Volume4 issue 1 corporate citizen

Contemporary Management Thoughts Volume 5, Issue No. 01 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

CII SESSION Globalisation 4.0 – Advantages and Challenges (Concluding Part) April 1-15, 2019 / `50

Interview

Cover Story

HR Leadership & Millennial Employees Know it all from three top-notch corporate leaders of Anand Group India - Manoj Sharma, Vice President Human Resource, Gabriel India; Vinod Razdan, Head HR of MAHLE ANAND Thermal Systems; Maruti Nandan, Head-HR, Spicer India

L-R: Maruti Nandan, Vinod Razdan, Manoj Sharma

Dinesh Gupta,

Founder Trustee, HR Interact Community TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Kawalpreet Singh,

Director and Head – Corporate Solutions Marketing, JLL India

2 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 67

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68 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

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Leadership insights

Recently, I have noticed that Corporate Citizen has stopped the ‘Cradle of Leadership’ column and reduced ‘Dynamic Duo’. I always enjoyed reading these articles as they gave me an insight into how leaders are groomed and a look into their lives. I request you to continue with those stories as they did a great job of differentiating CC from other business magazines. Other than this, I love the other stories in the magazine.

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Making it all real

I believe it’s time to recognise that many of us are from separate fields and industries like human resource, finance, information technology, manufacturing, auto and so on, and are working on the same corporate issues from slightly different angles. Though our immediate aims are often different, but at the core, we’re all concerned with finding solutions for the same corporate problems. I feel the Corporate Citizen magazine, which is now four years old, share’s the best corporate related ideas, tools, and practices.

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Fantastic artwork

Over the years I have been reading Corporate Citizen magazine and I have noticed various changes in design elements. The design elements have improved significantly, they have become posh and contemporary. The content is great, as has been over the years. I would suggest that the magazine should ask the readers what they would like to read.

— Gauri Sanghvi, Art Director

CC articles are A real eye opener Corporate Citizen is one KeyNote Padma Shri dr BVr mohaN reddy, executiVe of the best magazines chairmaN, cyieNt Ltd. covering not only business issues and interviews of tycoons but also provides topical articles on important issues. I am impressed.

On Post-Pulwama carnage story: 10 Questions to the Government (in issue SacrificeS 23, Volume 4, dated Strengthen 1-15 March, 2019), I can Determination confidently say that poor Indian Politicians attached with the Centre and the State Governments cannot try to find an answer to suffering public because they are all vote bank-centric. They do not answer deliberately. A questionnaire is fantastically opened for a discussion. No hide and seek game for even a common man who has a normal mind. It is unfortunate that no one can educate these Unlucky Indian Politicians.

Dr (Col.) A Balasubramanian always writes eye-opener articles.

A mother’s love is a very emotional tale. In the WWW era, most of the parents (mainly mom) live alone remembering their kids’ childhood who enjoyed on their lap. I suggest your editor, start a literary column with fiction and book review (especially of Business books) in CC.

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March 1-15, 2019 / `50

Volume 4, Issue No. 23 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Corporate Citizen pays tribute to the 44 brave CRPF Jawans who were martyred in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14th.

We salute each one of them

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Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Krishna Kumar

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

Education is important for development, but it doesn’t become an election issue The gains of education are long-term and call for sustained efforts. Outcomes are often illegible to the electorate and too complex for political parties to take credit for them

D

ecisions in the field of education are usually quite illegible to the public eye.

Some of them look inconsequential.

Others look so obviously correct that no one bothers to examine them. Their political consequences, therefore, are rare and insignificant. That is one big reason why education has little value as an election issue.

Consider the recent decision — taken with the genuine political consensus — about diluting the no-detention policy of the Right to Education Act. Politicians of just about every hue supported it. In the media, too, there was little criticism. Though it is a

retrograde step, it looks as if it was the right thing to do. People find it obviously correct in light of their own childhood memories. One recalls being scared in the childhood of failing in exams. This popular memory reinforces the common sense logic that we all worked hard because we were afraid of failing. This logic is a shortcut to the conclusion that children will stop working hard if the fear of failing is erased. So, now one can happily take the final step: Learning standards are low (as dubious surveys have repeatedly proved) because the no-detention policy has taken the fear factor off learning. These quick conclusions become axiomatic if you are deliberating on children

Apparently, people don’t expect much change or improvement in education. There is widespread acceptance of the state’s failure on the education front

Illustration: CR Sasikumar

4 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

of the poor. Old, nicely entrenched middle-class images of the poor suggest that their children will take learning seriously only if the school injects into their minds a hefty, preferably daily, a dose of fear.

This example demonstrates why bad decisions taken in education carry a little political cost. Now we can address a question often asked before elections: If education is so important for development, why doesn’t it make a difference to the outcome of elections? There are several reasons, and we have sampled just one of them. Let us turn to the others. Education presents an elusive terrain to voters. They respond to chronic shortages of electricity or bad roads. Urban voters feel good about a party during whose regime the water supply improved. This kind of reaction does not happen in the case of poorly-maintained schools or high failure rate in the examination. You can’t think of an election in which an education-related demand brought voters together. Nor can you think of an election in which the neglect or mismanagement of education led to a party’s defeat. In election after election, one gets the impression that schools and colleges, no matter how badly they are maintained, just do not matter in elections. The status of education as an election issue is far, far lower than that of bijli, sadak, pani and naukri (electricity, road, water and employment).

Yet, political parties seldom fail to include education in their election manifestoes. The promises made are often grandiose, offering a new national policy on education, increase in expenditure, improved infrastructure, accountability among teachers, and so on. But when these promises are not fulfilled, no one seems to use the vote as a means to punish a party or candidate. Apparently, people don’t expect much change or improvement in education. There is widespread acceptance of the state’s failure on the education front.

Acceptance is also reflected in the general willingness to turn to privately-run institutions when state institutions fail to satisfy. This point looks a lot sharper as a statement than it is in social reality. Search for private alternatives is part of a long unfolding of common distrust in state institutions and the legitimate feeling that no individual can have a say in how these are run.

Another reason why education carries little value as an election issue lies in its nature as a long-range area of governance. Improvement in any component of education calls for sustained, long-term effort. The fruit takes many years — certainly more than five — to come into view. By then, public memory phases out the origin of these effects. The media doesn’t help either. The din of an election has little room for analysing a ruling party’s performance in education because it is hard to sift older continuities from recently taken steps.

Another reason why education seldom figures in an election debate is its confusing placement between the Centre and the states. The “concurrent” status education holds between the two is not new. Most people find the distribution and overlap of responsibilities quite confusing. In reality, too, the responsibilities of the two sides are far from clearly divided. Even on rad-

ical measures like the RTE, the roles of the Centre and the states remain unclear. Who, exactly, is responsible for the slowing down of the RTE momentum is hard to pin down and explain to voters, especially in the Hindi belt. Given the nature of election-time ethos in our country, anything that sounds complex loses out.

That alone may suffice to disqualify education as an election issue. It offers unlimited scope for confusion and obfuscation. Little is known outside about what is happening inside schools and classrooms. Tall claims can be made without much fear of contestation. The fact that governments have chosen to ignore basic is-

You can’t think of an election in which an education-related demand brought voters together. Nor can you think of an election in which the neglect or mismanagement of education led to a party’s defeat.

In election after election, one gets the impression that schools and colleges, just do not matter in elections... sues afflicting the system of education is nicely concealed in the glamour of technology-based “solutions”.

In the secondary education slab, the division between Centre and states conceals the class divide. The higher income groups are served by a Central Board of Examination (CBSE) while the rest of society sends its children to schools affiliated to state boards, Delhi being a major exception to this pattern. Pass percentage differs quite sharply between the CBSE and state boards. Millions fail in the latter boards, arousing little interest in Delhi and the national media. As for higher education, it remains both opaque and irrelevant for the majority of children never make it to a college. So, if a regime has actively damaged institutions of higher learning, the matter cannot bring much political loss.

Moreover, higher education is perceived primarily in terms of its degree-dispensing role. To be told that it has an intellectual purpose, too, makes little sense to an average parent-voter.

(The writer, is a professor of education at University of Delhi, and was director of NCERT from 2004 to 2010) (This article first appeared in the print edition on March 15, 2019, under the title ‘Why education doesn’t become a poll issue’.)

(This article was originally published in Indian Express and the link to the article is - https://indianexpress. com/article/opinion/columns/why-education-doesntbecome-a-poll-issue-lok-sabha-election-cbse-ncertugc-unemployment-5627049/ ) April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents

Volume 5 Issue No. 01 April 1-15, 2019 www.corporatecitizen.in

13

Cover Story

HR

Leadership

Three top-notch HR leaders from Anand Group India - Manoj Sharma, Vice President Human Resource, Gabriel India; Vinod Razdan, Head HR of MAHLE ANAND Thermal Systems and Maruti Nandan, Head-HR, Spicer India, talk on the changing role of HR and advice for the millannials

& Millen-

nial

Employees 6 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

9 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 24 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 26 EXPERT VIEW It is time to introspect on the

importance of the elections and what our duties are as citizens towards the country’s democracy 28 CII SESSION The concluding part of the session on “Globalisation 4.0 – Advantages and Challenges”, on how the IoT, digital manufacturing, and automation will change the manufacturing landscape

34 INTERVIEW Dinesh Gupta, Founder Trustee, HR Interact Community, on his experience and strategic role in recruitment and resource management 38 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) as his Almamater, Srikant Subudhi, Facility Director and Unit Head, Fortis LaFemme talks about his alumni experience

24

40

40 TÊTE-À-TÊTE Kawalpreet Singh, Director & Head – Corporate Solutions Marketing at JLL India, on the benefits of using location technology and data-driven analysis in corporate real estate 42 WORK CULTURE Anahita Gangwani, working in Canada, as a communications and community manager, draws comparisons between the corporate cultures in India and Canada

28

34

44 CORPORATE TREND Founder, Pune Women’s Half Marathon, Commander Jeetendran Nair (retd), wants to make a lasting difference to the way women view the simple yet challenging task of running 47 CASE STUDY Steelcast Limited—emphasis on promoting and maintaining good relations with its internal contractors

38

44

48 INITIATIVE Yogesh Mathuria, once a corporate bigwig, now spreads the message of love, harmony and peace 52 LOVED & MARRIED TOO Sachin Gawali and his significant half, Smruti, on what keeps them sane in a world as exciting and unpredictable as cinema and theatre

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26 April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 7

contents

Contemporary Management Thoughts

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com Assistant Editor & Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

56

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com Sub Editor Vineet Kapshikar

54 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Samarth Chhabra, on his campus placement and how he overcame several hurdles before getting his dream job

Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com

56 SURVEY The 2019 Asia Business Outlook Survey, on what is it like doing business in Asia

Writers Delhi Bureau Orchie Bandopadhyay archiebanerjee@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com

60 PEARLS OF WISDOM We must start thinking of risk as a journey of exploration

Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar

54

Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra

61 MOBILE APPS The best Yoga apps for your phone 66 LAST WORD With over ten million of our brethren entering the job market every year, we will need to build new models of mobilization, aspiration creation, skilling, placement and mentoring

Advertising and Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com Chennai: Anil Kumar Menon anil.menon@corporatecitizen.in

61

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 / April 1-15, 2019

Kolkata Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

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collywood

People in the news

Hasmukh Adhia appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda

The Centre appointed former Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia as the Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda for a period of three years.

Adhia would also be the part-time Non-Official Director of the public sector lender, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the

Nasscom to develop IT corridor in eastern China Indian IT apex body, Nasscom, said it has entered into a partnership with Xuzhou city in

Google’s Bolo Android app launched in India

appointment of Hasmukh Adhia as part-time Non-Official Director as well as Non-Executive Chairman on the board of Bank of Baroda for a period of three years from the date of notification, or until further orders,” it said. Adhia, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer, retired on November 30, 2018 after an eventful stint as Finance Secretary during the days of demonetisation and the ushering in of the Goods and Services Tax regime.

Jiangsu province to develop an IT corridor in eastern China. “The partnership with Xuzhou is to help develop the software market and build the third IT corridor in Xuzhou after Dalian and Guiyang in the eastern China region,” the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), said in a statement.

Google unveiled its new Bolo Android app that is a speech-based reading-tutor app aimed at rural kids, who would otherwise may not have access to a good education support system.

Being released in India first, the Bolo app is now available for free via Google Play and can work offline. “We believe technology has the power to help transform teaching and learning, and have been actively directing our products, programmes and philanthropy to ensure that all students are able to benefit from it,” Google said in a statement. Built for native Hindi-speakers in its current avatar, the Bolo app helps the children improve their Hindi and English reading skills by encouraging them to read aloud. It comes with a large number of engaging stories, which the company hopes, will help the children in improving their comprehension skills. The app has been designed to make sure that children don’t need any help in using it and can read all by themselves.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood Naresh Goyal seeks `750 crore lifeline from Etihad Jet Airways Chairman, Naresh Goyal, has sought urgent funding of `750 crore from its equity partner Etihad, citing “the very

precarious” position of the airline following the lingering cash flow issues which got amplified after the forced grounding of over 50 of its planes. In a letter to the Gulfbased carrier’s Group Chief Executive Tony Douglas, Goyal also said the airline has also secured the go-ahead from the aviation ministry to pledge its shares in JetPrivelege for securing the interim funding. The airline holds 49.9 per cent stake in the loyalty programme, while the majority is with Etihad.

PM asks private sector to help government’s housing scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the private sector to help his government meet the goal of providing proper housing for every citizen by 2022. Addressing the Construction Technology India Event 2019, Modi emphasised the government’s commitment ensuring that every family’s dream of a home becomes a reality. Referring to 1.3 crore houses built in the last four-and-a-half-year, Modi said the Central government was also making things easier for people to buy houses through tax and other incentives. “A lot of emphases has been placed on affordable housing, real estate sector, skill development and housing technology. My dream is that every Indian should have a proper house by 2022. I seek the support of the private sector. Let us work together to help the poorest of the poor.” He said that elements from several schemes like PM Awas Yojana, HRIDAY and AMRUT were also oriented towards transforming the housing sector. The Prime Minister said that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) had improved consumers’ confidence in developers and brought transparency in the real estate sector. Giving the example of construction technology used in tents at the Kumbh in Prayagraj, Modi stressed the need for housing technology in the light of rapid urbanization. “If makeshift arrangements (at Kumbh) can be made so good, permanent arrangement will be expectedly extremely much better.” The PM said a large pool of skilled human resource had been created, especially in the rural areas, and that there was a much greater focus on disaster-resilience, energy efficiency and local innovation in the construction sector. He also declared that the period from April 2019 to March 2020 will be observed as the Construction Technology Year.

Petr Novotny to drive Scania India operations Swedish bus and truck maker Scania AB said Petr Novotny would be the new Managing Director of its India operations.

“Czech-born Novotny has been with us for 11 years in key positions spanning sales, financial services, information systems, human resources and purchas-

10 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

es,” said the city-based firm in a statement. The 127-year-old transport solutions major set up its India arm in 2011 with an automobile assembly facility at Narasapura in the Kolar district, about 50 km northeast of Bengaluru. “Petr will drive our growth strategy with a new vision and

Hewlett Packard Enterprise storage unit growth beats data centres in India Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said it is seeing higher growth in data storage business in India than its overall data centre business on the back of higher demand. The US-headquartered IT services company said its storage business is growing at approximately 7% globally, whereas in India it saw a near 10% growth as it has seen wider penetration of hybrid data storage solution (both on-premise and cloud or remote server) among Indian enterprises. “One of the reasons is (that) the large telcos are big buyers of our server infrastructure,” said Som Satsangi, MD, HPE India. HPE’s data storage business growth data is based on average growth rates in four rolling quarters till third quarters of 2018 (calendar year) provided by IDC. The company, which maintained the top position in the Indian server market, said it is eyeing a significant pie of the opportunities with the rollout of 5G (fifth generation) telecom services and growth of IoT. The company said its research and development (R&D) labs in Bengaluru have mission,” said the statement.

Scania entered India in partnership with Larson & Toubro (L&T) in 2007 with its trucks in the mining and construction segments. “I feel privileged to lead the India business when the industry is undergoing a transformation.

India is a key market for us in terms of growth and we are

been adding significant value globally and working on almost all development for software and infrastructure services.

For instance, the majority of the backend technology work for HPE InfoSight tool, which enables data centres to deliver hybrid cloud environment and automates problem-solving, is done in these labs. “We are taking this InfoSight (tool) to our entire server platform,” pointed out Satsangi.

Indra Nooyi joins Amazon Board of Directors

India-born Indra Nooyi joined the Amazon’s board of directors, after her 12 years of stint leading the food and beverage company, PepsiCo, as a Chief Executive Officer. Amazon while revealing its SEC filing said Nooyi will serve on the board’s audit committee. Nooyi, who stepped down as CEO of PepsiCo in October last year, is the second woman of colour to be added on the Amazon’s Board of Directors.“We’re thrilled to have elected two new members to our Board of Directors.

Welcome, Roz Brewer and Indra Nooyi,” Amazon said in its announcement. Nooyi, 63, would be a member of the audit committee. Nooyi, who hails from Chennai, India, joined PepsiCo in 1996 and served as its CEO from October 2006 to October 2018. During her tenure at the company, Nooyi in her capacity served various leadership roles — board of directors, became its president and also served as Chief Financial Officer. Under her leadership role, PepsiCo had acquired the orange juice company Tropicana, and also lead oatmeal maker Quaker Oats merger. She was responsible for PepsiCo’s worldwide strategic planning function, including developing and coordinating business plans for its operating divisions.

committed to bring sustainable products and solutions to fuel the automotive industry,” said Novotny on his appointment. Petr comes with international experience across geographies, including a decade-long stint in South Africa, Central Europe and Germany.

Scania also makes industrial and marine engines.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood GoDaddy official sponsor for ICC World Cup 2019 Internet names and registrations management major GoDaddy Inc announced its partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the official sponsor of the 12th ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 that begins in May. “We hope to reach the 700 million folks of India and beyond through the partnership. Two-thirds of the world, including India, watch cricket and through this collaboration, we’d get huge visibility,” said Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy India. Notably, this is the company’s first sponsorship deal with the global sports event, scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales between May and July. “Cricket in India is a favourite sport. It is viewed in every nook and

corner of our country, thus, giving GoDaddy an opportunity to reach our audiences, including in the tier-II and tier-III cities, while also helping entrepreneurs and small business owners bring their ideas to life online,” Arora said. The web hosting provider would have an on-ground presence that includes the perimeter of the ground, side-screen and LEDs at the stadium under the partnership. “We are excited to partner with GoDaddy for the Cricket World Cup 2019. GoDaddy has, for a long time, been an active supporter of sports in India and has successfully leveraged the influence of sports to empower and inspire entrepreneurs,” said Campbell Jamieson, General Manager, Commercial, at the International Cricket Council.

Visa, PayMate tie up for operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa

Global payments major, Visa, and Indian business-to-business (B2B) payments facilitator, PayMate, announced their partnership for corporate payment operations in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA). The move would mark PayMate’s entry into international operations. “Visa and PayMate announced an expanded collaboration to provide Visa’s issuing financial institution clients in the CEMEA region with access to PayMate’s proprietary payment 12 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

platform for their corporate customers’ payments needs,” a joint statement by both companies said.

Commenting on the partnership, Rakesh Khanna, Vice President, Head of Visa Business Solutions, CEMEA Visa said, “Our initial foray with Paymate in India resulted in a large number of enterprises and SMBs (small and medium businesses) making payments using Visa commercial cards across industry verticals, contributing to significant B2B payment volume growth in the country.” The companies tied up for operations in India in 2017.

“We are keen to extend this alliance to enable our financial institution clients in CEMEA to streamline the B2B payments process for their corporate customers,” he added. Ajay Adiseshann, CEO, PayMate said, “There is an ever-increasing demand for automation and digitisation of the entire procurement to payment cycle to help save cost, time and effort. We have a comprehensive payments platform that reduces expenses and time for processing payments, thus helping buyers pay earlier and helping sellers receive payments faster.”

Infosys launches solutions focused on 5G

Infosys said it has brought in new service offerings focused on 5G (fifth generation) technology for communication service providers.

