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CONTENTS
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EDITORIAL
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Winning an Honour!
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he MMA 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Friday, 3rd September 2021. A grand success! Thank you, members, for your excellent support! Adding icing to the cake, I am happy to share with you once again the great news: MMA has bagged the prestigious “Best Management Association in India” award for the year 2020-21 by All India Management Association. A great honour, indeed. Dear members, it is your support and patronage that makes such milestones possible. And what makes MMA Special? The famous MMA spirit defined by our tenacity, boldness and
inquisitiveness to be the fountainhead of world-class management excellence. Click to watch the AGM awards function video.
A change of guard... We will take forward our vision guided and supported by the new Managing Committee headed by the President, Mr C V Subba Rao, Managing Director,
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Mr Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss Industries Ltd and President, MMA for the year 2020‐21 has been a great source of inspiration and support to us towards achieving our objective.
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Sanmar Shipping Ltd. The new Managing Committee consisting of experienced professionals and new entrants with vast corporate background, would immensely contribute to take MMA to greater heights. I will be failing in my duty if I do not place on record of the great support extended by Mr Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss Industries Ltd, who has been our President for the year 2020-21. He has been a great source of inspiration and support to us towards achieving our objective. Personally, it has been a unique privilege to be part of his team. My grateful thanks to him for his unstinted support in all our endeavours.
The Quad and its relevance The recent spotlight on the first in person summitlike meeting of the Quad signals a clear advance on the India, US, Australia, Japan grouping. The group covered an array of issues, including free and open Indo-Pacific coordination on economic, diplomatic, human rights policies and action on climate change. There is also the Quad vaccine partnership to finance a capacity ramp–up in India. We must take this opportunity and co-operate with the US on vaccine trade and leverage the grouping for regional stability. America has clearly indicated its geo-strategic focus: China containment. This is good news for India, even if US security issues in the east may not envision too big a role for it. On vaccine diplomacy, India has an opportunity for goodwill creation, and the Quad initiative offers a fantastic opportunity. The world is starved of the Covid vaccine and the country that responds well is the one that stands to gain globally; India should not miss this opportunity! In this context, MMA is also planning conclave on Quad. Watch out for the date.
Cyber warfare and security It is imperative to understand that information warfare is an ongoing affair. Cyber warfare and its technical aspects are already militarized, global and continuous, whether or not states are engaging in armed conflict. India cannot consider itself a cyber power merely because it has a big tech industry. It must develop its own security measures to defends its information 6
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space. A creditable offensive cyber capability is necessary. India presents attackers with a vast sprawling target sphere, large parts of which are unguarded perhaps even unprotectable. Deterrence in information warfare is a multi-layered concept, but it requires the possession of effective cyber weapons. There is a lot of urgent work that India must do to craft a national strategy for cyber security measures to contain information warfare. In this context, MMA is organizing a conclave on the theme “Securing India in Cyber Space” on Wednesday, 20th October 2021 from 09.30 am to 01.30 pm. A galaxy of eminent speakers will share their insights on the theme. View the invitation.
Deterrence in information warfare is a multi‐layered concept, but it requires the possession of effective cyber weapons.
The phenomenal bull run The rally of share market in the past 18 months propelled Sensex to breach the 60,000 mark. Indian equities have outperformed the global index by 2.2 percent and, in the past one year, outpaced the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets (MSCIEM) index by 36% Top fund managers and strategists warn about the looming risks: earnings disappointments, rich valuation and the Evergrande crisis in an overbought market. Lack of high returns from traditional investments has driven a record number of retail investors to the stock market. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has rightly urged the professional bodies to play a key role in protecting the interests of minority shareholders. It is one of the most essential requirements of a sound corporate governance system for protecting the rights of shareholders so that they can actively participate and constructively influence corporate decision making.
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It is sad to hear about the passing of Mr Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Great Lakes Institute of Management, popularly known to many as Bala Uncle. We convey our sincere heartfelt condolences
come. It is sad to hear about the passing of Mr Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Great Lakes Institute of Management, popularly known to many as Bala Uncle. We convey our sincere heartfelt condolences to his family. May God grant to all his well-wishers the strength and fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. I had the privilege of personally interacting with him on a number of occasions and he was a part of MMA Managing Committee and a great source of inspiration for all of us.
to his family. The emphasis on the protection of minority interest is of paramount importance at a time when the country is seeing a boom in the participation of households in equity markets, especially during the pandemic.
Good news for anxious professionals... Neuroscientists claim that anxiety can improve the quality of life by supercharging brains and bodies. A certain amount of anxiety is required to motivate us to do things to help boost performance and serve as a warning sign. It becomes a problem when anxiety begins interfering with our daily life. If you have an anxiety issue, you have to seek support and treatment to manage it. Listening to anxiety and helping my body is a way of self-care to lead a healthy life. Fear of consequences will also ensure that you do everything possible to rise to the occasion.
His humility, incisive mind, keen intellect and ability to perceive the wide horizons are qualities I will always recall. His contribution to management education, trade and commerce are well known and too wide to grasp at this point of time. Posterity will mark him as a stalwart, a pioneer and a resolute and determined human being who led a comprehensive life and has now passed on to immortality. Let me know what you think about everything that’s happening at MMA. You may contact me at ed@mmachennai.org. Stay safe, stay healthy and keep learning.
Homage to a colossus A giant has completed his journey on this planet and left a footprint that will be remembered and recalled with great pride and memories for aeons to
•EDITOR •Gp Capt R Vijayakumar ﴾Retd﴿, VSM
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As the world celebrated the Global Day of Action on 25th September 2021 to commemorate the introduction of the Global Goals at the United Nations, MMA ‐ KAS organised a hybrid conclave on the theme “Sustainable Development Goals ‐ Marching towards the Global Agenda" on 24 September 2021 at MMA Management Centre to take stock of the progress achieved in attaining the global goals.
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he concept of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was introduced way back in 2012 during the UN conference on sustainable development held in Brazil. It discussed the various development agenda targets after 2015 because that was the time when the millennium development goals would end and, therefore, we needed some kind of a vision for the world post-2015.
the United Nations on 5th September 2015. The start date of the transformation agenda was set as 1st January 2016 and it was decided to implement this for a period of 15 years, which is why the end period is kept as 2030.
The objective was to come out with a set of universal goals which would be acceptable to all nations of the world, since there was a need for recognising climate change and other environmental challenges that the world was facing. Around the end of 2015, the Paris Accord was also signed on climate change and there was a great deal of buzz around environmental issues. There was a need to address the issue of how the world would take forward the environmental agenda and a series of political and economic challenges. The global financial crisis that happened during 2008-09 highlighted the need to address the world economic order as well as the numerous political challenges, which even today, the world faces in the wake of what has been happening in our neighbourhood and elsewhere. The concept of sustainable development goals (SDG) evolved around a document titled, "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development". This was adopted by
The Five Pillars These are the 5Ps or Five Pillars for sustainable development: People: This addresses challenges such as poverty and hunger and ensuring human dignity and equality.
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Prosperity: Ensure that everybody prospers and that it should be sustainable and in harmony with nature.
entire set of indicators is that no one is left behind. It is very important to realise that this has been adopted across the world.
Peace: We need to have an inclusive society and must ensure that conflicts are minimised.
We no longer want growth to happen only in certain sections of the society. We need everyone to prosper and ensure that everyone's ambitions are realised. The Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has come out with his vision for the State for the next 10 years. His underlying message is the same, which is, not to leave anyone behind. We are a proud state which believes in social justice, equality and the need for every citizen to prosper.
Partnership: There was a recognition that we alone cannot be carrying forward this agenda. We need to partner across nations, within nations and within communities. Planet: Recognising that this planet of ours has finite resources and the climate change is a challenge; we need to protect the planet for our future generation.
Leave nobody behind: The 17 goals The SDGs are for a period of 15 years and we have already covered about six years. 17 goals were enunciated in 2015 and these goals reflect the ultimate ambition of humanity. These are broken down into 169 targets, which are specific milestones to reach the above goals. The targets would cover areas like global change, ending poverty, protection of the planet and its environment and ensuring overall prosperity for everyone. Whenever we announce certain targets, we need to measure our progress in achieving those targets. Therefore, we needed to have indicators which we can measure. There are 232 distinct global indicators for these 169 targets and the overarching theme of this 12
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There are 232 distinct global indicators for these 169 targets and the overarching theme of this entire set of indicators is that no one is left behind.
The 17 goals cover areas such as poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reducing inequality, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water and life on
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land, peace, justice and strong institutions and finally partnerships. This is our main blueprint for the SDGs.
The monitoring mechanism To carry forward the SDGs, at the national level, we have the NITI Aayog as the apex body and nodal institution. It monitors how SDGs are implemented across the country in various states. It also does a ranking of states and Union Territories on their achievement of the SDGs through an SDG India Index. The third version of this Index has been recently published. Then we have the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) which is the data focal point for the nation, for coordination of all data related activities. It pulls data from various ministries, agencies and various sources and uses this to measure our performance on the indicators. It also monitors how globally the SDG agenda is faring, so that we have a benchmark against which we can rate ourselves. It releases the National Indicator Framework (NIF) that maps schemes and programmes of the Union Government to the SDG indicators and other outcome indicators. Although there are 232 odd global indicators under the SDG framework, India has gone a step further and come out with its own national indicators which were earlier 305 in number, but are now revised to 297. In Tamil Nadu, at the state level, a high-powered committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, and assisted by the Planning and Development department, monitors 14
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the overall implementation of the SDGs. The State Planning Commission, in turn, has constituted eight working groups, which are headed by Secretaries of key nodal departments, to periodically monitor all these indicators. The Department of Economics and Statistics of the Government of Tamil Nadu acts as our data focal point. Each of the departments of the Government have individual SDG units. They need to keep monitoring whether their schemes are in conformity with the SDGs and the indicators are indeed reflecting the attainment of SDG targets.
The purpose of these rankings is not to find fault with any policy or its implementation, but it is a way of trying to introspect and attempting course correction wherever required.
Tamil Nadu’s high ranking NITI Aayog first came out with its SDG national index in 2018, which was the baseline year. During SDG Version 1.0, Tamil Nadu scored very well and we were
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Partnerships and the role of corporates To reach these goals, it is not just up to the state to do everything. It is, in fact, more about partnerships. Conferences such as this one are organized to sensitize the industry and civil society to understand that all of us have to work hand in hand to achieve the targets set out under these goals. Corporates can play a big role in the attainment of SDG goals. The corporate industry is one of the biggest providers of employment. Most of the growth that we see in the economy is on account of the private sector and, therefore, as an engine of growth, the corporates play a very vital role in our economy. Secondly, the other major contribution of corporates is on technology and innovation. Some of the best technology and innovative practices must come from the corporates. Thirdly, apart from the Government, which is a major spender on infrastructure and services, it is the corporate sector that brings in investments that lead to economic growth and jobs.
ranked third. With a score of 66, we were just a point behind the two leading states of Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. In 2019-20, during SDG Version 2.0, we maintained our third rank. The good news is that in the latest SDG Version 3.0, which came out in 2020-21, Tamil Nadu has moved up to the second rank, just a point behind Kerala. On the first goal of eliminating poverty, we have improved considerably and we are consistently ranked number one on this goal with 86 points out of 100. On attaining zero hunger, we have improved our ranking to six, but we are still way behind the best state in that SDG goal. On the goal of Good Health, Tamil Nadu is known to be a state with a very strong public health infrastructure and we are ranked third. On education, unfortunately, we have slipped a bit and we are fairly below the national leader in terms of score. Likewise, our performance in other goals has been mixed as seen below.
