Seasonal Magazine - Latest Issue - KIOC Cover by John Antony

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VOLUME 17 ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2018

MAGAZINE

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Where are the revolutionary innovations?

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

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it,” said Albert Einstein. The annual report on Human Development Index (HDI) growth of each country by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently come out, and it once again reminds India of this wisdom from one of human history’s most renowned scientists ever. Over the last year, India has made only modest progress. The country’s HDI inched up from 0.636 in 2016 to just 0.640 in 2017, rising marginally by 0.004 points. To put this in a more readily understandable number, India’s position among world’s 189 countries improved by just one rank – from 131 last year to 130 now.

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Why is HDI important? Or better put, why is HDI growth much more important than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth that politicians love to brag about? One reason is that HDI includes GDP as a component, but goes much beyond it by measuring how much GDP performance is actually improving human lives at the grassroots level. As its name denotes, the Human Development Index is the composite measure of every country’s attainment in three basic dimensions: standard of living measured by the gross national income (GNI) per capita, health measured by the life expectancy at birth, and education levels calculated by mean years of education among the adult population and the expected years of schooling for children.

We need not look any further than that old bracket of BRICS in which we have always been included by international as well as Indian economists. All of them - Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa fare much better than us when it comes to HDI.

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It is worthwhile to have a look at the 59 countries that fare even poorer than India in HDI – the list is dominated by the poorest African nations and a few war torn ones like Syria.

While GDP can be improved by most rightist or pro free-market governments, HDI can rarely be improved by governments that are not intensely focused and hardworking in uplifting the poorest of its citizens. And needless to say, often these two objectives are contradictory, though a few countries have shown that it need not be so.

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EDITORIAL

The list is led by Russia at 0.816, then comes Brazil at 0.759, then China at 0.752 and even the politically volatile and challenged South Africa has clocked an HDI of 0.699, well ahead of India. Russia is reeling under Western sanctions, Brazil’s economy is facing troubling times, China is managing a population that is even bigger than India, and still they all surpass India when it comes to ensuring that the benefits of growth reach their poorest people. It should really be a humbling and educational piece of information for all Indians. But this is not to mean that things have always been like this in India. The

country made rapid progress in its first few decades after Independence, driven by a socialist ethos and programs like Green Revolution for self-sufficiency in agriculture and Operation Flood or White Revolution for milk production. However, India’s performance in HDI is most remarkable starting from the 1990s, when it increased its HDI by 50% during the next 25 years. There were reasons too. In the 90s, then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and his Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh unleashed the economic liberalization program. Well performing subsequent governments like that led by AB Vajpayee and Dr. Singh led UPA-1 continued this policy, to attain this spectacular growth period, which saw millions being lifted off from poverty. What this means is that rapid improvements in HDI is never an accident. It calls for innovation at the scale of a revolution. But post the 2009 Global Economic Crisis, which affected India badly, the challenges like the NPA crisis have quadrupled and the solutions have simply not kept pace. And if you thought our 130th world rank in HDI is the big issue, wait till you hear about our performance in something called IHDI, which is Inequality Adjusted HDI. It measures HDI after negating or compensating for rising inequalities between the rich and the poor sections of the society. If India’s HDI value increased from 0.427 to 0.640, an almost 50% increase, between 1990 to 2017, this HDI value declines by more than a fourth when adjusted for inequality. The value of India’s Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) falls to 0.468, which is a 26.8% decrease, far

worse than the global average decrease in the global IHDI value at 20%. What this means is that even the 90’s revolution of economic liberalization has not been enough for India. And we still have governments and ministers and bureaucrats still doing that same economic liberalization policy with some tweaks here and there. It is quite clear that India needs to grow its GDP much more momentously and it is equally clear that the country needs to focus more on equitable distribution of the resultant gains for uplifting its poor. Sadly, innovation is lacking on both fronts. Which is India’s most innovative company that the world admires? Which is that compelling made-in-India product that the world longs for? Which are the technology patents coming from India and envied by other nations? Which is India’s most admired global brand? Most Indians can’t answer these questions as there are no real answers to these questions or to hundreds of such questions that exposes the vulnerability of the economic engine that is driving India. Coming to the challenge of equitable distribution of prosperity, what are the innovative steps that we have taken to ensure job creation? Do we incentivize investments or do we incentivize job creation like in China? Do we prioritize the welfare of workers like in China or do we prioritize the needs of investing companies? These are all real questions that governments, companies and even the public should be asking if we ever hope to satisfy even the basic needs of all in this great nation of ours. John Antony SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

IRFAN SAIT @ KIOC

A COACH WHO LIVES THROUGH HIS STUDENTS He spotted international cricketer Manish Pandey when he was an eight year old kid and coached him for many years. He spotted international cricketer MayankAgarwal when he was 15 years of age and coached him for many years.Earlier, he was also the coach who spotted and groomed international cricketer Robin Uthappa. He is IrfanSait, Founder, Director and Head Coach of Karnataka Institute of Cricket, Bengaluru. In the hyper competitive field of Indian cricket where tens of thousands of talented boys across this vast nation dream, aspire and work hard to make a break into official cricketing at district, state, zonal or national levels of the game, this is no ordinary feat. Spotting and grooming three cricketers who have represented India in this scenario means that IrfanSait has also been key in spotting and coaching hundreds of players at the district, state

GOOD SHEPHERD INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

AIMING TO BE A TOP-10 SCHOOL OF THE WORLD

Dr. PC Thomas, founder of Good Shepherd International School of Ooty has already made it to a Top-10 International School of India. But this pioneering edupreneur’s vision is to make GSIS to be Asia’s top ranked school and one among the world’s top-10 schools. With the kind of initiatives seen at GSIS this may become a reality within years. Every year, 50 GSIS students get to visit NASA in USA. The school was also the first in India to install a state-of-the-art 3D Printer for enabling next-generation

FOR WINNING, IGNORE WINNING & EMBRACE PROCESS Why winners focus on bettering their own performance and not on relative outcomes with peers.

SPANDANA SPHOORTY FINANCIAL

WHERE A CRISIS HAS RISK PROOFED THE OPERATIONS

Padmaja Reddy has steered Spandana Sphoorty Financial through the worst crisis imaginable for a microfinance firm, has exited CDR and is now back on an admirable growth track, paving the way for its IPO.

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UNICORNS MOVING TO $1 bILLION VALUATION The last couple of years proved to be quite a dry spell for ‘Soonicorn’ companies looking to break into the elite ‘unicorn’ class. In fact, only two did. However, this year started with food tech giant, Zomato reaching the 1$ billion mark. Zomato’s unicorn elevation was followed by a flurry of investment in various sectors like Edtech, fin tech, SaaS, online travel etc. resulting in 7 more unicorns. Udaan, a B2B marketplace became the fastest Indian unicorn (2 years since inception). Overall venture funding in the first 6 months of this year stood at $6.1 billion, a 10.5% drop versus $6.8 billion in the same period last year. Though, the number of investments has marginally increased from

WHY GVK GROUP HOLDS PROMISE Mega projects need mega funds and mega time. And nothing that GVK attempts can be regarded as not larger-than-life. But thanks to such unique strategies, its listed firm GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd is parent to enviable assets like

GREAT EXPECTATIONS, POOR GROUND REALITIES A reality check is called for about the vast gulf between what Shastri and Kohli want and what they get from the team's performance. It seems as if the coach and captain are being blinded by a ‘what-if’ scenario rather than actually looking at ‘what-is’.

LOST SLEEP ON WEEKDAYS? MAKE UP ON WEEKENDS Sleeping in on weekends could have a surprising benefit, so that you should definitely do it.

EMBARRASSING GOOGLE VIDEO SHOWS ANTI TRUMP LEANING IN COMPANY In leaked video, Google bosses including Brin, Page and Pichai are seen consoling employees after Trump won the Presidential election.

NASA WANTS TO VISIT MOON AGAIN For several decades after the first and subsequent moon missions ended, NASA went slow on moon missions due to the prohibitive cost of landing there again with a larger payload necessary for extending the stay of the astronauts for any meaningful work. But with its ongoing Orion program, it is devising a way to doing that cheaply, by using a complex system of mammoth parachutes for a safe return trip.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

HOW TRUE IS BJP TO VAJPAYEE'S LEGACY, TODAY? Vajpayee’s legacy has been lost in BJP's current dispensation where the space for the liberal Hindu is shrinking fast.

SYMBIOSIS SKILLS & OPEN UNIVERSITY

MAHARASHTRA’S FIRST SKILLS UNIVERSITY IS BREAKING NEW GROUND IN EMPLOYABILITY Symbiosis International is one of the oldest deemed universities in the private sector, with its roots travelling back to decades. Last year, Symbiosis scion Dr. Swati Mujumdar established the new Symbiosis Skills & Open University (SSOU) at Pune. Educated and experienced in USA, Dr. Swati is breaking new ground in employability of its students by..

WHO DRILLED THE HOLE ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? The ISS crews are ferried to and from the space station in Russian Soyuz spacecraft, docked to ISS. The hole was drilled in a section of a Soyuz.

WHAT INDIA'S CONTEMPORARY GURUS SAID ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY, EARLIER What Ramdev, Jaggi Vasudev and Ravi Shankar have said about homosexuality in the past are worth pondering.

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WILL AN APPLE ON YOUR WRIST, KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY? The new Apple Watch Series 4 will have a better grip on your health, thanks to the addition of ECG in the features.

GROWING BY SERVING THE COMMON MAN Around 1 lakh common Indians - men and women - walk into their 3600 branches across the country every day. They come for meeting their diverse financial needs from a simple gold loan to a two-wheeler loan. But across all these branches they get the same friendly treatment - the 'One Muthoot Experience'. Muthoot Pappachan Group's financial services companies are all breaking new ground on a simple premise - address the lifecycle needs of the common man and the unbanked. While unlisted Muthoot..

CONGRESS AND BJP ARE WOOING ALL, MISSING MOST As 2019 polls loom, Congress is wooing back upper castes and dalits, while BJP walks a tightrope to keep its core base happy.

CHINA WANTS TO DRIVE A TRAIN TO INDIA China has mooted a High Speed Train between Kolkata and Kunming via Bangladesh and Myanmar.

ELECTRIC DRIVES WILL BE IN PERMIT-LESS RAJ Nitin Gadkari promises that electric and alternative fuel-powered vehicles wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require permits to run..

TOP ANDROIDS UNDER 10K Here are some noteworthy Android smartphones that are priced under Rs 10,000, but still manage to offer you some of the best features that you could ask for.

KERALA & USA NOW SHARE CRISES OF FLOOD & FAITH Former senior Indian diplomat, TP Sreenivasan, hailing from Kerala and now visiting New York, eerily finds that his home state and USA now share crises of flood and faith.

FRANCE HONOURS ILLEGAL MIGRANT FOR SAVING 4YEAR OLD BOY 'Spiderman' migrant hero who saved 4-YearOld boy becomes French Citizen. Mamoudou Gassama from Mali was granted French nationality after the daring rescue in May.

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RELATIONSHIPS

THE POWER OF WE

We-talk is an indicator of interdependence and general positivity

HUGS AS BUFFER FOR CONFLICT A simple hug may be all one needs to protect against physically draining stress levels often present after a blazing argument or individual conflict, a new study into interpersonal touch has found. Meanwhile, negativity has been linked to a general decline in one’s physiological and physical wellbeing, with research citing how higher rates of loss and humiliation can be a predictor of later life depression. Now science boffins have delved into the human psyche to find evidence that a warm embrace helps buffer against “concurrent negative affect.” In an effort to pin down the psychological impact of a hug, Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University asked a group of men and women to document their feelings of conflict over a two-week period. As part of the research, the 404 adult men and women were interviewed every night for 14 days in a row about their moods. Details about whether they had been hugged or not were also gathered. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

The study, led by researcher Michael Murphy and published in the Plos One journal, concluded that people who got a hug on a day of conflict displayed “improved next day negative affect compared to days when conflict occurred but no hug was received.” Basically, the study suggests that the positive impact of a hug may carry on long after the embrace has occurred. “Interpersonal touch behaviors such as hugs may buffer against stressors such as conflict because they increase perceptions of social support availability by tangibly conveying care and empathy,” the study states. While Murphy admits the research into the hug is in the early stages, he said the recent findings suggest “consensual hugs might be useful for showing support to somebody enduring relationship conflict.”

Any healthy relationship starts with the word “we” and not “I.” Past research by UC Riverside psychologist Megan Robbins emphasised the power of first-person personal pronouns such as “we” and “us” in relationships. “We-talk” is an indicator of interdependence, meaning partners affect one another’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. This is a shift from selforiented to relationship-oriented. New research by her lab has greatly magnified the body of evidence asserting that the pronouns we use foretell good relationship outcomes. Robbins and her team reviewed and analyzed 30 studies of nearly 5,300 participants to assert that couples who often say “we” and “us” have more successful relationships and are healthier and happier. Lead author Alexander Karan said, “By examining all these studies together, they let us see the bigger picture. We-talk is an indicator of interdependence and general positivity in romantic relationships.”

CRICKET

Carl Jaison, John Antony

IRFAN SAIT @ KIOC

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rfan Sait is uniquely qualified as a cricket coach having done his Level I training for coaching in India, Level II training in Australia and his Level III training in United Kingdom. But no training is really enough for a cricket coach in India, especially if he aspires to deliver at least one international cricketer during a lifetime. In the hyper competitive field of Indian cricket where tens of thousands of talented boys across this vast nation dream, aspire and work hard to make a break into official cricketing at district, state, zonal, national or international levels of the game, it is no ordinary feat to have produced three international cricketers for India. Spotting and grooming them in this scenario means that Irfan Sait has also been key in spotting and coaching hundreds of players at the district, state and zonal levels, which is precisely what he has achieved. How is this possible for one coach, as the best coaches often tend to be one-player wonders. The first answer to this riddle is this man’s limitless passion for the game. He couldn’t have done it for the money, because he was the guy who forsook a profitable fashion store business to pursue this cricket institute that remained a money guzzler and challenging operation for many years. He wouldn’t have done this for the success and the inevitable glory and rest it brings, because, he has literally not rested for the last 22 years, keeping open KIOC 365 days for students, year after year. And it is a gruelling day for him still. Irfan Sait arrives before dawn daily, takes charge of the sprawling facilities, motivates the staff and trainees, takes almost all his meals with them, and calls it a day only late into the night. Secondly, the facilities that he has created at KIOC is also world-class, including 32 outdoor nets, bowling machines, video analysis cameras, floodlights, fielding practice areas, consultation rooms, gymnasium etc, all under the supervision of over 30 talented cricket coaches. Under Irfan Sait’s visionary guidance, KIOC has evolved for the changing needs of the game. The institute has dedicated dieticians and nutritionists, as well as a new state-of-the-art gym. Sait’s two sons who have undergone professional fitness trainer programs in the United Kingdom, manage the physical training of the students. Thirdly, Irfan Sait has a very pragmatic approach when it comes to balancing the sports and academic activities of his trainees. He is quick to point out that India being SEASONAL MAGAZINE

a developing country no student can even dream of forsaking studies for cricket. To encourage his students regarding this, Sait conducts weekly motivational talks on the why and how of studies as well as honours those students who do well in academics. Unlike many cricket observers who lament about the bad side of IPL and how it has affected traditional cricket, Irfan Sait feels that it is a big positive for the popularity of the game, especially among the children as IPL players are their new heroes. Also open for girls since many years now, Irfan Sait has also been coach to national level women’s players, Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy. In his own words, he sums up his passion like this – “I live through my students, that is my greatest satisfaction.” This is especially true for him as during his childhood, he wanted to play cricket at higher and more formal levels, but couldn’t do it only due to lack of correct guidance at the correct time. But he has more than made up for this by spotting and grooming many youngsters who have broken into the formal game at various levels including district,

Ranji, IPL and international cricket. In some ways, KIOC is the 'Theatre of Dreams' of Indian Cricket, like the famed stadium of Manchester United, one of the English Premier League's most successful clubs. The club's youth academy has been praised for its remarkable contribution to grassroots football while permitting youngsters an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best in the business. Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC) similarly expects to harness the dreams of budding cricketers and more importantly develop them into well-rounded sportspersons. And the efforts and commitment of Irfan Sait, as the prime force behind one of Indian cricket's successful coaching institutes, remains as effervescent as ever. Mumbai cricket is known for its famed 'Bombay school of batsmanship' producing a prolific opening batsman every generation from Gavaskar to Tendulkar to emerging star Prithvi Shaw. What does Bangalore, the home turf of KIOC, remind the

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cricketing world about? From the impenetrable blade of Rahul Dravid to the indomitable spirit of Anil Kumble to the invigorating skill of Erapalli Prasanna, Bangalore can boast of some of the most dedicated servants of Indian cricket. However, a city that has served Indian cricket so well over the years has ironically failed to deliver good bowlers barring Zaheer Khan, hinting at the intense competition in the sport from across the country.

a kind of cutting-edge quality that is rare to find in sports club enterprises anywhere else in the country. The likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Mayank Aggarwal and Veda Krishnamurthy have availed the best training and coaching facilities, and they as well as many others have gone on to represent the country at the national level. Where KIOC stands out from the rest is the manner in which the institute provides cricketers in the U-13, U-15 and U-19 categories with the opportunity to play in overseas tours, fully funded by the institute. The focus, as Irfan Sait would often attest to, is not just the honing of cricketing skills of these youngsters but to develop them into disciplined and wellrounded personalities.

The Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC) can claim to be one key talent pool from which India's next biggest stars may be discovered, like its Mumbai counterparts Shivaji Park Gymkhana and Dadar Union Sports Club. Until then, under the watchful guidance of this talismanic coach Irfan Sait, KIOC would continue to assiduously unearth the state's and even budding talents from other parts of the country.

