SPO INDIA March 2019 Issue

www.spoindia.org Vol. III | Issue 10 | March 2019 | Rs. 50

GENERAL ELECTION 2019 ELECTION SCHEDULE

The 17th General

LOK SABHA ELECTION The biggest ever fight on Social Media ensues www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 1

2 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

EVENTS | 14 Editor-in-Chief: Deepak Kumar Sahu Executive Editor: S Mohini Ratna Assistant Editor: Samrita Baruah Copy Editor: C. M. Dutta Art Director: Rakesh Kumar Network Administrator: Ashok Kumar Singh Manager-IT: Subhash Mohanta Manager-SEO: Bidyadhar Behera BUSINESS: Vice President: Prasanna Rout General Manager: Ashok Ranjan Dash

CORPORATE OFFICE: A-84A/3 Rose Apartment, Paryavaran complex IGNOU Road, New Delhi - 110 030 Tel: 011-41656383, 46061809 Email: edit@spoindia.org

Innovation, Acceleration and Right Partnership - the key differentiators of the 10th WIITF, Mumbai

Bangalore: Bureau office Marketing Manager: S. Kamala Kar D-103 G.F., Ashish JK Apartments Thubarahalli Extended Road Bangaluru - 560066, Tel: 080-49530399 Mobile: 08904205750/9916134482

Mumbai: Bureau office Regional Manager (West): Anil Kumar Anurag Residency, 203 - “B” Wing, Plot No-5, Sector-9, Kamothe, Navi Mumbai - 410 209 Tel: 022-65561292, Mobile: 08108017479

Chennai: Bureau office Branch Manager: Mr.Parthiban K A2, R.C.Residency, Cholambedu Road, Thiruvenkada nagar, Ambathur, Chennai - 600 053 Mobile: 09840055626

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Kolkata: Bureau office Marketing Officer: Kiran Kumar 67 Sarada Park, Garia, Kolkata - 700 084 Mobile: 09903088480 Printed by Deepak Kumar Sahu and Published by Deepak Kumar Sahu on behalf of Deepak Kumar Sahu and Printed at Pushpak Press Pvt. Ltd. Shed No. 203 - 204, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110 020 and Published at A-84A/3 Rose Apartment, Paryavaran complex, IGNOU Road, New Delhi - 110 030 Editor - Deepak Kumar Sahu

NEWS 6 - 13 20

COVER STORY

THE 17TH GENERAL LOK SABHA ELECTION

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SPO GLOBAL

NIRAV MODI’S OFFER OF £1MN DEPOSIT DENIED BY THE COURT

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SDG AGENDA INTERIM BUDGET 2019 AFFORDABLE HOUSING GAINS AMIDST HIGH ELECTORAL PITCH

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CYBER SECURITY

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GOOD HR PRACTICES FOR BETTER RETENTION

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ROUND ABOUT SAGA OF INNOVATIONS – BREAKTHROUGHS AND JUGAADS www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 3

Cyber-crime is a growing challenge Lack of digital literacy measures exposes children Traditional crimes are today replaced with modern crimes, where the computer is used as a tool to attack common people and victimize them. In short, hackers are emerging faster than technology.

Cyber-crimes against children are on the rise and how to check them is a billion-dollar question. With the explosive growth of online e-commerce, payment, social media and gaming and various tricks developed by the technology giants for capturing the data and maximising the market share, the fraud and cyber-crime saw increase in millions of offences committed as compared to last year, meaning around one in ten adults in the population fell victim.

A report by NCPCR notes that while improved penetration of smartphones provide opportunities for accessing useful material for learning purposes, lack of digital literacy and online safety measures expose children to the hazards of cyber-crime.

Fraud has now become the most prevalent crime in the country, with people ten times more likely to become a victim than they are to suffer a theft. Unlike many traditional crimes, the victims of cyber offences are drawn from all ages, all social backgrounds and all areas of the country, meaning that no-one who uses a computer regularly can feel safe.

Cyber-crimes are not properly recorded in India due to many reasons, including lack of awareness among the cops who tackle such cases and the way India’s digitally naïve parents and their children take to gadgets and technology.

In many cases the intelligent hackers are based overseas, but are able to gain access to peoples’ bank accounts remotely by conning them into revealing personal details and passwords. The victims are sometimes not even aware they have been targeted until they realise their savings have been raided, by which point it is often too late.

Your smartphones are getting more valuable for hackers. Your smartphone probably knows more about you than you do. Cybercrime is an organised crime, there are many different people involved in each attack – you have a technical person that writes the code, whereas there are people who distribute the malware, especially with the spread of as-a-service offerings. Someone else is responsible for taking stolen money out of an account; and there’s a person that writes the infection vector; and someone who crafts phishing messages.

Going forward, going online for every transaction may not be safe; the reason is most of our banking system today still relies on very basic identity data and the assumption that if you signed a document, we can assume you are who you say you are. That assumption is flawed, and allows people to spoof identities and transactions in banking all the time - whether online, or in branches with fake driver’s licenses (for example).

Finally, a question is could a bank function as the FINTECH company? The answer would be, they could only if they able to survive in this cyber era;this was the outcome at the recently held event in Mumbai - Western India Information Technology Fair.

Hence, it is always best if we can use newer technologies to continue to make online transactions and digital banking safer than it is today. .

Deepak Kumar Sahu Publisher & Editor-in-Chief 4 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 5

CSR/CORPORATE

LG India turns empty box into tools for education on Global Recycling Day

LG India, known for ‘innovation for a better life’ on Global Recycling Day, March 18, 2019 introduced an Innovative Reusable Tool for Education.

The idea is to enable LG buyers to support elementary education in India with the innovative LG BOXSLATE programme.

LG BOXSLATE is a unique slate made out of empty LG packaging cartons. Through this initiative, LG India is encouraging its buyers to donate the empty LG cartons after the product installation.

The cartons are then collected from the customers, printed and cut into multiples slates. Recreating a simple elementary education tool. The idea came out from the observation that elementary education in many schools in rural India is still through chalks and slates. While many children still write on floors, there are those who do not even have enough sustainable tools to write.

LG BOX SLATE has been designed to reduce this glaring social inequality and to enable such children with basic tools to write.

Barclays and TCS partner to help children with locomotor disabilities

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has joined hands with Barclays to launch the TCS VHAB (Virtual Habilitation) solution at the ZEP Rehabilitation Centre in Pune, to help children with neuro-muscular disabilities become more self-dependent.

REACH – the Barclays Disability and Mental Health Network,

is providing the hardware and equipment, while TCS is deploying and supporting its VHAB solution. The initiative was launched at ZEP rehabilitation centre in Pune by Sean Dunphy, Senior MD, Barclays and Anita Nanadikar, Head-Incubation, Research and Innovation, TCS. VHAB is a digital assistive solution conceptualized, designed and developed by TCS to significantly improve the physiotherapy regimen for children with locomotor disabilities due to cerebral palsy or autism. The solution uses motion sensors, progressive analytics, gesture analysis, finger mapping and real-time simulation in an immersive VR environment to create a series of personalized simulated environments.

R&M committed to a sustainable Qlik announces its corporate future responsibility program R&M, based in Wetzikon, is committed to balanced, sustainable growth as well as engaged employees and partners.

This is reflected in R&M’s fifth CSR Report, published today.

R&M achieved all of its set objectives for the reporting period 2017-2018.

R&M has further embedded its “Values for Success” value system. This serves as a binding set of principles for the responsible conduct of all employees and for the group’s international growth trajectory. Each business year, the company focuses on one value, and workshops are held for the employees to discuss how it will be implemented in the relevant working environments.

According to CEO, Michel Riva, “The value system has enabled us to further increase our customer focus, and thereby become more flexible, innovative, and competitive. The Reichle family’s personal values form the cornerstones of the corporate culture. The report-produced on a voluntary basis-focuses on the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and aims to ensure a high degree of transparency for all relevant stakeholders.

“The CSR report proves that R&M clearly meets the international standards for responsible entrepreneurship.”

6 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Qlik has announced the launch of Qlik.org, the company’s corporate responsibility platform that builds on years of dedicated work with leaders such as the United Nations, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Medair, WeSeeHope, Direct Relief and Team Rubicon. Qlik.org is the next phase in the company’s ongoing commitment to leverage its software, culture and people to transform data into meaningful action across the globe, helping to create a sustainable, data literate world within all sectors of business and society.

“Over the last ten years, Qlik’s ongoing support for WeSeeHope has truly underpinned our ability to develop and deliver sustainable programmes to help the most vulnerable,” said Mark Glen, CEO of WeSeeHope.

Qlik has deep corporate responsibility roots going back to the formal establishment of a software grant program in 2010 and Corporate Social Responsibility department in 2014. Over that time Qlik has provided over $8M in software, training and support grants to non-profits, logged 50,000 staff volunteer hours globally, and drove over $5M in financial support for humanitarian, disaster relief, global health and environmental causes to non-profits.

CSR/CORPORATE

BT and British Asian Trust to help empower adolescent girls in India

BT (British Telecommunications plc) and the British Asian Trust have launched a landmark three-year programme which will use apps, videos and other interactive digital technologies to empower young people, with a particular focus on adolescent girls in India. Working with innovators and sector leaders, the programme aims to create a sustainable movement for change that will increase the opportunities available to girls between the ages of 10 and 19.

The British Asian Trust and BT’s partnership will encourage young people to recognize their potential, with a focus on young women.

The programme aims to help improve the education opportunities, health and skills of around 500,000 young people, giving them greater control over their futures.

IFAD launches global campaign to amplify the voices of rural women

On International Women’s Day, the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will kick off a campaign aimed at closing the gender gap in agriculture by drawing attention to the often overlooked contributions that rural women in developing countries make to rural economies, local communities and to improving the lives of rural families – men, women and children.

The campaign – “Real Groundbreakers” is aimed at building awareness as well as raising government support for much needed investment. Through the campaign digital platform, women and men around the world can stand in solidarity with 1.7 billion rural women and girls, publicizing the need to eliminate gender inequalities in agricultural production and ensure that women have equal access to resources and opportunities.

Canon India celebrates International Women’s Day across the country

Canon India makes dedicated efforts to ensure gender equality within the organization and its internal committee of WE signifying ‘women empowerment’ constantly focuses towards ensuring fair and balanced opportunities and pay for all its employees, irrespective of their gender, nationality, caste, or

diversity of any form.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the organization spread this message amongst its followers on social media, with a digital campaign ‘WE at Canon India Balance for Better’. The digital campaign is an endeavour by the organization to salute the spirit of women and encourage fair and equal practices, across the world. Especially curated digital film brings together Canon India leaders including Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Shikha Rai, Vice President HR and Gary Lee, Vice President & CFO.

Simplilearn to tackle sexual harassment at workplace

Recent movements across India and the globe have encouraged women to boldly voice their experiences. With the scale of the issue becoming clearer with every passing year, companies are working towards fixing woefully inadequate sexual harassment policies. The way forward isn’t obvious.

Burning old structures and standards to the ground and creating newer ones that address the issue is harder.

Adoption of POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace) Act, 2013, plays a very important role here. The POSH Act has been enacted with the objective of preventing and protecting women against workplace sexual harassment and to ensure effective redressal of complaints of sexual harassment.

Corporate India is waking up to the reality of POSH very seriously. Simplilearn, the professional digital-skills training company, volunteered to actively contribute in this aspect. www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 7

NGO NEWS

Infosys Foundation signs MoU to Mosaic India and the S M Sehgal foster research in Orientology Foundation honour research in Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of Infosys, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) plant nutrition with the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, for five years to strengthen research activities in Orientology, the study of Ancient cultures of the Asian sub-continent.

