Contemporary Management Thoughts Volume 4, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
Woman Power Zia Mody, Corporate Attorney and Founding Partner, AZB & Partners February 1-15, 2019 / `50
Interview
K V Ganesh
President Finance & CFO, TVS Srichakra Ltd Tête-à-tête
Sumit Bidani, CEO, USG Boral (India)
Dynamic Duo 82
The Clothing Couple From corporate managers to social entrepreneurs, Meenakshi & Anshu Gupta, founders of ‘Goonj’ re-stitch 3,000 tonnes of old clothes per year
Survey
PwC-Deals in 2019 Loved & Married Too
Prateek Maheshwari and Drishti Setia Maheshwari
Labour Reforms V S Deshpande, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labour, Govt of Maharashtra on labour reforms
2 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
feedback
Encouraging stories
Unique Approach
Corporate Citizen has a wide variety and category of stories as compared to any other business magazine. This alone makes it stand out from the rest of the business magazines, making it an ideal mix of business and casual stories. Along with it, stories like ‘Mobile Apps’, ‘Tax Column’, ‘Expert View’ and ‘Wax Eloquent’ are unique and interesting to read. On the other hand, I feel that some of the articles are a bit too long for my read. The illustration, photographs and design-related aspects are extremely attractive, which gives the magazine a posh appeal and makes CC stand out. The paper quality is smooth and glossy. The Corporate Citizen team is doing their job very well with the quality and variety of content which they are delivering. Kudos and good going. — Rajkumar Astana, Investment Banker, New Delhi
Your content matters for extending itself outwards
TOP POSITION SHAHUL KARIM, VICE PRESIDENT-HUMAN RESOURCES, FIRSTSOURCE
Numerous corporate professionals from the SURVEY industry, who devote their time and expertise through Tanushree Shelly, various stories and interviews senior managerHR, Mahindra in Corporate Citizen, are very Lifespace critical and of high quality. Rujuta Phadke and Maybe your metaphors are Ojas Pashankar— wings to aspire for little tamer but to me, you greater heights DYNAMIC DUO: 77 seem to be going beyond Dhiren Makhija, cofounder and business Glorious your self-absorbed world development head, Cashkumar and are obviously not Golden Debate — will like other magazines that Moments India reinvent are somewhere down the itself till 2022? line, prone to narcissism. You people at CC deserve recognition and appreciation for your toil and your content matters for extending itself outwards. There are many things to extol about the magazine, like the headings, the flow of content, the design layout, fonts and judicious editing. Upon reading, the Dynamic Duo on Priscilla and Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo (retd.), in the issue 13, dated September 16-30, 2018, on their 52 years of shared bond, I want to say how I am touched by the heartfelt inspiring words—I disciplined myself to devour every word of the story. In fact, your every Dynamic Duo story, from the gorgeous pictures to the brilliantly described details of the couple’s life, is an unparalleled treat. Your truthful interactions and discussions with corporate leaders, help us readers to realise that our problems are typical and we can solve them in constructive ways. — Digvijay Singh, Business Executive
Circulation NOTICE to ‘Corporate Citizen’ Subscribers
We hereby inform our esteemed subscribers of ‘Corporate Citizen’ magazine that we have Postal Registration Licence. Under this registration the date of posting is 15th and 30th of each month from Pune. Please allow minimum seven (7) days to reach your destination in India. If subscribers do not get copy of any fortnight, do alert us by email at: circulations@corporatecitizen.in OR call on 67117604/9. Just send your subscriber number or full postal address with name. Make sure to email only.
September 16-30, 2018 / `50
Volume 4, Issue No. 13 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
India N Gen St ext udy 2018
MAJ. GE
Interview
CARDO IAN ZO N.
Loved & Married Too
.) ETD (R
Corporate Citizen magazine is full of very encouraging information and stories about successful and established entrepreneurs. The most encouraging part of the magazine are the articles about people who have become successful in their career, who have also explored new avenues of their life and business while also self-assessing their merits. It also carries some valuable information on new business opportunities in various segments. This can be helpful for new and startup business ideas, also helping to motivate young women to plan their career prospects accordingly, as per their wish. It deals with issues and challenges that are obvious in the lives of professionals, especially women. These aspects are really helpful and inspiring too. — Sanjukta Sarkar, Former Producer (News) - Broadcast
STARTUP STORY
Session
Priscilla and Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo (retd.) on their 52 years of shared bond and his story of monumental courage and rare fauji spirit
We look forward to your feedback
We at Corporate Citizen, believe that information should not be a one-way street. Your opinion and views about this issue are most welcome. Your ideas and new thoughts you may have, to enhance the content quality of our magazine, are most welcome. We rely on you to keep Corporate Citizen, on the positive and cool note, through your interaction on this page—just as you trust us with the content that we bring you, every fortnight. Mail us your views on: corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 3
Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Rachna Burman
‘If the voice of the Fourth Estate is stifled... India will become a Nazi state’
Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian
T
he Madras High Court has, last month, made a strong case in favour of freedom of the press and media, noting that unless functions of the Fourth Estate are safeguarded, India may well become a Nazi State. Justice PN Prakash, while quashing defamation proceedings against the Tamil edition of India Today magazine, noted in his judgment: “India is a vibrant democracy and the Fourth Estate is indubitably an indispensable part of it. If the voice of the Fourth Estate is stifled in this manner, India will become a Nazi State, and the hard labour of our freedom fighters and makers of our Constitution will go down the drain.” He further emphasised that “if the Press is gagged, democracy in this country will be in utter peril … There may be some occasional transgressions by the Press, however, in the larger interest of sustaining democracy, those aberrations deserve to be ignored.” In fact, the Court also observed that such exposure is to be expected when a person voluntarily opts to become a public figure. “Nobody is invited with platters for coming into public life. Therefore, after voluntarily coming into public life, one cannot be heard to feign sensitiveness and trample the Press for no good reason. This Constitutional Court will be failing in its duty if such attempts by the mighty State are not resisted.” Judgments like these ought to serve as stern warning to the perpetrators right across the spectrum of political parties, governments and corporates who routinely violate media freedoms in India. While on paper, India has a “free” media which all politicians love to pontificate about, the reality has been quite different for several decades now. Journalism is now being attacked more aggressively than ever before, with journalists routinely in the crosshairs of all manner of entities. Earlier this year, India fell two places to 138 in the Press Freedom Index put out by Reporters Without Borders. More recently, it was in the August company of 14 countries including Somalia and Syria, where killers of journalists have gone scot free. India’s ranking in this, the Global Impunity Index from the Committee to Protect Journalists, has, in fact, worsened since the previous report, and impunity for violence against the Press is considered to be ‘entrenched’ here. There are other, more basic efforts at muzzling the media apart from the examples of criminal defamation cases, harassment and violence. One is access. Many journalists are denied access to specific information or simply barred from entering
4 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
certain offices in the pursuit of their professional duties, even as media managements are threatened with legal notices and other forms of bullying the moment there is an uncomfortable report. It took a recent high profile exemplar involving Donald Trump and the CNN, to show how successfully US media was able to fight this denial of access to information and news, pointing out that this is also a form of media intimidation and a contravention of the First Amendment. Second, is the highly condemnable, pernicious practice of governments and corporates denying media entities advertisements, veritably misusing taxpayers’ money to pressure or influence those which are critical of them. This is nothing but “soft censorship”, and was slammed by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the global organisation of the world’s press, in a detailed report some years ago. It specified that the “abusive allocation of government advertising to reward positive coverage, and punish critical coverage is doubly pernicious, as taxpayer money and public wealth is used and abused to promote partisan or personal interests”. Third, are the periodic attempts to interfere with the nuts and bolts of businesses, most famously in the 1970s, which culminated in the Emergency. As finance minister Arun Jaitley has publicly stated over the last couple of years, measures which impact the business and not only the content of media, also impinge on our Constitutional freedoms. He said: “In relation to Article 19(1)(a), consistently with every judgment, the predominant thrust of the Supreme Court has been to protect, preserve and to expand the right of freedom of speech and freedom of Press … Today, this right extends not merely to your right to report – but its horizons have been widened … And therefore, the distinction between content of a medium and business of the medium has also been obliterated. Is the business of a newspaper or a news channel entirely 19(1)(g)? The answer is ‘No’, to the extent that if you pinch the pockets of a newspaper or a news channel, and therefore, infringe on its free speech, you impact adversely on Article 19(1) (a). And therefore, the business itself can’t be segregated as far as free speech is concerned. The right to know, the right to information – these are all the rights which have been read into Article 19(1)(a) with its horizons today expanded.” In a speech last month, Mr Jaitley also cited the 1974 move to restrict the size of a newspaper including the number of advertisements, and pointed out that “ads keep news alive as they financially support the publication of news. Cutting down ads is effectively denial of
Journalism is now being attacked more aggressively than ever before... India fell two places to 138 in the Press Freedom Index put out by Reporters Without Borders in 2018 your right to publish news – courts said you can’t do it.” Then, there is the tired old set of attempts by successive governments to threaten to bring new content “regulators” or outline new media laws on top of the many layers of restrictive laws that already exist. In addition to myriad IPC clauses, there are over thirty laws in India which newsrooms already abide by, apart from sector-specific legislation over and above self-regulatory guidelines. More laws and regulation are merely excuses for greater controls over the traditional media, and come in the way of the Indian media industry realising its true potential. It has been stated before and this begs reiteration. The Indian media industry can still become the next big sec-
toral story with great potential for employment, growth, cutting edge technological practices, as well as pushing Indian soft power across the globe. But this is possible only in an enabling environment – and not when reporters are threatened, corporates and governments deny advertising for inconvenient coverage, or when policies are designed to emasculate media entities. A subterranean war against the media to prevent it from becoming strong, independent and free, helps only the true enemy of the people … those who are trying to demolish the great Indian democracy. (Link : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/rachna-burman-blog/if-the-voice-of-the-fourth-estate-is-stifled-india-will-become-a-nazi-state/) February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 5
Contents Cover Story Dynamic Duo: 82
The Clothing Couple Corporate leaders turned social entrepreneurs; Meenakshi & Anshu Gupta, founders of ‘Goonj’, share little-known milestones of their amazing journey
9 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 16 EXPERT VIEW Insights into the psychology of the rich and famous, who were failures in spite of having enormous wealth 24 Woman Power Zia Mody, corporate attorney and founding partner, AZB & Partners, on her life choices, influences, pressures and balance 28 INTERVIEW K V Ganesh, President - Finance & CFO, TVS Srichakra Ltd, on his rich experience working in manufacturing, IT/ITES and FMCG 6 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Volume 4 Issue No. 21 February 1-15, 2019 www.corporatecitizen.in
18
32 SESSION V S Deshpande, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labour, Govt of Maharashtra on labour laws and corporate governance 36 CASE STUDY GMR Kamalanga Energy Enriching physical and cognitive capability of flexible workforce for improved productivity 40 TÊTE-À-TÊTE Sumit Bidani, CEO, USG Boral (India), on his career journey and experiences
14
42 MY FIRST BOSS Ved Prakash, Senior Associate Finance & Accounts, Hero Fincorp Ltd, on how his boss helped him expand his knowledge and build confidence in his abilities
28
24
44 Common Platform Fascinating perspective of Vijay Anant Nimkar, Senior Security Supervisor, at BSE, on his two decades tenure at one of India’s iconic institution
32
46 CSR A unique collaboration to raise funds and create awareness about girl child education and empowerment 48 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Newlywed Prateek Maheshwari and Drishti Setia Maheshwari, on how common interests and shared goals, make lifelong partnerships
48
40
50 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Vaishnavi Koshti on her campus placement and why education matters 52 SURVEY PwC - Deals in 2019 survey on the present and future of deal making activity in India
50
52 February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 7
contents
Contemporary Management Thoughts
Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com Assistant Editor & Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
60
Sub Editor Vineet Kapshikar Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com
56 HEALTH Ranadeep Moitra, Strength and Conditioning specialist and Golf Biomechanist, shares his views on being gluten-free or not 58 PEARLS OF WISDOM Secrets to enriching human relationships 60 MOBILE APPS The best mindfulness apps for your smartphone
Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar Writers Delhi Bureau Orchie Bandopadhyay archiebanerjee@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com
44
Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra Advertising and Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com
61 BOOK REVIEW ‘Flirting with Stocks’ by Anil Lamba 66 LAST WORD Seek what is good about ourselves, where the opportunities are and how we can win
Chennai: Anil Kumar Menon anil.menon@corporatecitizen.in
56
Be A Corporate Citizen
How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen Contemporary Management Thoughts? Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you! 8 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Kolkata Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com
Manager-Circulation circulations@corporatecitizen.in West : Jaywant Patil, +91 9923202560 North : Hemant Gupta, +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G, +91 9941555389 On Cover Page Meenakshi and Anshu Gupta 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
People in the news
Gita Gopinath joins IMF as first woman chief economist
Eminent academic and former economic adviser to the Kerala government, Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund as its chief economist, becoming the first woman to occupy the top IMF post. Mysore-born Gopinath joined at a time when she believes the world is experiencing a retreat from globalisation, posing challenges to multilateral institutions. The John Zwaanstra professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University, Gopinath, 47, succeeds Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Research Department. Obstfeld retired on December 31. Announcing her appointment on October 1, IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde described her as “one of the world’s outstanding economists with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive international experience.” The 11th chief economist of the IMF, Gopinath, in a recent interview to The Harvard Gazette described her appointment at the IMF as a “tremendous honour” and said “the appointment of the first ever woman for this position speaks highly of IMF’s Managing Director Lagarde.” She is phenomenal, not just in her leadership of the IMF but as a role model for women around the world,” she said. Identifying some of her top priorities at the IMF, Gopinath told The Harvard Gazette that she would like IMF to continue to be a place that provides intellectual leadership on important policy questions.
PayU India CEO moves to new role at Naspers Digital payments company PayU India’s Chief Executive Officer, Amrish Rau is moving into a wider role as the head of financial technology partnerships and investments for Naspers, the company’s South African parent, as per an internal communication sent out to employees recently. The firm is expected to appoint a new CEO soon. Reports said that Naspers is extremely bullish about the scope of fintech disruptions in India and Rau’s role will be to drive acquisitions and partnerships here so that they get to dominate the Indian fintech market. In an internal note, the company said Rau will scout the market for fresh acquisitions in the financial tech sector and create synergies between the group’s portfolio companies.
Govt to look for professionals for top positions in Air India The government plans to rope in professionals for top positions at Air India through a global search process, as part of efforts to revive the national carrier, said Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu. With the proposed strategic stake sale of the Air India failing to take off in May 2018, the government has been working on various initiatives, including hiving off a significant chunk of over `55,000 crore debt into a special purpose vehicle, to turn-around the ailing airline, according to media reports. Prabhu said that he has already ordered a global search for professionalisation of Air India completely. “All top positions in Air India should be filled by some sort of a global search. That proposal is now under active consideration of the government,” said the Minister.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 9
collywood Sudhir Bhargava is new CIC chief
The government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) with effect from January 1. Four new members have also been appointed to the CIC, taking its total strength to seven. Four vacancies still remain. The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information Act. It has been functioning with just three members since the former chief and several members completed their tenure last month. Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Social Justice, was sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind. He has been a Commissioner since June 2015 and will take over as the ninth chief of the CIC. Like all of his predecessors, he is a retired bureaucrat. The previous chiefs have all been from Central service — IAS, IPS and IIS backgrounds.
Axis Bank MD & CEO Shikha Sharma retires
Axis Bank announced its Managing Director and CEO Shikha Sharma has retired, effective December 31, 2018. “We wish to inform you that Shikha Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank Limited, has retired from the services of the bank and has accordingly ceased to be the Managing Director and CEO of the bank, with effect from close of business hours on 31st December 2018,” it said in a regulatory filing. Amitabh Chaudhry will be the new MD and CEO of the bank with effect from January 1, 2019, it said further. Chaudhry, the former MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company, was in September named the MD and CEO of Axis Bank for a period of three years, with effect from January 1, 2019. Earlier on December 8, Axis Bank had inducted Chaudhry as Additional Director on its board, three weeks ahead of his taking over as the new MD and CEO of the private sector lender. In July 2017, the board of Axis Bank had approved the reappointment of Sharma, who was to start her fourth term as MD and CEO from June 2018. However, in April last year, Sharma wanted her new term to be reduced to seven months from a three-year tenure without citing any reasons, which was accepted by the board.
Egis India appoints Sandeep Gulati as MD Paris headquartered global engineering company Egis has appointed Sandeep Gulati as the new Managing Director for Egis India. Sandeep has more than 24 years of varied experience and was previously Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Alcatel-Lucent and
10 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Huawei. The Company claims to be one of the top three providers of comprehensive solutions for infrastructure engineering and project management in the country. Remi Cunin, Group COO & Deputy CEO of Egis Group, said, “His strong credentials on governance
Pavan Vaish to head of central operations at Uber Nandan Nilekani to lead RBI’s new committee for digital payments The Reserve Bank of India has formed a new five-member committee to look into issues around digital payments in the country under the leadership of former UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani. The committee named high-level committee for Deepening of Digital Payments comprises members from across the sectors like regulator, government, academics and banking. Former RBI Deputy Governor HR Khan will be a part of the committee along with Ahmedabad-based CIIE Chief Innovation Officer, Sanjay Jain, former CEO of Vijaya Bank, Kishor Sansi
and compliance are an asset to us.” India has been a very important market for the Group and is one of the three pole countries outside France. The company has invested `400 crore in India for nearly 25 years with capital and technology transfers. Cunin added, “India has a great talent pool and we are looking at setting up a global design centre in India,
and former Secretary in the Ministry of Information Technology and Steel, Aruna Sharma. While laying out the terms of reference for the committee, RBI said that they would consult on matters and provide suggestions around the role of digital payments in financial inclusion, how to accelerate digital payments adoption in the country, strengthen safety and security of payment means and also help increase customer confidence in digital transactions. The committee will submit the report within 90 days after holding its first meeting, the central bank said.
