Seasonal Magazine January 2019 Issue by John Antony

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VOLUME 18 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2019

MAGAZINE

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Inclusive Growth Can Still Save India

Managing Editor Jason D Pavorattikaran Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Associate Editor Carl Jaison Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Office Assistant Alby CG Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D Pavorattikaran

Last time crude dipped, India experimented with demonetization and GST. This time when crude has nosedived, India’s hands are full with the aftermath of the IL&FS crisis. However, post the election results from some of the larger states, and the exit of Urjit Patel as RBI Governor, the Central Government has woken up to the rising challenges and has collaborated with RBI in setting up a new panel to look into RBI’s Economic Capital Framework to see whether its massive reserves can be tapped for economic growth. Here is a look at the health of various sectors, and on why India should focus only on totally inclusive growth. Fortune is smiling at the world as well as at India again. The demand-supply fight between producers and consumers of crude oil is once again tipping in favour of consumers like India and most nations of the world, with crude losing more than 30% from its peak within the last three months.

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Oil trade pundits who were harping on $100 per barrel oil is discussing about $50 per barrel oil, once again. For Indian Government, this is an unprecedented opportunity to get its act together once again. Both Moodys and India Ratings have already warned that India may grow slower and that it may miss its deficit target. Rupee too had slipped to record levels, only to recoup some of the losses due to the recent crude fall. The opportunity is unprecedented not because it hasn’t happened before, but because the Government missed the bus the first time it happened due to demonetization and GST, and because no one expected crude to significantly correct so fast after what seemed like a strong and sustained rally. The second anniversary of demonetisation passed off without much fanfare with even Prime Minister Modi choosing not to speak about it. However, some celebrity economists didn’t spare the opportunity to attack the controversial step. Former RBI Governor Dr.Raghuram Rajan had this much to say recently about the move - "The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up. What happened in 2017 is that even as the world picked up, India went down. That reflects the fact that these blows (demonetisation and GST) have been really really hard blows. Because of these headwinds we have been held back,” he said.

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EDITORIAL

grow India at a much faster pace as she requires? This Government can do this, if it steers clear of debacles like its hasty GST implementation and the ill-advised demonetisation drive. But unfortunately for India, the country is already facing a strong headwind in the aftermath of IL&FS going belly up. Once deemed to be too-big-to-fail, the diversified financial services major with its hand in most pies except for banking, built up an infrastructure financing empire on nearly 1 lakh crore of debt using a few hundreds of subsidiaries!

India’s former economist PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh had this much to say, “The deeper ramifications of notebandi are still unravelling. Small and medium businesses that are the cornerstone of India’s economy are yet to recover from the demonetisation shock. The financial markets are volatile as the liquidity crisis wrought by demonetisation is taking its eventual toll on infrastructure lenders and non-banking financial services firms. The full impact of demonetisation is yet to be understood and experienced.”

Of course, the Modi Government has acted swiftly and tried to contain the situation by taking over the company and appointing a new Board. But sadly, this is nothing more than what the Manmohan Singh Government did after the Satyam fiasco. They too acted swiftly, and had replaced the Satyam Board, which finally resulted in Tech Mahindra taking it over. The really sad part is that nothing much has changed. Governments, regulators and bankers are ‘unable’ to detect the fraud when it is happening in broad daylight over the years, but the moment a scam surfaces after it becomes too big to hide, governments act swiftly.

Some others like Dr.Amit Mitra, West Bengal’s economist Finance Minister was more vocal with the numbers, saying, "How much GDP has been lost to India due to demonetisation and GST? It is Rs 4.75 lakh crore. Economic growth has slowed down from 2015-16 onwards and to achieve that high level of growth, India would need at least four years.”

Today, the effort is on to find out who all orchestrated the scam inside of IL&FS. But what should also be investigated is up to what extent the promoters of IL&FS knew about the fraudulent and high-risk activities of their child. And they are no ordinary promoters, being India’s largest life insurer, LIC; India’s largest bank, SBI and one of India’s largest NBFCs, HDFC.

More recently, former Chief Economic Advisor of India, Arvind Subramanian released his book ‘Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy’, in which he has described demonetisation as a “massive, draconian monetary shock,” and added that, “growth had been slowing even before, but after demonetisation, the slide accelerated.”

Eerily, some of the most concerned players in this issue as well as in the rescue team including Vineet Nayyar are the same in Satyam and IL&FS. Obviously, the powers that be know how to protect their best interests first.

Also, a recent research paper by four economists - Gabriel Chodorow-Reich and Gita Gopinath of Harvard University, Prachi Mishra of Goldman Sachs and Abhinav Narayanan of the Reserve Bank of India - on demonetisation concluded that there was a decline of 3 percentage points in economic activity and employment in the immediate quarter after demonetisation, which was not reflected in official statistics. While the views of economists like Dr.Rajan, Dr.Singh, Dr.Subramanian and Dr.Mitra can be countered by the ruling BJP citing their political differences with Modi Government, it is another fact that their learned views cannot be dismissed outright. For to its credit, the Modi Government has indeed some major achievements to speak about. The net market capitalization of India Inc has surged since Modi assumed power and has remained high despite recent moderation. Secondly, under Modi Government, India has stayed on in the game to emerge as the world’s fastest growing large economy, making good the slowdown in China. Will Modi Government be able to make use of the second opportunity it has got by way of dipping crude prices to

However what is starkly different from Satyam and IL&FS is that the former never had the potential to be a contagion whereas IL&FS has already proven that it can unleash the strongest contagion effect in the market as many many banks and many many NBFCs have either direct exposure to IL&FS or indirect exposure through IL&FS projects. Here is a look at how different sectors are experiencing the current business environment, especially due to the impact of the IL&FS crisis:

Banking Sector Both public sector and private sector banks have significant exposure to IL&FS directly or indirectly. But the situation is graver for public sector banks as they were already reeling under the nearly ten year old NPA crisis. Credit growth had already moderated significantly in these banks over the last several years, and the IL&FS debacle will make the banks even more circumspect before giving SEASONAL MAGAZINE

corporate loans and in participating in infrastructure projects. Another reason why public sector banks are likely to feel more heat is that traditionally in India they have been the major players extending corporate credit whereas private banks are more of retail banks. The IL&FS crisis is likely to deepen the NPA crisis for both public and private sector banks and recently Dr.Raghuram Rajan had opined that India still doesn’t have the bad debt instruments to tackle the NPA crisis. It is noteworthy that Dr.Rajan was conveniently shunted out while he was in the process of for mulating and delivering such bitter medicine to erring corporates.

NBFC Sector IL&FS’ largest operation being its flagship NBFC arm, nonbanking financial companies indeed bore the maximum brunt when this scam unveiled itself. They fell in market value across the board and most of them haven’t regained valuations even after Government took over IL&FS. However, the retail focused NBFCs like in home loans, auto loans, gold loans and consumer durable financing have regained part of their market valuation as they have little exposure to IL&FS or other infrastructure projects, besides having a strong retail franchise. That said, all NBFCs are keeping their fingers crossed as most of them have upcoming redemptions for their commercial papers in these months and any default would spell literal doom for their operations. Home loan providers are feeling the heat, and some developers at least are divulging that some home loan providers are delaying in deliveries of the EMIs collected from homebuyers. Infra NBFCs like IL&FS are experiencing the greatest pain and it is likely to continue until the clouds of uncertainties clear. There is a liquidity crunch across the board, and NBFCs are feeling the most of it.

Real Estate & Infrastructure Sector Infrastructure Development is going to have a lasting impact and lingering slowdown from the crisis. This is because IL&FS has been one of the largest financiers for the sector, and they in serious trouble by funding many infra projects, all lenders from banks to NBFCs are already curtailing the loans to this sector. Fewer projects are likely to sail through in this environment. In the real estate development sector, for the time being most developers are claiming that they are yet to feel any liquidity crunch. But then, these are the biggest players, while most smaller players are likely to be already experiencing moderate to severe liquidity crunch. Even some of the bigger players have flagged the market that they are SEASONAL MAGAZINE

watching the situation closely, and that some home financiers are already delaying payments received from homebuyers and due to them. If the NBFC redemptions throw up any kind of surprises, it need not be said that realty would be one of the first sectors to be affected. Already, the liquidity crunch is affecting the sale of luxury or premium apartment sales as much of it is still speculation driven and as such a function of the economy. To counter this, most large developers are opting to build luxury projects outside India in destinations like UAE and UK, and focusing on affordable apartments back here in India.

Higher Education & Employment If India doesn’t contain the current crisis using emerging tailwinds like falling crude prices, the greatest hit will be on the spiralling unemployment which will result in social unrest. Unemployment levels have risen in the last two years, reaching to 30 million unemployed youth alone, and with India adding 1 million job seekers to the pool every month, things can get out of hand if something innovative and dramatic is not done fast. And universities and colleges are already feeling the heat, with hundreds of engineering colleges going belly-up each year.

Central and State Governments The Central Government has been trying to inject liquidity into the market using some unconventional methods including tapping the huge reserves with India’s Central Bank, the RBI. However, this has met with stiff resistance from RBI top brass as it is a contingency reserve rarely used up and if at all it is to be used, RBI’s priority is to use it for the recapitalization of public sector banks. However, with the exit of Urjit Patel, which was speculated to be on this dissent, the Government has renewed its efforts to tap this reserve by collaborating with RBI in setting up a new panel headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan to look into RBI’s Economic Capital Framework. On the states front, both incumbent governments and the new administrations that have assumed power are feeling the heat due to the rising unemployment on one hand and inadequate revenues from the new GST mechanism, and are resorting to populist measures like loan waivers. India should do well by capitalizing maximum on the fall in crude and use this window to kick-start growth, not in the conventional sense, but for the masses. The first thing to be addressed in this regard is to focus on significantly reducing the rising income inequalities. Recent international studies point out that with each passing year, income inequality is getting worse in India, with the top 1% getting even more richer, followed by the next 9%, while the remaining 90% is getting poorer in comparison. What the second most populous nation in this world needs is not just GDP growth, but highly equitable growth for the majority of its people. John Antony

CONTENTS

HIRANANDANI GROUP

DOMINATING REALTY, SURGING IN OIL & GAS, ENTERING WAREHOUSING For those who know Mumbai realty up-close, there are no doubts about who was the developer who took the city's realty projects to world-class stature. If one mega project had achieved this feat, it was undoubtedly Hiranandani Gardens of Powai. Decades have passed since then, and the Hiranandani Group led by Niranjan Hiranandani has accelerated like never before doing more business during the last 3 years than they have done in the last 14..

PURSUING AN ENLARGED VISION How do you make the best, better? That is the challenge before CM Vijay Rupani and his team behind Gujarat's upcoming investment meet. Already, the Vibrant Gujarat summits of the previous years, started by PM Modi himself, had been benchmarks for investment meets in India. But this year, the Chief Minister has chalked out a much enlarged vision, focusing on emerging opportunities like Africa and emerging needs like MSME. Also, the scope of the investment meet has been much widened by starting a new Ahmedabad Shopping Festival, on the lines of..

CHINESE LENDING $26.5 BILLION, PAKISTANI REPAYMENT $40 BILLION CPEC inflows into the existing projects will dry up in 2022-23 when the country will receive $26.5 billion, according to the planning ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s figures. On the basis of these inflows, Pakistani authorities have estimated that the country will return $39.83 billion to Chinese firms.

ARE INDIANS GENERALLY WIRED TO BECOME GOOD MANAGERS? Is there really something about managers coming from a certain cultural context? Authors R Gopalkrishnan and Ranjan Banerjee argue that there is a secret sauce that makes Indians likely to be good managers.

P CHIDAMBARAM RIDICULES CENTRE OVER CHANGE IN STANCE ON GST The senior Congress leader's sharp criticism of the government comes days after the GST council at its 31st meeting slashed tax rates for 23 commonly-used items.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

FEDERAL BANK

“WE ARE PUNCHING WAY ABOVE OUR WEIGHT”

WHY ARE NBFCS ON THE EDGE?

Federal Bank controls 1% of India’s credit market, but it controls 2.5% of all new credit in India which makes Shyam Srinivasan confidently state that “We are punching way above our weight.” Seasonal Magazine in conversation with MD & CEO of Federal Bank Ltd. The unprecedented flood in Kerala has thrown a spanner in the growth prospects of Kerala headquartered lenders, including Federal Bank. Yet, Shyam Srinivasan is an India bull. And he is not..

1 lakh crore worth of commercial paper coming up for redemption in mid November.

"MODI-JI, FORGET BULLET TRAIN": BJP LEADER AFTER HELLISH TRAIN RIDE

KEJRIWAL MULLS ODD-EVEN AGAIN Will re-introduce odd-even if need arises, says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla said she tried every helpline advertised by the railways..

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hinted on Tuesday that the state government is willing to re-introduce the odd-even car rationing scheme if needed.

DELHI AUTO DRIVER SACRIFICES LIFE FOR SAVING WOMAN AND BABY 30-year-old auto driver Pawan was heading home after dropping off a passenger when he saw a woman with a baby in her arms standing on the edge of a bridge on the Meethapur canal. In a moment, he saw the woman jumping off the bridge.

TRUMP NOT WILLING TO LET USA BE WORLD POLICE ANYMORE President Donald Trump used a lightning visit to Iraq - his first with US troops in a conflict zone since being elected - to defend the withdrawal from Syria and to declare an end to America's role as the global "policeman."

WHY CAR MAKERS ARE BETTING ON OLD BRANDS Automotive industry has had its fair share of comebacks every now and then, latest being the launch of the Santro by Hyundai. Today, we bring you five names which will make a comeback in the Indian car scene soon.

INDIAN CLASSROOMS AND BLACKBOARDS: FOR HOW LONG? Classrooms the world over are increasingly turning futuristic, with the latest gadgets and technology replacing chalk-and-board teaching. The process is on in India, too, albeit only in pockets.

UNEXPECTED CAUSES OF DIABETES From how much time you spend at work, to the type of oil you cook with. When it comes to diabetes, the figures are alarming –in Australia alone, an estimated 1.2 million people have the disease. That’s..

HOW TO MAKE KINDNESS CONTAGIOUS IN BUSINESS SPACES Author Bill Taylor highlights the effectiveness of kindness and how corporate leaders had to convince dealers and their staffers to join a grassroots “movement” that treated kindness like a contagion. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

KALYAN JEWELLERS

THE GROWTH LEADER IN GOLD

With more than 100 showrooms in India, spread across all major states and metro cities, and over 30 showrooms abroad, mainly in Middle East, Kalyan Jewellers is one of the fastest growing jewellery chains in India. Headquartered in Thrissur of Kerala, Kalyan is growing its footprint of showrooms by around 10% annually. It has also forayed successfully into online selling through its own portal Candere. Kalyan Jewellers recorded a turnover of Rs. 10,000 crore during last fiscal.

6 REASONS WHY IDFC FIRST BANK MIGHT OUTPERFORM A new financial services giant has quietly taken shape in the background of India's financial services landscape. Leading NBFC, Capital First headed by retail banking specialist V Vaidyanathan has merged with IDFC Bank headed by veteran corporate banker, Rajiv Lall to create IDFC First Bank While Capital First

CAN OPEN-MINDEDNESS BE ACHIEVED THROUGH INTELLECTUAL HUMILITY? Shane Show looks at the attributes necessary for having an open-minded approach, concluding that intellectual humility is a key variable in measuring

WITH METRO EXPANSION, DELHI IN PREMIUM LEAGUE OF CITIES Delhi Metro network has now expanded to nearly 314 km with 229 stations with the operationalisation of the new corridor

DELHI AIRPORT FIRST IN COUNTRY TO HAVE FOUR RUNWAYS The airport expansion work will be carried out on both, air as well as terminal sides. Interestingly, a fourth runway will be introduced by 2022, making IGI airport, the first one in the country to come up with four runways.

NEW TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID TO ARRIVE SOON The latest iteration of the Toyota Camry has been launched in Thailand with prices ranging from 1,445,000 baht (around INR 31.99 lakhs) to 1,799,000 baht (around INR 39.82 lakhs). The entry D segment premium sedan is available in four variants, offering two powertrain options.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

WHY RENTING INSTEAD OF BUYING MAKES SENSE

TAMIL NADU GIM 2019

10 WAYS TAMIL NADU REMAINS A TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION Long before 'Make in India' became a slogan, Tamil Nadu has been a manufacturing powerhouse as seen from its 2nd rank in GDP for decades. Long before Investment Meets became a trend, Tamil Nadu had attracted global investors like BMW, Ford, Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Lenovo, Dell, Texas Instruments, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra and more. Yet, under the leadership of its dynamic CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu is conducting the second edition of its Global Investors Meet 2019, in January, to leverage its new easeof-doing-business initiatives. Seasonal Magazine identifies 10 ways in which Tamil

Been through rent or buy dilemma? If you are young and earning, this question must have come to your mind at least once. Persistent calls for home loans from telecallers may have also tempted you a number of times to say 'yes' and buy your dream home.

WHERE DID INDIA GO WRONG WITH ITS FOREIGN POLICY? India’s foreign policy position has been widely touted as being ‘reactionary’ or lacking a grand strategy. From India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to current PM Narendra Modi, India’s foreign policy continues to be viewed from a lens of strategic autonomy, where the country shies away from military

AMAZON TAKES TO THE ANDAMANS: THE PROSPECTS FOR ONLINE DELIVERY IN REMOTE LOCATIONS

MEXICAN CITIZENS INCREASINGLY EMPLOYED BY INDIAN FIRMS IN US AFTER H-1B ISSUES Indian IT outsourcing companies have begun to feel the pinch of the Donald Trump regime’s tough visa stance.

6 UPCOMING SUVS Car manufacturers are working hard to cater to one of the fastest growing segments across price points - SUVs. These six SUVs

IS THE DISSENTING VOICE GADKARI'S OR OF RSS?

Amazon, the globe’s biggest e-commerce platform, is redefining the space in innovative ways. The main focus however remains the same: offering its customers with sweet deals and entering newer markets. Interestingly, the

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ATHLETES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS

The Union minister appears to be breaking the silence within the BJP and RSS about the Modi-Shah duo's errors.

FOCUSING ON CUSTOMER DELIGHT, IN RETAIL BANKING

As Seasonal Magazine inches closer to our 17th anniversary, we take a walk down memory lane and wonder who the most influentialathletes over the last two decades have been and their contributions to society.

Interview with Peeush Jain, Head - Retail Banking, LVB SEASONAL MAGAZINE

NEWS -IN -BRIEF

MARUTI SUZUKI UNVEILS ERTIGA AT INTRODUCTORY PRICE OF RS 7.44 LAKH Maruti Suzuki, today, revealed the highly anticipated Next-Gen Ertiga which promises to level up the MPV segment in India with its all-new design, enhanced space and the revolutionary Powerful K15 Smart Hybrid Petrol Engine for a powerful performance. The Next-Gen Ertiga is all set to establish new benchmarks in aspects of technology, comfort, and performance.

THOSE WORKING WITH CHINA COMPROMISE VALUES: ALPHABET CHAIRMAN Google parent Alphabet's Chairman John Hennessy has said, "Anybody who does business in China compromises some of their core values." Adding that it includes "every single company", Hennessy also said that it's "because the laws in China are quite a bit different than they are in our own (the US) country". Notably, Google pulled out of mainland China in 2010.

TRAIN DERAILS AFTER HITTING ELEPHANT IN ASSAM

An elephant was killed on Wednesday morning when an express train hit a herd crossing the railway track in Assam's Jorhat district, the police said. A coach of the express train derailed following the incident, but there were no casualties as the train was travelling at a slow speed, the police added. Train services were affected for three hours.

KENNEDY GOT 1,200 CIGARS BEFORE ORDERING TRADE EMBARGO ON CUBA President John F Kennedy got 1,200 Cuban cigars for himself before he ordered a trade embargo on the communist country in 1962. Kennedy's Press Secretary Pierre Salinger had managed to secure 1,200 cigars for Kennedy after the US President asked him to buy as many H Upmann Cuban cigars as he could find. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

14-YR-OLD 'STRANGER THINGS' ACTRESS NAMED YOUNGEST UNICEF ENVOY Millie Bobby Brown, who stars in the Netflix series 'Stranger Things', has been named as the UNICEF's youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador. The 14-year-old actress said that she will use the platform to highlight children's rights and issues. "(T)o be the youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF is more than an honour. It's a powerful privilege," the actress said. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

SAUDI WOMEN TO START RECEIVING DIVORCE NOTICE BY TEXT MESSAGE Saudi women will from Sunday receive a text message when a court issues their husbands divorce decrees, according to a new Justice Ministry regulation. Currently, some men register divorce deeds at the courts without even telling their wives, a Saudi lawyer said. "The new measure ensures women get their rights when they're divorced," the lawyer added.

INCOME TAX RAID ON 4 KANNADA ACTORS, 3 PRODUCERS IN BENGALURU About 30 teams of the Income Tax department conducted simultaneous searches in the premises of four Kannada film actors and three producers in Bengaluru for alleged tax evasion. "Searches are being conducted...in the offices and residences of actors Shivaraj Kumar, his brother Puneeth Rajkumar, Sudeepa and Yash and three producers [including] Rockline Venkatesh [and] CR Manohar," the official said.

AUTO

NEW TOYOTA TOYOTA CAMRY CAMRY NEW HYBRID TO TO ARRIVE ARRIVE SOON SOON HYBRID

THE ENTRY LEVEL VARIANT IS POWERED BY A 2.0-LITER FOURCYLINDER DIRECT-INJECTION PETROL MOTOR THAT DEVELOPS 167 PS AND 199 NM OF TORQUE.

THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE TOYOTA CAMRY HAS BEEN LAUNCHED IN THAILAND WITH PRICES RANGING FROM 1,445,000 BAHT (AROUND INR 31.99 LAKHS) TO 1,799,000 BAHT (AROUND INR 39.82 LAKHS). THE ENTRY D SEGMENT PREMIUM SEDAN IS AVAILABLE IN FOUR VARIANTS, OFFERING TWO POWERTRAIN OPTIONS.

he new gen Toyota Camry for Europe and Asia adopts a sportier design language that is derived from the US-spec version. The sedan is based on the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) and has a wheelbase which is longer than its predecessor by a good 50 mm. The new model is 35 mm longer, 15 mm wider and 25 mm wider. The rich equipment list includes LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels (higher variants), sunroof, twin exhaust, 8-way electrically adjustable and ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, touchscreen infotainment system, keyless entry with push button start, MID, triple zone climate control, touch sensitive AC controls in rear armrest, JBL audio system, HUD, etc,. The safety equipment includes 7 SEASONAL MAGAZINE

airbags on base variant (9 on top-end variant), rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitor, VSC, ABS, EBD, BA, Hill Start Assist and so on. The entry level variant is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder direct-injection petrol motor that develops 167 PS and 199 Nm of torque. Transmission is a 6-speed automatic unit. The second variant is powered by the new 2.5-liter Dynamic Force Engine (petrol) which is good enough for 209 PS and 150 Nm of torque. This mill is mated to a 8-speed automatic transmission. The fully loaded variant also receives a comprehensive ADAS package called THE TOYOTA CAMRY HAS CARVED A NICHE FOR ITSELF IN THE INDIAN LUXURY CAR SEGMENT, THANKS TO ITS UNDERSTATED APPEAL AND A PEACEFUL OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE.

Toyota Safety Sense. The remaining two variants employ the same 2.5-liter petrol engine but benefit from a hybrid system. In the hybrid avatar, the IC engine produces 178 PS and 221 Nm of torque while an electric motor pitches in with 120 PS and 202 Nm of torque. The combined system outputs stand at 211 PS. Called as the Toyota Hybrid System II, it is supported by a 6.5 Ah nickel-metal hydride battery pack and an E-CVT. The Toyota Camry has carved a niche for itself in the Indian luxury car segment, thanks to its understated appeal and a peaceful ownership experience. The latest version has already been spotted testing in India. We expect it to be launched soon. Here it will rival the likes of Honda Accord Hybrid and Skoda Superb.

WHY CAR MAKERS ARE BETTING ON OLD BRANDS

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY HAS HAD ITS FAIR SHARE OF COMEBACKS EVERY NOW AND THEN, LATEST BEING THE LAUNCH OF THE SANTRO BY HYUNDAI. TODAY, WE BRING YOU FIVE NAMES WHICH WILL MAKE A COMEBACK IN THE INDIAN CAR SCENE SOON.

SsangYong G4 Rexton The SsangYong Rexton was a full size SUV launched in India after Mahindra acquired the Korean brand. It was a good SUV with value for money prospects attached. However, with the likes of Fortuner and Endeavour as rivals, the Rexton fared bitterly in the market. Mahindra is now set to bring back the Rexton, albeit with a new name. The upcoming Mahindra XUV700 is basically a SsangYong G4 Rexton that will be rebadged. This is because of the failure of the Rexton brand name, which if continued on the new model could affect sales. The new car will be powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine that powers the Rexton G4 in the international markets. The engine produces a maximum of 187 Bhp at 4,000 rpm and 420 Nm peak torque. The interiors and safety will be highly specced as this is the most premium car the company has ever released in India.

Honda Civic The Honda Civic was an iconic car for India. The wide, ground hugging stanced car is still a hot favorite among enthusiasts and modifiers alike. The car has been discontinued by Honda since quite a long time in India and the previous generation model never made it here despite wide speculations. However, now the company has planned to bring down the latest tenth generation Civic to our shores in the first quarter of 2019. It is expected to come powered by petrol powertrain but a diesel could be on card as well. The international variant is quite stylish and ticks almost all the right boxes. Despite some cost cuttings which the company might make before bringing the car to India, it will be a stellar package for sure.

Hyundai Santa Fe The first generation Santa Fe to come to India was never a big commercial success for the company. There was an updated model launched sometime later too with Hyundai fluidic design scheme but it failed to capture the buyers eyes. With sales dropping to 1015 units a month, it was sacked out of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portfolio. The new Santa Fe is expected to be launched by Hyundai in the second half of 2019. It now features the new design philosophy of the company with cascading honeycomb grille, sleek headlamps and macho overall look. The seven seater SUV will get updated interiors as well and regulars like touch infotainment system, leather upholstery will make an appearance on it. The international models come with a choice of three engines. A 2.4-litre GDI and the 2.0-litre turbocharged unit. The former produces 185 BHP, the latter is good for 232 BHP. The diesel engine is the new 2.2-litre unit. It is capable of churning out 200 BHP.

Maruti Suzuki Zen

Nissan X-Trail The X-Trail was a quirky looking SUV from Nissan that posed challenge to the likes of Fortuner and the Endeavour. However, the car never did very well for the company despite being a compelling buy. Some credit that to the odd ball style of the SUV. The newer model of the X-Trail will have a more conventional design and will be loaded to brim with features. It is built on a new platform and most probably, Indian models would be brought in via CKD route. Speculations are rife that the company will launch the car with two engine options of 2.0 litre and 2.5 litre displacement capacity. Expect the pricing to be in 32-35 lakh ballpark.

The iconic Zen too is slated for a new launch which will happen sometime late into 2019. However, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a catch. The Zen name is being given to a compact SUV this time which can be heartbreaking for many fans. Codenamed the Y1K, it is based upon the Concept Vision S showcased by Maruti during the Delhi Auto Expo. The current trend in the small car market is inclining more towards compact SUVs and Maruti Suzuki wants to cash into that. The micro SUV would be slotted below the Vitara Brezza upon its launch and will provide competition to many premium hatchbacks. The new Zen could be powered by a 1.0-litre petrol engine. An AMT option, apart from a regular 5-speed manual transmission, could be on the cards as well. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

IN-FOCUS: NEW BANK

IDFC FIRST BANK

6 REASONS WHY IDFC FIRST BANK MIGHT OUTPERFORM

A new financial services giant has quietly taken shape in the background of India's financial services landscape. Leading NBFC, Capital First headed by retail banking specialist V Vaidyanathan has merged with IDFC Bank headed by veteran corporate banker, Rajiv Lall to create IDFC First Bank. While Capital First desired a banking license to move into the next orbit of stable growth, IDFC Bank required a credible retail operation to revive itself. These two financial service providers coming together is thus a great marriage of not only opportunities but great talents, that will mark the beginning of a new financial services giant that may outperform the competition. Seasonal Magazine identifies six reasons why this corporate alliance may be poised for extraordinary growth.

START-UP CULTURE FROM A MANAGEMENT BUYOUT IDFC First Bank is Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first bank to be formed out of a management buyout. In 2010, after exiting ICICI Group, IDFC First Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MD & CEO, V Vaidyanathan had joined Kishore Biyani promoted Future Capital as its Vice Chairman and MD. Promoted just before the global financial crisis of 2009, Future Capital had run into rough weather as it focused on the wholesale market. Within two years of his joining, Vadyanathan was convinced that the future of lending is in retail and successfully attempted a management buyout of Future Capital with his colleagues and with the support of US based private equity giant, Warburg Pincus, and renamed it to Capital First. When Capital First and IDFC Bank merged to form IDFC First Bank now, thus it becomes the first bank in India to be thus bought over by employees from owners, and this will give the bank a start-up culture that is much needed today.

V Vaidyanathan SEASONAL MAGAZINE

UNIQUE TRACK-RECORD OF THE LEADERSHIP Be it at Future Capital, then at Capital First, and now at IDFC First Bank, it has always been a bet on V Vaidyanathan’s unique track-record. Starting at Citibank where he became a retail banking expert, Vaidyanathan switched over to ICICI when it began dreaming of a retail franchise from the Domestic Financial Institution (DFI) it then was. Heading ICICI’s new retail division, Vaidyanathan rapidly grew it into scale and thus helped ICICI to smoothly transition from a DFI to a Universal Bank. He grew the retail business to over 1400 bank branches in 800 cities, 25 million customers, a vast CASA and retail deposit base, branch, internet and digital banking, and built a retail loan book of over Rs. 1.35 trillion in Mortgages, Auto loans, Commercial Vehicles, Credit Cards and Personal Loans. He has also led ICICI Bank’s SME & Rural businesses as well as ICICI’s life insurance company. Post his management buyout of Capital First, he has grown its total loan book from Rs.9.35 billion to Rs.295.68 billion, and has grown the Market Cap from Rs.7.9 billion to Rs.60.96 billion. It is difficult to find a younger banker with a higher track-record in India and IDFC First Bank will be relying heavily on his leadership in banking business.

BUT WITH FEET FIRMLY ON GROUND Despite his stellar achievements in the banking business, Vaidyanathan has been a very down to earth person throughout his life. Coming from a modest background, Vaidyanathan studied at different Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country, and being a studious boy, bagged an admission to the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. But his family couldn’t afford the train ticket to go there. It was his maths teacher, Mr. Saini, who gave him Rs.500 to get the ticket and the rest as the saying goes has been history. Legend goes that the student and the teacher lost track of each other and Vaidyanathan struggled to locate his generous teacher for nearly 30 years and finally it was some colleagues in ICICI who accidentally located his guru from Agra, much to his delight! Vaidyanathan hasn’t forgotten his roots and just last month he again proved it. Without any fanfare, but with the necessary capital market disclosures, Vaidyanathan gifted over four lakh of his personal shares in Capital First - worth over Rs 20 crore - to 26 colleagues, three former employees, 10 close relatives and five of his personal staff, including his house-help and drivers. This compassionate culture of its leader will help IDFC First Bank to balance growth with social responsibilities, which has become a hallmark of the most sustainable organizations the world over. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

6 REASONS WHY IDFC FIRST BANK MIGHT OUTPERFORM

THE RETAIL EDGE OF CAPITAL FIRST Capital First provides debt financing services to entrepreneurs, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises; and Indian consumers, with a focus on the emerging middle class. It provides financing ranging from as low as Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20 million for a wide range of tenures ranging from as low as 6 months to up to 15 years. Its long-term loans are secured by property, two wheeler assets, and consumer durables and are offered from over 225 locations across the country. Based on explosive growth in its retail lending, the market capitalization of the company had dramatically increased from Rs 7.81 billion as on 31 March 2012, to Rs. 60.96 billion as on 31 March 2018. The Company has been able to maintain a high asset quality. As of 31 March 2018, the Gross and Net NPA of the Company stood at 1.62% and 1.00% respectively. Capital First Ltd. has posted a net profit of Rs. 3.28 billion for the financial year ended on 31 March 2018. In 2013-14, the Company received the Housing Finance Company (HFC) License from National Housing Bank (NHB) for its wholly owned subsidiary Capital First Home Finance Limited. Capital First has also launched new products like SME Business Loans, personal loans and

affordable housing loans. International investors had made a beeline for the company and they include Government Pension Fund Global (Norway), Jupiter Asset Management, Ashburton Limited, DNB Asset management (Norway), Nomura Asset Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management etc apart from original and largest backer, Warburg Pincus.