The proposed grant of INR 9.13 crores will be utilized to train scholars in Orientology and prepare a bibliography of relevant academic texts in the field.

The grant will also help to create a centralized information cell through descriptive cataloguing of manuscripts, collection and publishing of inscriptions and outlining the history of the collected information, enabled by a team of specialists.

The Foundation will establish two chairs at the institute, The Infosys Foundation Chair of Orientology and the Karnataka Chair of Orientology, for eminent scholars of Orientology. Two visiting scholars renowned in any area of Orientology will also be invited for a term of two to six months, as part of this grant, and will be known as Infosys scholars.

Mosaic India and the S M Sehgal Foundation have celebrated The Mosaic Company Foundation annual awards ceremony that honours outstanding research in plant nutrition. Mosaic and Sehgal Foundation are long-term partners and have been working together on a project ‘Krishi Jyoti’ (farm enlightenment) in districts Nuh, Haryana and Alwar, Rajasthan since 2008 to enhance farm productivity and empower farmers.

The Mosaic C o m p a n y Foundation Annual Awards recognize individuals who demonstrate truly exceptional ability and originality of thought for contributions to the field of plant nutrition. In its fifth year now, The Mosaic Company Foundation honours agricultural scientists in categories Best Doctoral Research and Young Scientist Award. Additionally, the Young Scientist Award builds linkages within the scientific community associated with the promotion of balanced use of plant nutrients. The awards recognize thought leaders in the Indian scientific community who champion the use of potash, sulphur and zinc in promoting balanced crop nutrition.

Azim Premji Foundation reaffirms OUP and Hope Kolkata its commitment to philanthropy Foundation to support digital Azim Premji, Chairman of Azim Premji Foundation has announced that he has increased his commitment to philanthropy, by literacy for girl students irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the Endowment, which supports the Foundation’s philanthropic activities. He has done this by additionally earmarking all economic benefits for philanthropic purposes, in approximately 34% of the shares in Wipro Limited (current market value ~INR 52,750 Crores/ USD 7.5 Bn), held by certain entities controlled by him.

This action is in addition to his earlier donations to philanthropy, which included Wipro’s shares, as well as other assets owned by him.

With this action, the total value of the philanthropic endowment corpus contributed by Premji is ~INR 1, 45,000 Crores (~USD 21 billion), which includes 67% of economic ownership of Wipro Limited.

Azim Premji’s philanthropic activities have an overarching vision to contribute to developing a just, equitable, humane & sustainable society in India.

8 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Oxford University Press (OUP) has helped to set up a computer center within the premises of the Hope Kolkata Foundation run Kasba Girl’s shelter home in the city. The initiative will help girl students to become computer literate and digitally savvy.

The computer center will also be used by children residing in other Hope Foundation homes in Kolkata. In addition to proficiency in computers the girl students will also undergo English language and personality development classes towards becoming confident and wellgroomed future professionals.

Speaking about this initiative on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Sivaramakrishnan Ve n k a t e s w a r a n , Managing Director, Oxford University Press India said, “Digital education is fundamental to any modern education curriculum and we are delighted to be able to provide girls at the Kasba Shelter home a chance to become proficient with computers.”

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Karo Sambhav initiates over 800 kg e-waste collection in Delhi

Karo Sambhav has organised a felicitation ceremony at Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh in Delhi. The event has been organised in conjunction with the successful culmination of the four month-long school programme aimed at building awareness and inspiring students towards recycling of e-waste.

Designed for students from class 5 to 10, the programme was carried out at 70 schools in Delhi. During the felicitation ceremony students, teachers and schools were awarded under various categories.

Gyan Mandir Public School and St. Mary’s School, Dwarka are honoured for collecting maximum e-waste amounting to a volume of 330 kg. Six schools have won the award for best toolkit execution which includes Venkateshwar Global School; Delhi International School; Gyan Mandir Public School; Apeejay School; Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh and Bharti Public School, Swasthya Vihar.

Medvarsity Online and Lecturio. com to enable digital education for medical colleges

Medvarsity has partnered with Lecturio.com to provide enhanced technology based healthcare learning for medical students. The partnership enables Medvarsity to offer Lecturio’s world class medical content to medical colleges in India. The association aims to provide medical students the opportunity to learn more effectively, improve board performance and become better healthcare professionals.

Lecturio’s platform and learning content complement the learning needs of every medical student and combines modules from some of the best faculty around the world. This allows the institutions to make assignments matching their curricula and learning paths.

Gerald Jaideep, CEO, Medvarsity Online Ltd. said, “The Medical Council of India had mandated all medical education to leverage at least 30% digital learning methodologies. Partnering with Lecturio allows us to introduce an exceptionally innovative platform, combined with extensive content across pre-clinical, para-clinical and clinical subjects that can supplement the existing teaching tools used by colleges in India.”

Microsoft strengthens its commitment to employees’ wellbeing

McAfee achieves global pay parity

Microsoft Livewell 365 program aims to systematically change behaviors, build awareness and helps the employee adopt a proactive approach to physical, mental and financial wellness.

The physical fitness program is a great combination of targeted activity like workshops and webinars on physical, mental and financial wellbeing and on-premises programs like comprehensive health check-ups, medical camps, cancer screening, Flu shots, etc.

environment,” said Christopher Young, CEO, McAfee. “We believe in the simple fact that every employee, regardless of their gender identity, should be compensated fairly and equally for their individual contribution to the company. I’m proud to lead a company that puts actions behind its beliefs and makes gender pay parity a reality for all employees.”

“By achieving gender pay parity at McAfee, we continue to live our values, build an inclusive culture, create better workplaces, and develop stronger communities. I am honored to join companies beyond the world of cyber already striving towards pay parity, and I hope more will join us in reaching this milestone in equality,” said Chatelle Lynch, Chief Human Resources Officer, McAfee.

Microsoft has reiterated its commitment to employee wellbeing through its Livewell365 program. This program approaches wellbeing in a holistic manner – committing to physical, emotional and financial wellness of employees and members of their family.

This program also includes unique initiatives like ‘Fit for Life’ where enrolled employees receive regular tips on crucial fitness parameters that don’t usually get measured by usual medical diagnoses like strength, endurance, and flexibility.

McAfee has achieved global gender pay parity and is the first cybersecurity company to do so.

“At McAfee, we value the innovation, creativity, and strategic problem-solving that flourish in an inclusive and diverse

www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 9

GOVT. NEWS

PSLV-C45 successfully launches EMISAT and 28 customer satellites

ECI collaborates with Indian Railways for Voter Awareness Campaign

Coffee Board Activates blockchain based marketplace in India

Chinook Helicopters inducted in the Indian Air Force

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45) has successfully launched EMISAT and 28 international customer satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota. This flight marked the first mission of PSLV-QL, a new variant of PSLV with four strap-on motors.

PSLV-C45 lifted off at 9:27 Hrs (IST) from the Second Launch Pad and injected India’s EMISAT into a 748 km sun-synchronous polar orbit, 17 minutes and 12 seconds after lift-off. After separation, the two solar arrays of EMISAT were deployed automatically and the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru assumed control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration.

The vehicle’s fourth stage engines were restarted twice to place the 28 international customer satellites precisely into a sunsynchronous orbit of 504 km height.

Commerce Secretary, Dr. Anup Wadhawan has launched blockchain based coffee e-marketplace through video conferencing in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion he said that this pilot project will help integrate the farmers with markets in a transparent manner and lead to realisation of fair price for the coffee producer.

Dr. Wadhawan said that the blockchain will also reduce the number of layers between coffee growers and buyers and help farmers double their income.

The project was activated simultaneously by Jose DausterSette, Executive Director, International Coffee Organisation’s (ICO) from Nairobi, Kenya. Rahul Chhabra, India’s High Commissioner to Kenya was also present.

India is the only country in the world where entire coffee is grown under shade, handpicked and sun dried. It produces one of the best coffees in the world, produced by small coffee growers, tribal farmers adjacent to National Parks and Wild Life Sanctuaries in the Western and Eastern Ghats.

10 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

As part of Voter Awareness campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2019, Election Commission of India and Indian Railways have come together to utilize four long distance Trains to carry voter awareness and motivational messages. The Train displays important contact details for the citizens including the Voter Helpline number and the National Voters’ Services Portal besides motivational messages urging them to Vote.

Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi - Ranbir Singh, and Director SVEEP - Padma Angmo, Election Commission of India; and Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway R N Singh, have flagged off Kerala Express at New Delhi Railway Station. Kerala express will be flagged off by respective State Chief Electoral Officers and District Election Officers at the State and District HQs as it traverses across the route. As the trains travel across the country, citizens will be encouraged to click a photograph with the train and upload it on social media, for further spreading the message.

The IAF formally has inducted the CH 47 F(I)- Chinook heavy lift helicopters into its inventory at Air Force Station Chandigarh. Air Chief MarshalBS Dhanoa PVSM AVSM YSM VM ADC, Chief of the Air Staff was the Chief Guest. The event was attended by various other dignitaries.

IAF had signed a contract with M/s Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 15 Chinook helicopters. The first batch of four helicopters has been delivered on schedule and the last batch is to be delivered by March next year.

These helicopters will be deployed in the Northern and Eastern regions of India.

The addition of heavy-lift CH 47 F(I) helicopter is a significant step towards modernisation of Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet. The helicopter has been customized to suit IAF’s future requirements and capability roadmap.

Social Media Platforms present “Voluntary Code of Ethics” for the 2019 Elections

IBBI, SEBI sign MoU for better implementation of IBC

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates two Inter-State road projects in the North-East

MCA releases national guidelines on responsible business conduct

The Social Media Platforms and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have presented a “Voluntary Code of Ethics for the General Election 2019” to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. The Code of Ethics has been developed as a follow up to the yesterday’s meeting with IAMAI and representatives of Social Media Platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Google, ShareChat and TikTok etc.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora while appreciating the steps taken said that formulation of the Code augurs a good beginning but is essentially, a work in making. He said the participants need to follow in letter and spirit the commitments made in the Code of Ethics. The Platforms have committed to process any violations reported under Section 126 of RP Act, 1951 within three hours as per Sinha Committee recommendations.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh dedicated two Inter-State road projects in the North-Eastern Region, through video conferencing at a function here. The 17.47 kms long DoimukhHarmuti Road links Assam and Arunachal Pradesh while the 1.66 km TuraMankachar Road provides connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the inauguration of the two roads marks a reiteration of the Government’s commitment to development of the NorthEastern Region (NER). He said the North-East has undergone a revolutionary transformation in the last five years under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has paid several visits to the NER demonstrating his indulgence towards the NER, he added.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The IBBI and the SEBI seek effective implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) and its allied rules and regulations, which have redefined the debt-equity relationship and aims to promote entrepreneurship and debt market. They have agreed under the MoU to assist and cooperate with each other for the effective implementation of the Code, subject to limitations imposed by the applicable laws.

The MoU provides for (a) Sharing of information between the two parties, subject to the limitations imposed by the applicable laws; (b) periodic meetings to discuss matters of mutual interest, including regulatory requirements that impact each party's responsibilities, enforcement cases, research and data analysis, information technology and data sharing, or any other matter that the parties believe would be of interest to each other in fulfilling their respective statutory obligations.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs has revised the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGs) and formulated the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC).

These guidelines urge businesses to actualise the principles in letter and spirit.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct by companies.

As a first step towards mainstreaming the concept of business responsibility, the 'Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility’ were issued in 2009. These guidelines were subsequently revised as 'National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGS)’ after extensive consultations with business, academia, civil society organisations and the government. The NVGs were developed based on India’s socio-cultural context and priorities as well as global best practices. www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 11

CSR/PSU

CMD of SJVN meets PM of Nepal CIL of Chairman visits NCL Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director SJVN Limited along with Satish Sharma, CEO - SJVN Arun 3 Power Development Company (SAPDC) met Prime Minister of Nepal, K. P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister of Nepal Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada in Kathmandu.

