Volume4 issue 7 corporate citizen

Corporate Stalwart Dhananjay Datar, CMD, Al Adil Group, UAE June 16-30, 2018 / `50

Volume 4, Issue No. 07 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Survey

Waste Management LOVED & MARRIED TOO

Neetha and Dilip Padki, on their life together

Dynamic Duo: 72 Wing Commander Anupama Joshi and Wing Commander Ashok Shetty, on their romance, marriage, and their fight for gender equality in the armed forces

Wings of Courage

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What attracts jobseekers to an organisation

CII CSR-CSO BRIDGE 2018

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feedback

Reinvention of business stories

Over the years I have seen Corporate Citizen magazine move towards becoming a better version of itself. Every issue is a good roundup of ideas and events with reference to Indian business and corporate world.

Your desire to show readers the cool side of business, which they had barely thought about or imagined, have endured well over the years since you started. The way you document business stories of corporate leaders and forward-moving entrepreneurs, in your columns like Dynamic Duo, Military to Management, Corporate Stalwart, Cradle of Leadership—they are real in-depth portrayals and a source of direct knowledge. I value the efforts of people behind the CC magazine to remain rooted to their vision and to especially the tastes of its readers.

—Savio D’Souza, entrepreneur

Refreshing to read Military to Management stories

As a patriot, I am very pleased with Corporate Citizen for featuring veterans of India’s defence forces in the Military to Management series. Retired defence personnel have tremendous wisdom and management experience and it is refreshing to see their contributions to society apart from their service recognised and highlighted. I congratulate the team of CC for coming up with this unique idea.

—Ravi Nadkarni, business executive

Shaping young minds

Lately, I have noticed that Corporate Citizen has started new columns like Alumni Spotlight and My First Boss. As someone who has just started in the corporate field, I find these articles to be very insightful.

Impressed with Corporate Citizen’s glossy get-up

CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP SR. CHRIStInE COutInHO, PRInCIPAL, LOREtO COLLEgE, KOLKAtA Volume 3, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

January 16-31, 2018 / `50

I was impressed with the glossy get-up of Corporate Citizen magazine—many prominent, high-placed achievers in the corporate field, from young to old, have been covered. Wide variety of topics are included to cater to diverse tastes of readers Survey DynAmIC DuO: 63 RedSeer’s E-tailing in ‘India Afresh’, Bollywood Leadership Index 2017, India news, health issues, marriage, Loved & Married Too even apps for toddlers who are Saket Khanna and Neeta Valecha so mobile-savvy these days. On CII Manufacturing the one hand, Fortune column Summit: Jugaad 4.0 vs. Industry 4.0 dwells on finance and career, on the other hand, there is a philosophical article by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for the spiritually inclined readers. I am surprised to see that there are hardly any commercial ads in Corporate Citizen. I wish you all the best in your journalism career that has already reached a high graph. May you rise still higher in eminence and gain more of public fame and also find utmost selffulfilment. I appreciate immensely your evergreen dynamic image that must be an inspiration to upcoming journalists. Lots of love and God’s choicest blessings!

—Kusum Gokarn, former journalist and author Dr P. C. Shejwalkar

90 yrs & Young at heart Dr Shejwalkar with daughter Sushama Keskar and wife Usha

Reading about how institutes and managers shape your career from the beginning has made me realise I should actively hunt for a mentor in my corporate life. I feel fortunate to gain such knowledge early in my career.

This is precisely the kind of advice that is

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rare in other business magazines. I thank the Corporate Citizen team for making the magazine so informative and interesting, and all the best for future editions.

—Anup Kumar Bisht, HR professional

We look forward to your feedback

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Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Ramachandra Guha Editor-In-Chief’s Choice

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

Three things Karl Marx got mostly right Karl Marx was absolutely right—the British conquered India with the vilest motives, but they were yet an unconscious tool of history, in that they compelled the best Indians to look into the mirror, to examine what was flawed in their society and to work strenuously to correct this

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n the course of doing two degrees in economics I was taught to regard Karl Marx as, in the words of the Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson, a ‘minor post-Ricardian’. His labour theory of value was rejected by my teachers; and his predictions about the immiserization of the proletariat and the imminent death of capitalism appeared to have been falsified. However, I then went on to study sociology and history, where I was obliged to take Marx seriously. For, in these domains, his ideas and insights proved to be of more enduring value.

This fortnight we mark the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth. What remains of relevance in his thought?

I would like to single out three ideas in particular. ‘The history of all hitherto existing society’, wrote Marx and

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Engels in their Communist Manifesto, ‘is the history of class struggles’. This is a simplification; for sometimes caste and religion serve as more important markers of social identity than class. But the basic premise is accurate; namely, that social conflict is a major motive force in human history. Shared interests and identities bring different individuals together on a common platform, to struggle against groups composed of individuals whose identities are or seem to be different from theirs. Hence the struggles of workers vs. capitalists, Dalits vs. Savarnas, and peasants vs. landlords, which have all been such a visible feature of life in modern India.

Second, Marx may have been the first major thinker who focused on the vital importance of technology

in shaping social life. As he put it in ‘The Poverty of Philosophy’: ‘Social relations are closely bound up with productive forces. In acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of earning their living, they change all their social relations.

The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill society with the industrial capitalist.’

Social media is the new opiate for the masses Marx keenly appreciated what the more conservative thinkers of his time didn’t, namely, that the introduction of a new technology can profoundly alter how humans relate to one another. He would not have been surprised that, first, the personal computer, and second, the personal cell phone, have so radically reshaped individual and social behaviour in the 21st century.

These two insights of Marx are, of course, generic, relevant to humans wherever they live. The third insight relates specifically to India. While Marx never visited the subcontinent, in a series of articles published in the New York Daily Tribune in 1853 he commented on its past and its future.

Here, he was unsparing in his criticisms of the rule of the East India Company. ‘There cannot’, he wrote, ‘remain any doubt that the misery inflicted by the British on Hindustan is of an essentially different and infinitely more intensive kind than all Hindustan had to suffer before’.

In these newspaper articles, Marx accused the British of plundering India’s resources through war and profiteering. Because the colonialists had ‘neglected entirely’ public works, they had caused the deterioration of Indian agriculture. Further, the British destroyed our vibrant craft traditions, and disorganised our village communities. They introduced a stifling, soul-destroying bureaucracy, which served to ‘paralyse its [India’s] administration and perpetuate its abuses as the vital condition of their own perpetuation’.

Marx was clear that the ruling classes of Britain saw the people and territory of India only as a vehicle to enrich themselves. As he put it: ‘The aristocracy wanted to conquer it [India], the moneyocracy to plunder it, and the millocracy to undersell it’.

The moralist in Marx was appalled at the amoral behaviour of the British in India. Yet the historian in Marx saw some positive (if inadvertent) consequences of alien rule. As he wrote: ‘England, it is true, in causing a social revolution in Hindustan, was actuated only by the vilest interests, and was stupid in her manner of enforcing them. But that is not the question. The question is, can mankind fulfil its destiny without a fundamental revolution in the social state of Asia? If not, whatever may have been the crimes of England she was the unconscious tool of history in bringing about that revolution’.

Some romantic nationalists have recently advanced the argument that India could have become a modern democratic republic under the auspices of Maratha or Mughal rule. This is pure poppycock. Indian society was riven by caste and gender hierarchies, these thoroughly encoded in religious scripture as well as deeply embedded in social practice. Individual rights and freedoms were savagely suppressed by upper-caste men. The ruler was the monarch of all he surveyed.

It was the brutal fact of British conquest that provoked thinking, reflective, Indians to demand equal rights for women and Dalits, and to seek to replace absolutist and authoritarian forms of government with modern democracy. Challenged by the conquerors, reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy, Jotiba and Savitri Phule, Tarabai Shinde and Gopal Krishna Gokhale helped prepare India for the challenges of the modern world. These great 19th century thinkers were followed by Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, Periyar, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and others, who in their different but complementary ways brought us a Constitution for which nothing in our tradition or heritage had remotely prepared us.

In this respect Karl Marx was absolutely right; the British conquered India with the vilest motives, but they were yet an unconscious tool of history, in that they compelled the best (and bravest) Indians to look into the mirror, to examine what was flawed in their society and their politics, and to work strenuously to correct this.

Ramachandra Guha’s books include Gandhi Before India.

The views expressed are personal.

(This article was originally published by Hindustan Times.) https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/three-thingskarl-marx-got-mostly-right/story-QBxUBj42NmwsnfbcqoCJ5I.html

Marx keenly appreciated what the more conservative thinkers of his time didn’t: namely, that the introduction of a new technology can profoundly alter how humans relate to one another. He would not have been surprised that, the personal computer and the personal cell phone, have so radically reshaped individual today

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Contents

Volume 4 Issue No. 07 June 16-30, 2018 www.corporatecitizen.in

20 Cover story

Dynamic Duo 72

Wings of Courage Inspiring couple Wing Commander Anupama Joshi and Wing Commander Ashok Shetty, on their blossoming romance, marriage, and how they fought and won their fight for gender equality in the armed forces 8 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

11 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World

16 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why

18 Expert View What attracted Walmart to Flipkart?

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28 CII CSR-CSO BRIDGE 2018: Lakshmi Narayanan, foundersecretary, Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat, on efforts and initiatives of the union

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32 Corporate Stalwart Dhananjay Datar, CMD, Al Adil Group, UAE, talks on his life and business journey 40 INTERVIEW Sonia Agarwal Konjeti, founder, PULA, talks on the exponential growth of PULA and her life after PULA

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44 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT - 4 Deepak Hegde, Director, Global External Development & Supply Asia Pacific, GSK Shanghai R&D, shares his learning and reflects upon his passage as a research scientist 46 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Neetha and Dilip Padki, talk on moments they share together; marriage, its ups and downs and its strength 48 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Pallavi Dafre on her campus placement experience and her new role as a probationary officer with a multinational bank

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50 SURVEY Employee brand research survey on what attracts jobseekers to an organisation 54 BOLLYWOOD BIZ Best movies on climate change

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contents

56 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

61 56 PEARLS OF WISDOM The price for peace 57 MOBILE APPS Best apps to keep your fuel budget in check 58 TECH TREND Air transportation that NASA and a community of government, industry and academic partners are working together on

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur mathurpradeep1@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com Bengaluru Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

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61 UNSUNG HEROES - 5 A tea vendor’s big efforts to help poor and needy children 66 THE LAST WORD Fundamentals of leadership and expectations of people from their leaders

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Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com Manager-Circulation circulations@corporatecitizen.in West : Jaywant Patil, +91 9923202560 North : Hemant Gupta, +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G, +91 9941555389 Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar On Cover Page Wing Commander Anupama Joshi and Wing Commander Ashok Shetty 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.)

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People in the news

Manwani joins Tata Sons Chairman of Hindustan Unilever, Harish Manwani is now Independent Director of Tata Sons Limited. Manwani who is the former Global COO for Unilever will retire as Non-Executive Chairman of HUL in June. He is also the Global Executive Advisor to Blackstone Private Equity group. It has been a long journey for Manwani as he held several senior management positions in Unilever which included heading businesses in North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Prior to his retirement, he was the Chief Operating Officer with worldwide responsibility for all of Unilever’s operating firms. Besides the above, he also served on the Board of Directors of Qualcomm Incorporated, Gilead Sciences Inc., Nielsen Holdings plc, Whirlpool Corporation, Economic Development Board of Singapore and is chairman of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business. Welcoming the person with a bagful of experience, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran stated, “We welcome Harish to the Board of Directors. Harish brings substantial experience of managing and leading businesses on a global scale. His contribution and counsel will be of great value to Tata Sons in its governance as well as in its strategic development.”

Gen. Shergill quits Fortis board Fortis Healthcare Ltd has stated in a release that its independent director, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh Shergill has resigned from the board for personal reasons. In his email to Fortis, Gen. Shergill said: “Having previous knowledge of the company and despite my various commitments, I had agreed to join the board of Fortis Healthcare Ltd to complete the quorum, as several members had left the board. Now that there are sufficient members on the board, my many commitments preclude my sparing any further time. Kindly accept my resignation from the board of Fortis Healthcare Ltd.”

Maheshwary is Zomato CFO Zomato has hired long-time General Electric executive Sameer Maheshwary as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

Maheshwary, currently the CFO at GE South Asia will be a member of the Zomato family in the month of July.

He fills the role left vacant by Umesh Hora, who left in late 2015 to join as CFO of GirnarSoft Pvt Ltd, the company behind CarDekho.com. Commenting on the move, Zomato chief ex-ecutive Deepinder Goyal said, “As we expand the canvas of our offerings, it is time for us to bring on stronger leaders at the helm of things.

Sameer is an industry veteran, and has core finance background supplemented with business leadership roles. We’re excited to leverage his knowledge and depth of experience and are excited to build further with him.” Maheshwary has been with GE since 1999 and has held various finance and business roles in US, Japan and India. Maheshwary, an alumnus of Manchester Business School, UK and Delhi College of Engineering, was earlier the co-chief executive officer at SBI Card, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital. This comes amid a phase of senior management rejig at Zomato. The firm has promoted Mukund Kulashekaran to the role of chief business officer and advertising head Gaurav Gupta to chief operating officer.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Vodafone CEO Colao to step down After a decade’s tenure with the Vodafone as the Chief Executive Vittorio Colao will step down in October. He has been responsible to bring changes in the world’s second largest mobile operator into a digital communications powerhouse with a string of major deals. Colao will be replaced

by Nick Read, finance director since 2014 and long seen as the likely successor due to his role in running Vodafone’s operations in Britain and the Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific region.

Read will take charge of a group that, under Colao, pulled back from its once brazen expansionist drive to be able to build up its European operations from a pure mobile player to a broader communications provider that offers eve-rything from cable TV to broadband and enterprise services. Just last week Colao, 56, struck a long-expected $21.8 billion deal to buy Liberty Global’s cable TV and broadband networks in Germany and Eastern Europe. Talking about the change, Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said, “(Colao) has been an exemplary leader and strategic visionary who has overseen a dramatic transformation of Vodafone into a global pacesetter in converged communications, ready for the Gigabit future.”

IIM Trichy 2018 batch gets highest package Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli has completed the final placements for its postgraduate programme (PGP) in management on a high with the highest package offered this year at `54.50 lakh by an international company, and the highest package offered by an Indian company at `31.7 lakh. The average compensation offered was `14.28 lakh, while the median was `13 lakh.

This year, around 113 companies, which included JP Morgan & Chase, L&T, Cognizant, Dell, ICICI Bank, Microsoft, Avalon Consulting, Deloitte, HCL, Royal Bank of Scotland, RBL Bank, Saint Gobain, GMR Group, UltraTech Cement, DHL, Tolaram Group, ValueLabs, Trafigura, VLCC and Kotak Life Insurance—offered 177 jobs to the students. The participating companies were from across sectors, and jobs were offered across functions—finance, sales & marketing, consulting & analytics, strategy & general management,

12 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

operations, and OB & HR. There were 176 students in the batch, among which 172 registered for placement, while four students had opted out.

There has been an increase in the average annual compensation by 7.4 per cent compared to last year. The average annual compensation of the top 25 percentile increased by 24 per cent. Also, there has been a four-fold increase in domestic offers this year, with an annual compensation above `30 lakh, and a six-fold increase in the annual compensation above `20 lakh in the overall offers to the students. These feats were achieved with a batch size increase of 63 per cent. Abhishek Totawar, chairperson, placement and external relations said, “Even with the 63 per cent increase in the batch size (compared to the previous year), growth in the placement statistics is proof of the brand image, which IIM Trichy has built in the past few years.”

Jaypee Group Founder joins JAL Jaiprakash Gaur, the founder of crisis-hit Jaypee Group, has joined the board of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) as an additional director.

In a regulatory filing, Jaypee Group’s flagship company JAL said the board has co-opted Jaiprakash Gaur on the board of the company as an additional director. The 87-year-old Gaur holds a diploma in civil engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT, Roorkee). He has a vast experience of over 64 years in the fields of civil engineering, construction, cement, real estate, expressways, hospitality, and power. Gaur a well-known Indian entrepreneur. In 2012, he was ranked

by Forbes magazine as the 70th-richest person in India, with an estimated net worth of US$855 million. Gaur has been associated with the construction industry for more than

five decades. After graduation, Gaur joined the state government’s irrigation department as a junior engineer. Subsequently he started his own venture as a civil contractor. Twenty years later, he laid the foundation for the Jaypee Group by setting up Jaiprakash Associates, a civil engineering and construction company.

Venkatesan steps down at Infosys

Ravi Venkatesan calls it quits as an independent director from Infosys, the first top gun departure since Nandan Nilekani took over the chairmanship, citing ‘exciting new opportunity’ as stated by the Bengaluru-based company.

Venkatesan was made co-chairman of the company in April 2017 at a time when co-founder N R Narayana Murthy was gunning for the then company management led by Chairman R Seshasayee and CEO Vishal Sikka over corporate governance issues. When Infosys named co-founder and former CEO Nilekani as its new chairman in August last year, Venkatesan stepped down as co-chairman but continued to be an independent director. “I joined the board at a time when Infosys was beginning the complex journey of transitioning from founder-led to profes-

sional management. This was also a time of tectonic industry shifts.

I am pleased that this mission has been accomplished. Infosys is strong, in good hands, and is gaining momentum,” Venkatesan said in the statement. “I thank Ravi for his pivotal contributions to Infosys in a period of important transitions and towards a digital-first future. This passage is one that every entrepreneurial company faces eventually and I thank Ravi for his leadership in ensuring a successful transition,” said Nandan Nilekani and went on to add that the board would miss his passion, strategic insights and personal warmth but he would always remain a friend.

Calling Ravi as a champion of driving social impact, Nilekani said, “I am delighted that he will be pursuing an exciting opportunity in this area”.

Pawar joins KPMG, Shalini elevated Keeping ahead for a better growth, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) has roped in Unmesh Pawar, as the partner and head of people, performance and culture (PPC).

He will also spearhead the HR function in India, which comprises talent management and strategy, driving the people culture and professional development to further KPMG’s operations and growth in India. Pawar takes the place of Shalini Pillay, who has now been elevated as office managing partner.

Shalini will be responsible for the Bangalore market, representing KPMG, overseeing key client accounts and working with the wider ecosystem. She is also part of the India Leadership team and the KPMG India Board. As a management consultant, Shalini headed the post-merger integration solution and has worked with many large- and medium-sized organisations, helping them define and

realise their strategic objectives and growth targets.

She has also worked with several global, domestic and large family-run Indian business houses in evaluating their business operating models and assisting them in their strategic cost-management initiatives. An engineering graduate from Bombay University, and also as a chartered accountant, Shalini has been with KPMG for 15 years. She has also been with Arthur Andersen (now Accenture).

“The knowledge, expertise and experience that Pawar brings to the firm will further strengthen our human resources function, building on our acknowledged position as a coveted place for professionals to work. He will build on the strong foundation established by Shalini Pillay, who moves into a new role of office managing partner for Bengaluru, leading one of our largest offices,” said Arun M Kumar, chairman and CEO, KPMG India.

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collywood Quick Heal gets Kulkarni as CFO Quick Heal Technologies Limited, the leading provider of IT Security products and solutions, has appointed Nitin Kulkarni as Chief Financial Officer of the company. Kulkarni’s appointment has been approved by the Board of Directors. Kulkarni is a qualified chartered accountant with more than 25 years of experience managing different aspects of the finance function in information technology and manufacturing industries. In his new role, he will oversee all the financial aspects of the company including financial planning and analysis, accounting and financial reporting, mergers & acquisitions as well as managing transactional processing systems, legal, tax and investor relations functions. His past assignments include Financial Planning and Analysis, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Auditing,

Treasury, International and Domestic Taxation, Shared Services, Corporate Restructuring, M&A, Compliance, etc., at various listed corporate entities like Tech Mahindra, KPIT and Persistent Systems. Commenting on his selection as Chief Financial Officer, Kulkarni said, “I am delighted to join Quick Heal during this exciting phase in the company’s life cycle and look forward to help the company continue its growth momentum.

Being a pioneer in IT security solutions, Quick Heal will play an important role in digitizing India. As the company stands, the Finance function will have a strategic role in delivering value to stakeholders. I look forward to work with Kailash Katkar and

his team.” Kailash Katkar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Quick Heal Technologies Limited said, “Nitin Kulkarni’s rich experience and advanced skill sets like eye for detail, entrepreneurial approach and business enabler mindset will be an ideal fit for the company.

Together, we will work towards the objective of enhancing stakeholder value. At the strategic level, he will have a pivotal role in executing our future initiatives through his cognitive skills. We welcome Kulkarni to the Quick Heal family.”

Anil Kumar Jha appointed CMD of CIL Coal India is all set to get a new full-time chairman, as Anil Kumar Jha, chairman and managing director of subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields, is likely to take over as the chairman of its holding company, Coal India. Jha will replace acting chairman Suresh Kumar, an IAS officer, who has been holding the post of additional secretary at the ministry of Coal. Jha will remain the chairman till his retirement, due on January 31, 2020. Following the retirement of Sutirtha Bhattacharya, the full-time chairman of Coal India in August, the ministry of Coal appointed Gopal Singh, the chairman and managing director of Coal India subsidiary, Central Coalfields, as Coal 14 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

India’s acting chairman for three months. His tenure as acting chairman got extended twice and was prematurely terminated in May this year. In June last year the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) which was entrusted with the task of finding a candidate for the chairman’s post at Coal India after interviewing half a dozen candidates could not find any one suitable for the post. Jha is an MTech in Mine Planning & Design from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand. He comes with a rich work experience spanning 32 years in the field of mine planning, production, management supervision, direction and control of underground as well as opencast coal mines.