THE CORPORATE LENDING EDGE OF IDFC BANK IDFC has been an integral part of the country's development story since 1997, when this private company with public roots was formed with the specific mandate to build the nation. Since 2005, IDFC has built on their vision to be the 'one firm' that looks after the diverse needs of infrastructure development. Whether it is financial intermediation for infrastructure projects and services, adding value through innovative products to the infrastructure value chain or asset maintenance of existing infrastructure projects, IDFC has focused on supporting infrastructure companies to get the best return on investments. IDFC’s growth has been driven by the substantial investment requirements of the infrastructure sector in India combined with the growth in the Indian economy over the last several years. Their ability to tap global as well as

Rajiv Lall

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Indian financial resources made IDFC the acknowledged experts in infrastructure finance. Needless to say, IDFC has funded some of the most demanding infrastructure projects in the country. Based on their vital contributions to the Indian economy as well as their good corporate governance paramenters as well as several on several other norms the RBI committee headed by its then Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan had selected IDFC to be one of the first two new universal banks in 2014. For long headed by Rajiv Lall, a veteran banker, IDFC First Bank too would benefit from his experience as he is the Chairman of the new merged entity.

PERFECTLY COMPLEMENTARY, WITH MINIMUM OVERLAP While IDFC Bank has been on the lookout for a significant retail franchise to acquire, Capital First has been keen on acquiring a banking licence to enter the next round of growth. Both of them have had different suitors coming their way too over the past couple of years. However, the current merger has been universally hailed as one of the perfect matches in India’s financial services history. This is primarily because of the perfect complementary nature of their lending portfolios. While IDFC Bank brings to the table large corporate loans like in infrastructure, Capital First’s loan book is dominated by diversified retail offerings to both consumers and SMEs. Secondly, IDFC and IDFC Bank have been experts in capital raising or the liability side, whereas Capital First has distinct capabilities on the asset creation or lending side. whereas Thirdly, due to the distinctly separate nature of their product lines, there is minimum to little overlap in human resources, which has been a major headache in such mergers due to the resultant job losses. This is not to say that everything is gung-ho for the new bank from day one. Far from that, IDFC First Bank has significant challenges ahead on the deposit side, as it has to shore up its low cost Current Account Savings Account (CASA) base significantly. SM

AUTO

TATA HARRIER

5 UPCOMING SUVS

CAR MANUFACTURERS ARE WORKING HARD TO CATER TO ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS ACROSS PRICE POINTS - SUVS. THESE SIX SUVS ARE COMING SOON!

HYUNDAI KONA EV Hyundai’s foray into the electric mobility segment in India will be spearheaded by the Kona EV. It will be launched sometime in 2019. Prices will be kept in check thanks to it being assembled from knocked-down kits, but don’t expect it to compete against traditional 5-seat SUVs like the Jeep Compass or the upcoming Tata Harrier. It will be sold in limited numbers - with Hyundai stating that it would be available in select metros like Delhi and Mumbai where charging infrastructure should be easier to setup. A 39.2kWh battery pack should give the Kona a realistic range of around 250km on a single charge. What’s more, it can be recharged to 80 per cent charge in 54 minutes if connected to a 100kW DC fast charger. It is not known if a fast charger will be offered to customers in India from the get-go.

The Tata Harrier will be the company’s new flagship SUV. It is set to be launched in early 2019 - most probably January. We know that the Harrier will be priced from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 21 lakh (on-road), which puts its squarely against the very popular Jeep Compass. While Tata has confirmed that the Harrier will be powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel ‘Kryotec’ engine, its performance specifications are yet to be revealed. Check out the images and other details of the Harrier here.

ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN The Phantom may be the ultimate luxury saloon, but it can’t traverse off the beaten path. That’s where the Rolls-Royce Cullinan comes in. The Cullinan, apart from being the firstever 4WD civilian vehicle by the British marque, is the first vehicle in its range to get all-digital instrumentation. Powered by a 6.75litre V12, the Cullinan is no slouch. This mammoth belts out 571PS of maximum power and 850Nm of peak torque. But it is not designed to be a speed demon, the power reserve should make the Cullinan a gentle cruiser. And with an intelligent AWD system and trick air suspension, it should be able to do so over varied surfaces as well. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan should make its official debut in India in 2019.

HYUNDAI CARLINO While Hyundai’s SUV onslaught will begin with the Kona EV in 2019, it also has two other SUVs in its pipeline. One of them is the much anticipated rival to the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza rival. Codenamed the Qxi, it will be based on the Carlino concept that was unveiled at the 2016 Auto Expo. The SUV has been spied testing in India and from what we’ve seen, it has little resemblance to the boxy Carlino concept. Instead, it seems like shrunken version of the Kona with lower placed headlamps, Hyundai’s signature ‘cascading’ grille and a Creta-like roofline. The Carlino may borrow engines from the Elite i20, which means it should get a 1.2-litre, naturallyaspirated motor and a 1.4-litre, 4cylinder, turbo-diesel. However, this could change closer to the launch date, which is yet to be revealed.

NISSAN KICKS The Nissan Kicks will slot above the Terrano and will be the company’s new flagship SUV. A competitor to the Hyundai Creta, upcoming Kia SP Concept-based SUV, the Renault Captur and the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, the Kicks is based on a heavily modified version of the Renault Duster’s B0 platform. Nissan has only unveiled the dimensions of the Kicks, and it is one of the bigger SUVs in the segment. We also know that the top-spec variants will be shod with 215/60 R17 tyres. A surprising feature at the exterior unveil was the presence of cameras for a surround-view parking system. Check SM out the details here.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

NEWS -IN -BRIEF

SKAGEN PRESENTS A MODERN AESTHETIC WITH ELEMENTS OF DANISH DESIGN

Skagen was inspired by the Danish coastal town from which they borrow a warm spirit and a minimalist mindset. Skagen blends timeless principles and contemporary innovation to provide a clean, focused and approachable aesthetic to its customers. Skagen offers a wide range of products for both men and women such as watches, wearables, jewellery, leather goods and gifts.

VENUS SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH FAMILY OF 78-YR-OLD WHO DIED IN CRASH American tennis player Venus Williams reached a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Jerome Barson, a 78-year-old man killed in a Florida car crash last year. Venus was involved in the collision on June 9, 2017, that sent Barson to the hospital. Venus and Barson's wife, who was driving the car, were both previously cleared.

ROBOTS ARE NOT REPLACING HUMANS AT JOBS YET: WORLD BANK World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg has said, "This fear that robots have eliminated jobs...this fear is not supported by the evidence so far." The World Development Report 2019 said rise of jobs in the industrial sector in East Asia has compensated for job losses in advanced economies. "The threat to jobs from technology is exaggerated," the report added.

MICROSOFT TESTING FEATURE TO GIVE USERS DATA CONTROL: REPORT

Microsoft is reportedly testing out a project, called 'Bali', to offer users with more control over their personal data. Bali is like a personal data bank which puts users in control of any and all data collected on them. It is based on the concept of inverse privacy and aims to reduce it to a minimum, the report added.

AUS WOMAN STUCK IN DESERT SURVIVES ON URINE, WIPER FLUID FOR 6 DAYS Brooke Phillips, a 40-year-old Australian woman, survived for six days in the desert by drinking her own urine, pasta sauce, and fluid from her car's windscreen wiper container. Phillips got stuck after she took a wrong turn and drank all the water she had on her first night. She was found by her 16-year-old daughter during the search operation. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

ANDHRA CM'S 3-YR-OLD GRANDSON 6 TIMES RICHER THAN HIM AT RS 18 CRORE

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu's three-year-old grandson, Devaansh Nara, is over six times richer than his grandfather with assets worth Rs 18.71 crore in his name, according to assets declared by Naidu's son Lokesh Nara on Wednesday. While Naidu has assets worth Rs 2.99 crore, his son Lokesh has assets worth Rs 21.40 crore. Lokesh serves as the state's Information Technology Minister.

BEIJING TO GIVE 'PERSONAL TRUSTWORTHINESS POINTS' TO CITIZENS China's capital Beijing will assign citizens and firms with 'personal trustworthiness points' by 2021 under the country's 'social credit system'. The government will use data from various departments to reward and punish around 22 million people living in the city. Those having low scores in the 'social credit system' will be barred from accessing public services and transport system.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

IN-FOCUS: REALTY

HIRANANDANI GROUP

DOMINATING REALTY, SURGING IN OIL & GAS,

ENTERING WAREHOUSING For those who know Mumbai realty up-close, there are no doubts about who was the developer who took the city's realty projects to world-class stature. If one mega project had achieved this feat, it was undoubtedly Hiranandani Gardens of Powai. Decades have passed since then, and the Hiranandani Group led by Niranjan Hiranandani has accelerated like never before doing more business during the last 3 years than they have done in the last 14 years. The group has impressively diversified into Oil & Gas, and is soon set to make a major push into warehousing, logistics and industrial parks. Seasonal Magazine caught up with Niranjan Hiranandani for the latest updates from the group.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI SEASONAL MAGAZINE

t was in 1978 that a young Chartered Accountant decided to break free from his family’s expectations and decided to get into business. He was then working as a teacher of accounting, and by 1981 he had set up a textile weaving unit in Mumbai. It was not an easy decision for then 28year old Niranjan, as he came from a family of renowned professionals, with his dad being Padma Bhushan Dr. LH Hiranandani, one of India’s most celebrated ENT surgeons with even surgical procedures named after him. Niranjan’s elder brother, Dr. Navin Hiranandani was also an acclaimed ENT surgeon. However, within a few years of starting out as a textile entrepreneur, Niranjan Hiranandani found a better calling in real estate development. He started out with a first project in Andheri, but his heart was always racing to do something rare and spectacular. And by the mid of 1980s, he and his younger brother and partner Surendra Hiranandani crafted a plan that can’t be called anything but audacious even now. In 1986, the Hiranandani Group signed a tripartite agreement with Maharashtra Government and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for developing around 250 acres of

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barren land in a village called Powai in North-East Mumbai for a township, mainly for housing purposes. The plan was outrageous because the area lacked even basic infrastructure like roads, sewer lines, water or even electrical connections. To add to the woes, some of the barren land was hilly and some marshy due to the adjoining Powai lake. Construction started in 1989 and the first focus of Niranjan was to develop the basic infrastructure like roads, water and electric connections. But together with it, Hiranandani did something that would change the landscape and destiny of Powai forever. They also planted saplings for 1,00,000 trees, staying true to the name they had given to this township on barren land – Hiranandani Gardens. It is this kind of foresight that has always placed Hiranandani laps ahead of competitors in the real estate development business. By the early 1990s, the first batch of apartments in Hiranandani Gardens was ready and the timing could not have been more perfect. India was opening up her unprecedented economic liberalization program and on one hand MNC companies were making a beeline to India and on the other new Indian companies were sprouting up in every sector, especially in information technology and banking. Hiranandani Gardens also had business towers and

slowly some of these MNCs and newgeneration Indian companies started setting shop here. Today, Hiranandani Gardens is an amazing township having 42 residential towers and 23 commercial buildings, with every necessary infrastructure built in, including roads, shopping mall, hospital, schools, gardens, community centre, sports club, banks, shopping malls, film studio, bus garage, hotels, restaurants, pubs and swimming pools. All built around a neo-classical architecture that changed Mumbai’s skyline forever. Within the next few years, Niranjan and Surendra would repeat this feat in Thane, an emerging city near Mumbai. Hiranandani Estate is today Thane’s largest and most prestigious township that balances nature, luxuries and conveniences across 250 acres. Home to more than 5000 families who occupy its more than 100 fully occupied towers, with more being developed to accommodate the many families who seek to be a part of this prestigious address. When most developers started offering rainwater harvesting and sewerage recycling plants after they became mandatory in the new millennium. Hiranandani had it as a standard feature from 1989 onward. And when other developers speak about developing

gardens, Niranjan speaks about developing forests in his sprawling properties. Hiranandani would again repeat the feat of turning useless land into the most premium township by developing a defunct and abandoned rolling mill in Thane into a sprawling 40-acres township – Hiranandani Meadows, which is a more premium offering from the group. Apart from Hiranandani Meadows and Hiranandani Estate, the city of Thane also houses three other projects from the Group, and it also has a project in Kandivali. On the commercial side, it has Hiranandani Business Parks in both Powai and Thane, with it being home to renowned MNCs, new generation Indian majors and quite a few successful startups. In recent years, the pace of growth has accelerated like never before at Hiranandani. Last year it sold 4.5 million sq ft in one go to Canada's Brookefield Asset Management, in what was India’s largest such realty deal. The Group is also diversifying impressively. Hiranandani Group firm H-Energy with an investment plan of Rs. 3500 crore is already a big player in Oil & Gas, with revenues likely to surpass group's realty revenue in next 5 years. With a massive land bank of 2000 acres across India, Hiranandani is now also entering industrial warehousing and logistics by investing Rs.2500 crore.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE IN CONVERSATION WITH NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI, CO-FOUNDER & MD, HIRANANDANI GROUP:

ast year Hiranandani had concluded one of the largest realty deals in India with Brookefield Asset Management of Canada. Can you mention how this deal came about and what all were the salient features of this deal? Do you foresee more such deals? As you know, we are a family owned company. There are no other shareholders besides our family members. When the family expanded to the next generation, we needed to add on lots of things, for one example, more liquidity. At the same time, we wanted to ensure that the company remained privately held. So, we looked at some of our assets, and some we have been holding on for 14 years. We sold some of these assets to Brookefield to ensure that Hiranandani remains privately held and to ensure that we are enabled to grow at a much faster pace than before. You had recently mentioned that Hiranandani had done more business during the last three years than you had done in the last 14 years. Is this driven more by commercial space or residential or both? Yes, that is true. We could do more sales during the last three years than during the last 14 years, which is when one of

our largest township projects started becoming available. Both residential and commercial space have witnessed strong sales, however this dramatic increase in business during the last three years has been more fuelled by commercial space. In commercial space, since leasing has attained greater momentum than outright sale, are you offering more commercial space under lease model now? You are right, leasing is in more demand now. Earlier, only MNC companies preferred a lease model. But since the last few years, even many Indian companies are preferring to lease out spaces, rather than buy outright. At Hiranandani too, predominantly more space is going under lease as per customer demand, than going under sale. However, we still do have some space under the sale model. Approximately, it is only 10%, while lease accounts for the rest 90% of the commercial space. Hiranandani has a land bank of around 2000 acres across India. Which all are the cities and states with the largest chunks of land? Our 2000 acres of land bank is mainly in Western and Southern India. In Western India, it is dominated by Maharashtra and then in Gujarat in the Ahmedabad region. Our South Indian land bank is mainly in Tamil Nadu, where we have around 500 acres, most of it in Chennai region. Do you have a sizeable land bank in Karnataka, in Bengaluru region? Please note that this 2000 acres that I mentioned is for my group, that is Niranjan Hiranandani Group. My brother Surendra Hiranandani’s company has a separate and sizeable land bank and they have land in Bengaluru and Karnataka. From running a highly branded, quality conscious and customerfacing business like premium real estate for several decades, SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Hiranandani has successfully branched out into a commodity infrastructure business like oil & gas pipelines. What prompted this switch apart from your son's deep interest in this field? Mainly this was prompted by our desire to get into alternative lines of business. My son, Darshan Hiranandani, is also quite active in our company and our real estate development. It was under his leadership that we did our first Dubai project, which is a landmark even in that sprawling city. But we all, especially Darshan, wanted to try new things too and that is how he got into oil and gas through H-Energy. This company has achieved some remarkable landmarks including the setting up of the first floating LNG Terminal in India, at Jaigarh in Maharashtra. This has also become operational. You have recently mentioned that HEnergy's revenues are growing at such a pace that it can outgrow the group's realty revenues in the next few years. How does these businesses compare by way of net profit margins? The emerging opportunity in oil and gas is indeed very huge. At H-Energy, Darshan and his team are planning and executing well, and we are expecting growth which matches this huge opportunity. However, these are all based on projections and if things pan out as he is anticipating, I think this can grow bigger than our development business. About HEnergy’s net profit margin, I don’t have ready figures with me now.

“WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT STARTING LARGE INDUSTRIAL PARKS AT THREE KEY INDUSTRIAL CITIES, PUNE, NASHIK AND CHENNAI.”

You had constructed a successful project in Dubai, and are you planning more such projects in any overseas destinations? Yes, it is the 23 Marina project in Dubai, which is the world’s second tallest residential tower and as such a prominent landmark in Dubai. He has also brought a few properties in Dubai which are fit for development. We may develop some of these in the future, but not in the near future.

Hiranandani can add value? We are sure we can add value to the warehousing business. This is because, until now, no major real estate developer has entered this business. We are entering in a big way and we will bring scale to this business. As a developer of huge townships, some things come naturally to us like access roads, electricity, gas, water etc, that will make these warehouses into complete solutions. Even more importantly, we are planning to deliver smart logistics services for smooth operations of these warehouses. We are also looking at starting large industrial parks at three key industrial cities, Pune, Nashik and Chennai. Since you and brother Surendra Hiranandani work together as well as in separately owned companies, in the same line of business, how do you eliminate competing with each other, or is there friendly

Are you planning to take Hiranandani public either through an IPO or REIT IPO? We are not looking at an Initial Public Offer at the company level. But we may look at forming a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and go for its IPO at a later stage. We are not planning to have an REIT IPO in the next 18 to 24 months. After that, we may take a call on it. Hiranandani is now betting big on warehousing with possible smart logistics services too. But with some of the largest multi-modal logistics companies in India struggling, where do you think

“OUR 23 MARINA PROJECT IN DUBAI, IS THE WORLD’S SECOND TALLEST RESIDENTIAL TOWER AND AS SUCH A PROMINENT LANDMARK IN DUBAI. “ SEASONAL MAGAZINE

competition? Can you briefly mention the focus of the joint company and your separate company and their approximate revenues? Our joint company still holds our two largest and earliest township projects. They are Hiranandani Gardens at Powai and Hiranandani Estate at Thane. These are huge townships with the Powai project spanning 250 acres and the Thane project built on 350 acres. Though we also hold some other assets together, these two are the main properties coming under the original joint company. Together, they may be assets worth around Rs. 10,000 crore and it may take more than a decade to partition them, if at all. However, our separate operations are poised to be much bigger in the future, as my company alone holds 2000 acres of land bank and his company also holds to a similar scale. These are the companies in which much of the current action is happening, as well as much of future activities will happen. We are happy to be together in business and we are also happy to do our separate businesses. Do you have plans to get into midincome and low-income housing, given that these segments are projected to grow at a faster pace? We are already quite active in midincome housing in cities like Panvel near Mumbai and in Chennai. We are also doing some low-income housing in some of our newer projects. These segments are definitely poised to grow faster and we have definitive plans to have significant presence in these segments, with our high quality offerings.

You have recently mentioned that real estate is all set to grow 35% annually for the next five years. With the RERA guidelines in place and most developers stretching construction times from 2 or 3 years to 5 or 6 years, how is this possible? Our Prime Minister has already given the direction for housing to be available for all by 2022. Even if we grow at 35% annually till then, only around 50% of that target would be achievable. I am confident for achieving this level as government is funding this growth through subsidies. Recently the concerned Minister and Secretary have announced that 50% fund availability for the target is already being rolled out. Even with the Real Estate Regulation & Development Act (RERA) in place and the resultant stretch in construction times, 35% growth is achievable as the opportunity is huge and market is competitive. All major developers will execute fast.

As a pioneering developer of modern India, how all are Hiranandaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homes and offices different? We were the first developer in India to build huge townships that redefined living standards. We add character and quality to our buildings, starting from the design stage, through execution, handing over and maintenance. When a family buys a Hiranandani home, it is not just a luxury apartment, but something designed to elevate their quality of life to the top end. Because, apart from the highest quality design and construction, each Hiranandani project comes with supporting infrastructure like roads, retail stores, gardens, even forests, as well as quick access to schools, colleges, hospitals etc. We really take care of everything and that is what makes a Hiranandani property different. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

NEWS -IN -BRIEF

11-MONTH-OLD BABY FOUND ALIVE AFTER 35 HOURS UNDER RUBBLE IN RUSSIA

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HC NOTICE TO GOVT ON 'CASTE-BASED' RECRUITMENT OF PREZ'S BODYGUARD The Delhi High Court has sent a notice to Centre and Army chief, seeking their response to a petition alleging that only three castes– Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs– are considered for recruitment of President's Bodyguard. The petitioner said he belonged to the Ahir/Yadav caste and fulfilled all the criteria for eligibility except caste, and sought recruitment for the post.

90-YR-OLD KERALA MAN MEETS HIS 1ST WIFE AFTER 72 YRS OF SEPARATION

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OH WHAT A NIGHT: FEDERER SHARES SELFIE WITH SERENA AFTER WIN

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer took to Twitter to share a selfie with 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams after defeating her in a mixed doubles match at Hopman Cup on Tuesday. "Oh what a night," the 37-year-old captioned the picture. This was the first time ever the duo played a professional match against each other.

MP GOVT PUTS ON HOLD SINGING OF VANDE MATARAM AT SECRETARIAT

The song 'Vande Mataram' was not sung in the Madhya Pradesh Secretariat on January 1 as the new government put on hold the long-standing tradition of singing it on the first working day of every month. Reacting to criticism from the BJP, CM Kamal Nath said, "Those who do not recite 'Vande Mataram' are not patriots?"

L U X U R Y BOTTEGA VENETA PRESENTS FIRST COLLECTION BY DANIEL LEE

Bottega Veneta announced Daniel Lee as their Creative Director earlier this year and the fashion world has been on the edge of their seats to see Mr. Lee visualises for the brand. With the Pre-Fall 2019 collection, Mr. Lee beautifully encompasses the fundamental principles of Bottega Veneta - the identity, the legacy – with a fresh approach, along with respect for craftsmanship, exemplification of natural material, and an ode to Italian heritage. The collection is not too loud, colours are humble, natural - cordovan, espresso, amber and oxblood, punctuated with heightened shades and contrasted with chalk and Milanese black. The clothes are generous, warm with softer silhouettes. A sensuality is expressed throughout, be it coats or scarf-dresses. The Menswear toys with the concept of sprezzatura, an unstudied, natural ease that also informs the womenswear. There is extensive use of materials like cashmere and silk, wools, cottons, shearlings and every permutation of leather. The superlative leather working skills of Bottega Veneta’s artisans are expounded through accessories. Celebrating and exploring the intrecciato, methods of knotting, weaving, braiding are applied to a range of new handbags.

FINOLHU LAUNCHES LUXURY 'BEACH BUBBLE' TENT IN MALDIVES

Finolhu, a luxury resort island in Maldives, unveiled a stunning new ‘Beach Bubble’ tent - the first of its kind in the archipelago - on a secluded stretch of its famed Fish & Crab Shack sandbank. Conceived and custom-designed by Eye In The Sky, the transparent inflatable bubble is a unique, inspiring environment where guests can enjoy an incredible, closer-to-nature experience without compromising on high-spec design and luxurious creature comforts.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL MUNICH UNVEILS CHIC COCKTAIL BAR, ORY Mandarin Oriental, Munich has opened Ory, a chic new cocktail bar serving avant-garde drinks in a contemporary setting. Conceptualised by gastronome Maximilian Gradl, Ory is operated by his company Barschaft B17 GmbH. Ory has been designed by acclaimed architect Özgür Keles and his studio, Selektiv. Within Ory's eye-catching dark green and gold interiors, featuring brass fixtures, wood panels, red velvet seating and large potted-plants, guests will find a welcoming yet sophisticated atmosphere. Gelato containers at the bar and a filtered water fountain in the centre of the room are among Ory's distinctive features. Ory's drinks menu is divided into four categories: Ory Classics features newly interpreted versions of famous

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Constructed using super-strong, high tech polyester fabric, the Bubble Tent provides a UV-protected, fully waterproof, climate-controlled cocoon that offers guests a uniquely immersive nature experience. The Bubble is an exclusive worldwide patented Precontraint Serge Ferrari technology and has distinctive properties in terms of resistance, dimensional stability and light weight, eliminating deformation due to load and offering a longer useful life. The interiors feature custom-fitted wooden floors and bespoke furnishings, and a separate adjoining bubble bathroom with WC and shower.

cocktails, using different textures, such as coconut sorbet instead of cream or syrup. Ory Signature Drinks includes playful creations like the Royal Hawaiian, a traditional tiki cocktail of gin, almond, lemon and pineapple, refined with a roasted almond and Tonka orgeat and topped off with champagne. Ory Apero is a creative and light-hearted aperitif menu and Ory Highballs completes the quartet with refreshing versions of Gin and Tonic and other old-style favourites.

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST

AUTO

MARUTI SUZUKI TO BUILD ITS FIRST HYBRID CAR WITH TOYOTA'S HELP Maruti Suzuki has finally started working on its first ever proper hybrid vehicle. The development is expected to be happen in collaboration with Toyota as per the partnership agreement between the two Japanese automakers.

COVER STORY ON PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

he Indian government has been pushing for making the auto market conducive for full electric cars by offering incentives (subsidies and tax discounts) but the automakers, especially the Japanese players, have been lobbying heavily to include hybrid vehicles too in the incentive schemes. With a shift in the government’s stance favoring hybrid vehicles as well, Maruti is out in full swing to come up with a suitable product. The automaker is planning to localize most of the critical components of the hybrid platform including Li-ion battery pack. The Suzuki-Denso-Toshiba JV battery plant is currently coming up in Gujarat to support locally manufactured hybrid and electric vehicles from both Maruti Suzuki and Toyota. Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., stated that the company is trying to collaborate with Toyota in pushing the hybrid system nationwide provided there is support from the government (in

terms of tax cuts and subsidies). It is not clear as to which is the car. There is a high chance it is the new Swift Hybrid, which has already been launched outside India. Swift hybrid / electric variants are also planned for launch by 2020. From the government’s side, the ministry of road transport and highways has recommended a cut in GST for hybrid cars. In addition to that, the department of heavy industries has asked for incentives for 10,000 hybrid cars as a part of second phase implementation of FAME (Faster Adoption of Manufacturing of hybrid and Electric vehicles) scheme.

Seasonal Magazine has been a pioneer in covering private and deemed universities of the country. In this cover story we asked a rhetorical question, whether private universities can repeat the success of private companies, private hospitals and private banks in this country. Whether they can progress to be better universities than their public peers? The answer we found out then, as well as now, remains the same not all private universities are going to make it, not many are going to be better than public universities. The challenges are getting higher, job growth is still way below the desired level and every week a new technology or trend is appearing that changes the market. We also covered in detail some top performing universities including VIT, JSS and Nitte.

It is also being reported that the prime minister’s office is considering incentives for local manufacture of Li-ion batteries to be used for hybrid and electric vehicles. Government’s promotion of hybrid vehicles in short term has the potential to achieve significant reduction in pollution and oil imports. It would also give OEMs enough time to develop electric vehicle technologies and solutions SM that are suitable for India. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

POLITICS

IS THE DISSENTING VOICE GADKARI'S OR OF RSS? THE UNION MINISTER APPEARS TO BE BREAKING THE SILENCE WITHIN THE BJP AND RSS ABOUT THE MODI-SHAH DUO'S ERRORS.

hat is Nitin Gadkari up to? His recent statements have caught public attention, and left observers searching for a political explanation.

Speaking in Pune on December 23, the former BJP party president and current Union minister said, “Leadership should have the vrutti (tendency) to own up the defeat and failures. Loyalty of the leadership towards the organisation will not be proved till the time it owns up responsibility for defeat.” This was less than two weeks after the saffron party had been routed in assembly polls in three states of the Hindi heartland. He added that “success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan” while saying that the “leadership” should own up to both. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are believed to be pulling all the strings in the party, Gadkari’s statements seem to be direct attacks on the duo. It has been rare, in the last few years, for any leader in the BJP – once known for its vigorous internal democratic culture – to voice criticism of the ModiShah team. Gadkari soon clarified that his statement was twisted by opposition parties and “a section of the media” to “create a wedge” between him and the BJP leadership. Two days later, however, he seemed to reiterate his initial comment. In reply to a question at an event in New Delhi, Gadkari said: “If I am the party president, and my MPs and MLAs are not doing well, then who is responsible? I am.” With his second statement against the leadership in less than a week, he has left little to the imagination. Over the last four years, the BJP’s serial electoral successes were credited to SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Modi’s leadership and Shah’s masterful strategy. The duo were happy to accept the credit. Not once did Shah miss an opportunity to address the press on the day of BJP’s electoral victory in states. On December 11, however, Shah skipped the press meet – and stayed conspicuously out of sight for three days, until the Supreme Court’s judgement on petitions relating to the Rafale deal. The saffron party in the past prided itself on its horizontal set-up, in which multiple leaders held equal influence. It was one way it differentiated itself from the Congress, which the Gandhi family has dominated for 50 years. This changed under the sway of Modi and Shah. Older leaders of the BJP, most of them now relegated to the Margdarshak Mandal – now mocked as an “old-age home” – are visibly unhappy. That Modi and Shah’s opinions are dominant, and mutually interchangeable, meant there is little diversity of opinion left in the party. Who better than Gadkari to bell the cat? As party president, he shared a less-thancordial equation with Modi: Gadkari was said to have supported Modi’s bitter rival, Sanjay Joshi, when Modi wanted him out of the national executive. Since 2014, they have largely stayed off each others’ turf. In September, The Wire reported that Gadkari may have been forced to cancel a trip to the World Hindu Congress in Chicago after the prime minister objected.

In October, the Union minister ran into a controversy when he said that BJP rode to power by making “tall promises” – another dig at Modi who made those promises. Of all the BJP ministers, the Nagpur MP is considered the closest to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP. Gadkari’s association with the RSS long precedes his entry into politics. Not surprisingly, the RSS appears to back the minister. Or, many would say, Gadkari is only articulating what many in the RSS believe. A mid-level RSS ideologue who did not want to be named told The Wire, “I disagree with the interpretation that Gadkari was taking a dig at Amit Shah. But I, and many others, believe that the leadership should own up to defeats.” “The BJP’s cadres are demoralised after the losses in the three states,” the RSS leader added. “This is also the time to rope in all other leaders in decisionmaking, seek help from experienced leaders. The Sangh has always advocated internal democracy in political parties. And that differentiates a political party from a private company.” Since the party’s triple-loss this month, an old topic has had a new lease of life in Delhi’s political durbar. What happens if the BJP does not win a majority on its own in the 2019 general elections? Even the RSS mouthpiece, the Organiser, has predicted a hung house in 2019. The BJP, the Organiser said, could lose anywhere between 50 and 100 seats in the Lok Sabha. Gadkari has emerged at a leading contender to replace Modi in this eventuality. He is the more acceptable face for other constituents of National Democratic Alliance. NDA allies have expressed growing resentment about the prime minister and the party president, fueling speculation that they may push for a more pliable leader to take the prime minister’s chair. Many say Gadkari has only thrown a stone at the glass wall Modi and Shah have built around them. More leaders may follow suit in the months to come. (By Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta for The Wire)

IN-FOCUS: JEWELLERY

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KALYAN JEWELLERS

THE GROWTH

LEADER IN GOLD With more than 100 showrooms in India, spread across all major states and metro cities, and over 30 showrooms abroad, mainly in Middle East, Kalyan Jewellers is one of the fastest growing jewellery chains in India. Headquartered in Thrissur of Kerala, Kalyan is growing its footprint of showrooms by around 10% annually. It has also forayed successfully into online selling through its own portal Candere. Kalyan Jewellers recorded a turnover of Rs. 10,000 crore during last fiscal.

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THE GROWTH LEADER IN GOLD

he more precious a product, more are the expectations from customers regarding the quality and reliability of it. Jewellery, much like cars and apartments, has thus come to symbolize this exacting demand from customers. However, it is also another story that much like car manufacturers and real estate developers, many jewellers too have failed to live up to such expectations from customers. Here is where the pedigree of the jeweller comes into play. Kalyan Jewellers is celebrating 25 years of its existence in 2018. Started in Thrissur in 1993 as a large single showroom, today it spans India and GCC countries with 135 showrooms. While this is an achievement in itself, its pedigree as a business house runs back much longer.

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KALYAN JEWELLERS IS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE IN 2018. STARTED IN THRISSUR IN 1993 AS A LARGE SINGLE SHOWROOM, TODAY IT SPANS INDIA AND GCC COUNTRIES WITH 135 SHOWROOMS.

