MART March 2017

Volume 13 Issue 9 march 2017 `150

empowering engineering excellence

Among the featured, the most smiling diva who turned the odds into even #womanufacturing

An Exclusive Issue on Women Empowerment in the Manufacturing Industry www.martupdate.com 1

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Volume 13 4Issue 9 4March 2017 Annual Subscription `1800 4Member INS Publisher & Managing Editor

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Quality Consultant & Trainer

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Consultant & Trainer, SIS

Director EFENP Automation

MART Editorial Council 4A S Shetty, Chief Executive, Sedvik Industries 4Laxmikant Bhakre, Director, Deven Infotech 4S M Dangi, Marketing Consultant 4Surendra Kumar, Chief Executive, Pitech Services 4J R Mahajan, Industry Consultant 4Rajesh Angadi, IT & IETS

Hi Readers, What’s the first thing that comes to mind on 8th March? It’s The Women’s Day! And then comes the series of congratulations, appreciations and applauds to all our near and dear women for celebrating at least a ‘cause’ of their birth! Come on, one whole day is dedicated to these lovely species on earth! And then comes the mandatory debate on ‘Women Empowerment’, the bully games of different media and the cut through analysis of what’s the condition of women across the world, the statistics of female foeticides, women harassment cases, molestation, domestic violence and what not!! But the very crucial point remains hidden under all these loud talks! Do women really need to be empowered? If we bring instances from ancient histories and epics, women have always remained powerful in their voice, choice, decision, and opinion which were never so easy for them. But the story-tellers gave the appropriate amount of spotlight on those attributes of their characters, which were decided as the virtuous, holistic and tender qualities of women and the story continues! Hidden are the fighters, the brave girls, the independent wives! Thus we worship Sita, Draupadi, and Gandhari for their sacrifices; but how many of us know the brave stories of Urvi, Vrushali or Urmila?

‘WOMAN’ IS A SPECIAL CREATION OF GOD AND THE STORY OF EVERY WOMAN IS INDEED A SPECIAL ONE!

Women long back and women today are all more or less the same and while there are instances of holistic virtues, there are Urvis, Vrushalis and Urmilas who came out of the set path and announced revolution in the entire mankind. These ladies are not exceptional, but they are extraordinary in listening to their own instincts, they are not opposing social norms, but they hold their position with grace, they struggle for causes irrespective of gender, they fight for all the voices unheard, they possess attitude of poised determination!

They are not the feminists! They are the Trailblazers! Our March issue has been dedicated to these graceful personas who made their own destiny, and then to those who created a platform of equality through their own hardships and endeavour!

‘Woman’ is a special creation of God and the story of every woman is indeed a special one! In this issue, the women power of MART has enjoyed each step of creation, and thus it is a ‘special’ one! Salute to these lovely ladies! We hope you would love to experience the journey altogether of a different story telling of ‘Women’s day’! We welcome your feedbacks, views, comments.

Signing off!

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12 Mohini Kelkar Managing Director, Grind Master

16

Harshbeena Zaveri Managing Director, NRB Bearings

20 Hema Hattangady Managing Director, Conssul Energy

24

Veena Parikh Managing Director, Vertex Hydraulics

28 Sminu Jindal Managing Director, Jindal Saw

32

Darshana Tikle Managing Director, Tisa Enterpises

36 Bina Khambaita

Excutive Director, Cosmos Impex

40

Sujata Tilak Managing Director, Ascent Intellimation

44 Meetali Mukherjee Director, Hydax Hydraulics

48 Shubra Khemka Managing Director, Wellman Wacoma

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CONTENTS #WOMANU FAC TU RIN G 52 Empowering Women, Empowering India!

56 Empowering the Best of God’s Creation 58 The Scriptwriters of Evenhandedness 60 Machine Learning to End Gender Bias 64 “Women at Workplace“ Challenges and Opportunities

66 Women Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth

68 Dexterity Knows No Gender!

70 CSR for Women Empowerment 74 Rewrite Your Story

#l e a r ning cu rve 76 Success Takes Hardwork 78 Driving Factors of Inventory Management

80

LE T ’S TA L K Rashmi Ranjan Mahapatra

Managing Director, Kemppi India

#IN D US TRYFOCU S

84

CNC Welding system for Automatic Hardfacing of Valves

S u cce s s s t o ry

86

Welding Technology India Milan Supanekar, Founder

88 90 92 94

Innovations Event Report Announcement MART Update www.martupdate.com 9

I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives - Jane Austen

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F

is men’s domain, still prevails in the industry. As a result often the capabilities of women in manufacturing industry are underestimated by their fellow workers.

Like other professions, manufacturing has also witness participation of women but the notion that manufacturing

Right from working in shop floors to leading an industry holds not much of opportunities for women. We still have very low participation of women in leadership role as the ecosystem has not been very conducive to women. However, rowing their boats up stream; some incredible women have shone in this field. It did not come easy. The journey comprised several hitches and hardships but to surrender was never an option for them. MART brings you the story of ten such women who have defied the very

or centuries women have been treated as an object of aesthetics that are widely incapable of pursuing something intellectual. The patriarchy has its roots well established in the core of our civilization. As we evolved from working hard for survival to living to follow our passions, the social structure remained patriarchal. The right to dream and follow passions rested with men.

Today we live in a transition phase where women are standing up for themselves and fighting to find their space and identity in the professional world.

conviction. These women define courage and grace, power and compassion, diligence and ferocity.

Where manufacturing sector is ruled by men, these women challenge every possible stereotype that exists in this field. A persona imbued in the essence of leadership, is that of these inspiring ladies.

Listen to how they denied the conventions, took those graceful walks and culminated in bliss.

Their stories are like those of an unstoppable brook that gurgles through the woods, weathering down the obstructing rocks. Listen to its gush that evokes nothing but awe.

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#womanufacturing

Mohini

Kelkar T

he ‘firsts’ have contributed to the history and have always remained significant. The first woman to climb Everest, the first woman in space made revolution into something extraordinary than their male counterparts and set a different trend in the tale of women.

And setting a similar example is the first production engineer from VJIT, the Managing Director of Grind Master, Mrs. Mohini Kelkar, teaching us how to do wonders from scratch. Being the first production engineer from VJIT indeed is an achievement but is also a manifestation of her aspirations and willpower that she must have had back then.

She showed exemplary determination, passion and courage way back in 1984 which resulted in the formation of Grind Master, practically in a garage and today the company has grown manifold not only nationally but with its state-of –the-art manufacturing facilities in China and France, delivering prowess of Indian manufacturing to the globe.

Being a woman could never stop her from achieving what she aimed for rather it gave her the required nudge to summit the success. With the ideology that Women are self-sufficient and do not seek the help of society to grow and flourish, Mrs. Mohini Kelkar believes that a strong headed woman can never be stopped from achieving what she aspires for.

The disparity existing in our society could be eliminated through right upbringing, she feels. Her ideologies and values reflect in her son, Sameer Kelkar, who is not only a gold medalist from IIT Bombay but also supports Grind Master as the CEO of the company.

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What started from a SSI unit in Aurangabad is now a 100 crore company with four state-of-the-art manufacturing units spread across the country today.

Please share with us the inspirational journey of Grind Master.

Grind Master was started in 1984 by Mr. Milind and me, a technocrat couple with an objective of developing and manufacturing special purpose machines. Grind Master is a pioneer and leader in special purpose machines for NANOFINISH, Metal Finishing, Deburring and solutions including Robotic automation and Abrasives. We provide total solutions for surface finishing requirements.

With over 4000 machines across 6 continents, serving a wide range of industries, we bring a world of experience, of over 30 years in machine technology and process knowledge.

Manufacturing and engineering have always been thought of as a man’s area of expertise. What motivated you to join the manufacturing world?

I passed out from VJTI in 1981 as first lady Production Engineer. I worked for a couple of years and found that there are constraints.

My husband always wanted to have his own industry and I immediately agreed to join hands and we started Grind Master together in a very small way. We both had creative instincts and so we opted for developing machines and technology that did not exist in India 14 www.martupdate.com

before. Manufacturing world poses many challenges and demands innovations at all times. Therefore it is always interesting to work in this industry.

It’s been over three decades of successful journey for you.

What would you reckon as the major challenges and achievements you have faced along the way so far?

Grind Master competes with the best in the world. We constantly strive to exceed customer expectations with innovative and trustworthy solutions created with passion and expertise.

Grind Master received Star Performer Award from EEPC, in 2 consecutive years for highest export of Machine Tools. We are also honoured with CII Innovation Award in 2017. 75% of Grind Master exports are to China, where Grind Master competes with German and Japanese machine builders on technology. Grind Master is the only established Indian supplier to global automotive companies such as SGM, SGMW, Great Wall and DPCA for Machinery.

Talking about woman entrepreneurship, you set a benchmark as a woman entrepreneur way back in 1984. What changes do you notice in the participation of women in entrepreneurship today?

One can easily see a big difference over past 20 years. There has been a rise in first generation women entrepreneurs who have taken up business opportunity as it gives flexibility and

freedom in working for them. There are several cases of daughters joining their fathers’ business and taking charge. As industries matured, the participation of women entrepreneur increased.

What are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

Very often, women executives are not taken seriously in the beginning.

But, as the meeting or presentation progresses, such a bias dilutes. I do not think that we have lost any business due to gender disparity.

Please throw some light on the initiatives taken to encourage gender parity in Grind Master under your leadership?

Since inception, we have never rejected any application of a candidate on the basis of gender or caste. Grind Master adopts “Respectful Workplace Policy” in an effort to create a culture of respect and to ensure compliance with the sexual harassment of women at the workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (SHWWA, 2013).

Grind Master extends its provisions to all employees and encompasses other forms of harassment as well.

Women contribution to GDP in India is 17 per cent which is far below the global average 37 per cent.

What do you think should be done to bridge the gap for engaging more women in economic activities in India?

This is a complex issue which has lot of bearing on our social upbringing and culture. Women are often not given the rights to make even household money spending decisions. Women are also afraid of making wrong decisions and facing the rejection from family and society. I feel that as India is marching towards development, Indian economy will grow and with that financial independence will come for women folks.

What would be your advice as a role model to other women who want to join the league of entrepreneurs, in the field of manufacturing particularly?

Due to ‘Make in India’ initiative of GOI, there are enormous opportunities in the field of manufacturing.

Every manufacturing activity generates opportunities for service industry and so, a lot of opportunities can be tapped by women entrepreneurs.

What are your growth plans and roadmap for your company?

Grind Master is looking for a global foot print and technology leadership in the areas of Microfinishing, Metal finishing, Deburring and Robotic Automation.

We already have sales and service office in China and recently acquired a company in France.

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#womanufacturing

Harshbeena

Zaveri I

t matters how one perceives difficulties. Your perception may lead to a broken willpower or a constructive approach towards life. Ms. Zaveri is an optimist who believes that difficulties are a source to opportunities and has always taken the challenges head on and given breakthrough decisions. Ms. Zaveri joined NRB as a trainee in the factory shop floor. With the dream to break the geographical boundaries and cater globally with NRB’s offerings, Ms. Zaveri placed each brick with a profound planning.

She believes that a good team constitutes to a great company and so, she has always focused on having a skilled team. A team composed of competent personalities, irrespective of the gender. She says, people who have the real drive, spunk and courage to make a difference will never have a problem finding their way to success.

She is not only a successful entrepreneur but also a role model and mentor to many bright women who found the path to prosperity under her guidance. Aware of the capabilities of a woman, she stands by many who have the zest for life and dream of making it big in this competitive world.

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next generation of vehicles for the Global Auto majors.

I believe in mentoring a future generation of women and giving back what I received.

Mentoring helps women to learn from others who have navigated corporate situations.

You have experience in various positions at NRB Bearings for close to three decades. How would you look back at your journey over the years?

When I joined NRB as a Management trainee I voluntarily started as a trainee in the factory shop floor. This helped me understand the nuances of the business while building strong relationships with the machine operators who I consider important stakeholders. Post that I worked wherever there were challenging situations and developed confidence by dealing with and solving problems others shied away from.

When I started my journey, I had a dream, that an Indian company like NRB, should be able to engineer products not only for the Indian auto industry but also partner with the world’s best auto companies. Not just supply but actually design the bearings that go into the

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In 2000 I took the bold decision to terminate a three decade old technical collaboration with our erstwhile partner Nadella and become independent for New Product Development (NPD) by setting up an R&D Centre. We hired fresh M.Techs and trained them to use the world’s foremost design software.

It was this achievement that led IMD to invite me to showcase NRB in a case-study of innovation at a joint IMD-MIT (Sloan School) Program as one of the only companies from the developing world which had reached this level of technology and innovation.

Today, we supply to Mercedes, Volvo, Audi and Renault in Europe.

Our products are in fact been imported from India into Germany by the world’s biggest and best gearbox manufacturers.

We have recently started working with two new bigname clients (Ducati and Mitsubishi) and have began developing parts for drones.

As a woman business leader and entrepreneur what have been your major challenges?

I have realized that some of the most innovative solutions we came up with and many of our breakthrough decisions were the result of very challenging situations. My favorite quote from Einstein is ‘In the middle of difficulty

lies opportunity’. I like to turn what other people consider a disadvantage to my advantage. For example my perceived disadvantage with my liberal arts background actually turned in my favour when people reaslised that I was able to turn my academic knowledge to foster a more open environment which allowed the company to adapt to change easily and create the DNA of an innovative and disruptive culture.

You have been awarded as the best CEO, best leader in manufacturing, ranked among most powerful women in Indian business. How important is the recognition of women leaders for their extraordinary contributions made for Indian industries?

I was first included in the ‘Most Powerful Woman in Business’ list in 2011. Being featured amongst the top 17 most powerful Women in Fortune Magazine validates my belief that leaders emerge from challenging situations. In my opinion such recognition is critically important at a time when gender equality is in effect as it motivates and inspires other women to achieve and encourage young girls to dream big.

Women and girls need to be able to “see themselves” in positions of leadership and achievement, and these “lists and awards” make this possible. Lots of research shows the impact of role models and exemplars on women’s and girls’ selfesteem, career choices, and

eventual achievement.

You have deeply been interested and engaged in education and mentoring young leaders and women.

Please throw some light onto that experience?

I learned very early on that women can head organizations and be at the very top of any field that they choose to enter.

My Alma Mater, Wellesley is a specialist in not just educating women but in graduating women leaders!

Our motto is “women who will, make a difference!” in the world and also to other women. I have mentored and created a network of bright successful women sharing the pitfalls to avoid and their experiences through difficult periods,

I have realized that some of the most innovative solutions we came up with and many of our breakthroughs decisions were the result of very challenging situations. My favorite quote from Einstein is ‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity’.

I like to turn what other people consider a disadvantage to my advantage.

right to retirement.

I believe in mentoring a future generation of women and giving back what I received. Mentoring helps women to learn from others who have navigated corporate situations and gain confidence to take risks. Success is not just about competing and winning a race but also about convincing others on the team that your ideas are the best ones to implement, persuading your group to give you a chance to try new concepts, test new ideas in a live on the road situation. Women can learn more from successful women mentors than men and create their own supportive networks. There is a clear approach to this and it works!

India still lags behind global peers in terms of participation of women in economic activities, specially in leadership and entrepreneurship role.

What are your suggestions to focus on this area?

An article in The Economist titled ‘The Weaker Sex’ highlighted a recent study

by OECD, (a Paris based think tank) showed that girls outperform boys at studies in all 64 countries. So the weaker sex is in terms of academic competency, ironically is the male not the female. The feminisation of higher education was so gradual that for a long time it was not noticed till in 2008 when a report pointing out just how far it had gone, was released, and people couldn’t believe it how far men had fallen

academically. However, unfortunately that this doesn’t translate into more women rising to senior positions and becoming leaders. Earlier the reason given for this situation of there being too few women in important positions was their lack of qualifications but that is not true today.

Obviously it is a prejudice and a lack of a support system that leads men to continuously rise through the ranks that in spite of their overall lower academic scores. This is most bizarrely reflected in the position taken by most Indian companies that they cannot find “qualified” women for their boards to comply with the new regulations.

Please throw some light on the initiatives taken to encourage gender parity in NRB Bearings under your leadership?

I strongly believe that a leader is only as strong as her team which is why I pay great of attention on recruitment. My experience has helped me recognise potential leaders; and enjoy nurturing young people who demonstrate the will and courage to make a difference from an early age. Apart from competency (which is an obvious) drive, spunk and courage, and strength of character and sterling values. Include the capability to speak up matters.

Like at Wellesley, there is a need for the women to

look around themselves and be able to ’see’ women in positions that they can aspire to be in one day. We understand that promoting women to senior, impactful positions takes time and we have sped up the process with few strategic women in VP positions. I stay away from the regular ‘women roles’ such as HR Head. My CFO is a woman and so was her predecessor.

What would be your advice as a role model to young women entrepreneurs in India, specially in the field of manufacturing?

I would advise these young women to be strong path breakers who have the courage to be themselves and encouraging them to make a mark in the world.

Talking about NRB, you have been spearheading the company to become a global supplier to world class brands with your interest in Design Engineering and R & D. What are your future goals for NRB Bearings?

We have put together a road map that will enable us to aggressively monitor and achieve our goal of 1000 crores as planned in spite of the domestic slowdown. We have created a cross functional team of 22 people spanning levels who have already identified the strategic focus areas that will help us get there.

By 2020 we want to be present in every mobility application in the world, on the similar lines as in the Indian market.

Obviously it is a prejudice and a lack of a support system that leads men to continuously rise through the ranks that in spite of their overall lower academic scores.

Our future lies in diversification into emerging segments such as defence and aerospace.

Other segments of targeted growth identified by the team are Tractors and Farm Equipment, off Highway vehicles, Marine engines, locomotives and mass transit systems. The geographical areas for penetration selected are Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Korea, the Middle East, and South Africa.

30% of our management is under the age of 30, it is our constant endeavor to generate value through innovation, leveraging technology to optimize cost and performance. We are not a commoditized auto component supplier, and have built a brand.

Customers and investors recognize us as a financial outperformer and a R&D driven organization.

Our sustained financial performance has helped us secure an AA- rating which was given to us by CRISIL. Only 1.9% of CRISIL rated companies fall under the AA rating and 5% of autocomponent makers’ fall in this category. www.martupdate.com 19

#womanufacturing

Hema

Hattangady

W

e have often heard of people achieving success and power at a young age. But as it is rightly said that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ and this was indeed the experience of Ms. Hema Hattangady. An MBA from IIM Kolkata, Hema worked for an advertising company until she was offered the post of CEO at Conzerv, (then Enercon Systems), a company set up by her husband and his family.

The company had gone through a difficult period and had received equity funding from India’s first private VC firm, Indus Venture set up by T. Thomas. She was only 32 when she accepted the offer which turned out to be a life changing decision for her.

She had enormous energy and big plans, and embarked upon her new journey with the support of her husband Ashok who was the head of Technology. The journey was filled with hardships.

Novice to the huge responsibility and a new mother, Hema fought through the stress with grit and determination. The company grew by leaps and bounds in the following years.

Hema has been called a “Missionary in search of a cause” thanks to her evangelical zeal to succeed in challenging areas and her never say die approach. She is almost fierce in her determination to change the world for the better. Her vision and mission are futuristic. Under her supervision, Conzerv undertook many initiatives to educate children about energy conservation, long before CSR was made mandatory.

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You are an epitome of entrepreneurship. Right from saving family business from entering into wrong deal to transforming the loss-making company (Enercon then) in 1996 into successful one with 30 per cent yearly growth you have achieved it all. How would you describe these stunning accomplishments?

These are accomplishments made possible because I had the support and backing of my former Chairman Mr. T. Thomas, (former Chairman of HLL) and my husband Ashok Hattangady who decided I would make a better CEO than he (he is a world class digital electronics designer and innovator) where in the world do you find a man like that?

Mr. Thomas made our experience with VC funding quite unlike that of investee companies of other venture capital firms. He made sure Ashok and I had the space we needed, the investment we needed and guidance, contacts and access to his wealth of experience and knowledge. We were able to build a strong market leader in digital metering and energy consulting services that followed the highest ethical practices. There was never any pressure to take short cuts to achieve targets. In spite of that we grew at 30% CAGR. Conzerv Systems also achieved distinction of being featured in the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program as a Case Study in 2009 under your leadership. How did you manage to transform a family owned business 22 www.martupdate.com

into a company that was professionally managed?

In this light, what are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

The turnaround involved transformation in culture, people, R&D, marketing, branding and customer relationships. The HBS case which is available on the Harvard Business Review site details the many steps we took. I had to listen and learn. Benchmark against the best. Learn from many sources including children (ours as well as those of our colleagues). Be open to criticism. Be aware of the inertia of success. Create an empowering and transparent culture that focused on “growing giants”. I am writing the story of Conzerv in a book that will be out by the end of the year where I hope to share the exciting adventure we had until we exit to Schneider Electric.