Taxi aggregator Uber appointed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur alumnus Pavan Vaish as the new head of central operations. Vaish, who has 25 years of experience, was co-founder and CEO of Daksh eServices, one of the most successful services acquisition in IBM’s history and spearheaded its integration with IBM. He grew Daksh eServices to a 40,000 people strong organisation. “As we embark on our next wave of growth, we are building and strengthening a team of industry experts and veterans who appreciate the impact of ridesharing and are committed towards innovation for a better tomorrow.” “We are confident that Pavan will play a pivotal role in writing the next chapter in the company’s growth journey,” said Pradeep Parameswaran, President, Uber India & South Asia. Earlier in his career, Vaish co-founded Quadrant Infotech, an offshore data capturing business focused on the US market. “Uber is an iconic brand and the company has played a critical role in shaping India’s ride-sharing ecosystem. In my new role, I look forward to drive the next phase of its growth through operational excellence and strategic innovation,” said Vaish. Vaish has also worked as Global Chief Operating Officer at UnitedLex.
catering to our global clients from India.” Sandeep Gulati, the new Managing Director of Egis India, said, “Egis India is one of the growth engines of the Group and I am extremely positive about the position we are in at the moment in the country. We have the most diversified portfolio of projects among our peers; having some of the most prestigious projects in the country.” February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 11
collywood Vivek Bhatia heads thyssenkrupp Industries India German industrial giant thyssenkrupp names Vivek Bhatia as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of thyssenkrupp Industries India effective from January 1, 2019. With around 1,500 staff in India, thyssenkrupp Industries India is one of the leading service providers in the fields of sugar plants and machinery, open cast mining and bulk material handling systems, cement plants and machinery, industrial boilers and power plants across the world. The business also engages in providing service, spares, revamps, asset management and O&M support to its customers. Vivek was earlier CEO – Asia Pacific at thyssenkrupp AG, driving group activities for all thyssenkrupp companies in the region. Prior to that, he led strategy, markets and development for the Asia Pacific region for the Group and was based in Singapore. Vivek has extensive business experience across mining, metals and mineral processing, cement, power and engineered/capital goods. He has worked across multiple business functions including strategy, operations, and organisation in the areas such as growth/diversi-
fication, joint ventures and technology transfers, business turnaround/transformation, working capital management, operations design and re-engineering, organisation design and performance management systems. Commenting on the appointment, Ravi Kirpalani, CEO, thyssenkrupp India said, “I am pleased to welcome Vivek to his new role and thrilled to have his leadership at thyssenkrupp Industries India. Vivek brings unparalleled domain and technical expertise to thyssenkrupp. We wish him all the very best in his new role.” Vivek Bhatia added, “I am truly excited and grateful for the trust placed in me by our global leadership in assigning me to this position. thyssenkrupp Industries India is a global centre of competence and we have a rich 70 plus year history and deep experience of winning and executing industrial projects worldwide. I look forward to working with our dynamic and experienced team and am confident that our technology coupled with our strong engineering tradition and execution capabilities will help us realise our goals.”
Vedanta to invest $8 billion in three years: Navin Agarwal Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group said it would invest around $8 billion (about `560 billion) in various business verticals over the next three years as part of its strategy to improve revenue and profitability. “The investment announcement we have made will be mainly via internal accruals as we do not intend increasing the debt going ahead. Our cash flows stood at `79 billion (as on March 31) and we have reduced our gross debt by `85 billion,” Chairman Navin Agarwal said on the sidelines of the company’s 53rd annual general meeting (AGM). In 2018, Vedanta, had record production in its zinc-lead-silver and aluminium businesses, the Chairman said. It is looking at growing its oil and gas business to about 400,000 barrels per day, from the current 200,000 barrels per day. 12 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Tata Coffee elevates Chacko Thomas as MD & CEO Tata Coffee, the coffee company owned by Tata Global Beverages, has promoted Executive Director and Deputy CEO Chacko Purackal Thomas as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Based on the recommendation of the nomination and remuneration committee, the board of directors of Tata Coffee has appointed Chacko Purackal Thomas as ‘’Managing Director & CEO designate’’ with effect from 24 December, 2018,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. He will take over from Sanjiv Sarin, whose term ends on March 31, 2019. Thomas has over 26 years of rich experience and expertise in plantations, business strategy, sales and marketing and overall leadership. He has been associated with Tata Coffee as the Executive Director and deputy CEO since 2015. Before joining Tata Coffee, he was the Managing Director of Kannan Devan Hills Plantations Company, Munnar, Kerala. Compiled by Orchie Bandopadhyay archiebanerjee@gmail.com
wax eloquent
Soaring towards newer heights Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world
Electric vehicle revolution
“For India to successfully move away from fossil-fuel dependence, oil companies should become the energy companies of the future. When the electric vehicle revolution happens, India would be impacted in the biggest way.”
Aadhaar data stored in a safe and encrypted manner “Biometric data on Aadhaar is kept in safe and secure conditions in an encrypted form, and so strong that even for a billionth of a second it cannot be breached. Aadhaar data is kept in secure conditions duly backed by a Parliamentary law, so strong that if anyone tries to disclose the biometric details, he can be prosecuted and it can only happen in the case of compelling national security, that too after the affirmation of a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.” Ravi Shankar Prasad,
information technology and law minister Courtesy: Financial Express
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog
Courtesy: https://www.news18.com
An income-centric approach to farming
“There should be a paradigm shift—treat agriculture as agri-enterprise and farmers as agri-entrepreneurs. When that happens, farmers will start looking at what investment is to be made, they will calculate what returns they will get and what is the net profit. The focus is how to reduce the cost of cultivation, increase productivity and how they can capture better prices in the market.” Ashok Dalwai, CEO, Rainfed Area Authority of India Courtesy: https://www.financialexpress.com
Rising to the top
We always see, what is the future
“I am not an expert in the market. I am a practitioner in the business. So, today is the market, and the business is tomorrow. We always see, what is the future.” Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD and CEO,
Bandhan Bank
Courtesy: Mint
14 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
“Be professional. Typically, work has been looked at as a means of earning money. But women must look at work as means to contribute something more and to assert their individuality. Identify the reason you are working for and work for that reason.” RM Vishakha, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Courtesy: https://www.dnaindia.com
Hope comes from the growth potential
“It makes sense to consolidate and benefit from economies of scale. It drives down costs and drives up pricing power. Plus, we are also buying things that complement our portfolio.” Ravi Viswanathan, investor and co-owner Grover and Sula
Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
It’s okay to make mistakes
“Our philosophy is, it’s okay to make mistakes. You will make them if you are doing something different. In fact, there’s a problem if you aren’t making mistakes, it means you aren’t trying new things. What is unacceptable is that you make mistakes and don’t learn from them.” Manu Jain, MD, Xiaomi India Courtesy: Economic Times
Maximising productivity
“Every week I focus on three main aspects of the business. And each day is spent breaking these tasks down further. The system that we have now is that every minute is accounted for—before every meeting I’m supposed to get an agenda on why someone wants to see me so I’m prepared and I don’t waste time with questions.”
Real-time feedback
Setting goals that are measurable “I’m not a big person for resolutions, but I’m a big person for setting goals. Resolutions are like, ‘I’m going to exercise more’, ‘I’m going to drink less’ or ‘I’m going to eat healthier’…and they’re vague. Vague statements produce vague results. What’s important is setting goals that are measurable. How much and by when?”
“In our business, if you’re getting real-time feedback on what you’re doing and how you’re performing, that’s really powerful. We can actually be changing stuff in real time.” Gavin Tollman, CEO, Trafalgar
Courtesy: Mint
Jack Canfield, motivational speaker and author Courtesy: www.punemirror.in
Pooja Dhingra,
founder, Le15 Patisserie Courtesy: Mint
Job growth in India “There is no basis to the claim that there’s no job growth in India. Actually, there is no survey on job creation. To measure job creation, you need household surveys. We don’t have one. You have to have a full household survey, the last credible one was done in 2011. So, if I say I am happy with job creation, I will be lying. And if I say I am unhappy, there is no basis to it either.” Arvind Panagariya,
economist and former vice-chairman of NITI Aayog Courtesy: Economic Times
To succeed in the Indian market Outsource to drive better efficiencies
“There are two sides of HR—strategic and administrative. Outsourcing allows HR departments to focus on the strategic function. It helps them drive better engagement, reduce attrition and define clear career paths for employees. The focus on these strategies has a direct impact on the growth of a company.” Vivek Misra,
Director, Mynd Solutions
Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com
“In India, status is the key factor. Indian consumers place strong importance on brands, particularly luxury brands. So it’s important to create a strategy focused on brand building and awareness. Second, Indian consumers are pretty much conscious about prices, especially with mid-low income levels. They tend to choose products based on price over brands – especially the ones that provide the same value to their values.” Sumit Ghosh, founder and CEO, PowerAdSpy Courtesy: https://brandinginasia.com
India is going to be spearheaded by its youth “It is very critical that we are able to communicate as government, as parents and as teachers with today’s youth. India is going to be spearheaded by them, the young generation, so we must be able to listen to and communicate with them.”
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State (Youth Affairs
and Sports, and Information and Broadcasting), Government of India Courtesy: Hindustan Times
Finding global talent
“The ministry of human resource development wants the IITs to encourage innovation. For that, we need global researchers and faculty from a diverse geographic, cultural and social background. To attract top researchers, like the US graduate schools, we have to focus on foreign faculty and that change in mindset is happening at the IITs.” P Nagarajan,
professor, chemical engineering department, IIT-Madras Courtesy: Economic Times
Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 15
Expert View
Money Minus Morals
by S K Jha
(IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)
A
Many a fraudulent means have been employed to make money by many a rich and famous. But what emerges is the level of selfishness and greed that these individuals can stoop to, as this first-hand experience of the author shows
s a taxman, I have had the opportunity to interact with some really rich people and in the process, I had a glimpse into some of their personality traits. I met some really good and intelligent people, but I also had encounters with some very selfish, greedy people for whom only personal wealth mattered. These people had no sense of patriotism or any sense of social responsibility. They existed to live only for money, and making money without any fear of law, social-restrictions or morality. Here, I recount some of my experiences in order to give an insight into the psychology of such rich people, who according to me, were failures in spite of having enormous wealth.
Fraud philanthropist
This instance pertains to a well-known industrialist of South Mumbai. He was known to give jobs to needy youngsters and that way he was considered a respected philanthropist. I conducted a search action against him and discovered to my surprise that all the young employees had to open bank accounts in different banks as per the direction of the employer and had to hand over signed blank cheques to him.
These bank accounts were used by the said industrialist-cum-philanthropist to run his clandestine illegal business. Cash collections from illegal activities were deposited in these bank accounts and then the money was recycled into the main business through cheques against these bank accounts. No tax was paid on the income
from this illegal activity, while the young employees would have been liable for penal action as the transactions were in their names. The statements of the youngsters recorded in the course of the search proceedings revealed that they were unaware of these dealings in their bank accounts. They blindly did what they were asked to do in order to get jobs. Thus, the rich man exploited the job needs of the poor to earn money for himself.
and machinery, he controlled the newly opened public limited companies.
Fictitious assets
Taking loans against non-existent fictitious assets has been a common modus-operandi to cheat banks. In the majority of such cases, the banks where either complacent or negligent, which was an important reason for banks ending up with huge non-performing assets. In one widely pub-
Looting money from banks
Looting public money from public sector banks has been an age-old practice of a section of our rich and powerful people. The cases of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya are recent examples, the difference being that earlier there was no media glare.
I also recollect the case of one of the biggest companies which built its empire by inflating its invoices through the help of market brokers while taking a loan from banks for plant and machinery. Banks disbursed almost 100% higher amount than the actual cost of the machinery. The promoter of the public limited company with the help of the brokers got huge amounts of unearned income, being the excess from the money advanced for the plant and machinery. In a second step, the industrialist routed the money thus generated into self-created shell companies which then became investors in his company. Since he had the voting rights of these shell companies, with the use of the money that the banks had advanced for plant
16 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
lished case of cheating by a well-placed business group, 30 paper companies were incorporated by the group where poor drivers, domestic servants, gardeners were listed as directors. These paper companies were operated from one room and had no infrastructure, nor any genuine business dealing. All these companies were used by the group to create bogus sizeable turnover through bogus purchase and sale entries amongst themselves. The group had patronised a leading public sector bank and built up relations with its officers who had advanced huge loans to these paper companies based on illusionary turnover, which ultimately became a non performing asset of the bank. The search operation revealed that some bank officers were also being blackmailed, as the group had created uncomfortable evidence against them.
Bogus drugs
In some cases, I discovered that money was being made with utter disregard for human lives. Enquiries revealed that some mid-level pharmaceutical companies were producing substandard
drugs. Though not poisonous, they were neither drugs in any way, except that they were nicely packed like capsules. Such drugs were sent to the backward parts of the country and there were doctors on the hospitality list of these companies who prescribed such drugs. One such company was caught and a police case was initiated as the company was manufacturing psychedelic party
drugs in the garb of pharmaceutical drugs. Another method was by misusing exports. Exports are important for the country’s economic growth and for a favourable balance of payment. This was in many cases being used as a tool for round-tripping of black money, and also to claim export-related benefits when there was no actual export. In the diamond business, rough diamonds are imported for cutting and polishing, and with this value addition, the same is exported. In such business transactions, there is no incidence of liability of import duty, as the import is linked with the export.
Fake sparklers
While working with the DRI I discovered that in many cases, ordinary stone parcels were sent out instead of polished diamonds, while the real polished diamonds were kept back for sale in the domestic market. In the process, custom duty was evaded on the import of rough diamonds, while export benefits were claimed against bogus packets of stones. Such dubious exports used to be made to friendly parties who would honour these stone packet consignments. These friendly parties would make payments from official banking channels against black money sent abroad through the hawala channel or
through under-invoicing and over-invoicing. This round-tripping of money also helped them to launder money.
No fear of the law
People having substantial black money generally have no fear of the law. They know that they will come out of it, if caught by the law, either by their connections or by giving bribes. I remember an incident which happened when I was very new to the department. I was given a call by the Customs department that a huge consignment of cash was found with a traveller at the Mumbai airport and that the same was required to be seized by the Income Tax department. It was early in the morning and I reached the airport to see a young boy with cash in the custody of the Customs department. I started the proceedings by recording his statement. He said that there was no need for any statement. He said that
he was the employee of a well-known company and that nothing would happen to him or to the cash in his possession. However, he said that I could take a part of the cash for my personal benefit. I told him that I would not take a bribe and that the entire cash would be seized. On hearing this, he told me that I was very foolish and that the cash seized would be released within days as bribes would be given by his company and taken by my seniors. He added that he had offered a part of the cash to me, as he was a kind person and as I had taken pains to come to the airport in the early hours of the morning. I was surprised to see such scant respect for the law. In another such case, the managing director of the company being searched rudely told me to stop the search operation and asked me to quote my price for doing this. When told that I was without any price-tag, he threatened me by dropping the names of ministers. For him, there was no fear as he was a well-connected person. However, the search operation was successful and ultimately a tax demand of more than a hundred crores was raised.
All the money is mine
A large section of rich people believes that tax payment is not their constitutional duty. Money earned by them is fully theirs and they do not owe any part of such money to the government.
They believe that tax becomes payable only when caught without any escape route. I would like to relate one incident when I was recording the statement of one of the biggest builders of Mumbai against whom I conducted searches twice in a span of six months. I spent eight hours in recording his statement and it was really frustrating as he never answered any question
properly. His answers were totally irrelevant. On seeing my discomfiture, he said that he would not pay any tax on his income till the Income Tax department was able to detect it with evidence, and so he was deliberately sabotaging the process of statement recording. My experiences led me to conclude that one can become rich and famous but may not always be a good human being or a good citizen of the country. It is the greed factor which distinguishes a good person from mere money-making machine with total disregard for the country. Greed is a bottomless pit which drags a person into an endless effort to satisfy the needs without ever getting satisfied. Greed has no boundaries and since fraud is the daughter of greed, the seeker of greed indulges in fraudulent activities like tax evasion. I am indebted to my department for these opportunities of first-hand experiences of aspects of human behaviour while carrying out my official duties.
CC
tadka
Zerodha is now the biggest broking firm in India Discount broking firms emerged as investors’ favourite in 2018 as Zerodha outpaced other big brokerage names in terms of client numbers, data available with the National Stock Exchange showed. Zerodha had 8.47 lakh active clients as of December 2018 end compared with ICICI Securities’ 8.45 lakh customers, HDFC Securities (6.74 lakh), Sharekhan (5.49 lakh), Axis Securities (4.17 lakh) and Angel Broking (4.16 lakh), according to the data.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 17
"
Cover story Dynamic Duo:
C
82
Meenakshi and Anshu Gupta
The
lothing ouple
Can a piece of cloth (or lack of it) make you so uncomfortable that you give up your cosy corporate job and make it the mission of your life? Sometimes that, one idea, one dream and one couple can make a difference in the lives of millions. Obviously not but curiously yes, provided you decide to act upon your inner callings just as Meenakshi and Anshu Gupta did Pradeep Mathur reports
W
ith only 67 personal clothes undergoing transformation in 1998, they began highlighting cloth as a metaphor of some ignored but basic needs of people Twenty years later, they continue doing it with the same passion but what has really changed is the scale, spread and depth of their operations. Thanks to the transformative work done by Goonj-the non-profit organisation they founded in 1999—today, they touch the lives of millions living in extreme poverty, mostly in rural India. Every year they deal with more than 3000 tons of underutilised clothes and other household material collected from hundreds of affluent urban families to build a unique cashless, economic bridge between the urban and rural communities across 23 states of India. But that’s not all. What really amazes you is the way the Goonj team repairs and reinvents not just used clothes but many other surplus household items like school bags, utensils, toys, pencils, shoes, electronic gadgets, books, unused stationery and medicines and whatever reusable or new you have. Indeed, it’s a wonder to watch how, without wasting anything, their fully-trained team, mostly women, use the usable for different kits and turn oversized cotton clothes into cloth-sanitary pads; old t-shirts into women’s undergarments and discarded jeans into school bags at their Sarita Vihar headquarters in Delhi and other centres. They also take out zips and buttons to stitch them into fashion accessories and utilise even the last inch of cloth to make baby beds and warm cribs. For, many new-borns die every year when intense cold waves hit the northern states! However, if you think these need-based but thoughtfully-packed Goonj kits are given free of cost, to the villagers, you’re wrong because charity is against their philosophy. Instead, they suggest village communities identify local problems, work on them collectively and then “earn” them as a reward for doing things like repairing a road/bridge, cleaning/digging a 18 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Pics: Vivek Arora
Every year, Meenakshi and Anshu Gupta deal with more than 3000 tons of underutilised clothes and other household material collected from hundreds of affluent urban families to build a unique cashless, economic bridge between the urban and rural communities across 23 states of India. But that’s not all. What really amazes you is the way the Goonj team repairs and reinvents not just used clothes but many other surplus household items like school bags, utensils, toys, pencils, shoes, electronic gadgets, books, unused stationery and medicines and whatever reusable or new you have February February 1-15, 1-15, 2019 2019 // Corporate Corporate Citizen Citizen // 19 19
Cover story well/lake, etc. Participants not only do something for themselves but also for the community and thus receive a family kit of basic needs material. This way Goonj ensures that the dignity and self-respect of the recipients remain intact. In fact, over the last 20 years, Goonj has also turned massive disaster wastage into resource for development work right from the Gujarat earthquake to the Tsunami of 2004, Bihar floods (2008), Uttarakhand floods (2013), Jammu and Kashmir floods (2014), Andhra Pradesh and Kerala floods (2018), to name only the major ones. No wonder, the way they’ve quietly turned Goonj into a pan-India movement, connecting urban and rural India, through simple sharing of surplus material has won them rich global applause. NASA’s Game Changing Innovation Recognition (2012), World Bank’s Global Development Marketplace Award, GDN’s Most Innovative Development Project Award and Change-Makers Award, are only a few. Anshu has also been conferred the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award (2015), known as Asia’s Nobel Prize, for his creative vision in changing the culture of giving in India. He is also an Ashoka and Schwab Fellow. Though media has covered Goonj activities frequently, it has surprisingly missed out the beautiful love story of its founders. Not many, for instance, know that Meenakshi and Anshu were once classmates and complete opposites when they first met at Delhi’s Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC). From mere classmates, they became deskmates, then jobmates and finally soulmates. And their daughter Urvi, who calls Goonj her sibling-as both were born in the same year, is now doing her graduation from a prestigious college of Delhi University. We recently met this amazing Change Maker Jodi at their artistically-built bungalow in Faridabad. Meenakshi and Anshu Gupta, India’s one-and-the-only ‘Clothing Couple’ (as they’re popularly known) share many little-known milestones of their amazing journey, with Corporate Citizen. Excerpts:
Tell us a bit about your student days. When did you meet first?