TS Kalyanaraman, founder of Kalyan Jewellers, has been in business since he was in his early teens. How can he be otherwise, as he hails from a noble business family that was established around 110 years back, much before Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independence and even before the First World War. The group which had its mainstay in textiles, grew from strength to strength through the decades, surviving tumultuous changes that kept happening in its home state of Kerala, based on a singular focus of earning and keeping customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trust. But in the early 90s when India was ushering in a new era of economic liberalization, family scion TS Kalyanaraman decided to chart out a new path into the gold retailing business, leveraging on the same trustworthiness it enjoyed among its traditional customers in Thrissur and neighbouring districts.

APART FROM THESE BRAND COLLECTIONS, KALYAN HAS AN EXCLUSIVE WEDDING JEWELLERY BRAND, MUHURAT, WHICH COMES WITH DIFFERENT COLLECTIONS FOR DIFFERENT STATES.

While it was new to gold and diamonds back then, they knew their customers up-close. They had excellent ties with customers belonging to different communities in Kerala and knew their fashion tastes deeply. But the success of Kalyan Jewellers during the 25 years since then is a saga of applying this kind of hyper-local knowledge into different cities and districts of various states across India. Kalyan has found out that even in the same state, jewellery tastes varies from district to district. Kalyan also have many sub brands under the parent brand. They are Mudhra for handcrafted antique jewellery; Nimah for timeless heritage jewellery; Anokhi for uncut diamonds; Rang for precious stones; Vedha for heritage jewellery with uncut

KALYANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S OVERSEAS PRESENCE IS MAINLY NOW IN MIDDLE EAST, ESPECIALLY THE GCC COUNTRIES. BUT IT HAS DEFINITIVE PLANS TO ADDRESS ALL LUCRATIVE MARKETS, INCLUDING USA WHERE IT IS IN ADVANCED STAGES OF AN ENTRY.

diamonds; Tejasvi for polka diamonds; Apoorva for diamonds for special occasions; Ziah for handpicked diamond necklaces; Laya for natural uncut diamonds; Glo for dancing diamonds; Hera for everyday diamonds; and Candere for online shopping services. Apart from these brand collections, Kalyan has an exclusive wedding jewellery brand, Muhurat, which comes with different collections for different states. Kalyan Jewellers also has one of the most dazzling array of celebrity brand ambassadors, for addressing all of its core markets in India and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. They include Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Prabhu Ganesan, Nagarjuna, Shiva Rajkumar and Manju Warrier. Apart SEASONAL MAGAZINE

THE GROWTH LEADER IN GOLD from their celebrity status, Kalyan has taken care to select ambassadors who come from renowned and wellnetworked families in each state. Since the last several years, under the additional guidance and youthful energy of its Executive Directors, Rajesh Kalyanaraman and Ramesh Kalyanaraman, the Group has been stepping on the accelerator and growing at an impressive pace.

ONCE KNOWN MORE AMONG THE KERALITE DIASPORA IN INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST, KALYAN HAS SUCCESSFULLY SHED THAT IMAGE TO SERVE ALMOST ALL ETHNIC GROUPS IN INDIA.

During the recent festive season of Diwali, while many jewellers and even one of their associations were complaining about lacklustre sales due to the liquidity crunch in the market, Kalyan had no issues and is expected to report robust sales.

While smaller jewellery groups speak about increasing sales or profits, Kalyan is often seen speaking about its growth in showroom footprint. Currently, it has been delivering an admirable annual growth of 10% in the number of showrooms across India and Middle East. It’s next five year growth plan is to increase the showrooms from the current 135 to 250, including in India and overseas markets. This will allow Kalyan to scale its sales from Rs. 10,500 crore currently to Rs. 25,000 crores. As much as possible and true to its conservative values and roots,

While the average cost of establishing a typical Kalyan showroom is around Rs. 50 crores, it can go beyond Rs. 100 crores for its flagship showrooms for each metros. Recently, Kalyan launched two such flagship showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi, with its brand ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan inaugurating them respectively.

Kalyan has also been an early mover in e-commerce sales. While many Kalyan products are available from India’s e-commerce leader, Amazon, the Group has also started its own e-commerce portal, Candere. Kalyan’s expansions are funded mainly through internal accruals. This year alone, Kalyan is investing around Rs. 1000 crores to start 20 new showrooms.

Once known more among the Keralite diaspora in India and Middle East, Kalyan has successfully shed that image to serve almost all ethnic groups in India. The Group has been paying great attention to growing both its South Indian and North Indian businesses by way of correctly identifying cities for starting new showrooms. A force to reckon with in the diamonds business, Kalyan has steadily grown this segment so that now its gold to diamond / studded businesses stands at an impressive ratio of 70% to 30%. Kalyan’s overseas presence is mainly now in Middle East, especially the GCC countries. But it has definitive plans to address all lucrative markets, including USA where it is in advanced stages of an entry. Currently, Kalyan derives 80% of its revenues from India, with the rest 20% coming from its SM overseas showrooms.

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SPACE

WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PHOTO AND ITS PHOTOGRAPHER "WE WENT ALL THAT WAY TO DISCOVER THE MOON AND WHAT WE REALLY DISCOVERED WAS THE EARTH"

NASA has a transcript of conversations among the crew, which included lunar module pilot Anders, mission commander Frank Borman and command module pilot Jim Lovell — who later gained fame as Apollo 13 commander:

n December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became the first humans to witness the Earth rising above the moon's barren surface. Anders' photo of the moment changed how we see our planet. On Christmas Eve 50 years ago, astronaut William “Bill” Anders a US Air Force pilot snapped one of the most famous photographs in history as he and two other members of the first lunar mission watched planet Earth loom above the moon’s horizon. “We went all that way to discover the moon and what we really discovered was the Earth,” Bill Anders said by email last week through his son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders. Apollo 8’s goal was to prove that a spacecraft could fly to the moon and back, paving the way for Apollo 11’s successful landing seven months later. “Earthrise,” as the photograph was called later, is officially NASA image AS08-142383. Apollo 8 was Bill Anders’ only spaceflight, but it was the first manned craft to leave low Earth orbit. Bill Anders, who now lives on Orcas Island, was also the backup pilot for Gemini 11 and backup command module pilot for Apollo 11, the first lunar landing. After leaving NASA, Bill Anders founded the Heritage Flight Museum at Bellingham International Airport in 1996 with several vintage planes and has hosted several visits from famed World War II bombers. Heritage Flight Museum moved to Skagit Regional Airport in 2013 and still provides local residents with a glimpse of aviation history.

“Anders: Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! There’s the Earth coming up. Wow, is that pretty. Borman: Hey, don’t take that, it’s not scheduled. (joking) Greg Anders said his father, 85, has been overwhelmed by the surge of worldwide media coverage on the 50th anniversary of their mission. “I was 6 when it happened,” Greg Anders said. “It wasn’t until much later that I realized how important it was.” Wilderness photographer Galen Rowell called it “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken” when it was listed in Life Magazine’s “100 Photographs that Changed the World.” Greg Anders, however, said his father saw the Apollo 8 mission as just another battle in the Cold War as the U.S. raced the Soviet Union to the moon. “As a military man who had spent his time serving by intercepting Bear bombers, he was proud to be a part of a minor victory in the Cold War,” Greg Anders said. It was a photograph that almost didn’t happen, according to the NASA website.

Anders: (laughs) You got a color film, Jim? Hand me that roll of color quick, would you. Lovell: Oh man, that’s great!” For photo buffs, NASA said the camera was a modified Hasselblad 500 EL and used special Ektachrome film developed by Kodak. Its setting was 125th of a second at f/11. The historic year 1968 was closed out by NASA with a first-of-its-kind accomplishment: putting human beings in orbit around Earth’s Moon, a feat that also provided the people of Earth with their first-ever view of their planet from afar. Greg Anders said the camera didn’t even have a traditional viewfinder, so his dad had to guess at framing the image. But what Anders gave the world was a remarkable portrait of its fragile planet. It came at the end of a horrifying year for America that saw such events as the Tet Offensive and My Lai massacre in Vietnam, the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the Prague Spring uprising. “What Apollo 8 did was that it recovered 1968, what was really a miserable year, and brought it back,” Greg Anders said. “Apollo 8 50 years ago gave us our Earth,” he said. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

NUTRITION

SIGNS AND CURES FOR VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY

Also known as sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced in your skin in response to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency can wreak havoc on your health. We tell you some important signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency that you need to look out for. Residing in an area that has high percentage of pollution. Spending more time indoors. Not eating vitamin D-rich foods. Living in buildings that block sunlight.

Signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency

itamin D is an extremely important vitamin that is known to have powerful effects on several systems throughout our body. Critical to our dental, bone and overall health, vitamin D is responsible for the absorption of crucial minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphate, and other biological effects. Also known as sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced in your skin in response to sunlight. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that includes vitamins D-1, D-2 and D-3. This vitamin is most vital for facilitating normal immune system function and is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against diseases. Moreover, it is known to boost weight loss, reduce symptoms of depression, SEASONAL MAGAZINE

and keeps the body's functionality in check. However, if not taken care of, vitamin D deficiency can wreak havoc on your health. We tell you some important signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency that you need to look out for. Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common health problems faced. According to the NCBI, vitamin D deficiency affects almost 50 percent of the population worldwide. An average daily intake of 10-20 micrograms is adequate for individuals, as suggested by the US Institute of Medicine.

There are many factors that can lead to vitamin D deficiency:

Using excess of sunscreen and blocking the sunlight to reach your skin.

Tiredness, aches and pain and general sense of not feeling too well. Severe pain in the bone and muscles or general weakness that may cause difficulty in climbing the stairs or getting up from the floor or a low-chair or something as simple as walking till a stretch. In severe cases, fracture, especially in your thighs, pelvis and hips. Excessive hair loss. Wounds that take a lot of time to heal. Depression symptoms. Having digestive issues.

Vitamin D-Rich Foods While one can get vitamin D by being exposed to sunlight, there are certain foods that are said to be rich in vitamin D and calcium. We list out some essential vitamin D-rich foods that you should definitely add in your diet. Fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, salmon, egg yolks, soy milk, dairy products milk, curd, mushrooms, cereals, cheese, orange juice, cocoa. Make sure you have enough vitamin D-rich foods in order to lead a healthy life. Consult a doctor if you see these symptoms to ensure proper medications and advice. SM

GADGET

XIAOMI’S POCO F1 A HOT SELLER IN INDIA, ARMOURED EDITION NOW AVAILABLE

XIAOMI'S SUB-BRAND POCO'S F1 HAS ALREADY SOLD 7 LAKH PHONES IN INDIA.

he Xiaomi Poco F1 has been a global hit, with it being revered in particular for providing a flagship chipset at an affordable price. The Xiaomi Poco F1 retails at Rs. 20,999 in India, with pricing across the globe varying from $300 to $400. Leading up to Christmas, the general manager for POCO India tweeted that there would be a new POCO announced soon. Xiaomi’s POCO F1 Armoured Edition is now available in a new RAM and Storage variant, 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The Xiaomi POCO F1 Armoured Edition will be available in a 128GB storage variant and it comes equipped with 6GB of RAM. Pricing is slightly more expensive than the standard POCO F1. It comes in at Rs 23,999 whereas the regular 128GB/6GB RAM variant is Rs 21,999. That price bump is due to the kevlar back, which gives it a more premium feel and adds durability. It’s a little more expensive, but not hugely so. The price increase in USD is roughly $30. Previously, the Armoured edition was only available with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The Xiaomi POCO F1 is one of the top

phones released in 2018, and it’s no wonder that Xiaomi wants to keep it in the limelight just a little bit longer. It’s not uncommon for companies to release new variants of their smartphones a few months after release. This is the cheapest smartphone to be powered by Qulacomm’s flagship Snapdragon 845 processor and comes with 8GB RAM. As per the company, the Poco F1 uses a LiquidCool technology that allows a better thermal performance than most of its rivals. It is part of Xiaomi's all-new smartphone line of mid-range devices delivering flagship specifications at a much lower price than some other competitors. This device is available globally in limited

THE XIAOMI POCO F1 ARMOURED EDITION WILL BE AVAILABLE IN A 128GB STORAGE VARIANT AND IT COMES EQUIPPED WITH 6GB OF RAM. PRICING IS SLIGHTLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE STANDARD POCO F1.

numbers, but in India it has broader availability. As for the memory onboard, the smartphone offers 6GB/ 8GB RAM and 64GB/ 128GB/ 256GB of internal storage across its variants. There is also an expandable memory of up to an additional 256GB using an external microSD. As for its optics, the Poco F1 houses a 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup at the back with AI enhancements and Dual Pixel Autofocus. There is a 20-megapixel selfie shooter at the front with AI Beautify. The device runs a new version of Xiaomi’s own MIUI which is specially designed for Poco. The company has also promised the arrival of Android P on the smartphone within the Quarter 4 of 2018. Poco F1 is backed by a massive 4000 mAh battery that also supports Quick Charge 3.0 and a USB Type-C connectivity. Xiaomi launched its sub-brand Poco over three months ago in India and had debuted the Poco F1 at Rs. 19,999 in the country. The key specifications of the handset include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with LiquidCool Technology, a 6.18-inch display, 12megapixel rear camera, aggressive pricing, and more. The company has been regularly offering discounts and sales on the Poco F1, and it had earlier confirmed that the smartphone is available at a discount this week. Staying true to its promise, Xiaomi has discounted all the variants of the Poco F1 by up to Rs. 4,000 on Flipkart and Mi.com as well. Alongside, the company also announced that 700,000 units of the Poco F1 have been sold since launch. To celebrate its 700,000 units sold milestone, Xiaomi has announced that it has made the Poco F1 available on Mi.com and Flipkart at a discounted rate. The price of the Poco F1 64GB variant is at Rs. 19,999 (discount of Rs. 1,000), 128GB is at Rs. 21,999 (discount of Rs. 2,000), and the 256GB variant is listed at Rs. 25,999 (discount of Rs. 3,000). Furthermore, the 256GB Armoured Edition is listed for Rs. 26,999 (discount of Rs. 4,000). SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

PERSONAL FINANCE

WHY RENTING INSTEAD OF BUYING MAKES SENSE TO SOME

Say for example, you stay in a rented apartment. At the rate of Rs 15,000 per month you will end up paying Rs 36,00,000 to the land lord in 20years. (This amount may go up slightly over a period of time as landlords revise the rent almost after every 2 years in DelhiNCR.) By taking a home loan, the final sum you were to pay the bank was Rs 67,34,871. This means, by living in a rented house, you could have saved, Rs 67,34,871-Rs 36,00,000= Rs 31,34,871. There are several safe investment options that can help you grow this amount up to four times. By living in a rented house, you can get richer by over Rs 1 crore and also get tax break on at least Rs 1,50,000 per year as per the Income Tax Act (Rs 30 lakh in 20 years!).

een through rent or buy dilemma? If you are young and earning, this question must have come to your mind at least once. Persistent calls for home loans from telecallers may have also tempted you a number of times to say 'yes' and buy your dream home. If you are earning a lot of money, or you already have a lot of disposable income, it will be easy for you to do so. But for youths, who are dependent on their monthly salary, taking a home loan on EMIs could become a massive, endless trap! Yes! Economically also, buying a home on EMIs may not make sense in the long run. In fact, the numbers may shock you as well. The underlying assumption here is that your monthly salary is in the Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000 bracket. You are living in a rented apartment that costs you Rs 15,000/month in Delhi-NCR. The best home loan rates being offered by several banks right now are in the bracket of 8.5 to 9.9%. In Delhi-NCR, the average minimum price at which middle income groups can buy a 2 BHK flat is around Rs 30 lakh. Add to this, costs like stamp duty, registration, municipal taxes and maintenance. The extra cost would likely be at least 10% SEASONAL MAGAZINE

of the price of the home. Now, if you take a home loan of Rs 30 lakh on an EMI extending up to 20 years, you will have to pay Rs 28,062 every month till the end of the tenure at an interest rate of 9.55% being offered by, let us say, SBI now. This means, you will end up paying around Rs 28,062 x 12x20 = Rs 67,34,871 to the bank. This is more than double the price at which you have purchased the house. Two strong arguments, apart from many, bank representatives make to persuade customers to buy a home on EMI are: First, home loan principal and interest repayment fetch attractive tax breaks. Second, amount paid to the landlord doesn't earn any interest. These are true but there are other financial instruments available for tax breaks and earn interest. There is a counter to the second argument also.

ECONOMICALLY ALSO, BUYING A HOME ON EMIS MAY NOT MAKE SENSE IN THE LONG RUN. IN FACT, THE NUMBERS MAY SHOCK YOU AS WELL.

It is possible that the value of your home may grow over four times in 20 years. But considering the prevalent middle-income population of the country, would you be able to find a buyer interested in your home at such an inflated cost whenever you want? If you move to another place after a few years, you may like to put the house on rent. The rent money you will receive would compensate for your own rent but you will still be paying to the bank! You can put your money in Public Provident Fund and Fixed Deposits. If you are interested in getting regular money after retirement, you can invest in National Pension System. By investing just Rs 20,000/month in mutual funds, you can become a crorepati in just 15 years, according to experts. So, Buy or rent? The ultimate answer would be yours. But before making any purchase, it is advisable to do full research. One way you can end up paying less to the bank in lieu of home loan is to have a reduced loan tenure. This will increase the EMI. Post loan sanction, you can get the tenure reduced by paying more that just EMIs. In the initial few years, if you manage to give all your additional income to the bank against the home loan, you may manage to reduce the tenure by a few years. But still, you will pay a good amount to the bank. SM

HEALTH

XPE CTED CA USE S OF DIABETES UNEXPE XPEC CAU SES UNE FROM HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND AT WORK, TO THE TYPE OF OIL YOU COOK WITH.

hen it comes to diabetes, the figures are alarming –in Australia alone, an estimated 1.2 million people have the disease. That’s around 6 per cent of the population, and that number is steadily increasing. With one in 10 adults worldwide predicted to have diabetes by 2040 (that’s 640 million people!), scientists are eager to learn more about it. Diabetes affects how your body regulates blood sugar (glucose). In healthy people, insulin – a hormone created by beta cells in the pancreas – converts glucose into energy. Without that process, glucose builds up, which can lead to serious health complications. Type 1 diabetes is an auto immune disease whereby the body doesn’t produce insulin. It cannot be prevented and is managed medically. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body doesn’t respond to the insulin being produced (insulin resistance). Type 2 diabetes is often brought on by certain lifestyle or environmental factors and can be prevented, or at least its onset delayed. Type 2 diabetes makes up 85-90 percent of all diabetes cases diagnosed and, while it used to occur mainly in older people, it is now common in younger adults and even teenagers. According to Diabetes Australia spokeswoman Cheryl Steele, “There is no one cause or trigger of type 2 diabetes.” While some risk factors, such as obesity, unhealthy eating, a sedentary lifestyle and a family history of the condition, are well known, “there are a number of other factors that can contribute to type 2 diabetes but are much less well known”, she explains. Here are some of the more surprising culprits…

1. Working long hours Canadian researchers have found that as little as an extra hour a day at work can significantly increase a woman’s risk of type 2 diabetes. The research tracked 7065 Canadians over 12 years and found that the women who worked 45 hours or more a week had a 63 per cent greater risk of diabetes compared to those who worked 35 to 40 hours a week. What’s perhaps most surprising is that this correlation mainly affects women. The researchers believe this is because in addition to their paid work, women also spend more non-office hours doing household chores and caring for children, which in turn ups their stress levels and negatively impacts on overall health. For this reason, Steele says maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for managing or preventing type 2 diabetes. “This could include sharing household responsibilities with a partner to avoid burnout,” she suggests.

2. Eating soybean oil Oil and its effect on cholesterol and cardiovascular health has long been a topic of debate. But it seems that oil, specifically soybean oil, has

implications for diabetes, too. Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have found that compared to a diet high in fructose (a sugar found in processed foods and soft drinks), a diet rich in soybean oil results in more instances of obesity and symptoms of diabetes –in mice, at least. Which is not to say one should err on the side of sugar, it’s more that both should be avoided. “This was a major surprise for us – that soybean oil is causing more obesity and diabetes than fructose – especially when you see headlines about the potential role of sugar consumption on obesity,” says researcher Poonamjot Deol.

3. Poor Air Quality When it comes to preventing and managing diabetes, the focus is usually on what we eat. But what about the air we breathe? It’s becoming increasingly important that the urban environment plays an emerging role here. In a US study that followed 1.7 million people for an average of eight-and-a-half years, researchers found that even at what were deemed safe levels, air pollution and increased risk of diabetes went hand in hand. The study concluded that air pollution contributed to 14 per cent SEASONAL MAGAZINE

of all new cases of diabetes globally in 2016 – that’s 3.2 million cases! It’s thought that pollution reduces insulin production and triggers inflammation, preventing the body from converting blood glucose into energy.

Why Zinc for Diabetics WHILE IT IS COMMONLY KNOWN THAT DIABETICS SHOULD STEER CLEAR OF SUGARY GOODS AND EAT MORE OF FIBRE-RICH FOODS, DID YOU KNOW INCLUDING FOODS THAT ARE RICH IN ZINC MAY ALSO PLAY A FRUITFUL ROLE IN MANAGING DIABETES?

4. Being Depressed While it’s easy to see how the symptoms and constant levels of management demanded by diabetes could lead to depression, the opposite is also true. “People usually think of these as two isolated conditions, but there is growing evidence that they are linked, behaviourally and biologically,” says researcher Dr Frank Hu, from the Harvard School of Public Health. He explains that people who are depressed have elevated levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which can lead to problems with glucose or blood-sugar metabolism, increased insulin resistance and the accumulation of belly fat, all of which are diabetes risk factors. In his study, Hu found that women who were depressed were 17 per cent more likely to develop diabetes, even after the researchers adjusted for other risk factors such as weight and lack of regular exercise. Steele agrees that itis an important correlation to consider. “Recognising and seeking help with depression, anxiety and poor mental health is difficult for some people but vital to overall health and wellbeing,” she says.

The bottom line Focus on the risk factors for diabetes you can change, says Steele. “Sometimes, as an individual, we can’t control the quality of the air or the food available to us, but being aware of the risks to our health help us to make informed decisions.” SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

iabetes management is no cakewalk. The limitations and restrictions in a diabetic diet may get a tad too overwhelming at times; which is why it is important to have a clear knowledge of the foods and range of options that one can have in a diabetic diet plan. While it is commonly known that diabetes should steer clear of sugary goods and eat more of fibre-rich foods, did you know including foods that are rich in zinc may also play a fruitful role in managing diabetes?

Here's why zinc is important for diabetes management: According to the book, '101 Weight Loss Tips' by Dr. Shikha Sharma, "Including zinc in your diet helps sensitise tissues to insulin. Moreover, it also helps minimise sugar cravings. There are many studies that have shown that zinc acts like insulin when administered to insulin-sensitive tissue and that it seems to stimulate insulin action." Zinc can bind to insulin receptors and activates insulin-signalling pathways. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose). Impaired insulin activity can hamper the way your cells respond to the glucose produced, which can cause fluctuations. The mineral is also vital in ensuring correct processing, storage, and secretion of insulin; a key factor to ensure in diabetes management. Additionally, zinc also has antioxidant effects. People with diabetes often see immense oxidative damage. This mineral may help prevent oxidative stress induced by diabetes.

Zinc-rich foods you may want to include in your diabetes diet: 1. Sesame seeds or Til 2. Pumpkin seeds 3. Legumes 4. Almonds 5. Pine nuts 6. Milk 7. Cheese 8. Whole grains

STARTUPS

By Pete Jaison

INVESTORS, INCUBATORS AND VCS Ever since the start-up craze gripped the country, Investors, Incubators and venture capitalists have been grinding and striving to spot the next ‘big one’. Here, we take a look at the most interesting investors in the country and their top investments.

SEQUOIA CAPITAL:

BRAND CAPITAL : The strategic investing extension of the Times groupis the busiest Investor in India. With an investment portfolio of around 360 Indian companies, including the likes of some unicorns like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Quikretc, Brand capital is second to no-one. Brand Capital specializes in branding expertise and intellectual capital that helps entrepreneurs with the intricacies of the advertising business – helping them to plan and build effective corporate branding strategies that ultimately leads to both growth and value creation for the enterprise. The invested value till date, stands at a whooping USD $3 billion and a majority of their brands are clear market leaders in their respective sectors.

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INDIAN ANGEL NETWORK:

The IAN is a network of Angel investors who are always looking to invest in early stage businesses which have potential to create disproportionate value. The members of this network are leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem due to their strong operational experience as CEOs or a background of creating successful ventures. They have invested in just more than a hundred Indian companies including some names like Stayzilla, Unbxd, Fareye etc. Their most recent investment was hardly a month back in FarmersFZ, a Cochin based online marketplace for groceries.

Perhaps, the most popular name when it comes to investments in the Indian e-commerce space. Sequoia capital, one the most influential venture capitalist firms in the world has funded some powerhouses like Uber and Alibaba and has an investment portfolio of more than a thousand global companies. In India, they have invested in some nowhousehold names like Ola, Oyo, Zomato etc. Recently, SC has split their Indian investment team into growth and venture verticals, a strategy they follow only in the US and China. ‘The line between consumer, healthcare and technology companies continues to blur,’ Sequoia Capital India managing director, Shailendra Singh told. ‘Tech companies for example, in online retail have physical stores now and consumer/healthcare companies are becoming increasingly digital and reliant on heavy tech’. Singh added that India as a market has evolved into a point where there is enough depth in the equity capital market.

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST COVER STORY ON RAHUL GANDHI'S LEADERSHIP

Y COMBINATOR:

BIRAC:

The Silicon Valley based, YC is the most prestigious seed accelerator in the world. The founders of the invested Startups move to Silicon Valley for 3 months of intensive work to mold companies into the best possible shape. Each workshop culminates in a ‘Demo Day’, when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience. Stripe, Airbnb, Dropbox are some of the YC invested global companies. YC’s investments in India has been a little stingy as compared to the ones in other emerging markets. To date, they have invested in only about 36 companies in the country including names like Cleartax, Razorpay and Meesho.

BIRAC or the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit PSE, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to provide support to emerging Biotech enterprises to undertake strategic innovation, addressing nationally relevant product developmental needs. BIRAC’s sole focus is to play a crucial role in building a USD $ 100 billion bio-economy in the country. They have a wide variety of investing programs like basic incubation, equity funding, strategic research funding, social innovation funding etc.

YC’s principle revolves around ‘funding in batches’. They feel that this is a much better model and benefits everyone. It is far more efficient for them as well as being very effective for these funded startups, who end up helping one another at least as much as they help them.

BIRAC has close to 300 companies in their portfolio kitty and has invested in some big names in the health care/bio tech sector like Syngene, Privi, Mitra biotech etc.

In August 2018, Seasonal Magazine's cover story posed a profound question - Will Rahul’s Persistence Pay Off? Despite the glimmer of hope for Congress in Gujarat and Karnataka, back then, the mountain before Rahul Gandhi seemed to be un-scalable at that time. Most political pundits were predicting that BJP would learn from the setbacks in Gujarat and Karnataka and storm back to power in the upcoming elections of December. But our writers could clearly predict that Rahul's persistence is likely to pay off. We wrote back then - " Rahul has succeeded in keeping these issues (Modi Government's failures) in limelight" and that "his acid test would be in MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram", which he has now passed with flying colours solely on his persistence, despite being the most embattled Congress President in history facing the most uphill task.

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COVERS FROM YEARS PAST

INDIAN RAILWAYS DEVELOPS AI-POWERED ROBOT FOR SAFETY

COVER STORY ON KERALA GOVERNMENT Seasonal Magazine's 2018 cover story on Kerala Government happened when the state had started performing well under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. But we knew that Kerala was not ready for emerging challenges. However, little did we know that the southern state known for its high standard of living would stand paralysed before the unprecedented floods next month. Some say the floods have changed Kerala forever. But we are still not sure whether it is for the good or worse. The leadership, the opposition and the people who were of one mind and one body during the relief works have once again started courting unnecessary political and religious controversies the latest of which is the Sabarimala issue. The state's issues are all economics whereas its politicians are forever harping on political posturing to deliver.

The mechanical branch of Central Railway's Nagpur division has developed the robot named USTAAD (Undergear Surveillance Through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid), which examines parts of the coach in real time with a HD camera and transmits them over WiFi. To make trains more safe by eliminating human errors, Central Railway has developed an AIpowered robot which would click pictures and record videos of the under-gears of trains and send them to engineers for repairs and maintenance. "It captures video and still photographs of the under-gear parts of the coaches in real time and transmit them over WiFi. The engineers can see these videos on big screen as well as record them. The camera of the robot can be rotated in any direction as per command given by the engineers," Central Railways informed. "He can also zoom on the spot in case of any doubt. It is equipped with LED floodlight and able to capture the videos in low light as well as in dark mode. By use of this robot the chances of mistake and any deficiency overlooked by human eye can be eliminated thus reducing chances of human error," according to Railways. With the help of USTAAD, engineers can easily see and examine areas which are hard to see and hard to approach such as cramped or narrow spaces between under-gear parts. Railways is now considering using USTAAD across zones, once tested more minutely. SM

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SCIENTISTS DEVELOP VR MODEL OF CANCER The achievement is expected to lead to sharply better treatments to control cancer.

ambridge scientists have built a virtual reality (VR) 3D model of cancer that allows viewers to ‘fly’ through tumour cells, observing every detail from different angles. The advance paves the way for better under standing cancer, and developing new treatments for it. The tumour sample, taken from a patient, can be studied in detail and from all angles, with each individual cell mapped. “No one has examined the geography of a tumour in this level of detail before; it is a new way of looking at cancer,” Greg Hannon, director of Cancer Research U.K. Cambridge Institute (CRUK), told the BBC. Researchers started with a 1mm cubed piece of breast cancer tissue biopsy, containing around 1,00,000 cells. They cut wafer thin slices, an then stained them with markers to show their molecular make-up and DNA characteristics. The tumour was then rebuilt using VR, which allows multiple users from anywhere in the world to examine it. Although the human tissue sample was about the size of a pinhead, using the VR headsets, it could be magnified to appear several metres across. To explore the tumour in more detail, the VR system allows one to ‘fly SM through’ the cells.

INTERNATIONAL

TRUMP NOT WILLING TO LET USA BE WORLD POLICE ANYMORE PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP USED A LIGHTNING VISIT TO IRAQ - HIS FIRST WITH US TROOPS IN A CONFLICT ZONE SINCE BEING ELECTED - TO DEFEND THE WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA AND TO DECLARE AN END TO AMERICA'S ROLE AS THE GLOBAL "POLICEMAN."

rump landed at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, accompanied by his wife Melania, following what he described as a stressful, secrecy shrouded flight on a "pitch black" Air Force One. The president spoke to a group of about 100 mostly special forces personnel and separately with military leaders before leaving a few hours later. A planned meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi was scrapped and replaced by a phone call, the premier's office said. White House video showed a smiling Trump shaking hands with camouflageclad personnel, signing autographs and posing for photos. Morale boosting presidential visits to US troops in war zones have been a longstanding tradition in the years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Trump has taken considerable criticism for declining to do such visits in the first two years of his presidency. But speculation had been mounting that he would finally make the gesture following his controversial decision to slash troop levels in Afghanistan and withdraw entirely from Syria. At the Iraqi military base, Trump sought to defend his "America first" policy of pulling back from multinational alliances, including what to many Americans seem like the endless wars of the Middle East. "It's not fair when the burden is all on us," he said. "We don't want to be taken advantage of any more by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them. They don't pay for it and they're going to have to." "We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven't even heard about. Frankly, it's ridiculous," he added. Trump told reporters he had overruled

generals asking to extend the Syria deployment, where about 2,000 US forces, joined by other foreign troops, assist local fighters battling the ISIS jihadist group. "You can't have any more time. You've had enough time," he said he told the top US military brass. The drawdowns - and the abrupt way that they were announced - helped lead to the resignation of Trump's defense secretary, Jim Mattis, who has been one of the administration's key heavyweights. In his unusually forcefully worded resignation letter, Mattis appeared to chide Trump when he stressed his own "strongly held" views on "treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors." Trump has also taken flak from France and other foreign partners and senior figures in his own Republican party. However, the president has made disentangling America from its wars a priority since his 2016 election and he said in Iraq that the US would no longer be treated as "suckers," CNN reported. The ISIS group, which once controlled swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, has been driven mostly into hiding. Trump said "we've knocked them out,"

although he appeared to hedge his bets - following widespread criticism that his victory declaration is premature - when he added that Iraq might be used as a future base for operations in Syria, CNN reported. In Afghanistan, Trump wants to withdraw about half of the 14,000 soldiers locked in a war against Taliban guerrillas that has long resembled a stalemate. The Iraq trip will also go some way to ending criticism over Trump's failure to meet soldiers on the ground, even as he repeatedly touts his support for the military in campaign rallies. And it provides some distraction from a rising tide of domestic political problems, including the government shutdown caused by Trump's row with Congress over funding for a US-Mexico border wall. Pressure is also mounting from a series of criminal probes into Trump's finances and links to Russia. According to Trump, the flight into Iraq was unlike anything he'd previously experienced. "If you would have seen what we had to go through in the darkened plane with all window closed with no light anywhere - pitch black," he said. "I've been on many airplanes. All types and shapes and sizes." "So did I have a concern? Yes, I had a SM concern." SEASONAL MAGAZINE

L U X U R Y CFB LAUNCHES THE HERITAGE TOURBILLON DOUBLE PERIPHERAL WATCH

Luxury Swiss watch brand Carl F. Bucherer has launched The Heritage Tourbillon Double Peripheral time piece in New York in the presence of Pascal Ravessoud of Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) – the brand’s new partner. The launch of this timepiece marks one of many highlights in the company's 130th anniversary year. Limited to only 88 watches, the special-edition masterpiece also marks the start of a new product range set to carry on Carl F. Bucherer's legacy: the Heritage collection. The Heritage Tourbillon Double Peripheral is made with the CFB T3000 manufacture caliber, is chronometer with a diameter of 36.50 mm, height 4.60 mm, encrusted with 32 sapphires, and a power reserve of 65 hours. It is hand-engraved with 18k white gold bridge and a 22k rose gold rotor.