The odds are stacked against women rising to even senior management positions in operational roles. While we see increasing numbers of women in HR, Finance, Legal, Marketing, the numbers on the shop floor, and in sales in productcompanies, are negligible.

Overall, what odds you had to face along the way being a woman entrepreneur in India?

Acceptance by customers even as CEO was always a challenge in the early years.

They preferred talking to the male engineers who would accompany me to remote

industrial sites. It was just one of those things. I pressed on regardless. The other area of resistance was from male senior Govt. officials. That’s when Ashok would step in for meetings.

India ranks abysmally low of 136 out of 144 countries according to The Global Gender Report 2016 by the World Economic Forum.

What are your suggestions to improve women participation in economic activities in India?

It has to start with not killing females in the womb.

Just yesterday (and we are in 2017) I read a press report of female foeticide in Maharashtra. Once you allow females to be born, create equal opportunities right from access to primary school education all the way to creating special ways to keep them and grow them in the work force. There is enough data to show that the economy can grow faster with more inclusion of women. So what is each family/local government/ company doing about this?

As a woman CEO, I made sure the engineer wives of our employees who were at home looking after kids, were given special paths to come back to the work force and work alongside their spouses. I am really proud that all the wives I brought in to Conzerv, continue with Schneider or other international companies. They just needed that first big nudge and hand-holding like I got from Ashok and Mr Thomas.

Then there’s no looking

back. All the women in the company had a security netemotional and logistical.

Since we were seen as a fair and transparent employer, the men did not ever feel discriminated against. In fact they were huge supporters of the women’s group we created called Conzervina, which still meets occasionally like members of a family! I made sure a couple of our senior most male managers were present at Conzervina meets to offer support, and to be the link to the rest of the company if special issues were discussed.

What would be your advice to other women who want to join the league of entrepreneurs, in the field of manufacturing particularly?

Go for it!

Find your cheer leaders and keep them close.

Shut out the voices of the nay sayers …

Believe in yourself! There’s no reason on earth you can’t do what you set out to do. Only you can be your biggest stumbling block.

Acceptance by customers even as CEO was always a challenge in the early years. They preferred talking to the male engineers who would accompany me to remote industrial sites.

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#womanufacturing

Veena Parikh A

n infant goes through rough learning phases where parents hold its hands and help it to survive the progressing phases. When Veena Parikh was exposed to the world of entrepreneurship and manufacturing for the first time, there was hardly anyone to provide the handholding that could have helped her to survive the hard time. She had been left deserted to fight her infancy. Forget about handholding, the stakeholders and many employees withdrew their supports, creating extreme circumstances for Mrs.Parikh.

If it wasn’t for her courage and self-determination, Shashwat Systems and its family would not have come to existence.

Life is a constant grapple between an individual and time.

One who remains alive in the end is a survivor and one who defeats the time is a legend. We have heard stories of such legends but Mrs. Parikh is a live example for us. Wading through predicaments, she established her business in a wondrous way. Today she runs two successful businesses, Shashwat Systems and Vertex.

Mrs. Veena Parikh is an inspiration to all those, who at some point have thought of giving up and succumbing to life’s atrocities. We ought to learn to fight, win and live a legendary life.

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It’s been 16 years since you took over the reign of Vertex Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd, in 2001 and Shashwat Systems Pvt. Ltd, in 2002 as a Director. How challenging has it been to guide two companies over these years to success?

I joined Vertex Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd. in 1998, when my husband got his first paralysis attack and started losing his memory. Till then I was a house wife and was taking care of the house, family and kids. In the November of 2000, my husband needed a bypass surgery which did not go successfully. He fought on till the 20th of February 2001, when we lost him due to a massive heart attack.

With my husband gone, I joined the factory full time from March 2001, however; the workers and staff weren’t confident about the company’s prospects as I was a completely nontechnical person. They resigned with immediate effect, which made our vendors believe that the company was shutting down so they stopped providing material as well. It was only our clients who had faith that we will be able to deliver the orders they had placed and didn’t cancel any of the orders they had placed.

Our company had a working capital arrangement with one of the local banks and during this turmoil, they too believed that the company would shut down and started the procedure for recovery of their capital. I

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When you start your own firm, you know that everything needs to be built from scratch and systems as well as culture need to be cultivated.

was still working on getting the finances and work in order, and it was only a matter of time before the bank started talking about foreclosing on our factory. So I got “Shashwat Systems Pvt. Ltd.” registered in 2002. After a drawn out negotiation, the bank foreclosed on our factory in 2003 and we shifted to a small rental shed with a few machines and fewer workers. We were able to get the machines set up and working in our shed, and within 5 days our production was back on track. This arrangement worked for us till 2006.

It was in this year (2006), that some private banks were ready to finance us looking at our business records. This allowed us to work on our infrastructure requirement and we bought our current factory for the same. We were able to establish full fledged production facilities from CNC machining centre to Honing machines as we needed in house facilities for the same for faster

production of Hydraulic Cylinders. We worked on the same products in our new factory for 3 years and then, went on to introduce our own hydraulic power packs. We have build our own niche’ in this field and are experts in Pharmaceutical machinery power packs and “zero” leakage Hydraulic cylinders for the same.

During this same time my other firm “Vertex Hydraulics “was an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for force feed lubrication systems.

This enabled us to work in diverse fields and considering our quality of work and performance, there was no competition for us. We had stepped in to customized solutions instead of the standard products and this worked for us.

We are also going to be introducing a few products this year, but they are still under development and I will not go into detail about that.

What are the challenges and milestones that you have achieved during this phase?

Our social structure is the biggest challenge I have faced to date. People wait and watch to see if a female entrepreneur is struggling or getting lucky. If she is successful it is luck and if she is not, then they feel that their perception about her unworthiness is correct.

When people saw that I was successful at what I do

despite everything, they slowly started supporting me.

In 2006, I received an award from Mrs. Pratibha Patil. Some of the other awards that I am honoured to have received are Entrepreneurship award

by MSME Government of India, quality award from consumer forum, Woman Bhaskar award from Bhaskar Group.

2011 was the year when I received the Udyog Patra award from the Institute of Trade and Industrial development and in 2015 I received the Priyadarshini award by Federation of Women Entrepreneurs of Asia. Also, we still receive the quality award from Kirloskar Pneumatic, Pune every year.

What would you reckon as more challenging for a woman, starting as an entrepreneur or taking over the reign of an established firm and maintaining its legacy successfully?

In my view, for an SME, both these phases are challenging, but in large scale firms these are less challenging.

When you start your own firm, you know that everything needs to be built from scratch and systems as well as culture need to be cultivated. In SME’s this is the case, in larger firms however, roles are set, so is the system and culture. This makes it easier to handle

and enhance.

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment in India?

In theory lots of practices are being discussed, but most of them are just carried over from the old budgets. When the governments as well as people discuss reforms they mainly stick to their ideas of new MSME’s. What they tend to forget is that there are already 44.7 million MSME’s running in India, out of which around 14% are run by women. Reforms and steps are being taken to secure start ups. Where are the policies that help existing MSME’s? All the so called reforms are simply favoring the large scale industries. Soon MSME’s will have only two options, either step up to large scale or step out of the business.

Keeping in mind that out of these 44.7 million only 0.2% is medium industries, the rest are small and micro industries, we have a tough task ahead to survive and flourish.

What are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

I am in the engineering sector and gender disparity in this field is very high.

Engineering has always been a man’s domain and so has running companies.

Slowly but surely women have begun showing up on the horizon with their entrepreneurship skills but there are fields like

Our social structure is the biggest challenge I have faced to date. People wait and watch to see if a female entrepreneur is struggling or getting lucky. engineering where the disparity is still prevalent.

MSME’s have begun supporting a lot of women entrepreneurs and I have no doubt that within a few years gender disparity will be just a relic of the old days.

What do you think that the government should do to encourage economic participation of women in India in a more vibrant way?

The government has made policies to ensure that women entrepreneurs are able to easily establish and run their enterprise, however; it is our culture which needs to change in order for women to conduct business as freely as men do. The actions and policies we set up now will show their potential in the next generation and they will be more courageous and enterprising in their endeavors.

The government also needs to make more practical policies with regard to this.

Please throw some light on the initiatives taken to encourage gender parity in your company under your leadership.

As I mentioned earlier, we are into heavy duty engineering and it is difficult to find women ready to take on these jobs. However, we have hired an all female office staff and are looking for women engineers for our assembly department, CNC machines etc. We are in the process of setting up machines and hiring talent so that one of our firms is completely women run.

What would be your advice as a role model to other women who want to join a manufacturing Industry?

What is your mantra for success?

I’ll keep my advice simple: Always remember that you are foremost an entrepreneur, not a man or woman. Dress according to your work, be frank with people but not very personal, and be honest.

Always keep your commitments clear in financial matters and be responsible for finishing your work in time.

Tell us about the products and services your company offers and the segments that they cater to.

We provide total solutions for Hydraulic Systems as our products are custom designed for every customer. In India, only my firm “Shashwat Systems” gives a “Zero

Leakage” warranty to our customers for hydraulic cylinders. We work with Pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers, Pipe mills, Steel Mill, Machine tool manufacturers, Marine Equipment, Mobile machinery, Atomic energy equipment etc.

Our “Vertex” lubrication systems are at par with International standards for force feed lubricators and we are OEM’s for all compressor manufacturers in India. We compete against global brands for customer base and we can replace any brands lubricator with our own.

This product of ours has benefitted from the “Make in India” movement.

‘Shashwat’ has given a new product every 3 years since its inception. Now we are headed for provision of the following products: High pressure, high volume hydraulic hand pumps, Hydraulic Systems for hydraulic lifts and Hydraulic Cylinder repair as well as manufacturing kit.

The actions and policies we set up now will show their potential in the next generation and they will be more courageous and enterprising in their endeavors.

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#womanufacturing

Sminu

Jindal H

ardships are inevitable part of our lives. Fighting through them makes us the real heroes. Redefining ‘courage’, Sminu Jindal, who lost her ability to walk at a very tender age of 11 years, fought through her tough times, and giving mobility a different meaning, reached to the acme of success, inspiring millions.

Backing her at every step was her family. Although, she never received any special attention and learnt to meet her needs herself, right from doing her daily chores to completing her education and joining her family business.

She is a determined, strong headed woman who never had the world decide for her. Her association with steel business didn’t make her a woman of steely resolve, her own experience and determination did.

Apart from spearheading the company, she is a dedicated soul with ‘Svayam’, her initiative for making difference to the lives of people in need.

A fierce dreamer and a proprietor of sharp intelligence, Sminu Jindal wishes for a world where women are more confident and don’t seek a validation for their dreams from the society.

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I was motivated to join the steel business because that is how I know the whole world to be. I was starry eyed when I looked at my father and my grandfather.

You opened doors for many other women in the organization and always focused on women empowerment across fields.

What is your view about gender disparity existing in an organizational structure even today in India?

Gender disparities are created as few companies understand the complexity of hiring women. Women who want career have to get a good balance between family and work. Also, they need to take forced sabbatical from work for children and family as a result when they come back to work place they look at a sharper trajectory of both growth and interesting opportunities. This is where one is unable to provide suitable challenges and disparities are further created.

What motivated you to join the steel business which has had few women leaders till date?

I was motivated to join the steel business because that is how I know the whole world to be. I was starry eyed when

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I looked at my father and my grandfather. Everyone in my family spoke about steel all day and night; it was a natural progression for me. Not that everyone in the family got associated with steel but my fascination with all things technical made me believe I was born to do so. My family’s encouragement helped me strengthen my belief.

What have been your major leadership challenges as a woman? What would you reckon as the major milestones in the journey so far?

The industry in which I amSteel, Oil and Gas are male dominated. Being a woman, it’s difficult for people to understand that technicalities can be learnt from a book.

Gender has nothing to do with the kind of work we do in our sector. My first and the most important challenge was to understand my own capabilities and what I can achieve without looking for validation from others. For me, every day is a milestone as I learn and grow every day.

For you, who inspire so many women, who are your inspirations in life?

There have been so many women who have inspired me with their courage and unstinting loyalties. Rani of Jhansi, Sarojini Naidu, Razia Sultana, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. Some of them are very well known and some of them not; like Sindhutai Sapkal, social worker from Maharashtra who stated a great movement for education amongst women.

What inspires me are fearless

women who decided to charter their own path in a world that wasn’t used to seeing things differently.

Women contribution to GDP in India is 17 per cent which is far below the global average 37 per cent. When it comes to leadership role, it even goes down. Why do you think this difference still exists today in India? What are your suggestions for engaging more women in economic activities in India?

In terms of contributing to the GDP, I feel opportunities provided to women have a big role to play. In leadership roles what is required is single minded dedication. Not everyone has the same determination to win, not all of us make it to universities like Harvard.

Leadership can never be taught; it is inbuilt. Each one of us has different aspirations and goals in life.

Opportunities for women have a lot to do with the exposure and supportive infrastructure (people being the most).

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment in India?

We are currently unable to provide the basic amenities; women empowerment is a distant dream. We still are talking about no proper grievance cell for women who are abused physically and mentally.

We still debate on whether

women should wear jeans or not. Seriously, budget empowering women?

What would be your advice as a role model to other women who want to join the league of entrepreneurs or become successful as leaders?

I have always learnt- never to give unsolicited advice.

I feel that each individual knows exactly what they want to do in life and are capable of chartering their own journey. As long as a person is comfortable in their skin with clear dreams, they will achieve what they are born for.

The industry in which I am- Steel, Oil and Gas are male dominated.

Being a woman, it’s difficult for people to understand that technicalities can be learnt from a book. Gender has nothing to do with the kind of work we do in our sector.

My first and the most important challenge was to understand my own capabilities and what I can achieve without looking for validation from others.

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#womanufacturing

Darshana

Tikle C

omfort is the most sought after phenomenon in the world.

While majority go by the easier path to ensure comfort, there are personalities who opt for the less trodden path, stepping out of comfort zone and discovering the beauty of the journey. Same is the case with Ms. Darshana Tikle, a young, high spirited entrepreneur who chose a different path for herself.

While mechanical is almost assumed to be a dirty, shop floor and strenuous job, she quit the comfortability of electronics and delved into the labour of machines!

After acquiring her degree in electronics engineering, Ms. Darshana Tikle worked as an automotive electronics engineer at a firm. She kick started her career quite well and learnt a great deal in those five years of her career; post which she joined her family business. She explored the new field that she subjected herself to and eventually mastered the new technologies that were trending in.

A constant support from a well learnt professional and father, Mr. Arun Tikle and the team at TISA accompanied by her own well thought determination, resulted in her success. Now she runs the company as the Managing Director.

Women leader receiving apprehensive faces is not unusual in our society, but Darshana Tikle has always had her knowledge on the subject, answers the skeptical minds around her.

She holds a vision of having a better future for women where each woman is independent and capable of earning her own bread, irrespective of her social and economic background.

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What are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

The Mechanical industry has dominantly had a male presence. However, it is encouraging to see that many second generation women are foraying into the business and making their mark, both technically and in administrative capacity.

The future of women in this industry seems promising and I hope to see many more women like me breaking old notions about the male dominance in manufacturing industry.

Manufacturing has always been thought of as a man’s area of expertise. Whats your take on the same?

Tisa Enterprises was started by my parents Mrs. and Mr. Arun Tikle. From a young age, I have seen both of them working hard for the company and shaping it to what we see today. Hence, the notion of manufacturing being a man’s world was never formed in my mind. The motivation definitely came from both of them. I worked as an automotive electronics engineer for 5 years to get some experience of the real world before joining the business. This helped me appreciate better the nuances of the manufacturing industry.

What are the major challenges and achievements you have faced along the way so far?

When I joined the company 8 years ago, there was some apprehension from many customers as well as shop floor workers towards a woman being in the lead.

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work with mutual respect.

With the exponential growth in women excelling in all sectors, the industry now is also more approving of women in the lead than before.

How far helpful are the government schemes for women entrepreneurs in India?

The Government has many subsidies for women entrepreneurs to encourage their growth from assistance to buying new machinery and raw material to participation in exhibitions. However, the fine print and elaborate paperwork is a deterrent to apply for these subsidies.

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment in India?

The 2017 financial budget outlined many schemes and added funds allocation for women empowerment like Stand-Up India, Mahila Shakthi Kendras as well as introduction of a gamut of online courses. While the allocation of funds is encouraging and promising, the execution of these schemes and passing on of the benefits to women entrepreneurs is the key.

Indian entrepreneur space is growing fast with women at the helm of many businesses.

Involving and encouraging the lower strata by breaking the taboos needs to be implemented effectively.

The already established businesses did not see much to benefit from this budget.

Please throw some light on how Tisa Enterprise encourage gender parity in decision making and

planning under your leadership?

Most of the key posts at Tisa are held by women.

Further to my mother, Mrs. Shrimantini and me being part of the business, my sister, Mrs. Rutuparna has also joined the business to our added strength.

Recently, at IMTEX, one of my customers wanted me to train his operators about the precautions to be taken while clamping. To my surprise and awe, most of his operators were women.

While, women form an important administrative and commercial role at Tisa, I look forward to hiring more women on my shop floor too.

What would be your advice to young women entrepreneurs and engineers who want to join manufacturing sector?

The manufacturing sector is ever growing at a rapid pace and there will never be a lull in this sector. If one is interested in the manufacturing sector but see gender disparity / ageold notions as a deterrent, I would encourage them to dispel these notions and follow their dream.

The manufacturing space is filled with innovations and we are always on a lookout for fresh ideas.

While the sector doesn’t look financially lucrative at first, hard work and commitment can reap huge monetary benefits. I have been on the other side of the industry as well and can confidently vouch for the manufacturing industry.

What are your growth plans and roadmap for

your company?

TISA is a well known brand for clamping solutions in South India. We wish to further strengthen our business in the rest of India.

TISA is also exporting to many countries and wish to expand its umbrella of customer coverage. We are working towards developing more effective, less time consuming clamping technologies to offset job setting time and hence increasing productivity.

Investing in more advanced machinery and quality inspection equipment to ensure quicker supplies and growth, without compromising on the quality, remains our mantra as has been for the last 35 years.

Could you tell us what does Tisa Enterprises specialise in and what are your major consumer segments?

Tisa Enterprises is a manufacturing company specialising in the manufacture of Clamping Solutions like Clamps, Clamping Elements, Screw Jacks and Clamping Devices.

Our products are used in all engineering segments like Machine tools, Plastic Moulding, Press-shop, Fabrication, Automotive, Textiles, FMCG, Aerospace Engineering, Power Generation-Flow Control, etc.

The industry now is also more approving of women in the lead than before.

#womanufacturing

Bina

Khambaita L ife offers opportunity to everyone. What changes the game for one is, making the right use of that opportunity. Ms. Bina Khambaita had been offered one such opportunity back in 1994. It was of joining COSMOS and contributing to its growth. She grabbed the chance to serve the company and in past 24 years, the company has seen tremendous growth. She has proved that opportunity is an incomplete notion if not followed by dedication and hard work.

Machines were no alien to her. Having been subjected to machines and technical concepts at a very early age, she discovered her interest in machines. While the world follows a set pattern, unconventional things inspire her more. She has an offbeat approach towards any issue.

She began her career as an Administration Specialist at a company and today she is the Executive Director of COSMOS Machine Tools. Her abilities and skills have taken COSMOS to the pinnacle of success.

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Share with us your illustrious journey...

Since childhood I have been watching innovative SPM concepts being conceived.

My father, who was a technocrat himself, is the reason why I developed interest in machine tools and today, it’s my passion.

I chose to pursue the field of CNC Machine Tools, which is quite a rare field among women.

I started my career as an Administration Specialist in Ahmedabad based pharma and cosmetics packaging company.

I worked there for about four years which helped me to polish my skills in marketing. Later my father took me to Vadodara where he had taken a consultancy assignment for a company.

In 1994 I joined Cosmos Machine Tools and since then there was no looking back for me. I devoted a lot of time and was clear on my goals for COSMOS. My team has played a wide role in executing every plan to achieve heights and as a result, COSMOS is one of the leading CNC machine tool company in India, today.

Manufacturing has always been thought of as a man’s area of expertise. What motivated you to join the manufacturing world?

With the newer time many women are joining manufacturing sector in various departments but it was not so couple of decades ago. In 1994, when I joined a CNC Machine Tool Company, it was the reign of

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conventional machines in India and CNC Machines were the High Luxury for any machine shop.

I always believed in the philosophy ‘ winners don’t do different things, they do things differently’, that strong inner belief always pushed me to do the most unconventional things of my times.

What changes do you notice in the participation of women in leadership today?

I can say that I grew along with the company very naturally like a child grows from 1st year to 24 years Young. In our time, the speed of growth was limited by the size of market and acceptance of advance technologies and we being one of the pioneers of CNC machines in India, it was a great opportunity for us to grow. I feel we came at the right time with right technology for India.

In today’s time, things have changed in a big way, anyone who has a will to do, can turn dreams in to reality.