Anshu: Most people study in IIMC for only a year and then join some job but I didn’t feel satisfied after completing a year-long Journalism course. So, I applied again, this time, for IIMC’s Advertising and PR course. Luckily, I got in too. I met Meenakshi (or Mini as I affectionately call her) during this course which changed the course of my destiny, though after lots of twists and turns. Meenakshi: There wasn’t anything phenomenal when we met first. We all knew he had done Journalism before and so he was much more familiar with the place and the people. While we were all wide-eyed and confused at IIMC, he looked confident. He used to be full of masti and always cheerful. Incidentally, my schooling and graduation were both in Delhi - I had done B. Com (Hons) from Delhi University. My father was the Head of Communications at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare and knew of this course. He guided me. It was tough, as only 30 kids were selected, but by chance, I was one amongst them.
Do you remember any story you did during the IIMC days?
Anshu: I used to do human interest stories. One such was on Habib bhai, the professional ‘unclaimed body’ collector, which affected me rather deeply. It happened when I accidentally saw his manual rickshaw in Old Delhi markets with “Dilli Police ka laash dhoney wala” (a person who picks up unclaimed, abandoned dead bodies for the local police) scribbled on it. I found that he was paid `20 and two metres of white cloth by the Delhi Police for every dead body. I then spent a week with Habib Bhai—from early morning till late in the night…and saw a large number of unclaimed bodies of all kinds. It was an experience which brought me face to face with the harsh reality of life. I also began understanding a bit about slums, poverty and homelessness. 20 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Did this story give you your mission?
Anshu: Yes, it did, because on a wintry morning when I accompanied Habib bhai to collect an unclaimed body near Dilli Gate area in Old Delhi, I found that the man was wearing nothing but a thin shirt, and had clearly died of cold. This made me wonder why nobody bothers about such deaths. Even though every politician talks about roti kapda makaan, why do they not make clothing a basic human right? Habib bhai told me how his work goes up during the winters when he picks up around 12 such bodies in a range of 5 km every 24 hours. I couldn’t believe it, though I had myself spent a week with Habib bhai and his family! I did many other similar human interest stories too, including the one on Purani Dilli’s Kabootar Baazi and Red Fort’s Chor Bazaar. They ignited in me a thought process on human sufferings. I became more empathetic, thoughtful and started changing from inside.
How did Goonj happen? What were your early marriage days like?
Anshu: The idea of running an organisation like this was never there in my mind but sub-consciously I was getting deeply disturbed by the state of clothing. Also, somewhere deep, I realised that I wouldn’t be a good fit in the corporate world. In July 1995, right before our wedding, I left Powergrid and joined Escorts. Consequently, we couldn’t take any long leave for our marriage. My office was in Ballabhgarh (Haryana), 45 km from Safdurjung Enclave. Since there was no metro in those days, I used to travel on a scooter facing extremely risky roads and long work-
ing hours. Though Mini continued at Powergrid for some more time, she also got frustrated and left it later. She then joined a very nice PR agency, Corporate Voice, in Lajpat Nagar and got extremely busy. So, post-marriage, we never really spent a lot of time together on a holiday. But then, in 1996, Mini got a very good break with the BBC News.
It’s unfortunate that for convenience sake, most people want to do their CSR activities in the 50-60 km range from their office. I often tell them that problems exist not just in Gurugram but elsewhere too, though it’s changing and many are now willing to focus on far-off villages too. Although the pace of this change is very slow, the good part is that many are getting into long-term relationships with us - Anshu
Meenakshi: We’ve been each other’s biggest support systems and yes, the eight years I spent as the Publicist of BBC at their South-Asia Bureau in Delhi were most rewarding as I got to work with some amazing journalists. However, with Anshu’s first-hand experiences with people like Habib and many others, one thing that was disturbing us time and again was the state of homeless people, struggling for the basics on the roads of Delhi especially in winters.
What did you do then?
Anshu: In 1998, I finally decided to quit my corporate job and not apply again. We also took out everything we had not used in the last three years and there were 67 units of clothing, shoes, etc. So, this became day one of Goonj, though we never thought of formalising it. But after Goonj got registered as per process in February 1999, we thought of making it big.
What was your strategy?
Anshu: We took up a stall at Dilli Haat— the popular open air, craft bazar opposite INA Market—so that people at least get to know about it. We started with the idea of making bamboo clocks to attract people and initially made 22 pieces. We thought it’ll take us seven to eight days to sell them, but all our clocks got sold off in just two days and even our leaflets asking people to contribute their surplus clothes etc., got quickly exhausted. So, each day, when we’d return from Dilli Haat, we’d get eight to ten messages on our answering machine, promising clothes and other material while appreciating our thoughts. That’s how this journey began. We’d come home, make clocks and key rings at night and sell them off during the daytime.
Why didn’t you ask corporates to donate you money for this cause?
Anshu: It’s not about asking as I strongly believed that doing good is a collective social responsibility. Also, we came
from very proud middle class families where asking for money wasn’t an easy thing. But still, people contributed a lot in the past 20 years. We’ve also made sure that the myths and halos around giving material go away and educated people like us understand that when we give our old stuff, we don’t donate, we actually discard. So, we explained to them, saying, you want to ‘give’ something and be thankful to those who, by using your used material, give it value and a new life.
Did people understand this subtle difference?
Meenakshi: Not many, but we’re trying to make ‘giving’ a more mindful act which respects the dignity of the receiver. But moving from ‘charity to dignity’ has been tough. Charity strips people of their self-respect and this is where our concept of “Cloth for Work” came up. It motivates people to solve their local problems, from water to sanitation and then get material as a reward, not as charity for the work.
How do city people view Goonj?
Meenakshi: Changing mindsets is a slow process but the important thing is that people in the cities are also going through lifestyle changes. With better incomes, they’re buying more and more but with shrinking living spaces, they’re also realising the need to take out the surplus, unused material from their homes. Goonj looks like a trustworthy channel to them.
How do you find good people?
Anshu: They come automatically, largely by word of mouth, as they also look for trustworthy organisations.
What about corporates?
Anshu: Just as there are good and bad people, so are corporates. Goonj is surviving and growing because of good people and good organisations and there is no dearth of them. Of course, there have been many bad experiences too, especially during disasters when for some institutions, it’s just a numbers game to get rid of their next-to-expiry, unwanted and substandard material to increase numbers. Some corporates also treat us as if we’re simply postmen carrying their things to the rural communities. However, we’re really touched by the support from some organisations and middle and lower middle class people during the recent Kerala tragedy who sent us exactly the things what we needed.
What lessons did you learn from the initial phase?
Meenakshi: Neither of us was trained in the development sector when we began. We approached things like a common person would, and did what we felt was best. Our mantra was: What doesn’t feel right for us must not be right for anybody else as well. The biggest lesson came from the people we worked with. We strongly believe that if you really want to solve some of the big issues of the country, talk to the ordinary people, they not only have deep insights but also suggest innovative solutions. We’ve also realised that people in metro cities really need the kind of mechanism Goonj provides and that the word of mouth communication is the fastest and the strongest.
Were you financially stable when you decided to quit the job?
Anshu: No. I left my job in 1998, though Mini continued. The initial years February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 21
Cover story were very tough because this, for sure, is a hardcore logistical job. In fact, there was a time when Mini was the only earning member of the family. Sometimes, it was also about selling some of our household stuff to take care of Goonj’s expenses (both smile).
How did you convince people to join you?
Anshu: It wasn’t about convincing anybody. It was always about sharing an idea. We started off with Dilli Haat, then word of mouth communication followed. Next came a shop we opened in Sarita Vihar which wasn’t financially viable but provided us visibility and allowed people to join us. While it remained loss-making, we continued. Then the 1999 Odisha cyclone happened and after that Gujarat earthquake (2001) and then the riots. Many volunteers joined us at the time. That’s when we first organised collection camps. Meenakshi: It’s the volunteers who really took up this idea in a big way by organising camps and talking to people. They suggested we reach out to funding agencies, but agency responses disappointed us because clothing didn’t fall among their ‘parameters’. It was a non-issue for them. Clothing wasn’t part of any district, state, national or international agency’s agenda. That’s when we realised that the first step for us was to bring clothing into the mainstream developmental agenda.
the overwhelming response we received reaffirmed our faith in what we are doing.
What makes you angry?
Anshu: I lose my patience when somebody tries to market poverty. Why should they keep showing distressed children to collect money? Why are we not able to show happy faces? The girl in the Goonj banner has a torn sweater but a smiling face. The financially poor have accepted their fate how long will we play the publicity game through their lives? I’m pained when people use demeaning words like donor or beneficiary during disasters. We don’t call people disaster-victims. We don’t take selfies with the so-called victims or wear t-shirts with huge logos. God doesn’t differentiate between good and bad, so when a natural calamity strikes, it affects everyone equally. Why don’t people think this can also happen to them? Why do we keep thinking of the affected individuals as victims? How do some get the audacity to send their torn and used undergarments for relief purposes?
We have different relationships as husband-wife and as co-workers at Goonj. One of his strengths is the openness to view things differently and that has pervaded in everything Goonj does, right from the beginning. As for a clash of opinion, I believe in the couplet, ‘Ek ne kahi duje ne maani, nanak kahe dono gyaani’ - Meenakshi
When poverty exists everywhere why did you focus on villages?
Anshu: Meeting many classes of poor people on Old Delhi streets, I realised that most village people migrate to big cities not by choice but by compulsion. So, we were very clear we had to work at the very root of this problem. The idea was that if these issues are solved at the village level, many other things would get solved by themselves. That’s why we turned towards villages.
How did your Cloth-for-Work model develop?
Anshu: Initially, it was not Cloth-for-Work. We used to call it Vastra Daan, which later became Vastra Sammaan. In the early years, on a visit to Bihar, we found people touching our feet. We were surprised. On a little prodding, we realised that the material we distributed just before Chhath Puja, their biggest annual festival, had saved many families from taking loans from local zamindars and thus saved them from exploitation. We also realised that the biggest asset of the village people is their self-respect and dignity and that’s where the idea of Cloth-for-Work emerged.
When did you start working on issues related to menstruation?
Anshu: We were the first to start an open conversation on this issue and the need for cloth as sanitary napkins for women who don’t have enough to cover even their body. That insight had also come up during such conversations-a woman shared how her sister died because she used a blouse as a sanitary pad that had a metallic hook which led to tetanus and her eventual death. Until then, we hadn’t realised how huge a problem it was, particularly for rural women!
What’s your organisational philosophy?
Anshu: We don’t believe in branding. We don’t make a noise, but try to work peacefully. We believe in creating sparks, not causing fires. We want our work to speak for us and not vice-versa. In the recent Kerala tragedy, 22 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
How do you fund Goonj?
Anshu: It has been a tough journey because we’ve always kept very low budget operations. Recently, during the Kerala tragedy also, when we set up the Kochi office, we simply put a mat and used biscuit-cartons for tables. Even though we had funds, we didn’t buy a single table or chair. In the last 20 years, we’ve not bought a single A-4 sheet. Right now our yearly budget is about 25-crores - spent primarily on space, transportation and people, as this is a hardcore logistical work which is only going up. We get it through multiple sources from small individual contributions to CSR budgets to money earned through awards and by selling our beautifully recycled products.
How difficult is it to work under such constraints?
Anshu: It is difficult and we’re always on our toes because the scales are still very, very frugal. But we’re not dependent on any one agency. Gradually, even the corporate sector has started realising that we don’t work just on cloth but also on large-scale sanitation, water, health, and such other issues.
What according to you, is the corporate attitude towards the poor?
Anshu: It’s unfortunate that for convenience sake, most people want to do their CSR activities in the 50-60 km range from their office. I often tell them that problems exist not just in Gurugram but elsewhere too, though it’s changing and many are now willing to focus on far-off villages too. Although the pace of this change is very slow, the good part is that many are getting into long-term relationships with us. We’ve recently signed up some such commitments.
How did it happen?
Meenakshi: In 90% of cases, people have come to us because our work speaks for us. This year, for the first time, we mailed some letters to people and that too because we realised that our positioning was going wrong. Most people still think that we just collect and distribute clothes. That’s only partially correct. Clothes were certainly the starting point but today we’ve gone much deeper into village life and try to solve many other issues as well.
Did the Magsaysay Award change things for you?
Anshu: Not much. But yes, it was a big thing for thousands of people
on top of it all, I really loved her ponytail hairstyle…imagine in those days, I had some real fascination over ponytails. We were a gang of four-two girls and two boys, all day scholars, but Mini was very particular about getting home on time. Though I never said it, I started liking her. I always wanted to do something big but wasn’t sure what it would be. I was fond of theatre, photography and at one stage wanted to be a radio-jockey and always dreamt of roaming around in an open-jeep with two cameras and a small family (smiles). Meenakshi: I liked his confidence as he seemed to know what he wanted. Moreover, he had independent thinking. I still remember when the deadly earthquake hit Uttarkashi in 1991, claiming hundreds of lives and wreaking much destruction, how he quickly went there for a few days. When he came back, the whole class assembled around Anshu, enraptured by his stories from ground zero and the pictures he shot. It was fun to see him doing all this with so much passion because most of us from urban backgrounds had never seen such a disaster or even villages in this way.
Whose view prevails when you have a clash of opinion at home?
Meenakshi: We have different relationships as husband-wife and as co-workers at Goonj. One of his strengths is the openness to view things differently and that has pervaded in everything Goonj does right from the beginning. As for a clash of opinion, I believe in the couplet, ‘Ek ne kahi duje ne maani, nanak kahe dono gyaani’. So that’s my mantra for personal life, there’s no superior or inferior. We give that much space to each other. Anshu: We discuss and debate but we also enjoy the process as it helps us find a refined version. For me and Goonj, Mini has been our backbone, the silent one, who left a very promising career to take over hundreds of responsibilities from work to home. She has put much more on stake than me.
What are your hobbies apart from your work?
Anshu: I’m too deep into my work to have any hobbies. But the purpose of my life is not Goonj, it’s only a means to a destination and this is known to my team.
Tell us something about your daughter.
who work with us as volunteers. Even in my Magsaysay award speech, I have said that we’re giving you copyright to copy our ideas. We don’t want to remain the only organisation doing this; we want our idea to be replicated. We could’ve been 2000 people but our idea is not to grow big in size but act as a catalyst to sprout many such organisations. We want people to understand our holistic picture and not just the clothing initiatives. Until they understand our ethos and ideas, the work is only half done.
Can technology be a game-changer in your efforts?
Anshu: It can, but so far it’s not something that we’ve incorporated much into our operations.
What did you like about each other when you met?
Anshu: I liked her simplicity. I was a so-called small town guy and was told hundreds of things about big-town people. But she was different and
Meenakshi: Urvi is in the second year of college. We were very concerned that she should have a normal upbringing. She grew up with Goonj and thus has had varied experiences from visiting villages to visiting the US which gave her an excellent worldview. She’s quite mature and calm. She adjusts and makes friends easily - especially when we visit rural areas. Also, I’ve tried to maintain a balance so that we may all go on eating out or watching movies together.
Your motto in life?
Meenakshi: I consider myself a medium. My motto is to be true to my work with utmost sincerity and honesty and with the wisdom and understanding that I have. Anshu: In this country, we don’t need thinkers anymore; we need doers, we need action-oriented people. Even if we can do 10% of what Gandhiji, Swami Vivekanand and Bhagat Singh had taught us, a lot will change. And, what I always tell everybody is: ‘Lage Raho’. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 23
Woman Power
Zia Mody:
Equality at the
dining table
An expert on corporate merger and acquisition laws, security laws, private equity and project finance, Dr. Zia Mody comes from a hallowed background: daughter of Soli Sorabjee, the illustrious former Attorney General of India, she has proved herself to be her father’s daughter and much more. Founding partner of AZB & Partners, one of India’s leading law firms, Zia is one of India’s foremost corporate attorneys patronised by names like the Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, G.E and Vedanta Group, amongst others. Her personal life is equally interesting, given that she is a Baha’i by religion, a way of life that calls for utmost equality between all of mankind. While she freely admits her privileged upbringing, she points out that life is also a series of choices, influences, pressures and balance. Amidst all this guilt and worry are a given-one never really stops no matter what age and stage of one’s life is. “Success does come at a huge emotional cost, and the truth is, it is not easy.” While easy may not be a word you associate with her life, it most certainly has been a splendored one. Here is Zia Mody, in her own words at the recently held CII’s Womenation event
By Vinita Deshmukh Equality defined at the dining table
My journey has been talked about many times, so my life, in a way, has been a string of lucky breaks. I have three brothers and I was the only daughter, the oldest one to be precise. I had a very strong mother. That fact was critical to my future. I am Baha’i by religion, my mother is a Baha’i. We believe that God has created decreed equality between men and women, so no man can do anything about it. I always say that equality is defined on the dining table. How your siblings behave, how your parents treat your siblings, the level of confidence that you grow up with as a child-all of these go a long way in de-
24 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
fining your journey. And so it is not difficult to extrapolate. I was argumentative, I had a voice at the table and of course, my parents, particularly my mother pushed for me to get the best possible education. However, all of this also brings out a small problem, pressure.
Taking the good with the bad; smiling through the bad days
We go through so many different thought processes in the course of our lives; sometimes we are so happy when we come home, for we have achieved a little a bit of success; at others, we question ourselves why are we doing this. Is it really worth it? I think, my counsel to you is, don’t give up. Nobody is
saying that everyday is going to be a happy day. I am managing 400 lawyers, each of who believes he or she is a genius. It is not easy. Everything has its ups and downs and the real trick is how you cope with the sad days, with the tired days, bad days, despondent days - how can you get over each one at a time, and make a great, new beginning with small, hopeful steps. There is no Big Bang Theory that is going to resolve your problems. Amidst all this, a truth of life is that guilt never goes away, it is just how you manage it. I feel guilty at 62. I feel guilty because I don’t see my grandson; I pray that my three daughters will forgive me for being there as much as I could have.
My counsel to you is, don’t give up. Nobody is saying that everyday is going to be a happy day. I am managing 400 lawyers, each of who believes he or she is a genius. It is not easy February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 25
Woman Power While it is still a man’s world, you can work on the men. I think gradually they are waking up to the fact that women’s contribution is invaluable. Nobody is doing women a favour beyond a point. Women are bringing immense value to industry, so an organisation would be pretty stupid to let them go But you have to find a balance on how to deal with your emotional ups and downs and success really is possible if you can manage your infrastructure.