At the global level, there are bodies which harness the collective power of the corporate world. We have platforms like the UN Global Compact which has come out with a blueprint for attainment of SDG leadership. They have listed out areas like financial innovation, reporting, breakthrough innovation and decent work in global supply chains as cutting across all SDG goals. This is something which all businesses, irrespective of what sector they are in, need to concentrate upon.
Pathways to various themes Then there are certain thematic areas and pathways related to them. If we need to go in for a low carbon pathway, then we need to focus on goals 7, 13 and 8. Likewise, if you we are looking at a pathway which leads to healthy and sustainable lifestyle, there are goals under SDG 3, 12 and 17. It is a very fascinating blueprint that Global Compact has come out with as it
The purpose of these rankings is not to find fault with any policy or its implementation, but it is a way of trying to introspect and attempting course correction wherever required. We cannot rest on our past performance or achievements and need to continually improve ourselves as a society. BUSINESS MANDATE
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is specifically targeted to corporates, which can be examined. When we come to innovation, there are four strategic SDGs that can amplify how corporates can influence and deliver maximum value. In fact, SDG 2 on zero hunger and SDG 3 on good health and wellbeing are typically those which are universal. SDG 9, which relates to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 11, which pertains to Sustainable Cities and Communities on the other hand look at social value maximization.
Food supply and nutrition 20 to 40 percent of our perishable food, particularly horticultural crops, is estimated to be lost every year during post-harvest handling and transportation. This adds to the consumer's cost because somebody has to absorb that. On the one hand, the farmer gets a low value for the crop that he produces. The consumer, on the other hand, ends up paying a huge price for the product. We have intermediaries who are part of the value chain and then there are costs like transportation, storage, etc. But what about the huge post-harvest losses? This is an area which corporates can look into, because of their strength in handling supply chains. Their positive action will benefit both consumers and producers.
Most states in India spend around the level of 1.0 to 1.5% of GDP on public healthcare. This needs to go up. But for every 1% increase, the increase in spend will be huge.
Nutrition is another major challenge for a country like India, despite some of the best public health care systems in states like Tamil Nadu. It is a matter of concern for all of us that anaemia as well as other malnutrition forms like stunting and underweight are a major challenge. Tamil Nadu does not perform too well in some of these areas, as nearly 45% of our pregnant women continue to be anaemic, which has an impact on the health and well-being of children. If a child is subjected to nutritional deficiencies at her early stage of development, she will not be a productive 18
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citizen in terms of health or educational outcomes later on in life. This is a serious problem, despite all the efforts that we, as a community and Government have been taking, over the years. This can be easily addressed if we concentrate on food supply chains, minimise losses, diversify our agriculture and encourage households to include more vegetables, fruit, milk and other nutritious food in our diet. Communities and nations across the world have done it. There is no reason why India and particularly Tamil Nadu cannot do it. Ultimately, our outcome is to improve the health and well-being of our citizens.
Healthcare expenditure and poverty On an average, India spends about 3.6% of its GDP on healthcare. Less than 1.3% of the GDP comes from government spending on healthcare. The rest 2.3% comes as private sector spend or out-of-pocket expenditure by citizens on health needs. Countries like Brazil and other developing countries spend much more of their GDP on healthcare. We need to increase our GDP spend from current levels to at least 6% of GDP. Most states in India spend around the level of 1.0 to 1.5% of GDP on public healthcare. This needs to go up. But for every 1% increase, the increase in spend will be huge. To give you a sense of the numbers, if Tamil Nadu were to increase its expenditure on public healthcare by just 1% of its SGDP, it would need to raise Rs 20,000 crore of resources additionally, which is nearly equal to what it is already spending. At the same time, we need to ensure that people don't end up spending from their pockets. If the Government systems are strengthened, and if Government spends more on public health, the spending by the common people on private healthcare will come down. It is estimated that the cost of medical treatment in the private sector could be nearly ten times the cost of treatment in a Government facility. The Government and the corporates have to sit together to see how we can bring these costs down, so that people don't end up paying a huge part of their limited income from their pockets on treatment. There are studies that show that the single biggest cause of poverty in India is the healthcare cost. People continue to be poor or if they have come out of poverty, they slip back into poverty because of unbearable healthcare costs. When all of a sudden, there is an emergency in the family, and if the nearby Government hospital or PHC cannot take care, they have to rush to a private healthcare provider where they have to pay through their nose, for which they invariably borrow
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and go into debt. Many case studies have revealed how important it is for public health systems to be strengthened and also to have in place affordable health care for the poor.
Women in leadership The National Indicator Framework is mapped to the various SDG goals. For example, Goal 5 talks about women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life. Today, women representation on Board of Directors of listed companies is just 19%. Our goal must be to ensure that women get equal opportunity for leadership at all levels. It is not just about reserving seats in our legislatures and local bodies but in Board positions as well. These numbers have not been improving considerably over the past few years and this is a matter of concern.
Companies that align their priorities with the SDGs are bound to strengthen engagement with their
Still why is it that we are not able to become the manufacturing hub of the world? In the new emerging world order, manufacturing companies are looking to relocate from traditional geographies like China to countries like India. It is a great opportunity and we must grab it. While manufacturing contributes to about 25 percent of our GDP, the share of employment from manufacturing is just over 12%. The Government cannot increase the share of manufacturing or jobs in the manufacturing sector by itself. It is the industry that must come out with workable strategies in partnership with Government to see how we can attain this goal.
Internalise sustainability
customers, employees and other stakeholders.
Energy efficiency Target 7.3: By 2030, we must double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. We have an indicator which measures how much energy we consume in terms of the primary energy vis-a-vis the GDP. To be sustainable, we need to reduce this energy intensity. If we consume, say 100 mega joules per rupee of GDP, we need to bring it down to 50 by the end of 2030. One way to do that is to transition to renewable sources of energy, but there are challenges in converting from coal-based power to renewable energy. However, if corporates reduce their consumption of energy through energy efficiency measures, greener buildings, use of energy-saving devices or using green power, we can definitely achieve this goal.
Focus on manufacturing
Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization. By 2030, we must significantly raise industry's share of employment and gross domestic product. One indicator is the percentage share of GVA manufacturing to total GVA. The second indicator is manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment. The focus clearly has to be on manufacturing. We need to increase the share of manufacturing in our GDP basket. It is currently 25% in Tamil Nadu, thanks in part to the initiatives taken by both the Centre and State, including the Make-inIndia campaign.
Finally, we have to encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information in their reporting cycle. How many companies report about sustainability in their annual reports? One of the indicators could be the proportion of companies that report this. Compliance apart, the very concept of sustainability has not yet been internalized in many companies, though there are some that are doing excellent work, both in the large industry and the MSME sector. Companies that align their priorities with the SDGs are bound to strengthen engagement with their customers, employees and other stakeholders. There was a small sample survey done in 2018 by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development among 250 of its members. Interestingly, nearly half the respondent companies perceived reputational gains from sustainable practices.
Opportunities galore To summarize, the SDGs can serve as a roadmap to help identify future business possibilities. When the whole world is marching towards sustainability, there
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marching towards sustainability,
are enormous opportunities which the corporates can latch on to. At the same time, there is a need from the Government side to bring in certain regulatory measures, so that everybody contributes to the SDG agenda. Companies that voluntarily take up the SDGs will obviously be ahead of the curve and can avoid penalties or higher taxation if they comply with the regulations as and when they kick in. Companies that invest in SDGs now are bound to meet success later on. There is a quote that says, "Businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail." If we do not follow the SDG roadmap, we may well end up as a failed society where no business can thrive. So it is in the interest of corporates that they partner with Government to ensure that we, as a society, do not fail on the SDG scorecard.
Go for inclusive business Companies must invest in people and inclusive growth and have resilience to social conflict, climate change and pandemics. All these are not just the State’s responsibility. For instance, to promote gender equality, corporates have to give equal opportunity to women and give them equal wages. For inclusive growth, we need to partner with each other. The Government and the private sector must come out with joint innovations to address our problems of infrastructure, energy, water, sanitation and jobs which must be inclusive and which do not
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When the whole world is there are enormous opportunities which the corporates can latch on to.
leave anybody behind, irrespective of their background. SDGs tell us to do business that is inclusive and responsible. There are a number of good practices which are available. There are platforms which allow us to share these practices. Let us learn from these best practices, develop toolkits and train people within organizations. We must integrate SDGs in corporate strategies and business plans and measure them the way Government is now measuring the outcomes of its schemes and programmes through a National Indicator Framework. The State is also planning to come out with its own State Indicator Framework and the corporate world can likewise develop a Corporate Indicator Framework for SDGs. I appeal to the members of MMA, particularly the corporates, to internalise SDGs in your work ethic and business model, not just for the good of your company but for the society.
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MMA organised a hybrid event on the theme, “Tamilnadu CSR Summit – Forging Partnerships & Impact Pathways" on 30 August 2021 at MMA Management Centre. The conclave was organized in partnership with SATTVA, Dhwani Foundation and KAS. Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Hon. Minister for Finance & Human Resources Management, Government of Tamil Nadu was the Chief Guest. He e‐launched the Tamil Nadu CSR Report and delivered the inaugural address.
I
am happy to e-launch the Tamil Nadu CSR Report prepared by Sattva. It is an interesting document and has a lot of granular details. I commend the people who have put it together. I encourage everyone to read it. It is enlightening and, in some ways, thought-provoking about what is going well, what could be improved and where we can step up a little bit.
The context changes and the law of the land is the law of the land. The primary concern is that when it comes to things like Corporate Social Responsibility, though there are guidelines and the government framework, it requires some conscientious thinking and humble data gathering and seeking, rather than using this as a vehicle to advance any personal agenda.
When I argued against CSR
CSR and the MLA constituency development fund
Let me start with my concerns about the notion of corporate social responsibility. I went to business school in the US very late in life, at the age of 32 or 33, by which time I had already done a successful consulting practice, even as an immigrant in the US and had understood the world a bit. I remember distinctly that in one of my business ethics courses, I had to write an essay on the theme, “Should social responsibility be part of a corporation’s core agenda?” I had argued lucidly and quite boldly that it should not be. I wrote about a particular context in the US that the shareholders elect the agents who run a corporate - the Board of Directors and their appointees as the management to deliver the results that they bought the share for. They did not appoint them to be guardians of society and to be purveyors of what is good and fair in the world and what should take priority over what.
