Volume4 issue 14 corporate citizen

SESSION SURVEY M

Volume 4, Issue No. 14 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

ettl Su rv - Talen ey Acquis t in India ition 2018

Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, on “Smart Railways” October 16-31, 2018 / `50

STARTUP Series

Piyush and Khusbhoo Jain

cofounders, ImpactGuru.com, on crowdfunding in India

Dynamic Duo: 78

The

Bamboo Entrepreneurs Aruna Kappagantula and Prashant Lingam, on their pioneering efforts of turning bamboo into a unique business model Unsung Heroes

The runaway success of the ‘Rickshaw Bank’

Military To Management

Pandurang Kumbhar Sr. VP–HR & ER (Western & Southern region), Amtek Auto Corporate History

Airbnb - The Growth Story

Loved & Married Too

Sindhu and Suhas Kulkarni

2 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

feedback Cardozos: Courageous and Cool!

After the cover story under our popular series ‘Dynamic Duo’ featuring Priscilla and Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo appeared in the September 16-30 issue of Corporate Citizen, there were a flood of warm messages by their friends and readers. We publish them as it shows the Duo’s popularity due to their grit and determination in leading life, kingsize and with values intact!

Dear Gen. and Mrs Cardozo, you were always the poster couple. Now we’ve seen it in print.

Heartiest Congratulations.

- Suresh and Vineeta Rao

TOP POSITION Shahul KarIm, VIce PreSIdeNT-humaN reSOurceS, FIrSTSOurce Volume 4, Issue No. 13 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

SurVey

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big hand for our own super couple.

- Mohit Singh

Awesome picture, so graceful and elegant!

- Marina Marques

India Ne Gen St xt udy 2018

Maj. Ge

Cardo Ian zo n.

dyNamIc duO: 77

Glorious Golden Moments

Priscilla and Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo (retd.) on their 52 years of shared bond and his story of monumental courage and rare fauji spirit

Wow. Congrats! Cover girl and our hero.

- Kay Landale Dear Gen. and Mrs Cardozo, heartiest congratulations on being on front page. You have always remained an ideal for us in the regiment, now you are going to show the way to countrymen. Warm regards.

- Ashok Pradhan Gen. and Mrs Cardozo, amazing. Such a fantastic photograph and that too on the cover page.

- Rajpal Singh Both of you have never lost a battle. Warriors as always.

- Leo Mooken Oh my goodness, this is so special. Ma’am both of you are stars.

- Nilanjana Bardhan That’s really lovely mom!!!! Adorable picture!!!

- Shilpa Vijayan Cardozo Graceful and gorgeous and this officer must be

It is very interesting and beautifully written.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Maj. Gen. Cardozo is such a humble man who we met at our tour, could hardly imagine he has gone through so much. There is lots to learn from his talks. You must be really proud of him. I am happy to have met you both.

Interview

tanushree Shelly, senior managerHr, Mahindra Lifespace .) etd (r

My Dear Sir and Ma’am, may your love and kind heartedness keep blooming. Heartiest congratulations.

- Sumit Bathla

September 16-30, 2018 / `50

truly a gentleman. Heartiest Congratulations on this milestone, marriage and togetherness. Love and God Bless.

Oh my God, touchwood and God bless, the gorgeousness is unlimited. Love you both to the moon and back.

Wow that’s totally amazing. You guys are looking really cute.

Loved & Married Too

rujuta Phadke and ojas Pashankar— wings to aspire for greater heights

So cool! Congrats! They are looking so nice, always warm and smiling. Share the pics from the interview too, truly a heroic story!

- Puja Negi

STARTUP STORY

dhiren Makhija, cofounder and business development head, Cashkumar Session

debate — will India reinvent itself till 2022?

The article brought tears of joy in me as well as the most proudly feelings regarding my Mhowite Senior Lady named Mrs Priscilla Cardozo W/O Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo who will remain an everlasting brave Lady with unlimited perseverance. Being from Mhow I feel very elated and proud. I salute Maj. Gen. and Mrs Cardozo for their fore thought, dedication, courage and contribution with most soldierly perseverance. They will always remain a great inspiration for our Army as a whole for all times to come.

- Vini Chhibber Wow, the cover story, `Glorious Golden Moments’ in the Corporate Citizen issue of September 15 - 30 was worth reading.

Hats off to Priscilla and Ian. I never really had the right perspective,thinking and imagination about Army life. After reading this issue, I realise it takes such a lot of sacrifice and dedication to serve the country with courage and by beating so many challenges. Hats off once again to this `Dynamic Duo’ because I still find both of you so very graceful.

- Elaine Dcruz

Circulation NOTICE to ‘Corporate Citizen’ Subscribers We hereby inform our esteemed subscribers of ‘Corporate Citizen’ magazine that we have Postal Registration Licence. Under this registration the date of posting is 15th and 30th of each month from Pune. Please allow minimum seven (7) days to reach your destination in India. If subscribers do not get copy of any fortnight, do alert us by email at: circulations@corporatecitizen.in OR call on 67117604/9. Just send your subscriber number or full postal address with name.

Make sure to email only.

We look forward to your feedback

We at Corporate Citizen, believe that information should not be a one-way street. Your opinion and views about this issue are most welcome. Your ideas and new thoughts you may have, to enhance the content quality of our magazine, are most welcome. We rely on you to keep Corporate Citizen, on the positive and cool note, through your interaction on this page—just as you trust us with the content that we bring you, every fortnight. Mail us your views on: corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Liffy Thomas

CORPORATE WORLD: Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

A New Battlefield Meet these corporate leaders who learnt human capital management in the trenches

I

n Enemy At The Gates, a Jean-Jacques Annaud film about the legendary Russian marksman Vasily Zaystev, you will find everything you need to know about strategy and planning. The film set in Stalingard from World War II shows how Zaystev struggles to stay one step ahead of his nemesis, German major Erwin König. König is a meticulous planner, and Zaystev is forced to get better at planning to vanquish his formidable enemy.

So, the military prepares its personnel for a fruitful association with the corporate world when they enter civilian life. Many military personnel have filled roles in the corporate sector very well. However, any transition has its challenges. Major Sonam Bakshi had more than her share of challenges, when she retired from the Army and joined the corporate sector.

For one, she was unable to digest the fact that some people would walk in late for meetings and join in without a soupcon of remorse.

Discipline

As she was employed at the mid-managerial level, Major Sonam could not crack the whip on such indiscipline. When she was promoted to head a team, she straight away started focussing on instilling discipline in them. If someone was late for the meeting, he/she had to stay out of it. “I was however extremely careful about ringing in the changes, introducing only one change at a time, as a corporate team is obviously different from a platoon,” says Major Sonam, who has worked with companies like ICICI Bank and Wipro. She now heads the human resources department at Clix Capital, a newage digital lending firm.

Anyone unaware of how the military functions might easily slip into the erroneous conclusion that military personnel are products of rigorous training and unflinching discipline, out-and-out.

Camaraderie

This is half-truth and the spirit of camaraderie and 4 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

“Military personnel are encouraged to put themselves in each other’s shoes, and I think empathy is an important quality for human resources personnel” -Major Sonam Bakshi, CHRO, Clix Capital

cooperation plays as much of a role in shaping those wearing epaulettes.

Col. John Chenetra, president, SecUR Credentials, says, “I joined the Army as an officer but as part of my induction programme, I had to live with the troops and learn about everyone’s job. It was a one-month exercise aimed at helping us shed our egos and put ourselves in each other’s shoes,” says Col. Chenetra.

Inspired by this experience and several other lessons about team spirit he had learnt in the Army, Col. Chenetra introduced the ‘Buddy System’ in his corporate organisation.

“This is an internal micro mentoring system where a fresher is paired with a senior and guided for six months,” says Col. Chenetra who has worked in leadership positions in Hinduja Group and Verifacts.

He also introduced the ‘Durbar’ system. Based on town hall meetings, it encourages employees to speak out.

Adaptability

Following a six-month management course, Major Cherry Singh got a corporate assignment as head of human resources in the rural section of North East India, at ICICI Security.

“It was a huge responsibility. I knew I had been

“We are placed in corporate jobs for the right attitude we carry with us and for the energy levels we bring”

“At every level in the military, there is an opportunity for everyone to lead, and this is one of the reasons for organisations to hire people with a defence background”

HR (head) – North India, MUFG Bank

President, SecUR Capital

-Major Cherry Singh,

-Col. John Chenetra,

given this role because in my last stint in the army, 1500 uniformed people reported to me. The Army had taught me adaptability and flexibility, and these lessons stood me in good stead in this corporate assignment,” says Major Cherry, who is now head of Human Resources —North India, MUFG Bank.

“Major Cherry has always been a campaigner of diversity at the workplace. During her stint with YES Bank, she was instrumental in introducing all-women branches and placing women at banks close to their homes to ensure they did not quit their jobs on account of having to take a long commute in their stride.

“A lot of conviction was required to effect these changes in the mindset of the organisation,” says Major Cherry.

Second career options

Major General Deepak Sapra, managing director, of Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO), says 50,000 Army personnel, from the age of 35 years, retire every year.

“At least 25% of them are placed in corporate, PSUs and government jobs every year,” he says.

Earlier, companies would approach the placement agency directly and state their requirements. Now,

many have outsourced the recruitment process to manpower agencies. The portal (www.exarmynaukri.com) has a database of three lakh people and facilitate placement of military veterans, their widows and dependants with suitable jobs.

“The Army has more than 130 trades and is therefore capable of providing people who can meet the requirements of any company,” says the major general.

He says AWPO has tied up with Naukri.com too.

“With centres in 17 places, we help place ex-servicemen in suitable places.”

Earlier this year, Monster India signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Naval Placement Agency (INPA) (www.indiannavy.nic.in) to provide second career opportunities for personnel who are about to retire or have retired from service.

According to the website, INPA has a database of 40,000 navy personnel across skill sets, locations and ranks.

Indian Army Veterans Portal and merajob.in are a few other platforms that help connect ex-defence personnel with employers in the corporate world.

(This article was originally published in The Hindu) liffy.thomas@thehindu.co.in https://www.thehindu.com/education/careers/a-new-battlefield/article24701887.ece October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents Cover story

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Dynamic Duo: 78

The Bamboo Entrepreneurs Aruna Kappagantula and Prashant Lingam, talk on their life together and their socio-entrepreneurial journey into bamboo business— working with bamboo and waste to create useful and everyday usable things, which has now got international attention 9 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 16 Expert View What we can do to alleviate the situation of the falling rupee and rising fuel prices 28 SESSION Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, speaks on how the planned advance railway network will power India’s future economic growth, at the annual FICCI-conclave on “Smart Railways” 6 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Volume 4 Issue No. 14 October 16-31, 2018 www.corporatecitizen.in

32 MILITARY TO MANAGEMENT Pandurang Kumbhar, Sr. Vice President – HR & ER (Western & Southern region), Amtek Auto Ltd, on his corporate journey 37 Corporate Trends Impressive CV trends

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38 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Ashis Mukherjee, CTO and President, Navin Fluorine International, talks on the academic institutions that furnished his hunger for knowledge and to pursue drug discovery and research

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40 STARTUP SERIES Piyush and Khusbhoo Jain, life partners and cofounders, ImpactGuru.com, talk on their startup story of taking crowdfunding in India to the next level 44 Corporate History Airbnb - Growth story of world’s largest one-stop shop for accommodation

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46 Interview Amruta Bahulekar, programme head, Lighthouse project, a collaborative initiative of Pune City Connect and Pune Municipal Corporation for Skills Development and sustainable livelihood

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48 UNSUNG HEROES The runaway success of the ‘Rickshaw Bank’ by Assam-based veterinary surgeon, Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah, and how it has changed the lives of rickshaw pullers across India 50 LOVED & MARRIED Sindhu and Suhas Kulkarni, on their smooth life journey together 52 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Naba Ishrat, on her campus placement and how she realised

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50 October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 7

contents

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com

56 her strengths and hence her career direction

60 MOBILE APPS Latest and the greatest from Apple’s new lineup

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com

54 HEALTH Stania Deborah Peris, member, Indian Ultimate Frisbee Team, shares her balancing act between sports and her dream of bringing in a scientific approach to nutrition 56 SURVEY Mettl survey - Talent Acquisition in India 2018

Assistant Editor & Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur mathurpradeep1@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com Kolkata Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

54

Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra Advertising and Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com

61 PEARLS OF WISDOM Why success must be measured by the yardstick of inner happiness 66 LAST WORD The march of the digital native— dealing with them at home and work

Chennai: Anil Kumar Menon anil.menon@corporatecitizen.in

60

Be A Corporate Citizen

How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen - The Cool Side of Business?

Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com.

We would love to hear from you!

8 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

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collywood

People in the news

Chaudhry, new Axis Bank chief

It is official, Axis Bank has appointed HDFC Life’s Amitabh Chaudhry as the bank’s CEO and MD after Shikha Sharma retires from the post. Amitabh Chaudhry has been appointed as MD and CEO from 1 January, 2019, for a period of three years.

An IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, Amitabh Chaudhry has been the Managing Director and the CEO of HDFC Standard Life since 18 January, 2010. Chaudhry also worked at Infosys BPO Limited of IT giant Infosys for three-and-a-half years between 2006 and 2009, as Chief Operating Officer. He rose to the position after he joined the company as the Head of Transition in 2003. He also worked at Bank of America (India) as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He has over 17 years of experience as Head of the Investment Banking Franchise for South East Asia and Structured Finance practice for Asia, according to Bloomberg. The soon-to-be CEO of Axis Bank, Amitabh Chaudhry completed engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in 1984. In July 2017, Shikha Sharma was appointed as Axis Bank’s CEO and MD for a fourth term.

Vibha elevated as CEO of HDFC Life

However, after the Reserve Bank of India’s intervention over her appointment, she requested a shorter stint of seven months.

Shikha will retire on 31 December, 2018.

Anshula promoted as MD of SBI Anshula Kant has been promoted as the Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI), according to an SBI official order. She was the deputy MD in the bank. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment and stated that Kant will remain in the post till the date of her superannuation which falls on 30 September, 2020. This post went vacant after the resignation of B Sriram, who took over as the MD and CEO of IDBI Bank. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) recommended the name of Kant for the appointment of the post after a scrutiny of as many as 14 persons who were recommended for the posts of MD and CEO in various public sector banks, out of which six of the 14 recommended are from SBI. With this appointment SBI now has four MDs – the others being PK Gupta, DK Khara and Arijit Basu.

Vibha Padalkar has been elevated as the new Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance for a period of three years.

Before her elevation, Padalkar was the insurer’s Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. This comes after Amitabh Chaudhry resigned as the chief of HDFC Standard Life Insurance to join Axis Bank as Managing Director and CEO. Vibha, in her new role, will be leading the largest private sector life insurer in the country in terms of new business premium collection.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the board of directors of the life insurer, based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

The company in a regulatory filing stated, “The terms of appointment are subject to approval by the shareholders and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.” “We have a strong team in place that has delivered over the years to make HDFC Life an industry leader, and we hope to continue with this track record, delivering more value as we go along,” Padalkar said.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood Swiss to install Sridevi statue

Switzerland has been a favourite shooting location for Bollywood and Indian tourists have been flocking to the country in the hundreds of thousands. In a tribute to Sridevi, whose film Chandni was shot here, the Swiss tourism industry is planning to install a statue of the legendary leading lady. Sridevi was one of the Bollywood actors who set a trend by being picturised in the snowy Alps of Switzerland in the ‘80s and ‘90s. From Raj Kapoor’s Sangam in 1964 to Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ), Bollywood personalities have been active in this part of the world. Late filmmaker Yash Chopra was famously very fond of the snowy country and his films became associated with Switzerland. A majority of the iconic songs of Chopra’s 1989 Sridevi-starrer Chandni were shot in Switzerland. He was made honorary Ambassador of the town of Interlaken in 2011 along with having a statue and a train named after him. Recently, Karan Johar paid a cheeky tribute to the Bollywood obsession with Switzerland in his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

End of an era at Alibaba’s helm

The era of Jack Ma, the charismatic co-founder of China’s largest ecommerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is all set to become history as he is to step down as chairman in one year to concentrate on philanthropy and education, after passing the baton to trusted lieutenant Daniel Zhang. Ma, who turned 54 recently, has since long spoken about his plans to step back, insisting that Alibaba management should be relatively young and his retirement is not expected to affect the running of the company. This might sound rather rare for the founder of a big and transformative tech firm, especially one with a cult-like status like his, to retire so early. Commenting on the move, Rupert Hoogewerf, said, “There’s only Bill Gates

who has done the same.

No other tech founder in the world has just resigned like that at the top.” Ma who was to give up the chairman’s role in September 2019, will complete his current term on Alibaba’s board of directors following the company’s annual general meeting in 2020, the company said. Ma, a former English teacher with no technical background, co-founded Alibaba in 1999 with 17 others and has become one of the China’s richest people with a net worth of $36.6 billion, according to Forbes.

India ranks 3rd on family-owned businesses India ranks third globally in terms of number of publicly listed family owned businesses with 111 companies with a market capitalisation of $839 billion, after China with 159 firms and the United States with 121 firms. According to the ‘Credit Suisse Family 1000 in 2018‘ report, published by the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI), in terms of number of family owned businesses, within the non-Japan Asian region, China, India and Hong Kong dominate the list. These three jurisdictions together comprise around 65 per cent of the non-Japan Asian section of the CSRI‘s database, and has a combined market capitalisation of $2.85 trillion (or 71 per cent)

10 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

of the market share. Korea came in fourth place, with 43 companies ($434.1 billion market capitalisation), followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, each with 26 companies. The report covered 11 markets in the non-Japan Asian region, which continue to dominate and represent a 53 per cent share of the universe, with a total market capitalisation of over $4 trillion.

Mallika, Regional Director-HR, Hilton Twenty-three years after being with Oberoi, Mallika Rao Bedi is shifting to Hilton aligning with its plans to expand its footprint in India. A loyalist among the big names in the corporate world, Mallika, who has worked with only one company, The Oberoi Group of Hotels, started her career after graduating from Mangalore University, and that is where she stayed put for 23 years. Now, she moves to Hilton as Regional Director-HR. At Oberoi’s she had been extensively involved in hotel operations garnering experience in recruitment, selection, talent management, employee on boarding, training and development, employee relations and process improvement, in line with business requirements, which resulted in minimum attrition. At Hilton, her key areas of focus will be to work with the India team to drive best practices as well as reinforce as

one of the best places to work, this American hotel chain which has gone through a leadership change this year. In January, two key appointments were made, Navjit Ahluwalia joined as senior Vice President and Country Head, India, and Jatin Khanna joined as Vice President and head of operations, India.

Even Alan Watts, Executive Vice President and President, Hilton (Asia Pacific) is a recent joinee.

Kohli, Hero MotoCorp brand ambassador Virat Kolhi could not match England in the Test series as India faced a 4-1 defeat in their away-series, but the Indian skipper made headway in the corporate world, with Hero MotoCorp Ltd. signing in Kohli as its brand ambassador. The company added that Kohli will feature in Hero’s ad campaign for the Xtreme 200R. The Hero Xtreme 200R gets a semi-digital instrument console, LED pilot lamps, LED tail lights, dual-tone graphics and ergonomically designed seats. The bike draws power from a 200cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine that puts out 18.4 PS at 8000 rpm and a peak torque of 17.1 Nm at 6500 rpm.

Additionally, Hero has added supplementary balancers to the engine in order to ensure smooth delivery of power.

Apart from cricket, Hero MotoCorp also promotes multiple sports disciplines, including golf, football, field hockey and motorsports in India and across the world.

The firm also steps it up a notch by promoting athletes from various sport disciplines. Hero MotoCorp has also been a partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – both at the central level as well as the team sponsor of Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians. The company is currently the title sponsor of the Hero Caribbean Premier League, (Hero CPL) - the biggest T20 tournament in the Caribbean.