‘To be successful; create allies’
From a practical point of view, if we are happy at work, we are not likely to be worried about home. Can we stop worrying? I don’t think so, it is our very nature. But it is also a question of how much we worry, what we do about it and finally, how much we allow ourselves to switch off at the end of the day. So to be successful, create allies. My mother-in-law was major support, I could leave home; I didn’t have to worry, I was okay if my child had a slight fever; I could go to court, I could appeal before the judge; I knew somebody loved my children as much as I did. The second most important thing is if your mother-in-law is looking after your children, until your husband comes, she is your first ally, so co-ordinate first with your mother-in-law. Forget the traditional competitiveness, was my mother in law’s advice to me when I got married. Girls, why you would not love your husband more because he loves his mother? Why are you even competing for your husband’s affection with his mother; if you look at it logically, it is pretty dumb. The next thing is your spouse, your husband. If he is not your ally, success is difficult. And the truth is: success comes at a huge emotional cost. Just like we women are stereotyped, so are the men. And that is a limiting factor to the individual as well as to the relationship. But at the end of the day, if there is true respect and mutual understanding-companionship eventually comes. As your children grow older, they become your allies. I have three daughters and I think after all the many events and the mummy parties that I didn’t attend, I made it a point to attend all the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings. They are proud of that and that is somewhat a reward. So can we have it all? Frankly, I don’t think we can. And that is okay. If we have what makes us happy, that is a success. However, each one’s level of satisfaction of success is different.
‘Still a man’s world’
While it is still a man’s world, you can work on the men. I think gradually they are waking up to the fact that women’s contribution is invaluable. Nobody is doing women favour beyond a point. Women are bringing immense value to industry, so an organisation would be pretty stupid to let them go. But a grim fact is that in today’s India, the statistics indicate that 48% of women drop out at different points of their careers, so this is the leaky pipeline that needs to be fixed. If you see the World Bank, women are India’s lowest hanging fruit. Also if you think about what everybody is saying, the world’s last arbitrage is women. We are the opportunity the world is waiting for and we have a duty and responsibility to see that the sisterhood increases and the sisterhood thrives-however challenging.
‘Celebrate your lives to stay on track’
But at the end of the day, how do you get your career to stay on track? These are some lessons that I have learnt, with a little bit of friction in the beginning, coupled with a ruthless dedication to staying focused. I will not do what I don’t have to do. I don’t want to do things that take up time which can be spent way more productively, like for instance, spending time with my children or husband or spending more time with people I like. Allow me to offer some tips: every now and then, take stock of your own achievements, not in an arrogant way, but in order to reassure yourself. I think we need time to reflect, to pat our own backs a bit and enjoy the journey we have made so far.
The one fun time I have is when I get together with other strong women. We talk about inane things but it is a bonding to be sure, it is a reassurance, a recalibration of tips which we can pick up from each other. The celebration of our lives is important. Each one has a feeling that they have achieved something, that’s what makes them move on.
‘Women need to retrain and reset their thought processes’
There is a reason why they say women are from Venus and men are from Mars, we are wired
You will get passionate if you are confident about what you know. If you are confident about what you know in your domain, if you have domain, you have value, the workforce will find a way to get back to you. This becomes easier when heads of organisations are women, as women are nimble and flexible
26 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
tage of all this and really apply it to our day to day lives. If you have passion you may get the domain. You will get passionate if you are confident about what you know. If you are confident about what you know in your domain, you have value, the workforce will find a way to get back to you. This becomes easier when heads of organisations are women, as women are nimble and flexible.
Ways and means to retain female talent
differently. If two young lawyers, a boy and a girl, are summoned to my room over some mistake, both respond differently. The poor girl is so ashamed that she would like to jump off the 23rd floor, while the guy is thinking of who else is responsible. Women, due to their conditioning, tend to be less confident than men. We feel that it is always our fault when things go wrong; it is the collective brainwashing of our gender over centuries. To that extent, I think part of your success is going to be to the ability to retrain how you think. That said, there is a difference between confidence and overconfidence over appraisal. Communicate well, communicate clearly and I think for most of us, we often, to our detriment, communicate way too honestly. So as a lawyer, it becomes very difficult because I am negotiating, and as I get older, I get more to the point, for there is not much time. When I see three points that are pretty easily solvable, there is no need to have a 45-minute discussion on the same. So as women, we need to get to the right place quickly; for us, time is the ene-
my, less time, more guilt, more stress-this the story of our lives.
‘Stay passionate, stay relevant, stay confident’
So to sustain amidst all this, the first thing you need to do is stay passionate. If you don’t actually love what you do, you won’t do it forever or long enough, because it will not be worth the pain or the effort or even the bickering at home, possibly. So stay passionate. If you feel that you are worn out, that is not the reason to quit; that is the reason to take a bit of a break, that’s all. Plus, it is important for you to have a network where you can talk to each other, cry and laugh about things. The size of the network does not count. Even if you have 7-8 people in your network, believe me, it is more than enough. It just helps you to get through to the next day. At the end of the day, we are completely relevant to the world in every way; no one can deny we are the only mothers God has produced. No one can deny we are the world’s last arbitrage and nobody can deny that we have a wonderful blend of EQ and IQ so we have to take advan-
If you are open-minded and open enough to speak your mind, the organisation gets to know what you want. I have a very simple solution - if I know somebody is getting married or someone is about to have a child, I call them in my room and say, take a piece of paper and write down your priorities and challenges. I say, keep this and after one year bring it back and so everything we go through, is virtually the same. We stress as young wives, we stress as first-time mothers and we are always going to have that problem - that is life. The issue is how you deal with it. I have a young mother who just had a baby 4-5 months ago. No parents from either side in Mumbai and I tell you she is currently top of my list for perseverance and passion. She came to me and said: I really want to come back. She asked for a chance and little place to keep the baby, as there wasn’t anyone at home she could rely on. So I did that. She made the tiny space bright, airy, and installed a full-time nurse she could afford as she’s earning well. I don’t know what she does for the kid but he doesn’t cry. Hats off to her. There’s a lot of women can do with the right support and push. vinitapune@gmail.com
CC
tadka
India poised to become third-largest consumer market: WEF India is poised to become the third-largest consumer market behind only the US and China; and consumer spending in India is expected to grow from $1.5 trillion at present to nearly $6 trillion by 2030, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report said. According to WEF, with an annual GDP growth rate of 7.5 per cent, India is currently the world’s sixth-largest economy. By 2030, domestic private consumption, which accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s GDP, is expected to develop into a $6 trillion growth opportunity.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 27
Interview
Passion
will get you further than
talent
In a long career spanning over 30 years, K V Ganesh, President - Finance & CFO, TVS Srichakra Limited, has rich experience working in different segments like Manufacturing, IT/ITES and FMCG across locations, both in India and abroad, he has been associated with renowned multinational companies like HP, HSBC, PepsiCo, amongst others. He has been recipent of ‘CFO Top 100’ award in 2016, 2017 and 2018 consecutively from CFO India, and was named one of the most influential CFOs in the country by the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA), UK, 2016. In a freewheeling interview with Corporate Citizen, K V Ganesh speaks on how passion is important for your career, millennials and more… By Vineet Kapshikar
28 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
T
Pics: Yusuf Khan
Tell us about your education and career.
I come with a finance background, having done my graduation in commerce, B.Com (Hons), from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi. I was probably lucky enough to make it to this elite institution having topped my school in the XIIth standard. I took up both CA and CS courses simultaneously, completing CS in 1986 December and CA in May 1987. I went on to do a Dissertation course in Corporate Taxation from The Institute of Chartered Accounts of India in 1995, Delhi (post-CA programme). My passion for management made me take up an Executive Programme in General Management (EPGM) from IIM Calcutta in 2011. My career journey commenced in 1988 as Executive Taxation with Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), one of the largest paper manufacturing companies in India. Post that I joined Spencer & Co (RPG Group) as Manager Taxation in 1991. I then branched off to hardcore Finance and joined Pepsi, trying to get my hands dirty in 1994. It was good learning as I deliberately moved from the comforts of a corporate office to a factory set up, and learning the nuances of US GAAP at a very early stage of my professional life. From 2000, I commenced my interest in the IT/ITES sector, initially heading the shared services company of HSBC, followed by a similar set up of HP. At HP, I had the opportunity for the first time, of managing a global role, being based out of the US, spearheading the efforts of transitioning the IT major’s Shared Services segment into a commercial set up. During the past decade, my focus has been on companies listed on the exchanges, notable ones being Subex and now TVS Srichakra.
Why did you opt for Commerce?
Somehow I always wanted to be in the thick of business and felt that a Commerce course would give me that much knowledge and awareness to help in my ultimate objective. In retrospect, I feel that my theoretical knowledge of the
‘Look at options you are passionate about. It is said, “Passion will always get you further than talent.” Nothing is impossible for those who believe it. Set your objectives clearly, know what you wish to do for the rest of your life. If you are fine doing that year after year, then you are fine doing just that’ February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 29
Interview subject has always helped me in arriving at pragmatic conclusions with an overall business perspective. I am of the very firm belief that at the top, understanding numbers is very vital, and everyone should be aligned with it.
What are the challenges you face in your role, and how do you deal with them?
Challenges are always welcome, and they just keep coming. The regulatory environment was very different in the early 90s from what we see today. The government is now proactive and much more responsive to the needs of the corporate sector, which by and large benefits enterprises at large, although it comes with the challenges of managing the regulatory side of it. One should not be shy to face the challenges but to embrace them as part and parcel of one’s professional life. Take them positively, they will benefit you not only as an employee but also as an individual. India, as a country, has started focusing on corporate governance in
In earlier times, the finance head used to be more of a bookkeeper, someone who used to manage accounts and compliance and similar activities. Now CFOs are seen more as business partners of the CEO. The job I have been doing over the recent past has been more to do with restructuring businesses, expanding the geographies of the enterprises, apart from unlocking their true value. Having a financesavvy person as a key think tank in the company has become a must for all organisations as it is the numbers which finally drive businesses in terms of top lines and bottom-lines. The CFO has a lot to offer.
How do you see the role of Robotics, Analytical tools and Artificial Intelligence affecting today’s business environment?
In earlier times, business decisions involving huge outlays were taken on a subjective basis. Under an Analytics environment, the same is based on data and the probability factor of
‘In the initial phase of 10-15 years, a few job changes are okay and welcome. It is then better to settle down in an organisation which offers you the scope to showcase your talents and is also equally remunerative. Having said that, you may still come across cases where people would have changed jobs for certain genuine reasons, and largely unavoidable’ a pronounced way. The board of every listed company has become conscious of these changes and none can afford to bypass them. As a CFO, a key managerial person (KMP), you are saddled with all the responsibilities. When I joined Subex, the CEO told me that this was not a normal job and asked me whether I had the passion to turn around the financial situation of the company. It wouldn’t be an easy journey. When I joined, I was welcomed neither by the bankers nor by some of the stakeholders, since nobody believed that I had the mandate to remedy the situation. After spending half a decade at Subex, I am proud to say that the company was able to deleverage its balance sheet and I was an active member of this turnaround story. This was a classic case of a transformational journey and I am very happy to share that I did not flinch from accepting a role of that magnitude and played a significant part in the achievement.
How has the role of CFO changed over the years?
success of the decisions has risen considerably since they are based on patterns recognised by Artificial Intelligence (AI) based on historical data. AI also provides very powerful data visualisation digging at a granular level and coming out with flexible/customised reports helping in the precise understanding of current operations, enabling predictions which are accurate, say up to 80% at the minimum. Robotics optimises human effort and reduces downtime to the minimum. It naturally reduces costs and brings efficiency to the maximum.
What is your opinion about freshers entering the corporate world, and what is your advice to them?
I would advise them not to just look for money. Money is important for all of us, but that is not the only thing one should look at while applying for jobs. Look at options you are passionate about. It is said, “Passion will always get you further than talent”. Nothing is impossible for those who believe it. Set your objectives clearly, know what you wish to do
30 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
for the rest of your life. If you are fine doing that year after year, then you are fine doing just that. Also, do not give up quickly on certain failures. If you give up it means you never wanted it in the first place. Be like a postage stamp, stick to the thing until you get there. Do this and you would be successful, money will automatically follow!
What qualities would you look for in a fresher?
Primarily, I look for attitude, proactive approach, and exuberance. I look for someone who is curious about what the current trends are, and can contribute something different, and who has out-of-the-box thinking. I look for someone who has a never-say-die attitude and finds a way to solve an issue rather than mention, in different ways, why action cannot be achieved. Needless to add, I look at functional traits which one can always improve as you go ahead in your career. A positive nature is most important.
media has been very active in voicing any acts of intolerance and a sense of maturity is fast setting in.
How do you manage your work-life balance?
Work-life balance is an art one needs to practice as we travel in the journey. Recreation/ relaxation is something one needs to imbibe on a regular basis, and consciously. I work really hard but keep my private time to myself to do things I wish to pursue. Apart from that, I practice techniques from the Art of Living which helps me to maintain a sense of calmness and an equal balance of work ethics and other aspects of life.
What is your idea of relaxation?
I enjoy listening to songs and try to dabble in my own way with some karaoke numbers of popular Bollywood songs. Sports have always fascinated me and I truly relish watching a very interesting cricket match played between two equal teams, sipping my favourite masala chai. Travel is something I enjoy and have been fortunate to have covered many countries both at work and leisure. I have learnt a lot meeting new people and understanding from them their viewpoints about life.
What is the philosophy of life that you live by?
What is your opinion on millennials who are very impatient and want fast results so they hop jobs?
Hopping jobs is not a sin; we all have hopped jobs at some point in time. You make changes in your life. Sometimes, you may not get everything that you wish from the job that you are currently engaged in. At that time, you may realise that you are better off doing something else which looks enticing which may result in the switch. In the initial phase of 10-15 years, a few changes are okay and welcome. It is then better to settle down in an organisation which offers you the scope to showcase your talents and is also equally remunerative. Having said that, you may still come across cases where people would have changed jobs for certain genuine reasons, and largely unavoidable.
How was your experience dealing with youngsters? Were there any challenges?
Challenges can be plenty. Some of them will
come up with very strange ideas. My approach is very simple; I try to encourage even the weirdest and don’t dismiss them. The most common thing I see is that even if you tell them the idea won’t work, they won’t listen. You see a very dogmatic and obstinate approach. They will try to convince you with all their heart that the model will work based on their findings at the engineering/management schools. One has to encourage new and fresh ideas but at the same caution against over-exuberance.
What efforts are being made to empower and encourage women in corporates?
There is a very conscious attempt made in today’s environment to encourage women to not only be heads of departments but also at Board positions. Conscious attempts are taken by many a corporate to ensure that there is no gender discrimination. Legislations are also being enacted to ensure that women’s security is guaranteed at the workplace. Social
Keep it very simple. Life is to be enjoyed. It is a gift of God, don’t waste the wonderful opportunity. Don’t brood at all and take every day as a new beginning. God has given the opportunity to live, laugh and enjoy your time. Do not worry about small failures; take it as a stepping stone to the ultimate success. Have a clear goal and pursue that objective with determination and sincerity and success is guaranteed on all fronts. Please note that material possession is not the only thing one needs to focus on, but also other wholesome aspects of Life that ensure completeness in whatever we do. vineetkapshikar@gmail.com
CC
tadka
Largest cancer hospital India’s largest cancer hospital, the National Cancer National Cancer Institute (NCI), has come up in Jhajjar in Haryana. It is being touted as India’s largest public funded hospital project to come up in decades and is being built at a cost of `2035 crore, spread over 60 acres of land.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 31
Labour Reforms
Ease of doing business doesn’t mean breaking laws He came, he saw, he simplified: not just the heavy-set notions that inevitably seem to precede labour laws but also the fact that when it comes to obeying them, two things stand out: the duty of the government as a service provider and the duty of the industry as service takers. Only together can both overcome the hurdles that stand in the path of industrial progress and ensure harmonious relations with each other. Amidst all this he clarified several misnomers: Compliance with the law is not the same as managing the law; when companies enter the country, they are right in expecting procedural simplicity-as long as they do not equate it with evading the laws of the land; meeting bare 32 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Pics: Yusuf Khan
minimum standards is not at all the same as achieving an ideal atmosphere at work; the law is the last resort and not the first. V S Deshpande, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labour, Govt of Maharashtra who surprised many at the recently concluded CII conference in Mumbai on labour laws and corporate governance when he spoke out that the Labour Department is the one government department with all services available at the click of a mouse By Vinita Deshmukh & Kalyani Sardesai
I
f society must survive, change is inevitable. If industry must progress, so too must labour laws accommodate its ever-evolving needs. Hence the fact that more than ever before, labour laws are undergoing an intense review to make them more in sync with the needs of the time. As things had panned out, laws were framed as and when circumstances and specific situations arose. As a result, we have a patchwork of labour laws with several instances of overlap between one Act and the other. Outlining all this and more, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labour, Govt of Maharashtra, V S Deshpande, who represented the Labour Commissioner at the recently concluded CII conference in Mumbai spoke on the challenges of reconciling corporate governance with labour laws, with a view to achieving a harmonious interface between the government and industry as well as industry and its employees. He divided his talk into two parts. While the first part stressed on what the government had done and is doing to achieve harmonious relations, the second elucidated his views on some of the questions raised in the course of the conference.
The need for change: in mindset and conversation
At the outset, I’d like to clarify that it does not matter who is in power; I am employed by whosoever is in power. So, all this talk about the Modi Code—that supposedly encapsulates his way of doing things—is nothing but the recommendations of the second labour conference that agreed on the fact that it is high time for a review of the laws that were formulated long
ago—in some cases before independence too. Why this is happening now is because of the clear mandate that has been given. Many of the initial steps were taken during the time of the previous government, but because of the fractured mandate, they could not be implemented. I was just having a word with a senior armed forces officer over the recent Rafale deal and his response was simple. “We just want the planes. How the government functions is not our concern.” The point I am making is that many good things happen when governments function. Earlier on, even the thought of bringing changes into labour laws was a daunting one because of the stiff opposition that could possibly come from trade unions due to the prevalent atmosphere at that point in time. But with the changing times and the entry of the IT sector, a lot has changed. The contribution of the service sector to the GDP is 55 per cent, whereas, earlier it was the manufacturing sector that used to dominate. Today the manufacturing sector contributes 29 per cent. Obviously to stay competitive, society and laws must change. The government of Maharashtra seems to be in a perpetual conflict with the industry, given the fact that the industry keeps coming up with policies without consulting the labour department and that’s when we must tell them: we can't have this because it’s against the existing labour laws. Then industry says: “Why didn’t you say so before?” To which our Secretary responds: “Why didn't you ask us before”?
Procedural simplicity is your right; just don't break the law
In recent years, we have amended the Maha-
Do you know that the days when you had to wait for days for registration, licensing and renewal are long past? That every single service, every form is available to you online. This means you can fill in your form, verify and submit online. Within a few days your license or registration number will come into your mailbox. There is no need for any interface with our employees February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 33
Labour Reforms rashtra Shops and Establishment Act. This was to facilitate the ease of doing business. Please note that the ease of doing business does not equate breaking the law. Whatever the laws of the land are, they must be obeyed, without cutting corners. Yes, you can ask for procedural simplicity and a conducive environment to carry out business. That's why we are here.
