While she was studying in VII grade, she got an opportunity to participate in the summer camp, as a part of the infantry kid’s team. The accuracy of her shots got her a place in the junior team, and she was chosen for one week’s training to hone her shooting skills. The young girl has now grown up and become a celebrity. Join your hands together for Ms. Rajkumari Rathore, who received the coveted Arjuna Award from the President on 30 August 2013. The award is given to sportspersons, who not only have a good performance, consistently for three years at the international level, with excellence for the year in which the award is recommended, but should also have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline. The award carries a cash prize of rupees five lakhs, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll. It is for the first time that
“Don’t heed to people who ridicule you, just have faith in yourself, and remain focused on your goal” - Rajkumari Rathore an Academy player from Madhya Pradesh has won the Arjuna Award. It has been a long journey from a member of the Infantry kids’ team to an Arjun Award winner in rifle shooting. Hailing from Harsola village near Mhow, where early marriage was prevalent in 1990s, her relatives and friends
50 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
ridiculed her and taunted her parents for letting her participate in rifle shooting, which was unheard of for girls. Rajkumari counts Col. M.S. Chauhan as one of her mentors, who encouraged her and counselled her parents not to get her married early. The tally of medals earned by Rajkumari is really impressive. She won the gold and silver medals in the Commonwealth Games in 2002, bronze medal in the World Championship 2002, three silver medals in National Games 2011, one gold and a bronze medal in the XII Asian Games Shooting Championship Doha, to name just a few. She has participated in three World Cup tournaments in London, Milan and Munich. In all she won 104 medals which include 43 gold, 32 silver and 29 bronze—a rare feat indeed! After her marriage in 2007, Rajkumari has now settled down in Dhar (MP) and is a proud mother of a four-year-old daughter. When asked to give a message for the upcoming sportsmen, she said, “Don’t heed to people who ridicule you, just have faith in yourself, and remain focused on your goal,” Rajkumari is not going to rest on her laurels, she has already set her eyes on the next Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and of course Olympics, for which she is training hard with all her might. There is no doubt that she will realize her dreams. (The above success story is based on the interview of Rajkumari Rathore by Maj. Pradeep Khare.) And is featured in “Real Inspiring Stories” ISBN 978-81-8430-290-5 by Maj. Pradeep Khare (pradeepkhare2011@gmail.com). It is published by Prabhat Publications, New Delhi.
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Chinese, Russians, better engineers The overall higher order thinking skills of Indian students are seen as “substantially lower” than the Chinese and Russians as was reported in a learning outcome assessment of undergraduate engineering students conducted by Stanford University and the World Bank. But, students from disadvantaged sections in India have shown either comparable or greater skill gains.
Health
Is your Office Spoiling your Skin? The perfect air conditioning in office keeps us cool all day but in reality, it damages our skin to quite an extent. Air conditioning dries air and reduces humidity in the environment which affects our skin and hair badly. This lack of humidity in the air seems to affect the water content of the outer layer of the skin, as well as reducing its elastic properties, leading to dryer, rougher skin. Corporate Citizen speaks to two experts in the field and find out what works the best in taking care of skin while giving out best performances in our corporate jobs By Sharmila Chand
Preeti Seth, Cosmetologist, Pachouli Wellness Clinic, Delhi
Use fingertips to press onto areas of the face and neck which feel dry as you massage it
The sparking point for many an office argument, air conditioning is supposed to help us stay cool in summer. In reality, it often leaves us shivering and battling dry skin and breakouts. Air conditioning dries air and reduces humidity in the environment which affects our skin and hair badly. This lack of humidity in the air seems to affect the water content of the outer layer of the skin, as well as reducing its elastic properties, leading to dryer, rougher skin. Here are few tips which help your hair and skin to look fresher: 1. Take break from the air conditioner Much of the changes that are caused by air conditioning will be reversible when you move into
a more humid environment. Take break outside the office to refresh your skin. 2. Moisturise with a non-fragranced moisturiser If your skin feels dry and tight, use a non-fragranced moisturiser to replace the lost hydration from your skin. 3. Keep a facial oil in your desk To troubleshoot particularly dry spots, apply facial oil at lunchtime and again in the afternoon if needed. Use fingertips to press onto areas of the face and neck which feel dry as you massage it in. 4. Use a hydrating facial mist and splash water on your face