What are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

When I started my career 28 years ago, gender used to be a limitation on higher job responsibilities at organizations. But now I can see that, there is a prevailing concept of having a right person for right responsibilities, as growth is the only thing they aim for.

Please throw some light

on the initiatives taken to encourage gender parity in Cosmos Impex (India) Pvt. Ltd. under your leadership?

Actually speaking, we at COSMOS have a family like culture where we follow the core philosophy of respecting every individual.

We look for people with the right attitude and enthusiasm who would go an extra mile to fulfill their responsibilities.

We are probably the only company in machine tool industry, where the sale, marketing and sales support department is managed by women with a different perspective and sensitivity towards daily challenges.

We have women handling the HR department and I believe that women have the natural ability to deal with issues or discomfort of an individual.

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment in India?

Frankly speaking, I don’t think there is any need to focus separately for women empowerment as Women are powerful and with lot of hidden capabilities, the need is only to recognize that in the society and give her space to grow and shine.

I feel, I am very lucky that during my career journey I got such wonderful supporters, Cosmos Board of Directors, who believed in me and provided a platform to grow and take higher responsibilities.

People say that, ‘After every successful man there is a

woman’, but I wish to add here that, a woman should be recognized, respected and believed in, that will bring a change in whole society.

India ranks abysmally low of 136 out of 144 countries according to The Global Gender Report 2016 by the World Economic Forum.

What are your suggestions to improve women participation in economic activities in India?

I carry a different perspective. I always have doubts on such report’s authenticity. As per what I have experienced, it is always far beyond the realities. Look at the Indian Banking segments, Private Financing Segments, IT segments, where the driving force and policy makers are women, which are contributing to the newer Indian economic growth.

Your vision for Cosmos?

We intend to script the story for faster growth with the trust of customers, suppliers, business associates and our own employees. COSMOS will be setting up a state of the art manufacturing facilities to bridge the wide gap between Indian and International MTB’S in terms of high reliability, quality, consistent performance and will be offering CNC Machine Tools which can support achieving better accuracies and surface finishing results on customers end products, at par of International machines, and this will give them an edge over, to compete better in International and export market.

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#womanufacturing

Sujata

Tilak F

ocus is the primary demand of success. It enables you to walk swiftly, run and sometimes fly high to reach the destination. Even if you have to set your journey alone, it hardly bothers you when you are focused.

Very few are capable of attaining this focus and imparting on the journey to their success. Mrs. Sujata Tilak is one of those personages who decided to walk alone.

After getting married at a tender age, she decided to pursue her further education, fortunately which her husband was quite supportive of.

The fact that she was the only girl student in her class, did not hamper her desire to be an engineer. Instead it helped her to build her confidence and leave behind all the social inhibitions. The first encounter with a face that doubted her abilities did evoke a twitch, but that only made her even more determined on proving herself. It did not end at academia but still continues to happen in her field. She still encounters clients who avoid having a financial discussion with her as it is considered to be men’s domain.

For a person like Mrs. Tilak, freedom is the essence of life. She feels that one must have the liberty to make one’s choices.

Respecting other’s idea of living and functioning is in her nature and that’s what defines her as an individual.

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You studied Instrumentation and Control engineering from College of Engineering, Pune. How did your love with machines and automation start?

During my under graduation in COEP in 80s, I was fascinated by computers and software programming.

Those were the days even before PC era. Industrial automation is a part of Instrumentation and control engineering. Combining the two, I decided to do a career in industrial automation software. Actually it was not really a studied decision, but driven by my passion and intuition. But it worked out well. And here I am today, working in Industrial Internet of Things.

How has been your experience being a woman working with a domain which was relatively new and thought of as a man’s area of expertise?

The experience has been very interesting from the word go! To begin with I was the only lady student in my class in COEP. But that helped me build confidence and shed inhibitions and I give credit to my classmates and professors for this. After that I never gave a second thought to gender equations. Of course those who didn’t know me would sometimes show signs of doubt about my abilities in first meeting, but when they saw my knowledge and grasp of the issue at hand, their doubts would go away.

Another thing, I never shied away from going onsite and doing hands on work in plants. Your work speaks

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Today the entrepreneurs are spoilt for choices what with so many mentors, accelerator programs, angle investors, funds, and what not.

The ecosystem is really good, today there is no fear of failure.

louder than words.

When did you decide to ride on the journey of entrepreneurship and how did AIPL come about?

It was actually one of my German customers who offered to start a joint venture with me in India. Initially I was not much interested, but after considering all aspects and with encouragement from my husband, Arvind,I decided to go ahead. Thus in year 2000, AIPL was formed and started to work exclusively with my partner’s German company. In 2003 we started offering services to other customers as well. But our focus area was still industrial automation software, something that was close to my heart. We did some very interesting projects for companies from Germany, USA, UK, and India.

We pivoted in 2011 and became product focused

company. Today we are one of the leading IIoT products company in India with our own IIoT platform PlantConnect. PlantConnect based products are installed in more than 1000 industries across the country and outside India as well.

What were the challenges early on as an entrepreneur, particularly as a woman entrepreneur?

We were working in niche area and one of the challenges was getting good talent and training them in industrial automation domain. As I mentioned earlier, another challenge was initial acceptability of a woman technologist by customers. But my husband always stood by me and helped me in every situation.

Eventually in 2009, he joined AIPL full time.

What kind of change do you notice in entrepreneurship scenario in India now from the time when AIPL was incorporated?

Oh, there is a sea change in entrepreneurship scenario compared to 2000! Today the entrepreneurs are spoilt for choices what with so many mentors, accelerator programs, angle investors, funds, and what not. The ecosystem is really good.

Another big differentiator is, today there is no fear of failure. That makes a big difference and it encourages entrepreneurs to take risks and come up with disruptive ideas.

Alongside spearheading

AIPL, you are also the president of International Society of Automation, Pune chapter. Please share with us the activities and role of this organization in the manufacturing and engineering sector.

The International Society of Automation (www.isa. org) is a leading, global, non profit organization that is setting the standard for automation by helping over 40,000 worldwide members and other professionals solve difficult technical problems, while enhancing their leadership and personal career capabilities.

ISA has created over 100 international standards in automation.

ISA Pune Section is catering to ISA members and other automation professionals in and around Pune. Our focus is to create a networking platform for end users, vendors, consultants and academia, to bring high quality content to our members and others through events, trainings, workshops, online resources, ISA publications etc.

You are an expert in Industrial Automation domain and an accomplished System Architect with years of experience. How do you see the future of industrial automation/smart manufacturing in India?

Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing is definitely the vision for future.

Currently IIoT is at the ‘peak’ of Gartner Hype Cycle. But the Indian user industry is at the initial stage of

‘awareness’. There are many challenges like

•Proper articulation of digital strategy

• Clear identification of business value

• Buy-in of all stake holders’ right from operators to management

• Connectivity with legacy systems and availability of products for this The future landscape will depend on how well these challenges are addressed.

Several industries will put in place digitization strategy.

But the deployment will start with systems to solve their immediate pain areas. This is fine as long as it fits in overall strategy and these solutions can scale and grow or integrate with other systems as requirements are added.

What is your view about the gender gap existing in India especially in manufacturing and technical domains?

The gender gap in manufacturing and engineering is a reality.

It is a complex issue and there are various reasons for it. I don’t believe in forcing some policies to reduce this gap. What is important is every person, be it a man or woman should have the choice to work in whichever field they want.

Our education system and the society should give this freedom to young people.

It starts with breaking the stereotypes at home, in schools and colleges, in social settings and anywhere and everywhere. Plus we should create a social atmosphere where every citizen feels

safe and secure in their day to day lives. The policies and programs should be designed with this goal. This is a tall order and may seem idealistic but as a society, we must make a beginning in this direction.

Contribution of women in India is much lower than global average? Do you think steps taken for women empowerment in the country need a review and reworking?

Having said the above, I would like to emphasize that the society must recognize and value the special role a woman plays. She gives birth and nurtures next generation, she holds the family together and keeps our strong social fabric intact. Thus her contribution in external world should not come at the expense of this very important responsibility. In my mind woman empowerment is all about a. recognizing this; b. not constraining her from childhood because of this; c. respecting her professional choices and d. giving her all support to achieve her full potential.

Under your leadership how women’s role is encouraged in AIPL? We do not discriminate based on gender when we hire for any role.We do recognize and respect a woman’s responsibility towards her family. So we give them flexibility to attain work-life balance. If a woman wants to take extended break from work due to personal commitments, her

job is assured whenever she is ready to come back.

And none of this affects her growth provided of course quality and output is at par. Women engineers are encouraged to go onsite and provided all the required assistance for this.

As a successful entrepreneur what would be your advice to women entrepreneurs, particularly those who want venture into manufacturing and engineering?

If you have a business idea, go ahead and become an entrepreneur. I firmly believe the concept put forward by famous novelist Paulo Coelho in Alchemist. If you start something with purity of heart and mind and a positive approach, the universe collaborates to make you successful! Of course there are challengesand failures, but dealing with these is as rewarding as dealing with success! So believe in yourself and go out there and live your dream.

As the head of AIPL and ISA, Pune, what are your goals and plans respectively?

In AIPL our focus is on IIoT solutions. So we want to build and offer world class IIoT solutions to our customers and back it up by equally good support and related services. We are leaders in Indian market for environment monitoring with our solution, EnviroConnect.

Current focus is on Smart Manufacturing Solution PlantConnect SFactory and OEM solution PlantConnect RAMS. Taking all these products to world markets in

also on the agenda.

I will talk about just one specific plan of ISA Pune Section. Pune and surrounding area is a center of discrete manufacturing, be it automotive or electronics or engineering products.

We want to start a yearly conference around ‘discrete automation and smart manufacturing’. ISA Pune Section will provide a neutral platform for end users, vendors, consultants and academia to come together and deliberate on various topics. We did a conference in 2016. We want to learn from that experience and make it into a yearly event with good content and participation.

If you have a business idea, go ahead and become an entrepreneur.

I firmly believe the concept put forward by famous novelist Paulo Coelho in Alchemist. If you start something with purity of heart and mind and a positive approach, the universe collaborates to make you successful! So live your dream.

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#womanufacturing

Meetali

Mukherjee V

ersatile personalities are highly acclaimed, and why not, they juggle like a pro. A disciplined, experienced diva, Ms. Meetali Mukherjee is a fine example of versatility.

She began her career with working for an MNC where she gained experience on how an organisation functions. While talking about her experience, she chuckled on the work culture which is quite prevalent in the Multi National Companies. To kill the clichĂŠ might be the trend now, but having a well dressed lady at office remains in fashion.

Soon she joined her family business where she set new benchmarks for the working mothers. Juggling with professional life and personal commitments, never did she drop a single ball.

Her schedule included waking up early in morning and racing against the time to meet all her commitments. It was stressful at the beginning, but like stress could stop her from thriving! Thrilled by roaring machines, she discovered her love for them and today they make a big part of her life.

Like every other girl, Meetali found her role model in her father, Mr. Deb Mukherjee. Her father played a major role in her success.

A support system and a guide to life’s philosophy, her father helped her walk through the tough times. His ideologies and philanthropic approach have widely been adopted by Meetali.

She is a restless seeker who likes to be fruitfully occupied and that indeed is the secret to being a successful entrepreneur.

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Hydax Hydraulics has been a pioneer in hydraulics accessories for close to four decades. What has been guiding motto?

I am a second generation entrepreneur and have had the good fortune of a well developed ethos ingrained in the company and in myself.

Being positively productive and in a conducive work environment has been the basic ideal that we have tried to maintain over the years.

Please share with us your experience about how challenging it has been as a woman business leader?

Managing any manufacturing unit is a challenge; irrespective of gender. The only real challenge has been overcoming the mild sense of discomfort being amongst men all the time. It was particularly difficult for me when I had my baby and returned to work in a fortnight of delivery. I had to shut my unease out and do what I had to do as a mother and a worker. Coming after an iconic persona like my father, Mr. Deb Mukherjee, who is a pioneer in the field of hydraulics, and from a non-technical background, I had a lot of learning to do and still find myself on that curve. Proving my worth to my immediate co-workers was the hardest bit initially and I can safely say that hurdle has been crossed. Setting up our new unit and the processes therein in synergy with the existing workforce was a huge milestone in my career. I am happy to say that the transition to newer systems was quite seamless.

What motivated you to join the manufacturing world?

I did my stints in the service sector and several other places albeit in areas of manufacturing (garments and 46 www.martupdate.com

construction) before joining the family business. There was never any pressure to enter this field but I cannot imagine any time in my life when I did not feel completely at bliss making something with the hum of machines around me and feeling the robust energy that only a manufacturing establishment can provide.

Why are there so less woman leaders in Indian manufacturing?

I am not sure that statement is valid, but the reasons would pretty much be the same as in any other industry. Our patriarchal society leaves little room for female acceptance.

Added to the modern scenario where women are so greatly objectified, that unless we project ourselves as things to be admired, we don’t seem to be of much use to the rest of the population. In a very fundamental industry as manufacturing which is devoid of many frills, women should find it ideal to express their natural personalities as creators and nurturers. I think women are THE ULTIMATE MAKERS and manufacturing should be their natural blooming grounds. However, we find it difficult to emerge from the societal norms of being the pretty things that adorn offices and restrict ourselves to peripheral roles in non-core industries.

India ranks abysmally low of 136 out of 144 countries ranked as per women’s overall economic participation ranking. How do you think this area can be focused on?

It is this time in history where we as women find ourselves at the lower rung of the ladder because of some reasons listed above. I am sure there will be a turnabout in this scenario over a period of time. To begin this process, education for girls is a key factor. It all starts at childhood and we grow up

comfortable and accepting of unfairness because of the raw deal meted out from birth.

I would like to narrate an incident that occurred on 8th March this year. I was in Chennai and was returning in an auto back to my hotel in the evening. The auto took a shortcut through some narrow lanes where I came across a street class being run for girls by a young boy.

As I was passing he was particularly harsh on a very young girl who came to the class without stationery and literally threw her outside the class area. She had scavenged an invitation card which she wanted to use as paper and picked a toothbrush which she thought was a pen. This kid was determined to be part of the class and slowly crawled her way back in and again she was severely reprimanded with a wooden stick this time. By now I could not hold myself back and gave her a pen from my stash in my bag being the stationery fiend that I am. The joy on her face was immeasurable and I returned to our room and rued the dismal state of affairs and my insignificant part in the larger scheme of things. I was sad that the girl was being treated unfairly, her enthusiasm not being appreciated, the inadequate conditions in which she was and at the same time superbly happy for her grit and determination.

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment?

There are schemes and there are schemes. Without proper implementation, they are just reams of paper. There are several organizations outside the government framework which are doing incredible work with women in many parts of India. Unfortunately, the government’s withdrawal of support to many such people has diminished the

greater effort. I am quite skeptical of the government’s capacity to satisfactorily execute any of their programmes however well meaning they may be.

Under your leadership how Hydax Hydraulics has facilitated gender parity at the organisation?

To begin with, salaries are on par for the same job. I am always on the lookout for women to join core manufacturing and not just administrative functions. I confess not much success there. A 50-50 workforce would have been ideal, but I have not reached that figure as yet.

What would be your advice as a role model to young women entrepreneurs who want to join the league, especially in the field of manufacturing?

Be yourself. We are essentially MAKERS and this business is where we can find our true calling. It may not have the glitz of more glamourous settings, but if you are willing to work in sync with your heart and mind, this is the place to be.

Lastly, what are your future growth plans for Hydax Hydraulics?

HYDAX has recently ventured into the field of machine building and robotics in collaboration with another entity. Simultaneously, we are constantly working on newer products to add to our range of hydraulic accessories and partnering with OEMs for customised developments.

HYDAX will continue to be a platform for new ideas and processes with an emphasis on viable and profitable development. Ambition tempered with empathy is our culture.

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#womanufacturing

Shubhra

Khemka L

eap of faith is for believers and one needs to believe in oneself to take the leap. This risk taking tendencies have taken people to places, it reflects courage and confidence that one bears. This is the philosophy of life for Ms. Shubhra Khemka, who had faith in herself that she can drive Wellman Wacoma to great heights.

She is self-aware, realistic and extremely optimistic about taking up the challenges that might come her way. As she joined Wellman Wacoma, she struggled through the initial period to have a grip on the subject. She spent nights to broaden her horizons of knowledge on the new field she had joined and the consequence was that the company grew and flourished in the coming years.

The journey becomes easier if you are surrounded by right people with right approach. Mrs. Shubhra Khemka considers herself to be lucky to have found positive people with an open mind who perceived her as an extremely professional and talented leader rather than being prejudiced by her being a woman.

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I notice that staff and workers are more concerned with your leadership qualities, problem solving abilities and dedication to work rather than focusing on your gender.

Please share with us your journey of leading Wellman Wacoma to becoming one of the finest engineering companies in India?

Wellman manufactures couplings, customized furnaces and other engineering products. Our clients include the Ministry of Defence and large multinational companies like – L&T, NTPC, Tata Steel, SAIL, BHEL to name a few.

When I took over, the company’s turnover was a few lakhs and the order book was virtually nonexistent. With hard work and dedication Wellman was able to broaden its customer base and bring old clients back into the fold.

Having turned around the company, Wellman added further products to its repertoire and even started manufacturing furnaces and furnace spares for the steel majors.

Manufacturing and engineering have always 50 www.martupdate.com

been thought of as a man’s area of expertise. What motivated you to join the manufacturing world?

There is a general perception that women are more suited to certain specific job-sectors and roles like food, teaching, HR, etc while the manufacturing sector is male dominated but such gender bias is fast becoming obsolete and women are forging ahead with great success in every sector.

How challenging was it as a woman leading a manufacturing company in your early days. What changes do you notice in the participation of women in entrepreneurship and leadership role today?

In the beginning, there were numerous unforeseen difficulties which seemed almost insurmountable.

I was totally new to the business and the subject was very technical. Luckily this is the age of the omniscient internet and I frequently burnt the midnight oil researching the subject. I was also lucky enough to get the whole hearted support of the experienced and dedicated staff and officers at Wellman. I notice that staff and workers are more concerned with your leadership qualities, problem solving abilities and dedication to work rather than focusing on your gender therefore women involved in entrepreneurial leadership roles should be more concerned with understanding their key

strengths and overcoming their weaknesses.

What are your views about the gender disparity at the helm of businesses in India?

Despite rapid economic growth, the explosion of microcredit programmes and self-help groups, and laudable efforts to increase women’s political participation, gender disparities have remained deep and persistent in India.

The overall average female business-ownership share across states and industries has steadily increased over the past decade but women are mainly relegated to certain industries like food products, textiles, furniture, etc and less evident in computers, fabricated metal products, motor vehicles, engineering and mechanical products.

Improving gender balance for entrepreneurship is imperative for the nation’s development and achievement of our economic goals.

Please throw some light on the initiatives taken to encourage gender parity in Wellman Wacoma under your leadership?

When I first came to Wellman, it was entirely a male domain. No matter what your views are, it is not possible to change the gender disparity instantaneously as it might entail removal of veterans who had spent their lives serving the company. That being said, whenever we have had new vacancies

we have always tried to give preference to women candidates, not merely because I am a woman but also because our entire top management finds women more dedicated, dependable and committed.

How do you see the budget 2017 facilitating the women empowerment in India?

If the Modi Government wishes to fulfill its promise of creating 100 million jobs by 2022, then women empowerment will have to be one of the prime focus areas. The Finance Minister has allocated more than 1.84 crores towards schemes for the welfare of women and children

Despite rapid economic growth, the explosion of microcredit programmes and self-help groups, and laudable efforts to increase women’s political participation, gender disparities have remained deep and persistent in India.

Improving gender balance for entrepreneurship is imperative for the nation’s development.

which is a huge step up.

Mahila Shakti Kendras and Anganwadi Centres could be a defining factor for the financial independence of women especially in the rural areas if implemented properly.

Women contribution to GDP in India is 17 per cent which is far below the global average 37 per cent.

What are your suggestions to bridge the gap for engaging more women in economic activities in India?

The country’s growth through the participation of women is a serious question and needs to be addressed by not only the government but also the society and business community.

This gap will be bridged with better education and health, increased participation of the female labour force and reduced wage differential to name a few. We need to applaud women who make a greater effort, promote talent and encourage women to take more responsibility and management roles.

What would be your advice to other women who want to join the league of entrepreneurs, in the field of manufacturing particularly?

I feel it is more important for women to conquer the internal landscape.

They must have the self confidence to believe in what they are doing and the single minded determination to carry out their long term and short

Women have been just as capable as men no matter what the field is. term goals.

Women have been just as capable as men no matter what the field and in the past decade the attitude towards women has undergone a sea change.

The age of bias is over and entrepreneurs are no longer categorized into man entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs. Women should be bold, take risks, dream big and give their 110% to their work.

What are your growth plans and roadmap for your company?

The winning formula for success will remain what it has always been – to provide cost effective engineering solutions at affordable prices and excellent customer service.

This has long remained the Wellman motto.