All services of the Labour Department are available online
Do you know that the days when you had to wait for days for registration, licensing and renewal are long past? That every single service, every form is available to you online, the Labour Department is the one department that has every single service online. This means you can fill in your form, verify and submit online. Within a few days your license or registration number will come into your mailbox. There is no need for any interface with our employees. Thus, from our side, we are doing all we can to make things speedy, efficient and fuss-free. Now the question arises: are you ready to accept all this? People still find this new way of functioning tough to digest. Strangely, even younger people have this attitude. When will all this change? Achche din will come when we accept change with positivity. Stop saying you had to come to our office to do all this. The fact is, you didn’t. You just didn’t know it, you haven’t done it recently, or you are plain misinformed.
Right to Services Act
Everyone here has heard of the Right to Information or the RTI Act. Correspondingly, there is also the Right to Services Act that makes our officers accountable. The mandate is that all work has to be done within a stipulated time, failing which officers must either provide a
satisfactory answer or are liable for punitive action. Thus, making the bureaucracy accountable is what real democracy is all about and it has happened.
Follow the law; resolve the conflict
Industry needs to wake up to the change happening around us, especially regarding labour laws and assess them clinically, be they the Shops and Establishment Act of 1935 or the Minimum Wages Act of 1948. There are minimum standards for everything: minimum wages/overtime/bonus/gratuity etc. As high as 50 to 60 per cent of the conflict between us will stand resolved if only we stick to the minimum standards. It’s as simple as that. At the same time, we need to ask ourselves, are we really talking about industrial relations or forced relations? Also, is the conversation happening between employer and employee or employer and contract labour? Whenever strikes happen, I have noticed that the workers have one but major pre-condition to put before the management. Speak to our leader, they say. To which the management replies: We will speak to our people but not the outsider. And thus, the face-off continues until such time that it is impossible to withdraw. Strikes are when you need maximum, intense conversation, not prolonged silences. It’s sad that it’s the judiciary and not the in-built industrial machinery that is being used to resolve a conflict. Just as there is the right to strike, there is also the right not to strike.
Hire the right consultants or do it yourself
The World Bank is setting up an agency to take feedback from various districts on the services of the labour department. Please give them that feedback, it will help you as well as us. We have
34 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
a plethora of services for you: online services, annual returns, centralised inspection system. All these reforms have come thanks to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Prime Minister which liaisons with World Bank directly. Ideally, you should be availing the labour department's services yourself and having your own queries solved. That's how you will be able to answer their queries. Hence, I say don't rely completely on a consultant. Do your work on your own. Many a time, I have people asking me questions that should not have been questions in the first place, because all the information is out there. This is not to say I am against consultants.Hire consultants but hire the right ones. Bring in those who enable you to comply with the law, not manage it. But make it a point to know what is happening around you.
Minimum standards are not ideal standards
There are so many cases where companies have been advised wrongly or unwisely by their consultants. For example: one of the first questions I ask anyone visiting my office is simply this: do you employ contract labour? To which the answer is often a yes, followed by the standard line. “Sir, we are most obedient of labour laws; you won’t find anyone better than us when it comes to observation of minimum wages.” This advice on the minimum standards comes from the ‘consultant’ and companies follow it just like that! On being asked how many years the contract labour is employed with them, they will respond with “five or ten years”. Naturally, the question follows: in all these years, you do not think they deserve more than the bare minimum? Are they not human? Do they not have a family? Do you have an annual increment plan for the contract
Those who give more than the minimum standards in everything will be the least inspected. However, those who are violators would be inspected first. The reason for this is that industries are many and manpower is less. We cannot inspect each industry labour as their services grow? You need contract labour, please give him due dignity. Please note the law is the last resort and represents what happens when relations break down, often irrevocably. There are many grey areas that the law cannot address, those are for your HR and company policy to address. Be human, treat them humanely and remember that minimum standards are not ideal by any means, you need to do more for your labour. The Supreme Court and High Court have many, many pending cases before them. Please try and resolve your problems by yourself, amicably and peacefully. That is what is best for everyone concerned.
Where there is government will, there is a way
Our present CM is a fast-functioning, highest-grasping, dynamic, positive person, young, educated and very interested in bettering industrial relations and the government. Plus, he has a vision. When he was recently approached by members of the industry based in Pune’s Chakan area with the complaint of extortion by mathadi workers (head loaders), he realised that changing the law would be a long and time-consuming process. So what did he do? He set up a committee under the chairmanship of the District Collector with representatives of the police, the unions and the labour department to investigate matters and the problem was addressed. This committee has been formed in every district. My advice is simple: talk to the government and keep it in the loop. We are on hand to help. Additionally, it is also your responsibility as employers to bring genuine issues before the committee, but do not keep repeating the same thing repeatedly. Extortion, though, is one thing no one will accept on either side.
An appeal
About saving your time, I would like to appeal to everyone here to please submit your annual returns under our consolidated annual returns facility as scrutinising it will help us decide which industries to inspect. Those who give more than the minimum standards in everything will be the least inspected. However, those who are violators would be inspected first. The reason for this is that industries are many and manpower is less. We cannot inspect each industry. Thus, it also becomes difficult to keep an eye on the inspector. We have a synchronised joint inspection system covering Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Labour Directorate, Directorate of Industry Safety & Health and Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board. These inspectors will be
randomly asked to go and inspect a particular industry on a single day. If not very soon, one after the other, inspect the establishment and submit the report online within 48 hours. The whole purpose is to regulate the working of the inspectors. The moment this happens, the full benefits will be passed on to the workers. The existence of law is one thing but the implementation is quite another, and that is the duty of the government. We have a plethora of laws, but limited machinery to deliver. Keeping this in mind, we are looking at employers who have the capacity to pay. Obviously, an employer who can employ ten or more people has the capacity to pay and stick to the laws. vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com, kalyanisardesai@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 35
CII case study-3
●
s INdu
BOuR t La
tRIaL ReL
B
e
Enriching Physical & Cognitive capability of flexible workforce for improved productivity
aCtICes IN s t PR
N atIO
s - CONtRa C
Introduction
GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd
In the journey of Industrial revolution, industrialisation has landed in an era of Wisdom and knowledge workers, wherein the wealth of organisation has shifted from material and things to intellectual and human capital. On top of which, flexible associates are becoming the biggest line item in organisations’ P&L by helping organisation in extensive savings from full-time hiring cost and by catering to multiple facets of organisational needs in large. Realising the very fact that flexible workforce are the crucial drivers in Organisation's growth journey, GMR has
recognised the need for substantial investment towards physical and cognitive well-being of a flexible workforce for unleashing the highest version of them. GMR has recognised that substantial care towards uplifting mental and physical well-being of the workforce in the bottom line of Pyramid helps in achieving passionate, fulfilling, creative and meaningful contributions for creating an organisation of greatness. Jeevan Paribartan at a glance - in this journey, we invented an Intervention - Jeevan Paribartan, which operates in the framework of Caring + Developing + Involving + R & R’ing.
36 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Under this initiatives our workforce is given exposure to skill enhancement through best in class training. (Technical and Behavioural), job-oriented vocational training, training from central board of workers' education, sequential sessions on yoga, meditations, navchetana Shivir, regular exercise, involving them in sports, tips on balanced diet and wellness plan, sessions on career counselling, aligning them with organisations V&B and making them a part of organisations improvement initiatives, 5S, Anushistha and finally rewarding them under systematic R&R initiatives.
Jeevan Paribartan initiative @ GMR has really turned out to be instrumental in unleashing highest level human genius and winning accolades in various prestigious forums at the regional and national level. It has helped in significant rise in employee morale index. Sustained most desired level of attitudinal excellence through maintaining peace and harmony inside the plant, instilling caring, sharing and sense of belongingness in and around the plants. Joining their hands towards contributing to noble and greater causes for society.
“Kalinga Safety Awards” in Silver category for the performance year 2017. We received the award from His Excellency Prof. Ganeshi Lal, Governor of the Odisha State.
Notable Achievements
Received Best Industry award for blood donation for the year 2017-18. This is the third consecutive year of receiving this award at the district level. Bagged the prestigious
• Supervisory Skill Development • Programmes from Central Board of Workers Education • Job Oriented Vocational Training for Unskilled Worker • Navchetna: • Art of living • Yoga/Meditation • Class • Nirmal Jiwan: • Health Camps • Health Tips/ • Balanced Diet • Alcohol De-addiction programmes
Skill Development Health & Wellness
Involvement & Alignment
Reward & Recognition
• Plant Head addressing • Make part of improvement initiatives, 5S eg., • Culture change through BBS • Make part of celebrations • Awareness session on V&B • Gender sensitivity • Involve in ANUSHiSTA • Involve in sports and games
• Career counselling • Nomination to ITI Course • Nomination to Insaan* programme • Best employee Badge on Helmet •Nominate people for outside training programmes February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 37
CII case study-3 7 6
6.2
5 4 Sickness in %
3.1
3
1.8
2 1 0 FY 16-17
14 12
FY 17-18
FY 18-19
12
10 7
8 Absentee in %
5.5
6 4 2 0
Intoxication Cases
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
80 70
FY 16-17
FY 17-18
FY 18-19
92
61
21
FY 16-17
FY 17-18
FY 18-19
71
60 50 40 First aid cases (Nos.)
30
18
20
6
10 0
FY 16-17
38 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
FY 17-18
FY 18-19
Though the initiative, Jeevan Paribartan aims at Flexible Associates at GMR, but always been an attention grabber during the top table discussions and management always puts extra effort to bring in more employee friendly developmental initiatives into Jeevan Paribartan calendar. We have developed a well-equipped training institute in collaboration with ORMAS under Din Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojna (DDUGKY) Scheme launched by Govt of India. We enrol our flexible workforce into the training programmes as per their skill requirement and as per the training need identified during periodic career counselling. In addition, GMR always looks forward to incorporate many more meaningful interventions to ensure human capital with enriched Physical and mental capabilities in GMR family.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 39
TÊTE-À-TÊTE Beginning from your family, school, university and first job what was your journey like to get where you are? I grew up in Kolkata where I did all my schooling. Post this I did my Engineering from IIT Madras and Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. My first job was with Colgate Palmolive as a management trainee and I spent the first six months doing frontline sales in Haryana. While working as management trainee and as a frontline salesperson, I got a whole lot of “life” experience and not just work experience. One thing that comes to my mind is the time when there were floods in Haryana around October 1995. I was travelling by bus from Delhi to Hisar (By the way, travel allowances would be same as other frontline sales employees even if you were a management trainee) and we were stuck in the bus because of the floods. It was still raining and we had no option but to stay inside the bus. When the rains stopped after a couple of hours, few of us came outside and met some villagers passing by. We were told that food packets were being dropped a little distance away. Alternatively, there was a relatively high lying village close by and we could try and meet the sarpanch and stay overnight there. So, a decision had to be made. I felt that everyone in the bus was looking towards me for the decision. I was told that I looked educated and I could guide them. I realised that I was perhaps the only person in the bus who would have gone to college. We did decide to walk towards the closest village as the rains had stopped and there was no point staying on the bus through the night. Thankfully, that turned out to be a very good decision. The sarpanch was kind enough to have us stay in a large unused room within his house. He provided us with blankets and tea. For us, that was enough. Next morning, thankfully there was no rain this allowed everyone to go to their destinations. I came back to Delhi through a mix of walking, standing on a tractor and bus. Basically, I started on the first morning and came back to Delhi by the next afternoon. All this while, the only thing I had was the tea at the sarpanch’s house. During my stint at Colgate Palmolive, I was visiting a number of towns that I never knew existed and experienced a culture very different from my metro upbringing. Those six months were a very big learning experience and looking back I feel that the value of these six months in my professional life is comparable to the six years I spent in engineering and management put together. How important has your initial experience been in your overall career? I was lucky to have a rigorous first-hand junior level experience in FMCG sales and then marketing as a management trainee. While it was difficult then, especially when I heard of
batchmates having a much more cushy life as management trainees in other organisations/ industries. However, over a period of time and with leadership roles, I have found that those initial roles gave me a very good understanding of on ground reality. This has really helped me make some sound decisions as well as have a good understanding of challenges faced down the line when implementing key elements of high-level strategy. I strongly feel that getting one’s hands dirty at the start of your career in whichever field or industry one gets into is very important. This
Leadership Through Influence The value of six months as a management trainee doing frontline sales in Haryana is comparable to the six years I spent in engineering and management, put together, says Sumit Bidani, CEO - USG Boral (India) By Orchie Bandopadhyay would stand you in good stead over the years. I did a number of sales and marketing assignments with FMCG companies for the first 11 years of my work life. Post that, I moved to Shell Lubricants where I spent 9+ years and had a number of assignments including the last four years in a global marketing role. This was followed by a stint with Formica Laminates and now with USG Boral. What was your experience working with different nationalities? I have really enjoyed working with people across nationalities. This has included working in various Asian markets as well as dealing with crossfunctional teams in the West. Virtual working and reliance on telecons increase the complexity. I have had to adapt myself to be able to work more efficiently in a global multicultural working environment. A lot of it was focused on soft skills starting with the way I would speak. I have seen the importance of speaking slowly and
40 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
pronouncing the words fully when speaking to people of different nationalities. This neutralises your accent and ensures that people understand you better. One also has to recognise that most Asian countries are not as comfortable with English as Indians typically are. So, in emails one needs to write simple words and as few words as possible. While speaking, besides being less verbose you have to give more time for people to translate in their mind. Indians are used to a lot of diversity within India itself and I feel are
aspect is important as it makes things easier as you go along. Post that, sharing clear expectations and deliverables as well as having regular structured reviews is quite critical. How did you adapt to more senior general management roles from functional roles? As one gets more senior and has larger teams and influence, I feel it is very important to let go of a lot of things one did earlier. Frankly, one has to realise that you may not have the best plan or opinion on everything and you have people down the line who are far better at many things. So, it is best to encourage ideas without following hierarchies. Also, very important to delegate some decisions down the line as well as create cross-functional project teams to solve some complex multi-dimensional problems. One analogy I keep using is the one with Internet Bandwidth. If we assume there is an average bandwidth for individuals, each individual comes with a different bandwidth but it is not possible for any individual to have a bandwidth very significantly higher than the average. However, an organisation needs a bandwidth that is a significant multiple of the average individual bandwidth and hence the importance of an organisation to ensure pooling in of all individual bandwidth. Do you see property demand from a booming middle class in India turning out to be a key driver of growth? The Indian market is tremendously important for our business with India’s construction industry expecting to continue to grow in excess of seven per cent over the next decade-as per GDP trends and classified information. Growth will be underpinned by stable government support for infrastructure development, as well as expanding private sector investments. Low per-capita consumption is the key growth opportunity and with accelerated adoption of dry construction that we are seeing, coupled with the scarcity of sand and water and general escalation in conventional building materials, is cumulatively triggering growth.
“Over a period of time and with leadership roles, I have found that those initial roles gave me a very good understanding of on ground reality. This has really helped me make some sound decisions as well as have a good understanding of challenges” quick to learn on dealing better with different nationalities. One thing that needs to be thrown out of the window is ascribing x behaviour to y nationality. There is no way one can stereotype any group of people. What was it like working in matrix structures? In most MNCs, working in a matrix structure is a reality. This could be formal or even informal. Organisations do well when they imbibe
a strong culture where cross functional teams, possibly geographically spread out as well, work towards a common goal. As leaders, one has to get work done from people who may not be reporting to you. So, “leadership through influence” as against “leadership through authority” becomes very important. I struggled with this initially but later found my sweet spot. One important thing is to ensure a better understanding of the context and get a good alignment of the common goals. Spending more time on this
You have held senior positions in global companies such as Colgate Palmolive, General Mills, and Shell Lubricants, as CEO of USG Boral, what unique challenges do you face in the building materials industry that you did not face earlier in your professional career? In the building material industry, there are multiple external stakeholders to deal with while prospecting, besides the end customer. Running an organisation that is adequately structured to deal with this as well as coordinates efficiently internally, has its own challenges. archiebanerjee@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 41
My First Boss
Noting the small wins towards the big goal By assigning work tasks to Ved Prakash that were sometimes quite difficult, Ved’s boss, Joginder Singh, allowed him to have the chance to expand his knowledge and build confidence in his abilities By Ved Prakash,
Senior Associate Finance & Accounts, Hero Fincorp Ltd.
I
was 26 years old, in my first professional job at NetAmbit Group and I was still learning the ropes across disciplines such as tax and accounting. For this reason, I guess, I was kind of reluctant to take up any other work but those that were assigned to me. I refused to multi-task because I thought I would never be able to do it! I always thought that it’s an impossible feat for me to achieve. I would feel a palpable sense of fear and anxiety every time I tried. I experienced a wave of failures the likes of which I had never before seen. I was demoralised. Seeing me floundering, one day my boss, Joginder Singh, stopped by my desk. I was sure I was fired. But what he said caught me off-guard. He said he was familiar with my talents and skills and appreciated my work. Then he advised me to also think out of the box. My guru’s words were: “Put your best effort, dedication and capability to do any work which is in your control and forget about the outcome which is not in your control and there is no word ‘impossible’.” By assigning work tasks to me that were sometimes quite difficult, he allowed me to have the chance to expand my knowledge and build confidence in my abilities. In a short period of time, my boss effec-
h Joginder Sing
Put your best effort, dedication and capability to do any work which is in your control and forget about the outcome which is not in your control - Joginder Singh tively repaired my self-esteem, provided motivation and instilled confidence. His patience empowered me to do my best. He was a self-made man in a deeper sense. Having lost his father at the age of eight, Mr. Joginder had to struggle to become a respected and well-known chartered accountant. And that made me admire his strengths. I respect him for his discipline, organised ways of working, hard work and dedication. Now that I am a manager myself, I have become acutely aware of what makes a good boss. So when I manage my own team of six, I use the same methods that my boss used many years ago. Appreciating talent and skills and noting the small wins towards the big goal. (As told to Orchie Bandopadhyay)
42 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
CC
tadka
India’s largest paper mill Indonesian pulp and paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is setting India’s largest paper mill in Ramayapatnam in Andhra. This is one of the largest FDIs in a greenfield project in India at `24,500 crore, according to the report. The mill will have a capacity of five million tonnes per annum. The company has reportedly identified the 2,500-acre site along the coast already and around 15,000 direct as well as indirect jobs are expected to be created from the project, as per sources.
Common Platform
The first impression is the last
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is one of the India’s oldest and most prestigious financial institutions and is the heart of Mumbai, the financial capital of India. To guard such an iconic institution is no easy task. Vijay Anant Nimkar is the Senior Security Supervisor for the BSE for over two decades. In the course of his tenure, he has met Prime Ministers and Presidents, lived through the 26/11 terror attack, and witnessed the transformation of BSE as it stepped into the digital era. Corporate Citizen brings you the fascinating perspective By Neeraj Varty Tell us about your early life and education.
My family hails from a small village called Kudali in Ratnagiri district in coastal Maharashtra. My parents migrated to Mumbai in search of employment, and I was born in Mumbai itself. My father worked in a private company in Dadar. My mother is a housewife. When I was attempting my 12th board exams, my father lost his job due to downsizing. It was difficult for our family financially during this period. The entire burden of providing for the family came upon me, and I was unsure of whether I could complete my studies. However, I understood the importance of education and decided to stick to it and eventually completed my graduation in Sociology.
When you completed your graduation, did you immediately find work?