Nand Lal Sharma CMD, SJVN apprised the Prime Minister and the Minister with the progress of the 900 MW Arun3 Hydro

Electric Project. Sharma also requested the Prime Minister for considering SJVN for development of more Hydro Projects in Arun River Basin and elsewhere in Nepal. The Prime Minister exhibited keen interest to visit Project sites of Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project.

Sharma extended warm-hearted invitation to the Prime Minister for visiting the Project sites of Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project. He also requested Prime Minister to visit both of the operational Hydro Power Stations of SJVN, i.e. 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station and 412 MW Rampur Hydro Power Station as well as areas around these projects to have first-hand experience of the development.

RINL-VSP celebrates ‘Steel Safety Day’

P K Rath, CMD - RINL observed that thesteel industry is a very complex and hazardous Industry and hence, called upon every individual in the organization to follow safe behaviour.

J Siva Shankar Reddy, Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Visakhapatnam, AP Government applauded the efforts of RINL in conducting the Safety Promotional activities on a regular basis. He stressed upon the need for safety to be followed not only at the work spot but also in every walk of human life. Further, he stressed the importance on driving the vehicles at safer speeds.

J Rajendran, DGM (Safety) gave the presentation on various safety promotional measures conducted in connection with Steel Safety Day-2019.

On this occasion of Steel Safety Day-2019 Valedictory function, Safety Stall was organised with the help of NDRF and other agencies. The function was attended by a large number of employees organised at TTI Auditorium.

12 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

A. K. Jha, Chairman, Coal India Limited was on a 2 days visit to NCL. During his visit to NCL, Jha reviewed the performance of the company, inspected mines and several initiatives of the company. Throughout his visit, CMD NCL, P. K. Sinha; Director (Technical/Operations) Gunadhar Pandey; Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) A. K. Shrivastava; Director (Technical/Project and Planning) P. M. Prasad and Director (Finance) N. N. Thakur and

senior officials of NCL accompanied him. During the visit, the Chairman inspected several mines of NCL and gave instructions on production and productivity.

During the visit, various coal areas and units got multiple utilities. Khadia area got a workshop and 2 new dumpers of 100-tonne capacity each. The newly constructed state-of-the-art workshop also provides for the maintenance of the shovel with repairs of dumpers of up to 190-tonne capacity. A dragline was commissioned in Amlohri Area and CISF (Central Industrial Reserve Forces) deployed in Amlohri got quarters. NSC got a new canteen.

NTPC raises 450 Million US Dollar from International markets

NTPC Limited (NTPC), priced US$ 450 million 5 Year bond offering in the international markets under its USD 6 billion Medium Term Note (MTN) Programme on 26th March 2019.

NTPC’s US$ 6 billion MTN Programme was set up in 2006 and this issuance was the tenth offering under the Programme taking the cumulative amount raised under the MTN Programme to US $ 4.30 billion.

NTPC was well positioned to take advantage of a supportive primary credit market and conducted comprehensive deal roadshow covering in Singapore, HongKong and London from 21st – 25th March 2019 to reach out to a vide range of fixed income global investors and to appraise them about companies’ financials and its future plans. NTPC launched a USD 450 million senior, unsecured, fixed rate Reg-S 5-year bond transaction with an initial price guidance of Current 5Y US Treasuries yields (CT5) plus 185 bps area on 26th March 2019 (Asia open).

Jagannath Mahotsav begins at NALCO Township

As part of the annual festival of Shri Jagannath Temple at Nalco Township in Angul, a 6-day long Shri Jaganath Mohatsav is being organized from 25th March. Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb inaugurated the ceremony while Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand,

CMD - NALCO, graced the ceremony as the Chief Guest.

Organised by Nalconagar Temple Committee, Angul in association with Shree Jagannath Sanskruti Parishad, seers from across the state and a large gathering of followers of Lord Jagannath are joining in the celebrations.

Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb in his speech emphasized on spiritual growth, along with material achievement for lasting peace and happiness while Dr. Chand elaborated on the importance of Lord Jagannath culture and its focus on upliftment of downtrodden and social welfare at large. NALCO, he said, is inspired by the inclusive growth and social welfare, the basic tenets of Jagannath culture, and is taking up welfare and CSR activities for the good of the people. That is what helps NALCO in achieving its present success, added Dr. Chand.

ONGC organizes ONGC Para Games

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has organized the 2nd edition of the three-day ONGC Para Games 2018-19 at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi. The 1st edition of the event was organized by ONGC in 2017. ONGC is the only public sector enterprise to organize such para Games, to promote the sporting talent of Persons with Disabilities (PwD).

ONGC has associated with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) to organize the ONGC Para Games in a professional manner. The international format is being adopted to organize the Games.

Around 150 speciallyabled employees of ONGC are participating in the tournament.

Declaring the ONGC Para Games open on 13 March 2019, ONGC Videsh Director (Exploration) G S Chaturvedi said, “We must take the Para Games as an opportunity, not as a challenge”. He added that ONGC provides a lot of opportunities to its employees, particularly in the field of sports, to hone their talents and excel in every field of human endeavour.

NIPM, Utkal Chapter celebrates 40th Foundation Day

Human Resources experts from the public and private sector discussed and deliberated on wide-ranging topics, case studies, challenges and the latest trends in the HR profession at the 40th Foundation Day of National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM), Utkal Chapter, held at Nalco Nagar, Bhubaneswar.

The event was observed under the Chairmanship of B K Thakur, Director (HR), NALCO and was attended by industry veterans, members of NIPM, former CMDs & Directors, serving Directors and General Managers from different industrial organizations, HR professionals and educational institutes.

On the occasion, Dr. Sarat Kumar Acharya, ex-CMD - NLCIL was the Chief Guest; Dr Arun Kumar Rath, ex-IAS, Professor Emeritus of IMI, New Delhi and Himanshu SekharPati, exDirector (Personnel) - SAIL & Director - MCL were the Guests of Honour.

Eminent speakers highlighted the current changes in the world scenario and the challenges posed before the HR professionals.

They lucidly shared lot of valuable tips to the future Managers of our country, from their rich experiences.

IndianOil Northern Regional Office celebrates International Women’s Day

IndianOil Northern Regional Office has celebrated International Women's Day with great enthusiasm. The program was inaugurated by T.M. Gupta, Chief General Manager (RCC) - Northern Region and Manish Patil, Chief General Manager (HR), Northern Region. WIPS Coordinator Manjuaja Kanwar welcomed the entire group of women employees.

Addressing the occasion, T.M. Gupta shared the glorious history of International Women's Day and the WIPS Forum.

Manish Patil appreciated all women for taking over the dual responsibility of office and home in their daily lives.

Well known social worker and educationist Dr. Ranjana Kumari, while highlighting the various initiatives being taken in the direction of empowerment of women, urged for greater efforts for the upliftment of all the deprived women.

The program culminated with the cultural program presented by internal talents. www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 13

EVENTS

(From L-to-R): Denis Thomas, Director – Banking & capital market- Capegemini; Advocate Prashant Mali, Expert in Cyber Security in India; Kersi Tavadia, CIO - Bombay Stock Exchange; Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO- VARINDIA; B R Nath, CTO - Edelweiss; Shankar Jadhav, MD - BSE Investments Ltd; Piyush Somani, Founder & CMD - ESDS Software; Jayant Goradia, CEO - Savex Technologies; Om Kumar Singh, Chairman - Global TekQ; Parimal Merchant, Director - Global FMB Program, S. P. Jain School and Bhavesh Mehta, Chief Technology Officer - Acuutech

Innovation, Acceleration and Right Partnership the key differentiators of the 10th WIITF, Mumbai 15th March, Mumbai: Innovation in the technology industry was on display and more than 150 Tech professionals, VARs and vendors exhibited at the 10th edition of Western India Information Technology Fair (WIITF) at Hotel Taj Lands Ends, Mumbai. WIITF 2019 was a unique event where partners, CIOs and vendors conglomerated under one platform to showcase their innovation and expertise.

The event witnessed high-profile delegates discuss and debate on various issues related to business, security and the future of Hyper Converged Infrastructure/backup.

We are in an era of accelerating complexity in design and engineering challenges. To combat this changing landscape, and with the increasing presence of E-commerce companies in the country, it is time for VARS and partners to work more closely so that businesses could turn 14 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

into greater supply chain collaboration.

80% of the partners in this industry say that active and meaningful engagement with tech vendors is essential for the success and they are bullish on the newer Technologies to scale-up their business. As new technologies emerge, marketers will continue to reach out to new consumers through these new medium.

The focus of this year’s WIITF event was “Ease Of Doing Business”.

To complement the event, there were vendors that included ACUUTECH which is into HCI & data back-up; Dell EMC which is into end-to end technology solutions; Savex Technologies which is into Technology distribution space; ESDS which is a Software leader in managed cloud datacenters in India and Innefu, which is an Information Security R&D start-up, providing cutting edge Information Security & Data Analytics

solutions. The event offered a 360 degree advantage for the solution partners to scale-up their business.

This year’s event attracted an enviable roster of delegates from across the country.

The key-note address was presented by Kersi Tavadia, CIO - BSE India; Prof.

Parimal Merchant, Director - Global FMB Program at S. P. Jain School and Advocate Prashant Mali, Expert in Cyber Security in India. There were other prominent speakers from India and overseas including Philip Moss, Chief Product OfficerACUUTECH; Piyush Somani, Founder & CMD - ESDS Software; Kiran Giri - Pre-sales lead for MDC Solutions – Commercial business - DELL EMC; Jayant Goradia, CEO - Savex Technologies and Bhavesh Mehta, Chief Technology Officer, Acuutech, an industry pioneer from UK with strong edge over HCI and back-up portfolio to his credit.

PANEL DISCUSSION “Powering The Digital Economy” The theme of the Panel Discussion was “Powering The Digital Economy” and the session invited experts to discuss on the topic. The panelists were Shankar Jadav, MD - BSE Investments Ltd.; Purshottam Purswani, CTO - ATOS India; Denis Thomas, Director – Banking & capital market- Capegemini; B R Nath, CTO Edelweiss; Meheriar Patel, Group CIO Jeena & company and Lakshmana Vadaga, GM & Head IT - Adlabs Entertainments, and the session was moderated by Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO -VARINDIA. The focus of the discussion was more into security, which is the forefront in everyone’s mind these days. The security services market in India is to witness a $1 billion in 2019, an increase of 13 per cent in comparison to 2018. Organizations continue to feel the pressure to find the right people with the right skills to grow their security teams, particularly given

the 24/7 nature of security operations functions.

The panel also felt that to power the Digital economy, there is an ongoing shortage of skills that are driving demand for security services, particularly security outsourcing, managed security services and security consulting. CIOs and CISOs are under increasing pressure to ensure their organizations do not become victims of external attackers, while simultaneously maintaining compliance with regulations.

The discussion also deliberated on how to compete in the era of digital economy.

The panel felt that banks can’t compete with Fintech’s if they do not digitize the digital economies in the current climate of cyber-crime still outpacing cyber-security sophistication.

Lastly, the discussion talked about the use of digital technologies in changing the business models, and driving revenue and value versus digitization - conversion of data to digital formats.

The event was supported by various IT Associations including FAIITA, TAIT, ISODA, ASIRT and TEKQ Global.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO-VARINDIA welcomed the guests and in his welcome note he addressed, “VARINDIA’s commitment has always been partner focused and is continuing its vision to serve the Partners like a platform. Digital transformation is creating tremendous opportunities for the VAR community too and at the same time they are also facing disruptions from E-commerce companies including Flipkart, Walmart, and now Udaan, Moglix and a few others who had entered earlier in the B2C segment and now have become active in the B2B segment too.