Seasonal Magazine in conversation wiith Irfan Sait, Founder, Director and Head Coach of Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC):

With a training facility that exemplifies state-of-the-art infrastructure, along with the technical know-how of coaches from around the world, KIOC provides

Do you think modern-day coaching has to lay a greater emphasis on fitness and nutrition than before? What are

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the efforts towards this at KIOC? We give a lot of importance to fitness, diet and nutrition. As everybody will accept, the game has also become more about physical power. Therefore for energy and fitness we require a proper diet. We have with us two nutritionists. They have laid out proper diet charts for our cricketers. Sometimes professional cricketers like Veda Krishnamurthy and the others have the services of core nutrition with Ryan Fernando. This is how we guide and channelize them. In this process, we tell them that diet, nutrition and fitness are keys to become better players and that these have to be adhered right from a young age. On the fitness aspect, we have set up our new state-of-the-art gym with the services of five trainers. My two sons, Nauman and Salman, have finished their fitness programmes course in the UK and have taken up the charge of fitness here. What is the single most important change, event or idea in the game that according to you has revolutionized cricket? In India, the craze for the game is huge. The visibility of the game on

television has certainly been a factor. This has enabled the game to reach all homes. Also, the glamour of the IPL has benefited cricket in the process. Now every youngster wants to be a part of that. With players like Kohli and MS Dhoni involved, it has certainly added to the spice with their large than life persona. How can young, budding cricketers be pulled away from the quick money allure of T20 cricket to play the traditional Test cricket format? Do you think this is a problem or helps to democratize the game given the increasing competition? I would argue that it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have much to do with the money, but the possibility of becoming heroes through instant publicity. The adulation that an IPL cricketer receives when he walks into our academy is worth taking note of and the kids here are in awe of their talents. The idea of being a sporting hero is more attractive to young minds than the allure of money. Therefore, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think 8 or 10 year old kids are attracted about the money as much as the fame and popularity that comes along with it. It will in fact inspire more

youngsters to take to the game. According to you, why does India struggle to produce fast-paced, aggressive bowlers like the Brett Lee, Dale Steyn etc? Is it to do with the pitches here or dietary preferences? Yes, those factors are true but I think it is more to do with the fact that Indians are generally soft and kind to each other (laughs). I believe aggressiveness is not a typical Indian trait. By nature, we are always trying to avoid hurting people. But what has changed is that professionalism has become the norm so you find Indian bowlers wanting to clock speeds of over 140 km/hr, a case in point being the U-19 cricketers consistently bowling at speeds over 120 km/hr. Therefore, the awareness is certainly there but our good-natured self has prevented us from being overly aggressive. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the killer instinct, the aggression to hit or hurt anyone whereas the West Indian or Pakistani fast bowlers, due to their different lifestyle and mind-set have a more aggressive side to their game. Do you think the ODIs could be played as a tournament comprising SEASONAL MAGAZINE

of head-to-head matches (one home and one away) with a points system for a period of 3-4 months so as to maintain the relevancy of the format? See, there are many initiatives that can be brought in to maintain the relevancy of the ODI format. But, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not because the ODI format has died out. But in relative terms, it is becoming less popular than T20s. From a young age, kids play in tournaments that are played in the 50over format and later on make the switch whether to play T20s or the longer Test format. However, if kids

are made to play only 20 overs or 30 over games, their technique will go out of the window. The 50-over game has to sustain and feed the other two formats. It always has to remain as the middle path in a cricketerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playing career. But certainly we must devise ways and means of making this more interesting and I agree that the points system would bring in a more competitive edge to the 50 over format and take the game forward. So I do agree that a system like you pointed out would certainly make the format interesting. Are you in favour of India fielding

different players for different formats like the case with Australia so as to provide opportunities to a larger pool of players and to reduce fatigue? See, we are blessed with having certain players like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni who are good in all the formats. As long as you have players who fit the bill across all formats, then logic would demand that they are played as much as possible. But at the same time with the game moving towards the T20 format, there would be cricketers wanting to become specialists in the format. It would be impossible to discard Kohli from Test cricket. The only thing with having different players for different formats is that it would make the coach and selectors job easier. This would lead to more number of players getting opportunities, as well as reduce their fatigue. There are merits as well as drawbacks for this approach. But I repeat that players like Kohli and Dhoni are indispensable in all formats so it would be foolish to not play them if there is an opportunity to do so. How would you compare the leadership styles of M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli? Is MS Dhoni indispensable for the team for the 2019 cricket world cup? I would imagine that Kohli wears his heart on his sleeve, while Dhoni thinks from his head. One is the definition of Indian brand of aggression while the other is known for his cool-headedness. Both are excellent in their own ways. Kohli has the right mix of intelligence and aggression while Dhoni with his long-term experience will be of immense help to Kohli and his team. Dhoni, it must be remembered, has been a major driving force for the eastern part of the country becoming interested in the sport. Dhoniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aggression is evident in his tactics while Kohli becomes more vocal about it. How Dhoni handles and soaks in pressure

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is a testimony of his value to the team. As a veteran coach who coaches school going kids, what are your views on balancing sports and studies, especially as only very few students make it big in sports? Yes, many years ago there was a function in which Azharuddin advised youngsters that it is time to keep away your pads and pick up your books. In India there is huge competition and we are still only a developing country and we cannot neglect our education. All the more because any sport does not offer guarantees while education does. Everyone, everywhere asks you how educated you are, not how much

cricket you have played. Therefore, education is of primary importance. I deliver lectures every weekend on the importance of education and how we can balance education and sports. We also have instituted honours for students who score more than 75%, 85% and above 90%. We have an award function where good students are made to feel good that they have not only played good cricket but done so well in studies. I have some fantastic examples of boys who have played extensive lengths of cricket but they have come out as toppers in the school as well. Devdutt Padikkal is a great example. When he was doing his 10th grade board exams, he had hardly gone to school because

of his cricketing engagements. He was less than 16 but was playing u19, u-22, state level etc. But when he sat down with his books, he sat down with 100% focus and concentration and to everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazement, he scored 93%! There are always great examples of cricketers who have scored high marks. I am always an advocate for playing as sports opens up your mind and it helps you understand your academics much better. Do you have plans to start branches of KIOC in other parts of India, especially in cricketing hubs or even under-represented areas? I would love to do that but the USP SEASONAL MAGAZINE

of KIOC is that I am here from morning 7 AM to night 9 30 PM. And I am there to address anyone’s issues and make sure that everything is going well. If I get good people to handle this I would love to do this. It’s not a difficult work, but you need to find passionate people for this. How do you assess the support government is giving to budding cricketing talents? Can more be done on this front? Yesterday, I posted on Facebook on this ‘If I was Prime minister for a day, what would I do?’ topic. I wrote I would abolish all taxes on sports. Coaching now comes under the GST at 18%. For a number of years there was no service tax on professional sports coaching but now with the advent of GST, everything is taxable. Our PM is saying ‘Khelo More’ and lot of good things. But, we would like to see taxes being abolished and school timings being adjusted in a way so that our youngsters have more time for sports. Australian schools get over by 2 PM and they have a long evening after that, they can allow children to play. In India, by the time students come back home, it will be 5 PM and then they are burdened with homework. Do you think any other team-sport can be grown in India like Cricket? Yes. Now, football is really getting popular, hockey to an extent. India has now moved ahead in all sports and kabaddi is also growing. In a few more years, I expect many team sports will come up. If Indian teams perform better in these sports, it will pick up.

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You have mentioned that you love to live through your students. Can you elaborate on this concept? Yes, to be honest, while I was growing up, I didn’t have enough guidance. We played cricket and liked it. Things went well but I never played cricket at any higher level. But I definitely wanted to. Now that time is gone. Now, every cricketer who plays, plays with happiness, joy and pleasure. I definitely see our success only through their success. If they sell, we sell. We are seeing both aspects. That’s why we work hard. I

believe that only two people are genuinely happy at a sportsperson’s success – one is the parent and two is the coach. Everyone will clap, applaud and appreciate and all and they might also envy. But a coach and a parent would love it. Parents, no doubt would want to see their kid successful and the coach, who works with any athlete or any sportsperson, will be really delighted looking at their success. Basically, this sport has given me everything - a lot of friends, wellwishers, lots of things. Really made my worth life worth living. I’m extremely grateful for the sport, and all cricketers who make this happen.

AUTO

THE NEW MERCEDES-AMG G63

he stylish and unconventional MercedesBenz, the AMG G63 has been launched in India in its latest avatar. Along with new style highlights, the SUV also gets a fresh set of interior highlights which seem to be borrowed from the S-Class. The company claims that the ladder-frame chassis and the design of the G-Class makes it less vulnerable and more rugged than other vehicles with an integral body. The power steering system has also been designed for rugged off-road use. Under the hood, the Mercedes-AMG G63 will be powered by a 4.0-litre twin turbo engine that generates 577bhp of power and 850Nm of torque. The engine comes mated to a new nine-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The SUV is capable of sprinting from 0-100kmph in about 4.5-seconds and is electronically restricted to a top speed of 220kmph. In the ‘Controlled Efficiency’ driving mode the engine switches off whenever the vehicle stops. The boxy masculine exterior design has been retained, however for freshness, the new model gets AMG radiator grille with chromed twin louvres, AMG wheel-arch flaring with ‘V8 BITURBO’ logo, AMG exhaust system with twin chromed side tailpipes, 20-inch AMG five-spoke light-alloy wheels which are painted in matte black with a high-sheen finish with red painted brake callipers and 275/50 R 20 tyres. The standard-fit exterior Stainless Steel package completes its overall rugged styled look. As for the interior, the AMG G63 offers illuminated AMG

stainless steel door sill panels, designo leather seats, leather-trimmed dashboard and AMG performance steering wheel as well as door centre panels in ruffled leather, headlining in black DINAMICA microfibre plus ambient lighting. This time around, the vehicle gets dual digital displays on the dashboard. One is for the instrument cluster while the other is the display for the touchscreen system running the latest version of the MBUX operating system. The SUV is offered with AMG Performance steering wheel in black Nappa leather in a four-spoke design and flattened lower section with silver inserts. Known to offer a wide variety of customization options to suit individual taste, the vehicle is offered with handstitched dual-tone designo leather upholstery, with a choice of attractive colours - designo porcelain, designo classic red, designo black, designo light brown, designo sand and designo titanium pearl. The German car manufacturer also offers four unique panel options around the gear knob. The ‘Crazy Colour’ edition optional package offers five paint finishes to choose from that includes – tomato red metallic with silver brake calipers, alien green non-metallic, galactic beam metallic with silver brake calipers, solar beam metallic and sunset beam metallic. The interior in the 'Crazy Colour' edition is also offered with exclusive Nappa leather in colour-coordinated topstitching. The colour-coordinated contrast topstitching features on the seats, centre console, dashboard, handbrake and also the beltlines and grab handles on the doors. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

4 MONTHS OF CM KUMARASWAMY

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

A PRAGMATIC RULER FOR A NEW KARNATAKA HD Kumaraswamy has proven both enemies and even skeptical allies wrong. For those who didn't forecast many months for the coalition he leads in Karnataka, the CM has given a befitting reply by cementing ties with his friends in Congress even while exposing the Yeddyurappa camp in BJP right before BJP's national leadership which is said to be upset with BSY camp's toppling tactics by hook or crook. At the same time, Kumaraswamy has proven to be an efficient Chief Minister, in the footsteps of his celebrated father, by taking several farmer friendly measures and steering clear of too much traditionalism by embracing English in schools and a development agenda. Seasonal Magazine brings 10 ways in which Karnataka is building a better future, under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CM KUMARASWAMY is

WAYS Building a Better Future for Karnataka

hief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been attempting nothing short of a miraculous turnaround for the state, which has been reeling from multiple problems ranging from farmer suicides to reduced pace of industrialization due to the rising congestion in its cities. Being a practical leader, CM has realized that change should start from the government itself. Karnataka may soon become one of the first states in the country to implement five-day work weeks for its government employees much like for the central government servants. However, CM is particular to implement this without reducing the total work-hours put in by employees so that the public is not affected by the move. Various measures being mooted for this include increasing the daily work hours, allowing holidays only on two Saturdays in a month and reducing the number of commemorative holidays on the birthdays of various late personalities of the state. The law and order administration of Karnataka is also set to get a major uplift, with police being asked to book criminal cases against those inciting violence through any means including social media. In recent years, Karnataka has been at the receiving end of such incidents as unregulated Whatsapp messages incited mass lynchings and violence in various parts of the state. On the ground, police patrolling is set to be strengthened and directed under the various intelligence reports that are routinely generated by the intelligence wing. The victims of mob violence as well as their relatives are to be provided

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

comprehensive legal advice and assistance too. In a time when the whole of India is standing perplexed at how to combat the newfound resurgence of mob violence and lynching, Karnataka’s step is in the right direction and likely to be emulated by many states. At the same time, HD Kumaraswamy has been sensitive enough to rein in excessive police action. Recently, Karnataka became the first state in India to pass a Good Samaritan Bill to come to the protection and assistance of those heroic people who come to the aid of accident and injury victims by taking them to the hospital. The Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Bill will have far reaching beneficial consequences to such Good Samaritans who bring an accident victim to the hospital within the crucial golden hour, when lives can be saved the maximum. The Bill not only prevents harassment of Good Samaritans in any way, but provides them with incentives for their timely action and also makes it mandatory for all hospitals – including private hospitals – to provide emergency medical care without fail. Such humane approaches from the new government also extends to Karnataka’s most vexing problem since many years now, which is of continuing farmer suicides due to extended drought and the resultant debt issues. Monsoon has officially ended in Karnataka, and this year too some parts of the state like North Interior Karnataka and South Interior Karnataka have received less than satisfactory rainfall. But under CM Kumaraswamy’s dynamic leadership, Karnataka moved swiftly this year to declare 86 Taluks across 23 Districts as drought-hit, which is an essential first step in channelizing aid from the Centre and State in help of the farmer communities here. Fortunately for the state this time, the current Chief Minister comes from a family with robust pedigree in understanding farmer issues, with his father and former Prime Minister of India, HD Devegowda still acting as a mentor to his son on such crucial

issues where he has unparalleled expertise as well as concern. The CM has already announced various farmer friendly measures including farm loan waivers which is expected to kick in shortly. Education has been another area where CM HD Kumaraswamy took giant steps, and much of these have been unprecedented even from him, which shows his pragmatic side. Usually, Karnataka politicians have pitched hard for furthering the promotion of Kannada language, which often proved to be a vote bagger due to the sentimental value of unification associated with it in a state that has immigrants from all other states of India. But in recent moves CM Kumaraswamy boldly spoke and act for furthering English education, stating categorically that without English education, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pace of industrialization would be affected severely. He also took the influential Kannada activists to task by asking them to come clean on the issue by divulging whether their own children are studying at Kannada medium schools. A similar push was seen from the State Government for giving a jumpstart to Maths education in the state. In a recent revolutionary move, around 1500 urban government maths teachers were trained by an arm of the Singapore Government, and they will now move on to rural areas to instruct rural maths teachers on how to teach maths to their students through the renowned Singapore Model of Maths that teaches through activities rather than the conventional blackboard and chalk. Under Kumaraswamyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership, Karnataka has shown spine

in standing up to the belligerent tactics of neighbouring Telengana over the contentious Krishna river water issue. After getting no support from Central Government over the issue, Kumaraswamy has now directed the concerned senior officers to get urgent redressal from the Supreme Court. The new Karnataka Government is also moving swiftly to address the issue of rising congestion in its cities due to the over 2 crore vehicles in the state. Under CMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance, all mass transport projects like the Bengaluru Metro are being reviewed and speeded up. Infrastructure projects are also getting a leg up under the new administration as increasing the job avenues for the youth has been a major thrust area for Kumaraswamy. Slower than desired pace of growth in infrastructure has been preventing Karnataka from growing to the next level of industrialization, but it is being holistically addressed now. Growth thrust is being given to highly potential areas in the state like Mysuru and Mandya through new projects worth more than Rs.1500 crores, as these cities can grow into alternatives for Bengaluru. Karnataka has also recently become the first state in India to launch a mobile app for checking the legal status of properties, which is expected to go a long way in preventing fraudulent property transactions and ensure timely economic development across Karnataka. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CM KUMARASWAMY is

WAYS Building a Better Future for Karnataka

JUMPSTARTING EMPLOYMENT GENERATION

rom the election campaign period and through the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first four months, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy had always prioritized job creation for youth. Towards this, the government is incentivizing job creation as well as industrial investments into the state. Government is keen on setting up industries in 2 tier cities. As announced in the budget 9 industrial clusters are being set up in 9 districts - Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Ballari, Hassan, Chikkaballapur, Mysuru, Chitradurga and Tumakuru - which is expected to create 9 lakh jobs. Apart from this, Kumaraswamy Government is taking various initiatives and reforms in the Industries Department to enhance the ease of doing business. For example, Karnataka is going to have a centralised inspection system, simplified transactions between various departments, fixing a final rate of final allotment of industrial land and many such initiatives are being taken up.

KJ George, Industries Minister

TAPPING THE POTENTIAL IN TOURISM & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

ne sector where Karnataka has ample potential for creating job opportunities is Tourism. In this direction, the Kumaraswamy Government is focusing on overall development of tourism sector, with special focus on specific aspects, such as training for youth as tourist guides, encouraging cultural shows at tourist places and encouraging hotel facilities to come up in tourist places by providing incentives. With all these initiatives Government hopes to create more employment to the local populations. Also, as the general employability of youth is very less, Government is set to hone their skills to enhance their employability. In this direction, the activities of Skill Development Corporation will be beefed up to train the youth with support from various industries. Government is also organising Job Fairs in all districts in association with the local industries. Under CMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance, Karnataka is also planning to set up 3 skill based universities to fulfil the need for skill development. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

DESIGNING BETTER GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Venkataramanappa, Labor Minister

arious steps have also been taken to end red tape, nepotism and corruption among the bureaucrats, so that economic development of the state is smoother and faster. Karnataka may soon become one of the first states in the country to implement five-day work weeks for its government employees much like for the central government servants. However, CM Kumaraswamy is particular to implement this without reducing the total work-hours put in by employees so that the public is not affected by the move. Various measures being mooted for this include increasing the daily work hours, allowing holidays only on two Saturdays in a month and reducing the number of commemorative holidays on the birthdays of various late personalities of the state.