While graduating, I found work in the Sakal newspaper as a reporter. I worked the crime beat. I enjoyed the job, but at that time reporters were paid less and the job was not stable. When my father lost his job, I was shaken and I didn’t want to put myself in a similar situation where my entire life could be uprooted without any notice. During this time, I used to make regular trips to the Employment Exchange to find a stable job. I graduated in 1995, but it was difficult to find a job at that time. I belong to the ‘open category’, so there was a lot of competition for a relatively fewer amount of available jobs. I made the rounds of the Employment Exchange for nearly two years without anything to show for it. Around that time, I saw an ad in a newspaper for a vacancy at the BSE. As you know, after the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai, security was a chief concern for Mumbaikars. People began to take an active interest in the selection of security personnel. Thanks to my stable family background and education, I felt I would be eligible, and I applied in 1996. I was selected and asked to join from 1 March 1997. I have been at BSE now for over two decades. 44 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
I have had the honour of meeting Dr Manmohan Singh when he was PM. He even shook hands with me. In 2000, when Bill Clinton was the President of the USA, he visited BSE. I met him too. I also had the opportunity to meet PM Modi
In your 22 years at BSE, what changes have you noticed?
A lot has changed at BSE. In the 90s, there was no system of Demat in the share market. So there used to be large crowds. Every broker had a staff of 20-25 people. A lot of people visited. We had to do a lot of crowd control. Security measures were relatively lax then. Now, there is barricading everywhere, buses and taxis are restricted. Earlier, there were no such measures.
A lot of prominent people visit the BSE. Have you interacted with any of them?
This is a part of my job I am very proud of. I get to interact with so many people from all walks of
life and from all across the globe. I have had the honour of meeting Dr Manmohan Singh when he was the Prime Minister. He even shook hands with me. In 2000, when Bill Clinton was the President of the USA, he visited BSE. I met him too. I also had the opportunity to meet PM Narendra Modi when he visited the BSE in 2014. I also met P Chidambaram.
As a result of working for BSE, you must have picked up some knowledge about the share market. Have you ever thought of investing yourself?
(laughs) I would have loved to. But as an employee of BSE, we have a code of conduct in place, which bars me from investing in shares. I can
invest in mutual funds, but not the primary or secondary market.
How do you commute to work daily?
I live quite far in Virar, so I commute by train everyday.
Tell us about your working hours.
We work in four shifts of about eight hours. Usually, the reporting time is fixed but the departure time can get delayed if there is a requirement. Shifts change every fortnight.
Tell us about your family.
My parents stay with me. My wife is a homemaker and my son is studying for his 12th board exams now. He is a commerce student.
Are you satisfied with your job?
I love my job, and I give my 100% to it. The BSE is a prestigious institution and I am proud to be a part of it. I ensure that I am polite to visitors and guide them appropriately and provide them with the information they need. The first impression is the last impression, and as the first point of contact, I want to give visitors the best impression of BSE.
Were you on duty during the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai?
Yes. I was on my second shift from three in the afternoon to 11 in the night. At around 8:40 pm, the terrorists attacked CST station. We heard the gun shots, but we had no idea what had happened. We asked Beat Marshalls but even they had no idea too. After a while, we got a message on the wireless that Mumbai was under a terror attack. We cordoned the premises. I contacted the head of the department and the MD and conveyed the news. I did double duty that night, as public transport was shut down and the personnel for the night shift could not reach.
What is your idea of relaxation?
I like listening to songs, especially Marathi ones. I also like to read books and newspapers as well. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
CC
tadka
China poised to overtake US economy in 2030 India is likely to become a larger economy than the US by the year 2030.The report also forecasts that China is likely to overtake the rest of the countries to come out on top, while Indonesia will be amongst the top five.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 45
CSR
Cycling for social cause
In a unique collaboration, RBL Bank in Mumbai along with the alumni of IIMA from the Hyderabad Chapter worked together to raise funds and create awareness about girl child education and empowerment. Twenty six employees of RBL Bank embarked on a cyclothon over 1000 km in 10 days to spread their noble message. Their lead cyclist was Jasmeet Singh Gandhi, a cycling enthusiast who cycles across India for social causes. The funds raised will be used to support Udbhav School, established in a slum in Hyderabad for poor children, and run by the alumni of IIMA in Hyderabad By Geetha Rao At Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, the team of cyclists
W
What can cyclists and IIMA alumni have in common? Well, they have joined hands to collaborate towards a noble cause, that of fundraising for Udbhav School in Hyderabad, and striving to support girl child education, while creating awareness of girl child empowerment. And both have done it in their own unique ways, garnering `2.5 crores as funds for Udbhav School, as announced at the finale of the event on December 10 in Bengaluru. Befitting such a noble cause, cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who is himself known for his philanthropy, was the chief guest and he lauded the effort. Coming back to the cyclists’ feat, they were 26 in number, and employees of RBL Bank from Mumbai. They were in mission mode as they started on the cyclothon Umeed 1000, 2018. They rode 1000 km over 10 days from Mumbai to Bengaluru, battling rough terrain and the harsh sun, stopping at places along the way, speaking of the girl child and empowerment.
They were led by lead cyclist Jasmeet S. Gandhi, a cycling enthusiast, who started cyclothons for social causes on his own years ago. Incidentally, Umeed 1000 was started as a CSR initiative of RBL Bank in 2014, in collaboration with Jasmeet Gandhi. Since then, it has only gained in numbers and momentum, culminating in Umeed 1000, 2018. Meanwhile, the members of the IIMA Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust (IIMAAAHCCT) put to good use what they had learned at their alma mater as well as their experience as leaders in the corporate world to financially support and manage Udbhav School in Rasoolpura, Hyderabad. The approach they use is a partnership model as against the NGO model. Starting in a slum in Hyderabad, the school has 523 students on its rolls today. “We believe in giving these children the holistic education that we would give our own chil-
46 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
dren. So, the emphasis is not only on academics but also karate, music and sports and other activities so that they become well-rounded leaders of tomorrow,” said T. Muralidharan, Vice President of IIMAAA Hyderabad Chapter. The cyclists who rode for a cause The team of 26 cyclists (four more at the beginning-making it 30 cyclists), led by Jasmeet S. Gandhi, lead cyclist, and cycling enthusiast began the journey (from November 30 – December 10, 2018) from Mumbai to raise funds for Udbhav School, Hyderabad and rode through Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Belagavi, Hubballi, Ranibennuru, Tumkuru and reached Bengaluru. The cause resonated with RBL’s CSR, underscoring the bank’s vision of “Values in action” and its support to women empowerment. Throughout the route, they stopped at several places to create awareness about girl child education, speaking of the need for girls to be sent to school.
The participating employees of RBL got 10 days off for the event Speaking of the team’s efforts through the arduous effort, Jasmeet Gandhi said: “I saw boys become men, then become leaders; I saw many remarkable things-how pain became a reward, how the team overcame discomfort, how the team began with 60% beginners and ended with 100% winners, how they began with doubts in their minds, and ended with pride in their hearts, beginning with questions like why did we do this, but ending with “We don’t want this to end.” Further, “They stepped out of their comfort zone; the cyclothon was not just a test in physical stamina but also mental strength. Vijay Puranik, the oldest at 57, sang as the team cycled when they felt low to pep them up. Gangappa, who did not have the time to practise before the event and struggled for the first three days was among the top five after day three. Abhinandan had a fall and fractured his hand during the cyclothon, but rode with the pain for three days. Siddesh, 27, a diabetic fought fatigue and muscle cramp throughout the event. They forewent birthdays and anniversaries, they fought harsh terrain and bad weather,” he elaborated. Jasmeet lauded the team’s efforts at the close of the event at Manipal Global Academy in BSFI in Bengaluru, “You signed up and showed up; you sustained the boredom and tedium of cycling; the wind blew against you, but you put your head down and reached the next milestone, mentally repeating, “Two more kilometres, two more kilometres.” When the voice in your head pleaded with you to quit, you told yourself, “Wake up, motivate yourself,” and remembered the cause and continued.” The support team had a doctor who joined in the cycling. There were also three physiotherapists who were part of the team. Coming to Jasmeet himself, the inspiration, he worked in technology and marketing for years in Nokia, Microsoft, among others, and is passionate about supporting social causes, using the medium of cycling. Thus, he started cyclothons in 2014, when he cycled from Mumbai to Bengaluru, to support the Iksha foundation, which provides free medical care and surgeries for kids affected by eye cancer. In 2015, he was joined by three more cyclists when they rode from Mumbai to Delhi to support IIMPACT, (the 1978 batch of IIMA, Delhi Chapter). In 2016, he and the team rode from Mumbai to Hyderabad to raise funds for girl child education. In 2017, it was from Hyderabad to Vizag via Tirupathi, to support an NGO, working for girl education in rural areas. Jasmeet runs the Sneha Foundation supporting geriatric care, especially medical care for the elderly who cannot afford it. The team’s strength has grown from 1 to 3, 13 and 18 in consecutive years.
Cycling offers you the best way to meet people and see our country. It’s a lovely country and you find amazing people along the way
A beaming cyclists team
For example, last year, we were cycling through a dry patch in Andhra Pradesh, there were no trees, no restaurants, and it was a very long stretch. We were exhausted - it was hot, in a humid coastal area. While we were havThe team of ing a water break at a toll plaza, women cyclists in blue from the at 11:30 am, an ordinary looking Karnataka State man on a motorbike who was Reserve Police passing by got into a conversation with us, and he asked, “What A day in the life of the cyclists during can I do for you?” Umeed 1000, 2018 We asked him if he knew of a restaurant where In Jasmeet Singh’s words: we could stop for lunch. He told us to go on to a Every day, we assembled at 5:30 am, did village 30-35 km ahead. When we reached there some stretching exercises, had energy boosters by 1:30 pm, he was there with about 200 children like fruit or protein, sang the national anthem, to welcome us. He had arranged for a 5-course saluted the national flag, and were flagged off at meal for us. It was one of the best meals we had 6 am. We stopped for breakfast around 8 am, ever had. We learned that he had dedicated his 40 km away. life to provide higher studies education for poor The aim was to cover as much as possible in girls of the minority community. the morning hours because the headwinds have People like him do not want recognition, they not yet started by then. Before 10 am, if you cover work in the background, in the interiors, seeking as much as you can, you are OKAY for the rest no fame, but do fantastic work. of the day. The next stop was around 10:30 for a So, the point is, one doesn’t have to do too break. People were allowed to take as many hymuch, even impacting one or two lives is good dration breaks as they wanted. You need a lot of enough. We, too, had never imagined we would replenishment because of headwinds. achieve much when we began but our cyclothon, The riders rode at their own pace, formed their has grown over the years. own groups, at their own fitness levels and capacgeetrao@gmail.com ity. Everybody knows where the next stop is, so people could ride at their own pace. There was a lot of flexibility throughout the cycling. It was CC important to enjoy the ride. There were a few obstacles. Mental fitness was paramount. Physical fitness can take you only so far. But mental preparedness is what works. After two days, that’s what keeps you going. Other obstacles were the weather, terrain, traffic near ISRO to send three villages and towns and cattle. Indians to space by 2021
tadka
Jasmeet recounts an incident that touched his heart: Cycling offers you the best way to meet people and see our country. It’s a lovely country and you find amazing people along the way. They are welcoming, generous in spirit and support.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced its plan to send Indian astronauts to space in December 2021 under India’s flagship human space mission programme Gaganyaan, at a cost of `100 billion. The crew, which is expected to have up to three members will include a woman and will orbit in space for up to a week.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 47
Loved & Married too
It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real-life romances that got sealed in marriage
Of comfort, compatibility & commitment Newlyweds Prateek Maheshwari and his better half Drishti Setia Maheshwari on how common interests and shared goals go a long way in making the partnership happy, prosperous and rewarding By Kalyani Sardesai
I
t’s yet another quiet Sunday even as corporate couple Prateek and Drishti rejuvenate their energies from a hectic week at work. Not for them an endless round of the party circuit or nightclubs, which is what you’d expect a young couple in their twenties to be doing but the serenity and simplicity of home and hearth. “We are both homebodies,” grins an unapologetic Drishti while Prateek nods in agreement. “We like to cook, watch TV, stay home and chat.” Simply put, never underestimate the value of mutual compatibility in making it work. To think they have been married all of two months.
Opposites may attract but it’s similarities that bind This story was first scripted on the campus of BIMM and BITM when both Prateek and Drishti were pursuing their MBA in marketing (batch of 2014-16). In typical fashion, this college romance started with friendship and the constant proximity from being in the same ‘river’ and interacting with each other on the corporate relations team of the college. From the outset, despite being different personalities (“I am a chatterbox, whereas he is a man of few words”) the camaraderie was natural and spontaneous. “Let me just say, we are compatible in the things we like to do and the values we share,” expresses Prateek. “For example, we are both fairly focused and ambitious in what we
The mantras of a marriage • Doing little things together • Supporting each other’s dreams • Celebrating differences • Not allowing fights to escalate
48 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
would like to do with our careers and lives. Not to forget, we prefer a quiet, low-key life with each other and Chinese food for company,” he smiles. “Little things add up to the big picture.” And that’s exactly how their relationship progressed with little things. “For instance, she would help me catch up with my notes when I missed class despite being in the coveted corporate relations batch (the duo were in the corporate relations team, commonly known as “The CRT”), supposed to be the one of the finest in the college. This was because I was heavily into assorted cultural events of the college,” he says. Gradually, both realised that they enjoyed being together. “She’s adaptable, giving and adjusting. Great qualities in all in a person,” says he. Not that there was any formal, ‘going down on the knees-will-you do me the honour of marrying me’ cake and roses moment. “Please,” avers Drishti. “That’s just too cheesy, way too filmy. That’s not our style at all.” What actually happened was way more organic. “We both realised that we were meant to be,” she says. “And that was that.” Luckily, the families were equally at ease with their children’s choice. “Since my parents themselves have had a love marriage, they told me quite bluntly that if I had someone, I was to tell them. So I told them about Drishti and that’s how my mom called her mom and things went forward”, he adds. Despite the seeming cultural differences (he’s a Marwari from Lucknow, while she’s a Punjabi from Bhatinda) everything went smoothly and the duo were wed in late 2018 in a beautiful, elaborate ceremony that combined the best of both Marwari and Punjabi rituals.
In holiday mode
Though there’s time to start their own family, both love kids (with a niece)
Of shared values and dreams
“We take each day as it comes. Cooking is not an issue for I enjoy it thoroughly. Work-life balance is quite easy because week days are for work and weekends for each other” — Drishti
Having ‘The’ talk
So on Saturday, I take care of my chores, which leaves me free to spend time with him on Sunday,” she says. Quality time together consists of watching movies and trying out different food. “We are The building blocks of marriage big time foodies and all our significant moAs of now, they are based in Delhi: she is emments together almost always feature food,” ployed with Vedanta as an Assistant Manager laughs Prateek. “Like I said, we could both hapwhile he is with Bajaj Allianz as Senior Area pily eat Chinese food every day.” (One guessManager. Since it’s early days yet, both are ades it helps big time that neither complaints of mittedly getting used to the rhythm as well as monotony!) responsibilities of living alone in a huge metro. Sure, the occasional fight happens but that’s And while they miss the warmth and fully laden not a big deal. “He is the short-tempered one; dinner tables of their respective family homes, I am more conciliatory by nature, so I guess it’s it’s a busy and happy time for both-personally fine,” says Drishti. “Either ways and professionally even as they differences are a part and parlearn to work the ropes of both cel of a healthy relationship—as marriage and their careers. long as you don’t allow matters What’s more, they wouldn’t to escalate,” she says. have it any other way. Both wish to do well profes“We take each day as it sionally and are quite focused comes. Cooking is not an on their goals. On his part, issue for I enjoy it thoroughPrateek is quite the millennial ly,” says Drishti. “Work-life man, and fully supportive of balance is quite easy because her dreams. “In fact, it was for week days are for work and the sake of my career that he weekends for each other. I am took a transfer to Delhi,” says off on Saturdays and Sundays Wedding wows: Drishti and Drishti. whereas he is off on Sundays. Prateek on their big day
Both enjoy children and would like some of their own, eventually. Right now, it’s time to concentrate on work. “But whenever we have a child, I am sure that with his support I will be able to manage both work and baby,” she rounds off. For the moment, it’s all about enjoying Sunday and some TV together. And you thought it’s only the old married couples that share such bonhomie? kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com
CC
tadka
Kerala Launches India’s Largest Startup Hub With 1,000-Seat Capacity Kerala has launched the country’s largest startup hub with a 1,000-seat capacity on January 13 in Kalamassery, Kochi. Named ‘Integrated Startup Complex,’ the facility is built to provide top quality infrastructure for incubation and acceleration for the state’s startups. Set up by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), it is spread over 1.80 lakh sq ft in Technology Innovation Zone (TIZ), will house Maker Village, Bionest, BRINC, country’s first international accelerator for Hardware startups.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 49
Campus Placement By Ekta Katti Vaishnavi Koshti is immensely strong-minded and enduring for her age. When freshers usually join the first company they get into, Vaishnavi patiently scouted all the companies and finally handpicked the organisation that would fulfil her professional dreams. Her never-give-up attitude has landed her in a top-notch corporate firm, Indus Biotech Private Limited, Pune. “For freshers, their first company is always a stepping stone that illuminates their career. Being a part of the most prestigious college, professors have always taught me to dream big. And when I finally found the company that suited my talent, I grabbed it with open arms,” says Vaishnavi.
Goal oriented
Swimming Straight Ambitious, determined and happy-go-lucky, Vaishnavi Koshti is all geared up for her first innings in the corporate world
50 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Born and raised in Pune, Vaishnavi was self-sufficient since her childhood. Excelling at all the tests at school and college, she always envisioned that she would lead her life on her own terms. Her personal strength and talent that landed her the dream job is, without doubt, due to her hard work, but what gave her the nudge to conquer the world were the teachings of her parents.“I look up to my parents as they are the ones who have always supported my dreams, no matter what,” she says. A daddy’s girl, Vaishnavi one day hopes to be as stable and successful as her father, Bhaskar. What she achieved so far is a testament of how her parents raised her. Talking about her father’s journey she says, “Growing up, I have been watching him minutely. The way he works, the way he supports his family and more importantly the ease with which he handles his life is simply amazing. Starting his life from scratch to now where he is, my father has won several battles. And watching him succeed has taught me to handle things in life.” Her father once said, “It’s now or never. Plan each day and make sure to execute it. That’s the mantra for a happy and peaceful life.” Vaishnavi has held these teachings close to her heart and vows to live by those rules forever.
Education that matters
The route to a great career lies in obtaining the right kind of education. At an early age, she decided to walk on a definite path of education and stuck to it until she bagged her dream job. Her graduation at the Amity Global Business School, Pune, gave her a clear picture for her future. Vaishnavi’s time at the Amity School was quite memorable. Taking part in
various college fests and events broadened her horizons. “Apart from excelling the exams, I made sure of exposing myself to college fests which are a great learning experience. Being the team leader for Sangathan, an Amity Intercollegiate Event conducted at Amity, Noida, taught me leadership skills. Getting the Personality Enhancement award at Amity, Pune, for my consistent performance proved that everything is possible in life,” she says. “I also took part in many cultural events such as dance and fashion shows in Aiyaswamy (event) which was a great experience for me. I got to interact with a lot of people and understood the importance of teamwork,” she says.
