Businessworld - 30 May 2016 PDF

+ INDIAS BEST EMPLOYERS: A BW- AON HEWITT SURVEY
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RNI NO. 39847/81 I 30 MAY 2016
UBERING IN
ON OLA
In a fast expanding
luxury taxi market, Uber
with its technology and
sleek services is set to
overtake Ola
R s 60
MODIS
2YEARS
COLUMNS & BW- MRSS

SURVEY
EDITORS NOTE
UBERISING TRAVEL
A LITTLE OVER a year ago my two kids patiently explained to me what an e-wallet was
and how after a taxi-ride I neednt pay the driver any money. It was all adjusted via an
account in the cloud, they said. I was astounded. You mean you dont have to furtively
look at a meter to check whether it is rigged, and haggle with the driver, I told them.
Yeah, it is called Uber. Some use Ola, they said.
How we travel in cities has changed forever. Meru was the first revolution, where a
phone call brought a decent, air-conditioned cab home. But then, there were never any
cabs when you wanted them, and over time they began to resemble the old rattle traps.
The problem was the company owned the cabs; the drivers didnt care and frequently
went on strike and the promoters didnt have the funds to scale up. Enter the app-based
cab aggregators. They didnt own the cabs, so they could expand rapidly. All they did
was to connect you to one when you tapped your phone. These services multiplied and
now many of the young professionals in the community I live have stopped using their
cars. Parking is a hassle near the Bombay High Court, so I uber it down, one young
lawyer remarked.
One day at the airport, I was charged a parking toll of Rs 110 though the Uber cab
picked me up outside the complex. Money gone, I said; but I still sent an email lodging
my complaint. To my surprise, there was a polite apology and the Rs 110 came back.
There was a time when you hailed a cab only if you had to. It was a rough and sweaty
experience. It is a comfortable choice today.
So who is winning the race? The startup OlaCabs, launched by two home grown
adventurers Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in December 2010, quickly captured
80 per cent of the cab market by 2015. Aggarwal raised $1.3 billion in several rounds
of funding and spread quickly to 85 cities, getting into auto aggregation, food supply
and many other segments. Uber came later with its international founder Travis
Kalanick committing upto $2 billion. Ubers was a slow start given its insistence on
the epay mode; but it quickly learnt the Indian way and is now nosing ahead of Ola in
the big cites.
Kalanicks launch in the US was not too much ahead of Aggarwal. Uber started in
2009 in San Francisco; Ola started in Delhi in 2010. Same business model. Uber today
is available in 404 cities spread over 60 countries and is valued at over $60 billion. In
India, it operates in 22 cities. Ola is in 102 Indian cities and is valued at $5 billion. Uber
clearly has an edge over the future. It has more cash to burn, has focused on the prime
Indian cities, has better technology and grooms and keeps a better and more responsive
set of drivers. Ola has more desi depth and easier apps; but is stretched too thin into
services and cities that give little return.
We are also yet to see the rough end of these aggregator taxi chains. Drivers are
supposed to be partners; but Uber technology makes them slaves bound to the
customer rating system, and falling returns. London and hundreds of other cities
have seen driver protests; India will soon too. For all this and more read the cover story
penned by associate editor Ayushman Baruah.
We did a cover story of Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing his first year
in office last May. Another year has gone by, and it seems barely days ago. To review
the Prime Ministers two years, we also bring you some cutting-edge columns and a
popularity survey that is indeed startling. I wont tell you the results; you have to read it!
GURBIR SINGH
gurbir@businessworld.in
6 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016
VOL. 35, ISSUE 20 FOR THE FORTNIGHT 17 - 30 MAY 2016

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RNI NO. 39847/81 I 16 MAY 2016
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BUMPER
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INSIDE:
EMERGING
WOMEN
ACHIEVERS
SUZLONS Debt
Rs 17,800 CR
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Rs 30,000 CR
BACK-BREAKING
ACQUISITIONS
R s 60
In the pre-Lehman Brothers global

boom, Indian companies went hunting in
foreign markets for units several times
their size. These leveraged buys spelt
high debt, a model that has now crashed
TALK BACK
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TIMING IS CRUCIAL
A qualitative analysis is no less important
than a quantitative one (Women Special,
BW, 16 May). It was refreshing to see a
special issue on women. However, the
timing was slightly off. It would have been
more appropriate around the Womens Day
in March.
That said, the profiles were interesting.
The selection of the profiles from different
fields made for a good variety.
GOPAL ROY MENON, EMAIL
BLIPP
THIS PAGE
TO GIVE US
YOUR FEEDBACK
INSTANTLY
INSPIRING
From a blogger and a CEO to a fashion
designer and a civil officer, the latest issue
featured women from different backgrounds
who have achieved great heights in their
respective fields. Such inspiring stories not
just give courage to aspiring women but also
educate them about the various fields they
too can succeed in.
ANJALI SINGH, EMAIL
A WELCOME MOVE
The Real Estate Bill, which was passed
recently in the Upper House, was a great
initiative by the BJP government. The Bill
will bring in a systematic approach and enhance transparency thereby giving a boost
to domestic and foreign investments.
LIPA MOHANTY, EMAIL
Motivation is your
best accessory.
One tracker. Every occasion.
The new Fitbit Alta features interchangeable bands
so you can switch your tracker to fit your style.
With auto-exercise recognition, all-day activity tracking,
call and text alerts and reminders to move, finding
your fit has never looked better.
DIGITAL BW
BW TV
w w w . b u s i n e s s w o r l d . i n
Freecharge teams up with

coffee chain to facilitate
mobile payments
CAN INDIA PRODUCE A DONALD TRUMP?
In reality, state elections can

throw up divisive demagogues
as powerful regional leaders.
But a national level Trump?
Very unlikely
ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2016: THE

1996 STARS ARE STILL AROUND
How the 1996 Lok Sabha

elections marked a watershed
for Indian politics and
economics
Government Efforts To Deport Vijay Mallya,

Probe Overseas Assets A Drama?
Billionaire Vijay Mallya, who fled

to the UK, had twice made his
offer to settle Kingfisher Airlines
loans to the banks though with a
huge haircut
OPINION
Electric cars will

certainly replace
petrol and diesel
cars over the
next 20 years.
But to predict a
driverless future
is hazardous,
writes Minhaz
Merchant
Trade Unions Angry Over Labour Law Exemptions To Startups
Unions say the concessions given to startups will create an environment in

which rights of workers can be violated
Too Fast, Too Soon?
The bad-loan debate has

caught the public imagination
like never before.The rise in
non-performing assets in the
past few years is alarming
indicating all is not well
HealthAssure Focused On
Corporate Clients
Corporate represents a market of

50 million employees, and
we are ready to evolve
employee health benefits:
Varun Gera of HealthAssure
Juggernaut Books Wants

You To Start Reading
The best part of the

Juggernaut app is that
the user can also publish
content and is, in fact,
encouraged to try
PHOTOGRAPH: SHUTTERSTOCK
Future Of
The Car
CONTENTS
VOLUME 35, ISSUE 20
17 - 30 MAY 2016
JOTTINGS & SNAPSHOTS
18
Jottings
The faceoff between Dattatrya and
Jaitley; The problem with the new Defence
Procurement Policy, and more
24
Columns
Gurbir Singh, Nayan Chanda
(p. 64), Rachna Chhachhi (p. 131),
Mala Bhargava (p.136)
25
Transit Lounge
Ronald Cohen of The Portland Trust &
Bridges Ventures talks about social
entrepreneurship and philanthropy
26
Verbatim
What Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, and Vijay
Mallya, among others, said
27
42
Bigger Isnt
Always Better
Home-grown cab
aggregator Ola has a
larger market share and
wider presence, but Uber
is leading in three out of
the top five cities that
sees the highest volume
of business. That cant be
good for Ola!
Social Media Scan

Facebooks latest video tool that allows
sharing moments instantly; Hike Messengers new games for users; and more
28
Marketing & Advertising

McDonalds ad films featuring Po and crew
from Kung Fu Panda; Diana Loriot on
creating loyalty through programmatic
personalisation
30
Globescan
J&J ordered to pay $55 million in talcpowder trial; Brexit referendum mystifies
UK executives bracing for impact
Cover design by
DINESH S. BANDUNI
CONTENTS
VOLUME 35, ISSUE 20
17 - 30 MAY 2016
104
DEBT
DEBT
EQUITY
94
32
BEST EMPLOYERS
66
Overview
68
Insights
70
Lupin
72
AccorHotels & Rel Cap
74
Bharti Infratel
76
AGS Health & DHL
78
Interglobe Aviation
79
Blue Dart & Taco
80
The Oberoi Group
81
Godrej & Whirlpool
82
Tata AIA
83
Saint Gobain & HPE
84
Bajaj Finance
85
SKS Microfinance &
Becton Dickinson
86
Metro Cash & Carry India
87
WNS & Starwood Hotels
88
Tata Chem & Yash Tech
89
Tata Com & Bajaj Alliance
132
TWO YRS OF MODI GOVT

32
The two-year itch
34
Survey
36
Column by Shobhaa De
38
Column by Subramanian
Swamy
40
Column by Abhigyan
Prakash
THE BIG STORIES

94
Bikes That Fly!
Superbikes in India are both flying
on the roads and faster than ever
from the showrooms
100
Brand Baaja
On the importance of
packaging which can make or
break a product
112
Case Study
See the bigger picture, and if
not possible, then help create
it jointly and collectively
BEYOND BUSINESS
128
Travel
South Koreas trendsetting
temple tours
104
Personal Finance
132
Gadget
How balanced funds can help

investors when markets are
choppy or steady
Apple to line up its second and

smallest iPad Pro along with
the iPhone SE
108
In Conversation
135
Apps
Patrice Caine of Thales Group

believes in growing business via
the Make in India initiatives
A selection of apps that

can help you work with
your team
138
Bookmark
Debasis Chatterji reviews Why
Should Anyone Work Here?
What It Takes to Create an
Authentic Organization
142
Book Extract
Extracts from William N.
Goetzmanns Money Changes
Everything
AND ALSO
146
People In The News
Sanjeev Gupta, Marissa Mayer,
Carl Icahn, and more
148
Last Word
Journalist Bittu Sahgal talks about
the role played by the media & the
Centre in the recent forest fires
TOTAL NO. OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 150
The pages in BW Businessworld that are labelled BWi or Promotions contain sponsored content. They are entirely generated by an advertiser or
the marketing department of BW Businessworld. Also, the inserts being distributed along with some copies of the magazine are advertorials /
advertisements.These pages should not be confused with BW Businessworlds editorial content.
JOTTINGS
TIME TO CUT DELAYS
ADVANTAGE
DATTATREYA
N RECENT months,
the labour ministry
has repeatedly
locked horns with
the finance ministry over
issues related to the Employees
Providend Fund (EPF). And won
too. In the latest episode, Labour
and Employment Minister
Bandaru Dattatreya forced
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
to back down over proposed
reduction in interest rate on
EPF contributions. The CBT
headed by the labour minister
had mooted a rate of interest of
8.80 per cent whereas Jaitley
proposed a rate of 8.70 per cent.
Earlier, the government had to

roll back a Jaitley proposal to tax
EPF withdrawals after pressure
from the labour ministry and
trade unions. It seems the faceoff
between the two ministries is
far from over. Now, Dattatreya is
said to be opposed to the finance
ministrys decision to not pay
depositors of EPF and small
saving schemes funds that have
been unclaimed for seven years.
As in the earlier instances, the
prime minister has been alerted
and the trade unions are rallying
behind the labour minister. Its
anybodys guess who will win this
round! Suman Jha
GAME OF VALUATIONS
LAST JUNE, Flipkart made headlines when it raised
$700 million from Tiger Global Management and other
investors at a valuation of $15 billion. In less than 11
months, the e-commerce giant has seen a markdown in
valuation twice over first, by Morgan Stanley in March
and recently by two small mutual fund investors at
Flipkart. The venture capital (VC) fraternity too believes
IT takes anywhere between 10 and

15 years for our armed forces to get
the delivery of crucial for national
security hardware. The latest Defence
Procurement Policy (DPP) that came
into effect on April 1 seeks to correct
this anomaly by introducing changes
to speed up the procurement process.
However, experts point out that since
the defence ministry is the sole procurer
of weapons, linking the new DPP to the
Make in India programme may not be
a wise move. No global OEM is keen to

transfer its latest defence technology to
India. Most would want India to remain a
perpetual importer, says Amber Dubey,
head, Aerospace and Defence, KPMG.
There could be merit in such a thought.
After all, which DPP was referred to in
the now infamous AgustaWestland
helicopter scam? The how, when and who
of this scam continue to be a subject
of debate and investigations even as
politicians squabble over who should
investigate it? Ashish Sinha
Flipkarts current valuation to be anywhere between

$8.8 billion and $10.5 billion. So what does this mean for
Flipkart and the e-commerce sector as a whole? While
the dip in valuation impacts Flipkart directly, the sector
is likely to come under a cloud as the lofty valuations
associated with it are likely to be looked at with suspicion
by every investor now. Or will the sector just continue to
attract eye-popping valuations as in the past? Only time
will tell. Paramita Chatterjee
NO NEED FOR
NEW LAWS
BUILDERS ARE notorious for naming and using brands that are foreign
sounding and hip to make their properties more saleable. For instance,
Mumbai builder Lodha Developers is marketing what was once the
Wadala Truck Terminal in Mumbais port zone as New Cuffe Parade.
The original Cuffe Parade is an upscale area in south Mumbai. Another
Mumbai builder, the Rustomjees, has named an old Government Colony
it is redeveloping in the western suburb of Andheri as Upper Juhu to
identify with the neighbouring film star enclave of Juhu where the likes
of Amitabh Bachchan live. This kind of snooty renaming is not new. In
the 1990s when the mill areas of Parel first opened up for commercial
development, some advertising agencies began to unilaterally use the
name of Upper Worli to distance themselves from working class Parel.
Fortunately, the postal department, which refused to recognise these
non-existent addresses, put paid to the re-branding gambit, and Parel
survives. In the new wave of builder-led branding, it is now the sons-ofthe-soil parties like the Shiv Sena that have taken objection and written
to the Maharashtra chief minister threatening to take to the streets if
this renaming fraud is not stopped! Gurbir Singh
SHOOT THE MESSENGER
ALL OVER the world, governments and tech companies are facing off on the
issue of access to private interaction on email and messengers. In the US, Apple
and the FBI have just ended a long battle over access to an iPhone. In Brazil,
WhatsApp is blocked again by a judges order because apparently the company
isnt complying with orders to assist the police there in a drug investigation. In
India too, ever since the messenger began to encrypt messages which cant be
broken into, access to government in the name of security and law and order
is off limits. WhatsApp is apparently using a level of encryption that is beyond
legal limits in India and seeing that, a certain Sudhir Yadav from Gurugram has
petitioned the Supreme Court to ban WhatsApp in India. Unlikely to work, but
an interesting example of the narrow view taken to solve problems which have
nothing to do with technology. Mala Bhargava
issue. The Companies Act, 2013

states that Any person who makes
a promise or forecast that is false
shall be punishable with jail of six
months, extending up to 10 years.
The Food Safety and Standards
Act, 2006 too has stringent provisions. The new law creates a bigger
deterrent by increasing the jail term
and penalty several-fold. But why
put the provision in the Consumer
Protection Bill? Why cant we have
a new law that gives the Advertising Standard Council of India more
statutory powers to haul up both
advertisers as well as celebrity
endorsers? Monica Behura
17 - 30 May 2016 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 19
Making Mumbai Manhattan
IF THE AD is smart but the product

turns out to be a dud, who all is
responsible? A law-in-the-making
says the hot celebrity in the ad
is as much to blame for duping
consumers as the company which
owns the brand. A parliamentary
panel has suggested that celebrities be held accountable for the
brands they endorse, especially
if an advertisement in which they
feature is found to be misleading. A
parliamentary standing committee on food, consumer affairs and
public distribution tabled a report
on the Consumer Protection Bill
2015 in Parliament, suggesting
stringent provisions to regulate
celebrity endorsements. Existing
laws however already address the
JOTTINGSPlus
TRAIN DRAIN
I
T IS VIRTUALLY official
now that passengers

who preferred the
comforts of air conditioned
(AC) train coaches in the
past now fly the domestic
airlines instead. In a way
the growth of domestic air
travel in India is directly
contributing to the declining earnings of Indian
Railways, particularly its
AC business, observes the
Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Railways
headed by the former
railway minister Dinesh
Trivedi. The committees
latest report has even put a
number to this loss.
It says the shrinking
AC business of railways
AC-I, AC-II, AC-III and
AC Chair Car is smaller
by 20 per cent compared
to the domestic air travel
business last year. While
domestic air travel has
grown by double digits over
the last few years, Railways

AC passengers registered a
negative growth last year,
it said in its report. Which
means, the 250-plus Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Express
and special trains (with
AC coaches) have seen
fewer takers. As a result,
the Parliamentary panel
has directed the railway
ministry to maintain data
about domestic air travel as
it impacts its own financial
health and also to lend in
competitive insights to
railways.
Sample this: According
to the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA),
domestic airlines carried
81 million passengers
between January and
December 2015, a growth
of 20.34 per cent over the
period a year ago. Now
when we apply the comparison provided in the
report to the DGCA figures
of railways, it said.
for the last calenThe panel
dar year, it
is critical of
appears that
the various
railways
charges that
carried
The fall in passengers
that Railways recorded
have steadily
around
in FY16 against its
contributed
1.62 million
budget estimates of
to the increase
AC-I passen860 crore
in passenger
gers and 13.5
fares and the overall
million AC-II pascost forcing passengers to
sengers in the same period.
opt for the faster air travel.
The balance 49 million
These include increase in
passengers travelled in ACcancellation, reservation,
III and AC chair car. Overtatkal and the superfast
all, railways witnessed a
surcharge among othslide of 50 crore passengers
ers. But undeterred by
from the budget estimates
declining passengers and
for FY16 of 860 crore. The
earnings, the railway budrevised estimates numbers
get has kept the passenger
for passengers travelled
earning targets stiff for
stood at 810 crore.
2016-17 at Rs 51,012 crore,
As per the report, doa 12.40 per cent hike over
mestic air travellers made
Rs 45,376.15 crore for FY
a small fraction of the AC
16. How will it be achieved
business of Indian railways
and what will make
in early 2000. By 2015, the
passengers return to AC
domestic air travellers were
travel? Any answers?
50 times of AC-I and six
Ashish Sinha
times the AC-II passengers
50 cr
Photograph by Ritesh Sharma
JOTTINGSPlus
NPAs: WHAT MINT ROAD