R.V. Deshpande, Revenue Minister

SA. RA. Mahesh, Tourism Minister

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CM KUMARASWAMY is

WAYS Building a Better Future for Karnataka

REVOLUTIONS IN EDUCATION

BALANCING URBAN

ducation has been another area where CM HD Kumaraswamy took giant steps. His Government is committed to improve the quality of education in Government schools and as a first step the focus is on improvement of infrastructure in schools and colleges for which government is spending Rs. 1000 crore. Usually, Karnataka politicians have pitched hard for furthering the promotion of Kannada language, which often proved to be a vote bagger due to the sentimental value of unification associated with it in a state that has immigrants from all other states of India. But in recent moves that shows his pragmatic side, CM Kumaraswamy boldly spoke for furthering English education, stating categorically that without English education, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pace of industrialization would be affected severely. He also took the influential Kannada activists to task by asking them to come clean on the issue by divulging whether their own children are studying at Kannada medium SEASONAL MAGAZINE

N Mahesh Education Minister schools. A similar push was seen from the State Government for giving a jumpstart to Maths education in the state. In a recent revolutionary move, around 1500 urban-based government maths teachers were trained by an arm of the Singapore Government, and they will now move on to rural areas to instruct rural maths teachers on how to teach maths to their students through the renowned Singapore Model of Maths that teaches through activities rather than the conventional blackboard and chalk.

umaraswamy Government is committed for both the urban and rural development of the state and some of the first focus areas are water supply and solid waste management in both urban and rural areas. Further, Government is keen on addressing the issues of traffic and pollution in cities. The new Karnataka Government is moving swiftly to address this issue of rising congestion in its cities due to the over 2 crore vehicles in the state. Under CMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance, all mass transport projects like the Bengaluru Metro are being reviewed and speeded up. Many of the neighbouring states are catching up with Karnataka on the IT industry front, claiming better infrastructure and lesser congestion in the cities. Government is addressing this challenge, especially in Bengaluru, as well as by developing alternatives to Bengaluru. Government is focussing on coordination between various concerned departments to resolve these problems effectively.

MODERNIZATION OF INFRA AND DIGITIZATION OF REALTY

& RURAL GROWTH

U T Abdul Khader, Urban Development and Housing Minister

Infrastructure projects are also getting a leg up under the new administration as increasing the job avenues for the youth has been a major thrust area for CM Kumaraswamy. Slower than desired pace of growth in infrastructure has been preventing Karnataka from growing to the next level of industrialization, but it is being holistically addressed now. Growth thrust is being given to highly potential areas in the state like Mysuru and Mandya through new projects worth more than Rs.1500 crores, as these cities can grow into alternatives for Bengaluru. Karnataka has also recently become the first state in India to launch a mobile app for checking the legal status of properties, which is expected to go a long way in preventing fraudulent property transactions and ensure timely economic development across Karnataka. HD Revanna, PWD Minister SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CM KUMARASWAMY is

WAYS Building a Better Future for Karnataka

SECURITY AND WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WELFARE

umaraswamy Government is introducing monthly financial assistance of Rs. 1000 to pregnant and lactating women. The oldage pension amount is increased from Rs. 600 to Rs. 1000 to enable them to lead life with dignity. The law and order administration of Karnataka is also set to get a major uplift, with police being asked to book criminal cases against those inciting violence through any means including social media. In recent years, Karnataka has been at the receiving end of such incidents as unregulated Whatsapp messages incited mass lynchings and violence in various parts of the state. On the ground, police patrolling is set to be strengthened and directed under the various intelligence reports that are routinely generated by the intelligence wing. The victims of mob violence as well as their relatives are to be provided comprehensive legal advice and assistance too. In a time when the whole of India is standing perplexed at how to combat the newfound phenomenon of mob violence and lynching, Karnatakaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s step is in the right direction and likely to be emulated by many states.

G. Parameshwara Deputy Chief Minister Home Minister

CROP LOAN WAIVER PROGRAM

umaraswamy Government has taken a major step of crop loan waiver both in cooperative banks as well as commercial banks to bail out farmers from the burden of debt. This will benefit almost 44 lakh farmers in the state. The process has already begun and Government is all set to implement it transparently. There is furore about this scheme affecting other programs of the Government. But rest assured, CM Kumaraswamy has asserted that Government is well within the norms of Fiscal Responsibility Act and has created a mechanism to mobilise resources for this separately. This year too some parts of the state like North Interior Karnataka and South Interior Karnataka have received less than satisfactory rainfall. But under CM Kumaraswamyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dynamic leadership, Karnataka moved swiftly this year to declare 86 Taluks across 23 Districts as drought-hit, which is an essential first step in channelizing aid from the Centre and State in help of the farmer communities here.

HD Kumaraswamy

INDIA’S FIRST GOOD SAMARITAN BILL

ENSURING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

umaraswamy Government is very well aware of the agrarian crisis in the country including in Karnataka. Karnataka farmers have been battling a huge crisis for a few years now and the Government has initiated a massive farm loan waiver. More steps are in the planning to save the farming community of the state. Karnataka is also calamity prone, and due to floods in Malnad and coastal areas and due to drought in other regions, farmers are in distress. There are many lacunae that the Government has to look into. Government intends to instil confidence among the farmers and support them, guide them and encourage them to take up agriculture in a more scientific manner. For this reason Kumaraswamy Government is implementing Israel model irrigation in 8 districts, by which Karnataka hopes to make farming profitable. Government is also focusing on zero budget natural farming which will reduce investment and enhance soil fertility. Work is currently being done on the modalities for both the schemes, which will be launched soon.

ecently, under CM’s visionary leadership, Karnataka became the first state in India to pass a Good Samaritan Bill to come to the protection and assistance of those heroic people who come to the aid of accident and injury victims by taking them to the hospital. The Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Bill will have far reaching beneficial consequences to such Good Samaritans who bring an accident victim to the hospital within the crucial golden hour, when lives can be saved the maximum. The Bill not only prevents harassment of Good Samaritans in any way, but provides them with incentives for their timely action and also makes it mandatory for all hospitals – including private hospitals – to provide emergency medical care without fail. For Karnataka, it would be yet another pioneering step that is sure to be emulated across the country soon.

NH Shivashankara Reddy Agriculture Minister

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

STARTUP

By Pete Jaison

INDIA’S SOONICORNS WHICH COMPANY WILL BREAK THE $1 BILLION VALUATION BARRIER NEXT? he last couple of years proved to be quite a dry spell for ‘Soonicorn’ companies looking to break into the elite ‘unicorn’ class. In fact, only two did. However, this year started with food tech giant, Zomato reaching the 1$ billion mark. Zomato’s unicorn elevation was followed by a flurry of investment in various sectors like Edtech, fin tech, SaaS, online travel etc. resulting in 7 more unicorns. Udaan, a B2B marketplace became the fastest Indian unicorn (2 years since inception). Overall venture funding in the first 6 months of this year stood at $6.1 billion, a 10.5% drop versus $6.8 billion in the same period last year. Though, the number of

investments has marginally increased from 449 to 465 over the same period. A Unicorn (in the business world) is not a mythical horse-like creature having a horn on its head. Though, it is considered to be something as rare as that. Companies who are valued at over a billion US dollars are called – Unicorn companies. And companies, who have the potential to mature into a Unicorn in the near future are called as Soonicorns. There are only about 255 unicorn companies in the entire world, (entire unicorn valuation 800 billion). Here we take a look at the soon to be Unicorns, or the Soonicorns as we like to call them:

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Bookmyshow

Internet / e-ticketing / Events tech

This online ticketing platform for movies, events and everything else holds about 90% of the entire market share and is still delving into newer and more profitable businesses. Fresh from their series D funding of $100 million, BookmyShow decided to venture beyond the silver screen, and shine the spotlight on non-movie business like producing live events. They believe the live events business has the potential to yield higher margins over time since the company can regulate its cost. However, current challenges like heavy taxation and poor infrastructure will still take time to tackle. BSW has made some interesting acquisitions over the past few years in Burrp, MastiTicket, Townscript etc.

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Founders: Rajesh Balpande, Parikshit Dar and Ashish Hemrajani Key investors: Bigtree Entertainment, TPG, Stripes Group, Network18, SAIF Partners, Capital 18

BigBasket

INTERNET/ONLINE GROCERY The Alibaba backed online grocery is the first entrant to the digital grocery space in India and still remains as the clear market leader. Founded in 2011, BigBasket operates in more than 25 cities in the country and attracts more than 6 million monthly page visits. Their success has then attracted the likes of Flipkart and Amazon to the online grocery business. Post the series E round of funding, in which they raised $300 million, BigBasket is rumored to be valued at around 900 million. Their relentless focus on execution and quick logistics has elevated them to the next batch of startups in line to grow a horn in its head. Founders: Abhinay Choudhari, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, and V.S. Sudhakar Key investors: Alibaba Group, Abraaj Group, Ascent Capital, Bessemer, Helion Venture, and Sands Capital.

Delhivery Internet/Logistics tech During the e-commerce boom, e-com giants expanded and needed more and more couriers to reach their customers. A robust and efficient logistics system was a dire need. Delhivery fit right in. Today, their the biggest logistics solution provider to e-com companies. Some of their tech-enabled fulfilment services are Last-mile delivery, third-party and transit warehousing, reverse logistics. Their tentacles can reach out to 13,000+ pin codes and processes around 7 crore orders per month. As per latest ET reports, Softbank is in talks to pump in around $250 million to this logistics giant. Founders: Sahil Barua, MohitTandon, and Suraj Saharan. Key investors: Carlyle, Fosun, Nexus Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and Times Internet Ltd. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INTERNET / AUTO E-COMMERCE

CarTrade is one of India’s leading online automobile marketplace transacting in new and used vehicles. It provides a very structured platform to buyers and sellers to transact in vehicles. They started off in 2006 as a classifieds portal and now evolved into a huge auto vendor who provides condition reports on the listed cars, gives 100 days warranty and free roadside assistance. They even host auctions for used cars. In 2017, the Tiger Global-funded company acquired vehicle inspection firm – Adroit (Delhi). It also merged SAMIL (ShriramAutomall India Limited) and Adroit recently. So far, CarTrade had raked-in about $240 million risk capital from the aforementioned investors. In their last round of funding (Series G), they scooped up $55 million from Temasek. Founders: Seena Vinay Sanghi, Viraj Vinod Sanghi, Vinay Sanghi, Nick Silderhuis, RajanMehra, Bina Vinod Sanghi Key investors: Temasek, Marche Capital, Warburg Pincus, MassMutual, Trident Trust, Tiger Global Management.

Bank Bazaar Internet/ Fin tech/ Alternative lending Bankbazaar is an online financial products distribution & comparison platform, enabling users to buy loans(home, auto, and education),Insurance (life, health insurance, auto, home and travel) and mutual funds. As part of the 10th anniversary celebrations, BankBazaar rolled out its first ‘Aspiration Index of millennials’ that tries to understand the Indian millennial from a personal finance perspective. The index is based on six goals – wealth, fame, image, relationships, personal growth and health. BankBazaar, (founded in 2008) was one of the first fintech startups to provide a long-desired solution to the rigged Indian banking

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Internet/ Online travel/ Hotel accommodation Cleartrip is one of India’s biggest online travel giant. They offer services like flight and train ticketing, hotel accommodation along with local activities in and around a city. Cleartrip made its first ever acquisition by buying Saudi Arabiabased online travel aggregatorFlyin, as it aims to strengthen its leadership position in the Middle East and North Africa region. Cleartrip has also tied up with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) as its exclusive online booking partner for local tours and activities. Under the association, KTDC will sell all of its exclusive set of activities through Cleartrip’s platform, including both existing and new inventory of conducted tours and boat trips. The partnership is also Cleartrip’s first with a government tourism board.

system. At that time, India’s banking system was traditional and had an agent-driven model — sales were purely driven by the agent’s intent for profit, and not the end customer’s benefit, as it should be.Till date, they have has raised $110 million through funding from marquee investors such as Amazon, Fidelity Growth Partners, and Sequoia Capital, Experian among others.Mr. AdhilShetty, CEO of BankBazaar said their aim was to be the world’s largest digital marketplace to enable paperless access to finance.

Founders: Hrush Bhatt, Matthew Spacie and Stuart Crighton Key investors: Concur, DFJ, DAG Ventures, Mahindra, Kleiner Perkins and Lightbox Ventures.

Founders: Arjun Shetty, AdhilShetty,Vimal Kumar, Jai Shetty and Rati Shetty Key investors: Amazon, Fidelity Growth Partners, and Sequoia Capital.

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Internet/ Health tech Practo offers a web-based platform which benefits both patients and doctors. Practo’s search enables patients to browse through doctor profiles and book appointments with them. ThoughPracto’s losses are widening every year, there is no other heath tech player in the country that are close to matching them. It raised $55 million in a Series D funding led by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd in January 2017. The firm started off as a doctor practice management software in 2008, and then launched a consumer-facing doctor discovery and appointment booking platform in 2013. It diversified into clinic discovery, online doctor consultation, and medicine delivery over the years. Founders: Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal Key investors: Tencent, Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners India, CapitalG.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Digit Insurance

Internet/ Insurance

Digit Insurance is an IRDA licensed internet first insurer launched by Fairfax Holdings and Kamesh Goyal. DI offers insurance for cars, mobile, jewelry and even travel. DI is focused on delivering innovative products catering mostly to millennials. Their smartphone protection policy not only covers damage to phones but also offers pickup/drop facilities for repairs and reaches 6,000 pin codes across India. Digit is also working on products like pet insurance, where pets can be covered against health expenses incurred at veterinarian clinics. In the travel space, they have tied up with Cleartrip to insure passengers against delayed and missed connecting flights as well. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Traditionally, insurance companies give protection against lost luggage. We are providing a much more common use case of insurance against flight delays, and consumers can claim it by just clicking a picture of the boarding pass,â&#x20AC;? said JasleenKohli, chief distribution officer at Digit. Founders: Chandran Ponnaiah Ratanswami, Kamesh Goyal and Jasleen Siddharth Sathaye. Key investors: Fairfax Financial Holdings

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Internet/ Private home Decor & Furniture label Urban Ladder is an internet-first multi-category home improvement platform. Their website displays furniture, home decor items, mattresses, etc. Urban Ladder offers more than 5000 products and has its own logistics service for safe delivery. In 2017, the company opened its first offline store in

Founders: K R Rajiv Srivatsa, Ashish Goel Key investors: Trifecta Capital, Kalaari Capital, Sequoia Capital, Steadview Capital,

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Bangalore and has around three offline stores. The company started off as a marketplace before moving to a single brand retailer model with only 35 catalogues. Currently, UL sees itself as a company who helps its customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;create

TOURISM

INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER KJ ALPHONS

LEADING INDIA TOURISM’S MARCH INTO THE $100 BILLION CLUB A

s one of the country’s most celebrated doers, and not mere talkers, India’s Minister of State for Tourism and ex-IAS officer, KJ Alphons knows that it would take great innovation to reach the $100 billion revenue mark from inbound tourists within 5 years. Towards this, he has been pushing many initiatives including targeting the 144 million strong Chinese outbound tourists, lobbying for GST waiver on cruise tourism, rollback of e-Visa hikes and many more. Seasonal Magazine interviews KJ Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India.

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lobal tourism is on a roll. During last year, the tourism industry recorded its largest growth, as measured by international tourist arrivals, since the 2009 world economic crisis shattered this vital sector like it had never happened before. International tourist arrivals grew by 6.8% last year. According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), during last year tourism industry earned $1.3 trillion in receipts which was an annual increase of 5%. Total exports from international tourism stood at $1.6 trillion. Today, tourism is the world’s third largest export sector and accounts for 7% of the world’s total exports of goods and services. While most regions across the world witnessed sustained growth, the overall good performance was driven by revival in outbound tourism from major markets like Brazil and Russian Federation. On the inbound side, South Asia was a strongly performing region, growing from 25.17 million international tourist arrivals to 26.57 million. Obviously, India being the largest player in the region was responsible for this good performance, by growing its Foreign

Tourist Arrivals (FTA) from 14.57 million to 15.54 million. But on the realization front, India fared much better, with international tourism receipts growing from $22.42 billion dollars to $27.36 billion dollars. One reason for this is that India has fared well in attracting tourists from developed economies. For instance, tourist footfalls from the US to India has increased by 6% last year, when we count all modes of arrival like air and sea, as well as indirect travellers. The quantity and quality of growth have been favourable for India, and it augurs well with a slew of initiatives India’s Tourism Ministry had unleashed under the guidance of its Minister of State with Independent Charge, KJ Alphons. The new pitch of India’s tourism marketing revolves around marketing India as a major destination. Within the next three years, the aim is to grow Foreign Tourist Arrivals from 15.54 million to 20 million per annum. With the support of Tourism Ministry and several states and union territories, India recently hosted its first ever India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018). It was organized by Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), and saw the active participation of 225 international buyers from across

the world including North America, West Europe, East Asia, Latin America and CIS countries. With buyers coming from over 60 countries, the event provided an opportunity for them to see the worldclass tourism facilities available in India such as airports, hotels, tourist destinations, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) facilities, adventure tourism and other niche products. Minister KJ Alphons’ plan is to grow FTA revenues to $30 billion dollars within the next two years, and to make it touch the coveted $100 billion dollar mark by the next five years. Entering the $100 billion club in tourism is certainly ambitious but not an unachievable target, provided room capacity is grown significantly, internal connectivity issues are sorted out and new major tourist sources are tapped effectively. On the connectivity front, the latest round of the UDAN regional connectivity scheme has awarded 325 routes to airlines as well as helicopter operators for enhancing air connectivity to 73 new airports and helipads in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, many of which are reasonable tourist draws. India has also awakened to the reality that it is missing some of the major tourism sources completely. For example, Tourism Minister KJ Alphons has rightly identified neighbouring China as a major strategic focus. Of the 15.54 million foreign tourists who arrived in India last year, only 2,40,000 were Chinese tourists. Contrast this with the total number of Chinese outbound tourists which stands at 144 million per year, making it the largest contingent of outbound tourists. Even if India is successful in bringing just 1% of the Chinese outbound tourists, that is 14 million Chinese tourists, our Foreign Tourist Arrivals would nearly double! Minister Alphons had recently visited China and put forth a full strategy for India there with Tourism Ministry’s own office and by hiring a PR firm, which was a rare step for India.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Minister Alphons is confident on the Chinese front also as India is building four-lane and six-lane roads interconnecting India’s Buddhist circuit, which is a network of temples that are attracting tourists from China.

slabs now - Zero (Nil), USD 80 and USD 100, plus a bank fee of 2.5 per cent of the visa fee. For a few countries like the US and the UK, the e-tourist visa fee is USD 100 as they also charge high visa fees from Indians.