Today’s business climate carries a great deal of uncertainty for companies of all sizes and industries. Unpredictable demand makes it difficult to focus on long-term planning. Instead, companies

are looking for more short-term and shifting their investments only into their most compelling projects.”

Dr. Sahu further also spoke on how today's modern workloads demand modern data protection that legacy solutions often aren't able to provide.

“We are entering a new world in which data may be more important than software and people who are really serious about software, should make their own hardware,” Dr. Sahu spoke.

There were 7 Partners from Western India who received the coveted awards of the IT industry, who were adjudged for their hard work and commitment towards the ICT industry.

The awards are were given away by Kersi Tavadia, CIO - Bombay Stock Exchange; Champak Raj Gurjar, President - FAIITA; Bhavesh Mehta, Group CTOAcuutech and Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO- VARINDIA.

The winners were - Bluecom Infotech Pvt Ltd., who received the award for Best VAR, Western India; M Tech Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. for Best VAD, Western India; VDA Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd. for Best Solution Partner, Western India; Pentagon System and Services Pvt. Ltd. for Best System Integrator, Western India; Essen Vision Software Pvt. Ltd. for Best Information Security Partner, Western India; Shivami Cloud Services Pvt. Ltd. for Best Cloud Solution Partner, Western India; and Business Connect Ad Networks for Best Cyber Security Partner, Western India.

There was also a lucky draw session which was sponsored by the house of ESDS Software, and three lucky winners walked away with goodies.

It was an event where the People present had a chance to share their experiences. Overall the event proved to be an interesting day.

Shankar Jadav, MD - BSE Investments Ltd.; Purshottam Purswani, CTO ATOS India; Denis Thomas, Director – Banking & capital market- Capegemini; B R Nath, CTO - Edelweiss; Meheriar Patel, Group CIO - Jeena & company and

Lakshmana Vadaga, GM & Head IT - Adlabs Entertainments

www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 15

EVENTS

KIRAN GIRI Pre-sales lead for MDC Solutions – Commercial business, Dell EMC

PRASHANT KUMAR Business manager Savex Technologies

JAYANT GORADIA CEO Savex Technologies

“Our dependency on technology has become so much today that there are times the only person we do not connect to is probably our own self. And that is how technology is impacting, transforming and changing our lives nowadays. We have lost sight of the average human span as a result of this technology. Everything you ask me today I can ‘Google’ it or find it on the net easily. This has taken down our attention span from 12 seconds to 8 and we no longer depend on our knowledge. Dell EMC has been a part of the digital transformation journey; this is evident from the fact that the kind of conversations that we used to have in 2010 is so much different from the conversations we are having now.”

“Savex was established in 1986 and this is our 33rd years of our operations and in this journey we can proudly say that we are the third largest ICT distributor in India. This has been possible only because we constantly transformed ourselves to the needs of the market. We do telecom and IT products. Our last year revenue was 11, 500+ cr. We have created a big national network for ourselves and are located today in 33 towns pan India. We have huge warehouses in all these towns; and through these towns we are catering to channel partners in about 650 cities. We have our partners in corners of NorthEast and cater to the market of Srinagar.

I can proudly say that we have close to 40 partners even in a market like Srinagar. So that is the level of penetration and reach we have achieved for ourselves.”

“We have engaged with a lot of vendors and brought on board many products and technologies. One such vendor is Huawei, for whom we have initiated its entire security portfolio and gradually we have increased our business size there. We successfully demonstrated the value that Savex can provide on the table to partners and the customers. We have also recently signed up for a vendor called INFINIDAT, a storage organization founded in 2011 and based out of Israel. They are setting up their presence in India with the help of the Savex team. Then we have just signed up Acuutech for its turnkey and modular IT platform - Acuutech MESH. It has been specifically designed to meet the business needs of small to mid-market organizations and builds on Acuutech’s extensive partnerships with Microsoft and various hardware vendors.”

PHILIP MOSS Chief Product OfficerAcuutech “The power of software is defined to empower IT platforms. If we go back to 2003, we used to build systems purely on storage, networking and compute and run our applications on physical hardware. Move to 2008, we saw the birth of virtualization, when we moved our applications on virtual machines which gave us scalability and flexibility.

Move further to 2012, we see the birth of the cloud and datacenters, when we started taking advantage of software to build infrastructure solutions. We stopped using monolithic storage, networking and compute and started using services via software. Talking about today, in 2019, the world is talking about hybrid. We embrace the world with internal on-premises systems and integrate that seamlessly with cloud-based systems to deliver advanced infrastructure IT platforms that meet the needs of our business and customers.

So today’s buzzword is software-defined datacenter.”

16 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

PROF. PARIMAL MERCHANT Director - Global FMB Program, S. P. Jain School

ADVOCATE PRASHANT MALI Expert in Cyber Security in India

NILESH MISTRY National Head Channel & Alliance - ESDS Software

“We all understand that technology has been evolving. Amazon has been doing eCommerce for last 20-25 years and the concept of robotics has been there since the 60’s. It is not that these things have come up yesterday.

But it is true that in today’s time the discussions revolving around these topics have increased and people have been increasingly talking about these technologies at forums and seminars.

But there is nothing to fear for small and mid-level businesses. The only thing that they have to do is transition themselves and take advantage of it. This is where our people suffer a lot because of the kind of fear that has started generating.

Technology is not going to break down businesses, rather it is going to help them do those things which would not have been possible a few years back.”

“If you look at my LinkedIn post today, I hacvve been talking about what countries are facing with a game called PUBG. For last four years I have been demanding to have an online gaming regulator. The games that have been positioned in the Indian market for Indian kids is not culturally or in any ways evaluated. These games have been immediately given in the market which kids have been playing and as a result there are so many psychological and physical problems that kids are facing. So my concern is - if a game like cricket, Kabaddi, football has a regulator or even online gambling gets regulated, then why not online gaming.

My second point is people keep on saying that there are very less skill force in cyber security. But I feel that if somebody is saying this then he is very new to this field because security is an upgraded version of what you are learning in colleges and not a field in itself.”

“ESDS has been a strong 13+ year old company into datacenters and cloud services and our presence has been expanding across five continents. We have a robust plan in place to go across 16 new countries that are there. We are fueling our growth with the partner eco-system.

The complete team strength that we have is about 650 employees, of which 400 of them are from the technical teams at our India datacenters. The total client base that we have is 40,000+, of which 80+ are Govt. accounts, 300+ are BFSI clients, the ecommerce space we have 50+ clients and so on. So we have a mix of customers covering the entire spectrum and this is what our channel partners are catering to in today’s market. The ESDS Channel Partner Program that we have formulated for 2019 is called ‘Circle of Trust’.”

KERSI TAVADIA CIO - BSE India “In the IT industry, you can get carried away by what everybody is doing or talking about rather than what I want to do. A lot of new technologies will keep on coming every day; you need to jump into it just because it is available. You need to assess whether you need it or not or whether it is of any benefit to you and your organization. The technology that has been working for you for last couple of years may still work for you, maybe little less efficiently. So I think IT guys need to think in these tangents before taking up any such projects. And that is when IT will be giving value to the business. Today the time is changing and IT leaders are given added responsibility to take business decisions.” www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 17

EVENTS

AWARDS & RECOGNISATIONS BLUECOM INFOTECH PVT LTD. Best VAR, Western India M TECH SOLUTIONS INDIA PVT. LTD. Best VAD, Western India VDA INFOSOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Best Solution Partner, Western India PENTAGON SYSTEM AND SERVICES PVT. LTD. Best System Integrator, Western India ESSEN VISION SOFTWARE PVT. LTD. Best Information Security Partner, Western India SHIVAMI CLOUD SERVICES PVT. LTD. Best Cloud Solution Partner, Western India

(Group picture of the award winners) PRINCIPAL PARTNER

BUSINESS CONNECT AD NETWORKS Best Cyber Security Partner, Western India

GOLD PARTNERS

PRODUCT DISPLAY KIOSKS

18 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

NETWORKING PARTNER

Strategies and best practices of CIOs VENKATA SATISH G Director-Security – Rediff.com

KERSI TAVADIA CIO - Bombay Stock Exchange

“Earlier CISOs had many challenges and it was very difficult for them to get any budget to take up any kind of programs to run. But now with the advent of cyber security and the cyber crimes that are happening, CISOs are playing a very big role in protecting all the data and the infrastructure from cyber criminals. So it is becoming important for all banks to have a CISO who should report directly to the Board.

We have got a lot of cyber security programs lined up. We are working towards getting an ISO 27001 certified and that is the roadmap we are having at Rediff.com.”

“The role of a CIO is very critical today for running any kind of business enterprise. They are more of thought leaders today and they are responsible for defining the business strategies.

They sit next to the CEO or business heads or other stakeholders and give very strong inputs in defining business strategies. So they are playing a leading role as far as business is concerned. They are no longer only problem solvers but solution providers. So they are looked upon in a different role as of today.

In 2019 we are looking to increasing our participation in other products of investments. From a technology perspective, we are going to evolve more in open source and focus more into the security aspects.”

DEEPAK KALAMBKAR IT Head & CISO - Marvel Data Services LLP “The CIO role is definitely changing because they are going into business level to understand it and developing apps and using technology to grow business. In traditional ways, CIOs were only looking after IT infrastructure. But now it has totally changed. In our organization we are doing more meetings with our business partners on how to grow business with new technologies. Considering their views, we are developing new apps and by this we are observing that the business is growing.

In 2019 we have already started developing new apps like creating a dashboard for business partners which will give them a clear view of their business. We are also putting the applications on web so that they can check it on their mobile when they are not in office.”

B R NATH CTO – Edelweiss “Today innovation is like air. You cannot live or breathe without air, which is effectively 100% of the work that CIOs have to do at the digital transformation stage. And that is how the companies will be able to do business, progress, and survive. Just imagine one simple thing – how has the complete buying and requirement of day-to-day things changed by ecommerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart.

So we will have to understand that digital transformation is all about giving customers the delight and experience. This is one aspect that is going to change the business and that is the key thing. "

SITESH SRIVASTAVA Group CIO - Alankit Technologies “The digital business is the life for any enterprise or organization. All digital businesses are flowing from one country to another. Apart from that, the way social media is growing, like online selling on Amazon, Flipkart etc., business has gone from manual to digital platform. As far as our organization is concerned, we are into financial, e-governance, insurance and healthcare sector. In terms of e-governance, we are the largest. Earlier it was manual, but now we have taken steps to conduct business through digitization and digital transformation.

CIOs are getting to play a great role for the transformation of the organizations. There are many organizations where people are still not very comfortable with the computer systems and so they are afraid of adopting a new technology.

But a CIO will make it easy for adopting any technology.”

PRASHANT BOKLI Head IT- Being Human Clothing “Previously the role of CIOs was limited to Information Technology.

But now the role has been drastically changed because now CIOs have to work with CHOs, CMOs and other heads of the organization. Now, in any industry, Information Technology has a very big role to play, just because of digital transformation and newly emerging technologies. So every organization today requires new initiatives in IT and so the CIOs are being taken more seriously now." www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 19

COVER STORY

FAKE NEWS POSE CHALLENGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS; CONGRESS, BJP SET UP SOCIAL MEDIA WAR ROOMS. IN OTHER WAY, IT IS HELPING SOCIAL MEDIA TO REVAMP THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DATA ANALYTICS STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS

The 17th General

LOK SABHA ELECTION

The biggest ever fight on Social Media ensues

The Election Commission has announced the General Elections dates and the Assembly Poll schedule. Elections will start from April 11 and the counting will be held on 23rd May. As India votes in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, it will be the world’s largest democratic exercise.