The company said these services would help enterprises imagine and create new economies with 5G technology and at the same time help communication service providers accelerate and monetise their 5G network deployment. Infosys’s newly established 5G Living Labs in five global locations – Bengaluru, Richardson, Indianapolis, Frankfurt and Melbourne will facilitate in the execution of these services.

“The global network of Infosys 5G Living Labs are designed to help enterprises imagine and curate game-changing ideas driven by 5G, and rapidly prototype them to life.

The labs combine the best of Infosys emerging technologies expertise in areas like (IoT), AR, VR and AI, design thinking driven approaches and a diverse partner ecosystem that is deeply invested in 5G technologies,” said the company in a press release.

The telecom industry foresees 5G adoption as a driving factor to monetise networks for communication services providers. Industry analysts said 5G should transform network capabilities bringing in significant opportunities for network virtualisation, AI and Automation, and network-based services while bringing down costs.

Compiled by Orchie Bandopadhyay archiebanerjee@gmail.com

Cover Story

Pics: Yusuf Khan

HR

Leadership

& Millen-

nial

Employees

Maruti Nandan

Vinod Razdan

Know it all from three top-notch corporate leaders of Anand Group India, Manoj Sharma, Vice President Human Resource, Gabriel India; Vinod Razdan, Head HR of MAHLE ANAND Thermal Systems; Maruti Nandan, HeadHR, Spicer India Six decades back, Anand Group India started its journey as a shock absorber manufacturer. Today, nearly every vehicle on Indian roads and several globally, carry within them a part of Anand. With a conglomerate of several companies and 15 Joint Ventures and eight technical collaborations in India and overseas too, the company stands tall as a world-class automotive player.

Corporate Citizen interviews its three top-notch corporate leaders who being HR experts have seen the changing mindset and aspirations of young employees who set foot in the corporate world in the earlier decades and the present ones who are termed as ‘Millennials.’

We bring a perspective through the eyes of

Manoj Sharma, Vice President Human Resource, Gabriel India; Vinod Razdan, Head HR of Mahle Behr; and Maruti Nandan, Head-HR, Spicer India on the changing role of HR, with a generous sprinkling of advice for the new corporate managers.

It would be apt, to sum up, the pearls of wisdom given by Nandan, when he states in the interview, “The three things that have shaped me as a person are the ‘Three A’s of Awesome’ as quoted by Neil Pasricha, a Canadian author and public speaker.

First and foremost is ‘Awareness’—be inquisitive.

Second is your ‘Attitude’ which defines what you are made up of. And the third is to stay ‘Authentic’ and be who you are.’’ Read on for more gems…

manoj sharma

April 1-15, 2019 / / Corporate CorporateCitizen Citizen / / 13 13

Cover Story

HR:

The Business Leaders of Tomorrow An expert in Human Resource Management, Employee Relations and Talent Management, Manoj Sharma, Vice President Human Resource, Gabriel India, believes that HR plays a key role in setting up an organisation and developing the company culture; it is not a mere support system anymore. His advice to students is that they should focus on the work experience they receive while interning in an organisation and not merely on credits. In an interview with Corporate Citizen, Sharma shares his corporate journey, how he changed track from Commerce to Management and excelled at it‌

By Vineet Kapshikar

14 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Pics: Yusuf Khan

I

Tell us about how you started your career journey…

did my graduation in Commerce. Post which, I completed my Personnel Management in HR from Pune University. At that time, the MBA was not so well known. I started my career in the hotel industry at Hotel Regency. I worked there for two years.

After my stint in the hotel industry, I switched to manufacturing, because I strongly believed that people practices will be more in focus in manufacturing setups. My first company was Mahle Behr, which manufactures air conditioners. I was part of the initial 20 employee team in that company when it was just formed.

We had not even started the production and that’s how I grew with the company. I spent 12 years with them.

All recruitments for Mahle Behr were carried out by me and the people who had joined the company at that time, including me, were from the same age group. We had developed a good camaraderie with each other. As an organisation, we used to celebrate a lot of events and festivals together. In order to motivate people, everybody used to go to movies every couple of months. At that time, the company strength was about 200 employees. Going to movies, celebrating festivals and attending events was a way we used to engage with the employees. Since the organisation had just formed, there were many instances where the company achieved some records every couple of months. After Mahle Behr, I moved to Spicer as Head HR, designated as General Manager, and spent three years with them.

Tell us about your stint in Japan.

The Anand group had sent me to Japan on deputation. It is very uncommon for an HR professional to be sent overseas on deputation. As far as India is concerned, deputation mostly happens if you are going overseas to learn some technology and bring it back to India. In my case, I was invited by the Japanese company, Takata, to help them set up international HR practices. The Anand group had a joint venture with Takata which has a presence across the globe. They are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

That being said, most of the management practices usually come from the West. All the theories and ideas regarding Human Resource Management comes from the West. But technical gurus or shop floor gurus are primarily from the East. That’s how the world is divided. People in the East are not so much into people practices.

They wanted to learn, they were growing, and they had their setups in the USA, Germany, and China. They didn’t have any standardised people practices and that’s where I came into the picture. I helped them set up global HR practices which could be implemented across their setups around the globe. They understood the fact that since each country was different and along with that the cultures were different, you cannot copy-paste HR practices of one country over other - you require tailor-made HR practices. ‘Think global, act local’ was the mantra followed.

They didn’t have MIS in place, they didn’t have any structures needed for an organisation to function in place. I helped them to develop talent retention and talent development practices. Every six months the top leaders of the Takata Group used to get together with the leadership team, where we used to groom the leaders, integrate them with the culture of Japan. I was with Takata for two years.

I came back to India in 2016 and I joined Gabriel. Gabriel is the flagship company of the Anand Group. It is a homegrown company. Working with Gabriel was a different experience because, in the other four companies where I had worked earlier, the technology was coming from

In the future, HR will be focussing on value addition - how do you build an organisation, how do you build the culture of an organisation, what are the softer aspects that have to be looked at, because with AI and Chat box, human connect will become less and less day by day, but still there are emotions that need to be dealt with

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Cover Story JV partners. The real challenge was how we groom our talent so that they can carry on what we are doing.

tion and management and that’s how I got attracted to the personnel management field.

Why did you transition from a commerce background into management?

What significant changes have you witnessed with regard to earlier HR practices and today’s HR practices?

Many a time, people are not clear about their career choices. In those days we didn’t have many options, there was no Google to look up and then decide which stream to choose. The options which were available were CA or Engineering-you would be a CA after opting for B.Com or be an engineer after opting for Science. My uncle was a Personnel Manager in a company and that’s how I got influenced to work in this field. When I was doing my B.Com, I was also working part-time so that I could earn while studying. The company I was working for belonged to my uncle’s friend. There, I was handling people related matters like payroll, employee-related schemes and recruitment. Also, I used to interact with the labour consultants of that company. I liked what I was doing there, I was doing something related to administra-

Students should understand why there is a need for internships, what is it that they are going to learn. It is very simple for students to prepare the reports and get the credits. If the institute starts assessing the experience the students have had in those two months and then give credit on the basis of their experience and what they have learnt, then there will not be any skillset gap 16 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Over the years, HR has evolved tremendously. I have witnessed a change in the thought process of the HR department. Earlier, the function of HR was to identify discipline breakers in an organisation and punish them. They were acting like gatekeepers. Today, to understand why people make mistakes is the new age concept of the HR function, because nobody makes mistakes intentionally.

Nowadays HR tries to understand the root cause—what has forced people to make mistakes? People by heart are good, they want to grow, they want to perform, they want to be praised for their job, and nobody wants to get fired from their job. Due to some circumstances, they might have acted differently.

How will HR practices change once AI and Robotics come into the picture?

There will be heaps of changes. The way things are changing currently, there will be new sets of skills which HR people will need to inculcate.

Most of the time HR is engaged in data management, they are responsible for appraisals and recruitments, etc. Over the years all this will go away. HR personnel will become key members in framing the cultures and policies of an organisation. They will be among the business leaders of tomorrow. Today, very few HR professionals are looked at as business leaders. But moving forward, HR will be playing a crucial role because, firstly, the way governance is changing, as a result, you need to have strong systems and strong values in place. Secondly, the demography is changing, the world is getting smaller day by day; people are migrating from country to country; one needs to have an organisation which will be able to implement the working of different cultures together under one roof. HR will be focussing on value addition-how do you build an organisation, how do you build the culture of an organisation, what are the softer aspects that have to be looked at, because with AI and Chat box, human connect will reduce day by day, but still there are emotions that need to be dealt with. AI will play a big role in transforming HR and the workforce such as, reducing human bias, increasing efficiency in candidate assessment, improving relationships with employees, improving compliance, increasing the adoption of metrics, and improving workplace learning. HR will be playing a huge role in handling these emotions. HR will be the major player in creating employee experience, which works with an organisation's culture and growth and ensures that employees feel valued and supported along every step of their workplace journey. HR will be more integrated and stronger as you move forward, it will bring in more value in an organisation. AI and robotics will take care of transactional activities, but HR will be there...skillsets always need to change according to the time.

Is there any gap between what colleges are grooming students for, and what the industry requires?

There is a skillset gap because students should know what an industry is and how it works. Each industry is different, you cannot compare Google and Anand. Every organisation is different from the other and employees have to adapt themselves with the culture of an organisation. The initiative most businesses have adopted is to have frequent industry institute interactions. That is going to play a major role in two aspects, one is to support academics in current management practices and expose students to learn practical skills. The focus of students should not be just to prepare a project report and submit to the institute. Many a time, I feel that students do their projects or internships only because institutes want them. Students should understand why there is a need for internships, what is it that they are going to learn. It is very simple for students to prepare the reports and get the credits. If the institute starts assessing the experience the students have had in those two months and then give credit on the basis of their experience and what they have learnt, there will not be any skillset gap. Students will be more dedicated, focussed and willing to spend some extra time at the organisations. This is should be a joint

activity between institutes, industry and students. The industry should also try and give such an experience. Institutes should demand such experiences from students and students should keep in their mind the purpose behind internships is not just credits but to gather work experience which will assist them when they join.

Are Indian HR practices in sync with global practices?

Yes, they are in sync with global HR practices. We in India may not be able to put forth those HR practices in theories and present to the world because we don’t document it and represent it to the world, but HR practices in India are much stronger than in any other country. Now is the time that India can teach those HR practices to others. If you look at the Anand group, most HR practices at Anand are shared by its JV partners.

We did not have a single incidence where we witnessed a split, that is the trust the organisation has been able to maintain and the belief the JV has on its HR practices. At Anand, we don’t have any standard HR practice, our HR practices are unique in nature, like our shop floor related OE model, people development practice of Human Capital.

Everyone speaks about an employee being their biggest value. However, who has till now thought of how to measure the value of an employee? We have a unique way of measuring the value of an employee. It is said that employees are assets, but do you know if the value of your asset is increasing day by day, is it getting appreciated? We have a concept called Human Capital. We have various talent development programmes. We have divided Talent into five categories, first is Corporate Induction. We induct students from various B schools. We identify institutes from where we hire the students/talent. Second is our in-house talent development programme. Thirdly, our high performers; fourth are the ones with critical skills i.e. our subject matter experts from the organisation and the last one, are the people coming in from the shop floor. The talent development programmes are fine-tuned to serve these different categories.

For all these categories, there are some scores that we give. For example, a student from an Anand empanelled B School we have enrolled comes with a score of 10 points the day he joins. But a student from any other institute will not get a score of 10. The reason, the studnet from Anand empanelled B School gets a score of 10 is because as an organisation, I have empanelled this B School as an institute to hire my talent from, the other institute is not listed, therefore, that student will not get a score of 10. After that students undergo various programmes, each programme has a value. If he performs well he is rated accordingly. If you do the courses, your value will increase. If you participate in these courses which Anand is offering, you will earn extra credits and this is how we value a student. And the company also thinks as to how the company can increase the value of the talent, that’s how you appreciate your assets. vineetkapshikar@gmail.com

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Global traffic congestion data INRIX’s 2018 Global Traffic Scorecard notes the top 10 worst hot spots for traffic on the planet. It states that traffic congestion in Europe dropped by 18% last year compared to 2011, and continues to go down, with an additional 23% dip in the first quarter. Brussels, Belgium is ranked 1st while San Francisco stands 10th. That Boston drivers lose 164 hours a year to congestion, while Washington, D.C. (155 hours), Chicago (138 hours), New York (133 hours), and Los Angeles (128 hours) round out the top five.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Cover Story

Leading from the front What does it take to be a good HR Leader? Perhaps no one can answer this better than Vinod Razdan, who experienced a meteoric rise in the HR field from his humble beginnings in Kashmir to becoming the Head HR of MAHLE ANAND Thermal Systems. Razdan chats with Corporate Citizen about his fascinating journey, his key achievements and why he feels it is crucial for young HR professionals to get their hands dirty to be truly good at their jobs

By Neeraj Varty

I

Tell us about your journey.

I also have some experience with unions. I have done two settlements and one VRS. IR has always been my strength. Working with unions and ensuring that there is no misbehaviour on the shop floor is my forte. I have always been seen as someone who can work with even the strongest unions

18 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

did my schooling from Kashmir. I grew up in Kashmir and we lived there till my 12th board exam. As you might be aware, a lot of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the valley in 1989. I and several of my friends suffered the most, as we were on the brink of starting our careers when we were uprooted. Even before we left, my studies suffered due to the tense atmosphere in the valley around that time. Once we shifted to Jammu, it was another big challenge. We were living in tents and makeshift housing, which was a refugee camp then. I did my graduation from Kashmir University in this turbulent period. It took me five years because classes were not regular, and the examinations were not getting scheduled. There was absolutely no clarity about our educational careers during that time period. Finally, I along with a few other people decided to do something about it. I enrolled in a part-time post-graduation course from Bharti Vidyapeeth, in New Delhi. After graduating, I joined a company called ‘Roop Automotives Ltd’ as a Management Trainee. This was a small company and it was a good learning experience for me. I worked with them for 10 years. When I had started, I was part of their team and by the time I left, I was heading HR for the company. They had four plants at that time. But my main interest was always to be on the shop floor. I enjoyed keeping people motivated.

What was your next career move post your stint at Roop Automotives?

I then moved to a company called Visteon Corporation. This was a US based Multinational giant. I joined one of their plants in Bhiwandi, Rajasthan, as Head HR for that plant. Later on, I was the Head HR for a few additional plants as well. I also led Learning & Development along with Organisational Development for India and Thailand region, consisting of

April April 1-15, 1-15, 2019 2019 // Corporate Corporate Citizen Citizen // 19 19

Cover Story

around seven plants. After a successful term at Visteon, I joined MAHLE in October 2015 and I have been leading the HR team here, since.

How do you see automation impacting jobs going forward?

I feel if one door closes then ten doors open in their place. India is a huge country and it is on the verge of development. There are a lot of opportunities. If automation will eat up jobs, new jobs will certainly be created in their place. Having said that, I don’t think this change will happen too fast.

India is still considered to be a labour centric country. Labour in India is still not that expensive. Automation requires a huge initial investment, and this kind of investment is only feasible for very large companies. Small and medium scale industries will not be able to invest such a large amount in automation. Nor is it advisable, when readily available labour is in plenty.

Also, automation can create new jobs. Recently, it was reported in the news that there will not be just one, but 10 new bullet train corridors in India. If there are 10 corridors, there will be a lot of employment generated. Tremendous infrastructure needs to be developed and Labour will be required for that. That's not all. Once these projects are up and running, their maintenance will also generate employment. The ‘Make in India’ concept has been a huge success. You will see a lot of people who have started their own startups.

But these are white collar jobs we are talking about. Automation will impact blue collar jobs the most.

At the end of the day, automation will also require back-support. It needs to be maintained, operated and upgraded.

You mentioned that you grew up in Kashmir at a very turbulent time. Do you think that experience has impacted your perspective of HR?

I think so. When we shifted to Jammu, I became part of a student union, called the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). I had led a num20 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

ber of agitations and movements. I think that energy, the desire to work with people and to co-ordinate with and mobilise them came from that experience. It gave me the strength to realise that my potential lies in a role which is connected to people.

What are some initiatives you are really proud of?

There are quite a few initiatives that I feel proud of. In my first job, when there was a slowdown in the year 2002-03, there was an incentive scheme in place for the shop floor employees to boost performance. This incentive was going to be put on hold. There was a concern as sales volumes had gone down but expenditure had gone up. There was a potential for some IR issues at that time. I really worked hard with people at that time to convince them that we will ensure that their earnings will not reduce provided that we figure out a way to bring down costs. It took me a month or so to identify areas of waste which could be curbed, and we took initiatives to bring the waste down. Just in the cutting tools, we were able to reduce three crores a year. We offered to the management that 50% of this amount will go to the Management and the rest would be disbursed amongst the engineers on the shop floor. At the end of the day, everyone went home with a smile.

I also have some experience with unions. I have done two settlements and one VRS. IR has always been my strength. Working with unions and ensuring that there is no misbehaviour on the shop floor is my forte. I have always been seen as someone who can work with even the strongest unions and turn them around, in order to produce quantitative and qualitative outputs.

You interact with a lot of students from across India as an HR. Do you think there is a gap between what the industry expects and the output of the Indian educational system?

I think there used to be a gap which has been more or less bridged now.

When I used to visit institutes in Delhi, earlier there was a gap, as an MBA at

I told them very clearly that if we want to have 50% women in the company, then we all have to work together and support each other. I told them that I am taking the personal guarantee for the safety of the women. It is the mindset that needs to change for women to be able to fully participate in the workforce and increase their representation in the Indian industry.

I feel if one door closes then ten doors open in their place. India is a huge country and it is on the verge of development.

There are a lot of opportunities. If automation will eat up jobs, new jobs will certainly be created in their place. Having said that, I don’t think this change will happen too fast. India is still considered to be a labour centric country

that time used to be more about Personnel Management than HR. The only challenge I see today with HR students, and this is applicable to HR professionals as well, is that they need to be more connected to the shop floor. They need to understand the business and the process intricately. I really see very few students going for shop floor visits and industry visits. They only go for projects, which is not enough in my opinion. HR students need to take an interest in things like how many products does a business manufacture?

What are the nitty-gritties associated with it? I feel HR students don’t t care to learn much about the business. Even the internships that they undertake, focus on generic things like an employee satisfaction survey, which is very basic and barely scratches the surface. They should do projects where they can actually propose to the Management some changes, which they feel should be implemented. They need to identify lacunas in the existing process and suggest solutions. This will show that the student has actually understood the issues and have the potential to correct them.

Do you think women are adequately represented in your organisation?

I believe the government has done a lot in this regard. Earlier, women were not allowed to work beyond 7. Now, the government has approved for them to work in night shifts as well. However, girls and their parents still feel that it is a concern for women to work at night. I can assure them that we are taking every precautionary measure possible to ensure their safety. I was planning to introduce a third shift in my plant and was going to introduce women in it. There was some resistance from them and their families, and I had a one-on-one interaction with their representatives and

Do you think there should be a demarcation between work life and personal life?

Obviously, there should be one. I fully believe in that. I have tried to practice it diligently for myself and my function as well. If you are not able to do your job in 8 hours, then I believe you are never able to do your job.

You have to understand yourself and you have to ask yourself, why you are unable to complete your tasks within working hours. You have to plan your work very well so that you are able to complete it within 8 hours and then spend the rest of your day with your family. This can easily be done, by planning your day effectively.

What is your idea of relaxation?

I like to travel, especially with my family. I also like to travel with my friends. I have friends from school, with whom I am in touch with even today. We meet once in 6-8 months, or whenever we get the opportunity. We spend a couple of days together on a trip or some other activity, without the family. I find that this is an ideal source of relaxation for me.

What advice would you give to budding HR professionals who are just about to start their careers?

I would like to tell them a couple of things. When they start in the corporate world, they really must get their hands dirty. It is not only the job of Engineers to do this, I feel it is the HR Professional’s job as well. They should go to the production line and understand the process. They must understand the product and even work on the machines for a few days. I myself have worked on machines while learning the ropes. Today, I can proudly say that I can run each and every machine on the shop floor.