BOBBI BROWN LAUNCHES CAMO LUXE COLLECTION Make-up brand Bobbi Brown has introduced the Camo Luxe collection, where inside the camo-patterned packaging you’ll find a fashion forward range of rich hues, metallic moments and dramatic details. Earthy eye shadows range from velvety matte to sparkle-infused, along with a gorgeous skin-warming version of their Highlighting Powder. Along with this are chromatic shadows, cool nail polish hues, and richly-pigmented lip colors. The new camo luxe eye and cheek palette is a mix of eye shadows and highlighting powder with a formula that glides on smoothly and blends easily, is densely pigmented, keeps its colour and can be layered for greater shade intensity. Formulated with a clear base and highly-reflective pearl pigments, the Highlighting Powder creates a radiant yet flattering glow.

BREITLING & BENTLEY RENEW PARTNERSHIP WITH NEW CHRONOGRAPH Breitling, the Swiss watchmaking company and Bentley, the British luxury automobile company, have collaborated once again for the B01 Chronograph 42 Bentley British Racing Green. The two great brands have worked together since 2003, when Breitling became the first watchmaker entrusted to design an onboard clock for Bentley's flagship model, the Continental GT. The new chornograph is distinguished by its striking British racing green dial and is available with a choice of a stainlesssteel bracelet or a British racing green leather strap that matches the dial. Contrasting sub dials are positioned at 3 and 9 o'clock, and a date window is found at 6 o'clock. In announcing the renewal of its longstanding partnership with Bentley, Breitling said that it would be integrating special Bentley editions into its core product offering rather than in a separate Breitling for Bentley collection.

HERITAGE AUCTIONS OFFERS RARE TIMEPIECES AT HONG KONG SALE A highly desirable contemporary Patek Philippe watche is expected to vie for toplot honours in Heritage Auctions' December 10 Hong Kong Timepieces Auction. Preauction estimates indicate the auction could eclipse $1 million. "This auction represents an extraordinary opportunity to launch collectible timepieces at Heritage Week – Hong Kong," Heritage Auctions Watches & Fine Timepieces Director Jim Wolf said. The Patek Philippe, Unused Single Sealed, Gold Chronograph With Perpetual Calendar, Moon Phases, Tachometer and 24 Hour Indication (reserve: $100,000) is the last Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Chronograph powered by the legendary Lemania movement, which is visible through the back of the case. The yellow gold version offered in this auction is considered the rarest of this extraordinary reference. A Patek Philippe, Fine and Rare Twenty4 White Gold And Pave Diamond Ladies Wristwatch Circa 2002 (reserve: $55,000) is a dazzling piece with more than 1,400 diamonds with a combined weight of a little more than 8 carats. Apart from these rare timepieces, a number of rather unique and important pieces like a Bovet à Fleurier, a Rolex, a Daniel Roth "Classique" Diamond & Sapphire White Gold Watch and a Piaget, Protocole XXL, Fine and Very Rare 18k White Gold and Diamond Square Bracelet Watch, circa 2000s will be part of the auction.

By Carl Jaison

FOREIGN POLICY

WHERE DID INDIA GO WRONG WITH ITS FOREIGN POLICY?

ndia’s foreign policy position has been widely touted as being ‘reactionary’ or lacking a grand strategy. From India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to current PM Narendra Modi, India’s foreign policy continues to be viewed from a lens of strategic autonomy, where the country shies away from military alliances with others and is concerned with securing core interests in its immediate neighbourhood. While diplomatic and territorial

issues with Pakistan and China have dominated the bulk of assignments for the foreign policy establishment for much of post-independence history, there are new and challenging trends that have affected India’s strategic impulses. This article looks at some of the questionable decisions made by India at the international level during the course of its history, based on the extent to which it impacted its national security considerations and foreign policy priorities.

1. NEHRU’S FORWARD POLICY In 1962, India initiated a ‘Forward Policy’ in a bid to neutralize any encroachment by China on its territory. Except that this decision by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian Army was widely seen as a provocative act that eventually culminated in the war that left a deepl psychological wound on Indian strategic thinking in the succeeding decades. The ‘Forward Policy’ involved raising of military outposts in areas claimed by China and launching of aggressive patrols, which according to journalist Neville Maxwell increased the chances of conflict. India’s defeat in the 1962 war was attributed to its military unpreparedness and this was evident in the complacency of the Indian Army in its flawed assumption that China would not launch a military offensive as a response. However, others argue that Nehru’s decision to provide asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959 had already instigated the Chinese and the latter was engaged in military build-up ever since. Since Indian foreign policy was considered to be strategically defensive and committed to non-alignment, Nehru’s policy seemed overly reckless and unnecessary. The ‘Forward Policy’ was carried out with little thought behind the strategic consequences for India’s territorial borders and has bemused foreign policy analysts ever since.

2. VOTE ON ISRAEL India has historically favoured a two-state solution and remains ever committed to Palestinian statehood. However, when it comes to a vote or resolution in the United Nations on Israel, India has taken the ‘tried-andtested’ path rather than one than reflects its foreign policy priorities in the current times. When the US had decided to move its embassy to Jerusalem amid widespread protests from the Muslim world, some Arab states had tabled a resolution condemning the move. If taking the side of the USA and Israel in a largely symbolic UNGA vote would

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have seemed inconsequential, India did not accrue any tangible benefits from voting against the resolution when a mere abstention would have been more reasonable and in line with India’s notion of strategic autonomy. As IyerMitra argues, by voting against the embassy move, India potentially threatened to irk a US President who has been hell bent on penalizing countries that go against US’ interests and jeopardize its ties with Israel, a country that has recently been cosying to the Modi government. This move (and every vote against Israel) has raised eyebrows in some circles as Israel has always supported India’s stand on Kashmir while Palestine through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has only done the opposite.

3. MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SRI LANKA

In the 1970s, India had gained some credibility and an equal measure of scepticism after its military intervention in East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) had helped in the liberation of that country from her bitter rival Pakistan. However, in the case of Sri Lanka, there was much to be lost as the island nation was in the midst of a violent civil war between the Sinhala-majority government and the ethnic Tamils. Given that the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu had sentimental stakes in the conflict, India’s decision to send peace-keeping forces (IPKF) to defeat the Prabhakaran-led insurgent group LTTE baffled many who felt that appearing neutral or even pushing the Sri Lankan government to agree for a political settlement would have been more pragmatic. However, the intervention failed to annihilate the LTTE leadership and led to a prolonged civil war that ravaged the nation in the years to come. It is widely believed that Rajiv Gandhi’ decision to send boots on the ground, albeit for peace-keeping operations on the request of the Sri Lankan government, instigated the Tamil people and led to his shock assassination by LTTE suicide bombers. As it represented a deviation from India’s usual reliance on diplomatic posturing, the strategic miscalculations of the intervention continues to haunt Indian policy in its neighbourhood.

any decision to review the MFN status to Pakistan so far. Pakistan still permits only 137 products to be exported from India through the Wagah/Attari border land route.

5. THE 1972 SIMLA AGREEMENT

4. MOST FAVORED NATION STATUS TO PAKISTAN In 1996, India granted MFN status to Pakistan. This meant that India was willing to provide Pakistan with nondiscriminatory trade status like it does with all the other WTO members and that the latter would not be in a disadvantageous situation compared to the former’s other trade partners. On the other hand, Pakistan was supposed to lift its trade barriers and decrease tariffs and open up the market for free flow of Indian goods. However, the domestic industry in Pakistan weren’t too keen as it would impact their competitiveness and increase their vulnerability. Pakistan still hasn’t handed India with the same status while instead wanted both countries to sign the NonDiscriminatory Market Access (NDMA) which according to Kanishka Singh signalled the political mistrust felt on the side of Pakistan. While India felt obligated to offer the MFN status to Pakistan based on WTO rules, it did not receive the same treatment from Pakistan due to obvious political reasons. This received immense backlash from critics back home and the current government has not taken

After India militarily decimated the Pakistani army in East Bengal in 1971, it possessed a crucial bargaining chip that it never had with its arch rival since the bloody Partition of 1947: the capture of Pakistani POW (prisoners of war) and troop presence on the Pakistani side of the border. With Pakistan’s morale severely depleted, it was an opportune moment to reach a final boundary settlement on the Kashmir issue using the above two bargaining chips. However, India fluctuated between an aggressive diplomatic measure to an accommodative negotiating tactic, without capitalizing on the realist objective of getting Pakistan to remove discussion over Kashmir from any future bilateral talks. As argued by Zorawar Daulet Singh, Indira Gandhi wanted to make a gesture that India’s military triumph in East Pakistan was not just a show of strength but to arrive at a genuine peace agreement. While India had hoped for a domestic transformation in Pakistan to a more modern secular ideology from Islamism, there was an evident tension at the highest level between wanting to seek immediate security gains and hold out for a more durable regional order. Eventually, as one of the then PMO advisor P.N Dhar stated ‘the overriding consideration for India was to put an end to its adversarial relations with Pakistan and forge an instrument that would help build a structure SM of durable peace in the subcontinent’.

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E-COMMERCE

AMAZON TAKES TO THE ANDAMANS: THE PROSPECTS FOR ONLINE DELIVERY IN REMOTE LOCATIONS AMAZON, THE GLOBE’S BIGGEST E-COMMERCE PLATFORM, IS REDEFINING THE SPACE IN INNOVATIVE WAYS. THE MAIN FOCUS HOWEVER REMAINS THE SAME: OFFERING ITS CUSTOMERS WITH SWEET DEALS AND ENTERING NEWER MARKETS. INTERESTINGLY, THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS HAS BEEN THE LATEST IN THE AMAZON BANDWAGON.

efore any Amazon parcel arrives at Sahiba Ashraf’s creaky wooden balcony on Havelock Island, it undertakes an extraordinary journey by road, air, and sea. The trip begins, like any other Amazon delivery, from inside a cavernous warehouse, where the item is picked up and transported by road and then by air to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It travels by truck to a small, two-room Amazon delivery centre, where it is carefully sorted and bundled into a large white delivery bag. Then, at a roadside wharf at the other end of Port Blair, the bag, stuffed with Ashraf and others’ parcels destined for the island, is carried onto a small, wooden fishing boat. Half-a-world away from autonomous warehouse robots and complex algorithms, the boat, open to the elements and powered by a noisy, ancient engine, travels 70 kilometres in five hours across the Andaman Sea. On a beach at Havelock Island, home to less than 20,000 people, the Amazon bag is unloaded, its contents sorted at a small office, and the parcel is finally taken by scooter to the scuba diving centre where Ashraf is an accountant. “The first thing I ordered on Amazon was a camera. It came in good condition, and it came in four days,” said the 31-yearold. “The product came in four days from the mainland to Andamans,” she emphasised incredulously on her experience from a few years ago. “And at the same price.” Before Amazon arrived on tiny SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Havelock, best known for its pristine beaches and breathtaking scuba diving, it could take weeks or even months to get hold of something from the mainland, and usually at double the price. Most e-commerce sites would deliver only up till Port Blair, the capital, an hour-and-a-half away by the fastest ferry. “In Havelock, you only get tourist items, like swimwear and shells,” Ashraf explained. But why on earth would the world’s largest e-commerce company be interested in serving a tiny island in the Andaman Sea?

A CONTEST LIKE NO OTHER Amazon set up shop in India five years ago. Despite being a late entrant local rival Flipkart was launched in 2007 the US behemoth is now among the top two ecommerce companies in the country. Its founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, has committed $5 billion towards investment in India. Why the interest? Because India has one of the world’s fastest growing ecommerce markets, slated to expand fourfold to $150 billion by 2022. Already, the country is a pretty big deal for Amazon. The exact numbers are hard to discern, but there are some clear indicators. During the June-September period this year, for example, the company announced that its international sales growth dropped to 13%, compared to 30% a year ago. Much of it was because Diwali, a Hindu festival that marks the

peak sale season in India, fell on a later date this year. It’s not that Amazon has had a free run in India. It fought tooth and nail with homegrown players, including Flipkart and Snapdeal, to corner a significant slice of the market, and the contest is showing no signs of abating. In May this year, US retailer Walmart spent $16 billion to buy a 77% stake in Flipkart. “Walmart’s entry does incrementally make it difficult for Amazon compared to what it was when Flipkart was just Flipkart,” said Yugal Joshi, vicepresident at Texas-based consulting and research firm Everest Group. “It is not just about Walmart’s money. It has a lot to do with the know-how, expertise, and technology optimisation capabilities that Walmart has. Among other things, Walmart is known to run very evolved supply chains and they will bring that to India.”

FIXING THE FUNDAMENTALS On a February morning in Gauribidanur, a small town some 75 kilometres from India’s tech hub of Bengaluru, Naveen Kumar is manning his StoreKing outlet, complete with a laptop and flat screen TV. StoreKing is one of the retail chains in the hinterlands that Amazon has partnered with for its assisted shopping service, Amazon Easy.

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST of involving local store owners in last-mile delivery.

COVER STORY ON COCHIN SHIPYARD IPO

Six months later and 2,200 kilometres away, BanveetKawatra is manning his father’s Amazon Easy store in the heart of Ludhiana, Punjab. It opened in May this year after senior Kawatra was told about the opportunity to partner with the online retailer by former telecom executives. Sales have been solid so far. For instance, in just a week during a discount period earlier this year, the 19-year-old says he sold mobile phones worth Rs19 lakh.

Launched in 2015, and codenamed “Project Udaan,” Amazon Easy is focused on getting the next 100 million Indians, with little or no experience of online shopping, to buy on Amazon. Partners at these stores help potential customers navigate the Amazon website, place orders, and sometimes even coordinate deliveries. Amazon Easy is currently available at over 14,000 stores in 21 states. Sales have been brisk for around six months since Kumar started, especially during the big nationwide discount sale, but there is a pile of opened Amazon boxes in one corner of his store. “I don’t know how to return these items,” the 30year-old said. “There are shoes and clothes that people ordered and they don’t fit them. So they have left them at the shop and I have been trying to find a way to send them back.” He has put some such items for overthe-counter sale at his store, including a defective mixer-grinder that Kumar got repaired locally, spending his own money. But this isn’t quite how Amazon Easy is supposed to work the partner is supposed to hand over items for returns during the next round of deliveries underlining the challenge

“The biggest challenge from offline to online is being able to give them maximum discount, so they feel things can be bought within their budget,” he explained. “The common person wants maximum savings, so wherever they can get it cheaper, they’ll buy from there.”

FAR AND WIDE Amazon understands that price matters, which is why it continues to offer discounts even at the cost of bludgeoning its balance-sheet. But there’s a lot more that goes into its strategy. “We do a lot of research in India to figure out what the barriers are. There are language barriers, trust barriers, comprehension barriers,” Kishore Thota, director for marketing and customer experience at Amazon India, told Quartz. “Geographic distribution is a barrier.”

Cochin Shipyard had a healthy IPO and listing, and it had appreciated too significantly in the subsequent quarters. However, the overall correction in the market has dragged down this premier PSU shipyard's price too in recent quarters. But what should interest observers is the fact that Cochin Shipyard has continued to perform excellently on the revenue and profits front during not only fiscal 2018, but during the last two quarters ending June 30th and September 30th. What this means is that as and when the market recovers, fundamental performers like Cochin Shipyard, which have well deployed the IPO proceeds, are likely to rebound faster. With just over Rs.5000 crores in market capitalization now, Cochin Shipyard has a long way to go and grow, and it also offers high dividend yield of 3.20% at current low stock prices.

Amazon, in fact, has a team called “Reach” that works on expanding the retailer’s reach across the length and breadth of the country. Besides just expanding its delivery capabilities it now has over 50 fulfilment centres across 13 states with a total storage capacity of 20 million cubic feet Amazon has forged partnerships that could help it meet this ambition. In 2013, it partnered with the Indian postal services, the largest in the world, for deliveries. Then, in 2015, it launched “I Have Space” under which SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST NEIGHBOURHOOD

CHINESE LENDING $26.5 BILLION, PAKISTANI REPAYMENT $40 BILLION CPEC inflows into the existing projects will dry up in 2022-23 when the country will receive $26.5 billion, according to the planning ministry’s figures. On the basis of these inflows, Pakistani authorities have estimated that the country will return $39.83 billion to Chinese firms.

COVER STORY ON THEN KARNATAKA CM SIDDARAMAIAH In November 2017, our cover story asked this question - Will Success Side with Siddaramaiah? Most of the media and observers were praising the Congress CM for his street smartness to take on BJP. Siddaramaiah's 5 year rule over the southern state wasn't bad either. But after having visited him many times for this cover story, and despite being convinced about several of his good initiatives, we weren't fully convinced whether he could storm back into power. The reason was simple - even a grassroots level politician like Siddaramaiah was miles away from the real issues of the masses in Karnataka, which revolved around the recurring drought, the huge under-performance in the farming sector and the resultant farmer suicides. But since his rule wasn't very bad, Congress couldn't be wiped out from power as BJP was hoping for.

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akistan will pay $40 billion to China in 20 years as repayments of debt and dividends on a $26.5 bn investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It was earlier widely reported earlier that the Chinese investment in CPEC was to the tune of $50 bn, but the report seems to suggest that the figure is nearly half of that. Out of $39.83 bn, debt repayments of energy and infrastructure projects amount to $28.43 bn, as per documents of the ministry of planning and development. The remaining $11.4 bn will be paid in the shape of dividends to the investors, according to official estimates. The figures are significantly lower than the projections made by some private institutions, primarily because the outflows have been worked out on the basis of only $26.5 bn investment. “This suggests that unlike the claims of $50 bn to $62 bn CPEC investment, the actual investment is likely to remain half of the initially announced investment figures,” the report said. The only major project that can materialise in the next few years is the $8.2 bn Mainline-I Project of Pakistan Railways. The project cost

has not been included in these estimates. The finance ministry also shared these estimates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month, a government spokesman on CPEC affairs confirmed to the paper. The country on an average will return $2 bn per annum to China. These are the first comprehensive estimates of inflows that are based on projects under implementation and the outflows have been estimated on account of debt servicing of energy and infrastructure projects and dividends payments of power plants. CPEC portfolio currently comprises energy projects, being set up by private investors, and infrastructure schemes undertaken by the government. The government loans of $5.9 billion have been signed at an interest rate ranging from 2% to as high as 5.2%. There are three government loans totaling $774 million that have been obtained at 5.2% rate. Commercial loans for setting up power plants have been arranged at an interest rate of London Interbank Offered (Libor) plus 4.5%. However, it is the return on equity, which in some cases is as high as 34.2%, that will cause an SM outflow of $11.3 billion.

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST REGULATION

INDIA INTERVENES IN E-COMMERCE

he new regulations follow complaints from Indian retailers and traders, who say the giant e-commerce companies like Flipkart and Amazon are using their control over inventory from their affiliates, and through exclusive sales agreements, to create an unfair marketplace that allows them to sell some products at very low prices. India will ban e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com and Walmartowned Flipkart Group from selling products from companies in which they have an equity interest. In a statement, the government also said that the companies will be prevented from entering into exclusive agreements with sellers. The new rules will be applicable from February 1. "An entity having equity participation by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, or having control on its inventory by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such marketplace entity," the commerce ministry said in a statement. E-commerce companies can make bulk purchases through their wholesale units or other group companies that in turn sell the products to select sellers, such as their affiliates or other companies with which they have agreements. Those sellers can then sell the products to other companies or direct to consumers, often at attractively low prices. The new regulations follow complaints from Indian retailers and traders, who say the giant e-commerce companies are using their control over inventory from their affiliates, and through exclusive sales agreements, to create an unfair marketplace that allows them to sell some products at very low prices.

The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA) in October filed a petition with the anti-trust body Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleging that Amazon favours merchants that it partly owns, such as Cloudtail and Appario. The lobby group filed a similar petition against Flipkart in May, alleging violation of competition rules through preferential treatment for select sellers. The new notification also said that the cash back that customers get as an incentive while online shopping should not be based on whether the product was purchased from an affiliate of the platform or not. The new rules said that services provided to vendors on an ecommerce platform and by that entity's affiliates should be done so at arm's length and in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner. New rules will appease small traders and farmers who fear that U.S. companies are making a back door entry into India's retail market and could squeeze out small corner shops that dominate Indian retailing. The Confederation of All India Traders in a statement said that if the order is implemented in full then malpractices, predatory pricing policies and deep discounting by e-commerce players will no longer occur. CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said the new rules will put an embargo on the tactics adopted by the global players to control and dominate retail trade in India through e-commerce.

COVER STORY ON ESAF SMALL FINANCE BANK Seasonal Magazine's cover story on K Paul Thomas, Founder, MD & CEO of Kerala headquartered ESAF Small Finance Bank was based on a detailed interview we had with him. Starting out in 1992 with just a few friends and Rs.7000 as capital, Paul had grown ESAF into not only a microfinance leader in South India, but to emerge as one of the first Small Finance Banks in the country with a market valuation of over Rs.1200 crores by 2017 end. ESAF was one of the first lenders to be awarded this license based on their effective work for social inclusion among rural women through the SHG / JLG mechanism, by extending microcredit. Initially backed by Bangladeshi microfinance pioneer and Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank, ESAF is today a force to reckon with in banking business in all the territories it operates in.

In May, CAIT had raised objections to Walmart's $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart saying the deal would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. The new regulations build on existing rules under which foreign investors can acquire 100 percent of ecommerce companies, with the exception of a model based on inventory from which they are barred. Amazon India said it is currently evaluating the new rules, while Flipkart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST SCIENCE

COVER STORY ON GIC RE IPO

RESEARCHERS MODIFY PLANTS TO DETOXIFY HOMES OFF CARCINOGENS

esearchers at the University of Washington in the US have genetically modified a common houseplant pothos ivy to remove chloroform and benzene, from the air

around it, exposure to both of which have been linked to cancer. While a variety of air filters in our homes can keep allergens and dust particles at bay, some hazardous compounds are too small to be trapped in these filters. Small molecules like chloroform, which is present in small amounts in chlorinated water, or benzene, which is a component of gasoline, build up in our homes when we shower or boil water, or when we store cars or lawn mowers in attached garages. Both benzene and chloroform exposure have been linked to cancer. Now, researchers at the University of Washington in the US have genetically modified a common houseplant pothos ivy to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it. The modified plants express a protein, called 2E1, that transforms these compounds into molecules that the plants can then use to support their own growth, according to the study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. “People haven’t really been talking about these hazardous organic compounds in homes, and I think that’s because we couldn’t do anything about them,” said Stuart

Strand, a research professor at University of Washington. “Now we’ve engineered houseplants to remove these pollutants for us,” said Strand. The team decided to use a protein called cytochrome P450 2E1, or 2E1 for short, which is present in all mammals, including humans. In our bodies, 2E1 turns benzene into a chemical called phenol and chloroform into carbon dioxide and chloride ions. However, 2E1 is located in our livers. So it’s not available to help us process pollutants in our air. “We decided we should have this reaction occur outside of the body in a plant, an example of the ‘green liver’ concept,” Strand said. “And 2E1 can be beneficial for the plant, too. Plants use carbon dioxide and chloride ions to make their food, and they use phenol to help make components of their cell walls,” he added. The researchers made a synthetic version of the gene that serves as instructions for making the rabbit form of 2E1. Then they introduced it into pothos ivy so that each cell in the plant expressed the protein.

India has only one public sector reinsurer, General Insurance Corporation of India or GIC Re. Globally, reinsurance business has been one of the greatest wealth creators including the most famous example of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway which has reinsurance as its core business. From 2016 on, India has had private reinsurance companies which have been mainly from overseas. GIC Re's IPO should have gone well, except for its stiff pricing. Subsequent natural calamities have drastically affected the stock, but the scope for reinsurance business remains intact, as with each natural calamity, the appetite for the market to consume higher coverage general insurance products increases sharply which would eventually help reinsurers like GIC Re. At current low levels, the GIC Re stock is offering a high dividend yield of 4.93%.

Pothos ivy does not flower in temperate climates so the genetically modified plants won’t be able to spread via pollen. Plants in the home would also need to be inside an enclosure with something to move air past their leaves, like a fan, Strand said. The team is currently working to increase the plants’ capabilities by adding a protein that can break down another hazardous molecule found in home air: formaldehyde, which is present in some wood products, such as laminate flooring and cabinets, SM and tobacco smoke. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST FINANCE

INSIDE RBI'S NEW PANEL ON ECONOMIC CAPITAL FRAMEWORK The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the government, constituted a committee led by the central bank’s former Governor Bimal Jalan to look into its Economic Capital Framework. should be transferred to the government. There are two material components to RBI’s reserves: 1) A Contingency Fund of Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

COVER STORY ON MIDHANI IPO When Seasonal Magazine covered Mishra Dhatu Nigam's IPO before the issue happened, there might have been some skeptics. Because, little known outside of defense circles, Midhani has always been a niche player but one of the smallest defense PSUs. However, at Seasonal Magazine, we sensed immense promise as some of India's most celebrated wealth creators had created wealth during that phase when they grew from being smallcaps in a niche to a mid-cap leader in that niche. Therefore, our cover story title was, 'A Midcap Rising?' The company indeed had a blockbuster performance post listing, but has since then corrected together with the broader market correction that hurt small caps more. But with the current crisis in financials having nothing to do with this defense PSU, the correction remains an opportunity.

2) A Currency and Gold Revaluation Reserve of Rs 6.91 lakh crore.

he committee also comprises former RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, central board members Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and RBI Deputy Governor NS Vishwa nathan, according to a statement on the RBI’s website. It is expected to submit its report within 90 days of its first meeting. The panel would review the status, need and justification of various provisions, reserves and buffers held by the RBI. It would suggest an adequate level of provisioning that the RBI needs to maintain. It would also determine whether the RBI is holding provisions, reserves and buffers in surplus or deficit of said levels, and would propose a suitable profit distribution policy taking into account all the likely situations. The decision to create the committee was taken at the RBI’s central board meeting on Nov 19. That meeting came after differences between the RBI and the government spilled out in the open. Urjit Patel’s resignation as RBI governor nine months ahead of his term ended followed. The most contentious of the issues that have cropped up between the government and the central bank recently is that of the RBI’s balance sheet. Some sections in the government have argued that the RBI is holding excess reserves, which

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Most economists agree that a transfer from the unrealised gains in the currency and gold revaluation reserve is not possible without a sale of gold or foreign currency assets. Hence, the debate is centered around whether the central bank is holding excess contingency reserves and whether it should transfer any more funds to it in the future. The current economic capital framework followed by the RBI is not in public domain. A committee in 1997 had recommended that contingency reserves be maintained at about 12 percent of total assets. At present, these reserves are at about 7 percent. The government has argued it differently and is looking at the total capital on the RBI’s balance sheet, which it believes is excessive. According to one government calculation, the RBI may be sitting on Rs 3.6 lakh crore in excess capital. Mohan, the vice chairman of the new committee, told BloombergQuint in an earlier interview that the RBI Act makes it clear that all the profits of the Reserve Bank must be transferred to the government. “The issue is what are the profits based on the accounting method used.” Given the risks, it’s also important for the RBI to make provisions for various contingencies, he said. Calling such provisioning prudent accounting and that it adds to the confidence that the market has in the central bank, he said it will be best if there is a “clean formula” on this. SM

A leader in IT and ITES office spaces, Embassy Group, under the visionary leadership of Chairman and Managing Director, Jitu Virwani has also successfully diversified into various strategic fields.

Middle East and India based Sobha Group led by billionaire real estate developer PNC Menon is growing rapidly in both markets.

Prestige has recorded excellent performance in almost all growth metrics in recent quarters

Residential property sales has climbed 15% year-on-year in key Indian cities in the recent quarter, led by Bengaluru, and listed player Brigade Enterprises is a clear beneficiary.

SOBHA GROUP

Developers

TO FOCUS ON

WINNING IN INDIA, WINNING IN MIDDLE EAST

WHILE THE RERA LED CONSOLIDATION IN THE INDIAN MARKET IS CLEARLY BENEFITING LARGE DEVELOPERS LIKE SOBHA LTD IN INDIA, WHICH IS LED BY HIS SON RAVI MENON AS CHAIRMAN, THE MIDDLE EAST OPERATIONS, RECENTLY REBRANDED AS SOBHA REALTY, AND DIRECTLY LED BY PNC MENON IS RARING TO GO INTERNATIONAL BY PLANNING PROJECTS IN UK, AFRICA AND INDONESIA.

iddle East and India based Sobha Group led by billionaire real estate developer PNC Menon is growing rapidly in both markets. While the RERA led consolidation in the Indian market is clearly benefiting large developers like Sobha Ltd in India, which is led by his son Ravi Menon as Chairman, the Middle East operations, recently rebranded as Sobha Realty, and directly led by PNC Menon is raring to go international by planning projects in UK, Africa and Indonesia. PNC Menon has also announced a succession plan and professionalized the Board and executive management of Sobha Realty, while under Ravi Menon's dynamic leadership, Sobha Ltd is entering more destinations like GIFT City and new sectors like affordable housing, leveraging its well-suited land bank and expertise. Sobha Ltd has posted an excellent Q2 performance, but SEASONAL MAGAZINE

amidst sluggish demand and tough competition in India, Sobha's per square feet realisation has come down and the developer is relying heavily on toned down 1000 sq ft affordable homes to maintain growth. Kerala, which is a key market for Sobha after Bengaluru has been severely hit post the devastating flood. While Sobha has

a construction contracting business which is doing quite well, it doesn't have a significant presence in the booming commercial space and leasing business. Due to the tough business environment in Middle East, Sobha Realty may also go slow on its plans for a dual-listing IPO in SM London and Dubai.