Chief Elections Commissioner (CEC), Sunil Arora said that the elections for the 17th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases. The elections will be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The counting will be held on May 23. Nearly 90 crore voters will be eligible to vote for 543 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country in which nearly 90 crore voters would be eligible to vote. With the announcement of dates the moral code of conduct comes into force immediately.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, in alliance with the AIADMK, the Shiv Sena, the Lok Janshakti Party, JD(U), the Asom Gana Parishad, the DMDK, the PMK, the SAD and the Tamil Maanila Congress, is contesting to retain power for a second consecutive time, while a Congress coalition is the main opponent. The 20 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Trinamool Congress has declared that it will contest the elections alone, as has the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the Biju Janata Dal and the Telugu Desam Party.

Varanasi and BJP president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, in place of party veteran LK Advani. The first list has a total of 184 candidates.

BJP's first candidate list for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was out on Thursday.

PM Narendra Modi is being fielded from

Home minister Rajnath Singh will fight the polls from Lucknow. Nagpur will be the constituency of Nitin Gadkari. They

KEY HIGHLIGHTS •

The Chief Election Commissioner said that the Commission started preparing for elections for quite some time. The Commission started organising meetings with election commissioners of states and UTs. Several rounds of discussions were held with the MHA and several other departments like railways for smooth conduct of elections.

•

The panel held deliberations with several departments, including railways, to ensure smooth movement and facilitation during the conduct of polls.

•

Speaking about the number of voters, the CEC said that the total electorate will be in the vicinity of 900 million or 90 crore, of which 15 million or 1.5 crore are in the age group of 18-19 years.

•

Emphasising on the purity of electoral rolls as the foundation of fair elections, the CEC said that the process of updation of electoral rolls will continue till the last date of filing of nomination.

•

Approximately 10 lakh polling stations in 2019, compared to 9 lakh in 2014.

•

Photo voter slip shall be used for guidance but not as proof of identity at polling stations

•

17.4 lakh VVPATs will be used with EVMs at all polling stations.

•

Usage of loud speakers is prohibited between 10pm-6am in order to curb noise pollution.

www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 21

COVER STORY had won in the last general elections from these constituencies.

Kiren Rijiju will again represent Arunachal West. V K Singh and Mahesh Sharma have been given Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), respectively. Whereas, Smriti Irani will take on Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough, Amethi.

BJP's list includes candidates from several states — Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.

The BJP has finalised names of all the 17 party candidates from Bihar and sent the list to the state unit which will announce it jointly with allies.

Stepping up the efforts for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leaders have started sharing videos promoting the party's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" (I am a watchman too)" campaign. The campaign started with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other party leaders, including its president Amit Shah, prefixing the word “chowkidar” to their names.He also posted a video on Twitter, saying - "Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation.”

Modi had urged his supporters to take the ‘main bhai chowkidar’ (I too am watchman) pledge, saying he is not alone in the fight against graft and social evils.

“Your Chowkidar is standing firm & serving the nation. But, I am not alone.

Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying-#MainBhiChowkidar,” he wrote on Twitter.

“As chowkidars of our nation, we are committed to creating a clean economy by using cashless financial transactions.

The menace of corruption and black money has adversely affected us for decades. Time to eliminate these for a better future. #MainBhiChowkidar #ChowkidarPhirSe,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted.

22 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

India has 90 crore voters and about 50 crore have access to the Internet. The country has 30 crore Facebook users and 20 crore on WhatsApp messaging service — more than any other democracy Several Union Ministers, including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, prefixed ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) to their names.

The party leaders also put out short advertisement videos showing that people from different walks of life have turned ‘chowkidars’ to do their bit for the country like Modi.

The Congress countered the BJP's 'MainBhiChowkidar' hashtag, which was trending on Twitter with its 'ChowkidarChorHai' hashtag. The Congress slammed the BJP's "Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign with Rahul Gandhi claiming that the truth cannot change as everyone is saying "Chowkidar Chor Hai”. "You can keep trying Mr Modi, but the truth cannot be extinguished. Every Indian is saying it - #ChowkidarChorHai.” Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said on Twitter, “Main bhi chowkidar because the chowkidhar I had appointed is missing.”

“I am told he has gone looking for 'achhe din',” he said taking a swipe at Modi's promise of good days.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, released the party’s manifesto for upcoming general elections, promising “wealth and welfare” for all sections.

Apart from NYAY, the party’s minimum income guarantee promise, the manifesto promises increased employment and a separate budget for farmers. While BJP attacked Congress party and its manifesto, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said ‘tukdetukde gang’ had drafted parts of it.

This time the General election is witnessing the biggest ever test of the role of social media in an election campaigning: Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp could be crucial in deciding the winner in the country. With this fighting for winning the election, the social media companies are earning millions of dollars.

Google is joining Facebook in bringing greater transparency to its political advertising tools in India. Google said that it is making it easier for Indians to cast their vote in the upcoming election.

For the Lok Sabha Election, Google said it will make electoral information from the EIC and other authoritative sources easily discoverable on Google Search.

“We are thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes in India and around the world,” Chetan Krishnaswamy, director of public policy for Google India, said in a blog post.

The most important is the analytics running in social media which gathers data in the upcoming India elections.

Researchers are focusing on social media and Indian politics. The main parties have been accusing each other of propagating fake news. Users are getting influenced with the hate speeches. The behaviour analytics are gathering each speaker’s speech. However as the data policy in India is not in place, they are now free to use anywhere and anytime of their choice.

An expert says that election time is the golden time for all the companies into social media and developers. When two are fighting, a third person takes the fun out of it and when all the political parties are fighting with their aspired promises, the whole world is taking the fun out of it.

One of the fighting over the social media says “You can keep trying Mr Modi, but the truth cannot be extinguished. Every Indian is saying it. #ChowkidarChorHai”.

“P.S: Do force Sushma ji to add Chowkidar to her handle. It’s looking very bad,” Gandhi tweeted.

Swaraj also changed her Twitter handle by adding ‘chowkidar’ to it. n

SPO GLOBAL

Nirav Modi’s offer of £1mn deposit denied by the Court Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi's legal team has failed in their second attempt to get bail for Modi in his extradition case at Westminster Magistrates' Court, despite offering a security deposit of £1 million and following stringent conditions.

The court was told that Modi could wear an electronic tag on the ankle, which operates on GPS technology. This will enable the police to track the wearer’s location and also carry at all times a fully-charged and functioning mobile phone, besides surrendering visas to various countries he held.

Chief judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected the team’s arguments and denied him bail until the next hearing on April 26, when he is due to appear in court via video-link. It was the second time his bail was rejected since his arrest on March 19 and denial of bail the next day.

Modi’s team led by barrister Clare Montgomery mentioned his client having a dog, and told the judge that he had the same right to bail as any UK national in a domestic case.

Modi, she added, did not have a history of criminal conduct and neither did he have links with the underworld.

However, the judge ruled that given Modi’s weak ties to the UK, the serious nature of India’s allegations of fraud against him and high value of fraud, she accepted the prosecution’s arguments to deny bail, even though there are some ‘inconsistencies’ in the paperwork submitted.

Toby Cadman, the barrister representing India, raised the prospect of Modi fleeing, influencing witnesses and destroying evidence in the high-profile case, as officials of the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Indian high commission followed the proceedings closely.

The hearing in the crowded courtroom began with some banter about a ‘sense of déjà vu’, since it is the same judge and the defence lawyer (Montgomery) who figured in the extradition trial of businessman Vijay Mallya; Arbuthnot ordered his extradition in December 2018.

The judge wondered if Modi might be lodged in the same cell as Mallya in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. There was much debate on conditions in the jail during the Mallya trial, which included video and photographic material of the space and amenities available inside.

NIRAV MODI Indian businessman As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Montgomery said that Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up and switched on at all times, submit to complete travel restrictions and also surrender all his residence permits, including for Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE. The defence team also attempted to counter additional CPS evidence, submitted by the joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team, that claimed Modi had made death threats to witnesses in the PNB fraud case, many of whom had been forced to leave India to hide away in Cairo, Egypt.

All of the witnesses who make varying claims have been in India since then and cooperating with the authorities, said Montgomery. n www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 23

SDG AGENDA The interim budget was more or less a vote bank-facing exercise - an electoral pitch that drew attention to past achievements.

Vote-bank directed announcements included benefits to 12-crore small farmers via credit of INR 6k/year directly into their bank accounts, and also to 10 crore labourers by way of direct pension bonanza.

By Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Interim Budget 2019 - Affordable Housing Gains Amidst High Electoral Pitch Direct and indirect positives for the real estate sector: • Boost to Affordable Homes: People earning up to 5 lakhs will get a full tax rebate. However, if one invests in specified Government saving schemes then the tax exemption extends to Rs. 6.5 lakhs. This can have good implications for affordable housing, but not really on the mid-income housing.

The Government also extended the benefit of tax exemption for developers by 1 more year, up to 2020 now. This, too, will give a push to the affordable housing segment.

Electricity for all by 2019 could have positive implications by making more farflung areas liveable and therefore more viable for affordable housing.

The standard deduction for the salaried class was raised from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000, which definitely implies some increase in disposable income.

There was a decisive push to the second home market via exemption of notional rent on second self-occupied homes. This could boost the second home market to some extent.

• Unsold Inventory Benefits: The period for taxing unsold inventory has been extended up to two years. This is a welcome move and will benefit the housing sector, as currently there are more than 6.73 lakh unsold units across the top 7 cities.

24 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

• Boost to Investors: There will now be no tax on house rents up to Rs. 2.4 lakh from the previous limit of Rs. 1.8 lakh. This can attract more investors to buy second homes for earning rental income.

The rollover of capital gains tax on the sale of houses has been increased from 1 to 2 houses. This is a good move to incentivize genuine homebuyers and investors to buy new properties.

• Infra push: Infrastructure was given a major push by increasing spending in airports, railways etc. This indirectly benefits the real estate sector, but much depends on actual implementation. There has been a huge gap between allocations and actual disbursementstowards projects so far. On a direct positive, it will increase the demand for logistics and warehousing.

There was a significant boost to rural development by the sanctioning of Rs. 19000 crore for this fiscal. As per the Government, construction of rural roads tripled in 5 years, and if the momentum is maintained, then the increased connectivity will definitely help the real estate sector.

On the Downside: There was no major tax relief to the ‘real’ middle-class.

No announcements were made with regards to clearing the NBFC deadlock which continues to hold the real estate sector to ransom.

Industry status for the real estate

sector, while not really expected, was ignored again.

There were promises of reduction on GST burden on homebuyers, but no announcement of actual relief To bail itself out from the issue of job creation deficit in the country, this budget could have given a far more decisive impetus to real estate sector - one of the largest creators of jobs. Alternately, it could have created a stress-asset fund to bail out distressed homebuyers.

All in all, this was a balanced budget for real estate, even though it was clearly configured as a crowd-pleasing electoral pitch with a cursory nod towards the ongoing challenges in the economy.

For the housing sector to regain significant momentum, the real need is to woo back the long-term investors who exited the residential market. One possible way was to re-introduce the home loan benefit on second homes.

The Government's move on this front is certainly welcome.

In mature markets, long-term investors keep the equity flow intact, and Indian real estate needs to have equity inflow rather than relying on debt. Equity can come through longterm investors and private equity or institutional players.

Definitely, no single Union Budget has ever actually come to the rescue of the real estate industry.

CYBER SECURITY

Cyber crooks could enter your premise through your Television A recent report says that Dragons, zombies and superheroes and top TV show disguises are used to spread malware. TV shows are one of the most popular and universal types of entertainment, yet with the rise of torrents, online streaming, and other methods of digital distribution, they often suffer from copyright infringement.