When you ask an HR Professional why they chose this profession, they say it is because they are people friendly. What does this mean? If you really want to be people friendly, you must understand the circumstances under which each and every one of your employees are working. What are the challenges he/she is facing? You need to show empathy and not sympathy. You must understand their jobs. This not only helps you in building a relationship with the employees but also it helps you to be able to discuss and debate even the smallest technical details of your business with your colleagues or your superiors. This gives you a high degree of credibility as a professional. If someone approaches me with a job requirement, I am able to identify the kind of person he needs, their educational qualifications, experience, etc., only because I know in depth what that job entails. That’s the hallmark of a good HR Professional. HR Professioanls should aspire to become more of a support function rather than merely a facilitator. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

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tadka

2019 Elections most expensive The upcoming general elections in India will be the most expensive in Indian history and perhaps one of the most expensive ever held in any democratic country. the 2014 Lok Sabha elections cost an estimated USD 5 billion, the 2019 election may cross $7 billion.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Cover Story

Everybody is unique, be your own competitor The world is becoming more uncertain and only if you are aware, self-structured and having the right attitude, you can produce better results, says Maruti Nandan, Head-HR, Spicer India, Anand Group. A science graduate, Nandan, says he chose a career in human resource, because working with people and for the people, has always been his real passion. With over a decade long experience in managing the human resource, Nandan talks to Corporate Citizen, on how his life until now has been a combination of destiny which comes to you and choices, you make out of it By Rajesh Rao Tell us about education and career journey—from being a BSc-Chemistry pass out to choosing HR as a career.

M

y life has been a tale of finding opportunities among adversities. I consider myself fortunate to encounter them early in my life because they were the real teachers, giving me ample opportunities to get all-round knowledge.

During my preliminary schooling days in Bihar, I was a bright student till Std. 4th and post which, I focused more on everything except studies. The turning point in my life came one fine morning when I was caught cheating in my Std. 7th mid-term exams and this was informed to my parents—that very evening my mother decided to take me to Calicut, in Kerala and put me in a boarding school. And that’s where my real transformation started.

When I joined the boarding school, English was a foreign subject to me. Whenever anyone used to talk to me in English, I would look at their facial expression and if I found them conducive, I would say “Yes” else my answer used to be “No” to them. I studied till 12th Std., in Kerala and got my mojo back. My sincere efforts resulted in securing “Certificate of Merit” from CBSE in English-once an alien language for me. It was only possible because I took the challenge as my passion and was successful in converting my weakness into a strength.

After my 12th, I was passionate to study engineering, but I couldn’t 22 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

afford it financially, so I chose to do BSc in Chemistry. I searched through India Today magazine for Top 3 colleges in India and zeroed on for Hindu College, Delhi from where I completed my graduation. During my college days, I was the college society president and competed in the college elections. This was when I realised working with people and for people, is my real passion. I was able to understand and connect with them—and hence wanted to pursue my further education in this field. To do this, I appeared for TISS entrance test—Tata Institute for Social Science (TISS) is considered to be one of the best colleges for studying Human and Societal Influences, which became my next destiny. I learnt from this college what it is renowned for—the stark realities and the inter-subject realities of social behaviour.

During campus placement at TISS, I was selected as Officer Train-

ee-HR, at Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta Group, in 2007 and I worked there for around five years at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh and Udaipur, Rajasthan. As part of knowledge enhancement, I also underwent a two year, Business Management Certificate course from IIM-Indore.

I joined Honeywell, Pune in 2012. During my tenure, I played various ascending roles, the last one being that of HR head for one of the business entities. Then in 2015, I joined Spicer India Pvt Ltd and now heading the HR function.

Your first job was a five-year long stint—what is your view on the millennials who expect fast results and go job-hopping for better prospects?

Something I strongly believe in and will encourage people to do is to stay grounded and open to learning. When you move out of college and step into an industry, there is no limit to gaining knowledge and knowing unexplored things. How industry works is what you need to understand, learn and display quickly. Where today’s generation fail is, they prioritise comfort and money over credibility, learning and experience in the beginning. The issue is further aggravated when millennials learn but don’t deliver and start job-hopping. Learning doesn’t yield results until you execute yourself. Hence, I strongly feel four to five years is a good time to understand, learn and deliver back to the organisation—it gives you time to mature.

The three companies that you worked in your career journey, how did you adjust to the challenge of the changing organisational culture?

The organisational culture at all three companies was very different. The three most essential elements to adapt to cultural changes are to understand WHO are your stakeholders, WHAT are their objectives and WHY is it being asked. In the absence of this, we can’t bring our knowledge and skill on the table—either your knowledge or your skill will not be appreciated or may not be taken in the right context. Whether it was Vedanta Group, an India grown MNC or Honeywell, a US MNC or Anand Group, a joint venture partnership champion in India, in all these three places I had to bring different skill sets for understanding the people and the customers and delivering them accordingly. Additionally, indepth process knowledge will surely give you an edge.

What is your experience with millennials as a workforce, with regards to their aspirations and expectations?

While working with millennials, I have seen them doing wonders when they are shown the big picture. As employers, we shouldn’t just assign them one portion of work without telling them how their work is contributing to overall organisational success. Rather than micro-managing, teach and empower them. When millennials are challenged, they stretch beyond their normal capabilities and that’s when their true potential comes out. So, for me, the mantra for working with them is, give them the complete carrom board rather than just black or white coins.

What about handling Gen X as compared to millennials, do you have a challenge of bringing them out of their comfort zone?

Yes, this is generally a difficult zone to handle for anybody and I was no exception. What I have learnt over the years is to have humility, leave your ego behind and give the due respect to an individual. So, when I work with millennials, I show them the big picture and when I work with Gen X, I

ensure that they feel they are in driving chair. No work or experience is menial or big, every job has its own worth and so has the doer. Display this at a workplace and yes, you are there.

With digital HR coming and AI taking over most of the HR work, are we going to see the HR department shrinking and left with only a pertinent role of a business partner or a specialist?

What you are saying is very pertinent and AI is coming in a big way, in fact, it is already here. In my view, a good scope of HR field will soon become redundant. Earlier HR was all about talent acquisition and personnel management. Today for an example, whole recruitment can be done

by AI—it involves a lot of predictive analysis and has gone to the extent that it is being used to shortlist, interview and select right candidates.

Further, it can predict the likelihood of stay of a selected candidate based on past behaviour analysis. Another aspect of the HR domain, the payroll processing is totally automated and digitalised today. In the near future, what will likely remain with HR is Employee Value Proposition, Organisational Development and risk mitigation of business processes (not the doing part but ensuring no repercussions).

The future of HR that you talked about will require new skills. Has the academia woken to this new reality and grooming the new talent to be future ready?

Sadly the truth is, we find it difficult to recruit good HR talent today. There is a dearth of good talent and surely a gap between the talent that is being groomed for HR versus what is desired by the industry. New talents from premium colleges, come with a lopsided mindset of doing specific roles right from the beginning. What they miss is to have horizontal skill-sets and attitude to learn basic skills like connecting with people, empathy and other softer aspects. The job roles are shrinking and the world is becoming more volatile. The best results can be expected only if you are self-structured and disciplined.

What are some of the astute lessons you learnt through your career journey till now?

The three things that have shaped me as a person are the ‘Three A’s of Awesome’ as quoted by Neil Pasricha, a Canadian author and public speaker. First and foremost is ‘Awareness’—be inquisitive, find out the truth around you, and explore the unexplored to keep your soul hungry for growth. Second is your ‘Attitude’ which defines what you are made up of. In life, you will have several ups and downs and you have to know how to sail through the tough times. And the last is to stay ‘Authentic’ and be who you are. Everybody is unique, be your own competitor. Be a better version of yourself every day.

These three A’s are my astute lessons from my journey so far. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

What I have learnt over the years is to have humility, leave your ego behind and give the due respect to an individual.

So, when I work with millennials, I show them the big picture and when I work with Gen X, I ensure that they feel they are in

driving chair

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 23

wax eloquent

Businesses want Certainty A look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world

I’m very hopeful for India’s future

“India is a country where I find empowered women and that needs to be celebrated.

I’m very hopeful for India’s future, as it is a very open-minded country.”

Sonia Barbry, Consul

General of France in Mumbai

Courtesy: Times of India

Corporate India has the ability to succeed in different economic environments “The data demonstrates that elections do not have a meaningful impact on markets in the longer term. Further, we have got a fair amount of clarity in recent weeks that an acceptable verdict is likely.

Should we get the worst of all scenarios, even then, companies will continue to deliver meaningful growth and returns, because corporate India has a long track record of the ability to succeed in different economic environments.”

Sunil Sharma, CIO, Sanctum Wealth Management Courtesy: https://www.financialexpress.com

Our business model is very simple

The future of mobility is shared, multi-modal and electric

“We believe in the power of combining the best of public transportation and ride-sharing to create more reliable, convenient, and affordable mobility options.

When shared and electric mobility are properly combined, along with automation, we can shrink the number of vehicles on the road and reduce transportation’s climate footprint.”

Pradeep Parameswaran, president (India and South Asia), Uber

Courtesy: Mint

24 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

“Sell digitally and get richer data for underwriting, which leads to better pricing for the customers. The cost of acquisition is lower when selling digitally, and the cost of sales is also lower as we have not built any branches or engaged with agents. Additionally, we have a lot more data and analytics to work with and to price the risk better.”

Varun Dua, MD and CEO, Acko General Insurance Courtesy: https://www.financialexpress.com

GST has given us a template for reforms “The goods-and-services tax has given us a template for reforms absent a crisis. Global money cannot find at this point a better country than India. Land and labour will be important for any government. That will set the stage for even higher growth.”

KV Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor, finance ministry,

Government of India

Courtesy: https://www.business-standard.com

Leaders are born and made “Great leaders have natural talents that they polish during the fires that adversity and challenges bring.

And yet, we all are born into our own greatness. With focus, dedication and training, we can all lift our lives in remarkable ways.”

Robin Sharma, author and motivational speaker Courtesy: Times of India

Sleeping giant has been waking up

“The country that we continue to be very excited about is India. The sleeping giant has been waking up with the pro-business policies of Prime Minister Modi. If he wins in the upcoming election, which we think he will, India also will have a long runway of strong economic growth.”

Prem Watsa, CEO, Fairfax

Financial Holdings

Courtesy: https://www.business-standard.com

In India, there is no winner-takes-all business

“There is enough local commerce happening, 98% of commerce is local. The only thing in enabling those is you have to do discovery, payments, and logistics. In India, there is no winner-takes-all business, especially in transactions businesses.”

Kabeer Biswas, cofounder

and CEO, Dunzo

Courtesy: Times of India

India is a fascinating country to be in

Have to have diversity of thinking

“We are seeing women moving out of traditional areas such as human resources and communication into IT, tech and science. What we don’t see is women reaching all levels - we don’t see as many sitting at the table, where decisions are being made about company strategy, people, our future. In today’s complex world, where customers and stakeholders are so diverse, you have to have diversity of thinking. You need women and men and different cultural backgrounds.”

Christiane Hamacher, CEO, Biocon Biologics

“Just brilliant in terms of how dynamic it is, the future potential, the economic growth, the people, the culture, the richness, everything.

We fell in love with the opportunity; professionally, it was a brilliant new challenge, and, personally, it just felt like a really exciting step to take.”

Julie Bramham, chief marketing officer, Diageo India Courtesy: Mint

Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Why is it that I am gonna win?

India must get ready for AI onslaught

“As AI becomes increasingly embedded in our society, it will change how we work and live. There is an understandable fear that AI will cause disruption and take away jobs.

Policy makers will need to address this given already existing concerns about rising unemployment. Being among the world’s fastest growing major economies, India must ready itself for the AI onslaught.”

Lloyd Mathias, business and marketing strategist

Courtesy: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ blogs/toi-edit-page/are-we-ready-for-ai

“Indian love snacks, Indians love lots of things. Indians love cricket but that does not mean that I should start a cricket team. I think the reality is, seeing an opportunity, you also ask yourself a question, why is it that I am gonna win? What is it about what I know? Or the business system we have, that will allow us to be the most successful in addressing the opportunity?”

James Quincey, CEO, Coca-Cola

Courtesy: https://www.livemint.com/

Ease of doing business “It has become easier. That’s a fact. I do believe that has happened. There are a number of things that have been streamlined. I believe there’s much more that can be done, but I’ve definitely seen progress. The two areas to focus on and those are well known, the amount of time things take to get done and the consistency of a position. Businesses want certainty.”

Ginni Rometty, CEO, IBM

Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

We focussed, followed through, and we persevered “As a pioneer of cruising, it almost felt like a startup exciting and full of challenges. We focussed, followed through, and we persevered. You have to be heavy on marketing - getting Indians to travel to international ports requires a lot of marketing efforts. My husband applied his marketing skills and I applied my service intellect.”

Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing Courtesy: https://yourstory.com

India is not China

“India is a democracy and therefore when we take economic policy actions, they are politically motivated. We do not have the Chinese luxury of forcing people to live, where they live, and then issuing them permits to go and work.”

Maitreesh Ghatak,

professor of economics, London School of Economics Courtesy: Mint

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Expert View

This election, come out to vote!

by S K Jha

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

T

With the General Elections round the corner it is time to introspect on the importance of the elections and what our duties are as citizens towards the country’s democracy

he General Elections are round the corner to elect the new government as the term of the present government will expire in May 2019. An election in a democracy has been termed as its biggest festival. In the 2014 general elections, more than 84 crore electorates were eligible to vote which has now risen to more than 90 crores. It will be a huge event to organise for such a large population located in the diverse terrains of the country. No wonder that India has been termed as the biggest democratic country in the world. We Indians should feel proud of that.

All need to participate

It is expected that people in large numbers come out to vote as this great festival has serious overtones. We go to elect a government for five years, which will have a serious impact on our lives and on the growth of the country.

It is our loss if we do not cast our votes and fail in our duty as citizens of our great country. Let us remember what one of the greatest democrats, Abraham Lincoln said, “Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will have to sit on their blisters.”

It is generally seen that people prefer to sit in their drawing rooms enjoying cocktails and in other elite gatherings criticising governments rather than go out and vote. Studies have shown that while the poor and illiterate come out in larger numbers, the rich and educated prefer to enjoy a holiday on election day. The voting percentage is generally low in the urban pockets, where the rich and the powerful and the critics of the government reside. It is not incorrect to say that there is a divide between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ on the voting pattern. It is the poor of rural Bharat who are the main participants in electing a government and they cannot be blamed if they elect people who do not work for the growth of the country. Some keep on criticising the government for their failures but they should look within and criticise themselves, as it is they who elect the governments, either 26 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

actively or passively. George Bernard Shaw has famously said, “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” Well-known critics of democracy have criticised democratic governments as the same are elected by ignorant people, while clever and educated people keep away from the electoral process.

Democracy has a lot of good points to cheer about and it has been correctly held as providing the best form of government. In a democratic set up like in our country, we have robust fundamental rights for citizens like ‘freedom of speech’, ‘equal protection before the law’ and ‘non-discrimination between citizens’. Theoretically, there is nothing wrong about it but in practice, we do observe many ills, particularly in our country. The ills arise in the electoral process.

Flaws in our democracy

First, it is the use of black money by candidates and political parties. The prescribed permissible

expenditure outlined by the Election Commission is much less than what is actually spent, which is, on an average, in several crores of rupees.

Second, it is the use of muscle power. Winnability becomes the main criteria for political parties and hence candidates with muscle power are given tickets so as to be able to get supporters to the polling booths while terrorising the voters of rival candidates.

Third, connected with muscle power is the criminal background of candidates. It is commonly observed that almost one-third of our lawmakers have some criminal case or the other against them. It is really bizarre to see that some candidates win elections even while they are in prison. Of late, due to the decision of the Supreme Court, persons convicted by a court with a prison sentence of more than two years cannot fight an election and this is a welcome step.

Fourth, the really wide-spread and serious problem is the use of caste and religion in our

electoral process. Candidates are selected on this basis and voters also vote on this basis. National issues remain in the background while voters cast their vote on caste and religious considerations. There are some political parties which are even formed on these considerations.

It is really sad to see that the country is segmented on these considerations and voting in the elections is also similarly segmented. It is not ‘the country first’ but ‘caste first’ and in some cases ‘religion first’. The government elected on such yardsticks cannot be expected to be an ideal government.

fierce competition amongst political parties in the announcements and implementations of populist measures, which may be good for electoral gains but bad for the economy of the country. For example, the farm-loan waiver is one such measure which is used for electoral gains and it has been seen that ultimately such a measure does not solve the agrarian problem. Elections are won on the basis of various announcements and their implementation but farmers still keep committing suicide. Good politics is not always good economics.

Secondly, during elections, the fault-lines of

Some keep on criticising the government for their failures but they should look within and criticise themselves as it is they who elect the governments, either actively or passively.

George Bernard Shaw has famously said, “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve” Fight it, not shun it

However, these existing ills of the electoral process should not deter us from casting our vote.

The solution lies in fighting the drawbacks and not avoiding the process. Let there be massive voting and this will make prejudiced voters irrelevant. As Alfred E. Smith said, “All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.”

Secondly, we have to work hard on the spread of education. It is expected that educated voters will vote wisely, with due application of their minds. Analysts of democracy say that criticism will evaporate if our voters are educated. In this context, a quote from Franklin Roosevelt is very relevant which says, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore is education.”

Election side-effects

Like any good process, even election has some side-effects. One very visible side-effect is the

our social system like caste and religion are fuelled for electoral victory and in the process, society gets more divided and polarised. Third, there is a huge inflow of unaccounted cash in the system and this gives rise to inflation. Cash in the system can also be channelised to the wrong hands, thus giving rise to anti-social and terrorist activities.

Positive side-effects

One positive side-effect is that some unemployed people get temporary assignments to earn good money. Another positive side-effect is that the income of the media, both print and visual go up considerably due to advertisements given by the political parties. The income of transport companies and helicopter charter companies also rise.

A serious impact is on the resources of the country, as huge expenditure is made on poll personnel, security personnel and the management of polling booths. This gigantic manage-

ment work by the country can be understood from the fact that the number of voters in the country is more than three times the population of the United States of America, which is the second largest democracy after India. One very sad side-effect of our election in recent times, particularly in the current year, is the rise of fake and toxic messages on social media, which ultimately go to harm the interest of the country.

Getting better, but can be better

Our democracy has survived for more than seventy years now, and it is getting stronger and better, despite the fact that we have been a poor country with a large number of illiterate voters. There was a time in the past when our elections used to be plagued with the notorious booth-capturing, particularly in Bihar and UP, but now hardly any such incidents are heard of.

Violence used to take place on election day in many parts of the country but again the same is sharply on the decline.

Things are improving but we have a long way to go. The system even today does not permit many good people to fight elections. Political parties do not give them tickets as they lack money power. Suggestions keep on coming from many quarters that there should be state-funding to attract good people. Elections give rise to crony capitalism and hence it is also desirable that state funding is done. Business people fund the elections only to harvest undesirable gains after the government is formed. It has also been suggested that parliamentary elections and state elections should happen simultaneously, and undoubtedly, this is an excellent idea. It will cut the huge expenditure of the government, and also stop the governments from going in for populist measures every year, as in our country, elections are taking place almost every year.

People, the government and the Election Commission have to all join hands to make our democracy not only the biggest democracy but also the healthiest. We have a history of democratic functioning in some parts of our country even in ancient times, like in Vaishali. We should march forward, taking guidance from our ancient civilisation and culture, to make our democratic set up very strong. This goal can be achieved if we keep in mind that what matters is ‘India first’. If India progresses then her citizens will progress simultaneously. The distressing part of our elections, particularly in recent times is to grab power, and the interest of the country is never in the forefront. Elections and democracy are very important for us, but the same should follow their true meaning. Mahatma Gandhi has also said, “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is brought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy.”

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 27

CII Session

By Neeraj Varty

I

ndia is on its way to become a one trillion dollar manufacturing economy. With such vast ambition come numerous obstacles. What exactly, then are the challenges and advantages in the next phase of globalisation. As we bring you the concluding part of the session on Globalisation 4.0 – Advantages and Challenges, held at the CII conference on ‘The Future of Manufacturing’, S Sundarram, Managing Director, Lincoln Electric, talks about how the Internet of Things (IoT), Digital manufacturing and automation will change the manufacturing landscape as we know it

S Sundarram: In the past few years, I am sure you have heard a lot of concepts being thrown at you like digital manufacturing. I am going to be talking on simple two things. Why is it essential?

And how do we go about implementing it and in which areas?