In the recent Tamil Nadu assembly budget debate, the MLA constituency development funds allocation figured. This is somewhat a parallel to the CSR funds in the sense that each member can decide how to spend that but within some guidelines, in their constituency, to focus on grassroots, granular problems that policymakers at the state level cannot. We administer 3.3 lakh crore as state budget out of which the MLA Constituency Development Fund is 3 crores. There was a universal request to me that MLAs should be given unlimited flexibility in determining how those funds should be used. I took it up to the Chief Minister, explained to him that while in opposition for five years, I had executed a record number of projects and told him that giving flexibility in the use of funds was not a bad idea. In five years, I did 150 projects ranging from anganwadis to providing
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drinking water, scanning machines at PHC and so on.
Concerns and delights from the CSR report
The Chief Secretary and many officers gave counter examples of how easily these funds can be mismanaged or misused and impressed upon me why the state needed to have some guidelines. There was not that much support for the notion of relaxing the guidelines which stipulate what percentage can be spent on each category.
From the TN CSR Report’s Executive Summary, let me point out a few things. It says that 92,605 crores has been spent on CSR in just six years since the inception of the legally mandated CSR activity. That's a lot of money and it is roughly three times what the government of TN spent on Urban Development and Water Management last year. 38% of this CSR spend has been tagged as pan India. There are very few things that you can do successfully pan India. Even the Government of India fails to do successfully pan India, on things like Swachh Bharat.
The report points out that the bulk of CSR activity happens in Chennai and Coimbatore. The two aspirational districts are only getting about 1%. These are all a wake‐up call...
So, that is the big dichotomy in things like CSR. Of course, it is good for the society and the human condition, if people who are wise in the business of profit also apply their minds on their resources to the benefit of individuals and progress of society. The question is: how and under what kind of framework and what ethical constraints? 24
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We've all heard of the inability to get the funds used in time or the inability to ensure that water continues to be supplied to the toilets that were built on these funds. Because, those are municipal administration activities that cannot be administered on an ongoing basis indefinitely by the government of India. I see it as a little bit negative that 38% of the funding has gone on pan India initiatives. I understand that the second-highest allocation is to the state of Maharashtra, which is probably 12 to 15 percent of the GDP of the country. I am concerned again that Tamil Nadu is only the fourth highest recipient of the funds in India, because it has the second highest GDP. 42% of the funds have been channeled by the implementing agencies, many of which I assume are in the non-profit sector, which can be a good or bad thing.
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The report points out that women's empowerment and the conservation of natural resources or environmental sustainability have seen declining trend in spending. That is a bit of concern. I am heartened by the fact that 67% of the spending in Tamil Nadu has been towards education, healthcare and rural development, compared to an average of only 59% for India. I hope that more of that goes towards rural development. I am also concerned that just three or four big corporates account for 60% of the total CSR spending and that 72% of all CSR spending in Tamil Nadu comes from companies that are headquartered in the state. As a big state, we have many different companies headquartered elsewhere that have significant portions of their operations, offices or activities in Tamil Nadu.
Do not leave anyone behind Our Chief Minister said very clearly in his address to the Economic Advisory Council that social justice and inclusive growth are integral part of our agenda and that we do not like to see any districts, areas or communities left behind. The report points out that the bulk of CSR activity happens in Chennai and Coimbatore. The two aspirational districts are only getting about 1%. These are all a wake-up call and a motivator or incentive for the big corporates and those who are spending and allocating this money, to be more thoughtful, granular and detailed in their approach and activities going forward.
Are governments only for collection? Let me confess that the nature of government is not conducive in many ways to the aspirations of the people. I was at an event yesterday where one of our economic advisors, Dr S Narayan, made the point that, for over a hundred years or so in the British time and even going back to our ancient culture, the nature of government administration has been mostly towards the collection of revenue--either land-based revenue or transaction-based revenue, and that we are not welldesigned in terms of governmental set up, for an agenda of development, inclusive growth or job creation. That is certainly true. Just look at the nature of our titles. The person who is the number one government official in our district is called Collector. Collector of what? Because at one point, he was a collector of taxes and revenue. That was the most important function for the government in the colonial days, when the British ran the government. It was their job of ensuring the empire got its fair share.
Many of the NGOs that add the greatest value to democracy and society are the ones that hold the government account‐ able...
So in that sense, we are not set up ideally. Ever since coming to office, it has become painfully clear to me that we need some profound reforms. Our Chief Minister again stated in his address to the Council of Economic Advisers that he is well aware of this and he stands ready for not just transformation, but for radical reforms.
Rope in the corporates We must provide an opportunity for corporates who have the kinds of skills that the Government ought to have but doesn't. The corporates have the kind of data-driven, performance-oriented, benchmarkable, accountable and documentable processes that a government of the development agenda ought to have. As one who has operated in the corporate world for a few decades, I can certainly validate that the corporate world has all of those. There will be real value from this TN CSR Meet initiative if the corporate world can help shape the debate and the progress by applying the skills that they have, in the course of doing their CSR activities. They must be much more granular, data-driven, outcome focussed and performance evaluative. They must set up checks and balances and validation methodologies to ensure that the funds that people donate or that the corporations contribute, reach the last mile and are delivered to the end user.
When problems fail to bubble up... I'll go one step further. The problem with governments is that due to lack of proper administrative procedures, infrastructure, data continuity, institutional memory and institutional knowledge, big problems get recognized but maybe, cannot get resolved, while the little problems just fall through the cracks. They don't come up to the level of being noticed, certainly by those who are politically elected, to deal with such outcomes or problems. And it is here that I think the CSR efforts can play a big role because you--corporates--certainly have the capacity to work on the granular aspects of your area,
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When we look around Tamil Nadu, we see that much of the water conservation efforts and redevelopment of ponds and other water bodies have been done by NGOs...
your system, your branch office and surrounding issues that may not bubble up to the level of interest of a big government department or a ministry. Many a time, you can be the leading example for us. When we look around Tamil Nadu, we see that much of the water conservation efforts and redevelopment of ponds and other water bodies have been done by NGOs, supported in many cases by CSR funds and personal relations. They serve as a benchmark and also as a kind of levelling mechanism to say, can the government live up to this standard or adopt these standards as our way of operating?
Going back on my opinion So in that sense, contrary to my views on this subject held 20 years ago, I am now of the opinion that in the course of the progress of a society and the resolution of its problems, there is a crucial role to be played by the corporate entities that have the expertise, requisite infrastructure, skillsets and people that are sometimes lacking in the government--and in many cases glaringly. You will not only be a great benefit to society but you can prove to be the gold standard to which the government must be held accountable and can improve itself.
civil society, press, activists, NGOs and so forth. The support of these agents through CSR is also an important way in which the corporates can add value to the improvement of the nature of our democracy, the fabric of our society and the lives of people. Ms Meera Harish, Partner at Sattva Consulting replying to the minister’s speech said, “We had three things on the agenda in terms of outcome from today's TN CSR Summit. These three are exactly the things that our Honourable Finance Minister Mr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan spoke about. It was so inspiring to hear that.” She continued and said, “The one big lacuna that the CSR ecosystem has had for several years in this country is not having data and data backed insights. At Sattva, we have tried to do that. Both in India and Tamil Nadu, we work with corporates and successfully enable them to have data backed insights that can lead to decision making in CSR.” She also suggested that we must move CSR a little more strategically, rather than just looking at it tactically - project to project or program to program –purely with a compliance lens. This will make us move the needle on the development agenda for the state and go deep in solving problems, she said. She also emphasised the importance of partnerships. “Dhwani Foundation has partnered with us today bringing in a lot of grassroots NGOs to the summit. We have got the finest set of corporates from Tamil Nadu and rest of India who are working on Tamil Nadu. For example, the National Stock Exchange works on the two aspirational districts in Tamil Nadu. We also have a fair bit of academia in the panel and audience. There are many incubators with the IITs and IIMs of this country. They are solving for social impact,” she said and hoped that the summit has fulfilled its agenda. (Click to open the report)
Many of the NGOs that add the greatest value to democracy and society are the ones that hold the government accountable, shed transparency on the functioning of the government, point out the weaknesses and glaring omissions and the antidemocratic or the anti-integrity activities. I am not talking about any particular party or any particular state.
Support those holding mirror up to the power The balance of power in a democracy requires strong, independent institutions. Some of those institutions will be within the framework of the Constitution like the judicial system or independent bodies like the Election Commission or the Accountant General. But some of those surely must come from the 26
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Madras Management Association crossed yet another important milestone by holding the 65th Annual General Meeting ﴾AGM﴿ and MMA Managerial Excellence Award function, in Hybrid format, on 3 September 2021 at the MMA Management Centre.
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he evening started with the mellifluous rendering of invocation song by Ms Padmaja. Mr Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, MMA and PresidentDanfoss Industries Ltd delivered the welcome address. A special digital issue of MMA’s Magazine –‘Business Mandate’ was released on the occasion. Mr. Harish Pati Singhania, President of AIMA, and Director-J K Organisation and Vice Chairman and Managing Director, J K Paper Ltd was the chief guest. Dr J Radhakrishnan, IAS, Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu was the Guest of Honour. Mr C V Subba Rao, Senior Vice President, MMA & MD, Sanmar Shipping Ltd proposed the vote of thanks.
From 1 lab to 280 plus Delivering the Keynote Address virtually from New Delhi airport and squeezing in his time while on an official trip, Dr Radhakrishnan explained that prior to Covid, the previous outbreaks like the 2009 Swine flu pandemic, the Ebola virus that spread in Africa, the Nipah and Zika virus and the still-prevalent Dengue were major challenges but they were all considered purely as public health subjects. But Covid-19 has changed both this perception and the world. He highlighted that when Covid was first detected, though Tamil Nadu has a better health
management system compared to many other Indian states, it had just one RT-PCR testing lab in King Institute, Guindy. Today, thanks to the government’s management of the crisis, there are 285 such labs in Tamil Nadu. He also pointed out the changing requirements of drugs and devices like ventilators from the first wave to the second wave. “Even now, we do not know if the third wave will strike and if so, when and in what scale,” he wondered. According to him, the other major challenges were the large number of deaths occurring in a short span of time, complete stoppage of fund flow due to lockdowns and the supply chain disruptions leading to difficulty in procuring active ingredients from China, who is a major supplier for India and other countries, for manufacturing drugs. However, the silver lining was the coming together of key stakeholders. Thanks to the coordination by the government and CSR support from L&T, the National Institute of Ageing was transformed into a 750 bed Covid Care centre, he said and added, “In the current situation, we keep learning every day and the pandemic is a tailor-made situation for us to exchange ideas and share knowledge. This is where MMA plays a big role.” Accepting the MMA Managerial Excellence award for 2021, Dr Radhakrishnan thanked all the health department staff in Tamil Nadu. Though he could not receive the award in person, he said in a lighter vein, that it was a
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poetic justice that his wife, who had to bear the brunt of managing the family and supporting her husband who was engaged in visiting many Covid care centres, could be present at the MMA venue and receive the award on his behalf.
efficient one.