The major among them is the Sarnath temple in Uttar Pradesh, where Buddha taught a key philosophy of the religion, will be ready to handle up to one million visitors annually in six months' time.

E-visa for tourists or e-tourist visa has been a game-changer in the international tourism business. This is because this facility encourages people to travel to e-visa countries with shortterm planning, take via routes through such countries while travelling to other countries and also bring family members while on business visits.

India’s e-visa facility continues to witness exponential growth since its launch. India has already extended evisa facilities for tourists coming from more than 160 countries. Thanks to this move, e-visa has recorded a 57% growth over the last year, with 1.69 million foreign tourists availing this electronic visa facility. Though there was some concern from Tourism Ministry when India’s Home Ministry which is in charge of issuing evisas hiked its charges by 60%, and Tourism Minister requested for a rollback, things have since then settled as Home Ministry has clarified that India is fixing these charges on a reciprocal basis with all the countries, which should be fair enough. The e-tourist visa fee was earlier in four slabs of Zero (Nil), USD 25, USD 48, and USD 60. It has been fixed in three

India issues e-tourist visa to citizens of 160 countries who can enter the country through 25 airports and five seaports. The e-tourist visa enables the prospective visitors to apply for an Indian visa from their home country online without visiting the Indian Mission and also pay the visa fee online. Once approved, the applicants receive email authorising them to travel to India and they can travel with a print out of this authorisation. On arrival, the visitors has to present the authorisation to the immigration authorities who would then stamp the entry into the country. This facility is available to foreigners whose sole objective of visiting India is

recreation, sight-seeing, short duration medical treatment, casual business visit etc. The e-tourist visa is issued for a double entry for a validity for up to 60 days from the date of arrival. The Tourism Ministry is also bullish about growing domestic tourism significantly. Towards this it recently conducted the second edition of ‘Paryatan Parv’, across the country to promote tourist sites, especially among domestic travellers. The event is being organised with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of “tourism for all”. Thirty-two states and Union territories, along with different departments of the government, collaborated with the Tourism Ministry to organise 3,150 activities across India as part of the programme. Since beaches continue to be big draws for overseas tourists, Tourism Ministry is also making way for developing 17 coastal destinations around the country in a bid to make use of the country’s bountiful coastline and make them among the top beach destinations in the world. India has a coastline of 7517 km which it now intends to turn as tourist-friendly. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Projected to cost a total of Rs. 2,000 crore for these 17 coastal destinations, one of them is already ready, which is the beachfront at Kakinada which has been completed. The beach now features a musical fountain, modern landscaping, a glass pedestrian bridge, an art gallery and a food court. There are also arrangements for daily laser shows at Kakinada, with the harbour and sea in the backdrop. By pushing such initiatives, Tourism Minister Alphons is confident of growing India Tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP from the current 7% to 10%.

Seasonal Magazine in conversation with Minister of State for Tourism, KJ Alphons: Recently, India had hiked the e-Visa charges for tourists arriving from various countries by up to 60%. Will this affect tourist inflow from abroad? Are our rates comparable to China? Since the time it was implemented by India, demand for e-Visa has been very strong. Our Home Ministry, which is in charge of administering e-Visa had recently hiked the charges for this arrangement for tourists coming from select countries. At Tourism Ministry, we feel that it may have an effect on tourist arrivals, and hence, as Tourism Minister, I have made a submission to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to rollback or reduce the recent hike. I don’t know how our rates compare with China, but we have robust demand for e-Visa even now. Are you satisfied with the growth of inbound tourism to India? Yes, and all our policies and initiatives are designed to drive much higher growth in the foreign tourist arrivals (FTA), as well as in the revenue from this segment. Within two years, our objective is to reach somewhere between $25 billion to $30 billion in FTA revenue, and within the next five years to reach the $100 billion mark. What are the tourism ministry’s major initiatives to reach these ambitious targets? Ministry is working with all stakeholders SEASONAL MAGAZINE

in India to promote addition of capacity. Secondly, we have become much more active on the overseas marketing front. We are now participating in all major events and utilizing all channels for growth including all major international media. Our tourism website has been receiving 10 million pageviews which shows that the new marketing initiatives are generating response, and it will translate to growth in FTA and revenues in the upcoming quarters and years. Thirdly, by pushing initiatives like eVisa, we are making it much easier to visit India. Is India trying to woo tourists from more countries? Definitely. If you take China, it has 144 million outbound tourists every year, but only a tiny portion of them are visiting India. This should change as it is so easy to visit most Indian cities from most Chinese cities. We are definitely

working on it. On the policy front, what all have been your recent initiatives? The ministry is trying to get a GST waiver for cruise tourism as this sector has underperformed during the last year and we think a waiver from the 18% GST in this sector would give a boost to this sector which is booming worldwide. We are also promoting tribal and ecotourism circuits across India, which is a major draw for foreign tourists. You have recently remarked that incidents of mob lynching and rapes are bad for India’s image. How do you assess the impact of these on the tourism arrivals? There has been no impact on tourism arrivals due to these incidents, which are largely isolated in nature. However, the government is against all mob lynching, gang rapes and all such atrocities. It can

affect the image of India overseas, even though it may not affect the tourist inflows. You recently had a first-hand experience of floods in your home state of Kerala, and the relief works. How do you assess the impact? Yes, I had spent time in relief camps. The Kerala youth should be appreciated for the unity and courage they displayed to save thousands of people, as well as to serve them. The relief work was good in Kerala, as well as the subsequent cleaning up of homes. But the lasting impact of this flood will be huge as livelihoods of people have been affected or even destroyed. This is not something that state government or central government can address on its own. However, central government would provide full assistance, as you can see from the directive our Honourable PM has given to insurance

companies to come to the aid of Keralites. But with insurance cover not very popular in Kerala, do you think it would have an impact other than in vehicles? Kerala is definitely under-insured when it comes to non-life covers like for homes and household items. I now stay in a government house in Delhi, still I have taken insurance. I think after this natural calamity, people across India would be more prudent in taking various general insurance covers. Do you think a new scheme for general as well as health insurance can be implemented in India, much like Karnatakaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yeshaswini project, by contributions from people, state governments and central government? Extending the insurance coverage to people, especially of health insurance,

has been a top priority for this government. I think this is an area where much headway has already been made, and more will be achieved here in the near future. You had made a submission to PM for allowing a one-time waiver for Kerala to accept foreign funds. Are you hopeful of a favourable outcome? India had taken a policy decision after the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami that the country wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be accepting any more foreign aid for relief works. It was taken under then PM Dr. Manmohan Singh. And since 2004, the economic situation of India has only improved, and India can address any demand for relief work on its own. This remains the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stand and mine too. Regarding the socalled UAE proposal to help Kerala, they had since then clarified that it was not the case. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

RAJAGIRI HOSPITAL

CREATING AND WORLD CLASS

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DELIVERING MEDICAL EXPERTISE Kochi based Rajagiri Hospital is one of the only three JCI accredited hospitals in Kerala and one among the 30 ultra-modern hospitals in India that have won this coveted international accreditation. Also accredited with the national body NABH, Rajagiri Hospital is a Rs. 300 crore project promoted by the Sacred Heart Province of the Catholic Congregation, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. Rajagiri Hospital aims to consistently offer high quality yet affordable medical care through its committed and highly experienced healthcare professionals. The idea is to bring the highest standards of expertise and skill involved in the treatment of patients, using the most advanced and sophisticated medical equipment and techniques available currently in the world and to bring the benefit of these at affordable rates to the common man. Headed by Fr. Dr. Johnson Vazhapilli, the 40-acre campus and hospital has benefitted from the visits Fr. Dr. Johnson has done in some of the best tertiary and quaternary care hospitals not only in India, but across the world, including the famed Mayo Clinic of USA. Rajagiri has also taken extra care to ensure that its treatment costs are not prohibitive as in many of the well-known private hospitals in Kerala. Rajagiri is enabled to do that as he has the backing of the CMI Province to extend the break-even period from the normal 7 years to double that period. This has come as a big support as many corporate hospitals are struggling all across India, unable to contain their operational as well as interest expenses from the heavy debt burden. On the medical front, Rajagiri Hospital remains at the cutting edge of developing and disseminating knowledge through regular Continuing Medical Education programs, seminars, workshops, simulation labs etc for not only its own doctors but for doctors from across India. The hospital has started a state-of-the-art telemedicine network, launched DNB courses and plans to start a medical college in the coming years.

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he recent flood in Kerala was not only a test for individuals and families but for institutions of all kinds, especially for hospitals. Depending on their respective geographies, different hospitals across Kerala experienced differing challenges with regard to the flood. While most hospitals were inundated with patients, some hospitals unfortunately were physically caught in the flood themselves due to their proximity to rivers or lakes, or their relative nearness to sea-level. Quite a few hospitals had to stop functioning altogether and evacuate their patients to neighbouring hospitals.

outpatient services at camps, Rajagiri set up a Mini Hospital itself in one of the major relief camps at UC College of Aluva. This facility, manned by different specialist doctors, served the neediest patients and even conducted minor surgeries then and there. It took the Rajagiri management, doctors, nurses and other supporting staff just a couple of days to launch this facility, and it continued to provide emergency medical aid and minor surgeries to flood affected patients for over a week, till when the flood relief camp was operational.

While Rajagiri Hospital’s home district of Ernakulam and its nearest major town of Aluva were severely affected by the flood, it goes to the credit of Rajagiri Hospital’s founders that its exact area of Chunangamveli was least affected by the flood.

Today, if Rajagiri Hospital is enjoying a huge mindshare among the local population it is due to this kind of community service. From its beginning onward, the hospital has had unique initiatives like recruiting a section of the non-medical staff from nearby population as well as undertaking studies and extending help regarding the peculiar health problems affecting the nearby villages.

While flood is a rare occurrence in Kerala, it goes on to show that much thought had gone into the selection of this location. The admiration for this selection will be even more when you come to know that this land itself had been brought by the hospital’s promoters, the CMI Congregation, around 90 years back!

On the medical side, the hospital continues to push the frontiers in knowledge creation and knowledge applications. Its super specialist departments almost competes with each other in conducting seminars and workshops to further the cutting-edge of their respective specialities, in service of the Rajagiri patients.

When the floods came, as a major hospital that remained unaffected, neighbouring hospitals started to redirect their patients to Rajagiri. While Rajagiri wanted to welcome all, it couldn’t as it did not have many vacant rooms and wards. It took in whatever patients it could and gave them seamless treatment. However, Rajagiri Hospital’s real service was in its community outreach program during the floods. While many hospitals could be credited for extending medical assistance by way of doctors and nurses to flood relief camps, Rajagiri’s efforts in this regard was something unique. Going much beyond the usual SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Rajagiri Hospital had won the accreditation of National Board of Examinations (NBE) for offering various DNB courses and these courses have been officially launched at the hospital.

Rajagiri’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology recently conducted a workshop and simulation lab on selected obstetrics procedures. Last year, the department had successfully conducted a two-day conference and master class on labour & delivery, which was attended by 233 doctors from various hospitals. Multiple departments at Rajagiri also come together for offering Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs. Earlier this year, Departments of Neurosurgery and Clinical Hematology at Rajagiri conducted a CME program on 'Platelet Dysfunction in Common Clinical Practice’. Rajagiri takes care to encourage its doctors in the most befitting of ways. On the occasion of Doctors’ Day, Rajagiri management honoured their senior-most Doctors Dr VP Paily, Dr Shiv K Nair and Dr Sanjay Bhat by presenting them mementoes for their chequered careers in the field of medicine. Such gestures are well appreciated by the entire doctor community at Rajagiri Hospital, and they too made a handsome contribution to Rajagiri Palliative Home Care services. Rajagiri Hospital, which has big plans on the medical education front by starting a medical college itself eventually, had taken its first steps in delivering medical higher education a few months back. Rajagiri Hospital won the accreditation of National Board of Examinations (NBE) for offering various DNB courses and these courses were officially launched at the hospital. Rajagiri Hospital has also launched the Rajagiri Academy for Advanced Life Support (RAALS). The academy aims to improve the knowledge and skills of Healthcare and non-healthcare professionals in managing medical emergencies, through 10 short-term programs. Earlier in the year, the Emergency Medicine Department of Rajagiri Hospital won accolades for installing an AED device for those suffering from

Rajagiri Hospital put up exemplary community service during the recent floods in Kerala by setting up a mini hospital in a relief camp, which undertook even minor surgeries.

Fr. Dr. Johnson Vazhapilli

sudden cardiac arrest at one of Kochi’s busiest places. Rajagiri Hospital joined hands with Lulu Mall and installed an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) at Lulu Mall, Kochi. AED is a small portable device which can deliver an electric shock to a person's heart. This shock can help the heart to return to a normal beating rhythm. The AED is simple device which can be handled by any layman by following simple verbal instruction. A quick intervention by the combination of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and AED can literally bring a person back to life. Using an AED immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can increase

the chance of survival by more than 90%. As the AED is installed in the first floor of Lulu Mall, this will bring quick access to the device in case any incident of sudden cardiac arrest in the Mall.

avoided surgery and anaesthesia and decided to take out the coin assisted with fluoroscopy. Compared to X-Ray, radiation levels in fluoroscopy are low and every movement of the coin can be easily tracked in fluoroscopy.

The hospital continues to make a name for itself in emergency medicine. A few months back, doctors at Rajagiri Hospital successfully took out a coin which was stuck inside a twelve year old’s food pipe without surgery.

Dr Ahamed Kabeer inserted a catheter into the oesophagus and through the child’snose, he guided the catheter beyond the location of coin within oesophagus so that the tip of the catheter was positioned right below the coin. He then inflated the balloon which was at the tip of the catheter. Slowly he pulled out the inflated balloon and with it, the coin moved along as well. Tracking the movement of coin through fluoroscopy he successfully pulled out the coin from

On a normal course for such patients where a foreign body is stuck in food pipe, they are taken out with bronchoscopy and by administering anesthesia. But Dr W Ahamed Kabeer, Consultant - Paediatric Surgery,

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Emergency Medicine Department of Rajagiri Hospital won accolades for installing an AED device for those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest at Lulu Mall, one of the busiest hubs in Kochi.

the child's mouth.

social and cultural barriers.

This is the second time in this year that Dr Ahamed Kabeer and team at Rajagiri is successfully taking out coin from kids’ food pipes.

Extending Rajagiri’s specialist care to remote and rural areas will be the Network’s primary objective. Rajagiri Hospital is witnessing a steady rise of patients from abroad and from other parts of the country and this network would also help patients stay in touch with their doctor, from anywhere in the world.

Rajagiri Hospital has also launched Rajagiri’s Telemedicine Network, which is one of the first such initiatives in Kerala. Telemedicine is the use of advanced communication technologies to exchange health information and provide healthcare services across geographic, time,

Going one step forward, Rajagiri Telemedicine Network will also provide a customised Telemedicine

Enjoying great mindshare in the local community, Rajagiri Hospital it employs several local people after proper training in the non-medical side and takes proactive interest in solving community health issues. software to patients, for them to stay in touch with their Doctors from wherever they are and thus help them save on travel costs and OP waiting time. This network would also help the connected Regional Primary and Secondary Care Hospitals to offer, higher level of clinical care through virtual support from Specialist doctors. This reduces the need for a patient to be transferred to a tertiary care Hospital for higher treatment and enables patient retention in the connected hospital. Doctors and nurses in remote Hospitals can also benefit from ehealth and CME programs, which will be regularly conducted through this network. It becomes cost-effective and remote hospitals can save on costs, in organizing such Training events and Seminars. The 40 acre Rajagiri Hospital campus is already very green, but the hospital is making the campus greener with each passing year. During this year’s World Environment Day, Rajagiri family got together to plant 1111 trees within the campus. Rajagiri Hospital was also awarded the 'Green OT' certificate.

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OPINION

WHAT INDIA'S CONTEMPORARY GURUS SAID ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY, EARLIER Wha amde v, J aggi Vasude v and R avi Shankar ha ve said hatt R Ramde amdev Ja asudev Ra hav about homose xuality in the past ar ew or th pondering homosexuality are wor orth pondering.. he Supreme Court decriminalised homosexual activity between consenting adults in a recent judgement. The road to this judgement has been a bumpy one, intellectually and spiritually challenged by several influential public figures airing traditional views of Indian culture. Here are three of them.

Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev When asked what he thought about Section 377 and homosexuality in 2017, he said the law needed to be “debated” and not protested against on the streets. In another interview he called homosexuals “a product of the social situation rather than if any kind of physiological or inner need.”

Baba Ramdev The yoga teacher and entrepreneur has voiced his views against homosexuality repeatedly, not only calling it a mental illness, but also claiming that it can be cured through yoga.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar While he was addressing a gathering at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2017, a student asked The Art of Living founder how he should deal with ill-treatment by his loved ones over his sexual orientation. Ravi Shankar seemed to model his answer around the phrase “this too shall pass,” and called homosexuality a “tendency” which is not “permanent.”

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NBFC

MUTHOOT PAPPACHAN GROUP

GROWING BY SERVING THE COMMON MAN

Around 1 lakh common Indians - men and women - walk into their 3600 branches across the country every day. They come for meeting their diverse financial needs from a simple gold loan to a two-wheeler loan. But across all these branches they get the same friendly treatment - the 'One Muthoot Experience'. Muthoot Pappachan Group's financial services companies are all breaking new ground on a simple premise - address the lifecycle needs of the common man and the unbanked.While unlisted Muthoot FinCorp, the flagship of the group is a leader in gold loans, the listed two-wheeler loans provider Muthoot Capital Services Ltd has been on a blistering growth track, and now Muthoot Microfin, MPG's microfinance arm is all set to replicate its success through an IPO.