The new revolution

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come from a company called Lincoln electric. This is a U.S. based company. Lincoln is a three billion dollar company that is essentially into welding, and it is also the world leader in the field. I run the Indian operations. The U.S. operations are 123 years old. Our Indian operations are about eight years old. When we talk about digital manufacturing, our team in the U.S. does everything, as they have tremendous technology, and they initially said they will pass on the technology to us and we will implement

Globalisation 4.0 – Advantages and Internet of Things (IoT), Digital manufacturing and Automation are the tools we have to shape a new manufacturing future. India must adopt new technologies along with the world to ensure we are shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world

28 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Challenges (Part 2) it. Now after two years of our digital journey, the situation is such that we have a team from U.S. who are coming down to our factory in April, to actually see what we have implemented and how we have implemented it and to go back and replicate it in the U.S. So these are our advantages compared to the U.S. I want to talk about how an industrial revolution happens; there are certain changes that happen which are inevitable and there is no going back and there are people who do not change.

Let’s take the example of the journey of cotton. There is a manual way of handling it. Now we say a 25 per cent increase in productivity is good, but 25 times is 2500 per cent. So obviously who is operating at X cannot compete with someone who is competing at 2500 X. What are the inevitable things that have happened? Two things have happened, we have moved from an agrarian society to an urban society and seen the formation of urban centres etc. Those are also inevitable, but those are socio-economic

changes which I am not going to talk about, I am going to talk about the industry. If we talk about mechanisation, we all know, can industry operate without mechanisation? Can a person work it all with hands? Obviously not. But the other thing that came about is standardisation, the concept of interchangeable parts which was the forerunner to mass production. Interchangeable parts are one thing that they had to make for mass production, one thing that the people in the west are very keen on in mass proApril 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 29

CII Session If you look at the power of the internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) relates to very old concepts. It is about getting information and using it. We have collected a huge mass of data and what do we do with it? That is not the implementation of IoT. Implementation of IoT is a collection of data and using it in a manner that delivers benefits ducing are guns. Guns had to come with interchangeable parts and that was how the concept of standardisation came. With the concept of standardisation, if you ask about the second industrial revolution, and that is the defining image is the novelty of the Ford’s assembly line.

30 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

The things which came about as a change are electrification and mass production. Yes, mass production may undergo some change, like mass production to mass customisation, but at that point of time and even today it is considered an essential part of an industry. I am men-

tioning this in context of what are the changes that come about in industrial revolution, either you change or you perish. We got to the third industrial revolution and contrary to popular belief, defining image of the robot is not part of the fourth industrial revolution, which is automation and computerisation. The fourth industrial revolution is not so much about automation but autonomation, which is not about moving human labour but about moving human intervention. So then we come to the fourth industrial revolution, we all know what this is all about, there are so many other things which I am not going to talk about like nanotechnology and new materials and so on and so forth. So I am just focusing on these four items that tend to go together and they are all part

of the fourth industrial revolution. Somebody might say block chain technology and quantum computers are also there, but when I look into manufacturing these are the central elements of 4.0.

Digitisation and Digitalisation

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he inevitable changes that we saw from the first industrial revolution that are standardisation and mechanisation.

What are the changes that are going to take place that are going to leave companies behind if they do not follow? Those are digital transformation and digitalisation. When we talk about it let me explain it from my context and the way I look at it. Digitisation is slightly different from digitalisation. Digitisation is con-

verting from analogue to digital. Digitalisation and digital transformation are generally used interchangeably, but I say digitisation is collecting data and digitalisation using that collected data in manners that are already available to us today. Look at other trends, look at autonomisation, which is artificial intelligence, coming in to make machines autonomous, so we are talking about autonomous cars and we talk about other machines which operate without human intervention. The fundamental difference between a smart machine and an automated machine of the past is that the automated machine or the robot of the past is programmed to do a particular job whereas, the autonomous machine of the future is programmed to learn.

ing outsourced, what is the technology and what is the trend and how is it being used?

IoT in Manufacturing

A

s an increasing proportion of parts are being outsourced, there is an increase in need to control the quality and output and this I will share with you an actual experience of an (Original Equipment Manufacturer) OEM in Chennai. They have all critical parts, these are single sourced parts in IoT and they have vendors all over India. Here is the scary part. Any part that goes out of state is going directly to the OEM. You might think this is the digital world of the big brother watching you, but that is the kind of trend that is coming these days.

People who are suppliers of these OEMs can un-

The fundamental difference between a smart machine and an automated machine of the past is that the automated machine or the robot of the past is programmed to do a particular job whereas, the autonomous machine of the future is programmed to learn The world of Virtual Reality

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he third thing which I heard in the earlier talks is about virtualisation, virtual reality and augmented reality are things which are coming. But I think about digitisation which I think is almost inevitable. It is because, see, if you look at the power of the internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) relates to very old concepts. It is about getting information and using it. We have collected a huge mass of data and do what with it? That is not the implementation of IoT. Implementation of IoT is a collection of data and using it in a manner that delivers benefits.

So why I say the IoT, in all factories is a certainty and is also imminent because this is the first trend that I see. Users are talking about benefits, and benefits that we have personally realised, this is something we can all talk about, I cannot talk about others but this is something we have seen.

Workers all have smartphones. You give them all these control charts and they have to fill it.

When they see this digital image in their smartphones they click it and they find it a lot easier.

Customers are demanding it, workers find it easier to work with, machine suppliers are offering it, especially in plastic injection and moulding.

Then there is one of our customers who uses huge lines for the manufacture of chips, PepsiCo uses a huge variety of flavour in chips, they use artificial intelligence to monitor the flavours, they monitor that the right flavour is going into the right batch of chips. This is the kind of change coming about and the benefits that are being seen are astounding. As more and more parts are be-

derstand that this is a trend and one experience I shall share is two years ago somebody came to us to buy our machine, which is slightly more expensive than our competitors. We asked him why? You are not using any other facility this machine has. He said we are using this IoT facility.

We asked, why IoT? All you do is collect the data.

Our customer, who happens to be a car manufacturer in Chennai said that you have to have this because in case of any failure or issue we want to go to the actual weld data. This is a trend that has come. They are monitoring so many vendors, they outsource around 2000 parts and as they are monitoring vendors. Say a vendor has not been given a part as per schedule, they are being given 100 parts and say after four days he has only

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tadka

Wealth disparity in India India's top 10 per cent of the population holds 77.4 per cent of the total national wealth. The contrast is even sharper for the top one per cent that holds 51.53 per cent of the national wealth. The bottom 60 per cent, the majority of the population, own merely 4.8 per cent of the national wealth.

Wealth of top nine billionaires is equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent of the population.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 31

CII Session produced 30 parts, an alert goes to the OEM and they are able to follow up, they fix things so that their production is not affected. The OEMs have control over output and quality and also over cost. This is a very strong control. You may say it is not good news for vendors, but it actually a very good news because if you are a vendor and you have the facility of IoT in your plant, you can show this to the OEM and tell them this is the level of transparency we have to offer you and that becomes a good selling point and that is a competitive advantage. And the way they work, their system is tied up and they determine the total number of parts produced and the total number of parts rejected and they make a count and let’s say they have produced 100 parts and four are rejected, the system will only inward 96 parts. This is not the future, somebody is already doing it for their critical parts and they want to extend it to all others. So we offer machines with IoT and typically this is how IoT will look like and it will give you a range of information - usable and actionable information. For example, let’s say we have welders who are performing less and whose process capability is less, actionable information is obtained and immediate action and counselling is done. So my advice is if you

are buying machines, demand Internet of Things, and if you are selling machines install it. Many companies fail to implement IoT. I will talk about the dark factory; one of our 45 factories in the Netherlands, we have to treat this project as IoT and artificial intelligence and make it a dark factory. The total bill they presented to management for capex was 4.5 million euro, management said it is nice and we like the concept, but where is the money and the return on investment? So top management sometimes ask these very damaging questions, and that is how I have found that a number of highly enthusiastic IoT implementations have been stalled. You have to present to management the data on how actually you will save money. Here is the answer, you start small, get quick wins and then you scale up. My humble advice is, keep the IT department out of IoT implementation, we have done that and it has worked for us. This is a hurdle we have found in other companies that the conflicting objectives between the IT and operations lead to disaster.

We started small, were owned by operations and we realised the benefits and we started scaling up.

We were already doing these things earlier, but we did not have that depth of data to do it better. For example, the control chart. The supervisor and

Digital transformation is the use of digital technologies. Virtual reality has become a common buzzword and the reason I have mentioned is because it acts as a virtual trainer. It gives us essential cues 32 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

line inspector have a line between them, the moment it goes askew, there is a ping‌the moment there is a ping he has to rush. If the ping remains for a long time, the ping goes to his boss and then there is an escalation matrix. All the action has to be entered in logbooks, and I can see whatever the errors that have happened the last week and I can see whatever the actions that have been taken. We can review those things for the future.

Scale up for profitability

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o what we have done is we have monitored different kinds of machines which have produced and therefore they should be using similar levels of energy and here is what we found. I will give an example. There are two machines, similar products but highly different levels of energy consumption. Deeper analysis shows that the air pressure settings inside those machines for idlers are different, there is a standard but they are not being followed very precisely and that difference was there. We checked across several identical machines and found a difference, and we checked them and corrected them. Implemented savings was seven lakhs a year, but the kits we put in to get IoT information cost approximately five lakhs or so. Then we can

(L to R) Parakram Singh Jadeja with S Sundarram

ing with the least of non-productive time and reduces the leak output which is a critical factor so that you can get an 80 per cent improvement in productivity and a higher level of accuracy. This is a trend and use of technology is a development.

Artificial Intelligence

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Top management sometimes ask very damaging questions, and that is how I have found that a number of highly enthusiastic IoT implementations have been stalled. You have to present to management the data on how actually you will save money. Here is the answer, you start small, get quick wins and then you scale up say we can scale up and go for big scale implementation. There is a machine which ramps up from 0 to its full speed, there is certain timing we give to ramp up to full speed, but different ramp operators have different timing. Some people want to play it very safe, then we get information about the time of ramp up speed and full speed and then we identify who these operators are then they say we will do it like this. Once that is done it is a saving of four per cent and this along with other saving we found and OEE of nearly eight per cent. People asked us to raise capex because we had reached our capacity now. Now we do not need to raise capex and we have saved the cost of one machine by putting in and using IoT. People from US are coming over to see what these people are doing. This is the kind of thing that is very easy to implement. With thermal imaging and temperature monitoring, we get information about the parts of the machine which are not functioning as per norm. Digitalisation is what I say is the thing which is the present and will give a competitive advantage to whoever does it, it is strengthening of what you are already doing. This provides information to be able to enhance that action. If you are an OEM or a vendor to an OEM, either way, the implementation will give you a benefit.

Training vs manufacturingWhich tools to use?

D

igital transformation is the use of digital technologies. Virtual reality has become a common buzzword and the reason I have mentioned is because it acts as a virtual trainer. It gives us cues like your distance is too far or you are holding the torch in a wrong way.

So we can do welding without having to spend money on the parts and all that smoke, fume and safety and we do not need a trainer. Virtual reality in design is being used and is likely to be a trend. These are all reductions in cost, and we have a virtual reality safety training done for our welding. It cost us 1.8 lakhs and not 1.8 crores.

Virtual reality is slightly different from augmented reality, which is coming really quickly. Virtual reality means everything is unreal, augmented reality means you are actually seeing the part.

So it reduces errors and increases efficiency and is basically for manufacturing. Virtual reality is more for training and augmented reality is more for manufacturing. Cost for augmented reality is very high and hopefully, it will come down soon, with all these digital technologies, India has a very good scope in the future. Identical products here would have cost more than 10 times in the U.S, so it is a huge advantage in India. Digital transformation in welding is an important part, all the changes which were there earlier hardware driven and now is software driven. The software is waveform technology and it manipulates the current in a way which makes it able to do weld-

eople may have seen Gary Kasparov, Chess champion being beaten by a machine.

When will a robot team win the world cup? There is an opinion of artificial intelligence that after the wheel, the Artificial Intelligence is the second most important invention for mankind, and the second opinion is that it the second threat for humanity after the nuclear bomb. For a robot team to win the world cup they have given time till 2050, but some say it won’t even happen until 2150 because robots have poor hand-eye coordination in an uncontrolled environment.

These are varied and contradicting views; for those of you seeing YouTube may have seen an IKEA challenge wherein a human assembling furniture versus a robot assembling furniture and how the robot struggles with very simple tasks.

There is a fair amount of artificial intelligence that is analytical, instead of humans, the analysis will be done by Artificial Intelligence and that gives you a lot more powerful data.

Additive Manufacturing

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inally, additive manufacturing is very good when you tend to have very large materials, compared to subtractive manufacturing wherein the cost is high, like a jet engine nozzle which is a cobalt-titanium alloy, subtractive manufacturing gives heavy savings. There is another part is an excavator with a huge gigantic part with complex internal pathways, it is traditional subtractive manufacturing, difficult and complex to do with and this is done by arc welding. The third is custom made parts and is likely not to be coming in trend for mass production. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

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tadka

Decline in road accidents Road accidents in India have declined to 36 in 2017 from the previous 42 per 1,00,000 population in 2010, according to the ministry of road transport and highways. Road accidents have been falling since 2015 and the 2017 figure — 4,64,910 or 53 accidents every hour is the lowest since 2006. But, while both absolute deaths and fatalities per 1,00,000 population declined marginally in 2017 — to 1,47,913 (17 every hour), the number of fatalities per 100 accidents rose from 31.4 in 2016 to 31.8 in 2017.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Pics: Shantanu Relekar

34 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Interview

Building bonds and integrating interests He has over two decades of corporate experience working in India and Singapore across a wide range of sectors including Financial Services, IT, ITeS and Telecom. Widely known for his large network in the HR community, he is currently working with a noted organisation, a leading Global Resource Management.

Earlier, he had been associated with Satyam Computers, KPIT Infosytems, Syntel and IBM. Dinesh Gupta is Founder Trustee of the HR Interact Community. Through his long spanning domestic and global assignments, he has played a strategic role in recruiting and resource management. Apart from work, Dinesh is fond of gadgets, music and is an avid traveller, picking up new learning and integrating them professionally.

At the heart of all he does, is the simple belief that collective wisdom is more powerful than expert wisdom. An insight!

To a certain extent, (with AI and robotics) jobs will get reduced which will have a negative impact, but while the robot will do the mundane work, the human employee will do the strategic work

By Vinita Deshmukh

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Interview Corporate Citizen: Tell us about HR interact–an unconventional interactive system if ever there was one!

Dinesh Gupta: As it happened, I was already associated with the Human Resource Association India (HRIA) since 2006 when I started the Pune chapter, along with a couple of my colleagues. I supported HRIA for over ten years and then decided to move on to a new forum called ‘HR Interact’. Primarily because most of the forums are platforms for experts to share their experiences with the audience and it seemed like a one-way street. It was time for something different. So we thought let’s create a community of people who are interested in learning, sharing and connecting amongst themselves. And through this community, we aimed at building a model where each one teaches the other and everyone feels like a hero as he or she has inspired the group through the story that they have shared with HR Interact.

What is the objective of HR Interact?

The mission of starting HR Interact was truly to build a community and not a forum. We do not believe in the mindset that there are only a handful of people who can deliver knowledge and inspire others. HR Interact is a platform where everybody is able to tell their story. We believe in collective wisdom which is far more powerful than expert wisdom. And of course learning, sharing and networking is the essence of it all.

It is like you are putting your ears to the ground and then coming up with theory instead of top-down gyaan….

Yes. Traditionally, when a well-known orator delivers a talk, the audience may not be listening to it 100%. We ensure 100% attention as we typically do a workshop-driven model where everyone is engaged, leaving their mobile phones aside. The format is such that they have to interact actively in the workshop. Sharing is key to our essence. What we feel is, there is expertise in each of us and that should be tapped into.

We have conducted four programmes so far.

The first one was launched at World Café in March 2018, where we didn’t decide the topic beforehand. We asked the participants to discuss what they felt strongly about, and together they came up with 30 points which were a goldmine of debate and information.

It was a seminal moment as we realised that they didn’t want us to drive them. Instead they wanted to debate the issues relevant to them and hopefully benefit from a deeper insight into the same with the help of other participants who came from diverse companies like IT, non-IT, manufacturing, banking, insurance and so on.

What happens after such workshops?

Is there any take home?

The workshops provide an insight into various 36 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

corporate trends and issues and participants can go back to their respective organisations and put the theories to practice. Also, we have several HR heads who are associated with us from whom we take some mentorship.

The next meeting after the one at World Café was again an unconventional one in a large-sized hall, where we did not have any seating arrangement; instead, we made all the 150 participants stand in a circle and asked them to decide the topic. They were asked to write the same on the board and we got 26 topics in the first round.

Then a group of 10-15 participants started putting their thoughts on the 15 flip boards with charts. Then they went on to the next board where they gave inputs for the next topic. This way all 26 topics got discussed vociferously and the summary was compiled in an e-book, which is all set to be printed... something rather unique if I say so myself.

In another workshop model, we invited Business and HR personnel for a healthy collaborative dialogue session. Both the groups were given a paper to jot down points concerning them. Each group shared their expectation with

the other. Expectations from the Business side were handed over to the HR and vice versa.

For example, if Business said that this is my expectation, do you agree? If yes, how can you support a particular statement? An example here is, if the management says it needs 20 Java people by next Tuesday, it may not be possible in such a short span. You have to understand that while HR is there to help you, if you come with unrealistic demands, HR cannot fulfil the same. Hiring in haste may make you end up with a costly resource. This way expectations were matched with compensations. The business people were so thrilled; they said, “No one ever asked us what HR expected of us. It was always a one-way communication.”

How do you propose to take it forward?

At the end of the programme, I ask participants to nominate volunteers for the next event. Sure enough, many people raise their hands and we filter a few of them and keep some for the next event. Then we brainstorm on the next topic and once we freeze on a particular topic, we ensure

When you joined IT, it was in a very raw mode, and now, what changes can you see?

Things have changed drastically. My expertise is primarily in recruiting and resource management.

When we started, we hardly had any job portals to search for profiles and now, the job portals are dying because everything is on LinkedIn and social

‘HR Interact’ a community of people who are interested in learning, sharing and connecting amongst themselves. And through this community we aim at building a model where he or she has inspired the group through the story that they have shared at the event media. Job portals still exist, but they are not doing that great. So the availability of resources as well as the manner of calling people has changed, thanks to digitisation and technology. Earlier, people were not mobile in terms of shifting from one place to the other. But now, even in Pune, you see people from all parts of the country. So digitisation has led to globalisation and people now move anywhere and everywhere for a job change.

What about job applications with false degree claims?

that those who volunteered are up front and in charge while we take a backseat because we want them to come forward, and take pride in feeling, this is my community, and I am making a difference. We want them to own the outcome.

What is the typical age group?

About 50 per cent is a young crowd. This makes for an interesting mix of people from the age group of 27-28 juxtaposed with those in their early 40’s. These include folks from companies like SKF, Kirloskar, Cummins, and assorted IT companies where we have a good foothold because of our prior experience. Sixty per cent of the constituency is that of HR from the IT Industry and so we are striving towards a judicious mix with other sectors like banking and manufacturing too.

Which was your first job in Mumbai?

My first job was with Infrasoft Technologies, an IT company. I moved to Pune and joined Satyam Computers. Then I joined KPIT and worked overseas in Singapore for a year. Subsequently I returned to join Syntel, then IBM, and now I am working for a large IT organisation

In earlier times, it was not easy to do a background check, but now thanks to the government and NASSCOM taking the initiative, things are simpler. For example, on NSDL, where, if I have joined IBM, I have to enrol all my education and experience details there. When I move my job from IBM to Accenture, NSDL already has my records. They do not need to do a background check but they still do a check in terms of a reference check and some basic details. Earlier, it was not that easy because applications were on paper; you had to go to the respective colleges or authorities to do a background verification. With digitisation, double checking becomes simpler.

As to the root cause of fraudulent claims, I may not be able to comment on the ratio but yes, we at least have the capability to trap that root cause.

In earlier times, data would take some six to eight months to reach you. Now it has become so fast that within three weeks you know the whole truth of a candidate.

What is your observation about IT professionals when you joined, and now?