What made King Institute a world‐class centre?
Given the restrictions on working together, managers have had to find the capacity to get things done remotely. Those who believed that their job was to hold courts and interrogations to drive employees, have been lost in the new work environment.
Prof Dr K Narayanasamy, Director, King Institute of Preventive Medicine & Research, Guindy, Chennai was the second recipient of MMA Managerial Excellence award for 2021, for his outstanding contribution to Covid care. Dr Narayanasamy, in his acceptance speech outlined some of the positive and unique steps that they took which made them provide world-class service in Covid care. The steps taken: • We categorised patients as mild, medium or severe based on the degree of infection, and followed a holistic treatment protocol. • Our team was closely monitoring the effects of drugs in patients’ recovery. • We started a 24x7 mental care system to support patients who suffered from loneliness and depression • With voluntary donation from Covid recovered patients, we set up a 2000 books library for patients to read and have a homelike ambience. • We put in place a ‘no-attender policy’ so that the infection was not passed on to family members and community. • We introduced counselling for family members of Covid patients, joining hands with NGOs, and assuring them to feel safe and comfortable. Mr. Harish Pati Singhania, President-AIMA congratulated MMA for receiving the Best Management Association award from AIMA for the twelfth time in a row. He also congratulated Dr Radhakrishnan, IAS, Health Secretary, Govt of Tamil Nadu and Prof Dr Narayanasamy, Director, King Institute for winning MMA’s prestigious Managerial Excellence awards 2021. Excerpts from Mr Singhania’s Chief Guest address:
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he pandemic has redefined what managerial excellence means. Before Covid, managerial excellence essentially meant getting things done well, keeping the organization in a good shape and preparing for the emerging opportunities and challenges in the business environment. After nearly 20 months of the onset of Covid pandemic, managerial excellence is now about handling radical uncertainty and complexity and also being a good person and an 30
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The pandemic has tested managers like vehicles tested on a bad road. It has separated the good ones from the flawed ones and created an opportunity for everyone to learn and improve.
Adaptability Even those managers who used to insist that their employees work according to their schedule and calendar, have struggled to get things done. However, excellent managers have adapted and accepted the reality that a distributed organization would necessarily involve everybody working asynchronously, and have shifted the focus from watching the employees to ensuring output and accountability. Managerial excellence has also shifted from cold numbers on a spreadsheet to emotional bonding up and down the hierarchy. Managers appreciated the context of work, role and performance, where at one time they could always use the blunt test of obedience and loyalty.
Mutual care and trust have been the forces that have kept organizations from being knocked over and continuing to function effectively.
However, during the pandemic in which everyone has suffered irrespective of their position or wealth, managers have learned to see the tasks and schedules from the points of view of both their employees as well as top leadership.
New form of organisational energy The leadership also had to renew its thinking about the managers' role when they are expected to engage with employees more than ever now. Mutual care and trust have been the forces that have kept organizations from being knocked over and continuing to function
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effectively. This discovery of alternate source of organisational energy is likely to be central to managerial experience in the future as well. Managerial excellence is also being revolutionized by the increasing use of technology. In fact, technology is taking over many of the conventional management functions. As a lot of work is being done remotely, companies are using technology to allocate schedule and monitor the tasks of employees. Getting things done is changing in manner and content. Now managers need to excel in helping employees to perform, instead of pestering them to perform. Managerial excellence now has to adapt not only to the pace of change of work and workplace but also to the extent of the change.
Pre‐covid best practices become outdated A lot of business leaders complain that they are losing huge opportunities that have been created by Covid because they do not have the right people in processes. Clearly, fighting for survival using pre-Covid best practices has left little intellectual or financial capacity in most organizations to tap the windfall opportunities. Therefore, from now on, excellence would also include having ready blueprints for process agility to manage some disruptions or opportunities and openings. Besides reconfiguring operations and the organization with new technology and attitudes,
managers also need to recalibrate their compass to navigate a much-changed world in terms of supply chains, market access, competition, geopolitics and digital globalization. The disruption of both domestic and international supply chains during the pandemic has broken the spell of sourcing at the lowest possible cost approach. Most businesses have suffered as they were not being able to meet contractual obligations or take advantage of a spike in demand because of delays or uncertainty over the availability of inputs.
Just in case: The new mantra The reliance on tiered suppliers at particular locations has come undone. For the past year, most business leaders have explored suppliers and alternate locations or asked their trusted suppliers to supply from other locations too. A little high-cost now is considered a fair price paid for resilience. Just in case has replaced just in time as the mantra of inventory management. However, it is easier said than done. Developing new suppliers takes time and investment and it is not easy to exit the existing long-term supply contracts. Moreover, market is shifting more rapidly now than ever before. Therefore, managers have to find ways to introduce flexibility into contracts, while distributing their supply chains wider.
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Miracles are known to happen. The key to making the miracle happen is boosting demand.
In addition to supplier issues, businesses also have to contend with buyer issues. The geopolitical developments during the pandemic have made protectionism sound patriotic and nearly every country and state in the world have taken temporary or permanent measures to localize supplies and reserve the market for local suppliers. Those looking at exports for growth will have to rethink their globalization strategies.
Digitalize quickly and grow While localization is the flavour of physical economy, digital globalization is growing. Everything and everyone is relying on digital intermediation. It has become critical to take an ecosystem approach to business by including technology providers, more as partners rather than supplies. Unlike physical products, standardization and interoperability of software and online services is a fundamental requirement of the digital economy. Indian companies can digitalize quickly and cheaply by using partners and platforms, instead of looking for custom solutions only. In addition, India's managers also have to navigate a turbulent economy. Even before Covid hit, India's economic growth had a downward trajectory, which was turned into an outright recession by the lockdowns undertaken to contain the pandemic.
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The second wave of Covid in April-May pulled back the recovery. If nothing goes further wrong this year, the GDP could probably grow by around 9.5 percent instead of the double-digit growth expected before the second wave. The economy may settle in the groove of six to seven percent growth from the next year for some time before kicking on again. However, for the moment, the government's target of making India a five trillion dollar economy by 2025 looks improbable and difficult. Because, to get there, the Indian economy will need to grow by more than 13 percent in each of the next four years.
Demand is the miracle Miracles are known to happen. The key to making the miracle happen is boosting demand. Indian government's stimulus is largely helping producers get over their financial hardship. It has left out the other part of the equation--Consumption. Already, inflation has spiked because of production slowdown and lower capacity utilization levels in Indian industry, in the absence of adequate buying power and confidence. Though the growing distance from the memories of the second wave is encouraging consumers to spend, and the industry to liquidate stocks, a categorical push for consumption is necessary to drive investment in new and technologically upgraded production capacities. The overall economic environment is no longer grim but challenges remain. However, the key to doing well in this situation is to accept the current reality as a long-term trend and adapt accordingly. More than policy and regulation reforms of fiscal incentives from the government, managers must explore their own ingenuity and use the latest technologies to transform their businesses, for continuity and long-term growth.
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Is India's women entrepreneurship ready for a breakout session in the coming years? Revathy Ashok explains why ecosystem development is so important for women’s equal participation in business.
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e are in exciting times. India has become the third largest startup ecosystem in the world in a decade, just behind US and China. Something significant is happening structurally in our country. It is home to 48 unicorns, valued in excess of 110 B$. In fact, every day this value goes up by about 10 billion when a new unicorn enters the club. However, in all this excitement, I want to talk about the missing middle and the broken growth escalator, as we call it. India has 63 million firms. But only 2% employ more than 10 people. Only 14% of the businesses were run by women in the last decade. But in this decade, excitingly enough, it has become 20%.
the educational stream but somewhere in between, they drop off. What happens to the missing middle? This missing middle is not just applicable to women in the workforce but also in the entrepreneurship space.
The holding pattern of women-owned businesses is a very significant point because this has a lot to do with how women hold shares and stock in their own companies and how they hold assets which are offered as collateral.
A phenomenal opportunity awaits us though. We must seize the opportunity and create 30 million new women-owned businesses. We can create more than 150 Mn
We have seen that in SMEs, there is not much of women representation. In large businesses, we can count them at our fingertips. Some of them would be family-owned businesses who have wealth and business handed down through generations. There are very few self-made women that we can look up to.
Seize the opportunity
Assets like homes or other properties are not in women's names. These issues impede their access to capital. If we look at the holding pattern of women-owned businesses, we can see that in micro industries, it is 20.44%, 5.26% in small industries and 2.67% in medium industries. Overall, out of all the MSMEs, women own 20.37%. We see a large number of girls to the tune of 50% studying in colleges. In engineering, girls outnumber boys. So we have women who join 34
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In 2012, we did a study with GIZ and others regarding the issues which act as barriers for women to become entrepreneurs.
new jobs, even going by a very conservative estimate. In 2012, we did a study with GIZ and others regarding the issues which act as barriers for women to become entrepreneurs. Women could run lifestyle businesses or micro businesses or they could be gazelles, a word I coined then. A gazelle can run, raise a lot of capital, make a large-scale impact on society and compete with all the others. But why do we see very few gazelles?
We understand that India can add 18% to its GDP if we can bridge the gender equality gap by improving the workforce participation. This is not just by getting them to hold jobs but it is also very closely linked to entrepreneurship, self-employment, creating micro businesses and aspiring to run large businesses.
Barriers
We understand that India can add 18% to its GDP if we can
The factors that act as barriers and hold women back are: • Access to markets • Access to finance • Access to networks • Policy action and ecosystem development • Personal, socio-cultural and aspirational issues A lot of work has happened in the ecosystem issues, access to markets, finance, networks and policy action. But a deeply personal and socio-cultural issue holds them back, more than aspirational issue. Women tend to feel that they cannot do it or that it would be too difficult. They feel challenged and that the ecosystem is not conducive for them to take on the big challenges. For women, diffidence stems right from childhood. Women are taught to be diffident and deferential to others. These affect the psyche of the individual, but we are beginning to see a change.
bridge the gender equality gap by improving the workforce participation.
The importance of ecosystem Why is the ecosystem development so important? Because it enables collaboration amongst peers, partners and industry players. There is a lot of information asymmetry; but today, because of technology and the digital era, the pandemic has worked as a great leveler where women, because of their access even from home or anywhere, can do as good a job as anybody else.