Diego Simeone, the legendary Argentinian footballer and the current coach of the Atletico Madrid team, is also a global brand ambassador of Hero MotoCorp.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Swapna Rege joins HappyLocate as CHRO Monginis Foods’ Swapna Rege has started a new innings in her professional career with HappyLocate, as CHRO. In her last role as the corporate Head-HR at Monginis Foods, Rege focused on creating an atmosphere where employees were engaged and productive. In order to achieve that goal, Rege introduced various interventions, such as surveys, ‘voice of employees’ programmes, L&D initiatives, formation of management executive committees, and more. Swapna joined Monginis Foods in 2010, driving the HR initiatives to enhance communication, establish trust, increase comfort in soliciting feedback and unite employees towards a common goal. Rege has vast experience in managing change, interventions, transformation, learning & development, as well as the recruitment function in different indus-

tries, including manufacturing, finance and retail.

The opportunity allows Rege to explore a new sector and setup altogether. Rege has completed an MBA in human resources management from Wellingkar Institute of Management. She is a certified neuro linguistic programme (NLP) practitioner and a trained life coach from Symbiosis Coaching. HappyLocate is a digital platform, where end-to-end relocation is managed and coordinated with services, such as packing, moving, hotel and flight booking, all integrated onto a single platform through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning-based relocation tools.

Rege believes that the only skill which keeps an individual relevant at work is the ability to constantly evolve, learn and improve. Everything else can be replicated.

LinkedIn India head Akshay Kothari quits

LinkedIn has cleared that Kothari has quit the company and has moved back to San Francisco to start his own venture. Kothari had a five-year stint with the company as the head of LinkedIn India and VP of international product. LinkedIn, in an emailed statement stated, “We are very grateful for Akshay’s leadership and contributions at LinkedIn for the past five-and-a 12 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

-half years. He joined LinkedIn in 2013 after Pulse, a company which he co-founded was acquired by LinkedIn. Since then, he played key roles across the company, most recently leading the growth of our business in India and international product efforts, with products like LinkedIn Lite. We wish him well in his next endeavour as he returns to his entrepreneurial roots. In India, while we finalise the appointment of a new country manager, Olivier Legrand, MD of APAC will work closely with our local leadership team to operate as business as usual.” Incidentally, Akshay had been recently promoted to the new position of Head, International Product, LinkedIn in May this year. The expansion of his role this year came two years after Kothari was promoted as the country manager for LinkedIn’s India market in January 2016.

Tesla’s HR head Gaby Toledano quits Two of the top executives of Elon Musk-founded electric automobile company, Tesla, have decided to move on, including the company’s HR Head, Gabrielle Toledano, and Dave Morton, the company’s chief accounting officer. This has come when the company is going through a major upheaval. Gaby, as she was fondly addressed, was reported to have been on leave to spend time with family, and then decided not to re-join for personal reasons. Toledano was an executive of a video game publisher company, Electronic Arts (EA) prior to joining Tesla.

Prior to EA, she led the HR team at Siebel Systems. She has also worked in HR leadership positions at Oracle and Microsoft. On the other hand, Tesla had experienced an exodus from its HR team in 2017. Kevin Kassekert is expected to step into Toledano’s shoes. He is reported to have been promoted as Vice President of people and places. Kassekert has been with Tesla for six years, and his last position was that of VP-infrastructure development.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

wax eloquent

Exciting Time to be Here Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world To drive your success

I am no longer afraid to follow my dreams

“The biggest thing I have achieved is that I am no longer afraid to follow my dreams.

I have managed to convince myself to be bold and chase my dreams, no matter what. It has taken some doing to put the demons to rest.

But am glad to have reached that state.”

“You must contribute to the world before thinking of using it to drive your success. It is necessary to become so good at what you do that success can’t help but fall at your feet.

Successful persons are defined by their belief in themselves (call it luck, skill or hard work) and by their commitment to manifesting the reality of their imaginations.”

Kuldeep Malhotra, vice president, sales, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Courtesy: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in

Ashish Bhatia,

founder & MD, India Accelerator; and cofounder, Lawyered and Square1

Courtesy: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in

Democratising access to gold “In countries such as China and India, you buy the jewellery by weight, of high karatage (close to pure) and you can sell the jewellery. I thought to myself it is pretty crazy that there is not one Western brand that has taken this approach. The jewellery industry seems to have forgotten its role in crafting wearable investments, which should maintain their purchasing power.”

Roy Sebag, founder, Mene Courtesy: http://www.kitco.com

It’s about you shaping the future

Adapt to change

“To settle is to be like the sediment at the bottom of a still lake.

If you want to stay alive, be engaged and adapt to change, that comes your way.”

“It’s not the world moving (to digital) and you responding to that; it’s about you actually shaping the future as well by creating solutions before people realise they need it. We constantly scout all the digital developments happening for consumer and infrastructure, and try to identify a credible way to bring a solution for the problem.”

Raja Rajamannar, global chief marketing officer, Mastercard Courtesy: http://www.forbesindia.com

There is no one way to success

Chetan Bhagat,

“There is no one way to success. There are multiple ways.

So, stop being a follower. Stop listening to what others believe is their journey, because if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for you. You have to have your own path. And that’s very important to do.”

Courtesy: https://indiacurrents.com

Courtesy: https://yourstory.com

author, columnist, screenwriter

14 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Nandita Gurjar, former group HR head, Infosys

What makes a person attractive?

“Especially in this business (modelling), the minute you get self-conscious, you lose it. It has to be effortless. There has to be a sense of nonchalance, which is what actually makes that person attractive. The minute you know that you are beautiful, and you sort of present yourself like that, I think it’s over.

You lose that spark, which really makes you who you are.”

Lakshmi Menon, model Courtesy: https://www.vogue.in

India has the best diversity and depth

“Of all the emerging markets in the world, India has the best diversity and depth. As a share of the total market, it has the maximum number of companies which can be defined as high quality. This country has the maximum number of companies as a share of the total market of practically any country in the world, which I find very fascinating in terms of it, especially compared to other emerging markets etc.”

Ruchir Sharma, New Yorkbased investor and author

Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes. com

My point is we don’t have to fit in

India is where we see incredible success

“When we talk about where we see incredible success, India is always at the top of that list. There are unique things that every country is doing. But when you look broad-based at the Skill India and Smart Cities efforts, the UID card, and what Jio is doing to bring broadband connectivity to people at a price point that was just not conceivable—I think that pace of digitisation that pours into the population all the way through to businesses is perhaps unmatched around the world.”

Chuck Robbins, CEO, CISCO

“I haven’t been able to crack the dichotomy about women becoming so vocal and part of the work force in so many domains, on one hand, and yet constantly needing to evaluate themselves against the male gaze, on the other. My point is we don’t have to fit in.”

Nandita Das, actor

Courtesy: www.economictimes.com

Courtesy: Times of India

Big money to make in space business “There is big money to make in the space business for Indian corporates. There is no dearth of big corporates in India to invest in the space industry. As ISRO’s programmes (launches and satellites) are primarily meant for societal and the country’s needs in the civilian and defence sectors, the spare capacity is small for commercial needs. We hope the private industry will come forward to drive the commercial space and grow the business.”

S. Rakesh, chairman and MD, Antrix Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Market is tough and exciting

“The market is very tough and fiercely competitive, but it is also an exciting time to be here, since it is filled with opportunities. If you have to give people something that they would like to come back to, you have nothing to fear.”

Pooja Dhingra, celebrity chef

Courtesy: https://food.ndtv.com

Perfection is passé

Enough chances for everyone “The problem is people often just look at the work, and not who is behind it. I am not part of a female brigade, but want to ensure there are enough chances for everyone, everywhere, and not have prejudices in place.

Once you start looking at work, merit automatically shines through.”

Swati Rathi, head-marketing, Godrej Appliances Courtesy: www.economictimes.com

The opportunity is huge “We are at the right place. Now it is about our imagination, our conviction, commitment, our ability to utilise the opportunity. The opportunity is huge.”

Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO, TCS

Courtesy: Economic Times

“Consumers today don’t believe in the image of perfection. In fact, perfection is passé and it’s your flaws that make you fascinating.

Every brand has to start somewhere and developing a strong perspective on the world can help brands become much better organisations.”

Jeetendr Sehdev,

celebrity brand guru and author

Courtesy: www.economictimes.com

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Expert View

Caught between the devil and the deep sea

by S K Jha

(IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)

T

The twin problems of the falling rupee and rising fuel prices are that they are not created by our mistakes but due to external causes on which we have no control.

Yet there are a few things we can do to alleviate the situation....

he falling rupee and rising fuel prices are two serious problems faced by the Indian economy today. We had the feel good factor of being the fastest growing major economy and a very satisfying GDP growth rate of 8.2 per cent for the preceding quarters of the current financial year, but suddenly we have been confronted by this twin problem. The situation is worsening on a daily basis and becoming panicky. The irony is that the problem is not created by our mistakes but due to external causes on which we have no control. We are not the only victim but the same is being faced by many other countries too, with the difference being in the degree of the problem. This column is a modest effort to have an overview of the causes of the problem and also the possible solutions.

Our currency is witnessing a free fall only in comparison with the US Dollar ($) while it is steady or has even improved in comparison with other major international currencies in the last four years. The value of US $ in the global currency market affects all international currencies, but the fall is more pronounced with currencies from emerging market countries.

The steepest fall was in the case of the Turkish lira, and the same hit India immediately thereafter.

US policies boosting the dollar

The question as to why the US $ is suddenly rising in value is answered by the new policies of the US government. President Trump has been basically a successful businessman and so the new policies of the United States are more mercantile in nature. Policies are being evolved on the theme of ‘America First’ so that the American money is invested more in the United States than in any other part of the world.

Economic parameters in the US have been improving and this has also led to the situation where more investment has been made in that country, and this causes the movement of dollars to the US from other parts of the world. The one-way movement of the dollar has created a demand-supply mismatch, and thus raised the 16 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

value of the dollar in the world currency market. The increasing value of US dollars has a cascading effect, as importers try to corner them for future import before the value of this currency goes higher further. This increasing demand for the US $ works like a chain reaction and triggers still higher valuation.

Victim of trade war

The other reason for the US $ getting over-valued compared to other international currencies is the fear psychosis in international trade due to the trade war between the US and China, the

two biggest economies of the world. The Indian rupee is the victim of this cross fire. The fear in the global trade has caused the cornering of the US $ which is the standard currency in international transactions.

Trump caused tension

The mercurial behaviour of the US president has added to more tension. The President has threatened to withdraw the US from WTO, if things do not happen as per his liking. The US allies are also getting confused due to the unpredictable decisions of the US President. Trump

‘Our currency is witnessing a free fall only in comparison with the US Dollar ($) while it is steady or has even improved in comparison with other major international currencies. The value of US $ in the global currency market affects all international currencies, but the fall is more pronounced with currencies from emerging market countries. The steepest fall was in the case of the Turkish lira, and the same hit India immediately thereafter’

has warned that there will be no free lunch, and all the allies have to contribute equally to all organisations like NATO and such mutual benefit associations. The US is changing its import policy, and subsidies granted to a few developing economies is being abolished. These US policies which are unilateral have a direct impact on the valuation of the US $ and other international currencies. The impact is severe on the currencies of emerging market economies like India as they suffer more due to loss of preferential treatment earlier given to them by the US. The US Fed (Federal Funds) rate hiked twice during 2018 and has also strengthened the dollar to the detriment of other international currencies. The depression in the Indian rupee has a direct nexus with the Fed rate hike.

The Indian rupee is falling also due to the huge current account deficit. In June 2018, our current account deficit rose to 42 per cent which is approximately $160 billion. The deficit is caused by the huge increase in imports as against exports. The problem is becoming serious due to the rising price of crude oil in the international market as India is the third biggest importer of oil after US and China. We import 80% of our crude oil requirement and that makes us more vulnerable to the rising price of crude oil. As per an estimate of additional burden due to the rising price of crude oil, we will be hit by an additional `45,000 crores this year.

The import of gold and electronic items has also a sizeable effect on our current account deficit which weakens our rupee. Some good policies of the government to curb black money have also had an unwanted effect on our rupee.

Earlier, our stock market had a strong feeder route from round-tripping of black money which used to come in the garb of funds from some FIIs and FPIs. During 2018, there was a huge exodus of FPI due to a strict circular from

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tadka

World’s largest health plan The government of India has committed itself to the health care of millions of poor and vulnerable Indians through the National Health Policy Scheme—Ayushman Bharat Yojana, also known as ‘Namocare’ or ‘Modicare’. Earlier in the year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley described this scheme as the world’s largest health plan. The government’s national portal outlines the scheme to have a defined benefit cover of `5 lakh per family per year.

The common person will take advantage of cashless benefits from any public or private impanelled hospitals across the country.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Expert View the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the round-tripping route is also drying up due to amendments of our DTTA agreements with Mauritius and Singapore. Today our stock market is mainly supported by our Mutual Fund Investors and is less dependent on foreign funds, but the lack of foreign fund does affect our rupee as compared to dollars.

Double whammy

We are hit by a double whammy as the falling rupee has come along with a rising fuel price.

The common citizens of our country are hard hit due to the rising price of petrol and diesel in the domestic market. In most of the states, petrol price is between `80 and `87 per litre, and it is rising every day. The price of diesel is not far behind. India is one the biggest consumers of petroleum products. In the year 2016-17, we imported 214 million tonnes of crude oil as per our requirements. The countries from which our imports are high are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Venezuela. The reason for the price hike of petrol and diesel in India is mainly due to the increasing price of crude in the international market.

It is common knowledge that price is determined on the basis of demand and supply. Last year, OPEC and Non-OPEC countries decided to reduce the supply of oil, as for the past few years the crude price had fallen due to excessive production of crude by the oil exporting countries. Saudi Arabia and Russia have been the major parties to this decision of production cut. The immediate result of this decision was the rise in the price of crude oil. The matter was further aggravated by the political and economic situation in Venezuela, compelled with the warning of American sanctions. There was a dramatic fall in the production of Venezuelan oil adding to the strain on the supply side of crude oil and thus leading to its anticipated price rise. The worsening relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the prevailing situation in Libya also added to the problem. The trade war between US and China was another trigger for the deteriorating situation.

crude in mind and these refineries will have to stop work if we do not get Iranian oil. All these external causes are cost multipliers of petroleum products for India.

Higher domestic tax is the other reason for higher price. The tax components which add on to the cost are value added tax (VAT) levied by each state, central excise duty, and together with this are dealer commissions. These components constitute 49% of the cost in the case of petrol, and 35% in the case of diesel. The central excise duty levied uniformly is `19.48 on regular petrol and `15.33 on regular diesel. The VAT component varies from state to state, ranging from 16% VAT on petrol in Goa (minimum) to 39% VAT in Maharashtra (maximum). The VAT component on diesel ranges from 11% in Chandigarh (minimum) to 28% in Andhra Pradesh (maximum). Dealer commissions come to `2.5 per litre on petrol and `1.38 per litre on diesel.

Some short-term measures

What are the options for the government and RBI to stop the rupee from falling? The op-

tions are limited, as the reasons for the falling rupee are mainly external. However, as a stopgap measure, RBI can sell a limited amount of dollars out of our reserve of 406 billion dollars.

But, this exercise should be to a limited extent to keep our reserves intact. We can plan to issue bonds to NRIs which we did in 2013 to cool down the situation as a second short time measure. The incoming dollar will improve the value of the rupee as against the dollar. In the long term, we should try to improve our export of goods and services. We should also try to get foreign direct investment and also more clean investment in our capital market through FIIs and FPIs. We should try to put some curbs on unnecessary imports like excessive imports of gold and luxury items.

What can the government do to cool down the increasing price of petrol and diesel?

Again, the answer is not simple and the government does not have many options. The government does not have any control on the decision of production-cut of crude by the oil exporting countries. India and China however,

‘Our biggest problem is our big oil import to meet the demand of our expanding population.

In the long run, we have to improve our public transport system so that less people use petrol and diesel for transport. We should also try to go for green fuel and electric cars. Less consumption of fossil fuel like petrol and diesel will also help the environment’

Brakes on Iran

Last but not the least, it was the decision of the US to abandon the nuclear deal with Iran, which worked as the last nail in the coffin. The US has announced that countries will be subjected to sanction if they do not bring down the import of Iranian oil to zero by November 1, 2018. This decision by the US has disturbed the apple cart of crude trade in the international market, as Iran is a major producer of crude.

India is affected more, as first, our Venezuelan supply route has dried up and secondly our Iranian supply route is under threat. We have some refineries which are custom built with Iranian 18 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

can form a cartel as they together import huge quantity of crude and bargain for a lesser price in accordance with buyers’ right. India has a good relationship with the US as recently we have finalised COMCASA. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement being a key military communication pact in Delhi in pursuance of the first 2+2 dialogue, we should request the US to give us a waiver in our import of Iranian oil as some of our refineries are built only for refining oil from Iran and

because we have a long and friendly relationship with that country. While punishing Iran for its nuclear policy, the US should not harm the interest of friendly India. The decision of the US is unilateral with respect to Iran, and we must convince US in our interest. We will have big comfort in pricing if we are allowed to continue import from Iran.

There is a demand that taxes should be reduced so as to bring down the price. The ideal situation is to bring petroleum products under GST so that there is one price throughout the country, but as of today, the state governments are not agreeing to it as VAT on petroleum products is their biggest source of revenue. The central government cannot force the states under the federal structure of the constitution.

There is a view that the central government should reduce or abolish central excise duty to reduce the price of petrol and diesel as the same falls in its domain. But, this is easier said than done. The fiscal deficit of the government of India will increase with the reduction of central excise duty leading to many more complications like increased inflation. Today, inflation in the country is four to five per cent but with high fiscal deficit it may go up. States can be persuaded to reduce a small percentage from VAT, but they have their own budgetary problems. Many states are helping farmers through loan waivers, and this is mainly sourced from increasing VAT on petrol and diesel.

In other words, India is caught between the devil and the deep sea. Our biggest problem is our big oil import to meet the demand of our expanding population. In the long run, we have to improve our public transport system so that less people use petrol and diesel for transport.

We should also try to go for green fuel and electric cars. Less consumption of fossil fuel like petrol and diesel will also help the environment.

It is left for each one of us to take a call.

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Soon 5G internet In India CISCO signed agreements with BSNL and NITI Aayog to boost collaboration and connectivity across 100 Atal incubations centres and to build 5G technology based-use cases.

Both will cooperate in exploring the possibilities of 5G technology in areas like education, healthcare and agriculture. Atal Innovation Mission is government of India’s flagship mission to bolster innovation in India and promote a culture of entrepreneurship creating an umbrella of innovation ecosystem in the country.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Cover Story

78

Dynamic Duo:

Aruna Kappagantula and Prashant Lingam

The Bamboo entrepreneurs Much before ‘waste’ became a friendly and an oft-used word, this couple, Aruna Kappagantula and Prashant Lingam put it to good use. They began with bamboo and moved on to tyres to recyclable plastic including polythene bags, PET bottles, chips bags, broken plastic and other plastic waste. They made abodes, furniture, shelters, tiles, belying the fact that anything can be deemed ‘waste’. But the journey has not been all that easy....

By Lalita Iyer

20 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Pics: Ramchander Pentuker

Much before `waste’ became a friendly word this young couple had started working with it to create useful, everyday usable things.

In fact they are popularly known as the ‘Bamboo Couple.’

So much so that they now have overseas orders!

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Cover Story Aruna Kappagantula allows Prashant Lingam to talk and she speaks only when she has to add an emotion or value to what Prashant has to say. They live a simple life with their eight-yearold daughter Tanya, who is also happy visiting the workshop, near their house to see what is happening. “She does not make any demands,” says Aruna. Tanya is in Class IV at the Johnson Grammar School.

Prashant Lingam is the one who liaises with various parties, including the state government of Telangana, and is the face for this ‘small’ run-out-of-theirbackyard Bamboo House.

Much before ‘waste’ became a friendly and an oft-used word, this young couple had started working with it to create useful, everyday usable things. In fact they are popularly known as the ‘Bamboo Couple’ because they have been working with this for a long time and continue to work with it.

A long search

The story of how Aruna and Prashant got into the bamboo business is more than interesting. While their path was not easy, it definitely started on a romantic note. When they got married in 2006, Aruna was looking for eco-friendly furniture and could find nothing in Hyderabad, and the search led them to the Internet, which led them to North East India and they found what they wanted in Katlamara in Symna district of Tripura on the Indo-Bangladesh border, the land of bamboo, which is a grass.