He has worked with the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute, the exploration arm of Coal India for 14 years, planning both opencast and underground mines.

Vishal Kaul opts out of Ola ride Ola’s chief operating officer Vishal Kaul ends his tenure with the ride-hailing company and senior vice president Pallav Singh takes additional charge in the interim of this Bengaluru-based company.

Kaul took charge after founding team member Pranay Jivrajka stepped down from the position in the year 2017. Kaul, who has been associated with PepsiCo, was roped in by Ola to strengthen its position in the Indian market, where the company competes head-on with US-based Uber. “I have immensely enjoyed my stay at Ola. The company has been like a family to me. I take great satisfaction and pride that I have been part of the journey where Ola has exhibited strong growth, improved profitability and gained significant market share,” said Kaul about the development, but did not disclose any details.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

Department of Information & Public Relations Government of Sikkim

Sikkim - an ethereal beauty R.O. No. : 12/IPR/Pub/Dis/18-19

Dated: 30.4.2018

wax eloquent

Nobody can ignore India Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world Penchant for disruption

Can’t stay in your comfort zone

“More new jobs would come up, and so people must be aware of the market, and ride the wave of change by re-skilling themselves and adapting to the new technology. You can’t stay in your comfort zone.”

“Beginning to wonder if it’s time to consider having our own social networking company that is very widely owned and professionally managed and willingly regulated. Any relevant Indian startups out there?

If any young teams have such plans I’d like to see if I can assist with seed capital.”

Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra

Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Lakshmi Mukkavilli, MD, Patra India and Chairwoman, CII Indian Women Network, AP State and Vice Chairperson, IT Association of AP Courtesy: https://www.yovizag.com

The core focus of HR “In this rapidly-changing world, we have a choice—to disrupt or be disrupted. Today, HR is at the forefront of driving change in organisations. For future, the core focus of HR should be to embrace all kinds of great talent, regardless of its origins; to focus on purpose-driven outperformance as it is the custodian and incubator of an organisation’s values and culture; mass customisation and personalisation; and to create a magic culture.”

Gurveen Singh, Chief Human Resources Officer, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, Courtesy: https://www.peoplematters.in

New trends of hiring

Jugaad required in India

“Our thought process was simple: Use jugaad and survive. ‘Indianess’ is important while building a product here.

You can’t replicate something which has worked globally.”

Sridhar Gundaiah, founder, StoreKing

Courtesy: https://economictimes. indiatimes.com

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“Analytics is changing the way hiring is being conducted in organisations, helping next-generation talent acquisition teams to course-correct and work in a more agile way. Diversity hiring, screening automation, transparency in hiring process and data curation are some key differentiators. Industry must do significant automation for sourcing, screening and hiring process to eliminate human bias and time limitation.”

Neeru Mehta, VP, HR, GlobalLogic India, Courtesy: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in

Indian cos can be better than any MNC “The fact that I work for an Indian organisation (actually, an institution) that has survived five decades and continues to be the market leader, shows that Indian companies can be better than any MNC.” Sudip Ghose,

CEO, VIP Industries, Courtesy: Financial Express

Believing in myself

“After a certain level, tennis becomes very mental and it’s all about how strong and patient you are in your head. The belief and confidence helps you to pull out those crucial or tight matches. The last six months have all been about believing in myself. Previously, everyone around me had that belief and the last few months I have started believing in myself more and it has been improving.”

Ankita Raina, Tennis player

Courtesy: http://www.dnaindia.com

We have to scale up to compete with China

“China manufactures around 80 million air conditioners for its domestic market and they have the scale advantage. They manufacture air conditioners like matchboxes.

India’s market size is 5.5 million units. If you want to compete with China, we have to scale up.”

B Thiagarajan, joint managing director, Blue Star

Courtesy: http://www.mydigitalfc.com

Learning from failures

E-commerce is like an endless aisle “E-commerce has its advantages—like the kind of reach it offers and the fact that it is like an endless aisle, which cannot be wished away. But now, the customers are preferring an omnichannel model and brands will have to give them the experience they want.”

Falguni Nayar, CEO, Nykaa

“Sometimes there’s a learning curve. We either learn the way we wanted to, or ultimately get to learn what we should have known. We probably need an improvement in the contribution of the smartphone business in the country.

Given the pace at which the industry has moved, we need to step up to match it.”

Anuj Gujral, CMO, LG

Courtesy: https://qz.com

Courtesy: Economic Times

You need foolishness to make cinema

“Gig Economy” redefining the workplace

“On-demand hiring promises lower costs and addresses the preferred choice of many Gen Ys who would like to opt for a “portfolio career”. Hence recruitment practices are building speed and agility to quickly identify specific work/projects that need attention and swiftly sourcing employees with the required skills so that the teams can quickly deliver and achieve required results.”

Shantanu Das,

CHRO, AMWAY India

Courtesy: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in

“You need foolishness to make cinema. I mean you need to chase a passion. And truly believe in it, in practice and in action. Sometimes I push it to the brink, but then somebody has to. Because the harder you fall on your face, the stronger you will get... Because you will fall again, in one way or another. To say that life is going to be a smooth sailing, is a bigger stupidity... For making cinema, you need foolishness of a certain kind.”

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, filmmaker Courtesy: https://www.hindustantimes.com

The major market is India

Evidence matters, not eminence “There is a difference between open-minded thinkers seeking knowledge, and self-appointed ‘intellectuals’. The latter are usually closed-minded snobs who use their ‘eminence’ to shut down genuine debate and enquiry. I particularly dislike the penchant for quoting authority and using jargon as a substitute for substance. Evidence matters, not eminence.”

Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and author of the book ‘Life Over Two Beers And Other Stories’ (Penguin India), Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com

Key ingredient to workplace wellness “A key ingredient to wellness is hunger to learn—our experience shows those hungry to learn and improve usually are a happier and more productive lot.”

Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and EVP,

TeamLease Services

Courtesy: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in

“Given that China is out of bounds… the major market is India not only due to the population, but knowing the base (not bottom) of the pyramid is about 500 million (consumers) and the cost-conscious middle is about 300 million. Nobody can ignore India.”

Bala Balachandran,

founder and dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management Courtesy: https://economictimes. indiatimes.com

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Expert View

Flipkart-Walmart deal: A Turning Point for India Flipkart now is an icon for all startups and its success proves that our bright youngsters can even blossom domestically and generate wealth for the country. What attracted Walmart to Flipkart?

by S K Jha

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

The news of the Flipkart-Walmart deal put an end to all negative news about India. It made very satisfying reading, that a US$16 billion deal was happening, to take over Flipkart by the highest revenue-earning company, Walmart.

This was the highest deal the world over for an e-commerce company.

Blossoming domestically

Walmart, a US-based company is the biggest retailer in the world. Flipkart, 10 years old, was started by two Indians, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (not related). This company is valued at US$21 billion; its 77% shareholding was purchased by Walmart for US$ 16 billion.

Binny Bansal stays back in the company while Sachin Bansal moved out. Flipkart was started with a modest capital of `4,00,000 in 2007 by two middle-class youngsters and now they are billionaires. Flipkart is now an icon for all startups. Our human capital is wellknown the world over but the success of Flipkart proves that it can blossom domestically too.

Flipkart and Walmart are two distinct opposites; while Flipkart started as a startup selling books on an e-commerce platform and then gradually progressed to selling electronic items like mobiles and fashion garments, Walmart started in 1969 as a retailer and has chains of stores in many countries. Flipkart is still a loss-making company while the turnover of Walmart is US$480 billion. Flipkart attracted capital from venture capital funds, while Walmart is financially very strong.

the technological platform along with the vast e-commerce potential of our country.

Walmart understood business and took the decision to expand its business in the fastest emerging country.

Role models for our youngsters

The promoters of Flipkart, the Bansal friends should be role models for our youngsters.

These young boys initially worked with Amazon and learnt the mechanics of e-commerce trade. With modest capital they started their own e-commerce business with just one item for trade. They worked hard and did everything themselves, as there were no employees to begin with. Business picked up as they added more items. They added innovative ideas of cash on receipt of goods and even return of the merchandise within 30 days of receipt. Business required more capital and they succeeded in attracting venture capital funds. SoftBank of Japan became their biggest shareholder.

Walmart was looking for a new market and the new business of e-commerce.

The rapid growth of Amazon the world over was an eyecatcher for the bricksand-mortar retailer.

The two opposites thus met for a win-win situation for both

What attracted Walmart?

What attracted Walmart to Flipkart? It was 18 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

Impressing the investors

It was their confidence, honesty and transparency, together with a powerful technological base that impressed investors.

They had big competitors like Amazon and the domestic startup Snapdeal, but they kept on moving up. Despite their loss, the value of the company kept increasing with more venture capital funds moving in. They kept an eye for fast-moving products and kept widening their product matrix, acquiring new companies like Myntra. Walmart was looking for a new market and the new business of e-commerce. The rapid growth of Amazon the world over was

an eye-catcher for the brick and mortar retailer. The two opposites thus met for a win-win situation for both.

What it means for India

What does such a mega deal mean for the country? In my opinion, there is much good for us. Walmart has established a reputation for serving the customer better by selling at cheaper prices. They believe in bigger turnover by reducing profit margins. So consumers will benefit. Because of stiff competition, other e-commerce companies too will have to reduce their margins. Employment will increase as Walmart will do things on a larger scale. They have already announced that they will put in an additional US$3 billion to widen the business of Flipkart in India.

Also, Walmart has expertise in selling farm products that are directly purchased from the farmers, so that both the farmers and consumers are served better. This way, there will be a direct impetus to farmers’ income.

The only persons to suffer will be brokers and wholesale agents. These days in the absence of infrastructure like cold chains and warehouses, a good proportion of our horticulture produce is lost. Walmart with its rich expertise of cold chains and enough money to build them will help save our products, which will benefit both producers and consumers. The present ‘kirana’ stores will be part of the supply chain for Flipkart, hence even their business is guaranteed to increase. In a nutshell, there will be job increase, increase in the income of farmers and kirana stores and at the same time consumers will be better served.

Earlier, Walmart could not flourish in India as there was a ban on foreign multi-brand retail in our country. Currently, Walmart is running 21 wholesale cash-and-carry businesses in partnership with the Bharti Group, but without much success. Flipkart will give it the platform to sell a large variety of items.

Tax bonanza

There is a going to be a significant revenue gain for the income tax department. Shares

will be sold for a total of US$16 billion which approximates to about `1.08 lakh crore. There will be a levy of both short- and long-term capital gain, depending on the duration of shares held that will be sold. Flipkart India is held by a Singaporean company and there will be a revenue gain even if the shares held by the Singapore unit are sold outside India, as the entire business of Flipkart is in India. There will not be any controversy like the one that happened when Vodafone came to India, as the relevant provision of the Income Tax Act now stands amended.

There will be a huge indirect tax (GST) gain as well, since large-scale trading will emerge when Walmart runs Flipkart.

The deal marks the coming of age for Indian commerce. It is expected to turn the tide for startups in India where low returns have often been criticised. There may be many mergers and acquisitions in the offing. The deal does not just validate the potential of the Indian retail market, but also sets the stage for the big showdown among Alibaba, Amazon and Walmart, making India the ultimate battleground of global dominance

The deal does not just validate the potential of the Indian retail market, but also sets the stage for the big showdown among Alibaba, Amazon and Walmart, making India the ultimate battleground of global dominance in retail. It makes Indian retail hard to be ignored, which is expected to be a US$200 billion market by 2026

in retail. It makes Indian retail hard to be ignored, which is expected to be a US$200 billion market by 2026.

The deal enhances our image

The deal will work as a catalytic agent, to get more FDI. The criticism that it is difficult to do business in India will also get negated by this deal as the world’s biggest retailer wants to come to India with a big buy. It also certifies the technological base in our country as it is one of the reasons for Walmart acquiring Flipkart. The country of 1.30 billion people is not just a market, but has competent and intelligent people to do business with big partnerships. So the deal enhances our image globally.

Bank on ourselves

Our countrymen are intelligent and hardworking. They can generate wealth for themselves and for the country if they passionately apply themselves to it. We do not have to wait for the

government to solve the unemployment problem if we turn entrepreneurs ourselves with small soft loans from Mudra Bank or any other bank. Government jobs are fewer vis-à-vis our population. There is no sense in increasing jobs unless they are really needed, as it increases the national cost while at the same time goes against the concept of a slim bureaucracy. The private sector too is not expanding, hence there is no growth of jobs there. The limited growth in the job market is happening due to government’s spending in the infrastructure sector, but there is a limitation. The only solution rests with us, through startups. We have to start taking risks instead of endlessly waiting for jobs.

“The only strategy guaranteed to fail is not taking risks,” said Mark Zuckerberg. Why can’t we become Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? The success of Flipkart should be an inspiration for us.

CC

tadka

India is the sixth wealthiest country India is the sixth wealthiest country with total wealth of $8,230 bn, as per the report AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth Migration Review. The US is the wealthiest country in the world with a total wealth of USD 62,584 billion, followed by China (USD 24,803 billion) at the second place and Japan (USD 19,522 billion) at the third place.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 19

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/ --- Dynamic Duo: 72

Wing Commander Anupama Joshi’s

& Wing Commander Ashok Shetty’s

Wings Of Cou They say matches are made in heaven. But sometimes they are also made in the Officers’ Mess of the IAF,

as was Wing Commander Anupama Joshi’s and Wing Commander Ashok Shetty’s, who first met at the Baroda Air Force station. How did it all happen? Hear it from this inspiring couple who, together with blossoming their romance, fought and won their fight for gender equality in the armed forces

20 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

We love

rage

stories in movies but real life is a lot more complicated, more so in the Air Force (AF). Yet men and women in blue do fall in love, as did Anupama and Ashok.

~ By Pradeep Mathur ~

Jab we met

Anupama: Those days there was only one phone at the Mess reception.

Once I saw four glasses of whiskey lined up there, so I presumed there were other officers queued up for the call. I kept waiting when I saw this tall, dark and handsome man approach. I nervously asked him, “Sir, are you in a queue behind this?” He proudly proclaimed that all four glasses were his, and he had lined them up as the bar had closed. That broke the ice as he generously offered me any help I required, as I was new to the place.

Ashok: I could see how alienated she was in the group since male officers didn’t interact much with her. I offered to help if she needed to go out to the city since I had a bike. I included her in my group of friends and slowly we started having meals together, spending time together and came closer to each other.

Anupama: At that time Ashok was a transport pilot at Jorhat in Assam where he had injured his knee playing basketball. Till the time he was medically fit, they had sent him on a missile course in Baroda. After the initial hiccups, we became friends and found that we had plenty in common. He started taking me out for dinners, movies and to play squash in the nearby ONGC sports club. One day he introduced his friend’s wife, a journalist and a JNU-ite, so I could have some company. That was indeed a great relief.

Slowly we formed a group and began to meet more often.

How did this relationship progress into marriage?

Anupama: When his course was coming to an end, he realised he wanted to be with me. The day he was to leave with his friends for Jorhat by night train, he came to my room and confessed his feelings. Though I had sensed it, I was taken aback. I said, if you really want to prove your love, go to Jorhat tomorrow. I knew they had great plans for the journey with food, daru and stuff like that. Around 8 pm, the whole gang left and at 8:30, he knocked at my door again (laughs). Actually, I put him through multiple tests to make sure it wasn’t just an infatuation and that he was serious about it. One such test even cost him his promotion. He had to appear for an examination, but just a day before that he told his boss, took a flight and came to meet me late at night in Delhi from Jorhat to assuage my feelings. I was stunned. By missing this examination, he got his promotion a year later. That was the time I realised he was really serious about this relationship.

What was the reaction of your parents?

Just before I hung up my

uniform

“We were on a night formation mission and I was in the fourth aircraft, the second and third went down in front of me. To land back safely to base was our first concern.

To fly under that pressure is what military flying is all about. That is what you learn in the forces— performing under pressure!”

Anupama: Surprisingly, our parents were very supportive. There was no twist in the story—no North-South divide. Though my in-laws belong to the Bunt community of Karnataka, they didn’t object to their son marrying a Brahmin girl from the North. With such overwhelming support, we got married in February 1994.

Ashok: My dad was cool; my mom was also not perturbed. My parents are from the South (Mangalore) but I was born in Guwahati and raised in North India. I joined NDA and went to the Air Force. When I went to Anupama’s house, her father was also fairly cool. Contrary to the story she had been telling me about them, they were pretty nice and open about it.

What was life after marriage?

Anupama: Post-marriage, Ashok got posted to Rajpura, near Chandigarh, while I was still in Baroda. So, initially, it was a long-distance marriage and a major part of our salaries would go for telephone and train bills.

Once Ashok came to Baroda on leave where we met Air Marshal KC

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Cover Story Cariappa, son of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, at dinner. When he learnt that Ashok was waiting for his posting, he made sure that he was soon back to flying with a new posting at Agra. After some time I got transferred to Agra where we spent considerable time together and also had our son, Agastya, now 20, and currently in Canada for his commercial pilot license.

We then got posted to Sulur near Coimbatore, then to Hyderabad where I was at Hakimpet and Ashok, 25 km away, at Begumpet. He was posted back to Baroda while I was still in Hyderabad. A year later I also joined him at Baroda—which turned out to be the place where I began and ended my AF career.

About to be married

Complete family, including An-32

More and more women are getting into the IAF. Your take?

Why was nobody responding to her representations?

Ashok: Nobody wanted to take a decision.

Initially, senior officers were very particular about women. They were scared that if something happened, their necks would be on the line. Nobody seemed to be against her, but at the level of the MoD and Air Headquarters, things were hotting up. For a decision of this magnitude, there should have been a thought process which wasn’t there. The induction process itself wasn’t thought out well. Air Marshal NC Suri decided in favour of women’s entry into the AF and went ahead with it. But the forces weren’t ready for it. So, she would send her applications but they wouldn't touch it, thinking, let it be someone else’s baby.

What happens when you have a clash of ideas on issues?

She’s very, very clear in her ideas. My thinking is pretty muddled up. She knows what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s to be done and how. So, I keep quiet. No ego issues due to my being a man. However, if there is some issue related to my work, I don’t take her advice.

What’s the secret of your relationship?

Ashok: It’s physics! Opposites attract

(laughs).

Love marriages are turning sour early these days. What’s your take?

Anupama: It’s a welcome change but it’s sad that people

Stranger to the ground

Ground was never enough: Agastya

My parents have had a huge impact on my life, so much so that I chose a profession in the air after them. They’ve always taught me to be driven and composed, assertive yet humble and they themselves embody these virtues flawlessly. Both are of strong character but interestingly different personalities. Growing up, I didn’t really understand this but now when I see, I find my mother the dynamic achiever, who’ll stop at nothing to right a wrong, and my father the calm, level-headed man with a brilliant head on his shoulders. The two may seemingly be different but together as a team, a unit, a couple, unparalleled. I’ve always been in awe of them and I know I will always be.

Ashok: You need to be flexible. That’s the sole mantra. There are times when you need to accept that you may be wrong.

Anupama: It’s a give-and-take relationship. You need to appreciate what the other person may be doing for you. I really value that he stood by me throughout my struggle. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have stayed on course for so long. I know how difficult it is to take on an organisation, but he took that risk and showed his mettle.

22 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

don’t realise that women have been there for 26 years.

The onus is now on women to After father and son make their mark and not let the landed in Gimli, Canada whole applecart turn.

Despite winning the case, why didn’t you join back?

which I had won.

I would have, if I had not committed to this startup because my heart belonged to the AF. But they had invested huge money in Uttarakhand where I had set up this branch. I decided not to join back because my fight wasn’t for myself—it was for a cause

How challenging was this microfinancing experiment?

Extremely challenging—this was after I did my course at IIM Ahmedabad.

There is an Institute of Financial Management and Research in Chennai.

They opened an IFMR Trust incubating rural banks. The entire team, comprising ICICI bankers, was inspired by the Bangladeshi model. They thought that military officers would have more credibility. So, I was picked to head the Uttarakhand entity. I spent seven months with them in a Thanjavur village to understand the whole model and replicate it in Uttarakhand.

What were the challenges you faced?

The biggest challenge was to win the trust of the hill people. I visited 600 villages on foot. Another challenge was, how to make rural women understand the value of banking. Being from Uttarakhand helped. They could relate to me completely.

How is it doing now?

Very successfully. The first branch began in 2009, now there are 25 branches with 250 people. Close to 100 crore have been disbursed.

How did Doon School happen?

Ashok was posted in Varanasi and my son was in Class V. I had to frequently visit remote villages and my health was also deteriorating. When I went to Doon School for my son’s admission, I had apprehensions about boarding school. When I spoke to the headmaster, I told him I was planning to take a sabbatical. He suggested I join the school for some time and see. It wasn’t out of design, it just happened.

What’s your role at Doon School?

I’m director of personnel there. Doon is also registered as a company, which takes care of the legal and compliance parts for Doon School, and I’m involved there too.

How come Ashok is also based in Dehradun?