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The ecosystem also offers capacity building programs for scalability and sustainability. We must create role models by recognizing exceptional women change-makers. Madras Management Association is doing a great job, showcasing many fantastic role models who can inspire a generation of young people and convey the message that if they can do it, so can everyone. That aspirational mindset and confidence were lacking when we surveyed more than thousand people, as part of our study with GIZ.
women‐owned startups are increasing. Just having entrepreneurs or an ecosystem alone is not good enough.
There are certain things that the ecosystem can help women with. We must look within and ask, “Are we being aspirational enough? Are we taking advantage of all that is possible?”
Emerging green shoots What are the green shoots that are emerging? I mentioned that our study was done in 2012. Niti Aayog has now set up women entrepreneurship platform, which is one of the recommendations of our study. Today, after several years, an entrepreneurship platform has been set up. I am part of a catalyst, which serves as an accelerator for women entrepreneurs. It is a space where people gather together. We set up boot camps, run programs and talk to women entrepreneurs. Aspiring women and women entrepreneurs can become members, start encouraging each other and share their stories so that many other people can be inspired.
With growing aspiration,
of - 4 Bn$. That is unbelievable. It can encourage a whole galaxy of young women entrepreneurs and women to think that they also can do it. Nyyka is being run by Falguni Nayar who was an investment banker and worked in a company like any of us. Eight years ago, she had the courage to start out her business in the field of fashion beauty, which she felt was underserved. Today, they have filed for IPO and it is India's first woman-owned unicorn at such a stupendous valuation.
Just recently, Makers India in their report said that there has been a substantial increase in women entrepreneurs in Technology since 2010. This is another very encouraging sign. However, total funding raised by women-led tech startups is still very miniscule at 1.43%, between Jan 2018 and 2020. We can see the glaring disparity. With growing aspiration, womenowned startups are increasing. Just having entrepreneurs or an ecosystem alone is not good enough. We need more role model investors and entrepreneurs.
This should serve as an encouragement for people to think that they can have a long-standing career. But when they feel that there is a compelling idea, they should just go out and do it. Today, we see womenowned businesses that have raised funding in various sectors, even though the percentage is 1.43%, which is still very small. But they have raised funding from Edtech to consumer brands to biotech and fitness space and beyond. So these are exciting times. We are limited only by our own imagination. I now advise three different biotech companies on scaling up their business. They are phenomenal; their scientists are doing excellent work and I really hope that they are going to succeed as they move to the next level.
Kalaari and Nyyka lead the way
Nourish Women’s Contribution
Kalaari Capital announced recently the launch of a 10-million-dollar fund to invest in women owned businesses. Why is this so significant? Because it is a fund headed by a woman. They have put together a team of all-women for this fund. They understand the issues that women face and are committed to putting out a certain amount of capital for high-growth, women-owned businesses every year. That is a fantastic development. At the same time, we have India's first woman-led unicorn Nyyka filing for IPO at a stupendous valuation 36
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In summary, all that I have to say is what Michelle Obama said: “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half its citizens.” I hope all of you feel excited hearing about these success stories. I am hopeful that India's women entrepreneurship is ready for a breakout session in the coming years. This decade must belong to women. We have to shed our inhibitions, go out and raise capital. We should not be afraid of doing that.
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Ms Shuba Kumar, Managing Director, Natesan Synchrocones Pvt Ltd shares her tried‐and‐tested 6‐step formula for entrepreneurs.
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have been trying to commercialize various businesses for a long time since I was in college. I have failed in those efforts but learned a lot from them. There was also a time when I worked with IBM in their research division, commercializing their technology before I joined Applied Materials (a Fortune 500 company based in US)
In Applied Materials, I was responsible for developing new businesses from scratch. They were already a very large company. Entering new markets where they already had a significant position in the market spaces that they operate, was not an easy task. There were lots of ideas floating around and we wanted to come up with a systematic process of doing that. I will share a six-step formula that I found pretty helpful. This will be useful not just for entrepreneurs who are starting out, but also for intrapreneurs or anybody trying to build or grow a business.
Step 1: Clarify your vision and goal The questions that need to be asked are: • What do you want to achieve? • Is it short term or long term? • What are the revenues and timelines that you are looking at? • How quickly do we need to do it? • What sort of a company do you want to build? Do you want to build a 38
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lifestyle business or a public company? The two are very different. If you're going to raise money, you need to show very large growth. • How important is growth? • What is the size of the revenue? If it is a large and a rapidly growing business, then taking the company public would be a challenge. Lifestyle business is not a wrong choice. It does not mean a mom-and-pop shop. It could also mean a very large sized business that has not gone public. More than 90 percent of companies which have not gone public are in that category. The last dimension is profitability. Do we look at the revenue alone or do we look at profitability or do we look at GMV? A lot of newer age companies are looking at this where profitability comes last or even as an afterthought. Once you are clear about this, then the next steps become fairly easier.
Step 2: Generate ideas For generating ideas, you can brainstorm, go to industry conferences, talk to customers, identify their pain points, identify what the customer spends are, talk to suppliers and talk to the competition. And if it's more of B2C, you could set up focus groups. Even in B2B, you could set up focus groups specific for the kind of ideas you are trying to look at, which could be viable.
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Andy Grove talked about the “strategic inflection point”. This is a very important concept. The industry’s functioning changes dramatically if there is an inflection point. The competition is different. The rules of the game change and existing companies need to change their behavior to adapt to this situation and grow. If they don't adapt, they could decline and fail.
would be something to look out for in new business models.
Why do we talk about this concept, in the context of generating ideas? There are lots of inflection points that happen in the market. It could be government policies. For instance, there are lots of discussion about how India is going to frame rules on Bitcoins or Electric Vehicle policies. The government drives a number of policies that could become large threats or opportunities--threats if you are in existing business and don't change; and opportunities if you are looking at entering into a new space. For example, in autonomous driving and telematics, many changes are taking place. Safety policies are coming in. There are also large global trends like people talking about consuming more organic food and sustainability. These provide opportunities for new businesses and startups to play with. New technologies like the Bitcoin create opportunities that did not exist earlier. We have seen this in dotcom, when the Internet became available to consumers and large opportunities came up. Companies which are able to take advantage of such inflection points, not once but repeatedly, are the ones that build very large, sustainable businesses. This
When Google started offering their businesses for free, nobody believed something could be available for free. Today, we take it for granted and do not want to pay for anything that is online. The inflection point could be caused by a competition as well.
Step 3: Prioritize ideas Ensure that your ideas meet your vision and goals. • Is there a strategic fit to what you want to do? Does it leverage your strengths? Can you bring something to the table that makes you a
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•
• • •
par ticularly advantageous person to play in this space? If there is an inflection point in the near future or happening right now? It is a great opportunity to ride that wave because the rising tide can move up a lot of boats. Is there a window of opportunity that can give you a first mover advantage? Is there a strong pull from the customer? Is there a way to mitigate risk?
I have modified Ansoff's Matrix which talks about existing products, existing markets and new products and new markets. I have added 'New to the World’ category. The risk colour coding gives an idea about the degree of risk, with green indicating low risk and red indicating high risk. If you are in an existing market with an existing product, the risk is very low, because you are going to make incremental improvements. Also, you are not doing anything new. This is not growing much and it won't get you much reward as well. For an entrepreneur who is a new player, it is a completely new market because he/she may not have an existing business. If you have a number of ideas, choose the one that has lower risk, because that will help you succeed better and faster. When you extend existing products into new markets, you have to adapt to the new market and make some changes. A completely new market creates new opportunities. You could ‘productize’ things which you are giving away as goodwill services. Though you are not monetizing today, you have the expertise to deliver that product or service.
Step 4: Preliminary business proposal Once you have chosen your top few ideas, then develop a preliminary business proposal. There are a few things that we need to put on paper: • What is the customer need? • What problem are we trying to solve? 40
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• What is the exact business activity? This is important. If you don't specify the details, it can be very ambiguous. • What is the size of the market? For raising money, this becomes a very important activity. • What is the value proposition? What is the value that we bring to the customer? Why would they want to buy our product or service? • What will be the differentiation, not necessarily technical, that makes us unique and drives the customer to buy from us? • Can the business generate multiple revenue streams? For example, if you sell a printer, then we could go on and sell cartridges, followed by services for it. One business that creates additional revenue streams becomes very attractive. • Is there a strategic fit? • What challenges do we anticipate at this very preliminary level itself, to reach the revenue or profit goals that we have set out in our vision document?
Choose businesses that can create sustainable streams of businesses rather than creating point solutions.
Once we do this, a lot of ideas will drop out. This helps us to screen through a number of ideas and pick out what we think would be winners. I have used this approach not just in Applied Materials but in the manufacturing set up as well. Applied Materials is into semiconductor; capital equipment; services; flat panel display; solar products and services and spares. They are also into the sub-fab, which is basically basement equipment. They are into software which manages the entire fab. With IBM, I have had experience in developing software products for businesses. I have designed and manufactured products for automotive and aerospace. Most of my experience has been in B2B, but this can work for B2C model too. Create waves and wakes When you ride a boat, you first create waves but you also create a large wake that is coming up at the back of it. It is not just one business opportunity that
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you can create with a business. The first business is the one that you are seeing in the front. The big tail at the back is a large opportunity. A sequence of businesses can be created behind the first business that goes through. Once you have created an opportunity and set up something with the customer, the way to scale and grow that and create multiple opportunities becomes easier than starting from scratch. So, choose businesses that can create sustainable streams of businesses rather than creating point solutions. If you solve one single problem for a customer without any further application beyond that, then it may not create waves and wakes-although it may bring in revenues. Another lesson we learned, is to stop projects that are not promising. Cut your losses at the earliest so that you can move on to more exciting opportunities; pick the right opportunity or pivot and do what is right than continuing down a hole that doesn't take us anyway.
Step 5: Segment the customers Segment your customers. Know who they are, what their needs are, how big they are and how big their spends are. This varies between B2B and B2C. I had a person reach out to me who said that he wanted to get into telematics space and that it can be used in marketing in segment A, B and C, for insurance, individuals, OEMs and so on. The point is, each of these is a different segment. The problem you are trying to solve for them will be different. The needs and regulations for different market segments are different. In the semiconductor, we could segment the
market based on the lifecycle of fabs. We can segment based on what is on the top of the fab or below the fab. It could depend on the size of the chips that they are producing. Once the segmentation is complete, choose the one that makes the most sense for your specific application.
Step 6: Identify the target segment Listen to the customer. I can't overemphasize on this. I failed a lot because the voice of the customer was not clearly understood. You may have a nice technology and a good market but the customer may not be ready to pay for that product or service at that point. Maybe you are too early for the market. It does not mean the idea is bad. Follow Porter’s Five Forces model (Competition, Potential Entrants, Suppliers, Customers and Substitutes). Combine all these with your core capabilities. Rank the various segments that you could pursue; it is quite easy to figure out the most attractive segment. Then, develop a roadmap for the products and services that you would like to build for each of these, and prepare a detailed business plan. The next step is raising funds. If you have thought through all these things, answering your investors, pitching and raising funds become a lot easier. Of course, that is just the beginning. Then follow a very detailed stage wise product development process. The stages can help you to redirect or change strategy as required.