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It will soon be 15 years since Wharton School published the landmark study and book, ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ by late US based business management guru of Indian origin Prof. CK Prahalad and business sustainability expert Prof. Stuart L Hart. In one sense, what the renowned professors cum consultants were espousing was not something new, but as the case studies (mostly from India) themselves showed, it was a business philosophy that had existed for decades, and in some companies like Muthoot Pappachan Group (which was not covered in the book), for more than a century. But for most readers as well as businessmen, this idea was something totally new. Because, conventional business wisdom taught that more affluent the target customers, pricier can be the product

AROUND 1 LAKH COMMON INDIANS - MEN AND WOMEN - WALK INTO THEIR 3600 BRANCHES ACROSS THE COUNTRY EVERY DAY. THEY COME FOR MEETING THEIR DIVERSE FINANCIAL NEEDS FROM A SIMPLE GOLD LOAN TO A TWO-WHEELER LOAN TO AN MSME LOAN. BUT ACROSS ALL THESE BRANCHES THEY GET THE SAME FRIENDLY TREATMENT – WHAT MPG CALLS THE 'ONE MUTHOOT EXPERIENCE'. and therefore higher the profit margins possible. The words of Microsoft founder and one of the richest guys in the planet, Bill Gates, about this book summed it up quite nicely – “it offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." While everything from cheap smartphones to two-minute noodles have been projected as examples of the fortunes at the bottom of the pyramid, this revolutionary model of

doing business shows its maximum potential when it comes to delivering what the people at the bottom of the pyramid lacks the most – that is, money. In other words, the world of financial services. The wider world came to know about it only in 2006 when Bangladeshi academician Prof. Muhammad Yunus and his brainchild Grameen Bank landed the Nobel Peace Prize. Through the microfinance revolution he

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unleashed, the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid literally went through the roof surpassing the expectations of any theorists. Muthoot Pappachan Group too has a significant microfinance arm, but their focus on the bottom of the pyramid goes much, muchback, precisely to 131 years back. The year was 1887, an eventful year throughout the world. In Germany, Gottlieb Daimler unveiled his first automobile, in what would evolve into Daimler AG the holding company of Mercedes-Benz. In France, construction of Eiffel Tower began. In Britain, Arthur Conan Doyle introduced his legendary detective character, Sherlock Holmes. In USA, the renowned National Institutes of Health was founded. And in India, young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was just months away from leaving for London for higher studies, while in Kerala, Sree Narayana Guru was just months away from consecrating the first ever temple for the so-called untouchable castes. It was in this same year that Muthoot Ninan Mathai started his modest wholesale and retail business of grains. Muthoot was his family

name, which was a traditional Orthodox Christian family based in Kozhencherry. His customers were mainly the large British owned estates in the vicinity and their workers. Anyone else would have continued with that same business line or diversified into just supplying more such goods. But Muthoot Ninan Mathai had an eye for discovering unmet needs of these workers. The same eye that appeared in Prof. Muhammad Yunus nearly hundred years later and in

THE LEADERSHIP OF ITS COMPANIES LIKE MUTHOOT FINCORP IN ITS SECTOR OF GOLD LOANS, AND THE BLISTERING GROWTH TRACK OF ITS AUTO LOAN PROVIDER MUTHOOT CAPITAL SERVICES LTD WILL HELP THE GROUP BE ON A SOUND FOOTING WHEN MUTHOOT MICROFIN, MPG'S MICROFINANCE ARM, GOES FOR ITS IPO SOON.

chroniclers of the phenomenon like Professors CK Prahalad and Stuart L Hart yet two more decades later. This eye was not just a business eye but a philanthropic eye. Like Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Muthoot Ninan Mathai was moved by the lack of savings in these poor workers. During those times banks were rare and also catered mainly to rich customers. So he pioneered a chits fund business to inculcate the savings culture in these workers. If it were just profitable eyes, rest assured these models would have failed eventually in sustainability, be it chit funds or microfinance. When Muthoot Ninan Mathai’s chit funds became a success inside the estates, he floated it for customers outside the estates and the business started growing steadily. By the 1950s it became clear to the now mature entrepreneur that yet another unmet need existed in his community of customers – lack of availability of easy credit, as banks were not serving these customers at all. Thus was born Muthoot Ninan Mathai’s second core diversification into gold loans. Soon he became the largest player in both chits and gold loans, and customers from across Kerala would come to Kozhencherry for availing these services. Muthoot Pappachan (Mathew M Thomas) was one of the four sons of the Patron Founder Muthoot Ninan Mathai. In 1979, the partition of this business family happened, 92 years after it was founded, and Muthoot Pappachan became the Founder of Muthoot Pappachan Group. Like his illustrious father, Muthoot Pappachan too had an eye for meeting the unmet needs of his customers. That is how the Group’s flagship financial services business grew from strength to strength, encompassing almost all financial services required by the unbanked customers.

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MPG’S ONLY STOCK-MARKET LISTED COMPANY, MUTHOOT CAPITAL SERVICES HAS PUT UP A BLISTERING PERFORMANCE IN RECENT QUARTERS, RIDING THE RESURGENCE IN TWO-WHEELER SALES POST THE DEMONETISATION AND GST CRISES. THE STOCK HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, AND GROWN 8 TIMES DURING THE LAST 24 MONTHS. Under the more professional leadership of late Muthoot Pappachan’s three sons, the group went on to diversify more into the financial inclusion business including microfinance and affordable home financing. Today this three member apex team – of Thomas John Muthoot (Chairman & Managing Director), Thomas George Muthoot (Director) and Thomas Muthoot (Executive Director) – lead the 20,000 employees of the sprawling Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG). During the last few decades, MPG also made its mark in several non-financial sectors especially automotive dealerships, hospitality and real estate development. Today, MPG is a leading sales and service partner for world renowned car brands like Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford and Honda in various cities of Kerala, and for leading twowheeler brands including Honda, Yamaha and Vespa in the state. In hospitality, MPG owns renowned properties like Villa Maya which is a lovingly restored 18th century Dutch Manor in Trivandrum; Vivanta by Taj Green Cove at Kovalam, Trivandrum; Hilton Garden Inn in Trivandrum; and the Muthoot SkyChef, the Group’s inflight catering division of international standards. MPG’s realty division has brands like Muthoot Commerz which owns Muthoot Technopolis, a 3,55,000 sq ft, state-of-theart IT Park designed by Jurong of Singapore; Commerz Capital at Trivandrum which is a 48,000 sq ft office and commercial space; and Muthoot Commerz owns the 14th floor spanning 40,350 sq ft of the World Trade Centre at Bangalore which is now leased out to Amazon Development Centre. MPG realty division’s other brand Muthoot SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Homez has completed, ongoing and upcoming residential projects in Trivandrum’s buzzing suburbs like Sasthamangalam, Akkulam, Kowdiar and an upcoming project in the neighbouring city of Kollam. The residential division has already made a name for itself by upping the design and construction standards to new levels, rarely seen in Kerala. However, the Group’s flagship and mainstay continues to be in financial services, especially services crafted for the common man. Here it runs five companies – the largest company and gold loan major Muthoot FinCorp, the listed twowheeler loan provider Muthoot Capital Services, affordable home loan provider Muthoot Housing Finance, noted microfinance player Muthoot MicroFin and its insurance arm Muthoot Risk Insurance & Broking Services. Between them, these five companies provide a wide variety of financial services including gold loans, small business loans, chits, home loans, micro finance, two-wheeler loans, life insurance, health insurance,

MPG DIVERSIFIED FROM GOLD LOANS INTO NON-ASSET BACKED LOANS LIKE MICROFINANCE THAT SERVES CUSTOMERS WHILE THEY ARE POORER WITHOUT EVEN ENOUGH GOLD AS ASSET. AT THE SAME TIME, THE GROUP ALSO DIVERSIFIED INTO TWOWHEELER LOANS AND AFFORDABLE HOME LOANS WHICH ARE HIGHER ASSET BACKED LOANS THAN GOLD LOANS, FOR CUSTOMERS WHEN THEY BECOME MORE PROSPEROUS. general insurance, forex services, international money transfers, travel services, precious metals etc. MPG’s renewed focus on the unbanked and the common man has been beautifully captured in a new advertising campaign centred

around its new brand ambassador Vidya Balan and running along the theme, Blue Soch, meaning Blue is Belief. One strategic edge that Muthoot’s current leadership has pioneered in the industry is about meeting the lifecycle needs of the common man. MPG was synonymous with gold loan, which is a fully asset backed loan, just one or two decades back. But long years of experience serving that segment gave the Group a deeper understanding into customer needs, both on the downward curve of the lifecycle as well as its upward curve. For instance, MPG diversified from gold loans into non-asset backed loans like microfinance that serves customers while they are poorer without even enough gold as asset. At the same time, the Group also diversified into two-wheeler loans and affordable home loans which are higher asset backed loan than gold loans, for customers when they become more prosperous. Thus MPG is able to handhold the

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customer to prosperity, starting from microfinance, to gold loans, to twowheeler loans to affordable home loans and gold based MSME loans. Ease of availing these loans has been another strong selling point of the Group. Around 1 lakh common Indians - men and women - walk into

IN FINANCIAL SERVICES, MPG RUNS 5 COMPANIES, ITS LARGEST COMPANY AND GOLD LOAN MAJOR MUTHOOT FINCORP, THE LISTED TWO-WHEELER LOAN PROVIDER MUTHOOT CAPTAL SERVICES, AFFORDABLE HOME LOAN PROVIDER MUTHOOT HOUSING FINANCE, NOTED MICROFINANCE PLAYER MUTHOOT MICROFIN AND ITS INSURANCE ARM MUTHOOT RISK INSURANCE & BROKING SERVICES.

their 3600 branches across the country every day. They come for meeting their diverse financial needs from a simple gold loan to a twowheeler loan to an MSME loan. But across all these branches they get the same friendly treatment – what MPG calls the 'One Muthoot Experience'. MPG also has several innovations to its credit. Recent ones include goldbacked automotive loans, customized used car financing, tech enabled gold loans that provide 24X7 availability and a Health Guard insurance scheme for its customers. The Group continues to scout for opportunities for growth leveraging on its expertise in serving the common man. MPG has recently partnered with Central Government’s NSDC for the PMKVY program for the skill development training of 10,000 youth, and has thus become the first organization in Kerala to do so. Moving with the start-up wave in its core financial services sector, MPG has also unveiled plans to invest in the now buzzing fintech start-up space.

MPG’s only stock-market listed company, Muthoot Capital Services has put up a blistering performance in recent quarters, riding the resurgence in two-wheeler sales post the demonetisation and GST crises. The rapid growth in two-wheelers, especially scooters, and the strong presence of MCSL in the Southern States have enabled the firm to come up with admirable growth numbers in recent quarters. The stock has more than doubled during the past 12 months, and grown 8 times during the last 24 months. The Group is now diversifying to India’s Northern and North-Eastern states with good results. Muthoot Pappachan Group's focus on addressing the lifecycle needs of the common man and the unbanked, the leadership of its companies like Muthoot FinCorp in its sector of gold loans, and the blistering growth track of its auto loan provider Muthoot Capital Services Ltd will all help the Group be on a sound footing when Muthoot Microfin, MPG's microfinance arm, goes for its IPO soon. The firm has filed its DRHP with the market regulator. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

STRATEGY

FOR WINNING, IGNORE WINNING & EMBRACE PROCESS WHY WINNERS FOCUS ON BETTERING THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE AND NOT ON RELATIVE OUTCOMES WITH PEERS. n his autobiography, Bryan Cranston (Walter White of the renowned Breaking Bad) described the lesson he learned that helped him go from an average actor to an extraordinary one. Here’s what he wrote: “Early in my career, I was always hustling. Doing commercials, gueststarring, auditioning like crazy. I was making a decent living…but I felt I was stuck in junior varsity. I wondered if I had plateaued. Then, Breck Costin his mentor suggested I focus on process rather than outcome. I wasn’t going to the audition to get anything: a job or money or validation. I wasn’t going to compete. I was going to give something. I wasn’t there to get a job. I was there to do a job. I was there to give a performance. If I attached to the outcome, I was setting myself up to expect, and thus to fail. My job was to be compelling. Take some chances. Enjoy the process.” Cranston went on to say after he made this mindset shift, he felt much more relaxed and free. There was no longer any pressure, because the outcome was irrelevant. “Once I made the switch, I had power in any room I walked into,” he wrote. “Which meant I could relax. I was free.” Soon after this shift, Cranston was offered a role in the wildly popular Malcolm in the Middle, for which he was nominated for 3 Emmy awards. He is now one of the most respected and well-known actors in the world. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

What would it do for you if you could walk into any room and feel relaxed and free? How would it feel to have power in any situation you walked into? What would happen if you could live your life with no pressure, free to achieve any goal you wanted? Ordinary people focus on the outcome. But extraordinary people focus on the process. This is how they achieve such enormous goals. Pressure isn’t real? it’s just the stress you put on yourself in your head. Pressure is the result of limitations we put on ourselves to produce outcomes we don’t control. When we focus on the outcome, we begin to expect things out of our control, which sets us up for failure. Here’s a personal example. Back when I used to work as a telemarketer, I was under extreme stress every day. I was making 250+ calls a day to random strangers (most of whom had already told me “No, I don’t want to buy your products, stop calling me.”). My boss was constantly breathing down my neck, demanding to know why I hadn’t made more sales. He constantly implied he was about to fire me. After months of this, I began to believe a false reality: that I could make people buy something. If only I said the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. At least, that’s what my boss claimed. I wasn’t until nearly 2 years later I finally quit that awful job and left my manipulative boss that I realized: “That’s

ORDINARY PEOPLE FOCUS ON THE OUTCOME. BUT EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE FOCUS ON THE PROCESS.

not true. I can’t make anyone do anything.” All that pressure I had been putting on myself was imagined. I had made it all up in some sick effort to “motivate” myself. You don’t need to pressure yourself to compete, to win, to come out on top. Because the truth is, you don’t control the outcome. You don’t control anything except yourself. The only parts you truly have control over are your attitude, your

By Anthony Moore mindset, and your actions. The rest is out of your control. There’s a quote I heard in my many years of therapy and counseling: “My serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations of other people are, the lower is my serenity.” The higher your expectations for your job, the people around you, the outcome, the lower your serenity. The more you expect things to happen in ways you don’t control, the more stress and pressure you’ll experience.

your attitude, and your actions. Once you understand pressure is imagined, nothing can phase you on your path to mastery. You can achieve enormous goals with simple ease. “Ignore what other people are doing. Ignore what’s going on around you. There is no competition. There is no objective benchmark to hit. There is simply the best you can do that’s all that matters.” - Ryan Holiday “Champions aren’t made in the ring, they are merely recognized there.” -Joe Frazier, Heavyweight World Champion Anyone who relies solely on luck, talent,

THE BEST PROFESSIONALS WERE, AT ONE POINT, PRETTY BAD. EVERYTHING IS DIFFICULT BEFORE IT BECOMES EASY.

stronger, faster, more focused, and more skilled. A quote by prolific British writer Somerset Maugham comes to mind: “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” When you focus on the outcome, you stunt your growth. You lose focus on the here-and-now. True champions focus on the process. They know champions aren’t made in the ring, they’re made in the practice arena, every day for months before. The Boston Globe once studied a typical day for Olympic snowboarders. The athletes are “up at dawn, stretch, watch a video of the previous day, hit the slopes till lunch, go to class, do more conditioning, eat dinner, and then go to study hall for an hour and a half. At most, they get about an hour of ‘free time’ a day, but it’s usually used for homework.” These athletes went on to become the best in the world at their craft. They became champions long before they start their first Olympic competition; they are champions because they practiced every day. This motivation is what keeps them going through the tedious repetition, day in and day out. In Anders Ericcson’s famous book Peak: Secrets of the New Science of Expertise, Ericcson says, “At its core, practice is a lonely pursuit.” Commitment to the craft can be lonely, boring, and tedious. It often is. But this is the difference between good and bad writers, snowboarders, CEO’s, singers, and jugglers, the good ones practice consistently. They focus on the process of getting better, every single day.

This is a hard lesson. I don’t expect many people to get it right away. I’ve heard that phrase for years and still have a hard time with it. That’s OK. Fundamental mindset shifts like this take time. If it doesn’t make sense now, don’t worry about. If there’s one thing I encourage you to consider: pressure is imagined. You don’t control the outcome, so don’t even try. Instead, focus on what you can control: yourself,

The bad ones don’t. or prestige doesn’t understand this lesson, and will suffer for it. The best professionals were, at one point, pretty bad. Everything is difficult before it becomes easy. True champions, however, don’t rely on luck. They don’t wait for inspiration to train or do the work. They just do it. By focusing on the process, doing the work, day in and day out, they become

Ordinary people focus on the outcome. Extraordinary people focus on what they can control, the process. “Every day, check these 4 boxes: Have I improved 1% on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health?” -James Altucher “Many people think in terms of ‘I have to do what my colleague/neighbor/ family member is doing’ instead of ‘I SEASONAL MAGAZINE

have to do what’s best for me.” - Grant Cardone Many people are at their jobs today with one goal: to beat the other guy. Maybe it’s to beat the competition. Maybe it’s to beat your cubicle-mate Richard for the promotion. Maybe it’s to beat your boss’ low expectations of you. Maybe it’s to beat your more successful sibling. Maybe it’s to have something cool to say when your high school reunion comes around. Very few people are focused on winning the only game worth winning: beating your former self. Ernest Hemingway once wrote: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” When you focus on the outcome, you prevent yourself from fully immersing in the process, studying your craft, honing your skills, perfecting your form. If all you want to do is beat the other guy, you allow yourself only a fraction of your abilities. This was me for a long time. In middle school, I wanted to beat every other guy in the race for cutie Kimberly Romero’s affection (I didn’t win). In high school, all I wanted to do was beat Bryan Cardoza for the starting spot on the basketball team (I never did). In college, I wanted to graduate faster than my sister. (We graduated at the same time.) But focusing on the outcome meant I rarely honed my craft. I almost never

Bryan Cranston stuck my head down and just worked. I was always thinking of what “the other guy” was doing. I was more focused on how much better everyone else looked than how I was actually progressing. Last year, I finally started focusing entirely on the process: my writing. I stopped jealously looking at other writers and their followings. I stopped looking at my page views and just wrote. I wrote every day for a month. I studied top-tier writers, their word counts, quotes-per-article, headline, article structure, etc. I became a student of my craft. I became a fanatical learner. That’s when my writing quality actually increased from mediocre to decent. People started reading my stuff regularly. I got followers. Soon, I was getting

THIS WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE I STOPPED WORRYING ABOUT THE OUTCOME, AND TURNED ALL MY FOCUS TOWARDS THE PROCESS.