In many regions, such programs can now be consumed through illegal channels, such as torrent-trackers and illegal streaming platforms. Unlike legitimate resources, torrent trackers and hosted files may send a user a file that looks like an episode of a TV show but is in fact malware with a similar name.

Seeing how easily TV shows downloaded from illegitimate resources can be replaced with malware-carrying versions, Kaspersky lab researchers took a closer look at such compromised files, covering both 2018 and 2017.

Leading the list in both years was Game of Thrones. In 2018, it accounted for 17% of all infected pirated content, with 20,934 attacked users, followed by The Walking Dead, with 18,794, and Arrow, with 12,163.

To avoid falling victim to malicious programs pretending to be TV-shows * *

*

*

Use only legitimate services with a proven reputation for producing and distributing TV-content.

Pay attention to the downloaded file extension. Even if you are going to download TV-show episodes from a source you consider trusted and legitimate, the file should have an .avi, .mkv or mp4 extension or any others, yet definitely not the .exe.

Pay extra attention to the websites’ authenticity. Do not visit websites allowing to watch TV-show until you are sure that they are legitimate and start with ‘https’. Check that the website is genuine, by double- checking the format of the URL or the spelling of the company name, before starting downloads.

Don’t click on suspicious links, such as those promising an early view of a new episode; check the TV-show schedule and keep track of it.

Use reliable security solution for comprehensive protection from a wide range of threats, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud.

This is despite the fact that in 2018, there were no new episodes of Game of Thrones released, while the other shows in the ranking were accompanied by high profile promotional campaigns.

In every case observed, the malware distributors opted for the first and the last episode of each season, with the launch episode the most actively used, for example, Game of Throne’s ‘The winter is coming’ episode in Season 1.

these are usually actively promoted dramas or action series. The first and final episodes, attracting the most viewers, are likely to be at greatest risk of malicious spoofing.

“We can see clearly that malware distributors exploit TV shows that are in high demand on pirated websites:

Online fraudsters tend to exploit people’s loyalty and impatience, so may promise brand new material for

*

download that is in fact a cyberthreat.

Keeping in mind that the final season of Game of Thrones starts this month, we would like to warn users that it is highly likely there will be a spike in the amount of malware disguised as new episodes of this show,” said Anton V. Ivanov, security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 25

LEAD STORY

WOMAN OF TODAY FORESEES a Brighter Tomorrow

It is an irony that people in India worship female gods but until few years, women of the country were unable to find their true position in the society and their voices were unheard. Earlier the country had a typical viewpoint about women buthas ultimately enhanced its outlook in due course. The mind-set has changed with time and women have also proved their worth. They have excelled in any and every role.

MOHUA SENGUPTA

EVP & Global Head of Services, 3i Infotech

26 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

In India technical fields are considered to be suitable only for men. The social biasness, limited opportunities, gender gap, inequality and dissuasion deter women from choosing their right path.

Most of the women try to keep their work-life and personal-life balanced. But there are many instances where burden

of household weighs them down to quit their careers.

There have been innumerable debates on women’s position in the society, their education, health, economic position, gender equality etc. In India, women make up 42 percent of new graduates, but only 24 percent of them are entry-level professionals. Out of 24 percent, about 19 percent reach senior-level management roles. As per the World Bank- India Development Report, women account for approximately 17 percent of senior management.

In a country like India, where high number of female infanticide is faced, it is the need of the hour to address

KARYN PASTORINO

AKTA JAIN

Global Channel Marketing & Operations Cambium Networks

Director, Enterprise Mobile Engineering Dell Digital

gender diversity at a social, individual and organisational level. As a society, everyone needs to focus on gender inclusion or empowering women in crafting equal opportunities for them, based on their choices and capabilities.

role of a woman in various walks of work and life. I am certainly looking forward to a future where we inculcate a very meritocracy based environment and hence the gender of the individual becomes irrelevant. I definitely think we are headed in that direction and we will very soon be experiencing the work environment where every women feels inclusive and creating more value propositions.”

PAST AND FUTURE OF WOMEN ACHIEVEMENTS Women are the pillars of the society.

The role of women in society has ensured stability, progress and long-term development of nations. Globally, women comprise 43 percent of the world’s agricultural labour force – rising to 70 percent in some countries.Women, formal and informal labour can transform a community from a relatively autonomous society to a participant in the national economy.

Keeping this in mind,Akta Jain, Director, Enterprise Mobile Engineering, Dell Digital, says,“As women we’ve come a long way in terms of achievements. There is no significant field where you don’t see women creating an impact be it sports, politics, Space, Science, Technology, Banking and the list is endless. The future looks extremely positive and I can’t be more optimistic than this in terms of growth and career for women globally and specially in India. The gender difference in India is gradually vanishing thanks to the global corporate culture, proactive education, cultural pollination. There is definitely an increasing acceptance to the

The Information Technology industry is majorly dominated by men, but with time the mindset is also changing. The industry is not male dominated anymore, as females are gradually filling various position in tech jobs.

ANITA KUKREJA

Head – Marketing & Channel Sales, IceWarp India

Karyn Pastorino – Global Channel Marketing & Operations, Cambium Networkswho has been in the tech industryfor over the past six years says, “I’ve seen a noticeable increase in the number of women in tech jobs. In my first year at Cambium Networks, there were fewer than 10 women that I knew of at my company. This was somewhat of a culture shock for me from my previous career in educational publishing, where women outnumbered men greatly. But in the past few years, more and more women are filling positions in engineering, channel, marketing, finance, sales, operations, and supply chain. I’ve seen the number of women filling varied functions at many of our global partners increase dramatically as well. It’s great to see that women are being given opportunities in this typically male-dominated industry and being recognized for their strong skills and business acumen.”

Technology has been proven tobe a boon for women as it eradicates the need of physical strength and the presence required at work location, where the women lacks. Besides this, a change in the mindset of the people and dual income family trend helps to enhance the position of career women.

BIDISHA NAGARAJ

CMO Schneider Electric-India

Mohua Sengupta, EVP & Global Head of Services, 3i Infotech thinksthat women have come a long way from where we were www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 27

LEAD STORY

SANJUKTA KULKARNI

GAURI BAJAJ

VP and Head Legal Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited

Director and APAC Head, Managed Security Services, Tata Communications

even a generation or two back. “A big part of it is because of huge improvements in technology, which has helped replace the need of physical strength and the need to be at work location all the time – the two things which kept most jobs off limits for women. But together with this came the need to have dual income families and a huge change in our mind-set. So, we see the glass ceiling for career women getting pushed more and more upwards – we see women achieving a lot of success, not just in jobs that were traditionally earmarked for women but also many other so-called non-traditional roles,” she says.

break the barriers and earn a respectable position in the world. Women are excelling in several areas of work and there is no arena which remains unconquered by them. Whether it is politics, sports, entertainment, literature, and technology, everywhere, women are leading the roles all along.

In future, Mohuasees the glass ceiling breaking completely. She does foresee equal representation from men and women, not only in junior levels or middle-management jobs, but also in the coveted c-level jobs.

The society’s perspective towards women has taken a paradigm shift.

Women now realises their true worth.

Irrespective of any arena, women are reaching pinnacle. Schneider Electric as an organization encourages contribution of women and supports diversity and inclusion.

Bidisha Nagaraj, CMO, Schneider Electric-India, says, “However, there has been a significant change over the years.

Women in India are starting to recognize their true potential. They are beginning to 28 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Owing to the focus on female education and empowerment, the future looks great for women. With several women-centric policies and programmers, companies are working towards increasing the representation of women at workplace.

At Schneider Electric our focus is on ensuring well-being of the employees by providing equal opportunities to everyone, everywhere through workplace inclusion. It is our endeavor to create a workplace where women can contribute to their full potential. We strongly advocate diversity and inclusion (D&I) as our core values to promote gender balance.

Accelerating women in leadership is one of the top priorities of the company by embedding diversity of all kind within the work culture. The company is committed to increase representation of women at intake to 40%, and in top positions to 30% by 2020. In 2019, women make up 20.5% of managerial positions at Schneider Electric.”

Though there is a slow recognition and representation of women in IT, they are creating ripples in the industry and

SUMATI SAHGAL

General Manager- Consumer West, Lenovo

championing in it.

Vinny Sharma, Marketing Head, Forcepoint India & SAARC, says, “There has been a slow and steady stream of work to improve the recognition and representation of women in IT from big businesses and outreach organisations alike. With women participating in nationalist movements, to being pushed into the domestic household space, to their revival as super-women today, women in our country have seen it all.

Talking about the future for women and work, women are creating waves as they charge into the tech industry, meanwhile championing others to enter the same field. According to a survey in 2018, 96 percent of women in tech want to stay in the industry (source). This could be fuelled further by various policies such as flexible hours, work-from-home, anti-harassment policies, conveyance, etc. Such policies and training in tech industry, need to be provided to women in order to retain them and create paths for them towards leadership roles. This is a future-of-work trend and it serves well for women who have in the past resisted executive leadership because of time pressures and life balance.”

According to Anita Kukreja, Head – Marketing & Channel Sales at IceWarp India, women are more empathetic and considerate in handling their roles and

JAYA VAIDHYANATHAN

DR. KARNIKA SETH

RUHI RANJAN

President, Bahwan CyberTek

Cyberlaw Expert & Founding Partner of Seth Associates

MD & Lead Asia Pacific Financial Services, Accenture Technology Services

responsibilities including their team. She says, ‘”Women today stand tall, next to their male counterparts and are shaking hands in the boardroom. Having said that, there is still room for improvement since there are very few women in the Board in most of the companies.

positions are held by women, according to a PWC report. Only 14.2 percentof the top five leadership positions in S&P 500 companies are represented by females, according to a CNN Money analysis. The responsibility to cause change is with each one of us and Men have to believe that they need to be a partner to create this change.”

commitment and ownership to their workplace, they have become leaders in several spheres of industry. Today, most organisations make a conscious effort to encourage diversity at workplace to ensure they leverage the talent which diversity of gender and culture brings.

Indeed, the leadership role should be truly on merit but there are capable women who failed to be recognized, since the acceptance of women in senior positions will always be biased due to family responsibilities and taking care of kids. Also, there is a stupendous sense of insecurity that lurks amongst the male counterparts.”

GENDER WAGE GAP The Gender wage gap is highest in India where women are paid 34% less than men. It is believed by many that there is a disparity in the way women are paid in spite of having equal or better potential than their male counterparts.

Sanjukta Kulkarni - VP and Head Legal at Larsen & Toubro Infotech, comments, “The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017 estimates that at the current rate it will be another 217 years before we achieve gender parity.

This is an alarming statistic and one that we need to take note of.

40 percent of today’s global workforce are female yet just 5 percent of global CEO

Sumati Sahgal, General ManagerConsumer West, Lenovosays, “Pay disparity is a reality especially in certain traditionally male dominated fields.

Employers need to be professionally committed to market-based and function-based remuneration completely dissociated from gender. It is important for business leaders and corporate human resources functions to acknowledge and take corrective steps when needed.”

It is been sometime that there is a realization among all about women advocated equality of thought, commitment and ownership to their workplace. They are now leading in many verticals. Parity in pay which is an issue across the globe is now changing as many women are occupying leadership roles and ensuring equality among all.

According to Ruhi Ranjan, Managing Director and Lead Asia Pacific Financial Services, Accenture Technology Services, “There has been an all-round realisation that women bring equality of thought,

Parity in pay is an unquestionable requirement to ensure that organizations can attract and retain the best talent irrespective of gender. There is a significant shift already in countries worldwide to ensure the right parity and will further change as more women move into leadership roles and take accountability of ensuring equality benefits across all talent pools.”