Vaishnavi with her friends
Vaishnavi with her family
and college days has provided me with everything. It was a great learning experience for me that helped in shaping my personality and skills. Getting a place in the current company with a decent package, with Pune as the location, was a dream come true. What more could I ask for?”
The turning point
Getting admission into one of the best colleges in the country for her post-graduation degree was a defining moment in Vaishnavi’s life. “Although Pune is the Oxford of the East, it’s very difficult to get a college with good culture, amenities and best placements. After a lot of research, I decided to join this top-notch B-School in Pune,” she informs. Her postgrad college life was full of opportunities which infused her life with discipline. With a rigorous 365-day schedule, great placement records, talented professors, Vaishnavi was really looking forward to pursuing her PGDM at the best B-School of the country. “I wanted to do something other than marketing, which is why I opted for International Business for specialisation. I was sure that this course would give me that extra edge in the overseas market,” explains Vaishnavi. Along the way, she gathered everlasting memories. And the friends who stuck by her are now her family. “College life is sometimes difficult. However, it becomes a piece of cake when your friends support you through thick and thin. I am forever indebted to Srushti Joshi, Kopal Jaiswal and Bhaskar Raj for always being there for me,” says a teary-eyed Vaishnavi.
Making a splash
“I learnt the art of swimming when I was hardly three. And since then it has become my passion. It is something that helps me retrospect and keeps me fit”
Stepping stone
For her, every internship was like a footprint in the sand. Each step signified the journey she had taken. Her first internship with Deazzle Services Private Limited gave her the chance to explore several entities in the marketing field. As a marketing trainee, she was responsible for offline selling of the application. Her summer internship at Hindustan Petro-
leum Corporation Limited, Mumbai was educationally enriching. “Along with my internship, I also spent my time in exploring the city of Mumbai. The topic of my internship presentation was-Study of OPEC countries and analysis of crude oil price variations. It was quite challenging for me as I had to learn from scratch about the oil industry,” she says.
The D-day
For her, home is where a swimming pool is. A self-taught swimmer, Vaishnavi is a total swimming fanatic. “I learnt the art of swimming when I was hardly three. And since then it has become my passion. It is something that helps me retrospect and keeps me fit,” she says. Her craze for swimming is immense. The moment she sees a water body, it urges her to take a dip, she exclaims. Swimming has also helped her learn several values beneficial to her in many ways. It has kept her healthy, it taught her to cope with failure and to work under pressure. Taking a dip in the pool every day disciplined her and most importantly helped her evolve. ektaakatti@gmail.com
CC
The day that made her proudly smile with tears of joy finally arrived on the day of placement. Being a part of the fierce and tough competition, Vaishnavi did not lose hope. Instead of giving up, she put into use all the lessons she had learnt so far. “I did not lose hope till the time I got the company and profile of my choice. After giving interviews at several companies and getting rejected by a few, I was finally selected by the company of my choice. I was quite satisfied and also humbled. I was very keen to take on the challenge of Digital Marketing,” she says. Talking about the events that made quite an impact on her career, she expresses, “The education that was imparted to me during my school
tadka India’s robust economic growth to continue in 2019: CII The country is expected to witness strong economic growth in 2019, after it has emerged as the fastest growing major world economy this year despite growing global vulnerabilities, industry body CII said. The positive outlook is buttressed by strong drivers emanating from services sector and better demand conditions arising out of poll spend, with the general elections slated next year, according to the chamber.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 51
Survey
India is in for a
2018 has been a blockbuster year for deal activity in India. Last year has broken all previous records by (M&A) transactions. Deal value as of 3 December 2018 had reached a record high of around USD 105 activity in India, global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has conducted the Deals in
52 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Great ‘Deal’
crossing the USD 100 billion mark in terms of deal value across both private equity (PE) and strategic billion across 1,640 transactions. With a view to understand the present and future of deal making 2019 survey. Corporate Citizen brings you the results Compiled by Neeraj Varty
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 53
Survey Deal activity in India 1,589
2,103
2,030
1,824
1,640 105.3
34.0
51.3 15.9 35.5 2014
48.0
66.8
68.5
22.3
33.9
M&A deal value (billion USD) PE deal value (billion USD)
24.7 44.4
34.6
2016
2017
23.2 2015
Total number of deals
71.3
The year 2018 saw a significant spike in deal activity. The uptick could largely be attributed to a number of factors, including the increased attention to the stressed asset space, consolidation across sectors and a significant surge
2018 in big-ticket transactions. Both PE and M&A activity levels were impacted by a few underlying drivers which were visible across the year and could possibly continue to drive activity going forward.
India’s growing international appeal 71.3 11.3 2.4 44.4 35.5 9.0 2.5 3.8 20.2
23.2 1.8 5.3 8.7 8.0
2014
2015
5.1 4.9 18.8
21.7 34.6 3.9 2.4 3.3
30%
35.8
25.0 15.7 2016
2017
The year 2018 has seen renewed interest from strategic buyers who have placed significant bets on India’s growth story. Walmart and Schneider were among the key global contributors to the M&A deal value this year, and this
India has entered a phase where corporate players are looking to improve their size, scalability and operating models through consolidation. 54 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Inbound
Outbound
Other
2018 could trigger further interest from overseas corporates and investors going forward. Inbound activity alone accounted for over 30% of the M&A deal value this year, over six times the deal value in 2017.
United we stand
Consolidation has been a key driver for deal activity this year, accounting for around 50% of the M&A transaction value in 2018, with e-commerce at the forefront of this activity. With consumerism sweeping through India, investors and corporates have taken note of this trend and are keen to tap into its potential. Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart was the largest deal recorded in India and a contributing factor towards the surge in M&A deal values in 2018. With technological advancements, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need for a new tech to boost operational efficiency, and are thus pushing acquisitions in the technology/e-commerce space.
Domestic
Domestic deals contribution to M&A activity (billion USD) 71.3 44.4
35.5 20.2 2014 Domestic
34.6 50%
23.2 8.0
15.7
25.0
20.2
2015
2016
2017
2018
M&A total
Big billion bets 25 20 15 10 5 2014
2015
PE
2016
M&A
2017
2018
Total
Deal volumes have been on a downward trajectory over the last few years, while deal values surge on the back of a spike in big-ticket transactions. The year 2018 has seen $21 billion deals across both PE investments and strategic deals combined—more than double the number recorded last year.
Reaping rewards 10% 11% PE exit activity in 2018 by deal type 60% 19%
Strategic sale
Secondary sale
Public market sale
Buyback
PE exits are also at an all-time high this year, recording 213 exits worth nearly USD 25 billion. While strategic sales accounted for the majority of the pie, this was mainly on the back of Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart. Secondary sales as a mode of exit are gaining importance within the PE community, visible through the 38% spike in value over 2017.
Outlook for 2019 2018 has set the bar relatively high in terms of deal activity, and the following factors may pose a challenge to deal activity in 2019: a. political uncertainty, at least up to the general elections, particularly in the wake of the results of the recently-held state election. b. the global environment, specifically continuance of the trade wars, which could potentially keep global investors away from emerging markets in general c. delays in resolution of the stressed assets owing to legal or regulatory roadblocks that are also expected to free up capital for fresh investments d. any worsening of India’s (and its states) fiscal condition owing to the increase in oil prices and possible enhanced populist measures.
neeraj.varty07@gmail.com February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 55
Health
Diet or, Not!
International star icons like Victoria Beckham credits her silhouette to a gluten-free diet and so do the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, who have translated being healthy to being ‘gluten-free’. Many celebrities back home and almost everyone aspiring to be fit are contemplating gluten-free diets. With expensive gluten-free products craving for grocery shelf-space, are we in India ready to sacrifice that morning paratha or bread for breakfast? To explore the health-worthiness of such diets, Corporate Citizen spoke to Shwetha Bhatia, a registered dietician with the Indian Dietetic Association and founder of ‘Mind Your Fitness’ clinics. A competitive fitness athlete and a bodybuilder, she is a board member of the Goa Bodybuilding and Fitness Association, affiliated to the Indian Bodybuilders Federation (IBBF). Kolkata-based Ranadeep Moitra, a Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a ‘Golf Biomechanist’, also shared his views on being gluten-free or not! By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
F
“
or many years, I was on a gluten-free diet. It helped me to reverse the symptoms of an autoimmune disease that I suffer from. I must confess however, that I have become more lenient and perhaps a little lax in recent years,” said Ranadeep Moitra, Strength and Conditioning specialist, Kolkata. And rightly so, most authentic clinical studies regarding gluten-free diets have been conducted on people who have celiac disease or other auto-immune diseases (a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy cells). Therefore, there has been little clinical evidence on the health benefits of a gluten-free diet in the general population. However, Shwetha Bhatia, Founder of ‘Mind Your Fitness’ clinics (Mumbai, Pune and Goa); also, a registered dietician and bronze medal-
list at the 2015 State & National Bodybuilding Championships said, “I personally follow the ketogenic way of life that is devoid of grains and therefore gluten-free automatically becomes a way of life. Here, coconut and almond flour can be moulded in several ways through innovative recipes that easily fill up the wheat void. Currently, I’m working on recipes like breads, desserts, muffins, theplas, crackers, cookies that are keto friendly. The keto diet along with a structured exercise programme helps me maintain lean mass and keeps my body fat at 22% or lower, all year long; even at 40 years .”
Gluten Factor
The ‘magical’ gluten is that protein that makes your chapati dough elastic and its absence would definitely make your naan turn crumbly! Most gluten free diet comprises of fruits, vegeta-
56 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
bles, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, dairy, beans, legumes and nuts. “Alcoholic beverages, including wines and hard liquor/distilled liquors/hard ciders are also gluten-free. However, beers, ales, lagers, malt beverages and malt vinegar that are made from gluten-containing grains are not distilled and therefore are not gluten-free,” adds Shwetha. “Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, kamut and spelt-genetic modification has made it stronger and more concentrated in the grains we eat. “Traditional” Indian agriculture also involved cultivation of millet, jowar, bajra, amaranth (ram dana). These are naturally gluten-free. Our ancient books mention that these have been cultivated in India since the early Vedic period. Interestingly, the diet prescribed during Ram Navami does not allow wheat but, permits the consumption of ragi, jowar and
bajra! Perhaps, our ancestors knew something well before the western world discovered the ills of gluten,” said Ranadeep. The change from traditional agricultural practices to modern methods has resulted in genetic modification of crops. “This means genes in the seeds for crops like corn, soy and wheat are altered in a laboratory so that the plants can grow larger or resist disease more effectively. The result of altering the plants in this way is that they now contain proteins that are not natural to the plant. Animal and human studies have shown that these proteins are extremely difficult for us to digest and may cause symptoms such as heartburn, reflux, gas and bloating. More dangerously, these proteins can cause autoimmune reactions in the gut that attack our own tissues,” he said. Shwetha explains the primary differences between wheat allergy, gluten intolerance and celiac disease. “Wheat allergy is a food allergy. An antibody is produced in proteins found in wheat (albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten). In people with celiac disease, a particular protein in wheat (gluten), triggers an autoimmune reaction.” “In celiac disease, gluten spurs your immune system to attack the lining of your small intestine. The resulting intestinal damage can cause malnutrition and conditions such as osteoporosis and cancer, in rare cases. Also, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) has recently received a lot of attention. It is a condition that produces symptoms similar to those seen in celiac disease. However, it is not an autoimmune disorder nor, a food allergy and does not have a genetic component. This means that when someone with NCGS eats gluten, it will not cause damage to the small intestine but will still produce common digestive symptoms (intolerance),” she said.
Gluten-Free Factor
“A gluten-free diet is the treatment for all the three wheat-related disorders. Someone who may suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive issues may consider going gluten-free for some time to see if symptoms get any better. But, a registered dietician can plan these diets as they are very restrictive and can cause deficiencies if done incorrectly, besides not providing the desired result”, said Shwetha. However, she warns that there is no diagnostic test for NCGS which means, “Your gastroenterologist will only diagnose you with NCGS if both celiac disease and wheat allergy have been ruled out. In order to be tested for celiac
“Wheat is not an indispensable grain and substitutes like jowar, bajra, ragi flour can easily replace it in the Indian diet. Overall, we are consuming more wheat than before but I have also seen improvements in digestive symptoms when this switch has been made on a trial basis. Going gluten free is not harmful”
-Shwetha Bhatia, registered dietician with
the Indian Dietetic Association, Bodybuilder and Founder of ‘Mind Your Fitness’ clinics
disease, you must be eating gluten! So, do not initiate a gluten-free diet until you have been tested for both celiac disease and wheat allergy.” “Many people go through life without realising that they are gluten intolerant or sensitive (at best). They accept all these symptoms as “normal” which could be anything from migraine to a leaky gut, common allergies or joint pain. Our society is rampant with these issues. I am not saying that all of it is linked to gluten but, many of them are. Actually, a very large percentage is!”, said Ranadeep.
Wh(e)at to Eat?
Shwetha: The incidence of wheat-related disorders • Changes in wheat proteins have resulted from wheat breeding. Conventional breeding of modern wheat is carried out to either increase or decrease gluten proteins or modify them in other ways, to increase yield, to change kernel size or shape or to improve insect resistance. • GMO-type (genetically engineered) wheat is grown through direct genetic modification of the wheat genome to increase protein content
which may cause wheat-related disorders in susceptible people. • Current lifestyle patterns have also generally weakened our gut barrier and immunity which is another factor why the rate of sensitivity is increasing.
Ranadeep: Good Gluten : Bad Gluten • Too many people connect gluten to weightloss. Dieticians have stressed the impact of gluten on weight loss and overweight and poorly fed society has clutched on to the weight-loss tag line. • In reality, going off gluten has manifold health benefits that improve quality of life in various ways. • In an indirect way, it may cause fat loss as general health and vigour improves. • The molecular structure for all gluten is the same and the gut reacts similarly to gluten in different grains.
Follow Your Ancestors:
According to Ranadeep, “Inculcate a gluten-free life from parents. Indians are traditionally rice and chapati eaters. However, millet bajra, jowar and ram dana are used in many rural and semi-rural homes across India as the staple. I would advise more Indian households to embrace these grains and that would also ease the pressure on wheat cultivation to increase outputs. There are no “permissible limits”. Gluten can stay in our guts for six months or so and cause health issues. So, if you are gluten-intolerant, even a small quantity can be harmful to you.” “Wheat is not an indispensable grain and substitutes like jowar, bajra, ragi flour can easily replace it in the Indian diet. Overall, we are consuming more wheat than before but I have also seen improvements in digestive symptoms when this switch has been made on a trial basis. Going gluten-free is not harmful,” said Shwetha. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 57
Pearls of Wisdom
By Dada JP Vaswani
Secret to enriching human relationships We cannot have ‘theories’ for everything-especially for getting along with people. No blueprint can give us a preplanned design to organise our lives with other people. Human beings are unique; perhaps somewhat illogical
A
re there any special principles that govern these relationships? How does one understand the nature of all relationships? We cannot have ‘theories’ for everything- especially for getting along with people. No blueprint can give us a preplanned design to organise our lives with other people. Human beings are unique, perhaps somewhat illogical and definitely unprogrammable! Each one of us is sensitive; each one of us is different and each one of us is constantly variable— our mood and temperament change from day to day, maybe even from hour to hour! And yet we have evolved into a society, into a community, into a global habitat with families, institutions and corporations. This has been possible with time, a growing sense of awareness and a great deal of understanding, tolerance, sympathy and mutual respect. Focus on people’s merits and strengths The great Prophet of the Baha’i faith, Bahá’u’lláh, said to his disciples again and again, “If you find that there are nine vices and only one virtue in your neighbour, forget the nine vices and focus only on the one virtue.” This is the secret of an understanding heart. See only the good in others. When we focus on others’ faults, we only draw those negative forces unto ourselves. Fault-finding, constant criticism and magni-
fying the mistakes of others are poor, ineffective ways of changing the world. A sunny temperament and a healthy sense of humour can do wonders for you. Try a smile or a kind word-you will find that wrongs are easy to set right and ‘wrongdoers’ are set back on the right track! Are you listening? If you wish to enrich your relationships, learn to be a good listener. Let the other person talk and prove his point to his satisfaction. Do not interrupt him while he is talking-even if he is your subordinate. Don’t you feel exasperated if someone interrupts what you are trying to say? “Please let me finish!” are the words uttered most frequently at committee meetings. Listen more, talk less. We were made to listen: that is why God has given us two ears and only one mouth. If we had been given two mouths on either side of our heads and just one ear on our faces, how funny we would look! Be a good listener, therefore, listen not only with your ears but with your heart. Menfolk, especially bosses and husbands, need to work on their listening skills. Appreciate others It was William James who said that the deepest need of a human being is the craving to be appreciated.
58 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Praise helps people to reinstate their own self-esteem. This, in turn, makes them enthusiastic about what they are doing, they find it worthwhile to achieve targets. Bonuses, perks and material benefits alone, are not enough to retain people in an organisation and keep them motivated. We need to realise that people’s sense of self-worth and dignity are high-value assets that need to be protected. For those of us who are always worried about additional expenses, it is good to know that appreciation will make no dents on the pocket, and one can freely use it anytime, anywhere. A research carried out among young MBA students at a premier institution in India, found that the freshers valued appreciation more than a fat paycheck. A manpower consultancy firm found that 58% of the employees they interviewed in a metro city, said that they did not even receive a simple thank-you note for a job that was done well. Be a friend A true friend will never come in the way, unless you are on your way down! Every relationship is unique and special. Parents, spouses, children, family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, superiors, subordinates, employers or employees-every relationship needs to be nurtured with understanding and patience. The secret of successful relationships is to be found in an understanding heart. Preferably, your own.
Mobile apps
The Best
Mindfulness Apps Mindfulness is an in-vogue technique for clearing your thoughts and becoming acutely aware of yourself and your surroundings. Mindfulness can help you relax as well as become more focused on your work. This issue, we look at the best mindfulness apps for your smartphone By Neeraj Varty
60 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Headspace
Buddhify
Calm
Aura
The Headspace app is a classic and for good reason. The app is world-renowned for making meditation and mindfulness simple, and it does so with daily guided sessions based around your goals. So, whether you're trying to be more productive, or you need help with anxiety, there's help at hand. You can also get reminders when it's time to meditate and track your progress, too.
This cleverly designed app is designed entirely around your every day life, rather than requiring you to take a break from it. To start, you select what you're doing, whether walking, trying to sleep, working or even scrolling through your phone. The app will then provide a meditation session based on your current activity – if you're scrolling through social media, Buddhify will stay with you post by post, asking thoughtprovoking questions about how you're feeling.