Money Can Make You Sick A trade body has cried out what cashiers always suspected. Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Government of India to investigate if diseases are being spread through currency notes. CAIT's Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal has cited a 2015 study by Government's top autonomous institute Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The study has found traces of DNA footprints of at least 78 disease-causing micro-organisms on these notes, though not all of them on a single one. Most of them were fungi, but there were also bacteria that can cause dysentery, tuberculosis and ulcers the study implies is that currency notes often act as carriers of these micro-organisms and can spread microbial diseases.

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1000’s of subscribers every month. I started averaging 10,000’s of views each month. Then 100,000+ every month. It’s been steady ever since. This was only possible because I stopped worrying about the outcome, and turned all my focus towards the process. This is why most people won’t achieve their goals, because they are too focused on beating the competition instead of actually working to hone their craft and become elite at what they do. If this is you, it’s OK. We’ve all been there. But it’s up to you to shift your attention away from others and focus entirely on the only thing that truly matters: being a better you than you were yesterday. It’s way easier to focus on the outcome. It’s easier. It’s familiar. Everyone knows how to do it. It’s much harder to ignore the competition, keep your nerve, and stare in the face of possible failure as you work on yourself. But the outcome is out of your control. As long as that’s your focus, you’ll continue to waste precious energy on an outcome you can’t control. This is why most people will fall short on their dreams; they’re too exhausted from trying to look better than the other guy. Their focus is on the wrong priority. It’s not easy. But when you choose to focus on the process, your attitude, your actions, your mindset, you shift your focus onto the things you can control. That’s what will upgrade you from ordinary to extraordinary.

POLITICS

CONGRESS AND BJP ARE WOOING ALL, MISSING MOST As 2019 polls loom, Congress is wooing back upper castes and dalits, while BJP walks a tightrope to keep its core base happy. here is growing anger among the upper castes who feel they are being neglected by the BJP despite their enduring loyalty to the party. As the next Lok Sabha election draws close, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have ramped up their efforts to maximise their reach and expand their sphere of influence. However, this competition has also brought to the fore the inherent contradictions in attempting to please all. Both the BJP and the Congress will have to do a fine balancing act as they seek to retain the loyalty of their core voters while adding new groups to their list of supporters. In this process, the BJP finds itself in the firing line of its time-tested loyal supporters – the upper castes – who are upset with the saffron party’s outreach to the backward classes and the Scheduled Castes. The Congress, on the other hand, is making a conscious effort to shed the tag of being a “Muslim party” by making overtures to both the upper castes and the Dalits, who once constituted its core support base. In both cases, there is an inherent assumption that the two parties can afford to overlook their traditional supporters who will not desert them for lack of options. For instance, the SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Congress has not actively pursued the minorities in recent months as it believes they have no choice but to back it or the anti-BJP regional parties to keep the saffron party at bay. Similarly, the strenuous efforts made by the BJP to win over the Dalits and backward classes is also based on the belief that that despite their anger and unhappiness, the upper castes will not desert it. If the BJP is caught in a bind over the protests by upper castes, the Congress is also being forced to tread carefully. On one hand, it has been consistently speaking up for Dalits and, on the other hand, it is also reaching out to the upper castes in a bid to reconstruct its traditional support base of Brahmins,

Dalits, and minorities. The party’s dilemma was evident from Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi’s carefully crafted response when questioned about the ongoing protests by upper castes against reservations in promotions and the Narendra Modi government’s decision to overturn the Supreme Court’s order, from March, in which it diluted the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. While glossing over the party’s stand on the issues raised by the protesting upper castes, Singhvi instead blamed their agitation on the Modi government’s failed policies. Singhvi said that it is not

just the upper castes but every segment of society, including the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward classes and the poor, that is seething with anger at being let down by Modi’s promise of development with all and for all. Singhvi said: “If there is a huge amount of anger, huge amount of feeling of trust deficit, of being insulted on account of an absolutely failed economic system,

woo upper castes, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been making highly publicised visits to Hindu temples – he is currently on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage – and has declared himself to be a devotee of Shiva to reclaim his Hindu identity. Last year, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had gone as far as to describe Gandhi as a “janaeu dhari Brahmin.” Further playing the Hindu card, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath has announced that the party will open gaushalas in every district if it is voted to power, while party spokesperson Manish Tewari defended this announcement saying that it was the Congress that had enacted laws banning cow slaughter in the several states in the first place.

THE BJP MADE ITS INTENT CLEAR SOON AFTER IT CAME TO POWER IN 2014 WHEN IT APPROPRIATED BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR’S LEGACY BY ORGANISING A SERIES OF PROGRAMMES IN HIS MEMORY. one of the most shocking levels of unemployment, a distorted and badly applied GST [Goods and Services Tax], scams like Rafale, SMEs tottering under unbearable weight etc then I think an egotistic dictatorial ‘Modi sarkar’ has a lot to answer from every segment of society including each of the above categories.” It is clear that the Congress does not want to be seen to be taking sides here. In fact, it would possibly like to use this opportunity to wean away the upper castes from the BJP just as it is seeking to take advantage of the building resentment among Dalits following a series of attacks on them in BJP-ruled states. As part of this ongoing effort to

At the same time, Surjewala told a Brahmin seminar in Kurukshetra, Haryana, on Wednesday that the “Indian National Congress is that party in whose blood Brahmin Samaj’s DNA is present”. He promised that the Congress would set up a Brahmin Kalyan Board to provide loans and scholarships to “needy Brahmin youths” and provide 10% quota for the poor members of the community. Like the Congress, the BJP is also struggling. Known as a “Brahmin-baniya” party, the BJP has, over the years, resorted to social engineering to expand its base by coopting the other backward classes. Initiated in the nineties, the experiment helped the BJP to increase its tally substantially, especially in Uttar Pradesh. However, the BJP frittered away this advantage as the upper castes retained control of the party till Narendra Modi, a backward class leader, arrived on the national scene. Since then, the BJP has run an aggressive campaign to consolidate the support of the backward classes in its favour, especially the nonYadav backwards, and the Scheduled Castes. The BJP made its intent clear soon after it came to power in 2014 when it appropriated Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy by organising a series of

programmes in his memory. The party stepped up these efforts when it found itself on the back foot following a series of attacks on Dalits in BJP-ruled states. When it recently faced angry protests by Dalit groups over the Supreme Court’s order diluting the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in March, the Modi government rushed to mollify them by bringing in a Constitution amendment bill, in August, to restore the original provisions. The upshot of these measures is growing anger among the upper castes who feel they are being neglected by the BJP despite their enduring loyalty to the party. Although simmering for some time now, it is now out in the open as upper caste groups have taken to the streets. There have been several agitations in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh over the past few days. On Thursday, the state government imposed prohibitory orders in four districts after several organisations called for a shutdown. The protestors are demanding that the Supreme Court order on the Atrocities Act be restored and that the policy of reservation in promotions be done away with. Predictably, these developments have worried the BJP top leadership but there has been no word, so far, on how it plans to placate its angry upper caste supporters without alienating the Scheduled Castes. The party is hoping that the elaborate asthi Kalash yatras for the immersion of the ashes of the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and other events being organised in his memory, will tone down the anger among the upper castes, especially the Brahmins. However, there is a sizeable number of sceptics in the Congress and the BJP who are not convinced that the steps being undertaken by their respective parties will make an impact. They believe these measures are, at best, mere tokenism and that the upper castes can only be appeased if they are accommodated in positions of power at all levels by the two parties.

(Anita Katyal for Scroll) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

HEALTH

AND YOU THOUGHT THESE WERE ALL GOOD FOR YOU? orrect eating helps maintain our hormonal balance. Many foods affect our hormones positively and incorporating them into the diet is one of the easiest ways to achieve balance," says Dr Sheilja Singh, consultant internal medicine, Hinduja Healthcare Surgical, Mumbai. "Likewise, certain foods potentially contribute to hormonal woes like bloating, fatigue, hair loss and even infertility." It's common knowledge that consuming too much alcohol, sugar and caffeine will get you into trouble with your nutritionist. But introducing superfoods like avocados, Brazil nuts and dark chocolate as well as antioxidant-rich green tea into your diet will help boost your hormonal health. Take a look at 10 foods that affect your hormonal balance:

FIND OUT WHETHER THESE COMMON FOODS ARE GOOD OR BAD FOR YOUR HORMONES.

Cinnamon

Dark chocolate

Green tea

The humble spice is a common fixture in most Indian kitchens. "It keeps insulin levels under control, and helps lower blood sugar levels, increases lean body mass and reduces PMS symptoms," Dr Singh says.

"It reduces levels of cortisol, a hormone released by the adrenal glands during stress," she says. But before you go ahead and treat yourself to a large bar — because you're obviously stressed, duh — remember that like all delicious things in life, moderation is key.

Ever had a cup of green tea and felt refreshed? "That's because green tea helps raise levels of epinephrine, a hormone that can provide extra energy in times of stress," she says.

Alcohol Much as we love sipping on wine (and stronger spirits, honestly), it opens up a Pandora's Box of chaos in the body. "It not only affects our body’s production of sugar-controlling insulin, but also hampers sexual hormones. It lowers testosterone levels in men and causes menstrual irregularity in women," she says. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Brazil nuts

Sugar

Eggs

If you, like us, can't resist a slice of cake, but go back for a second helping, keep this in mind: "Our cells store sugar as glycogen, which we can use for energy later. When we eat sugar, the hormone insulin helps transport sugar out of our blood into our cells. However, the excessive sugar is stored as fat, which leads to weight gain and puts us at risk for Type 2 diabetes," cautions Dr Singh.

Make an omelette for breakfast tomorrow because according to Dr Singh, eggs help stabilise blood sugar levels, contain a good deal of vitamin D and promote bone health.

Avocado

Soy

Coffee

This superfood is a millennial favourite for good reason. "Avocado is high in heart-healthy fats and helps maintain normal cholesterol levels," says Dr Singh. It falls under the category of monosaturated fats AKA the good fats that help lower cholesterol. If your cholesterol levels shoot up, so does your risk of heart disease. So, go ahead and order that avocado toast.

"Much of the debate around soy is about phyto-estrogens, which are plant compounds that act similarly to the hormone estrogen. Though they may be useful to replace estrogen during menopause, they may influence testosterone and thyroid hormones adversely," says Dr Singh.

Sorry to break your coffee-loving hearts but all that caffeine you're consuming is causing your body to boost production of cortisol, the number one stress hormone. "Variation in cortisol levels disturbs the immune function, causes sleep problems, poor sugar regulation, weight fluctuations and even feelings of anxiety or depression," she says. To avoid fluctuations, limit your coffee indulgence to one cup in the morning.

"The nutrient-rich nuts are one of the best sources of selenium, a mineral that plays an essential role in the smooth functioning of the thyroid," she says.

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IPO

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SPANDANA SPHOORTY FINANCIAL

WHERE A CRISIS HAS RISK PROOFED THE

OPERATIONS

PADMAJA REDDY HAS STEERED SPANDANA SPHOORTY FINANCIAL THROUGH THE WORST CRISIS IMAGINABLE FOR A MICROFINANCE FIRM, HAS EXITED CDR AND IS NOW BACK ON AN ADMIRABLE GROWTH TRACK, PAVING THE WAY FOR ITS IPO.

ost retail investors and even many institutional investors have seen this scenario happening in their once favourite companies, one after another. During the height of growth, companies go for their IPOs, or in the case of already listed companies, a period of high growth is followed by peak investor interest.

company has survived such a huge crisis against all odds, has come back to a growth trajectory, and is now planning to offer its shares for the first time? Any analyst worth that label would take a closer look at such a company and the entrepreneur behind. Because that would be a company that would have learned invaluable lessons and adapted incredibly.

Stocks would be soaring, valuations would be sky high, but even many institutional investors would turn blind thinking that the company could take no wrong step. But companies are companies, they are often captive to the sectoral dynamics as well as changing sectoral regulations by governments.

That is the story of Hyderabad based Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd, which was one of the largest Andhra based MFIs before disaster struck in 2010. The brainchild of G Padmaja Reddy, a pioneer in India’s microfinance sector who has embraced continuing education in the latest trends in microfinance from USA and UK. She founded Spandana Sphoorty way back in 1998, and grew it admirably by 2010 to one of the largest MFIs in India with 14,500 employees, Rs. 4500 crore in loan book and 1800 branches, with a majority of all these from Andhra.

Investors have seen this happening across sectors in stocks like DLF, Just Dial and even recently in Interglobe Aviation (Indigo Airlines). But nowhere else is this phenomenon of fortunes turning grim overnight more visible than in the financial services sector, where populist moves by Central or State Governments like loan waivers, demonetisation and stricter regulations on loan recoveries can play havoc. One of the largest such sectoral crises happened in 2010 in Andhra Pradesh, when that cradle state of microfinance in India, put up regulations that literally choked microfinance firms. Stock market too felt the heat, as SKS Microfinance stock dived down, burning huge and permanent holes in investor pockets. Thankfully, SKS was the only major listed microfinance stock back then. However, hundreds of Andhra based MFIs had to shut shop, and some who survived are still battling their demons. But there is a flipside too to such crises. What if a

But the 2010 crisis – which lasted for 2 years – left the company as a skeleton of its former self. Even worse, the company had to opt for Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR). But under Padmaja Reddy’s admirable leadership, it weathered the storm by geographical diversification into Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and by 2014 started generating profits again. Today, Spandana has 11 lakh customers – all of them women - across 14 states, but their exposure to crisis prone states like Andhra and UP is now negligible. The company has recently filed its DRHP for an IPO that got shelved back in 2010. Seasonal Magazine brings eight strategies that Padmaja Reddy has employed in rebuilding Spandana to its former glory. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

8 STRATEGIES THAT ARE REBUILDING SPANDANA

Limiting State Level Business For any Indian company, temptation runs high to maximize business from their home state. For more reasons than one, home state offers maximum number of low hanging fruits which are easier to pluck. Same had happened with Spandana Sphoorty Financial during its first decade of operation. For Hyderabad headquartered Spandana, It was easier to grow faster in its home state of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh than elsewhere in India. By March 2010, 56% of this microfinance institution’s loan book or Assets Under Management was from Andhra Pradesh. Expertise in Andhra market, considered a cradle state for microcredit, enabled Spandana to grow faster than its peers back then. But when disaster struck suddenly in the form of a new

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regulatory ordinance in October of 2010, it was in Andhra and only in this large southern state. Most national level MFIs with AP exposure was affected, but those with predominant Andhra exposure like Spandana were hit severely. It has been a lesson that Spandana Founder Padmaja Gangireddy has never forgotten. When she started rebuilding Spandana in 2011-12, she was fully determined that never ever will Spandana have an AUM exposure of more than 25% from any one state. Going even beyond, Padmaja Reddy is ensuring that even the highest AUM exposure from a state won’t go above the company’s networth. This has made the new Spandana Sphoorty Financial a much more robust operation risk-proofed against state level crises.

Addressing Microcreditâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hyperlocal Risks The 2010 Andhra-MFI crisis was undoubtedly the largest crisis Spandana had faced in its history. However, it has been only one of the several crises MFIs like Spandana has faced. And most of such crises have been local or even hyper local. These include the 2006 Krishna crisis and the 2009 Kolar crisis. In a way, this should be of no surprise as microfinance in itself is a very local business. What usually happens is that some districts or towns take to microfinance more easily due to local reasons, and companies too often promote business from such centres. Later, when such districts develop problems due to excessive and competitive selling or local populist politics, the concerned companies

would be hit hard as such districts would have sizeable exposure to the AUM. To strictly avoid this trend, Padmaja Reddy has been following a strict policy of limiting district level exposure to 2% of the overall AUM. And to curb excessive or unhealthy selling at the branch level, Spandana also limits branch level exposure to 0.35% of the overall AUM. Microfinance continues to be a high growth sector with increasing number of players, and crises are almost sure to happen again, and more often than not they will be local to a district or town. But with these policies in place, Spandana is sure to weather such local storms.

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Getting the Rural & Urban Mix Right People who haven’t used microfinance even once tend to think that it is a mainly rural business. But all microfinance institutions would readily agree that customers for microcredit are more abundantly available in urban areas like cities and towns. This is simply because urban areas tend to have more people like fruit vendors, fish vendors, tailoring shops, grocery stores etc. However, MFIs have also found out that the repayments of rural and urban customers have significant differences. Rural customers are more risk averse and would avail only reasonable loans and would be more diligent with the repayments. Urban customers on the other hand are less risk averse and would not only take up unreasonably large loans, but would be less diligent with the repayments. In good times, urban customers bring much value as they bring in much needed growth. But in difficult times some urban microcredit customers would default on payments or even abscond altogether. Having seen many a microfinance crisis, Padmaja Reddy recognized it early on. But it was difficult to fight this trend, as at Spandana itself rural/urban mix was at 50:50 during 2005-06 period. But post the 2010 Andhra crisis, the Spandana Founder went in for significant limiting of urban business, while rural business was actively promoted. Today, thanks to this strategy, 86% of Spandana Sphoorty’s AUM is from rural areas, which is ensuring that the company enjoys better NPA rates than almost all its peers.