They returned to Hyderabad full of ideas but they were way ahead of their time when it came to the local Hyderabad market. Since they were into experimenting, they built a complete apartment made of bamboo on the terrace of their house, and with the breeze blowing in, it seemed like an ideal solution. In fact it seemed like an answer to many problems, since one does not have to take permission from the Municipality or other authorities because this is a temporary structure. Bamboo is fire proof, environmentally friendly and it really gives an earthy look wherever it is built.

Today, Prashant has reasons to smile as his work has got international attention. The most lucrative deal so far has been a `20-lakh farmhouse project in Pune while the lowest billing was a structure built for `1 lakh.

While they must have been enthusiastic about the business, the family did not like the idea, but being young and starry eyed, the couple decided to go ahead.

Though now their claim to fame is bamboo, it did not have a good beginning.

Parks and offices

Permissions have been given, but there is resistance coming from certain areas and the work is not taken forward and if at all some work is done, it is at a slow pace. The Miyapur Metro Station at Hyderabad has one office room made of both bamboo and plastic, and they have a public park which has been paved with the plastic tiles. It is an extremely slow business and the concept has not spread as much as the couple expected.

22 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

While on the one hand it does seem a good use of recyclable waste plastic, Prashant says, “It is difficult to sell. The moment I mention plastic, people get their mental blocks up. We have to constantly push this concept and sometimes we feel we are back to square one.”

“In fact the corrugated sheet is so tough that a truck can move over it and there won’t be a crack.

The other major issue being that there is a strong opposition from the ‘cement and concrete’ lobby. The reason being simple—if the recyclable plastic tiles are used once, they do not need to be reworked upon for a couple of years and that obviously would cut into their profits.”

Success on a terrace

It was the beginning of a success story when they built a bamboo penthouse in Hyderabad, when a couple wanted a small structure. “They wanted a simple low-cost structure on their terrace,” says Prashant. In fact another bamboo structure made by another architect had collapsed, when Aruna and Prashant asked them for a chance. “We offered to build the structure for `60,000 and told that if the structure stood for more than six months they could pay us,” says Prashant.

The couple paid them `90,000 after the structure was built and this then was their first break after their struggle

From doing no work for so long, now they were being overwhelmed by people loving their idea so much. People now wanted to build houses which were eco-friendly.

The couple was happy since they could make up for the lost years.

“We were idle for three years, but after that we had no time to breathe,” says Aruna. After this project they have not looked back and between then and now they have built over 200 structures at `500 per sq feet, including a couple of resorts, penthouses and farmhouses and people are still approaching them, as awareness on eco-friendly structures increases. Now costs have escalated and structures are built at `700 per sq ft. In the last seven years they have built bamboo structures across Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and several other places.

Other than farm houses, tents, yoga centres, gyms, children’s study rooms, they also built 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom houses, even a three-storey house in bamboo.

The bamboo structure is constructed on a two feet thick foundation of brick and cement and is supported by metal frames. “The entire house can last you for 30 years,” says Aruna.

The procurement of bamboo though remains a bit of a headache. Firstly erstwhile Andhra Pradesh became two states and because of that they are facing difficulties in procuring bamboo. Earlier they used to get it from Rajamahendravaram (earlier Rajahmundry). Of the 136 species of bamboo, the one they use is available only in Rajamahendravaram and Visakhapatnam. Now, they use bamboo plywood sourced from Meghalaya.

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Tough days

From enthusiasm to despondency did not take long, with the couple losing a lot in life. And the situation was only deteriorating, Innovative use of plastic waste but the worst was yet to come when Prashant fractured his ankle while delivering a lecture at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) Business School in Shankarpally. Here too one disaster followed another and Aruna fell seriously ill after the delivery of their daughter, Tanya. Both could not work and they had hit the nadir of their lives. Or so it would seem, in retrospect.

“For almost one-and-a half years, both of us were bed ridden. After I lost my father, my mother went into depression, unable to bear his loss and also because of the condition I was in. During this period, we lost six people from our family, including Aruna’s father,” says Prashant. They had to wind up the workshop and ask the workers to go back to their villages since their salaries of seven years. More tellingly, people had begun to notice were pending. Both Aruna and Prashant were bed ridden and the media played a huge role in their promotion, acand in no position to start again. cording the couple.

In fact Prashant says, “The situation was so bad that we And that is how their life turned around. They went on were eating only one meal. We were in so much debt and to do a number of interiors of many big corporate houses there was no one from whom we could borrow money.” like Google, Infosys, the US Consulate, etc., and their work And when people who had lent money to them started was appreciated.

In the last seven years they have built bamboo structures across Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and several other places.

Other than farm houses, tents, yoga centres, gyms, children’s study rooms, they also built 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom houses, even a three-storey house in bamboo.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Cover Story asking them to return it, they even thought of suicide, because they did not see any light at the end of the tunnel.

We never gave up

Those haunting days are over and the couple are in a cheerful space now. “Aruna and I are clueless how we went through those days with a small baby in hand. Maybe it was because we believed in one another and our dreams that helped us through those dark periods. We never give up and will continue to fight,” says Prashant.

While being eco-friendly and discussing it is quite in fashion, the couple’s education qualifications of course would never have suggested that they would set up this small office and struggle and carry on with it in life.

Bamboo searching during honeymoon

Prashant graduated in Economics and Commerce, and though not one of the best of students, he went on to do his MBA at Osmania University, at the insistence of his parents. But he dropped out midway and did not land with any job. In 2001, a friend offered a business partnership in his company, Equation 28.6, which mainly imported LPG gas geysers, along with some other items from China.

Prashant came from a family of professionals, with his father being the Indian correspondent for Novosti, a Russian newspaper, and later joined the Communist Party newspaper, New Age, while his mother was in the HR department of a private company. But he did good at this business and was earning ` 1 lakh per month.

Aruna had her Masters in Zoology but could not do her PhD though she was inclined to. Which is when they met on a matrimonial site and got married on 15th March 2006.

And then they went on their honeymoon and having decided on working with bamboo, travelled extensively across the country including parts of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Kerala to study bamboo. While they knew what they wanted to do with bamboo, they had to face stumbling blocks. Primarily they had to get bamboo from the North East even though it was being grown in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. But the Indian Forest Act 1927 made it virtually impossible to transport bamboo. Apart from dealing with rules and officialdom, they also had three separate state Acts to deal with. And all this led to the fact that no work was done till 2010.

Other than bamboo baskets, Hyderabad was not a learning place for bamboo work, and so everything had to begin from scratch and the internet was their best friend. They realised that bamboo houses were globally quite popular, but in India it was still an exotic idea. While on the net they got more confidence to go ahead with the dream project when a Planning Commission Report of 2003 showed that the Indian bamboo market had a potential of `26,000 crores by 2015, and to top it, India was the second largest producer of bamboo after China.

But Prashant and Aruna had overlooked a very vital point, that the India Forest Act 1927 states that nobody can harvest or transport bamboo without permission from the Forest Department. There were many more complex central and state laws regarding bamboo use, and this was a challenge. The final blow came when in 2013 the Centre shut down the National Mission on Bamboo Application which was started in 2004.

24 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

The couple was up and about, but with nothing to do.

They needed money and so after selling some jewellery they managed to get `60,000 and soon saw a glimmer of hope.

They got their first break after this.

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Innovative products

Then they started using other waste items, including tyres —to recycle them and make usable items out of them. “We are now into recycled plastic and are creating tiles for pavements,” says Prashant and before one can raise a cross eyebrow he rushes to say, “We have conducted enough tests and there is no gaseous emission and surprisingly there is no warping of the material either,” he says, exhibiting the two variants that they have made for paving roads. One variant weights 200 gms and the other 300 gms.

The weights of the tiles will vary depending on where they will be laid. If it is for a walking pavement then it will be of lesser weight and the heavier one will be used if there is vehicular traffic. In fact these tiles can be removed and re-sfixed when the water works department is at work and hence there is no fear of a gaping hole left behind. They have also made flooring tiles and these can be used as a substitute to vitrified tiles, especially in areas such as bathrooms and garden paths, since they are also non-slippery.

Prashant says they came up with this idea of using re-

cyclable plastic which includes polythene bags, pet bottles, gutkha and chips bags, broken plastic and other plastic waste. “We have made roofing sheets, eight inches by three and a half inches and six mm in thickness, weighing 20 kgs and this is waterproof, leak and crack proof and sound proof.” There are also plastic logs, seven feet by four feet and in varying thickness. “Flat logs can be used for furniture and they are using it as GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) planters,” says Prashant.

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Fame and fashion

Prashant is now a sought out person when it comes to talking about bamboo and they have live examples to show that it is a big success. They are also quite the hit when it comes to the lecture circuit.

The bamboo houses that Bamboo House India constructs, cost around `2.5 lakh and come with all amenities, which includes fireproofing and waterproofing. These houses can last for at least 30 years, and support close to 100 to 150 livelihoods directly and indirectly.

B-schools across the globe have approached him and have done case-studies of his business model. “The major milestone was when the World Bank compiled my entire

When they got married in 2006, Aruna was looking for eco-friendly furniture and could find nothing in Hyderabad, and the search led them to the net, which led them to North East India and they found what they wanted in Katlamara in Symna district of Tripura on the IndoBangladesh border, the land of bamboo

work as a case-study of the use of bamboo as an alternate construction material,” says Prashant.

NextBillion, a US Think Tank, listed him among the Top 100 Social Entrepreneurs of the world in March 2016. A quantum jump one might say from trying to sell the bamboo concept as an alternative, to now being sought out for building bamboo structures for people.

Ironically, though Prashant is a B school dropout and business schools in India did not welcome him earlier, today the ISB, ICFAI and even Harvard, Kellogg and Cornell, invite them to give talks on their ‘business model’ and ‘construction techniques.’

And in 2014, when the World Bank compiled their work, discussing their construction technique, systems they use, their effort to popularise an alternate building material, they felt it was worth all the trouble they had gone through. In 2015, they received an invitation from the United States State Department. Aruna went to the US as a State guest and landed at the White House to meet with the then US President Barack Obama.

It was obviously gratifying when the world recognised their efforts, especially after what they had gone through.

“I dropped out of my MBA to be an entrepreneur, which was ridiculed by many people then, but today I give talks at various management schools,” says Prashant.

But they did not rest on their laurels and decided to step out of their comfort zone of bamboo, though that was how they got their name and fame and finally hard cash. But bamboo continues to be their mainstay.

Old tyre, new stuff

The couple then decided to work with tyres. The idea came when they saw a person burning a tyre near their house because he wanted to keep warm longer.

It took them some time to plan but finally they made a presentation to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on wanting to make furniture out of scrapped tyres. GHMC was inclined towards the idea and they made seats and benches out of tyres and drums.

The municipal corporation was the supplier of tyres because they had a huge scrap yard full of them. They made some stylish furniture out of tyres, and the Corporation is using it in some of the parks but soon it became difficult to get tyres, with a lot of stumbling blocks. But once they tasted success, the couple was ready to experiment and being full of ideas, soon shifted to plastic bottles.

Hyderabad has developed, with housing complexes cropping up everywhere, and Swaroop Nagar is quite close to Secunderabad and yet the bus service is not much to write home about. The couple soon realised that the people who waited for the public transport, right next to their own house had to face the vagaries of nature, more so during the searing summer months and the monsoons.

PET bottle shelter

So, they thought of building a bus shelter, abetting their house wall, which is lined with bamboo trees, using 1,000 PET bottles. They built an 8x4-feet bus shelter. While the frame of the bus stand is made of bamboo beams, the three sides of the bus shelter had PET bottles hanging, strung vertically with the help of a rope running through them.

And since the PET bottles seemed to have withstood the October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Cover Story heat of the summer months, this design has been replicated at other places too. The gaps between the vertical rows of bottles allow air to circulate, keeping the place slightly cool.

But temperatures apart, it definitely gives a colourful shelter for those waiting for a bus. The bust stop next to their house has an aluminium-zinc roof now, because they had to mercilessly cut down the bamboo trees thanks to high-tension power lines running close by.

Though full of colour and a tad playful, it cost the couple anywhere between `25,000 to `50,000 depending on the size of the bus stop. They colour these PET bottles and use them to make fences, too. They also pick up oil drums to make dustbins out of them.

The couple faced a problem in this area too, since there was little knowledge or expertise on this subject. “Such constructions are popular in many other parts of the world, but not commonly heard of in India,” says Prashant. But the other stumbling block was procuring empty discarded pet bottles. Scrap dealers would only provide them ten bottles at a time and when they realised that they needed empty bottles, they hiked up their rates from ` 1 to ` 10. Yet they used to pick up huge quantities from scrap dealers. But now they have decided that they will leave it to the community to build their own bus shelters, while they will guide them.

They experimented doing other things with PET bottles including making one wall with the bottles in a horizontal position, while laying out another one vertically. The frame work was of bamboo and chicken mesh to keep the bottles in place. Plastering had to be done with a thick layer of mud and then with cement.

At first they used empty PET bottles but realised it was not a good idea as these bottles got crushed under the mud and cement after plastering. So they broke down the wall and filled the bottles with mud to help make them sturdy. And to check the strength of the wall, they mauled it, including drilling nails into these walls. Finally, a 15 by 15 feet room was completed using 7,000 PET bottles. And in spite of the hardship in finding and buying PET bottles, this construction works out a lot cheaper than the regular brick ones, is what the couple and their team found out. Though cement is used for plastering, it does not escalate the cost that much.

They experimented with these PET bottles and found that while a horizontal layout was comparatively much easier, with these bottles, among the various sizes, the two litre bottles were the toughest to handle because of their awkward size. Not to leave anything half done, they broke down this room after three years and found it was a difficult job. They had to take out each bottle from the wall and now they were stuck with all these bottles and wondered what to do with that.

Around 5,000 of these bottles were used to make a water tank, which is used to help cure the bamboo used for construction and other works.

In fact the idea of the bus shelter came up around this time. They then went on to make garden fences also. While it was colourful and made use of PET bottles, the major issue was finding a mason to help with the construction.

Since the bottles were circular, plastering was a lot tougher than with rectangular bricks.

Colourful and cheap

According to Aruna, Hyderabad needs at least 400 more 26 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Innovative use of Bamboo and other waste

B-schools across the globe have done case-studies of this business model.

World Bank compiled their entire work as a case-study of the use of bamboo as an alternate construction material.

NextBillion, a US Think Tank, listed them among the Top 100 Social Entrepreneurs of the world Entrepreneurs of the world Entrepreneurs of the world in March 2016.

bus stops. And this alternative method obviously has caught the imagination of the powers that be, primarily because it is cheaper to construct them and they are colourful. The usual bus shelters on the main roads cost anywhere between `3 and 4 lakhs.

Many of the bus stops will also have seats made of used tyres. In fact, they have used old tyres to make furniture.

“The entire idea of using PET bottles for bus stops and tyres for furniture is to recycle scrap materials from government godowns,” says Prashant.

The recycling of plastic waste has won them several awards and recognition. They were one among the 30 EarthKeepers, a UN award for environment protection. A US company recognised their work as one among seven innovations with PET bottles.

Their bamboo campaign also got them selected to a social campaign titled ‘Heroes Without Makeup’ started by actor Randeep Hooda to inspire people to work for the betterment of the society which also gives due recognition to those who do something good for the society.

Many for bamboo

They have built a 2,400-square feet conference hall on the terrace of the GHMC office at Khairatabad which is waiting to get inaugurated and the huge private hall at Infosys hosts parties and gatherings.

"The tensile strength of bamboo is even higher than steel," Prashant notes. This means that a piece of bamboo can take more tension and pressure exerted on it, than a piece of steel with the same thickness.

In 2017 the couple made a bamboo bicycle, which took them two years to complete and then they presented it at the Design Summit, Hyderabad which was held in 2017.

Each of the bicycles was handmade at a cost of `15,000 as opposed to `5,000 for the regular cycle available in the market, but typically there were not many buyers.

“We are planning to restart the cycle project and take it overseas. We need huge investments and are looking for investors,” says Prashant.

Truly this couple works with their heart and instinctively. While helping out a lot of people by giving them jobs, they are not working with any specific business plan. Now they are planning to scale up and at the same time, they are also planning to adopt a village near Bhadrachalam, where they will train the village people to make these cycles. Of course all this once the investment flows in.

Overseas demand

"We got a lot of radio coverage locally,” says Prashant.

Empty PET bottles, in this case are making a lot of noise.

But their most treasured compliment was that of Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, who tweeted about their unique bus stop.

They were to start bottle collection centres, with the help and approval of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Commission (GHMC), but the GHMC was not able to do it because of collection logistics and it was not working out for the scrap dealers.

In the case of waste tyres their perseverance and hard work paid off and their first assignment was to make furniture for a school building in Telangana, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry. Now, another school, the Oakridge International School at Visakhapatnam is using tyre furniture for their school garden.

“Now there are many people looking to build with bamboo. They want farm houses or even something on their terrace," says Aruna. “They use it for yoga exercises or simply a place for some entertainment.”

Meanwhile the government of Kenya has invited them to help develop local livelihood with bamboo. It is a one year programme. “They have a lot of bamboo there and they want us to train people, teach them the technique and develop a business model for them,” adds Prashant.

“It's a one-year programme and our team will be stationed there training the locals.”

Weekdays are hectic for Prashant, but the romantic in him loves going on bike rides with Aruna and Tanya and watching old 60s’ or 70s’ movies on YouTube on Sundays.

And it astounds you when the couple says that their main focus was never to make any profit. They want bamboo to be recognised as an alternate building material. Says Prashant, “If bamboo gets recognition, the market will come to us anyway,” adding, “We believe that it is our duty to leave a better world for the future generation.”

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Cary to carry Bond 25

Filmmaker Cary Fukunaga becomes the first American to be picked to direct a James Bond movie. A surprise pick, Cary was not among the names touted to direct Daniel Crag in possibly his final outing as agent 007. He takes over after Danny Boyle quite the project last month over “creative differences” with the production team. The new movie, now known only as Bond 25, will begin filming in March 2019, with a worldwide release slated for February 2020.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 27

railways-industry conclave

`Perform or Per

28 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

ish’

- Piyush Goyal

At a packed gathering of top corporate leaders, CEOs of leading global MNCs and MDs of several SMEs associated with the Indian Railways (IR), Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal prodded the captains of the Indian industry to think smart. The occasion was the annual FICCIconclave on “Smart Railways” in New Delhi. Corporate Citizen brings to you excerpts of Goyal’s speech and media interactions, showing why this chartered accountant-turned-smart-thinker matters, as political parties have got into 2019 election mode By Pradeep Mathur The LED experiment

I think it may be much better if we had started looking in the perspective of what is good for the country, what is good for the railways. Let me assure you when there is a fair and equal competition, everybody will make money. I saw that happening in the LED programme when I was the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy. As part of the Make in India campaign, we had significantly brought down the prices of LED bulbs—thanks to honest, transparent and competitive bidding, prices fell by as much as 87% and yet every one of those companies is making more money today than they made earlier. In fact, we could distribute crores of LED bulbs because of this steep price fall and that’s why India today leads the global efforts to promote LED and save energy to save the carbon footprints of the world. So, my argument is, if we can do it there, why can’t we do it here?

Now let me turn to questions some of you have raised about the GST and the inverted taxes. I’ll put this aside before I focus on Smart Railways.

GST brings equality

While I appreciate, like everybody else, you also want taxes to be low but here again please think smartly. If the ground rules are the same for everybody, then how does it matter? And, that’s what GST is all about. If there is an inverted duty, then how does it matter if there are six bidders or sixty because rules are same for everybody. So, if at all, somebody should be worrying, it should be me and not you, because if there is an inverted duty, some of you cannot use it for your final product. Hence, before you put forward a wish list, please analyse it smartly and see if it truly makes sense in terms of what’s good for the industry and the country.

So, for a change, let’s start focusing on simple things which can help us make IR smart. Just as Poul Jensen, Director, European Business and Technology Centre, said earlier in the conclave, I also strongly believe that today we’ve the unique opportunity to leapfrog. But how we can we do that if we’ve not sorted out some basic elements and that’s exactly what we’ve been trying for the last four years.

Capital expenditure nearly tripled

Let me give you an example as to how we’ve reignited the capex (capital expenditure) cycle?