AJMERA GROUP

Developers

TO FOCUS ON

50 YEARS BEHIND IT, CAN AJMERA BREAK INTO THE BIG LEAGUE? To beat the downturn in conventional luxury projects in India, Ajmera is offering apartments starting at 400 sq ft in Bengaluru, while for luxury projects it is pursuing joint ventures in UK and Bahrain.

orldwide, few companies have survived 100 years. In India, few have survived 50. If you check in realty sector, the numbers would fit just one hand. But Mumbai based Ajmera Group has done this, banking on traditional and conservative values. Despite having delivered 25 million sq ft and 42,000 homes, and despite the flagship firm Ajmera Realty and Infrastructure being listed, the group is yet to break into the big league of pan-India developers. But having branched out to Bengaluru and Bahrain and with the next generation of Ajmera family scions in action now, the Group is making industry-led moves. Most real estate developers have been experiencing a lull in demand for their conventional luxury projects. Some of them had branched out to developed overseas markets like UAE and UK as only customers there can really afford the kind of luxury projects produced by these developers. Some other developers have toned down their offerings to meet real market demand in India, which is for affordable homes. Ajmera is trying both strategies to shake off the multi-year downturn in Indian realty. They are doing four joint venture projects in London, UK, and one joint venture project in Bahrain. In both countries Ajmera has selected local partners for their expertise and reach. At the same time, they are also getting into affordable housing in Bengaluru, by offering 400-700 sq ft single bedroom and double bedroom apartments, again in partnership with a local developer. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

BRIGADE ENTERPRISES

Developers TO FOCUS ON

LEADING WITH DIFFERENTIATION

While the Bengaluru based developer is working hard, its EBITDA margin and realization have slipped YoY in Q2 and reasonable occupancy may take more than a year in its GIFT City project.

esidential property sales has climbed 15% year-on-year in key Indian cities in the second quarter, led by Bengaluru, and listed player Brigade Enterprises is a clear beneficiary. Also driving the sales at Brigade are the highly quality conscious NRIs, especially from Middle East, as rupee has substantially moved down in comparison to dirham. Brigade's plans for the

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immediate future are also impressive with 13 million sq ft of launches, comprising of 8 million sq ft of residential and 5 million sq ft of commercial, apart from two new hotels with 300 keys. Unlike most of its peers, and despite Brigade projected to have Rs. 3700 crore lease revenue by FY'20, the company is also betting big on the resurgent trend in ownership offices as it offers corporate clients 8-9% return on investments. On the financial performance side, during Q2 the company delivered a mixed bag. Brigade Enterprises Ltdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Q2 profit on a consolidated basis is up 8 percent at Rs.68 as against Rs.63 crore recorded in the same period last year. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income from operations is also higher by 19 percent to Rs.844 crore as against Rs.708 crore in the same period last year. However, Brigade's EBIDTA margin has decreased 119bps YoY to 26.5%. Realization per sq ft in the real estate business was muted at Rs.5,719, which is a reduction of 3% YoY. Brigade Enterprises seems to be facing a headwind in momentum in its GIFT city project. Analysts have noted that it could take more than 12 months to reach a reasonable occupancy. SM

Developers TO FOCUS ON PRESTIGE ESTATES PROJECTS

FINDING THE WINNING MIX IN REALTY Prestige has recorded excellent performance in almost all growth metrics in Q2, but to contain its ballooning debt it needs to monetize its growing ready unsold inventory or strike a new stake sale deal as it has called off the GIC deal.

he implementation of RERA guidelines is finally separating the strongest companies in real estate from the rest of the pack. And there are no marks for guessing where Bengaluru based Prestige Estates Projects stands. This listed major in the realty sector of South India has been working hard to launch the 10 million sq ft promised for 2019. Based on its unparalleled experience and expertise in serving thousands of most discerning homebuyers and corporates, Prestige has crafted one of the best growth models for a realty company with the right mix of sale and lease rentals, apart from its ample and premium land bank. Prestige is also experiencing heightened interest from international PE funds for forming separate joint ventures in both its commercial and residential real estate businesses. However,

Prestige recently called off such a deal announced in February with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, to sell 40% stake in its office portfolio for Rs.2000 crores. This could have come in handy for the developer as its debt has been ballooning, to emerge as an overhang on the stock. Prestige Estate has recorded an excellent Q2 performance, but its ready but unsold inventory has increased by Rs.900 crore to reach Rs.2700 crores now, and monetization of this inventory would be key to its performance. Known more for its luxury homes, Prestige has however been experiencing more demand from the low and mid income groups. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Developers TO FOCUS ON EMBASSY GROUP

10 WAYS EMBASSY MAINTAINS LEADERSHIP

For over the last three decades, Embassy Group has gone on to be admired by its customers as well as peers. While clients for its office spaces include finest international organizations like IBM, Microsoft, Fidelity, TCS, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Yahoo, Goldman Sachs and Swiss Re, its residential customers are among the most discerning homebuyers. A leader in IT and ITES office spaces, Embassy Group, under the visionary leadership of Chairman and Managing Director, Jitu Virwani has also successfully diversified into co working spaces, hospitality, branded private residences, mid-income housing, renewable power, industrial parks, international schooling and equestrian sport. Seasonal Magazine brings several unique traits that have enabled Embassy to be an admired leader in SM all the sectors that it operates in. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST MOVERS

INDIA BORN RAJESH SUBRAMANIAM IS THE NEW FEDEX PRESIDENT FedEx is the world's third largest courier company, owns the largest fleet of aircrafts among courier companies and is credited with most innovations in the field like online tracking of parcels.

COVER STORY ON HIGH GROWTH COMPANIES Seasonal Magazine's cover story titled, 'Companies on a Predictable High Growth Trajectory' was a revisit after 19 months to assess the performance of our July 2016 cover story, '36 Better Performing Companies to Ride This Bull Run'. While most companies had performed well, 15 of them had significant appreciation in their stock prices. We featured them again to ascertain what makes them tick, and to assess their future potential too. These companies were Avanti Feeds, Siyaram Silk Mills, KEI Industries, Can Fin Homes, Gruh Finance, V-Guard Industries, Samkrg Pistons & Rings, Bajaj Finance, Vidhi Speciality Food Ingredients, GIC Housing Finance, NIIT Technologies, NBCC, South Indian Bank, Manappuram Finance and LIC Housing Finance. Many of them have corrected significantly in the recent market meltdown making some of them attractive again.

ubramaniam, an IITBombay graduate from Thiruvananthapuram, has been with FedEx for more than 27 years. He has held various executive-level positions in the company Indian-American Rajesh Subrama niam has been named as the president and chief executive officer of US multinational courier delivery giant FedEx Express. Subramaniam, currently the executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer of FedEx Corporation, will assume his new role on January 1, 2019. He replaces David L Cunningham at the Tennessee-headquartered company. Subramaniam, an IIT-Bombay graduate from Thiruvananthapuram, has been with FedEx for more than 27 years. He has held various executive-level positions in the company. He began his career in Memphis and subsequently moved to Hong Kong where he oversaw marketing and customer service for the Asia Pacific region. Subramaniam then took over as the president of FedEx Express in Canada before moving back to the US as senior vice president of international marketing. He was then promoted to executive vice president of marketing in 2013

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at FedEx Services, prior to being named executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at FedEx Corporation in 2017. “Raj’s global vision and broad experience make him uniquely qualified to lead our largest operating company. We look forward to the continued growth of FedEx Express within our global portfolio as Raj takes on this critical role,” David J Bronczek, president and chief operating officer, FedEx Corporation, said. Subramaniam earned his Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University and MBA from the University of Texas in Austin. Rajesh Subramaniam is the son of former Kerala police chief C Subramaniam. SM

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST INNOVATION

INDIA'S OWN TRAIN 18

As Train 18 gets safety clearance, Indian Railways engine-less 180 kmph train is ready to hit tracks in early 2019.

COVER STORY ON BANDHAN BANK IPO

rain 18, Indian Railways’ first semi-high speed engine-less train, has got the clearance from the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS). This is a prerequisite for any train with new technology to start service. Train 18, manufactured by ICF Chennai, has been undergoing speed and safety trials by RDSO. According to an IANS report, the CCRS after the inspection of the new 16-coach train during speed trial between Safdarjung railway station and Agra, recommended certain precautionary measures such as fencing and regular greasing of all the curves on the route. In a letter sent by the CCRS to the Railway Board, it was stated that for speeds beyond 130 kmph and up to 160 kmph, the provision for sturdy fencing all along the railway track should be ensured, the report said. According to a senior railway official who was quoted in the report, for 160 kmph speed level, fencing is a must. But to start with, just like the Rajdhani Express service, the Train 18 will be running at a maximum speed of 130 kmph. Once the entire fencing work along the track is complete, the speed of Train 18 will go up to 160 kmph, he

added. The fencing is important for 160 kmph speeds in order to prevent trespassing of people or cattle on the railway tracks. During its trials, Train 18 became the fastest Indian Railways train, hitting speeds of 180 kmph. Manufactured at a cost of approximately Rs 100 crore, Train 18 is a ‘Make in India’ initiative that promises better days ahead in the passenger travel segment.

Seasonal Magazine's March 2018 cover story on Bandhan Bank's IPO clearly identified the microfinance pioneer as one of the most promising IPOs. Reasons for this included Bandhan's undisputed leadership in microfinance as well as its strategies to grow its retail franchise post the award of banking license. The entire microfinance industry was also turning around after the twin whammy of demonetisation and farm loan waivers. The IPO was a blockbuster as well as the listing, but unfortunately for Bandhan Bank the recent market correction spearheaded by financial stocks has not bode well. However, since the bank is not at all active in the infra financing sector, Bandhan has again emerged as one of the earliest financial stocks to rebound.

The engine-less self-propelled train allows for faster acceleration and deceleration and has new features such as automatic doors with sliding footsteps, fully sealed gangways and disabled-friendly toilets and spaces. The train has been equipped with several world-class facilities including infotainment, biovacuum toilets, GPS-based information system, mobile charging points, LED lighting as well as a climate control system that adjusts the temperature according to weather and occupancy. Train 18 is expected to be flagged off by PM Narendra Modi on the Delhi to Varanasi route in early 2019. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CORPORATE

HOW TO MAKE KINDNESS CONTAGIOUS IN BUSINESS SPACES AUTHOR BILL TAYLOR HIGHLIGHTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KINDNESS AND HOW CORPORATE LEADERS HAD TO CONVINCE DEALERS AND THEIR STAFFERS TO JOIN A GRASSROOTS “MOVEMENT” THAT TREATED KINDNESS LIKE A CONTAGION.

can the newspaper headlines, or switch on cable news for a few minutes, and it’s easy to conclude that we are living through harsh, mean, divisive times. But a recent column in the Washington Post reminded me of a truth that is even easier to overlook: Just as bad behavior tends to spread, so too does good behavior. Kindness, it turns out, is contagious. The column highlighted the work of Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki, who documents what he calls “positive conformity.” In his research, “participants who believed others were more generous became more generous themselves.” This suggests that “kindness is contagious, and that it can cascade across people, taking on new forms along the way.” Zaki’s insight is vital for improving society, but it applies to companies too. Almost every leader I know wants his or her colleagues to go above and beyond normal standards of service, to impress customers with their kindness. Many of these leaders also believe that achieving this goal is largely a matter of policies and procedures — kindness as a directive. Actually, the way to unleash kindness in your organization is to treat it like a contagion, and to create the conditions under which everybody catches it. Consider one instructive case study. I recently immersed myself in the customer-service transformation of Mercedes-Benz USA, the sales-andservice arm of the German automaker. When Stephen Cannon became president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, he recognized that success was about more than just his vehicles. It was about how much the people who sold and serviced the cars cared and how generously they behaved. “Every encounter with the brand,” he declared, “must be as extraordinary as the machine itself.” And almost every encounter with the brand, he understood, came down to a personal SEASONAL MAGAZINE

encounter with a human being in a dealership who could either act in ways that were memorable, or could act the rote way most people in most dealerships act. Cannon also understood that if he wanted to influence the behavior of more than 23,000 employees at Mercedes dealerships, there was no rule book he could write to engineer a culture of connection and compassion. Instead, he had to convince dealers and their staffers to join a grassroots “movement” that treated kindness like a contagion. “There is no scientific process, no algorithm, to inspire a salesperson or a service person to do something extraordinary,” Cannon told me. “The only way you get there is to educate people, excite them, incite them. Give them permission to rise to the occasion when the occasion to do something arises. This is not about following instructions. It’s about taking a leap of faith.” Over the last few years, this leap of faith unleashed all sorts of everyday acts of kindness. There was one dealer who’d closed a sale and noticed from the documents that it was the customer’s birthday. So he ordered a cake, and when the customer came in to pick up the car, had a celebration. Then there was the customer who got a flat tire on the way to her son’s graduation. She pulled into a Mercedes dealership in a panic and explained the problem. Unfortunately, there were no replacement tires in stock for her model. The service manager ran to the showroom, jacked up a new car, removed one of its tires, and sent the mother on her way. “We have so many stories like this,” Cannon says. “They’re about people going out of their way because they care enough to do something special.” There was another ingredient to the Mercedes-Benz contagion. It’s more natural for front-line employees to show

kindness towards customers, it turns out, if they are motivated by genuine pride in what they do. Harry Hynekamp, a 15-year veteran of Mercedes-Benz USA, became the first-ever general manager for customer experience. As Hynekamp and his team traveled across the country, they discovered that “pride in the brand was not quite as strong as we thought, the level of engagement with the work not as deep as we thought.” What really shocked them is that nearly 70 percent of front-line employees had never driven one of the cars outside the dealership lot. They’d repaired them, ordered parts for them, but they’d never been behind the wheel on the open road. How could people take genuine pride in the brand, Hynekamp wondered, if they’d never themselves experienced the thrill of driving a Mercedes-Benz vehicle? So he created a program through which all 23,000 dealership employees got to drive a new Mercedes-Benz for 48 hours. The company put close to 800 cars in the field, at a cost of millions of dollars. Employees often timed their turns behind the wheel to correspond with important events - picking up grandma on her 90th birthday, driving a daughter and her friends to a Sweet 16, bringing a newborn baby home from the hospital. The participants took photos, made videos, and in one case, even wrote a rap song, to chronicle their 48 hours. “The reactions were out of this world,” Hynekamp told me. He created an internal website to collect and share the stories. “Sure, people got to know the cars very well. But the biggest piece was the pride piece.” This bottom-up, peer-to-peer commitment to customers at MercedesBenz USA is a powerful case study in service transformation. It’s also a reminder for leaders in all sorts of field: You can’t order people to be kind, but you can spark a kindness contagion. SM

MANAGEMENT

ARE INDIANS GENERALLY WIRED TO BECOME GOOD MANAGERS? IS THERE REALLY SOMETHING ABOUT MANAGERS COMING FROM A CERTAIN CULTURAL CONTEXT? AUTHORS R GOPALKRISHNAN AND RANJAN BANERJEE ARGUE THAT THERE IS A SECRET SAUCE THAT MAKES INDIANS LIKELY TO BE GOOD MANAGERS.

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What do Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google), Indra Nooyi (formerly PepsiCo), Shantanu Narayen (Adobe), Nitin Nohria (Harvard Business School) to cite just a few wellknown names- have in common? To begin with, they are successful leaders of globally renowned institutions that significantly impact the world we live in. Further, they are leaders who have had a significant component of their early upbringing, living experiences, and education in India. They are “madein-India managers.” A year back, R Gopalakrishnan and I began discussing this phenomenon. We spoke to many people whom we had studied with during our MBA and engineering days who were in leadershippositions in global organisations across the world. “How,” we asked, “if at all, did being ‘made-in-

India’ help you get where you are today?” It is not unusual to find successful nonresident Indians being disparaging of India and some of the things that Indians are unable to get right (a criticism that is made sometimes with just cause). However, our experience from these conversations was quitedifferent. The answers surprised us. To the man and woman, everybody we spoke to agreed that the experience of growing up in India had shaped them positively in fundamental ways. It must be said at the outset that while the factors enumerated below play an important role, none of these factors in themselves are unique to Indian managers. Many of the factors are present in different measure in citizens of other developing countries. But wetalk in the book (The Made-in-India Manager, Hachette India) of a concept

called “emergence.” It is a concept from systems theory that in its essence states that the beauty of a flower cannot be understood by aggregating the beauty of the individual petals or the other parts of the flower—it comes from the way these components come together to create something of greater beauty, which is an emergent property of the flower. Competitive intensity The premier management institutes we are associated with (IIM Calcutta and SPJIMR) regularly host many students from premier business schools in Europe. SPJIMR annually welcomes exchange students from some of the best business schools in Europe. Recently, we conducted an informal focus group with ten such students to understand their perceptions of management education in India. One of the consistent themes that emerged through the interviews was their perception of Indian students as industrious and diligent. “They are much more focused,” they said. “It is very important for Indian students that they do well. We have become more hard-working by being around them. They are very competitive.” The foreign students in question were themselves top students from the best business schools in their respective countries. Person for person, they felt that Indian students were more determined, more focused, and very hard-working. And so they must be, given the intense competition they have to overcome at every step. Statistics bear this out. Currently, 1.2 million students take the entrance examination to the IITs, which have fostered a number of luminaries. As per a newspaper report in the Hindustan Times in 2017, only 11,000 students were admitted to the IITs in 2017, an admit ratio of less than 1 in 100. India’s foremost business school, IIM Ahmedabad, admits one student for every 400 applications. The State Bank of India, India’s premier public sector bank, recently advertised for entry-level probationary officers. It received, on average, 550 applications for every position available (Times of India, May 2018). This demonstrates that intense competition is not only for elite academic institutions. Competitive intensity implies that

“made-in-India managers” have survived a high level of competition to get where they are, and this has taught them focus, self-analysis, the importance of practice, and the experience that difficult-looking odds can be overcome. Diversity and inclusion Diversity and inclusion are internalised early by many, and this stands us in good stead later, when adjusting to a different or a variety of cultural environments. Such exposure begins early in life. It is not unusual in school to share lunch with people from different states—a vast variety of cuisine is shared, understood, and appreciated. Similarly, it is not unusual to sing Christian hymns at school and pray to a Hindu god at night. Dealing with ambiguity From the vagaries of the weather, to the unreliability of infrastructure—we learn to deal with a lot of things that are uncertain, and develop the ability to quickly assess situations and help ourselves without waiting for the system to help us. A friend argued that even in an everyday activity like commuting on extremely crowded local trains and getting to work on time, students and working executives develop resilience, the ability to adapt to systems that don’t work, and the intensity to confront and overcome obstacles on a day-to-day basis. Family values The percentage of India-made leaders citing a family member as an influential role model is significantly higher than for their Western counterparts. The formative role of the family in shaping values through demonstration, stressing the value of education, and proving an “always there” support provides a strong value core that builds resilience. Both IndraNooyi, the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and SatyaNadella, the CEO of Microsoft, talk about the strong influence that their mothers have had on their upbringing, aspirations, and values. The Indian middle class student has typically grown up in an extremely stable family environment, which has in turn encouraged high aspirations and deep self-confidence. SatyaNadella says of his mother, “My mother cared deeply about my being

happy, confident and living in the moment without regret.” IndraNooyi talks about the things her mother did to help her daughters believe that they could “become whoever they wanted to be.” In a specific instance, Nooyi talks about how her mother would ask both her daughters to make a presentation at the dinner table on what they would do if they were a particular world leader. She would then declare a winner. This kind of role-playing left a lasting impression on Nooyi. Self-confidence is built by achievement in the face of obstacles. Often, a building block is early and unconditional caring in the immediate environment. Achievements in the student phase builds self-confidence in academic domains, and a relative lack of self-awareness in others. The managerial workplace has a new set of rules and early failures, coupled with a supportive culture, helps managers to understand themselves, understand failure and, through experience, realise that learning from yesterday’s failure builds today’s success. They then develop a deeper confidence. It is a quiet self-belief, a feeling that says, “If I am interested in something and want to make a difference, and I am willing to give it all my effort, there is very little that I cannot prima facie achieve.” It does not need to be stated—it is a quiet determination and the ability to stay steadfast when short-term outcomes do not align with your expectations. It is not a common quality, and we do not think this is inborn. Our managers typically achieve this in a mid-career phase, and those who get there earlier are often early leaders. And so we return to the concept of emergence. The strengths of the madein-India manager emerge from the coming together of multiple, interlinked features with the ability to “think in English.” We believe that as Indian sportsmen, companies and leaders make their mark on a global stage, tomorrow’s made-in-India manager will grow up in a more inherently confident and assured India and consequently will themselves reflect these qualities. In that sense, it is likely that the soft power represented by “made-in-India managers” will grow further in the years SM to come. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST

TREND

MEXICAN CITIZENS INCREASINGLY EMPLOYED BY INDIAN FIRMS IN US AFTER H-1B ISSUES Indian IT outsourcing companies have begun to feel the pinch of the Donald Trump regime’s tough visa stance.

Cover Story on GRSE IPO Seasonl Magazine correctly identified GRSE as a high potential public sector defence IPO as it is a proxy play on Indian Navy's growth. The public offering subsequently went off smoothly as well as the listing. However, the recent market correction has affected all stocks and IPOs including GRSE. But as in any market correction, it is important to look at which sectors are fundamentally affected and which are only affected due to market sentiments. As such the correction in a defence shipbuilder like GRSE is more likely to be an opportunity rather than a long term danger to investors. This is especially so as GRSE is still small to medium sized unlike its much larger peer Mazagon Dock, and thus offers a longer duration for investors to enjoy the fruits of a growth phase.

uring the July-September quarter this year, most Indian tech majors saw a significant year-on-year rise in the share of revenue spent on subcontracting, according to an analysts’ note from Kotak Institutional Equities Research released on November 20. “Subcontracting is employed by IT companies as a short-term measure to fill gaps in supply intended to be filled through H-1B workers or offshoring, to avoid drag on margins,” KawaljeetSaluja and Sathish Kumar wrote in the note. They expect “elevated subcontracting levels in the short to medium term” as companies find other ways to offset the supply gap due to the H-1B worker shortage. Over the past year, the US government’s H-1B visa programme, used extensively by Indian firms, has come under the scanner. Already, it has tightened the criteria for granting H-1B visas, increased the paperwork involved, and rejected more applications. The Trump government has also kicked up efforts to dig up H-1B visa fraud and abuse. A more permanent solution While Indian IT companies have ramped up local hiring as a more permanent solution to their problems, it’s easier said than done. At senior levels, local talent is sparse and

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that is leading to a poaching war, the note said. This is reflected in higher attrition numbers, further compounding the problem. “Entry-level talent is available but cannot be used for knowledge transfer phase or initiation of projects,” it said So companies are increasingly recruiting from the US’s neighbourhood. Those with a presence in Mexico and Canada – which is all the firms mentioned in the Kotak note – can leverage the TN visa category to send workers to the US. “Unlike H-1B visas, TN visas have no application timeline, are quicker and cheaper to process, have no annual quota and can be renewed indefinitely,” Saluja and Kumar wrote. The TN-1visa allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, considered NAFTA professionals, to work in the United States. Already, the number of TN visas issued to Mexican nationals has spiked over the last year, “suggesting a possibility of IT companies using this route to satisfy demand requirements onsite (in the US),” the note said. Mid-sized IT firm Hexaware, for instance, is treading this path. “We already have 500 people there [in Mexico] and one option is to source talent locally and move them to the US if required,” R Srikrishna, CEO of the Mumbai-based IT-BPO company told. SM

IN-FOCUS: BANKING

FEDERAL BANK

“WE ARE PUNCHING WAY ABOVE OUR WEIGHT” FEDERAL BANK HAS 1% OF INDIA’S CREDIT MARKET, BUT IT HANDLES 2.5% OF ALL NEW CREDIT IN INDIA WHICH MAKES SHYAM SRINIVASAN CONFIDENTLY STATE THAT “WE ARE PUNCHING WAY ABOVE OUR WEIGHT.” SEASONAL MAGAZINE IN CONVERSATION WITH MD & CEO OF FEDERAL BANK LTD.

he unprecedented flood in Kerala has thrown a spanner in the growth prospects of Kerala headquartered lenders, including Federal Bank. Yet, Shyam Srinivasan is an India bull. And he is not just an India bull on sentiment, but an India bull based on undeniable facts and figures. As the Managing Director & CEO of Federal Bank since 2010, he is witness to some unique insights into what drives the Indian economy as well as the economy of Federal Bank’s home state. For instance, Federal Bank which handles 1% of India’s credit market, is much bigger when it comes to attracting overseas remittances of Non Resident Keralites and Non Resident Indians from across the world. Under Shyam Srinivasan’s strategies during the last 8 years, Federal Bank’s overseas remittances have grown seven fold, with it handling 15% of all remittances coming into India. He says this business has much more room to grow as not many developed nations are growing as fast as India on one hand, and on the other hand India has to keep growing as there is no other option before its leaders to ensure that employment generation is lagging. That is why even while he unequivocally makes it clear that he is against the current penchant of politicians for offering massive farm loan waivers,

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he is not one to crib about it, as this veteran banker feels that despite such missteps, there is enough growth opportunities surfacing across the country for banks. But he is swift to add a caveat. The concerned bank should have the appetite for growth, which incidentally is something that he has been literally forcing the entire Federal Bank team to focus upon. And how he has gone about achieving this is quite holistic. He made a conscious decision to bring down the average age of its employees significantly. Today it has come down to 36 from the 48 it was when he joined. In its newer branches outside Kerala, Federal is keeping it even lower at 33. The logic is simple. Recruit talents when they are much younger so that they challenge the entire organization to grow faster. This has resulted in some spectacular results for Federal Bank in recent years. Even while achieving the milestone of handling 1% of India’s credit market is a remarkable achievement, the bank fares much better when it comes to new credit, where it handles 2.5% of the Indian market. In his own articulate words, “We are punching way above our weight.” Federal Bank achieves this through focusing on high quality growth by bundling various products with superior features. For instance, its Fed e-Biz is a unique electronic cash management solution which very few banks in India have. Apart

from offering branch, digital and relationship management solutions for savings, investments, transactions & loans, Federal has also made many key tie-ups to offer auto insurance, health insurance, life insurance and wealth management solutions to its clients. Through Fedfina, its NBFC subsidiary, Federal is filling gaps in lending that it directly doesn’t want to address. Fedfina has recently attracted a major investment from TrueNorth. The bank is also getting into investment banking by picking up a significant stake in noted player in the field, Equirus. While he is not satisfied by the bank’s current market valuations, he is sure that it will pick up if the Bank does what it is supposed to do consistently, which is to grow quarter upon quarter in a healthy way. Seasonal Magazine in conversation with Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO of Federal Bank Ltd. Rupee has seen a deep loss in value against other major currencies. As a leading player in remittances, has the bank benefited and to what scale?

Well, whether or not the rupee was getting devalued, we have been materially gaining on the remittances front. I say this because, rupee losing its value benefits all banks active in remittances, not just Federal Bank. Just a small stat would make this clear to you. Between 2011 and 2018, our overseas remittances have grown seven fold. In FY’17, India received overseas remittances to the tune of $69 billion. Our remittance has increased from $4.5 billion to $9 billion, with our share of the pie moving from 6% to 15%. The loss in value helped to an extent, but of greater impact has been from our conscious efforts. This kind of growth is never an accident. Federal Bank is materially benefitting not just because more is coming in to India, but because we are getting more of what is coming in. This we achieved by enlarging our footprint of coverage in the catchment geographies. Traditionally Middle-East -> Kerala has been our mainstay, and it continues to be the largest, but we have been successfully growing three other geographies – Middle-East –> Non-Kerala, Non-MiddleEast -> Kerala and Non-Middle-East –> Non-Kerala. We could do this by focusing on three aspects – technology, people and exchange tie-ups which now stand at 108 partnerships. This is a big business and digital technology

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“WE ARE PUNCHING WAY ABOVE OUR WEIGHT” is driving it, and if India continues to grow faster than other countries I think this is going to be a long story. And in future, players like Federal Bank can achieve much higher growth in remittances as technology is enabling more direct business without the need for intermediaries. NBFC sector as a whole has taken a beating, and was this something Federal Bank expected? As a major creditor to NBFCs, how are you impacted? What I would like to say in this regard is that this NBFC correction has been an overreaction. Agreed that one large infra player had serious issues and it triggered a chain of events in the markets. When a sector corrects in the market it pulls down all the players, even the good ones. It is important to distinguish between a real crisis and market reaction. So, if you see now, all the retail NBFCs with good governance are stabilizing. These include the home loan players, the gold loan players and such NBFCs. Market’s confidence regarding them has come back. Bulk of our lending is to such retail players with good credit rating. However, the pain may continue for some large infra and construction focused NBFCs, but they too may stabilize in the coming months. But there is need to watch out as this November December period is crucial for most NBFCs due to the huge number of redemptions due. However, as of now I am confident as this is not a solvency issue but a liquidity issue, and key entities including RBI and some PSUs are trying to inject the required liquidity in the market. I am betting that the worst part is over. Microfinance has been making a resurgence. Is the bank active in either urban or rural microfinance, or are there plans to get into or expand into this sector? If you see, around 65% of Federal Bank’s branches are in the semi-urban and rural areas. And as such, some of the credit we extend to customers here belong to the quasi-microfinance domain. We lend through mechanisms like SHGs and this is mainly in states like Kerala SEASONAL MAGAZINE

and Tamil Nadu. There is organic growth in this segment, but it is still only a small component compared to our overall credit. We are not trying to grow it substantially as it requires a different skillset. Instead our plan is to grow it inorganically. We have various options before us like buying microfinance portfolios or an MF franchise itself. We are evaluating some of these that are available in the market. One thing we are very particular is that any such acquisition shouldn’t be dilutive to our current returns position, but accretive to it. Then there are other issues like pricing to look into. We are evaluating, but as of now, there is nothing in our hands. Banking services largely becoming a commodity business, how does Federal Bank differentiate itself in a crowded market? I agree that retail banking at the branch level has become homogenous, but other domains like SME, mid-market and corporate are not at all homogenous, but very differentiated and very segmented. This is because these markets are very sensitive to pricing, and pricing has become the main driver. It is like if you have a CIBIL score of 850, you are not willing to pay me anything more than my base rate. So, I have to create ten reasons why my offering works out better for you. This is what we are doing and this makes us very differentiated in the market with offerings for commercial customers like Fed e-Biz, which is a smart cash management solution, which only very few banks have. Alternatively, we can afford giving you better rates if we can give you more types of loans. For example, earlier a Federal Bank customer for home loan would be taking a car loan from HDFC Bank, a personal loan from Citibank and a credit card from some other bank. But now, we are trying to provide all kinds of products to each customer. This strategy has delivered handsomely for us. For instance, two years back, we were just 3% of Kerala’s car loan market. Today, 20% of all new cars in Kerala are financed by Federal Bank. Are you offering only banking products

or even non-banking products as part of these bundled offerings? Yes, we do offer both kinds of products. On the banking side, we have all products in the four domains of savings, investments, transactions and loans. And we offer all banking modes in each of these domains including branch, relationship management or digital, or even all these if the customer so desires. On the non-banking side, we have life insurance from IDBI Federal, and for health and vehicle insurance we have tie-ups with three general insurance companies. We have recently invested in Equirus through which we are offering wealth management solutions. So, we have become a front-end that

has full service offerings on the financial services side. Do you think loan growth, especially MSME and agrarian credit, has fully recovered from the impact of demonetisation and farm loan waivers? With more farm loan waivers being promised by all political parties, how do you assess the emerging scenario? First of all, let me make it very clear, I am against all loan waivers. Because, it produces wrong behaviour as good and bad customers are equated. A good customer who is willing and able for repayment might be diligently doing it, while a bad customer who is willing and able for repayment may not be doing it.

When you offer farm loan waivers, you make them both bad, as they will be expecting it the next time. Not only has the good customer any incentive for his diligence so far, but you are teaching him to be a bad customer. But having said that, despite farm loan waivers and other speed-breakers, growth has been fairly robust for a bank like us with the appetite to grow. For the past 12 quarters, we have been growing at the rate of 20-25% year-on-year. But in some geographies we have been consciously growing slower as we don’t want to be a part of any potential problem in the future. But the good news is that we are decisively gaining

market share. Today, we are 1% of India’s credit market. SBI is around 23%. So, in comparison we are doing pretty well. But in reality, we are doing much better than that because for new credit in the market we have a 2.5% share. So, we are punching way above our weight. Our total business has crossed Rs. 2,19,000 crores. Our advances has crossed Rs. 1,02,000 crores. During the past few years, Federal Bank’s credit book has grown 2.5 times. And with regard to the impact of demonetisation? I think the impact of demonetisation is

Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO

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reasonably toning down. But having said that, I think the growth rates going forward will be abnormally higher and misleading, as it is on a lower base brought about by demonetisation. What do you think about the controversies in the GDP calculation? Well, there are hundreds of interpretations possible and nobody knows which is absolutely correct. Thankfully, I hear that they are going to restate a past 5 or 7 year period using the current calculation. That should help us all to assess the situation in a relative perspective. However, the most important point is that as Dr. Raghuram Rajan has said, India needs to grow in near double digits for many years to be even a middle-income country. Because, if there is no growth, there is no employment and that would be a big problem. But I remain an India bull and think that near double digit growth is possible for India. Are there any chances that the Kerala flood impact would throw in more surprises than Federal Bank has already guided for? Are you concerned about any specific lag in economic recovery in Kerala post the flood? I hope there are no surprises. The post flood pick-up has not been uniform. Consumption and automotive sectors are showing robust pick-up, while construction and infrastructure are definitely lagging. We are hoping that in the next six months, most of these issues will be sorted out. As a bank thirsting and planning for growth, whom do you compete with more these days? Is it other traditional private sector banks, or PSU banks, or new generation private sector banks or the latest specialized banks or even NBFCs? I would like to put it in another way. We are winning because we are getting better. I say this because we are fighting with all kinds of banks and even NBFCs. For some sectors and some accounts we may be fighting with the likes of SBI, but in some other we may be fighting SEASONAL MAGAZINE

with new generation private sector banks. We win some battles, we lose some battles. But the important fact is that we are fully equipped to compete with any bank. Having said this, there is no doubt that the slowdown in PSU banks is creating a remarkable opportunity for us. But still we need to compete with other private sector banks to get such business. Thankfully, the market is too big and can accommodate all banks with appetite. The only caveats are the rate and quality of growth. Has the average age of Federal Bank employees come down? It has crashed in fact. When I joined in 2010, the average age was 48. Now it is 36. For the 600 odd new branches which are mostly outside Kerala, the average age is 33. This is because our new recruitments since 2010 has been taking in mainly 22 year olds. When I joined, my assistant was 54. We later assigned him a senior role in the bank, and got a 38 year old to assist me. Now, my assistant is even younger, at 29 years. I want a younger guy to challenge me, and I want a generation of younger guys and girls to challenge the system. Federal Bank has an NBFC Fedfina which has attracted a major investment from TrueNorth. Can you briefly mention the financial and strategic aspects of this deal? We founded Fedfina as an NBFC doing distribution of our various products. We started it with Rs. 200 crores of capital.