To enhance our order book we must ensure that the customer is confident about our quality and we would never consider the short term solution of cutting costs by compromising on quality as some of our competitors have done. At the same time our research team is hard at work finding not only solutions to our esteemed clients individual needs but also developing pioneering products which are at par with the global standards. www.martupdate.com 51

#womanufacturing

Empowering Women, Empowering India!

Arnab Mondal arnab@martinfotech.in

A quote arguably attributed to the longest serving First Lady of US Eleanor Roosevelt reads: “A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” Women empowerment is to give power to women to decide for their own lives or inculcating such abilities in them so that they could be able to find their rightful place in the society.

Decades on, a woman is yet to get equal opportunities, not that she is yet to prove her prowess across fields. And hence women empowerment remains a fabled focus of social reforms, yet a faceless focus at large.

According to the United Nations, women’s empowerment mainly has five components: • Generating women’s sense of self-worth; • Women’s right to have and to determine their choices; • Women’s right to have access to equal opportunities and all kinds of resources; • Women’s right to have the power to regulate and control their own lives, within 52 www.martupdate.com

and outside the home; and • Women’s ability to contribute in creating a more just social and economic order.

Thus, women empowerment is nothing but recognition of women’s basic human rights and creating an environment where they are treated as equals to men.

Indian scenario From ancient to modern period, women’s condition-socially, politically and economically- has not kept changing with times. While in ancient India, women enjoyed equal status with men; in early Vedic

period they were references of a matriarchal society where instances of wise women exist in ancient texts. But with the coming of famous treatise of Manu i.e. Manusmriti, the status of women was relegated to a subordinate position to men.

So much so that discriminatory practices such as child marriage, devadashi pratha, nagar vadhu system, sati pratha etc. became parts of the fabled Indian history. Women’s socio-political rights were curtailed and they were made fully dependent on the male members of family. Their right to education, right to work and right to decide

for themselves were taken away.

Plight of the Indian women only got worsened during medieval period with the advent of Muslim rulers in India; as also during the British period. However, with the British rule also western ideas entered into the country.

A few enlightened Indians such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy influenced by the modern concept of freedom, liberty, equality and justice started to question the prevailing discriminatory practices against women.

Through his unrelenting efforts, the British were forced to abolish the ill-practice of Sati. Similarly several other social reformers such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda, Acharya Vinoba Bhave etc. worked for the upliftment of women in India.

For instance, the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 was the result of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s movement for improving the conditions of widows.

Indian National Congress supported the first women’s delegation which met the Secretary of State to demand women’s political rights in 1917. The Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1929 was passed due to the efforts of Mahhommad Ali Jinna, Mahatma Gandhi called upon the young men to marry the child widows and urged people to boycott child marriages.

During freedom movement, almost all the leaders of the struggle were of the view that women should be given equal status in the free India and all types of discriminatory practices must stop. It was thought precise to include such provisions in the Constitution of India which would help eliminate age-old exploitative customs and traditions and also such provisions which would help in empowering women socially, economically and politically.

Constitution of India and women empowerment India’s Constitution makers and the founding fathers of the nation realized the need to provide equal rights to both women and men. The Constitution of India is one of the finest equality documents in the world. It provides provisions to secure equality in general and gender equality in particular.

Various articles in the Constitution safeguard women’s rights by putting them at par with men socially, politically and economically.

The Preamble, the Fundamental Rights, DPSPs and other constitutional provisions provide several general and special safeguards to secure women’s human rights.

Preamble: The Preamble to the Constitution of India assures justice, social, economic and political; equality of status and opportunity and dignity to the individual. Thus it treats both men and women equal.

Fundamental Rights: The policy of women empowerment is well entrenched in the Fundamental Rights enshrined in our Constitution. For instance: • Article 14 ensures to women the right to

equality.

• Article 15(1) specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

• Article 15(3) empowers the State to take affirmative actions in favour of women.

• Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office.

These rights being fundamental rights are justiciable in court and the Government is obliged to follow the same.

Directive Principles of State Policy: Directive principles of State Policy also contains important provisions regarding women empowerment and it is the duty of the government to apply these principles while making laws or formulating any policy.

Though these are not justiciable in the Court but these are essential for governance

India’s performance by Global Gender Report 2016 rank

score

avg

Economic participation and opprtunity

136

0.408

0.586

Labour force participation

135

0.344

0.665

Wage equality for similar work (survey)

103

0.573

0.622

Estimated earned income (US$, PPP)

137

0.232

0.502

Legislators, senior officials, and managers

-

-

0.358

Proffesional and technical workers

-

-

0.862

Educational attainment

113

0.950

0.955

Literacy rate

124

0.778

0.897

Enrolment in primary education

1

1.000

0.980

Enrolment in secondary education

1

1.000

0.970

Enrolment in tertiary education

99

0.936

0.930

Health and survival

142

0.942

0.957

Sex ratio at birth

142

0.893

0.918

Healthy life expectancy

71

0.054

1.043

Political empowerment

9

0.433

0.233

Women in Parliament

112

0.136

0.269

Women in ministerial positions

50

0.286

0.238

Years with female head of state (last 50)

0

0.723

0.204

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nonetheless. Some of them are: • Article 39 (a) provides that the State to direct its policy towards securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of livelihood.

• Article 39 (d) mandates equal pay for equal work for both men and women.

• Article 42 provides that the State to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.

Fundamental duties: Fundamental duties are enshrined in Part IV-A of the Constitution and are positive duties for the people of India to follow. It also contains a duty related to women’s rights: Article 51 (A) (e) expects from the citizen of the country to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Other Constitutional Provisions: Through 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment of 1993, a very important political right has been given to women, a landmark in the direction of women empowerment in India. With this amendment women were given 33.33 per cent reservation in seats at different levels of elections in local governance i.e. at Panchayat, Block and Municipality elections.

Specific laws for women empowerment in India Here is the list of some specific laws which were enacted by the Parliament in order to fulfill Constitutional obligation of women empowerment: • The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

• The Medical termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

• The Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994.

• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Protection and) Act, 2013.

India’s international commitments to women empowerment India is a part of various International conventions and treaties which are committed to secure equal rights of women.

One of the most important among them is the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified by India in 1993.

Other important International instruments for women empowerment are: The Mexico Plan of Action (1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (1985), the Beijing Declaration as well as the Platform for Action

(1995) and the Outcome Document adopted by the UNGA Session on Gender Equality and Development & Peace for the 21st century, titled “Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action”. All these have been whole-heartedly endorsed by India for appropriate follow up.

Government policies and Schemes for women empowerment In the year 2001, the Government of India launched a National Policy for Empowerment of Women. The specific objectives of the policy are as follows: • Creation of an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential.

• Creation of an environment for enjoyments of all human rights and fundamental freedom by women on equal basis with men in all political, economic, social, cultural and civil spheres.

• Providing equal access to participation and decision making of women in social political and economic life of the nation.

• Providing equal access to women to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment, equal remuneration, occupational health and safety, social security and public life etc.

• Strengthening legal systems aimed at elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

• Changing societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women.

India is a part of various International conventions and treaties which are committed to secure equal rights of women.

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• Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development process.

• Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child.

• Building and strengthening partnerships with civil society, particularly women’s organizations.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal agency for all matters pertaining to welfare, development and empowerment of women. A flurry of schemes is in place to facilitate empowerment of women in the country.

Various schemes under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child Development are: 1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme 2. One Stop Centre Scheme 3. Women Helpline Scheme 4. UJJAWALA: A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Resue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation 5. Working Women Hostel 6. Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme For

the Children of Working Mothers 7. Ministry approves new projects under Ujjawala Scheme and continues existing projects 8. SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances) 9. Revision under IGMSY in Accordance with National Food Security Act, 2013 in XIIth Plan 10. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) 11. NARI SHAKTI PURASKAR 12. Awardees of Stree Shakti Puruskar, 2014 & Awardees of Nari Shakti Puruskar 13. Awardees of Rajya Mahila Samman & Zila Mahila Samman 14. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) - A Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme 15. Mahila E-Haat 16. Mahila police Volunteers These schemes are spread across a very wide spectrum such as women’s need for shelter, security, safety, legal aid, justice, information, maternal health, food, nutrition etc., as well as their need for economic sustenance through skill development, education and

access to credit and marketing.

These various national and International commitments, laws and policies notwithstanding women’s situation on the ground have still not improved satisfactorily.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2016 by World Economic Forum, India is yet to go miles for empowering its women.

Out of the 144 countries assessed, India ranks 136 in economic participation and opportunity for women, 113 in educational attainment for women, abysmally low of 142 in the health and survival rate. The only bright sight is ranking 9th as far as the political empowerment is concerned.

The concept of women empowerment not only focuses on giving women strength and skills to rise above from their plight but at the same time it also stresses on the need to educate men regarding women issues and inculcating an understanding of prudential reasons behind. Socially as well as economically, women’s empowerment leads to growth of a nation.

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#womanufacturing

Empowering the Best of God’s Creation Been through turbulent waters, answered the doubts about us, raised questions on things that constrained our rights and restricted us from performing our duties, women have had the profound intuition that has helped her gain success in every field that she chose, engineering is one such arena where she refuses to back down.

Ramya Ramakrishnan editor@martinfotech.in

Ever since industrial revolution took momentum, the globe saw a spurt in the importance of technical literacy that helped moving the wheels of revolution.

Engineering became the backbone of modernization, breaking the stigma about women making big in a man dominated profession.

The history points out the importance of women in building the world as we know it, Edith Clarke , the electrical engineer who received her patent for the Clarke Calculator – a device used to solve electric power transmission line issue, Lillian Gilbreth, a pioneer in the field of industrial engineering and psychology who also became the first female member of American Society of Mechanical Engineering, Stephanie Kwolek, the first female chemist who invented the stiff synthetic material called Kevlar,a main element used in bulletproof jackets and vests. This material is five times stronger than steel, resistant to hazards like flame and corrosion.

As the sphere of science advanced further, engineering branched out into streams

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that diverged from the core technical front into Chemical engineering, IT engineering, Aerospace engineering, Biochemical engineering, Planning, Metallurgy etc. Every stream has a specialized application in the world of science, this had opened up array of opportunities for students all over the globe.

Though the western world had accepted the idea of women working shoulder to shoulder in the field dominated by men, the Indian society however lacked in the open mindedness till the onset of new post 1990’s.

The enrolment and presence of women in the field of engineering was negligible till the 1980’s.

Today we see women competing on the same arena as man, working under tough and harsh environment with confidence.

A study conducted in the year 2012-13 shows that the percentage of women who have opted for undergraduate engineering/ technology degree was about 28.5%, IT and Computer comprised of 40.2%, 35.6% chose management and 32% women decided to pursue law as a career.

The Indian society was previously bound

by stereotypical ideologies that shackled women since the inception of sociology that catered the favoured sex. Twenty first century saw the dawn of a new era, idea that spun the fabric of modern civilization.

Women started endeavouring on paths that was considered as only a man’s destination or career.

Payal Singh, a regular girl who dreamed of becoming a diva one day changed her idea about life after witnessing an automotive wonder -a supercar. At the young age of 13, she was determined to mold her future in the marvels of machines. She completed her B.E in mechanical engineering from Modern College. Working in an Automotive Content company she simply feels that knowledge isn’t simply served in a silver spoon, in between four years of hard work and assignments, there was hardly any space to squeeze in extracurricular, sports and even building a portfolio. To protect her passion, she did it all and successfully cake walked her way to success.

Like Payal, we find many girls who are bending the rules to make life work their

way. A study by the American Engineering Society states that engineering male-female ratio in India is much lower (better) 1.96 as compared with 4.61 in the United States of America. This is a major mile marker for the rights of women and women education in India. This has thrown light on the evolving generation of women in India who are up to take risks and challenges in a country that was considered to be ridden with gender disparity.

Breaking social norms is rather simple; holding on to the reasons that make you bend the rule is a task. The story of Komal Patil, an electrical engineer from VJTI recalls about her dream of pursuing engineering since a young age and her preparations for entrance exams.

Our ambitious girls are no less in presenting their talents in renowned projects, showcasing their grit to a larger audience with zest. Apurva Gandhi, a student of B.tech Planning studying in COEP, is taking up her responsibilities, by making the lives of citizen better. As India today talks about establishing themselves as smart city, engineers like Apurva are involved in transforming this dream into a reality.

Apurva was blessed with a golden chance to help the Dhule Town Planning authority in drafting a regional plan for their district.

The team made development plans for towns like Gangapur, Khuldabad and Lonan. She was also involved in working on the redevelopment of Asia’s biggest red light area Kamathipura in Mumbai, while interning at Tata Institute of Social Sciences as part of her course curriculum.

Behind every great man, there is a woman, maybe true, but behind every successful woman is a young girl, a dreamer, an aspirer, an achiever, a believer who builds her own life around the ones she loves with care and utmost dedication. She can be a dedicated wife, mother, a caring daughter and a director of a firm without breaking a sweat.

Let’s celebrate the spirit of womanhood and cherish the lives of million young girls like Payal, Komal and Apurva who are living their dream and building a better India, a better Future.

Komal Patil Student, VJTI Mumbai

“I wanted to pursue engineering since 8th standard. From 11th standard I started preparing for entrance exams to get a good college. I opted for VJTI, Electrical as it is one of the best colleges in Maharashtra. I don’t feel there is any discrimination. We spoke to our seniors. All of them are placed in good companies. The entire placement procedure is same for girls and boys. The company’s focus is only on your knowledge and logical thinking, etc.”

Payal Singh Student, Modern College Pune

“I am not sure why people perceive this passion to be based on gender. While I agree, I would have chosen the Lego kit over a Barbie doll, and these early exposures probably make a lasting impression”

Apurva Gandhi Student, MIT Pune

“In my course of education, I had the opportunity to work on various transformation and planning projects in Pune City and I’m certain that if the Pune Municipal Corporation collaborates with our discipline, we will be able to help Pune a better planned city.”

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The Scriptwriters of Evenhandedness As the world is constantly being subjected to change, empowerment of women is drawing serious attention.

Contributing to the same, many organisations have opened up as an opportunity for women to be a sound and functional part of our society. Through them we can have an opportunity to empower women and give that essential grit to those unheard voices, to add grace to their existence and make them feel proud to be born again as a woman, making each life of those lives phenomenal in their own way.

JobsForHer.com

Udyogini

ICRW

•Started on 8th March 2015 on International Women’s Day •Enables women on a professional break to restart their careers •2000+ Companies across India hiring women returnees

•Started in 1992 as as a World Bank initiative •Co-ordinate and facilitate management training for grass root women’s groups •Trained more than 250,000 women from rural areas in India •Directly impacted around 50,000 producers and their families

•Gender Equity Movement in Schools •Promoting Adolescent Engagement Knowledge and Health •Girls’ Empowerment and Employability •Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of adolescent girls

JobsForHer: ‘Ready/Set/Restart’ JobsForHer is a Bengaluru-based connecting portal that represents a ready talent pool of qualified, experienced, capable women who are recharged to prove themselves again and are available to join a company immediately with no notice period.

While talking about empowering women to availing new opportunities, Ms. Neha Bagaria, owner of job based portal “JobsForHer” is proud to create a platform with plethora of job opportunities ranging from full time, part time, work-from-home, freelance, volunteer, as well as returnee internships, to all women. They are working with a multitude of companies ranging from those who are closed to the idea of hiring someone after a break, to those who are willing to try it out and then to those who are actively seeking out this talent pool of women returning to work after career breaks.

She took 3.6 years break and after having her children, she practically experienced the difficulties women face to re-enter workforce. Furthermore, she found out that 50% of all working women in India drop out of the workforce in 3 years. This fact drove her to the idea of launching “JobsForHer” on the International Women’s Day, 2015.

Today, “JobsForHer” is having partnerships

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with Mindtree, Inmobi, Genpact, Capgemini, HCL and industry stalwarts like Google, EY to name a few. Though there is a major shift in the outlook of women to be engaged into workforce and more and more women do want to get jobs, the statistics remain contradictory.

According to a report by Labour Bureau, female unemployment rate in the urban sector was estimated to be 8.7%, compared to 4.3% for males. Out of those working women, 50% dropped out of the workforce in 3 years. Approximately, there are 1.8 million women on a career break in India who have taken breaks for reasons like maternity, relocation, burnout, elderly-care, etc. According to her, the number of eligible Indian women part of the workforce, is only 16% compared to 69% of men. Encouraging more women to join the workforce is critical to India’s ability to benefit from the so-called demographic dividend. According to Neha, there aren’t enough jobs of the kind that would be acceptable to women who tend to weigh factors like flexibility, security, and travel distance from home, more carefully than men before accepting employment.

Her message to the budding women entrepreneurs is to come out of their fear zone.

Tel: 95910 44009 Web: www.jobsforher.com Email: info@jobsforher.com

Neha Bagaria Owner, JobsForHer

“Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I have realized how often women tend to hold themselves back because of fear. I have thus realized how important it is to recognize our fears and to name them; only then can we find a path to overcome them.

Whenever I am at a crossroad, I ask myself this question, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid”. It is critical that we don’t let our fears hold ourselves back and stride on, confident of figuring things out.

Eventually.”

Udyogini: Empowering Women in Rural & Tribal Areas

Rita Sengupta Chairperson, Udyogini

“Women have made significant presence in the male dominated value chains and performing really well. It has been observed that with increased income, women’s participation in decision making have also increased, and the best experience that ‘Udyogini’ witnessed is that mostly women invest their increased income in their children’s better future by providing them better educational and health services.”

Women comprise 50% of the population of rural India and make major contribution to their environment and economy for which they get a very little credit, and that’s what motivates Ms. Rita Sengupta to lead enterprise training programs for empowering women through ‘Udyogini’. ‘Udyogini’ has been working as a catalyst to bring empowered changes in the lives of rural-tribal women from the remotest areas of the country. The challenges in improving livelihoods in rural tribal areas are many due to unusual climatic phenomena, increased pest attacks, decreased crop productivity, soil erosion and wildlife behaviour.

‘Udyogini’, with its two decades of experience and multi-pronged strategy, is successful to address these challenges. Being asked on the skill rural women possess to enterprising behaviour, Ms. Rita Sengupta commented, “women have limited access to resources and markets; they have less/no skills and knowledge of business and enterprises, they have limited training opportunities, and restricted mobility which has prevented them from improving their capacities to sustain their livelihoods and

enter into strategic employment opportunities in new market conditions.” On this, Udyogini, provides two types of training- Grass Root Management Training (GMT) and Training of Enterprise Support Teams (TEST). Being asked on the gender disparity, she said, “Gender discrimination continues to be a colossal issue in Indian society. Women in rural and tribal areas are more vulnerable because of the unavailability of resources and lack of knowledge.”

‘Udyogini’ focuses on gender inclusive approach and aims to empower poor and marginalized women to have equitable opportunities and access to resources/services. ‘Udyogini’ does so by improving their knowledge attitude and skills, engage them in different enterprise/value chains, motivate and mentor them to become entrepreneurs.

She concluded with this real strong formula for success to every budding women entrepreneur: Identity Crisis (Create it!), Identity Search (Explore!), Identity Formation (Take action!) and Identity Establishment (Work hard and network!)

Tel: 11-26691153 Email: mail@udyogini.org Web: www.udyogini.org

ICRW: Pioneering Gender Equity Movements The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to empower women, advance gender equality and fight poverty in the developing world.

Headquartered in Washington D.C., ICRW has regional offices in New Delhi, India and Kampala, Uganda. A hallmark of ICRW’s institutional approach is working in collaboration with a wide range of partners – including the government agencies, foundations, and NGOs at local, national and international level. Apart from programs and research projects, ICRW has been a strong advocate of women’s empowerment and rights in national, state and local discourses, with the government and other key stakeholders.

The first is the acceptance of gender inequality that still prevails in India. Being asked about the gender disparity scenario of India, he said, “India continues to witness gender based discrimination, which is perpetrated and promoted by patriarchal beliefs of male superiority over women, embedded in institutional practices and community norms.

Women and girls face disadvantages and discrimination through the life-cycle of their existence. Starting from gender based sexselection, lesser access to healthcare for infant and young girls, food and nutrition, education, and freedom of mobility, practices which continue into adulthood.”

ICRW and its senior leadership have been a part of various platforms to create awareness and engage in policy advocacy based on sound research and evidence, on a range of issues such as Gender Based Violence, Women’s Economic Empowerment, Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health, Governance and Agency, Sexual Minorities and Vulnerabilities, Engaging Men and Boys for transformation etc. As the Regional Director of ICRW, Asia, Mr. Ravi Verma has to face challenges which he dealt with stiff firmness and strong resolution towards its vision.

As a global leader in the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks, ICRW has demonstrated expertise in bringing in a strong gender perspective in M&E through gendered evaluation frameworks and monitoring indicators in many projects for governments, donor organizations, NGO programs etc., in more than 65 countries worldwide, through which ICRW has developed a global knowledge base of best practices and context-specific M&E tools and resources.