Never Letting Go of Leadership Position Getting started informally as early as 1998, Padmaja Reddy had the head-start of a pioneer. Spandana was also one of the first MFIs to be formally incorporated as an NBFC in 2004. At one point of time, precisely in fiscal 2005-06, Spandana was the largest MFI in terms of portfolio size. Even in the years that followed where the market saw competition intensifying by deep pocketed MFIs and their deeper pocketed institutional investors, Spandana held its ground and was the second-largest MFI player, both by AUM and client outreach. And by FY’10, Spandana had clocked a blistering growth pace of 100% CAGR for the last three years. Spandana’s trait of building upon its early mover advantage comes directly from Padmaja Reddy who disregards relative rankings in the industry but it very particular that Spandana should be a Top-10 player and growing healthily, always. Soon after this fast growth phase came the AP-MFI crisis, and Spandana being an AP focused MFI back then was hit hard. But with Padmaja’s steadfast focus on being a leader always, it goes to Spandana’s credit that even during this worst of times, it was never out of the Top-10 club of MFIs in India. Today, after it has bounced back from the crisis too Spandana has rapidly scaled back to being India’s 4th largest NBFC-MFI. What is even more important is that Spandana is growing much faster than the average of the other Top-5 members. For instance, Spandana’s AUM has grown at 144%, compared to an average of 46% for the rest of the players in Top-5 NBFC-MFIs. Similarly, its disbursement has grown at 87%, compared to an average of 45% for the rest of the players in the Top-5 NBFC-MFIs. This has enabled Spandana to more than double its market share from 1.2% to 2.5% during the last fiscal. Among NBFCMFIs, its market share has grown from 4% last year to 6.6% now. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

8 STRATEGIES THAT ARE REBUILDING SPANDANA

Ensuring Highest Quality of Growth When it comes to comparing growth rates of companies, what many retail investors and even media stories miss is the quality of growth. Not all similar growth rates are equal. There is growth that won’t add much value to shareholders, and there is even growth that will be detrimental to the interests of investors. But, Spandana has been a company that has always come across in flying colours when it comes to all the core metrics that assess the quality or healthiness of headline growth numbers. While such superior metrics attract equity investors, Spandana is not doing this just a couple of years before its IPO. Things have always been like this at Spandana, as for Padmaja Reddy it has always been one of the most important criteria, starting from day one. In fact, the rapid growth at Spandana before the AP-MFI crisis was powered by such superior metrics, which meant that institutional investors as well as securitizing banks were always ready to fund the company’s growth requirements. And though in the midst of the crisis, Spandana obviously could not keep these metrics, as soon as it came back into green, this MFI has been pushing itself for ensuring the best growth metrics. For instance, now Spandana’score return ratio of Return on Equity has been best in class at 22.6%, compared to anaverage of 12.4% for rest of the Top-5 MFIs. In another core metric that reveals operational excellence, the Opex Ratio, which is the ratio of operating expense to average AUM, Spandana fares better than the industry as a whole, during the last fiscal. Focus on this particular metric has protected Spandana during the height of the AP-MFI crisis, as Padmaja Reddy could contain the expenses effectively, which enabled the company to bounce back into posting operating profits within just two years of the 2010 crisis, which subsequently paved the way for posting net profit within the next two years, and for successfully coming out of the CDR mechanism two years back. Spandana focuses on process efficiencies for better quality services to their customers and better performance enablement for their staff. Superior process design and execution helps achieve superior cost economics with low operating expense ratios and that in turn leads to better profitability. That is how, even during the CDR mechanism, the company reported profits consistently from 2014 onwards. Looking forward, these superior metrics ensure that Spandana stock would be favoured by discerning investors when it eventually comes to the market through its IPO. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

8 STRATEGIES THAT ARE REBUILDING SPANDANA

Safety Comes First While it is true that crises as profound as the AP-MFI crisis can take any NBFC or Bank by storm, it is equally true that the most seriously and lastingly affected by the storm was those lenders who put asset quality at risk, during the good times. Again, Spandana has been an exception to this trend, and this constant focus on asset quality or limiting the NPAs enabled this MFI to weather the huge crisis starting in 2010. While Spandana’s AP business was invariably affected by the crisis, its non-AP business had good asset quality that enabled Padmaja Reddy to rapidly scale up such operations. Diligent focus on the asset quality and the out-of-the-box thinking by Padmaja Reddy has helped Spandana report collections from AP overdues which were almost 4 times better than peer MFIs operating in the state. This shows that standing the ground in adverse situations does yield results - but it need a leader who has persistence and perseverance. Post the crisis too, other challenges kept coming in the sector like the controversial demonetisation move. India’s rural sector was a pure cash-only economy which was shattered overnight when the two larger denominations of currencies were abruptly suspended. If one sector took the maximum hit from demonetisation, it was

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microfinance. Thousands of tiny rural businesses went bankrupt. Loan repayments to banks as well as MFIs became a problem overnight. But more pain was to follow. When the brunt on rural population became unbearable, some large states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka resorted to the populist move of farm loan waivers. Though MFIs were not part of the loan waivers, they took a significant sentimental hit as customers stopped repayments on the hope that it would be extended to MFIs. And while banks were sure to be compensated, MFIs had no such promise as they were officially not part of the scheme! No wonder then that soon even the best performing MFIs of all kinds began reporting huge fall in asset quality with NPAs getting doubled or tripled. But it is to Spandana’s steadfast focus on asset quality that it was during the two tumultuous years since then that it came back to net profit and successfully exited the CDR mechanism. Even today, a core NPA metric of Spandana stands at 2.2% compared to 7.4% reported as an average for the leading MFIs and Small Finance Banks (SFBs), revealing that the safety first strategy is keeping the company far ahead than its peers in asset quality.

Staying True to Microfinance Spandana has been a lender sharply focused on microfinance, and microfinance only during its whole existence, unlike many of its peers. During the first growth phase of microcredit in India, which started in 2005, there were just 5 MFIs including Spandana with an AUM of at least Rs. 100 crore. Today there are nearly 40 companies with that kind of critical mass. Such has been the growth of microfinance in India. However, with that kind of growth has come diluted interest in microfinance business. These have come in many ways like by banks buying out MFIs, banks and MFIs getting merged and by MFIs getting converted into small finance banks or universal banks. Today, microfinance business in India is carried out by dedicated NBFC-MFIs like Spandana, small finance banks, new universal banks and regular banks directly doing microfinance as an additional business. While all these segments are reporting growth, dedicated

NBFC-MFIs like Spandana are reporting faster growth than even the government led program of PSU banks getting linked to Self Help Groups (SHGs). Giving further boost to companies like Spandana that are staying true to microfinance, RBI has also come out with regulations that are specific for NBFC-MFIs which gives greater clarity on regulations especially when the business is fast growing. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s microfinance potential remains huge and while different kinds of lenders are tapping into it, it is the NBFC-MFI that has the edge over here for now. And the hands-on leadership of Padmaja Reddy makes Spandana one of the rare large NBFC-MFIs which still have a promoter leading it from the front and standing steadfast despite all market changes and adapting the company to meet the challenges successfully. The technology savvy nature of Padmaja Reddy has been an important factor in such rapid adaptations.

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8 STRATEGIES THAT ARE REBUILDING SPANDANA

Focusing on Customer Needs Padmaja Reddy came into microfinance by accident, but it was also due to her sharp observation powers and her helpful nature to the downtrodden in the society. Back in 1997, she had a chance encounter with a woman rag-picker who was using a rented cart worth just Rs.2000 but for which she had already paid the lender a cumulative rent of Rs. 60,000 over the years. Still, she couldn’t hope of owning the cart as she never had Rs. 2000 of savings to buy a cart of her own! Padmaja lent her enough money to buy a cart, and she made prompt repayments in the coming months. And this woman spread the word to her friends that there is this lady here who would lend you money to start your small business which can be repaid as easy instalments. Soon Padmaja set up an NGO which eventually became an MFI and later an NBFC. Years have passed since, but this focus on customer needs ranks high as a priority for Padmaja Reddy and her venture Spandana Sphoorty Financial. While all her financial and operational strategies were crucial for the miraculous turnaround of Spandana, it is also a fact that without her kind of customer friendliness she couldn’t have pulled it off ever. But she also doesn’t claim that what Spandana is

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doing is poverty alleviation. She is quick to clarify that Spandana is a lender, but that the inherent nature of MFI business is that poverty alleviation is a pleasant side effect of it. With such clarity of vision, Spandana has served more than 1.6 million borrowers across 15 states and 222 districts of India. The last two newly added states are Bihar and West Bengal, while it has re-started operations in Rajasthan. Spandana’s branch count has grown to 694 and the team size has increased by 32% to 4,045 employees. The company has also rapidly adopted technological advancements and has been availing the maturing services of Credit Bureaus which have developed ability to handle the complex data of MFI customers. With such customer focused approach Spandana could grow its customer base by 50% during the last fiscal. This has translated to a loan book (AUM) growth of 144%. Today the company is standing on solid financial grounds, with a Networth of Rs.980 crore and has done a few rounds of fresh capital infusion. For FY’18, Spandana has reported a Profit After Tax of Rs. 170.4 crores on an AUM of Rs. 3166 crores with an RoE of 22.6%, a performance that would surely be attractive during its upcoming public offering.

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GADGET

TOP ANDROIDS UNDER 10K HERE ARE SOME NOTEWORTHY ANDROID SMARTPHONES THAT ARE PRICED UNDER RS 10,000, BUT STILL MANAGE TO OFFER YOU SOME OF THE BEST FEATURES THAT YOU COULD ASK FOR. rom Xiaomi to Honor to Realme, smartphone manufacturers are aggressively pushing their budget smartphones to the Indian market. Here we compile a list of smartphones that are easy on the pocket and still manage to offer you some of the best features that you could ask for.

aperture and a secondary 2-megapixel sensor with f/2.4 aperture. For the front, there is an 8-megapixel shooter with f/ 2.2 aperture. The smartphone features AI Beautification 2.0, real-time AR Stickers, front camera HDR and bokeh mode. Connectivity options on the dualSIM phone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/GLONASS support, OTG support, FM radio, a microUSB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Honor 7S: Huawei sub-brand Honor has launched its latest budget smartphone Honor 7S in India today. The Honor 7S price in India is set at Rs. 6,999 for the lone 2GB RAM/ 16GB inbuilt storage variant. Honor 7S features a 5.45-inch HD+ (720x1440 pixels) TFT FullView display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and pixel density of 295ppi. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6739 SoC, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. Storage is expandable via a dedicated microSD card slot (up to 256GB). In terms of optics, it features single 13megapixel rear camera with phase detection auto-focus and LED flash. At the front, there is a 5-megapixel selfie camera with dedicated LED flash. The

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Xiaomi Redmi Y2: smartphone also supports face unlock via its front-facing camera. Honor 7S runs on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with EMUI 8.1 skin laid on top and houses 3020mAh battery. The device also supports dual SIM dual standby but lacks dual VoLTE support. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, and MicroUSB 2.0 port.

Realme 2: Realme 2 prices start from Rs 8,990, and its talking points are the stylish design and trendy features. The Realme 2 features a 6.2-inch HD+ display that runs at a resolution of 720x1520pixels and a pixel density of 271ppi. The display also comes with a notch on top, giving it an aspect ratio of 19:9. The handset is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC, coupled with an Adreno 506 GPU, 3GB/ 4GB RAM, and 32GB/ 64GB of onboard storage which can be expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB). Realme 2 runs ColorOS 5.1 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the-box and comes with 4230mAh battery. In terms of optics, the Realme 2 houses dual rear cameras that come with a combination of 13megapixel primary lens with f/2.2

Redmi Y2 with 3GB RAM and 32 GB storage option is priced at Rs 9,999 while the model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage costs Rs 12,999. The specifications include a 5.99-inch HD+ display and 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone comes with a Snapdragon 625 processor and has a 3,080 mAh battery. The device comes with a dual rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor along with a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. Besides this, the Redmi Y2 has a 16-megapixel sensor on the front with AI packed features such as AI Portrait Mode and AI Smart Beauty.

MEANWHILE, SLEEP EXPERTS UPHOLD THAT THE MORE YOU SLEEP, THE BETTER, SINCE YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO PRACTICE HEALTHY HABITS, LIKE EXERCISING AND MAKING SMART FOOD CHOICES, WHEN YOU'RE WELL-RESTED.

WELLNESS

LOST SLEEP ON WEEKDAYS? MAKE UP ON WEEKENDS Sleeping in on weekends could have a surprising benefit, so that you should definitely do it.

merging research recently published in the journal Sleep suggests that sleeping in on weekends could actually have some benefits. For the study, researchers based in South Korea compared the sleep habits of 2,156 adults to their body mass indexes (BMI), which is a tool medical experts use to access a person's weight relative to their height, and to identify potential health risks linked to obesity, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, researchers found, those who slept too little throughout the week and caught up on sleep on the weekends had slightly lower BMIs (22.8) than those who slept too little and did not compensate on weekends. Their BMIs averaged 23.1, which is statistically significant, since every extra hour of weekend sleep equated to 0.12 lower BMI. This could have something to do with the fact that people who catch up on sleep on weekends clock more total

hours of shut-eye, and getting too little of it can disrupt your hormones and metabolism in a way that sets the stage for potential side effects, including obesity, according to the study authors. Meanwhile, sleep experts uphold that the more you sleep, the better, since you're more likely to practice healthy habits, like exercising and making smart

ON AVERAGE, RESEARCHERS FOUND, THOSE WHO SLEPT TOO LITTLE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AND CAUGHT UP ON SLEEP ON THE WEEKENDS HAD SLIGHTLY LOWER BMIS (22.8) THAN THOSE WHO SLEPT TOO LITTLE AND DID NOT COMPENSATE ON WEEKENDS.

food choices, when you're well-rested. Because adjusting your sleep schedule to accommodate your social life or social media life can throw off your body's natural circadian rhythm, resulting in worse health, moodiness, and fatigue, it's still preferable to hit the sack and wake up around the same times regardless of the day, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which recommends clocking at least seven hours of sleep a night with regularity. If you can't get sufficient sleep on weeknights, catching up on weekends could be your next best bet â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at least when it comes to keeping your BMI in check. "Weekend sleep extension may have biological protective effects in preventing sleep-restriction induced or related obesity," the authors conclude in their study. Although their findings prove correlation, not causation, and more research is needed, the results are ever more reason not to worry about hitting the snooze button on those lazy weekend mornings. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

CRICKET

GREAT EXPECTATIONS, POOR GROUND A REALITY CHECK IS CALLED FOR ABOUT THE VAST GULF BETWEEN WHAT SHASTRI AND KOHLI WANT AND WHAT THEY GET FROM THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE. IT SEEMS AS IF THE COACH AND CAPTAIN ARE BEING BLINDED BY A ‘WHATIF’ SCENARIO RATHER THAN ACTUALLY LOOKING AT ‘WHAT-IS’.

hen he became the captain of India, Virat Kohli had a dream — one in which he often saw himself winning an overseas series. He has since repeated himself at every given opportunity. So much so that we are certain that he would like nothing more than to make his dream a reality. It would, coach Ravi Shastri believes, define the team. But then again, if winning abroad was as easy as talking, India would have won more away from home… much more. As the record shows, India have won a SEASONAL MAGAZINE

series in England just three times (3 out of 17 series). In South Africa, we have never won a series. In Australia, we have never won a series. Given that context, England almost seems like a happy hunting ground. Kohli, of course, knew it would be difficult which is why he had a plan too. He knew exactly what he wanted from his players and from himself if they wanted to win away from home. But you don’t always get what you want and time and again, India has been failed by its great and perhaps, unreal expectations. Before the series, Shastri said he wanted

his openers to bat out 20-25 overs. The overs he concurred were crucial and to anyone who had toured England, it was sound logic. But what the team got was anything but that. The technique of the openers has been called in question and each time, it has failed the Test. Murali Vijay looked lost, Shikhar Dhawan is like a one-trick pony and KL Rahul, the new hope, has come up short time and again. Dhawan has scored the most runs – 158 at a middling average (by series standards) of 26.33 in 3 Tests. KL Rahul, the only opener to have played all four

INDIA'S OPENING GAMBIT

REALITIES

1st Test: 1st innings 1st Test: 2nd innings 2nd Test: 1st innings 2nd Test: 2nd innings 3rd Test: 1st innings (India won) 3rd Test: 2nd innings (India won) 4th Test: 1st innings 4th Test: 2nd innings

3-59 3-46 4-49 3-35 2-65 2-111 2-50 3-22

can he win matches on his own... can anyone?

15.5 overs 14.5 overs 21.4 overs 18.6 overs 20.6 overs 23.2 overs 17.5 overs 8.3 overs

There has been the odd innings of substance but for most part, Rahane and Pujara have not been upto the mark when the opportunity has presented itself. By this point of their career, for all the early promise, they should have been undroppable.

To win a match away from home, a side would need to score in excess of at least 300 runs. On two away tours, India have crossed the 300-run mark just thrice. Once during the second Test against SA at Centurion and twice during With the form Kohli is in, he needs Nottingham Test (which someone to stand with India went on to win). THE TECHNIQUE OF THE him. Pujara and Rahane While Kohli has been haven’t been able to do OPENERS HAS BEEN that regularly enough in a exceptional in both these CALLED IN QUESTION side that plays just five series’, the support has been anything but. AND EACH TIME, IT HAS proper batsmen.

Tests, has scored just 113 runs at an average of 14.12. Murali Vijay, perhaps the most disappointing of the lot, scored just 43 runs in 2 Tests at an average of 6.50. A look at the stats (in the table above) shows that India were never comfortable. The two times they were, they went on to win the Test. They have almost never managed to play 20-25 overs – the concept of playing out the new ball seems lost on them. In the batting department, who are India’s match winners apart from Kohli? The Indian skipper is in great form but

Cheteshwar Pujara’s 132* FAILED THE TEST. It might be fair to say that in the first innings of the 4th MURALI VIJAY LOOKED India’s strategy of playing Test was an exceptional five bowlers, revolves LOST, SHIKHAR innings but very rarely has entirely around Hardik he looked capable of DHAWAN IS LIKE A ONE- Pandya. He is picked as an winning matches for India TRICK PONY AND KL all-rounder but rarely, if away from home. The same RAHUL, THE NEW HOPE, ever, is he used as one. is also true of Ajinkya here nor there. As HAS COME UP SHORT Neither Rahane. When the struggle a bowler, he often seems TIME AND AGAIN. is all about trying to keep to be the last throw of the one’s place in the playing dice. As a batsman, he is XI, the confidence never shines through unsure of the approach he wants to take. and that is becoming increasingly Kapil Dev was thrown into the deep end evident about these two players. They but he figured out his method. But too should be India’s match-winners along often, Kohli seems intent on protecting with Kohli but they have never quite Pandya. Right now, Pandya seems to be made it. If anything, they seem to have more like Robin Singh and less like a regressed under Kohli’s captaincy.