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Madras Management Association ﴾MMA﴿ in partnership with the India Office of the Konrad‐Adenauer‐Stiftung ﴾KAS﴿ and Observer Research Foundation ﴾ORF﴿ organised a virtual discussion on the theme Afghanistan Under Taliban: What does it mean for India & the world” on Thursday, 2 September 2021.
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n the first day of the second instance of Taliban rule in Kabul, the scenes played out at the city’s international airport, reminded many of us of the end of Vietnam War,” said Mr Peter Rimmele in his introductory remarks. “Women are now barely visible in Afghanistan’s streets and markets; posters of women have been hastily painted over throughout the cities and the sharia law has returned, all signs indicating that the Taliban reign of terror has made yet another comeback and the clock has been turned back by 20 years,” he said. He regretted that Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung which had been active in Kabul since 2002 supporting several educational projects and other peace initiatives had to close its office now and evacuate its personnel to safety, like many other organisations. He termed the withdrawal of the US military as a hasty political decision and one that was poorly executed. Mr Peter Rimmele felt that the US focused more on military aspects than on development, during these 20 years. “Because of corrupt officials, the humanitarian aid did not reach the people,” he pointed out and cautioned that the western allies which turned a blind eye to these developments now have to face the consequences. He was categorical that the Taliban assurances of not meddling in Kashmir cannot
be trusted. “The earlier regime of Taliban was a safe haven for terrorists,” he said and expressed his opinion that the vacuum created in Afghanistan cannot be filled by Taliban and their control would be limited. There will be infighting and power battle in Afghanistan and as an offshoot, terrorism will be a problem for India and the world, he predicted.
The helicopter scene from 2001 Initiating the panel discussion, Ms Indrani Bagchi stated that the increased sense of threat perception from the Afghan developments is because of the fear that what happened in Afghanistan may not just be restricted to Afghanistan. According to her, people who have studied Afghanistan feel that this development should have been expected, knowing the Taliban.
"They ﴾the US﴿ just fought a one year war, twenty times over..."
She reckoned that there will be two lines of India's engagement with Afghanistan: One, the investments that India has made in Afghanistan
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and their people for the last 20 years, and two, India’s own security, viewed in the context of the Taliban and its relationship with terror sponsors.
stayed with me forever.”
She urged the panel to deliberate on the degree of control that can be exercised by Taliban, the political and military actions that will follow, the fate of resistance that they face in the Panjshir valley, the role that will be played by regional partners - Pakistan and China and the other regional players like Iran, Russia, Qatar and Turkey, the fate of ISI sponsored and radical Islamic terror and if the US will remain engaged with the new Afghan dispensation, and if so, how.
Ambassador Rakesh Sood opined that while much has been written about the Afghan developments, there are many myths in the narratives and which need to be dispelled. Was it America’s longest war? No, he said. “They just fought a one year war, twenty times over. He attributed the US army’s inability to weaken the Taliban to the frequent changes of army generals and the failure of the US to go after the safe havens of the insurgents.
On a concluding note, Indrani Bagchi recalled a scene from the past – 22 December 2001- when Hamid Karzai took over the Presidency of Afghanistan, which was attended by India’s then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh with a small team including Indrani Bagchi.
“The US war had ended on 31st Dec 2014 when President Obama announced the completion of Operation Enduring Freedom and launched Operation Resolute Support. After the surge of US military personnel which Obama had authorised, he had also begun the drawdown of the forces. Since then, US forces were in Afghanistan only to train and assist Afghan National Defence Security Forces and not in combat operation. The lead was since taken by the Afghan forces,” said Ambassador Rakesh Sood.
“We boarded a helicopter at Bagram to fly to Kabul with Jaswant Singh. It was a Northern Alliance helicopter that was taking us. There was only one seat in the helicopter. Jaswant Singh occupied that seat and we were all standing. The door opened and one gentleman walked in from another flight. It was Ashraf Ghani who was going to become Hamid Karzai's Finance Minister. Jaswant Singh with his impeccable manners and a gentleman to the end, stood up and gave his seat to Ashraf Ghani, a much younger man,” she narrated and added on a poignant note, “Twenty years later, on the 15th of August 2021, Ashraf Ghani had to leave Afghanistan in a helicopter. That scene of 2001 has 44
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Cracking the myths
While people say that Afghan forces cannot fight, the fact is that they have been fighting the Taliban all these years, losing over 50,000 men while the US lost 67 soldiers since 2015. He also demystified the statement that US spent 2 T$ on Afghanistan. Of this, close to 1750 B$ was spent on the US military, including spend on US war veterans and the interest payments. Only about 40 B$ was spent by the US on governance,
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economy and development of Afghanistan. He also disagreed with claims that US withdrawal was sudden. The process of legitimisation of the Taliban had begun much early, orchestrated by nations including Europe. In 2013, Taliban opened an office in Doha and in 2018, US began direct talks with them, he said. He was firm in his conviction that Taliban 2.0 will be very much the same as Taliban 1.0, drawing inference from multiple reports of UN Sanctions Monitoring Committee which were prepared with intelligent inputs from many UN member nations. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) focussed on the origin of Islamic radicalism and traced it to Gen Zia Ul Huq’s taking over the power in Pakistan in 1977 to convert Pakistan to an Islamic state. It was the combination of US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that created and funded the Mujahideens since 1981 and this led to many major developments, including the rise of Osama Bin Laden and 9/11. He regretted that despite the Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF) losing 8000 soldiers every year in spite of having air support from the US forces, no audit was done on ANDSF as to why they suffered such huge casualty and what was their real capability. There were huge gaps in logistics; the fighting forces did not get even their food. The money that was intended for the forces had gone elsewhere, he regretted and ascribed these factors to their giving in to the Taliban’s final onslaught without offering much resistance. “Kashmir was the main target of Islamic radicalism and Afghanistan was only an interim point in their journey,” according to Lt Gen Hasnain. He said that India has been doing a great work in Kashmir since 2017, busting the terror networks and, therefore, saying that there will be immediate ripple effects of the Afghan crisis in Kashmir may be far-fetched. However, he hastened to add, that in the present situation, one should not merely focus on Kashmir but look beyond, not just at other places of India but also in the neighbouring nations like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives, for the effects of terrorism. He suggested that India should work closely with Saudi and UAE and Kazakhstan and Iran, apart from the US, to handle the fallout of the Afghan developments. Captain Alok Bansal said that one should have a thorough understanding of Islamic theology to unravel the Afghan developments and how it will develop. The
Taliban are an ideologically committed organisation and they are committed to the establishment of an Islamic emirate. Their linkages with global jihadist movement are very strong. Righteous leadership and capture of territory are ingredients of Islamic theology. With the passage of time, this ideology will spread beyond Afghanistan, he said. Recalling history, he pointed out that in its modern existence, Afghanistan had never been free from foreign influence. Afghan army was capable of fighting. But Afghans have an uncanny skill of sensing the impending doom. That is why their soldiers fled, in search of survival, he said.
"Kashmir was the main target of Islamic radicalism and Afghanistan was only an interim point in their journey"
He also attributed Taliban’s quick march into Kabul to a dramatic change in their strategy, by taking over the country’s Northern provinces and all the border posts thus starving the supply chains for the ANDSF (Afghan National Defence Security Forces). “This strategy was perhaps drawn by ISI. Also, the 300,000 strong Afghan army was overwhelmingly dependent on US contractors for its logistics support. One month ago, 80% of this logistics support was withdrawn, giving a clear message that the Ashraf Ghani government would go,” he said. He remarked that the US under former US President Donald Trump not only legitimised but also enhanced the reputation of the Taliban. The US kept Ashraf Ghani and his team out of the talks and thus marginalised his regime. He dismissed claims that the Taliban government will be inclusive and said that their assurances mean nothing. Captain Alok Bansal concluded that India will eventually have to fight the Taliban. The only question is: Will it be in Afghanistan, Srinagar or at the Wagah border? In his concluding remarks, Mr Sathiya Moorthy, Director, ORF Chennai, said that it is too early to come to conclusions with the Afghan situation being too hazy. However, he suggested that India must engage with the Taliban.
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There are shifts in the geo-political arrangements in the region. We are looking at new alliances / informal groupings between Pakistan, Russia, China, Qatar and Turkey while India works with the West and the US. How do you see the region shaping up?
Amb Rakesh Sood: In 2001, the US action in Afghanistan was supported by Russia and China. Twenty years later, the US‐China and US‐Russia relationship are under strain. US now looks at Russia and China as strategic rivals. There are sanctions on both Russia and China by the US. Russia feel that they have been let down with NATO expansion. China feels that US does not want them to rise further. The net result is that both Russia and China look at the US now very differently, compared to how they viewed it in 2001. Even Iran provided intelligence to the US in their war against the Taliban. But they were later disappointed when they were labelled as the axis of evil by the Bush administration. China has developed closer ties with Pakistan and they have also invested heavily in the China‐Pakistan economic corridor. Russia has increased its influence in the Central Asian countries. At the moment, we see a coming together of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran in dealing with the Taliban. Do you believe that India will end up fighting the Taliban and if so, what is our preferred theatre?
Lt Gen Ata Hasnain: According to me, it is not the Taliban that will be fighting with India. Instead, the whole of Islamic radical ideology, propelled by Pakistan, will take on India. Pakistan has been projecting to be the flag bearer of Islam but it has not succeeded in doing so. They may start imagining that they are closer to that 46
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dream today. It will not be a conventional war but a hybrid war where we will see a battle of the mind and battle of ideology. India must learn to fight this hybrid war. We have not done badly in Kashmir but our focus so far has been on the physical neutralisation of terror networks. With correct international linkages, we must counter Pakistan in all its intents. We have to sensitise the world against discrimination of and atrocities happening to Muslims, both in China and Pakistan. How should India deal with the ideology and forces unleashed on it?
Captain Alok Bansal: India has to create a counter‐narrative and for this, one needs to understand theology. The counter narrative must be seeped in theology. Media and curriculum are the powerful tools that we should make use of. How should India respond to the Afghan crisis?
Amb Rakesh Sood: We need to have options, evaluate them and decide on a course. At the moment, I am afraid, our options are limited, except to withdraw all Indian personnel from Afghanistan and bring them home. Unfortunately, we relied much on the government in Kabul and believed in the Afghan‐led, Afghan‐owned peace process. We have to wait and see how the situation evolves. These are early days yet and the situation is very fluid. We have to engage in, as the British described, masterly inactivity. Why did the US fight the Taliban and now why are they legitimizing them?