52 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Since air-conditioning dries out your skin, it’s important to splash water on your face every couple of hours to keep it hydrated. You can also opt for good hydrating facial mist, preferably one that’s fragrance-free, and spritz it on everytime you feel your skin tightening with dryness. 5. Eat healthy There’s no point taking care of your skin from the outside, if you’re drinking umpteen cups of coffee at work, or ordering fries to your desk. Avoid caffeine and sodas, instead order fresh vegetable juices or stick to water. Eat a balanced diet for lunch—salads, grilled or stir-fried veggies, eggs, phulkas and dals. Cut down on sugar and excess spice and oil. 6. To combat the drying effects of the air conditioner, place a bowl of water in the room. 7. Hot oil massage Hair becomes rough and dry while sitting in AC. It loses moisture and looks frizzy. Oil
Dr. Chytra V Anand, Founder, Kosmoderma
massage rejuvenates and re-hydrates dry hair and scalp. Hot Oil massage can be done using any hair oil. Regular oil massages during winters is very useful for hair care. 8. Hair packs Hair packs can be made from natural ingredients as well as synthetic chemicals. Both the type of hair packs are good for providing moisture to hair, reducing dandruff and improving the hair quality. Natural hair packs can be made at home using a combination of ingredients like curd, milk, henna, lemon and neem. 9. Conditioners Good conditioners help to keep the hair and scalp hydrated. Split ends can also be avoided by using good conditioners. You can use conditioners before washing you hair with a shampoo. Keep the conditioner on for five minutes and then rinse with cold water. Repeat the procedure after washing hair with the shampoo.
When your body is properly hydrated, you’ll look better and feel better
The corporate world is a new syndrome that we have coined for ourselves, which brings with it a whole new lifestyle and existence. Earlier, air conditioning was available only to a few privileged ones, but these days it has become a part of life for many individuals. It has become a norm not only in offices and many commercial places, but a few public transport systems as well. In spite of the relief it brings on a hot sunny day, there are some health problems which occur due to being in an air conditioned environment. Let’s look at some of the major side effects of air conditioning on your skin and health. ➢ Sudden changes in humidity and temperature affects the individual’s respiratory system and it even transmits infectious respiratory diseases. ➢ It dries out skin and mucous membranes ➢ Airborne dust and fungi cause allergic reactions ➢ If indoor air contains allergens, you may suffer from nasal issues, headaches, itchy eyes, difficulty breathing and dizziness. Apart from being in closed and air conditioned environment, long hours in front of the laptop, irregular meals, lack of proper sleep, and many other such factors could lead to concerns like Hair fall, Dark Circles, Premature Ageing, Pigmentation and Acne. Using good home care regimen, eating healthy exercising, managing stress and getting regular treatments for maintenance from the right professional is required to manage the skin, hair and body. You may not be able to avoid being in AC but you can follow a few tips to neutralise the effect of being in such environment. 1. Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise This C/T/M mantra can be miraculous for many. By following three simple steps, you can keep your skin glowing with natural beauty all day, every day. Use soap free - Ph balanced face wash. Always remove the dirt and make up before going to bed (No matter how tired) and use a good moisturiser/hydrator to protect skin from AC/ Heater. 2. Take antioxidants Antioxidants fight free radical damage, boost immunity, delay skin ageing and protect against
sun damage. It can prolong and even make some reversals of skin damage caused by being in harmful environments. You may take antioxidant supplement and also make sure you get it through a good nutritious diet. Your skin, nails, hair, everything is a direct result of what food you put in your body. 3. Drink enough water If at all you feel thirsty, it means that you are already dehydrated. Air conditioned environment worsens the condition. Skin is intricately tied to the overall health of your body. When your body is properly hydrated, you'll look better and feel better. Water gives you a radiant complexion and in addition, bloating and puffiness often disappear. So drink enough water and keep going. 4. Protect yourself Almost 80 per cent of skin ageing is caused due to harmful UV rays. Doesn’t matter if you are indoors in an air conditioned place, the UV rays are still damaging your skin. Sunscreen is one of the keys to radiant, youthful-looking skin. Freckles, age spots, spider veins on the face, rough and leathery skin, wrinkles, loose and dull skin, a blotchy complexion and skin cancer can all be traced to sun exposure. 