They are very fast these days and they need attention; if not given the same, they move on. Compared to our days, when we used to do anything and everything that used to come to us, today they insist on doing what they feel like. Suppose I am a fresher in an organisation and I want to work on design development work and not spend my time testing

something that is already written, I will do just that.

So they are pretty clear what their goal is. If they do not get the right opportunity, they move on. Learning-wise, it has become easy for them to grasp new concepts, thanks to the plethora of technologies.

With AI and robots, what is the future of the human employee and HR guy?

What will be the scene?

To a certain extent, jobs will get reduced which will have a negative impact, but while the robot will do the mundane work, the human employee will do the strategic work.

With machine learning, I get to know which soft knowledge the individual has. For example, if we are hiring from a particular campus, what is the probability that X number of students will join.

Machine learning will give out a whole lot of inputs eventually, which is now soft knowledge and tends to go with an individual. If I leave the company, the knowledge goes with me. Soon the machine will take care of it and prevent the loss of knowledge.

When we do our annual resource management planning, we typically know what the attrition is going to be on an average in a particular month or during appraisal or post appraisal time, because people are sad that nothing happened this time and they tend to resign. We know the trend when attrition is likely to increase. Ensure your recruiting engine is created before so that you don’t have a billing loss and you are able to handle the situation. These inputs will eventually come from our machine learning in a much better way. It has already started in large organisations. If you have offered me a job and are keeping a connection with me, you need to keep me appraised on whatever project I will be joining. This tool can take care of it and if there is any change or delay in joining, this tool will let us know.

What is the philosophy of this HR Interact?

Our tag line says it all: An empowered HR community. Please note, community, and not a forum.

Co-creation is our philosophy. vinitapune@gmail.com

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AI skills— the fastest growing skill set According to a LinkedIn report, India ranks third after the US and China with the highest penetration of AI skills among its workforce. The number of LinkedIn members adding AI skills to their profiles increased 190% between 2015 and 2017 – the fastest growing skill set, by far.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Alumni Spotlight-12 Srikant Subudhi, Alumnus, Despite an accidental inroad into the healthcare sector, Srikant Subudhi, Facility Director at Fortis La Femme, Bengaluru, cherishes his 14 years in the sector which continues to grow stronger. Equipped with a master’s degree in commerce, destiny lead him to pursue a Masters in Hospital Administration from the Administrative Staff College of India - Hinduja Institute of Healthcare Management, Hyderabad. He gathered notable on-job learning experiences with corporate hospital chains - Apollo Hospitals, the Manipal Group and with Fortis

Managing Sustainable Healthcare Models

By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

“H

ealthcare is a great sector to work with and I have had a total of 14 years of experience in the sector. I love to work with people and this is the only sector which gives that emotional connect,” said Srikant Subudhi, Facility Director (Unit Head) at Fortis LaFemme, Bengaluru, India.

He was instrumental in the launch of Bengaluru’s first and only separate “Priority Health Clinics for Women’’ at Fortis La Femme hospital that specialises in treating menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), obesity and breast cancer-related problems.

An alumnus of Khallikote Autonomous College, Behrampur, Odisha, Srikant, however, considers the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) - Hinduja Institute of Healthcare Management, Hyderabad as his Alma mater.

While commerce as a stream made Srikant learn the basics of business which enhanced his ‘love 38 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

for numbers’. But, “Doing Masters in Hospital Administration at ASCI, I learnt working with teams, of meeting deadlines and working in tough conditions. I also gained practical knowledge of hospital management. Also, the syllabus which was designed for a one-year classroom course also involved a year-long internship that exposed us to the real world of healthcare as we got the opportunity to work across various departments as we completed projects and dissertations on various topics”, he adds.

Transitioning to Healthcare

With a degree in commerce and transitioning

to the highly specialised healthcare sector was more than a brave move and as Srikant confesses, “My healthcare journey started accidentally. When I was on the verge of completing my master’s degree in Commerce, I always wanted to be a Charted Accountant or a Company Secretary. But, when someone suggested that I do a course in hospital management; I initially was hesitant, as it was a totally new and unrelated field for me. But, once I enrolled for the course, there has been no looking back since”.

On the difficulty in coping up with a highly specialised course when he was trained in basic commerce as an undergraduate, he said,

“Although it was a difficult period initially, as I was from a different academic background, I gradually learnt the nuances in the course and chose my career into healthcare.”

For this lad from Odisha, the perks of his chosen sector and the learnings thereof extended to his work-life as he got the opportunity to travel across India. Post completion of his MHA at Hyderabad, his work introduced him to the realms of the industry during his work-life across Mumbai, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. “Different locations taught me something different - be it culture, adaptability, work environment, different work-situations and diverse team members.”

His Alma mater, ASCI, has instilled a passion for his profession such that Srikant’s competence pinpoints and observes that there is a lot ‘wanting’ in the healthcare sector with regards to the reach of medical care. His concerns are for the countless millions who are deprived of proper care despite medical and healthcare innovations in the country. “Currently, there is a lot of gap in India in the demand and supply chain within the healthcare sector. It starts from the availability of hospital beds, quality of nursing, paramedics and doctors. While on the one hand, private healthcare is expanding, we also have the need for good and dynamic administrators to run these institutions. While education is important, one needs to have the patience and hunger for learning. Healthcare is a great sector to work despite all this”, he said.

Syncing Healthcare

Srikant says the country has seen a lot of changes in the healthcare delivery model. “Around 40 years ago, we had only large government-run hospitals, which gradually saw the evolution of private hospitals; then on the advent of large multi-specialty hospitals with tertiary and quaternary hospitals. The recent boom of single speciality hospitals turned around the sector in the last 10 years or so,” he said.

Alumni Connect

Srikant is a dedicated alumnus of ASCI and an integral part of his alumni group. “I do individually mentor many current and past students. I have been doing this for many years now and also guide them through projects, internships and also enable them to make the right career choices. Our Alumni also help in placing students in prestigious institutions.

I also participate in various conferences and activities organised by my institution; also, conduct sessions for current students as an industry expert”, he said.

On alumni reach, Srikant said, “The best way to do so is to invite members of the Alumni to conduct regular classes at one’s Alma mater. Syllabus apart, these industry experts can provide

Srikant Subudhi, Facility Director, Fortis La Femme (with Milind Soman, an Indian model, actor, film producer and fitness promoter

“Syllabus apart, these industry experts (alumni) can provide the much-needed insights into the relevant sector. Another way is to invite students for regular short duration internships at the organisations that the alumnus works at and in a give-take, the Alumni body can also participate in all events of college” much-needed insights into the relevant sector.

Another way is to invite students for regular short duration internships at the organisations that the Alumnus works at and in a give-take, the Alumni body can also participate in all events of college.”

Srikant was an integral part of the expert committee that mobilised the successful launch of the program - “Certificate in Hospital Administrative Assistantship”. “It was a collaborative venture of Apollo Hospitals Educational & Research Foundation (AHERF) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

I was a part of an expert committee that developed the course curriculum and the contents. I also initiated many technical courses in dialysis management and other areas for paramedics and a course for doctors in emergency situations and other such sub-services that are relevant to hospital care.”

Worldview

Srikant said that despite being one of the most populous countries, India has the most, private sector healthcare, in the world. “Out-of-pocket payments make up 75% of the total expenditure on healthcare. Only one-fifth of healthcare is financed publicly. However, India is one of many countries facing a severe shortage of trained medical professionals—including nurses, dentists, and administrators; especially doctors.

Recent data states that while the United States has 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people and 3.1 hospi-

tal beds per 1,000 people; India has a mere 0.59 doctors and 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people.”

“Going by these numbers, India would need almost 2.4 million new doctors and over two million more hospital beds to reach the same proportions as the United States. The World Health Statistics say that India ranks among the lowest in this regard globally, with 0.9 beds per 1,000 population - far below the global average of 2.9 beds. India’s National Health Profile 2010, says India has a current public sector availability of one bed per 2012 persons available in 12,760 government hospitals-around 0.5 beds per 1,000 populations.” sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

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Bihar posts highest GDP collection

Bihar topped the list of 17 states with 11.3% expansion in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth in 2017-18, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, according to a report by rating agency Crisil. Ranking according to growth, inflation and fiscal deficit, Gujarat and Karnataka remained among the top three performing states in the fiscal year 2018. Jharkhand, Kerala and Punjab were at the bottom of the table in terms of growth.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 39

TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Location technology changing the face of real estate The world of work is changing. As disruption and uncertainty become the new status quo, smart companies will transform their workplaces to be agile and adaptable to ever changing economic, societal and technological realities. Executives will improve their workplaces to serve as the center of innovation and create experience-rich environments that help attract and retain talent. Kawalpreet Singh, Director & Head – Corporate Solutions Marketing at JLL India Pvt. Ltd. details the benefits of using location technology and data-driven analysis in corporate real estate By Orchie Bandyopadhyay You have worked with IBM, Infosys, HP... tell us about your first job.

My first job was with HDFC Bank as a manager. I was responsible for managing key accounts and strengthening relationships with the decision makers and senior management in target organisations.

But what left a profound impact on my career was my second job with Infosys in their research and analytics practice. I was lucky to work with a talented bunch of people and learnt a lot on various industries and work functions.

I also worked with multiple virtual teams to design solutions, prepare marketing collaterals, develop thought papers, build domain intensive capabilities and to provide high end research and analytics solutions to potential clients. The experience was tremendous.

Did you have any mentors? And what advice did you take from them?

I have been lucky to have fantastic mentors in all my organisations that I have worked with. These smart, dynamic individuals have helped shape my career to a large extent. The feedback that I have sought ranged from workplace, professional growth, personal development and life in general.

What did you graduate in?

I did my schooling in St. Dominic Savio College in Lucknow. After which I pursued B.E. (Elec. & Comm.) from G.N.D. Engg. College, V.T.U. I also completed my Masters Programme in International Business from the Symbiosis Institute of International Business in Pune.

You are currently Marketing Lead, Corporate Solutions, JLL, tell us about your role.

My current role in JLL is Director of Marketing for Corporate Solutions Businesses. We help organisations for all their requirements across the complete real estate lifecycle. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of over 90,000.

JLL India has an extensive presence across 10 major cities (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Coimbatore) and 40 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

over 130 tier II and III markets with a cumulative strength of close to 11,000 professionals. We provide investors, developers, local corporates and multinational companies with a comprehensive range of services. This includes leasing, capital markets, research and advisory, transaction management, project development, facility management, property and asset management.

The objective is to provide end to end services to improve workplace experience ranging from finding office spaces, build and fit out as well as manage your property portfolio. As director of marketing, I am responsible for driving marketing strategy, communication and campaign implementations.

Since your core expertise lies in data driven decision making among others, could you tell us why it is important to leverage location analytics for business intelligence?

Remember life before GPS? I remember every time we used to take a vacation, my dad used to purchase detailed city maps from railway or bus stations as the case may be, to navigate and find city landmarks, places to eat and so much more.

Today, it’s so hard to even imagine how we even managed to find our way around without these technology enablers.

From an organisation’s perspective, a few years from now, businesses will be asking the same question - remember business intelligence before location analytics, when we had to go through rows and rows of uni-dimensional data and try and get valuable insights? Location and timing give that extra dimension to the existing data within an organisation.

Today, we have in excess of 15 billion connected devices which will grow to over 30 billion in the next two years, driving an economic value of more than $11 trillion by 2025.

Yet nearly 90% of the data will go unused. It is estimated that 70% of all data has a location component. What will help organisations differentiate is understanding of this data.

Location analytics has the power to affect a variety of businesses ranging from insurance, to retail, aviation to energy and utilities across sales and marketing, supply chain, operations, etc. For example, combining location data with existing business data can improve decision-making and create opportunities for businesses. This data can tell you

impact two critical components of their workplace – space planning and employee experience.

What progress has JLL made in building a technology ecosystem around real estate?

Last year, we launched IDEA Lab – our proptech incubation cell to tap into the ecosystem of startups and vendor partners and to bring the best of technology applications, tools and solutions with an aim to drive client experience and productivity. Today, IDEA Lab is working with companies with cutting edge technology solutions for workplaces in the realm of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, chatbots, machine learning, predictive analytics, etc., that have current or future applications in the space our clients operate in.

Could you give examples that illustrate location analytics help drive true value in a lot of real estate scenarios?

A use case of location analytics in a real estate scenario is in finding a flexi space based on location. For e.g. in a central business district like Bandra-Kurla Complex, an individual looking for a flexible working space for a few hours, based on location sensing, could get a list of shared workplaces and resources which one could book instantly. This gives an entirely new dimension to real estate services on the go. location technology not only helps in outside the building but also the workplaces inside. JLL for example, recently did a pilot in one of its regional offices where the employees wore a sensor on their i-cards or in the form of wearables inside the office. What this sensor did was it tracked the employee’s movement within the office helping us analyse the heat maps of space being utilised in the office, who are the employees interacting with and with the wearable tracking the pulse/ heartbeat, we were even able to get a sense of the nature of interactions and the effect on employee wellness.

Today, location based sensors are helping organisations across businesses get insights on space planning, tracking employee transport with a focus on safety and security, meeting room bookings, hot-desking, cafeteria utilisation and so on and so forth.

Do you think technology is delivering innovations that will fundamentally transform the lives of consumers and operations of businesses? what customers will buy and when, where and how will they shop etc. There are several use cases where location data has enriched the business intelligence, but none as compelling as real estate and marketing.

How has location data enriched the business intelligence in real estate?

Real estate, traditionally, has been an intuition driven industry, a business where real value comes from location, insight and timing. By combining geo spatial methods with traditional proprietary real estate knowledge, we help deliver value to our clients. While at the first glance, one would imagine that the use cases of location data in real estate are the traditional instances of site selection, investment analysis, etc. However, a lot of forward looking organisations today, are going beyond this realm and using this data to positively

Combining location data with existing business data can improve decision-making and create opportunities for businesses. This data can tell you customer’s habits

Yes. Advanced technologies like artificial intelligence will enable companies to reinvent their business models and unlock new sources of growth. To successfully navigate these changes, organisations must explore and adopt digitisation that will enhance people and enterprise performance.

What will the future of work be like?

The world of work is changing. As disruption and uncertainty become the new status quo, smart companies will transform their workplaces to be agile and adaptable to ever changing economic, societal and technological realities. Executives will improve their workplaces to serve as the center of innovation and create experience-rich environments that help attract and retain talent.

In a nutshell, these are exciting times. Tech innovations are creating more flexible and agile workplaces and the journey has just begun. archiebanerjee@gmail.com April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 41

Work Culture

a d a n Ca the land of

Opportunities

A

Before starting her career afresh in Canada, Anahita Gangwani was an engineer in India. However, her fondness for marketing drew her to the profession and to Canada - the land of opportunities By Namrata Gulati Sapra

nahita Gangwani’s typical day in the office is anything but mundane. The Communications & Community Manager, who is working in Canada, spends it interacting with people from across the globe, “My regular day involves chalking out events, negotiating sponsorships, handling social media,

42 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

catching up with the global community from Australia, UK, Singapore, USA and Canada, and coordinating with sponsors around the world.”

She shares, “I started my first job as a marketing evangelist. I went from my training in maintaining communication between the company and clients, which gave a peep into the world of designers. I grew very quick in the field. Just before

I left India, I was a Brand Image Manager for a SaaS-based company".

Discipline-the Keyword in Canada Having tasted corporate life in both India and Canada, Anahita goes on to draw comparisons between the corporate cultures in both the countries, “Canada's professional world is a little more

stern about punctuality than India. My work timings are usually 8:30 in the morning to 5 in the evening in Canada. I had the same timings in India also as my management always gave me the option to strike a work-life balance for myself. Alongside, in India, I had the freedom of altering my work timings if required. Canada works in sync with the US market, so it's a little strict with the timing.” She also adds that there is stiff competition in Canada as there are more competing markets and there are more cultures to compete with.

Though Canada expects its professionals to be more disciplined and punctual, working in Canada allows one to strike a healthy work-life balance, she says, “As far as workload is concerned, hands down, there is a lot less workload in Canada than India, which explains why there is a basic fondness for work-life balance here, and the workload is planned and shared accordingly to maintain this balance.” “I enjoy Canada more.

I have a better standard of the lifestyle here, a better work-life balance, my evenings are my own.

Most of all, I don't have to worry about driving through the thick of traffic to get from point A to B!” She makes a point as she favours the Canadian land.

When in Canada, dress like the Canadians When it comes to office couture, Canada is bringing its A-game despite the fact that it is predominantly a cold country, “India is much more flexible in their dressing style to work. Canada likes to see its people dressed up in smart formals. We get 9 months of winter, so it's amazing seeing people covered in heavy snow jackets outside and see them reveal the most stylish winter dresses inside!” Anahita exclaims.

Let’s talk about dollar!

Speaking of the pay packages in Canada, Anahita says, “They are more standard.

The government has a set minimum wage which ensures standard pay, in turn, raises pay scale in comparison to India. There's a set standard of wage ranges for different roles based on experience, education and field. A lot of finance jobs are based on incentives, which are the highest paid jobs. Overtimes are defined as well, anything beyond 44 hours per week is paid as overtime pay!” She quips while shedding light on the career prospects in the country, “Canada's economy is growing rapidly. The startup culture is beginning to pick up slowly. Locals are a little risk-averse, so limits innovation. There's a very high demand for Indians here. Paytm is a big hit too!” She shares. That

Though Canada expects its professionals to be more disciplined and punctual, working in Canada allows one to strike a healthy work-life balance

ebrate Diwali with. Next on the calendar is Holi.

I love Holi, and it's so nice to not feel alone and include the locals in our festivals and vice versa.”

“Canada is trying to catch up to the world's gender balance. India stands better in terms of opportunities for women”. She has a message for the women looking to work in Canada.

Anahita enjoys the snowy season of Canada

apart, there is no office politics at play to climb up the ladder, “I luckily haven't seen much politics at play here. I reckon there's scope for politics to seep into the Indian work culture because of the amount of time people spend at work there.” Another factor that makes Canada’s work culture favourable is the work from home option, which one can especially avail during the winter season, “Winter can get really bad, and a lot of workplaces support work from home. I myself worked for a company where I worked remotely and we all gathered once in three weeks to catch up on all the company affairs,” she shares excitedly.

Big on holidays and all things festive!

Anahita remarks, “Weekends are your own in Canada. We are very big on holidays following the fall - Thanksgiving, Christmas and not to forget Halloween. Offices have a lot of Asians, so they respect our holidays. My husband's office loves Diwali. It's our own little family here we cel-

Moving to greener pastures Anahita already has already chalked out a career plan, “I intend to work in Canada for about 4 more years, after which I intend to move to Australia. I was working for two years between India and Canada. That's my ideal place to settle down.

But Canada gives me more room to grow at this stage in my career. I have more opportunity to get exposure here, as it's more connected to the global market.” Her stance on Canada is never negative and she advises gaining professional experience here, “Canada is well connected to the global market. Strategically placed, it has exposure from the European market, the American and the Asian. A few years in a global market sets you more in demand in India. It's tough to leave roots, move here and start over to find a home and do all chores by yourself. But it is all worth it in the end!” namratagulati8@gmail.com

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Delhi has highest ticket size of `5cr in home loans In home loans, Delhiites took the highest ticket sizes (`5 crore), followed by Chennai (`2.2 crore), Bengaluru (`1.5 crore) and Mumbai (`1.8 crore). According to data from 1.6 million loan applications in 2018 with BankBazaar.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Corporate Trend

When women run,

fitness spreads in the family

tendra Jee n er

Military to Marathon

retd.) ir ( Na

Comman d

Founder of the recently organised Pune Women’s Half Marathon, Commander Jeetendran Nair (retd.) combines the discipline of the former Navy man with the vision of a futuristic thinker who wants to make a lasting difference to the way women view the simple yet challenging task of running. “Indian women tend to believe that running is not for them. That is a very limiting belief and ironical too because running is meant to be liberating,” he expresses By Kalyani Sardesai

One must remember at all times that today’s population is largely young, dynamic, and focused on results.

So the leadership must deliver.

Leadership cannot demand respect it needs to command it through hard work and dedication. Integrity and honesty are not just words - they are a path you must lead by example - Commander Jeetendran Nair (retd.)

44 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Pics Yusuf Khan

T

The organisers are promoting fitness as the great unifier of Indian women

he saying goes that when you empower a woman, you empower a family. On his part, former naval officer, Commander Jeetendran Nair (retd.) would like to tweak that a bit. “I’d say that when you train a woman, you train the family and set them all on the course of good health, positivity, strength and self-discipline,” he says.