Tel: 011 4664 3333 Email: info.india@icrw.org Website: www.icrw.org

Ravi Verma Regional Director, ICRW, Asia

“Gender disparities seem to be prevalent across all strata of the society, albeit with differentials in the extent and nature of manifestations. There are far fewer numbers of female leaders and representatives in politics, corporate sector and other sectors of the workforce, despite affirmative efforts for inclusive development and growth.

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#womanufacturing

Rajesh Angadi rajeshangadi2013@gmail.com

Machine Learning to End Gender Bias!

One major danger of artificial intelligence is promotion of gender bias even on computer system. Since machine learning algorithms rely on word embedding which are advertently or inadvertently gender biased, programmers should devise method to use de-biased words for embedding to reduce propensity of the machine learning to yield results based on gender bias.

Machine learning algorithms, such as those that power Google’s search or Apple’s Siri, learn by extracting information from large amounts of text, images, or other data. Unfortunately, research has shown that these algorithms not only learn to understand language, they also learn to replicate human biases, including implicit biases that humans aren’t even aware of.

recommendations, we are interacting with machine learning algorithms. They take as input large amounts of raw data, like the entire text of an encyclopedia, or the entire archives of a newspaper, and analyze the information to extract patterns that might not be visible to human analysts. But when these large data sets include social bias, the machines learn that too.

Every time we talk to our smartphones, search for images or ask for restaurant

Machine learning could help solve the gender disparity within the AI field itself. A

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slate of machine learning programs on the market utilize data and algorithms to spot diversity blind spots and help companies fill in the gaps. But eradicating bias isn’t just politically correct; increasing gender diversity could change the face of AI research as well. SAP has announced it will use text mining and machine learning, based on the SAP HANA platform, to build new capabilities within its SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite to help companies identify and track where biases exist in talent acquisition

Geometrically, gender bias is first shown to be captured by a direction in the word embedding.

Second, gender neutral words are shown to be linearly separable from gender definition words in the word embedding. Using these properties, we provide a methodology for modifying an embedding to remove gender stereotypes, such as the association between the words receptionist and female, while maintaining desired associations such as between the words queen and female.

and management processes to address workplace biases.

In July, researchers from Boston University and Microsoft Research published results of an attempt to forcefully remove bias from the language model (pdf) created by a machine learning algorithm. The new technique, which they refer to as “debiasing,” promises to eliminate linguistic bias without altering the meaning of words.

This is accomplished by identifying gender stereotypical analogies learned by the algorithm, such as “man is to computer programmer as woman is to homemaker,” and then subtly shifting the relationship between those words.

The blind application of machine learning runs the risk of amplifying biases present in data. Such a danger is facing us with word embedding, a popular framework to represent text data as vectors which has been used in many machine learning and natural language processing tasks. We show that even word embeddings trained on Google News articles exhibit female/ male gender stereotypes to a disturbing extent. This raises concerns because their widespread use, as we describe, often tends to amplify these biases.

Geometrically, gender bias is first shown to be captured by a direction in the word embedding. Second, gender neutral words are shown to be linearly separable from gender definition words in the word embedding. Using these properties, we

provide a methodology for modifying an embedding to remove gender stereotypes, such as the association between the words receptionist and female, while maintaining desired associations such as between the words queen and female.

We define metrics to quantify both direct and indirect gender biases in embeddings, and develop algorithms to “de-bias” the embedding. Using crowd-worker evaluation as well as standard benchmarks, we empirically demonstrate that our algorithms significantly reduce gender bias in embeddings while preserving its useful properties such as the ability to cluster related concepts and to solve analogy tasks.

The resulting embeddings can be used in applications without amplifying gender bias.

However, the embeddings also pinpoint sexism implicit in text. For instance, it is also the case that: Man –woman ~ Computer Programmer – homemaker.

Extreme she occupations Homemaker, nurse, receptionist, librarian, socialite, hairdresser, nanny, bookkeeper, stylist, housekeeper, interior designer, guidance counselor Extreme he occupations Maestro, skipper, protege, philosopher, captain, architect, financier, warrior, broadcaster, magician, figher pilot, boss

Gender appropriate she-he analogies. queen-king, sister-brother, mother-father, waitress-waiter, ovarian cancer-prostate cancer, convent-monastery In other words, the same system that solved the above reasonable analogies will offensively answer “man is to computer programmer as woman is to x” with x=homemaker. Similarly, it outputs that a father is to a doctoras a mother is to a nurse.

The primary embedding studied in this paper is the popular publicly-available word2vec software embedding trained on a corpus of Google News texts consisting of 3 million English words and terms into 300 dimensions, which we refer to here as the w2vNEWS. One might have hoped that the Google News embedding would exhibit little gender bias because many of its authors are professional journalists. We also analyze other publicly available embeddings trained via other algorithms and find similar biases.

Word embeddings help us further our understanding of bias in language. We find a

Gender stereotype she-he analogies

Register - Nurse - Physician Interior Designer - Architect Feminism - Conservatism Vocalist - Guitartist Diva - Superstar Cupcakes - Pizzas Housewife - Shopkeeper Softball - Baseball Cosmetics - Pharmaceuticals Petite - Lanky Charming - Affable Hairdresser - Barber Sewing - Carpentry Nurse - Surgeon Blond - Burly Giggle - Chuckle Sassy - Snappy, Volleyball - Football www.martupdate.com 61

single direction that largely captures gender that helps us capture associations between gender neutral words and gender as well as indirect inequality.

The projection of gender neutral words on this direction enables us to quantify their degree of female- or male-bias. To reduce the bias in an embedding, we change the embeddings of gender neutral words, by removing their gender associations. One perspective on bias in word embeddings is that it merely reflects bias in society, and therefore one should attempt to de-bias society rather than word embeddings.

However, by reducing the bias in today’s computer systems (or at least not amplifying the bias), which is increasingly reliant on word embeddings, in a small way de-biased word embeddings can hopefully contribute to reducing gender bias in society. At the very least, machine learning should not be used to inadvertently amplify these biases, as we have seen can naturally happen.

If these biased algorithms are widely adopted, it could perpetuate, or even worsen, these damaging stereotypes.

Fortunately, we have found a way to use the machine learning algorithm itself to reduce its own bias. Our debiasing system

uses real people to identify examples of the types of connections that are appropriate (brother/sister, king/queen) and those that should be removed. Then, using these human-generated distinctions, we quantified the degree to which gender was a factor in those word choices – as opposed to, say, family relationships or words relating to royalty. People can try to ignore these associations when doing things like evaluating candidates for hiring, but it is a constant uphill battle. A computer, on the other hand, can be programmed to remove associations between different sets of words once, and with ease it will continue along with its work. Of course, machine learning researchers still need to be careful — depending on the application, biases can creep in other ways. Next in machine-learning algorithm to remove the gender factor from the connections in the embedding. This removes the biased stereotypes without reducing the overall usefulness of the embedding. As machine learning and AI become ever more ubiquitous, there have been growing public discussions about the social benefits and possible dangers of Artificial Intelligence.

The research gives insight into a concrete example where a popular, unsupervised

machine learning algorithm, when trained over a large corpus of text, reflects and crystallizes the stereotypes in the data and in the society. Wide-spread adoptions of such algorithms can greatly amplify such stereotypes with damaging consequences.

The work highlights the importance to quantify and understand such biases in machine learning and also how machine learning algorithms may be used to reduce bias. Relationship between Artificial Intelligence and gender diversity is quite symbiotic. Having more women in the field could help create smarter AI for the greater good. And unlike diversity fixes that focus more on awareness, artificial intelligence has the ability to tangibly reduce gender bias in the field and beyond.

This work focused on gender biases, specifically male-female biases, but we are working on techniques for identifying and removing all sorts of biases such as racial biases from Word Embeddings in the future.

Rajesh Angadi completed his BE, MBA, PMP and is Hadoop Certified. With 22 years of Information Technology experience he worked on projects for Unisys, Intel, Satyam, Microsoft, Ford, Hartford, Compaq, and Princeton.

To reduce the bias in an embedding, we change the embeddings of gender neutral words, by removing their gender associations.

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Sanjeev Himachali sanjeev.himachali@gmail.com

Women at Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities

Women have always been subjected to discrimination. While they have challenges in the form of low wages, unequal opportunities, harassment etc., there are some challenges posed by the societal norms and tendencies to keep women at bay. Government, society and organisations should step in with concerted approach to address this issue and women empowerment.

Every year 8th March is celebrated as International Women’s Day (IWD). This critique, my contribution for the March edition, is my tribute to all working women. Before I proceed further, it is imperative to define the scope of this article to avoid any kind of misinterpretation and confusion. In this write-up, I will be sharing opportunities and challenges faced by women working in paid employment in organized sectors.

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As per reports published by United Nations, World Bank and International Labour Organizations, “Globally, women are paid less than men. Moreover, the percentage of women working in vulnerable, low-paid, or undervalued jobs is higher than men. As of 2013, 49.1 percent of the world’s working women were in vulnerable employment, often unprotected by labor legislation”.

The data projects that challenges faced by women are multifaceted.

These challenges can be classified into two categories – INTRINSIC and EXTRINSIC. Extrinsic – Factors like workplace culture, social environment, external circumstances may encourage or discourage women at work. It is the prime responsibility of government and society to create an environment to work in a profession of her choice without fear and discrimination.

Equal opportunities – Men and Women are not same. They are born with biological, physical and psychological differences to complement each other. On the contrary, skills and competencies are not gender specific. There are men who are excellent in household chores which are considered as feminine skills. On the other hand, there are women who are doing extremely well in high-risk jobs like maintaining law and order situation, marketing

and sales, product development, welding, carpentry that are considered as expertise domain of men. Therefore, hiring must be done based on skills and competencies of applicants, instead of their gender.

Right to her body – At the workplace, women have a right to stop people from touching her or come within the proximity of her body. Just because she demands to be treated with respect and dignity, she cannot be harassed, abused, humiliated, threatened or terminated from employment.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 has been enacted to ensure the safety of women at the workplace. However, the implementation of legislation is facing several operational hurdles. There are many incidents where female employees were discouraged from filing complaints of harassment, were bullied and pressurized to leave the job.

Organizations must implement the provisions of the act in its right spirit.

Right to reproduce – To reproduce is women’s right and choice. She cannot be denied a job opportunity because she is pregnant, nor can be terminated from work citing performance issues just because she got pregnant. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 along with proposed amendments of 2016 has made several far-sighted efforts to protect the employment of women during and after

pregnancy.

Equal pay – As per ILO’s Global Wage Report for the year 201415, women’s average wage ranges between 4 to 36 percent less than men’s but the gap widens for higher-earning women. As per 2008 edition of the Employment Outlook report by the OECD, almost all OECD countries have established laws to combat discrimination on grounds of gender. Many OECD countries have put in place specialized anti-discrimination agencies.

However, only a few agencies are effectively empowered to investigate companies, take actions against employers suspected of discriminatory practices, and sanction them when they find evidence of discrimination. In India, the implementation agencies have been made toothless. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 aims to provide for the payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers and for the prevention of discrimination, on the ground of sex, against women in the matter of employment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is the responsibility of organizations to execute provisions of this act.

Intrinsic – In our society, since their childhood girls are taught to raise a family and take care of social relations, there are very few who can push the envelope and break that glass ceiling and rise in a career of their choice. In my work experience of over 17 years, I have noticed peculiar behaviors

of women, which can broadly be classified into FOUR groups. These behaviors usher in determining the seriousness of women at work.

learn. They attain self-mastery and play as per set rules. They rarely overstep the playground of their workplace. They play by the rulebook.

Non-committal – Women in this category are not driven by ‘passion to work’, they only choose to work to kill time or their boredom. Their priorities change as soon as their situation changes. When at work, they take leave to celebrate the birthday in their neighbors, to babysit their nephew or niece, to go shopping with a cousin of their friend, and to celebrate all festivals throughout the year. They are non-committal employees and are serial job-hoppers.

Rebels – They challenge every social norm. They take risks and make decisions. They take a lead. They enjoy winning. They create their own rulebook. They live their life on their own terms and conditions. They aim for challenging leadership roles that pay high rewards. They climb up the hierarchical ladder faster than their male counterparts.

They are business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Supporters – This group usually work for a personal goal and leave the job as soon as their goal is achieved or temporary financial requirements are taken care of. They might work to sponsor own education or education of their siblings or kids, to buy a new house, new car or any other materialistic requirement. Their focus remains on a good salary and not on work. They don’t aim for bigger responsibilities.

Conclusion – Women’s economic equality is good for business.

Companies greatly benefit from increasing leadership opportunities for women. It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organizational effectiveness. It is calculated that women could increase their income globally by up to 76 percent if the employment participation gap and the wage gap between women and men get diminished.

Lone survivors – The women in this category are fighting their battle alone. They have old parents to take care. They are single mothers. They are divorcees. They take care of their dependents while fighting for self-respect, social independence, and financial security. They look for job security, learning opportunities, growth prospects and career advancement. They

The author Sanjeev Himachali is a Talent Management and Development professional with over a decade and a half years of experience in various facets of Human Resource Management across various industries, cultures, and geographies. He helps startups, small-sized and mid-sized organisations in identifying and developing potential and competencies of their employees.

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Women Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth Underrepresentation of women in economic activities is high in India, and it is even higher in manufacturing industry which has been always perceived as only labour and skill intensive, hence a men’s domain of expertise and beyond women’s reach. However, with influx of western ideas into India, participation of women is not only increasing in manufacturing sector but the sector is also witnessing rising women entrepreneurship.

Venkitachalam V abijitindia@yahoo.co.in The facts: Currently, there is an underrepresentation of women in the manufacturing industry though they are equally competent and are as talented as men. Male-favoured culture is considered as a key driver of women’s underrepresentation in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing is behind the times when it comes to employing women.

The perceptions: Outdated and often wrong perceptions of manufacturing sector have impacted women’s desires to join the ranks of manufacturers. There is a sense that historical gender bias excludes women from core managerial roles, such as production supervisors and operations managers etc, which are key to climbing the industry ladder. Compounding the issue, many think of manufacturing jobs as dirty, unskilled, back-breaking labor. Women think that manufacturing is too labour-intensive and it will have a bearing on their work-lifebalance. That’s not the case anymore.

Corporate leadership must set aggressive

action plans to break these wrong perceptions and encourage more women to join manufacturing sector.

entrepreneurs unlike a struggle before have been accepted and encouraged by extended support from the family and friends.

Empowering women:

According to the survey, only 14 percent of business establishments in India are being run by female entrepreneurs.

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities. There is a segment though that is still conservative and with the way the Indians are adapting to the western culture, it is not going to be too long to overcome such social pressures.

Employment and career has become an important part of her life. She is gradually becoming achievement oriented, and is thus having her independent aspirations and is trying to achieve those.

Women entrepreneurs: Female entrepreneurs are said to encompass approximately 1/3 of all entrepreneurs worldwide. Women

A classic example: From semi-literate homemakers to solar entrepreneurs Dungarpur, Rajastan is going to have the first locally-owned Solar Module Manufacturing Plant which would be fully owned and operated by tribal women. It aims to provide employment to 30,000 women. It will manufacture solar products ranging from 1 to 300 watts. The plant will have a capacity to harvest up to 2 megawatt of solar energy. The plant is a joint venture of the state government, IIT-Bombay and Rajeevika (Rajasthan Grameen Ajeevika Vikas Parishad). Great. This is a unique initiative that empowered local women, from a tribal and one of the most backward blocks of Rajasthan, to earn their livelihoods by becoming solar entrepreneurs. Now the ‘Solar Sisters’ are bringing electricity to rural Rajasthan.

United Technologies’ all-women assembly line at its airconditioner manufacturing facility in Gurgaon 66 www.martupdate.com

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Dexterity Knows No Gender!

Ramya Ramakrishnan editor@martinfotech.in

On 8th of March the world celebrated

has helped humanity to roll the wheels of

International Women’s day, where people all

development.

over the world expressed their gratitude and acknowledged the role played by women to uplift the face of society.

We at Mart have also taken our initiative to appreciate the feminine power that

The research and innovations of three women -Maggie Goertzen, an adventure enthusiast who found her true identity in the Nanotribology and Precision Engineering Lab, A young Brazilian student, Nadia Ayad

who pursued her passion for material engineering by winning a prestigious competition and Marita Cheng one of the cofounder of an smartphone application that helps millions of visually impaired patients to see the world under a new light.

We sincerely thank each and every woman to make this world a place worth living in.

Young Engineer from Brazil Grabs the Golden Shot A wonderful and young material engineering student, Nadia Ayad, fulfills her dream of application of her knowledge towards a positive change that would impact the society.

Implementation of Nadia Ayad’s idea would drastically reduce energy costs and would relax the increasing strain on the current water supplies by recycling water.

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Beating thousand of competitors, a Brazilian student Nadia Ayad took the contest by storm by winning the Sandvik Coromant’s Graphene Challenge. Nadia Ayad is a material engineering student from Rio de Janerio pursuing her degree from Brazil’s Military Institute of Engineering.

to be used for modern households. The aspiring engineer suggested using Graphene for filtration devices and desalinization system, providing clean and drinkable water to households.

Implementation of Nadia Ayad’s idea would drastically reduce energy costs and would relax the increasing strain on the current water supplies by recycling water. Her incredible application of knowledge has won her an opportunity to travel to Sweden to meet leading researchers and explore more into her passion of The contest invited people with ideas to use innovations made of Graphene with the potential study and application of advanced material.

Women have been great contributors to our society, nurturing the social political and economic arrays that build the crux of our human civilisation. We can observe the wonders a women can perform since a tender age, where our mothers would multitask from being an efficient manager to a chemist who had remedy for all your health issue. This skill of understanding emotions and management is extended, even when she is out in the world, acquiring knowledge and competing in the corporate world.

A Venture into Newer Manufacturing Processes From being an adventure sports enthusiasts to a person who now holds education as an utmost priority in her life, Maggie Goertzen journey has only led her to realize her true passion in Nanotribiology and is now engaged in a revolutionary research that would swing her career to new heights if successful.

Maggie Goertzen, from Montana moved to Salt Lake City to experience life in a city, explore the majestic Wasatch and start her new life after venturing into Mechanical engineering. She soon found solidity in Nanotribiolgy which was a perfect fit for her passion.

Being deeply involved in the research program conducted in the the Nanotribology and Precision Engineering Lab, led by mechanical engineering associate

professor Bart Raeymaekers, her study is based on manufacturing of low-density multifunctional materials with tailored properties. The problem addressed in her research is integrating stereolithography additive manufacturing with ultrasound directed self-assembly, to organize (nano) particles dispersed in a liquid polymer into user-defined patterns. Ultrasound directed self-assembly employs standing pressure waves to drive (nano) particles dispersed in a fluid medium into user-defined patterns. She was also selected as a Brooke Owens Fellow for the summer of 2017.

If the study is a success, it might create new manufacturing methodology enabling fabrication of materials with a superspecified microstructure in a layer by layer fashion.

Maggie Goertzen’s study is based on manufacturing of low-density multifunctional materials with tailored properties.

A New Ray of Hope Marita Cheng, the co-founder of Aiploy uses artificial intelligence to provide a concrete application that turns the tables in the world of Smartphone’s making it friendlier for visually impaired patients across the globe.

Marita Cheng, used artificial intelligence to provide a concrete application that turns the tables in the world of Smartphone’s making it friendlier for visually impaired patients across the globe.

One of Australia’s most innovative engineers in the younger generation, robotics Marita Cheng, was instrumental in developing Aipoly, a smart phone app meant assist visually impaired people in identifying objects. Cheng hold the degree of BE (Mechanical) from University of Melbourne.

The Application unlike other recogonisation software, that requires the user to click a photograph of the object and send it over to

a cloud server, happens to detect the object in real time. A blind person could now know the colour and type of object by just passing his/her phone over it. The technology would help in enriching the users experience by providing minute details making the application one of a kind.

The team Cheng was paired with included Italian Alberto Rizzoli and Swede Simon Edwardsson, who together constituted artificial intelligence in their smart phone application which is capable of recognizing 1000 objects. The newer version which is yet to be completed will have the capacity to realize about 5000 objects. www.martupdate.com 69

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CSR for Women Empowerment

Manoj Kabre manoj.k@indo-mim.com

Multitasking is the middle name of women and donning multiple roles comes naturally to them. Women with their spirit, strength and sensitivity are undoubtedly the backbone of any society. The competence shown in discharging their duties, care and compassion displayed in taking care of the family are the two sides of the same precious coin ‘ the woman’.

While a section of women are making strides in various fields in certain parts of the country, their counterparts elsewhere are being ignored and are facing the harsh realities of gender inequality, oppression, financial inequality and other social restrictions. These practices are hindering the overall progress of women, preventing them achieving professional and personal success. It is an immediate need to help women regain their rightful and dignified status.

different programs to achieve the holistic Women empowerment. India as a country has a long way to go in achieving this dream as it has the lowest percentage of women employees (23%), followed by Japan (24%), Turkey (26%) and Austria (29%), according to the Corporate Gender Gap report brought out by the World Economic Forum. The United States of America (52%), Spain (48%), Canada [(46%) and Finland (44%) display the highest percentage of total women employees, said the WEF survey.