THINKS OR DOESNT!
J
UST ABOUT everybody

in this world has an
opinion on dud loans.
Heres what Mint Road
thinks of them.
You must have experienced how many advises
come your way if you suffer
from an ailment. The
Bank of India (RBI). His

best line: If all these
prescriptions are followed,
the outcome would be akin
to a successful operation,
but a dead patient. In other
words, the lending process
would freeze.
Its easy to suggest that
sharply to 14.5 per cent at

end-December 2015 from
9.8 per cent at end-March
2012. During the same
period, the stressed assets
for state-run banks spiked
to 17.7 per cent (from 11 per
cent). If you were to look
at the Financial Stability
appraisal particularly in
infra financing, faulty
structuring in power sector
agreements, weak risk
management, chasing
quick growth and to pretend and extend loans.
As for India Inc. it was a
case of all debt, no equity;
veiled corporate structures
that impeded assessment
by banks; and an obsession
with higher growth and
chasing profits.
You can do all the postmortem you want. The
harsh reality, according to
Mundra is: The extent
of the weakness in the
global economy being witnessed could
The stressed assets
have been avoided.
for the banking system
It is probably beas a whole at endcause neither banks
December 2015
nor corporates resorted to preventive healthcare. I am sure everyone
Report (December 2011),
would emerge much wiser
it says that an analysis of
after enduring the pain
the growth rate (of nonand be circumspect in
performing assets) in the
their approach and get a
first half of 2011-12 at 25.5
periodic check-up done so
per cent is more than triple
that they can stay healthy
the average growth rate of
and live longer.
7.4 per cent in the first-half
The bottomline: India
years during 2006-2011.
Inc. (and banks) will conIn a nutshell, Mint Road
tinue to be in the ICU for
feels that as far banks go,
some time.
the failings were: gover Raghu Mohan
nance deficit, poor credit
situation here is not much

different everyone seems
to have become wiser
about the issue and has a
prescription to offer. Some
blame the patient, some
the doctor and still others
are blaming the procedure.
So called expert opinions
are being voiced about the
credit appraisal process of
banks, collateral availability, personal guarantee,
staff accountability and
so on, says S.S. Mundra,
deputy governor, Reserve
Mint Road has had enough

of those offering unsolicited advice. But thats to miss
the larger message here.
Ever since RBI carried out
a rigorous asset quality
review, and asked banks
to provide aggressively for
dud loans in the popular
discourse, it is felt that all is
bad with our banks.
The stress in the
banking system has been
evident since fiscal 2012.
Stressed assets for the
system as a whole went up
PHOTOGRAPH: BLOOMBERG
14.5%
JOTTINGSPlus
VER SINCE the Modi
government took
over, Twitter has
gradually become a minefield. Any statement that
even indirectly hints at not
being in enthusiastic agreement with the Bharatiya
Janata Party, instantly
attracts trolls, like flies to
honey. Swooping down on
the poster, an angry swarm
of bhakts or devotees,
counter whatever appeals
to them not. And they dont
leave it at that.
Within minutes, the
poster will find his or her
timeline filled with death
four offensive private

messages were apparently
sent out from Sardesais
account. These could easily have been doctored, or
indeed, his account could
have been hacked. More
hardened Twitter users
refuse to take the bait, but
unfortunately, Sardesai
blinked first.
Two days ago, I
temporarily disabled my
Twitter account. It was a
decision taken because,
frankly, I had reached
breaking point with
social media, he said
in a Facebook post.
To be subject to a
Anyone who has been
concerted campaign
on Twitter for even a
of lies and abuse on a
few months will have
daily basis is not very
not failed to notice
pleasant, especially
vicious trolling
when they try and
drag in your wife and
kids. Although Sardesai
began what he calls a
Twitter detox, that didnt
satisfy the trolls who have
continued the abuse and
moved on to making phone
calls complete with death
threats, according to the
senior journalist.
Anyone who has been
on Twitter for even a few
months will have not failed
to notice this sort of trolling
that has become the stuff
of daily interaction on the
network. At one point,
when beef was a point of
debate, the matter was
threats, promises of unspeakable acts of violence,

and intense abuse. Nobody
gets a free pass particularly
not members of the press.
It was one such member,
Rajdeep Sardesai, who after a particularly haranguing week of viciousness on
Twitter, eventually lost his
cool and disabled his account until further notice.
Following a volley of
comments regarding the
AgustaWestland deal,
taken up to the Prime Minster, but little changed and

in fact it has been seen that
his account follows some of
the active trolls.
It is generally believed
the trolls are handsomely
paid for their efforts.
Queen bees keep a sharp
lookout for any line of
thought that runs counter
to the BJPs agenda and
quickly flag it for the trolls
to take over. Terms like
anti-national, intolerant,
and anti-Hindu are freely
used to call in the troll
army.
The frenzy of hate can
reach such levels that even
the tragedy of the death of
the daughter of Congress
politician Digvijay Singh
from cancer is not off
limits. Another senior journalist, Barkha Dutt, just
had to tweet a condolence
message to set off a barrage
of foul posts.
None of what goes on is
what Twitter could have
hoped for from one of the
companies biggest potential markets, but more than
that, perhaps few could
have believed social media
would reveal such an ugly
side of humanity.
Mala Bhargava
TROLLS ONE: RAJDEEP ZERO
MEDIA MONITOR
ts something like the old soap

Bold and the Beautiful that
many mocked but all secretly
watched. The glitterati couldnt
be caught alive at a party without having seen the previous
nights dose, lest they lost the nuances
of the coming divorce on Beverley
Hills. Arnab Goswamis News Hour
is a similar kind of phenomenon.
Among some of the English-speaking
news junkies he is hated and reviled.
Some threaten to slap him. But for a
majority of the middle class, he is their
evening drawing room appointment; a
celebrity, an iconic newsman.
If eyeballs are the voting mode,
Arnab Goswami is Narendra Modi.
Times Now, the channel, and News
Hour his show is miles ahead of all
others; and he has managed to maintain the lead for a staggering 7 years.
We took the October 2015 to April
2016 period, and found Times Now
had an audience share of 34 per cent
of the English news universe, compared to its nearest rival India Today
Televisions 15 per cent. What props up
this large shareholding was Arnabs
own show News Hour that held
53 per cent of audience share in the 9
PM to 11 PM slot compared to closest
competitor India Todays 14 per cent
(BARC India ratings data).
Now see what happens when Arnab goes on a holiday. TV audience meter BARC Ratings zeroed down on two
days last year where the anchor was off
News Hour. On 23 September, viewership for Times Now plummeted 37 per
cent; on 1 October, the channel lost 33
per cent.
With eyeballs comes ad revenue,
and with 60-65 per cent of Times
Nows advertising bucks coming from
The Arnab
Goswami
Juggernaut
News Hour, it is difficult for Arnab to

take a holiday. Word has it when the
news anchor was tending to his unwell
father in Guwahati, he worked out of a
borrowed studio in the city.
It is all about the format and the
line. When vanilla news became monotonous, he brought the talk show
format, dissecting and shredding
news, to the fore. It is a hit because it is
not goody-goody; it is raucous, strident
and even hysterical. Theres always
that one squirming politician on the
show who is being skewered. Millions
would want to do it themselves; but it
is almost as good watching Goswami
do it for them. Other channels have attempted to come in too, but have never
By Gurbir Singh
been able to covert the format as well

as he does. Perhaps, something learnt
from Fox TV. Neutrality is boring. It is
all about deciding on a clear line in advance and hammering it in with a loud
voice, threats and gestures through
the show.
The CEO of TV audience tracker
BARC, Partho Dasgupta makes an
interesting point. For English News
channels the breaking news format is
pass; all those smart guys with smart
phones have their news alerts coming
in every 5 seconds. Hindi channels
still live on breaking news but not the
English ones. So what better than having someone being skinned every day!
So are we moving towards television being dominated by what NDTVs
Prannoy Roy calls tabloidisation of
news? Where viewers are left with no
choice and have to search the net for
alternatives.
Roasting the scamster or the politician taking foreign junkets on taxpayer money is laudable. But is it only
whipping and skewering that will
make up TV content? Is there no room
for reporting and analysis? And will
the favourite whipping boy going to
continue to be Gandhi Junior, and the
Congress? After all they lost power 2
years ago and now there are a new set
of people at the helm. How do spurious
and dangerous videos like the Kanhaiya one find their way on air? And
how long should we play with jingoism by swatting two blabbering retired
Pakistani generals across the border?
Indeed, along with the eyeballs
comes the disquiet and the questions
that all good journalists like Arnab
must answer.
gurbir@businessworld.in;
@gurbir110
TRANSIT LOUNGE
SIR RONALD COHEN
says his outfit will soon launch a

social impact bond with YES Bank
to help stop the school dropout
student and the society.

We are planning to launch
a social impact bond with
YES Bank to help stop the
school dropout. The nonprofit organisations have to
work with these students.
India has to tackle the
education issue.
A development bond
has already been used in
Rajasthan to check this,
especially among the girl
child. In India, there are 50
impact investment management firms with over $2
billion investments.
Only education can

solve social issues
Ronald Cohen, chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures,
talks to BW Businessworlds Haider Ali Khan about social entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Excerpts:
Q: Which are the major

issues before the social
impact investment?
A: Health and education
are the two major issues
which are plaguing the
world and social investments. Education is the
best possible way of addressing the social issues,
but the problem is we tend
to solve it with aid, which
has not been very successful. The governments have
not been able to solve it. If
we as social impact investors and philanthropy can
replicate what we did in
business and tech entrepreneurship in the social
areas then we can begin

to accelerate the pace of
innovations.
Q: What role could a

government play?
A: The government has to

adopt the new approaches
of social entrepreneurship so that people can
move more quickly. The
UK government has
introduced social investment bank and we infused
600 million through Big
Society Capital, thus created a foundation which
helped in increasing the
capacity to absorb the
impact investment. The
Q: Do you see a change
philanthropic activities are

promoting social entrepreneurship, and thus,
reducing the task of the
government recycling their
money when they achieve
goals in social investments.
This idea is as disruptive as
technology was.
Q: How is social impact

investment going to help
India?
A: We can help through
the social impact investment by helping a poor
student in getting education and preventing the
dropout rate, that would
be the biggest help to any
amongst the wealthy and

their active philanthropy?
A: The behaviour of
billionaires has been
changing.They have
committed to give away
half of their fortune and
they have begun to look at
impact investments. For
example, Matt Bannick of
the Omidyar Foundation
has been quite active in
India and one of the big
promoters of social impact
bonds. The money has
been begun to connect
with impact investments
in a better way than grants
for helping improve other
peoples lives.
haider@businessworld.in
VERBATIM
Looking to the future, the next
big step will be for the very concept of the device
to fade away. Over time, the computer itself
whatever its form factor will be an intelligent
assistant helping you through your day
SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO, Google, predicting the end of computers in the
Founders Letter to employees as devices are replaced by AI assistants
Volkswagen is far more than crisis

MATTHIAS MUELLER, chief executive, Volkswagen,
at the groups annual news conference after the emissions-cheating scandal
pushed VW into its first year-end loss in more than 20 years last year
We have seen over a period of time that

manufacturing in Britain has been on a decline. If we were at
the same electricity costs as Germany,
then (Tata Steel UK) would be 40 million pounds better off,
and we would not be having negative numbers.
We would not be selling the business if we were not
losing money
VIJAY MALLYA
chairman, UB Group,
who flew to the UK last month, says
bankers are not getting
any money by taking away his
passport or arresting him
BIMLENDRA JHA, CEO, Tata Steel UK,

to a British parliamentary committee
This too shall pass

TIM COOK, CEO, Apple, in a call with analysts after the firms dismal
results were announced. The company reported a nearly 13 per cent fall in Q2 2016
sales against the same period the previous year
Donald is a businessman
at the end of the day he will see what is in the
best interest of his country
AKBAR AL BAKER, CEO, Qatar Airways,
believes Donald Trump the president would be very different than
Donald Trump the campaigner
PHOTOGRAPH: BLOOMBERG, SUBHABRATA DAS
We have always been

in dialogue with banks,
saying: We wish to settle.
But we wish to settle at a
reasonable number that
we can afford and banks
can justify on the basis of
settlements done before
THE SOCIAL CIRCUIT
Dig The
Data
SHARING GETS BETTER

FOR USERS who like to update their
friends and families in real time, Facebook

has now rolled out a live video feature to
share moments instantly. The feature,
which was earlier launched only for public
figures through its Mention app and
recently to US users, is now available to all
users globally.
The social network has added a video
tab next to the News Feed button where
users can explore live videos.
With Facebook Live you can use your
phone to share a moment instantly with
the people you care about. This means
your friends, family or fans can be there
with you, and you can respond to their
comments and see their reactions.
We have been surprised and delighted
with how people are using live video to
connect and interact with each other all
over the world, a company blog said.
One of the live features launched allows users to go live in Facebook groups
such as friends or family groups and
Facebook events such as a birthday party
for people who could not attend. The
events feature also allows users to hold a
live Q&A session.
Live reactions is another new feature
that allows users to react during a live

session. Other live features include live
filters and replay comments.
Chris Cox, chief product officer,
Facebook says, Live gives you the
chance to share experiences with
people as they are happening. The
range of experiences that this feature
offers is very exciting, from Presidential candidates and newscasters to
friends and family.
Brand Buzz
VIRTUAL REALITY
I have lots of followers on Twitter,
but I need to improve social media
engagement.What should I do?
Illustration by Dinesh S. Banduni
Face It
Thats
easy just
misspell a
word.
Playing Its A-game
Indian messaging app Hike

has added games features for
users on the app. The feature
was launched as Hike is looking
to take on competitors such
as WeChat and Line. The app
has five games chess, snake,
solitaire, sudoku, and word
rush. The app has a built-in
social feature using which
users can challenge friends
and share scores. Kavin Bharti
Mittal, founder and CEO, Hike
Messenger said, We are still in
beta but the response has been
tremendous with a 100 million
plays in less than 30 days.
Research- and evidencebased website Stop

Procrastinating surveyed
5,000 users of Facebook
to find out if the social
network is preventing
real-life love reactions
from flourishing. The
study shows that 17 per
cent of respondents found
that Facebook made them
jealous of their partners
other online relationships;
26 per cent argued with
their partners because
they felt neglected, and
that updating Facebook
was more important to
their partners. As many as
44 per cent said their
partners need to update
Facebook ruined romantic
moments. Thirty two per
cent said they felt a loss
of intimacy because their
partner checked Facebook
in bed.
#LEADER
Sundar Pichai
@sundarpichai
CEO, Google
Seventeen years after

Google was founded, our
mission to make information
available for all has never
been more important.
Vijay Shekhar
@vijayshekhar
Founder & CEO, Paytm
Coming soon, Paytm WiFi to

#PaytmKaro for everyone,
even without an Internet
connection. Paytm WiFi will
be equal internet for every
app. Not free for Paytm only.
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

AD iNFiNiTUM
SERVING DRAGON WARRIORS

BRAND associations are the new in thing for Hollywood movie
franchises. After Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda 3 tied up with brands
such as McDonalds, ICICI and Chings, while McDonalds took this
opportunity to introduce a new Chinese menu.
The fast-food chain launched a new ad film promoting its
Happy Meal with Po and his crew. Commenting on the brand
association, Kedar Teny, director of marketing, McDonalds
India (West & South) says, As per the recent report released by
a leading online portal, Chinese is Indias second most preferred
cuisine. We have a long standing association with Kung Fu Panda
franchise and with the third instalment rolling out, we are introducing a new Chinese menu and a thematic packaging for all the
offerings under the new menu.
The ad campaign, conceptualised by Leo Burnett India,
will take a multimedia approach and will be promoted across
various platforms TV, radio, digital and outdoor.
Raj Deepak Das, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett
India, says, McDonalds wanted to create a strong
trigger for their all-new Chinese menu. Since Kung Fu
Panda 3 is popular across age groups, we decided to
integrate the film across McDonalds menu and instore dcor. We banked on Pos charm and captured
the essence of classic Kung Fu action by using an
innovative time slice photography technique,
making the ingredients look attractive. It is the
first time in the history of QSR-advertising in
India, that such a high-profile technique has
been used to showcase food. Im
sure this campaign will succeed
d
PO
ITH latest a
W
e
in creating fun and memoraFUN onalds Chines
s
D
t
y
i
c
p
s
ble moments for people while
M
ote
Hap
r Po
promu and its led afte
dining at McDonalds, thus
men l toys sty Panda
u
creating a greater connect
a
me Kung F
m
o
r
with
them.
f
The campaign also has on-ground and instore support a selfie booth, toys and giveaways
with Happy Meals and also Kung Fu Panda themed
uniforms for the staff.
Teny explains, The in-store dcor of McDonalds
outlets and merchandise will also see a makeover
inspired by Po and China, as well as a host of
exciting activities. The McDonalds Kung Fu
Panda Happy Meal is all about having fun and
we are excited to give kids the opportunity
to recreate the adventures of Po and the Furious
Five not only with this unique collection of Happy Meal toys,
but by providing kids with an awesome online and offline experience that is both entertaining and energising. This is yet another
endeavour undertaken by the brand to extend the Im lovin it
experience to our patrons.
Shubhi Tandon
STANDPOINT
By Diana Loriot
IN 2009, Indias e-com-
merce market was valued

at $3.8 billion, which grew
to $17 billion in 2014 and
$23 billion in 2015. The
Associated Chambers
of Commerce of India
predicts this number will
touch a whopping $38 billion by the end of the year.
With fierce competition
rising from all corners, it is
imperative for e-commerce
players to market strategically to stay in the game.
Creating Loyalty
To retain customers, marketers must craft meaningful and relevant experiences for each individual.
Personalised content can
help in reactivating existing customers and growing
customer lifetime value.
Programmatic advertising technologies such
as real-time bidding and
dynamic creative personalisation make it possible
for marketers to deliver
personalised media by using a combination of both
historical and real-time
data. Using programmatic
display, personalisation
strategies that have been
developed for on-site or
email personalisation can
now be extended to reaching customers not only on
owned media, but across
the web wherever customers are browsing online
or on mobile.
Right Data
To deliver personalised
DRIVING LOYALTY
WITH PROGRAMMATIC
PERSONALISATION
Asia-Pacific is the worlds largest digital retail market and the fastestgrowing e-commerce region globally. The swift growth of e-commerce in APAC over the past few years has turned the region into a
highly competitive market. To put this into perspective, let us consider
India, one of the regions most dynamic, fast-growing markets
vital component is the ability to reach customers with

these messages at the right
time. Whether they are
reading a Businessworld
on a desktop or catching up
on the latest gossip on the
ScoopWhoop mobile app,
the right programmatic
partner should enable marketers to reach users across
all connected touch-points,
and to determine the best
possible placements across
those touch-points for each
personalised impression
to land.
content, you need data.