Anupama: He left the AF in 2012. Initially, he was on loan to the Uttarakhand government as a pilot for two years. Currently, he’s head of operations (flying) and the Chief Pilot. He flies the CM and the Governor.

Two lessons you’ve learnt in the Air Force which are useful in civilian life?

Ashok: I’m the quintessential fauji. I believe that the organisation is always right and our aims are subservient. The requirement of the organisation should always be placed ahead of the individual.

Life may not always give you what you want but that’s no reason to be disheartened. Learn to be happy with what you’ve managed to accomplish.

That’s the mantra to a satisfied life.

What’s your advice to youngsters who want to join Air Force?

Ashok: There isn’t anything special required to join the AF. It offers an unmatched life. Things have changed in the past 30 years and made AF ideal— by and far. With pay commissions coming in, salaries are much better. The machines we have today are among the best in the world. Life is brilliant. So I would encourage youngsters to join it.

How challenging is your current job?

In the civilian set-up, they don’t bother about operational requirements. My AF training has given me a very professional outlook on how to manage aviation. Rules and regulations are very specific in aviation. In the armed forces, we have leeway for damage but in the civilian set-up, that’s not acceptable.

Did you face any war?

In Kargil, I flew extensively to Kashmir.

How did you join the IAF?

I was always good in sports and not much interested in studies. During my 12th I realised that with my physical capabilities, I would probably do well in the armed forces. I appeared for the NDA entrance exam, cleared it, and cleared the SSB interview at Varanasi. Before I knew it, I was in the awe-inspiring campus of the famed NDA in Pune.

How was your NDA experience?

NDA was tough physically, and contrary to my belief, there was emphasis on studies! NDA builds a bond between course-mates which survives forever.

Later in life the first question on meeting another officer is always: “ExNDA?... which squadron, which course?”

How do you look back on your 23-year journey in the IAF?

I loved my time in the IAF. There were times of pain and sorrow when we lost brother officers in aircraft crashes or road accidents, but the benefit of living each day in the group of officers in the squadron ensured that we bounced back to face another day.

My first posting was in an AN-32 squadron whose primary task was to maintain logistic connection to the Ladakh region including the Siachen glacier. Paradropping of supplies at the isolated army posts in the desolate crevasse-ridden glacier is a challenging task because the aircraft is flown at the limits of its capability with no margin for errors. Later I served in the Paratroopers Training School and also in a squadron which maintained connectivity with the Andaman and Nicobar islands. I served in Jorhat and in Vadodara. My time with the IAF took me to each corner of our great country. I enjoyed the experience!

What are the three major learnings of your flying career which could be useful in the corporate world?

I vividly remember a 1991-incident involving a mid-air collision. We were on a night formation mission and I was in the fourth aircraft, the second and third went down in front of me. To land back safely to base was our first concern.

To fly under that pressure is what military flying is all about. That is what you learn in the forces—performing under pressure! Just a week back, we lost our friends in another AN-32 crash. The squadron had lost a dozen men, but it was up and flying and doing its routine high-altitude air maintenance of Ladakh.

Three lessons which corporates might find useful are: a) Top-down leadership is essential for the organisation to stay on track. A good leader has no problem in leading his band to achieve the impossible. b) Incorrect decisions by a leader must be questioned by the organisation; and c) In any organisation the top management must always feel the pulse of the junior-most personnel.

Was having your spouse also serving in the IAF your strength or weakness?

Most definitely a strength. Anupama was on ground duties, holding important portfolios. Since I used to be on flights, she would look after all of my admin-related work.

In turn, I would be her pointsman when she needed something from other AF stations.

Did you share your responsibilities in bringing up your son?

All responsibilities were shared between us though I must admit, compared to me, she did a much better job. Her focus on him was unwavering despite all the load of office work. I would be flying inand-out all the time and would pitch in when I could.

How do you view women becoming fighter pilots in the IAF?

“I could see how alienated she was in the group since male officers didn’t interact much with her.

I offered to help if she needed to go out to the city since I had a bike.

I included her in my group of friends and slowly we started having meals together, spending time together and came closer to each other”

The change is welcome. What matters is efficiency, not gender. The armed forces need good soldiers irrespective of whether they are male or female.

How can the IAF attract India’s best talent?

It would help if the armed forces visited schools more frequently and motivated children to join it.

How challenging is your post-retirement assignment?

I am looking after flying operations of the civil aviation department, Govt. of Uttarakhand. Compared to the scale of operations in the IAF, this is a piece of cake. What is difficult is getting used to the civilian way of working.

I was involved in the Kedarnath disaster rescue mission in 2013. The civil set-up was not geared up for disaster management. It was a mammoth operation executed by the Air Force with the added pressure of almost live TV coverage.

How do you see your role as a parent?

My role is to provide basic means—education, accommodation, etc. Thereafter, Agastya has to chart his own course. He has seen me in this field and got interested in flying. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 23

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/ --- Dynamic Duo: 72

m

der Anu an pa

In 1992, the first glass ceiling in the Indian armed forces was shattered when 12 women got

inducted into the Indian Air Force, Wing Commander Anupama Joshi being one of them.

But what followed in a rigorous and rewarding career was a long battle for equal opportunity

for women, which she finally won in 2010, after she had retired from service and moved on to other pursuits. But not before she paved the way for a long line of women to follow and touch the skies...

~ By Pradeep Mathur ~

Two years

Two years ago when the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted the first batch of three women jet fighter pilots, they said the IAF shattered the ultimate glass ceiling for women. But not many know that the IAF had opened its doors to women in 1992, initially for ground duties and later for flying transport aircraft and helicopters as well. But equal opportunity for career growth was still a distant dream. Wing Commander Anupama Joshi, from the first batch of 12 women officers who joined the IAF, was denied permanent commission because of her gender. Result: After exhausting all her in-house options, she took her fight to the court. It took her seven years to win this battle. But when in 2010 women were given the same opportunities as men in the defence forces, she had retired in 2008. But she made sure that successive generations of women could truly live up to the IAF motto of ‘Nabham Sparsham Deeptam’—touch the sky with glory.

She personified courage, passion and leadership, and despite shaping the course of history for women, she didn’t rejoin the IAF when she was reinstated. She chose to take up another challenging task, becoming the founder-CEO of a microfinance startup working for the financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs in the remotest parts of Uttarakhand. Currently, she is Director of Personnel at the prestigious Doon School.

Winner of several awards from the Uttarakhand government, this brave leader shared her career journey with Corporate Citizen: Over to Wing Commander Anupama Joshi, in a first-person interview: “I was born in Betul (Madhya Pradesh). My father was from the Indian Forest Services. Since his was a transferable job, I studied at different places in Madhya Pradesh and later in Bhutan and Himachal Pradesh where my father went on deputation. I did my graduation from Shimla in Arts, with Economics and Psychology. I did my M Phil from JNU’s School of Social Sciences, Delhi.

Tryst with JNU

Twenty-five years ago JNU ranked No. 1. Its atmosphere was intellectually stimulating and transforming. Everybody aspired either for the IAS or politics or pure academics. I too experienced those currents which taught me to question things. However, since my father was a civil servant, I began thinking about joining the services.

24 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

While doing my M Phil, I saw an advertisement in India Today which said, ‘Be a Pioneer’. The military was, for the first time, opening its doors to women. Though I was doing research, I was also into sports and pretty active. I got very excited, applied for it, appeared in the SSB and the rest, as they say, is history.

The SSB experience

My service selection board was at Dehradun. I found lots of girls there whose parents were army officers. It was very evident that they had been coached. They knew the military jargon. I wondered where I was. They do an aptitude test on day one. If you pass it, you continue for the next five days, otherwise you’re sent back home the same day. Well, I made it!

There was also media buzz that over a lakh applications had been received, 25,000 were short-listed and the doors were open for 12 girls.

After a medical at Delhi’s Subroto Park, I joined the Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad. 2018 is the silver jubilee year of our passing-out as we got inducted in 1992 for the oneyear training.

Although at Hyderabad the training is the same for men and women, when we went, the Academy was not prepared for us.

Since we were the first batch, they didn’t know how to deal with women. For the first 15 days, we didn’t even have a uniform. The Air Force (AF) was still undecided about it. We attended classes and walked around in coloured clothes—much to the envy of our male colleagues.

Soon, we were given the same uniform. The adrenaline rush and the pride you got when you don a uniform was phenomenal!

We had a gruelling schedule at AFA where the day started with a run and before you knew it, you’d be on parade, cross-country, weapons training, jungle camp in the middle of the night and what not!

Indoctrination into the military

I won’t say that one year at the academy was easy because one, it was rigorous and two, lots of conflicting things were happening because we were new to the system and the system was new to us.

It was like a difficult marriage.

oshi aJ m

Br e a k i n g ba rri ers

Wing C om

Wing Commander Anupama Joshi

We didn’t have any seniors because our seniors were all males and the poor guys were told not to mess around with us.

When juniors come, seniors take the onus of responsibility of getting them into the system. It’s not ragging, but ‘indoctrination into the military’. They give what’s called ragdaa to help juniors get into the system.

The process was a bit of a struggle for me initially: not physically but mentally. Coming from a freethinking and questioning JNU milieu, it was very, very challenging. You wanted to question many things but couldn’t.

Once, I was walking down the corridor, it wasn’t even a month in the Academy when a Drill Ustaad called me, “Come here.” I looked at him and said, “Please don’t point those fingers at me,” because in JNU you just couldn’t do that. That guy must have felt, ‘how dare this cheeky woman question me’, but couldn’t do anything as he wasn’t sure what punishment he could give me.

Had it been a male cadet, he would have surely ordered, “Start rolling.”

In two months, everything changed: we were awarded the same punishments that were given to male cadets. But we also realised these were meant only to make us robust and mentally tough.

I remember they have something called a Patti Parade where they call us and say, “Go and change into your uniform in five minutes and come back.” You run,

“When we went, the Academy was not prepared for us. Since we were the first batch, they didn’t know how to deal with women.

For the first 15 days, we didn’t even have a uniform.

The Air Force (AF) was still undecided about it.

We attended classes and walked around in coloured clothes—much to the envy of our male colleagues”

With Ela Bhatt, role model in my second avatar

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Cover Story jungle march, with just a bottle and rifle. In the pitch darkness, a lady cadet lost a rifle component. You couldn’t return until you found it. Initially that seemed impossible, but by early morning we found it!

Incidentally, I was a good swimmer while the other girls didn’t know how to swim. I once participated in a swimming competition with the men, but when I jumped into the pool, all the 11 girls forgot their respective squadrons and cheered for me!

First posting

With the President and Prime Minister. The pioneers!

“I won’t say that one year at the academy was easy because one, it was rigorous and two, lots of conflicting things were happening because we were new to the system and the system was new to us. It was like a difficult marriage”

All the firsts!

change into uniform, come and they look at the time. If even one person was late, the whole group would be punished. We also learnt that the whole essence of the military was: Follow the command. If your commanding officer says, ‘Line pe jaake lado,’ and you question him, what will happen? (laughs) We were issued a bicycle each to reach the Academy from our Mess.

We had to pedal it out but not allowed to cycle carrying another person.

Once my cycle got punctured and while I was hitching behind my friend’s cycle, we were caught. Result: Adha raasta vo cycle upar rakh ke dauda aur aadha raasta main. They made sure that we were treated equally.

Diamond Jubilee parade

1992, the year we got inducted was the diamond jubilee year of the IAF. We were ‘showcased’ during the AF Day Parade. Right from the President Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, Defence Minister Sharad Pawar and Leader of the Opposition, LK Advani—all attended it.

Generally in a year of training, cadets never leave the Academy, but they made an exception for us and we were flown to Delhi from Hyderabad. It was like a film being shot as I led the marching contingent. We then had tea with the President and the Chief, Nirmal Chandra Suri, introducing us said, “These are my 12 angels.”

It was a heady time. We did the 25-km cross-country and the night-long 26 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

We got commissioned on June 21, 1993 and my first posting was at Baroda.

My office was the erstwhile palace of the Maharaja of Baroda. It was beautiful. Donning my blues with pride and glory, I walked down the corridor of the officers’ mess and asked the person in-charge for the room-keys for Pilot Officer Anupama Joshi’s room. He looked at me very quizzically and asked, “Sahib kahan hain?” I cannot describe the incredulous look on his face when I told him, “Main hi sahib hun.” The first few days were difficult. Everybody looked at you strangely. You were the only woman there.

Once I faced an incident of insubordination, which is mostly unheard-of in a military academy. A man placed under me refused to take orders. When I complained, it was I who was counselled, saying that the man in question belonged to a state where he was socially engineered not to take orders from women.

This and many such incidents made me realise that though the opportunity was given, there were barriers that needed to be broken and mindsets that needed to be changed.

Twenty years back the ground reality was, you were watched all the time. Seniors wouldn’t know how to treat you. Your colleagues would be sitting in a dining hall bustling with laughter and energy, but Receiving the the moment you walked in President of US there would be pin-drop siBill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea on lence. They didn’t know how their visit to Agra to socially react to a female officer. Every minute and every time you were treated more as a woman, less as an officer.

I had joined the Education Branch but you do get to work in different roles — being in-charge of the Mess, looking after food and rations, or as a fire officer or security officer or adminisA break between trator of the camps. I assayed an operation! all these roles. Later, I also taught. I was in the fighter training wing of Hyderabad’s Hakimpet station. I also worked in the navigation training school and taught AF subjects like Defence History and AF Laws to young officers. Once I looked after the married accommodation of the entire AF station with 3,000 officers. But sometimes you get strange reactions too, like when I became the Security Officer, everybody said, “How can a woman do it,” but my boss thought I’d do a better job than the rest.

Biggest struggles

Today AF takes pride that it has broken the mental barrier to accept women in combat roles. But it took them more than 20 years to actually do it, but there was a long-drawn history of legal battle and that’s where my story begins.

‘When the euphoria of induction was over, the reality hit us. When it came to courses, promotions, postings, placements—we were not entitled.

Initially, they had taken us in for five years “on an experimental basis”.

But when we were in the fourth year, they didn’t tell us what would happen after the fifth year. By then I was married. Everybody had got settled. We obviously wanted to continue further.

I wrote an application asking for a permanent place like our male counterparts. Nothing happened for seven months, but when we were about to complete the fifth year, we got the news that our services were extended for four years.

All of us felt very happy and started breathing easy. But what after four years? Why this ad hocism? Over a period of time, we started realising that there were lots of opportunities we didn’t get because we were from the SSC. There were constant battles.

Discrimination

I remember applying for a junior commander’s course. It’s mandatory if you want to attend the prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, near Ooty. My application was rejected because short-service women were not eligible for in-service courses. But short-service men were, a prerequisite for career growth in the services, as they had the option to continue.

I was enraged. I argued—I did not opt not to serve. You give me permanent commission, and let me do the course. But they didn’t listen. Then I acted a little smart and sent my name again but as Ft Lt A Joshi, and voila! I found myself in Red Fields, where the course was conducted. My husband also opted for the course, so we did it together. I finished it and this opened up opportunities for the rest.

Then we got posted to Sulur in Coimbatore I put in my third application, as I wanted to stop this ad hocism. When an application is given, it goes to the higher command and my commanding officer’s remark always was: “She’s a professional and an asset to the organisation.”

One year passed, nothing happened. Meanwhile, my struggle to be treated equally continued even in small things like night duty. Once a month, as Duty Officer, you do night duty on rotation but women were exempted. I felt when I got the same salary, same facilities, why should I not do it? One day, as Adjutant of the unit, I detailed my own self to do it. Some women resisted, saying why are you unnecessarily doing it when it’s not required?

But I felt, when you’re a pioneer, you’ve got to set certain things by example.

As we were close to the end of our second tenure, I made a representation again. I didn’t hear anything for long. Then I was told it was a matter of the tri-services, also involving the Army and the Navy and the matter was pending with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

A year passed, there was no reply. I requested for an interview with the Chief of Staff, Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy. With great difficulty, I met him and he said the same thing: “Anupama, wait, the matter is with the MoD.” Wait I did.

Another year passed. I put in my next application. By then, the Chief had changed. The new Chief was SP Tyagi. Though I didn’t get any reply, we got six years’ service extension.

I wasn’t happy with this ad hocism. I wanted an answer to my questions: Why couldn’t we get a permanent place? Why couldn’t we continue our tenure? Why didn’t we have the choice to serve the country which was our constitutional right? Why were there double standards in SSC for men and women? Why could men get permanent commission but women couldn’t?

My argument was: If I get the best of the scores in my annual reports, how can you deny me permanent commission and give it to men whose ratings are much below mine?

I put up yet another application. This time to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces—the President of India. By then I had sent six applications and six years had already gone by.

I put up an RTI, but that was stonewalled. They said matters of human

resources and establishment in the military were of national importance and hence didn’t fall under the ambit of RTI. What was I left to do except knock at the doors of the court?

By then a large number of women had also joined the IAF. I contacted almost 60 of them so as to have a collective representation—it could become a class case. Sadly, only one came forward—Sqn Ldr Rukhsana—who believed in me to fight this legal battle jointly.

We went to the Delhi High Court with a very simple prayer: that we be given a permanent place in the IAF on the basis of our efficiency and not on the basis of gender.

It was a very daunting task for us. We were fighting against an organisation that was extremely structured, hierarchical and disciplined. While it was represented by eminent lawyer Gopal Subramanium, we didn’t have any big lawyer to represent us. We contacted all the great women’s rights lawyers—Kamini Jaiswal to Indira Jaising to (the late) Rani Jethmalani—

Rare work-time together

“Your colleagues would be sitting in a dining hall bustling with laughter and energy, but the moment you walked in there would be pin-drop silence. They didn’t know how to socially react to a female officer.

Every minute and every time you were treated more as a woman, less as an officer” but they didn’t take our case. Seven years were spent in the corridors of the court, by then my tenure had ended and I was out of my blues. Not wavering from my goal to right such a gross injustice, we finally found our success in 2010 when the landmark judgement came: women must also be given a permanent place in the armed forces!

Lessons learnt

‘In this battle of equal opportunities, the largest support came from the men.

The men who inducted us, the superiors and colleagues who believed in us—all men.

The most important lesson was: You may have the courage, you may have the conviction, but in the end, it is perseverance that will prevail.”

Anupama yet again created history by being reinstated back into service —which again was unprecedented in the armed forces. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 27

CII CSR-CSO BRIDGE 2018

Model for a betterdecentralised waste management

Aligning CSR policy to the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a huge change project and needs inputs across the organisation and buy-in at the executive level. SDGs are about achieving development goals from an economic, social and environmental perspective. With this background, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Pune jointly with CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD) organised the second edition of CII CSR-CSO BRIDGE 2018 CONCLAVE, with an aim to identify and share practical, evidence-based solutions that can support the SDGs. In her special address in the inaugural plenary, Lakshmi Narayanan, founder-secretary, Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) talked about KKPKP’s efforts and initiatives how everyone can play a major role in driving a more sustainable, prosperous and inclusive society. Corporate Citizen brings you the excerpts from this special address By Rajesh Rao

I

represent the trade union of waste pickers, called the ‘Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat’ (KKPKP), which is now 25 years old, this year.

We started in the year 1989, organising and talking to waste pickers, trying to impress upon not just municipality and citizens, but among the waste pickers themselves, that what they are doing is an important work.

Need for recognition

Twenty-five years back, when you asked a waste picker what work she did, she would say I do nothing. And if you asked them, how do you earn, and how do you survive, she would say, waste-picking. It was not considered work even by them and we felt not only it is economically productive because it is giving them 28 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

a livelihood, it’s filling their stomachs and providing for their families. It’s also mitigating climate change in a very significant way, because they divert recyclable waste from the landfill.

They are actually ensuring that it gets recycled—they are conserving scarce and natural resources. In very real terms, their work means 20 per cent of the waste gets diverted from the landfill. As tax payers we pay the municipalities to collect our waste, so every waste picker is actually contributing directly in terms of unpaid labour to reduce municipal solid waste-handling cost. So, the argument was, this kind of work that is environmentally valuable, socially useful, it offers them a livelihood—needs some kind of recognition and we chose to register the organisation as a trade union, to establish to everyone, including ourselves that this is a productive work.

A better paradigm of waste management

Waste picking in traditional form, you see women go around with sacks, rummaging through bins and getting cut in the process. Certainly that is not an identity and that is not the kind of work we want to encourage, but we feel that waste collection, segregation and retrieval, if their work terms were enhanced—it’s actually a much better paradigm of waste management.

In many countries including India, our municipalitis, and our government are under tremendous pressure to solve waste management problems by simply adopting Western models that neither suit our economy, nor suit our waste characteristics, nor suit the kind of labour we have. And when we can actually develop far more robust structures here that can address the issues then why we are not trying to do that?

Pics: Yusuf Khan

We are registered as a trade union; waste pickers had to pay a membership fee and that made us accountable to them.

So, they had every right to turn around and expect us to address their issues and the issues were therefore defined by what they said was important

So, that was where we started from—we believe strongly that waste pickers, as all urban poor, are very intelligent and articulate people. There is a systemic reason for poverty—nobody is poor because they are lazy, don’t want to work or they are unintelligent.

Efforts and initiatives

We felt that we need to understand waste picking, so 25 years back we ourselves also took sacks and went waste picking with them, to try and see what kind of conditions they face, what issues they have, what their language skills were—obviously, the woman who is collecting 50 to 100 kilo of different kinds of waste that vary in rate from one rupee a kilo to 25 rupees a kilo, would be able to make some calculations, because she is selling her material daily, at the end of the working day.