MESSAGE TO WOMEN All the leading ladies conveyinspirational messages to the women believing that every woman herself is tomb of empowerment.

Believing this Akta Jain of Dell Digital, says,“With current cultural diversity it is hard to find a field where you would not see a woman role model. Right from army, navy, pilots, to engineers, doctors, lawyers and bankers, women are creating a huge impact. It is much easier than before where you’d be the first one to go down that path. Women should inculcate a feeling of self-belief, www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 29

LEAD STORY display a go getter attitude. We have more and more women creating a mark in fields that were unheard of before like sports, politics, entrepreneurship, IT etc.

Women should be self-aware of her basic rights and make sure to be heard when any of these rights are violated. There is definitely no replacement for hard work and that is irrespective of the gender. You would feel far more confident if you’ve worked hard enough to know what got you here which you totally deserve. Please learn to say “No” when you have to. Be 100% passionate in whatever you do and respect, credibility and empowerment will just follow.”

Karyn Pastorino of Cambium Networks,says, “Women should feel empowered to explore male-dominated industries. Successful companies see the value of differences—different genders, different cultures, and different backgrounds. Such a mix provides the basis for growth and prosperity, fresh ideas, and equality. This is the type of company you should work for! It doesn’t matter if you do not have the industry experience—many of your skills will transfer and benefit another industry. Don’t feel afraid to apply for a job in an unfamiliar industry. I went from publishing to tech—it’s the skills I brought that were important; you can learn the industry!”

Bidisha Nagaraj of Schneider ElectricIndia, comments, “Empowerment comes from within. Believe in yourself and the fact that you were born to conquer the world. Remember, as a woman you are already running several establishments including your home, your children’s future, your family. You are already a CEO! “ Sanjukta Kulkarni of Larsen & Toubro Infotechshares her experience as once she noticed a mother of two children interacting with her son who was a couple of years younger to her daughter.

“Both the children were urging her to get them ice-cream from the store freezer where they were standing. The woman was asking the boy about his choice while the girl was trying to get the attention of her mother to give her choice. It pained me to see the mother ignoring the girl’s 30 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

of women employees. While some level of stereotype continues to exist in the industry, it is imperative to keep making a conscious effort, across the board, to bring about a behavioural change.

VINNY SHARMA

Marketing Head, Forcepoint India & SAARC

request and only turning her attention to her son. Eventually she might have bought the ice cream for both but the girl had to make do without her choice or voice being heard. This incident left an indelible impression in my mind and it is these biases that we as Women, Mothers and Daughter need to correct. We should create an atmosphere where our opinion truly matters. “ Sumati Sahgal of Lenovo, also conveys the same. She advices to be confident of strengths and abilities and do not shy away from taking up challenging tasks. Hard work, focus and determination play a huge role in determining every ones trajectory.

It is equally important for every woman to speak up and be more demanding.

Jaya Vaidhyanathan, President, Bahwan CyberTek,comments, “Empowerment to me is all about having the freedom to making your own choices. In order to do that, I urge the women to come forward and take charge of their future by equipping themselves with the skills required to succeed in their professional space. Dream big, prioritize and have the commitment in the journey to make your dreams a reality. Let go of small fights in the pursuit for your dreams.”

Gauri Bajaj, Director and APAC Head for Managed Security Services, Tata Communications, says, “The corporate world today has become more welcoming

At Tata Communications, diversity and inclusion are integral to the culture of the company and ensuring the progress of women remains a key priority. The company’s programmes and policies to nurture an equal opportunities environment through unbiased applicant screening, allowing leaders to follow their natural leadership style, flexibility of work hours and location to maintain balance between personal and professional life – all contribute to creating and sustaining a conducive work environment for employees, both women and men, to advance and thrive in their careers. Such initiatives make Tata Communications a preferred employer of choice in the industry.”

Dr. Karnika Seth, Cyberlaw expert & Founding Partner of Seth Associates has also opened up her heart about the position of women. She feels, “Women have realised they have a voice of their own and they need to speak up. Women will excel in every sphere of their lives.

They are bold and confident and will make a mark in anything they do.”

Dr. Seth suggests women to believe and express themselves freely in all that they do. She also puts forwards, “Remove shackles of stereotypes; remove the shackles of self inhibiting fears and rise and shine.”

AT LAST Gone are those days when women were restricted only to household jobs; they have come to prove themselves in every spheres of life, be it house-hold work, armed force, pilots, engineers, doctors, lawyers, bankers etc. They have very well strengthened their position in the society.

People and society have also broadened their perspective regarding the capabilities of women. It is expected that in coming years the differences that are still there in a fragmented way will be eradicated soon. n

www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 31

INTERVIEW

HGS to continue its support towardsthe PwD community Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) has recently launched a PwD (People with Disabilities) Center of Excellence (CoE) in collaboration with NASSCOM Foundation in Bengaluru.Aimed to make Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) skilled for job roles and make them industry ready, NASSCOM Foundation in collaboration with HGSis aiming to skill close to 100 PwDs in a variety of job roles using the best accessible technology and training methodologies.

In this context, SPOI spoke to Shilpa Sinha Harsh, Sr. Vice President – Corporate Communications, CSR and D&I – HGS to understand more about HGS’s focus towards skilling and re-skilling PwDs and the overall success seen so far with HGS’s previous PwD centers -

What has HGS's main focus been for skilling PwDs and how has the overall response been so far?

HGS sees enabling the skilling of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) as a big focus area as it can positively impact India’s future growth. The PwD community constitutes 5-6% of India’s population; they can form a highly talented workforce; however they might not always have got the right opportunities. We believe that PwDs can achieve amazing things if given the right training and the right opportunities.

HGS is focusing on two initiatives as part of our CSR agenda for PwDs. We have partnered with NASSCOM Foundation to set up three centers of excellence (CoEs) for training PwDs – one each in Noida, Delhi and Bangalore. Each center aims to train 100 PwDs across 12 months in various aspects and help them in job placements. This program will also aid in sensitizing and training potential recruiter companies to hire and manage PwD candidates. Incidentally, over 75 PwDs from our first two CoEs in Noida and Delhi have already gained jobs in various organizations and become financially independent.

Secondly, our employees help in training PwDs by volunteering their time with various NGOs, as part of HGS’ Work to Give volunteering program. For example, in Bangalore, around 225 employees volunteer 45 hours each month to engage with PwDs in three NGOs, where they help provide vocational and soft skills training for children and youth with intellectual and physical disabilities. They also help them in production of goods/ material 32 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

HGS in partnership with NASSCOM Foundation has opened three centers since 2017. We continue to actively support the PwD community, but we have not yet finalized on plans for future centers

such as handicrafts that these NGOs create for sale.

How has this focus of the company re-defined its CSR strategy in the last few years?

HGS’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) philosophy is ‘Work to Give for a Better Tomorrow’, whereby we aim to create an environment of mutual development of the organization and the community. We focus on four areas – education, healthcare, skill development of underserved youth and empowering Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and partner with several renowned NGOs for different programs. These are benefitting around 1, 50,000 people in underserved communities across India.

In the last couple of years, the major shift in terms of our CSR agenda has been to build an employee volunteering program, with employees volunteering time and effort to NGOs and engaging directly with the underserved population to make a difference. Empowering the PwD community is a big part of our volunteering program. In the current fiscal, over 8,000 employees have volunteered 24,400+ hours for 446 events across India.

How will the latest launch of Bengaluru’s PwD CoE in association with NASSCOM Foundation help serve this purpose?

Our endeavour is to understand the relationship between the way people function and how they participate in society, and make sure that everyone has the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires.

The positive change we have been able to bring through the CoE program has been very encouraging. The HGS-NASSCOM Foundation partnership has seen great success stories with the two CoEs in Noida and Delhi, where over 75 PwDs have gained jobs in various organizations and become financially independent.

Through the Bangalore center, we aim to replicate this impact and enhance our reach to empowering 300 PwDs overall to gain a livelihood.

What kind of training modules will this CoE be offering to train and skill the PwDs? THE 100 TRAINEES IN THE BANGALORE CENTER WILL BE GIVEN TRAINING FOR A RANGE OF JOB ROLES THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR HOSPITALITY, IT/BPM AND RETAIL INDUSTRIES. THEY WILL ALSO BE TRAINED ON SOFT SKILLS, INTERVIEW SKILLS, COMMUNICATION SKILLS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ETC. THE TRAINING WILL BE CONDUCTED USING THE BEST ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND TRAINING METHODOLOGIES.

How many such centres have you opened so far? Do you have any more launches planned for in the pipeline?

HGS in partnership with NASSCOM Foundation has opened three centers since 2017. We continue to actively support the PwD community, but we have not yet finalized on plans for future centers.

Would you also be looking into job placements after they complete their training from the center?

Post the training, NASSCOM Foundation and the training partner will work on the job placements, with a target of placing at least 50% of them in companies already sensitized for hiring them. n

NEWS

Cyber crime thrives, detection rate fails by 30%: RTI

Absolutely there is no doubt on how the Internet works as a catalyst for increased connectivity and innovations that continue to evolve and drive economic growth. At the same time the Internet is facing many challenges. Malicious cyber criminals threaten the security of the digital economy, which becomes more fragile with each attack. Another fact is it is a serious threat to the digital innovations, which are outpacing the ability to keep it secure by putting significant value at risk.

While the Indian leadership has been advocating the Digital India campaign, statistics reveal that the police department is facing a tough time in solving cases pertaining to cyber crime. An RTI query has revealed that out of 627 cyber crime cases registered with the city Cyber-Crime Police Station (CCPS) in the last six years, only 169 cases had been solved. The statistics revealed that most numbers of cybercrime cases (300) were registered in 2015, followed by 163 cases in 2016.

There were cases related to debit card frauds, job rackets, misuse of social media and hacking. The statistics came to

light following a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh seeking information on cyber crimes from Mumbai Police, from January 2013 till December 2018. Shaikh had sought details of the cyber crime cases registered and detected in these years by Cyber-Crime Police.

“Everyone is going digital now for transactions and making payments. Citizens should be made aware of the precautions that should be taken to avoid being duped in this digital payments ecosystem," said Shaikh.

Commenting on the cyber-crime cases, Advocate Prashant Mali, cyber-law expert says, “When we try to check on the incidents, the IP address location is found to be abroad, or the intermediaries such as Google or Facebook deny sharing data when the IP address is of US citizens. The process to procure the IP address requires six months to one year's work and hence there is a delay. Another, major reason is that the trained staff in cyber-police station gets transferred to other duties after completion of tenure. Hence there is a dearth of trained staff at CCPS.” www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 33

INTERVIEW

Good HR Practices for Better Retention Human Resources (HR) plays a pivotal role in hiring, developing and retaining employees who meet organizational needs and align with the mission and vision of an organization.

Furthermore, an HR department ensures organizations are perceived as honest, fair and law abiding so employees can feel secure in their employment.

However, HR professionals do encounter challenges relative to employee retention. During an employee’s career, professional development, career growth and compensation tend be to a significant concern and can also be a deciding factor whether an employee decides to stay with an organization. If employees struggle to find ways to progress, they tend to lose motivation and begin searching for other opportunities that align with their interests. In a workforce, there are different cultures, skillsets and talents; this itself can be challenging to accommodate due to everyone’s distinct motivators. However, if an organization has the right HR strategies, a handson leadership and management team, and continues to be optimistic about the challenges, then no job is impossible.