Today, marketers have
many unique data assets
first-party data such
as website traffic activity,
loyalty programme data,
email marketing data, purchase records, revenue and
yield management data,
and more.
The beauty of firstparty data is that it is
proprietary; your customer
data is your competitive
advantage! When used in
conjunction with real-time

on-site behavioural data,
marketers can deliver onpoint recommendations
that speak to each customers needs at a moment in
time, in the channels or on
the devices that customer
prefers to browse on.
Programmatics
While personalised,
relevant content is a critical
element of any digital marketing strategy, an equally
Increased Loyalty
In summary, in the year
ahead, it will be imperative
for APAC marketers to invest not only in acquisition
but also in customer loyalty
strategies. Programmatic
technologies will enable
brands to win loyalty
through personalisation,
and with greater budget
efficiency, at scale.
The author is commercial
director India, Sociomantic

Labs
GLOBESCAN
SLOW AND STEADY: The US economy is on track
to grow at a 1.8 per cent annualised rate in the second quarter, the Atlanta Federal Reserve said, unchanged
from its estimate. Commerce Department data showing a
0.3 per cent increase in construction spending to an 8-1/2
year high in March raised the Atlanta Feds GDPNow
forecast models projections on second-quarter residential
investment growth and non-residential structures investment growth, the Atlanta Fed said. But an unexpectedly
bigger drop in the Institute for Supply Managements US
manufacturing index in April led to downgrades in the
models forecasts on equipment investment growth and
consumer spending growth, the Atlanta Fed said.
TRENDING PRIVACY: A US judge partly
Twitter lawsuit
over US
information
requests partly
dismissed
dismissed a lawsuit filed by Twitter

in which the social media company
argued it should be allowed to
publicly disclose more details about
requests for information it receives
from the US government. US District
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in
Oakland, California also gave Twitter the
opportunity to re-file its lawsuit to include more details
about government decision-making, in order to try to move
its claims forward.
FINE & FAIR: Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a US jury to pay
$55 million to a woman, who said that using the companys talcpowder products for feminine hygiene caused her to develop
ovarian cancer. The verdict, which J&J plans to
appeal, was the second straight trial loss for the
company, which is facing about 1,200 lawsuits
accusing it of not adequately warning consumers
about its talc-based products cancer risks.
Following a three-week trial, jurors deliberated
for about a day before returning a verdict for
Gloria Ristesund. She was awarded $5 million in
compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive
damages. J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said
the verdict contradicted 30 years of research
supporting the safety of cosmetic talc. The
company intends to appeal and will keep defending
its products safety, she said. Ristesund said, she
used J&Js talc-based powder products, which
include the well-known Baby Powder and Shower to
Shower Powder, on her genitals for decades.
PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK
BLOCKED:
Oilfield services provider Halliburton and smaller rival Baker Hughes announced the termination of their $28 billion
merger deal after opposition from US and
European antitrust regulators. The tie-up
would have brought together the worlds No.
2 and No. 3 oil services companies, raising
concerns it would result in higher prices in
the sector. It is the latest example of a large
merger deal failing to make it to the finish
line because of antitrust hurdles. Challenges in obtaining remaining regulatory
approvals and general industry conditions
that severely damaged deal economics led
to the conclusion that termination is the best
course of action, said Dave Lesar, chief executive of Halliburton. The contract governing Halliburtons cash-and-stock acquisition
of Baker Hughes, which was valued at $34.6
billion when it was announced in November
2014, and is now worth about $28 billion,
expired without an agreement by the companies to extend it.
CRUDE PLAY: Oil prices rose
BAGFUL OF LOSSES: Japans Takata is booking an ad-
ditional special loss of $156.07 million for the year that

ended in March due to mounting recall costs for its potentially
lethal air bags. The company also said it expects to book a loss of
around YEN3.5 billion for the same year to settle product liability
claims related to its faulty air bag inflators, which has resulted in
a recall of more than 50 million air bags worldwide. The special
losses show Takatas ballooning recall costs, the prospect of which
has prompted the company to look for a financial backer with
plans to draw up a list of candidates by August.
as the dollar slipped to

an 18-month low against the yen,
potentially spurring fuel demand,
but gains were restricted by rising
the Middle East output that renewed
concerns of a global supply overhang.
Higher oil came on the back of
a slumping dollar, which makes
purchases of dollar-traded fuel
cheaper for countries using other
currencies, potentially spurring
demand, as well as strong investor
interest in oil. Energy Aspects oil
analyst said the weak US dollar was
a factor in rising oil prices, but also
pointed to a sentiment shift, with
significant passive and commodity
trading advisor money flows back into
energy after two years out.
WAGE RAGE: Germanys IG Metall
warned Volkswagen that it could

face protests from workers if it sought to
delay talks about wage rises for 120,000
staff, who work for the carmaker in western Germany. VW did not make a firm
pay offer in a second round of talks. It said
both sides first need to agree the scope
of structural reforms such as changes to
early retirement rules before VW is able to
make a proposal on specific pay percentages. IG, which is Germanys biggest trade
union, is calling for a 5 per cent pay hike
for workers as well as for about 3.8 million engineering and metalworking staff
across German industry.
SWITCHING OFF: Royal Philips is planning to

list its historic lighting division after the Dutch
manufacturer of medical scanners and shavers
failed to find a buyer after searching for at least
half a year. Philips plans to sell at least 25 per
cent of the shares in the business in Amsterdam, it said in a statement. It aims to sell the
remaining stake over the next several years.
The listing could value the unit at as much as
$6.4 billion, people familiar with the process
have said. Philips CEO Frans Van Houten is shifting the company away from its lighting heritage, which dates to 1891 when Frederik Philips and his son started selling incandescent lamps.
Van Houten is focusing on the global healthcare market with equipment that allows hospitals
to analyze clinical data, and patients to monitor health and nutrition on smartphones.
Brexit referendum
mystifies as UK
executives brace
for impact
BREXIT BLUES: More ex-
pensive iPhones, fewer foreign

home buyers and a whole lot of
unknowns thats what some UK
corporate bosses say the country
can expect if it votes to leave the
European Union. In February,
nearly 200 CEOs signed a letter
calling for Britain to stay. Others
say the country should leave,
though many have declined to take
sides. When grilled on a so-called
Brexit during quarterly earnings
presentations, however, CEOs
have tended to speak only in general terms about the ramifications
for the UK. Few have quantified
the effects on their own companies. There may be opportunities,
there might be cost we just dont
know, George Weston, CEO of Associated British Foods, said of the
companys sugar business.
2MODI
YEARS OF
THE TWO-YEAR ITCH

A look at how most Indian prime ministers
have been savaged by controversies and
protests two years into their term
By Sutanu Guru
N THIS AGE OF fast-breaking news, even faster

forming opinions and lightening speed judgements on social media, peculiar and interesting
historical parallels might appear redundant. But
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he completes
two years in office, would do well to look back
and make plans for his remaining three years at
the helm.
The fact is, since the Congress monopoly
in the Indian politics ended with the 1967
Lok Sabha elections, every Prime
Minister who has ruled for five years
has been confronted with disaster
after two years. In all these cases, the
consequences have been unexpected political
upheavals.
Lets start with Indira Gandhi. She won a historic mandate in 1971 and was even idolised
as Goddess Durga after the Indian
military liberated Bangladesh
and split Pakistan into two. She
appeared truly invincible. And
yet, within two years, the magic
faded and Indians started protesting against her. Crippling
shortages of food and other
items and galloping inflation
(thanks to massive oil price
hikes by OPEC) made her
regime quite unpopular.
We all know what hap-
pened after that: student protests in Gujarat and Bihar,

the Total Revolution called by Jai Prakash Narayan, the
Emergency and her humiliating defeat in the 1977 Lok
Sabha elections. To give her credit, Indira bounced back
with a vengeance to become Prime Minister again in
1980. But this time, within two years, the Khalistan
movement and the rise of terrorism in Punjab indelibly
blemished her sheen. Tragically, she was assassinated
and her son Rajiv Gandhi took over.
The two-year itch of Rajiv Gandhi is even more
fascinating. In December 1984, he won a mandate that
even his grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru had never won.
Ask anyone with memories of that era and they will tell
you how incredibly popular he was. Pundits refer to the
first two years of his term as the Camelot era referring
to the charisma of American President John F. Kennedy.
And yet, many felt bewildered and angry when he
used the brute majority of the Congress to overturn the
Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case that entitled divorced Muslim women to alimony and maintenance. The simmering
anger turned into a sense
of outraged betrayal, when
the Bofors scam hit the
headlines. Across India,
voters felt betrayed and
delivered their verdict in
the 1989 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress tally plummeted from more than
400 to less than 200. Tragically, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, while attempting a
comeback in the 1991 polls.
Not much was expected
of the next Prime
Minister P. V Narashima
Rao a man elevated
to the post to check
the soaring ambitions
of many Congress leaders. But within a few
weeks of assuming
office, Rao and his
finance minister became
darlings of the chattering
classes as well as
global media for
the economic
reform poli-
cies they unleashed. A large portion of the superstructure of command and control driven economic policies
erected since the days of Nehru were dismantled.
Economic historians still regard those frenzied few
weeks of 1991 as the primary reason for high growth
rates and declining poverty in India. But the two-year
itch struck with a vengeance. Family members of Rao
were embroiled in a fertiliser scam and Rao faced personal allegations of corruption in the Harshad Mehta
scam. He never really recovered politically after that.
(Pundits might add the demolition of the Babri Masjid
the subsequent riots, and the 1993 Mumbai blasts to
the list).
After that, it was the 1999 Lok Sabha elections
that threw up a decisive verdict with the NDA led by Atal
Bihari Vajpayee winning a comfortable majority.
Vajpayee was immensely popular and even more
after the Indian military had won the Kargil war.
But the two-year itch was inevitably waiting to strike. In
2001, India was hit by the Ketan Parekh scam, where
thousands of crores of bank
money (including that of Unit
Trust of India) disappeared.
But more unedifying was the
spectacle of the Tehelka
sting, where the then BJP
president Bangaru Laxman
was shown accepting cash.
Historians will argue over
why Vajpayee-led NDA lost in
2004. But the stench of crony capitalism must have
played a role. (Not to forget the 2002 Gujarat riots)
His successor Manmohan Singh is the only one to win
a second successive term in 2009, after Indira Gandhi in
1967 and 1971. But even he was a victim of the two-year
itch. Two years into his term, India signed a nuclear deal
with the United States that still remains controversial.
The Left Front withdrew support, and we saw the cash
for votes scam that still remains a mystery. It was during
the second term that Singh was well and truly hit by the
two-year itch. Two of the biggest scams ever in India, 2G
and Coal Gate hit the headlines with a vengeance in
2011. The Congress is yet to recover from that.
Interestingly, both the scams have their genesis in 2006,
two years into the first term of Singh.
Prime Minister Modi might well be wondering: what
next?
sutanu.guru@businessworld.in
PHOTOGRAPHS: BLOOMBERG
PM MODI WOULD DO
WELL TO LOOK BACK
AND MAKE PLANS FOR
HIS REMAINING THREE
YEARS AT THE HELM
2MODI
YEARS OF
BIG MIND
SPACE
FOR MODI
Despite all the media skepticism, a Businessworld

MRSS India poll showed the educated news
consumers faith in Prime Minister Narendra
Modi continued to be fairly strong after two
years in office. As many as 43 per cent rated his
performance as xcellent or Very Good and
he got high marks for improving the climate of
industry and business and for boosting Indias
international profile
HE online survey
that addressed
seven questions
showed nearly
half the readers
polled agreed
that performance
of Industry and
business in the
Modi regime have
improved.
However, more than half the persons
polled or 54 per cent felt that the lot of
the Aam Admi had remained the same
or had slipped over the last two years.
Similarly, around 56 per cent of the
respondents felt that where tolerance
and protection of minorities was
concerned, there had been no change
or things had become worse.
Readers polled were evenly divided
on whether the Modi regime has helped
in tackling major issue like corruption

and was successful in implementation
of rule of law. In respect of foreign policy
though, Modi had the backing of a solid
three-fifth of the vote. They supported
the view that he had improved Indias
international profile and that his foreign
trips had helped to raise Indias stature.
His support was more consistent
from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru
while those from Chennai and Kolkata
expressed greater skepticism.
Poll methodology:
This is the first of a series of
Businessworld MRSS India research
capsules designed to capture the
educated readers perceptions,
opinions and views on changing trends,
and burning issues of the day. These
surveys will appear on a regular basis on
our website www.businessworld.in.
The Modi Capsule covered 150

business magazine readers in the four
metros. The fieldwork was conducted
from 2nd to 5th May. The target
audience selected are digitally savvy,
frequent users of the Internet, and are
active on social sites like Facebook.
They are also regular readers of
business publications. Care has been
taken to cover a spectrum of age groups
and gender.
About MRSS India:
MRSS India is Indias first and only
listed market research company
which leverages technology for data
acquisition which, in turn, provides
reliability, validity and faster turnaround
time to its clients. MRSS India is the
subsidiary of Majestic Market Research
Support Services, among Asias largest
full service market research firms.
A BW-MRSS
SURVEY
34%
Modis performance in last two years

31%
Average
Very Good
20%
Disappointing
9%
5%
Excellent
Disastrous
How have industry and business

performed during the Modi regime?
What is the condition of Aam Aadmi in our

country?
Have got a major boost
5%
Dramatically improved
2%
Have done well
43%
It is better than before
43%
Nothing has improved
35%
12%
It is the same as in the

Congress regime
24%
Disappointingly poor
Much worse than before
5%
Has slipped down a bit

than before
29%
Has gone down sharplythan before
2%
How has the Modi regime delivered on

the issue of tackling corruption and
implementation of rule of law?
Has substantially delivered
3%
Improved things a little bit
41%
There has been no change
35%
from the congress regime
Things have become worse
15%
Corruption and lawlessness
5%
have become major issues
How would you rate the Modi regime on

tolerance and protection of minorities?
The Prime Ministers foreign policy and

initiatives have made
India a major playerin
14%
international relations
Indias international profile
33%
has improved
No substantial change
37%
Indias stature has gone down
15%
India has become a
1%
laughing stock
What do you think of the Prime Ministers

foreign trips?
Are very important and
23%
should be continued
Help Indias profile
29%
Make no difference
26%
Serve no purpose and are a
15%
drain on resources
Take the focus away from
1%
important domestic issues
laughing stock
Excellent
Good results
No change
Things have become worse
Dissenters and minorities live in fear
5%
38%
40%
16%
1%
2MODI
YEARS OF
A MAHILAS
MISSIVE
BY
SHOBHAA DE,
Senior Journalist & Author
EAR BHAIJAAN,
Its been two years. You may say,
Arrey.... what is two years? Actually,
two years is kaafi. Two years is the
standard testing period in any relationship. The worlds most significant
love affairs are based on this two-year test. If, after 24
months of ardent courtship, the relationship stays stuck
and has not moved forward beyond empty promises, then
the partner feels dejected and rejected. I will not use the
word jilted because it is too filmy. However, Bollywood
fires Indias imagination like nothing else. When we
started our passionate engagement with you, it was with

an old-fashioned idea of Ek Dujjhe ke liye... The voter fell
in love with your persona. That much even your critics
cant deny. Men and women behaved like star-struck fans
each time you spoke (at them, not to them... but so what?).
The Modi Mania swept across India, and travelled abroad,
with Modi groupies going ga-ga. We behaved like a nation
of schoolkids. We regressed. We worshipped a man who
promised us something we had not experienced for the
longest time Achchey Din.
But two years later, we are scratching our heads, rubbing our eyes and asking ourselves, Were we such big
COLUMN
replaced by another! You were determined to fight corfools? How did we blindly believe all those slogans and
ruption. But it seems like only corrupt rivals are being
promises? Well. We did. The vast majority definitely did.
fixed, while several new players have emerged in these two
Belief is such a powerful emotion. It offers hope and salvayears, who are making as much money, if not more! What
tion. When you charged into the arena and assured voters
has changed?
there would be progress, voters grabbed on to the wonderLets not go into religion and attacks on those who hold
fully worded rhetoric, because such was the level of disildifferent beliefs from the majority. Most of it is out there
lusionment with the earlier leaders. You looked smart.
for historians to refer to and cross check in future. No conDressed smart. Talked smart. What was there not to like?
temporary historian wants to undertake this task we
World leaders accepted your jaadu ki jhappis (some of
know what happens to them. Forget history and sociology.
them with visible embarrassment), but back home we felt
What about our economy? How long can Indians keep
good seeing you, standing shoulder to shoulder with the
staring at the sky and wonder, Will the monsoons fail?
best and the brightest. You held your own and we cheered,
Its not about the monsoons failure any longer. It is about
thinking Bharat ka bhav badh gaya. We are so naive and
efficient management of the resources such as they are.
gullible in this regard. We are forever seeking validation
No more alibis and excuses.
from abroad. Like we crave an Oscar. And want all our
As a mahila, I also feel the social environment has not
beauty queens to come back with some silly crown on
their pretty heads. But thats us. Shrewdly, you played up
been terribly friendly towards women and children. Two
our insecurities and we played into
years ago, women voted for you in
that game.
droves. They were sure you were on
So, we cant really blame you solely
their side, that your government
if this love affair has gone off track. We
would safeguard their interests. Today,
are both equally responsible. We
they remain where they were abantrusted you despite everything (you
doned and insecure. This is very worknow what we are referring to). Was
As a mahila, I feel the rying for us. We happily tied raakhis
that our biggest mistake? Perhaps it
on your wrist, and admired your 56social environment
was. Marriage counsellors frequently
inch chest. We were confident, this
has not been terribly was the person who would demonadvise warring couples to not rake up
the past. Its difficult, but they do it for
strate his commitment to our welfare.
friendly towards
practical reasons. We were also practiwomen and children The only woman who seems to be the
cal. We didnt taunt you with whatever
beneficiary of that sentiment is your
happened in Gujarat. Instead, we conHRD minister. Not that we are jealgratulated you on the Gujarat Model,
ous or anything. Just hoping youd be
and hoped the same model would
equally accommodating and considerwork across India. It didnt. It hasnt.
ate when it comes to real issues
If you had admitted your own lapses, it
regarding our future.
would have been better. Sometimes, old boyfriends wait
Some would say, be more forgiving. Two years in power
for 10-20 years and then say, Sorry darling... I shouldnt
is hardly enough. Nobody can perform miracles in such a
have done that... or said that. By then the damage has
short time. So... chalo. In that spirit, lets get an assurance
been done! Its too late. Nothing can be reversed. The
from you that the remaining time in office will be spent on
same thing has happened with you and your team. Lets
implementing all those fantastic programmes you had
call your team Indias sasural. Managing in-laws is never
announced. Get even ten per cent of those off the ground.
We are not mean and cruel. Just impatient and irritable.
easy. But this has now become a Saas-Bahu situation, just
Nobody likes being taken for a ride. So many delirious
like those television serials from last decade! Today, the
romances fall apart when complacency sets in.
saas in India has changed dramatically. So has the bahu.
Family relationships are far more equal. Far more demoBhaijaan, please dont take India for a ride. An affair
cratic.
was started in May 2014. It deserves completion. Ours is
Okay, relax. Not everything is terrible. Swachch Bharat
an old-fashioned, traditional society. Conjugal bliss can be
enjoyed only after a couple consummates the relationship
was a great initiative if only it had worked! A few other
in accordance with the shastras. We are ready to exchange
policy shifts were commendable as well. You spoke
against crony capitalism. But one set of cronies has been
a jai mala. Are you ready to commit?
2MODI
YEARS OF
PM SHOULD
THROW OUT RBI
CHIEF, OTHER
MERICAN
ADVISORS
BY
SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY,
rime Minister Narendra Modis two

years in government is rich with
achievements. The Opposition has not
been able to raise a single issue of corruption against Modi personally, or arising
out of his government actions. That is
unprecedented in the last 30 years of our politics. Every
government I know faced some allegations or the other.
Even Morarji Desai though he was personally very honest had an issue concerning his son Kanti Desai.
Secondly, the Prime Minister has slowly but surely
grown from a complete novice in international affairs to
Economist, BJP leader & former Union cabinet minister
reach a stage within two years of office to be invited by the

worlds superpower to address a Joint session of the US
Congress. In substance nothing; but in terms of flavour
and in essence its the ultimate recognition that world
leaders crave for.
An important achievement for Modi has been that
his party, for all its reverses in some elections, has
remained united. In realpolitik too, the BJP, known for
its Hindutva, has managed to have an alliance government with the most hardline Islamist party in
Kashmir. For the first time in our history since 1947,
ex-Jan Sangh and now BJP leaders have become dep-
COLUMN
you must do things which people immediately see yes,
uty chief ministers and ministers in Srinagar.
theres a change. You cant say some time in future, big
In our relations with Pakistan, if one now looks at crossrailways will come from Japan. You cant sell dreams anyborder firing, it has come down to zero. Thats not because
more.
hes been nice to Pakistan or because he had tea with
You have to take steps which will have immediate
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In his instruceffects. For example, one of the biggest problems we have
tions, he has said that if one bullet is fired on you, retaliate.
today is a high interest rate. Raghuram Rajan gives textThe military says its for the first time it has been given a
book that too written in Chicago prescriptions. He
free hand. As a consequence, one finds there is hardly any
doesnt understand that in their country they can raise a
cross-border firing. This is a major achievement.
quarter per cent interest rate. For us, its life and death.
I find because hes from a humble background, hes
The prime lending rate is already 12 per cent. And then
been acceptable across all castes. We never had this in the
you go on raising interest rates, and the small and
past. The personal faith in the PM is now even acknowlmedium industries are on the verge of collapse.
edged by pollsters they may have a poor opinion of the
We forget they are the ones that give maximum employparty (because of the economic performance); but his perment, particularly to the semi-skilled. We have no real
sonal integrity, personal acceptability seems to have
problem with fully skilled people. Providing unskilled and
grown to a new high.
semi-skilled people employment can only come from
And then theres no dispute whatsoever about his leadsmall and medium enterprises. They
ership. His leadership is taken as
are suffering from a capital crunch.
granted. They may even complain
We should kick out the RBI goverabout individual ministers or MPs but
nor. His term is ending in September.
nobody complains about him. Its not
But why wait till September? Hes
because they are afraid of him. He
unfit for India. His prescription is like
speaks openly, there are open discusthat of a doctor who sees a patient in
sions in the Parliamentary party meetPeople who come
high fever and says that the only way I
ings. Hes not reclusive. You see that
from IMF-World
can bring down the temperature is to
hardly anybody can meet Sonia
Bank backgrounds kill him. The only way you can bring
Gandhi, but hes meeting people all the
time.
have no dynamism down inflation is to kill the industry.
I think he should be sacked. And
This is a unique situation after 33
at all
also Chief Economic Advisor (CEA)
years an absolute majority governArvind Subramanian and others like
ment which is party-wise united, and
him who have come from the US, and
theres no conflict between the governhave green cards. One foot in America,
ment and the party. There are no rival
one foot here. We cant have such peocentres of power. Thats a great
ple as advisors. We have got a lot of
achievement.
alternative talent in our own country.
There are economic challenges though. The weakest
You must motivate people to save more. But with their
spot of the Modi government, in fact, is the economic perpresent salaries they cant. So it is necessary that as a politformance. But that is rectifiable.
ico-economic measure we abolish income tax. Who pays
I wont say that Modi is a hesitant or incremental
this tax? Only 1 per cent of the population, the profesreformer. Lets understand hes not trained as an econosional class, which is the chattering class. They are the
mist; hes a political scientist. He defers to experts. And
unhappy ones today.
these experts are all foreign-made! I think somebody conAgain, why was tax imposed on the jewellery makers?
vinced him or convinced the Finance Minister that these
They were ready to pay more revenue through the VAT
people who come from IMF-World Bank backgrounds
route. But you put an excise tax which means the excise
should be retained. I dont know the reason.
inspectors raj. The main problem we face in the execution
In my opinion, they are bureaucrats of international
of economic policy is on account of the baggage we have
organisations and they have no dynamism at all.
inherited from the UPA in terms of the personnel. This
What you need in economic policy is a political craftshas to change; otherwise there is no hope.
manship for hard decisions. And decisions which are in
favour of the people should not have a gestation lag. So
(As told to Suman K. Jha)
2MODI
YEARS OF
WHO WILL
DRY RADHAS
TEARS?
BY
ABHIGYAN PRAKASH,
Senior Journalist & Author
T WAS almost this time of the year. April 2015.