Strong education programme for KKPKP

Then we tried to develop a curriculum of literacy for their children, because many of their girl children wanted to learn to read and write.

Many children, 25 years ago, obviously were not in school—mothers use to openly say, “What is the use of educating my children. If they are educated, they will not even collect waste.” And we had examples—we had children in the community, youth who were graduates, Dalit slum kids who were educated by their waste picker parents to be graduates and even postgraduates, but were jobless. Their education made them too embarrassed to collect waste. Their mothers would say that even after educating my child, I have to continue to work, while uneducated children are ready to collect waste. It was a very hard argument to counter, because

there is some truth to what they are saying and how do you expect a sixty-year-old woman to continue collecting waste, because her younger son is too educated to do the work and has no employment opportunities either.

Today, KKPKP has a strong education programme and the strength of education programme is not only the scholarship that we manage to get from the government or the private sector, for the children of waste pickers, but also the fact that every waste picker today believes that their child should go to school, believe that they should have the first right of refusal whether they have to work in waste or not. And lot of the staff of Swachh and KKPKP activists, accountants, data managers are actually children of waste pickers. So, we ensure that children of waste pickers are given the first right of refusal, as far as work is concerned. In terms June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 29

CII CSR-CSO BRIDGE 2018 of starting activities, initiatives, programmes, we always rely on the intelligence of waste pickers. Simply because we don’t think any programme is really going to succeed or work well, unless it’s really relevant and they are the best people to decide if anything is really well.

Legitimacy of work

Twenty-five years ago we started arguing about what is the legitimacy of work, then bringing together the waste pickers, we argued that the municipalities should give them identity cards, should recognise them as very important element in the waste management scenario. Even if the municipality doesn’t give them wages, their work is contributing to the municipal cost, the municipality should at the very minimum authorise them by issuing identity cards. That is the first step; once they gave identity cards, we argued, what is the use of the identity card, if you don’t look at their health? We are sacrificing our health to keep your city clean, so the minimum you should do is, cover us under an insurance programme. The municipality bowed under pressure and we also did research to actually quantify the economic returns to the municipality due to work of the waste pickers and based on that the municipality agreed to cover the waste pickers under an insurance cover, where the municipality pays the premium.

Rights over the waste—setting up Swachh

Photo: Paul Baden on Unsplash.com

The other thing we argued once identity and insurance cover was given, that you are calling us a waste picker, but unless we have access to the waste, what’s the point of an ID card? You are protecting our health, because we are handling

the waste, but unless you protect our access to waste, what is the idea? So, instead of privatising waste collection to any entity which is likely to come in and hire urban poor and not pay them minimum wages and marginalise that, why not allow a waste pickers cooperative to do the first work of waste collection. Don’t privatise and outsource to any other entity; privatise and outsource to an entity of waste pickers. So, we convinced the municipality to set up Swachh, which is an autonomous cooperative of waste pickers, which has a slightly unique pro-poor private-public partnership of the municipality.

So, the municipality takes the Swachh management and overhead costs, for ensuring 5,000 waste pickers to go house to house and collect waste from the citizens. Today, we are servicing 600,000 households. This model has been in existence a little over 10 years now and I think the municipality recognises that there is no model in the country or in the world, which offers as no cost to the municipality for waste collection.

What the municipality pays Swachh is only the overhead cost, so the staff of around 150 people who are organising the 5,000 waste pickers that they go around with services for citizens, their cost is covered by the municipality and that is how the partnership works. So, what the municipality pays directly for waste collection in Pune, comes to less than two rupees, per household, per month. So, the cost is less than tenth of the average cost across other municipalities.

We started this Swachh model 10 years back after first five-year period of working closely with the municipality. We started questioning our own approach—we wanted to prove it can be done, we wanted to prove that a waste pickers’ cooperative can be as efficient, as professional, as

capable, as any private-sector group in managing waste collection. But, at the end of five years we started feeling that if the municipality is not going to treat this as an entity which is professional, not going to pay up on time, and is expecting us to subsidising the cost of municipality in handling its waste management function, which is the core municipal responsibility, why should we use the city’s poorest people to subsidise municipality. So, for two years we refused to take on the work, unless the municipality re-signed the contract with us. The waste pickers continued work on the ground, but the superstructure of Swachh was not working at that time. And we decided we will not renew the contract, unless the municipality not only pay the arrears, the amount they owed to Swachh in the first five-year contract, but also they give us a revised contract which addressed some of the other issues Swachh was facing. So, we now have a new five-year contract, which is two-year-old now.

Sustainability and Funding Registered as a trade union

We are registered as a trade union and we felt very strongly that every waste picker should pay to become a member of the union. We expected every waste picker to contribute to pay us subscription to become a member of the union. Twenty-six years ago that amount was `13, one rupee was entry fee and 12 rupees per month. It was not a very small amount 25 years ago. Some waste pickers earned that much per day, some earned much more. But, we stuck to that for many reasons. One we just didn’t want to register just an NGO. We want a group that would be accountable to the waste pickers. It’s very easy to set up an NGO which finds its own goals and moves ahead, because it is taking forward the vision of few people.

Member-based organisation

(Image is for representation purpose only)

30 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

We felt, if we really want to address the issues the waste pickers face, they have to be a part of our process and they can only be that in a member-based organisation. We registered as a trade union; they had to pay a membership fee and that made us accountable to them. So, they had every right to turn around and expect us to address their issues and the issues were therefore defined by what they said was important.

So, 25 years ago also we were aware that waste management practices needed to change. We were educated, we were watching television, we were reading articles from outside, we knew about the need for segregation of waste. And we tried to convince waste pickers to engage in segregation of waste and promoting that among housing societies in certain elite parts of Pune.

Ten years down the line the membership fees have increased; you have to not only pay mem-

systems to change and offer slightly better returns, that’s a far more sustainable way.

Setting up a cooperative scrap store

Another thing we have focused on whenever we had sought funds for anything, is not to take funds for programmes that are not economically viable. So, we run a cooperative scrap store, for which we took a small amount of venture capital through a funding agency. We wanted to start a cooperative scrap store, because when the waste pickers sell their material to scrap dealers, they get exploited. We felt that it is actually possible to create a fair-trade scrap shop, where they get better returns on the material and they get share of the profit once the shop breaks even. So, the shop started making profit the very first year.

For better-decentralised waste management practices

bership fee for this year, but arears of 25 years. The old waste picker members pointed—because it is our blood and sweat that has made the organisation—today the fees that a new waste picker has to pay to become part of KKPKP, is `1,000. It’s lot of money but I cannot change that rule because waste pickers very strongly feel, we have paid that amount and lost so many days of work. Today, if a waste picker wants to come into readymade organisation that offers her 10 things, let her pay the price for that. One has to go with what they determine is fair and rational, because it is thoughtout. It is not as if they are making random statements and trying to get money off people.

Setting up a credit society

We run a credit society where waste pickers save money every month and they get access to loans. One of our quests has been to try to reach even more vulnerable, how to reach the poorest among them. In that effort, after we started the credit society and we had savings from credit programme, we said how to reach people who are not even members of the credit society, who have not even started saving. Unless they save, they can’t get access to loans and they are taking them from the market.

Starting loan against gold deposits

After a number of discussions, we realised that many of them are pawning their gold—they buy gold worth `5,000, they pawn it to the same jeweller for `4,000 and on that `4,000 they are paying 5 per cent interest per month.

So, we said why not try and set up a mechanism within the union, where we take their gold, ask

We believe strongly that waste pickers, as all urban poor, are very intelligent and articulate people. There is a systemic reason for poverty—nobody is poor because they are lazy, don’t want to work or they are unintelligent them to pawn it with us, that way their interest can go towards sustaining the cost of some people and we are actually working on an existing market-based mechanism. So, there is market, there are people who are paying interest—then we offer a fairer term of interest and set up a system. But, in the process we found that we have around 9,000 members and only around 500 have ever taken a gold loan from us. So, why is that others are not coming, and we found that many of them are going back to the moneylenders and telling them instead of 5 per cent, if you can charge 2.5 per cent, we will keep it with you. Otherwise, we will have to go all the way to the union and pawn the gold, which takes so much time. We thought that is great—we don’t really need to make money out of interest. If they can negotiate for the market

We feel very strongly that we should not allow the government to get away from paying towards core sectors, which it is responsible for paying. So, although corporate supports are welcome, foreign funds are welcome—if we start supporting the core areas that the government is responsible for, this already shrinking responsibility and budgets of the government are going to shrink further and the fights of groups to try and get their entitlements from the government are going to be lower.

When there are lot of groups working on waste management and many other missions, what happens is that, we also are not speaking the same language, asking for the same things and we don’t necessarily have 100 per cent agreement—it is healthy, we can’t expect to completely mirror each other’s views. But, we need to interact, much more on a clearer understanding of what it is that we have to collectively do and what it is that we have to get out of the government, and not let the municipality get away. We should legitimately argue for their investment and infrastructure support, for better-decentralised waste management practices.

I really say we should get together. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

CC

tadka

Grandest Kumbh Mela The Indian government plans to turn the next ‘Ardh Kumbh’ in Allahabad, slated to be held in January 2019, into a big tourism event to attract visitors from abroad and has sanctioned `1,200 crore to the Uttar Pradesh government for hosting the mega event.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Corporate Stalwart

Entrepreneurial

&

excellence ethical

execution He came, he saw, he conversed—winning hearts and inspiring many more in the process! Masala King and entrepreneurial giant Dhananjay Datar, CMD of the many-splendoured Al Adil Group, UAE was in India recently to inaugurate the ‘Khasa 2018’, a three-day business exhibition-cum-sale. At the event, he addressed a packed audience full of aspiring entrepreneurs and assorted youth on the importance of treating the customer as king, maintaining uniform high standards of delivery and performance, and above all, never ceasing to learn. “Always remember,” he says, “profit can and should be earned, without robbing the customers or compromising their rights, health and security.” Corporate Citizen brings you the journey of a man and a business, who were amongst the first to offer masalas to expat Indians

By Kalyani Sardesai

32 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

“The basic guiding principle for any business is that it must be done with the sole objective of profit.

Business can’t be run for leisure or charity. Wealth of any business is judged and calculated solely by its net profit and not by turnover�

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Corporate Stalwart Sir, in the open discussion at Tilak Smarak, you talked about the qualities an entrepreneur needs to possess. Can you give us examples of people you admire?

It would be unjust to name a few and neglect others. I respect everyone who runs his business with hard work, determination, honesty, creativity and courtesy. This is the formula for entrepreneurial success and I have always tried to imbibe these virtues in me. I started my business career in Dubai, which has been a prominent marketplace for international trade. Hence I got the opportunity to interact with a number of aspiring individuals and industrious communities across the globe that had migrated here like me. I learned a lot from them, especially from various Indian communities. We call America a melting pot but Dubai is the same. I learnt hard work from Keralite people, politeness from the Sindhi community, business wisdom from Gujarati people, and courage and open-mindedness from Punjabis. They also loved my Marathi spirit and enthusiasm.

I learned business etiquettes from Europeans, patience from Bangladeshis, and discipline from Asian communities. I am also grateful to the local Arab community, who trusted me and opened the doors of greater opportunities for me.

I admire all these people.

Let me quote an example of a small businessman who motivated me and gave me an opportunity to earn profit. Although small, it was important in waking up my self-confidence. He was a Bangladeshi businessman and we used to call him Mulla Chacha. Our shop and his flour mill were on the same street. We used to grind the grains from his mill and sell the ready-made flours in our shop. Mulla Chacha taught me how to operate the mill. He used to observe my hard work silently and advise, “Son, always rememberskill and hard work never go waste in life.” Mulla Chacha was an industrious person. Apart from running a mill, he would indulge in wholesale trading in Dera Dubai. We would also buy some spices from him. Those were hard days for us as we had suffered a great loss in business and hence we were compelled to cut all the over-expenditures. One day as usual I went to his shop. He informed me that he had got a bag of best quality chilli powder. He asked me if I wish to purchase it. Unfortunately I didn’t have that much money left, so I was about to decline his offer. But he surprisingly allowed me to take that bag on credit.

He said, “Dhananjay, never let go of such good quality products. Grab it and pay later.” I carried that bag on my shoulder for four km. I made

small pouches from it and sold it in retail to our customers. The quality of that chilli powder really was excellent and customers grabbed it. I got my first profit in life. I respect persons like Mulla Chacha for their consideration and good advice.

With regard to yourself can you tell us about your personal work ethic?

The basic guiding principle for any business is that it must be done with the sole objective of profit. Business can’t be run for leisure or charity.

Wealth of any business is judged and calculated solely by its net profit and not by turnover. At the same time, I don’t mean to say that profit should be earned by unethical means. Profit can and should be earned, without robbing the customers or compromising their rights, health and security.

I have been running my business for last 33 years

“I am an accidental entrepreneur. I spent my childhood in poverty. It taught me frugality, simplicity and awakened within me the spirit of struggling against all odds. Passion for selling culminated in me right from my schooldays”

34 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

with the same ethic and proudly admit that it has always rewarded me.

Let me narrate an experience from the past, how this policy rewarded me. In 1991, when the Iraqi forces attacked Kuwait, a war broke out between Iraq and the rival international alliance.

Since Dubai is a major international business hub of UAE, a partner country in the alliance, the fear of possible bomb attacks by Iraq gripped the Dubai citizens. The entire business world in Dubai was under severe pressure and many businessmen thought it better to shift to other countries for shelter. But I was not in a position to leave the city quickly as I had stored a huge consignment in my warehouses for the upcoming festival season. I decided not to leave the city and face the consequences patiently. Just then, the situation took a strange turn. People began buying and storing groceries and foodstuffs hastily. They were ready to pay any price for it. In fact, it was a huge opportunity for any cunning trader to make Madhuri Dixit with Dhananjay Datar and his better half at the launch of his biography

a huge profit, but my conscience and honesty kept me away from selecting the path of temptation.

Even in a war-like situation, I sold all the items for their regular market prices.

I earned not only handsome profit and appreciation, but trust as well.

How do you keep the work-life balance?

Although we have been reading the proverb ‘Health is wealth’ since our childhood, it is surprising that many of us forget its significance at a later age. I also made the same mistake and neglected my health a decade and a half ago. It became habitual for me to skip the regular mealtimes and eat at any odd hour. This spoiled my health, resulting in severe acidity first and then leading to back pain, anxiety, depression, etc. Finally, a moment came when I stood at the doorstep of death. I realised the importance of fitness when time itself opened my eyes. Even after undergoing various medications and treatments I was not getting any better. At last, I surrendered and appealed to the Almighty to give me another chance to live life happily. Fortunately, my request was granted. Acupuncture therapy relieved me from back pain, Ayurvedic medicines controlled my acidity and counselling by an intelligent psychologist helped me to come out of depression.

Since then I have followed the work-life balance meticulously. I devote equal time to business, family and my personal needs every day.

The businessman in me turns swiftly into an affectionate husband and caring father as I return home. I enjoy my family life fully. I do physical workouts, walking and meditation regularly and do not fall prey to tension and competition. I am content with what God has given me and try to help others in my capacity. Thus I have maintained my physical and mental health.

Please elaborate on how your group has progressed. Apart from keeping a customer-centric approach, what separates you from the competition?

My father Mahadev Datar, sensing the opportunity in providing quality food products to Indian expatriate communities in UAE, had started a small grocery shop in Dubai in 1984. I joined him within four months but worked hard for the next 12 years to grow it into a profitable business. When my father retired from business and handed it over it me, I initially added a couple of shops with the help of bank loans. But at that time a small hotelier taught me the technique of saving and its multiplying power. He had a habit of drawing two notes of 100 dirham eeach from his daily earnings and saving them in two separate boxes. At the end of the month, he would use the savings from one box to meet the business expenditure and the other part for reinvestment. I followed his example and started saving 500 dirham daily from my income. I continued this practice

Top - Throwback picture of Dhananjay as a young boy Right - Dhananjay Datar’s late mother Shashikala was his inspiration

year after year and kept on opening new stores from the savings alone, which resulted into a chain of 39 stores across the Gulf countries today. In due course of time, I also added two hi-tech spice factories, two modern flour mills and an import-export company. Thus from a tiny grocery shop, we created the company Al Adil Trading, which has turned into an international business group.

We have taken a customer-centric approach right from the beginning. I believe that the customer is really the king and if served with courtesy and hospitality, bestows prosperity and publicity upon the entrepreneur.

Time and again I focused on their needs and expectations and offered them pure, authentic products in secured packaging, abiding by strict international quality norms. I can proudly say that in the last 33 years we haven’t received a single complaint from any customer. With such a huge and strong customer support, I never felt the need to compete with anybody in an aggressive manner. We give prime importance to serving and securing the customers, with the best of products at affordable pricing. I think this ‘mind our own business’ strategy helped us in building a niche position in the market and separating us from competition.

You are a self-made man. Could you please share with us the early days of your journey? What inspired you to keep going?

I am an accidental entrepreneur. I spent my childhood in poverty. It taught me frugality, simplicity and awakened within me the spirit of struggling against all odds. Passion for selling culminated in me right from my schooldays. I used to sell tamarind to housewives and schoolchildren. Later in college days as well I would sell phenol and instant mixes door to door in Mumbai suburbs. At a tender age, I credulously dreamt of instant for-

tune and wealth. Hence I wanted to go to Dubai for any job which would offer a handsome salary.

But the wheels of fortune are strange to understand. My father, then working in Dubai, got an opportunity to enter into business field in his near-to-retirement age, and I had to go there to assist him. In the very first year, our business had to suffer a huge loss. We had no reserves to cover it, so we thought of winding up the business.

But my mother, Shashikala, a woman of invincible confidence, sold her jewellery, even her gold Mangalsutra, and thus raised the money. She convinced and revived us with a small message, “Time changes. Do not step back once you have stepped forward for business.” This incident really

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First Indian to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize Famed architect Balkrishna Doshi (B.V. Doshi) made history as he became the first Indian winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in the past 40 years. He designed renowned buildings throughout India, with an emphasis on public institutions and economical housing. Some of his most famous structures include the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and the Aranya low-cost housing complex in Indore.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Corporate Stalwart Dhananjay with wife Vandana

transformed me and inspired me to take up entrepreneurship seriously and with determination.

I worked very hard, devoting 16 hours a day for business only and ate whatever was available there. I started my career in business with activities like cleaning the tiles, sweeping the floor, carrying 50-kg bags on my back, etc. I think the powerful and assuring words of my mother inspired me to keep going.

With ‘Make in India’, our PM’s personal credo, how should our educational and cultural system evolve to encourage entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship should be cultivated in children from an early age. Let them have the experience of showcasing their creations and selling them. Let them be taught the importance of saving and wise purchases. Encourage them to innovate. This will surely motivate the children to understand the basic principles of entrepreneurship. Children should be taught the importance of good conversation skills, public relations and culture of cooperation in school. I am sure that these ignited minds will transform the business ecosystem and will make the ‘Make in India’ vision a reality.

Once I was invited by a friend to his house.

As we were chatting, my friend’s school-going son came there enthusiastically flashing a receipt-book in his hand and requested us to give a donation for some social cause. My friend suddenly got angry and began to scold the child.

He was of the view that schools should not send their students door to door begging for donations. I convinced my friend to let the child have that experience, as convincing people cleverly is a stepping stone for a good salesman. I strongly feel that if the parents sow the seeds of entrepreneurship in their children from early childhood, our country will produce some great business tycoons in the future.

With free market dynamics and customer-centric approach, do you think it is a good time to be an entrepreneur?

There is no good time or bad time to become an entrepreneur. You can simply step into the

36 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

business of your choice anytime. Even the recessionary phase is an opportunity for entrepreneurs since it opens up a different set of innovative ideas as per people’s needs. If you have faith in your thoughts and actions, if your products are pure, fulfil the customer’s needs, the market is always open for you. Free market offers a chance to producers for a fair competition. My simple advice to every entrepreneur is ‘Give the customers what they need, and the time is always good for you.’

Two decades ago, I was running my shops with the old business style and a traditional approach. When a customer demanded an item, we ourselves used to fetch it from the shelf and hand it over to them. But I sensed the changing environment just in time. New Age customers love to handle and get the products from the shelves themselves. While shopping they prefer to hang around in spacious superstores, enjoying a calm and comfortable atmosphere there. It brought a sudden change in my mindset. I emphasised the makeover of my business and gave it a modern outlook. I converted my old shops to large and hi-tech superstores, implementing modern technology and machinery. Even today I give the highest priority to my customers’ expectations and needs. Adopting a customer-centric approach is crucial for success in any business.

What are the immediate and long-term goals for your group?

Actually we don’t set goals and targets. We believe that work is worship and hence is to be followed for lifetime. We don’t even discuss our future plans until they come into reality. I always tell my employees to serve the customers

attain a truly global reach. Our group is steadily progressing towards that direction.

Can you tell us your role model/s in life, and why?

My parents are surely my role models in life. My mother created a compassionate philanthropist in me and my father created an honest and shrewd entrepreneur. I succeeded in life and business under their tutelage only. They both gifted me with their best virtues. They imbibed courage, self-confidence, perseverance, humility and commitment in me.