That apart, he does not wish to talk about himself. Typical fauji that he is, he tells like he thinks it is. “I am not important. The Pune Half Women’s Marathon is. The women of this country are,” he says pointedly. “The laws have changed, so have the processes. But unless the mind set of both men and women changes-women will not have anywhere close to a level playing field. An important part of that mind set is teaching women to respect their health.”

So was he always this passionate about women’s health-and their right to well-being, both mental and physical? “No,” he shakes his head.

“I would say it has been a gradual and natural outcome of my journey and the education that came along with it.”

Life in uniform

A second generation fauji, joining the armed forces was a natural option for this son of an army officer. (His brother and brother-in-law are in the army too.) “As far as I went, the Navy was always the option for me,” he says. Passing out from the NDA, he went on to do his marine engineering from INS Shivaji, Lonavala.

So what was his main takeaway from all those years in the Navy? “The men I had the honour of working with,” he says without losing a beat.

“Apart from this the Navy also happens to be a very technical field-one has to be very savvy about operating different machinery and also keeping abreast of all the latest developments in the field.”

Military to management-lessons in a nutshell

What, according to him are the lessons Corporate India may imbibe from the armed forces?

“First up, training is everything. The quality of training is the quality of professionalism you get. For that the selection must be based on complete meritocracy,” he says. “Secondly, one must remember at all times that today’s population is largely young, dynamic and focused on results. So the leadership must deliver. Thirdly, leadership cannot demand respect-it needs to command it: through hard work and dedication. Integrity and honesty are not just wordsthey are a path you must lead by example.”

Speaking for himself, he says that foremost amongst the many things the Navy taught him is balance in all aspects of his being.

Given that the armed forces are such a wonderful career, what may be done to address the shortage of serving officers in the country?

“Shorten the tenure, and broaden the base,” he says. “Unlike earlier times, you can't expect 30 to 40 years of service, there are more avenues opening up each day. But within a short span, if you allow the said officer-man or woman-to give his or her best-and then systemically facilitate their transition into civvie street, you can take the best from them, as well as give them the best in turn.”

So what made him leave the Navy? “I felt that I had had great innings and there was much more I had to learn and offer,” he says.

Hanging up his boots-only to put on those running shoes

His tryst with running started when he retired in 2011. A life-long fitness aficionado himself, he wanted to continue with his regime despite no longer being a serving officer. “I found running was the best thing I could do,” he says.

“It is affordable, simple and doable, almost April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Corporate Trend anytime and anywhere. Sure, there are various levels of endurance but stamina is meant to be built over time and the surest way for anyone to build the same is to simply start running," he says.

(In an era of state of the art, expensive gyms and high endurance activities like Pilates, Cross Fit and more, here's someone with a brief to keeping fitness simple, basic and as natural as possible!)

Free runners group and charitable trust

many as 70 to 75 people, on a slow one about 35 to 40,” he says.

But while the Freerunners group is a mixed one, including men, women and children, he especially noticed that women had issues all their own.

“Women have to multi-task. Mornings are busy times. So to convince them of the importance of running, one has to understand their psyche. In a society like ours, women tend to be self-conscious and restrained. Many have serious doubts over their ability to keep up. On top of it, they tend to get self-conscious around men and largely prefer being around other women,” he says.

A loving father to a young daughter, he thought it was a pity, given that the “ladies are the strength of our nation.”

Elaborating further he points to the lifestyle diseases that abound. “You name the disease,

Even as running became a part of his daily schedule, he thought it would be an great idea to establish the running group, Freerunners Pune. A charitable trust by the name followed, with a view to spreading the good word about running and public health. “Our long term vision is to spread awareness about good health, the importance of fitness and equipping schools with good sports equipment,” he says.

“We wish to train younger and younger people to run and stay fit-and not just come to me when they are post 30. In short, I want children to come to me.”

The issue, he says is that we are living in an era where sports are essentially a spectator-based event. “So you have two extremes. The athletes and the performers who do stay fit by default and then the audience who couldn’t care less about playing the sport but are content to eat chips and cheer The Pune Women’s Half Marathon draws women from all walks of life on the performers. It’s the gap and most sufferers are women. Take for exambetween these two ends that we essentially wish ple, the common occurrence that is PCOD toto bridge.” day. It is alarming indeed that this disease with A firm believer in the power of Yoga, he says its grim ramifications for women's health is not that the irony is that even as the WHO is readybeing taken seriously or understood for what ing a Yoga protocol, there is little of it in Indian it is. On the contrary, it seems to be as normal schools. “So many schools focus only on acaas adolescent acne,” he wonders. “I agree that demics and relegate sports to being an option. women start at a point much behind the men, How sad is this, because sports build resilience but unless we address their health issues nothin all aspects of life,” he says. “Hopefully, the ing will change substantially.” trust will address these lacunae in the days to come.”

Paving a whole new track

“As our numbers increased in the group, I began to teach people all that I knew and understood about running, wellness, strength and stamina,” he narrates.

To keep the regime interesting, wholesome and complete, the group does different things on different days. Slow run one day, Speed walk the next, Hill repeat the day after, strength training and Yoga. “On a good day, we can have as 46 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Pune Women’s Half Marathon: run to break down barriers

“The idea of the marathon is to get the ladies out of their comfort zone by paradoxically ensuring their comfort zone-that is proximity to other women,” he smiles.

Starting off in 2017 with 3500 participants across Pune, this year saw over 4500 turn up with full enthusiasm.

"The first two years were free and funded by the trust. But this year to ensure due respect

to the facilities on offer, we charged a nominal amount between `300 to 500 per head," he says.

Like every year, the marathon, this year too, was organised in three slots: 21 km and above for seasoned runners; 10 km and above for intermediate level and 4 km for beginners.

“The ladies have the option to walk or run.

Energy drinks, water and breakfast are provided to cheer them on. Sure each one is different-and each one is doing it for herself,” he says.

In order to take care of injuries, a small contingent of physiotherapists were on hand. The rural police training ground next to St. Joseph's Passion was the perfect ground to flag off the marathon.

Of women, by women, for women.

“Some women signed up for the first edition because they were comfortable with the idea of running with only women. What started as a curiosity became a passion.

And those women have kept coming back each year. Last year, there was a lady who strapped her son to her chest and ran the 5 km distance.

No men or boys are allowed on the course, unless a lady is carrying the boy as all times, like this lady. We also had three generations of women running for the first twoyears - a mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law’s daughter.

There are many interesting stories, and it is a festival for the women,” says Bhavna Sarkar, who looks after the marketing of the marathon and is a runner herself. This is not to say that the marathon was only limited to those who paid.

The trust paid for those who could not afford to.

“We want more and more women to know about the marathon so that they participate and get their family and friends with them and we want men to know freak herself.

The PWHM is also certified by IAAF-AIMS, which means that participants can use this to qualify for a number of national and international races.

“Running pretty much changed my life for the better. It gave me the strength and endurance to take on all of life's challenges, both on track and off track,” says Govekar.

For a change, it is a man who has introduced a whole new world to the ladies. One that is liberating and empowering at the same time.

“When women run, whole new fields open up to them as well as to society,” rounds off Commander Nair. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

CII case study-6

●

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BOuR t La

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Steelcast Limited Industrial relation with internal contractors in Steelcast Limited

aCtICes IN s t PR

Good relations, good outcome

N atIO

s - CONtRa C

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a Report on Good People Management Practices has compiled real-life case studies of organisational initiatives to inculcate best practices in the industry. This Case Study pertains to Steelcast Limited, whose emphasis on promoting and maintaining good relations with its ‘internal contractors’ helped the company in both good and tough times Abstract

The case examines the various steps taken by Steelcast Limited towards maintaining harmonious Industrial Relations with its Internal Contractors. The case gives an overview of the good practices employed by the company for its Contractors. It also tells about how the company appreciates indirect workmen when targets are achieved. It also reflects the company’s philosophy of belongingness by including Internal Contractors in various welfare schemes and benefits. Finally, the case reviews the benefits reaped by the company because of its healthy Industrial Relation with its Contractors.

Industrial Relations

An industrial relations system consists of the whole gamut of relationships amongst employees and between employees and employers which are expressed by means of negotiation, collective bargaining, settlement, etc. It includes matters pertaining to employment conditions like pay, hours of work, leave with wages, health and safety, disciplinary action, lay-offs, dismissal, retirements etc.

Given below are some of the good practices followed by Steelcast Limited to ensure harmonious relations with Contractors and their workmen.

A. Compliance System

Internal Contractor’s workmen are paid wages at par with the Company’s employees. We pay wages to Internal Contractor’s workmen above the minimum wages set by the government. We have an ERP system to handle payroll and billing for Internal Contractors. The company adheres to legal compliance under various Labour Acts related to Internal Contactors like PF, ESIC, etc.

B. Wages

Wage Comparison:

C. Welfare and Benefits

Steelcast Limited was established in 1960. Since its inception we believe human resources as our greatest asset, whether they are direct or indirect employees. Except administration and control, we consider them as an important part of our company. That is the reason we also share profits in terms of gift or kind with Internal Contractors and their workmen on various occasions.

Eligibility statement for various gifts and Benefits/Welfare Schemes: CTC of Co.’s Workmen per day in `

CTC of IC’s Workmen per day in `

392

399

Sr. No.

Type of Gift and Benefits/ Welfare Schemes

Eligibility Company’s Internal Workmen Contractor’s Workmen

Gift 1

Landmark Gift

Yes

Yes

2

Productivity Gift

Yes

Yes

3

Annual Turnover Gift

Yes

Yes

4

Sneh Milan Gift on Diwali

Yes

Yes

5

Sweet on Dashera

Yes

Yes

Benefits/Welfare Schemes 1

Uniform and Shoes

Yes

Yes

2

Note book for Children

Yes

Yes

3

Oil and Wheat Loan

Yes

Yes

4

Festival Loan (Janmashtami)

Yes

Yes

5

Death Benovelant Fund Scheme

Yes

Yes

6

One time Meal

Yes

Yes

Case

In the year 2012 we had 360 indirect workmen working with us. But in the year 2013, due to the global recession, the order position had reduced and day by day it was difficult for us to sustain such a large workforce. In the initial phase, the company decided to sustain by laying off the company’s workmen and Internal Contractor’s workmen instead of removing any of them.

Later on, the situation became worse which forced us to take a call to stop a few works done on a contract basis. Rounds of meetings were scheduled with Internal Contractors. The management explained the load position and assured them that they would be called back for work once the market revived positively. We reduced the number of indirect workmen to 187. They agreed and also assured us that whenever the need arose they would be back with us. In 2016, we again started getting orders which helped us to give work to those contractors whom we had removed earlier. They came back with the same enthusiasm and spirit. They are still working with us happily.

As of now our indirect workmen strength is 580. We were able to handle the situation due to the harmonious relations we had with them.

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Initiative

Walking in pursuit of World Peace

Yogesh with the head of Toslo Police Station, South Aftica

Donned in his classy khadi attire, Yogesh Mathuria,61, who was once a corporate bigwig, now walks on the roads less travelled around the world to spread the message of love, harmony and peace. In today’s world where money is increasingly becoming dearer to humans, Yogesh, also known as VishwaMitra, hung his boots as a corporate leader to make this world a better place to live. Having walked by foot in 18 Indian states and five countries, his peace pilgrims exudes his undying love for Mother Earth and world peace. He boasts of tattoo inked on left hand that read humanity in Hindi language while on the right hand there’s a VishwaMirta walking around globe spreading the message of peace. “It’s one of the small gestures that reminds of my mission,” Yogesh smiles. In a tête-à-tête with Corporate Citizen, Yogesh spills the beans on his journey in the corporate world, the walks taken on the offbeat road that is making a difference, his dreams and much more… By Ekta Katti Give us an insight about your corporate career.

Born in a small town called Pen, a district in Raigad, my dreams were never confided to its dreamy beaches. Raised in Mumbai, my aspirations received the impedance of reaching the heights of success. As an ambitious person, my career meant the world to me. With three decades worth of experience in the IT field, I stuck with working for three of India’s best companies. With a commerce background and a specialization in Finance, in 1979, I started my first job with Bharat Gears Ltd as a Management Accountant. But things took a great 48 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

turn when within just one year I was transferred in the IT department.

Since then, my career graph rose exponentially. My stint with Indian Dyestuff Industries Ltd form 1985-1991 gave me opportunities of a lifetime. While heading the IT department there, I travelled to several foreign countries, learnt new technologies and met new people.

The experience certainly brightened up my resume. The last leg of my spell in the corporate world gave me a chance to work with Mastek Ltd where I spent almost 15 years working as a head of recruitment, technology infrastructure and purchase. And later as a chief of resourcing.

Yogesh poses next to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Phoenix Ashram, Durban, South Africa

What was your 30 years’ experience in the IT field like?

Each day, every trip, every assignment, every conference and every meeting has been an overwhelming experience. My quest for learning new things and my curiosity was quenched to a large extent. Even though finance was my forte, I always thought being in the same field would have confined me to just one city. However, my wheel of fate that changed was an evidence that universe had something amazing in store for.

Shifting to IT field has simply broadened my horizons as my experience grew leaps and bounds.

Work literally took me places. Travelling to 47

Yogesh during the visit to Ajmer Sharif, Rajasthan

up, due to the fast paced life, I lost track of what the book had to offer. Miraculously, after 47 years, I happened to meet these two gentlemen again who revived my senses and remined me the importance of walking in the quest of world peace. They said, India is a beautiful country but there lies tension between us and the neighbouring countries. So, I thought of starting my journey by understanding Indians and later took a stride and started walking in the bordering countries.

Tell us about your walking journey.

I took time to understand the concept and did my research. It looked like a mammoth task then, hence, I decided to take to small steps. I began covering small distances. After gaining confidence, “Yes, humanity still exists, more than what in 2012, I did my first long walk from Mumbai to Pune. As it was my first time in the testing waters, we know of. People are kind, warm and had a support team who was behind time. As I welcoming. All they need is push in the right Ireached Pune, I was certain that I can take this up direction. I am here to do what I was born for forever. Then came my next big walk – Mumbai to Gandhi Ashram which opened new horizons – to spread love, peace and harmony” for me. I took a leap of faith and walked without materialistic things with me. So far, I have covered 18 Indians states and four countries – Sri Lanka, Bancountries for work gave Popularly known application me a chance to underas LCC became internationgladesh, South Africa and Japan. The walk that I would stand new concepts and ally known application. For always remember is when I it gave me a glimpse of leading such initiatives, me was spreading the awareness new cultures to. My visand my team got best innoof peace in Sri Lanka and it to Harvard and IIM vative Tech Solution too.

South African. I realised that Ahmedabad was the most humanity still exists and peomemorable of all. That When did you Yogesh (right) with his feeling was simply heartfinally get the divine ple will go out of their way to daughter Sakshi being blessed by Saint Mohanji revelation to start help you. warming. Setting my foot in Durban, South Africa walking in pursuit into the IT world made of world peace and How do you spread the world my oyster. humanity? love, peace and harmony while walking?

However, with that, my When your intentions are noble, the universe alOur typical walk consists of minimum 8-9 hours of family life was hampered walking per day. While walking we are continuousa tad bit. Continuously ways has your back. I would say that the following travelling left with me two incidents made me realise that there is more to ly chanting and praying for Mother Earth. Later in hardly anytime to spend life than just earning money. After the corporate the evening, we engage in spreading the awareness with my family. But that’s world took a toll on me, I had promised my wife by visiting schools and colleges while explaining a part and parcel of every that I would hang my boots soon and would spend them the importance of our walks. Words are cerjob. Fortunately, my famimost of the time with our family. Unfortunately, tainly powerful and when it is accompanied with my wife lost her battle against cancer and left us the righteous action the impact in impeccable. ly always understood me. when she was barely 46. We all were heartbroken. ektaakatti@gmail.com However, I did not give up on my promise. As soon Could you walk as I turned 50, I gave up my IT job not knowing us through some of the interesting what to do next. But, as I mentioned, the universe assignments you had taken on during CC always has something in store for you. There was your stint as an IT professional? some divine revelation that pushed me to serve the Although I belonged to the non-technical skills society, spread love and harmony, and restore faith background, technology always attracted me. in humanity.

Frankly, even 12 years after quitting my job, my That was one part, but the idea of walking in heart still looks for such opportunities in the corPoor India pursuit of world peace and humanity was inculcatporate world. Being the chief of relationship with According to this revised methodology, the Microsoft, I lead and grabbed opportunity to be ed in me when I hardly nine-years-old. Back then, world had 872.3 million people below the premier partner when .Net, a development tool was in our Kandivali house, my father had invited a new poverty line, India had third highest launched in 2004. In next year we used .Net tool few guests. Satish Kumar and ET Menon were on a number of people living in extreme poverty, after Nigeria and Congo in January 2019. to develop and designed world largest application mission to walk across the globe to spread love and Although, it was a minimal 3.6% in terms of known as the London Congestion Charging sponharmony. Their book Bina Paise Duniya ka Paidal percentage.

Safar had huge impact on me. However, as I grew sored by than Mayor of London - Ken Livingston.

tadka

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Accolades

Celebrating Women who use social media positively Consulting Editor of Corporate Citizen, Vinita Deshmukh is among the 30 women honoured as ‘Web Wonder Women’ by Ministry of Women and Child Development. A Report

T

By Corporate Citizen News Network

he Ministry of Women and Child Development recently hosted a felicitation event for #WebWonderWomen winners - a campaign organised to celebrate the exceptional achievements of women, who have been driving social reforms via social media. As many as 30 women, who were selected after an extensive research process, were honoured by the Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi, on 6th March, 2019.

Organised in collaboration with Twitter India and Breakthrough India, the event aimed to recognise the fortitude of Indian women stalwarts from across the globe who have used the power of social media to run positive campaigns to steer a change in society.

Vinita Deshmukh, Corporate Citizen’s Consulting Editor is among the 30 women honoured with the title of ‘Web Wonder Women’ by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

“Women Online, though niche, are a very powerful voice. #WebWonderWomen was a campaign to recognise, honour and encourage such voices that have in their own capacity driven a positive impact on social media platforms,” Gandhi said while felicitating these web wonder women.

As part of a novel way to celebrate women annually, Gandhi, further stated in her speech at the Gujarat Bhavan lawns in Delhi that, “Twitter came to us and said what about picking up women who changed India, and there is no doubt that media has changed in profound ways. However, she added, “It taught us how to abuse how to be mean to each other; how to hide behind anonymity; it taught women how to be scared. I am not on Twitter or Facebook, I do have a handle but other people handle it because I would not trust myself on it.”

Adding that she herself is wary of the Twitter, Gandhi stated candidly that, “I would have preferred a private handle of just the exhibitions I like, and the books I read, but that is not to be.

Because tweets are all in the public domain be50 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Vinita Deshmukh, Consulting Editor, Corporate Citizen, felicitated by Union Minister, Maneka Gandhi

cause the things that I like are way out and perhaps there are political connotations; I would perhaps get trolled and it would be horrible for me to give some kind of cultural windows and have them smashed. Lots of books that I like are politically incorrect, so I backed off. It just made us scare as people. But people like you have brought it all back. Instead of abusing, many of you have changed India in profound ways for the better.”

Twitter India which collaborated with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Breakthrough NGO states that, “As of 2019, there are 7.83 million Indian users on Twitter, a really staggering number. But we only hear from a countable few on a daily basis and of those, a small percentage are women. We thought it was time to look beyond the numbers - followers, re-tweets, likes and find the women who fly beMore power to women using social media to amplify their good work: All 30 winners flanked by Maneka Gandhi, Union low our radars but continue to use Twitter in a Minister of Women and Child Development productive and positive way!’’