Amb Rakesh Sood: When the Taliban came to power in 1996, the US did not have any enmity with them, in spite of the Taliban coming out with draconian Sharia rules and blowing up Bamyan Buddha statues. In 1996, Osama Bin Laden was brought to Sudan with US knowledge when Saudi refused to accept him. Even after 9/11, the US gave an ultimatum to Mullah Omar to turn in Osama Bin Laden and said they did not want to fight with them. The Taliban came up with many conditions BUSINESS MANDATE
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and sought more evidence of Bin Laden’s involvement in 9/11 and this angered the US. So on 7 Oct 2001, they attacked and ousted the Taliban. The US mission was focussed on counter‐insurgency but they were never really equipped for that. That is why, for the last one decade, they were looking for ways to get out of Afghanistan. In the last few years, the US saw less of a threat perception from the Taliban. Should India accept the Taliban offer of being a trading partner?
Amb Rakesh Sood: We cannot respond to every statement of the Taliban. We have to see the shape of the government that is coming up there and see who will call the shots. Why do many people believe that the Taliban now have no linkages with terror groups?
Lt Gen Ata Hasnain: This has been projected primarily to the United States whose main focus is their homeland security. US has stipulated that the Afghan territory should not be used in any way to target the American homeland. If something sort of 9/11 happens, it will draw the ire of the US government, military and the people and we will never know the intensity with which they will respond. So, the Taliban is playing cool and they are not showing their true colours at the moment. Was there a lack of nation building in Afghanistan? How does it affect nation building exercise elsewhere?
Captain Alok Bansal: Afghans have a fair amount of feeling of nationhood. What really lacked there was State building. The State institutions did not work out as envisaged. Right from the early days of its history, Afghanistan had been a decentralised feudal entity. There was an attempt at providing too much of centralisation. Governors were changed at the whims and fancies of the President. 80% of the officials were expatriates with dual citizenships, like Ashraf Ghani himself, who had two passports. Also, corruption became endemic.
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The number of Indians investing in Dubai is growing by the day. What is attracting the investors to do business in Dubai? Experts point to a more open style of governance, transparency, and opportunities for businesses and professionals.
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n his opening remarks, Mr Ramkumar said, “There is a lot happening between India and UAE. UAE is the third largest trade partner with India, next to USA and China. UAE is a major exporter of crude oil to India. Recently, UAE has committed a lot of investments into India in the food sector, around 7 Bn$ and this is supposed to create 200,000 jobs. UAE is also ready to invest in more sectors like logistics, ports, airports, etc. There is a lot of FDI inflows from the UAE in recent times.” He added, “About 3000 startups in UAE, which is roughly one third of all the startups there, have been started by Indians. This has been encouraged by the local government. There have been many relaxations by the UAE Government in terms of incentives and relaxation in citizenship guidelines.” Mr Ramkumar highlighted the fact that the Dubai government has announced citizenship to innovators, artists, doctors and specialists. “This has made lot of people throng the UAE.” He also stated that India and GCC were about to sign a FDA but it has not come through. “However, India and UAE have now decided to do a FDA and it is likely to happen soon. A great event is happening in Dubai from October this year which is Expo 2020 (rescheduled by a year due to Covid). India is participating in this in a big way,” he said. Mr N Raman, Managing Director, Capitalcorp FZC, Dubai gave an overview of Dubai covering its location, area, demography, language, cultural and social factors, 48
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currency exchange and climate. He also explained why Dubai is an attractive destination for investors. Key takeaways from his talk: • Dubai is the gateway to Middle East and African markets. Singapore is 4 hours ahead of Dubai and London is 3 hours behind Dubai. So, sitting in Dubai, one can do transaction on the same day with someone in the Far East as well in the West. • Dubai has 3900 sqkm compared to Delhi (1484 sqkm) and Mumbai (603 sqkm). But population density of Dubai is just 860 persons per sqkm compared to Delhi (11,320) and Mumbai (32,303). Being sparsely populated, social distancing has been happening there even before Covid. This has helped Dubai to contain Covid efficiently and is now a preferred destination for many rich people around the world. • 8% of the population are local UAE nationals. 92% are expats. 50% of Dubai population is from India. The balance come from 102 nationalities. • There is hardly any air or noise pollution. • Dubai is the 7th safest country in the world among 376 cities. • English is spoken as the main language. • Dubai is melting pot of the world. • Annual average temperature is 24 deg C. During summer, it gets very hot upto 45 deg C. Winters are very cool and pleasant.
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• Currency used is UAE Dhiram. (AED). 1 AED is roughly Rs 20. UAE Dhiram is permanently locked to USD. 1 USD is 3.675 AED. This has been working very well for the past 40 years. This is one of the main factors for the long term stability of the economy. 70 to 80% international transactions are done in US dollars. This is a dollar economy.
In terms of ease of doing business, Dubai is ranked 23rd in the world as of 2019
• Dubai is culturally diverse and socially very tolerant. Enough freedom is given to the citizens and residents. It is a vibrant city which does not sleep. There are bars and night clubs which are open till 3 am. • There are many hotels and restaurants. Some of the restaurants function 24 x 7. This is the style and quality of living that Dubai offers. • In terms of ease of doing business, Dubai is ranked 23rd in the world as of 2019. With the measures taken by Government, it may move to top 10 in the near future.
• You can start business either in Dubai mainland or in the Free Trade Zones (FTZ). There are more than 20 FTZs each specialising in one particular sector. In the Dubai mainland, to start business there are four options: • Limited Liability Company (LLC): Minimum 2 shareholders and maximum 50. Till May of 2021, to start a business, 51% of the share capital had to be owned by a UAE national. From 1 June this year, this has been waived through a landmark amendment. Now expats can own 100% share in a long list of sectors. Minimum share capital is 300,000 AED. • Branch office of a foreign company: They can do business only in the product or service dealt by the foreign company. • Joint stock company, which is not quite prevalent. • Sole proprietorship like how a doctor or auditor practises.
Free Trade Zones
• In Free Trade Zones, there is no tax. They offer a single window clearance for license. If you submit the business proposal with preferred name and passport copies of the shareholders, then you will get the license within 1 to 3 weeks, in most cases. Capital required ranges from 50,000 AED to 1 Mn AED depending on the free zone that you choose.
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Dubai government has been
Popular sectors which offer opportunities
very particular on rapidly expanding the alternate, non‐ oil economy. They have done so at very dynamic pace. This is where the Indian business people and entrepreneurs have huge scope.
• In Free Zones, there are two entities. One is, Free Zone establishment where a single shareholder has an establishment. The next one is the Free Zone Company with minimum two shareholders. Normally, there are 5 shareholders. • Other than that, you can open a branch office or representative office in any of the free zones. • In Dubai also, there is no income or corporate tax. They charge VAT. Products manufactured in mainland and exported to other GCC countries are exempt from customs duty, subject to a minimum value addition of 40%. They are also the preferred products in GCC countries. • Products manufactured in Free Zones and exported to UAE or other GCC countries attract customs duty. It is similar to manufacturing done overseas. • Most free trade zones are exempted from VAT. They are also exempted from import duty. Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone is one of the biggest in the world and the biggest in the entire region. It houses more than 8,000 companies, many of which are in manufacturing, logistics and shipping. There are two Free Zones exclusively for higher education. • GDP per capita for UAE is 43,470 USD. Inflation rate from 2017 to 2019 is in the range of 2 to 1.5% • Dubai's oil reserves are not very high. Out of 97.8 Bn barrels of oil reserves in UAE, Dubai has got only 4 Bn reserves. Therefore, the Dubai government has been very particular on rapidly expanding the alternate, non-oil economy. They have done so at very dynamic pace. This is where the Indian business people and entrepreneurs have huge scope.
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• Construction and infrastructure: Huge infrastructure plans and booming real estate are the key growth drivers of the construction sector. There has been an unprecedented growth in the past two decades, with real estate growth of 36% year-on-year and contributing to 7.6% of the GDP. • For Expo 2020 alone, the investment in real estate sector has been in the order of 6.9 Bn$. • There are two airports - Dubai International airport and Al Maktoum International airport. The Al Maktoum International airport and Jebel Ali port are undergoing major expansion plans. These will trigger a number of real estate / residential projects besides numerous hotels and other facilities. • In real estate, Indian companies like Shoba Developers, Shapoorji Pallonji have made a big mark. • Foreigners account for 32% of the transactions in Dubai. • Other GCC nationals, Indians and Chinese use Dubai as their second home.
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Indians rank first in real investment in Dubai. 5,246 Indian nationals have invested in Dubai real sector valuing AED 10.8 Bn in 2019 alone as per Economic Times report.
• Manufacturing: Process food and beverages, plastics and rubber, electrical machineries, minerals and products, base metals and precious stones, chemicals and products are some of the areas where Indians have big scope. • From 13% of the GDP from manufacturing sector in 2015, it is expected to touch 25% in 2025. • Tourism and Hospitality is another promising sector. There are many landmark tourist attractions like Burj Khalifa, Mall of the World, etc. • There are about 542 Hotels completed in one decade. Taj and Oberoi Hotels from India have made a mark here and are doing well. • Education and Healthcare is another important area and offers considerable scope for investments. Many reputed foreign universities from around the world including UK, USA, Australia, Canada and India have set up institutions for higher education here. Many students from Middle East, Africa and India study in Dubai. BITS Pilani and MAHE, Manipal are well known in Dubai. • Healthcare is another priority area. All should have medical insurance. Dubai government has set up a separate Health City which encourages people from abroad to set up hospitals and research facilities and allied services. • India, Turkey, South East, Switzerland and Oman are its 5 export destinations. India, USA, China, Germany and UK are its import origins. • India imports from UAE petroleum products, crude oil, precious metals, stones and gems, jewellery. India exports to UAE food items, textiles, garments, engineering products and precious metals. • Indians rank first in real investment in Dubai. 5,246 Indian nationals have invested in Dubai real sector valuing AED 10.8 Bn in 2019 alone as per Economic Times report.
• Indian companies such as L&T, Voltas, Shoba Developers, Shapoorji Pallonji, Ashok Leyland, TCS, Infosys, and restaurant chains like Saravana Bhavan, Sangeetha, Chappan Bhog and many others have been very successful in Dubai. Voltas MEP Division have set up their first roof top solar project in Dubai recently. • Covid has enabled lot more millionaires and billionaires to have their homes in Dubai. People from several countries around the world have found Dubai to be very safe and secure during 2020 and even now. This number is increasing every month. • There are 49 commercial banks in Dubai out of which 26 are foreign banks. They extend corporate facilities but there are certain limitations. • VAT is 5% across all items and is levied on any company in Dubai mainland. • Import duty is 5% but items such as food products, raw materials for manufacturing and making machinery, packaging, etc. are exempted from this • All major international audit companies operate in Dubai. • There is no income tax for individuals. For more information contact Mr N Raman - raman@capitalcorpuae.com
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Madras Management Association in Partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organised a hybrid event under Start‐up Series on the theme, “Championwomen – The Story of Global Adjustments” on 25 August 2021 at MMA Management Centre. Dr Ranjini Manian, Founder Chairperson, Global Adjustments Foundation & her daughter Ms Rohini Manian, CEO, Global Adjustments Foundation were in conversation with Mr V Shankar, Founder CAMS & Director, ACSYS Investments Pvt Ltd.