PUJARA AND RAHANE IN SA AND ENG India in SA and Eng

Cheteshwar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane

1st Test (Cape Town)

26,4

DNP

2nd Test (Centurion)

0,19

DNP

3rd Test (Jo'burg)

50,1

9,48

1st Test (Birmingham)

DNP

15,2

2nd Test (Lord's)

1,17

18,13

3rd Test (Nottingham)

14,72

81,29

4th Test (Southampton)

132*,5

11,51 SEASONAL MAGAZINE

genuine all-rounder and seems apparent in the way Kohli uses him. But if the India skipper feels that Pandya isn’t ready for international Test cricket, then maybe the ‘all-rounder’ needs to hone his skills at a different level.

India in SA and Eng

Pandya's batting

Pandya's bowling (wkts, overs)

1st Test (Cape Town)

93,11 (12 overs),

2 (6 overs)

2nd Test (Centurion)

15,60 (16 overs),

0 (9 overs)

0,40 (2 overs),

0 (6 overs)

On an average, Pandya is bowling around 9 overs in each innings on the tours of South Africa and England where conditions suit pace bowling. Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly used to bowl more.

1st Test (Birmingham)

22,31

0 (10 overs), DNB

2nd Test (Lord's)

11,26

3 (17.1 overs),

18,52*

5 (6 overs), 1 (14 overs)

4,0

1 (8 overs), 0 (9 overs)

3rd Test (Jo'burg)

3rd Test (Nottingham) 4th Test (Southampton)

Pandya’s batting has been anything but consistent and Kohli has been persisting with his five-bowler strategy mainly due to the balance the player from Baroda is supposed to provide the team. Given how India’s batting has struggled, logic would have dictated that India pick another batsman. Instead, we have Pandya, who is neither a batsman, nor a bowler. Batting seems to be his stronger suit but then wouldn’t a proper batsman have a better chance of succeeding?

England’s lower order isn’t an ordinary one. They have three all-rounders who are all very capable bats too. But still, given the form India’s bowlers are in, one could have argued that they needed to do better.

As good as India’s pacemen were, there were simply unable to finish the job they started in most of the matches in England. A lot is being made of the fact that India finally has an attack that can take 20 wickets. And that is great. But given the poor state of the Indian batting, they need to do all the heavy lifting. Giving India a boost by taking early wicket isn’t enough, they need to run through sides.

So while Shastri calls this India’s best ever attack, to be fair, they still have a way to go. They haven’t been able to run through sides.

The South Africa and England sides are not the best we have seen over the past two decades but the current India side has come up short even against them. When India’s home season had ended last year at Dharamshala, Kohli had spoken with great reserve in the press conference: “It’s a classic case of understanding that this is not the end of anything. No need to get over-excited with whatever we have done. We are very happy with number one ranking in the world but our main challenge begins now. If we can conquer the overseas season, that’s when you will see a broader smile on my face when I sit down for the press conference.”

Still, at the core of India’s problems, lie the unreal expectations that Shastri and Kohli have from this side. It is almost as if they are being blinded by a ‘what-if’ scenario rather than actually looking at ‘what-is’.

But despite knowing the challenge, India have come up short. It will hurt Kohli and Shastri no doubt but perhaps it is also a sign to the both of them; a sign that they need to realign their goals with reality.

Just take the fourth Test into account. England were 86-6 in the first innings but managed to make 246. India were 181-4 and they collapsed to 273. In the second innings, England were 122-5 and ended up with 271. India were 123-3 and finished with just 184.

SERIES IN THE NUTSHELL Avg contribution by top-5 wickets Eng 27.68

Ind 29.22

Avg contribution by last-5 wickets Eng 27.78

17.35

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As Sehwag said, “The best travelling teams are made by performances on the ground and not by sitting in the dressing room and talking about it.”

(By Ashish Magotra for Scroll)

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 all the sectors that it operates in.

JITU VIRWANI, CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

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A LEADER WITH A FOCUS Jitu Virwani has breathed realty since he was a late teen. Joining the business in 1985, when he was all full of 19 years, he started off as a liaison executive. But Jitu grasped the business so well that by 1993, he was at the helm of affairs. The timing was perfect. India had just unleashed her economic liberalization program. A young Bangalore based IT company called Infosys had just gone for its IPO. The emerging opportunity was not missed by any real estate developer worth that tag. But while most of them made a beeline for residential real estate, Jitu Virwani had an eye for commercial real estate, especially office spaces. The business was tougher, as instead of satisfying homebuyers he had to satisfy highly successful companies doing complex works. But Jitu was never one to shy away from challenges. It is this trait that made him to not go overboard during booms like Y2K and the 2004-08 bull-

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run, and survive the terrible market crashes like the dotcom bust and the 2009 global economic crisis. Jitu also has the innate knack to not lose focus on what is best for Embassy, which is seen in his strict adherence to the long-range lease-model for serving office-space customers, as against outright sale. Today, as the Chairman & Managing Director of Embassy Group, he has ledthe development of 45 Million Sq. Ft. of Commercial, Residential, Industrial & Warehousing, Hospitality, Education and Retail spaces, while Embassy and its promoters hold an extensive land bank of 1,000 acres across the country. Under Jituâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision, Embassyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation today spans across Indian and International markets that include Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Coimbatore, Serbia (in Eastern Europe) and Malaysia.

Embassy TechVillage

FOCUS ON THE FINEST CLIENTS From its initial years, Embassy developed its business parks not to be fully occupied as fast as possible, but to be occupied by the finest customers it can hope to attract. And when Embassy focused on the finest, it focused not just on India’s finest, but the world’s finest companies. While it definitely helped its bottomline in the long run, an equally important achievement was the subtle building up of the Embassy brand. When world-class companies like IBM, Microsoft, Fidelity, TCS, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Yahoo, Goldman Sachs and Swiss Re, and many such MNC names chose Embassy Business Parks, it became an unmistakable stamp of approval for Embassy. But it was no easy job, as these companies came in with demanding requirements as almost all of them were highly particular about the kind of unique office ambience and facilities that they would offer their

employees as well as customers. This resulted in Embassy exceeding expectations and today Embassy Office Parks, offer the entire ecosystem for a work environment - “where the world comes to work.” Today, over 50% of all Embassy tenants for office spaces are Fortune 500 companies. A recent office space deal that Embassy has signed is revealing in this regard. Embassy has signed a long-term lease deal with JP Morgan, the US based global banking and financial services giant, for premium commercial office space at Embassy TechVillage, Bengaluru. Embassy is to develop for JP Morgan a 1,100,000 sq. feet built-to-suit facility in phases, with the first phase expected to be delivered by the first quarter of 2021. Spread over 103 acres, Embassy TechVillage is a people-centric integrated business park with commercial, retail, hospitality spaces, and is located on the Outer Ring Road, the heart of Bengaluru’s IT corridor.

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FOCUS ON STRONGEST PARTNERS Embassy has also distinguished itself in all its business verticals by joining forces with the strongest strategic partners. Its flagship office space business, Embassy Office Parks is a joint venture with Blackstone Group. US based Blackstone is the largest alternative investment firm in the world, and specializes in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge fund investment strategies, and having $434 billion under management. Similarly, for Embassy Industrial Parks, the company has formed a joint venture with Warburg Pincus, one of the leading US based private equity firms which has raised 15 private equity funds which have invested $58 billion in over 760 companies

across 40 countries. In the hospitality segment, Embassy has made joint ventures with the most renowned hospitality brands including Hilton and Four Seasons. In high-end residential real estate it has tied up with Four Seasons for private residences, while in the mid-income market it has tied up with Amazon for offering its Alexa/ Echo technology for voice-enabled smart homes. Even in its CSR activities, Embassy has partnered with their corporate occupiers under a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Corporate Connectâ&#x20AC;? program which aims to amplify the impact and reach of the CSR efforts. Some of the recent collaborations are with Swiss Re, ANZ and Cerner.

Embassy One - Four Seasons

FOCUS ON SYNERGISTIC VERTICALS While Embassy Group made its name initially in commercial real estate, especially in its office space segment, the company has been steadily diversifying into select sectors. The beauty of this strategy is that Embassy has carefully chosen only those sectors where it could bring in considerable value and expertise. For instance, today it has made a name for itself in the most premium luxury living spaces in Bengaluru and Chennai. And when Embassy enters a segment and makes its mark there, it is designed for the whole market to notice and appreciate. In a striking instance of this philosophy, Embassy Group closed the sale of one of its iconic Four Seasons Private Residences at its flagship luxury integrated development - Embassy ONE. The 30th-floor single-level unit of the new Four Seasons Private Residences at Embassy ONE was sold for a record-breaking Rs. 50 crores, the highest price ever fetched for a branded residence in South India. Over the last three decades, Embassy has developed over 12 million sq. ft. of residential assets, with another 17 million sq ft of space as ongoing and future development. Landmark residential projects from the company include Embassy Boulevard, an uber-luxury gated community; Embassy Grove, the only villament lifestyle in the heart of the city, Embassy Pristine, luxury lake-front green homes; Four Seasons Private Residences and Embassy Lake Terraces. Similarly, Embassy SEASONAL MAGAZINE

FOCUS ON ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE Embassy has proved time and again that it will leave no stone unturned to ensure that its office space customers and their employees would have the best enabling infrastructure in and around its mega business parks and office spaces. While there are several small, medium and large examples to cite for this passion, two recent deals that Embassy has struck with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is simply out-of-this-world and explains why Embassy is the proven leader in office space development in Bengaluru. In June 2017, Embassy Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), for the construction of the Kadubeesanahalli Metro Station, just outside Embassy TechVillage, on the 17-km long North-South metro corridor on Outer Ring Road. Embassy agreed to pay an amount of Rs.100 Crores to BMRCL for the purpose of the above project in installments. The period of concession and permission

Embassy Boulevard

granted to Embassy Group will be for a period of 30 years starting from the date of commencement of commercial operations and could be extended further on mutual terms. In 2018, the scope of the MoU was extended, and Embassy agreed to also install a Skywalk connecting the metro station and Embassy TechVillage at approximately Rs 9 crore. As part of its commitment to the development of the city infrastructure, the Embassy Group is also funding the flyover between the Thanisandra Junction and Nagawara

Embassy Manyata

Lake junction with dual spur roads, leading directly in and out of Embassy Manyata Business Park at a cost of Rs 150 crore. In order to facilitate the Metro-related work in the area, the company will contribute Rs 32 crore for acquiring a parcel of land. The Embassy Manyata Skywalk on the Outer Ring Road, installed by the Embassy Group costing Rs 7 crore, has eased pedestrian movement around Embassy Manyata Business Park to reduce traffic disruption, supporting over 25,000 pedestrian users every day.

Industrial Parks was formed with a vision to create exemplary, well-planned, technologyenabled, self-sustaining industrial parks across eight main cities in the country. Embassy Industrial Parks has 8 million sq. ft. of ongoing development and 16 Million sq. ft. of future potential. Embassy has also brought to India, WeWork, a New-York based co-workplace giant and the 5th largest start-up in the world. So far, WeWork has launched its office-scape in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Gurugram and currently operates with 15000 desks and aims to reach 35000 desks by the end of 2018. Embassyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hospitality business includes the 247 keys at Hilton in Embassy Golf Links, and acquired properties like Four Seasons and Le Meridien at Bengaluru. The biggest and most luxurious hotel in its portfolio is scheduled for launch this year - the legendary Four Seasons with 230 keys as part of a luxurious mixed-use development, which will also include 105 Four Seasons Private Residences. Embassy is also planning dual branded Hilton Hotels at both TechVillage and Manyata Business Park. This would translate to a total of seven hotels in the next four years. Extending the exclusive hospitality offerings, Embassy has launched a unique concept of a private versatile luxury club in Bangalore. BLVD Club, South Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first private luxury club located inside the sprawling Embassy Boulevard campus, combines exclusivity and sophisticated luxury that indeed belongs to the chosen few. BLVD private luxury, members only club, BLVD Club is all about creating the ideal setting for an indulgent lifestyle for its members, who constitute a remarkable mix of distinguished and eminent individuals. With subtlety and elegance in strong focus, the club offers 100,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art sports, recreational, business and dining facilities, along with the unobtrusive yet welcoming and attentive signature BLVD Club service to craft an experience that is truly a class apart. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

FOCUS ON MARKET NEEDS Embassy Edge

As one of the most astute developers in the market, the changing residential customer profiles have not been lost on Embassy. Sensing the surging demand for mid-income homes and in order to make the Embassy brand accessible to a larger section of society, Embassy has successfully forayed into this segment with inimitable class. In

this segment, Embassy is building a large integrated township comprising plots and apartments catering to the needs of the aspirational millennial home buyers. Embassy Springs is one of Bengaluru’s biggest and bestplanned, self-sustained communities. It is a 300-acre planned integrated township in North Bengaluru, with 1,150 residential plots, 3,000

BLVD Club

FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY As an environmentally conscious and socially responsible developer, Embassy Group has gone to great lengths to ensure that whatever it is building is also sustainable. Embassy TechVillage is India’s first and only IGBC Platinum Certified Business Park Campus. In the residential segment, all Embassy projects are designed to obtain IGBC Green Home gold ratings as a part of the organization’s efforts to create sustainable living environments. But beyond such initiatives, the company has invested significantly to make its business parks more sustainable and reduce power costs through the group firm, Embassy Energy, which is into the renewable energy business with a 200-MW solar power plant in Karnataka to harness the immense potential of solar energy. Currently, Embassy Energy is providing 100-MW of solar power to group’s business parks including Embassy GolfLinks, Embassy Manyata and Embassy TechVillage.

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apartments, 210 villas and 150,000sq. ft. club facility. The newly launched Embassy Edge apartments at the Embassy Springs Integrated Township, is targeted at first-time home buyers and comprises 1-3 BHK apartments ranging from 607 sq. ft. to 1,406 sq. ft. with a starting price of Rs 36 lakhs. Each unit is functionally planned with well-designed layouts that ensure the optimum usage of space and uninterrupted view of the landscaped gardens. Spread across 36 acres, the Phase 1 of Embassy Edge will offer homebuyers 800+ apartments spread across 5 towers in 12 acres. Keeping in tune with the new-gen’s needs, Embassy Edge futuristic homes will also bring cuttingedge technology to all its homes using Amazon Echo devices. Echo devices are smart speakers powered by the Alexa Voice Service, which can turn living spaces into voice-enabled smart homes. This collaboration with the US technology giant Amazon makes Embassy the first real estate developer to bring the future of voice to real estate and is set to revolutionize the Indian residential sector.

FOCUS ON SHARING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

Embassy TechVillage

For years now, capital market participants have speculated on a possible IPO from Embassy as it is one of the few unlisted major players. However, Embassy Group has recently decided to go in for a more novel instrument for sharing growth opportunities – a Real Estate Investment Trust. An REIT is an investment vehicle that owns and operates rent-yielding real estate assets. It allows investors to participate in the real estate sector through a liquid and easily accessible instrument that is traded on the public markets, much like a stock. REITs have been a long-established asset class in other markets such as the US, Singapore, Australia and Japan, and have delivered steady total returns through a combination of stable cash distributions and capital appreciation. Embassy Office Parks, the joint venture commercial office partnership between Blackstone and Embassy, has filed the offer documents with the Indian regulator to launch India’s maiden Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in an IPO. Embassy Office Parks proposes to raise Rs 5,250 crore through the structure. The issue is likely to hit the capital markets this fiscal year, depending on the regulatory approvals and market conditions. According to the draft offer document, Embassy Office Parks REIT is expected to be Asia’s largest REIT in terms of portfolio size with 33 million sq ft of leasable area, comprising of 7 business parks and 4 city-centric buildings spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Noida. Out of 33 million sq ft that is leasable, about 24 million sq ft is operational at 95 per cent occupancy and yielding rental income of over Rs 2,000 crore annually. Embassy Office Parks is India’s largest tenanted office portfolio and hosts top MNC clients in its commercial projects. More than 50 per cent of the rents come from Fortune 500 companies. Companies such as Microsoft, Google, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan, among others, are listed as tenants of the REIT.

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FOCUS ON EDUCATION Under the personal guidance of Jitu Virwani, who has a passion for facilitating nextgeneration education and sports, Embassy Group has established two major educational initiatives. Embassy developed the Stonehill International School in 2008 in North Bengaluru. It is the only school in South India offering all three International Baccalaureate (IB) programs - Primary Years Program, Middle Years Program, and Diploma Program. With a highly trained international faculty from across 17 nationalities and world class infrastructure spread across a 34-acre campus, the school is one of the most sough-after international educational institutions in Bengaluru. The group also established the Embassy International Riding School (EIRS) which is a premier riding school providing training in equestrian sports and boasts of a highly accomplished equestrian team. The facility is operated according to the standards set by the British Horse Society. The school offers structured riding lessons for beginners and advanced riders. The classes are conducted by highly-trained and qualified instructors. To create interest and excitement for competitive riding and to nurture talent, EIRS has also introduced the EPL (Equestrian Premier League) championship. The Embassy Group sponsored Indian Equestrian team brought home Silver medals in the Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta. Fouaad Mirza, an EIRS rider, also won a Silver in the individual Eventing ending India’s medal drought of 36 years.

Stonehill International School

Fouaad Mirza - EIRS

FOCUS ON TRANSFORMATIONAL CSR Embassy Group has always taken its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives not only seriously, but innovatively. It facilitates carefully chosen NGOs and partners with international giants like ANZ and Swiss Re to make a meaningful impact. The cornerstone of Embassy’s corporate ethos is a deep held conviction that education can change the lives of communities and generations to follow, and that giving back to the community is the way forward. Embassy Group today supports 17

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government schools offering holistic education to over 7000 children. At the heart of this, is a belief that knowledge capital is the key to the growth of corporates. Additionally, Embassy drives positive change by providing infrastructure based solutions to uplift basic amenities around Embassy communities. Embassy’s mission and vision of ‘Enriching Lives’ has just been recognized by the prestigious India CSR Awards 2018, for Best Innovative Approaches in Education.