The farmers were deeply disturbed and distressed with the complete collapse of their
crops due to unseasonal rains. The damage
was so devastating that no government compensation could repair the situation. I decided
to travel through western Uttar Pradesh, starting from
Mathura and right up to the ravines of Chambal via Agra,
Tundla, Ferozabad and Etawah. And all through the story
that travelled with me was that of Radha. The images of
Radha with three little children in a house in shambles
continues to haunt me.
These images tell the story of our farmers. Their death

leaves their families, just like Radhas, in the lurch with
nothing to look forward to except the local community
and a corrupt system. In Radhas case, it was worse as
there was no compensation on the way. Its the classic
story about Indian feudalism. Her husband, a contract
labourer who worked for a landowner, had taken money
from the local lender to cultivate wheat. His entire crop
was destroyed by the unseasonal rain. And there was no
way he could repay the sahukar. Locals said he died of a
heart attack. But since it was not a legal suicide, Radha
could not even claim compensation.
COLUMN
drought in Maharashtra is a stark example of this probRadhas story capsules the story of Landless India.
lem) and low productivity continues to haunt the countryThese moving waves of farm labour, who till the soil for
side while indebtedness to local lenders remain
the landowners, dont exist. They never find their way
unchanged despite lofty promises of the government. It is
into the government records, so there are no benefits for
the same story over decades, irrespective of the party in
them from the big government schemes. Radhas story
power: arrogance and neglect of rural India, a vote they
was reported by me on 22 April 2015 from Harnaul village
used to come to power.
in Mathura, the constituency that returned the high proThe big issue is: How do the budget rural schemes benfile but hardly visible MP and actor Hema Malini. She was
efit those who really need them? Going by the latest
mobbed during a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
NSSO data, the number of the effectively landless has
in Mathura by angry locals demanding to know why she
increased considerably in the last decade leaving them
was indifferent to their plight.
with no option but to work for land owners for a liveliThese stories reflect the agrarian crisis of today. Even as
hood. Their plight is so fragile that any disturbance in the
every politician swears to solve the problems faced by
ecosystem unseasonal rains, market price fluctuations,
farmers, the countrys agricultural sector sinks deeper into
corruption in the local mandis makes their survival diffia quagmire. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing two years in office on 26 May, has Radhas story
cult. Their plight ensures they can no longer depend on
changed? Initially, it seemed Modis grand revival plan did
agriculture as a means of livelihood. And they have to
not put the rural economy at the cencome to the city centers in search of
tre stage. All the talk was around big
jobs. Mumbai is today flooded with
ticket investments, promises from the
armies of displaced migrant farmers
foreign leaders, multi-billion-dollar
who can be seen begging and
projects and pushing India as an
scrounging for a living on the streets.
attractive investment destination.
These are the drought victims who
Finance Minister
Then came the big defeats for the BJP
have fled their villages for survival.
in Delhi and Bihar elections.
The story is the same in
Arun Jaitelys last
Travelling through poll-bound
Bundelkhand.
budget was a front
Bihar it was clear to me that the rural
The future is indeed bleak as an
foot effort to woo
voter had moved away from Modi and
increasing number of small and marthe BJP. Far worse for the ruling parginal farmers will find agriculture to
rural India
tys image was the drubbing it got for
be unviable and will join the armies of
trying to revise the UPA Land Act. It
drifting unemployed. The fragmentamade the government look antition and subdivision of family landfarmer and gave the opposition a fair
holdings is adding to the problem.
chance to call this government suitWe should never forget that agriculture and its related activities continues
boot ki sarkaar. Modi was attacked for
to be the biggest source of livelihood for nearly half of this
being pro-industrialist.
countrys population. The share of agricultural employTherefore, there was a serious course correction in the
ment is nearly 48.9 per cent of the workforce, but the farm
last budget. Prime Minister Modi too has been extremely
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is just around 18 per cent
vocal about the plight of farmers in recent months.
and declining. Worse, the farm economy is expected to
Finance Minister Arun Jaitelys last budget was a frontgrow at a snails pace of just 1.1 per cent, according to the
foot effort to woo rural India back to the saffron combine.
Central Statistics Office (CSO). Vast tracts of rural India
Sample this: Rs 35,984 crores for welfare of farmers; Rs
or 60 per cent of the agricultural areas are rainfall
20,000 crores for irrigation; Rs 5,500 crores for the Prime
dependent. This has resulted in two consecutive years of
Ministers Fasal Bima Yojna; a separate allocation for
drought that has taken a huge toll of life. It is quite clear
Krishi Sinchai Yojna. It was a desperate attempt to grab
that the Prime Minister realises the rural challenge. Thats
pro-farmer headlines. These are big numbers but the bigwhy he has launched a national agriculture market, linkgest challenge lies in the execution, especially where state
ing 21 mandis spread across eight states to provide a betgovernments have a crucial role to play. The rural economy, however, continues to play truant. Scanty rainfall,
ter market for the farmers produce. But is enough being
absence or inadequate irrigation options (the ongoing
done to wipe away Radhas tears?
COVER STORY
CORPORATE
UBER
CLOSING
IN ON
OLA
Uber is global, slick and hip. But

our desi Ola is still the leader on
home turf. This is rapidly changing
as Uber noses ahead with a more
focused strategy
By Ayushman Baruah
RE YOU going to pick me up or should I uber

it? That or Say Ola to your driver, are part
of everyday conversation today as taxi aggregator services become more deeply
entrenched into our bustling cities. So disruptive has this model been that people now
think twice about buying a car, a fact admitted to by Mahindra Group chairman Anand
Mahindra recently when he said that Uber
and Ola are the biggest potential threats to
the traditional car industry. We are changing consumer behaviour and dissuading
Cut-throat Competition
But make no mistake. The taxi aggregation business isnt
easy and has sparked off a cut-throat rivalry between the
two dominant players in a market which has grown from
$5 billion in 2009-10 to $9 billion in 2015-16, as estimated by Rajiv K. Vij, founder of Carzonrent, a Delhibased car rental service.
Ola came first, in December 2010 and Uber followed
three years later in October 2013. But the two are so neck
and neck in competition today, you wouldnt remember
who started it.
It wasnt long before phone-based pre-booking cab services like Tab Cab, Mega Cab, Spot Taxis and the traditional flag-down black-and-yellow cabs too faced severe
pressure from the app-based models across the world,
often resulting in strikes, agitations and riots, as the livelihood of regular cab drivers are threatened.
The non-aggregation models are relatively less scalable, says Pragya Singh, vice-president, Technopak, an
advisor for startups. These players will need to reinvent
themselves. If they cant compete on
price and instant availability, they
THE BIG RACE
will need to find a proposition on
Bhavish Aggarwals
which they can compete.
(left) Ola and Travis
Some old market share reports
Kalanick s (right)
have pegged Olas share at about 75
Uber are in neck and
per cent. Uber claims it has more
neck competition.
than 45 per cent market share as of
Their businesses are
March 2016 as against just 5 per cent
similar, but stratein January 2015. It says it has been
gies very different
growing at 40 per cent month-onmonth. Uber claims to have 2.5 lakh driver partners, while
Ola claims 3.5 lakh drivers plus 80,000 autos-rickshaws.
Neither private company is bound to disclose revenue
or market share figures. Analysts point out that even if
one were to assume that Ola has 75 per cent market share,
it is spread across 102 cities and its share in the more profitable metro cities could be much less.
Intangible Advantage
There are important intangibles, besides market share,
that show how both are positioned. Uber was clearly on a
slow wicket in India as long as the electronic wallet was
the only mode of payment. Accepting cash payments and
heavily incentivising drivers based on number of rides and
PHOTOGRAPH: SUBHABRATA DAS, BLOOMBERG
them from buying their second car, says Amit Jain, president of Ubers India operations.
And Uber may well talk. It has marched into city after
city across the world, brazenly stared down its many problems and refused to blink first in the face of trouble.
AGRICULTURE
INDIAS POPULATION
1.311 BN
RESIDENTS
COMMUTERS
29 MINUTES
INDIAS TAXI WAR
MARKET OVERVIEW
IN DEPTH
UBER VS OLA
A flurry of complaints from Uber drivers about an

unusually high number of cancelled bookings was
the spark that ignited a bitter legal fight with Ola,
Ubers rival for dominance of Indias $12-billion
taxi market, according to court documents and a
source with direct knowledge of Ubers case
is the average commute time
26 %
in India travel over 90

minutes everyday
9%
TRANSPORT
Indias public
transport is
among the most
heavily used in the
world
10.3
MN
cars
on road
8.2 MN
rides annually in
railway
of commuters use taxis
customer experience were measures

that turned Uber around. Uber drivers say that their company is incredibly strict about driver ratings and
consistently low ones are dealt with
seriously. The 5-point customer rating system is vigorously implemented by the company and drivers
with consistently low scores are
penalised and logged off the system.
This makes drivers work hard to
reach quickly for pick-ups and keep
their cabs and interaction with customers at a high-level of hygiene.
Uber also has been focusing on
technology a lot more than its rivals.
In March this year, it inaugurated its
engineering centre in Bengaluru
which is also the first in Asia for the
company. With this we aim to
deliver a world-class experience from
India, says Thuan Pham, chief technical officer, Uber Inc.
Pham says Internet connectivity,
traffic congestion, and accuracy of
routing are some of the key challenges faced by Uber in India. We
are working to make our ETAs (estimated time of arrival) better, he says.
Spread Too Thin
Unlike Uber in India, which has concentrated on its core business by leveraging technology to win customers
with better rides, Ola has been experimenting with peripheral businesses
such as Ola Caf and its hyper local
grocery delivery service and Ola Store
which shut down this year. Industry
watchers say the operational costs are
too high and margins too thin to sustain the online food business.
Ola is currently present in 102 cities in India while Uber is in 26. But
thats Ubers business strategy. The
idea is not to get into 100 cities and
spread ourselves too thin, says Jain.
We want to focus on growing
deeper into the markets we are in.
Out of the top five cities that see the
highest volume of business, we are
leading in three. The idea is to grow
our business stronger in these highvolume markets.
Ola agrees that 90 per cent of its

business comes from the top 10 cities
which could suggest that the company is making losses in the other cities. Given their demographics with
lower disposable income and higher
illiteracy rates, smaller towns may
indeed turn out to be a loss-making
venture for the aggregators.
Mohamed Salim (name changed),
34, a driver with Ola in Dhanbad,
says, There are days when we get
only three or four rides a day compared to an average of 15 rides per
shift in cities. He says 60 to 70 per
cent of passengers are those who try
their first free ride and never come
back. All that money spent on brand
awareness and loyalty doesnt quite
cut it in small towns.
Sanjay Kumar, a student at Vinoba
Bhave University says, I will never
spend Rs 100 on a 4-km ride and
would rather use a shared auto that
charges Rs 8 for the same distance.
Just like Kumar, the majority of people in small towns are either those
UBER OLA
NO. OF TAXI DRIVERS IN INDIA
2.5 LAKH
SERVICES
nPersonal
transport
3.5 LAKH
nPersonal transport
nFood delivery
SHARED CHALLENGES
nDrivers dont know the

way aroung the city
nCustomised
offerings to suit
local Indians
n Good
understanding
of local market
nHuge
spending
power
n Ubiquitous
branding
102 CITIES
FUNDING
$1-2 BN
Raised for India
nIn light of a sexual assault

incident involving a driver,
both startups must work
extra hard to ensure
passenger safety in India
n Early traction
EXPANSION IN INDIA
26 CITIES
nRegulatory challenges
like ban on taxi hailing app
in some cities
STRENGTH
nGrocery ordering
BUSINESS
nDrivers either not turning

up or cancelling booking
after accepting it
WEAKNESS
nBrand is a
late mover in
India
$1.3 BN
Raised
AMIT
JAIN
President,
Uber (India)
THE MAGIC OF PUSHING A

BUTTON AND GETTING A
RIDE HAPPENS BECAUSE
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
ADJUST IN RESPONSE TO
PRICE CHANGES
who own a car or those who cannot
pay a three-digit sum for a cab ride.
Kanpur-based professor Raza Naqvi,
who uses Olas service, says, Seven to
10 per cent of people in a town like
Jhansi or Ujjain own a car and the
rest are not in a state to pay for the
cabs. Though most people use
smartphones in Kanpur, more than
half of them have no idea about how
to use the apps, he adds.
So, who is using Ola or Uber in
n Human
resource
heavy-model
tier-II and tier-III cities? Says

Umesh Singh (name changed), a
Raipur-based Ola driver: Sixty to 70
per cent of my booking comes from
either the airport or the railway station for pickup and drop. He says
only a few people use Ola within the
town. And a bigger problem is that
Ola drivers have to face the ire of
local cab service providers which
sometimes turns into ugly brawls.
Predictably, Ola says it sees enormous potential in tier-II and tier-III
cities especially with the launch of its
cheapest cab version Ola Micro and
e-rickshaws.
Flood and Surge
Ubers game plan on the other hand
is simple keep cutting prices, raise
demand for cheap rides, flood the
market with drivers and ultimately
kill any competition. Drivers who
come on board feel the pressure as
the company revises ride rates downwards to stoke demand. The strategy
is to flood the market with cabs and
COVER STORY
drivers. And it is no slow train. The
ramp up is fast and bitter.
In London, for instance, the famed
Black Cab service was literally run to
the ground as Uber ramped up its
service over three years with relentless price cuts. Uber launched in
London in June 2012 with 50 drivers.
It was the 11th city and by any stretch
one of the toughest markets to break.
There were huge fleets of very organised taxi operators the Black Cabs,
and the app-based Hailo. Undercutting them steadily and in the face
of now-familiar protests by other
cabbies, Uber, by mid-2015, officially
surpassed the Black Cab strength
with over 25,000 drivers on the road.
Today, the Uber app is downloaded
30,000 times every week by people
planning their first ride.
But once the app-based aggregators have you hooked they also cash
in on high demand to pinch your
pocket. Surge pricing or inflating
prices two to six times over at the
time of peak demand is a subject of
huge controversy and regulatory
debate in India.
Many technology-led businesses
are new to India, and the laws were
neither made for nor do they address
the requirements of these newer
business models. Such businesses
end up working with ambiguous
interpretations of existing regulations and continuously face legal
challenges. As a consumer-friendly
measure, the Karnataka government
has recently banned surge pricing in
Bengaluru using provisions in the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Delhi followed suit during the April odd-even
experiment when a large number of
private cars went off the roads for a
fortnight. In response to the governments ban, Ubers Jain says in justification: Dynamic pricing makes
Uber reliable because Uber can vary
prices to meet changes in demand.
The magic of pushing a button and
CORPORATE
PRAGYA HARISH
SINGH BIJOOR
Vice-president,
Technopak
UNTIL THERE IS A
WHOLISTIC POLICY, THE
PLAYERS WILL NEED TO
WORK WITHIN THE
AMBIT OF EXISTING
REGULATIONS
getting a ride happens because supply and demand adjust in response to
price changes: without it the reliability of always having a ride when you
need one becomes hard.
In stark contrast to Ubers stance,
New Delhi-based Magic Sewa cab
aggregator service feels surge pricing
doesnt make sense in India.
Launched this February, Magic Sewa
(which also accepts bookings online
and through phone) is one of the latest entrants to the app-based cab
aggregator space. Surge pricing is an
import from places like America and
Europe where dynamic pricing is
used to meet the high demand in
CEO,
Harish Bijoor Consults Inc
UBER IS MORE GLOBAL,

INTERNATIONAL AND
SLICK AS A RESULT OF
WHICH IT RESONATES
BETTER WITH THE
YOUTH
events like a football match or a festival by pushing more private car owners to come out, says Rakesh
Aggarwal, founder, Magic Sewa. He
says that many cab aggregators today
use surge pricing as a loss recovery
mechanism where they make up for
losses incurred by their low-rate
schemes during normal hours.
Singh agrees that the taxi aggregator model faces a grey situation with
no clear regulations. Until the government comes up with a comprehensive policy, the players will need
to work within the ambit of existing
regulations. In the short term, these
may impact some growth, she says.
The suspension of two-wheelers

operating as taxis is another example
of how these app-based taxi aggregators will have to deal with legal
nuances. Indias Motor Vehicle Act
currently doesnt have a provision for
two wheelers to be used as taxis but
that hasnt stopped a thriving twowheeler taxi service in Goa.
As Uber is all set to overtake Ola,
the latter is cautious and putting its
best foot forward to win the battle.
For instance, both operators had suspended surge pricing in New Delhi
from 15 April to 30 during the second
phase of the odd-even traffic scheme
after the Delhi government threatened to cancel permits for charging
higher than prescribed fares.
But, while Uber brought back
surge pricing on 1 May, a day after
the end of the odd-even scheme, Ola
did not.
Meanwhile, cab drivers have been
caught in a tussle between the government and the aggregator companies. In Karnataka, for example, the
state government has implemented
the Karnataka On-demand
Transportation Technology
Aggregators Rule 2016 which mandates that aggregator companies
obtain a unified license covering 100
vehicles at a cost of Rs 1 lakh. Noncompliance of this rule has hit individual taxis. In a recent crackdown,
some 500 cabs were seized and the
drivers incurred huge losses. Drivers
also raised their voice against a rule
that mandates that their all-India
permits be converted to city taxi permits for which they have to shell out
Rs 10,000.
Winning Cards
While drivers realise it is not all
hunky dory with the aggregator companies, the latter are going about
increasing demand and penetration
by strategic partnerships. On 3 May,
Uber entered a partnership with
UBER
TOTAL FUNDING
$9.01 billion
INDIA SPECIFIC
FUNDING
$1-2 billion
INVESTORS
LetterOne, Baidu,
Fidelity Investment, GV,
Menio Ventures, Benchmark, First Round
OLA
TOTAL FUNDING
$1.3 billion
INVESTORS
Tiger Global, Steadview Capital, Sequoia Capital, Softbannk Capital, DST Global,
Baillie Gifford
*ALL FIGURES ARE APPROXIMATE AND INVESTORS LIST
IS INDICATE, NOT EXHAUSTIVE, SOURCE: CRUNCHBASE
Chinese online payments major