Let me describe two incidents. Although of similar nature, both of my parents reacted differently and gave me wise advice. As a kid, I was once invited by some relatives to a ceremony. As the dinner was about to start, a person came in hurriedly and forced me to vacate my place, citing the reason that the dinner was meant for elite people only. These words humiliated me and I returned home dejectedly. When I narrated this incidence to my mother, she pacified me with the following words, “My son, this is the way the rich treat the poor. You should learn that respect is given not to a person, but to his wealth. You should also strive to earn such a status that no one will dare neglect you.” Her inspiring words were carved in my heart forever.

The second incident took place when I was in my twenties. My father used to send me to the wholesale market to purchase the spices for our business. A man there always taunted and insulted me by saying, “Business is not your community’s cup of tea. You should better stick to jobs.” When I informed my father about these insulting remarks, he calmly advised me, “Don’t pay attention to such hollow words. Instead, concentrate on your business.

Keep moving ahead.”

These words motivated me to continue on my business journey.

“Women are gifted with some excellent virtues. They are wise purchasers, skilled managers and their honesty and integrity is really praiseworthy. One should learn from women how to run a safe and secure business with prudent financial management” politely and at their best, rather than chasing any sales target. I believe that a mind without any pressure can communicate better with others. I like my employees to be satisfied and tension-free, just like my customers. Deep in my mind there is a hope. I may not call it an aim or goal, but a dream. Yes, we have a dream and that too without any deadline. We would like to expand our business in many more countries to

Please share the role played by your family in your work and business.

My family means everything to me. I will not forget, for a single moment, the fact that they were the only friends who accompanied me in my bad time. My wife and children have always played the most important role in my life and business. Without their precious support, I would not have been able to pull the heavy cart so far.

My wife Vandana is truly a life partner. As it is rightly said that ‘Behind a successful man, there is a woman’, she has always accompanied me as a great source of inspiration. She stood firmly

There is a proverb, ‘If wealth is lost, nothing is lost, if health is lost, something is lost, but if character is lost, everything is lost.’ Wilful defaulting on loans is an unfair practice and also an unlawful activity.

You must make adequate provisions to repay the loans. Banks also respect such entrepreneurs with an excellent repayment track record. I think entrepreneurs should refrain from avarice and only take loans within the limit of their repayment capacity. In simple words, if you require a certain amount of loan, ensure keeping that much amount in your reserves prior to purchasing the loan.

Another safe way is to take loan against deposit.

But in any case follow the repayment schedule strictly. Always protect your image.

Any specific advice for women entrepreneurs?

behind me in my life’s ups and downs. When I lost my health and almost stood at the door of death, Vandana was the only person who, with great courage and determination, pulled me out of danger. She is instrumental in turning me to social work. My sons Hrishikesh and Rohit are like my hands. They are wise, obedient and able to carry forward our business legacy. Both have joined my business recently and they are really promising. I am assured of the future.

Any outstanding good or bad moments or turning points in your life/business you would like to share?

There are many but one stands out. When I joined my father in business, I was in my twenties. I was a layman in business hence my father suggested to me to learn the practical experience of running a shop from elsewhere. Therefore I accepted an internship in a superstore. There I did everything to learn the shop management. I was enjoying ev-

ery work assigned to me, except one. I was feeling nauseated to handle beef and pork and simply used to reject the packaging of it. One day the shop owner called me and asked me the reason.

I candidly admitted that being a vegetarian, I felt touching the meat was a disgusting activity. The owner laughed at me and gave me an important piece of advice by saying, “Young man, I am a staunch Jain vegetarian who abstains from tasting garlic and onions in everyday meals also. But this is my business. Here customer’s needs are important; hence I don’t bring my personal likes and dislikes to my store. Always remember that work is work only and should not be treated as superior and inferior. Don’t feel ashamed to do any work.”

Even as the banks are ready to fund new businesses, there also seems to be a corresponding defaulting on loans. How can entrepreneurs avoid that?

Entrepreneurs should always cherish their prestige.

Women are gifted with some excellent virtues.

They are wise purchasers, skilled managers and their honesty and integrity is really praiseworthy.

One should learn from women how to run a safe and secure business with prudent financial management. Women entrepreneurs are an asset to the business ecosystem. I encourage more and more women to aspire for innovative business.

I myself encouraged my wife to assist me in my business. Until then she preferred to play a role of an ideal housewife. When I noticed her practical home management, I asked her helping hand in our group’s financial management.

To my surprise, she not only sorted the financial system of our group, but kept wasteful expenditure under check with such a strict discipline that at a time when the entire business world was passing through a recessionary phase, our group progressed with stunning 400 per cent. My wife, as the director of finance, is leading our group with exceptional calibre. Hence I firmly believe that women when given a chance to demonstrate their managerial skills succeed for sure. kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com

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tadka

Avengers: Infinity War—all-time highest Hollywood grosser in India Move aside Bollywood box office showstoppers as Avengers: Infinity War becomes the highest Hollywood box office grosser in India till date with a gross collection of `246.51 crore. It also bagged the biggest day-1 opening to the tune of 40.13 (gross) crore. This offering from Marvel Studios also brought together one of the largest gatherings of superheroes onscreen to battle out super villain, Thanos.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Advertorial Feature

CSR activities of National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd

C

ore to the company’s philosophy, CSR has been an integral part of NTPC’s business of power generation and lighting up the lives of millions of Indians. NTPC’s spirit of caring and sharing is embedded in its mission statement. We firmly believe that communities located in the vicinity of our projects as well as those displaced by them are important partners/stakeholders in India’s growth story. As good neighbours, we have built strong partnerships with them through a slew of well-conceived community development intervention programmes.

Based on our dedication to the cause since our inception, NTPC has a comprehensive Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) policy covering community development activities. Our policy grows wings at the project sites the moment the project takes off. Thereafter extensive peripheral development activities are taken up along with the project development. There is a separate CSR-Community Development Policy which covers a vast gamut of activities starting from the grassroots at the unit level right up to the regional and national level including implementation of key programmes through our very own ‘NTPC Foundation’.

We are proud that our CSR initiatives and

programmes are benefitting over a million of our countrymen in over 500-odd villages in the neighbourhood of our stations and plants, thanks to a vigorous structure, well-documented policies and a streamlined process.

NTPC is also a member of Global Compact Network, India and confirms its involvement in various CSR activities in line with 10 Global Compact principles and shares its experiences with the world via ‘Communication on Progress’, a public disclosure.

Focus areas / CSR Initiatives Like the colours of a rainbow, The Corporation’s involvement in community development projects/ CSR covers a diverse range of issues such as basic infrastructure development, education, community health & sanitation, capacity building and gender empowerment. The projects are customised based on specific local requirements and guided by extensive Need Assessment Surveys and consultations through various participative forums like Village Development Advisory Committee, Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee, etc. The acExpenditure on CSR by NTPC

SN

Year

Allocation (` cr)

Expenditure (` cr)

1

2017-18

220.75

-

2

2016-17

227.85

277.81

3

2015-16*

349.65

491.8

4

2014-15 *

283.48

205.18

5

2013-14 *

126.12

128.35

6

2012-13 *

56.37

79.42

7

2011-12

45.51

49.44

* Including CSR & Sustainable Development Activities

38 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

tive participation/engagement and ownership of these initiatives by the local communities is the key to the smooth and successful implementation of these schemes.

Education To this end, NTPC earmarks 15%-20% of its CSR-CD budget for education.

Key Initiatives in education: • Running 48 schools at stations out of which more than 20 schools are predominantly catering to nearby community benefiting about 20,000 such students • Infrastructural support to schools for underprivileged children at govt. schools • Supporting to set up technical polytechnic at Kaladungi, Uttaranchal • Special initiative of construction of girl toilets at primary and middle schools so as to support education of girl child and reduce dropouts of girls from schools • On regular basis, stations also take up activities related to development of school infrastructure, adult education, coaching and personality development programs, providing scholarships, solar lanterns, study material and uniforms, etc. to deserving students.

Health NTPC’s community outreach takes the form of providing access to basic yet quality infrastructure for health, sanitation and hygiene in and around our plants. NTPC’s own hospitals and dispensaries in its townships extend medical care & treatment to the local villagers.

Key Initiatives in health:

page designing, computer training, motor rewinding, motor driving, general electrical / mobile repairing • Support committed to Chanderi Development Society for Handloom Weavers for Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Handloom Park at Chanderi, District Ashok Nagar, Madhya Pradesh • Support for construction of school cum multipurpose buildings, furniture, lab items, girls toilets in schools, hostels, etc.

Women’s Empowerment The transformation of the country into a world powerhouse is intricately linked to the empowerment of our womenfolk. Recognising this fact, NTPC has a bouquet of courses and projects specially designed for the ladies of the community such as tailoring, stitching, dress designing, beautician, and embroidery. Our focus is aimed at assisting women knowing that when the backbone of the family is strong and economically independent, the rest of the family will flourish.

NTPC is on its way to revolutionising India.

• Mobile Community Clinics - ‘Health on Wheels’ • Subsidized medical facilities to surrounding community at project / station hospitals • General / special medical camps and camps to provide surgical treatment • Health-related infrastructure in neighbourhood villages • Support committed for development of King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam Safe Drinking Water Safe and pure drinking water is the right of every person on this planet. To this end based on the request of the Quality Circles in the villages, NTPC constructed sheds for housing the RO plant, installed equipment and handed over the RO Plants to Village Development Committee or QC who run the plants and provide drinking water to the residents of village at nominal charge covering operating and maintenance costs. These villages now have access to safe drinking water which needs no further processing to make it fit for drinking.

Capacity Building NTPC promotes policies and programmes that focus on enhancing capability, improving equity and increasing social sustainability.

Key Initiatives in capacity building: • Udaan - initiative for training J&K youths • Adoption of 17 ITIs. 24 new trades have been started and 1,595 new seats added in the 17 adopted ITIs and nine new ITIs being set up under R&R. • Vocational training programmes like Web

NTPC Foundation Company: NTPC Ltd. Established Year: 2004 About The Foundation: A natural corollary to our CSR initiatives was the setting up of the NTPC Foundation which was registered in December 2004. The foundation is actively engaged in serving and empowering the physically challenged and economically weaker sections of the society. To achieve the objectives, the foundation works with human and capital resources received from NTPC Ltd. Key Initiatives by NTPC Foundation: • TB control programme NTPC Foundation is running ‘DOTs-cum-DMC’ (Directly Observable Treatment-cum-Designated Microscopy Centre) in its hospitals at 11 NTPC stations to take care of tuberculosis patients in the vicinity of 25-35 km radius of these Stations. Besides providing space and doctors’ services, NTPC has also given mobile vans and diagnostic equipment to the centres. Total 36,027 persons have been examined for TB, positive case of 4,554 persons started treatment and , have completed the treatment till March 2016.

• Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DRCs) NTPC Foundation has set up DRCs at Tanda, Rihand, Korba, Dadri and Bongaigaon in collaboration with the National Institute for the Orthopedically Handicapped (NIOH) under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The centres provide rehabilitation/ restorative surgery to physically challenged persons like medical interventions and surgical corrections, fitting of artificial aids and

appliances and therapeutic services, etc. About 38,800 PwDs have been benefitted till the end of FY2015-16.

• The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres Foundation has set up ICT centres for the visually impaired students to learn hand-on experience on computers with special hardware, software & commands, to access the library resources and services so that they are able to move with the main stream at Delhi University, Gauhati University, Guwahati and Devi Ahilya Vishwavidhyalaya, Indore, apart from in Govt. blind schools at Ajmer, Lucknow, Mysore and Trivandrum. About 2,200 students have been benefitted till March 2016.

• Distributed Generation NTPC Foundation has supported the efforts of distributed generation for preparation of feasibility reports, project insurance and bridging the funding gap. 15 distributed generation projects with total capacity of 300 KW have been funded by NTPC Foundation for the above purpose in remote villages, thus empowering the villages to be self-reliant in electricity.

Awards Our path-breaking and far-reaching initiatives and programmes have been widely appreciated and considered as role models. We have been the proud recipients of various awards and commendations over the years which not only motivate but encourage us to surpass our efforts.

Some of the key awards conferred in various categories in different years include SCOPE Meritorious Award for CSR & Responsiveness, Platts Global Energy Award for Community Development Programme, NCPDP Shell Hellen Keller Award, CII - ITC Sustainability Award, Business World – FICCI SEDF CSR Award, TERI’s CoRE- BCSD CSR Award, Golden Peacock National/Global Award for CSR, Mother Teresa Award for Corporate Citizen and Greentech Corporate Social Responsibility Award, etc.

June 16-30, 2018 , 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 39

iNTERVIEW

thinking

Queen like a

They say, ‘the best kind of friendships are fierce lady friendships where you aggressively believe in each other and defend each other.’ PULA–Pune Ladies, is an interactive social media platform (Facebook) that caters to all the ladies in Pune. Come what may, the PULAiets have each other’s backs and they believe that the other deserves the world.

The mastermind behind creating this realm of PULA is Sonia Agarwal Konjeti. Also known as Pune’s Google, PULA was started almost three years ago by Konjeti with a vision to provide a female-family and space where the ladies could call it their second home.

The Facebook group now boasts of 1.5 lakh members (and counting) who can share their thoughts, family issues, opinions, ask for any kind of help, promote their business, and much more, under the group rules. The group is single-handedly responsible for providing the Pune ladies an extended family, wings to their dreams and a unique platform for many reasons. Konjeti has now become a public figure. Enter any mall or an exhibition, people recognise her, ask for selfies and autographs. For her, this is a proud moment. Her baby– PULA has blossomed beyond horizons. Driven by passion, PULA has brought in several awards for her, like Women achievers award 2016, Unnati Power Award 2017 – Real Architects of the society, Think Pure Award 2017 for Women Empowerment by PNG Jewellers, #MadeByHer, Best Community on FB by Pinkathon and still counting.

PULA also provides a free platform on FB for women entrepreneurs to enhance and expand their business named as #PULABazaar. Ladies can promote their business, under the rules, every Sunday and Wednesday. This helped many aspiring women to start small-scale business and take it to new heights each day. The secret of successful PULA lies in its rules and systematic days followed by all. This group has strong governance on all activities and posts within the group by a strong team. Apart from her, the driving force behind PULA is her team. The approval team consists of Sonam Chadha Anand, Ankita Rathi, Priyanka Rathore, Deeba Nair, Ankeeta Shrivaas, Amruta Salunkhe and Jyoti Deshmukh. The bazaar team includes Rekha Pillai, Amruta, Jyoti, Shahin Bhanji, Shital Gohil, Harpreet Marwah, Bindiya Sharma, Rupali Sancheti, Sonam Mantri, Khushboo Solanki and Kanchan Parab.

Konjeti, at length, spoke to Corporate Citizen about how PULA has grown exponentially, her life after PULA and her simple motto of life

By Ekta Katti 40 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

Enlighten us about your background…

Born and brought up in Pune, completed my Bachelors of Commerce and Masters in Journalism course from Pune University. I started working with Wipro as a trainee. Soon after finding the right partner, I got married in 2006. For five years I was in Mumbai where I worked with TCS as a trainee. After returning to Pune in 2011, I completed my Bachelor of Education course. Consequently, I started working as a teacher with The Orbis School.

We were blessed with Sharanya in 2009. Overall, the work experience was quite knowledge.

Was PULA always meant to happen?

There are very few people who get to live their passion. And I consider myself lucky for PULA to happen. It’s like we were meant to be.

I think my nature of keeping people together, no matter what, being the flag-bearer of starting events and my will to help others has made PULA possible for me. As a child, I use

“Living an ordinary life is much easier, is what I have realised. With popularity comes more responsibility. Once you get a little famous, people start looking towards you with more expectations.

Your life comes under the scanner and people easily judge you” to organise a lot of events during the Ganpati festival. Continuing the tradition, I was a part of several fests in college and office too.

After Sharanya was born, I thought of taking a break. The early 2010 gave rise to a lot of Facebook groups. However, they were operative without any rules. After doing an extensive research on how a Facebook group works, I thought that an interactive group with rules will be a boon for Pune ladies. And that’s how PULA was born in 2015. We wanted to connect as many ladies as possible, hence the group did not have an age limit. And for their involvement, we started have dedicated days which spoke about specific topics.

How was the group flourished over these years?

From a mere 300 members, the group is now a home to over 1.5 lakh ladies. The group has June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 41

iNTERVIEW emotions, the team and I have been able to solve many issues. The group has given me more than I could ask for. My life has transformed completely after PULA. Now that it has become a household name, the popularity is a little overwhelming. Frankly, it is not easy handling such a big group. There are several posts per minute. Scrutinizing each of them is necessary and is quite a task. Every single day I have several messages, calls and mails which speaks volumes about the group. Hence, each day becomes memorable for me. Each message, each milestone means the world to me.

Living an ordinary life is much easier is what I have realised. With popularity comes more responsibility. Once you get a little famous, people start looking towards you with more expectations. Your life comes under the scanner and people easily judge you.

What holds the group together?

PULA’s core team members (L-R) Rekha Pillay, Sonam Chadha Anand, Sonia Agarwal Konjeti and Ankita Ajmani Rathi

“Do good and good will come to you. I am a firm believer of Karma. And I feel that PULA is on the page of Karma where what we are doing is worthwhile, which is why it is getting all the attention” 42 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

grown exponentially. Since the inception, the ladies stuck to the group rules, which makes me a proud admin. And today, PULA has become a household name. The feedback that we get motivates us to work harder. As the group was growing, the team and I decided to revamp all the rules this January. It’s rare to find such a versatile group where you would find any and everything being discussed as there is no one to judge you. Women feel absolute free and safe to discuss their concerns, personal or professional, and get emotional or practical support from everyone.

How has life been after PULA been?

All my life I have been an emotional person.

But PULA has changed me. It’s my child and I need to take care of it. Taking control of my

Each day there are posts wherein these ladies talk about their personal problems with an intention of getting a positive response or solution. I take pride in saying this that if a lady sheds a single tear, there are thousands of hands coming to wipe off her tears. This is how strong this group is, they uplift each other. And this what holds the group together.

One post and the group and the team has done the jobs of police, animal rescue, and others. Once a lady found an ATM card and some documents lying on the road. She put up the pictures on the group and within no time we found the owner of it.

Another incident that speaks about the group’s courage is when a lady put up a post saying that her husband is beating her and to save herself she ran out of the house. She was in a village somewhere near Pune. As soon as the post was up, someone tagged the police of that area. Finally, she was brought to Pune to her parents. I still am in touch with her and happy to know that things have settled at her end.

PULA is what it is because of you and the team…

Absolutely! The team is doing a magnificent job. The success of the page goes to them and them members too. Such a huge group cannot be managed single-handedly. Without any monetary gain these ladies are selflessly managing the group. Hats off to the team!

Does the pressure overwhelm you?

I won’t call it pressure, but it sure becomes stressful at times. I have to be the judge and take the right decision for every post. That is when the stress kicks in. I have to do a thorough study, understand the situation and then take the right decision. There are times when I am just about to call it a day, and then a sit-

“What topped our list was to help the ladies and to make them see the other side of the world, give a platform for the sellers, and organise talks or meets. The world is our horizon and there is still a long way to go as we have to achieve more” uation comes up. But I have to rise to the occasion. I won’t lie, but it does affect the family life a tad. But as this is driven by passion, we always find a solution. The trick is to manage both and if you love what you are doing, it can be easily managed. Thankfully, I have a supportive family who helps in every situation.

Satish, my better half, has always pushed me.

How do you handle criticism?

I believe in providing the proof. That takes care of everything. I don’t believe in fighting when matters can be resolved by giving evidence.

There are times when someone puts up a post against PULA or the members. That’s when I put my foot down and jot the facts on the post.

If the person has evidence, they might as well put it forward. Otherwise it’s just a rubbish post. Also, I have learnt that there will always be someone who would never appreciate you.

I don’t wish to please them. In day-to-day life there is a lot of stress, so it’s better to start living for yourself.

With the recent upsurge of fake news how is the team handling the social media?

For the smallest of things PULA is used as a search engine by the Puneites. When there is such a news, our team is on their foot; we immediately check for legitimacy. Other than that, there are subject matter experts or people from the same field who can confirm the authenticity of the news. Some still believe in whatever news is posted. Hence our team is careful while screening such news. Even if there is a slight doubt, we immediately delete the post.

How does the team manage the database and security of the page?

How can gender diversity be achieved at large?

It the most talked-about issue these day. I am happy to see that the world is working towards achieving it. It is nice to see the difference in diversity at workplaces. As change begins at home, we at PULA are making sure to stir a difference. We have created lots of opportunities where a woman can grow. We nominate women for all possible opportunities and help them stand. Every Monday we deal with parenting issues and on Thursday we have ‘Gyani Guruvar’. The topics discussed here helped broaden the viewpoint of many people.

This is getting a change in their life.

What’s your philosophy in life?

It’s pretty simple. Do good and good will come to you.

I am a firm believer of Karma. And I feel that PULA is Sonia Agarwal Konjeti with her on the page of Karma where daughter Sharanya what we are doing isworthwhile, which is why it is getting all the attention.

The authority of page lies with the team and I. There is a strict scrutiny of members’ profiles before adding them in the group. Even after Any message for the ladies out there? approval if the profile seems fake, immediate It’s a difficult world out there which has enough action is taken. But sometimes there are things negativity. Hence, I want people to stop judgwhich are not in our bandwidth. In rare cases, ing. Be positive and conquer the world! the profile may seem bogus even after approvektaakatti@gmail.com al. That’s when the PULA police comes into play. The person is removed from the group as we cannot risk the safety of other women.