5. Uh oh... Body Odour! Excessive sweating and body odour is a common problem faced in crowded spaces. Air conditioning makes it even more unbearable as you are in a closed environment. No matter how much anti perspirant or deodorant one uses, you can't hold back the odour. And most people think it is a hygiene problem, this is false. It is sweat related. Have Botox done for your under arms and palms. With Bengaluru being the hub of IT and BPO's, this is a common procedure among the corporate working people. The procedure is quick and comfortable. In just 3-5 days you will notice that the sweating has decreased and that you have no body odour worries any more. The results typically last 7 - 9 months. So in a nutshell, follow these tips and change your corporate lifestyle. A little maintenance goes a long way. See a dermatologist if you are facing any skin or hair related issues that are persistent. Most issues are easier to treat in the beginning than at a later stage. chand.sharmila@gmail.com
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 53
Survey
Online shopping – Walking the tightrope Online shopping is fast becoming the preferred mode of shopping. However, with convenience comes risk. With countries like India adopting fast internet with a passion, online customers face risks of fraud. With a view to understand and address the tightrope between convenience, privacy and fraud prevention, global credit reporting agency Experian has conducted the Digital Consumer Insights Survey 2018. Corporate Citizen brings you the results Compiled By Neeraj Varty
W
hen fraudulent transactions occur, customers fall into a consumer fraud response cycle. There are three dimensions that define this response cycle: their desire for convenience, their propensity to share personal data, and their risk perception. The vicious cycle manifests in two ways, Digital Voyagers and Digital Pragmatists. These two groups differ in the ways they make trade-offs; each set of trade-offs is reinforced by differing risk attitudes and perceptions, resulting in two different sets of outcomes: escalating fraud losses as Digital Voyagers increase their digital consumption, or lost revenue opportunities as Digital Pragmatists switch to competitors who do better at fraud management.
Voyagers vs Pragmatists
Digital Voyagers and Digital Pragmatists differ in their trade-off decisions along the three dimensions of the fraud response cycle. Digital Voyagers’ desire for convenience outweigh their fraud risk perceptions, while a high fraud risk perception drives risk avoidance in Digital Pragmatists.
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September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 55
Survey Digital Voyagers
Digital Pragmatists Desire for convenience
Risk perception
Higher consumption of digital services Higher adoption of mobile payment
Fraud is not acceptable Higher tendency to switch providers in the event of fraud
Risk=
Propensity to share
Desire for convenience
Perception
Personal data
Higher willingness to share data to get better experience Lower quality of submitted data
Lower willingness to share data to get better experience Higher quality of submitted data
Desire for convenience
Risk perception
Lower tendency to switch providers in the event of fraud
Propensity to= = share personal data
Propensity to share personal data
Propensity to= = share personal data
=
Lower consumption of digital services Lower adoption of mobile payment
Desire for convenience
Risk Perception
The interplay of convenience and fraud
DIGITAL VOYAGERS
Adoption of mobile payment and perceived convenience
Consumption of digital services 78%
DIGITAL PRAGMATISTS
=
62%
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65% 49%
Adoption of biometrics in commercial apps =
17% 9%
The more consumers choose convenience through digital channels, the greater is the fraud exposure for both = consumers and businesses. Consumers who have higher fraud exposure (Digital Voyagers) also have a higher propensity to adopt convenient security measures such as biometrics. This points to opportunities for businesses to improve their fraud mitigation measures.
Higher digital consumption: A calculated risk 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Japan
New Australia Zealand
Hong Kong
Singapore Thailand
Consumption of digital services
China
India
Indonesia Vietnam
Fraud experienced
The rise of the next billion consumers in emerging Asia and the associated surge in mobile Internet connections continue to alter shopping patterns in the region. Vietnam is aiming to reduce cash transactions to become a 90% cashless economy by 2020. The nation has its work cut out for itself as it navigates the complexities and challenges of creating sustainable and secure digital payments. With the mass adoption of 4G, India too is the next frontier in online shopping.