Women Empowerment comprising of educational, social and financial empowerment of women helps to create a solid foundation to nurture the inner strength, creativity and self-esteem of women from all walks of life. This will help the women to face the world with greater confidence and prepare them to handle any challenge with skill, confidence and grace.

At the industry level, the findings of the survey confirm that the services sector employs the greatest percentage of women employees. Within this sector, the financial services and insurance (60%), professional services (56%) and media and entertainment (42%) industries employ the greatest percentage of women. The sectors that display the lowest percentage of women in the 20 economies are automotive (18%), mining (18%) and agriculture (21%).

Women empowerment is not a destination but is a continuous journey to fulfil the dreams of women across the country.

Different organizations have created 70 www.martupdate.com

So, when we speak about women (economic) empowerment, we refer to

she having both the ability to succeed and advance economically as well as the power to make and act on economic decisions.

• To succeed and advance economically, women need the skills and resources to obtain an employment and become financially independent • To have the power and authority to benefit to plan financial activities, women need to have the ability to make and act on decisions and control resources and profits.

Corporate Social Responsibility, a major initiative from many organizations indicates the corporate’s responsibility towards society. Women Empowerment certainly is one of the major activities that are undertaken by the Corporate world.

Corporate, personal and social issues related to women: The following are the barriers to women that are different than for men. Despite the fact that the numbers of women in the workforce have increased rapidly, still they experience

number of problems: • Working women with children have difficulties finding adequate child care in their area. Time off and absenteeism is big issues for working mothers.

• Gaining co-worker acceptance of women in non-traditional roles is a serious problem.

Many of our executives are uncertain how to manage women.

• We have more women managers, but few women officers, and none on the board of directors. The glass ceiling is a reality • Women executives still face the problem of less delegation of authority that is why they play passive role in decision making process which effect in demoralisation of women • Women at work place face worst problem of sexual harassment after being sincere and talented they pay price to remain in job.

• To strike proper balance between personal and professional life they have to work harder which sometimes result into giving up their bright careers for family cause.

• Even though women are highly qualified and competent but they still have to depend on the family decision to take up any career before marriage as well as after marriage.

• India being on the path of development still struggles with the social issues relating

to women such as female infanticide, illiteracy, dowry, child marriages, inequality of gender, child labour, In equal property rights, prostitution, trafficking and other serious problems.

Women since ages have silently witnessed the significant changes in society whether its country’s freedom, agricultural development, modernisation, liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation but one thing which has not changed satisfactorily is gender inequality in Indian society. From Vedic period till now, society looks for sacrifices from women not men. They have to always strike a balance between social, personal and professional lives.

CSR towards women empowerment can become a ray of hope in many ways right from changing attitude towards women in the society to making women independent financially, physically and socially. The motive behind joining CSR with women empowerment is to provide solutions to women related issues. Every project needs finance from society which can be amply supplied by big business houses but society should also become instrumental in developing women’s status. Providing competitive jobs equal to men is not only providing bread and butter to women but also uplifting them, society can only develop when growth is equally enjoyed by every section of society though we have shining

examples of a number of women achievers in India.

There have been some prominent organisations that have taken initiative for CSR campaigns focused on women empowerment, which can surely contribute in a large way, to change the fate and face of women in Indian society. Majority of these have been in the areas of education, health, sports, cultural, political, employment and neglected as well as untouched areas of women empowerment which have been boosting them to live independent and dignified life which they deserve as they are vital and inseparable part of society. The support from various NGO’s, government as well as women at large, has been the main reason for success of such initiatives.

We have made a humble attempt to cover a few of such CSR initiative, in this article.

(Courtesy : csrvision.in) Manoj Kabre, Vice President of Indo-MIM Pvt Ltd, has directed and headed the sales & marketing function for Asia and parts of Europe, spoke at various forums across the world for propagating the MIM technology.

His laudable work includes, Chairing – CSR Committee of RBWC, Founding of CaN Trust (NGO), working for needy children. He is also on advisory committee of ‘Your Philanthropy Story’ (YPS) which captures stories through interviews of heroes and the cause they are associated with.

Skill Training Programs by Cognizant Foundation Less than 3% of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skill training.

The ‘Skill India’ campaign seeks to address this concern. In line with this campaign, Cognizant Foundation has been supporting short-term skill training programs under its Livelihood initiatives. These initiatives have impacted over 10700 lives in the last three years alone.

While women in India are making great strides in sports, science and business at one end of the spectrum, at the other end there are women raised to only know the four walls of their homes. These women are particularly vulnerable to life’s hard knocks as they are ill-equipped to obtain gainful employment that could help them stand on their feet. Cognizant Foundation has adopted

‘Skill training program for women’ as one of its key programs in the livelihood sector, aimed at the empowerment of such women.

One such program is the ‘Home Nursing’ training program of ANEW, Chennai, supported by Cognizant Foundation, wherein underprivileged women are provided skill training and placement as Home Nurses.

On an average, the women are able to earn Rs. 10,000 a month which is a great fillip for their empowerment.

Cognizant Foundation has also partnered with Literacy India, Delhi to identify deserving women from the NCR region and train them in stitching, paper products making and embroidery. The program also helps the women sell their products, helping them supplement the family income.

Company: Congnizant Foundation Email: CognizantFoundation@cognizant.com

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Sterlite Tech Foundation’s Jeewan Jyoti Institute Sterlite Technologies is committed to transforming everyday living; be it through the company’s offerings or its contributions to society. Over the last two decades the company has proactively undertaken several initiatives related to education, women empowerment, healthcare, community and rural development in the regions it operates. The Jeewan Jyoti Institute located in Ambavane, district Velhe, Pune is - one of the examples of this commitment.

their holistic development as individuals.

The region in an around Ambavane is underdeveloped as far as economic, health and education parameters are concerned, although it is just 50 kms from the city of Pune. Educational infrastructure is below par.

Though the area has 76% literacy, women literacy is extremely low and the present family and social system does not allow rural women to experience the freedom and feewill to choose their priorities, and thus shape their own future.

The computer courses in MS Office and Data entry have helped in propagating computer literacy in the area and enabled the students to secure jobs in local administrative bodies or private companies. On the other hand, the tailoring and beauty culture courses have motivated a number of students to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs in the true sense. Till date, 550 women have been trained directly at the institute, while the outreach efforts have had an impact on more than 800 women. Several of them are well-employed and even support their families. The cumulative impact of this has been on more than 5400 individuals in the region.

The Jeewan Jyoti Institute was setup to enable the women in Ambavane as well 76 surrounding villages, by not only providing them with vocational training opportunities in their formative years, but also ensuring

Certified six months and one year vocational skills training courses in nursing, tailoring and fashion designing, computers training, beauty culture, are conducted by the institute, thereby providing the students with sustainable income opportunities. The daily transport arrangement and the nutritious meals ensure sustenance of the girl child while pursuing these courses.

The institute tries to reach out to women of all age groups through various off campus programs on Personality Development, Health and financial knowledge.

Mrs. Jyoti Agarwal, Managing Trustee, Sterlite Tech Foundation, giving certificates to girls on their graduation.

Company: Sterlite Technologies Contact Person: Darshan Mundada Email: darshan.mundada@sterlite.com

Unnati Program & Women Empowerment Unnati, which commenced in 2003, is an organization offering vocational training and social transformation program with 100 % placement track record. This organization has a vision to train and facilitate employment for 1 million youth across the nation by serving different sections of society and bringing harmony through focused programs.

Unnati runs a short term program of just 50 Days, wherein an day-long training is provided for over 300 hours during these 50 days. This intensity is required to ensure discipline in the lives of the youth who have generally not been much focused.

Every youth is taught spoken English, Basic Computers, Life skills, and Values apart from their core vocation. Unnati has about 50 centres across the country & the head office is in Sadananda Nagar, Bangalore.

The major benefit of the Unnati intervention has been in context of the change of the status of the families of the participants.

They have experienced transformation from being extremely poor to a much better

state in just a few years. The economic independence given to one youth helps the family independence to jump by 4 or 5 folds. This has helped the family to educate the other siblings and in a matter of few years the complete social status of the family changes. Because of Unnati Program, a large number of girls became financially independent.

Axis Bank Foundation (ABF), a registered public trust that was formed in 2006 envisioned women empowerment to help the young women of India to become competent and financially independent.

Axis Bank foundation is funding 28 Unnati Centres largely in Karnataka. The foundation particularly emphasizes on ‘women empowerment’ and it is their commitment that has helped many girls to undergo vocational training & became financially independent. Unnati has trained a total of 2755 students because of Axis Bank Foundation’s support & over 10,000 students across India.

NGO: Unnati, Bangalore Contact Person: Mr. Ramesh Swamy Email: rameshswamy@unnatiblr.org 72 www.martupdate.com

Yogini H Rana Ahmedabad

“I always feel I should and take up the training once again. This training has been so helpful and made me realize that the more you learn the better you become in life. I will help Unnati whichever way I can. I thought my life would end as a typical house wife like my mother, but now I know my goals and how to achieve them.”

Sindhura Bachwal Karimnagar, Telangana

“After my graduation I was taking money from my parents but I wanted to earn my own and stand on my own feet. My parents were reluctant to send me to Bangalore initially and it took a lot of effort to convince them, but now it all seems worth.”

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#womanufacturing

Anthony Aravind anthony88ctyf@gmail.com

Rewrite Your Story “She is free in her wildness; she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. ‘Time’ for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.” – Roman Payne

Few days ago I received a call from Gracie, my school friend. We haven’t spoken in years and I was thrilled that she called.

We began to talk and most naturally the conversation kept moving from wellbeing, to family, to friends, to long lost memories; and eventually I asked about her work and with a weakened voice she uttered “Engineering was and is my passion, but the male-dominance of the profession has stifled me and many other girls who aspired to become a great engineer”. When I heard that statement, I knew I had to choose my words wisely as my response was limited, and little did I know that she would be surprised and benefitted with my limited response - “You have the freedom and the authority to rewrite your story”.

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My statement in response to Gracie became my inspiration for this edition’s article, in relation with the ‘Like a Girl’ campaign by Procter & Gamble, for their range of sanitary and hygiene products popularly known by the name ‘Whisper’. I’m confident that most of us have watched the campaign on TV. The television version of the campaign has been ridiculously edited, I encourage you to watch the YouTube version of the campaign because it is not just elaborate, it is educational and inspirational.

The ‘Like a Girl’ campaign broke away the little stigma, that which was hiding deep inside of me all this while. It helped me revaluate phrases such as ‘Hit like a girl’, ‘Throw like a girl’, ‘Run like a girl’ etc. I was

also enlightened to the fact that, it is not just men who use this phrase to undermine the strength of a woman, but women themselves have conceived and employed the aforementioned phrases in contempt, of course there are exceptions in every affair.

Is your story similar to Gracie’s? Are you on the verge of giving up on engineering? Is the thought of liquidating your dreams growing strong by the day? You’ve come to the right place at the right time. Let me introduce you to the story of Mangte Chungneijang who dared to rewrite her story. Be inspired!!!

Story of Mangte Chungneijang: Mangte Chungneijang was born in Kangathei, an obscure village in Manipur, in the year

1983. She was born to poverty-stricken parents, who were field workers. Though Mangte was only a child, she was handed the responsibility of taking care of her three younger siblings. She had to juggle the tasks at school, babysitting her siblings, and supporting her family. In the midst of a craggy childhood Mangte mustered courage to dream big, that is, to eradicate poverty from her village and her state. Mangte’s parents were not only poverty-stricken but were orthodox and traditional in every manner, hence she received neither financial nor emotional support from her parents. At school Mangte performed below average in her studies but was sensational at sports.

She understood that by using her ability at sports she could realize her dream.

In the face of ridicule, opposition, and the fear of abandonment, she began to pursue her dream. She participated in street fights to support herself and her training.

She dared to be different, worked hard, capitalized on her undying spirit, sacrificed basic necessities, and lived away from her comfort zone. 25 years later the World knew her as Mary Kom, Bronze medallist in Boxing at London Olympics, 2012. Now, she has founded a female fighting club at Imphal, Manipur, where she is training women

for self-defense as well as professional boxing. ‘Unbreakable’, is the title of her autobiography, I urge you to get one for yourself.

Inspiration: I’m one hundred percent confident that Mary Kom understood the term ‘like a girl’ very differently – in its truest sense. What if her understanding was influenced by the stigma that she saw and grew up with? She would have been just another Manipuri woman carrying out the mundane duties in a remote village, and India would have failed to witness this great world class boxer. Mary Kom never undermined herself, never lost hope, never quit, never failed to rise up, never let doubt creep in, and never let a punch knock her down. In other words, she never failed to be a woman. She succeeded in being the ‘Mary Kom’ we all know only because, she dreamt ‘Like a Girl’, she behaved ‘Like a Girl’, she challenged ‘Like a Girl’, she trained ‘Like a Girl’, she fought ‘Like a Girl’, she punched ‘Like a Girl’, and ultimately she rewrote her story ‘Like a Girl’.

What Can You Do? To all the WOMengineers out there!!! What is your dream? What are your gifts? What

are your abilities? What are your strengths?

What is unique about you? How do you want to make a difference? What do you want to achieve? What do you want the world to remember you for? And how do you want the world to remember you? Take some time, ruminate upon these questions and pen down the answers in your personal journal and begin to Plan ‘Like a Girl’, Work ‘Like a Girl’, Execute ‘Like a Girl’, Pursue ‘Like a Girl’, Endure ‘Like a Girl’, Reach ‘Like a Girl’ and most importantly REWRITE YOUR STORY ‘Like a Girl’.

I can never know or tell what it means to see, comprehend, act and live like a girl, but I know and I can tell you this one thing; “Woman, thou art made unbreakable, unstoppable, unbridled and unquenchable, don’t let anyone tell you different” The author Anthony Aravind A is a Counselling Psychologist and a Content Writer based in Bangalore, and specialized in Organizational Behaviour, Marriage and Family Therapy. He is passionate about people, their thought process and their behaviour. He collaborates and brings in his creativity as a professional Musician, knowledge and discernment as a Counselling Psychologist, and radical world view as a Photographer in all his articles.

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#LEARNINGCURVE

Success Takes Hardwork

As rightly said, there is no alternative to hard work; the team Legion 2.0 from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Engineering and Research (DBACER) has a profound grip on the principle. BAJA SAE, a platform for engineering students, turned out to be a complete bliss for the Legions.

Run by Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE), BAJA SAE is an incredible opportunity for the engineering students to engage in extensive research and field work and to give out an unmatchable automobile that can survive the harshest elements of the rough terrain.

Team from various Universities from across the world participate in this adrenaline inspiring competition where the sustainability and speed of their designed automobiles are challenged. The event is held in India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Korea. In India, the event is run by SAE. All cars must adhere to SAE rules, and pass SAE’s technical speculation. A car may not be allowed to race until it passes all the safety inspections. There are multiple dynamic events.

The dynamic events include hill climbs, sled pulls, rock craws, suspension and traction events.

Static event such as written report, presentation and design evaluation are provided by participating teams. Also, a cost report that provides all the background information necessary to verify the vehicle’s actual cost is used to rate the most economically feasible for production.

The motto of the event, ‘Dream Dare and Drive’ was 76 www.martupdate.com

an apt phrase that gave the right adrenaline kick to these enthusiasts. Legions stood as the fifth best team in the competition. Their dedication and passion could be seen as they stood up to all the challenges, giving neck to neck competition to all its opponents.

Legions secured fourth position in the endurance assessment which was a big achievement for them. The team went on with all the zest, racing, fixing the A-arm that was torn apart in the middle of the race; the crafty hands of the students were never at rest.

The event was no less than an institution. The platform was apt to learn and practice skills, teamwork, management and so much more. As per Rutwik Sawarkar who is the vice captain of the team, the team members stood together and considered themselves responsible for their success and setbacks. The spirit of these students was that of a true sportsman.

This fascinating experience led them to working hard on their project and develop a more enduring and sophisticated ATV. Atharv Bhagade, captain of the Legions 2.0 said that they are currently working on the vehicle and are planning to hit the track soon, with an improved design.

Atharva Bhagade Team Captain Mahindra SAE BAJA 2K17 was up to its standards. Tougher tracks than before, tough challenges to face and worthy opponent above all. But then our team was determined and as we know, nothing worth having comes easy. We faced top judges during our evaluation, giving a neck to neck competition to our opponents in all the levels of evaluation.

Sahil Pradhan Autoist This was the first time I participated in SAE BAJA India. Before that I went for ecokart but this was a completely different experience. According to me a driver has the most fans because driving the ATV in this event is something else.

The experience is surreal. The dynamic events and endurance is my favourite part because it tests you physically and mentally.

Mrunalini Kukde Team Member BAJA SAE INDIA taught us to deal with people on different levels, with whom our frequency does not necessarily have to match. You can take a bag full of learning, experiences, success, and failure from the event. Both from your as well as others.

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#MANUFACTURINGEXCELLENCE

Driving Factors of Inventory Management Inventory management plays a crucial role when it comes to securing profit to the company. The inventory cost and its calculation is the challenging part in controlling the inventory. Its control is about managing to keep the various costs at the optimum level. While safety cost is quite important for a better service level, it may incur losses if certain segments are not taken into account.

P S Satish gotopssatish@gmail.com

In the last issue, we discussed on the categories of Inventory. Let us discuss further on inventory management. The driving factor for inventory control is the costs of holding more inventories or not holding enough. More costs mean reduction in the profit of the company. Challenge in these cost calculation is that many are hidden & difficult to calculate. But knowing them will help to understand the importance of managing inventory. Let us look closely various costs involved.

Stock out costs

Inventory holding cost Direct costs

Acquisition costs

• Cost of capital – Money invested in Inventory • Spoilage cost – Deterioration of Inventory by holding for long time • Space cost – Storage of inventory including facilities • Service cost – This includes basically insurance and administration costs • Risk cost – Covering theft, damage and obsolescence Indirect costs • Business risk cost – Possibility of loss of order • Opportunity cost – Lack of fund for other better investments • Incremental increase cost – Investment on transportation and other facilities 78 www.martupdate.com

This comes up when material is not available in stock when needed. This may result in: • Line stoppage • Loss of goodwill • Idle machine • Waiting manpower • Loss of business It is difficult to correctly estimate the loss because of stock outs

This is the cost involved to get the stocks from supplier till stores. This includes: • Buyer or Planner time costs including their office administration • Transportation costs • Packing costs • Receiving including accounting costs • Inspection costs • Cost of effecting payment • Other costs that includes stationery, postage, printing, invoice verification etc.

The acquisition costs can be calculated based on number of purchase orders & items in a given period say 1 year.

As we see above, whether there is excess or shortage of inventory, there are some costs involved. Inventory control is about managing to keep these costs at the

optimum level. Service level to customer will increase if there is an excess stock but at the cost of inventory holding or carrying costs Factors affecting Inventory As indicated earlier, there are many factors that has an influence on the level of Inventory and challenge will be to manage those factors: • Sales forecast- predictable or unpredictable • Production planning • Lead time of processing the supplier purchase order &and supplier’s supply lead time • Obsolescence because of design change or technology change • Production cycle time • Scheduling of machines to balance capacity • Economic lot size higher than the sales requirement • Unfulfilled purchase orders • Location of Customer • Irregular order from Customer • Import of raw material or part • Supplier’s quality and reliability • Single or multiple location of stores • Bureaucratic decision process • Empowering employees to take decisions • Continuous or periodic review system of stocks • Constant or variable lead time • Rigid or flexible manufacturing system • Condition of machines

• Constraints of finance, supplier capacity & warehouse space • Government policies on imports which has bearing on lead time, cost and quantity • Unfulfilled purchase orders • Agility of the Inventory Manager • Make or buy decisions • Loss of business because of stock-outs Safety stocks Safety stocks add to cost of Inventory but are kept to increase service level with the Customer. Theoretically, safety stocks are not required if the period in which existing stocks can be consumed matches with the lead-time of procurement. Safety stocks are also called as buffer stocks, insurance stocks, protection stocks or minimum stocks.

Main purpose of holding safety stocks is to absorb variability of Customer demand.

Production planning is based on the forecast which normally differs from real demand.

By safety stocks, stock out situation can be prevented.

Typical variations that forces for keeping safety stocks are – upward trend in the

demand and problems from inward supplies, Machinery breakdown etc. Since keeping safety stocks means cost, level should be as minimum as possible considering stock out situation and other unpredictability.

Size of safety stock depends on importance of the item to the process, value of the investment and the availability of substitutes in the short notice. Level also takes care of demand fluctuations and lead-time fluctuations. There is no perfect formula which takes care of all these factors. In a rough way, maximum safety stock = Maximum historical daily usage x (Maximum historical lead time in days – Average lead time in days) Factors that can influence the level of safety stock are: • Nature of the item – Tailor made or off the shelf available • Annual usage of the item • Lead time to procure e.g. Imports • Seasonality • Stock out costs • Risk of obsolescence/deterioration • Environmental issues like probability of

strike, war etc.