“OUR DIGITAL PRODUCTS ARE TODAY COMPARABLE TO THE BEST IN THE MARKET, BE IT CORPORATE, RETAIL OR NRI CUSTOMERS. 80% OF OUR NEW ACCOUNTS ARE DIGITAL, WHILE 71% OF OUR TRANSACTIONS ARE DIGITAL. THE NEXT ROUND OF GROWTH WILL COME FROM OUR OFFERS THROUGH THESE DIGITAL CHANNELS.”

Soon they started originating business on their own, getting into areas where we weren’t active including gold loans, construction finance and structured finance. Today they have 120 branches across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. They have been doubling their loan book each year. But at Rs. 1500 crores, it is still small. Since it became clear that they need more capital, we scouted for potential partners and zeroed in on TrueNorth. They are picking up 26% stake of which 17% have recently come in at Rs. 169 crores. They are also a strategic partner, and Fedfina will continue to be a Board managed company with participation of TrueNorth representatives too. We are expecting new talents to be roped in too. We see a potential of growing the loan book to Rs. 10,000 crore within the next few years. You have been passionate about adopting the latest technologies. What all are the latest innovations from the bank in this regard? Our digital products are today comparable to the best in the market, be it corporate, retail or NRI customers. 80% of our new accounts are digital,

opted for the other route of identifying investment banks which were looking for partners, and we chose Equirus. We have taken a 19.99% stake in this company. They are also into IPOs and they have a mandate for an IPO from a Kerala based company which is planning for their IPO next year. Federal Bank had recently attracted a penalty from RBI for some incomplete submissions. Can you mention what led to such a situation? The regulator identified some gaps in our disclosures and this was with regard to some of our older customers who had been with us for decades. We tried explaining the situation but they were not convinced and this penalty was imposed. We are not alone in this and quite a few banks are getting fined by RBI. The lesson is that the regulator is making sure no mistake is acceptable. while 71% of our transactions are digital. The next round of growth will come from our offers through these digital channels. The dynamic offers for customers have to be new, fresh and different. Like privileges for ecommerce customers and so on. We are currently focusing on this. For corporate customers with large cash management functions, we have introduced Fed e-Biz so that it can be electronically managed with no loss in transit and high transparency. We have a head-start over most other banks in this, as only very few players have implemented this solution. We are also evaluating new solutions based on blockchain, AI, robotics etc and hope to announce a blockchain based technology in association with a Middle East exchange group. You have made an investment in Equirus which is into investment banking among other things. What prompted this move? As you know, our expertise has been in commercial banking. We wanted to get into investment banking and one option was to do it organically by employing one hundred experts. We

With Kerala remaining your most significant market, do you think the lack of proper economic growth in Kerala would be a dampener for growth for Federal Bank? How is the bank growing in other territories? We look at this in another way. 55% of our deposits are from Kerala. 75% of our credit is outside Kerala. However, because Kerala is our home market, Kerala will always be important for us. In fact, Kerala is part of our 4D strategy – Dominate home market, Double outside business, Digital ahead and

Delight shareholders. I think we can deliver with Kerala as capital is fungible and what investors are looking for is returns. Today we have 16% market share in Kerala.

You have recently obtained approval for an operations company. What is this about? We are starting a full-fledged operations company based in Kochi and Vizag, which is a 100% subsidiary of Federal Bank. There will be new staff there and also some home-grown staff will be assigned there. We also have several small vendors on contract basis and all eligible and interested among them will be employed there. Only a few banks have attempted this, and we hope this will increase our efficiencies. Earlier you have been bullish on funding start-ups. What is the position now? We have graduated to funding the startup funds. Doing this directly is much more taxing as we don’t have the skillset in assessing which start-up will succeed among one hundred players. It is basically a bet on a person. So, we are partnering with IIM-Ahmedabad and a few other start-up funds. We have put a meaningful amount into this business. How do you plan to bridge the valuation gap Federal Bank is suffering from vis-à-vis some of its peers? I would love to have better valuations from the market for all our shareholders. But market has its own reasoning, momentum and timing. You cannot control that. Our job is to perform consistently. And every time we perform, market applauds that. But when adversities happen like the Kerala floods recently, market reacts. We can’t control that. So I tell my team always to not worry about the market, keep our head down and perform. Any stock is to be evaluated on the basis of the franchise strength, sector and quality governance including growth performance. We score fully in all three. SM

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

EDUCATION

INDIAN CLASSROOMS AND BLACKBOARDS: FOR HOW LONG? CLASSROOMS THE WORLD OVER ARE INCREASINGLY TURNING FUTURISTIC, WITH THE LATEST GADGETS AND TECHNOLOGY REPLACING CHALK-AND-BOARD TEACHING. THE PROCESS IS ON IN INDIA, TOO, ALBEIT ONLY IN POCKETS.

ohammed Fazil, who teaches grades four to eight in a government school in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, uses augmented reality to trigger computer-generated images around his classroom. He uses Google Cardboard, a virtual reality platform, and Google’s Expeditions app to take students on virtual field trips. Fazil also uses motion-sensing technology with a Microsoft Kinect device to play math games. Elsewhere, in Solapur, Maharashtra, in western India, another government school teacher, RanjitsinhDisale, is creating quick response (QR) codes in textbooks that link out to online materials—a good hack to extend learning outside the classroom, check absenteeism through engagement, and keep in touch with parents. These are anecdotes mentioned in a January 2017 report “Teaching and Technology: Case Studies from India” by the Central Square Foundation, a venture philanthropy fund and policy think tank based in New Delhi. Having realised their potential, especially in rural areas, the Indian government is setting up hundreds of virtual classrooms. Likewise, girls from SEASONAL MAGAZINE

one of the world’s largest slums, Dharavi in Mumbai, are learning to code courtesy the non-profit Dharavi Diary. Yet, these are only exceptions, a recent survey by Cambridge Assessment International Education, a not-for-profit arm of the Cambridge University, has found. If one zooms out and looks at the bigger picture, India’s classrooms are by and large outdated. Most Indian classrooms lag in incorporating smartphones, tablets, or even the simple whiteboard.

Blackboard nation Globally, just over a third of students say blackboards and chalk are used during lessons, according to the study. India, though, has yet to let go of the archaic teaching tools: Over two-thirds of the respondents from India still experience the blackboard-and-chalk combo - higher than any other country. The education group polled over 20,000 teachers and students from around the world between March and May 2018. The sample included 4,453 teachers and 3,927 students from India. Meanwhile, nowhere in the world have new technologies superseded traditional tools completely. “…most

schools use a blend of teaching tools, with pens, paper and blackboards being used alongside interactive smartboards or tablets,” the study noted. But there is more to technologyenabled education than just handing over devices to students, previous research has shown. For instance, the “One Laptop Per Child” programme announced in Peru back in 2005 increased the ratio of computers to students in schools, but its impact on test scores in math and language was negligible (pdf). A similar 2018 study of 15-year-olds in Europe revealed that giving laptops, iPads, and even e-books was associated with significantly lower educational performance. But in the hands of teachers, the technology can be put to better use. Technology has been known to increase engagement as well as the retention of knowledge. Eventually, if there is mass adoption of tech tools in the classroom, the hope is that learning will become more interactive and personalised. But before all of this, India first has to overcome the dearth of digital basics power, computers, and internet access - plaguing its schools. SM

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST

DELHI AUTO DRIVER SACRIFICES LIFE FOR SAVING WOMAN AND BABY

30-year-old auto driver Pawan was heading home after dropping off a passenger when he saw a woman with a baby in her arms standing on the edge of a bridge on the Meethapur canal. In a moment, he saw the woman jumping off the bridge.

COVER STORY ON KITEX GARMENTS

ittle did auto-rickshaw driver Pawan Shah know that jumping into a canal in Delhi to save lives of a woman and her baby would turn fatal for him. 30-year-old Pawan was heading home after dropping off a passenger when he saw a woman with a baby in her arms standing on the edge of a bridge on the Meethapur canal. In a moment, he saw the woman jumping off the bridge. Without a second thought, Pawan left his auto and jumped into the water to save the woman and the baby. He also shouted and asked for help. Three men who were passing by saw Pawan and the woman and formed a human chain. They saved the mother-son duo from drowning but when they went for

rescuing Pawan, it was too late as a strong current had taken him away.

Seasonal Magazine's January 2018 cover story featured Sabu M jacob, one of the finest entrepreneurs in the textile and garments sector in the country. We wrote this after a visit to his sprawling factory in the suburbs of Kochi, where he has created not only a huge garments unit from where a container full of kids-wear is shipped to USA every day, but a huge ecosystem of supporting infrastructure like hostels and all necessary amenities. A renowned philanthropist as well as a radical politician, this young businessman has played kingmaker in local elections by winning the control of the local Kizhakkambalam panchayat from established national level parties, solely based on the welfare programs his Twenty20 party has been undertaking, the latest of which was rebuilding 37 poor homes to villas with excellent standards and amenities and named God's Villa.

The three men - Rajveer, Jamil and Sanjeev - informed Jaitpur police station about the incident and police soon rushed to the spot and started a search for Pawan. However, even after four days, Pawan's body couldn't be found. The rescued woman and her son were taken to a hospital and their condition is now said to be stable. During enquiry, police found that the woman tried to commit suicide along with her baby after a fight with her husband. The police official said Pawan’s name will be recommended for the ‘Jiwan Raksha’ bravery award. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

LAKSHMI VILAS BANK

FOCUSING ON CUSTOMER DELIGHT, IN RETAIL BANKING Interview with Peeush Jain, Head - Retail Banking, LVB

akshmi Vilas Bank had effected a major turnaround in performance since the 2015-16 period, by roping in young but experienced talents from several bulge-bracket lenders of international stature. Key among them was Peeush Jain who came in from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). After heading various core responsibilities at LVB, the now 43year Jain has swiftly moved up to be Senior Vice President and Head - Retail Banking, at the private sector lender, since April 2018. Seasonal Magazine caught up with Peeush Jain to understand the strategies behind LVB’s massive retail push that has caught the fancy of the market. Under Jain’s leadership, LVB has focused on multiple retail fronts including digital transformation in personal banking, next generation current accounts for businesses, business sector wise products, competitive rewards program, tie-ups with highly popular start-ups, mobile based wealth management, insurance tie-ups, and not to forget creation of next generation branches. The primarily South India focused lender is also eyeing a selective pan India presence, in highly lucrative markets, by pushing its eLITE branches with digital, and as far as possible, paperless facilities. At the same time, LVB is maintaining its focus on its role in financial inclusion, especially in its home state of Tamil Nadu, by promoting several initiatives and strategic tie-ups. Seasonal Magazine in conversation with P Peeush Jain, Head, Retail Banking at LVB. Which are the recent strategic tie ups the bank has done to boost the retail portfolio? Customers expect all their banking, financial services, and transactions to be seamlessly enabled by a bank, more as a one-stop-shop option. We have hence taken a conscious call of partnering with companies to provide the best of services SEASONAL MAGAZINE

to our customers. For instance, in the life Insurance space, we have partnered with Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Birla Sun Life and DHFL Pramerica. In the non-life insurance space, we have partnered with FGI (Future Generali Insurance Company Limited) and HDFC EGRO. Similarly, for Health Insurance, we have a tie up with Cigna TTK. LVB in partnership with these companies today offers the finest and most comprehensive solutions to customers, from individuals to large corporates. Which are the unique products and services that you have on offer? In the Business Banking space, we find a lot of areas where we could create better value to customers. For instance, post demonetization and the strong digital drive of the bank has given rise to some path breaking innovations in the payments space. However, the main users, namely, small merchants, traders, kirana stores still had to maintain (high) minimum balances in their Current Accounts. We addressed this inherent problem by launching LVB Vyapaar, where customers need not maintain balances, and have a good threshold for cash remittances.

We have a host of products in the drawing board which will quickly hit the market, providing solutions to specific segments of customers. In Personal Banking, individual customers virtually bank through their mobile. We will engage with our customers very closely, enabling them to transact digitally. Our UPI based app, LVB UPAAY has proven to be very robust in handling payments and fund transfers even by non-customers. We now give the added benefit of a completely revamped and constantly updated LVB Rewardz program.

For individual and proprietorship current accounts, we launched the Lakshmi Dynamic Current Account, which is very unique. Here, balances above a certain threshold get swept into a linked SB account, helping customers earn interest on their idle funds. Why should customers lock up idle balances? This has become a highly successful product for the bank, very well received by customers.

The bank is also one of the few private banks that offer full-fledged wealth management services. Can you give an insight into the services offered? Transactions are going digital, and especially through mobile phones. We have tied up with FISDOM, which is a technology-based wealth management company. Through FISDOM app, LVB customers invest in mutual funds right from their mobiles. To ensure a seamless, rather delightful experience, LVB and FISDOM work closely with each other, running events for customers, and handle end-to-end customer service. We are very happy with the reception thus far, with a robust portfolio of MF AUM book, almost entirely through retail SIPs. This will form the core of service delivery for our wealth customers. Going forward, we will expand the franchise and experience of MF SIP investments through mobiles to almost all our new and existing customers. The convenience and transparency is being highly valued by our customers.

LVB RERA addresses the banking transactional requirements as specified under the Real Estate Regulations (Development) Act, specifically catering to the Real Estate segment, which now operates under these new regulations.

The bank has a whole lot of focus on financial inclusion. Can you identify some unique initiatives? LVB understands the Government’s push for Financial Inclusion and we believe Financial Inclusion is the key to achieve

LVB Rewardz has an understanding.

greater reach to the less privileged sections in our Society. We manage 133 villages/230 wards vide our 363 BC financial inclusion outlets. The financial inclusion is about taking a bank in the unbanked area. We have recently tied up with Atom Technologies who will provide customer service points (CSP) to LVB to work from. Our endeavour is that, we make sure that we are the bank that is reachable to service any village in Tamil Nadu. How is LVB planning to build a digital ecosystem that can be quickly scaled up across different geographies in the country? The digital ecosystem is evolving at an incredible pace thanks to innovations by banks, fin-tech firms, payment solution providers, card service providers etc. And the fact that customers wish to transact through their mobiles, we wish to provide transaction solutions through digital channels. Our web site will be transformed to be a hub of banking activity and experience for customers and non-customers of the bank. Initiatives like LVB UPAAY, and FISDOM are clear steps in this direction. In recent past we have partnered with Delhi Gurudwara Committee and now most of the gurudwaras have Digital donation kiosk, powered by LVB Digital Platform. Do you intend to expand your branch network? Or do you plan to focus on leveraging technology to gain better reach? Can you give details of the technology initiatives in this regard? Branch expansion will continue to be a core part of our retail banking proposition. Depending on location, the look and feel of branches will resemble â&#x20AC;&#x153;cafes in the neighbourhood.â&#x20AC;? We have plans to develop our top branches across India into a new format called eLITE. These will feature technology led solutions enabling paperless (where possible) all-digital transactions and experience for customers. With the continuous change in customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mindset with new products being launched constantly, how does LVB plan to fulfil the requirements in this competitive market? Like we have mentioned earlier, our approach is to provide the most

We always utilize technology to enhance customer experience through secure transactions online, on PCs, Tablets, and mobile phones. Our digital department is in talks with various external partners to understand and provide the best in the market digital product to enable speedy acquisition of customers as well as provision of exciting features to end users. These could cater to Retail lending or SME or Corporate or wherever digital interface with customer is felt relevant and necessary.

Peeush Jain

We have got into relationships with Book My Show and SWIGGY and working on creating further collaborations with many others with an intention to provide discounts and offers to the existing customers as well as attract non-active customers to the digital channels.

LVB Crown lounge is a unique branch which caters to a specific customer base, has this initiative helped the bank? Do you plan to open more such branches? eLITE format of branches would be our way forward, and would cover branches which had CROWN lounges, and many more new ones.

What is your view on the change in customers from physical banking to digital banking? Today, customers do not visit branches, unless there is a specific requirement for document submission, KYC, or assets related requirements, such as credit cards, or other loan products. Similarly, ATMs are becoming more of cost centres to banks, and now have an opportunity to transform into digital branches. Even transaction timings are becoming less relevant with the onset of services such as IMPS and a host of other payment solutions which are available 24x7. In the west, transactions moved from branch and paper based transactions (currency, cheques), to cards, to being completely online. In India, the transformation from branch based transactions to completely online is quite swift. LVB will be well positioned to offer services through a variety of digital channels.

What are various initiatives from LVB on digital banking? As I said, LVB is one of the pioneers in digital banking. To promote digital channel usage, we have tied up with LVB Rewardz for awarding reward points against usage on digital channels. The accumulated reward points could be redeemed against the purchase of products across merchant outlets with whom

Given these transformation, and the enormous and consistent increase in working population, branches would transform into centres for advisory on investments, and would be focused more on providing solutions to their communities nearby. We believe our approach to serving our customers would ensure our branches remain a core part of our service delivery well into the foreseeable future. SM

convenient solutions at prices that customers will value. Needless to mention, we are working on specific segments to ensure we address inefficiencies in service delivery through existing options in the market. Our service delivery model will aim to provide an omni-channel digital experience, featuring robust and secure transaction platforms. Our tie-ups with Swiggy, and a host of others where our customers are spending money will make banking with LVB a very attractive and compelling proposition.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

P CHIDAMBARAM RIDICULES CENTRE OVER CHANGE IN STANCE ON GST

KEJRIWAL MULLS ODD-EVEN AGAIN

WILL RE-INTRODUCE ODD-EVEN IF NEED ARISES, SAYS DELHI CM ARVIND KEJRIWAL.

The senior Congress leader's sharp criticism of the government comes days after the GST council at its 31st meeting slashed tax rates for 23 commonly-used items.

ormer finance minister P Chidambaram attacked the Centre over its alleged change in stance on the Goods and Services Tax regime, saying that till yesterday a single standard GST rate was a stupid idea, but was now the "declared goal" of the Modi government. The senior Congress leader's sharp criticism of the government comes days after the GST council at its 31st meeting slashed tax rates for 23 commonly-used items. The rates were reduced from 18 per cent to 12 and 5 per cent respectively. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has also hinted at further rationalisation of the GST by merging the 12 and 18 per cent slabs. He had also accused the Congress of oppressing the country with a high indirect tax rate of 31 per cent. "Until yesterday capping GST at 18 per cent was impracticable. Since yesterday, the Congress party's original demand of an 18 per cent cap is the declared goal of the government," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets. "Until yesterday, the chief economic adviser's RNR (Revenue Neutral Rate) report to fix the standard rate at 15 per cent was in the dustbin. Yesterday it was retrieved and placed on the finance minister's table and was promptly accepted," Chidambaram tweeted. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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elhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hinted on Tuesday that the state government is willing to re-introduce the oddeven car rationing scheme if needed. Air pollution in Delhi has hit such a high level that the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority recently banned industrial activity in pollution hot spots and construction work across DelhiNational Capital Region (NCR) for three days. Delhi has for the past few years been battling severe air pollution, especially in the winter. The Central Pollution Control Board data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) on Tuesday at 416, while the centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research recorded an AQI of 423 for the day. An AQI above 400 falls in the “severe” category. “If there is a need for odd-even, then we will definitely implement it,” Kejriwal said. “The Delhi government is taking various steps to tackle pollution. We did large-scale tree plantation. The government is going to buy 3,000 buses. The government has sanctioned a

new phase of the Metro. We are also working towards recharging lakes. We are working at our level. However, citizens need to understand this and also understand how much pollution they are contributing… We all need to control that,” he said. The Delhi government has faced criticism from opposition parties for failing to control the rising levels of air pollution. However, Kejriwal stressed the centre’s role in bringing neighbouring states on board to work together to control these rising levels. “Air has no boundary. In October and November, there are 20-25 days when the pollution level increases in Delhi because of stubble burning (in neighbouring states). Until the centre takes steps, nothing can be done,” Kejriwal said. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government first implemented the odd-even scheme in 2016. Women, vehicles fuelled by compressed natural gas, hybrid vehicles and two-wheelers were exempt. The restrictions were applicable from 8am to 8pm. The government did not implement it last year as the National Green Tribunal raised concerns over the exemption of women and two-wheelers. SM

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MOST DON BOSCO UNIVERSITY

Key People VC - Fr (Dr) Stephen Mavely Pro Vice Chancellor (Ex Officio) Fr Joseph Nellanatt Secretary – Registrar (Ex Officio) Basil Koikara Streams – Technology, Commerce and Management, Humanities, Social Sciences

Preferred UNIVERSITIES

VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

WINNING ON A DIFFERENT SCALE

MODY UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Key People Chairman - Shri Rajendra Prasad Mody President - Dr. (Prof.) M.K.Madaan Professor & Director Academics DR. M. VENU GOPALA RAO Streams – Allied Health Sciences, Architecture, Engineering, Law, Arts and Humanities, Management

NIRMA UNIVERSITY

Key People Founter - Karsanbhai Patel Director –General – Dr Anup Singh Vice President – Shri K.K Patel Streams– Technology, Law, Management, Architecture, Commerce, International Relations, Pharmacy

GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor – Mr SuneelGalgotia CEO – Mr DhruvGalgotia VC – Dr RenuLuthra Pro-VC (Academics) Prof.Jayasankar Variyar Streams – Engineering and Technology, Business, Law, Medical and Allied Sciences, Nursing, Hospitality, Media, Liberal Arts

M.S RAMAIAH UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Key People Chancellor - Dr. M. R. Jayaram Pro-VC - Prof.Govind R. Kadambi Registrar & CFO CA. N. C. Shekar Streams – Engineering and Technology, Art and Design, Management, Physical Sciences, Dental Sciences, Pharmacy, Hospitality SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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VIT University plans and executes initiatives at a different scale than most of its peers. Recently VIT conducted a two-day international conference on Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). While over 1,000 research papers were submitted for presentation in this annual conference, over 2,000 scientists, young researchers, academicians, experts and students from different parts of the world took part in the conference. Ambassador of Ecuador to India, Hector Cueva Jacome was a special invitee. Vellore Institute Of Technology is also shining on the placements front. It has set a record in their placements this year. Microsoft has offered a CTC package of Rs 39 lakh each to 14 students at VIT. This is a record placement offer made by any company at VIT. There were more winners worth mentioning. Consultancy firm Deloitte recruited 191 students with a CTC of Rs 6.5 lakh; followed by Wipro Design offering 160 offers with Rs 6.5 lakh; TCS Digital offering 82 offers with CTC of Rs 7 lakh and Bank of America offering 108 offers with CTC of ?6 lakh. VIT was established under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, and was founded in 1984 as a self-financing institution called the Vellore Engineering College. The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development conferred University status on Vellore Engineering College in 2001. The University is headed by its founder and Chancellor, Dr. G. Viswanathan, a former Parliamentarian and Minister in the Tamil Nadu Government. Leadership in entrance examination standards, campus placements, research outlook, scholarships and start-up incubation have ensured that VIT University is the benchmark

a strong partnership with Purdue University, Indiana, USA on the technology and artificial intelligence sectors, to develop an app called the Chat Analysis Triage Tool (CATT), which aims to detect the mental state of the people who think of sexually abusing children, emphasizing the growing importance of data analysis and artificial intelligence.

to beat when it comes to private sector engineering institutions in the country. No wonder then that UGC granted graded autonomy to VIT based on its high NAAC Score, while NIRF has given it 16th rank among universities as well as engineering colleges in India. The students who are able to clear the entrance examination VITEEE will be granted admissions to courses offered at VIT's four campuses - VIT Vellore campus, Chennai campus, VIT-Bhopal campus and VIT-Andhra Pradesh campus. Even in these difficult days for engineering education, how is VIT University able to attract so much interest for its BTech programs? There are several answers to this riddle. Firstly, VIT University excels when it coming to campus placements. Even while jobs growth is down in India, and most engineering institutions have trouble in placing most of their students, VIT just goes on to break new records in campus placements, year after year. VIT has been featured in the Limca Book of Records thrice for the highest number of campus placements done from a single Institution by a single company. How this has been possible is by staying industry relevant by regularly updating its course content or curriculum in consultation with industry experts, academic scholars and even bright students who keep abreast of the next

The tool would help the law enforcement wing filter out and focus on sex offenders most likely to set up face-to-face meetings with child victims. generation of technologies. Secondly, VIT University excels in research outlook, and is a de facto leader in research accomplishments among the private sector universities of India. In fact, it is ambitious enough to compete with leading public universities whose research is funded by government. Thirdly, VIT University has one of the most sophisticated as well as pragmatic start-up incubator programs that has already accelerated the development of many student projects into start-up companies.

Lastly, VIT University is the undisputed leader when it comes to student scholarships. While most universities in the private sector are waxing eloquent about their scholarship programs, only a handful of them have come forward with transparent numbers. VIT became prominent among them, when it disbursed over Rs.12 crores in scholarships to 4187 of its deserving students in a public function. VIT Students here also get to participate in the best conferences like the recent 16th International Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology (ICSET) hosted by VIT. SM

The university also excels in not only forging tie-ups with reputed foreign varsities, but making practical use of these tie-ups to break new ground in innovation. For instance, VIT has forged

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O.P JINDAL GLOBAL UNIVERSITY Key People Founding Chancellor Naveen Jindal Founding VC Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar Streams – Law, Business, International Affairs, Liberal Arts and Humanities, Journalism, Banking and Finance, Art and Architecture

KALASALINGAM ACADEMY OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

MOST Preferred UNIVERSITIES

KARUNYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCES

ACHIEVING WORLD CLASS STANDARDS

Key People Founder and Chairman Thiru T. Kalasalingam Chancellor - Dr. K. Sridharan VC - Prof.Nagaraj R Streams – Engineering, Liberal Arts, Business, Architecture, Agriculture and Processing

SOA UNIVERSITY

Key People Chancellor – Dr.Khageswar Pradhan VC – Dr. Amit Banerjee Registrar – Prof.BibhutiBhusan Pradhan Streams – Engineering, Management Sciences, Dental Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Medical Sciences, Nursing, Hospitality and Tourist Management, Law

LNM INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Key People Director (VC) – Prof. Rahul Banerjee Dean (Academic Affairs) Prof. Ravi Prakash Gorthi Streams – Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Humanities

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor – Ashok Mittal Pro-Chancellor – Rashmi Mittal VC – Ramesh Kanwar Streams – Engineering, Liberal Arts, Humanities, Management, Law SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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Positioned in the verdant valley of the Siruvani Hills, at a distance of 25 km from Coimbatore city is Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS) a Deemed to be University and a Christian Minority Residential Institution in a sprawling 720 acres of land, amidst the green vegetation and misty mountains. The origin of Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences dates back to the year 1986, when it functioned as an Engineering College affiliated to Bharathiyar University. Since then there has been a phenomenal progress –with the institution being granted Autonomy in October 1999 and eventually conferred the Deemed to be University status in 2004. True to its name, Karunya which means ‘Compassion’ is an institution with social concern to address the problems of humanity through technical education, research & development, products, patents and extension. The Faculty and students of Karunya are nurtured in character, ethics and spiritual discernment to serve the society with fervour and zeal. Owing to the excellent education imparted by the institution in engineering, biotechnology, food processing, agriculture sciences, arts, media, commerce and management, the accreditation by NAAC is without doubt an acknowledgment of its stature and reputation. The recent accreditation of the Departments of Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering by NBA is a testimony to the quality of education at KITS. It should also be stated that all B. Tech and M. Tech programs as well as the MBA programs have been approved by AICTE in April 2018. Accepting the recommendations of the UGC and AICTE, the MHRD Government of India, has granted extension of Deemed to be University status to KITS on 8th June 2018.

Participating in QS Star Rating, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences has entered into the International Rating System. The QS Intelligence unit has through independent data collection and analysis of performance metrics, rated KITS as a Three Star Institution, awarding Four Stars for Teaching and Five Stars for Facilities and Inclusiveness. In recognition of its contribution to academic excellence and for taking a stand to resolve the societal and technological problems in the areas of food, water, energy and health, KITS has been consistently ranked amongst the top 100institutions in the past years by NIRF, MHRD GoI. In the year 2018, the institution bagged the 72nd position under the Engineering Colleges category and was placed in the 89th position under the University Category by NIRF. In the School of Engineering and Technology, programs such as Aerospace, Biomedical, Civil, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics, Electronics and Communication, Mechanical Engineering and Robotics & Automation are offered.

recognition for offering unique and distinctive programs. Furthermore, Postgraduate programs in basic sciences such as Physics, Chemistry, Nanoscience (5 year integrated program) and Mathematics are also offered. The MBA is a flagship program of the institution. KITS also hosts programs in the domains of commerce and computers such as B.B.A, B.C.A and B.Com. Karunya has carved a niche for itself by introducing a wide array of interdisciplinary and departmentspecific postgraduate programs, such as Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Aerospace, Bio technology, Biomedical Instrum entation, Communication Systems, Cyber Security, Embedded Systems, Engineering Design, Environment and Water Resources Engineering, Food Processing Technology, Geotechnical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Structural Engineering, Thermal Engineering and VLSI Design. The institute takes immense pride of

its faculty comprising of learned academicians, avid researchers, eminent scientists and inspiring teachers. Most of the faculty members in KITS have doctorate degrees and continue to undertake research in their areas of specialization transforming the institute from being a Center of learning to a Center of research and change.

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE: KITS has established Centers of Excellence in collaboration with SIEMENS, CISCO, NOVELL, IBM, SALZER and LANCET. These Centers bridge the gap between the academic world and industry.

IQAC: The IQAC of KITS ensures sustenance of quality stipulated by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) by organizing periodic academic audits thereby strengthening teaching-learning, research and student progression. The cell has developed a robust system to prepare the institution

In the School of Agriculture and Biosciences, programs such as Biotechnology and Food Processing Technology extend the spectrum of engineering applications to the vital thrust areas of the University- water, health, food and energy, thus integrating Engineering with Sciences. Moreover, Karunya distinguishes itself from other institutions by offering a unique set of Agriculture programs such as B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture, B.Sc. (Hons.) in Horticulture and B.Tech in Agricultural Engineering. The School of Sciences, Arts, Media and Management encompasses the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Nanosciences, Information Technology, Commerce, Management and Media. With the introduction of programs such as M.A Media &Communications, B.Tech ECE with specialization in Electronics and Media Technology, B.A Criminology, B.Sc. & M.Sc. Information Security and Digital Forensics, KITS has gained SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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for national and global assessments and ranking.

IAESTE KITS serves as the Local Chapter for the I nternational A ssociation for the E xchange of S tudents for T echnical Experience (IAESTE) India, facilitating student exchange programs for technical internships abroad. The Karunya Chapter holds the privilege of being one of the major pivotal points of contact for several aspiring students in India to go abroad for internships and a portal to international students who visit India in exchange. The Karunya chapter has thus far facilitated the exchange of more than 250 foreign nationals from different countries to pursue their internships in KITS and in the R&D sector of India. On exchange, we also provided opportunities for more than 250 students of KITS to pursue their internship with an average stipend of USD 750 per month (approx. INR 50000).

KARUNYA INNOVATION & INCUBATION CELL (KIIC) K arunya I nnovation and I ncubation C ell was setup to foster innovation, research and entrepreneurial activities in technology related areas. The goal of the cell is to promote technology based entrepreneurship and thereby facilitate creation of ideas and inventions that solves the problems of humanity. To achieve its objectives, KIIC has adopted an incubation procedure and policy to provide guidance and management structure

for creating the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

CENTRE FOR PLACEMENT & TRAINING KITS trains students with professional ethics to set a benchmark of excellence in the corporate world. Offering information, advice, guidance and support for Job seeking students are considered to be the primary responsibilities of the Placement Cell. Its graduates and postgraduates are highly regarded by employers from industries in private and public sectors. Top recruiters comprise some of the renowned and prestigious companies such as Accenture, Infosys, Wipro, KPIT, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, IBM, Nokia, Jasmin InfoTech, Renault Nissan, NetApp, Samsung, Newage, HGS, HDB, Everest HCL, BOSCH, Amazon,

etc., Trained staff are appointed to work with the Director (Industry Academia Collaborations) and the Training and Placement Officer.