Countries where consumer respondents are more ready to adopt biometrics in commercial applications India leads the list of countries ready to adopt biometrics in commercial applications. It is closely followed by China and Vietnam.
21 % 21% India India
18 % 18% China China
% 18 18% Vietnam
Vietnam
% 15 15%
Thailand Thailand
% 11% 11
Indonesia Indonesia
9% 9%
Digital Pragmatists Digital Pragmatists
neeraj.varty07@gmail.com September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 57
Bollywood Biz
The Best Choreographers turned Directors in Bollywoo Dance is an integral part of Bollywood movies, and choreography is just as intricate as directing a movie. Which is why, many choreographers have made the jump from directing dance moves to directing movies, and a few have struck gold. This issue, we look at the biggest choreographers turned directors in Bollywood By Neeraj Varty
Prabhu Deva
Prabhu Deva is an all-rounder. His career trajectory as an actor, director and choreographer has been quite intertwined. Initially, India knew of him as an accomplished dancer who always brought his A-game. He wore the director’s hat for the 2005 Telugu film, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana. He then directed Salman Khan for Wanted in 2009, which is a film credited with kicking off both his and Salman Khan’s golden phase. Over the years, he has directed Shahid Kapoor in R… Rajkumar, Ajay Devgan in Action Jackson and Akshay Kumar in Rowdy Rathore, Singh is Bliing.
Farah Khan
Farah Khan is arguably the most successful choreographer turned director in Bollywood. Having choreographed iconic movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Dil Chahta Hai and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, she has directed superhit films like Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om, Tees Maar Khan and Happy New Year. In fact, Happy New Year still holds the record of the highest opening day gross of ₹44.97 cr for a Bollywood film. 58 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
od Remo D’Souza
Remo D’Souza is a popular choreographer who brings his signature swagger to his dance moves. He has choreographed films like Kaante, Rock On, Student of the Year and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. As a director, he can be credited for bringing the genre of dance movies to India with blockbuster films like ABCD: Any Body Can Dance and ABCD 2.
Ahmed Khan
One of the most popular choreographers of Bollywood, Ahmed Khan has made actors dance to his tunes in movies like Rangeela, Taal, Ghajini, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahaani and Kick. His directorial debut was Lakeer in 2003, which he followed up with Fool N Final. However, it was his 2018 blockbuster Baagi 2 starring Tiger Shroff, which cemented him as one of the most bankable directors in Bollywood. Interestingly even before Ahmed Khan became a choreographer, he made his acting debut as a child artist in the superhit film Mr India. September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 59
Mobile apps
Top Data Recovery Apps For Android If you have ever used a smartphone, you know how easy it is to accidentally delete photos and files. Our smartphones contain data that is very important to us, and accidentally losing it can be stressful. You need not worry though, as in this edition, we bring you the best apps to recover lost data on your Android phone. Just download these apps and never worry about losing your precious memories again By Neeraj Varty
Jihosoft Android Phone Recovery
This is one of the highly acclaimed data recovery apps, which can be used to recover deleted/lost photos, call logs, contacts, text messages, WhatsApp chats, videos, audio and etc from. It is compatible with all versions of Android OS, including the latest android 8.0 Oreo. With it, you can preview and recover deleted files from your phone.
Dr.Fone
Dr.Fone for Android is another great data recovery app. It can directly scan and restore deleted data on Android without backup. Both existing data and deleted data can be scanned and detected during scanning. Though the installation process is kind of troublesome and it takes a little longer to identify the device, Dr.Fone is still a great tool to thoroughly recover data from android devices.
Piriform Recuva
While the other recovery apps are great, they are primarily useful in recovering data from your phone’s internal memory, Recuva is the best Android data recovery tool for recovering data from your device’s external SD card. It can bring back lost files including pictures, music, videos, documents, compressed files, and emails with ease. It might not be able to recover every file from every Android device in every scenario, but it is definitely worth a try if you’ve got the problem that Recuva specialises in. After all, it is free.