The NGO, Breakwho were ‘firsts’ in their field. So, we took six itive campaigns to steer a through, addresses vital months to hunt down such women by visiting change in society. issues of women’s right small towns, villages and hamlets. We were able In 2018 and 2019, the and safety which comprise to track down 500 amazing women. The first Ministry of Women and adolescent empowerment, gynaecologist, the first train driver, the first bus Child Development celdomestic violence, sexual driver. It ranged from Aishwarya Rai who was ebrated women in other harassment, gender-bithe first judge at Cannes and India’s first coolie, novel ways. Informed ased sex selection and in her 40s, who really made us cry. She said, I Gandhi, “We teamed up early marriage. was a widow, I had four children, I was in Jaiwith Facebook and we Referring to Vinita Dr (Col.) A Balasubramanian, pur, and I had nothing. She was totally illiterate said, if anybody can get Deshmukh, the minis- Editor-In-Chief, Corporate Citizen, - for one year her relatives supported her then 5000 votes from their try ‘s press release stated, congratulating Vinita Deshmukh gave up. So I had no idea what to do. So one own communities in hav“Vinita uses the dual powday she went to railway station and decided to ing made some positive er of the Right to Inforcarry luggage. She built her muscles, she started change, somewhere, will mation (RTI) Act for her carrying luggage, and it hurt like hell. But she be part of our 100 Wominvestigative stories and said she had a problem because she didn’t know en. So we got thousands Twitter to amplify them. what the number of the platform. So she taught of applications; we had Vinita has intelligently herself how to read, educated her children and people voting and made a used Twitter for consumtransformed her way of life. wonderful jury. We asked er-related complaints and Indeed, these are conventional ways to celhonourable President Mr got the issues promptly ebrate women and so kudos to the ministry of Pranab Mukherjee, what resolved. Vinita also uses women and child development! would he give us and Twitter to spread public he said he would host a awareness on several islunch for all the winners. sues. She has authored We then requested famous designer, Sabyasachi, four books including co-authoring Vinita KamCC to give us sarees and he agreed.’’ te’s ‘To the last bullet’ on her husband, Additional Gandhi further said in a affectionate tone, Commissioner Ashok Kamte, who was martyred “So, we had this 100 women lunch at the Rashin the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack.” trapati Bhavan. It was like a myriad butterflies The minister, along with a panel of 10 judghaving entered the lawns and it was such fun. es, finalised the names of 30 women who have The hundred women were so amazing - they impacted and influenced society through social ranged from grandmothers teaching guns to media. The women were selected from over 240 their granddaughters, to people who are runnominations received under the categories meCan you justify 12 hours a day, work schedning cheese industries, and the dynamism was dia, awareness, legal, health, governmental, food, ule? A global workplace survey by IWG all over the place. Subsequently, they made a environment, development, business and art. said that 61% of office goers in India want WhatsApp group amongst themselves and have Organised in collaboration with Twitter the commute time to be included in their admirably connected with each other. Some India and Breakthrough India, the event was working hours. The survey also found that over 80 % companies in India are trying to of them are doing business together; some of aimed to recognise the fortitude of Indian incorporate flexible working hours to hire them procured loans - it had an amazing imwomen stalwarts from across the globe who employees and retain them. pact. Then we had a completion for women have used the power of social media to run pos-

“As of 2019, there are 7.83 million Indian users on Twitter, a really staggering number. But we only hear from a countable few on a daily basis and of those, a small percentage are women”-Twitter India

tadka

Inclusive hours for work-commute

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Loved & Married too It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into 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

Rooted in the soil, a love that endures Noted Marathi film actor and Short filmmaker Sachin Gawali and his significant half, the effervescent actor Smruti carry the responsibilities of celeb-hood with grace and aplomb. What keeps them sane in a world as exciting and unpredictable as cinema and theatre is a deep sense of belonging to the values of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and their strong and steadfast Marathi roots By Kalyani Sardesai

A

ctor film-maker Sachin Gawali is an unusual man. Unusual not only for his academic background - a law graduate and MBA post-graduate who happened to make an impact in the world of Marathi cinema but also his unabashed ownership of his roots. "I am from a farmer's family in Sangli. My extended family is in the military. It is something I never forget," he says amidst the ever-building adulation.

But that's not all the reason why this celebrity is different. Here's a man with an active social conscience and a strong belief in women's empowerment. A belief he has leveraged to great effect with his widely viewed videos on Respecting women, saving the girl child, as well as the importance of teaching girls self-defence, amongst other things.

"Having studied the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as well his contribution not just to politics and warfare but also in his consistent demonstration of respect to women-including those from the enemy camp, I thought the one way of spreading the good word of women's empowerment was to link it to Maharaj and all that he stood for," he explains.

At the crux of it, all was a deep-seated frustration at the tacky and diminishing way women are spoken of in the course of the day to day conversations. "It's ridiculous that you say that you are from the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and then disrespect ladies," he shakes his head.

Women are part of our world as mothers, sisters, daughters, partners and individuals, and it is im52 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

portant to acknowledge the value they bring to our lives," he says with conviction.

The videos he started making from 2014 onwards have been circulated both in Maharashtra and outside, making an impact beyond his expectations. "When viewers tell you that your film made a difference in their outlook, it is a rewarding moment," he says quietly.

Wife Smruti would agree. After all, it is amongst the many things that drew her to him.

Perhaps that's why, despite being married for little over a year, she understands the responsibilities that go with being the partner of an upcoming actor. What helps too, is that she is from the same field - a noted actor and dancer, despite having studied nursing. But like him, the love of the stage drew her into a plethora of dancing, modelling and acting assignments.

However, she's never too busy for him. "I look after his diary, help with planning his dates and schedules, and overall, hope to support him as best as I can," she says. "His work is important, and so is his message."

we make it a point to be together wherever possible. He is also caring and solicitous of my needs," she says.

At the end of the day, she says it all boils down to one word-respect. "Give your partner the respect they deserve and value them for the person that they are."

Sachin and Smruti Gawli are bonded by an abiding belief in social work, cultural values, as well as love of family

The admiration is mutual.

"She is a talented actor herself and does a fine job on screen," says the What is important is supportive husband." to keep doing good She must take up roles work and being good that do her talent due to others around you. justice."

Eventually, they The relationships you do plan on starting a build today are your family but Smruti is The world of cinema may be a challenging one, greatest strengths sure that she will have but with strong roots, one can weather any his support, whether tomorrow - Sachin strom is what they say or not she chooses to work. "He is very encouraging of everything I By way of dating, he took her to forts and temdo," she says. ples. "It may sound like an odd choice of place to For the moment, life is hectic but happy. take one's fiance to, but apart from the fact that Back to the beginning Sachin has a plethora of projects coming up, we both enjoy visiting such places, there was a This young romance was scripted over two and including films like Jawaani Zindabad, Dhaap, necessity to do so as well. For here is a half years ago not on the campus Kaajwa, Hyderabad Custody, Lai Jhakaas and where we could spend quality time, of a college but at an event that both Kurhaad in which he's either the parallel lead or unhindered by attention," he says. had been invited to as celebrity main actor in a villainous role. On the anvil are The families did not object. Givguests. There wasn't much converplans to come up with some more videos urgen the fact that Sachin's work had sation beyond a cursory hello that ing women to learn some form of self-defence. reached Smruti's home long before day. But when Smruti returned "I truly believe it is the need of the hour," he says. the man himself, they found no reahome to read up on his bio-data, Amidst all the excitement, the question arises son to object and gave the young she was intrigued. From major roles • Trust nevertheless, as to how the couple manages to couple their blessings. in films like Lokmanya and Bikers keep up the spirits in the lean period that is a givThe duo was wed in a traditional Adda to making an assortment of • A shared love en part of an actor's life. "See, ups and downs are ceremony on Dec 12, 2017. over 50 socially relevant 50 vidof roots and part of life," says Sachin. "What is important is to eos, Sachin's work profile said a lot family keep doing good work and being good to others about the person that he was.

The building blocks of around you. The relationships you build today A common friend tried to get marriage • Mutual respect are your greatest strengths tomorrow," he added. in touch, but as luck would have it, Obviously, things are different since "Maharaj would say that anyone can benefit he happened to be busy with travel marriage but in a good way, they • Caring for each from an opportunity. But it takes a wise man to and shoots. " No matter how hard I aver. For starters, Sachin's fans are other's families convert an obstacle into an opportunity... both tried, I just couldn't get away. So it no longer content to see only him at Smruti and I hope to implement this in our pertook us about 20-25 days to finally a function. "They want to know why sonal and professional lives," Sachin rounds off. meet," he reminisces. she hasn't come if she happens to be kalyanisardesai@gmail.com "Smruti took this delay to heart, and decided absent," he smiles. "It feels great actually to be acto repay me with a similar display of 'attitude'. cepted and loved as a couple."

Well, I must say she has stuck to her resolve ever The public interface apart, both have taken since-especially in her role as my wife," he laughs. considerable efforts in accepting each other's CC Despite the uncertain start, the relationship families. "He is like a son to my parents, and I progressed swiftly. From the outset, the converam a daughter to his mother. When you care for sation flowed easily. He found her straightforsomeone you need to make the effort to extend ward, unpretentious and spontaneous qualities the commitment to their loved ones as well," he cherishes deeply. says Smruti.

A trend prevalent amongst high net-worth And no, despite the attention commanded by Besides, there was much to share, apart from a individuals (HNWI) in India is that they seek her actor husband, she does not for a moment, common background of cinema and the performopportunity to live or do business abroad feel overwhelmed by it. "For starters, he ading arts: food, for starters. "We are both foodies and an alternative passport for travel dresses each and every lady he meets as taioraai and enjoy trying out different cuisines," he shares. freedom. Indians prefer living abroad in the U.S. Going by 2018 data on the share of (elder sister or mother.) That apart, trust is inNot to forget a shared love of history and culture.

EB-5 visas, Indian nationals prefer the U.S. tegral to every relationship. With trust you can "We both wanted to work towards building a followed by UAE, UK and Canada. go places, without it, nothing moves. Besides, sense of pride in our history and culture."

The mantras of a marriage

tadka

HNWI and their foreign haven

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Campus Placement

Failure is a new Opportunity

Failure is not final or fatal. It gives you a chance to strategise things even better and provides you with the courage to achieve your target. After giving umpteen interviews, GD and aptitude tests, Samarth Chhabra finally got placed with Kantar GDC, Pune, as Project Manager Analyst. He overcame several hurdles before getting his dream job. Corporate Citizen finds out more By Ekta Katti

H

is ‘never give up attitude’ is contagious. He lives his life by his rules and makes sure to enjoy each and every moment. Never a dull moment in his journey, Samarth Chhabra makes the most of every situation. Be it the education course he chooses, the strategy he plots to achieve his dream job or the way he manoeuvers his moves for a 3-pointer shot in a basketball ball match, his resilience always shines in the outcome. A true Punjabi at heart, Samarth was born and raised in Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh (MP). However, his dreams were just not restricted to this small town. His roots are still intact, but his love for learning, a quest for knowledge and his zeal to earn a livelihood takes him places.

Patience is the key

All through his school and college days, Samarth was always a studious kid. He cleared his SSC boards in flying colours from Tarasadan Senior Secondary School. To gain more exposure and to get the right kind of education, he moved to Guna, MP, to complete his further studies.

His decision to appear for the entrance exam of Chartered Accountant (CA) changed his life.

Samarth’s urge and fortitude to clear the CPT and IPCC exams unknowingly taught him several virtues of life. Before appearing for the CA entrance exam, Samarth had just learnt to socialise. He made several good friends who stuck with him through thick and thin. He made sure to enjoy each and every day.

However, the moment he started preparing for CPT, things changed. His life revolved only around studies and he would study for almost ten hours a day. “The goal was clear in my mind. I had to clear the CPT entrance exam. For months, the only thing on my mind was studies.

I would lock myself in the room and study for hours together,” says Samarth.

His hard work bore the sweet fruits of success. Samarth cleared the entrance with good grades. Now to become a CA, he had to overcome another hurdle. The second intermediate 54 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Samarth Chhabra enjoying with his family during his cousin’s engagement

“I always wanted to explore the field of market research. At my current job, I am able to do that. I am quite content with my growth. With that, I hope to achieve a work-life balance and expect to achieve enough opportunities to prove my mettle” level for CA was IPCC. Within the next couple of months, he appeared for the entrance exam.

This time the exam was different, but the routine was the same. He burnt the midnight oil and studied his heart out. With that, he took nine months of rigorous coaching for the same.

In 2015, he appeared for the exam. However, luck did not favour him this time. He could not clear the IPCC exam in the first attempt. But he did not lose hope. He studied even harder, made notes, read and re-read the chapters. This time, he a gritty, Samarth passed the first level of IPCC. But, after all the hard work, hours and hours of studying and after appearing for two entrance exams, Samarth had a revelation. “My heart said, I wasn’t meant to do CA. And I went with my guts again and dropped the plan of continu-

ing with CA,” he said. And in 2017, he took the decision of enrolling himself for MBA-International Business at SBS, Pune.

Talking about the whole shift and experience, he explains, “Yes, I gave up on CA, but that does not mean I did not learn anything. I guess the pathway to entrance exams for CA taught me the most valuable lesson - patience. And that virtue has stuck by me. I will forever be grateful for this experience.”

The placement saga

Before bagging the job his heart desired, Samarth applied to 36 companies and appeared for 23 aptitude tests, 24 personal interviews and 26 group discussions. Failure is inevitable, he knew that. But at every stage, he made sure to give his best.

Samarth Chhabra with his friends during a monsoon retreat

who I wasn’t. I spoke to them openly and answered every question to the point,” he quips.

After two days, while Samarth was enjoying his time off with his friends in Panchgani, he got the greatest news of life. He got a confirmation from Kantar GDC. “That was the happiest moment of my life. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.”

Work is worship

He considered every failed attempt as a lesson learnt. Each interview was a new experience for him. And at the end of every challenge, he emerged as a better person. “I am quite proud of my journey so far. For a long period of my placement session, I never got the job I wanted.

There were times where I cleared all the rounds but would miss the chance of getting placed by a whisker. Failure gave me the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently,” he said. Further adding, “However, I never gave up! After every failed attempt, I never got discouraged. In fact, it gave me the strength to fight harder.”

During this, he realised that he had applied several filters and had numerous expectations from the company. “I was hoping for a specific kind of package. Also, I wanted to work in the same city and was looking for a precise posi-

Hardly a month after getting placed with Kantar GDC, Pune, Samarth had realised that his work meant the world to him. A part of the International Project Management team, his work involves negotiating with the stockholders and managing the line of process. As a project manager analyst, he has to do thorough market research about the product and manage various teams as well. He also has to make sure that the project is delivered well within time. “I Samarth Chhabra poses with his close friends during his Panchgani trip always wanted to explore the field of market research. At my current job, I am able to do that. I am quite content tion that suited me,” he exwith my growth. With that, I hope to achieve plains. But as time passed, work-life balance and expect to achieve enough he toned down his expecopportunities to prove my mettle,” he says. tations. This was a gamechanging decision for him.

Nonetheless, the whole Basketball fanatic campus placement period During his schooldays, Samarth picked up the was a great learning expassion for playing basketball. It’s one of the perience. “These failed atsports when played at an early age helps in boosttempts did not hamper my ing the kid’s height and overall development. confidence or determinaThat’s what attracted Samarth to this sport. And tion. After every interview, since then, there has been no looking back. The I would analyse myself and way he manoeuvers and passes the ball, the way improve in the next round. he plots the strategies and pushes his team to win Yes, luck plays a great role, is a testament of his great judgement. So far, he but what makes the driver’s has represented his school and colleges at various seat is your willpower. In tournaments. He has even played for the district fact, the whole process has changed my perlevel events. This experience has played a catalyst spective on life. I have emerged the most optiin his overall growth. mistic version of myself,” he says. ektaakatti@gmail.com Finally, his hard work paid off. On January 25, he cleared the aptitude test at Kantar GDC with flying marks. The next day, he was CC all geared up for the personal interview. The moment he entered the Kantar GDC arena, he knew he belonged there. And this time he knew he was going to crack the deal.

Samarth had to clear nine rounds that day.

How much oxygen He was up for the challenge. While his peers per tree? couldn’t go past round three, Samarth was one Did you know that a healthy tree with of the few who cleared round eight. One after respect to its oxygen producing activity is the other, he aced the rounds-GDs, creative roughly `24 lakh per year as per the Report on economic evaluation of oxygen supplytests and others. ing ecosystem service of healthy trees’ by Then came the personal interview. “I was Delhi Greens, an NGO. calm during the PI. I did not pretend to be

tadka

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Survey

India is the Second Best Ec Over the last decade, Asia has emerged as the fastest-growing region of the global economy.

So what is it like doing business in Asia? What do global companies feel about the prospects of the region? Which countries are preferred while which are better-avoided vis-a-vis ease of doing business? With a view to answering these questions, The Economist has prepared the 2019 Asia Business Outlook Survey. Corporate Citizen brings you the results Compiled By Neeraj Varty

56 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

onomy for Sales Growth

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Survey Over the current year, have your firm’s expectations for revenue growth in Asia improved, declined or stayed the same?

100 12%

11%

41%

35%

30%

14%

9%

12%

33%

28%

34%

80

60

33%

40

47%

54%

37%

53%

63%

54%

0 End of 2013

End of 2014

End of 2015

End of 2016

End of 2017

End of 2018

20

Our expectations have declined

Our expectations are unchanged

India the second-best economy

CHINA

Our expectations have improved

Executives participating in this year’s Asia Business Outlook Survey have—despite the trade frictions and market uncertainties that characterised the closing months of 2018—maintained a relatively stable and optimistic view for what awaits in 2019. Slightly over half (54%) of surveyed executives stated that their expectations for revenue growth have improved, similar to findings in three of the surveys conducted over the previous five years. Compared to how executives were feeling at the end of 2015, the level of optimism heading into 2019 is, in fact, a noticeable improvement. The only time where a greater percentage of executives expressed improved expectations for the coming year was at the end of 2017. So overall the sentiment for higher revenues in 2019 is similar to three of the previous five years’ reports, better than one and lower than one.

US-China trade war

Overall, how do you expect your industry in Asia to be affected by US-China trade frictions in 2019?

Growth: 70.2% Decline: 7.3%

INDIA

Growth: 72.4% Decline: 0.8%

As with previous surveys, South-east Asia, Greater China and India have attracted the highest expectations for sales growth among Asia’s subregions. India’s market prospects led 72.4% of survey participants to state that they expect revenue growth in 2019. This makes India the second-best economy for its overall outlook. India also scores well for a marked decrease in those expecting sales declines. Last year over 7% of respondents were prepared for a drop in sales whereas for 2019 less than 1% are. None expect a decline in sales above 5%, the only economy in this year’s survey to register absolutely no such pessimism. The one finding that notably reflects less positively on India’s outlook is that the percentage of those expecting company sales growth has declined somewhat over last year. A total of about 77% of executives surveyed last year expected rising revenues in the India market compared to about 72% for 2019.

58 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Extremely negatively affected 3.2% More negatively than positively affected 48.1% Not to be very affected 41.1% More positively than negatively affected 7.6% Extremely positively affected 0% Since 2018, the world has been watching anxiously as trade frictions between the US and China have steadily worsened. On the ground in Asia, executives participating in this year’s Asia Business Outlook Survey related concerns but generally expressed a more nuanced view, especially when considering the impact on industries across the region. A slight majority, 51.3%, stated that they expect their industry to be negatively affected by the US-China trade conflict in 2019. At odds with severe pessimists, however, those predicting their industry will be “extremely negatively affected” was a mere 3.2%.

Risky business

How do you view the way governments in the following economies are responding to political and economic risks in terms of the likely impact on your business in 2019?

Slight improvement to business

Significant improvement to business

Significant worsening to business

Slight worsening to business Australia

2.9% 12.7%

China

4.8%

Hong Kong

5%

India

11.9%

72.5%

22.6%

11.8%

21.8%

16.7%

36.3%

42.5%

8.3%

26.9%

Japan

2.9%

34%

South Korea

3%

Malaysia

3%

Myanmar

1.2%

Philippines

4.2%

Singapore

6.1%

Taiwan

3%

Thailand

2.1%

40.6%

24.1%

5.8%

54%

16.9%

14% 38%

45.8%

20% 28.9%

48.4%

20% 37.7%

46.5%

10.3% 1% 48.9%

40

2.1%

9%

57.7% 35.2%

1%

9.6%

69%

28.9%

2%

7.2% 25.3%

19%

20

0.9%

57.3%

38%

10.2%

5% 10.9% 4%

36.8%

27%

0

14.5% 30.8%

32.7%

Indonesia

Vietnam

No real change

60

80

5.7%

Political and economic risks have been rising as causes of concern with doing business in Asia. In the face of such conditions, surveyed Asia-based business executives felt notably pessimistic about prospects for the way governments will be managing risks in China, Hong Kong, Myanmar and the Philippines. For example, regarding China, just over 50% expected a deteriorating business climate for 2019 based on their estimates of the government response to mounting risks. This represents a sharp deterioration in sentiments over the findings in last year’s survey when slightly less than 30% expressed such negative views. Furthermore, in last year’s survey, 41.4% foresaw improving conditions in China for 2018 while only slightly more than 27% of respondents in this year’s survey could muster such optimism for 2019.