MoUs The institution has numerous collaborations with academic institutions and universities and has signed MoU with several of them. KITS has been privileged to pursue research with Ben Gurion University(Israel), Technion - Israel Institute Of Technology, RWTH Aachen University(Germany), University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, USA), Hebrew University(Israel) and Bar-Ilan University (Israel), Cape Breton University(Canada) and National Dong Hwa University(Taiwan). For Research & Development to be on par with the global research fraternity, KITS has signed a Letter Of Intent (LOI) with Agriculture Research Organization (ARO),Government of Israel for facilitating cooperation in the fields of micro-irrigation, precision farming, biological control, plant biotechnology, food processing and waste water reuse. Admissions for the year 2019 are open for Engineering, Management, Agriculture, Arts, Science, Commerce and Media. Scholarships to the tune of Rs.5crore are earmarked on meritorious and needy students. SM

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SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor – Prof.Dr. S.B Mujumdar Pro Chancellor and Director Dr VidyaYeravdekar VC – Dr.Rajani R Gupte Streams – Humanities, Liberal Arts, Management, Media, Engineering, Health and Biological Sciences, Computer Studies, Law

JSS ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, MYSURU Key People

MOST Preferred UNIVERSITIES

NITTE (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

CREATING WELL ROUNDED PROFESSIONALS

Chancellor - His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Shivarathri DeshikendraMahaswamiji Vice-Chancellor and Chairperson Dr. B Suresh Registrar - Dr. B. Manjunatha Director (Academics) – Dr.Kushalappa P.A Streams – MBBS, Medical UG and PG courses

SASTRA DEEMED UNIVERSITY, THANJAVUR Key People VC – Prof. R Sethuraman Registrar – Dr. G Balachandran Streams – Engineering, Commerce, Physical Sciences, Management

ETERNAL UNIVERSITY Key People Vice Chancellor and Chairman Dr H.S Dhaliwal Registrar – Dr Davinder Singh Streams – Arts and Social Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Basic Sciences, Management, Business

INTEGRAL UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor - Prof. S. W. Akhtar VICE CHANCELLOR (ACTING) - Prof.Aqil Ahmad Streams – Business, Computer, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, Arts

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Nitte (Deemed to be University) has been ranked 77th by NIRF and awarded A Grade by NAAC. The Nitte Gulabi Shetty Memorial Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences has been ranked 25th by NIRF and the AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences ranks among the top 10 private dental colleges in the country. The university continues to push the frontiers of excellence by a combination of knowledge creation and dissemination, community outreach and social work, and facilitation for overall development of students. Nitte University continues to host impressive scientific conferences and workshops. A one day workshop on Digital Droplet Third Generation PCR in clinical applications was recently held at Nitte University Centre for Science Education and Research. Prof Indrani Karunasagar, director- R & D, welcomed the gathering and highlighted the urgent need to be aware of the latest advances world over in rapid diagnostics. The workshop was inaugurated by the chief guest, Dr Krishna Prasad, chief medical oncologist, Mangalore Institute of Oncology. He recognized and appreciated the need for this advanced technique as it is not available in the coastal belt of Goa, Karnataka and north Kerala and explained how it would benefit those suffering from conditions like cancer and certain infections. If detected early through non-invasive method like Liquid biopsy it would make the suffering less and also help in prognosis to monitor the treatment effect. In fact, all constituent institutes of Nitte University takes care to host such conferences in their domains. Nitte Institute of Communication recently organized a media conference at its campus in Deralakatte. The two-day event had talks and

University has also tied up with some of the best public universities in US like University of Minnesota, to further student and faculty exchange.

discussions with eminent academicians and media persons, and a cartoon exhibition by internationally acclaimed political cartoonist Satish Acharya. He also conducted a one-day cartooning workshop. Nitte University goes full length to ensure that their students remain comfortable. When it is about infrastructure, Nitte offers nothing but the best. Clean and comfortable hostels, college buses which offer free pick-up and drop from the city, Medicare facilities at the multispecialty KS Hegde Hospital, mentor-mentee programmes and trained counsellors on campus are only some of these. A strict vigil against ragging is maintained in all the campuses. All round development of students including their physical and mental fitness are also catered to. Sports and extra-curricular activities have always been encouraged at Nitte. The BC Alva sports complex measures 14,000 sq ft and has badminton courts, a basketball court, multi-gym, work-out stations for power lifting and weight lifting and much more. The basketball court at Nitte is of NBA standards and compares with the best in the country. The university wants not to just churn out graduates, but for them to be productive for the community around them. Hence, another feature that is a Nitte hallmark is the emphasis on social responsibility. With 21 rural health centers which provide free medical and dental services to the rural poor, students at the medical college, the

Nitteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s various arms like its Management Institute and Medical College are doing their level best to stay relevant and influential in the industry and community, by furthering causes like MSME growth and community medicine.

dental college and the department of Public Health, get to work at these centers and understand the problems of rural healthcare. A rural psychiatric centre, the first-of-itskind in coastal Karnataka, addresses the sensitive issue of mental health and provides counseling, medication and rehabilitation, completely free of cost. Free denture camps are frequently held and the dental college also conducts free cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for those who can ill afford it. Nitte University is focusing on integrated research programs, promotion of innovation, and focus on sunrise knowledge sectors like stemcell research. It is collaborating with multiple arms of Indian Government like DST, NITI Aayog etc, as well as with foreign governments like that of Belgium. NITI Aayog has already selected a Nitte institution as a startup district with innovation hub along with the prestigious NIT Suratkal. Nitte

Nitte University has always been a stalwart in the research and development arena. In fact, the university has a specially designated Dean for R&D activities, who looks into quality checks in the research literature leading to PhD degrees. At the funding level, the institution is involved in sponsored research. It has been obtaining funding from VTU, DST and AICTE for carrying out sponsored research and also for developing research facilities. The faculty members of the institution have about 250 research papers published in research journals and subsequently presented in national and international conferences held in India and abroad. The S. W. Akhtaruniversity looks poised to strengthen its research capability further and the presence of a strong research culture should help the institute to redefine its curriculum to suit the demands of quality, cutting-edge research work. Always known to be a major influencer in the scientific field, Nitte University continues its outstanding contribution in stem cell research through various initiatives including hosting conferences on this sunrise domain. Nitte (Deemed to be University) is also one of the select few higher education institutions in India to be selected by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India for support under bilateral cooperation with Ghent University, Belgium, within the framework of DST-BELSPO (Belgian Federal Science Policy Office) IndoBelgian Research and Technology Cooperation. Nitte (Deemed to be University) also offers Syndicate Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one year Post Graduate Diploma programme in SM Banking and Finance course. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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AVIATION

DELHI AIRPORT FIRST IN COUNTRY TO HAVE FOUR RUNWAYS THE AIRPORT EXPANSION WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT ON BOTH, AIR AS WELL AS TERMINAL SIDES. INTERESTINGLY, A FOURTH RUNWAY WILL BE INTRODUCED BY 2022, MAKING IGI AIRPORT, THE FIRST ONE IN THE COUNTRY TO COME UP WITH FOUR RUNWAYS.

o boost the IGI airport’s capacity to 100 million passengers per annum, Delhi International Airport (DIAL) will invest Rs 9,000 crore by 2022.

The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi, which is now among the 20 busiest airports in the world and is one of the fastest growing major airports over the last four years is all set for a major expansion. Recently, I Prabhakar Rao, Executive Director, GMR Airports stated that the expansion of T1 and T3 terminals will be carried out besides adding new taxiways in the next three years. The airport expansion work will be carried out on both, air as well as terminal sides. Interestingly, a fourth runway will be introduced by 2022, making IGI airport, the first one in the country to come up with four runways. The construction work for this is likely to start from February 2019. Moreover, this move is also likely to increase the SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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capacity from 75 flights to 105 flights an hour. The expansion of the IGI airport is likely to take place in three phases – first, phase 3A from 2018 to 2021, second, phase 3B from 2021 to 2025 and the

Recently, a senior company executive said that to boost the IGI airport’s capacity to 100 million passengers per annum, Delhi International Airport (DIAL) will invest Rs 9,000 crore by 2022. third, phase 4 from 2026 onwards. According to the expansion proposal for the airport, the departure terminal 1D and arrival terminal 1C will be combined together and will be expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers per year. Last year, a revamped T2 had been

opened to make way for expansion work at T1. Once the expansion of T1 is over, T2 will be demolished in order to make space for world-class T4. Recently, a senior company executive said that to boost the IGI airport’s capacity to 100 million passengers per annum, Delhi International Airport (DIAL) will invest Rs 9,000 crore by 2022. The Delhi airport, which has a terminal capacity of 75 million passengers per annum, handled 66 million passengers in 2017-2018. According to the data based from Airports Council International (ACI), the IGI airport’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014 to 2017 is 14.3%. It is the highest among airports that are handling minimum 40 million passengers per annum, leaving behind popular airports like Incheon airport in South Korea, Pudong Shanghai airport in China and Dubai airport in UAE. SM

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RABINDRANATH TAGORE UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor - Mr. Santosh Kumar Choubey VC – Professor Ashok Kumar Gwal Registrar – Dr Vijay Singh Streams – Arts, Commerce, Computer Science and IT, Engineering, Law, Management, Science, Nursing, Paramedical

MANAVRACHNA INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH AND STUDIES Key People President - Dr Prasanth Bhalla Vice President – Dr Amit Bhalla VC - Dr N.C. Wadhwa, IAS (Retd) Pro-VC - Prof. (Dr.) M.K.Soni Dean – Academics – Dr Naresh Grover Streams – Engineering and Technology, Commerce and Business Studies, Law, Dental Surgery, Media, Management, Liberal Arts, Social Sciences

SCSVMV UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor – Prof.Dr.S.Jayarama Reddy VC - Prof.Dr.V.S.Vishnu Potty Registrar - Prof.Dr.G. Srinivasu Chief Adm. Officer & PRO - Sri G.Ramachandran Streams – Engineering, Management, Science, Arts and Humanities, Ayurvedic, Sanskrit and Indian Culture

JKLU Key People President/Vice Chancellor, JKLU - Dr. R.L Raina Streams – Engineering and Technology, Management, Design

INVERTIS UNIVERSITY Key People Chancellor – Dr Umesh Gautam Pro-Chancellor – Sanjeev Gautam VC - Dr. YDS Arya Streams – Engineering and Technology, Biotechnology, Management, Computer Applications, Legal Studies, Mass Communication, Science SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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MOST Preferred UNIVERSITIES

AMITY UNIVERSITY

A HIGHER MOMENTUM THAT BENEFITS STUDENTS It is a different momentum with which Amity University operates. The leading private university group recently held its Convocation 2018, not on a single day, but across three days. Thousands of students of Amity of class 2018 enrolled under Science, Engineering & Technology received their degrees and diplomas during the three-day ‘Convocation 2018’ of Amity University Uttar Pradesh. The convocation commenced at the University Campus in Noida where 2409 students from over 30 Institutions from different parts of the country received their degrees and diplomas. 65 Gold Medals, 64 Silver Medals, 37 Bronze Medals and 73 PhDs were awarded to the meritorious students and 47 students were awarded Baljit Shastri Award and 12 were awarded best All Round Student Trophies. Amity also continues to further its initiatives in furthering knowledge creation and employability. A National Workshop on vertical farming was organized by Amity in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The university also signed an MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (ITDC), the PSU hospitality major for starting various job oriented courses. Amity is not just one university, but a group of private universities in different Indian states with 11 campuses, 11 B-Schools, and 8 international campuses, to name just the three largest entities within the Group. The Amity campuses are spread across 1000 acres and have a built-up area of 4.5 million sq ft. Amity’s size is mindboggling as it student strength is over 1,25,000. Even the faculty strength of Amity institutions – at over 4500 – is more than the student strength of many private universities in the country. Amity professors are known for their knowledge, having authored over 500 scholarly books. When it comes to tie-ups with overseas academic institutions, Amity is the de facto leader in India, with effective tie-ups with over 100 world-class universities and institutions of repute. Founder President of Amity Dr. Ashok K Chauhan has formerly been an NRI technopreneur and

research journals. Students are also spoilt for choices at all levels – from undergraduate to PhD – as there are over 300 programs to choose from. And many of these course are simple to offer, as is evident from the over 300 labs Amity has established for mature course delivery. Amity B-Schools on the other hand thrive on case studies, and is home to over 1300 case studies, like how the best B-Schools in the developed world deliver management intelligence. Even the Indian government and various state governments of India are taking Amity’s thrust on research seriously. Amity scholars are now undertaking around 300 Government funded research programs.

industrialist from the European Union. Chancellors of Amity University, Dr. Atul Chauhan and Dr. Aseem Chauhan lead from the frontline Amity University’s expansion in India as well as into Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Various factors reveal the thrust Amity University has on research. Amity faculty members have over 950 filed patents, which should easily be a record in the private higher education space in India. Between them and Amity’s research scholars, the university has published over 6000 papers in national and international

Corporates have been favouring Amity campuses for some years now, and each year Amity places more than 30,000 students with companies in different sectors. Amity has one of the largest scholarship programs in the private space. Amity estimates that over 25,000 students have benefited from this fair practice, as is followed in the West. Since starting full scale operations in 2003, the Amity University chain has opened campuses in major higher education destinations like England, China, South Africa and five other countries. The Amity chain offers bachelor’s and graduate degrees in a range of fields, from art to engineering. With a

penchant for setting up world-class campuses at home and attracting talent cutting across national boundaries, it is a no-brainer as to why the Amity network wishes to leave a footprint on the global stage. The sports scholarship and grants program have also gone a long way in supporting budding sporting talent and it is a further testimony to the university's quest for all-round excellence. The university has also organized numerous conferences and seminars over the past year. These events have ensured the convergence of the leading practitioners in a particular field, much to the benefit of the student community at Amity. Seminar topics have ranged from cyber-security, big data, cloud computing, IoT, intellectual property rights to climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development, agriculture, best HR practices to physical education, legal systems, art and sculpture, just to mention a few. Through such initiatives, Amity has attained prime standing in India's and the world's most relevant fields of inquiry and research. Amity has been getting ranked among world-class universities owing to its high-end research and innovation, increasing number of PhD faculty members, innovative teaching methodologies, international outlook and industry outcome in terms of knowledge transfer - all markers of an excellence-driven university that sets SM its bar high each time. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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COVERS FROM YEARS PAST NBFCs

NBFCS SUGGESTIONS TO PM MODI

COVER STORY ON NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY IPO

Representatives from NBFCs and housing finance companies recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and gave suggestions on how to "revive" the sector facing liquidity issues, especially after debt defaults by crisis-hit IL&FS. IL&FS group has defaulted on a series of debt repayments, raising concerns that default by a large nonbanking finance company (NBFC) like IL&FS would create liquidity crunch in the financial market. “We had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi primarily to brief on challenges faced by NBFCs as well as housing companies. “After the IL&FS crisis, the government has taken many positive steps but as an industry, through Assocham, we were trying to give a message that those steps were not enough, and accordingly, we had to bring it at the highest level,” Assocham President B K Goenka told reporters after the meeting. He said the prime minister assured that the government would take all necessary measures to address the industry concerns. The government is positive about the situation and the sector should see some positive outcomes in the coming days, Goenka said. Banking Secretary Rajiv Kumar was also present at the meeting, he said. “Today, the problem is risk aversion, because of one failure, people don’t want to lend to NBFCs and HFCs (housing finance companies),” he said, in an apparent reference to IL&FS. “So, whatever repayments are coming, they are going to repay the existing loans. Therefore, the growth has virtually come to a halt in the last few months in this sector. In order to open that up, you need SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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to bring in confidence,” said Srei Infra Finance Vice-Chairman Sunil Kanoria, who was also part of the meeting. During the meet, Assocham suggested that systemicallyimportant NBFCs must be allowed to accept public deposits, and to revive HFC lending, especially towards individual home loans, they should be permitted access to National Housing Bank’s refinance facility. Towards this, HFCs should be given time till December 2020 to comply with the requirement that individual home loans should be more than 50 per cent of their assets. It has also demanded that the Reserve Bank of India provide a liquidity window for NBFCs/ HFCs against sale of secured loans by taking appropriate margin on these secured loans, maybe at a higher rate, to help restore confidence in the sector. Others present in the meeting with the PM include Indiabulls Group Chairman Sameer Gehlaut, DHFL Chairman Kapil Wadhavan, L&T Finance Managing Director Dinanath Dubhashi, Sriram Trans & Finance MD Umesh Revankar, Finance Industry Development Council Chairman Raman Agarwal, and Aditya Birla Capital Chief Executive SM Officer Ajay Srinivasan.

As the IPO of India's leading general insurer, the market as well as Seasonal Magazine had high hopes on New India Assurance Company's public listing. But the then prevailing practice of maximizing the IPO price played spoilsport during the public offer phase itself, with LIC having to come in and bail out the issue. For some quarters since then, New India Assurance maintained its stock performance at reasonable levels and even gave a 1:1 bonus. However, the recent natural calamities have taken its toll on the company's performance, especially in Kerala where it had significant exposure. However, almost all the strengths Seasonal Magazine had identified for the company still holds if the new CMD Atul Sahai can cut the underwriting losses, while at the current low share prices it has a high dividend yield of 4.48%.

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MOST Preferred UNIVERSITIES

KALINGA INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY

FOUNDED ON SOLID TRADITIONS, DELIVERING WORLD CLASS EDUCATION There is a KIIT Way of doing things in higher education. It is deeply rooted in traditional values, even while delivering the most modern of higher education for today’s demanding times. That is how Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT, has succeeded in bringing students from the world over to the sprawling KIIT campus in Odisha. Instead of waiting for the world to wake up to KIIT, this deemed university has made it a habit to embrace the industrial and academic world on a daily basis by promoting and hosting international conferences, seminars and workshops of the highest profile, which ensures that KIIT students are exposed to the best of the world even before they leave the campus. Accredited at A Grade by NAAC and given 42nd rank among all Indian universities by NIRF, KIIT is also a top winner in campus placements. Admissions through the upcoming KIITEE 2019 are now on.

ndian Engineering Services (IES) is one of the most prestigious career examinations conducted by Indian Government’s UPSC, as it selects the crème de la crème of engineering talents to head the highest technology posts in Central Government’s vast departments. Rarely do we find anyone outside of IITs and NITs, coming up as toppers in this gruelling exam. But IES 2018 was an exception when Shashank Shekhar who passed BTech in Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering from KIIT Deemed to be University in 2013, topped this exam. After doing his BTech from KIIT, Shashank had also completed his MTech from IIT, Khargapur. But it was the young man’s words that came as a surprise to many. He said, “I did not take any coaching for preparation of Engineering Services Exam. The only reason that I could achieve success in this examination is the study that I had done at KIIT”. He also countered the perception that only BTech students from IITs and NITs can top the exam. He continued, “There is no point discussing whether only IITians or NITians get better marks, or the Engineering Services is only for SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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them. Anyone who has patience, dedication and talent can qualify. This perception is completely wrong because I have done my BTech from KIIT.” Shashank’s performance and his surprising words for his alma mater came as a shot in the arm for KIIT. Congratulating Shashank, Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT said, “The success of

Shashank proves the quality of teaching and educational ambience at KIIT.” The educational ambience of KIIT has been evolving into extraordinary levels in recent years. Whereas earlier the edge was on superior infrastructure and faculty experience, lately the deemed university has perfected the art of using this superior infrastructure and faculty expertise to further interactions with both industries and academics by hosting high-profile conferences,

seminars and workshops. Recently, the sprawling KIIT campus hosted the prestigious 42nd Indian Social Science Congress, which was was inaugurated by Manipur Governor Dr Najma Heptulla. Indian Social Science Congress is the annual meet of social scientists organized by Indian Social Science Academy (ISSA). The theme of this year’s Congress was ‘Human Future in Digital Era’. Over 400 research papers were presented during the five-day meet that concluded on December 31. Dr Debendra Sharma delivered the Third BV Rangarao Memorial Lecture on agriculture. Prof Binod C Agrawal, President, Indian Social Science Academy and 42nd Indian Social Science Congress delivered the presidential address on theme during the inaugural session. Dr Sasmita Samanta, Organising Secretary, ISSA and Registrar, KIIT University gave the welcome address. KIIT also welcomes and hosts highprofile visitors in its campus, and recently the United States’ Ambassador to India, Kenneth I Juster visited the campus of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and its sister concern, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), which is world’s first tribal

university, and home to 27,000 tribal students from kindergarten to postgraduate level. Addressing the students the US Ambassador said, “I am impressed by the talent and enthusiasm of the student community of KISS. The institution which is providing quality education to 27,000 students is an impressive and significant achievement, especially when it has the such a positive impact on the State of Odisha’s many and diverse tribal communities. This is a benefit not just for KISS and its students but for all of India.” Ambassador Juster also mentioned the support of US Government to the institution. He said, “The US Government has maintained a long-term partnership with the KISS through the English Access Programme. Next year, we will mark the 10th Anniversary of this partnership. English is particularly important because of its role as a common language throughout the world.” Before leaving the campus very impressed, Juster also inaugurated a newly-constructed KIIT-KISS Hockey Stadium, which adds to the already impressive array of sports facilities in both the campuses.

KIIT also played host recently to the South Asia Communication Conference. Organized by KIIT School of Mass Communication, the South Asia Communication Conference on Media and the Marginalized Communities, was inaugurated by Prof. Biswajit Das, President, All India Communion and Media Association who said, “We have to empower by communication to get connected with the nation. And KIIT has become a gateway to understand South Asia.” On the occasion, Prof. Vibodh Parthasarathi, the In-Charge of Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia said, “Mass Communication is a developing field across existing Institutions.” In his presidential address Prof. Hrushikesha Mohanty, Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University said, “Communication could be a way of trust building. Communication is the fundamental mode of transfer of knowledge. Communication and communicator are wavelengths to accept each other. In the context of technology, it is providing people to communicate through the pangs of nostalgia of yesteryears.” Emphasizing on Indigenous Communication Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Registrar, KIIT Deemed to be University, said, “For communication, often words are not required. Moreover, communication is being transferred from generation to generation and basic core of the society is the base of communication.” Accredited at A Grade by NAAC and given 42nd rank among all Indian universities by NIRF, KIIT is also a top winner in campus placements. Admissions through the upcoming KIITEE 2019 are now on. The faculties of technology at KIIT include, School of Computer Applications, School of Civil Engine ering, School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, School of Computer Engineering, School of Chemical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering and School of Bio technology. SM SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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MOST

Preferred UNIVERSITIES

ASSAM DOWN DOWN UNIVERSITY

DELIVERING EXPERT TRAINING IN TRADITIONAL & SUNRISE SECTORS

ver the years, ADTU has progressed to offer powerful courses in traditional domains as well as sunrise sectors. There is also an emphasis on designing special courses on new age topics like Cyber security, Cloud Technology, and Animation. Assam Down Town University recently conducted a national conference on Translational Drug Discovery: Current Trends and Future Interventions. Held in association with the Society of Biological Chemists India, the conference was organised by the Faculty of Sciences at Assam Down Town University campus. Renowned participants from different regions of the country took part in the conference. One of the leading universities in the northeast, ADTU is built over a sprawling 80 acres of land, offering its students a unique amalgamation of professional and academic excellence. With students from over 20 Indian states and 5 countries, it is one of the most culturally diverse

universities in the vicinity of the beautiful city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Guwahati. Established in the year 2010, Assam Down Town University offers multidisciplinary programs at Graduate, Post Graduate and Doctorate levels apart from several skill-oriented certificates and diploma programs. Along with the Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences,Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Commerce, Management, Humanities and Social Sciences; ADTU also focuses on unique programs like Trauma & Disaster management, Radiography Technology, and Dialysis Technology in addition to skill oriented programs in Hotel Management, Dietary Sciences, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Social Work etc. When it comes to choosing a private university in the North Eastern region, Guwahati based Assam Down Town University is surpassing its position every year, providing all the

nourishment needed for a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall growth and therefore manifests itself as one of the best universities to choose from. Spreading over 80 acres with all the modern educational infrastructure as well as facilities for extracurricular activities, ADTU is also a powerhouse when it comes to campus placements. Major organizations recruiting from ADTU include Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Oberoi Group, Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Taj Group, Accor Hotels, Lemon Tree Hotels, Indigo, Spice Jet, Patanjali, Genpact, NH Hospitals, Asian Heart Institute, HCL etc. And more than that, ADTU has been facilitating all students in North East by conducting what is perhaps the largest and most successful job fairs in the region for four years in a row now. Known equally for catering to traditional courses that are still in demand like engineering and MBA, as well as for emerging sunrise courses like in cybersecurity, ADTU has always been innovating on forming industry-ready courses, the latest of which is a specialized MBA. Recently, Assam Down Town University in association with National Career Service organized a two-day long Campus Placement Drive. It was one of the largest placement drives with 72 national and international companies participating, and recording a footfall of more than 3000 people from across the North East Region. Industry Minister, Government of Assam, Sri Chandra Mohan Patowary

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attended the closing ceremony as the Chief Guest. ADTU had conducted the placement drive successfully for the past three consecutive years and this was the fourth edition. Around 1,400 candidates were selected by 59 companies in 2017 placement drive. The placement drive is open not just for ADTU students, but for the students of the entire North East region. The USP of the placement drive was that it was not just for the experience holders but also for fresher candidates. With each passing year, the number of companies and number of placements are rising for this noted event. The venue for the placement drive was the Campus of Assam Down Town University at Sankar Madhab Path, Gandhi Nagar, Panikhaiti, Guwahati, Assam. Due to the huge demand from both recruiters and candidates witnessed at the event, ADTU is now planning to make this mega event a regular feature. ADTU has recently entered into a new strategic academic partnership with Timespro, a leader in banking and finance sector education. This collaboration will bring forth a specialized MBA program by ADTU, with an additional certification of Post Graduate Diploma in Banking Management (PGDBM) by Timespro, for the benefit of banking and finance career aspirants. Recently the Banking industry has gone through a radical transformation. Demonetization, government policies and reforms have ushered a new era in banking and financial services. While this economic scenario would pose a few challenges to the industry, it also brings along a flood of opportunities for those interested in making it big in banking and finance. Through this 2 year full-time MBA course by ADTU with specialized skill enhancement programmes in the field of Banking and Finance by TimesPro, students will not just be able to acquire the skills required in the sector but will also be equipped with the tools and techniques, and most importantly develop the practical and sharp mind set of a banker.

The program has been conceptualized in a manner that makes one ready for a rewarding career in the industry, as the industry needs professionals who understand the practical aspect of banking and can grasp the regulatory dynamics of the system. The BFSI industry consistently needs good professionals who understand the banking ecosystem thoroughly and in that respect the PGDBM with its unique course content effortlessly achieves that. The program fully equips students to address this knowledge and expertise gap. The program curriculum, which has been specially, designed by TimesPro and Assam Down Town University, fast tracks your career as a banking professional. It is conceptualized in such a manner to give a holistic learning experience through both classroom expositions and case focused approach. Mr. Joutishman Dutta, Managing Trustee of Down Town Charity Trust says, "The program is a unique industryoriented MBA program that is being offered by us with additional Certification from TimesPro. For the first

time in this region, students will be exposed to practical banking and finance concepts. Students must choose this program for its unique course content and industry-specific approach which prepares them as thorough banking professionals." While this program has been designed by TimesPro, the industry integration of such professional training programs with universities and educational institutes of repute is being conceptualized and facilitated by N K Das foundation. The N K Das foundation has been relentlessly working to impart skill enhancement and employability based training programs across North East. Students who have successfully completed their graduation level examinations without any gaps and through regular mode of education may apply for the program. They will have to appear for the TAP test and Personal Interview by an Ex-banker. After successful short listing of candidates, beyond this point they will go ahead with the training over four semesters at regular intervals which would act like periodic interventions for skill enhancement. With an excellent track record in placement, students can be assured of interview opportunities at some of India's top banking, non-banking and financial institutions after successfully completing the program. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global workplace, a deciding factor for success how professional degree holders can work together with colleagues from various cultures. One of the leading universities in the northeast, ADTU is built over a sprawling 80 acres of land, offering its students a unique amalgamation of professional and academic excellence. With students from over 20 Indian states and 5 countries, it is one of the most culturally diverse universities in the vicinity of the beautiful city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Guwahati. Established in the year 2010, it offers multi-disciplinary programs at Graduate, Post Graduate and Doctorate levels apart from several skill-oriented certificates and diploma programs. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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COVERS FROM YEARS PAST

COVER STORY ON VPS HEALTHCARE Over the years, ADTU has progressed to offer powerful courses in traditional domains as well as sunrise sectors. Along with the Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences,Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Commerce, Management, Humanities and Social Sciences; it also focuses on unique programs like Trauma & Disaster management, Radiography Technology, and Dialysis Technology in addition to skill oriented programs in Hotel Management, Dietary Sciences, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Social Work etc. There is also an emphasis on designing special courses on new age topics like Cyber security, Cloud Technology, and Animation. No modern university is worth the mention without the best educational infrastructure and facilities for extracurricular activities. ADTU embraces a sound infrastructure in addition to the courses and faculty. Besides a wellstocked library, well- built seminar rooms, and excellent laboratories; the University provides services like an on-campus ATM, seamless WiFi network, and a reliable transport SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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and security system. To ensure all round development, it has various sporting facilities, gym, and a swimming pool. AdtUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekend curriculum is unique. Saturdays are reserved for various activities for the students and faculty, ranging from dance classes to music lessons and yoga. Further, the university has several clubs for the students to pursue their areas of interest. Major organizations recruiting from ADTU include Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Oberoi Group, Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Taj Group, Accor Hotels, Lemon Tree Hotels, Indigo, Spice Jet, Patanjali, Genpact, NH Hospitals, Asian Heart Institute, HCL etc. ADTU also offers the largest scholarship program in the region. Every year 100 students are selected for free education by the University, where the required hostel facilities and any other additional financial support are borne by the University to enable students to pursue higher education. Scholarships are issued on the basis of merit depending on marks obtained during entrance examinations and also for meritorious students who top University examinations. SM

When Seasonal Magazine covered VPS Healthcare and its young dynamic leader Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil in early 2018, he was already an accomplished healthcare leader and philanthropist, more known in Middle East. However, it was in the aftermath of the unprecedented Kerala floods, later in the year, that India, especially his home state of Kerala, came to know about the generosity of this philanthropist. As he himself loves to say often, "We don't worry about cost. Our philosophy is that when we give, we grow." And indeed he is growing. With a personal networth of $1.5 billion, he has invested heavily to take a significant stake in listed investment major Amanat Holdings of UAE that invests primarily in healthcare and educational organizations and has also taken over as its MD & CEO.

CITIES

WITH METRO EXPANSION, DELHI IN PREMIUM LEAGUE OF CITIES DELHI METRO NETWORK HAS NOW EXPANDED TO NEARLY 314 KM WITH 229 STATIONS WITH THE OPERATIONALISATION OF THE NEW CORRIDOR

he 17.8-km Shiv ViharTrilokpuri Sanjay Lake section of the Pink Line was opened to public Wednesday, putting Delhi among a select group of cities such as London and Shanghai that have an operational metro network of over 300-km.

15 stations on the new corridor are Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake, East Vinod Nagar-Mayur Vihar-II , Mandawali-West Vinod Nagar, IP Extension, Anand Vihar ISBT, Karkardooma, Karkardooma Court, Krishna Nagar, East Azad Nagar, Welcome, Jaffrabad, Maujpur-Babarpur, Gokulpuri, Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar.

The Delhi Metro network has now expanded to nearly 314 km with 229 stations with the operationalisation of the new corridor.

After the opening of this line, the Delhi Metro will be running 4,749 trips a day, the “highest ever” so far, officials said.

The new Anand Vihar metro station on this stretch, an interchange facility with an existing eponymous station on the Blue Line, has turned the area into a major transport hub, with a railway station and an Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) already present. The main highlight of this section is the presence of three interchange stations - Anand Vihar (with Blue Line), Karkardooma (with Blue Line) and Welcome (with Red Line). With its opening, the Delhi Metro also joined the league of top metro networks around the world which have an operational length of over 300 km, like those in London, Beijing, Shanghai and New York, Delhi Metro officials said. Addressing a gathering at the inauguration function held at the Metro Bhawan early in the day, union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The journey that started in 2002 has passed the 300 kmmark today to reach 314 km. The metro project in Delhi is a global success.” The

However, due to infrastructure constraints, trains on the Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake-IP Extension section on this corridor will ply on a single route with a frequency of a little 15 minutes and 36 seconds, officials had said on Monday. A bottleneck near Trilokpuri station has arisen due to multiple issues, including land acquisition, resulting in a portion of metro segment, about few kilometres remaining incomplete, rendering the Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake station, a terminus. Also, only every third train will go to Trilokpuri station from IP Extension due to the single line operation on down line due to non-availability of cross-over facility at Trilokpuri, executive director, corporate communications at DMRC, Anuj Dayal said.