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DiskDigger
Being a smartphone user, one of the things that most of us delete either intentionally or unintentionally are our photos. If you are not using any backup solution like Google Photos and are worried because of some deleted photos then you can use DiskDigger to recover those deleted files. DiskDigger can recover photos and images both from the internal and external storage cards. Yes, you can recover images even when the memory card is reformatted. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchise for McDonald’s business in West and Southern India, as it becomes the first company in the food sector to recycle cooking oil into biodiesel for its delivery trucks The recycled fuel is being used to power its delivery trucks in Mumbai. The refrigeration equipment on the trucks is also being powered by the recycled cooking oil from its restaurants. The pilot project that began last year has been scaled to cover 85 restaurants in Mumbai. This biodiesel from cooking oil is a much cleaner fuel with 75 % lesser carbon emission than diesel over its entire life cycle. It is therefore seen as an Eco-friendly fuel that helps limit global warming. Currently the company is converting more than 35,000 liters of used cooking oil every month into
biodiesel, bringing on a saving of over 4,20,000 litres of crude oil annually. The company said in a statement that the process of conversion begins at the restaurant where the distribution centre collects the used cooking oil, which is then taken to the converting facility in tankers. The oil is then converted into biodiesel and sent back to the distribution centre. It is then used in dedicated refrigerated trucks for McDonald’s supply logistics in Mumbai. Over the next four years, Hardcastle Restaurants is looking to expand its restaurant chain to 450-500 outlets, which translates to using about 15 lakh litres of used cooking oil to make biodiesel for running its refrigerated delivery trucks. According to the company, it brings about a reduction of over 4,000 MT of carbon emissions, akin to planting about two lakh trees. If McDonald’s can, then can’t we at the domestic level try our bit to recycle our cooking oil, perhaps with a little bit of help from local state agencies. Let us start ‘living it’ - green and ecologically!
Corporate Citizen slaps any underlying notions that challenge individuals to dangerous acts, under the guise of ‘entertainment’ across Social Media platforms. The current “Kiki challenge,” this has triggered not just creative imaginations but has pushed many into taking some not so ‘cool’ and ‘crazy’ steps. Jumping out of a moving car and dancing at the pace of a car in motion might seem to be ‘cool’ but, can we in India afford to jump on this bandwagon knowing our statistics of road related traffic accidents and deaths? Can the funny dance rendition be justified—all for the sake of a few minutes of social media fame? The trend has sparked warnings from authorities in several countries including India. The obsession began when internet comedian Shiggy posted an Instagram video of himself dancing to the song. It is however unclear how his video got transformed into people jumping out of moving cars and dancing to the tune of Canadian rapper, Drake – ‘In My Feelings’. Even Drake would have been stunned at the creativity of his composition which has had variations added in the past one month since it went viral—including some regional Indian flavours of foot tapping to “Kiki challenge” to the Garba or Bhangra style! A more bizarre but harmless act of fame, was when three farmers in the village of Lambadipally in the state of Telangana took the “Kiki challenge” but, with the local means of transport, a pair of oxen! The most apt punishment was when a local court in Maharashtra’s Palghar district ordered three youngsters to clean Vasai railway station for three consecutive days for posting a video which showed them taking the “Kiki challenge” on a moving train. They have been arrested under sections 145 B (indecency or nuisance), 147 (entering railway premises or damaging property) 154, (endangering safety of passengers) and 156 (performing stunts) of the Indian Railways Act. These sections entail a jail sentence of up to one year and a fine of ₹500 The police from several states had warned people to desist from public nuisance or face the music! The Vasai Police have perhaps set the first precedence to help stave off such public display of fame mongering across social media platforms! (Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar) September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 61
DrDr(Col.) (Col.)A.A.Balasubramanian Balasubramanian
From FromThe TheMobile Mobile
Practice to Perform Once, Lord Indra got upset with farmers, he announced there will be no rain for 12 years and you will not be able to produce crops. Farmers begged for clemency from Lord Indra, who then said, rain would be possible only if Lord Shiva plays his damru, but he secretly requested Lord Shiva not to agree to these farmers and when the farmers reached Lord Shiva he repeated the same thing that he will play the damru after 12 years Disappointed farmers decided to wait for 12 years but one farmer regularly was digging treating and putting manure in the soil and sowing the seeds even with no crop emerging Other farmers were making fun of that farmer. After three years, all farmers asked that farmer why are you wasting your time and energy when you know that rains will not come before 12 years He replied, “I know that crops won't come but I'm doing it as a matter of practice". After 12 years, I will forget the