CC In a day we get around 3,000 requests to join the group. However, after a check only 800 get through. That’s how tight our security is.

tadka

You and your team seem very ambitious. What’s next on your plate?

We never thought the group will touch so many hearts. Now when we have achieved this, nothing can stop us. The population of women in our city is higher than the members in our group. We wish to include them too. However, we have never tapped quantity as providing the top-notch quality was our only priority. What topped our list was to help the ladies and to make them see the other side of the world, give a platform for the sellers, and organise talks or meets. The world is our horizon and there is still a long way to go as we have to achieve more.

India is the fastestgrowing market for mobile applications India has become the world’s fastestgrowing market for mobile applications on both the Apple ioS and Google’s Android Play Store, with a sharp increase in FY2018 revenue. India also leads in the most number of mobile apps downloads across both platforms. The crave for content among Indian mobile phone users is fuelling its rapid growth, with video streaming apps proving to be the most popular downloads.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Alumni Spotlight - 4

Deepak Hegde

alumnus, The Bombay College of Pharmacy

Balancing Scientific Research in Pharma Industry A commendable career graph that duly pays tribute to the list of reputable professional institutes he has attended that shipshaped his career, meet Deepak Hegde, Director, Global External Development & Supply - Asia Pacific, GSK Shanghai R&D, Shanghai City in China, as he shares his learning and reflects upon his passage from that of a ‘bench-level’ scientist. Feeding on his hunger for knowledge in the pharmaceutical sector, he began his learning path—graduating from The Bombay College of Pharmacy, University of Mumbai with Bachelors in Pharmacy degree, a Masters in Pharmacy from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University and a Ph.D. in Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics from The Bombay College of Pharmacy, University of Mumbai. Armed with a Masters in Financial Management (MFM) from Somaiya Institute of Management Education and Research, University of Mumbai, he talks to Corporate Citizen and exemplifies the need for balancing meaningful life-saving drug research along with sound pharmaceutical business strategies to impact patients globally

By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar 44 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

T

he best part of my job is the satisfaction of being able to help a patient who is at the end of the supply chain”, said Deepak Hegde, Director, Global External Development & Supply - Asia Pacific at GSK, Shanghai City, China. “Being based in Shanghai, I focus on the development and registration of new drugs for unmet medical needs of patients in China. A key trait in my career is that all the institutes (I studied in) helped me develop adaptability to different situations. I feel that this is the key to success anywhere in the world.”

But to reach his position Deepak too had his trials but a strong academic ‘root’ has stood his test of time. “During my graduation course at The Bombay College of Pharmacy (BCP) from 1987-91, my teachers had ingrained a very strong foundation on the basic concepts, especially in subjects like Pharmaceutics, which proved helpful during my Ph.D. course and later in my career in this sector and I owe a lot to one of my professors, Dr Nagarsenker for this. During my Masters in Pharmacy from 1991-93, my guide and mentor Dr Ratanlal Khosa showed me the way to systematically do research including the use

of animal models to effectively demonstrate the efficacy of products derived from plant sources. I finally pursued my Ph.D. at my alma mater, BCP from 1993-96. At this stage, my guide and mentor Dr H.P. Tipnis demonstrated the importance of applied research including the ability to bring this research to the market so as to benefit patients. He also provided me with an opportunity for interactions with the pharmaceutical industry by enabling me to participate in industry-academic projects that proved to be very helpful during my later years in the industry.”

Deepak’s journey in his sector acknowledges the special contribution of his Ph.D. guide and mentor Dr H.P. Tipnis, who not only helped him but innumerable other students by teaching them, guiding them for research and laying the foundation for industry-academic collaborations.

The journey

ceutical companies as clients from various parts of the world and cultures with a common goal of helping patients...”

The pathways

For Deepak, stepping out of his comfort zones spelt his path. “... I would like to stress on the willingness to explore new opportunities and to try and step outside your comfort zone. When I had the opportunity to work in China, it was an unknown arena. In 2007, there were relatively very few Indians in senior positions in the Pharmaceutical industry in China. Given the fact that

ceutical industry or academic field, be it in India or worldwide, you would find the BCP alumni holding key positions with either a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhDs. BCP has always been ahead of its times and focused on concepts which have been key to providing efficacious and safe drugs to the Indian patients. I remember back in 1987, an international conference had been organised at BCP focusing on Bioavailability and Bioequivalence with renowned international speakers attending the conference. Through this, H.P. Tipnis was involved in raising the awareness for the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on

“A key trait in my career is that all the institutes (I studied in) helped me develop adaptability to different situations.

I feel that this is the key to success anywhere in the world”

Deepak started his career as a bench-level scientist, who was responsible for developing pharmaceutical products for launch in the Indian market. “Thereafter, I was involved at Sandoz in development of products for the European and US markets as a team member and then in a Deepak Hegde at the Drug Delivery Formulation Summit 2017 managerial role.”

It was during this phase that Deepak completthe need for bioequivalence studies as a prereqed his Masters in Financial Management and there was not much exchange between the two uisite for marketing of drugs in India. Since then, took up the role in Business Development and countries, I had to tread many unknown factors. bioequivalence studies have become the gold Licensing at Sandoz which helped understand It was a situation when my friends and colleagues standard for efficacy of marketed drugs in India. not just the technical, but also the commercial too were curious as to why I chose China over This is just one example of BCP’s contribution. aspects of product development. predictable destinations such as the U.S. and EuThere are several such examples of contributions “Post my stint at Sandoz, I worked at USV rope. Today, I am glad that I trusted my gut feel from BCP in the fields of pharmaceutics, pharLtd wherein I was involved in development of and went ahead with my decision...” macology and pharmaceutical chemistry.” pharmaceutical products (both generics as well The innumerable contribution of his guides as biosimilars) for launch in the Indian, US and and mentors at the various institutions resoEuropean markets. MY degree in Financial Mannates his belief on the joy of giving back. “...It is Bringing in the soulmate... agement came in very handy for my later role at something that cannot be described in words. In Going beyond his academic mileages, Deepak WuXi Apptec in Shanghai as Vice President of addition to my day job, I also work as a Job Plus is one of the lucky few who found his soulmate Pharmaceutical Development.”

Coach at GSK and help coach several colleagues within his alma mater. He reckons his family as his WuXi Apptec is the largest contract research across the world at GSK. Coaching helps in the source of strength. “My better half, Dr Darshana organization (CRO) / contract development and long-term development of a person, both perHegde was my batchmate during my graduation manufacturing (CDMO) in China and Deepak sonally as well as professionally by asking them days at BCP and we have been together since.” was responsible for leading a team of 130 persons questions that stimulate their thought process, An accomplished academician herself, Darin the pharmaceutical development business unit rather than giving direct answers to the challengshana holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and curwhich was beyond his technical role. es and since the answers come from the persons rently follows her passion for teaching.

“Here, I was inthemselves, there is Their daughter, Tanvi, was the first Indian volved in the P & L greater ownership for student to have graduated from SMIC and was for the business unit the actions...” awarded the SMIC Star award for 2017 for being including developthe best student of her graduating class. She is ment of new clients.

Inching on with currently pursuing her MBBS course from FuThis role was the one dan University in Shanghai, one of the premier his alma mater that had the steepest medical schools in China.

Deepak’s views his learning curve in At the helm of a family of academic achievalma mater, BCP, as terms of technical ers, Deepak believes that, “education should be a pioneer institute in know-how and for viewed as something that prepares you to face India that continues handling the busilife, take decisions at crossroads of life and help to provide pharmaness. I really enjoyed other human beings, rather than a mindless race ceutical educational interacting with in- Deepak Hegde and family with K.V. Kamath, Chief of New for scores.” excellence. “If you ternational pharma- Development Bank sangeetagd2010@gmail.com look at the pharma-

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 45

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

The strength of

a marriage...

....is many things. It’s the moods and moments you share, it’s the home

you make. It’s the ups, it’s the downs. It’s like the wind in so many ways, invisible, unseen, yet right there. Above all, it’s the strength that allows you to soar. Married for over 17 years, corporate professionals Neetha and Dilip Padki are testimony to that strength

By Kalyani Sardesai

I

e lip on a boat rid Neetha and Di

46 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

t was one wedding that had its origins in another wedding. Their cousins were getting hitched and that’s how Neetha and Dilip first met—and hit it off instantly.

Their shared Kannadiga roots and affinity to laugh at pretty much the same things was a good enough ground for a memorable first meet.

And then just like that, both the festivities and their meeting were over.

But Neetha couldn’t get him off her mind. “I had liked him so much. Apart from being this good-looking guy with a great persona, he was easy to talk to, well-spoken, intelligent and could really make me laugh,” she shares.

It took much prodding from a friend and a year for her to muster up the courage to call him. To her delight, he recognised her voice instantly.

Indication enough that they were on to something solid.

Still, in keeping with all due proprieties, Neetha informed him (like a good girl) that being from Bengaluru she was quite confused as to what MBA colleges Mysore (his home town) had on offer. And like a good boy, he politely agreed to show her around.

“Except that we spent more time eating chaat and icecream than college and brochure shopping,” she smiles at the memory. After that second date, they kept in touch, but nevertheless it would be sometime before any mutual confessions were made. “I really cared for him but was so wary of being turned down that I kept my feelings to myself,” shares Neetha.

Imagine her delight then when two years later, he popped the question on her birthday—no less. “Of course I agreed,” she shares.

The parents, though, were told in a most unusual way. A little later, when Dilip had to go in for a minor surgery, he told his dad that the first person he’d like to see when he returned Vacationing in from the OT was Neetha. So his Egypt dad called up and told Neetha’s bewildered parents all about his request. “Naturally, my father asked me what it was all about and I told them about the proposal,” she narrates. “They were thrilled. Truth be told, I must be one of the few young-

“Communication is the key to marriage,” points out Dilip. “But it’s not always words. Sometimes, shared silences also work wonders.”

Like every couple the duo have their differences, but the trick, says Dilip, is to first calm down, let the fire die out, and then have that talk. “When two different personalities live together, there are bound to be challenges. But everything depends on how you look at them,” he says.

sters whose parents actually applauded her choice despite being so young and inexperienced, only in my final year PG.” In fact, her dad was so pleased that he actually gave her a cheque to signal his approval. After all, Dilip was all that they would have hoped for from a potential sonin-law—highly educated (he’s an environmental engineer by training), dignified and well-spoken. The perfect partner for their MCA daughter.

And so, the duo were wed in a traditional ceremony in 2001.

Bringing up the kids

The building blocks of a marriage

However, as they say, the best plans often get overlooked by destiny. “I wanted to do my masters, followed by a doctorate in environmental engineering in the US. I had even been accepted by a University in Texas. So confident was I of the course my life would take that I had my resigned my job,” says Dilip. But it was not to be. Since both his brothers were already in the US, he was marked as a potential immigrant and given the pink slip. “It was the biggest shock ever,” he shares.

Nevertheless, Neetha stood by him and the wedding took place. “For the first three months of our marriage we lived on the stipend I earned as an intern,” she grins. “We were fine with it, for we knew it was a passing phase.”

Sure enough, General Electricals came a- calling for potential recruits and both Neetha and Dilip applied. Both made it—and thus came about the first move of their corporate careers that took them from Bengaluru to Hyderabad. “That was when we were able to afford our honeymoon, well over a year after our marriage. We went to Nepal,” reminisces Neetha.

Still, that first rung in the ladder took them both higher. As of today, Neetha is Learning and Development partner (HR) with AXA, Pune, while Dilip is Business technologist (finance) with Maersk. Two bubbly kids, Chiraag (13) and Diya (10), complete the picture.

The balancing factor

Despite her senior position, Neetha stresses that a work-life balance has always been important to her. “I wanted to be around for my kids, and so I took a break after they were born,” she says. “However, Dilip pointed out to me the longterm wisdom of having my life above and beyond the kids.

In fact, he is the one who encouraged me to join back after the hiatus, not just through words, but also in deed. He’s a hands-on dad, very caring and contributory to ensuring their activities are on track. This helps me work in a relaxed frame of mind.”

It isn’t always easy doing justice to home and careers but it helps that both are suitably appreciative of the other.

“I really like her never-say-die spirit, her spontaneity and sense of fun,” says Dilip.

On her part, she gives a big thumbs-up to his patience and ability to listen. “Besides this, his discipline at work is exemplary and inspiring,” she says.

Amidst the rough and tumble of their demanding schedules, both Neetha and Dilip make it a point to give their two young kids all the time they need. “The trick,” says Neetha “is not to take work pressures back home, or home troubles to the office.”

It helps that Dilip makes it a point to partner her all the way. “Both kids come home from school and chat with me over phone. That gives me a chance to track their activities, and check how their day was,” he says. “No matter what I am doing, I make it a point to take those two important calls.”

It helps that the couple is united in their comprehensive and relaxed approach to parenting. “It is important for them to develop all facets of their personality, not just do well on academics,” says Neetha. “Apart from this, taking responsibility for one’s own schedule, homework and test assignments, is mandatory. Since I have always been a working mom, neither of my kids have taken it for granted that I will be picking up after them,” she expresses.

Quality time as a family includes movies, extensive travel, exercise and dinners with a select but warm clique of friends.

“At the end of the day, each relationship is about the quality of friendship you share,” says Dilip.

“Sure there are ups and downs, but I remember this truism that says, despite the difficulties, challenges and stresses thrown at you by life, if you can find just one reason to keep a relationship going, hold onto that,” says Neetha. “If that isn’t love, honestly, what is?” kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

“Communication is the key to marriage, but it’s not always words. Sometimes, shared silences also work wonders”-Dilip

Dilip with Diya

The mantras of a marriage • Give each other due space • Keep the communication going at all times • Respect and encourage each other’s dreams • Prioritise as to who and what is important when it comes to the bigger picture • Kids are a shared responsibility, not just mama’s headache

CC

tadka Asia’s longest tunnel to ease Srinagar-LehKargil connectivity India will house Asia’s longest and strategic bi-directional tunnel in the Zojila tunnel project. The tunnel is designed as an all-weather road connection from Srinagar to Leh via Kargil. The tunnel is expected to reduce the travel time to cross the Zoji La pass (located at an elevation of roughly 11,545 feet), to just 15 minutes. The tunnel is likely to address winter connectivity in the region that remains closed for four to five months due to heavy snowfall.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Campus Placement

‘Life is how you perceive it...’

Problems are not reasons to give up or excuses to run away, but opportunities to improve ourselves, and inspirations to move ahead, says Pallavi Dafre

By Joe Williams

F

rom a small town (Bhilai in Chhattisgarh) girl to a probationary officer with a multinational bank, the Federal Bank Ltd in Mumbai, the journey for Pallavi Dafre has been challenging.

Accepting these hurdles as milestones has been the secret of Pallavi’s success. As she says, “Problems are not reasons to give up, but challenges to improve ourselves; not excuses to back out, but an inspiration to move ahead.”

Passing out from a well-known college with a Masters under her belt, Pallavi is like any other budding youngster who wants to make a name for herself and her family. The eldest child, Pallavi comes from a middle class family from Chhattisgarh, and it was her determination that helped her make a mark in the society. “One has to learn from one’s mistakes; one does not sit back to ponder about them and that has been one of the main reason for me to be where I am today,” she says. An outstanding student in school, Pallavi always wanted to become a teacher, but her sights changed when she graduated in electronics from her home town and set off on her own for her Masters, which set the ball rolling in her court.

Campus placement was a much-sought-out goal for her, as is, for many youngsters, and but she made the cut with a positive frame of mind.

Early education…

During her schooldays, Pallavi was a jack of all trades and master of none, but as she entered graduation, she realised that to scale new heights, one has to focus on one goal, and her life took a U-turn. Since then, there has been no turning back, as she overcame many hurdles. There were times when she found it difficult to even buy books, but with her family support and especially her younger brother who sacrificed his toys for her books, Pallavi made it, and is sure that she would pay everything back. “I had always been an average student, but for my parents, I was ac48 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

“The most important thing is to understand our own personality.

We need to accept what we are.

Improving ourselves doesn’t mean that we are bad now; it means we have to keep growing”

tually the best kid in the world. My parents always supported me in whatever I did. In short, my goals were my parents’ goals,” recalls Pallavi.

She did her schooling and BE (Electronics and Instrumentation) from her home town. Mathematics was her favourite subject, and so she was liked by the maths teacher. “I loved numbers and problem solving, under teacher Murtaza who taught us this subject. I never missed maths class, come what may. I attended the class despite injury to my right arm. This was during the preparation for my XII CBSE board exams,” said Pallavi about her first love.

The best time…

According to her, the time she did her Masters was the best part of her academic life. During these two years she did all that she wanted to— dancing, singing, modelling, public speaking, team plays, and most importantly, sports. This enabled her to enhance her confidence. And things became rosier when she joined the Corporate Relations Team (CRT, the placement committee). “It boosted my confidence and faith that I could do whatever I wished to do.

This belief got even more enhanced when I joined CRT. Joining CRT has been one of the best decisions of my life. I got to learn so many things there.”

Placement challenges…

Being a part of CRT helped Pallavi on many counts. Though she was selected as a relationship manager with the HDFC Bank, being selected

Pallavi with family and friends

“I was very nervous; in fact, scared. However, I always knew that I could do it, and I did it.” Now it is time for Pallavi to go ahead with her journey.

“My journey has already started. There are a lot of things to learn, a lot of experiences to be gained, a lot of good moments and happiness are waiting for me.”

On her first job…

Pallavi is of the opinion that one can develop skills by training, but it is developing from within that makes a person. “We can easily brag about our strengths and weaknesses in the interview, but when it comes to honestly facing them, it’s really very difficult.” Going from the classroom to the office is where when one gets to know what life is all about. “The most important thing is to understand our own personality. We need to accept what we are. Improving ourselves doesn’t

During her schooldays, Pallavi was a jack of all trades and master of none, but as she entered graduation, she realised that to scale new heights one has to focus on one goal, and her life took a U-turn as a probationary officer at Federal Bank set her on the track into the corporate world. “I joined the Federal Bank Ltd in Mumbai. As a fresher, I was initially nervous when I started my journey in the corporate world, that too in the Banking, Financial Service and Insurance (BFSI) sector, as I came from a non-finance background. But trust me, being a fresher makes you more adaptable and open to the adversities in this dynamic industry of BFSI.” Rewinding on her selection process, Pallavi states, “My selection process at Federal Bank was really a memorable one. The first round was the aptitude test which was my favourite. Only 22 students could clear it out of over 100 students.

Then came the discussion round. We were given a situation and were asked to discuss the possible solutions to it. That was again a fun round.” The personal interview (PI) made her nervous. But her positive approach made things easy for her.

mean that we are bad now; it means we have to keep growing.”

they want about you, good or bad, just remember one thing, you are the best!

3. Never compare yourself with others. Try to develop your own brand.

4. Always be positive, and half of the problems will be solved automatically.

5. Always keep chasing the wildest of dreams, and live life to the fullest.

6. Always nurture the innocent child in you.

That’s the only thing that can motivate you.

Learn from your mistakes and keep on growing.

Joe78662@gmail.com

Success supports…

Her parents and family members gave her the boost and her teachers taught her the values of life. “My mom never slept when I was studying throughout the night,” recalls Pallavi.

What is life all about?

Life is all about how you perceive it. If you feel it’s being harsh on you, it’ll follow and seem harsh, says Pallavi. But if you feel that it is in your control, then it’ll definitely be so. At the same time one has to work hard to gain control over life.

Six tricks to succeed:

1. Problems are opportunities, so grab them when you get a chance.

2. Believe in yourself. Let others talk whatever

CC

tadka

India lags in its health care access India stands at 145th place amongst 195 countries in quality and accessibility of healthcare, lagging behind China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, according to a Lancet study. The Global Burden of Disease study, however, mentioned that India has seen improvement in health care access. In 2016, India’s health care access and quality scored at 41.2 (up from 24.7 in 1990).

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Employee Brand research Survey

How Organisations Can Retain Employees 50 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

India has one of the most skilled workforces in the world, and organisations are always trying to attract potential employees to work for them. Unlike previous generations, where salary was the only criteria for attracting and retaining employees, millennials today have other priorities as well that determine whether they will stay with or leave an organisation. Leading global HR consulting firm Randstand has conducted the employee brand research survey to understand what attracts jobseekers to an organisation. Corporate Citizen brings you the results Compiled by Neeraj Varty

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Employee Brand research Survey Methodology

3,500 respondents, aged 18 to 65, were surveyed in India comprising of students and the employed and unemployed workforce from 5,755 companies.

Why employer branding matters?

• Companies with positive brands get twice as many applications as companies with negative brands, and they spend less money on employees.

• 50% of candidates say they wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation—even with a pay increase.

• 87% joined a company specifically because of cultural fit.

• 80% have left a company specifically because of its culture.

• 96% agree that alignment of personal values with a company’s culture is a key factor in their satisfaction working there.