You all know, from 2009 to 2014, the total investment in the railways was of ` 2.3 lakh crore only. But when we came to power in 2014, we ramped it up to 5.3 lakh crores. Why, because that’s the kind of quantum jump in investment IR needed. But it’s not just about 2.3 becoming 5.3 lakh crores or the capex cycle going up by almost 2.5 times in the last four years. It’s about how you invest that money that matters.

Why think smartly

There is every reason why we need smart thinking for Smart Railways. Unless we start thinking, planning and working smartly, we won’t be able to revamp India’s national carrier and it’ll continue to suffer huge losses. I hope that’s the kind of change some of you may have noticed in the last four years.

In fact, as the CEO of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs, had said, “Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future,” I do believe every generation must have thought what we’re doing and what they’re doing is influencing the future. But I’ve the courage of conviction to say that under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi, we’re influencing the future in a very positive, progressive and smart manner. In fact, before me, Mr Sadananda Gowda and Mr Suresh Prabhu also got this very opportunity to do this in the short span of four years under the visionary leadership of PM Modi.

6000 stations in 6 months

Incidentally, Jensen also spoke about digital technology and how we could leverage on that, but we believe that if we’ve to leverage digital technology, the basic ingredient is to ensure access to technology in the remotest parts of the country.

While the Government of India is working hard to take fibre optic and Internet to the remotest corners of India, the Railways is working on a programme to ensure the last mile connectivity wherever we do not have fibre optics in our network. You’ll be happy to know Mr Jensen that in May of 2014 when we came to power; we had a negligible 358 kilometers of optic fibre cables

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 29

railways-industry conclave

Bullet train is alive By the way some people are still debating whether we need bullet trains or not. I personally believe that it’s our duty to engage with the most modern technologies in the world and bring them to India and let the people of India enjoy the benefits of what’s internationally the best in class. I’ll be only fulfilling a duty when I bring that bullet train to India. I feel sad that the Rajdhani was the last engagement with technology or high-speed trains that India had in 1969 and it took us 50 years to come to a stage where we’re looking at bringing in the Shinkansen technology to India, which was introduced in Japan in the year of my birth.

What’s shocking is that we still have a set of politically motivated and out-dated people who want our citizens to continue suffering old technology and poor service. They’ve politicised a simple thing like bringing modern technology to serve the people of India. But I want to assure you that this ambitious project of PM Modi is very much on track.

across India. Today, it is upwards of 2.74 lakh kms of optic-fibre data pipes laid-over in just past four years and we’re hopeful that in the next sixto-eight months, all railway stations across India, other than the halt stations, about 6000 stations, will be wi-fi enabled.

We already have about 700 wi-fi enabled stations and I promise you that the wi-fi at our stations will be faster than anywhere else in the world. It’ll be about 40 Mbps or so. I’m not a technical guy. I’m a chartered accountant, so if I’ve made a mistake here, you’ve to pardon me for my ignorance on technical terms. But we’re very serious about cleanliness issues at our stations. Our plan is to provide separate toilets for men and women, drinking water facilities, upgraded waiting rooms, wi-fi and CCTV cameras, introduction of advanced train sets, escalators for stations with footfalls of over 25,000 and

Yes, like every good project, this also faces certain difficulties in our country but we’re addressing them. I’m confident very soon all such issues including the acquisition of land in Maharashtra and Gujarat will be resolved through a continuing dialogue with local people. We’re trying our best to complete the work by 2022 before its 2023 deadline.

To my mind, this country is ready for change. India is yearning for change. The people of India want the best in the world for themselves. I think, as Indians, we deserve it and have every right to demand the best of technology for our public transport. As part of the Modi Government, I assure you that we stand committed to ensuring a Smart Railways and a Smart Nation so that every citizen of India gets a better future and the young people of this country never feel ashamed of us who did not leave behind a good legacy when they take over.

such other modern facilities at every station in our country.

More for less

Why I say so is because I always think that even smaller things can make a big difference and make us smarter. One day an honourable Member of Parliament requested me to extend a particular train a bit further. This was very early last year when I was just made the Railways Minister. When we assessed it, we found that our Gatimaan Express, one of India’s fastest trains was highly under utilised. It takes less than two hours to reach Agra from Delhi in the morning and comes back in the evening which means it had less than four hours of utilisation. And lo and behold, it opened-up a huge opportunity to us to be smart. We extended this train to Gwalior by adding another

30 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

hour-and-a-half of travel time but there was still scope for more, and lo and behold, we’ve been able to take it to Jhansi, located in India’s most-backward Bundelkhand region, once famous for dreaded dacoits.

So, today, we’ve a premier train connecting the national capital to India’s most-backward region at literally zero incremental cost! Of course, my ideal best case scenario is to take it up to Khajuraho, our biggest tourist attraction, but I’m still not able to manage its timing. For, I want a way so that passengers can be back to Delhi by evening, but that seems difficult, though we’re trying.

So, its small things that make a difference and help you achieve hugely incremental results, because passenger traffic has gone up by 17 times, freight by almost 15 times in the last 70 years, rail routes growing by about 23 kilometres and we’ve been able to ramp up track renewal to 476 kms every month.

Despite the fact that 60% of our routes are over hundred per cent utilised, the potential within this network is still pretty huge. Once, we switch over to smarter signalling and successfully removing the permanent speed restrictions, things will change in a big way. Similarly, when the 1,50,000 rail bridges (some of them over 120-years-old) are audited and improved, there’ll be immense possibilities to explore. But that’s not all. With the current action plans in anvil for 100 per cent electrification, we’re also going to make the Indian Railways a net zero carbon emitter by 2030 and thus, coupled with some renewable strategies, IR will become a totally green network by the next decade. For, we’ve a dedicated team which, in partnership with others, is working towards this common goal.

Recently, we had a meeting with representatives of a very reputed foreign railways company who had studied one of our important routes and given us a report as to how we could increase the speed of our trains on that route. It was a $2 billion plan to increase the speed of trains on that route. They gave us three options.

One was that we close down the entire stretch of 250 kilometres for two years. Another was to close it down every Saturday-Sunday for five years and the third, you shut it down for six or eight hours every day to implement it in seven or eight years. Now, how can you imagine me implementing any of these three scenarios? If I’d done it, all the power plants in that region would have shut down, three states gone without electricity and passengers shouting slogans outside my home, not even my office!

Be practical

So, when we’re looking at solutions, we’ve to be practical because with 22,000 trains chugging day-in-and-day-out from remotest corners of the country, it’s a network that works round the

Busch Hofmann (LBH) coaches in the country, meeting not just our domestic needs but some also for exports.

Punctuality

While Railways is focussing on smarter project implementation, we’re also reviewing artificial intelligence. Data would bring in predictive maintenance, better monitoring, intelligent asset utilisation and better passenger service clock. Hence solutions have to be found within that framework to make it smarter.

Manual to Digital

Punctuality, for example, was a very big issue and I used to wonder how the statistics seem to show that punctuality was relatively damn good. But with everybody complaining about it, we found, it was the station master who logs the time little before it actually comes in and the train becomes punctual. But a small solution sorted it out. We replaced the manual recording of time by station masters with digital data loggers placed at interchange points across the network and that ensured computer-generated time.

When we switched this system on, initially our punctuality fell by 20%, from some 80% to 62% but at least it reflected the truth. It was a small step which didn’t cost us anything. However, today the punctuality has improved to about 74% and last week it was 80% and we’re looking to take it up to 90% but this will be accurate. Now we’re working on putting a GPS device on every locomotive so that we’ll have every train marked on your mobile phone, knowing exactly where they are, and thus you can plan your journeys better.

But these were just about small interventions.

Currently we’re looking at electrification in a big

way because that’s going to save us nearly $2 billion every year, which otherwise I would have had to charge to the passengers. So, with efficient Railways, we don’t have to burden the poor.

GE diesel engines

But what do we do with the diesel engines that we already have? Thankfully, working day and night, our Railways’ engineers have figured out a solution for that also. They have worked out a method by which diesel engines will be converted into electric ones and that too without spending a dollar. So, we can have a fleet of new and efficient electric engines which will naturally have a huge impact on India’s carbon foorprints and we’ll use the diesel locomotives to be supplied by GE as backups across the country, in border areas, for maintenance purposes whenever electrification needs to be repaired or set up. So we’ll have engines which are super efficient as backup.”

Upgadation of Coaches

People also sometimes ask as to what’s the state of upgradation of coaches and I want to tell you that we’ve developed more coaches in one year compared to what Railways produced under 10-years of the Congress-led UPA rule.

Last year alone, we’ve produced 2,385 Linke

Incidentally, there used to be a big problem on punctuality also because of sudden traffic blocks. We’re exploring best strategies so that instead of these blocks, we can have smarter time tables. We’re also trying to simplify various processes—be it related to procurement of wagons or otherwise—so that we can bring even more efficiency in the whole system. My job is to protect the best interest of the railways but if you are inefficient it’s not railways’ job to keep you running and afloat.

As for efficiency, it’ll have to be both ways.

If I’m trying to be more efficient, you too have to reciprocate. The industry can’t ask for a protectionist approach. I’m sure, as consumer, when you go to buy a bottle of water; you buy whatever is the best and most efficient, both quality and price-wise. If all things are equal, you won’t pay 20 cents more to an inefficient manufacturer. Same is true for us. If you’re efficient and willing to give me a lower price for a better product, why will I not go for it? I think that’s the only way to encourage efficiency in the whole system. This way, maybe one or two will be out of business, but if you’re not efficient, it’s not railways’ job to keep you running and afloat.

We’re also reviewing to engage ourselves with artificial intelligence. There is a lot which can be done with data being put to use with predictive maintenance, better monitoring and intelligent utilisation of our assets and better passenger service. But we cannot do all this unless we get whole-hearted support of our industry because we’re partners-in-progress. So, your willing and active participation is the key to our success. mathurpradeep1@gmail.com

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India, Nepal Gas Pipelines While no one seems to know what happened to the Iran-India gas pipeline, people of Nepal are particularly excited as India and Nepal have agreed to explore the possibilities of laying pipelines for supply of LPG and Natural Gas to the fertiliser plants and industries of the land-locked Himalayan nation. Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said this in Kathmandu where he held discussions with various authorities. Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation will work together on these projects.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 31

Pa n

r ha

g ran Kumb du

“Working for the Air Force was the best period of my life. I never thought it was risky, it is enjoyable. In other words, it is the best life one can ever have.

Though there are shortages of some facilities and comfort but still that was the best experience�

Pics: Yusuf Khan

32 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Military to Management

HR is about understanding people…

Pandurang Kumbhar, Sr. Vice President – HR & ER (Western & Southern region), Amtek Auto Ltd. After serving the nation for 20 years in the Indian Airforce, he took VRS and started the corporate journey. Being a people person, HR was easy for Pandurang, and since he had worked with the Airforce, the experience in the Defence proved to be a boon while transitioning into the corporate sector. In an interview with Corporate Citizen he talks on his corporate journey and millenial aspirations…

By Vineet Kapshikar

Tell us about your education and career journey.

I did my schooling up to 11th standard, in Solapur, Maharashtra. After my education, I joined the Indian Air Force in the year 1980, which was due to my family’s financial situation. I joined the Air Force at the young age of 17. Later, I did a diploma and degree of five years in Electronics and Communication through Air Force Technical College, Bengaluru.

If you are pursuing a course in the Air Force, there are intervals in between the courses. After the training programme is completed, you will be assigned fieldwork tasks, if you are able to achieve the goals, able to prove yourself, then you will be called for the next training which will be the advanced training. I was keen on learning new skills so I pursued my education externally. Whenever I used to get time, I utilised it to pursue my education. I completed my BA in Communication Skills and Industrial & Organisational Psychology in 1989 from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University —it was a four year degree programme. Later, I completed my post-graduation in Industrial Relations and Personal Management, HR (IRPM) in 1998 from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai by attending evening college for one year-it was a one year programme.

After 20 years of service, post Kargil War, I took VRS, and then I joined the corporate sector. Though I was into people management, I thought of updating my knowledge and skills in order to keep myself relevant with the corporate

sector. I completed my post-graduation in HR, to have a multi-skilling approach, which is crucial nowadays. In 2006, I did my post graduate Advance Diploma in Industrial Safety Management from Pune. I used to attend four hours of college after eight hours of office.

Being an HR, interaction with any employee in every situation is always a new learning.

Whatever you have learnt in college with regards to HR, you will always learn further more when you apply that knowledge in practical scenarios.

How did you got into the Air Force?

After I completed my 11th at that age did not have any much knowledge of Air Force or my future career, somebody told me that ‘there is an Air Force entrance exam, why don’t you give a try?’ I appeared for the series of exams and tests and I stood 2nd among 40 selected candidates out of the total 5300 candidates.

The last but crucial test was medical and fitness test; I was underweight by 2 Kgs and I was put medically down because I was underweight, at that point of time C O of the Unit learnt that the boy who stood on 2nd position of the list is not selected due to being underweight. He remarked that the candidate is outstanding in all the areas of tests which is exceptional, but 2 Kgs can be gained in a few months’ time. That’s how I got into the Air Force.

How was your experience with the Indian Air Force?

Working for the Air Force was the best period of my life. I never thought it was risky, it is enjoyable. In other words, it is the best life one can ever have. Though there were shortages of some facilities and comfort but still that was the best experience.

You took an early retirement from the Air Force.

My initial engagement with the Air Force was for 20 years. Since I am the youngest child, my father wanted to stay with me since I had left my home at an early age and I could not spend much of my time with my family. It was my father’s wish to spend time with him, so I took VRS. When I had left the Air Force, I was confident that I will do much better in the corporate sector based on my 20 years and pursued education in HR-IR and I joined the same field.

Why and how did you chose HR field?

From the beginning of my career, I liked working with people. In the Air Force also, I was always working with team. I used to work with machine and men simultaneously. It requires skill to make the men work with the machine, and that was challenging for me.

As a result, I thought I should progress in the HR field. Later, I pursued my graduation in Psychology and Communication Skills. Followed by post-graduation in HR, as I thought

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Military to Management something which is not in their mind, due to hesitation, nervousness or some other factors.

Sometimes they will do it deliberately. If you have communication skills with some understanding of psychology, then you can address the situation effectively and appropriately and then solve the problem. Defence teaches you commitment. Corporate sector also follows the rules that are being followed by the defence sector. Therefore, I could deliver the company as per their requirements, by motivating the employees.

“In the Indian companies, the accountability of the employee is less in the early phase of their career. In MNCs, there are expectations from the freshers too—they will not be lenient just because you are a fresher—you are accountable” that I should have the inputs in order to start my career in the HR field. That’s how I began my career in HR. In HR, the strength is in administration and armed forces is the only area where I can proudly say, they teach the best administration. I learnt administration in the Air Force and that has made me more successful in HR management.

Were there any challenges while joining the corporate sector?

In the initial years it was challenging because, it is about working with people. But there is a difference between dealing with an uniform team and corporate team-that was the first challenge I faced. But as I said earlier, I studied the modern HR, psychology, and communication skills, it helped me to communicate with people in a proficient way. Once you have a good bond with people, you understand the person sitting across you efficiently. The moment you understand that person, HR becomes easy. The problem is about understanding, if you are able to understand the problem the person is facing then you will be able to help that person. Many a times, people say

Did you go through any specific training when you joined Amtek, an MNC?

No, I didn’t undergo any kind of additional specific training to work in MNC. Because, it is about adaptability, if you are flexible in learning, if you are confident, if your ethical values are right, then there would not be any problems. If you are able to deliver the results then it is as simple, as it could be.

How do you strike a balance between following company’s best practices, while adopting the local norms?

The balance can be achieved with the help of communication skills. If you are able to communicate with the people, what exactly the management is looking for and what the company adopts, then it is in your favour. Even if there are local issues, you can communicate and resolve them. At times, the management

is also a bit flexible and agrees on some issues.

For example, there are some cultural differences, if there is a factory in Chennai and another factory in Pune. Managing people in Chennai and Pune is entirely different. People working in Pune region and in Chennai region are completely different in culture. One cannot apply the same management practices in Pune and Chennai region. When some fine tuning and adjustments are done in an appropriate manner then all the things falls in place.

What are the challenges freshers face when they join an MNC?

MNCs are more demanding than the Indian companies. In the Indian companies, the accountability of the employee is less in the early phase of their career. In MNCs, there are expectations from the freshers too—they will not be lenient just because you are a fresher—you are accountable and that is the first challenge.

On the other hand, one gets various opportunities to learn and grow. Secondly, no one wants you to work more than eight hours. But after the working hours, if you are willing to stay a bit longer to learn something, then that is the best way for freshers to progress in their career. For instance, if your work for the day is over then you can ask your manager whether he needs any assistance to make his MIS, or to make a presentation. Even if you are eager to learn something new then show the initiative.

That way, they get to interact with the superiors and the knowledge of the management, company and such other information is shared with the freshers. I have seen people who take initiative on their own are self-starters, and they will grow in the corporate sector.

The need of the hour is being knowledgeable of the current trends, do today’s youth lag in that case?

Yes. I have seen that the youth, after their studies for most of the time are engaged with the social media and other such unproductive things.

Apart from social media, there are other distractions which are affecting their career. They should be focused on their goals. They should know what they want to become, realise their goal and timeline to achieve that. I am not saying don’t involve with social media, give half hour or one hour time for social media. Importantly, more time should be spent on skill building.

Today, millennials are impatient, want fast results and go job-hopping. As an HR how you do deal with millennial aspirations?

I came across various incidents of job-hopping. We recruit students from various colleges. Within six months they want to change 34 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

er company. People don’t have a strong foundation, they hop jobs for money and cannot deliver the results. If an employee hops job for the sake of designation and just with one year of experience joins as senior engineer, such competition has some kind of stop-gap arrangement and such hiring may be only for six months.

While joining any company, millennials should think twice, if this is the right company to join, and how long should I stay here? Pick a company, pick a sector and then stay with the company for 3-5 years.

When applying for a managerial position, if job hopping are more then it is considered as negative. The reason is, at the senior level, stability and integrity are crucial factors. If the company invests time and money, will he be able to deliver the results? Therefore, he should be steady with the company. The youngsters who hop jobs early in their career, have no idea what will happen in the long run, they think of short term benefits. They are attracted by a

“From the beginning of my career, I liked working with people. In the Air Force also, I used to work with men and machine simultaneously. It requires skill to make the men work with the machine, which was challenging for me” the job, they say—mera ek saal hogaya. But those job hopping may also result because of the competitors trying to attract the new comers with 50 per cent salary hike to the employee who is working with me. To reach at the top in corporate life, your base should be strong. For that to happen one should work for at least 3-5 years in one organisation. Within those three or five years, understand the job, the people, the culture, technology, products, business and management properly—such factors will help to make your base strong. After this, you can think of shifting into anoth-

few thousand rupees but will lose lakhs in the future. That has to be learnt by the youngsters.

With integration of AI and Machine learning for hiring processes, will there be any human element left?

Use of technology is good but I am against of totally depending on AI and Machine based hiring, learning etc. AI can select the robots and machines but they may not hire correct employees.

You can take the help of AI, but there has to be equal involvement of human connect from each side. Since there is no human connect, robots will not be able to understand the human feelings. Robots cannot be role models for humans.

CC

tadka

GDP record

The Indian economy clocked a 10.08 per cent growth rate in 2006-07, the highest since liberalisation of the economy in 1991. The highest ever growth rate since Independence was recorded at 10.2 per cent in 1988-89.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Military to Management to succeed in the industry. Unlearning can be in terms of technical skills, behaviour and so on.

Unlearning and learning is the outcome of having a flexible attitude, which is very important in this fast paced industry. Whenever there is a challenge, one of the many things you have to keep an eye on is your psychological balance. If you are mentally strong, no challenge or disruption can bother you.

Technological disruptions

Future of Business Challenges

T

he future of Indian industries is full of challenges. One such challenge is disruption. Disruption can happen unexpectedly, which forces the industry to accept change in order to survive.

For instance when Jio was launched, it caused a disruption in the telecom industry. This sudden change affected telecom giants like Airtel, Idea and Vodafone. Now how to cope up with such challenges?

Challenges of an HR-Manager

better future but others will land in the soup.

You should not run away from challenges.

When you join any company, don’t work for any brand, work for your own professional excellence.