Alipay that would enable Chinese
commuters to book and pay for cab
rides through each others app across
400 cities where Uber operates.
Uber is in the process of doing a similar product integration with Alipaybacked Indian digital payments platform Paytm for the India market.
In price sensitive India, the rates
offered by Ola and Uber will play a
big role in deciding volume of business. Currently, Olas cheapest offer-
ing, Ola Micro charges Rs 6 per kilometre with a minimum bill of Rs 40

for the ride. Ubers most affordable,
known as uberGO, charges Rs 7 a km
with a minimum fare of Rs 60. These
rates are as per the rate card in
Bengaluru but the prices are similar
in most cities.
Ola has the advantage of being
built from the ground up for the
India market. For instance, the Ola
app is more 2G friendly, opening up
seamlessly on slow connections. Our
engineers have worked on the 2G
optimisation technology which automatically detects the network and
accordingly optimises the user experience, says Anand Subramanian,
senior director, Marketing
Communications, Ola. Uber needs at
least a 3G or a WiFi connection.
According to brand experts, Uber
has more global appeal. Uber is
more global, international and slick
as a result of which it resonates better
with the youth, professionals and
business users, says brand expert
Harish Bijoor.
With the latest round of $500 million funding in November last year,
Ola has closed over $1.3 billion of
external funding from investors such
as Tiger Global, Steadview Capital,
Sequoia Capital, SoftBank Capital,
DST Global, and Baillie Gifford.
In July 2015, Uber committed an
investment of 1 billion in India, and
there seems to be more in the pipeline. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said
in January this year that Uber could
double its committed investment of
$1 billion to $2 billion in India if it
sees more than five times the return.
Uber will continue to invest in
India, which it can do with its deep
pockets and ability to raise funding.
It may have entered a bit late into the
market, like Amazon did, but eventually, it will catch up, just like, says
Technopaks Singh.
Competition sometimes turns bit-
COVER STORY
CORPORATE
HATS IT like living in the

shadow of a war between
dominant Uber and Ola?
For the self-driven, the
rental car segment was almost nonexistent five years ago, and the
spurt in new luxury travel choices
has been a big boost. Even as the
two taxi aggregators
Uber and Ola fight it
out and are burning
cash to obliterate the
other, the smaller appbased rentals have pushed on to
profitability with clever strategy and
diversified portfolios.
Rajiv K. Vij, CEO of Carzonrent,
says, Given the amount of money
they raise, it is nearly impossible for
us to compete with them in the cabon-the-go segment but there is a
lot of space in the other segments for players like us to grow.
With a wide range of portfolios ranging from government
authorised Radio Taxi Service (EasyCabs), Myles (Self-Drive/
Car Sharing) to Corporate Car Rental, Carzonrent has grown
at a rate of 25 to 30 per cent in the past three years. Vij says
that his company has been able to generate healthy profits in
this period.
Just like Carzonrent, there has been an influx of rent-a-car
service providers in the country in recent years to tap the
massive $8-9 billion cab rental industry of the country of
which only 8 to 10 per cent is organised.
Paris-based BlaBlaCar, which has been in
India since January last year, is expecting a
ten-fold growth in the number of rides on its
platform in the next 5-10
years. The firm, which offers ride-sharing for long-distance travel, has
already seen one million seats being
offered through its platform in the country.
Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and COO of BlaBlaCar, says,
Ride-sharing is definitely gaining traction the world over

including India.
However, for
longer distance
travel, this somehow has not been
the case. But it is changing.
BlaBlaCar connects drivers and
riders heading to a city and
allows riders to pay drivers
enough to cover reasonable
expenses. BlaBlaCar makes
money by collecting a transaction fee (say 10 per cent) of the
total cost of a ride. Two other
successful app-based car rentals operating in the country that
are planning expansion are
Zoomcar and Revv. Zoomcar,
which offers cars on an hourly,
daily or monthly basis, was started in Bengaluru with seven
cars and has expanded to the Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh.
It has 2,000 cars and sees 1,200
rides each day. Greg Moran, cofounder and
chief executive officer of Zoomcar,
says that the company has been able to
make a profit in every city within a few
months of launch and is planning to
increase its fleet to 50,000 cars in two years
and expand to 30 cities.
Revv, another 100 per cent self-drive
rental has become quite popular among
people who want to rent luxurious cars and
big SUVS. The company, less than a year old, currently
operates in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru and its
portfolio of cars includes approximately 150 cars with 60
per cent SUVs, 10 per cent ultra-luxury, 30 per cent sedans
and hatchbacks. Arshad Khan
PROFITING
IN THE
SHADOW
ter too. A recent newspaper report

that Uber is acquiring a controlling
stake in Ola sent shockwaves in the
industry; but it was quickly denied by
Ola. The Ola CEO @bhash tweeted,
Were here for the long run, committed to building mobility for billion
Indians. Planted malicious stories
are sign of others desperation!

While Ola still enjoys a larger market share and a wider presence, Uber
is focusing on fewer, high-growth
markets which might prove to be the
winning streak. As the gap narrows,
Uber, with a more focused strategy,
longer global experience, deeper
pockets, and a stronger brand image,

might just race past Ola in a few
months.
ayushman@businessworld.in;
@ayushmanb; (With inputs from Arshad
Khan); For more on cab aggregators,
visit www.businessworld.in
BOUND TOGETHER
N 22 APRIL THE UN
headquarters on New
Yorks East River was
agog with excitement.
For the first time in
history representatives of more than 170
nations in colourful
costumes were present to sign on to the
climate agreement reached in Paris at
the end of last year.
It was a momentous occasion for
humanity as representatives of billions of people admitted that climate
change is a global problem and needs
a global solution. However significant
that acknowledgement might be the
signing ceremony could remain but a
symbolic act. Signatory nations have
to muster up courage to implement the
agreement to limit global mean temperature change to 2 degree Celsius.
Signing was the first step. The
agreement will go into effect after
55 countries representing at least 55
per cent of global emissions will have
joined it. When that goal is achieved
by the end of this year, it would be a
significant but also the easy part. At
the risk of being a party pooper, it is
necessary to remind those clinking
glasses in New York that almost 18
years ago representatives of 84 countries came to the same building to
sign the Kyoto Protocol. On 31 December 2012 the protocol created to
address global warming was given a
quiet burial.
The main reason the attempt failed
was that the negotiated commitment
to reduce emission could not be enforced. Major emitters like the US
signed the protocol but refused to
ratify it, and Canada instead of complying simply withdrew. There was no
price to be paid for reneging.
To ensure the success of the Paris
Agreement to replace failed Kyoto,
The Ghost
Of Kyoto
Still Lurks
Given the quiet burial given
to the Kyoto Protocol, the
signing ceremony for the
Paris climate pact could
remain but a symbolic act
the organisers simply removed the

need for external enforcement. Instead of laying down each countrys
responsibility to reduce emissions,
the countries were simply asked to
state their intended nationally determined contributions. But there was
no mechanism to ensure that they live
up to their commitments.
How likely is it that the moral responsibility undertaken for the good
of the world would succeed now where
Kyoto failed? History does not suggest any change in countries tendency to free-ride. Columbia University
By Nayan Chanda
climate scientist Scott Barrett says

the only way the pledged voluntary
contributions could achieve the
2-degree goal is if a miracle occurs
around 2030 some technological
breakthrough forcing global emissions to plummet. Even then, he says,
the chances of staying within the 2
degree goal are no better than 50-50.
Not only enforcement mechanism
is lacking, the way the Paris Agreement was achieved did not allow for
any negotiation about a countrys
pledge to limit emissions and the need
to link it with the requirements of international finance.
To meet its enormous energy demands, India wants to double its
consumption of coal over the next 10
years. But burning coal of that magnitude goes against the intended goal of
abating global warming, which poses
threat to monsoon-dependent India
with its shrinking groundwater and
rising sea level imperils the populated
coastline.
Barrett told me, The other countries should have helped India identify a viable alternative to coal and
calculate the cost premium for the
alternative. The rich countries, he
added, should then have figured out
how to divide the burden of paying for
this cost premium.
Indias environment minister
Prakash Javadekar has urged rich nations to undertake the urgent task of
mobilising the pledged $100 billion
green fund. Barrett says it is possible
that paying for alternate energy could
be taken up by the new Green Fund,
but there is no indication yet that this
is going to happen. Meanwhile, the
ghost of Kyoto still hovers over the
signing ceremony in Manhattan.
The author is consulting editor of YaleGlobal Online, published by the MacMillan Center, Yale University;
boundtogether.bw@gmail.com. For other columns by Nayan Chanda, visit www.businessworld.in
OVERVIEW...
Pg 66
INSIGHTS... Pg 68
LUPIN...Pg 70
EMPLOYERS
EST
ACCOR & RELIANCE CAPITAL...Pg 72
BHARTI INFRATEL ...Pg 74
AGS HEALTH & DHL ...Pg 76

INTERGLOBE AVIATION ...Pg 78
BLUE DART & TACO ...Pg 79
THE OBEROI GROUP...Pg 80
GODREJ CONSUMER & WHIRLPOOL ...Pg 81
TATA AIA ... Pg 82
SAINT GOBAIN & HPE ...Pg 83
BAJAJ FINANCE ...Pg 84
SKS MICROFINANCE & BECTON DICKINSON...Pg 85
METRO CASH AND CARRY INDIA...Pg 86
WNS & STARWOOD HOTELS ... Pg 87
TATA CHEM & YASH TECH ...Pg 88
TATA COM & BAJAJ ALLIANCE ...Pg 89
BEST EMPLOYERS
THE ART
OF TALENT
NURTURE
All companies featured in the Best Employers survey have
an uncanny ability to throw up home-grown leaders
By Sutanu Guru
W
HAT MAKES something attractive? For a nerd chasing

demons and dreams in a virtual world, attraction is the gadget
and things it enables a nerd to do. For an actor, attraction
means lights, camera and action, with adulation from fans
thrown in as a perk. For a voter, attraction could be charisma
or the perceived ability of the politician to deliver the goods.
What about a company? What makes youngsters, midlevel professionals and even leaders drool over the prospect of
working for a particular company? For any organisation, this
attraction quotient is a strategic advantage that has often
been ignored by pundits. When the best talent is drawn
towards you, success is more or less guaranteed. It is almost
like IITs and IIMs. Because the best students are tracked to
these institutions, they keep delivering success year after year.
Something similar happens with companies and organisations. If the best talent wants, rather dreams of working with
you, the decisive edge you enjoy over rivals and competitors
in the market place is immense, and invaluable. That apart,
happy employees are usually more productive and a motivated workforce is willing to go that extra mile to perform
better. It all becomes an unbeatable virtuous cycle. A kind of
cycle that pleases even the stock markets and investors.
Lets face it, virtually every one of the top officials of the
25 companies we spoke to for this Best Employers package
was of the opinion that money isnt everything. This
money cant buy you love and happiness philosophy seems to have a
strange grip over HR honchos of
immensely successful companies.
But of course, they also unhesitatingly agreed that while money might
be a sufficient condition to nurture a
motivated, happy and productive
employee, it is indeed a necessary condition. No wonder, compensation packages in
all the winners profiled in this package rival, if not exceed, the very best in their
respective industries. Greed may not be God or good as Wall Street sharks believe,
but a healthy respect for money does matter.
The other key factor common to almost all the winning companies is their ability to
convince employees that they care, that they look at employees as partners in an
exciting journey. How do you do that? Many ways, actually. Almost all attractive companies offer even more attractive perks, ranging from extended maternity leave to
flexible working hours to surprise gifts on special occasions. Almost all companies
encourage employees to come up with ideas that can add competitive value to the
company. In almost all these companies, many home-grown stars and leaders have
emerged as a result of such ideas being encouraged.
The most important factor, of course, is the ability of convince employees that they
have a great career and a great future in the same organisation. All successful companies
have an uncanny ability to find home-grown leaders who often rise from the ranks. No
wonder then that another common factor in all these companies is very low attrition
rates. If attracting talent is half the battle won; retaining talent is a war won!
IF THE BEST TALENT

WANTS, RATHER DREAMS
OF WORKING WITH YOU,
THE DECISIVE EDGE YOU
ENJOY OVER RIVALS AND
COMPETITORS IN THE
MARKET PLACE IS IMMENSE
BEST EMPLOYERS
BEST EMPLOYERS: INSIGHTS
FROM BEST TO NEXT

Tarandeep Singh of Aon Hewitt analyses how great
HR practices lead to great financial performance
IN 2000, BEST EMPLOYERS INDIA was

launched to learn and share best practices
across companies and industries. Sixteen
years later, one wonders whether there are
any best practices. New age companies
introduce talent practices older ones cannot fathom implementing. Need for speed
and agility is undermining the time
required and relevance to mimic best practices. Hence, we decided to leverage 2016
study to understand how Best Employers
are preparing themselves for the future.
For that, it is important to define and create the workplace of the future. Given the external and demographic
megatrends, we believe businesses in future will have to:
1. Design organisations for Innovation, Agility &
Speed
In an increasingly networked and complex world, organisations of the future will work in smaller and diverse
teams (if a team couldnt be fed with two pizzas, it is too
big Jeff Bezos Rule). These teams will be multi-faceted
and cross-functional, though not necessarily most effective in solving problems.
Teams will hence have to learn how to include everyones views and voice in the solution. Ability to manage
diversity of thought supported by an art of effective collaboration will be critical success levers. Team members will
increasingly work on shorter assignments to create higher
learning impact and build new career contracts that allow
for a wider and enriching experience.
Key Success Drivers: Diversity and Inclusion,
Collaboration, and Career Opportunity
2.Create work culture to deliver 10X impact
Future of work revolves around ones ability to learn and
adapt. Depth of problem solving will be bartered with
quicker decision-making and iterative learning. Omnipresent technology, process automation and artificial intelligence will redefine work processes. Man and machine will
look for confluence; learning will be on-demand and delivered just-in-time for 10X impact. Best talent will work on
the best job (agnostic of the employer). Employees will
expect organisations to enable jobs everywhere, and provide them the latitude on how it is delivered.
Key Success Drivers: Empowerment, Enabling
Infrastructure, and Work-Life Integration
3.Manage the young, the old, and the connected

Future of managing talent will be driven by individual
choices. People managers will need to learn to be
coaches in a networked organisation. Critical talent will
expect deeper and differentiated methods to receive
rewards and recognition. Given the advent of technology
enabled transparency and rising social inequalities, talent
will demand stronger alignment to organisations purpose. They will expect organisations to define and live
their brand in thought, speech and action, and leadership
style will need to be inspirational to draw positive energy.
Key Success Drivers: Employer Brand, Inspiring
Leadership, and Rewards and Recognition
Visibly, Best Employers are delivering significantly
higher employee experience on the enclosed future success drivers. Hence, we adopted detailed statistical analyses to unearth following highlights, where even the Best
need to step up:
a) Work-life integration is a key improvement driver for
Best Employers. This represents employees rising expectations towards better work-life balance enabled through
omnipresent technology.
b) Collaboration at the workplace is a key sustenance
(strength) driver for Best Employers. However, it is not
the top driver. We regularly notice collaboration as a key
improvement area for the market.
c) Brand and senior leadership are amongst Top 4
improvement drivers for the market. Incidentally, senior
leadership was a sustenance driver for Best Employers
last year, but no longer. This corroborates our hypothesis
of the task cut-out for inspiring leaders and organisations
reputation.
d) Market average scores have improved the most on
brand and career opportunities. Best Employers need to
raise their delivery of promise and focus on creation of
purposeful organisations.
e) Best Employers have created the highest gap against
the market on rewards and recognition. The same however is still their topmost improvement driver.
There is irrefutable data supporting Best Employers
financial performance against the market index. As we
gaze into the future, we need to identify those who will
continue to hold their heads above rising tides, and stand
tall to ever-changing dimensions of business breakthroughs and talent shifts.
Faster Than Ever

Businesses are experiencing
breakthroughs faster than ever
Speed
Agility
Innovation
Nature of work is shifting dimensions

faster than ever
OnDemand
Constant
Learning
Man & Machine
Connectedness is redefining talent

expectations faster than ever
Transparent
Experience
Purpose
Need to Imagineer
Organisations designed
for the future
Create work culture to

deliver 10X impact
Manage the young, the old

and the connected
Networked in structure
Adaptation to quicker
actions
Transparency in thought
and action
Enabling omni-present
technology
Engaging leaders that

inspire and connect
User-anchored learning
Living the brand beyond

talent attraction
High-performing nimble
teams
Collaboration of the
multi-faceted
Future Building Blocks of Best Employers

Employee opinion scores comparing Best Employers and India market average
Diversity & Inclusion
72%
83%
Career Opportunities
65%
76%
Collaboration
71%
80%
Basics (Enabling Infra, Talent & Staffing)

69%
81%
Empowerment & Autonomy

73%
81%
Work-life Balance (Integration)

71%
78%
Inspiring Leadership
70%
81%
Employer Brand
78%
87%
Rewards & Recognition

58%
71%
BEST EMPLOYERS
DIVAKAR KAZA,
PRESIDENT - HUMAN RESOURCES, LUPIN
ENGAGEMENT &
ENTHUSIASM
Lupin relies on both to stay ahead in the fiercely competitive pharma sector
UPIN, THE MUMBAI-BASED pharma