The most important criteria when choosing an employer Important criteria

versus 2017

2017

salary & beneits

48%

45%

work-life balance

44%

44%

job security

42%

40%

career progression

39%

34%

strong management

39%

34%

financially healthy

34%

33%

very good reputation**

34%

32%

good training

29%

27%

uses latest technologies

29%

26%

work atmosphere

26%

23%

flexible arrangements

25%

23%

quality products

23%

21%

gives back to society

22%

19%

interesting job content*

22%

21%

location

22%

23%

diversity & inclusion

15%

14%

Salary, work-life balance and job security are the most important criteria for employees when they choose an employer. In 2018, salary has become a much bigger requirement than in previous years, primarily due to rising inflation.

Top 5 reasons why employees stay

Top 5 reasons why employees leave

job security

45%

limited career path

43%

salary & benefits

42%

compensation too low

38%

work-life balance

41%

work-life balance issues

34%

inancially healthy

39%

lack of recognition / awards

26%

very good reputation

37%

organisation not inancially stable 26%

In India, where there is a population explosion and not enough jobs to go around, job security is the No. 1 reason why employees stay in their job. In fact, job security, more than anything is the reason for such a high demand for government jobs. Salary is the second-most important way employees can be retained. Timely appraisals are essential to keep employee morale up.

52 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

A limited career path is the No. 1 reason employees leave an organisation, followed by low compensation. Millennials are arguably one of the most ambitious generations, and when they sense that their career growth in an organisation is doubtful, they make plans to leave.

Age-wise reasons to stay or leave an organisation age 18 - 24

33%

Workforce aged 18 - 24 is more likely to stay with their employer if they are offered interesting job content, compared to workforce over aged 25 - 44.

age 18 - 24

17%

Workforce aged 18 - 24 is more likely to leave than those over 24 because they have a poor relationship with their direct manager.

age 25 - 44

40%

Workforce aged 25 - 44 is more likely to stay with an employer if they have the opportunity to a good work-life balance, when compared to workforce under 25.

age 25 - 44

26%

Workforce aged 25 - 44 is more likely to leave because they experience insufficient flexible work options than workforce aged 45 - 64 does.

age 45 - 64

37%

Workforce aged 45 - 64 is more likely than workforce under 45 to stay with an employer if the company is conveniently located.

age 45 - 64

46%

Workforce aged 45 - 64 is more likely to leave than workforce under 45 if their compensation is too low compared to other companies. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Bollywood Biz

The Best Movies on

Climate Change In 2018, India has seen a record hot summer, and the primary reason for this is Climate Change. Pollution, deforestation and overpopulation are destroying the Earth as we know it. The best tool to protect our environment is to spread awareness about this phenomenon, and what better way to do so than through cinema? With that in mind, Corporate Citizen brings you the best movies on Climate Change

By Neeraj Varty 2012

Remember when everyone was worried out that the Mayans had predicted the world as we know it would come to a screeching halt in 2012? fortunately, it did not, but at least we can pretend by watching this John Cusack movie about the total destruction of Earth via the magnetic shift of the poles, which also features Woody Harrelson as a conspiracy theorist, and Danny Glover as the deeply concerned US president.

Mostly, though, this film will make you appreciate the destructive power of nature and why we must ensure that we do not bring this planet to the brink of destruction.

54 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

Kadvi Hawa

Kadvi Hawa is the only Indian movie on the list. The film delves deep into existing social and environmental issues and poignantly brings the human cost of dramatic climate change to the fore. This movie is as much about the crisis-ridden life of farmers, portrayed masterfully by Sanjay Mishra, as it is about the impact of climate change in peripheral areas, with perhaps an emphasis on the latter. The best part of the film perhaps is that it doesn't intend to answer or preach on the difference between right and wrong but instead leaves you with plenty to think about.

An inconvenient Truth

After losing the Presidential race in 2000, former US Vice-President Al Gore travelled the world presenting a slideshow on global warming. An inconvenient Truth is the filmed version of his PowerPoint lecture on the evidence behind the theory and the steps the world can take to combat it. This environmental call to arms is not just revelatory but hugely entertaining to boot. Al Gore presents his arguments without being patronising, boring or dry. He mixes in jokes to keep you going between the beautiful but terrifying pictures of melting glaciers and disappearing forests. Of all the films on the list, this one will stay with you for a long time to come.

Happy Feet TWO

Happy Feet 2 is a beloved family enviro-flick that is the sequel to the Happy Feet, the Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature Film. Both are environmentally conscious films, But Happy Feet 2 refines its environmental message to show, not tell, and is thus more exemplary of how a film can powerfully illustrate a personal story—in this case, one penguin's fear of parental inadequacy—and use a social issue for situational context that gets people to care without hitting them over the head with the message or terrifying them. Happy Feet 2 is a story about cooperation, an absolutely necessary component for penguins—or humans—trying to survive climate change. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Pearls of Wisdom

By Dada JP Vaswani

Make Peace; Not War

We will get peace only when we are willing to pay the right price—and the price for peace is recognition of the higher laws of nature and life, recognition of the ideals of tolerance, brotherhood, understanding and equality

I

n one of the early wars fought between England and France, two warships sighted each other from a distance. It was the hour of dawn, and darkness lay upon the sea like a thick blanket. Thunderclouds flitted across the sky, so that even the stars were hidden from sight. The captain of one ship, spotting another ship at a distance and supposing the other to belong to the enemy, opened a volley of canon fire. It was returned with the same vigour, and a fearful encounter ensured.

Both ships were badly damaged, and there were heavy casualties. After about an hour of canon and gunfire, the skies cleared, and in the first glimmer of the morning sun, the sailors discovered to their horror, that both ships were flying an English flag. Quick as the lightning’s flash, the fighting ceased abruptly. The ships drew 56 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

Nations have woken up to the fact that they cannot have military ‘victory’ when it is sure to be followed by mutual annihilation close and exchanged greetings, and grieved sadly over the disastrous mistake.

Don’t put this down as a crude mistake made by unsophisticated men in the primitive past. In the 21st century, with its sophisticated technology and weaponry, we still hear of something called “friendly fire”—when rockets, missiles and bombs attack and kill one’s own troops or allies in war-zones.

What a needless and tragic waste of human lives!

Nations today, are plunged in the darkness of ignorance and believe that they can assert their sovereignty and integrity only by waging war against their enemies. Worse, they actually believe that lasting peace can be established through relentless war. Thus, our world is scarred by violence and strife. But when the darkness of ignorance is dispelled by the first glimmer of understanding, we will realise that different races and different nations are members of one global family. How grievously will we then repent our misdeeds! Piteous is the need of the nations for such a light—the light of oneness, the light of brotherhood, understanding and compassion.

It was the nuclear bomb which brought the Second World War to an end—but at what cost?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are horrendous reminders that nuclear devices cannot bring about peace by wholesale destruction. In fact, nations have woken up to the fact that they cannot have such a thing as military ‘victory’ when it is sure to be followed by mutual annihilation! What are the world’s leading statesmen doing about this frightening possibility?

People and nations, politicians and governments take it for granted that money must be spent on wars. Millions of dollars are spent on arms procurement. We are willing to pay the price for war—but are we ready to pay the price for peace? The answer is NO! We expect peace to be handed over to us on a platter—for free.

We will get peace only when we are willing to pay the right price—and the price for peace is recognition of the higher laws of nature and life; recognition of the ideals of tolerance, brotherhood, understanding and equality.

Here is what some of the bravest generals and commanders say about war. These are men who devoted their lives to fighting for their countries—they faced the enemy frontline, and saw their men die in the battle. They were men who led from the front.

General Omar Bradley said: “Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked, and we who fail to prevent them must share in the guilt for the dead.”

General Douglas MacArthur said: “I have known war as few men now living know it. Its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a means of settling international disputes.”

The greatest need of humanity today is peace. The tortured, wounded soul of humanity has cried piteously for peace, age after age. World fellowship and world unity—in these two simple ideals is the panacea for all the social, political evils that afflict humanity.

The world belongs neither to you nor to me!

We are here as pilgrims on earth. Our stay here is but for a little while. The world belongs to God— He is our President. Under His sovereign rule we must establish a world union in which every nation lives as the brother of every other nation.

On the road of life are many who carry loads on their weak shoulders: and the loads are not merely physical. As you bear the loads of others, you will find that your hearts are filled with a wondrous feeling of happiness and joy

Mobile apps

Best Apps to save on your Fuel Budget Fuel prices in India are going through the roof and this is throwing monthly budgets out of the window. Petrol prices in India have reached as high as `86.24 per litre (at the time of writing) and they are showing no indication of slowing down. While one can always avail public transport in such times, it is not possible for everyone to do so daily. Better fuel management and smart fueling is the way to mitigate fuel costs to a large extent.

With that in mind, Corporate Citizen brings you some of the best apps to keep your fuel budget in check

By Neeraj Varty

FuelLog One of the oldest and most trusted apps designed to help you save money on petrol and diesel, FuelLog is free to download and use. FuelLog provides a detailed report of your fuel usage and expenses. You can anticipate fuel costs by using the fuel calculator and track vehicle maintenance within the app. FuelLog can help you save money by increasing awareness of fuel expenses, trip costs and car maintenance issues affecting gas purchases.

Fuel Daily Fuel Daily is a user-friendly Android app to check petrol and diesel prices in your city and nearest location on a daily basis. Using the app, you can easily select their city or nearest location and get latest price lists for petrol and diesel. Provided you don’t wait for your fuel tank to go dry, you can always choose to fill up on the days when fuel costs are comparatively lower.

Garmin Mechanic Garmin Mechanic makes it easy to track your vehicle’s speed, total distance and mileage to help you save money on fuel. It can be your mobile toolbox on Android smartphones and tablets. Garmin Mechanic stands out from other apps because it analyses fuel usage and vehicle performance over time. Entering your information at fill-up provides insights into cost per km, total fuel used, and approximate miles per litre for one or more vehicles.

Knowing your vehicle’s fuel consumption habits can go a long way in saving on fuel costs.

Ruto Ruto is one of the the best apps to know the daily accurate fuel prices in India. The app also shows the current trend of fuel prices by mapping them against previous days prices as well as predicting prices for the future.

This gives users a good idea about fuel trends and they can fill petrol or diesel as and when projected fuel prices are lower. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 57

TECH TREND A test site pilot launches his drone on another planned manoeuvre during a field demonstration coordinated by NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management project

Taking air travel to the streets, or, just above them The goal, known as Urban Air Mobility (UAM), is a safe and efficient air transportation system where everything from small package delivery drones to passenger-carrying air taxis operate in overpopulated areas

T

here was a time when people and goods were moved through the crowded city on the ground, restricted to the busy street surfaces by necessity and gravity.

So, inspired visionaries considered new ways to get about town and dreamt of innovative flying machines that could safely transport passengers and ship cargo within the urban jungle by rising above the congestion below.

No, we’re not talking about the Wright Brothers in 1903.

This is the new era in air transportation that NASA and a community of government, industry and academic partners are working together on, right now.

The goal, known as Urban Air Mobility (UAM), is a safe and efficient air transportation system where everything from small package delivery drones to passenger-carrying air taxis operate over populated areas, from small towns to the largest cities.

And it’s no dream

“The convergence of technologies, and new business models enabled by the digital revolution, is making it possible to explore this new way for 58 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

people and cargo to move within our cities,” said Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics research.

But there’s still much research to be done, tests performed, demonstrations conducted, and operating rules and regulations to be written and adopted before you should expect same-day package delivery by air on the roof of your office building downtown.

Leading the way

To that end, NASA is committed to leading the UAM community to identify the key challenges still ahead, and is exploring the research, development and testing requirements needed to address those challenges.

NASA’s part in this process, Shin said, reminds him of the quote often attributed to President John F. Kennedy, who was fond of saying “A rising tide lifts all boats.” NASA-developed technology and systems related to UAM will help lift a new aerial marketplace to success.

It’s a role within aviation NASA has successfully played throughout its history, beginning more than a century ago with its predecessor organisation, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

The result is that, today, every U.S. airplane and air traffic control facility has on board, or relies in some way on, aeronautics technology that originated with NASA. The story is expected to be no different for UAM, which NASA began exploring as early as 2003 when a NASA researcher presented a conference paper entitled ‘Personal Air Vehicles: A Rural/Regional and Intra-Urban On-Demand Transportation System’.

Building its expertise in this area, NASA continued to study the topic and in 2016 published a study about On-Demand Mobility, the results of which helped inspire and define a path for turning the UAM vision into reality.

Running tests on a drone in flight

“Now, our goals are to help develop and enable as much as possible what we like to think of as an entire ecosystem when it comes to Urban Air Mobility,” said Davis Hackenberg, a NASA engineer who is helping to coordinate the agency’s UAM activities.

“We’re looking at the best ways to do this and learning a lot as we go,” he said.

NASA’s aeronautical innovators at four of its research field centres in California, Ohio and

vertical take-off and landing air vehicles are likely to dominate UAM operations over cities, thanks to their significantly-reduced, or even zero emissions, as well as relatively quiet operation.

Earlier this month, NASA made available to the entire UAM community extensive technical data gathered from its still-ongoing X-57 Maxwell project, which is an all-electric propulsion experimental research airplane.

The shared data comes from more than 25 publicly available documents written by the X-57 team, who is already working with regulators on how best to approach certifying their new ideas for flight—all of which can be helpful to the UAM community.

All partners welcome

In fact, NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management project, which has already conducted several successful demonstrations managing small drones in flight under various conditions, could be very helpful as a foundaAt the top of the list: safety tional tool for UAM researchers to take advanNASA and its partners are working with the Fedtage of in developing their air traffic manageeral Aviation Administration to come up with a ment system. way to safely manage all of these low-flying airBut safety is a key driver for more than just air craft so they do not interfere with or burden the traffic management. current air traffic control system that manages NASA is looking to ensure the entire UAM the national airspace. system—and every iteration along the way —is operated with a high degree of safety, and that all air vehicles do not generate unacceptable levels of noise.

Another area where NASA’s strengths already are assisting UAM air vehicle development is with its electric propulsion research.

Hybrid-electric or An artist’s conception of how on-demand aircraft could be integrated all-electric-powered into daily life in different communities Virginia are supporting UAM through a number of projects and have been working to identify the best ways NASA can help.

“The key to success in making UAM a reality is the opportunity for NASA to work with a large, diverse set of partners,” Hackenberg said.

Building the UAM ecosystem requires expertise in many areas, including those where NASA traditionally has not had strong expertise. So, essentially, the more partners NASA has in this effort, the merrier.

“There are several areas that have not been ‘traditional NASA,’ but in order to understand the entire landscape and develop this entire UAM ecosystem, we need to consider everything and work with those who can help us,” Hackenberg said.

For example, part of the UAM model could include “vertiports”—dedicated platforms where an air vehicle can take off or land as close to its customer’s final destination as possible.

Such platforms would come with certain infrastructure requirements—power, secure access, cleared landscaping—that are likely to involve real estate developers, property managers, utility companies, and local government officials and civil engineers.

“These are entities and people that NASA in the past hasn’t really partnered with on projects of this scale,” Hackenberg said. “They will be able to help us with our challenges, while at the same time we can provide our expertise so they can better understand what the UAM community’s needs are.”

And while NASA intends to remain a leader in the areas where it can best help, Hackenberg said the agency is keenly aware of the importance of listening to the UAM community to be sure everyone is on the same page and moving in the same direction.

“Travelling by personal air vehicle will become commonplace in the future, and NASA wants to help the UAM community to make it happen,” he said.

Jim Banke Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate https://www.nasa.gov/aero/taking-air-travel-tothe-streets-or-just-above-them June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for Pune’s Amit Jain, an entrepreneur, social worker, youth activist and a student who founded Mitti Ke Rang in 2013 to address gender equality and widows’ empowerment.

It is reported that 8% of all women in India are widows—a number of about 56,000,000 in 2008! More than half of these women are deprived of a life of dignity.

Amit’s philosophy in life is simple. He feels the best service to mankind is to bring up a family! The 26-year-old social worker is trying to make a difference by uplifting the family of the widows in our country.

He lost his father at the age of three and was raised by his mother and grandfather. Owing to the situation and to earn the daily bread and butter, his grandfather opened a tailoring shop which was managed

by Amit’s mother. As he grew older, he saw the challenges widows and their children face which provoked him to start Mitti Ke Rang, a non-profit organisation to support them.

Mitti Ke Rang is a platform to educate, rehabilitate and empower widows and single women to take direct action against violence and assault in India.

Soon he started taking the responsibility of family. He moved to Pune in search of a job with just a couple of rupees in his pocket. Luckily he soon got placed in an MNC bank. This changed his life completely and he became financially independent and shifted his mother to Pune.

This, in fact, made him a strong person which gave him an eye and a heart to understand others problems. Soon, he started helping others so that they shouldn’t go through the same problems as he did. Now Mitti Ke Rang is operating in seven states in India and four countries. The most important thing he learned is to keep acting; and if you want to change the world, today is the time, because tomorrow is not certain. Over the years with 150 campaigns and 200 volunteers, Mitti Ke Rang has reached to over 2,500 people in five cites.

According to him, thinking is just a waste of a time. Instead, if you have a plan, just go for it. After starting from zero, couple of years back, the most important thing that he has learnt is to keeping moving on. He believes in not overanalysing a situation, rather going with the flow. Amit always trusts his instincts. Corporate Citizen hopes Amit’s dream to build a world where all the single women and widows are accepted by their family and in a society where they will be free to (re) build their own life, comes true soon.

60 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

Corporate Citizen slaps the intensity of violence that has claimed at least 11 lives on the 100th day of the anti-Sterlite protestS in Tuticorin, Tamil nadu.

While clippings of police assaulting mobs of protestors filled social media platforms, groups of youths were also seen protecting women and police from the rioters. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) too has strongly condemned the killing of innocent residents who were objecting to the proposed doubling of capacity at Vedanta Group’s Sterlite copper plant. This phase of expansion has been envisaged to create long-haul pollution hazards.

Green activists were therefore demanding permanent closure of the plant. The 400,000-tonne-capacity smelting plant has been at the centre of a long-drawn controversy since 1995 at the proposal phase for reasons envisaged to be flouting pollution norms. But, P Ramnath, CEO Sterilite Copper, said that “It’s a myth that the company is letting out effluents in the ocean.” Speaking to the media, he said that the plant has been operating in compliance with environmental laws. The plant was apparently shut for two months.

This case is characteristic of failed environmental governance.

Violations and concerns were raised time and again by residents of the area but, it found little or no impact from the authorities. “With such a poor track record on environment for nearly two decades, a plant like Sterlite’s copper unit, would not have been allowed to operate anywhere in the world. However, not only does it continue to operate in Tuticorin, but is also planning to double its capacity.

This reflects the abject failure of the environmental governance in the country. It shows how weak and toothless are our pollution regulators,” said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, CSE. A Supreme Court (SC) monitoring committee in 2004 found the plant had not provided adequate infrastructure and facilities for management of highly toxic arsenic-containing waste.“Considering its history of irresponsibility and its location in an ecologically sensitive area, we strongly recommend that this plant should be closed down and an environmental decontamination plan should be implemented to clean up the contamination caused by the plant’s operation. This work can immediately start with `100 crore that the SC had imposed five years back,” said Bhushan. But, will central and state governing bodies please listen up?

(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar)

Unsung Heroes - 5

A tea vendor donates one and a half lakh rupees!

Arvind Saha runs a makeshift tea stall and an ordinary man like him has done what millionaires cannot do easily. He has collected his life savings of ₹1,50,000 and donated all of it for the benefit of poor and needy children

“It’s easier to take than to give. It’s nobler to give than to take. The thrill of taking lasts a day. The thrill of giving lasts a lifetime.” —Joan Marques

I

n today’s material world, when people let go of no opportunity to grab more money, amassing wealth has become the order of the day. Most people don’t think of charity, and the few who are inclined towards it prefer to wait for the day when their own needs will be fulfilled, so that they can spare some money to help others. More often than not, that blessed day never arrives!

Shri. Arvind Saha runs a makeshift tea stall from a tin shed located in ‘Orna’ camp of ‘Aarawal’ village, about five kilometres from Jagdalpur (CG). The identity of an ordinary man like him would have been lost in the wilderness, had it not been for his noble acts. He has done what millionaires cannot do easily. He has collected his life savings of ₹1,50,000 and donated all of it for the benefit of poor and needy children.

Arvind himself is a school dropout. He could not study beyond Standard VIII because he had to tend to his ailing asthmatic father. His desire of completing his education could not be fulfilled, and that has always been a sore point in his life.

Financial constraints forced him to start earning a living at a young age. He got married early but was also widowed early with the demise of his wife who died childless. Remarried, Arvind now has a two-year-old daughter. In response to a question about securing his daughter’s future, Arvind says, “Just as I am helping others, God will help and protect my daughter. The only security I have for her is an LIC policy in her name for which I pay an annual premium of ₹30,000.”

His tea stall happens to be near a government school run by the Department of Tribal Welfare.

Driven by compassion, Arvind has been giving free tea and snacks to the poor children who cross his shop on their way to school. Once he learnt that Shri. Jain, the earlier Principal, had donated ₹50,000 for the poor students, and that another good Samaritan had donated school uniforms to some children, the thought took form in his mind. He nurtured the idea of donating something for the poor and needy children, but was hesitant, as he did not know whom to approach in this matter. Once he shared the idea with a schoolteacher who happened to visit his tea stall. The teacher thought he was joking. Maybe the tea vendor donate about ₹5,000 or so? But he couldn’t believe his eyes when Arvind took

out a bundle worth ₹50,000 and offered it to him to pass on to the Principal.