Learning and unlearning

Learning and unlearning is the most important aspect when facing any kind of challenges.

Things are changing very rapidly, if you don’t unlearn and learn new things, it is very difficult

Challenges of an HR-Manager are much bigger than an employees’ challenges. Because, when an employee comes across a challenge, he alone takes the decision to solve it, a sole decision. When a manager takes a decision, the decision is considered only after discussing with the management. There a number of employees working for the manager so you are answerable to them.

Adaptability

Those who could adapt to the needs of the industry, have a flexible attitude and they are still with companies. Those who are able to overcome the challenges successfully have a 36 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

The IT sector which is flourishing since the last 10 years is on the verge of facing a disruption by Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. Now those who are in IT will have to learn about IoT and AI to survive in the industry because that is the future. On the other hand, in the field of logistics, another disruption about to happen is highspeed travel and self-driving vehicles.

Disruption will affect the automotive sector also-the biggest change will be vehicles without engines. Then how will the vehicles run?

Electric vehicles will be coming in place which do not need engines, and this would happen in the next 10-15 years. What about the mechanical engineers who are working, what about them, where will they go? This will emerge as a challenge for the managers. When one technology goes and another comes in, it is just a replacement.

Let any technology come in, there will be employment-employment is going to increase and not reduce.

Employability is related to technological disruptions, and the challenges. If you are able to accept the challenges, and adapt yourself accordingly, then your employability is guaranteed. When autonomous vehicles will come into the picture, the driver community will be affected along with the insurance sector.

In the medical field, robots are able to operate on patients, this is another example where technological disruption will upset surgeons.

You should think in terms of a manager, with reference to the changes coming in the future.

What you may have learned today will not be there in the upcoming years.

One of the biggest challenge for the managers is to manage men and machine together. For any new generation, their life is expected to become more comfortable and joyful and at the same time bit stressful. Whenever disruptions happen, firstly there will be a psychological impact-as a manager if you are able to handle it then you will be successful.

However, due to technology, things will be better in future. vineetkapshikar@gmail.com

“Employability is related to technological disruptions, and the challenges. If you are able to accept the challenges, and adapt yourself accordingly, then your employability is guaranteed”

Corporate Trends

Impressing Potential Employers New CV trends to make you standout

By Rajesh Rao

T

oday recruiters have to go through numerous Curriculum Vitae (CVs) during the recruiting process and they generally choose to browse through and read those that impress them. Putting togther a perfect CV is one of the toughest challenges of job hunting. So, what should you include in your CV, to make it stand out and be attractive? What are the new CV trends that will make yours impressive? A clear and easy to read CV is the basic necessity, but how to be more creative and inventive, to make your resume a standout one? Check what works best for you from the trend list.

One-page resume HR managers do not have time to read your texty and lengthy resume pages and will only browse valuable information. Making it short and restricting it to one-page using lesser words to inform more, is a right trick to put forth your value proposition.

Online resume Having a visually appealing online resume available has become a neces-

sity in a technology driven world. This makes it more easier for employers to search you online and also shows that you are tech-savvy.

Cross-content-sharing resume For recruiters to get deeper into your online CV and get noticed, include external links to your blog, website, YouTube videos and social media profiles.

This will help in showcasing your personality and leave a lasting impression.

Infographic resume A graphic visual representation of your resume is a lively way of communicating than a static page, especially if you are seeking job in fields like advertising, digital media, design etc. A visual portfolio in a real time infographic format, is a perfect way to grab attention, showcase your skills and best work.

Multimedia resume For an extended online professional presentation of your resume there are number of online multimedia tools and resume templates and samples available, to help you in your job search process. You can use rich multimedia content in your online profile and seamlessly share this content with hiring personnel.

Mobile-friendly resume With the rise of mobile recruiting, it is said that you have only six seconds to impress the hiring manager. Chances are your resume will be looked upon in a smartphone, so creating a mobile-friendly resume makes it easy and simple for hiring managers. Mobile-friendly resumes are easily readable and optimised for smaller mobile screens.

Video resume Making a short, creative and visually stimulating video resume introducing yourself online will go beyond the capabilities of a traditional resume. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Alumni Spotlight-8 Ashis Mukherjee, alumnus, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi)

Bridging R&D for healthcare access An expert in Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMS), the scientist in Ashis Mukherjee had the foresight to foray into this R&D based business sector – in pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals. As CTO and President of Navin Flourine International Ltd., this ex-Delhiite, believes that each of his institutions furnished his hunger for knowledge— eventually leading him to pursue drug discovery and research. Having successfully cracked the Indian education system at The Hindu College, Delhi (Chemistry Hons.), Masters in Organic Chemistry and M. Tech in Analytical Instrumentation, both from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi), Ashis worked towards his PhD from The State University of New York, NY at Stony Brook, Long Island, NY with full scholarship and completed his post-doctoral research at Rockefeller University, New York. He shares his journey and the career scope for CRAMS By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar “While working in New Drug Discovery Research Centre at Ranbaxy, I understood that few Indian company though keen, would be able to discover and commercialise a concept and take it to a market discovery process as they do not have such deep pockets nor the long-term vision to do so,” said Ashis Mukherjee, CTO and Presiden – Navin Fluorine International Ltd., Mumbai.

When the concept of CRAMS in pharmaceuticals was coming up in India during 1998-2000, Ashis grabbed his million-dollar opportunity by joining as Chief Scientific Officer of Chembiotek and was one of the first scientists to have set up operations and develop the concept and business model around CRAMS from scratch. Today, there are many CRAMS - based companies operating across India - in Hyderabad, Gujarat, Bengaluru, Delhi etc.

Transitions

The Indian Patent Regime was witnessing changes since 1995 and the Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies were struggling to become innovative, build on their R&D; also work towards building private-public partnerships. “I felt, this was a good opportunity and decided to finally stay back in India and con-

vert these growing needs. The challenge was to create suitable infrastructure, business models and establishing them to the western world to a win-win propositions,” he said.

Ashis joined TCG (The Chatterjee Group) as a Chief Scientific Officer in 1999. New York basedTCG was keen on funding companies to create the first contract research organisation and with Ashis coming onboard made him one of the first leaders to have launched this kind of business out of India. He was founder member of Chembiotek Research International and TCG Life Sciences in Kolkata.

and PhDs in Chemistry are preferred for entry level at contract research organizations (CROs). In the manufacturing arena, graduates and post-graduate degree holders in and Mechanical Engineering can make the cut. The expertise of process engineers, manufacturing engineers are necessary for Contract Manufacturing companies. Professional MBAs can the CRAMS sector for project management.

Quality control and assurance professional, Process Safety and Safety Health and Environmental Engineers also have a good demand in this industry.

Future Scope

CC: Which of the institutions would you consider to be your ‘true’ alma mater?

While the field of CRAMS has its own competition, it is a growing service sector out of India. “It is estimated that drugs worth USD 85 billion are going off patent by 2020 globally and the many positives for Indian CRAMS players is to grow their businesses and new ones to join the bandwagon. This is also a great opportunity for the new graduates in these areas to look for potential job opportunities.”

Project Management, communication and time management skills are some necessary selection criteria along with domain knowledge for CRAMS. Candidates with master’s

38 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Ashis: I would consider Raisina School, New Delhi, IIT Delhi and State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. I learnt my basic subjects in schools, gradually developed interest in knowing the unknown, worked on my social skills and focussed to structure my future. At IIT Delhi, I learnt basic subjects like chemistry in detail—the various industrial applications and the professional side of academics. Finally, SUNY introduced me to Medicinal Chemistry and Research which became my career path.

your basic and fundamental understanding of the subject that you would pursue, which matters the most. This is primarily influenced by your teachers (who introduces and builds your interest), your hard work, the facilities, courses and training that is provided by your institutions to build your career.

Can you attribute your career and personal successes to all your Almamater?

Most certainly, I belonged to a middle-class family with very limited exposure to various possible career opportunities and my alma mater/s helped me move to next steps. I was perhaps extremely lucky as I hadn’t pre-programmed my career-it took a shape as I moved ahead along with my academic progressions.

How can individuals/corporates establish a steady academia-corporate connect?

Today, government is pushing public-private partnerships. Researchers in academics need more money for research and Industry needs support for fundamental research. As a Manager for collaborative research, I had spent more than two years of my career to promote this idea and created 10+ research collaborations between Ranbaxy and different research institutions in India including IITs and other reputed academic institutions – based on a selected topic of common interest. Inception of a research program is based on a clear objective which is part funded by both government and the Industry – giving researchers in academia enough exposure on the going-ons’ in their areas of their interest in the Industry and helping industry to access data on fundamental research done at these institutes; further enabling employment of meritorious students to sync their knowledge within the industrial framework. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

“I feel branding of the institutions that you studied from does help at the entry levels to your job or help secure an admission to your next preferred institution; however, a long-term career is based on your basic and fundamental understanding of the subject that you would pursue; which matters the most” How have your alma mater/s contributed to your journey?

IIT Delhi: The institute exposed me to modern analytical techniques-the backbone of chemical research today. This created more interest in learning newer methods and areas of unmet needs - leading me to medicinal chemistry. I was also exposed to other possible topics which opened alternate career paths.

The State University of New York: I gained my first exposures on the use of synthetic chemistry to designing novel chemical entities with the possibilities of these developing as future potential drug candidates. My career started to take shape here.

Rockefeller University: The post doctorate at the Rockefeller University gave me a complete understanding of drug discovery process; working in a multi-discipline area of research and exposures to the challenges therewith.

Ranbaxy Research Labs: Gained initial experiences and exposures to focus on therapeutics -related drug discovery research and its challenges, the difficulties in funding and the time requirements involved.

Chembiotek and TCG Lifesciences: Learning and creating contract research models in Medicinal Chemistry for developing possible new business model in India for chemists to bring in their talent for synthesising new chemical entities for partner companies.

Do academic institutions really wield enough influence on moulding individuals for a successful career?

Branding of the institutions that you studied from does help at the entry levels for jobs or, help secure admission to your next preferred institution. However, a long-term career is based on

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tadka

HIV cases in China surge by 14%

While HIV cases in India are on a decline, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China has surged by 14%, with most cases transmitted through sex rather than blood transfusions. More than 8,20,000 people had AIDS at the end of June this year. More than 40,000 new HIV cases were reported in second quarter alone, with 3.1 per cent having contracted virus through sex. Infections caused by blood transfusions were reduced to zero, says Xinhua news agency.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 39

STARTUP SERIES

Crowdfunding for a Cause Piyush and Khusbhoo Jain, life partners and business partners are taking crowdfunding in India as well as internationally to the next level. Since its set up, the organisation has reached out to and benefitted many people across the globe in unthinkable ways. Excerpts of the interview with the founders....

By Namrata Gulati Sapra What prompted you to set up ImpactGuru.com? Please trace its journey.

Piyush Jain: After completing my undergrad, I started my career as an investment banker at JPMorgan. After four years in finance, I realised that paying income taxes was often touted as the best way of doing charity on Wall Street!

I couldn’t relate to this cynical culture because that is only a drop in the bucket!

To pursue a more meaningful path, I decided to go to Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. There, I found my calling when I accepted a fellowship with Instiglio, a US non-profit focused on using social impact bonds to help non-profits scale. While at Harvard, I assisted my professor in teaching a class on Financial Management in non-profit organisations. I also co-authored a paper on non-equity financing for entrepreneurial ventures. This inspired me to launch ImpactGuru. com. My knowledge of finance and technology had to be clubbed with the brand, marketing and communications skill sets Khushboo, my wife, had garnered over the years. Fortunately, both Khushboo and I shared the same vision when we decided to start this venture with regards to creating a crowdfunding platform to help not just non-profits but also individuals with educational, medical, or personal needs to raise money on-

line. It does require a fantastic partnership and we have been very lucky to forge that successfully. An ImpactGuru is someone who envisions change, who finds solutions to social problems, who steps up to support another change-maker, who makes kindness a habit, who dares to follow his/her dream, or who simply helps out a friend in need. We believe that each individual holds the power to affect great change and given the right tools and the right backing, can become an ImpactGuru himself/herself. Thus, ImpactGuru. com was born in 2014, accepted into Harvard’s startup incubator – Venture Initiation Program and PACT Incubator, leading Southeast Asia social enterprise incubator in Singapore.

Khushboo Jain: There came a point where Piyush and I realised we wanted to be social entrepreneurs. Both of us bring together different skillsets to the table so why not start a business together and see how that goes. That’s how ImpactGuru.com was born. Piyush and I were keen on a business model that would let us add value and meaning to our community.

Setting up a crowdfunding platform catered to my interests too as there is no greater challenge than to scale online giving in India. Prior to co-founding our venture, I worked as a fashion marketer for Valiram Group in Singapore. After months of deliberation, I quit my job in 2014 and we started working on ImpactGuru.com.

40 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

You quit regular jobs to do this.

Did that intimidate you or were you convinced that success would eventually come your way?

Piyush: Startups have 1% success rate. Each day brought about a new set of challenges but we continued to focus on the micro details and not lose out on the big picture of what we are trying to achieve. Go Big or Go Home, cliche, but true in entrepreneurial play. I regularly seeked guidance from my set of advisors to overcome all kinds of business roadblocks that came my way. I looked up to other entrepreneurs who took the off beaten path and paid heed carefully to their real-life situations and how they came through it. The strong passion to make a difference in the lives of people and the persistence to achieve our mission to save more lives continued and will continue to keep us going. Four years ago it was just Khushboo and I trying to do everything on our own like a two-member

People make an organisation; we are lucky to have such a fantastic team. Without having talented, passionate and motivated people in various functions across the organisation, we would not have been able to achieve what we have been able to achieve - Piyush

team and from that we have grown to more than a 60-member team. People make an organisation; we are lucky to have such a fantastic team. Without having talented, passionate and motivated people in various functions across the organisation, we would not have been able to achieve what we have been able to achieve.

Khushboo: I am what I wanted to be; I’m an entrepreneur. The shift across industries might have altered external paradigms, but the nature of the work I do on a day-to-day hasn’t changed all that much. I used to sell opulent products, and now I sell a service. If anything, this sales pitch is harder to execute, because we do not offer a tangible benefit. Crowdfunding is at its nascent stage in India. The journey from education to persuasion has been a challenging but a fulfilling one. To build a fully functioning platform from scratch, a great mix of expertise and skillsets are required. Hiring the right people who are passionate and com-

mitted to build the online platform and innovate continuously was not easy but we are glad that we did it finally.

Since starting ImpactGuru.com, we have learnt the value of persistence. In those moments, we were stable in terms of our focus and made sure we marched on and kept on with our mission independent of the kind of challenges we were facing.

Who is your target audience?

Khushboo: Our primary target customer is the huge BPL and middle class population that is either uninsured or for whom insurance is not sufficient to cover high cost medical treatment especially in case of life threatening diseases such as cancer or organ transplants or stroke.

We have a robust due diligence policy at ImpactGuru.com. All medical fundraisers are approved by the hospital in which the patient is present. We only transfer money to the hos-

pital for treatment. We have multiple payment gateways for people to choose from. We accept credit/debit cards, direct bank transfers, virtual payment address, Paytm, UPI, Whatsapp Payments, netbanking and several other wallets.

We also have innovative payment solutions such as Virtual Bank Accounts. In this, a virtual account is created for the user for people to directly transfer money via netbanking. We are thus changing the way the world tackles poverty and inequality because it gives everyone an equal chance to voice their needs and seek help from the crowd.

What challenges did you encounter after/before or during the setup of the startup?

Piyush: Having spent almost a decade abroad, setting up a business in my home turf was a frightful, yet exciting decision. I had never worked in India, before taking up this entrepre-

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 41

STARTUP SERIES neurial role. I’m not a healthcare expert, but I took all these hurdles in the right stride. I was focused on the impact I wanted to create. Internet entrepreneurship is tough. We had very few customers two years back. We asked for guidance from advisors who told us to be patient. We pivoted the business to also support other social causes. We started pitching to investors and raised `3.3 crores from a VC fund in April 2016 and US$ 2mn (`13 crore) in Series A round in May 2018. Today, we are regarded among the top 3 players in India.

Khushboo: The journey so far has been full of learnings. No textbook or prior work experience can truly equip what each day of your business has in store. Till we reached a point where we had an operational team, everything from preparation, research and brainstorming had to be initiated and completed by us. Each day we come across fundraisers run by individuals in need of emergency medical funds and we need to ideate quick, think outside the box, to help them raise funds in record time. Just like any entrepreneur, one has to equip oneself with answers to kind of questions of employees, customers, investors, you name it. Thinking on the spot definitely is a skill I’ve had to hone. There are always several thoughts running through my mind – from the performance of each fund-

raiser on ImpactGuru.com, to making sure the platform is running smoothly to ensuring that we recruit and train the best talent and keep them motivated all at the same time.

costs and aid NGOs with project-based financial support to eradicate poverty, educate our children, empower girls and women and support other causes.

How can crowdfunding prove to be a gamechanger?

You have created some great success stories. Please share some with us.

Khushboo and Piyush: Crowdfunding is the most disruptive solution to address this problem. Our mission at ImpactGuru.com to make healthcare accessible to all and save more lives.

We hope for crowdfunding to become mainstream in India. The more the ‘crowd’ gets acquainted by this internet-enabled philanthropic process, awareness is bound to develop.

We aim to raise crowdfunding awareness among hospitals, doctors, medical practitioners and build partnerships with healthcare startups from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. This community can thereby empower thousands of patients with the funds they need. A dedicated crowdfunding helpdesk service next to the billing department at hospitals will help us increase the level of awareness of medical crowdfunding solutions as they refer their patients to us-particularly cancer, transplant, and pediatric cases.

We hope in the years to come we can continue to help individuals raise medical treatment

Since starting ImpactGuru.com, we have learnt the value of persistence. In those moments, we were stable in terms of our focus and made sure we marched on and kept on with our mission - Khushboo

42 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2017 2018

Piyush: ImpactGuru.com has a track record of impacting over 100,000 lives, mobilizing over US $20 mn (`130 crore) across 15 countries and training over 1,000 nonprofits to crowdfund in last four years.

We persuaded GlobalGiving.org, the world’s largest non-profit crowdfunding platform to create an exclusive strategic partnership with us. This is the first time such an initiative has been taken.

We raised US $2mn (`13 crore) in Series A round co-led by Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s largest hospital chain. Singapore based VC fund, RB Investments, an existing investor, also participated in the round along with Currae Healthtech Fund, India’s largest healthtech fund by number of deals. Other key investors include various family offices and Indian diaspora from US, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

ImpactGuru.com was recognised among top five startups in India wherein Khushboo and I raised investment funding on live TV on CNBC TV18’s Young Turks.

We are the first crowdfunding player in India to launch a smartphone app for customers with the Android app already available for download. The Android app presents the user with a quick view of their fundraiser, thus enabling them to keep track of the progress of the campaign, get real-time donation notifications, and post updates.

One of my best moments was recently on when ImpactGuru.com raised `16 lakhs in 3.5 hours for a 15-year old boy who was seeking funds for his mother’s surgery who had rectal prolapse.

Khushboo: We have initiated a one-of-a-kind program #DoctorsForGood for medical practitioners across India. The objective behind the initiative is to provide a platform for enrolled doctors to refer patients who are in need of funds for their treatment. Crowdfunding has immense potential to help raise lakhs for patients when banks / NBFCs provide restricted funding due to low credit scores, need for collateral, high risk of death and default etc.

Financial debt was troublesome to Riaa Kulkarni’s family. Ria, a primary school student, found to have DIPG, fast developing brain cancer. ImpactGuru.com raised `51 lakhs - our highest record, from 3414 donors. It was heartening to learn that our platform became that voice to impact an eight-year-old’s life.

One of our campaigners 15-year-old Navin

How does being spouses-in-business help your goals? What are the upsides and downsides of it?

Impact Guru starts #PledgeABowl campaign to provide drinking water to stray animals in summer

ImpactGuru.com has a track record of impacting over 100,000 lives, mobilizing over US $20mn (`130 crore) across 15 countries and training over 1,000 nonprofits to crowdfund in last four years—Piyush Sridhar Naik came to our Mumbai office to thank our team and all the donors who came forward to facilitate his bone marrow transplant. ImpactGuru.com raised `2,26,794 from 666 donors for Navin’s operation. Such events bring about a sense of triumph in employees as they witness Live the outcome of their efforts taken on campaigns. We feel proud to have saved so many more lives.