The emotional cycles of employees’ depression – How it affects the company’s productivity and retention of employees

A concerned organization will remain proactive to individual situations and is ready to intervene should it be necessary. Since employees spend more time at work than at home, to provide employees with timely and effective emotional support, organizations should consider implementing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

34 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Since we are all part of the broad social system, our work life can influence our social life and vice versa. An employee’s feelings and emotions not only impact their productivity but also has an impact on overall work environment in the organization. A concerned organization will remain proactive to individual situations and is ready to intervene should it be necessary. Since employees spend more time at work than at home, to provide employees with timely and effective emotional support, organizations should consider implementing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). An EAP focuses on helping employees through various life challenges that may adversely affect job performance, health and personal wellbeing in an effort to optimize an organization’s success.

Whether an organization has such a program, management should be able to recognize and intervene when employees are struggling with personal or mental health. When employees feel an organization cares about their daily well-being, they will remain loyal to that company, resulting in higher performance and a longer tenure.

How HR contributes to work-life balance of employees Although usually defined as the amalgamation of achievement and enjoyment, work-life balance is different for everyone because we all have different priorities in our lives.

With employees having time-consuming jobs with minimal time to focus on personal gratification, ensuring work-life balance is necessary to retain hardworking and dedicated employees.

HR professionals can introduce a variety of programs that can contribute to work-life balance. The more common programs include flexible working hours, work from home options, hosting organizational outings or company activities, offering gym or fitness membership discounts, promoting breaks throughout the work day, and offering wellness programs.Organizations must decipher what works best for their working environment after taking into consideration what their employees may enjoy as well.

Trends that would drive HR as well as employees for better growth of the organization The HR industry has evolved over the past several years, and today’s concentrations include employee productivity and their well-being. Trends that continue to drive the HR industry include creative employer branding, use of technology to remove bias from hiring, compliance awareness, corporate well-being initiatives, and employee personalization.. These emphases promote a healthier work environment, which in return allows the opportunity to focus on employee development, employee engagement, and an overall rewarding employee life cycle. These trends open the door for a bigger, brighter future for organizations, which employees can proudly say they work for. n By Liane Mitchell Human Resources Generalist ATCS

NEWS

Rajan Anandan quits Google to join Sequoia Capital as MD Rajan Anandan, head of Google India and South East Asia has quit after eight years of service. Anandan has been known for expanding Google’s presence in the region and several angel investments in growing start-ups.

Anandan will continue at Google till the end of April. Vikas Agnihotri, country director, sales, will replace Anandan in the interim for Google India. Going forward, Google’s Asia Pacific president Scott Beaumont will take over the role.

he was a member of the Indian Angel Network and in 2017 was appointed as the Chairman of IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).

Born in Sri Lanka, Anandan will join Sequoia Capital as its Managing Director. Shailendra J Singh in a LinkedIn post has mentioned that he will join the leadership team at the firm.

He will act as an investment advisor and mentor to the program’s founders.

In his career, Anandan has invested in over 45 technology start-ups in India such as Instamojo, WebEngage, Travelkhana, Capillary Technologies, LLB among others. He is also the co-founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, the first seed fund in Sri Lanka and has made over 10 investments in the country.

Prior to joining Google, Anandan held leadership roles in McKinsey & Company, Dell, and Microsoft. Besides,

On Rajan Anandan’s exit from Google, Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR comments,

“Knowing Rajan’s deep commitment to supporting young tech startups, this seems like a perfect union. Sequoia and entrepreneurs in their network will find immense value just as we do with his leadership at TiE Delhi-NCR. A great team leader, he leaves a rich legacy at Google. Truly a global leader, energizing and adding value to every organization that he is associated with.” www.spoindia.org March 2019 | 35

ROUND ABOUT

Saga of Innovations – breakthroughs and Jugaads There are good number of people who believe that technology may play a bigger role in medical science than the medical practitioners, so much so that the global IT companies like Google, Apple, Amazon are recruiting medical practitioners and are opening special divisions within their set up to pioneer devices and equipment that can help digitize medical sciences and to take medical science and treatments closer to people. Some of them are working on redefining the medical science with the help of technology and newer concepts.

Health is replaced by the word wellness.

Of course, wellness is a wider concept and that underscores use of concepts and devices to help ward off diseases to make people fit and trim. Smart watches attached to smartphones are in vogue.

Doctors are trying to develop devices to track blood pressure like what a glucometer can do.Yet another set of scientists are working on genome based customized medicines. Scientists are on the verge of developing a device for detecting the best time for a woman conceiving children and also for preserving eggs taken at the time of ovulation to be fertilized later.

Experiments galore! One thing that runs across these experiments is its direct benefit to the people, to ordinary and extraordinary people.

Gaming is another field where technology is bringing radical changes.

We are all aware of the blockchain, which disrupted the financial services and how people do business and exchange their goods and services using that medium.

Admittedly, blockchains based on the use of algorithms is increasingly getting acceptance across the world. But the same technology is disrupting many other disciplines including gaming and would intensify the explosive growth of electronic sports. The uses in this field could be for extending the life of a game, to make it more interesting and to provide experiences, which the players never experienced before. I am told there is a game called Cooking Mama, where players 36 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

are tasked to innovate new recipes. Players can change the recipe and cook new delicacies. The private codes generated for each player can help them to hold on to the recipe after the competitionand can get even a patent to commercialize that.

Innovations can take place even at the grassroot level and not necessarily in the confines of state-of-the-art laboratories or incubators. I understand that there is a new terminology called Jugaad innovation to categorize such breakthroughs. They may look simple and Spartan but can considerably enhance the quality of life of a common man.

Let me take the example of a village school girl from Kerala, Remya Jose. She was concerned about her mother, who was sick and had to toil hard with household chores including washing the clothes of the family members. To reduce the drudgery of her mother she invented a washing machine cum exercise machine, which can run without electricity by peddling a bicycle like equipment. Her video was telecast by Discovery Channel in 2007. Another person who shot to fame is Jalagaon based Sheikh Jahangir, who invented a multi-purpose machine using mobile spray-painting device and four second hand scooters into a super machine, which can work as a mobile sugar cane making unit, a generator, a flour mill and a washing machine. It is a rare feat by an ordinary boy from nondescript village.

Let me take an example of a sugar cane juice extractor. The previous avatar of the juice expeller was one which was handled manually by physically rotating a steering like thing. Of course, those who have got a delicate stomach would become victim of the unhygienic process of juice extraction.

Later the juice expellers were connected with a motor and extraction was done mechanically. A breakthrough came when the expeller was connected to a motor to make the process automatic. Now, the vendors use the motor to convert the

expeller as a vehicle for moving from one place to the other, which earlier they carried in a cart. I am sure very soon they would hit with an idea to extract juice in a hygienic manner, without any intervention of the human being. That would mean washing the sugar cane in clear water, plucking it from the stored place, keeping it in the expeller and collecting the juice, all by the machine. It may not be a far- fetched idea to have an automated machine, which can prepare sugar cane juice to suit your palate using artificial intelligence, wherein one can feed the preferences like the right quantum of ice to be added, whether it should have sprinklings of lemon juice etc.

My esteemed readers may indeed ask me what I am really trying to drive home. There are two things that I want to underline. There are innovative and out of box people who tries to do things differently, think differently and act differently. The world may dub them as non-conformists or crazy but almost all inventions and discoveries have come from such crazy people and not from the people who think in a linear manner and not keen to experiment. I can add a third factor and that I would call an urge to create something new. A society can only flourishes if this passion for innovation is practiced and encouraged widely. After all the world belongs to the future and we need to accept that with courage and openness to innovation. n

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MOVEMENTS Dr. A.K. Mohanty takes over as Director BARC

Dr. A.K. Mohanty, distinguished Scientist and Director, physics group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata today took over as Director, BARC from Shri K.N. Vyas, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy. Dr. Mohanty graduated from the 26thbatch of the BARC Training School and joined Nuclear Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1983. During the past 36 years, Dr. Mohanty has worked in several areas of nuclear physics covering collision energy from sub-Coulomb barrier to relativistic regime.

Ajeet Agarwal assumes additional charge of CMD REC Limited

Ministry of Power, Govt. of India has assigned additional charge of CMD, REC Limited to Ajeet Agarwal, Director (Finance) w.e.f. 6th March 2019 till further orders. He will succeed Dr. P. V. Ramesh, who will be joining National Archives of India as Director General.

Ajeet Agarwal has been Director (Finance), REC since August 1st, 2012.

He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India with more than 35 years of experience in Public Sector Undertakings. He is responsible for formulating financial strategies and plans to enable REC in achieving its vision.

R M Agarwal appointed as CMD of ITI

In a recently held meeting on 29th march 2019, the search-cum Selection Committee has recommended Rakesh Mohan Agarwal, Director (Marketing) ITI Ltd. to be appointed for the post of chairman and managing Director. It will come to effect from 1st April 2019.

This appointment comes after the committee has interviewed 10 candidates from the same field.

Agarwal has served in various positions in ITI, since August 02, 2018. Agarwal is an Indian Telecommunication Services (ITS) 38 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

officer of the 1986 batch. Agarwal holds a Postgraduate Degree in Electronics & Communication and MBA degree with a specialization in Finance.

Ritu Sain appointed as director in HUA ministry

Ritu Sain, a 2003 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS, has been appointed as director in the ministry of housing and urban affairs (HUA). The DoPT order issued on March 14 also asked the state government to relieve from her duties immediately. Also, the appointment order referred an August 2005 circular which said an officer should join the post within three weeks from the date of issue of DoPT’s appointment order, “failing which the process of debarment from central staffing scheme shall be initiated”.

Sain, 40, originally belongs to the state of Rajasthan. She did her MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on South East Asian studies before getting into IAS. She is also an LLB.

Devendra Kumar Tiwari appointed new Jharkhand chief secretary

Devendra Kumar Tiwari was appointed as the new chief secretary of Jharkhand, an official notification said here Sunday.

The 1986-batch IAS officer who now holds the post of development commissioner, succeeds Sudhir Tripathi, who retired on Sunday.

Additional Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, presently with the Planning-cumFinance department, has been appointed the new Development Commissioner, the notification said.

The Election Commission has approved the state government's proposal for the new appointments, an official spokesman said.

Air Marshal D Choudhury takes over as SASO Hq Western Air Command

Air Marshal D Choudhury AVSM VM VSM has taken over as Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command.

Air Mshl D Choudhury AVSM VM VSM is an alumnus of National Defence Academy and was commissioned on 22 Dec 1983. The Air Officer is a Fighter Combat Leader and an Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner. He is an alumnus of Royal College of Defence Studies UK, a Post Graduate in Strategy and International Security from King’s College London and Master of Philosophy on Defence and Strategic Studies.

S. K. Bhargava assumes additional charge of CMD IREDA

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India has assigned additional charge of CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) to S. K. Bhargava, Director (Finance) w.e.f.

1st March 2019 till further orders. He will succeed K. S. Popli, who laid down his office on completion of five years tenure in IREDA. Bhargava has been Director (Finance), IREDA since December 26, 2012, and is associated with IREDA for a tenure of over 18 years. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd) Assumes Charge as CMD - BDL

Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd.) has assumed charge, as the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a Miniratna Category 1 PSU under the Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India. He succeeds V. Udaya Bhaskar who has retired on 28 Feb 2019, on attaining superannuation.

Commodore Mishra was commissioned in the Electrical Branch of Indian Navy in the year 1985. Post-retirement from Navy in Sep 2016, Commodore Mishra served ECIL, a Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Enterprise. Prior to joining BDL, he was General Manager (Defence) at ECIL, Hyderabad.

Commodore Mishra is a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering, an M Sc in Defence Studies and Master of Management Science.

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RNI No.: DELENG/2016/69058 Printing Date 27 & 28

40 | March 2019 www.spoindia.org

Reg. No.: DL-SW-1/4197/17-19

40 pages including cover

Date of Posting Date 29 & 30 Every Month