Service levels The amount of safety stock to be kept also depends upon the level of service to Customer. If it is to be higher, the level of safety stock will also be higher.

Service level = 1- Probability of stockout Service level can be calculated also as (Number of units demanded – Number of units short)/Number of units demanded.

Based on service level to be maintained, safety level is calculated by using formula derived out of past statistical data and probability theory.

The author, P S Satish heads Saraswati Industrial Service. He has acquired B.E, M.Tech (IIT) and with 30 years of Industrial experience is serving engineering Industries in the area of capability development (purchase, quality & soft skills), consulting and mentoring. Focus is on overall improvement of company for 3C - Competitiveness, Core-competency and Customer satisfaction.

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Internet of Welding

Kemppi India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Finland based Kemppi OY which has been a major name in welding technology and solutions over six decades. The company revolutionized welding by introducing world’s first inverter technology equipped welding machine, world’s first digital welding machine and world’s first welding management software.

Kempi India, which started its commercial production unit out of Chennai in 2011, is the only manufacturing location other than the headquarters.

Kemppi already manufacturers 40 products, is designing new products models is a strategic location for Kemppi OY as it acts as a strategic location for the South East Asian and Asia Pacific markets.

Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Mahapatra, Managing Director of Kemppi India throws light on the journey, products and innovations in an exclusive interview with MART.

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Kemppi is a pioneer in welding world, credited with many firsts to the welding sector. Could you list the major innovations in the welding sector by Kemppi over the years?

Kemppi is a Finland based company. We are based out of Lahti in Finland and operate in 17 countries as our own subsidiaries and 80 countries through our partners. Kemppi in India is based out of Chennai and we have a unique distinction of the only manufacturing plant outside Finland.

Kemppi is the first company in the welding world to introduce “inverter” technology in 1977. In 1993 Kemppi introduced the world’s first digital welding machine. Our machines have been awarded “Red dot” award for its unique design.

In 2014 we have brought the world’s first Welding Management Software for the welding world. This system provides 100% traceability for each and every weld. Today, we can trace each weld and can be tracked on line, live from any part of the globe.

What are the new products coming up in the near future from Kemppi?

We are bringing in a completely new product to the welding world for enhanced productivity. The manufacturing industry is becoming digitized, automated, and more regulated, and this trend is also highly

evident in welding production. In order to succeed in welding operations, you are expected to be more productive and quality-oriented than ever before. At the same time, as materials are developed that possess greater strength, higher corrosionresistance, and other enhanced-performance properties, welding becomes increasingly challenging. These extreme expectations demand a lot from welding companies, welding systems, welders and coordinators.

The key factor in beating the competition is to be prepared for everything, even to the extreme, with perfect equipment.

How was the scenario of welding sector in India? What impact has Kemppi made to this sector in the country with its dedicated workshop in Chennai?

saving than the Thyristor machine. At that point Kemppi was the only manufacturer of INVERTER machines in INDIA. The journey had just begun in India. Today we have a sizeable market share in India and a brand to reckon with.

Which all are the processes for which Kemppi provides its products and solutions to? In this regard, also please mention the range of products and solutions dedicated to these processes?

Kemppi is a specialist in ARC Welding. Our offering is in MIG, TIG and MMA segment.

Broadly our offering can be seen as given below: • Manualwelding – MIG, TIG, MMA and Multi-process

Prior to 2011 the Indian market was predominantly dominated by Thyristor technology. These machines are power guzzlers. For a country like India where we reel under power shortage such machines are not at all warranted. Moreover, we were not using the latest technology available in the world. All these were increasing the cost of production and the productivity was questioned all the time.

• Automatedwelding – Roboticwelding and Mechanizedwelding

Kemppi brought in disruption to the market.

We introduced the “INVERTER” based MIG/ MAG machine at the entry level. The customer had the benefit of 50% power

• Expert Services - Consulting and training, WPS service and Support

• Accessories - Guns and torches, Remote controls, Transport units, etc.

• Welding management software - Kemppi ARC System 3, ArcInfo • Application software – Manualwelding and Automatedwelding

So, Kemppi has the distinction of bringing

A preview of X8 Mig Welding machine from Kemppi www.martupdate.com 81

Products manufactured by Kemppi in India

digital technology to the welding segment.

In this regard, could please throw some light on welding quality management system?

All this builds on our understanding of our customers’ needs and challenges as well as our commitment to solve them as intelligently as possible.”

Some interesting statistics from the Welding Industry: Today 80% of the welding machine is electronic, the size of the market is $ 9724 million and 50 billion devices to be connected by 2020. The internet changed the way of working by connecting all the PCs of the world – as a matter of fact, Kemppi created the “Internet of Welding.”

Investments in R&D have certainly paid off.

Kemppi was the first company in the welding world to introduce the inverter power source already in the 1970s. Since then, inverter technology has established its position as the most common power source technology in the world. The company continued to redefine existing technology solutions and was the first manufacturer in the world to use digital welding technology already in 1993.

With each passing minute, thousands of welds are welded all over the world at an increasing pace in even larger and more complex projects. Each weld is integral to the quality, and thus safety of the construction, and everyone close to it. All in all, welding is a big responsibility - and you are never far from a weld.

For a company, bringing new innovations to a sector, R&D is a dedicated area, we understand. Please enlighten us about the R&D initiatives at Kemppi and investment in this field?

“Research, development and innovation (R&D&I) form the heart of Kemppi. 10% of our annual turnover is allocated to R&D activities, and up to 50% of our development resources is dedicated to product testing.

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Do you have any plans for promoting the education in the field of welding technology in India?

To make the concept of ‘Make in India’ successful, we need to have ‘Makers of India’. This is where the gap exists. I keep talking about this in many forums. To sensitize people to make an impact. Going by the prevailing conditions we need at least 5 million welders by 2020. This is an enormous task.

Another problem which pulls down the productivity is the gap in the skill set of the welders while getting in to the industry. The welders are primarily taught in machines

of old technology and is not at all relevant in todays’ condition. So, we don’t have a product ready for the market. The quality of trainers is also susceptible. They are not aware of the latest technology available in the market and the developments across the globe.

This is where KEMPPI always “trains the trainer” to get the basics right with the welders training. We also support many colleges and universities to develop Centre of Excellence in Welding. Our latest joint effort with Hindustan Petroleum is for the Skill Development Institute at Vishakhapatnam built over 500 acres of land with the support of Andhra Pradesh Government.

How do you ensure quality welding at the customer’s end? Do you have any onsite support programme?

At Kemppi we believe that IoT and digitalization have the power to enhance productivity in industrial production.

WeldEye is a comprehensive welding management solution for heavy duty welding which streamlines a customer’s whole welding production from project planning and welding coordination activities to final reporting, and provide an accurate overview of a project’s status at all times.

Automated welding data collection enables real-time quality control with verification

of compliance with WPS and welding standards. With all the project related data and materials in one place, each weld is traceable, and final documentation can be produced as a single file in no time. Overall, such enhancements can contribute to notable monetary savings to any production.

So, it doesn’t only ensure quality but and smart welding and savings too for the customers.

How do you see automation playing a bigger role in enhancing the welding quality in future?

Worldwide the first and foremost driver of Automation is lack of quality welders. This is where Automation has to grow. To maintain sustainable quality batch after batch and increase the productivity Automation has to play a major role.

In the wake of revamp in the manufacturing sector, how do you see the market growing for the welding industry?

Manufacturing is estimated to have an enormous impact on the well-being of Indian economy according to the Make in India initiative of the current Government.

Currently contributing 14% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the share of manufacturing is estimated to be up to 20% of the GDP of India in 2020.

infrastructure of the country. With the manufacturing slated to pick up the welding industry will grow at least at par with the GDP in the next few years.

As the managing director of Kemppi India, what are your plans for accelerate the growth of Kemppi in tandem with the market growth?

“Achieving this growth demands a lot from all links in the manufacturing value chain.

That is where digital welding can help by simplifying welding production, traceability and WPS management.”

With customers in railway, power, automotive and shipbuilding industries, Kemppi offers complete solutions of welding equipment, software and services for manual, mechanised and automated welding worldwide. In the last few years, welding quality management has been in the spotlight across several industries.

Welding is an allied industry and is directly linked to the steel consumption and

Kemppi has been growing in India year on year. Our offering straddles across segments.

This provides us with better opportunities to penetrate in to the market segments.

Our HiArc M 400 R MIG machine is the no.1 product in the country. It has stood its ground and have been the undisputed leader in its category for the last 2 years.

Our FASTMIG PULSE was the highest selling Synergic Pulse MIG/MAG machine in India in 2016. It has set a benchmark in the industry.

The Indian market is witnessing a huge shift.

At Kemppi we are ready to address the latent need of the discerning customers. Disruption is in Kemppi’s DNA. And, there will be many more to come.

WeldEye is a universal solution to manage welding production. A balanced combination of software, hardware and cloud service, WeldEye creates value through insight: Insight into WPS compliant welding quality, production progress, personnel qualifications and much more.

SIMPLIFICATION WeldEye simplifies your welding documentation process and cuts overhead costs.

CONTROL WeldEye offers full traceability and documentation from start to finish, making sure you are always on top of your welding projects.

KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN EFFICIENCY WeldEye boosts your efficiency by reducing the need for repair work. With more information available you can make better and quicker decisions.

UNIVERSAL SOLUTION WeldEye fits all welding equipment brands, is available globally and in multiple languages. It can easily integrated into existing IT solutions, or accessed through cloudbased solution.

FUTURE-PROOF TECHNOLOGY WeldEye is built on cutting edge technology and IT security, and is automatically updated when new standards are introduced.

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#INDUSTRYFOCUS

CNC Welding system for Automatic Hardfacing of Valves In a competitive world, customers expect a high level of service with prompt and in time delivery of material. It is the need of the hour now for manufacturing companies to go in for a high level of automation in their manufacturing process to ensure that they fulfill the expectations of their customers.

Arcraft Plasma systems has designed and manufactured a CNC controlled welding system for the hardfacing of High value Valves. One such system has been supplied for the automated hardfacing of high tech MSV Valves and Ball Valves. The advantages of an automated system over a manual or semi-automated system are:Speed: A fully automated system can process information much faster than a welding operator. The automated system’s response is faster than manual or semiautomatic systems operated by the welding operator and hence productivity is very high.

Repetition: Automated systems can do the same job repetitively without stopping, getting tired or bored unlike human beings who may fail to accomplish their duties properly over an extended period of time Accuracy: A programmed automated system is very accurate and follows precise instructions without error. Hence quality and productivity in automated systems are very high.

Safety: Automated systems for its functioning require minimum action on the part of the operator and can be used in places where it is hazardous for a human being to work. Welding does involve release of gases, heat and a very bright arc. The operator of the new CNC system is not

exposed to these hazards to the extent a manual welder would incur for the same kind of jobs undertaken. Hence safety and a better working environment to human life are ensured.

Adaptability: Automated systems can be programmed to carry out different tasks. In this case both MSV valves and Ball valves are being hardfaced by the same machine in the fully automatic mode using separate programmes.

What is a MSV Valve?

• The Multiport Selector Valve (MSV) is a highly efficient engineering device used for fluid control that provides a cost effective and compact means to improve production management and well optimization. The MSV allows the diversion of fluids from a single flow line to a test outlet or a sampling device. A single MSV can allow as many as seven working flow lines through it all operating at the same time. While one inlet is isolated and can send the product to another location like a testing lab, the flow from the other six is combined into a separate group outlet, such as a holding tank battery.

with respect to conventional manifold because it has only one user friendly point for the control of maximum seven wells versus fourteen or seven operation points for conventional two way or three way valves production manifolds.

• It goes without saying so that the complex MSV Valve is very difficult to be hardfaced by the manual or semi-automatic mode.

Ball Valves upto 1000 kg (1 tonne) have been successfully clad with Inconel 625 using the same system: A Ball Valve is a form of quarter-turn valve which uses a pivoting ball with a through hole to control flow through it. Ball Valves are used in situations where tight shut-off is required. It is open when the ball’s through hole is in line with the fluid flow and closed when it is pivoted 90 degrees by the valve handle in which case the ball solid side shuts off the flow. Ball Valves are durable, performing reliably even after many cycles and shutting fluid flow securely even after long periods of disuse.

• This permits in-line testing without taking the remaining wells off line.

These qualities make them an excellent choice for shutoff and control applications, where they are often preferred to gate and globe valves. They are widely used valves, able to transfer gases, liquids and liquids with suspended solids (slurries).

• The Multiport Selector Valve is superior

For more details visi www.arcraftplasma.com

System set up for hardfacing of MSV Valve

Hardfacing Inconel 625 on ASTM 216GR, WCB MSV Valve and Bonnet 84 www.martupdate.com

www.martupdate.com 85

#SUCCESSSTORY

“From Selling to Complete Solutions” WTI Empowers Welding Automation!

Started as a welding service consultancy during 2003, and then grabbing the opportunity of selling Panasonic Welding Machines, Milan Supanekar started his journey with Welding Technologies India (WTI) in 2005. Within 12 years, WTI grew into a complete solution provider for critical welding operations globally, and mastered welding automation into diverse sectors of Indian manufacturing.

MART in conversation with Milan, the person behind the mastery of WTI and its team, bring you the glimpse of their success journey.

Welding is not just joining things, but it’s a big science, people from different streams – Scholars, scientists, experienced experts from all over the world are mastering this art. With its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, Welding Technologies India, is dedicating itself to bring world class welding and cutting technologies from across the globe to the disposal of companies in India.

The organization constantly upgrades itself to match the revolution in the arena of welding industry by striving for perfection and efficiency.

Dealing with the best in the industry which include Panasonic, Kioke, FSH, ITW, Ador Welding etc., WTI has the perfect solution that matches

and fulfills their customers’ requirements.

The man behind WTI, Milan Supanekar after his 13 years of experience working with leading industries like ITW, ESAB and Ador ventured on his own as a welding service consultant in the year of 2003, undertaking job projects with different companies in Pune.

Within two years, he was able to gain credibility in the industry, but the boost came from his ex-boss, Mr. P Mehra who was then representing Panasonic Welding India, who entrusted the responsibility of forging a dealership with the company, WTI was born in 2005. A wide traveler, Milan Supanekar during his earlier days in career understood

the need of automation in the Indian manufacturing sector. Comparing to the global counterparts and with fresh wings on his shoulder through WTI, he embarked on his mission of automating the welding industry.

WTI was very realistic in the shift that was to be brought in, where the large companies especially the MNCs welcomed his services on critical welding solutions, but for the medium and small companies, Milan had carefully crafted a plan, to shift them gradually from manual to semi automatic processes by arming them with enough training and experience in handling the whole process, whereby his customers were able to experience the result in

efficiency, quality, time and cost.

While putting forth his insight to us, Mr. Milan explained, “We did lot of transformations from manual processes to semi automatic and automatic which were quite successful mainly with OEMs. We also had a lot of companies across the world that had started asking for technologies which made it easier for us to get into that business. Initially it was difficult for us to convince the local companies to convert from manual to automation, but was successful within due course of time.”This further enhanced WTI initiative to take customer towards fully automated solutions.

Creating awareness was the key in changing the mindset

Milan Supanekar Founder, Welding Technology, India Milan Supanekar often describes his life as a learning curve that taught him lessons on every step of his life. He was raised in an environment that nurtured the engineer within, his father who was also an engineer played a major role in imbibing the ideologies within him. Soon after, Mr Milan took off to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering, after which he worked for multiple companies like ITW, ESAB and ADOR before starting his own service consultancy in 2003, though his core interest in Sales was developed while working with ITW. After establishing his Welding Technologies India, which was a turning point as he had come with 13 years of experience working in the Industry. The shift from service oriented to trading oriented organization has brought in Mr. Milan opportunities which have given him an edge in the campaign for bringing in automation in the industry. A golf enthusiast, Mr. Milan is happily married to Meena Supanekar and has an adorable daughter named Swamini and lives with his parents. His happy and supportive family has always believed in him and given in their valuable inputs that have helped Mr. Milan in times of Crisis.

86 www.martupdate.com

of local market, WTI ventured into training services with their own manuals and guidebooks, which was welcomed by the industry as well as academy.

Further customizing the training programs, today WTI conducts onsite programs and has successfully trained many workers, students and management executives.“We are offering training services to technical institutes where the young engineers are getting practical knowledge along with their regular curriculum. A lot of students are benefited from our program and now employed with leading industries. We developed different training manuals for our program which acts as a basic module for those who undergo the program. “ Started dealing with Panasonic Welding products, WTI today sell diversified range of specialized welding equipments as well as critical and special welding consumables.The Product basket of the company consists of variety of equipments and solutions to suit the needs of every customer that knocks on WTI’s door for one.

From Welding equipments like MMAW/SMAW with a range of 200amp-630amp in both thyristor and inverter technology, MIG/MAG/CO2 in range of 250amp-500amp in thyristor, inverter, pulse type, digital technology to 6 Axis welding robots with range of 1100 mm to 1400 mm and SPM’s for boilers, pressure vessels, pumps, valves etc, the company has much more to offer than what can be described.

WTI only deals with specialized consumables which are imported mainly from Europe and in India they are one of the major suppliers to the aerospace industry, and they are proud to be a part of Space Projects run

by ISRO. During mid of 2016 WTI also stared providing solutions through Special Purpose Machines for smaller projects,

which is now taking momentum and WTI is looking forward to expand its operations, as new requirement are pouring from both Indian and global industries.

WTI is also working to bring laser welding system in India and is in conversation with Japanese and German companies to introduce the new high tech process which allows narrow and concentrated heat source that provides excellent precision and deep welds. If successful, WTI will be able to bring in a new dimension that will enable Indian Manufacturing industry and other customers to experience the advantages of the technology by reducing the overall cost of production and improving the efficiency with quality.

After exploring the world of physical processes, WTI introduced Real time Weld Monitoring Software which is now used by some of the leading companies. The software that detects the working conditions of the machines along with keeping a check on parameters like quality, production and performance is also offered on the basis of lease, for smaller projects where purchasing this software is not economically viable.

WTI future focus is on welding automation, where ample of opportunities are available.

Customers are looking forward to improve their efficiency, not just the big companies, but small and medium companies are opting for it, and that’s where WTI will play a big role by being a catalyst that will change the way that manufacturing industry in India works.

Welding Technologies India is a young organization that has entered the stage of achieving glory and serving the purpose of transforming Indian companies into smart manufacturer by acting as an arm that assists the very basics of it. Today, WTI can confidently boast about being one of the best that provides the best.

Welding is integral to all major manufacturing industries.

With the thrust on ‘Make in India’/ Industry4.0/ Artificial Intelligence what kind of growth of welding industry in India do you foresee?

Basically growth of welding industry is directly proportional to manufacturing. Welding is essential part of engineering.

Industry is poised to grow by 8% in the next five years. Before 2007 the market was dominated by the local and unorganized players. After 2008 the situation changed and now it’s dominated by global players. With the renewed focus on Make in India, global companies are coming and putting their manufacturing facilities here. The current Indian Market size is estimated to be around Rs 4200 Crores which is split between Rs. 3000 crore, dedicated to consumable business and 1200 Crore towards Equipment business.

With major Growth expected in heavy engineering, construction, automotive and railways, we can hope for the market to grow by 10% every year, surpassing the current growth of 7-8%, with the total value estimating to be Rs.5800 Crore by 2020.

As helming the realms of WTI, what are your growth plans and strategies for your company?

WTI started with selling welding equipments; in the very first year itself we sold 100 machines that held almost 10% market share in Pune. Within 12 years we have maintained the market share of 25% in Western Region for Special and Critical Welding equipments. We have recently started with SPM’s, but we are growing fast and there are a lot of opportunities waiting. There are many players in this sector, but when competency is seen, we are one of the best.

Our Strategies are and has

always been to provide solutions, offering latest technologies and not simply selling the products. We are therefore offering a full basket of products and as per our customers’ requirements and we recommend the right products and the right technologies.

We have a big team of trained Engineers and trainers who can guide our customers and offer the right solutions. This helps us to be a part of our customer’s decision making team and work very closely with them as a major partner.

What are the future projections for your business?

For Consumables business, we are focusing mainly on Heavy Engineering, Construction & Automobile industries while our Equipment business is mainly focusing on Heavy Engineering , Railways , Construction and Automobile industries. We are expecting a growth of 7-8% in our business during the year 2016-17. We have also started providing solutions in Welding Automation and Special purpose welding machines. We are expecting a higher growth of approximately 20%-25% from this area.

Throughout your incredible journey who inspired you to excel?

When I started my sales career I worked under Mr. P M Laghate, business head of SBU, who was the one who recruited in Sales in ITW (American Company), he inspired me a lot, guided me, and I learned a lot from him.