My greatest moment of pride was when we partnered with Project Inspire, to facilitate fundraising for 20 young changemakers impacting Asia Pacific. The initiative co-founded

by Singapore Committee for UN Women and Mastercard presented youth across the world with an international platform to pitch their ideas that create a better world for women and girls in Asia Pacific. Such causes pertaining to women empowerment and building safer and more inclusive communities for women and girls are close to my heart.

How did roping in stars help the cause you had taken up?

Piyush and Khushboo: When EPIC Channel launched ‘Umeed India’, hosted by ex-cricketing ace Virender Sehwag, the aim was to bring to the limelight it deserves, the extraordinary stories of 13 seasoned sportspersons who were training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The show follows the lives of Freestyle Wrestler Sakshi Malik, paralympian swimmer Suyash

Jadhav, Shot Put player OP Karhana, Sprinter Dutee Chand, Judo Player Avtar Singh, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, Rower Dattu Bhokanal among others. In an attempt to go beyond just telling their stories, EPIC Channel aimed to empower these champions through a crowdfunding initiative. In order to raise funds, EPIC Channel partnered with ImpactGuru. com to raise funds.

Eighteen Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Dino Morea collaborated to raise funds for children and youth living in extreme poverty in India. For this, Magic Bus partnered with ImpactGuru.com to raise funds, to move children out of poverty. Magic Bus works with more than 3.75 lakh children and 10,000 young people living in poverty across 22 States of India to move them out of poverty.

Canadian-born Indian-American Actress Sunny Leone and her husband Daniel Weber turned to crowdfunding to aid their team member Prabhakar’s on-going medical treatment.

With the total cost of his medical expenses amounting to 20 lakhs, Sunny and her team, who have been continuously supporting him, found it difficult to bear such a huge amount, hence they put up a fundraiser on ImpactGuru.com.

When celebrities take the crowdfunding route, it plays a big role in raising awareness of not only the cause they are supporting but also making crowdfunding mainstream.

Piyush and Khushboo: At ImpactGuru.com, we both make it a point to immerse ourselves in each function. We deal with so many human stories, we get emotionally invested into all of them. Professional disagreements arise in times like these. But we know our areas of expertise and let the expert take the final call after sharing our thoughts. Switching off gets difficult, but we have learnt the art gradually.

It was an acquired skill set. A Husband-Wife Co-Founder duo leading a venture meant some investors declined to participate and some talented individuals refused to join the company. We ignored the skeptics and stood like a rock to each other in these trying times.

We have sailed through some difficult phases but we have gathered the courage to stay resilient in troubled waters. Our unanimous drive to make a difference in the lives of people and our mission to save more lives continues to keep us going. We believe the only way to sustain for a longer period of time is to take adequate breaks to unwind and to have a good work life balance. Traveling, movies, music, makes us hit the pause button and helps us lower the stress levels. Our last holiday was in South Italy. We motivate each other when the going gets tough as is often the case at a startup.

What is next on the cards?

Piyush and Khushboo: Take up Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a business opportunity. Be it large conglomerates or budding ventures, all have begun to realise the importance of their business to address local and global social challenges. A business model which caters to the employees, customers and communities is in-the-making, hoping to make progress in this regard. namratagulati8@gmail.com

CC

tadka Obesity among Indian children on rise India has the second highest number of obese children in the world, with 14.4 million reported cases, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. China, with 15.3 million obese children, tops the list. The incidence of obesity has doubled since 1980 in over 70 countries of the world, the research finds.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Corporate History

The space sharing story that became a singular success This 10-year-old hospitality platform that started in a flat in San Francisco, California, that operates an online marketplace and hospitality service accessible via website and mobile apps, has turned into one of the world's largest one-stop shops for accommodation. Consider the figures: 65,000 cities the world over-and 300 million guests. An $32 billion dollar company, Airbnb is now focused on its next goal: 1 billion guests annually by the end of the next decade. Amidst all this, India is a major taker with over 1 million Indians having experienced Airbnb enabled hospitality thereby clocking a growth rate of 115 per cent over the last year By Kalyani Sardesai

F

rom Shah Rukh Khan to Britney Spears-to the friendly neighbourhood globetrotting techie, pretty much anyone who travels overseas has experienced the Airbnb brand of hospitality.

The unique experience of being able to experience a local culture on one’s terms-by living in a home with a host-is something that goes well beyond the purview of a conventional hotel.

So whether you’re a movie star like SRK who was hosted in a Beverly Hills Mansion, or simply a budget travel who’d like to opt for a no-fuss bed and budget, Airbnb has an accommodation for every budget.

And to think, they were warned this would never work. “People said no one would want to live in someone else’s home,” Nathan Blecharczyk, chief strategy officer, Airbnb has been quoted. “But as travel becomes increasingly commoditised people want to break away from standard itineraries and discover newer cultures on their own terms.”

Simply put: as travel brings people closer Airbnb was and is a great idea.

Back to the beginning

As is the case in more ways than one, necessity is the mother of invention and the nucleus of a great creation. As it so happened, even as they moved to the staggeringly expensive city of San Francisco in 2007, roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia found themselves unable to afford the rent on their loft apartment. So they decided to turn it into a bed and breakfast. Initially, the goal was just to make a little extra money, but soon things took

Facts and figures • There are over four million Airbnb listings worldwide.

• Over 1.9 million listings are instantly bookable.

• Airbnb offers listings in over 191 countries.

• 65,000 cities list homes with Airbnb.

• Airbnb averages about 500,000 stays per night.

• On any given night, two million people are staying in Airbnb rentals across the world.

• Airbnb’s value worldwide is $32 billion.

• The average per-night price for reservations is as affordable as $80.

• Only 11% of the nearly 500,000 US listings are reserved on a typical night.

• The company is said to be forecasting EBITDA of $450 million on $2.8 billion in revenue for 2017.

By 2020, Airbnb’s revenue is projected to be as much as $8.5 billion.

• In the rare event of accidental damage, the property of every Airbnb host is covered up to a million dollars.

a newer turn when Nathan Blecharczyk, Chesky’s friend 2009 winter training session of joined in and together they his startup incubator, Y combiformed a new venture named nator, that gave them training AirBed and Breakfast. They as well as $20,000 funding in launched a website that essenexchange for a small interest in the company. They used this tially offered living accommomoney to aggressively promote dation for short stays, breakfast their site. By March 2009, the etc. for those unable to find a site had 10,000 users and 2,500 hotel for want of funds or due listings. They shortened the to overbooking. name to Airbnb.com and the Their first break came soon site’s offerings now included air enough. In the summer of beds, shared spaces and a host 2008 when the Industrial of other properties like empty Designers Society of Amerihomes, private rooms, castles, ca held their first conference. boats, manors, and even priGiven the influx of visitors, there was a serious shortage vate islands and igloos! of liveable accommodation and AirBed and Breakfast From strength to strength filled the gap beautifully.

Essentially speaking, Airbnb means different things to difNot the ones to rest after this early success, the foundferent people, for some it means the ability to afford and hold on ers came up with the creative to their own home, for others a idea of creating special edition Stats-Courtesy iProperty chance to meet new people and breakfast cereals with presidenManagement to still others, an opportunity tial candidates Barack Obama to delve deep into an authentic and John McCain as the inspilocal experience. Founder Joe Gebbia has said that ration for Obama O’s and Cap’n Mac Cains. In Airbnb is specifically “designed for trust” and protwo months, 800 boxes of cereal were sold at $40 each, which earned over $30,000 for the compavides a variety of safety mechanisms.

As of today Airbnb has offices in twenty cities ny’s incubation. Soon the budding entrepreneurs around the world, including Amsterdam (Nethwon the attention of computer programmer Paul Graham, who invited the founders to the January erlands), Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany),

44 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

This is how it works: Potential guests search for a place to stay as per lodging type, dates, location and budget.

Before they do that, they need to provide personal and payment information. Some hosts may need a scan of a government issued ID before accepting guests. The company also provides travel guides called neighbourhoods which provide details about neighbourhoods in 23 major cities. Hosts provide prices and other details for their rental or event listings. Pricing is determined by the host, with recommendations from Airbnb.

Beijing (China) New Delhi (India), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), London (UK), Milan (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Paris (France), Miami (US), Portland (Oregon, US) and San Francisco (US.) What works in their favor is the sheer range of properties on offer, not to forget the advent of the globe trotting, aware customer the world over: • São Paulo (Brazil) • Seoul (South Korea) • Singapore • Sydney (Australia) • Tokyo (Japan) • Manila (Philippines) • Toronto (Canada)

The India story

According to Chris Lehane, Head of Public Policy & Communications, the potential for India is immense. Here’s why—to begin with, India has 400-million-plus millennials and, like youngsters everywhere, travel is a top priority. What’s more, as Nathan Blecharczyk puts it: “The Indian mantra of Atithi Devo Bhava” or “The Guest is God" blends well with the Airbnb ethos. The company so far has 31,000 properties in India all thanks to the vision of reaching out to the local community and local travel agents as well.

They also have assorted agreements with different state agreements, including the North-Eastern Tourism Council, bringing tourism to the seven North-Eastern States and bringing a home sharing system over there. This has worked out

very well indeed, because the seven states of the North East are relatively unexplored, and given their breathtaking natural beauty, hold immense promise. Apart from this, they have an MoU with the National Skill Development System that will create 50,000 hosting entrepreneurs who will work in remote areas as well.

Areas of concern: Controversies, law suits and a few tough questions.

Despite the strides and rave reviews, there’s no doing away with the fact that Airbnb has courted criticism on several occasion. The American Hotel and Lodging Association has complained that the hotel industry is under pressure due to unfair competition from Airbnb leading to additional regulations being imposed on the company.

There have also been concerns expressed over intrusion of privacy thanks to the sheer number of legal agreements that Airbnb members are required to accept. Their identity verification system “Verified ID” has been perceived by many customers as excessively intrusive considering the multiple layers of identification from telephone to passport/driving license and thorough vetting of social media accounts.

What's more, their drip pricing system displays per night prices that exclude service feed and the total charges are only revealed when you select an individual property. But the Australian consumer association moved in, and in Australia, the company is made to reveal the full price at every stage of the booking process.

Apart from this, there have also been charges of racism, objectivity of the guest review system as guests shy away from negative reviews as they may not get accommodation the next time.

In several countries including the United States, France, Canada and the United Kingdom, Airbnb doesn't require hosts to provide any form of identification. A host who has been "permanently banned" can set up a new account under a different name and email address. In 2017, Airbnb was accused by travel blogger Asher Fergusson of failing to close these risks.

Besides this, Airbnb has also been accused of pushing up rents in several neighbourhoods.

The way ahead

But given the sheer list of positives: employment to some, accommodation to others, and convenience to everyone, the Airbnb story is only poised to grow. They have a great product on hand-and the sheer network of properties on its rolls is unmatched.

As Chris Lehane said: “Our primary focus is to make people aware at a grassroot level that it is host acquisition, getting these partnerships, training people and also making more and more people understand that they can travel light. Focus is entirely on developing the market.”

If that focus is worked on right, this would mean reaching out to a billion people sooner rather than later. kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Interview Amruta Bahulekar, programme head of the Lighthouse project, a collaborative initiative of Pune City Connect and Pune Municipal Corporation for Skills Development and sustainable livelihood, has just been named as one of the forty winners of the 2nd edition of Under 40 Awards

by Business World (BW). The award recognises her relentless work in the field of sustainable livelihoods for youngsters between 18 and 30 years

H

By Kalyani Sardesai Happiness shared is happiness multiplied. Skills imparted are skills multiplied. The aforementioned line is not only a widely accepted truth, but for some, the physical expression of a personal philosophy. After all, who ever said that wisdom is the sole custody of the old and the experienced ?

Though her days begin early and end well past dinner, this young woman does not mind a bit. In fact, 33-year-old Amruta Bahulekar describes herself primarily as a “People’s person, someone who likes to reach out to others” in every way she can. Little wonder then that this young and dynamic who is a post-graduate from TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) found her calling easily as programme head of the much-lauded Lighthouse project, a joint effort by Pune City Connect and Pune Municipal Corporation for promotion of skills development and sustainable livelihood in urban youngsters between 18 and 30 years. Typically, these youngsters come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In short, Pune City Connect is a section eight non-profit company that provides a platform for collaboration between Pune Municipal Corporation, corporate, NGOs and citizens. Its objective is to institutionalize a forum for various stakeholders to work in synergy towards the development of the city. Pune City Connect works in the area of sustainable Livelihood, education and digital literacy.

The Lighthouse at a glance

“What essentially makes the Lighthouse project stand out is its unique multi-stakeholder approach to economic and social transformation. By empowering urban youth to take charge of their lives and the narrative that follows by channelising their inherent strengths, individuals and families benefit for sure. But this light of dignity, joy and economic independence also benefits the community, local government and businesses,” she explains.

Adverse circumstances typically mean that youngsters are stuck in a rut-for want of education, adequate skill, or even basic information. Eventually, skipping from one job to another becomes the norm. Here’s where Lighthouse makes a difference. “What we do actually is to shift the focus from “attempting to survive” to “attempting to thrive,” she shares.

Currently 4200 youth are enrolled in the Lighthouse programme. A total

Lead kindly light, the torch of empowerment 46 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

of 1699 students have completed the skills development programmes and 967 students are placed in various industries over the last two years. “We have succeeded because we respect their individual interests and develop their skill sets accordingly, be it computers, language and literature or even leveraging a passion for cooking to maximum advantage into a little business,” she says.

“Our counselors guide them, mentor them and even impart the due emotional support.” Other important training includes the confidence to face interviews, speak in public and communicate with clarity-important skills for any budding professional or entrepreneur.

What makes this achievement even more staggering is that 60% of the enrolments at the Lighthouses are women and about 80% of the placed

Pune City Connect, and Pervin Verma, Core Member, Lighthouse programme design.

Each one brings something specific to the table.

“Sonali’s programme design, Ganesh’s vision of revolutionalizing skills development across the country, Ruchi’s selfless commitment of bringing all the stakeholders on board for large scale change, her pursuit of excellence and Pervin’s mentoring in terms of value-based change designs have all inspired me in their own way,” she says.

On the importance of the BW 40 under 4O recognition

“It’s an honour receiving the award,” she says. “It gives me an opportunity to connect with the leaders

“I am inspired by the tenacity, hard work and integrity demonstrated by youth from tough circumstances. Their hunger for successes, their desire to transform the situations of scarcity into abundance has taught me so much” students have never previously earned money independently. Plus, the idea seems to have caught on. The doubling of the Lighthouses in the city from two to four in a span of two years, has led to increased enrolments and greater faith in its potential. So much so that officials from different smart cities in the country have expressed a keen interest in establishing the Lighthouse model in their cities.

The lighthouse project is a joint winner of the award under social aspects category, Smart City Mission.

The Long Term impact and The Cascade effect

Typically, the Lighthouse project works on establishing a relationship with assorted communities. “This is carried out by a hugely motivated team that provides constant mentoring support by respecting the individual context of each youth enrolled in the Lighthouse,” she says. This leads to improved quality of life, better gender equity, increased social harmony and a sense of equal citizenship. “We have an overt strategy of enrolling over 20 per cent households in each slum community into The Lighthouse Programme, thereby creating a ripple effect that runs through society as a whole,” she says.

So far, Four Lighthouses are functional in different wards of Pune. (Aundh, Yerawada, Hadapsar and Waraje). “The objective is to open a total of 15 Lighthouses in 15 administrative wards of Pune,” says Amruta.

In a nutshell: positivity leads to positivity and hope.

On her mentors and inspiration

“I have been fortunate enough to be guided by some truly inspiring people,” she says. These include, Sonali Ojha (Founder of DreamCatchers Foundation, Consultant of the Lighthouse project, Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman Pune City Connect, Ruchi Mathur, CEO

from the business world who are working towards social and economic transformation. This is an opportunity for me to have a dialogue with business leaders about issue of employment, employability, trends and patterns in the context of the future of the work for youth from disadvantaged communities. By 2022, more than 20,000 youth from disadvantaged communities will be enrolled in the Lighthouse programme which will transform the overall social, economical landscape of Pune. We intend to take this model to different parts of the country.”

‘No dichotomy between personal and professional life’

“There isn’t a personal and professional dichotomy for me in this work,” she smiles. “In fact, there’s little scope for such a thing. This work demands from me to be in the space of possibilities in spite of multiple challenges. This work also facilitates the process of dialogue between different people. In a changing socio-economic context, having faith that if Plan A doesn’t work, then B will, and if even B doesn’t work, then we can explore C, this mindset helps me and the youngsters enrolled with us to co-create newer possibilities to walk the path of sustainable livelihood. This flexibility, sense of awe with new learnings makes the journey value-creative.

But the credit, she says, belongs to everyone. “I am inspired by the tenacity, hard work and integrity demonstrated by youth from tough circumstances.

Their hunger for successes, their desire to transform the situations of scarcity into abundance has taught me so much. I wholeheartedly believe that a deep sense of belonging, possibilities of authentic dialogue and authentic connection between individuals and groups from different strata of the society ensures our collective well-being.” kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Unsung Heroes-12

Dr Sarmah with former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee

Rickshaw Bank

It was a ride in a cycle rickshaw that brought about the concept of a ‘Rickshaw Bank’ in the mind of an Assam-based veterinary surgeon, Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah. The idea was a runaway success and has changed the lives of more than 10,000 rickshaw pullers across six states in India

I

n today’s technology-driven world, one would have expected rickshaws to disappear with the fast growth of modern, motorized transport. Instead, the numbers of rickshaws have increased amazingly in the last couple of years. Cycle rickshaws happen to be the only green mode of transportation, which by their very nature are devoid of carbon emission.

It was a ride in a cycle rickshaw that brought about the concept of a ‘Rickshaw Bank’ in the mind of an Assam-based veterinary surgeon, Pradip Kumar Sarmah. That the idea was a runaway success is evident from the fact that it changed the lives of more than 10,000 rickshaw pullers across no less than six states in India.

Dr Sarmah (52), the innovator of this concept, explains that a majority of the rickshaw pullers drive rented rickshaws as they have no access to banks, and end up paying the cost of the rickshaw many times over. “When I was travelling by one such rickshaw in Guwahati, I struck up a conversation with the rickshaw puller, who told me that even after 16 years, he did not have his own vehicle and hired the rickshaw at a daily rate of ₹25. After paying the rent, the man was left with barely ₹50. I was disturbed by the story; in my mind I knew he could have owned the rickshaw many times over if he had just put together the rent he had paid through those years.” This conversation led Sarmah to engage in a much wider study about the lives of rickshaw pullers. What he

to own their rickshaws upfront. By familiarising found out deeply disturbed him: The vast majorihimself with user needs, Dr Sarmah has allowed ty of India’s estimated 10 million rickshaw pullers thousands of rickshaw pullers to participate in don’t own the rickshaws they pull; rather, they the Rickshaw Bank, and he is now popularising are caught in a cycle of debt and looked down his methods across India and throughout Asia upon by society. They have neither health nor through a grassroots movement and national accident insurance. The poor rickshaw pullers policy advocacy work. were always in debt and could Sarmah says that after surveynever afford to buy and own a ing about 300 rickshaw pullers rickshaw. Their bodies endured extreme stress and aged quickThe vast majority in Guwahati, he found that over shared a similar plight. He ly. Despite the fact that many of India’s estimated 95% pointed out that there are about pullers are immigrants from rural parts of India looking for 10 million rickshaw 70,000 rickshaws in Guwahati, work, their upward mobility in pullers don’t own and over ten million rickshaws India. “In India, banks prosociety—socially and economthe rickshaws they in vide loans for purchasing any ically—remained static.