62 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
process of growing crops and working in the field so I must keep doing it so that I am fit to produce crops, the moment there is rain after 12 years. Hearing his argument Goddess Parvati praised his version before Lord Shiva and said “you may also lose the practice of playing the damru after 12 years�. The innocent Lord Shiva in his anxiety just tried to play the damru, and see if he could. Hearing the sound of damru immediately there was rain and the farmer who was regularly working in the field saw that his crop emerged immediately and others were disappointed. Debriefing of this story: The game is won during the practice, not during the performance. If you are waiting for the good opportunity before you start practicing, then you have lost the race. "Practice is boring but that is what makes your performance interesting"
Best signboards Sign on a railway station at Patna:
“Aana free, jaana free, pakde gaye to khaana free.” Sign on a famous beauty parlour in Mumbai:
“Don't whistle at the girl going out from here. She may be your grandmother.” Sign on a bulletin board:
“Success is relative, more the success, more the relatives.” Sign at a barber's saloon in Juhu, Mumbai:
“We need your heads to run our business.” A traffic slogan:
“Don't let your kids drive if they are not old enough or else they will never be old.” The best one by indian armed forces:
“It is God's responsibility to forgive the terrorist organisations. It's our responsibility to arrange the meeting between them and God.”
Julie Andrews Turning 79 - this is hysterical! To commemorate her birthday, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was ‘My Favourite Things’ from the legendary movie - ‘The Sound of Music’ Here are the lyrics she used:
Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting, Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings, Bundles of magazines tied up in string, these are a few of my favourite things Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses, Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses, pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings, these are a few of my favourite things. When the pipes leak, when the bones creak, when the knees go bad, I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don’t feel so bad. Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions, no spicy hot food or food cooked with onions, bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring, these are a few of my favourite things. Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin’, thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin’, and we won’t mention our short shrunken frames, When we remember our favourite things. When the joints ache, when the hips break, when the eyes grow dim, then I remember the great life I’ve had, and then, I don’t feel so bad. Ms Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd, which lasted over four minutes and repeated encores. Please share Ms Andrews’ clever wit and humour with others who would appreciate it.
Effects of Negative thoughts The moment negative thought enters in your mind, 1 - Your body releases acid. 2 - Your aura decreases. 3 - Your resistance power decreases. 4 - Your system's functions are affected. 5 - Your heart beat increases. 6 - Your blood pressure increases. 7 - Unwanted hormones are released. With that negative thought, you may or may not harm others but you definitely harm yourself. Think positive remain healthy.
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 63
astroturf nent people—people above you in status. But love needs time to develop, as your Love Planet is retrograde until the 20th.
Aries
March 21 - April 20
Lucky Days: 4, 5, 12, 13, 22, 23 Work is important and you need to be working hard. Job-seekers meet with success. Likewise employers. Health will be good, but, like last month, you should be involved in health and dietary regimens—probably of a preventative sort.
Fortune favours the bold and the lucky
other.
Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Manghat, our renowned Astrological expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions
TAURUS
April 21 - May 20 Lucky Days: 5, 6, 14, 15, 24, 25 Marrieds have to balance their devotion to their children with their obligation to their mates. There could be some tension here. The welfare of children is, of course, important. But your relationship with your spouse is equally important. Remember a harmonious marital relationship is also in the children’s best interest. Health is wonderful and can be enhanced further by paying attention to your kidneys and intestines.
GEMINI
May 21 - June 21
Lucky Days: 7, 8, 17, 18, 26, 27 Singles will now find love close to home or through family members. Old flames can come back into the picture. Emotional support is the way of showing love and what you expect in love. Many of you would want permanence in relationship, so that you can raise a family.