MNC is currently led by the second
and young generation promoters
Nilesh and Vinita Gupta, who have
instituted a myriad of talent management programmes through which it
has been able to infuse top talent,
ensure smoother assimilation of new
hires, accelerate on-job productivity
and promote a culture of high performance and continuous learning.
Pharmaceuticals is a knowledgeintensive, as well as a people-intensive industry, where
superior business results and outstanding shareholder
value is delivered through an engaged and
enthused workforce and such employees demonstrate positive, contagious energy, achieve
higher levels of productivity and walk the
extra mile in times of need, says Divakar
Kaza, president, Human Resources at
Lupin.
To that end, the companys award-winning onsite New Hire Induction
Programme (UDBHAV) the pioneering
Talent Acquisition Programme (LEARN &
EARN) for building employability in
the communities and the pathbreaking Role Clarity
Framework for structured targets for effective performance
all have been designed to
meet critical business
requirements/gaps and
also fulfil the aspirations and ambitions of
its employees.
As an organisation,
we propagate a philosophy of continuous
development and focus on initiatives that encourage innova-
tion, entrepreneurial abilities and talent recognition,

says Kaza.
Lupin, which has also adopted several women
employees specific programmes to promote and maintain better gender balance, has a total global workforce
of around 15,000 at present.
We have a lot of young women joining the workforce
every year and the numbers have steadily increased,
which is a very encouraging and healthy indicator, said
Lupins CEO Vinita Gupta in an earlier interview.
One must look at where and why an organisation
misses out on most of its women workforce. In the
Indian context, we lose them to maternity leave, marriage, etc., Gupta added. So, Lupin has designed programmes that not only keep women engaged, but also
encourage them to return after an extended
break. Employees can also take a professional
sabbatical of up to two years, she said.
For Lupin, best people practices are also
part of retaining talent pipeline. On one end
of the spectrum it maintains world-class HR
processes and programmes that have succeeded in ring-fencing top talent and building a robust talent pipeline. But on the other
end it is simple but meaningful experiences that make each day enriching and fulfilling for each and
every one of the team.
According to Kaza, the company is proud to be recognised
among the best employers of
India on account of deep-rooted
values and culture. It is also our
progressive, people-friendly HR
programs that provide our employees excitement and diversity in their
work and ample opportunity for
growth, learning and development,
he says.
unni@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Being Hospitable To All
Accor leverages global best practices to nurture talent
ITH 36 HOTELS across key destinations in the country, AccorHotels is

uniquely placed as one of the bigger
international hotel groups in the
country with brands that span all
segments from luxury to budget
such as ibis, Novotel and Pullman.
AccorHotels, one of the worlds
largest and leading hotel operators, was adjudged as one
of the Best Employers in India at the Aon Hewitt
Best Employers 2016 awards ceremony held on
30 March 2016 for their best practices in
human resource and its management.
The Aon Hewitt award is one of the most
significant recognitions that an organisation
could receive in validation of its human
resources practices and talent management initiatives. AccorHotels
growth story would not be possible without an engaged workforce
going that extra mile to make our
guests feel welcome. In India, AccorHotels has more than

5,500 employees and I say this with great pride that they
are the true pillars driving our success, says Jean Michel
Casse, senior vice-president, Operations, AccorHotels
India. In India, AccorHotels operates a network of seven
distinctive brands underpinned by operational excellence,
while embracing its European heritage.
Ashwin Shirali, director, regional talent and culture,
AccorHotels India, says, Winning this award is a testimony to our talent practices devised to help our
employees grow and achieve their full potential. To
ensure our employees stay motivated and engaged,
AccorHotels invests heavily in employee engagement and talent development programs to produce high performing teams. This award is the
culmination of the hard work and dedication of
our employees and I thank each member of
AccorHotels Family for their commitment
and support.
JEAN MICHEL CASSE

SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT
Haider@businessworld.in
Going Beyond The Usual Assets
Reliance Capital has tapped even FMCG & Telecom to find the best talent
HEN YOU ARE Reliance Capital Asset

Management (RCAM) the largest
asset manager with over Rs 2,50,000
crore of Assets Under Management
across mutual, pension and offshore
funds and managed accounts it follows that you are really good at what
you do.
Says Rajesh Derhgawen, Chief Human Resources
Officer, RCAM: What we offer is an employee value
proposition that is built on the pillars of empowerment and entrepreneurship, challenging
assignments, career growth and a great enabling culture.
RCAM has adopted a very innovative
approach to hiring. More than 90 per cent
of our CXOs are from outside AMC space
and today more than 30 per cent
of hires are coming from outside BFSI from sectors like
RAJESH DERHGAWEN
CHIEF HR OFFICER
banks, telecom, FMCG and e-commerce etc, says

Derhgawen.
This means RCAM has been able to bring in a lot of
non-AMC folks into its fold which provides a diverse talent pool with fresh perspective and expertise. Now its one
thing to get in people; entirely another to make sure that
they stay with you. RCAM has scored really well here.
While its attrition rate is around 15 per cent, 70 per cent of
the leadership team has been with the system for 10-plus
years and average tenure for all being 5-plus years.
What about pay? Being part of the best team, our
people are always prone to being poached by the
competition. But we dont believe in throwing
big bucks just to retain, instead we retain our
people by adding value, building their career,
creating a great family connect and ring-fencing
our key talent through stock options and longterm incentive plans.
Raghu@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
D. S. RAWAT,
CEO & MD, BHARTI INFRATEL
THE YOU GROW, WE

GROW PHILOSOPHY
Bharti Infratel is setting new benchmarks in employee engagement
DJUDGED AS THE BEST EMPLOYERS

grooming sessions to take on higher responsibilities.
for the second time in a row, Bharti
Our employees are our competitive advantage and
Infratel the telecom tower arm of
this has gone a long way in helping us become pioneer
Bharti Airtel understands that they
in our field, says D. S. Rawat, managing director and
can have customer delight only when
chief executive officer at Bharti Infratel, which was
they win the hearts and souls of their
recently in news for its its financial results. In the quarbiggest asset employees. Employee
ter ended March 2016, it reported a 19 per cent jump in
First is the binding philosophy behind
net profit on the back of growth in network rollout by
all their interventions, hence their
operators.
Employee Value Proposition: You
At Infratel, the health and fitness of the workforce is
Grow, We Grow; Building Leaders for
paramount and is a right and not a privilege. The team
Tomorrow and Stretching Boundaries
continuously strives to offer a healthy work environTogether differentiates them and makes them the forement to their employees wherein they feel valued for
runner for external and internal stakeholders.
their contribution to the organization and feel encourOne of the largest tower infrastructure providers in
aged to achieve a positive work-life balance. With a docIndia, Infratel is a strong believer in creumented safety policy and 100 per cent
ating new benchmarks, which is showTHE HEALTH AND compliance to safety, no stone is left
cased by their customized talent develop- FITNESS OF THE
unturned to ensure that every employee
ment offerings to appeal to their varied
of the frontline team becomes adept in
WORKFORCE IS
workforce of Baby Boomers, Gen X and
safe work practices from wearing safety
PARAMOUNT
Gen Y to act as touch points at all stages
gear to using helmets and belts while
of the employee life cycle. Employees
driving. The safety norms are also
AND IS A RIGHT
here are empowered to spearhead their
extended to the vendor ecosystem reinAND NOT A
careers by referring to an easy to underforcing the commitment to a safe workPRIVILEGE HERE
stand documented career paths called
place. Any non-adherence to safety
RISE Career Framework enabling both
norms is stringently dealt through their
vertical and cross-functional movements.
consequent management policy. Furthermore, to
The conviction of the leadership team on
overcome the ever increasing sedentary lifestyle
development and growth of employees
enforced by the urbanisation, Infratel team reguhelps fuel the employee aspirations by
larly participates in health initiatives, as each step
not only tracking their employee perforculminates to a healthy living.
mance, but also uncovering the potential
Infratels success comes from a constant
within them through a well structured
focus on renewal and therefore touchprocess of Panel Assessments and
ing lives on a personal note. To live
Talent Councils. They have a strong
up to their Employee Value
penchant for developing leaders
Proposition, each year new
from within to build a continuous
interventions are given shape
talent pipeline for the critical
to fuel the dynamic employee
roles. The identified successors
needs.
undergo rigorous assessments,
individual coaching and
paramita@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Betting On Women
AGS Health relies heavily on gender diversity for growth and profits
OR CHENNAI-BASED AGS HEALTH, an

ences, and fresh perspectives get generated round the
analytics driven, technology enabled reveclock. In addition, it facilitates a heady mix of keen
nue cycle management firm established in
ambition, focus on high performance and a drive to be
2011 that provides medical billing, medical
better, faster and smarter. After all, women not only
coding and business analytics serhave a right to be in senior positions when their perforvices to healthcare providers
mance merits it but they bring important perspecacross the US, gender diversity
tives, positively impacting productivity and reveis of key importance. Its bluenue. Currently, about over 85 per cent of AGSs
chip clients include hospital
employees are in their mid- to late-twenties.
corporations, physician groups, academic
Our people practices are designed to help our
medical centres, billing companies, reveemployees learn quickly and succeed in a fast paced
nue cycle management companies, coding
growth environment, says Devendra Saharia, CEO
companies and providers of other healthat AGS Health. Our business is highly
care services.
dependent on our people, their passion
Of the total head count of
and their performance. Developing
4,500 employees in India,
and consistently enhancing our
women comprise over 45 per
human capital is therefore vital to
cent of it. Such deep diversity is
the continued success of our busisignificant as it creates a
ness, he adds.
unique environment where
DEVENDRA SAHARIA
varied ideas, rich experiCEO
Paramita@businessworld.in
The UMANG Approach To Empowerment
DHL constantly motivates employees to deliver their best
HL EXPRESS, THE INDIAN DIVISION of

the worlds largest logistic company
Deutsche Post believes that it is the passion of their employees that differentiate
DHL with its competitors and make it a
world class organisation.
Sunjoy Dhawans, vice president, HR,
DHL India says, At DHL Express, the
leaders job is to be actively engaged to
ensure that people are having a best day every
day. Leaders are involved in motivating,
guiding, reviewing and enabling team
members actively to ensure they live up to
delivering great service quality, earning
loyal customers and building a profitable
enterprise.
In 2009 the company introduced
Certified International Specialist
(CIS) programme, a unique and
ambitious initiative to take its
100,000 strong workforce across the globe, through a

structured learning route, starting from induction into
the company and going on to in-depth knowledge of the
various functions. The USP of this programme is the distinctive delivery model which is done in-house by its own
managers and imparted in a friendly environment, leaving each CIS trained employee with a sense of pride in
being a part of the worlds leading logistics company.
DHLs Umang Fellowship programme assists its
frontline employees in pursuing higher education and
acquiring new skills. The selected employees are
entitled for reimbursement of their tuition and
examination fees as well as the cost of study materials. Another scholarship programme, Upstairs,
supports the educational success of employees
children. Qualifying students are reimbursed their
school fees, books, coaching charges and
equipped with laptops.
Arshad@businessworld.in
SUNJOY DHAWAN
VICE PRESIDENT, HR
INDIAS TOP 100 DEVELOPERS

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BEST EMPLOYERS
ADITYA GHOSH,
PRESIDENT, INDIGO
GIVING
WINGS TO
DREAMS
For IndiGo, time and
its employees are
the most valuable
resource
HE COUNTRYS LARGEST DOMESTIC

carrier by the market share, IndiGo, is
now among the best employers in the
country, and owes its success to the internal culture that is guided by the principles of being on-time and remaining
courteous and hassle-free. Therefore, it is
extremely important that the 12,217
employees of IndiGo adhere to these
principles. Small things like starting
meetings on time, focusing on automation to make internal processes hassle-free, encouraging people appreciation and monitoring expenses are some of the ways in
which the company reiterates its values from time to
time, says Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo.

To keep such a large flock of employees motivated,
IndiGo believes in showcasing personal and professional success stories of organisation and the employees. It is an important employer branding tool, the
company says. As a HR, we are the first point of contact for everyone entering into the IndiGo family. Our
culture is a catalyst that enables us to grow and most
importantly sustain that growth, says Sukhjit S.
Pasricha, vice-president - HR and Admin, IndiGo.
Candidates that appear for interviews at IndiGo will
often spot their recruitment specialists wearing t-shirts
stating Come Fly with Me, or Join the Force, which
instantly connects with candidates and fills them with
enthusiasm at the very first point of interaction. There are
around 2,500 additions to the companys total strength
each year. In 2015-16, IndiGO added 3,215 employees to
its strength, around 360 more than the previous fiscal.
To encourage its pilots and cabin crew perform at the
peak, IndiGo has Flexi-flying programme, a first-ofits-kind initiative in the history of the Indian aviation,
the company claims. Flexi-flying option allows pilots
and cabin crew to opt for reward patterns they like the
best and choose between more monetary compensation
and more time-off. This drives performance and offers
convenience to employees, the company said.
In order to fulfil the
dreams
of their employIN 2015-16,
ees who wish to become a
INDIGO
pilot, the company has
ADDED 3,215
launched the 6E Fly High
and Family Fly
EMPLOYEES TO
Programmes that allows
ITS STRENGTH,
IndiGo to extended an
AROUND 360
opportunity not just for
MORE THAN THE employees but even their
families to make their
LAST FISCAL
dreams come alive.
IndiGo sponsors 75 per cent of the training fees for the
top 3 students and 25 per cent for rest of the selected
candidates under 6E Fly High program. The program
also ensures that all the successful employees are given
a role as a full-time pilot with IndiGo, the company
said. The Family Fly program on the other hand is
extended for qualified family members that can apply
for pilot training and on successful completion, they
are assured of induction into the IndiGo pilot team. To
promote opportunities for its women employees,
IndiGo has introduced women in all kinds of non-traditional roles.
ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Hard Work Pays Here
Blue Dart offers a range of perks and incentives for in house talent
BLUE DART EXPRESS FOLLOWS a people-first philosophy and harps on the guiding principles represented by GIFTS
(Growth, Integrity, Fairness, Transparency,
Service).
The company says that providing a workplace where each and every employee is
nurtured and who, in turn, will nurture the
organisation, thereby creating wealth and growth for
all stakeholders. Blue Dart has formed the widest network coverage of over 33,867 locations, and services
more than 220 countries and territories worldwide through its group company DHL.
Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart
Express says, The passion and commitment
displayed by the employees is always
talked about in almost all forums,
by both internal
and external customers. This kind
ANIL KHANNA
MANAGING DIRECTOR
of involvement on
the part of the employees is possible as the company

ensures their wellbeing in all aspects, be it developmental or professional, or for that matter, even for the
families of the employees.
Hard work gets paid at Blue Dart. The logistic company has a robust reward and recognition framework
in place to acknowledge the good work done by their
employees and encouraging them to excel further. The
company has made appreciation a structured process
after it formally launched Appreciation Week in
November 2015.
A good place to work is one which lets you manage
your personal life with the professional. Policies
like maternity leave of 180 days with full pay,
paternity leave of 6 days, special leave bucket for
employees whose children are appearing for the
10th and/ or 12th board examinations and giving half day on birthday are just some of the
perks at Blue Dart.
Arshad@businessworld.in
Persistence Works
Tata Autocomp stages a remarkable shift in employee engagement
T HAS BEEN A VERY TOUGH but enjoyable journey. Three years ago, when we measured our
employee engagement, we were in the bottom
quartile of the auto/ auto component space. This
was an eye-opener for us. First and foremost, it
was important for us to sensitise our people on
the importance of engagement. The next stage
was to ensure that actual engagement was taking
place linked to business results, says Ajay
Tandon, managing director and CEO at Tata
AutoComp Systems.
Over the past few years, the company
has worked on culture, VMV (vision, mission and values), leadership, performance (career development,
learning, rewards and recognition), work process and task,
and enhanced communication.
The auto component maker
has started a culture building
AJAY TANDON
CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR
exercise called BRACE (Building effective teams, being

Result oriented, Agile, Customer centric and demonstrating Excellence) to measure the efforts of their employees
and recognise those who demonstrated these traits.
The company has rolled out a balance scorecard,
linked KRA for its all employees and has been able to
create a performance driven culture.
Siba Satapathy, president (people and engagement)
and CHRO Tata AutoComp Systems, says, We have
tied up with BITS-Pilani that runs a dedicated course
at our premise and ensures that the diploma holders
gain an engineering degree. We have also tied up with
Symbiosis University to offer an MBA programme to
our graduates.
We have run assessment centres for our top 300
people with the help of SHL. The feedback received is
used to develop individual development plan for each
of the concerned managers, Satapathy adds.
Haider@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
The company believes that
its values guide and inspire
employees to do what is right
E DONT WANT TO BE THE

biggest, we want to be the
best, says P. R. S. Oberoi,
executive chairman, The
Oberoi Group. This is perhaps the motto that has catapulted The Oberoi Group into
the selected list of the best
employers for 2016.
Our values guide and
inspire us to do what is right
and not what is easiest, says
Vikram Oberoi, managing director and chief executive
officer, The Oberoi Group.
The company believes that its competitive advantage
stems from a single-minded focus on creating memorable
experiences for its guests. Every key stakeholders in the
organisation are wired towards this motto and drives it as
a culture through behaviors, people processes and work
environment. The Oberoi Centre of Learning and
Development has been a key specimen of this culture for
many years.
In a world where technology and guest expectation is
changing fast, The Oberoi Centre of Learning and
Development as an institution has been able to consistently set learning and development benchmarks which
have redefined the boundaries of service excellence, says
P. R. S. OBEROI,
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN,THE OBEROI GROUP
BEST RATHER
THAN THE
BIGGEST
K. S. Bakshi, executive vice-president-HR, The Oberoi
Group. One of the most coveted initiatives at The
Oberoi Group is it liberates its team members from the
need to seek prior approval for any initiative they
believe will delight guests is eMpower. This initiative
enforces a sense of ownership and pride in guest service
and delight, the company claims.
The other initiative that helps the company offer the
best services to its guests is achieved through its Small
Improvement Teams spread across the hotels of The
Oberoi Group. Small Improvement Team comprises of
team members directly involved with service delivery
contributing to enhancing the overall guest experience
by carefully analysing the Guest Questionnaire Scores
to look for concerns or any area with a low Net
Promoter. The Small Improvement Teams strive to provide solutions, through innovative ideas, to address the
concern areas and develop an action plan mapped with
the relevant training.
According to its annual report, the increase in salaries of managerial personnel for the group stood at
16.55 per cent for 2014-15 over the previous year. The
group has structured the remuneration to align with
the companys interests taking account of the companys strategies and risks. Under drive performance the
executive compensation has been linked to individual
and company performance. Then the group has created
two more programs called the external equity and the
internal equity. Under external equity, the executive
compensation is designed to be competitively benchmarked with the general industry compensation as
applicable for various roles. Under the internal equity
program the executives performing similar role which
have similar complexities are paid at similar compensation levels.
In order to encourage the chefs, the Oberoi Centre of
Learning and Development conducts culinary workshops where chefs travel to various hotels. This program also creates training opportunities for chefs.
Photograph by Gireesh G.V.
BEST EMPLOYERS
Tough Love Times At Godrej
Leveraging employees for ambitious expansion plans
HE GODREJ GROUP has set a tough target:

roles and so, we strongly encourage them to explore their
grow 10 times by 2020. Quite clearly, it is
whole selves. Our canvas is growing and this allows us to
employees who will play a critical role if the
offer unparalleled career opportunities relatively early on
ambitious expansion plans are to be met.
in ones career, explains Mitra.
Company leaders are constantly engaging
With growth as focus, the people initiatives and policies of
with the workforce. Happy team members
the company are formulated to help achieve its goals. Our
who are motivated and bring
initiatives like Godrej In Tune, where we measure employee
their best to work every day
engagement internally and drive process improvements
are the bedrock of successful
both, at an individual and team level, lead to better
organisations, says Sumit Mitra, Head,
organisational performance, says Mitra.
Group Human Resources and Corporate
In line with its tough love philosophy, the comServices, Godrej Industries Limited and
pany has a Performance Linked Variable
Associate Companies (GILAC).
Remuneration (PLVR) that allows for bonus payThe groups people philosophy is based on
ment without a cap. Further, the company
three pillars namely tough love, your
has an internal job posting process that
canvas and whole self . We promise
helps Godrejites choose a career in any
Godrejites a culture of tough love, like
of companys ventures in FMCG, real
we take serious bets on them and difestate, agri, chemicals and gourmet
ferentiate on the basis of perforretail across 18 countries.
mance. We also understand that our
ADI BURJORJI GODREJ
CHAIRMAN, GODREJ GROUP
team members play multi-faceted
Monica@businessworld.in
Four Pillars Of Success
Whirlpool encourages employees to set and reach significant goals
HIRLPOOL INDIA has very clearly

has helped it retain a lot of employees over the years.
laid down four principles, also called
We are also conscious of the varying needs of individuvalue propositions, to empower
als at different career stages, says DSouza.
employees to deliver their best. The
Whats more, the companys philosophy of combining
four principles are: Freedom to
purpose with perseverance has not only enabled it to
make choices; early differentiated
attract, engage and retain key talent but also to deliver
role; open and inclusive culture; and
strong financial results. Whirpool Indias sales jumped
the spirit of winning.
from Rs 3,036.50 crore in fiscal 2013-14 to Rs 3,577.80
It believes that adhering
crore in 2014-15. The profits went up from Rs 180 crores
to these values has earned the company
in 2013-14 to Rs 300 crore in the financial year 2014-15.
respect from the people as well as industry.
We regularly measure our employee value propoCulture is our differentiator as an employer.
sition to ensure that we are living up to our promise
Our never-say-die attitude has yielded conto them, says DSouza. It rewards the employees
sistent business results over the past decade
for delivering superior business results and
despite several challenging periods, says
individual performance. Further, the comSunil D Souza, Managing Director
pany has an internal job posting process
Whirlpool India.
that helps Godrejites choose a career in
The company makes it a point to cusany of companys ventures.
tomise itself on the basis of employee
SUNIL D SOUZA
preferences and trends, a practice that
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Photograph by Subhabrata Das, Ritesh Sharma
BEST EMPLOYERS
KRISTYL PAIS BHESANIA,
SENIOR V-P & HEAD, HR, TATA AIA
A GOOD
COVER
Tata AIA relies on SPEED
and mentoring to attract
and retain talent
SK KRISTYL PAIS BHESANIA at