When the news reached the Principal, he invited him as a special guest for the Republic Day function of the year 2014. The entire school was pleasantly surprised when Arvind Saha handed over a hefty sum of ₹1,50,000 in cash to the Principal Shri. AN Rao. The news spread like wildfire up to Jagdalpur and beyond, because such a noble gesture was unheard of. The school decided to put the money into a fixed deposit in a bank.

The annual interest would be used for providing stationery, uniforms and other essential items to poor and needy children, who were not being benefitted by other government schemes.

People like Arvind Saha are God’s angels.

Talking to him, I could feel the saintly glow of the divineness of his personality. “God had fulfilled all my desires, and I don’t want anything more.

The joy and satisfaction which I have got by using my hard-earned money to help these poor children is boundless,” says a beaming Arvind. He prays daily and is always grateful to God for His blessings. When asked about the importance of money, he says, “Money comes and goes, it is not permanent. If I can use it to help the poor and needy, I have served God.” What a great philosophy! I bow in reverence to this great man who is one in a million! His thoughts and actions have made him eternal. May his tribe increase!

(Based on an interview of Shri. Arvind Saha with Major Pradeep Khare). The above story is featured in ‘Unsung Heroes - Real stories to inspire you’ (ISBN 978-81-7108-902-4) by Maj. (Retd) Pradeep Khare (pradeepkhare2011@gmail.com).

It is published by Better Yourself Books, Mumbai.

CC

tadka

Amazon and Google in a race to capture India’s consumer space Google and Amazon have intensified their focus on India, an ecommerce frontier that has the greatest potential for now. For both the companies the goal is same— snare the largest number of Indian consumers by making them early adopters of their products, technology and platforms.

As the interest in India increases, so do investments.

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 61

(Col.)AA.Balasubramanian Balasubramanian Dr (Col)

From The Mobile

Be the change

A

abid Surti is an odd character. A few years ago, he was invited to meet the President of India to receive a national award. He politely declined.

But he has time for every Sunday for seven years now, to go door to door in Mira Road, a nondescript suburb of Mumbai, with a plumber to repair leaking taps for FREE. Aabid has written around 80 books. He read an interview of the former UN chief Boutros Boutros Ghali, that by 2025 more than 40 countries are expected to experience water crisis.

A few days later, he came across a statistic in that: A TAP THAT DRIPS ONCE EVERY SECOND WASTES 1000 LITRES A MONTH. That triggered an idea. He would take a plumber from door to door and fix taps for FREE, one apartment complex every weekend.

First began by replacing old O-ring rubber gaskets with new ones.He named his one-man NGO ‘Drop Dead’ and created a tag line: Save Every Drop… or Drop Dead.

His team consisted of Aabid himself, Riyaaz, the plumber and a female volunteer, Tejal. By the end of first year, they had visited 1,533 homes and fixed around 400 taps.

Slowly, the news began to spread. In March 2008, director Shekhar Kapur, who was working on a water conservation film, wrote on his website: ‘Aabid Surti, thank you so much for who you are. I wish there were more people like you in this world.

Keep in touch with us and keep inspiring us.’

Newspapers began to write about Drop Dead. One of the most heartfelt messages was from Shah Rukh Khan. In 2010, Aabid Surti was nominated for the CNN-IBN CJ ‘Be The Change’ Award. In the same year, a television crew from Berlin flew down to follow him on his Sunday rounds which continued, come monsoon or shine.

Conservatively, he has saved at least 5.5m litres of water till date.

62 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

I am rich, fit, and I have mastered almost everything I wanted to master. Why am I still not happy and still not satisfied?

Answer by Karim Elsheikh: “Human happiness (as we know it) is caused by 4 basic chemicals: • Dopamine • Endorphins • Serotonin • Oxytocin On your journey to become fit, your body released endorphins to cope with the pain of physical exercise. You probably began to enjoy exercise as you got into it, and the endorphins made you happy, temporarily.

On your journey to become rich, you probably completed many tasks and goals.

You probably bought all the things you’ve ever wanted. Nice cars, beautiful clothes, and a perfect home. This released dopamine in your brain when you achieved your goals and bought these things, which once again contributed to your happiness, temporarily.

So what about the other two chemicals?

It turns out that human happiness is incomplete without all four chemicals constantly being released in the brain.

So now you need to work on releasing serotonin and oxytocin.

How do I do that? * Serotonin is released when we act in a way that benefits others. When we give

to causes beyond ourselves and our own benefit. When we connect with people on a deep, human level. Writing this Quora answer is releasing serotonin in my brain right now because I’m using my precious time on the weekend to give back to others for free. Hopefully I’m providing useful information that can help other people, like yourself. * That’s why you often see billionaires turning to charity when they have already bought everything they wanted to, and experienced everything they wanted to in life. They’ve had enough dopamine from material pleasures, now they need the serotonin.

Oxytocin, on the other hand, is released when we become close to another human being. When we hug a friend, or shake someone’s hand, oxytocin is released in varying amounts.

Oxytocin is easy to release. It’s all about becoming more social!

Share your wealth with your friends and family to create amazing experiences.

Laugh, love, cooperate, and play with others.

That’s it my friend!

I think it all comes down to the likelihood that you are missing two things: contribution and social connection” (I think it’s a brilliant piece of info, and I am also getting my dose of Serotonin now!)

Plenty of questions

What did you see first in the picture? Your answer will reveal how others see you It is nice to believe that one does not care what others think about him/her but the ground reality remains the same- consciously or not, we are always behaving or acting in a certain way so as to form a positive impression on others.

Now wouldn’t it be nice if after all that time and effort, you could have a look inside somebody’s mind and for once know what they think of you? This picture test might actually help you in knowing that. Just glance

I at this picture and the first thing you perceive will tell what your companions might think of you. So are you ready?

When you first looked at this picture did you see the body of a woman or the face of a man?

Practice of hiring dumb people

One day The king wanted to go fishing, and he asked the royal weather forecaster the forecast for the next few hours. The palace meteorologist assured him that there was no chance of rain.

So the king and the queen went fishing.

On the way he met a man with a fishing pole riding on a donkey, and he asked the man if the fish were biting.

The fisherman said, “Your Majesty, you should return to the palace! In just a short time.

I expect a huge rainstorm.”

The king replied: “I hold the palace meteorologist in high regard. He is an educated and experienced professional. Besides, I pay him very high wages. He gave me a very different forecast. I trust him.”

t disturbs us to spend money on most of the things that we now consider excesses. Do we really need that hair product or that branded cologne?

Is dining out at expensive restaurants necessary for a happy weekend? At a larger level, do we deserve all the riches we have around us? Is it just plain luck that we were born into circumstances that allowed us to build a life of comfort? What makes the other half any less deserving of many of these material possessions, (which many of us consider essential) or, more importantly, tools for self-development (education) or self-preservation (healthcare)?

We don't know the answers to these questions. But we do know the feeling of guilt that is with us now. Guilt that is compounded by the love and generosity we got from people who live on the other side, despite their tough lives. We may have treated them as strangers all our lives, but they surely didn’t treat us that way.”

So what did these two friends learn from their brief encounter with poverty?

That hunger can make you angry. That a food law which guarantees adequate nutrition to all is essential. That poverty does not allow you to realise even modest dreams. And above all—in Matt’s words—that empathy is essential for democracy.

So the king continued on his way. However, in a short time a torrential rain fell from the sky.

The king and queen were totally soaked.

Furious, the king returned to the palace and gave the order to fire the meteorologist. Then he summoned the fisherman and offered him the prestigious position of royal forecaster.

The fisherman said, “Your Majesty, I do not know anything about forecasting. I obtain my information from my donkey. If I see my donkey’s ears drooping, it means with certainty that it will rain.”

So the king hired the donkey.

And thus began the practice of hiring dumb asses to work in influential positions. *The practice is unbroken to this date.*

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 63

astroturf This phase wouldn’t stay for long and will fade away after the 17th.

Moreover, relationship with your partner or spouse will stay clouded with stress.

Aries

March 21 - April 20

This is a crucial month for relationships. Those in love might want to take the plunge and get into a matrimonial bond. Go ahead and take the plunge.

(www.dollymanghat.com)

Fortune favours the bold and the lucky

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20

For all that is going wrong in terms of finance and career, love makes up for it. So those who are single can expect some nice company during this month and perhaps a potential love interest.

Those who are already in a relationship can expect some more sparks flying. nancial healt

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21

Time is slightly tricky for love until mid of the month. Things start looking up post 15th of June. Till then it is best to avoid crucial discussions with your love interest regarding the future of your relationship. Chances are you will come out with a good and favourable response. Those who are single should also avoid any social gatherings until 15th June.

CANCER

June 22 - July 23

For singles it is a great month to mingle. You might just hit a jackpot and find who you’re looking for. For those already in love, the month brings positive news of its culminating into a long-lasting relationship. Think of a long and a happy marriage. For those who are married, this month brings joy and contentment. You will find your relationship becoming stronger and more secure.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23

This is a good month for love to

Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Manghat, our renowned Astrological expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions bloom and prosper. Do not let this opportunity fade away. A revival of love life is about to happen. Consider it as the time when you can express your love and affection in order to get rid of the small tussles which have happened in the past.

Make sure to filter out issues and don’t let them come in between your romantic sessions. There is a strong possibility that, after the month of June everything might get back to its ‘normal’ self.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23

Considering the love angle, this month stay peaceful unless you plan to take radical steps associated to your relationship. There would be intimate moments with your loved one; this is a wonderful way to mend ties. Do not let bad decisions or moments of seriousness grow intense. Figure out ways to spend more time with your partner. You can plan a dinner date, or an outing to learn more about each other. Do not be tough, but maintain a gentle heart in order to solve arguments. .

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22

It has been analysed that there are chances of regular scuffles with your partner or spouse. Love would get too emotional and un-

64 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

predictable in the major part of the month. Bitterness can be a part of your relationship with your partner; try not to push unnecessary arguments as it can turn ugly.

Your major focus should be on the level of affection you hold for your loved ones. Do make an effort to overlook minor dissimilarities. of June.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22

In June make sure your relationship only stresses on commitment. The play of Uranus and Neptune would majorly alter the circumstances at the domestic level. In context of love, Uranus can make aches of disappointment with your partner by making things a bit bitter. Furthermore, there is a possibility of additional strain that will hamper an individual’s conduct to pop out a negative reaction.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22

It is expected that, you will cherish a good social life this month.

For singles, there are several romantic opportunities to build love partnerships. However, the placement of Mercury might put a hindrance in the path. Your inefficiency to take decisions and offer commitment can become a huge issue with your partner.

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20

Regarding love and personal matters, June acts as an intriguing period. Your relationship with your loved one will go a rollercoaster ride. Be prepared for this phase and act smartly. There are chances of some unusual circumstances which might break your heart. Make real choices and be honest with your partner. Interestingly, marriage can be a possibility if you gather the courage to pop the question.

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19

This can be seen as a rough month when love can be hampered. Relationships needs to be strengthened with time and only time. Call it fortune or your deeds, the month of June is a testing period for the bond you share with your partner. Upsetting mood and minor tussles will be frequent. These small arguments can cause bigger fires; make sure you do not keep your head high or escape the situation. Offer concern and relaxation.

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20

On the front of love, you will discover that you are having a mix of emotions this month. Although you will feel a surge in romantic feelings throughout the month, there will be times when you will be disappointed with the lack of reciprocation that your partner displays. You will find yourself rejoicing when it comes to your health this month.

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CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP

PROF. SUDHIR K SOPORY, VICE CHANCELLOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY (JNU) Volume 1, Issue No. 21 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

January 1-15, 2016 / `50

CORPORATE CULTURE

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

INTERVIEW

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

Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR

UNFLINCHING SUPPORT

June 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

The new leadership imperative The gauntlet is being thrown by a New India and it is up to the leaders of today and tomorrow to pick it up and lead us to a promised land where “the head is held high and the mind is without fear.” Will the real leaders please stand up and lead?

The heat and dust raised by the elections in Karnataka, which many had expected to be a dress rehearsal for the 2019 Parliamentary elections failed to provide any clarity on the mood of the people. But one fact that was underlined once again is the sad state of the political narrative in present times. The campaign after promising to be based on policies and issues quickly degenerated to an abusive slanging match with personal attacks and allegations and counter-allegations of corruption. Surely, we deserve better as a country and one can only hope that the narrative will shift to more of development and growth in the months to come!

The underlying problem, not just in India but around the world, seems to be a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of leadership and quite often this lack of understanding is reinforced by unrealistic or misplaced expectations of people who place them in the leadership role in the first place. I am having this discussion with millennials and young managers in many corporations as well as social enterprises in the last few months and a few important common realisations are worth emphasising in this column.

The leader today has to have humility

First is that the role of the leader should no longer be seen as a controller and supreme commander and order-giver. The long-held

myth created and perpetuated from the times of Alexander the Great to Atilla the Hun to Adolf Hitler that leaders must create a band of worthy followers who dare not question any edict or wish of the leader has to be dispelled. The leader today has to have humility and connectedness and be able to understand and integrate the diverse needs and wants of Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z team members with a truly collaborative spirit. There are no followers in today’s environment, everybody

Ganesh and Uma with Vignesh, from 2018 batch of Symbiosis organisation played a stellar role in crafting strategy, building businesses and serving as a Shadow Executive Board for the organisation. And the benefit to the participants was always a sense of being wanted, included and truly empowered.

Leaders must create connected leaders

Third, leaders have to take it upon themselves to create connected leaders and managers across the rank and file of the organisation.

A true spirit and manifestation of connectedness lies in the ability of every team leader to provide regular and timely feedback, build development action plans for every team member and operate in an environment which truly embodies a five F culture—Fast, Focused, Flexible, Friendly and Fun! This has been a culture The role of the leader should mantra that I have no longer be seen as a conpersonally deployed in every corporate acatroller and supreme comdemic and social envimander and order-giver ronment and which is today the name of the is looking for leaders to create a enterprise I founded and lead. context and environment in which Fortunately, in India today, there they can embark on their own voyare institutions which are encourage of leadership. aging their students to explore this type of leadership. A case in point is Leaders must choose the the United World College, not just the Indian one in Mulshi near Pune right tool for connecting but the many other institutions in Second, leaders have to choose the various other parts of the world right tools and mechanisms to build that offer a two-year International connectedness in their organisaBaccalaureate programme but more tion. In two organisations which I importantly, build an environment have led with a modicum of success where young men and women —APTECH and Zensar Technoloemerge as true citizens of the world. gies, one initiative that always stood And at University level there are us in good stead was the formation exemplars like Pune’s Symbiosis of Vision Communities. These comSchool of Liberal Arts (SSLA). Havmunities formed on a voluntary basis and open to all members of the ing a close connect with SSLA since

66 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

my nephew Vignesh just graduated from that institution, I have seen the balance in their youth mentoring and education processes, where young people are encouraged to follow their dreams, excel in their chosen vocations and choose and pursue their own path to success.

Kudos to Dr Mujumdar, Dr Vidya and SSLA Chief Anita Patankar for building an institution that can truly make a difference.

And what does all this have to do with a national political agenda?

Our nation prides itself on being one of the youngest in the world and hopes to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend. But do the ambitious millennials and very vocal teenagers really care about the caste and class divisions that are exploited in every election and can they get inspired by all the mud that is thrown on every aspiring politician regarding corrupt practices and many forms of sleazy behaviour? Ask any young person and what they want are clean candidates imbued with the desire to serve and build better communities, cities, states and nations. Surely that is not too much to ask? And if somebody wants to snigger and say that this is only valid for youth in cities, just have a conversation with a village youth and the aspirations and expectations are no different. The gauntlet is being thrown by a new India and it is up to the leaders of today and tomorrow to pick it up and lead us to a promised land where “the head is held high and the mind is without fear.” Will the real leaders please stand up and lead?

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

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.

Advertorial Feature

GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research, Greater Noida Featured amongst Top 22 institutes of India Featured amongst Top 4th emerging management institutes in India in AICTE-CII Survey of Industry-linked Institutes 2018

Mr Pankaj Agarwal, Vice Chairman, GL Bajaj Educational Institutes

GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research, Greater Noida is a leading B-school of North India offering Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD Govt. Of India. GLBIMR, established in 2007, under the umbrella of GL Bajaj Group of Institutions, embarked on the journey to promote higher education in NCR. In record time of 10 years, the institute has demonstrated meteoric growth and carved a distinct niche for itself in the field of management education. This year it has been ranked amongst the Top 4 ‘emerging management institutes’ in India and also listed amongst Top 22 institutes of India by AICTE-CII Survey of Industry-linked Technical Institutes 2018, with commendation under the category ‘Emerging Institutes’ offering PG diploma in Management.

An ‘emerging’ institute: GLBIMR is not just an institution, but a revolution which was undertaken by the visionary edupreneur, Mr Pankaj Agarwal, Vice Chairman, GL Bajaj Educational Institutions, more than a decade ago, to reinvent management education. The Institute has witnessed spectacular growth in a span of 10 years; it has earned a distinct position amongst the premier institutes of higher education in NCR, that focuses on providing right knowledge, imparting the right skills for enduring success in management career and shaping the right character.

GLBIMR offers two-year, full-time Post Graduate Diploma in Management - PGDM (approved by All India Council for Technical Education, Ministry of HRD, Government of India) with dual specialisation. PGDM is the flagship programme of the Institute which is highly rigorous.

The institute has become a Centre of Excellence with impetus on skill enhancement, research orientation and corporate-readiness under the visionary guidance of Dr Urvashi Makkar, Director General, GLBIMR. Entrepreneurs, corporate & academic mentors, researchers and academicians come together at GLBIMR to create an inspiring environment for new ideas and accomplishment. Profound interaction between the theory 6 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2018

and practice of entrepreneurship brings the best out of both, creating unique synergies. GLBIMR has been a forerunner in recognising the needs of the industry and integrating knowledge with professional inputs. The institute is dedicated towards creating bright, vibrant and young corporate-ready management graduates. We at GLBIMR, ensure that we are not restricted to classroom teaching, but look for overall development of students. We have a unique and innovative approach to management education that focuses on providing right knowledge, imparting the right skills for enduring success in management career and shaping the right character.

Skill Enhancement Programs, Academic Excellence, Innovative Pedagogy and Research Orientation at GLBIMR are focused towards placement-readiness of the students. Some of the unique initiatives taken at GLBIMR to enhance placement-readiness of students: • Inclusion of Soft Skill Program (SSP) • Value-added certification courses by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises - Government Ministry (MSME) in the domain of support in career guidance using external professional trainers • Introduction of Employability Enhancement Programs • Distinctive Corporate Mentorship Program GLBIMR is leading the way in reinventing Management education by path-breaking initiatives like: • Corporate Interface Series • Global Talk Series • Expert Talk Series • Club Activities Along with classroom learning, students get adequate exposure through Live Projects, Industrial visits, Dissertation and Summer Internship Placements. Students of GLBIMR are encouraged to participate in relevant seminars and conferences at organizations like AIMA, ASSOCHAM, ZEE News, AajTak and UNGC, etc.

The Institute has best of the intellectual assets from across the academia and industry associated with them, as either full-time faculty, or adjunct faculty. GLBIMR also has association with some of the most eminent and renowned global experts as International adjunct faculty members. To foster entrepreneurship amongst students and for assisting budding entrepreneurs by providing necessary resources, GLBIMR has launched E-Cell (Entrepreneurship Development Cell) Flying Minds. With inspiration drawn from industry experts visiting the campus, our students have developed the spirit of ownership and an entrepreneurial streak to excel in their professional and personal life.

Quality of Placements is the benchmark of success for a management institute, as it defines the ultimate objective and commitment towards students. Placements at GLBIMR have been ex-

Dr Urvashi Makkar, Director General, GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research

cellent, since its inception. GLBIMR has been conferred with highly prestigious award of ‘Best Management Institute in Placements’ by ABP News Network in July 2017, in Mumbai, during the 8th National Education Awards 2017’. GLBIMR does not just provide placements, but the task is to shape the career of students, which is much more important, than granting them a job. It is more a question of quality management professionals with corporate readiness. The Corporate Resource Center (CRC), at GLBIMR looks after employment possibilitietts of students in business, trade and service organizations. The centre maintains strong database of potential recruiters, maintains continuous liaisoning with them, and assess trends in their requirement, which helps CRC to prepare the prospective managers on these lines. The foundation of our success stories is laid with excellent Summer Internship Placements of students in organizations like SAIL, Phonepe (Flipkart), IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Penguin Random House, Coca-Cola Beverages, IndusInd Bank, ABP News Network, Reliance Jio, Decathlon, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, MMTC, First Naukri.com, News19 Network, Bisleri International, amongst others. This year the placement has begun with a bang with students being placed in Earnst & Young (E&Y), American Express ,Jubilant Group, Barclays Share Services, HCL, ICICI Securities, Axis Bank Ltd., Decathlon , Big Bazaar, HDFC, Vivo Smartphones, JK Tyres, Capital Trust Ltd, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd, Capital Trust Ltd, etc. More than 75 companies have participated in the campus for the placements and have offered several students multiple career opportunities.

GLBIMR is putting all its efforts in this direction to develop business leaders of tomorrow, the leaders those who will empower others.

GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research, Greater Noida director.general@glbimr.org www.glbimr.org