Shankar: You studied French from Elphinstone College, Mumbai, and then went to University of Sorbonne, Paris. You spent some time in Japan. You hail from an ancient culture to begin with, and you have an affinity to the French language and France and the Japanese culture. All these are really deep rooted cultures. You pioneered the relocation business in India. That was a great USP at that point in time. How did this unique idea come your way? Tell us about your early years.
Ranjini: Mine is a story of passion and effort. I was raised in Bombay in a professional, white collared family. My mom rose to become the first woman to head a nationalised bank. So I knew that women empowerment was about more than contributing to your family. I wanted to go to Paris and study. That dream was fulfilled by my father who always encouraged me to do what I had to, to fulfill my passion. He sold off a small office space in Maker Bhavan in Nariman Point to have the money to send me to Sorbonne. Being a vegetarian, I had to go to bed hungry every night, not knowing where to find the food, even though I had a little money in my pocket. I would go to bed crying, till I found the right people to befriend and who guided me and became part of my inner circle. After that, the Sorbonne experience was fantastic. After almost a decade, I took up Japanese, in Chennai at the Indo-Japan Centre.
immersed in a culture to really understand it. So I went off to Japan to live and work there and become a cultural and language conversational teacher. That taught me so much. The idea of relocation business was very close to my heart. The FDA had just opened and foreign companies were coming in. The woman with whom I co-founded it was Joanne Huskey - the wife of a US Diplomat. That helped a lot because Joanne and I were from two different cultures. Joanne understood processes; I understood culture and the nuanced relationships of the cities that we were set up in. That partnership worked. My lesson to entrepreneurs is: Please find a partner who complements your skills. We built our team on women. At that time, there were not many jobs being given to women. Being a women managed company was a challenge. The relocation business was new and people wondered why we should charge for the relocation services, with atithi devo bhava being our platform. When we hold onto our idea, a time comes when the tipping point happens.
Rohini. You spent some time in realty business before you stepped into your mother’s shoes. Your education has also been in the software discipline. Tell us about stepping into the big shoes of your mother and about how you relate to your brother.
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Rohini: I finished my schooling and went to study business leadership. The only thing I have known my whole life is business. In our house, conversations at the dinner table were always about business, construction and real estate prices. So my first love is Real Estate.
which is people first and culture first and warmth in everything you do. From my father, I've learned that process matters, number matters and discipline matters. They both are my role models.
I first started by working with my brother in sales and marketing in Radiance Realty. The next logical thing for me to do was to try and work with my mother who has given me such a fantastic platform. I love working at Global Adjustments. We are such a unique business. We interact with so many nationalities. We have offices pan India and every day, I learn so much and to be honest, I have very little to do in Global Adjustments because of the fantastic team that we have. We are still all women in the leadership. We have managed to retain that, but our man to woman ratio is now 50:50.
Tell us some quirky, memorable or teachable incidents that you might have had with the any of your projects.
When it comes to business between the family members, we find a lot of synergy. We support each other. Varun and I are siblings but we are best friends. He is an ‘ideas’ person and I am the execution person, good at marketing and sales. He gets numbers really well. So we complement each other and in all businesses that we do, we have a stake together.
Rohini:Two and a half years ago, I was seven months pregnant and I got a call from my office saying that a very senior, billion dollar company CEO was coming to town in his private jet and that I had to meet him. I met him at the Leela Palace lobby. He had an armoured car and four bodyguards and he wanted to explore Chennai because they were planning to set up here. I took him to see a couple properties. Within four minutes, he bought two four million dollar apartments and I am not kidding. He paid it on his credit card.
I recently founded a business called Propcierge, which is an end-to-end real estate platform that does construction, interiors as well as brokerage and other services. In short, everything I do is related to real estate. I have taken the best learning from my mother, 54
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That really taught me something‐‐that what expats perceive of us is also so different. That was a huge learning for me.
After that, we went to have lunch at the Madras Club. When I couldn't finish what I ate, he asked me, “Aren't you going to pack this? Why would you want to waste food?” I was dumbstruck and it completely changed my perception about expats. That was the first thing I learnt from somebody so senior. The second thing. He wanted to register his property immediately because he had paid it in full. At the registration office, thanks to bureaucracy, it took about two and a half hours. The developer and I were getting super impatient, checking our watch and asking the people there if they could expedite. But the CEO was sitting back relaxed. He said, “It’s okay. Everything takes time. I'm patient.” That really taught me something--that what expats perceive of us is also so different. That was a huge learning for me. Ranjini: I had a real stressful experience and now it seems funny. Years ago, people came to check our building and said some super VIP was coming and as part of security protocol, they had to check our building and office. We have an office dedicated to Indian culture. Amazon had hired us and we were working with them. From the way the bodyguards were coming, I guessed the head of Amazon - Jeff Bezos - would land. They wouldn't tell us because it was a secret. The officials, industry and press were not aware he was coming. His team asked me to talk to him about the whole Indian culture in one hour. I was ready and Jeff Bezos walked in. He was super-stressed as he had just lost his BlackBerry phone. It was lost in a vehicle in his convoy. For the first few minutes, he was very restless and didn't want to do anything. I took him to the altar just to distract him. I showed him ‘Ganesha, Saraswati and Lakshmi’ that were there. “Look at this. This is India,” I said. He asked me, “Okay. Is he married to both those women?” “No,” I replied. “She looks after wealth. She looks after wisdom. He balances those two and that's why, he can remove all obstacles.” Jeff Bezos liked that so much. I told him, “They're not related but the concepts are related in India. Anything you come to do in India, if you understand the concepts, you will always do well. That's it.” He forgot about his BlackBerry and said, “Come on, let's do the program.” Then in the next 15 minutes, his team brought his Blackberry and so we heard the loud, Jeff Bezos’ honking laughter for which he's famous for. He asked a lot of questions on retail as well. I couldn't discuss retail with all the bodyguards sitting in the room. Amit Agarwal who is now the current head of Amazon was also with him. So I suggested that he should come with me shopping to Nalli Silks where he could learn retailing. He agreed.
From the way the bodyguards were coming, I guessed the head of Amazon ‐ Jeff Bezos ‐ would land. They wouldn't tell us because it was a secret. The officials, industry and press were not aware he was coming.
The next morning, he came with us to the sari shop and it was fun because when I walked in with him, there was a woman who recognized me and said, “This man seems to be a familiar figure.” I feigned ignorance. I showed Jeff how people buy sarees, how groups decide which sari the bride should buy and how price sensitive we are. He was able to watch our retail behavior. This event taught me that if you ask nicely, if you speak confidently about your subject matter expertise, then as a start-up, as an entrepreneur, anywhere, you gain the respect of no matter who it is. Many years later, my sister who was at the Stanford Alumni meet came across Jeff Bezos in San Francisco and told him that her sister (referring to me) trained him in Indian business culture. Jeff told her, “Oh, Your sister should become a stand-up comedian. She's very good.” So he thought I was funny! Incidentally, Rohini now does warehousing for Amazon.
How did covid-19 play out in your company?
Rohini: It completely hit our relocation industry, because we are so dependent on FDI coming here. Foreigners have completely stopped coming to India from last March. We have only 20 percent of the normal volume, but fortunately for us, we diversified and expanded a couple years ago. What we are noticing is that the Indian clientele is way more involved and aggressive, when it comes to real estate practices. FDI is picking up and the Modi government is also taking many positive steps. I think things are going to get a lot better. That being said, our new government in Tamil Nadu is handling Covid-19 extremely well and the ministers are very proactive. On 24 May, the new government took office. I sent the minister for industries a message saying that I wanted to meet him to discuss FDI. Within 45 minutes, I got a reply, “Good morning, Madam. Can we meet day
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
55 OCT 2021
subjects like, for instance, building self-esteem, which are not being taught in colleges, workplace or at home. Women are very quick to learn from one another.
We don't have enough access for recreation or social activities for expats and that is a very important part of their life. They thrive on it.
after at 9:30 a.m. in my office?” He messaged me the address of his office. I showed up at 9.25. The minister came in at 9:35 and told me, “Sorry. I'm five minutes late. I got stuck at the Secretariat.” This is the change we see today in Tamil Nadu. Honestly, I think we are in a golden decade and we should make the most of it.
Did you actually see an outflow of expats during Covid?
Rohini: Yes. Most of the people repatriated. They cut short their leases and slashed their rentals. Our team had a very tough time. Families left. There were split relocations where the working partner was here, but the family was back home. It was complete chaos. The total lockdown gave them very limited access to basic things like groceries. That was one of the main reasons that expats left.
Did you manage to substitute any of your interactions with the Zoom events?
Rohini: Yes. We did a couple of Zoom events. But what we noticed is that people were getting Zoom fatigue. Instead we put up a WhatsApp support group for every city that we have our offices and our clientele in. We had a 24/7 expat support group. We are slowly coming back to hosting safe coffee mornings and lunches for our clients.
Tell us about your Championwomen initiative.
Ranjini: I love to encourage women to become entrepreneurs. Championwomen is spearheaded by a separate spin-off company called Global Adjustments Foundation.
The curriculum was built around those areas that, as MNCs had said, was lacking in our women in India. At every milestone in their personal life, women would just quit work immediately. The family is, of course, very important to women. But did they support her? Did she have the confidence to speak up and ask for support? All of that was missing. Championwomen is made up of those things that I studied at the Harvard Women's Business Leadership board and I brought those concepts of gender intelligence here but adapted them to the Indian scenario. We have worked with 175,000 women now. The program is made up of work-life integration, optimism and resilience topics.
What are the top things that you hear from MNCs that seem to bother them?
Rohini: We don't have enough access for recreation or social activities for expats and that is a very important part of their life. They thrive on it. They work hard and party hard. So we need to definitely improve on social infrastructure. The second thing is access to affordable international standards schools.
What do you do to cool off?
Rohini: I'm very much interested in fitness. My way to blow off steam is to either run or do some kickboxing or cycling. I have a very good set of friends who I like to go out with, on the weekend. I'm also the work-hard, party-hard and exercise-hard kind of person. And I cool off with my two and a half year old daughter.
A word of advice for women professionals?
Ranjini: It's very simple. Use the power of “and.” Should I be married or should I study? Should I take a transfer or should I remain with my husband? Replace your ‘or’ with ‘and’; look for solutions. Articulate the support that you need both at home and work. Women who are in the workforce have to be selective about the quality of time they give to children and families and about the quantity of things that they get involved in. Instead of juggling all the balls, they can focus on one ball and throw the rest to someone else. Do a few things really well and add value to them.
We do life leadership workshops. We teach several 56
OCT 2021
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
57 OCT 2021