TATA-AIA how tough it is to attract
and retain talent and pat comes the
reply: Its not a challenge at all. The
insurance firms senior vice-president
& head, Human Resources takes pride
in being an employer of choice. We
have a homecoming initiative as well as
talent aspire to join us today. We have
16,000 followers on our Linkedins
career page which is growing rapidly.
The insurer revels in its people-centric high-performance work culture. We have a robust talent management process to identify, assess and develop top talent
for leadership roles. An annual talent conclave to facilitate career and individual development conversations
between top talent and their supervisors our top talent gets enrolled as members of the Good Club which is
our talent club, she says.
The company has whats called SPEED (Superior
Performance Execution Excellence and Delivery) to fasttrack frontline employees from the support and operations functions to provide development and career progression opportunities for the talent employees. You
have also have an active mentoring approach.
Our executive committee members are active mentors and invest significant
time to develop and preTATA AIA
pare ready now successors for key roles. Thats
LEVERAGES
not something you see in a
THE HIGH
lot many companies in
IMPACT
India wherein seniors
LEARNING AND
breathe rarefied air! At
TATA AIA, we believe
DEVELOPMENT
every employee is a star
FROM THE AIA
with a unique shine. The
GROUP FOR
name of the game is to
EMPLOYEES
identify these stars, shape
and groom them so that
they believe in themselves, outperform with shining colours making us proud.
Tata-AIA also leverages on the high impact learning
and development interventions from the AIA Group for
employees. This approach covers offline, online and
blended learning and the strategy is to provide differentiated training programmes for employees based on the
function in which they are in and the responsibilities
which they handle. Priority is to ensure that the development is relevant to their roles and also help them to
achieve their personal and professional goals.
As to how TATA-AIA attracts its talent, preference is
given to internal talent given that we have robust talent
management framework to develop our employees. We
all have a unique referral programme, source talent from
social media and job portals and encourage diversity hiring apart from campus hiring.
The firm did not reveal its attrition level, but claims it
is one of the lowest in the industry. The strategy is preemptive in nature. We have been able to retain our top
talent with very focused HR interventions. Thats
ensured a high-employee engagement experience resulting in ring fencing our key talent and reducing our overall attrition, says Bhesania.
raghu@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Keeping It Simple And Happy
Saint Gobain believes in meritocracy, freedom and transparency
ONT WORRY, BE HAPPY seems to be the

motto in this company. We strongly
believe that happy employees are the key to
happy customers and therefore we have
embraced a philosophy
which is founded on
the core belief that
since employees are
the closest interface
with the customer, they are the
new value zone for our company,
says Venkat Subramanian, MD,
Saint Gobain India.
The unique HR policies customised for the employees have also
helped the company achieve the
best employer status. Our people
review process helps grow strong
talent pipeline while our talent
validation process in the form of
VENKAT SUBRAMANIAN
MAC make sure we have right
MANAGING DIRECTOR
people to take leadership positions. We also ensure to

create an appropriate climate and ecosystem to provide
significant freedom to our people. Freedom to state
their mind, to experiment with new ideas and to take
initiatives, says Venkat.
Saint Gobains principles of meritocracy, openness,
transparency and accessibility are part of the companys DNA, and these are generally experienced by the
people working here. Pride in our company is very
high and our internal surveys consistently show this,
tells Venkat.
Besides, behind the formulation of employee centric
policies is a dedicated HR. HR in our organisation is a
catalyst for creating the right environment and wears a
heavy responsibility to support line managers to
become good leaders. A strong and visionary HR function focused on organisational development plays a
critical role in making the organisation what we are,
explains Venkat.
Together, We Win The Right Way
At HP, flexi working hours are just a small part of employee engagement
OR THOSE OF YOU who have friends working in Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE),
you would have observed that they are a
happy lot and often it is their workplace
thats keeping them joyful.
The companys employee value
proposition of Together, we win
the right way is aligned to three
core values of Partnership First
(collaboration and building long-term
relationships), Bias For Action (never sit
still, take advantage of every opportunity),
and Innovators at Heart (driven to
innovate by creating both practical
and breakthrough advancements),
says Ramendrajit Sen, vice president and head, HR, Hewlett
Packard Enterprise India. This
approach resonates well with
employees, providing a
strong, stable framework for building and strengthening

our culture on an ongoing basis.
HPE has a clear strategy for talent growth and development that emphasises on providing ample growth
opportunities internally. We believe that our employees
are talented and can contribute through multiple roles
over the course of their careers at HPE. We hire not only
for the particular skills required, but also evaluate the
individuals long-term potential within HPE. We hire
early career professionals and grow our leadership
pipeline from within the organisation, Sen said.
Training which is indispensable and synonymous to improvement is also an integral part of
HPE. According to Sen, the company invests
in their employees careers by encouraging
them to identify training goals and making
sure they have the necessary skills to excel
in their jobs.
Ayushman@businessworld.in
NEELAM DHAWAN
Photograph by Umesh Goswami
MANAGING DIRECTOR
BEST EMPLOYERS
RAJEEV JAIN,
CEO, BAJAJ FINANCE
NEVER SAY
NEVER AGAIN
Bajaj Finance goes the extra
mile to woo those who have quit
the company and moved on
ILL WE MEET AGAIN is actually an

integral part of HR strategy at this
leading non-banking finance company (NBFC). The company actually
puts in a lot of effort into sharing
ongoing information with ex-employees to help them be up-to-date with
whats happening at the company.
The result: many former employees
join the company. As many as 15 per
cent of hires are done through this
innovative route.
The Pune-based financial services company from the
Bajaj Group, which offers a wide range of products with
some 7,000 retail outlets and about 150 branch network across the country, has also adopted several other
interesting human resources practices. Interestingly,
another company headed by Bajaj family scion Sanjiv
Bajaj, Bajaj Finance finds a place in the list of Best
Employers.
One interesting programme in the companys best
HR initiative is Survivor a six month managerial
development programme, which takes care of the
need to develop managerial capabilities at the middle
and top rung. This programme, which is claimed to be
the first-of-its-kind in the NBFC industry in India,
basically aims to create learning experiences across
three competency clusters such as strategy, people and
execution.
According to the company, the Survivor programme
begins with a day-long classroom-based session, where
participants are assessed on their strengths and blind
spots as a leader through a behavioral assessment profiler. This module helps them understand their leadership style and improve their personal effectiveness.
Upon the completion of this -orientation session,
participants are given some 15 case studies, from which
they have to choose one case study to take back to the

workplace and apply it in their current role to create a
sort of transformation in the work environment.
Another major initiative within the company in
terms of employees skill enhancement and rewarding
is the Excelsior League. A family-based event, the company honors the 5 per cent of the high performers at an
exotic location. This event is also planned with the family of the winners sponsored by the organisation. The
League is the most sought-after reward for the employees at Bajaj Finance and it sets a benchmark for others
to strive to achieve the same. Every year almost 25 per
cent of the overall rewards and recognition budget is
mapped for this program.
The architect of most of these best people practices
are none other than CEO Rajeev Jain. Jain has been at
the helm of affairs at Bajaj Finance for almost a decade. During this period, he has transformed the smallsized company into one of the fastest growing NBFCs
in India.
We are driven by the simple philosophy of Go for
Great. For us, every milestone is an indication to better
ourselves further and improve on our achievements.
Greatness is an unending journey, and it is this journey
that we celebrate, Bajaj Finance claims as part of its
corporate philosophy.
BEST EMPLOYERS
Small Is Beautiful
SKS relies on field jockeys to deliver the goods
N
V. SRINIVAS REDDY,
CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
ATION-BUILDING IS noble, but how do

you get people to come and stay on-board?
SKS Microfinance does that with aplomb.
It gives out small loans to the marginal
ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000 to
micro-enterprises that range from raising
cows and goats for selling milk to opening
a village tea stall. Whats more, its got a
dedicated lot to do this which is not easy at
a time when the financial services
world is seen as an El Dorado by the
young and restless.
The overall employee strength of
the company was 9,698 at endMarch 2015. The human resource
distribution shows that field employees in branches were at 8,329
(85.9 per cent); at the head
and regional offices it was
1,369 (14.1 per cent). The
attrition rate during
FY2015 was 19.8 per cent; its slightly on the higher

side, but who said that nation-building was easy?
SKS banks on the contributions of field employees in
embarking on a new growth journey. Continuing the
thrust on developing and grooming internal leadership
among middle-level managers, a series of programmes
were initiated. Lakshya, a programme for assessment
and development of unit managers, is built on sustainable and distant-mode learning, fulfilling the next level
capability requirement by encompassing modules on
leadership. LEAP (Leadership Exploration through
Action and Passion) and SAYL (SKS Academy for
Young Leaders) have been two such initiatives.
It focuses strongly on building process capabilities
among the field employees. Annually around 4,49,502
human-hours of technical training is provided for field
employees in seven major Indian languages. Emphasis
is laid on new methods of training which includes
Gamification to make learning fun and impactful.
Raghu@businessworld.in
Betting On Transparent Engagement
Becton Dickinsons Indian arm has thrown up many global leaders
E BELIEVE THAT IT is important to

create a diverse, inclusive work environment where our associates work is
as important as lifes work, says
Varun Khanna, managing director,
Becton Dickinson-India and South
Asia. The Gurgoan-based company,
as part of its transparency policy,
ensures a high level of associate
engagement. It results in keeping the employees updated
with all developments within the organisation and at
the same time sharing their learning in a collaborative way.
According to Khanna, the Best Employer
recognition by Aon is an acknowledgment of
the culture that the company is trying to build
for its employees. We feel proud of being able
to contribute to the higher ambition to help
achieve integrated health solutions for society,
he added in an earlier statement.
This recognition truly belongs to our associates, who

are passionate and committed to making Becton
Dickinson a great place to work, says Ritu Kochhar,
director-HR, Becton Dickinson-India.
We are actually proud of our grow-from-within culture and effective leadership development processes
which ensure talent pipeline at all levels and the recognition as the best place to work makes a huge impact on our
ability to retain talent and attract best of best talent for us
to contribute to our purpose of advancing the world of
health, she adds.
Becton Dickinson, which is focused on technologies addressing improved drug delivery, fast diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancers besides
solutions for advanced discovery research and
production of new drugs and vaccines, was
founded in 1897 and currently employs nearly
30,000 associates in more than 50 countries.
VARUN KHANNA,
MD, INDIA & SOUTH ASIA
BEST EMPLOYERS
ARVIND MEDIRATTA,
MD, METRO CASH AND CARRY INDIA
BRINGING
BEST
GLOBAL
PRACTICES
N THE SERVICE-BASED industry, customer

centricity is at the core of all daily operations.
Therefore, METRO Cash and Carry India makes
continuous efforts to ensure their customers are
happy with their services and offerings. The business-to-business wholesale retailer recently
launched METRO Blue Bulb campaign, which is
an incentive-based initiative for the employees to
innovate and better the processes to further
enhance their customers shopping experience.
The initiative blends perfectly with our principle
of global entrepreneurship for each employee to
be personally invested in the companys mission, and
run it like their own, a company spokesperson said.
At METRO India, all policies are formulated keeping
employees interest as the central focus, and are modified
and updated on a periodic basis. A recent example is their
maternity policy which did not initially include adoption
or surrogacy. However, based on a specific situation faced
by the company, the policy has been taken up for revision.
On the fun side, birthdays are declared holidays for the
concerned employees so that they can spend time with
their family and friends on their special day. It has proved
to be a great success among all employees, the spokesperson said.
METRO India believes internal hiring is of great value
as it results in considerable savings in time and training
costs which is much higher when a new employee is on
boarded. For instance, focus on internal hiring in the last
three years has resulted in over a 50 per cent reduction in
the hiring time and a 40 per cent reduction in the hiring
The company believes in making

customers happy with their
services and offerings
cost for each new business unit thereby adding three additional months of sales.
Similarly, talent management initiatives of METRO
Cash and Carry India have been successfully integrated
into the campus programme to attract young talent.
METRO India visits campuses of top business schools to
hire fresh graduates and post graduates. These young
hires then go through a rigorous 12-month curriculum of
cross functional training
across head office and
METRO CASH
METROs wholesale
AND CARRY
outlets, and are then
INDIA VISITS
placed across locations.
CAMPUSES OF
METRO Cash and
Carry
India believes
TOP BUSINESS
their engagement score
SCHOOLS TO
has significantly
HIRE FRESH
increased from 69 per
GRADUATES AND
cent to 83 per cent in
POST- GRADUATES the last four years. The
increase is a clear evidence of employees wanting to stay with the company.
Attrition for the company has drastically dropped from
54 per cent to 19.5 per cent against the industry standard
of 50 per cent, the spokesperson said.
The retailer is confident their want to grow within the
company which is evident from the high retention which
grew from a negligible 5 per cent to an impressive 80 per
cent over four years.
ayushman@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
From Record Keeping to Engagement
WNS believes in encouraging home grown entrepreneurs
O RETAIN ITS status as a global leader in

business process management, WNS has
adopted three strategies to nurture talent,
says R. Swaminathan, chief people officer.
WNS has created a first-of-its-kind CEO
Entrepreneurship Challenge called
WiNCUBATE that fosters the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation among employees. WiNCUBATE is a platform for an
employee with an entrepreneurial zeal who wants to follow his or her dream without quitting job. The winning
idea out of this challenge gets a seed funding of $250,000 for developing it into
an actual business model. Besides this,
the team gets management support in
terms of any resources or data it needs
during its entrepreneurial journey.
Three of our hugely successful solutions WNS
R. SWAMINATHAN, Analytics Decision
Engine (WADESM),
CPO, WNS
ProGenie and SmartPRO are products of WiNCUBATE.

WNS nurtures its employees to shape them into future
leaders for the organisation. Ninety per cent of leaders at
WNS are home-grown. We believe when an employee
sees a well-defined career growth within the organisation and gets an opportunity go beyond the defined role,
they outperform. WNS learning and development function is focused on building the capability of employees in
a structured manner and align their training programmes to fit the business needs.
To develop domain expertise and sustain growth,
WNS nurtures the required skills and capabilities inhouse. WNS has a domain-based university, The
Gateway, offering structured learning opportunities for
employees to sharpen their industry skills and cultivate
their talent and leadership abilities. WNS today has
domain universities in finance and accounting, travel
and leisure, banking and financial services, healthcare,
insurance, and shipping and logistics.
Sutanu@businessworld.in
Excellence Through Diversity
Global leader Starwood believes in the power of gender diversity
TARWOOD SAYS IT BELIEVES in nurturing talent. Therefore, when the company

hires talent, it does not look for candidates
who can fill up the needed position, but who
have the potential to evolve and grow to take
on larger roles. Says Dilip Puri, Managing
Director, India and Regional Vice President,
South Asia: The battle for market share in
the future will be fought over talent. It is therefore imperative that we have a robust strategy in place to attract,
develop and retain the best talent.
Starwood says culture permeates through
everything that it does across its 10 brands.
As an equal opportunity employer, we support talent with a robust talent development
and management programme and have in
place a strategic road map to nurture
women leaders. Our ADR (attract,
develop and retain) strategy is
DILIP PURI,
supported by a structured proMD, STARWOOD INDIA
gramme to engage our associates, foster innovation and

creativity and grow our talent, says Puri.
One of the major focus areas for Starwood is gender
diversity. To support this initiative Starwood South
Asia has launched a new programme, LADDER (Lady
Associates Discovery, Development, Engagement and
Retention). We are looking to have diversity across all
levels with focus on senior executive levels including
more Lady GM and Hotel Managers.
To fuel its talent pipeline at mid-management level in
South Asia, Starwood has a management trainee programme called Graduate Management Associate
Programme. In the last six years, this programme
has helped build strong bench strength. Today
Starwood is perceived as an aspirational company to
work for. That is why it is the first few in its industry
to get invitations by leading hotel management
institutes for campus hiring.
Ashish@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Nurturing Work-Life Balance
Tata Chemicals turns off office lights at 6.30 PM to foster work-life balance
STABLISHED UNDER THE TATA GROUP

umbrella, Tata Chemicals businesses
focus on LIFE as they call it Living,
Industry and Farm Essentials. Under the
Living Essentials portfolio features Indias
first iodised salt, Tata Salt, pulses and
masalas under brands Tata Sampann
and Tata Swach and a low-cost, nanotechnology-based water purifier, among others.
The companys industry essentials product
range provides ingredients to some of the worlds
largest manufacturers of glass, detergents and other industrial products.
Finally, with the Farm Essentials
portfolio, the company is today a leading manufacturer of urea and phosphatic fertilisers and, through its subsidiary, Rallis, has a strong position in
the crop protection business.
R. MUKUNDAN,
Well, thats on the business side and
MANAGING DIRECTOR
like the LIFE portfolio here, Tata
Chemicals offerings to its employees also focuses on LIFE

love, investment, fun and empowerment at the workplace and beyond.
As an employee of Tata Chemicals, one definitely gets to
enjoy certain perks. For instance, Tata Chemicals offers
non-hospitalisation expenses, over and above the
medical insurance for hospitalisation expenses.
Thats not all. In case of a death of an employee,
it gives out pension to the family members to
ensure continuity of financial support. Its Home
Shanti Home programme encourages employees to
leave office on time every day and to ensure that
lights are switched off every evening at 6.30
pm. Taking the work-life balance a step further, the company also gives new mothers
the option of both extended maternity
leave as well as flexible hours till the
child turns one year of age under
the Infant Care Policy.
Paramita@businessworld.in
Employee To Customer Satisfaction