CANCER
June 22 - July 23
Lucky Days: 1, 2, 9, 10, 19, 20, 28, 29 Health is more delicate after the 23rd, so be sure to rest and relax more, avoid power struggles and cultivate positive states of mind. Love is a bit stormier this month than last month, but mostly after the 23rd. Your family and your beloved seem at odds. Family re-
CAPRICORN
(www.dollymanghat.com)
sponsibilities seem to conflict with social urges. Perhaps there is some financial disagreement with your beloved. But these are all shortterm phenomena and not the end of the relationship.
LEO
July 24 - Aug 23
Lucky Days: 3, 4, 12, 13, 22, 23, 30 The lure of being a free spirit, beholden to no one, is strong. You still want love, but freedom is equally important. Love opportunities come in the neighbourhood or with neighbours after the 15th. They come while you pursue your financial goals.
VIRGO
Aug 24 - Sept 23
Lucky Days: 6, 7, 14, 15, 24, 25 Health is good this month. Mars in your own Sign gives you extra energy. You excel in exercise and sports. You get things done very quickly. Personal magnetism and self-confidence will be strong, helping you to set and acieve bigger goals.
LIBRA
Sept 24 - Oct 22 Lucky Days: 7, 8, 17, 18, 26, 27 Your love life is also much improved this month. Venus, your
64 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
Ruling Planet, will move into your Sign on the 15th. Thus you will feel more glamorous and stylish than usual. You look great. Your Love Planet, Mars, will start moving forwards on the 27th, resolving many issues in a current relationship and strengthening your social confidence and judgement. Love and romantic opportunity are at the work place or as you pursue health-related goals.
Dec 23 - Jan 20
Lucky Days: 5, 6, 14, 15, 24, 25 Happy educational and travel opportunities come—though as a delayed reaction. The scriptures of your religion become an open book and yield their secret message. Health is enhanced. There will be an overall feeling of optimism. All is right with you and the world.
AQUARIUS
Jan 21 - Feb19
Lucky Days: 1, 8, 9, 17, 18, 27, 28 This month love and intellectual beliefs (from early education) are involved. Perhaps it is your lover who provokes the crisis—by accusing you of selling out or not seizing your career prize when you should. Or it could be that your lover feels neglected when you focus on either career or your spirituality.
SCORPIO
Oct 23 - Nov 22
Lucky Days: 1, 2, 9, 10, 19, 20, 28, 29 Love can be complicated this month. Venus in the Sign of Virgo is not in her best position. Thus perfectionism, hypercriticism and nit-pickiness can plague romance. Also you may seem out of synch with your beloved—having conflicting desires and interests. But all of this is short-term. By the 15th, love becomes more romantic, as harmony is restored.
SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22
Lucky Days: 3, 4, 12, 13, 22, 23, 30 Love is stormy until the 20th. Romance will be at the work place or with people involved in your career. You will be mingling and socialising with socially promi-
PISCES
Feb 20 - Mar 20
Lucky Days: 1, 2, 9, 10, 19, 20, 28, 29 Love is still amazingly good. All the important beneficial planets are still camped out in your 7th House of Love until the 15th. Great and loving geniuses are meticulously mapping out social happiness for you—it’s difficult to see how you could avoid it. Love makes the world go round this month. Even the retrograde of your Love Planet until the 20th will not stop love from happening. This one factor will simply be outgunned by all the good. Address: 143, St Patrick’s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013. Tel.: 020-26872677 / 020-32905748 Email: connect@dollymanghat.com/ info.dollymanghat@gmail.com
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CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP
PROF. SUDHIR K SOPORY, VICE CHANCELLOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY (JNU) Volume 1, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
January 1-15, 2016 / `50
CORPORATE CULTURE
Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank on women in leadership and gender diversity
INTERVIEW
An in-depth interview with Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director India with Kingston Technology and Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR, at Jindal Steel & Power
Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR
UNFLINCHING SUPPORT
September 1-15, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 65
the last word
Ganesh Natarajan
New promises; new opportunities It’s up to each one to trust and help each other to conquer old hatred and build a better world for future generations. This will need hard work, both within the country and with all our neighbours, but if we, the intelligentsia of the country do not take it upon ourselves, who will?