Calm doesn’t waste Aura is the app for any time getting those who want all the started. As soon benefits of a meditaas you click the tion session, but the thumbnail, the sound convenience and speed of the sea gushes from for an Uber or Ola. It your phone (this can focuses on short bursts be replaced with the of meditation (no more crackle of firewood, than 15 minutes on the clatter of pouring average) that are easily rain or a host of other shoehorned into a busy soothing soundbites). lifestyle. Sessions There’s a range of change daily (you can voice-led meditation save those you particexercises for free, ularly like) and they are including a seven-day delivered by any one beginner’s programme of the 30 mindfulness to help you find your teachers and therapists feet. The programme is Aura works with. They voice-led, and covers include exercises the basics, such as such as “Time alone mindful breathing, in in nature” and “Belly short sessions usually breathing”, all voiced no longer than five over calming music. minutes. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 60
book review
A ‘must have’ for the stock market newbie You can dip into this book ‘Flirting with Stocks’ to get an explanation of any term or concept used in the stock market and be the wiser. Basic, yet fundamental questions about stocks, answered and explained in precise and simple language By Usha Somayaji
I
must say, at the outset, that I am a biased reviewer where Dr. Anil Lamba is concerned. I have attended his ‘Finance for non-Finance Persons’ classes during the days when I was a fledgling business reporter, and was benefitted immensely by his lucid teaching. It helped me find my way through the meandering pathways of finance. His writing, over the years-first his newspaper columns, jointly with Dr. BS KS Chopra and later alone-his books, talks and videos-have always been clear, to the point, and impeccable, be it content or form. So it is not surprising that even before I began reading his latest book, ‘Flirting with Stocks’, I was already a convert, a believer. But here I am now, having read the book, and being an honest reviewer. For a start, you get a taste of what could be in store even before you open the book. Typical of Lamba and his tongue-in-cheek humour (with which he made his classes so lively and ‘wakeful’), the very cover adds a quote: ‘Monogamy is not a virtue in the stock market. Flirt with many and marry a few is the mantra here!’ Enough to whet your interest and dig into the contents. I like the title too. After his earlier book, ‘Romancing the Balance Sheet’, this time it is ‘Flirting with Stocks’. I wonder what the next ones will be. ‘Marrying the…’ or ‘Honeymooning with…’ or ‘Divorcing the ….’? One thing it promises-this is no cut and dry tome. Be prepared for some life!
His Prologue, too, sets the tone. Not the regular, heavy, gyani stuff that you would expect-this one narrates an experience in the stock market he went through himself-the rise and fall and subsequent rise of Mazda in the stock market, and the lesson (ouch!) that he learnt. Wry, but telling. What are stocks? How to invest in stocks? How does a transaction take place? Who decides share prices? What is an index? What are mutual funds? What is trading? What are derivatives? What to buy? These are basic, yet fundamental questions and Lamba has managed to explain them all in precise, simple language. You can dip into this book to get an explanation of any term or concept used in the stock market, and be the wiser. Definitely a ‘must have’ for the newbie in the stock market. After the basics he helps you go deeper-How do you read a Balance Sheet?
Author
Anil Lamba Title
Flirting with Stocks Publisher
Westland Publications Pages
222 Price
`799
How to choose a fundamentally strong company (to invest in)? What investing strategies to employ? How should you time your entry and exit? And he gives you the underlying ‘why’ for each thesis. To give an example, in the chapter on Ratio Analysis, besides explaining what each ratio means, he explains its significance to you as an investor. Thus, the dividend payout ratio, he explains, is the percentage of profit that gets paid out, but also goes on to say that ‘it indicates how well the earnings support the dividend payment and whether the dividend payment is sustainable’. So you can go from mere ‘flirting’ with stocks to actually getting into a deeper, more serious relationship-understand the company fundamentals and be an informed investor. He even has a chapter on Technical Analysis, simplifying and demystifying this very nuanced and complex tool in stock trading. Any student of the capital market can unravel this seemingly complex space with ease, with the help of this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is included as standard reading or prescribed textbook for Commerce students by universities. So while the design and layout with its use of white space and clear font, attractive blurbs that entice the ‘casual glancer’ make the book ‘look’ like a management best-seller, at heart it is a textbook, filled with very basic fundas, meticulously explained. Even a non-investor might be tempted to do some stock trading, on reading the book. But as I said earlier, don’t expect it to be all cut and dry monotone. Interspersed are bits of alternate insights, the Case Studies-the Battle of Waterloo, Isaac Newton and the South Sea Bubble, Dhirubhai Ambani, Nick Leeson and the Collapse of the Barings Bank, Black Monday (1987)-that are deliberately sneaked in, giving unexpected twists to the mainline narrative, yet throwing up underlying lessons. One final word. Everything in the book shows a professional at work. Including its design, the kind of paper-matt, very readable; the typeface, contemporary; the layout, modern; the balanced use of white space and typed matter; the division of subjects; the colour-coded pages. The attention to all these details besides the actual treatment of the subject itself makes holding the book up and reading it a pure act of pleasure. Go on, Lamba, come with more!
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 61
Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian
From The Mobile
Good old school days Do you still remember those awkward days in schools during exams? When a bright student tells the invigilator that Question No. 4 has a problem, but you have already answered it. When a fellow student asks for a graph paper, but you have completed the paper and did not see anywhere where it was required. When the invigilator says skip Question No. 6 we will rectify it later, but it was the question you enjoyed most when answering. When you hear your friends arguing after the exam whether the answer to question 5 was 35.5% or 36.5% and your answer was 1800. When the other students asked for 4-5 additional answer sheets and you had two pages empty in the main answer sheet. Top 10 dialogues of a teacher ➭ If you are not interested then you may leave the class. ➭ This class is worse than a fish market. ➭ Are you here to waste your parents’ money? ➭ Tell me when you all have finished talking. ➭ Why are you laughing? Come here and tell us we all will laugh. ➭ Do you think teachers are fools to teach you? ➭ Don’t try to act over smart with me. ➭ Why do you come to school when you don’t want to study. ➭ The previous batch was 100 times better than yours. ➭ If you want to talk then you may get out from the class. ➭ You, yes you... I am talking to you only, don’t look back. We used to have the most innocent face to show at that point.
62 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
Friends for life I never sat on a sofa with my father and after my marriage, I had already left him. Many years ago, after I got married I was sitting on a couch on a hot, humid day, sipping frozen juice during a visit to my father. As I talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities and obligations, my father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look at me. “Never forget your friends,” he advised, “they will become more important as you get older. Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends. Remember to go out with them occasionally, do activities with them, call them...” “What strange advice!” I thought. I had just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we will start will be everything I need to make sense of my life. Yet I obeyed him; kept in touch with my friends and annually increased their number. Over the years, I became aware that my father knew what he was talking about! In as much as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a man, friends are the bulwarks of his life.
After 50 years of life, here is what I learned: Time passes. Life goes on. The distances increase. Children grow up and become independent and although it breaks the parents’ heart, they are often separated from them. Jobs come and go. Illusions, desires, attractions… weaken. People do what they should not do. Parents die. Colleagues forget the favours. The races are over. But true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles away they are. A friend is never more distant than the reach of a need, reaching out to you intervening in your favour, waiting for you with open arms or with blessings for your life. When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead. We did not know how much we would need from one another. Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends.
Who is richer than Bill Gates? Someone asked Bill Gates, is there any person richer than you? He said, yes, only one. Many years ago, I had been dismissal and I had gone to New York airport. I read titles of newspapers there. I liked one of them and I wanted to buy it. But I didn’t have change (coins). I abandoned, suddenly, a black boy called me and told, “This newspaper for you.” I said, but I don’t have change. He said, “No problem, I give you free”. After three months, I went there. Coincidentally, that story happened again and that same boy gave another free newspaper. I said, I can’t accept. But he said, “I give you from my profit.” After 19 years, I had been rich and I decided to find that boy. I found him after one and half months searching. I asked him, do you know me? He said, “Yes, you’re famous Bill Gates.” I said, you gave me two free newspapers many years ago. Now, I want to compensate it. I am going to give you everything that you want. The black young man replied, “You can’t compensate for it!” I said, why? He said, “Because I gave you when I was poor. You want to give me when you are rich. So, how do you compensate?” Bill Gates said, I think that black young man is richer than me. You don’t have to be rich or wait to be rich to give.
(World’s Richest Man, 2011)
Advice From Carlos Slim Helu 1. Have a firm handshake. 2. Look people in the eye. 3. Sing in the shower. 4. Own a great stereo system. Music is life. 5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard. 6. Don't expect life to be fair. 7. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day. 8. Always accept an outstretched hand. 9. Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference. 10. Whistle. 11. Avoid sarcastic remarks. 12. Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery. 13. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out. 14. Lend only those books you never care to see again. 15. Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all that he has. 16. When playing games with children, let them win. 17. Give people a second chance, but NOT a third. 18. Be romantic. 19. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know. 20. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first
seems. 21. Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for our convenience, not the caller's. 22. Be a good loser. 23. Be a good winner. 24. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret. 25. When someone hugs you, let him be the first to let go. 26. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born. 27. Keep it simple every time. 28. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose. 29. Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. 30. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, NO REGRETS. 31. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did. 32. Never waste an opportunity to tell people you love them. 33. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped and loved you. 34. Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you. 35. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital, you need only stay a few minutes. 36. Begin each day with some of your favourite prayers.
37. Once in a while take the scenic route. 38. Send a lot of greeting cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're terrific.' 39. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice. 40. Keep a notepad and pencil on your bedside table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m. 41. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job. 42. Send your loved one’s flowers. Think of a reason later. 43. Make someone's day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you. 44. Become someone's hero. 45. Marry only for love, it is key to your happiness if every other thing fails. 46. Count your blessings. 47. Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home. 48. Wave at the children on a school bus/house/street. 49. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with PEOPLE. That is emotional intelligence. 50. Share this to help your friends. 51. Make sure someone says THANK YOU to you every day.
(Articles published in this ‘From the Mobile’ page are WhatsApp forwards. Corporate Citizen does not independently vouch for their authenticity. It’s a fun page. Enjoy!) February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 63
Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen Claps for the victory attained by environmentalists and activists in convincing the Central Government to ban construction of the proposed elevated corridor passing through Bandipur National Park in Karnataka
Corporate Citizen slaps all forms of road rage incidents–especially in light of the recent assault of Lieutenant Colonel Anup Joseph Manjali, a ‘Kirti Chakra’ awardee, who was allegedly attacked by five youngsters in Malad, Mumbai–a case of a true soldier’s pride being thwarted by its own mindless citizens
Their long-standing protest lead Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s government to reiterate to the Supreme Court that any construction in the national park, including the Bandipur Tiger Reserve could harm a range of animals including Asiatic elephants, tigers and others. The proposal was to build four elevated corridors, each one km long on National Highway 766 under the National Highway Authority of India as part of the Bharatmala project. Activists had come together via their ‘Save Bandipur’ campaign. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change put an end to the matter and said, “The Government of Karnataka had opposed construction of the road or lifting of the nine-hour night traffic ban on NH-212, which passes through Bandipur Tiger Reserve. In fact, we have suggested strengthening the alternative route passing through Thithimathi-Gonikoppal-Kutta.” In another move, activists had also opposed the proposed reversal of night traffic ban (9 pm - 6 am) on the 25 km stretch of National Highway 212 in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Effective since 2009, the Karnataka High Court had banned traffic flow after dark while hearing a case pertaining to road-kills, where at least 215 animals were being run over between 2004 and 2007. A Bengaluru-based environmentalist and urban conservationist Nishanth said, “We have been campaigning for some time against the elevated corridor. Our online signature campaign has more than 30,000 signatures in less than two days. We were continuously applying pressure and had warned that there will be mass protests if they go ahead with this. I am happy that the government listened to us.” He said that, “This elevated corridor would have reversed whatever the state had achieved in wildlife conservation over the past two decades. Currently, there are over 100 tigers in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Just imagine what is going to happen to them if their habitat gets split in half because of the roads?”
Currently attached to the 12th Bihar regiment, Lt. Col. Manjali was awarded the ‘Kiriti Chakra’ - the second highest peacetime gallantry award in 2013 for eliminating three terrorists who had sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir in 2012. He was at the time attached to the Rashtriya Rifles. The recent attack has left him convalescing in a suburban hospital for treatment of a dislocated shoulder and other facial injuries. A trained special forces commando, Lt. Col. Manjali is capable of killing with his bare hands but, did not lift a finger on wayward civilians who assaulted him. He was attacked by five youngsters while he waited on the footpath for his mother, who was to be dropped off by a relative after a family function. “As I stood there, one of the guys came riding on the footpath with two women riding pillion and demanded that I move out of his way. I stood my ground and he pushed me out of the way with his bike. One of the women got off the bike and started abusing and screaming at me. One of the men started hitting me with a helmet and in seconds, two more bikes reached there and all of the guys started attacking me. I had raised neither my voice nor my hand at them,” he said. According to his mother, who reached the scene as her son was being attacked, said that the youngsters showed no remorse. “One of the women present at the scene boasted that she hailed from a top-notch legal family and was unconcerned about the case”, said Lt. Col. Manjali’s mother. “At the police station, one of the parents of the two women even said she was aware of her daughter’s arrogance, as if it were a character trait of merit. What have we come to as a society?” The police said that the accused have been booked under Sections 325, 324 and 34 of the Criminal Procedure Code read with the Indian Penal Code (IPC). If a gallantry warrior’s pride deems no respect then it is time to strongly penalise an unruly society’s ‘false’ sense of misplaced arrogance.
64 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar)
Subscribe for Corporate Citizen and grow in Life
To, Circulation Manager Corporate Citizen (Business Fortnightly) Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No. 2 & 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune - 412101. Tel. (020) 67117604/9. Email : subscriptions@corporatecitizen.in Website : www.corporatecitizen.in Subject : Payment for Subscription of Corporate Citizen NAME:
SUBSCRIPTION FORM
POSTAL ADDRESS:
CITY:
Building Name- Apt. Number / Bungalow Name-Number
STATE:
Landline No.:
Society Name
PIN CODE: Mobile No:
E-mail Address: DOB:
(d d)
/
(m m)
/
(y y)
Profession (If any) :
Designation (If any) :
Company/Organisation (Where Applicable): I want to subscribe : For One Year (24 Issues) For Two Years (48 Issues) For Three Years (72 Issues) For Ten Years (240 Issues)
: : : :
Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No
- - - -
Subscription Amount Subscription Amount Subscription Amount Subscription Amount
: : : :
`1,200/`2,300/`3,400/`10,000/-
I am remitting a sum of ` through a bank draft / cheque bearing number dated drawn in favour of ‘Corporate Citizen’ towards payment of the subscription amount for One / Two / Three / Ten years, subscription. Date :
64 / Corporate Citizen / October 1-15, 2018
Signature of Subscriber
CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP
PROF. SUDHIR K SOPORY, VICE CHANCELLOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY (JNU) Volume 1, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in
January 1-15, 2016 / `50
CORPORATE CULTURE
Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank on women in leadership and gender diversity
INTERVIEW
An in-depth interview with Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director India with Kingston Technology and Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR, at Jindal Steel & Power
Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR
UNFLINCHING SUPPORT
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 65
the last word
Ganesh Natarajan
Sense of Positivism
What it takes to develop a mental model within ourselves that enables us to stay positive and look for opportunities to be happy
I
n these days of hyper-competition and extreme cynicism and negativism being spewed by our politicians and sometimes the people around us, it is important to build a mental model within ourselves that enables us to stay positive and look for opportunities to be happy. A few thoughts on what it takes to develop that capability. The first imperative is to avoid passing a quick negative judgement on everything and everybody. Let’s start with politics. We are entering an election year and it would be easy to get carried away by the vitriol poured by many people of ability on people they hate. A case in point is the analysis made by one of our former Ministers, himself an academician and intellectual par excellence on the track record of the present administration in the country. He pronounces demonetisation to be a monumental error, calls the GST deeply flawed and the surgical strikes not unique. The Triple Talaq Bills is biased and an overkill, the Air Force and HAL have both been shortchanged in the Rafale deal and finally, the farm loan waivers have become an imperative thanks to wrong policies. And ends his column on the first Sunday of the new year by predicting that the people of the country will view with suspicion any move in the next ten weeks made by a Government that will not find it “easy to erase the word Fail on the report card.”
development of the country rather If one finds this outpouring of than letting his party shoot paper negatives biased, the powers that planes in Parliament. And it would we have not covered themselves be good too to see MP Modi and in glory, either by dismissing the Party President Shah drop their recent election results as just a rerhetoric against the Gandhi family verse in one state, with the Conand present the facts of the develgress doing deals to get themselves opment in infrastructure, digital into power in MP and Rajasthan and rural India which are there without getting a clear positive to see for those who are willing to mandate from the people. Former let their eyes be opened. There is leaders whom many of us grew up much both sides, and even Chanadoring have been vilified or nuldrababu, Mamta and other politilified and it would seem that the cians have to be proud about-let’s blame for all ills in the country can be laid at the feet of one family. Really, would a billion InIn India, we have the power dians be so gullible? Haven’t of youth-the luxury of we all be taught that you can having what a friend calls fool some of the people all “a continent of diverse the time and all the people populations within a country” some of the time but you can’t fool all the people all the time? make our people feel good about For people like me and many of this rather than point them to reamy ilk who don’t have any pre-set sons to hate the others! political preferences, and we can To get the sense of positivism be thankful that unlike the US back, no better place to look than you don’t have to decide to be a at the cricket fields of AustraDemocrat or Republican and inlia where the exploits of Pujara, stead reserve the right to chooseKohli, Bumrah, Pant and Yadav it is disturbing that both political have brought sunshine into the parties and the many members of lives of the fans. Here are lads who the Mahagathbandhan inevitably have beaten all the odds-Kohli choose to be negative about their and Bumrah brought up by hardopponents rather than talk about working mothers to emerge as their own contributions in the past world beaters and others who have and the present. For instance, I risen from humble beginnings to would love to see Rahul Gandhi do become world champions. One of a TV interview where he talks with my favourite journalists (evocative facts about the contributions of sports writers are a fading breed) Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru Sandip G writes about the early and Indira Nehru-Gandhi to the years of Jaspreet Bumrah where he
66 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019
would spend hours playing backyard cricket all by himself, inspired by videos of Akram and Akhtar (hey why not Kapil Dev and Srinath?), trying to hit a pair of shoes at Yorker length and denied any formal coaching, managed to develop freak run-up and action like Muralidharan that enables him consistently to surprise the opposition batsmen. Here is an Indian who has used his adverse circumstances to advantage, mastered his craft, adapted to diverse conditions and used his quirkiness to emerge as arguably the best fast bowler in the world today. This is truly the India and Indian spirit we should be talking about and celebrating, something we talked about at our own 5F World team new year party where our six thirty-something business heads have committed themselves to large goals in the consulting, skills, startup and social sector. As Kahlil Gibran has rightly said “The size of your problems is nothing compared to your ability to solve them. Never overestimate your problems or underestimate yourself.” In India, we have the power of youth-the luxury of having what a friend calls “a continent of diverse populations within a country”. Let us seek what is good about ourselves, where the opportunities are and how we can win! 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.
February 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 67
RNI Regd. No. MAHENG/2014/60490, Postal Regd. No. PCW/179/2018-20. Published on 1st & 16th of every month and Posted at BPC, Pune CSO 411030 on 15th & 30th of every month. Licenced to Post without Pre-Payment Licence No. WPP-252.
Corporate Citizen, Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Bulk land No 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune 412101. Tel. (020) 67117604/9. or Post Box No-4, Dehu Road Cantt. Pin - 412101. 68 / Corporate Citizen / February 1-15, 2019