Dr Sarmah’s empathy for the pull; rather, they are kind of vehicle except a cycle man he met that day became caught in a cycle rickshaw. The common reason was that most of the pullers the seed of his venture: ‘Rickof debt and looked were migrants,” he says. shaw Bank’, part of the Centre It took nearly a year and half for Rural Development. It was down upon by for Sarmah to come up with a his ability to understand the society solution to help the rickshaw reality of that rickshaw pullpullers, paucity of funds being er’s life that provided him with the major issue. During his the perspective to develop real student days at the Assam Agsolutions that would impact and ricultural University, they had raised money for improve these people’s lives. With support from journals from companies by soliciting advertiseengineering students, he reinvented the way ments. “We decided to adopt a similar approach; rickshaws work, making them stronger and safrickshaws could display company advertisements er, and equipped with advertisement display fawhich could attract the attention of thousands of cility whereby the pullers would be in a position

48 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Dr Sarmah with his Rickshaw fleet

consumers. I had a friend in IIT-Guwahati’s design department, who designed a rickshaw with large exteriors which could display company advertisements for us,” he said.

They then approached a lot of companies, and received a good response. “ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Unilever Limited were the three companies which decided to sponsor the advertisements. We received around ₹7 lakh from each of these companies which worked out to around ₹7000 per rickshaw for a period of 3 years,” he said.

Sarmah, who is also the founder of Centre for Rural Development (CRD), says that no manufacturer had confidence in the new design. He had no choice but to set up his own manufacturing unit. “We started the unit in 2004; we recruited local youth and trained them,” he says.

They soon became a team of 40 and a name was given to the new rickshaw—Deep Bahan. By November 2004, 80 such rickshaws were out on the roads,” he recalls. But the problems did not end there. Getting a licence, identity proof, and insurance for the drivers was another challenge.

He got an insurance scheme customized for rickshaw pullers in collaboration with an insurance company. The basic model cost ₹13,000, but with accessories of a solar panel, three lights, FM Radio, insurance, licence fee to municipal corporation, two sets of uniforms, and a pair of chappals, the price came up to ₹16,000. The project has

also got support from many philanthropic organisations. Today, the Rickshaw Bank concept has been replicated in cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agartala, Surat and Chennai. By the end of 2013, around 10,000 rickshaw pullers had benefitted from the scheme.

Dr Sarmah says, “We have developed 7 to 8 different concepts like the ‘momo cart’, ‘vegetable cart’, and ‘fast-food cart’ based on the requirement in different states. The concept is the same: the pullers pay the rent and after a certain timeframe the ownership is transferred.”

The Rickshaw Bank of CRD has brought hope to rickshaw pullers by providing them with a newly designed rickshaw, with insurance cover and licence at an affordable cost, while simultaneously facilitating their solidarity for rights and a decent livelihood. The first prototype of the newly designed rickshaw was developed by the IIIT-Guwahati. The pilot phase of the Rickshaw Bank was launched in Guwahati and later it was expanded to other areas of Assam and even outside Assam. The project which was started with a bang on 20 November 2004, has over the years, emerged as the flagship project of CRD. CRD is the only organisation in the world that has exclusively focused on different development issues of rickshaw pullers and worked continuously with its Rickshaw Bank project. The organisation

works with the financial assistance of Punjab National Bank and Millepede Foundation—an international charitable trust.

Talking about his future plans, Dr Sarmah says that they have come out with a pilot concept of a ‘Soleckshaw,’ which is a solar powered rickshaw, in Delhi. “This was developed along with the Centre for Science and Research, and will cost around ₹30,000. This concept, once fully implemented, will help reduce pollution and also the consumption of fuel.”

Sarmah was invited by the United Nations Development Programme to make a presentation on his work with the rickshaw pullers. He was recently invited to present his case study to Harvard Business School and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). “With nearly 10 million rickshaw pullers in the country and an average loan size of ₹8000 to ₹10,000 per puller, imagine the magnitude of business any financial institution can generate,” he adds.

Today Sarmah is a contented man. He is happy that his work has positively impacted rickshaw pullers. “They have become owners now.

Their lifestyle has changed. Now their children can go to school. They have bank accounts, valid ID cards, licence and insurance,” says the man who has helped change the life of a community.

The above story is featured in “Unsung Heroes-Real stories to inspire you” ISBN 97881-7108-902-4 by Maj (Retd) Pradeep Khare (pradeepkhare2011@gmail.com).It is published

by Better Yourself books, Mumbai.

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tadka

Artificial synaptic device simulating the function of human brain A research team led by Director MyoungJae Lee from the Intelligent Devices and Systems Research Group at DGIST has succeeded in developing an artificial synaptic device that mimics the function of the nerve cells (neurons) and synapses that are response for memory in human brains.

In addition, the research team successfully implemented an experiment that realised synapse plasticity, which is the process of creating, storing, and deleting memories.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Loved & Married too It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into a wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit.

We bring to you real-life romances that got sealed in marriage

Two states, One journey

As they complete two decades of married life, professionals Sindhu and Suhas Kulkarni, still only in their mid-forties, could have several pointers for younger couples—if they cared to listen. Not that the unassuming Kulkarni’s have “advice” to give anyone, just a simple suggestion: try to put yourself in the other’s shoes. The journey becomes that much smoother

By Kalyani Sardesai

A

ll of 18, young Mahima Kulkarni is pursuing her B.com at Pune’s Symbiosis College. Even as she walks the tight rope between studies and fun activities, just like youngsters her age, she is nevertheless, old enough to reflect on the intricacies of an institution like marriage. The product of a happy marriage, her take is simple, “I will marry only if I find someone like pappa.” And she adds, a partnership as enduring as her parents Sindhu and Suhas Kulkarni have enjoyed.

Flashback to yesterday

This love story was scripted in the nineties when two aspiring young professionals started their work lives together. She had completed her B. SC and a diploma in computers, while he was an MCM. From the beginning Sindhu Madhavan and Suhas Kulkarni got on well. He admired her for her winsome blend of practicality and sensitivity to others, while she liked the fact that he could get on with practically everyone. “He’s humble, caring, grounded, responsible and has a sense of humour to laught at life,” she says.

Despite the fact that they were different personalities, their differences only seemed to work well together. While she’s spontaneous, talkative

and expressive, he is a man of few words. Still the bond just grew. “She was simple, loving, caring, emotional, compassionate yet practical and realistic. Sindhu can make anyone feel comfortable with such amazing ease, a rare quality.

What’s more, she is a happy person who spreads happiness all around her—in short, everything I ever wanted in a life partner,” he says.

Possibly that’s why the need or occasion for a formal proposal was simply not felt.

Instead, one fine day, Suhas just asked to speak to her parents. They were both from different cultural backgrounds-she’s a Keralite and he a Kannadiga. So natually, Sindhu’s parents had initial concerns and put forth a simple condition that the horoscopes should match. “They have a strong belief in the horoscope system. Luckily for us, they did match. So, I suppose, we were meant to be together,” laughs Sindhu.

So, the two were duly wed in 1998 in the course of a warm and fun-filled traditional ceremony that accommodated the best aspects of both the Malayalee and Kannadiga belief system.

50 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

The building blocks of a marriage

From the outset, both Suhas and Sindhu went all out to embrace each other’s families. “As things stand, my parents do not take any decision without consulting him, while I am like a daughter to my in-laws. My father-in-law, in fact, from the very beginning has been a huge support”, shares Sindhu.

There were a few adjustments to be made, considering that they both belong to different states, but the journey was largely fun. “For example, I can cook Keralite food-which they ap-

been very supportive of all my endeavours,” she says.

This is the case even today with both their busy profiles. While she is assistant HR manager, Boomerang Digital LLP, he is co-founder and director (Business Development), Cyber Securist Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Sindhu could be caught up with work, secure in the knowledge that if she were to get delayed, the home front would be taken care of.

“Marriage is all about putting yourself in the others’ shoes,” says Suhas. “Of course, love, trust and understanding play a major role in taking the journey forward. Sure, differences happen and sometimes a fight is a good thing. What is life without a bit of spice?” he smiles.

“But when you see things from the other person’s point of view, it helps in understanding the other person’s thoughts and feelings, which, to my mind, is crucial in making a relationship meaningful and rewarding for both people involved.”

Besides, he adds, positive communication has to be multi-fold, and your partner must be involved in different aspects of your life. Sindhu affirms: “All three of us are equally invested in each other’s life. Each of us knows what is happening in the other person’s day.”

Given this fact, conflict management is not a big deal in their The lives. “Honestly, we don’t really have fights. We have differencmantras es of opinion, yes, but we have of a been together so long that they marriage aren’t such a big deal at all,” says Sindhu.

Love, trust, understanding and acceptance

Positive communication

Doing little things for each other in the course of a hectic schedule goes a long way

Extended circle of family and friends always helps

preciated. Similarly, I too, learnt how to cook Kannadiga food,” says Sindhu. “Of course, being brahmins, they have elaborate rituals that I made a point to pick up.”

Though their daughter Mahima was born just a year into the marriage, Sindhu says the transition was made smooth by the fact that Suhas has always been a big help.

“He has always helped out at home and has

Bringing up baby

Neither Suhas nor Sindhu have been the kind to push for academic performance, still Mahima has done well for herself, scoring 92 per cent in the Xth and subsequently deciding not to opt either for medicine or engineering. “Her career choices will be her own entirely. We want her to be happy in all that she does.

After all, it is important to enjoy one’s college life-the wonder years-so to speak,” says Sindhu.

In fact, she adds, she is the lenient parent-urging her daughter not to study so much-while he is the stricter parent. “Despite the fact that he is tough on certain aspects, he is gentle in others.

For example, he has a good sense of humour and does not mind at all when Mahima and I,

Marriage is all about putting yourself in the others’ shoes. Of course, love, trust and understanding play a major role in taking the journey forward. Sure, differences happen and sometimes a fight is a good thing - Suhas get together to pull his leg and tease him,” expresses Sindhu.

It helps that the two have a loving circle of family and friends to help bring up the little girl.

“We have very strong family bonds with the extended family apart from long-standing friendships. These are all important in leveraging your quality of life,” says Suhas.

Both have workable tips to manage work-life balance. “Monday to Friday is all about doing your best at work. Don’t take your family issues there. On the other hand, weekends are for friends and family. Don’t mix the two-even if you are facing difficulties at work-it’s not fair to unleash your frustrations on unsuspecting loved ones,” says Sindhu.

Perhaps Suhas sums it up best, when he says, “The most complex problems have the simplest solutions. Try finding them out.” kalyani.sardesai@gmail.com

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tadka

India’s biggest startup incubator to come up in Lucknow

Yogi Adityanath government is looking to set up India’s largest Startup Incubator in Lucknow, after netting Rs 4.68 trillion worth of investment commitments from private and public sector companies at the recent UP Investors Summit 2018. The state had identified about 40 acres of land near the Lucknow Airport for the proposed start-up incubator, which was to comprise a data centre, a business processes outsourcing (BPO) hub, development centres, training centres etc.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Campus Placement

Patience, perseverance key to success Life, believes Naba Ishrat, was all chalked out and set, as she was on her CA course. But, encounters with personnel from different corporate fields made her realise her strengths and hence gave her career a direction

By Joe Williams

S

ome things are destined to be, it just takes a couple of trials to get there, feels Naba Ishrat, who after her masters in finance from one of the renowned colleges in the city walks the talk with Corporate Citizen.

She went through three phases of life since her childhood. During her school days she always wanted to be a lawyer. The black coat and the court life fascinated her. But she could not pursue it due to family pressure as this course was not considered noble by her family. She took up accounts (CA), but again that was not her destiny as she moved to finance. She is of the opinion that life is not easy, but perseverance and above all self confidence helps in realising one’s potential. She

jumped guns after CA and went on to pursue her masters which gave her the first stepping stone to make the cut into the corporate world. After getting into Bajaj Finserv as management trainee she moved to Fullerton as the credit manager for mortgage after her MBA. Naba recalls her earlier childhood days and most importantly the campus placement, the most talked about event in any college campus these days.

Convent educated Naba hails from Kanpur, better known as the leather city, the Manchester of India, the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh, which also boasts of several business establishments. She completed her schooling from St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School which imbibed

52 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

discipline in her. This school, with a good learning environment helped her focus on getting her basics strong. Being reserved and an introvert, she never thought facing the public was what was in store for her. Her career in CA made her more focused. During her CA articleship, meeting well-known clients like Air India, Sahara or an MNC made her realise that she was more a management person. And this was the reason for her to take up the management course. But she says, “No, regrets”.

Naba with her college friends

The changing phase...

“It was a beautiful journey in this campus. I was blessed to meet some amazing people who made my two years look like a couple of days,” says Naba. There were friends who made things beautiful for her, back benchers like Vidya Dubey and Ramnik Saluja. “They were my strength, they boosted my morale, and going down memory lane is sheer nostalgia.” This was the period where she realised that there was much more in store than just being a CA by profession. Besides friends, her college authorities also played their role in shaping her career. Her corporate interface trips to Delhi, Mumbai moulded her to be among the few top-notch Gen-next in the corporate world.

The placement journey There was no fear as she knew that if she did everything well, it would be hers. And it was her patience and perseverance which prevailed over all the pressure, as she was in a well-balanced state. With a financial background, it was sweet sound to her ears to hear that Bajaj Finserv was coming to pick up candidates for placement. The best part was the fact that it was one of the best non-banking financial companies (NBFC). The process included a preliminary short-listing of students. She went through a 55-minute personal interview.

“The only thing that I had in mind was to keep the smile intact on my face. That I would not let the stress test get over me, and it worked well for me, says Naba”.

The end result was her name was at the top of the list.

She kick started her journey with an internship with the State Trading Corporation of India, a body of the Government of India, which was termed as the honeymoon period. “I knew I had to make it big here.” Being proactive and well learned made her the top performer and the centre of attention in the conference room as all her work was appreciated. However, because of their policy, the PPO did not happen, but she was confident that better things were waiting for her. And all the best qualities as a professional and more

Naba with her best friend

“The tag of president did not give me that happiness, but it was the love and respect that my juniors gave me on the campus.

Remembering me as the perkiest and most caring lady is simply worth living”

so as a human being saw her move to another NBFC, Fullerton, from Bajaj Finserv. There was pressure, considering that she was too naive for this underwriting segment in Fullerton. But, believing in herself helped her hit the bullseye as a credit manager Success story…

Being a Muslim, life was not easy especially when it came to rights and freedom. But, her father, a retired Manager Development Officer at a national insurance company, always believed in girl empowerment, and she owes it mainly to her father as she goes back recalling her father’s words, ‘Beta you can be powerful.’ “My father, mother and my darling sister and my best friend Nishtha have been my pillars of strength,” says Naba.

Happiest moment of life...

There were many. Like when she cleared her CA entrance exam despite negative motivation from everyone. Later, when she was also awarded by Lila Poonawalla for her excellence in conducting the HR meet at MBA college, and later when she was selected as the president of the students’ council of BIMM. “The tag of president did not

give me that happiness, but it was the love and respect that my juniors gave me on the campus.

Remembering me as the perkiest and most caring lady is simply worth living, she adds.”

Tips for success…

• Be positive and focus on positive thoughts • Be proactive and do your homework well in advance • Believe in yourself • Do your own SWOT analysis and keep working on your shortcomings • Have life plans and set goals accordingly • Always have a never die attitude joe78662@gmail.com

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tadka Indian equities to hit market cap of $6.1 trillion Market-capitalisation (market-cap) of Indian equities is likely to hit $6.1 trillion by 2027, up from $2.3 trillion in 2017, according to Morgan Stanley. India’s equity market is expected to grow the fastest of the major markets in Asia.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Health

“M

ain responsibility comes after winning.

Motivate women to do whatever they love, says Stania Deborah Peris, a Young Achiever awardee in the field of sports at the 2018 Karnataka Women Achievers Awards. She is an engineer and team member of Indian Ultimate Frisbee Team. She is also the winner of the ‘Junior Scientist of Chickmagalur District (Karnataka)’ award for the project “Role of Stevia in Human Life” in 2008 and has presented several academic papers in her role as a Chemical Engineer.

She found her mettle as a team member of the Indian Ultimate Frisbee U24 Team that participated in the World U24 Ultimate Championships held at Perth, Australia in January 2018 and as part of the University Handball Team that participated in the ‘All India South Zone Handball Tournament’ in 2014. She captained the BMS College of Engineering handball team that won gold in the Bengaluru zone’s Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU) handball tournament, in the year 2015-16 and silver in the VTU inter zones (State level) handball tournament during the same year.

She also participated in several all India level - Ultimate Frisbee tournaments at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mysore, Mumbai, Surat and Chennai.

A field athlete, she has well represented herself in district and various State and National level athletics meets between 2005-2011. While her achiever’s list is endless, it sure portrays her versatility as a scientist, dancer and a sports enthusiast.

Way of Life For Stania, sports was never an option but the norm in her family. Her athlete parents—Stanly George Peris and Diana Peris ingrained discipline and a sporting ‘grain’ in her, right from her early years. From the age of six, she has been ably trained by her parents; her father was a State level

Frisbee- ‘ing’ to Fitness and Gender Equality It is hard to believe that the ubiquitous ‘flying disc’ of the sport variety commonly referred to as frisbee could garner athletic delight as a competitive sport. But, backing this game is a young Bengaluru-based student engineer, Stania Deborah Peris, member of the Indian Ultimate Frisbee Team and represents India in this format at the national and international levels. Stania is also a trained athlete and plays throwball and handball with equal enthusiasm.

She shares her balancing act between sports and her dream of bringing in a scientific approach to nutrition to aid fitness goals for all

By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar 54 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

athlete and sprinter from Mangalore. From age 10 till date, she has been participating in various tournaments, be it sprinting or her chosen fields —frisbee, handball and throwball.

“I mainly played throwball and handball apart from field athletics. I took to playing frisbee sometime in 2016, when a senior in college asked me if I would be interested in joining the team. After one session, I felt the endorphins pumping.” Since then she has ‘upped’ her levels through her team efforts.

The ultimate sportsperson Balancing culture and sport

Building agility and endurance through frisbee

“It (frisbee play) is also an exercise which teaches you to be affable. So, I see myself increasing more awareness about the sport. Except for certain top-level games, it is primarily a selfreferred sport. It is not very popular yet in India but catching up. In Bengaluru we have about 10-15 club teams” She believes in the spirit of frisbee as a sport and as a leveller to cut any form of gender biases in sports and wishes that more people, especially in her home state and Bengaluru engage with this sport. “It’s a mixed-gender sport that can also be played as only men or only women teams. But, India focuses on mixed gender team games. In the 7-member mix team format, we could have three girls and four boys or vice versa. It is also a non-contact sport.” Explaining that being a self-referred game, it puts the onus on each team member to play the game fairly on both sides.

“This game officially does not have referees

but, many certified game observers and advisers.

Earlier, we used to have all India tournaments but now we have sectional/regional and national games. Except for certain top-level games, it is primarily a self-referred sport. It is not very popular yet in India but catching up. In Bengaluru we have about 10-15 club teams.”

“We have a set of rules that the game follows and therefore players ideally needs to gain accreditation through two levels of examinations to ensure that you know all the rules as stipulated by the World Flying Disc Federation. These are online tests to enable standard and advanced credentials,” she said.

Frisbee Fit “Generally, duration of the games (frisbee) are of 75 to 100 mins. You need speed, agility, quickness and endurance to becoming an effective player.

So, merely knowing the game and throws is not enough. It needs a lot of work in the background especially during the run-up to competitive tournament,” said Stania.

She wishes that more people took up the sport because she feels that playing (any sport) is equally important for both girls and boys. “It is also an exercise which teaches you to be affable.

So, I see myself increasing more awareness about the sport.”

On her diet regime, “I have been in hostels for the past eight years and I do not get to pick my food. Since our body needs everything, I supplement my diet with fruits and vitamins, keeping in mind the ill effects of genetically modified or processed food.”

Fit, Fitter and Fittest “It is left to every single person to shape your life.

You cannot be busy 24/7. So, take care in small steps, if possible work and do a little bit of walking around, no matter how busy you might be,” said Stania. She said it is important to condition your body when one is in their prime age, especially youngsters. “How you treat your body now will justify its state in the coming years. I try to motivate my friends too and take them with me to the grounds. You have to feel good about yourself .”

Despite her physical challenges of combating injuries as is common to most professional sportspersons, she said that it is equally important to keep oneself self-motivated.