T
he joy of living in India is that every month there is a new development and quite often a new opportunity that is created for people who are living and working to build this country and make it a great place to live in for all Indians. The second half of July surprisingly provided three completely different sources of excitement and opened my eyes to new possibilities. The first was in Parliament where the expected attack by Rahul Gandhi and the even more expected counter-attack by Prime Minister Modi happened during the No Confidence motion moved against the Government. The hug and the wink of Rahul Gandhi of course garnered more than its fair share of headlines but one allegation that created major ripples has been the Rafale deal with France and collateral controversies around local production and defence offsets. Having been part of Indian industry for a long time, I always sympathise with industrialists who indulge less in Delhi lobbying than a few veterans and often find themselves at the brunt of CEO bashing by some cynical politicians. Hence it was good to hear the strong statement by Prime Minister Modi and many members of the political community that industry is an important part of the country. Long may that be the narrative.
The second was in Lucknow where the anniversary event of India’s Smart Cities movement was led by Pune’s former Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar who is now the Mission Director of Smart Cities at the Centre. For us at Pune City Connect, which has built such a productive Public Private Partnership with the Government, it was truly encouraging to be invited to present a 3-D model of our City Skills Lighthouse project which was seen by the Prime Minister, Minster for Urban Development and most of the Smart City CEOs looking for inclusive projects in their own city. The award for best project in the social category has also been a boost for our young team as they systematically track each family in the city and seek to make a difference through Education, Digital Literacy and Skills. The third interesting development was the success of Pakistan’s Tehreeq-e-Insaaf and the erstwhile cricketer-playboy Imran Khan becoming Prime Minister. While everybody in India has a point of view on the election, Imran’s backers and the future of Indo-Pak relationships, my friends in Pakistan, mostly IT leaders and senior members of the Lahore and Karachi community seem to be united in their view that the elections were fine, Imran is his own man and it would be great if we in India took his “you take one step,
66 / Corporate Citizen / September 1-15, 2018
PM Modi visits the 3D model of the Pune City Skills Lighthouse in Lucknow
I take two” seriously. Of course, with his former wife always willing to appear on Indian channels, allegations of “Taliban Khan” and his frequent attacks on India during the election campaign being trotted out with regularity, it will take a lot for many Indians to take a new Pakistan seriously. Why am I an eternal optimist for an India where inclusion, camaraderie and love prevail and for relationships with our neighbours which are built on mutual trust? Take the case of “Aman ki Asha” with Pakistan first, the
The award for best project in the social category has also been a boost for our young team bonding with some friends across the border started when I was Chairman of NASSCOM in 2008 and we welcomed a delegation led by IT veteran Jehan Ara to our annual Leadership conference. Shortly after, there was an invitation through CII to lead a business delegation to Karachi and Lahore to which we said “throw in a visit to Mohenjodaro and we are coming.” Our delegation itself consisted of several women and was hosted by the very urbane and sophisticated Amin Hashwani. Every day of the five days we spent in
Karachi Lahore and Islamabad was pure delight—outstanding hospitality by multiple hosts, encounters with men and women who have been friends ever since and the highlight was sitting on the fence at Mohenjodaro, where my friend Pradeep Udhas and I joined a group of young guitar strummers and sang Bollywood songs to everybody’s heart content. It was a pleasure last year to be introduced by a good friend Beena Sarwar who now lives in Boston to Talat Rahim an author who included a chapter on my work in her book. To state the obvious, all of us are equal and our hearts beat as one, whether it is the South Mumbai industrialists, my friend Jamnadas Thakur aka Funtoosh in Tatisilwai Jharkhand or any of our similars—Nadeem Elahi IT CEO and Humayun Bashir long time IBM Chief of Pakistan. It’s up to each one to trust and help each other to conquer old hatred and build a better world for future generations. This will need hard work, both within the country and with all our neighbours but if we, the intelligentsia of the country do not take it upon ourselves, who will? Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect and Social Venture Partners, India.
Printed and published by Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian on behalf of Sri Balaji Society. Editor: Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian. Published from : 925/5, Mujumdar Apt, F. C. Road, Pune - 411004, Maharashtra. Printed at Magna Graphics (I) Ltd., 101-C&D Govt. Industrial Estate, Hindustan Naka, Kandivali (W), Mumbai - 400067.