100

Investing in Asia My headquarter's expectations are overly optimistic My headquarter's expectations are too low My headquarter's expectations are about right 19.2%

68%

12.8%

9.4%

81.9%

8.7%

Japan

11.7%

72.1%

16.2%

South Korea

14.3%

75.2%

10.5%

23%

62%

15%

South-east Asia

12.4%

74.5%

13.1%

Australia/New Zealand

12.4%

48.8%

8.8%

China Hong Kong/Macau

India

0

20

40

60

80

100

In your opinion, are your global headquarters expectations for growth in Asia over-optimistic, about right, or do they underestimate Asia’s potential?

When asked whether respondents’ global headquarters expectations for growth in Asia were overly optimistic, about right, or underestimate Asia’s potential, more than 70% of executives surveyed felt expectations are well matched for Hong Kong/Macau, Australia/ New Zealand, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Japan. Compared to these markets, China and India fare less well. The biggest reason cited by survey participants for mismatched expectations in these two economies are overly optimistic ambitions, mentioned by 23% of executives for India and 19.2% of executives for China. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Pearls of Wisdom ing. We will simply end up by limiting our own opportunities drastically. Maureen Neihart, a

By Dada clinical psychologist, tells us that we must apJP Vaswani preciate the value of taking risks, and also teach our children about well planned, systematic risk taking which can help them become high achievers. According to her, there are six steps to systematic risk-taking: ➊ Understanding the benefits of risk-taking, which include increasing one’s confidence, the Which is better – to be a reckless doer or a fearful non-doer? ability to take on a challenge, increasing a sense The best option is to avoid both extremes. Experts tell us that we of control over one’s life, developing skills for coping with anxieties and overcoming fears, and must stop thinking of risk as just a do-or-die situation. Instead, providing practice in important decision making. we must start thinking of risk as a journey of exploration ➋ Initial self-assessment of risk-taking categories: This means the ability to distinguish between intellectual risks, social risks, emotional risks, physical risks, and spiritual risks. Some risks may be easy for us while others will be very difficult. ➌ Identifying personal needs: we need to understand and prioritise our own risk levels in different categories. A gifted learner, for example, can take the intellectual risk of appearing for a tough, high-level examination; an athlete might stretch himself to the extreme limit, in order to break a world record; an ardent lover might take the emotional risk of declaring his love boldly to his beloved. It all depends on how strongly we feel the need to achieve a particular goal. ➍ Choosing the kind of risk that we feel will bring us great satisfaction: this will make the risk more palatable and easy to manage for us. ➎ Taking the risk: that is, actually going ahead to take a chance in the interest of our own success. ➏ Processing the risk experience: Most of the beneficial changes in people come not as a result of merely taking risks, but as a result of processage to lose sight of the shore.” ing the risk. The processing that follows risk-tak“No pains, no gains,” says an Risk taking must not be confused with ing activities provides for the expression of feelold fashioned proverb. “Noththrill-seeking. By this, I mean reckless behaviour, ings and also helps us to clarify our strengths and ing ventured, nothing gained,” which leads to many sad accidents and avoidable weaknesses. This can be invaluable for our future is another wise saying. It is mishaps. Psychologists call this compulsive novgrowth. only because the early Homo elty-seeking behaviour. It is mostly adolescents sapiens took calculated risks, When we are children, we hardly stop to think who indulge in such behaviour to attract attenthat you and I live in the advanced civilisation of of risks; we just go ahead and do what we want. tion and enhance their low the twenty-first century! If your life is absoluteBut as we grow older, we restrict When we are chil- ourselves. We draw a circle self-esteem. Ironically enough, ly free of failures, chances are that you have not it is in the ‘developed’ countaken risks, and thus lost the chance of learning dren, we hardly stop around ourselves and are reluctries of the world that such many valuable lessons in life. Therefore, the manto step out of the self-imto think of risks; we tant thrill-seeking games abound. agement pundits tell us: “The person who risks posed boundaries. We begin to Statistics tell us that a dispro- just go ahead and do think of the consequences; we nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, portionate share of thrill-or and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering what we want. But fear the repercussions; we even sensation-seeking personality and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel about what people might as we grow older, we worry types are to be found in the and change and grow and love and live.” say. restrict ourselves United States, where ‘extreme Quite apart from success or failure, you learn Which is better - to be games’ such as hang gliding, to face the truth about yourself, when you take a reckless doer or a fearful paragliding and dirt cycling are popular. risks, with faith in God, and confidence in yournon-doer? The best option is to avoid both exThe kind of risk-taking I am talking about is self, you learn to do what you think you cannot tremes. Experts tell us that we must stop thinking very different: I refer to situations where we are do; you learn to do what is hard for you to do; of risk as just a do-or-die situation. Instead, we afraid to venture because we fear that we may you learn to take the initiative; you learn to take must start thinking of risk as a journey of explonot do well. If we limit ourselves to situations the responsibility for your own actions. As the ration. It is not about one-shot success or failure; where we are sure of doing well, we will never French humanist Andre Gide tells us, “Man canit is about exploring different aspects of our life be able to know what we are capable of achievnot discover new oceans unless he has the courand personality.

Taking Calculated Risks

N

60 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

Mobile apps

The Best Apps for Yoga Yoga is one Indian export that has caught fire around the world.

Thanks to its numerous benefits and easy learning curve, Yoga has become the default fitness activity for many people globally.

This issue, Corporate Citizen brings you the best Yoga apps for your phone By Neeraj Varty

Fiit

The Fiit app contains video workouts divided into three sections: Cardio, Strength and Rebalance. In the latter, you’ll find a host of great yoga routines led by well-known instructors like Cat Meffan. The routines are rated by difficulty and you can choose between 25 and 45-minute long sessions.

Pocket Yoga

There are 27 routines to follow on this app, which uses an animated figure to guide you through the poses. One handy feature is that you can play your own music through the app, rather than having to listen to the default zen soundtrack that accompanies most routines in yoga apps.

Even better is the library of over 200 yoga poses you can use any time to better your understanding of the correct posture.

Yoga For Beginners

A free and really simple app that contains 15 short yoga routines that are rated by difficulty and how many calories they burn. There are several great options for beginners, as you’d expect from the name of the app, and all the routines are under 15 minutes long, so you can fit one into even the busiest of days.

Daily Yoga

There are over 200 yoga, Pilates, meditation and workout classes on this app and more than 50 workout plans, which are designed around overarching goals like losing weight, staying healthy or getting into yoga.

A limited selection of classes are available for free, but to get access to the training plans and all the sessions, you’ll need a premium subscription. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com SeptemberApril 1-15,1-15, 20152019 / Corporate / Corporate Citizen Citizen / 61/ 61

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

From The Mobile

A genuine and humble politician...

Do you really find such gentle and genuine souls among politicians?

Well, I knew one, but he left us now. Mr Mannohar Parrikar, honourable in real terms.

It was a Sunday morning of Dec 2014, when after a run I was chilling out in my bed, that my phone rings and I see a call from Private Number.

Hello, is it Maj. D P Singh?

Yes, who is this please?

I am Parrikar.

Sorry, who?

I am Mannohar Parrikar.

I am sorry (As I couldn’t understand still) I am Defence Minister, Mannohar Parrikar.

(Jumping out of my bed) Oh! I am sorry Sir, Jai Hind.

That is how my first conversation started with Sir. He was as calm and composed as I was embarrassed on my ignorant behaviour.

The least I had expected that a person as tall as Defence Minister will call me personally in reply to my mail.

Continuing the conversation: D P I got your mail and I wish to meet you.

Ok Sir. When do I come?

Do you ever come to Delhi?

Yes Sir, daily, for my job.

So when can you see me?

As and when Sir. I can come now itself.

No no, I don’t wish you to spoil your family time.

But Sir your time is precious.

I can come unless you want me to meet in office only.

No, I am in office today too (just to remind that was Sunday) Sir, in that case I can come now itself.

But I don’t want you to come especially for this.

Sir, its okay with me I am not doing anything important.

And moreover your time and task for which you want to meet me is more important.

Ok, come over. Take your time. Do not hurry I am in office only.

(It took me some serious efforts to make Sir agree that I can come on Sunday too.

Surprised? Yes it’s true. And yes he was Defence Minister) I had written a mail to him forwarding a request note prepared by Maj. Navdeep Singh, to reduce the unnecessary litigation against the disabled soldier and families.

Which resulted in setting up of a historic committee. Our approach was restricted to only such cases but being a DM he increased it to cover scope of all matters leading to litigation and grievances in each and every department of MoD (all the services, DRDO, factories, civilians etc).

I wish to share one more incident out of many which took place alongside his stint as Defence Minister.

When Col. MN. Rai, VrC fell in action, I gave him a call and requested.

Sir, it will be very kind on your part if you send per-

62 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

sonal condolences to family.

It will be morale boosting whole army fraternity too as rarely a minister does so.

Okay DP, let me see what I can do.

He calls back third day.

DP, I have gone and met the lady.

(I was happily surprised but not sure) Thank you Sir. It’s so kind of you. Jai Hind.

I called up my friends and checked back as a politician is a politician and there is no news anywhere in media.

I found it was true and he chose to go there alone. He did not want to encash it at all so no media fanfare was done.

There was only one picture clicked by Col. Rai’s elder brother by his mobile.

It took us some efforts to make him agree that let’s release this picture on social media as it will be morale boosting for all.

Finally he agreed after few days.

That was Mr Mannohar Parrikar.

A man who can’t be replaced for what he was and what he did.

We will miss you Sir. I wish you stayed a bit longer as Defence Minister, things would have been different for us.

God bless you. May you rest in peace.

Jai Hind!!

-- MAJOR D.P.SINGH

Innovating idea

In Japan, in a soap manufacturing company the soap blocks were being made, then the soaps were wrapped in a wrapping paper automatically on an assembly conveyer belt and finally packed in cartons.

Many at times, it happened that the wrapping machine wrapped the paper without soap i.e. you had an empty packet without a soap. To rectify this problem the Japanese company bought an x-ray scanner from the US for $60,000 to check on the assembly line whether the container contained soap and wasn’t empty.

A similar problem happened at a soap manufacturing company, in Ahmedabad. Guess what they did? They bought a fan costing around `1500/and placed it on the edge of the assembly line. The empty wrappers, just blew away! And you say Japanese are advanced in technology.

Few ways to be happy in life Today is Charlie Chaplin’s 130th birthday...

A good day to recollect his three heart touching statements: (1) Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles.

(2) I like walking in the rain because nobody can see my tears.

(3) The most wasted day in the life is the day in which we have not laughed. Life is to enjoy with whatever you have with you, keep smiling...!

What is happiness?

I

t turns out that human happiness is complete with four chemicals constantly being released in our brain.

We might not have a money tree, but we can have a happiness tree. Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Endorphins are the quartet responsible for our happiness. Many events can trigger these neurotransmitters, but rather than being in the passenger seat, there are ways we can intentionally cause them to flow.

Dopamine: It is released when we achieved our goals, and bought things we wanted and temporarily contributes to our happiness.

Dopamine is released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. It is released during pleasurable situations and stimulates one to seek out the pleasurable activity or occupation.

This means food, acquiring of wealth or material.

Endorphins: It is released on our journey to become fit, to cope with the pain of physical exercise and exertion. This makes us temporarily happy. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, Serotonin: It is released when we act in a way that benefits others.

When we give to causes beyond ourselves and our own benefit and connect with people on a deep, human level. Serotonin is an important chemical neurotransmitter in the human body produced within the brain. Less of it can affect mood and social behaviour, appetite and digestion, sleep and memory. To have serotonin, vitamin B6 and the amino acid, B vitamin and lots of morning sunbathing is required.

Oxytocin: It is released when we become close to another human being, hug a friend, laugh, cooperate and feel the affection. Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain. It’s sometimes known as the “cuddle hormone” or the “love hormone,” because it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially.

If you feel STRESSED, give yourself a break.

Enjoy some ice-cream / chocolates / candy / cake...

Why...?

Because STRESSED spelt backwards is DESSERTS! One good friend is equal to one good medicine. Likewise, one good group is equal to a one full medical store!

Six best doctors in the world...

1. Sunlight 2. Rest 3. Exercise 4. Diet 5. Self-confidence and 6. Friends Maintain them in all stages of life and enjoy healthy life...!

If you see the moon... you see the beauty of God! If you see the sun! You see the power of God and if you see the mirror, You see the best creation of God! So, Believe in YOURSELF We all are tourists and God is our travel agent Who has already fixed all our routes, reservations and destinations So trust him and enjoy the “Trip” called LIFE...!!

(Articles published in this ‘From the Mobile’ page are WhatsApp forwards. Corporate Citizen does not independently vouch for their authenticity. It’s a fun page. Enjoy!)

April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 63

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen Claps for the ministry of Civil Aviation and its amended “passenger charter” that lays out the rights of domestic air travellers

Corporate Citizen Slaps the ‘credibility’ of structural inspections that fail to ensure citizen’s safety despite the ‘checked’ status; perhaps done for mandatory closures and documentation

A much-needed change; what with more frequent technical snags causing flight delays and frequent re-schedule of flight itineraries in ‘real time’ faced by passengers. The new charter comes as a breather as passengers now have “the right to receive a refund of statutory taxes, user development and passenger services fees levied by an airline” – in the event that any passenger has to cancel his flight ticket. However, for an international flight, the right to refund will be subject to the airline’s internal policy. It is equally important

to understand the amendments in the new charter on charges incurred by travellers on cancellation and rescheduling of air travel, among other changes. A catch in the amendment is that the new compensation structure is applicable only if it is found that the flight delay or cancellation was caused by the airline concerned. It states that “If a flight is expected to be delayed by more than four hours, the airline would have to arrange for a free meal and refreshments, and if a flight is delayed for more than six hours, a passenger has a right to receive a full refund of the ticket.” For a delay over six hours, it becomes mandatory for the airline to inform passengers at least 24 hours in advance of the original departure time. Also, “The airlines must inform about flight cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure and arrange alternate flights or refund.

Moreover, if a passenger misses a connecting flight on the same ticket, the passenger should then be given a compensation of up to `10,000 subject to conditions.” In case of flight getting overbooked, the airline must provide an alternate flight, scheduled to depart within an hour of the original flight’s departure time. If the airline is unable to do so, it would have to pay compensation. The charter also sets forth that in case a passenger is injured or encounters death as an absolute fault of the airline, the airline is then liable to pay compensation of `20 lakh. Period!

64 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

The recent collapse of the Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) CST foot overbridge (FoB), is the third FoB related incident in Mumbai in the past 2 years and warrants some strong questioning and concrete solutions. The CST FoB also called the Himalaya Bridge connecting Mumbai’s CST railway station - Platform 1 North end with BT Lane near the Times of India building, had nearly 60% of its structure caved in along with the steel cross beams; killing 6 and injuring some 35 odd commuters. It had apparently been declared ‘fit’ by a consultancy firm that was hired by the civic body - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its audit. However, officials of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) that reached the site for rescue said that “The bridge appears to have had serious structural issues since the cross beams collapsed along with the concrete. In a slab collapse, the frame would have remained intact.” The audit had proposed minor repairs to the FoB, which had only been tendered recently. The structural audit of the CST bridge was done in 2018 and perhaps attempted to remedy the ill-fated 2017 Elphinstone Road stampede. The latest tragedy has once again opened up a blame game between the BMC and the Indian Railways. In the Elphinstone Road incident, railway officials had blamed the incessant rains for causing the deadly stampede despite multiple warnings citing safety concerns which have now found some closure as the Mumbai Police have reportedly classified it as an accident! “The stampede (Elphinstone Road FoB) was caused as a result of rumours being spread among trapped passengers on the station staircase…the incident will be closed as an Accidental Death Report,” said Mumbai Police officials.

As probes on the latest FoB mishap continues, 11 more enlisted ‘dangerous’ bridges in Mumbai remain; yet to be demolished. Will someone just wake up before the next tragedy?

(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar)

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CORPORATE CULTURE

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

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April 1-15, 2019 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

Celebrating social sector learning

Learnings that can be derived from the social sector need to be transplanted into many corporations today to make them more humane and connected with the needs of the world

O

ne of the most evocative speeches at the recent Livelihoods Conclave of Social Venture Partners was made my Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson of Thermax and SVP Pune. Addressing the point “what makes me show up” which was one of the themes of the three-day conclave, Meher spoke about her own and her family’s deep involvement in the social sector. And a statement that she made resonated with all of us. Many believe that inducting people from the corporate sector into the management of NGOs and social missions can bring corporate discipline and practices into the social sector. But Meher argued that the learnings that can be derived from the social sector need to be transplanted into many corporations today to make them more humane and connected with the needs of the world.

The more one thinks about this argument, the more it sounds true.

We are living in a world where societies are being torn apart by multiple fissures and the actions of many global political leaders are threatening to destroy the façade of globalization that we had hoped will truly unite global communities.

The UN commitment towards the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be attained by 2030 will need Governments, Corporates, Civil Society and individuals to all come to the party and this will need

wards of Pune Municipal Corthe best ideas from the social sector poration is now in the process of to become all pervasive in our search incorporating technology into its for new and more humane societies. student management and skilling At the conclave itself, multiple processes. This will be then taken exemplars presented ideas that to other locations in the country are scaling, thanks in some part by multiple partner organisations at least to the active involvement who have assisted in building and of Social Venture Partners teams will now scale the model from at the local and national level. The 10,000 to 1,00,000 youth in the support of the Tata Trusts and next few years. some corporations is also beginThe spirit of collaboration and ning to take our brand of engaged partnership which is what SDG 17 venture philanthropy to large nais all about was truly in evidence at tional entities like Mann Deshi, the conclave with Sofia SVP InterSEWA and the Pan IIT Reach for India movement, even as forty plus local initiaEmployed, Empowered and tives across seven cities in India spread their Entrepreneurial India has wings and expand lo- to become the watchword cal and, in some cases, for the next few years, national impact. Two if we have to perform to of these examples are our potential as a leading the excellent models of Pune City Connect for economy of the world. Let’s inner-city youth and make it happen Youth 4 Jobs for the physically challenged community. national Chair and Sudha, Global Youth 4 Jobs founded and led by CEO leading a delegation from the Meera Shenoy started in HyderUSA and Japan, Skills Secretary KP abad and has now been assisted Krishnan and NSDC CEO Manish to set up their centres in multiple speaking about the future of skills, cities. And Pune City Connect, set jobs and entrepreneurship and up many of us from the corporate Naina Batra Chairperson of global sector and led by IIM Ahmedabad philanthropy network AVPN flying Batch of 1995 alumnus Ruchi in from Singapore to interact with Mathur with its vision of a “Samnearly three hundred participants, poorna Pune “through dedicated all committed to the agenda of Skills Lighthouses, Digital Literabuilding a million sustainable livecy Centres and model municipal lihoods by 2022. And the presence schools in the fifteen municipal of national and global foundations

66 / Corporate Citizen / April 1-15, 2019

like Wadhwani, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and UNDP and many CSR Heads from most of the large financial institutions and tech companies made the non-profits in the room feel wanted and potentially funded!

There has never been a time when the creation of livelihoods in the country has been more important than now. The Centre for Monitoring the India Economy has reported a decline in employment from 406 to 400 million and a 1.5 % rise in the unemployment numbers. We can present other data to prove better job creation but the unarguable fact is that job creation has been low and the creation of entrepreneurs to limit the need for job seekers has also been inadequate.

With over ten million of our brethren entering the job market every year, we will need entities like SVP to build new models of mobilisation, aspiration creation, skilling, placement and mentoring that can be taken to a large scale by well-meaning social entrepreneurs. Employed, Empowered and Entrepreneurial India has to become the watchword for the next few years so, if we have to perform to our potential as a leading economy of the world. Let’s make it happen!

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

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