“I cannot take losses peacefully. When I am not good enough, I am very hard on myself and keep upping my benchmarks. But, I listen my parents who say, “Practice hard but, stay calm. wining is secondary; give it your best.” sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

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tadka

World’s biggest ocean clean-up operation Dutch inventor Boyan Slat has developed a master plan to clear a “floating” island of trash dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which stretches 600,000 square miles between California and Hawaii in a multimillion dollar project dubbed, “The Ocean Clean-up.” Launched on September 8, this world’s first ocean clean-up system consists of pipes that float at the surface of the water with netting below, and will collect trash in the centre of a U-shaped design, with the aid of the ocean’s currents.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Survey

Talent Acquisition:

The Paramount Priority

56 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Finding employees with the right skillsets is imperative for a business to thrive. As organisations grow, talent acquisition becomes a major challenge for companies across India. As companies ramp up hiring, they are increasing their acquisition budget by up to 20%, which is excellent news for jobseekers. To understand the impact of these changes on jobseekers and organisations, leading online assessment platform, Mettl has conducted a survey titled Talent Acquisition in India 2018. Corporate Citizen brings you the findings Compiled by Neeraj Varty

Methodology

The report is based on interviews of more than 1860+ HR and business leaders from five varied industries across various regions in India.

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Survey Key Findings What’s been up?

Talent Acquisition is one of the top three challenges faced by organisations.

85.7%

Organisations are ready to increase their hiring budget in 2018.

87.6%

High-skilled, mid-level talent in metro and tier-1 cities to face maximum talent crunch.

89.4%

In this era of disruption, business and HR leaders are being urged to recast the rules for how they organise, recruit, develop, manage, and engage the ever-soincreasing 21st century workforce.

Talent Acquisition remains one of the top three challenges faced by organisations throughout India.

What has gotten down?

Unique skill requirement to outgrow lack of talent pool as a major talent acquisition issue in 2018.

58.4%

Mid to senior levels of the organisation will face the major brunt of talent shortage in 2018.

73.8%

Contrary to 2017, startups to face the talent crunch more in 2018

65.8%

Mid-senior level positions are facing an acute talent shortage in 2018. Startups, which rely on skilled manpower a lot more than processes, will face this crunch more acutely going forward.

Talent Acquisition: A challenge going forward?

1860+ individuals from senior business leaders to talent acquisition decision makers across five major industries, by a large margin of 85.7%, identify Talent Acquisition as a pertinent challenge.

58 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

85.7%

14.3%

no

Will Talent Acquisition be a problem in your organisation (2018)?

YES

Hiring Spends Continue to Grow 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018 Organisations who have an increased hiring budget

Organisations who have an increased hiring budget

67.8%

87.6%

Talent Acquisition: High-skilled requirement industries like banking and IT/ITeS face a serious issue!

120%

100% 82%

100%

The gap between hiring volume and budget is a continuous struggle, and their aligned movement indicates that this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. This imbalance prevents organisations from overcoming obstacles or transforming their talent strategies.

81%

Talent Acquisition: Metros and Tier-1 cities to face the real talent crunch in 2018 86%

87%

89%

100%

76%

67%

80% 70%

80%

50% 30%

60%

90% 60%

40%

40% 20%

20%

10% 0%

0% Finance

Pharma

Manufacturing Retail

IT/ITeS

It isn’t long ago, that the Indian subcontinent was and is still reeling from the policy changes, mass layoffs, and all-around jitters, and thus, it only makes sense that industries with high skill requirement felt the need for a stable talent pool and aptly skilled workforce. Today, organisations are generally moving beyond basic needs to different priorities.

Metro

Tier-1

Tier-2

Recruiting a highly skilled workforce is particularly difficult for organisations headquartered outside of major metropolitan and tier-1 (Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru, Chennai and the likes) areas where the local educational system and business community are not producing enough suitable candidates.

On the flipside tier-2 areas like (Solapur, Bhopal etc.) have a lesser requirement of a skilled workforce when compared to the highly skilled workforce required in the aforementioned case. Thus, they don’t feel the talent crunch as much as the tier-1 counterparts. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Mobile apps

Meet the new iPhones

iPhone XS Max This year, the iPhone XS has a much larger sibling, the XS Max (quite a mouthful). The XS Max has a humungous 6.5-inch screen, significantly larger than the displays of any previous iPhone, but with the edge-to-edge design of the iPhone X line. Inside, the phone is identical to the XS. Preliminary reviews tout the Max’s display to be the best in the market in terms of colour accuracy and sharpness.

The most anticipated consumer technology launch for corporates and the youth alike is the annual Apple iPhone launch event. This year, Apple has released not one or two, but three new iPhones, including one with a gigantic 6.5-inch display. Corporate Citizen brings you the latest and the greatest from Apple’s new line-up

By Neeraj Varty

Apple Watch Phones weren’t the only gadgets launched by Apple this year. Apple also released the 4th iteration of it’s wearable smart watch.

The Apple Watch Series 4 will have a larger screen, in a nutshell that’s the same size edge-to-edge and slightly thinner on the wrist.

As well as the standard speed bumps to the internal processors, the other major changes are to do with health monitoring: an ECG lets wearers measure their heart’s health using the device, while improved accelerometers can automatically call for help if the wearer has a nasty fall.

iPhone XS The iPhone XS is a faster version of Apple’s 2017 bezel less flagship X. Other than a swanky new gold colour, the phone looks largely identical to its predecessor, but features the now-standard array of internal improvements, including a better 12 MP camera, the latest A12 Bionic processor, and more internal storage, with an upper limit of 512GB.

iPhone XR At the bottom end of the range is a new phone, the iPhone XR, that’s intended to replace the iPhone 8 in the line-up. This model, cheaper than the others, thanks to its 6.1-inch LCD screen instead of the OLED, will probably be the one that sells the most in developing countries like India. The outside of the case is brightly coloured aluminium, while inside, it’s largely the same as the XS. 60 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018 60 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

Pearls of Wisdom

By Dada JP Vaswani

Greed is the source of evil

Like lust, greed is also a severe internal affliction, a diseased condition of the mind that leaves us permanently dissatisfied, permanently insecure and permanently in a state of lack, want and need. As the wise old saying goes, “He who loves money excessively, never has money enough.”

I

n our great epic, the Mahabharata: Bhishma Pitamaha, the divine son of the sacred River Ganga, is asked about the source of sin and evil in the world. Bhishma replies to his questioner, Yudhishtira, a young King seeking wisdom. “From greed, sin and all adharma flows, a stream of misery. Greed is the poisoned spring of all cunning and hypocrisy in the world. It is greed which makes people sin...

Greed is the source of evil.”

Like lust, greed is also a severe internal affliction, a diseased condition of the mind that leaves us permanently dissatisfied, permanently insecure and permanently in a state of lack, want and need. As the wise old saying goes, “He who loves money excessively, never has money enough.” The more you acquire, the more you covet, and the more you dwell in want and insecurity. An offshoot of this insecurity is the fearful need to hoard, store and cling to the wealth you have amassed.

Greed manifests itself in two broad tendencies – the impulse to hoard and the impulse to

Success must be measured by the yardstick of inner happiness – your ability to be happy and make others happy spend extravagantly. In the first case, the ‘victim’ is obsessed with amassing more and more wealth and putting it away safely for a future need. Such a man cannot trust Providence for the morrow: he is determined that he will be his own provider, and will not look to God to take care of his needs; he trusts his avarice and miserliness more than he trusts God’s generosity and compassion!

The ‘big spenders’ as they are called are on an acquisition spree; they cannot stop buying things that they don’t really need. Bigger, better, newer, faster... whatever the excuse, they keep spending on luxuries and whims, indulging their urge to splurge and acquire more and more...

I would say that the tendency to accumu-

late material wealth, the craving for more and more, is the root cause of human unhappiness.

Greed, one of the seven deadly sins, binds people with fetters that shackle their capacity for self-fulfillment and inner harmony. The more we are attached to a house, a car, a piece of jewellery or an object, the more we lay ourselves open and vulnerable to unhappiness. The desire to possess leads gradually on to the impulse to accumulate and hoard. Invariably, we begin “keeping up with the Joneses” as they put it in England – i.e. constantly comparing ourselves with our neighbours, and trying to be one up on them.

Our senses are instruments of cognition that God has blessed us with; they tell us to eat when we are hungry and seek warmth when we are cold. The fulfillment of such needs is essential for human survival. It is only when our needs and wants become unreasonable and obsessive that they cease to be natural and enter the danger zone of covetousness.

Artha or wealth, is one of the purusharthas or legitimate goals of life. But we must understand that amassing wealth is not the sole aim of our life on earth: it is only the means to a higher end. Our money, our assets, our car, our house and all our worldly goods (acquired by fair, honest means) can help us and our loved ones lead a life free from want and deprivation. At a higher level, they can help us, help others who are not as fortunate as we are. In other words, wealth is an aid to living life well; it cannot be the be all and end-all of our life!

Happiness and success cannot be measured in terms of money, power, position, wealth or social status. For a man may have all of these and still be miserable. The world thinks that a millionaire is a ‘successful’ man. Success must be measured by the yardstick of inner happiness – your ability to be happy and make others happy; the ability to love and be loved by others; the ability to live in harmony with those around you, with your own self and God’s cosmic law.

CC

tadka Largest mobile store in the world, in Bengaluru After opening world’s biggest smartphone manufacturing plant in Noida, Samsung has opened its largest mobile store in the world in Bengaluru. By opening the store, which is roughly 33,000 square feet (3,000 square metre), Samsung, the South Korean tech giant is eyeing the pole position in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market.

October 16-31, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian

From The Mobile

Be Humble

A lady worked at a meat distribution factory. One day, when she finished with her work schedule, she went into the meat cold room (freezer) to inspect something, but in a moment of misfortune, the door closed and she was locked inside with no help in sight. Although she screamed and knocked with all her might, her cries went unheard as no one could hear her. Most of the workers had already gone, and outside the cold room it’s impossible to hear what was going on inside. Five hours later, whilst she was at the verge of death, the security guard of the factory eventually opened the door. She was miraculously saved from dying that day. When she later asked the security guard how he had come to open the door, which wasn’t his usual work routine, this was his explanation: “I’ve been working in this factory for 35 years. Hundreds of workers come in and out every day,

62 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

but you’re one of the few who greet me in the morning and say goodbye to me every evening when leaving after work. Many treat me as if I’m invisible. Today, as you reported for work, like all other days, you greeted me in your simple manner ‘Hello’. But this evening after working hours, I curiously observed that I had not heard your “Bye, see you tomorrow”. Hence, I decided to check around the factory. I look forward to your ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ every day because they remind me that I am someone. By not hearing your farewell today, I knew something had happened. That's why I was searching everywhere for you.”

Moral: Be humble, love and respect those around you.

Try to have an impact on people who cross your path every day, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Character Building

Secret of Grandpa

When the ancient Chinese decided to live in peace, they made the Great Wall of China.

They thought no one could climb it due to its height. During the first 100 years of its existence, the Chinese were invaded thrice.

And every time, the hordes of enemy infantry had no need of penetrating or climbing over the wall… Because each time they bribed the guards and came through the door.

The Chinese built the wall but forgot the character building of the wall guards. Thus, the building of human character comes before building of anything else…

Like one orientalist said: If you want to destroy the civilization of nation there are three ways: Destroy their family structure.

Destroy education.

Lower their role models and reference.

In order to destroy the family: Undermine the role of MOTHER, so that she feels ashamed of being a housewife.

To destroy education: Give no importance to TEACHERS, and lower their place in society so that the students despise them.

Lower the role model: You should undermine the SCHOLAR, doubt them until no one listen or follow them.

For when: A conscious mother disappears, A dedicated teacher disappears and There is a downfall of role models.

Who will teach the youngsters value?

Have a thought.

Grandpa was celebrating his 100th birthday. Everybody complimented him on how healthy, athletic and wellpreserved he appeared. "I will tell you the secret of my success," Grandpa said, "My wife and I were married for 75 years ago.

On our wedding day, we made a solemn pledge. Whenever we had an argument, or fight, the one who proved wrong would go outside and take a walk for 5 kms.

Gentlemen, I have been walking in the open air, day after day for some 75 years now." One friend further asked, ‘But your wife is also slim and energetic?’ Grandpa said, ‘That is another secret-my wife use to follow me behind checking whether I go for 5 kms or sit in a park!’

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 63

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for the grit shown by Iftkhar Ali, Shenaz Haveliwala and Sharath M Gayakwad who have stormed past their own ‘special needs’ challenges by turning entrepreneurs and not waiting for others to employ them

Corporate Citizen slaps the bickering between civic agencies and the government machinery that dodge critical questions following loss of human lives due to man-made follies

Given their circumstances, the natural tendency could have been self-pity but, they decided to call the shots themselves. They are but, examples of a diaspora trying to find their mettle in the so called ‘normal’ world. The Global Disability Summit, held in London, recently attempted to voice global disabilities though its chants— “nothing about us, without us”. The disability rights movement has been working towards promoting inclusive laws, by redefining existing notions on disability in both policy and public discourse.

An estimated 2.1 per cent of the Indian population has disability, according to current figures, which is a humble scorecard for 26 million plus people. The need is also to understand intellectual as well as physical needs at any point in an individual’s life arising from either medical complications or life-changing events.

Agra lad Iftkhar Ali, founder of software and web development

company ALIQAN Technologies said, “I strongly believe disability is a mindset. Anybody who dares to dream can work hard and turn those dreams into reality.” An IIM Calcutta graduate, he was diagnosed with polio at an early age, but chased his dreams and launched his own IT startup. Shenaz Haveliwala, a former mechanical engineering student, a painter and special educator is also the recipient of the ‘Outstanding Person with Epilepsy’ in 2013, by the International Bureau of Epilepsy. She has surpassed all expectations since she suffered her first seizure. Founder of Le Garden – The Salad Company, a small food delivery service; her business is propelled by a network of loyal customers for her healthy drinks, soups, salads and desserts, which are available on food delivery apps. Sharath M Gayakwad gained prominence as a Paralympic swimmer with the maximum number of medals by any Indian at any multi-discipline event at the 2014 Asian Games. He has also co-founded Bengaluru based startup, Gamatics—an online venture, targeted at swimmers for procuring high-performance practice gear and related healthcare resources. With many such brave hearts out there, the need is to align policies and attitude and redefine societal perception into who really is ‘able’ or not!

64 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018

The ghost of ‘apathy’ visited school kids, office goers and residents and passer-by when a part of South Kolkata’s most travelled Majerhat flyover, collapsed. The recent episode flagged off memories of yet another mishap when in 2016 an under-construction bridge near Girish Park, Kolkata collapsed killing at least 25 people then. Kolkata like any other city has a life around and under flyovers and so the question arises as to the ‘Whys’? Or, is it someone’s destiny to succumb to flyover crashes? Ironically, the Majerhat bridge designed during the 1960s is seen as an engineering marvel. It was constructed between 1962-1964 and was designed by Khounish Roy–alumni of the prestigious Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur (1935 batch). According to a bridge designer, Biswajit Som, “What Roy did back then was something ingenious, yet radical. He progressively reduced the height of the girder as one went up the bridge. But since reducing the girder height would mean lesser strength, Roy packed more girders tightly. For further strength, he used pre-stressing both horizontally and laterally.” Investigations have revealed the obvious that the maintenance of the ill-fated bridge was the responsibility of the Public Works Department (PWD). While the railways had alerted the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) about weak support beams and exposed cracks on the piers.

PWD engineers in the know, had also warned about the structural burden on the bridge due to its age and load factor caused by the ever-increasing traffic and re-laying of the bridge’s surface every year with bitumen; without taking tow of the load on the pillars. Engineering experts say that perhaps a well-researched scientific study on maintenance might have prevented the mishap. Vegetative growth in and around the bridge, the onslaught of monsoon, corrosion of materials with water seeping in could have been responsible for the large cracks and weakening of the bridge. Another canal bridge collapsed in Siliguri, West Bengal, in quick succession to the Majerhat episode pushes the buck to quickly adopt scientific and moral sensibilities in stepping up learning curves to counter such infrastructural deficiencies across cities and government corridors too!

(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar)

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CORPORATE CULTURE

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank on women in leadership and gender diversity

INTERVIEW

An in-depth interview with Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director India with Kingston Technology and Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR, at Jindal Steel & Power

Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR

UNFLINCHING SUPPORT

October 16-31, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

March of the Digital native

This is the new generation of digital natives that will grow up and become consumers of the information and marketing materials, but will define the time, place and medium of their choosing

M

any folks reading this column would have seen the video of a proud parent bringing a home a picture book for his two-year-old child. After a quick flip through of the book, the child puts two fingers on an attractive flower and tries to enlarge it.

Intuitively realising that this is not the digital picture she is used to, her attention wanders away from the book and she reaches out for her dad’s phone, no doubt to amuse herself with her favourite game.

This is the new generation of digital natives that will grow up and become consumers of the information and marketing materials that we would like to push out at them. And this is the generation which will instinctively resist any form of pushed messaging and instead consume information, services and products at a time and place and medium of their choosing. When digital transformation consultants use terms like “design thinking” and “mapping future customer journeys” they are not trying to confuse but rather opening the minds of CXOs of companies who have at best become recent digital immigrants to the new product surfing, purchasing and consumption patterns of the future consumer.

A couple of months ago, a good friend who runs a fairly significant Business Process Management company in the US, Europe and India requested me to run a series of

Ganesh with his millennial tech guru, Vaidehi Rege

on the topic of relationships and our liking for his movie “Anahat”, a masterpiece on the dilemma of an impotent king and his bride essayed brilliantly by Anant Nag and Sonali Bendre. One thing led to another and we were co-funding a new movie of his, written by Sandhya Gokhale called “Thaang” in Marathi and simultaneously shot as “Quest” in English. The story of the movie begins quite dramatically with the protagonist, a young executive played by Mrinal Kulkarni taking an earlier flight back from a business meeting and walking into her own home to barge into a scene of her husband in a relationship a male friend. The movie The march of the digital with explores the nuances of trauma, native has begun-let us feelings and relationship tranget prepared for new sitions that ensues as she deals surprises coming at us with her husband, her child and her family while battling at a never before pace with her own emotions and understanding of this totally unexpected situation. ple an understanding of the issues The movie itself met with two and expectations of the day that will types of responses. Quest received drive the behaviour of young folk that year’s National Award for best in their families and organisations English movie but both Quest and and woe betide the anachronistic Thaang sank without a trace at the parent, uncle or boss who chooses box office, with the theme being to ignore what the young folk are probably just a little too shocking thinking. Patience levels with old for an unsuspecting audience to fogies who “don’t get it” can be preabsorb and appreciate. If it had cious thin in these times. come today after the much publiThis point of alacrity and empacised approval of the LGBT bill, the thy in the understanding of modmovie would probably be held up ern-day realities by people of an as a champion of free thinking and earlier generation reminds me of action. Time for a repeat release, a time over a decade ago when we Amol? More important, has open had a discussion with legendary discussion on so many topics on actor and film maker Amol Palekar digital thinking workshops for his key managers in different locations.

One fact that immediately struck me after completing the series was the homogeneity of understanding of the digital world and its amazing possibilities by all the millennials, albeit with some differences in the aspiration levels of Gen Y and Gen Z youth. And the speed at which emerging phenomena like the “Me Too” movement or the Gig economy get transmitted across the world through WhatsApp, twitter and Facebook and become part of mainstream thinking and discussion. This is also giving older peo-

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social media made it easier for us to receive and internalise new ideas even if they are contrary to our notions and past preferences?

The friend who asked me to engage with his young team has still not agreed to my suggestion to do the same workshop for his top management team, fearing perhaps that some of the ideas may be too heretical for their unprepared minds, but there is no ignoring the fact that with both our employee bases and our customer bases moving towards the digital consumption option, we can ignore digital realities only at our own peril.

Digital transformation in organisations is a matter of board room discussion for service providers as well as organisations searching for new business to consumer and business to business engagement mechanisms for customer acquisition, supply chain optimisation or employee engagement and the emergence of new tools like artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive and prescriptive analytics is making it imperative for all of us to understand, explore new frontiers and engage.

The march of the digital native has begun. Whether we are part of that description or have to deal with them at home or work, let us get prepared for new surprises coming at us at a never before pace!

Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect and Social Venture Partners, India.

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68 / Corporate Citizen / October 16-31, 2018