AFTER THE OPENING OF THIS LINE, THE DELHI METRO WILL BE RUNNING 4,749 TRIPS A DAY

The train services between IP Extension and Shiv Vihar section will be run as per normal practice on both the lines at a peak hour frequency of 5 minutes and 12 seconds, officials said. “However, passengers heading towards Trilokpuri or Shiv Vihar will be required to change the trains at the platform level itself at Maujpur-Babarpur station. “This interchange is necessitated since Maujpur-Babarpur is designed to meet Phase-IV requirement as an interchange station with four platforms,” Dayal said. The train services between IP Extension and Shiv Vihar section will be run as per normal practice on both the lines at a peak hour frequency of 5 minutes and 12 seconds, officials said. In construction of this section, the Delhi Metro has achieved a rare feat in metro construction by crossing over its existing operational line (Blue Line) at the Karkardooma Metro Station (old one) at a record height of 21 m above the ground, making it the second highest structure in the network. The highest point in the metro lies in Dhaula Kuan area, between Mayapuri and South Campus metro stations of the Pink Line, at a height of 23.6 m – as high as a seven-storey building. Also, the metro has constructed a double-decker train depot at Vinod Nagar, Dayal said. “We had a land constraint, so we built a double-decker structure for parking, which is quite unusual. Besides, this facility, some of the trains would be SM stabled elsewhere,” he said. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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LEADERSHIP

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ATHLETES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS AS SEASONAL MAGAZINE INCHES CLOSER TO OUR 17TH ANNIVERSARY, WE TAKE A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE AND WONDER WHO THE MOST INFLUENTIALATHLETES OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES HAVE BEEN AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY.

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By Pete Jaison

COLIN KAEPERNICK (AMERICAN FOOTBALL):

hough Colin Kaepernick rose to fame over the last few years, it is important to understand his impact over professional sports and the ongoing anti-racism movement. It’s been just over two years since Kaepernick opted to kneel for the national anthem a decision that sparked both a powerful movement and intense backlash. Colin’s motive was as honest and simple as it could get. ‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,’said Kaepernick about the move afterwards. ‘To me, this is bigger than

football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,’ he continued. ‘I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. If they take football away, my endorsements from me I know that I stood up for what is right.’ The National football league (NFL) condemned his action and he was banned from playing the sport he loves. A few weeks ago, the athlete was revealed as a new face of Nike’s hugely popular campaign: a black and white close-up picture of Kaepernick’s face with the superimposed words – ‘Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.’

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THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ATHLETES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS

ALEX RODRIGUEZ

Alex Rodriguez (Baseball): A-Rod as he is popularly known, was one of the most hated professional athletes in America, or even the world. The former Yankee, infamously known for his me-first attitude and poor sportsmanship shocked the world when he admitted having used performance enhancing drugs, resulting in a season long ban in 2014. Things looked bleak for Rodriguez, but if there’s one thing A-Rod knows how to do, it’s making a comeback. Today, he is a business mogul, a sports analyst and the CEO of A-Rod Corp., while being a shark investor in the popular show ‘Shark Tank’, helping budding businesses grow. A-Rod’s efforts off the pitch has elevated him to be one of the most influential baseballer of our generation.

LIONEL MESSI Lionel Messi (Football): The Barcelona star often makes headline when he’s on the pitch, but off it he’s just as great. Messi’s charitable work is often targeted towards helping children, which is due to the hardships he suffered when he was a child like medical complications and growth deficiency. His desire to do more charitable work increased in 2007 after visiting a hospital for terminally ill children. From this visit, Messi decided to set up his own foundation - the Lionel Messi Foundation, which has since gone onto help with medical research and fund medical centresall around the globe.

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Sachin Tendulkar (Cricket):In a country like India, riven by divisions along the lines of caste, creed, sex and race, it definitely takes someone special to bring everyone together.Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, or the ‘God of Indian cricket’, as he is fondly referred to, did just that. His charitable efforts are a mountain in itself, similar to the mountain of runs he has amassed in his career. Tendulkar sponsors about 200 underprivileged children each year through Apnalaya, an NGO which is very close to his motherin-law. He has also featured in countless ‘No to alcohol and cigarette’ endorsements and has supported two villages in his hometown state of Maharashtra by building basic amenity infrastructures. He is a true hero on and off the field and his efforts, given his standing, are sure to set a great example for others, both the cricket-crazy and otherwise, to emulate.

LEBRON JAMES

Lebron James (Basketball):There is no surprise seeing Lebron’s name on this list when he’s still in the news for his on-court and off-court contributions. Lebron’s professional career love-hate trajectory is somewhat similar to Rodriguez’s. Post his maligned move from his hometown team, Cleveland Cavaliers, Lebron was widely hated for architecting one of the most popularized exit. Fans in Cleveland torched his jersey and this animosity seeped in through the entire NBA. Fast forward a few years from then. Lebron has not only returned to Cleveland to win his team their first championship but has opened a USD $ 8 million public school for at-risk kids in his hometown state of Ohio. Lebron has also been very vocal against the Trump presidency and started the popular ‘More than an athlete’ campaign.

SACHIN TENDULKAR

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ROGER FEDERER

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ATHLETES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS Roger Federer (Tennis): Roger Federer isn’t just the best tennis player in history. He’s the president and face of a philanthropic foundation he founded back in 2003. The foundation, now called as the Roger Federer foundation, heads several educational projects for African and Swiss children at risk of social marginalisation. Since its establishment, the foundation has spent 28.5 million francs (about 26 million euros) and works in collaboration with 16 local organisations, involving1,555 primary schools, 7,600 teachers and 650,000 children. He is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and starred in a 2007 World AIDS Day public service announcement to raise awareness about the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children. Though, the world knows him for his record high Wimbledon trophies and never-ending rivalry with Rafael Nadal, Federer prides himself the most with being related to his foundation.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Football): It is impossible to talk about Messi without mentioning Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, who is widely considered to be the one of the greatest footballer of his generation, along with Messi, proudly holds a list of charitable contributions which is as extensive as his portfolio of sponsorships. Hedonated USD$ 5 million to Nepal in 2015, after the country was hit by devastating earthquakes claiming the lives of thousands. Ronaldo’s charity work also includes his donation of 165000 USD to build a cancer centre, 1.5 million for the construction and rehabilitation of the schools in Gaza and Palestine and frequent contributions for various causes and needs.

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USAIN BOLT

Usain Bolt (Sprinting): The 9-time Olympic medalist will go down as arguably, the greatest athlete of all time, barring Mohammed Ali. But his philanthropic contributions are often overlooked in the wake of his greatness. His support of Africa’s wildlife conservation efforts is surpassed by his charitable work closer to home the Usain Bolt Foundation, which works to benefit local youngsters, through sporting provisions, improving community structures, and funding talented Jamaicans to excel in their chosen disciplines. He ensured that his sponsorship deal with Puma, not only benefited him but also his hometown; every year Puma sends sporting goods to his old high school, to help others follow in the footsteps of their most famous alumni. He is also insistent that whenever he is featured on an advertisement, it should be filmed in his country, Jamaica, by a Jamaican production crew, in an attempt to boost local enterprise and gain exposure for the country. His influence in the world of sports is unparalleled.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

MICHAEL PHELPS

Michael Phelps (Swimming): Theworld probably knows Michael Phelps as the 14-time Olymipic gold medalist but his initial struggles with mental health issues weren’t much popularized. Phelps established the Michael Phelps foundationwith the USD $1 million bonus he received for winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games. The Foundation, in partnership with KidsHealth and the Michael Phelps Swim School has developed and launched the ‘IM program’ which has reached over 15,000 Boys & Girls Club members and Special Olympics athletes with life-saving programming. They have also established the Level Field Fund-Swimming, a grant giving program that provides funding to uniquely talented swimmers in need of financial assistance. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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MUSIC

Why is Spotify’s arrival in India a big deal? SPOTIFY’S MUCH AWAITED ENTRY IN TO INDIA HAS BEEN CHALLENGED BY SEVERAL UNIQUE HURDLES. HOWEVER,THEIR RECENT PARTNERSHIP WITH RECORD LABEL, TSERIES HIGHLIGHTS THAT THEY ARE DEFINITELY ON THE RIGHT TRACK. CURRENTLY SPOTIFY’S SERVICES ARE ACCESSIBLE IN INDIA ONLY THROUGH BACK-DOOR METHODS LIKE SWITCHING VPN IDS OR CHANGING ONE’S GPS LOCATION,BUTIT LOOKS LIKE THE GREEN AND BLACK LOGO WILL FIND A PLACE IN OUR SMARTPHONES REAL SOON.

hether Spotify will enjoya success story similar to what Netflix has achieved in the country is yet to be seen. But it is not going to be a cake walk for them. Let’s take a close look at a few reasons as to why it is going to be a difficult journey for Spotify in the Indian market.

THE FIRST AND THE MOST OBVIOUS: INDIA IS A BOLLYWOOD CENTRIC MARKET. The Indian market is unique and unlike any other in the world in terms of its complexityowingto its large variety of languages, local dialects and preferences which is directly catered to by Bollywood music. It is from these movies that songs become popular and turn into hits. Therefore, cataloguing this huge variety of music, that is unique to India, is going to be a challenge. Additionally, another aspect that could be a hindrance to them is the fact that a majority of Indians who listen to Bollywood music, search for songs based on actors who were in the movie.This search logic is currently not embedded in Spotify’s system and it will be interesting to see how they work this out.

SECONDLY, MUSIC LABELS. India has a number of local music labels, but theconcentration of market power rests with a few old-school labels like T-series and Saregama. Brokering and negotiating a deal with these bigger labels is a cumbersome process and usually have a long gestation period. This is exactly why the deal between SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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markets in the past. Hence, Indiaideally shouldn’t be an exception.

THE INEVITABLE: VAST NUMBER OF DOMESTIC PLAYERS Every global business has to ward off local competitors when setting up shop in a country. In Spotify’s case, they need to fight off competitionnot only from domestic music streaming leaders like Saavn, Gaanaetcbut also from global music players like Apple music, Amazon music, Google play music and even YouTube, which is currently the most

Spotify and T-series is considered to be a huge breakthrough. Also,if recent reports are accurate, Spotify has quite a few exciting deals with big names like Zee Music, Times Music etc. to be finalised in the coming weeks.

PRICE SENSITIVE MARKET. Services provided by Netflix and Spotify have made a huge dent on piracy in many parts of the world, with more and more people preferring to pay and avail these services rather than download pirated copies. However, in a market like India where people prefer freedownloading to buying, Spotify could end up being perceived as a pricy choice. This is because India is a low-end market, where almost one-third of the world’s poorest live. It is true that there is a large and growing middle class, but a major chunk of them are quiteprice sensitive andwill still preferto take the free, ad-supported model even if they can afford to pay. Spotify has an ad-free premium subscription model which is priced at $9.99 (INR 705 approx.) a month in the USA. This price bar is unlikely to attract premium subscribers to their platform, especially when local music applications offer similar services at onefifth of that price. If Spotify can come up with a pricing strategy that can match Apple Music’s INR 120-per month plan in India, the company will definitely find takers for its services and add to its expanding 30 million premium user base. Spotify has shown intent in lowering their prices in certain developing

widely used music platform in the country. However, each of these domestic players have very different strategies in terms of content offered as well as prices charged. For example,Gaana has a disparate music catalogue with equal focus on both local as well as global music.Saavn on the other hand is yet to fulfill the 360 music requirements of users and charges a higher price to get the Pro version as compared to Gaana. Given the complexity and lack of homogeneity of the market, both in terms of customer preferences and

COVERS FROM YEARS PAST competitor strategies, Spotify will have to extensively study the domain to find the right balance between the variety of music databases and the price charged to the end customer.

LASTLY, PAYMENT MEDIUMS. Spotify has always been quite stringent when it comes to accepting payments. They only accept cardbased payments in the US, and direct carrier billing in other markets. Since credit card users in the Indian market are quite less in number, Spotify

would have to explore other alternatives that are more popular like pre-paid cards and partnerships with local phone operators. The latter is slightly challenging considering two of the country’s top operators already own a music service – Jio with Saavn and Airtel with Wynk. Recently however with India’s focus on UPI and wallet-based payments, a third popular mode of payment has emerged with a few major homegrown players in the market. It will be interesting to see if Spotify embraces India’s newly popular

payment modes. However, despite these seemingly difficult obstacles, let me tell you why Spotify’s impending arrival is a big deal and could set off a new culture of consuming music. Earlier the most appealing or useful aspect of a music streaming app was how huge its music database was. But today with almost all major players providing access to databases with a minimum content size of 30 million, it has become more of a basic requirement than an attractive feature. The focus now is on the music search and recommendation algorithm. This is a crucial aspect for music lovers everywhere including India, and this just might be Spotify’s ticket to a glorious entry into the country if they play their cards right. The reason for this is the fact thatSpotify’s Discover Weekly is the best recommendation engine available today. It’s ability to recommend relevant music to the user when he or she is driving, working out in the gym, or even sleeping off on the couch, is unparalleled. Spotify’s playlists like Release Radar and New Music Friday provides subscribers with the opportunity to discover and latch on to new music from artists they would have never stumbled across on their own. They even have a featured series called Secret Genius, that allows fans of pop music to listen to the songwriters who wrote some of their favourite hits.

COVER STORY ON GRSE IPO Seasonl Magazine correctly identified GRSE as a high potential public sector defence IPO as it is a proxy play on Indian Navy's growth. The public offering subsequently went off smoothly as well as the listing. However, the recent market correction has affected all stocks and IPOs including GRSE. But as in any market correction, it is important to look at which sectors are fundamentally affected and which are only affected due to market sentiments. As such the correction in a defence shipbuilder like GRSE is more likely to be an opportunity rather than a long term danger to investors. This is especially so as GRSE is still small to medium sized unlike its much larger peer Mazagon Dock, and thus offers a longer duration for investors to enjoy the fruits of a growth phase.

If you still feel only content size matters, you can definitely ignore this and continue listening to music on your Apple Music App. Regardless, there is no doubt that Spotify has something different to bring to the market which will be appreciated if they roll their services out carefully. It is going to be very exciting to observe their journey in India. Like I mentioned before Spotify’s arrival in India is a big deal! SM

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COVERS FROM YEARS PAST TRAVEL

COVER STORY ON NBCC

"MODI-JI, FORGET BULLET TRAIN": BJP LEADER AFTER HELLISH TRAIN RIDE

BJP LEADER LAXMI KANTA CHAWLA SAID SHE TRIED EVERY HELPLINE ADVERTISED BY THE RAILWAYS

When Seasonal Magazine covered NBCC as its cover story in November 2017, we focused on the dramatic change in fortunes ushered in by its dynamic Chairman & Managing Director, Anoop Kumar Mittal. Titled, 'Total Transformation in 5 Years', the story unravelled the detailed strategy of the CMD through an interview. However, during the quarters since then much like most infrastructure stocks, NBCC too has corrected, despite continuing with its stable performance. The PSU company continues to bag major orders from Central Government and various PSUs and has recently been recognized as a top employer in North India. With a giant order book to back its operations and possibilities for significant takeovers, NBCC can go to greater heights as and when the execution picks up in all its key sectors, some of which are affected by factors extraneous to the company.

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BJP leader's long video rant to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal from a train delayed by several hours on the weekend is in wide circulation on social media. "For god's sake, forget the bullet train and focus on the ones already running," says Laxmi Kanta Chawla, a BJP leader from Amritsar. Ms Chawla, a former Punjab minister, was travelling AC-3 on the Saryu-Yamuna train on December 22 and had been stuck for an extra 10 hours when she made the mobile phone video. Reports suggest the train from Amritsar to Ayodhya was delayed by many more hours. "My only appeal to the government and PM Modi is, please take pity on us common people. The trains are so broken down. We have suffered so much difficulty in the past 24 hours, the train changed direction and is running late, but no one is giving us any information. There is no food arrangement for people spending extra 10 hours on

the train," said the veteran leader, who used to be a college lecturer before joining politics. "Forget about trains that run at 120 km or 200 km per hour. People are on the footpath, there is no waiting room and people are sleeping in the open in such biting cold Piyush Goyal ji and Modi ji." She also talked about corrupt railway officials demanding bribe. Ms Chawla said she had tried every helpline advertised by the railways and had even mailed the minister, but the helpline appeared to be "only for the newspapers". "The Shatabdi and Rajdhani are for the wealthy. What about this train, used by the poor, the labourers, the soldiers..." she questioned and advised the railways minister to travel on such trains and see for himself what the masses go through. "Modi-ji, people are upset. I don't know who has seen acche din (good times), certainly not the common man." Known for her outspokenness, Ms Chawla headed the ministries of health and social welfare. SM

NEWS -IN -BRIEF MERCEDES-BENZ INDIA LAUNCHES CLS 300 D, PRICE STARTS AT RS 84.70 LAKH Mercedes-Benz India launched the CLS 300 d, the dynamic and elegant four-door coupe, now in its third generation. Powered by BS VI diesel engine, the CLS generates 180kW power and has a peak torque of 500Nm. Presented with new design idiom, the coupe comes with Multibeam LED headlamps, Burmester surround sound system, new 18-inch alloys and an electric sliding sunroof.

BISHAN SINGH BEDI SHARES FIRST PICTURE OF HIS GRANDDAUGHTER MEHR

Actor Angad Bedi's father Bishan Singh Bedi took to social media to share the first picture of his newborn granddaughter Mehr Dhupia Bedi. "U Little Beauty MEHR..another Lifeline for Grandparents...Both Maternal & Paternal...Aren't we Blessed..?!! Yes All of it by Guru's MEHR Only," he tweeted. Mehr, who is Angad and Neha's first child, was born on Sunday.

DEEPIKA ONCE TOLD ME 'RANVEER MAKES ME FEEL I'M HOME': RAVEENA After Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh released new pictures from their wedding, actress Raveena Tandon tweeted, "On a long chatty flight with @deepikapadukone a couple of years ago, she said 'Ranveer makes me feel I'm home'." "I'll never forget those words, and truly she looks like she's Home," Raveena added. Deepika and Ranveer got married in Italy last week.

MAKEMYTRIP APPOINTS EX-PEPSICO EXEC VIPUL PRAKASH AS COO Online travel portal MakeMyTrip has announced that it has appointed former PepsiCo executive Vipul Prakash as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MakeMyTrip and its subsidiary Goibibo. Prakash will be responsible for developing and executing strategic direction and priorities of the company. MakeMyTrip Cofounder and CEO India Rajesh Magow said the company will benefit from Prakash's experience.

NASA TO DO SAFETY REVIEW OF SPACEX AFTER MUSK SMOKED WEED: REPORT NASA would be conducting a safety review of SpaceX, reportedly because some officials found CEO Elon Musk drank whiskey and smoked weed during a talk show. "We need to show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, they'll be safe," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. SpaceX plans to launch astronauts to ISS by June 2019.

OSAMA BIN LADEN 'CLOSED CHAPTER OF HISTORY': PAKISTAN TO US Following US President Donald Trump's criticism of Pakistan harbouring Osama bin Laden, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said that the former al-Qaeda chief is part of "a closed chapter of history". Pakistan called Trump's allegations "unwarranted and unsubstantiated". Osama bin Laden was killed by the US in Pakistan's Abbottabad in 2011.

VIACOM18 COO RAJ NAYAK QUITS AFTER SEVEN YEARS AT THE COMPANY Viacom18 Chief Operating Officer Raj Nayak has resigned from his post at the entertainment network. He joined the network in 2011 as CEO of its general entertainment channel Colors and was elevated to COO of Viacom18 in May 2017. Nayak, who has over 25 years of experience in the media industry, founded media consulting company Aidem Ventures before joining Viacom18.

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INVESTMENT MEET

Edappadi K. Palaniswami Honourable Chief Minister

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O.Panneerselvam Honble Deputy Chief Minister

10 WAYS TAMIL NADU REMAINS A TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION TAMIL NADU GIM 2019

Long before 'Make in India' became a slogan, Tamil Nadu has been a manufacturing powerhouse as seen from its 2nd rank in GDP for decades. Long before Investment Meets became a trend, Tamil Nadu had attracted global investors like BMW, Ford, Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Lenovo, Dell, Texas Instruments, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra and more. Yet, under the leadership of its dynamic CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu is conducting the second edition of its Global Investors Meet 2019, in January, to leverage its new ease-of-doing-business initiatives. Seasonal Magazine identifies 10 ways in which Tamil Nadu remains a top investment destination in India.

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10 WAYS TAMIL NADU REMAINS A TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION

UNPARALLELED ACHIEVEMENTS

mong all Indian states, Tamil Nadu ranks No.2, in the contribution to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is second only to Maharashtra, which has the historical edge due to having the one and only Mumbai. But this achievement of Tamil Nadu is even more impressive when we consider two other metrics. The state attracts 7.7% of all foreign direct investment inflows into the country and performs even better on the output side, contributing 10% of India’s industrial output. Tamil Nadu is a powerhouse when it comes to certain core industrial sectors with it contributing 45% of the country’s motor vehicle production and exports, 40% of India’s textile yarn output and 16% of the country’s electronics output. On the infrastructure front, Tamil Nadu has made the giant strides to support these achievements, with it having an installed power capacity of over 30,250 MW which makes it a power surplus state. On the communications front, its available bandwidth of 14.8 TBPS is the largest in India. And on the engineering education side, which is essential to support industries by way of a talent pool, it again leads the country with 570 engineering colleges and over 500 polytechnics.

Thiru M.C. Sampath Minister for Industries SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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A TURNAROUND IN 2018

uring the first 9 months of 2018, investment proposals into Tamil Nadu have more than doubled, on a year-on-year basis. While the 144% increase in value terms is also due to the lower base last year due to former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s demise, it emphatically shows that the southernmost state is shrugging off its investment lethargy during the last two years to regain its former glory. Driving the growth in Tamil Nadu this year has been sectors like heavy engineering, textiles, conventional power and renewable energy. And this positive turnaround is likely to sustain as during the past two years the only real issue Tamil Nadu had was the political uncertainties. With the state now firmly under the leadership of its dynamic CM, Edappadi K Palaniswami, the state is now likely to forge ahead and once again regain its leadership as one of India’s most sought after investment destinations. The state can achieve this all the more as even neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been relying a lot on the technically trained Tamil workforce and when Tamil Nadu is rebounding it readily has this experienced pool to tap into. Besides this, the state has one of the largest networks of functional industrial parks and Special Economic Zones that have ample capacity to accommodate new industries and expansions.

TAMIL NADU BUSINESS FACILITATION ACT 2018

hile Tamil Nadu faced political uncertainty during the last two years, neighbouring states could attract some of the investments that should have normally come to the state. How they achieved this was by bettering their profile with regard to the ease-of-doing-business index. But with the new Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, 2018, in place, not only is the state defending its space, but aggressively wooing all southern bound investments, as this act has been superior to what many states have promulgated. And the results are showing already. Post the implementation of the Business Facilitation Act, both large scale and small scale industrial investments coming into Tamil Nadu have spiked. The Act paved the way for quick and time-bound clearances to industries, extending subsidies to them, transparency in approvals, scope for timely policy interventions and an effective grievance redressal system. Leveraging the Business Facilitation Act, today the Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance Bureau is offering true Single Window Facilitation by combining a hassle free application process, deemed approvals and legal backing for the final approval, which was earlier not possible as the Bureau didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the complete legal mandate. And riding on the success of this Act, Tamil Nadu has already moved up a few notches in the Ease of Doing Business index.

ANCHOR INVESTORS AND PROJECTS

he first edition of Tamil Naduâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Global Investor Meet that was conducted in 2015 is generally regarded as a huge success as it resulted in MoUs worth Rs. 2,42,000 crores being signed. And like how it happens in most states of India, around 25% of these projects have already become a reality. However, going into the second edition of the Global Investor Meet, there are sceptics who wonder whether Tamil Nadu after last two years degrowth in investments can better this performance of 2015. However, the Chief Minister and his colleagues remain upbeat on this aspect and have already announced that GIM 2019 is likely to attract Rs.3,00,000 crore of investment MoUs. Their confidence stems from several factors like doing their homework perfectly this time. For instance, the government had made sure that even before GIM starts, the event would have solid anchor investors like how it happens in IPOs of renowned companies. Tamil Nadu has bagged two such investments in this run up to the GIM, with international automotive major Hyundai who was already present in Tamil Nadu committing to invest Rs.6000 crore and the Indian tyre maker CEAT announcing a Rs.3000 crore plant in the state. The State government has also identified over 200 infrastructure projects targeting investments of around $250 billion, including a new TIDEL Park at Avadi with a capacity of 30,000 jobs. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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10 WAYS TAMIL NADU REMAINS A TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION

WORLD CLASS SOLUTIONS FOR WATER

R SINGLE WINDOW CLEARANCE PORTAL

amil Nadu had also launched a Single Window Clearance Portal for large industries as well as MSMEs on November 1st 2017. Within just one year into its operation, this website has become a major hit among industrialists, and has attracted investment proposals worth Rs.10,000 crore. Around 277 companies including 39 large industries and 238 MSMEs have submitted approvals for investing over Rs.10,000 crores. Most of the proposals are labour intensive, as the cumulative job creation announced by these companies is nearly 45,000 new jobs. After the site became operational, several companies had come forward to announce that they got all requisite approvals through this site within a period of just 8 days. The Single Window Clearance Portal accepts online application forms for starting industries and provides for the first time in the state a deemed approval mechanism which means that if a legitimate project is not awarded clearance within a stipulated time period, they will automatically have deemed approval to start that industry. Designed to enforce time-bound discipline in the approval process, this mechanism has been tried successfully in some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best investment destinations, and in India, Tamil Nadu joins only a handful of states to have implemented this radical move.

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ising industrialization has brought with it unique challenges to Tamil Nadu, one of which is water shortage. In fact, according to NITI Aayogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s projections, if something radical is not done fast, the state may start facing water shortage like many of its highly industrialized peer S.P. Velumani states. Traditionally, Minister for Municipal Administration, industries in the state were Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programme depending on bore wells and other such sources, but a huge number of them in an area can have a detrimental effect on the water table. To counter this, Tamil Nadu has looked at international water management models in developed nations like Israel and Singapore that largely rely on treated water. Core to the implementation of such technologies has been a move away from centralized water management to community water management. Tamil Nadu has taken giant strides in this regard as three major urban industrial areas of the state, Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Madurai has started using treated water on a large scale. While Madurai alone is treating around 30 million litres of water a day, which will suffice for its industries, Coimbatore and Tiruppur have also managed to implement large-scale water treatment on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model that is more sustainable. Additionally, the industrial clusters in the textile hub of Tiruppur has implemented world-class Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system that also ensures water saving leading to lower costs, higher productivity and higher exports.

A FRESH NEW FOOD PROCESSING POLICY

n the agriculture and foods sector, Tamil Nadu has a huge challenge as well as a huge opportunity if it addresses that challenge effectively. The present government has woken up to this fact and is leaving no stone unturned to turn this challenge into an opportunity. When it comes to agricultural and farm output, Tamil Nadu is a powerhouse state of India. The state produces 120 lakh tonnes of food grains, 140 lakh tonnes of vegetables and fruits, 4.41 lakh tonnes of poultry excluding eggs, 1741 crore eggs and 7.12 lakh tonnes of fish. It is a feat that is not easy to be replicated by any state in the country. However, the state has not utilized this might effectively, as only 2% of this diversified agricultural produce are processed in the state. With the demand for food processing output on the rise, this is a huge opportunity for the R. Doraikkannu state. Recently, the state Minister for Agriculture government has come forward with a new food processing policy that is bold in its various offerings. The highlights of the new policy include subsidies, tax incentives, preferential allotment of SIPCOT/SIDCO lands, land lease / purchase incentives, interest subvention, exemption from market fee, labour related concessions, training in branding & packaging, training subsidies, establishment of food parks with quality certification labs, and a single window clearance. The immediate aim is to attract large scale domestic and overseas investment into the sector to increase food processing from the current 2% to 10%, with a special focus on fruits and vegetables. The long term ambition is to grow exports on a large scale, with both large scale and MSME units participating in the exports.

GRAND SUCCESS AT TIER-II CITIES

major demand supply mismatch during investment meets come from investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demands for land in tier-I cities, whereas most states have only ample land for industries in their tier-II or tier-III cities. While states wax eloquent about how they are going to bring up infrastructure in these minor cities to metro standards, generally they have been few takers to such lands in tier-II and tier-III cities. Tamil Nadu is a glowing exception to this phenomenon. It has always been like this in Tamil Nadu with industries thriving across cities like Erode, Salem, Tiruppur etc apart from its largest cities like Chennai and Coimbatore. And there have been bigger miracles too in Tamil Nadu with regard to its minor cities. Traditionally, Tamil Nadu bound automotive industries have made a beeline for hubs near Chennai like Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, resulting in all majors like Hyundai, Renault Nissan, Daimler, Royal Enfield being housed there. However, a decade back, Tamil Nadu succeeded in wooing a global tire major, the Israeli based Alliance Tire Group (ATG) to set shop in Tirunelveli, a relatively backward southern district. ATG specializes in off-highway tires and is known internationally for its brands like Alliance, Galaxy and Primex. The factory thrived wonderfully to emerge as one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest off-highway tire plants, and in 2016, it got a shot in its arm when ATG was bought over by Japanese tire major Yokohama Rubber Company. Employing 2000 people currently, Yokohama has earmarked a $100 million expansion for ATG, and the Tirunelveli plant will be a major beneficiary of this expansion. While Tamil Nadu wooed ATG to come to Tirunelveli there was only one strong point for the city, which was its proximity to Tuticorin Port. This kind of success can be replicated by Tamil Nadu, which means it has a nearly endless expanse of low-cost lands to locate industries into. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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10 WAYS TAMIL NADU REMAINS A TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION

A BOOST FOR TOURISM

INFRASTRUCTURE & REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

ot many Indians know that Tamil Nadu is India’s largest tourist destination. It has a huge lead in domestic tourists at 20.9% against runner-up Uttar Pradesh’s 14.2%, whereas in foreign tourists it is a close second to Maharashtra’s 18.9% with 18.1%. In fact, just a couple of years back, Tamil Nadu used to be the undisputed leader in India, in both segments. No wonder then that when Asian Development Bank (ADB) offered to extend development loans for tourism in four Indian states, the Central Government took care to include Tamil Nadu as one of these states. Recently, ADB and Indian Government signed this loan totalling to around Rs.223 crore. While the amount is not high or adequate enough to meet Tamil Nadu Tourism’s surging demand, it will prove to be a good beginning, since it is coming from a high visibility lender and for specific projects. The ADB loan to Tamil Nadu will support the conservation and Vellamandi N.Natarajan Minister for Tourism restoration of eight heritage monuments, one museum, three temples, and a water body. It will help build various facilities at the sites, including information centers, rest centers, and toilet blocks, with facilities served by solarpowered and energy efficient lighting. Indian Government will also invest around Rs.94 crore into this project. Earlier in the year, Tamil Nadu government had unveiled its new Eco Tourism Policy. The new policy heavily focuses on protection of tourism sites as much as it aims at their promotion, showing TN’s maturity as a seasoned player in the sector. The ecotourism sites will cater to different target groups and will include hiking, trekking, wildlife sighting, bird watching trails, boating, photography, visit to medicinal plants conservation area, craft making, local handicraft, promoting local festivals, adventure sports, snorkelling, scuba diving, and walks and boat rides for viewing and appreciating the rich and special flora and fauna. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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amil Nadu has been a leader in India when it comes to the quality of its infrastructure, especially its highways and ports infrastructure. In real estate development too, it has been one of the most advanced states, which is clearly seen from the presence of the biggest real estate names in India, here in the state. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is now actively trying for around Rs 25,000 crore worth investments from the real estate sector in the run up to the GIM. Developer interest is high in Chennai, and they are waiting for implementation of the Tamil Nadu Combined Development Regulation (TNCDR) and Building Rules, 2018 On the ports side, Tuticorin Port, over the last four years, has made investments up to Rs 1,500 crore for improvement of infrastructure, including commissioning of a coastal berth, mechanisation of berth 9, modernisation of two coal jetties, the introduction of two coal berths, three harbour mobile cranes and rail connectivity to Hare island. Recently, a mainline vessel made its inaugural call at the port. Handling of mainline vessels would reduce expenditure by $50 per container, as the need for transportation of goods using feeder vessels from mainline vessels at the Colombo port is expected to come down. Tuticorin Port is soon expected to develop into an international transhipment terminal too.