Today it’s our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the way he is managing the country is inspiring, and his desire and will to change things for betterment of the masses, influences me to a great extent which makes him a perfect inspiration for me. www.martupdate.com 87

#innovations

New Igus Servo Cables with the World’s Smallest Bend Radius At the 2016 SPS IPC Drives, igus presented its new CF29 servo cable series – one of several new high-end cable families for continuous motion in e-chains with an outer jacket made of halogen-free TPE. This product range extension offers completely new possibilities for energy supply to drives, for users with very tough requirements such as ambient temperatures or small installation space.

A core structure optimised for motion combined with a gusset-filling extruded TPE inner jacket that provides even more stability as well as a highly flexible TPE outer jacket are the features of the new CF29 chainflex servo cable series. The high-end series is suitable for the smallest bending factors for servo cables down to 6.8xd and is therefore unique on the market.

The new series offers a guaranteed solution in a temperature range of -35°C so can be even used for moving applications in deepfreeze warehouses. This is made possible by the igus halogen-free TPE outer jacket material, which offers an almost unlimited

resistance to oil. This has been used for other chainflex cable series for years. In order to offer its customers an even better selection, igus is now expanding its high-end range with this new servo cable and an additional series for data and bus cables.

Even more choices – guaranteed to last All cables were successfully tested in a climatic test chamber with real-world mechanical loads and temperatures, within the 2,750-square-metre-large test laboratory at igus. This allows the cable manufacturer to guarantee a service life of 36 months for all cables. And this applies even for cables

for the highest dynamics and the most complicated movements.

The chainflex service life calculator (www. igus.com/chainflex_servicelifecalculator) helps you to make the ideal selection, and gives you the expected service life of each cable in double strokes after entering the respective application parameters. This allows customers to choose the cable that works reliably in their applications – without having to spend too much.

For more details write to Ravi Alloli, Product Manager, Chainflex® cables, igus® (India) Private Limited, Tel: +91-80-45127800 Web: www.igus.in

World’s first: The igus servo cables of the CF29 series offer guaranteed safety for the smallest bend radii and extreme temperatures.

(Source: igus GmbH) 88 www.martupdate.com

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Driving Manufacturing Success through Digitalisation @Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017 The Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017 Conference is held as part of MTA2017 – Asia’s premier manufacturing technology industry event from 4 – 5 April 2017 at Singapore Expo. Stellar line-up of speaking companies include Accenture, Bombardier, BCG, Chevron Oronite, Emerson, Honeywell, Infineon Technologies, Siemens and more.

Come April, some of the world’s top manufacturing firms and technology enablers will gather at The Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017 conference, to share discourse on the latest developments impacting advanced manufacturing. Delegates will hear from more than 30 experts who will impart useful knowledge and strategies that can help companies confidently steer their way through a digitalisation roadmap in order to reach their end goal, that is, to level up manufacturing processes so as to deliver products in greater efficiency, of higher quality, and stay ahead of the change curve.

BCG will deliver the keynote on “Dawn of the Fourth Industrial revolution: Opportunities and Challenges”. The presentation will focus on Industry 4.0 and its impact on Singapore at the micro and macro levels.

Some case studies of innovative Industry 4.0 implementation will be shared as well.

Accenture, the Presenting Partner for the conference, will be speaking about “Smart Manufacturing: Bridging the Gap from Strategy to Execution”. The session will provide some examples of successful digital adoption and tips for adoption of Industry 4.0, from the strategy to implementation stages.

“Smart manufacturing is the next wave changing business models through the development and application of manufacturing intelligence to every aspect of business. BCG is actively working with many leading companies to implement Industry 4.0 and we are excited to bring our global expertise to Singapore. Beyond technology solutions, the journey needs to be accompanied by the right strategy, cultural and skills transformation to enable long-lasting results. We are excited to be a part of the conference and the MTA2017 90 www.martupdate.com

exhibition, which is bringing all the leading industry players together under one roof,” comments Dr. Daniel Küpper, Partner & Managing Director of BCG, Germany.

end Safety, Security and Reliability – Keys for a successful industry 4.0 migration and Augmented Reality in Industrial Applications: Tapping new opportunities.

“According to research conducted by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, the Industrial IoT is forecast to add US$14 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

But while technology brings opportunities, both a cultural and mind-set shift are required to ensure that applications and insights make their way to operators on the ground. I look forward to exploring this subject further at the upcoming Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017, and engaging clients, partners and ecosystem players to jointly develop solutions that will transform the manufacturing industry,” says Senthil Ramani, Accenture IoT Centre of Excellence Director, and Global Technology Lead for Chemicals and Natural Resources.

“Recent focus on Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) point to the digitalisation trend in manufacturing.

From robotics and additive manufacturing, to smart manufacturing and augmented reality, these technologies have been earmarked as key drivers of a successful deployment of Industry 4.0. It is more pertinent than ever for industry players, especially companies in the Asia Pacific, to acquire in-depth knowledge of these technologies in their journey towards Industry 4.0, and the Smart Manufacturing Asia conference is just the right place to achieve this,” says Ms. Jaime Ng, Director, Conferences, from UBM SES, organiser of MTA2017.

Spotlight on Industrial IoT & Industry 4.0 Technologies The conference will also comprise panel discussions with subject experts from April, Bombardier, Anton Paar, A*Star ARTC, Chevron Oronite, Emerson, Honeywell, Infineon Technologies, Mann+Hummel, Pepperl+Fuchs, Seagate Technology, and Siemens exchanging viewpoints on Industry 4.0, automation, robotics, IoT and more.

Other key topics and case studies include: The opportunities and risks in the advanced manufacturing sector in Asia, Simplifying complex manufacturing and creating meaningful Industry 4.0 transformation roadmap to digitalise existing factories, From factory to plants – Combining Digital Manufacturing with Industrial IoT o improve plant availability, performance and lead time, Industrie 4.0 – The German approach towards Industrial IoT, End-to-

Technologies translated to show floor Apart from hearing and learning from their peers and business leaders, a Smart Manufacturing Asia Pavilion will be featured at the MTA2017 show floor. State-of-the-art technological solutions from Accenture, BCG, Emerson, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, TUV SUD and Siemens will be on showcase.

Conference delegates are invited to join the tour of the pavilion before the networking breaks on both days.

The Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017 Conference is held as part of MTA2017 – Asia’s premier manufacturing technology industry event from 4 – 5 April 2017 at Singapore Expo.

Siemens, Accenture, BCG, Emerson, Honeywell, GE Digital, Anton Paar, TUV SUD and Mitsubishi Electric are all sponsors of the Smart Manufacturing Asia 2017 conference.

IFCON-EAST 2017 to focus on issues of MSME sector IFCON 2017 focused on latent talent available in Eastern India to step on accelerator and further increase the momentum of Make in India. The event was a great platform for manufacturers and MSMEs along with other allied industries to showcase their new initiatives, products and service.

The Concurrent Exhibition of Indian Foundry Convention-East (IFCON-EAST-2017) was held on 3rd - 4th February 2017 in Kolkata.

The exhibition was organized jointly by the Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India and Indian Foundry Organization (IFO). IFCON 2017 focused on latent talent available in Eastern India to step on accelerator and further increase the momentum of Make in India.

MSMEs along with other allied industries to showcase their new initiatives, products and services to the top executives from Central as well as State PSUs.

Metal manufacturing industrialists and metallurgists, equipment manufacturers, consultants, R & D personnel and academia from all over India and abroad, congregated at IFCON-East 2017 at Kolkata.

Dr. H. Sundara Murthy President of IFO welcomed all dignitaries at IFCON. He also mentioned the excellent support extended

by Mr. Avijit Ghosh CMD, HEC and chairman of the Indian Foundry Convention in his speech.

Mr. Nishith Behera VP, RSB Transmissions (I) Ltd, in his speech on ‘Young Technocrat’s Technical Vision’, dwelled upon how his journey from a young graduate to an Industry person shaped and how he used the opportunity to put a plant of auto components in Brazil. He said that to succeed, one has to have changed mindset to look at supplier as an extension of manufacturing. Foundry should have a competitive atmosphere & challenges to attract young generation.

The event provided excellent business opportunities for manufacturers and

Mr. S. K. Barnwal IAS, Principal Secretary of Industries & Commerce, Jharkhand informed

The agenda of the IFCON-EAST 2017 is to focus on issues plaguing the MSME sector. Metal manufacturing industrialists, equipment manufacturers, consultants and R&D experts participated in this event.

that the government procedures have been simplified for investors in Jharkhand. He said that the resources like land, raw material, labour, incentives etc are being made available. Video on ‘Jharkhand Movement’ took audience to visualise opportunities in state. He invited the garnered, to attend ‘Global Investors summit’ scheduled on 16th and 17th February, 2017.

IFMET 2018 brochure was released showcasing the details of exhibition planned to be held on 14th and 16th March 2018, in Mumbai.

Mr. Vishwajit Sahay IAS, Joint secretary DHI, in his keynote addressed how Foundry in India has contributed to Indian civilization.

He gave details of Feb 2016 scheme for capital goods which MSME can utilize. He said that thrusting upon the quality of export market was essential and that the proposal for Green under ’Swatch Bharat’ should be used by all the industries. Later the vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Subrato Chandra, IFO, and Vice President East zone.

Inauguration of IFCON 2017

by Mr. S. K. Barnwal, IAS www.martupdate.com 91

#Announcement

Hypertherm Introduces New Class of Plasma with Launch of XPR300

Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of plasma, laser and waterjet cutting systems, announced its new class of plasma called X-Definition. It is available in a 300 amp plasma system called the XPR300.

Hypertherm’s new XPR300 cuts faster and uses power more efficiently like HPR260XD. Piercing capability is 30 percent thicker piercing on mild steel and a 20 percent increase on stainless steel.

The XPR300 is easy to use.

Sensors in the power supply deliver refined diagnostic codes and significantly enhanced system monitoring information.

An EasyConnect feature allows operators to quickly plug the torch lead into the torch connect console without the use of tools, while a patent pending QuickLock electrode delivers easy quarter turn tightening to further reduce setup time.

Another feature is a quickchange torch that enables an operator to rapidly change torches with just one hand. All consoles feature advanced autogas capability allowing operators to select and implement cutting jobs directly from the CNC, along with Wi-Fi in the power supply to enable system Visit: www.hypertherm.com 92 www.martupdate.com

“KUSAM- MECO” KUSAM–MECO introduces introduces Digital Hand Held High Voltage Thermo Couple Insulation Tester Calibrator

The Model KM‐710 Hand Held Thermo Couple Calibrator is newly introduced by “KUSAM ‐ MECO”, an ISO 9001‐2008 certified company. This Thermocouple Calibrator has Ambient Temperature Compensation. It has a High Accuracy of maximum up to 0.3*C and 0.025% for mV. This Calibrator has a Temperature Resolution of 0.1*C. The Voltage range of this calibrator is (‐) 10mV to 100mV DC .Its Voltage Resolution is 0.01mV. It Sources & measures 7 Thermocouple type devices (J,K,T,E,R,S,B,N ) or mV( ‐10mV to 100mV ). For Clear & Accurate Reading it has a LCD size of 64*42mm & Product Size of 205*97*45*mm. It is available with a Standard Jack for external power supply.

“KUSAM–MECO” introduces a New Digital High Voltage Insulation Resistance Tester Model - KM - 2804 IN. This meter is used for measuring Insulation Resistance in EHV Circuit. The 2804 IN meter can measure Insulation Resistance at 1KV, 2.5KV, 5KV & 10KV (DC) with Insulation Resistance range of 0 - 50 GΩ 125 GΩ, 250 GΩ & 500 GΩ . It has a Bar Graph which displays the voltage decay during the discharge of the tested circuit & the voltage stressing the insulation while the test is in progress. The meter has timer which shows the elapsed time for which the test was “ON” & also shows the total time of the test. This meter gives audible & visual warning if external voltage is present thereby preventing damage to the meter.

Thermocouple Process Calibrator is a exactitude measurement and source handhold instrument, it can be use to calibrate the Thermocouple instrument.

Thermocouple Process Calibrator can measure or simulate 8 types of difference Thermocouple (°C or °F), and measure or simulate the millivolt (mV).

This insulation tester is microprocessor controlled with advanced safety features, with large LCD & it shows test time duration up to 99.9 s for easy comparison. It meets safety standard IEC 1010- 1 CAT III. It is Compact & light Weight. Dimensions are 170(L) x 120(W) x 95(D) mm & weight is approximately 1Kg. It uses power source of 1.5 volts x 8 batteries.

Visit: www.kusamelectrical.com

Visit: www.kusamelectrical.com

Manual CMM upgrade option within its CMM Retrofit service

Renishaw is pleased to announce the launch of its MODUS 2 manual CMM upgrade kits.

These enable users of manual CMMs to increase productivity, optimise the operation of their manual machine with a retrofit supplied by Renishaw.

The MODUS 2 MMI (Manual Machine Interface) provides an easy to use tool to access sophisticated measurement capability, making it readily usable to both expert and occasional users. The software, which supports the complete range of Renishaw’s CMM touch trigger probes, displays the full virtual environment, including the CMM, the probe head and the part fixture, if present. If there is no existing program, MODUS 2 offers a choice of measurement methods: selecting the feature either from the CAD model or the Inspection toolbox, or simply taking points on the feature and allowing the software to automatically detect the feature type.

To complement the software, Renishaw has compiled a number of competitively priced kits that include controller, software, 3 axes of encoder components and footswitch.

Visit: www.renishaw.com

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Dormer Pramet Introduces New Catalogue to help find the right cutting tool is available directly in the product page, including a set of icons presenting possible tool applications, achievable surface quality and type of cut.

Radek Hudos, marketing and communication manager at Dormer Pramet, said -“This new publication is more than just an update of our older indexable Dormer Pramet has launched catalogue, which was last brand new pramet catalogue containing more than 1,000 pages published in 2014. of products and machining advice “The detail on our inserts is, for a wide range of applications. thanks to a brand new page It is the first regular edition where all Pramet turning, milling template, absolutely identical across the whole catalogue. Also, and hole-making tools have we have tried to make the most been presented together in one printed, multi-lingual publication, important sections, such as the product pages, as universal as for numerous countries. In total possible by keeping them text free. more than 60,000 copies have A lot of text has been replaced been produced, in 20 different with easy to understand icons languages. that can be used across multiple To help customers find exactly languages.”- said Radek Hudos which product they need in a fast and easy way, various navigators For more details visit www. are available. Detailed information dormerpramet.com

NI Releases NI-RFmx 2.2 Measurement Software NI (Nasdaq: NATI), the provider of platform-based systems, announced NI-RFmx 2.2 the latest version of its advanced measurement software for PXI RF test systems. When used with the second-generation PXI Vector Signal Transceiver (VST), engineers can test 4.5G and 5G RF components such as transceivers and amplifiers using a wide range of carrier aggregation schemes, even as the 5G standard is still being defined.

With the second-generation VST, engineers can simultaneously generate and measure up to 32 LTE carriers, each with 20 MHz of bandwidth, and use the software to specify a variety of carrier spacing schemes.

The latest release of NI-RFmx also features algorithm improvements to reduce measurement time. Engineers performing

modulation quality and spectral measurements for wireless technologies such as UMTS/HSPA+ and LTE/LTE-Advanced Pro can experience EVM measurement time reductions of up to 33 percent by installing the latest version of the software.

“By adopting PXI and LabVIEW along with NI-RFmx measurement software, many customers in the semiconductor industry significantly cut test time for RF measurements, resulting in lower cost of test and faster time to market,” said Charles Schroeder, vice president of RF at NI. In addition to the algorithm improvements, NI-RFmx also adds enhanced support for measurements such as intermodulation distortion, third order intercept, and both Y-factor and cold source noise figure measurements.

Dharmesh Arora appointed as the Managing Director of FAG Bearings India Limited Mr. Dharmesh Arora has been appointed as the Managing Director of FAG Bearings India Limited effective 6th March, 2017. Mr. Arora is currently the President and CEO of the Schaeffler Group in India (parent company of FAG Bearings India Ltd), a position that he will continue to hold. He will also continue to be the Managing Director of INA Bearings India Pvt. Ltd, another group company of Schaeffler in India.

Mr. Arora replaces Mr. Rajendra Anandpara, who has decided to leave the Company for personal reasons. “Mr. Arora is a veteran of Automotive Industry having worked with Maruti Suzuki, General Motors and with Schaeffler Group in various leadership positions across geographic regions of the world. We welcome him to this new position 94 www.martupdate.com

to steer the organization to greater heights” said Mr. Avinash Gandhi, Chairman of FAG Bearings India Ltd. Mr. Arora has been with Schaeffler Group since 2012 leading the Group’s activities in India.

FAG Bearings India Ltd together with INA Bearings India Pvt. Ltd and LuK India Pvt. Ltd forms Schaeffler Group in India.

FAG Bearings India Ltd. was established at Vadodara, Gujarat in 1962. . With sales of INR 18 Billion in 2016 and 1,528 employees, it is India’s leading manufacturer of Rolling Bearings. The Company’s plant is rated among the Group’s most technologically advanced facilities and has global qualifications in terms of quality and productivity. Its bearings are

highly preferred in domestic as well as various global markets that find wide-ranging applications from electric motors to wind mills, motorcycles to mining, tractors to textile machines, and from paper to steel mills.

Plot No. 347A, 2nd Phase, KIADB Industrial Area, Harohalli, BENGALURU-562112 Kanakapura Taluk.

Ph: 080-26396461 / 41632962 / 99456 95322 Manfred Maier Email: fenmet@gmail.com , www.fenfemetallurgicals.com Managing Director & COO, HELLER www.martupdate.com 95

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Robots Equipped by SCHUNK @ London Science Museum its PZN-plus gripping system.

From the dawn of mechanised human forms to cutting-edge technology fresh from the lab, the ‘Robots’ exhibition reveals the astonishing 500-year quest to make machines human.

From 8th February to September 3rd the Science Museum in London will be running an exhibition on Robots and their

application through the ages. As the competence leader in gripping and clamping technology SCHUNK has a presence at the event with

One of the key attractions is Amico, an Italian demonstration robot that promotes the capabilities of high-precision flexible robotic arms. Designed to be mounted in any position, the demonstration at the Science Museum inserts automotive pistons into a cylinder block to highlight the ability to retain precision whilst working in a confined space. At the business end of this robot is the SCHUNK PZN-plus gripper. Ideal for situations where long fingers and high gripping forces often stand in conflict with the requirement of having compact sizes of the gripper housing, the innovative

behind the PZN-plus is on full display at the National Science Museum.

The grippers on the PZN-plus are equipped with a precise multitooth guidance system whereby forces and moments of the gripper are spread over several surfaces of a multiple-tooth guide, enabling longer fingers. The base jaws are precisely adjusted into the housing (0.01mm) in order to achieve a low guide clearance and to minimise wear. The finger positions can be sensored by magnetic or inductive proximity switches or by a freely programmable position control system. When using the FPS position control system, up to 5 positions per stroke can be monitored. So, if you are planning on taking a trip to the Science Museum, be sure to take a close look at Amico and how the fascinating robot utilises the SCHUNK PZN-plus grippers.

PATSOL Strengthens Global Presence, opens Office in the US Engineering solutions provider PAT Productivity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. strengthened its position in the US with its new 2nd office in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Patsol is the registered trade mark of the company. In the first phase, the company aims at serving customers within radius of 800km which will cover the states Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri, Iowa, Penn, New York.

The new office was inaugurated on 24th February 2017, three years after its establishment on 24th February 2014. Driven by the motto “Different Manufacturing to Manufacturing Differently”, the company provides engineering service and solution in the areas of assembly, machining, welding, sheet metal, metrology, turnkey 96 www.martupdate.com

automation solutions and lean implementation for cost saving.

to upgrade their existing Tier supplier by providing value added Key Engineering Services and the second is to making these Tier suppliers more profitable by working on converting their waste into profits”. We have been successful with the US, German & Japanese MNCs in India so why not provide the same service in US?”

The company is also a technical consultant to ISRO. The company successfully completed a consulting contract from ISRO in 2016 for increasing productivity for Stage Integration of Satellite Launch Vehicles. The company has also conceptualized various Automation Lines for the space program for assembly & testing of The company is seriously eyeing certain critical components of the UAE as part of its expansion plan in 2017 and will shortly open its Engines 3rd office in the country. They are On the opening of the PATSOL’s looking for strategic residential new office in the US, Mr. Sudhir partners with a fire under their Patankar, Managing Director of belly who are ready to pitch in PATSOL said, “We are exploring towards this expansion in UAE, which is a very promising territory the US market with a twin prong especially with the opening up of strategy – The first is to aid opportunities for Entrepreneurs. the Supply Chain of the OEM

Sudhir Patankar Managing Director “What our customers say ‘The best part for preferring Patsol over others is that there are no upfront fees, as the fees are on Save and then Share basis’ which turns out to be a real win-win for both. This pushes us work hard to find solutions to challenging problems. The more the customer benefits by our value addition.”

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