YASH Technologies looks at employees as force multipliers
ID-SIZE TECHNOLOGY services provider YASH Technologies believes customer satisfaction and a companys profitability are directly correlated with
employee satisfaction. So, we focus our
HR policies around our employees, customers and society, making them the
force that drives us. The great vision of
our management helps YASH push for any changes that
benefit the employee or customers, thus helping us win in
this dynamic world, says Dharmendra Jain, CFO
and head, HR, YASH Technologies.
YASH keeps its employees at the centre of
everything it does. The pillar of our success
has always been our associates, the ones
who truly drive our success at every level.
Therefore we promote fun, learning and
camaraderie while recognising and celebrating each others successes, Jain says.
The companys on-boarding programme, learning system, employee benefits, performance management and
rewards and recognition programme keep its workforce
inspired and delighted at all levels.
Jain believes this approach helps build mutual trust
and fosters high levels of ownership in everybodys work,
which results in a delighted and productive workforce
leading to customer delight.
YASH Technologies believes it has been able to tackle
attrition well which is a critical challenge in most organisations today. Our value-driven culture and employeefocused approach have been helpful in managing
attrition by centring on the retention of our workforce. Today, more than 16 per cent of our current
headcount in India has been working with us for
more than five years. This is a delighting figure in
the IT services business, Jain says.
MANOJ BAHETI,
FOUNDER & CEO
Ayushman@businessworld.in
BEST EMPLOYERS
Nurturing Home Grown Leaders
Tata Communications works hard at encouraging internal talent
ATHER THAN GETTING INTO A RACE to

attract new talent, Tata Communications
works on retaining its workforce, tuned as
it is to the companys vision and preparing
it to generate a lineup of leaders for the
future. Out HR strategy embeds very
smoothly with the business strategy
because we focus on creating a
pipeline for future leaders within, says
Aadesh Goyal, global head of Human
Resources. The within balanced with
without strategy not only keeps employees motivated knowing there are opportunities ahead in the company, but keeps
them secure and involved.
Tata Communications has a number of strategies and programmes
that boost its workforce empowerVINOD KUMAR,
ment. As part of a talent strategy,
MD & CEO
for example, there are two broad
categories in which measures are
taken those that are driven by the organisation (push

programmes) and those that are driven by the employees
(pull programmes). Push strategy includes a long-term
multi-faceted leadership development programme with
a future horizon of 3-5 years.
A pool of top talent is strategically selected that undergoes a cross-functional and cross-geographical development programme, with each stint lasting two years.
Partnering with an external mentor, Everwise last year,
a structured six-month mentorship focuses on every
individuals goals. In all, 239 employees were covered
last year with a satisfaction rate as high as 90 per cent.
Pull programme includes internal job postings that
enable all regular employees to apply for open positions
based on their career aspirations, knowledge, skills and
abilities. One-third of companys lateral hiring is
done through this programme. Under IJP,
cross-functional movements rose 18 per cent
in FY 2014 to 31 per cent in FY 2015.
Mala@businessworld.in
Obsessed With Teamwork

Bajaj Allianz encourages talent to interact directly with top management
UNE-BASED GENERAL INSURER Bajaj

Allianz General Insurance launched an initiative Young Board last year to enable its talented and motivated young leaders to engage with members of the
Executive Committee on strategic discussions and dialogues.
The programme, which provide
the management employees a platform to
develop capabilities to succeed in leadership
roles that they aspire to take up in the future, is
one of the several unique practices that this
company had adopted to ensure that its employees at all levels enjoy working with it.
For the company, says its
Managing director and CEO
Tapan Singhel, its an obsession. We have an obsession
with the happiness of our employees as only then will

we have happy customers, because happy people can
only make others happy, he adds.
According to Singhel, Bajaj Allianz has always
believed in having employee-friendly policies, a transparent culture and an inspiring work environment.
Young Leaders Programme, Career Development
Conference Process, Online Game-Based Learning,
Mobibuzz, an in-house mobile app to help
employees adopt technology-enabled learning
24x7, and My Job My Choice, a strong internal job
posting and effective relocation policy, are some of
the interesting human resource practices implemented for learning through gamification, building
talent pipelines and creating a highly engaged
workforce.
TAPAN SINGHEL,
Unni@businessworld.in
MD & CEO
IN DEPTH
AUTO
RIDING ON THE W
HEELS OF FORTUNE
Global luxury-bike manufacturers are
experiencing a bull run in India. The
young generation is well-moneyed,
aspires the extraordinary, and digs thrill
By Arshad Khan
AJESTIC LOOKS. Thundering sound. And swift like a wild

cat. These strapping beasts are not so rare to come by.
Superbikes, which were rarely to be seen on the Indian
roads a decade ago, are now a luxury that many with highdisposable incomes can well afford.
Motorcycle mania is aftera all beginning to take hold of
the Indian rider.
The superbike market, which was roughly at 450 units
a year in 2007-08, crossed 10,000 units last fiscal year.
With the market size expected to touch 20,000 units per
year by 2020, major global motorcycle manufactures have
driven themselves into the Indian market in the last five
years and are now competing for brand status.
Manufacturers are trying to lure Indian riders who are
not afraid to spend a bomb to own a heavy engine capacity
two-wheeler. In the last five years, the earnings of young
professionals have increased significantly, says Abdul
Majeed, partner at PwC and auto expert. Now they have
the money, the product, and the passion for leisure biking
and the segment will only witness growth in the future.
Money Matters
Superbikes are super cool, but super expensive too. To
make them more accessible, Harley and other manufactures have direct tie-ups with banks to ease the financial
process. Banks such as SBI and HDFC offer loans specially for superbikes.
Even manufactures decision to import bikes under
complete knock down (CKD) banner rather than complete build units (CBU) has helped them to bring down
costs, making the superbikes affordable for young buyers.
Strategically importing under the CKD banner from a
country like Thailand which has a free trade agreement
with India attracts custom as low as 10 per cent, says
Majid. Luxury bikes imported as

CBU lures very high rate of customs,
60-75 per cent depending on the
engine size. Most manufacturers
have set up local assembling facility
in Haryana to cut down costs.
Revving up Sales
Expecting strong growth in future,
companies have begun creative marketing to encourage sales. Recently
Triumph Motorcycles, India conducted a training session for Tiger
series customers in Pune to encourage adventure motorcycling. While
arch-rival Harley-Davidson imparts
basic riding skills to riders under its
initiative Passport to Freedom, the
Italian sports-bike maker Ducati is
planning to open a riding school in
India. For manufacturers, such experiential marketing is a better option
that investing a chunk of money in
mass marketing as that wont spur
sales in near future, The market is
still in a nascent stage. The market
isnt large enough to go for mass
marketing. Indulging more in experiential marketing in early years helps
in building brand which eventually
lifts future sales, says Vimal Sumbly,

managing director of Triumph India.
Not just the global companies,
DRIVEN a Hyderabad-based
startup which serves exotic coffee
and self-drive services, is making
money by renting superbikes.
Ashwin Jain, co-founder of
Indulging in
experiential
marketing in early
years helps in
building brand
VIMAL SUMBLY
Managing director, Triumph
India
DRIVEN, says, Many youngsters

cant afford a superbike but desire to
ride one. We are fulfilling their
dreams by renting superbikes for
nominal charges. A Harley 750 from
DRIVEN for a day costs Rs 2,100.
Overwhelmed by the response, Jain
who rides a Triumphs cruiser
Thuderbird, is planning to take
DRIVEN into 14 cities.
Exclusive Club
Riding is a passion for me. Being a
part of a coveted bike club, I get to
meet other enthusiasts, says Bobby
Desai, executive coach and trainer
and a Harley Iron 883 owner. The
biking culture encouraged by manufactures has started yielding results.
Not only is it bringing people like
Desai together with like-minded riders but is also encouraging many
silent spectators to take up biking, a
symbol for independence for them.
Today, hundreds of bikers can be
seen roaring through the wide lanes
of expressways over weekends on
their monster machines.
Besides exclusive ownership
groups such as HOG (Harley
IN DEPTH
AUTO
PRICEY WHEELS
The most popular models cost from Rs 10 lakh for a Ducati Monster to Rs 22 lakh
for a Triumph Rocket III. There are other costs as well for riders. For example,
helmets costs between Rs 30,000-50,000, jackets Rs 6,000-25,000, gloves
Rs 5,000-15,000 and boots Rs 10,000-20,000
Ducati
Harley Davidson
Triumph
Ducati Monster:
Rs 9.80 lakh
Harley Davidson V
Rod: Rs 20.20 lakh
Triumph Tiger 800

XR: Rs 10.50 lakh
Ducati 959 Pannigale:

Rs 14.4 lakh
Harley-Davidson Fat
Boy: Rs 15.98 lakh
Rocket-III:
Rs 22 lakh
SOURCE: COMPANY
We will lead the

luxury bike market
unapologetically
and boldly
VIKRAM PAWAH
Managing director, Harley
Davidson, India
Ownership Group) and R.A.T.

(Riders Association of Triumph),
there are more than a 100 wellknown biking clubs operating across
the country. The biking culture is
slowly catching the attraction of
women too. Veenu Paliwal, Indias
first lady rider broke all stereotypes
when she took to two-wheelers in the
early 90s. Last year she bought herself a Harley to cover the whole of
India on her superbike a distance
of 50,000 km. Sadly she lost her life

in a road accident last month in
Madhya Pradesh during her conquest ride. Just like Paliwal, hundreds of women have begun riding
superbikes in the recent times.
Women centric bike clubs such as
Bikerni and Riderni have come up to
cater to the needs of members.
From organising and sponsoring
regular rallies, to ensuring the new
culture of biking expands its hori-
zons, the clubs do it all. It helps to

retain customers while bringing in
new ones through word of mouth.
Promoting the leisure biking culture
has remained our topmost priority.
Once that culture is developed, sales
come automatically, says Vikram
Pawah, managing director, Harley
Davidson India.
Majeed of PwC says as profits are
impossible to generate in the first
three to five years, the companies
focus more on brand building to
work for them in the long run. He
says India is a market that no one
can ignore. Manufacturers will continue to promote the new biking culture to fulfill their future objectives.
The growing popularity of the
new biking culture was seen at its
best in the recently concluded
India Bike Week 2016 where there
were more than 12,000 riders
attending the event. The festival,
which was earlier dominated by
Harley, saw a line-up of global
manufacturers such as Triumph,
Ducati, and UM Motorcycle
encouraging riders and unveiling
new bikes for Indian buyers.
IN DEPTH
AUTO
Who Rules the Indian Roads?

If Harley has volumes, Triumph
boasts of options. And now, Ducati is
back too. While Triumph says it is
here to be the market leader, Harley
is definite that it will continue to
lead. We will lead unapologetically
and boldly, says Pawah of Harley.
For Harley, an early entry gave it
an edge over competitors. We
entered the market in 2009 to evaluate market potentials and we did it
successfully. We will definitely
remain leisure bike lovers first choice
in the years to come, said Pawah.
The popular American cruiser
brand opened its first outlet in July
2010 and since then it has sold over
12,500 bikes, claiming a market
share of over 65 per cent. The company believes its legacy, wide distribution network and experiential
marketing strategy will keep it ahead
in the race.
Harleys top competitor, the UK
based Triumph which offers bike in
maximum categories plans to
become market leader by increasing
its market share in each category
classics, cruisers, roadsters, adventure and super-sports.
It has sold an impressive 2,500
units in just over two-years. After
opening its maiden store in
November 2013, the company has
now network of 12 dealers.
THE COMPETITORS
Ducati Scrambler Icon
Harley Davidson Street 750
Triumph Bonneville T100
Rs 6.78 lakh
Rs 4.52 lakh
Rs 6.60 lakh
Powered by a 696cc
heart, which churns out
75bhp and is mated to a
six-speed gearbox
Powered by liquid 749cc

Revolution X V-Twin
engine, the bike gives a
power of maximum 46
bhp
Powered by a 865cc
engine T100, gives a
maximum power of
67.1bhp and is mated
with a 5-speed gearbox
SOURCE: COMPANY
Unplanned entry in the Indian market has backfired global players in

the past. From launching bikes to
opening outlets, we do a great deal of
study to ensure success, says Sumbly.
Triumph claims to have a market
share of 30 per cent in bikes with
engine capacity of 500cc and priced
above Rs 5 lakhs. It sells bikes in the
price range of Rs 7 lakh-25 lakh.
BUMPY RIDE
A look at how the three luxury bike brands fared in the
global market in 2015
Ducatis revenues were up from 575 million in 2014 to 702
million in 2015
Harleys revenue was down to $6 billion in 2015 from $6.3 billion
in 2014
Triumphs previously reported statement shows its revenue was
down to 364 million in the first half of FY 2015 from 369 million
during the same in FY 2014
After taking a pause in early 2014,

Ducati re-entered the Indian market
in June last year with a bang by opening one its largest sales and service
facility in Delhi NCR.
Pierfrancesco Scalzo, Ducati Asia
general manager - Sales and
Marketing, says, The Indian market
is consistently and steadily growing
which is a good sign for our bikes.
The response so far we had received
for our bikes is overwhelming.
In less than a year it opened six
outlets and plans to open two more.
Majid of PwC says Ducati has managed to clock decent figures in its second inning with its Scrambler model
being one of the most sought after
bikes in the entry level segment.
Ducati bikes in India fall in the price
range of Rs 6.5 lakh-Rs 40 lakh.
arshad@businessworld.in;
@arshadkhan_bw; For more on
superbikes, visit www.businessworld.in
THE BOX
MATTERS
The truth is, packaging can make
or break a product, despite all its
goodness. So unlike in a book, the
cover is most crucial for a product
By A. Balasubramaniam
IN DEPTH
BRAND BAAJA
T WAS STEVE JOBS who said: Packaging can

be theater, it can create a story. Jobs, surely
knew it well. All Apple products have dramatic
packaging: pristine white boxes, elegant typography, vivid product pictures and minimalistic
design. The sheer poetry in design of the iconic
Apple products was extended to the design of
their packaging.
Since Apple has always been design savvy, it
comes as no surprise that its packaging design
adds to the aura of its products.
Good design, after all, comes in great packaging. Thats Apples story.
Compare this to the recent snafu by Whole Foods
Market Inc., a health food supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company introduced
pre-peeled oranges packed in plastic containers that
drew flak from everyone after one irate consumer
tweeted photos of the product with sarcastic remarks.
It could have been an attractive story: convenience
food for the health conscious or the differently abled.
Packaging that saves time and effort. A healthy alternative to the food junkies.
Whole Foods Market obviously did not think this
through and hastily withdrew the product from the
market after heavy criticism. While providing conveni-
ence food packaged attractively, businesses tend to overlook obvious issues. Whole Food Markets also showed
scant regard to the environment. In a bid to project the
story of convenience, it forgot the planet.
What about the story of user-experience that businesses often underestimate? If you have ever had a child
requesting you to open a toffee pack and look at the
pack being opened with a mixed emotion of anxiety and
expectation, coupled with the frustration of having to
ask a grown-up to do so, you will understand the angst
of bad user experience.
IN DEPTH
BRAND BAAJA
Have you ever struggled with a

shampoo sachet in the confines of
a hotels shower? Or, wrestled with
the cellophane wrapper of a soap? Ever
wondered why arthritic medicines are so
tightly packaged that they often prove completely
useless for patients with arthritis? And, why childproof bottles can be easily opened by children? Have
you struggled with a large gift box only to realise that
the contents are tiny or sparse? Seen someone burst
open a packet of chips? Have you struggled with milkcreamer sachets on a moving train, while making a cup
of tea? Has a juice box squirted involuntarily? If your
answer was yes to any of the above questions, then you
understand the problem. Businesses could do well to
focus on empathising with customers, while packaging
is designed. Now thats a story that has an audience.
The role of the packaging designer is split into two
components: the structure of the pack and the graphics.
The first component hardware of the
pack includes material and process
selection, container design, user convenience, safe transportation of the contents, elegant dispensing and planetfriendly disposal. The graphics contribute to brand image, quality, attraction
and aesthetic presentation. Together,
these components contribute in projecting the brand to consumers and making
the product attractive to buy. They

enhance the value of the contents
and help communicate this value to
the buyer. Although, both are
equally important, we tend to put more
emphasis on presentation and graphics,
instead of ease of use or safety.
The premium quality story is hard to miss. Matte
finish, bling graphics, elegant use of images and fonts,
contribute towards enhancing the image of the product
and often help in promoting its premium quality as the
story. There are dramatic stories of business turnarounds attributed to packaging graphics.
Packaging often comes to the rescue, when a product
is repositioned. For instance, MTR became a household
name for quality food, after a serious redesign of its
packaging by professional designers. Designers have
helped re-position Brittanias Tiger biscuits and other
confectionary products by changing the aesthetics.
Brand Frooti now appeals to different demographics with the

bright new design of its tetra pack
drink.
But often the enhanced image,
the new positioning or the soaring
business come at a cost to the environment. Cellophane wrappers of
soap and pan masala are increasingly choking our drains. Tetra packs, unless recycled,
are filling up land fills. Redundant layers of packing
materials are adding to the product cost and the planet
cost.
Businesses that have realised this are taking help of
designers to create a green impact with their product
packaging. The simple shoe-bag by Puma is a clever
example of reducing materials and creating a planetfriendly packaging.
Although the objective is to be eco-friendly, there is
another story that needs to be told. The elegant ecofriendly packaging that uses natural materials in Japan,
to pack everything from eggs to incense sticks. Hay,
hemp, jute, thread, bamboo, cotton and fabric are combined to produce packaging, which is both attractive
and eco-friendly.
I had the opportunity to do a similar assignment,
commissioned by the J&K government through its
Craft Design Institute in Srinagar. I was assigned with
the task of designing packaging with natural materials
for the regular craft and food products of the state so as
to make local crafts and materials more sustainable.
Local craftsmen were trained to make packaging for
products that are produced locally. Cane baskets for carpets, papier-mch containers for saffron, etc., The project was completed with elegant prototypes made of
cane, cloth and papier-mch to contain and transport
stuff such as saffron, carpets and shawls.
This can easily be the beginning of a new ethos in
packaging design. This can also become another new
dramatic story. One that is responsible and sustainable.
But that will happen only when businesses revisit their
priorities. They need to focus on usability. They need to
match the package to the product. They need to worry
about the environmental impact of their products and
packages. They need to source locally. Designers can
help businesses get there, provided they are given an
opportunity.
When that happens, it will be the India story.
The author is a product designer, heading January Design, a
boutique design agency
PERSONAL WEALTH
INVESTMENTS
WHY BALANCED
FUNDS ARE GOOD
FOR INVESTORS
These funds work
when markets are
choppy or steady,
and suit both
seasoned as well
as newbie
conservative to
moderately
aggressive
investors
EQUITY
By Clifford Alvares
N times of dynamic
stock movements, investors have to be cued
to the markets and in
sync with its everchanging moods. Any misstep could lead to a loss.
Warren Buffett famously
uttered that investors
should have two rules
first, never lose money;
second, always follow rule
number one. In fact, market gurus also point out
that investors tend to

chase equities when they
are climbing higher, while
avoiding stocks when they
are falling. When stocks
are at elevated levels, investors are unnecessarily
putting their portfolios at
risk by buying more. On
the other hand, when
stocks are falling investors
make the cardinal mistake
of avoiding equities, when
in fact that is a good time
to buy. So, which strategy

counters these mistakes
and works better in many
market situations? Heres
where a simple asset-allocation strategy comes into
play. It not only, by default,
buys stocks when markets
are falling, but also takes
out money from equities
when markets are rising.
Heres how it works. By default, balanced funds have
an in-built asset allocation
strategy that allocates a

portfolio between equity
and debt in a 65-35 ratio,
i.e. 65 per cent of it is invested in equity, the rest in
debt. Whenever markets
rise, the equity portfolio in
a balanced fund also rises.
For example, equities
could expand from levels
of 65 per cent to around 70
per cent. But as the fund is
a balanced one, the fund
manager will again tilt the
Illustration & Graphics by Saji C.S.
DEBT
DEBT
WORTH THE RISK
Conservative as well as aggressive

balanced fund plans offer decent
returns for moderate risk investors
1 month
1.64
3.24
3 months
6 months
1 year
-0.24
1.44
15.19
3 years
10.68
5 years
SOURCE: VALUERESEARCHONLINE; RETURNS AS ON 29/4/16
ratio back to the specified

65:35. How? By selling
some equities, booking
profits, and re-investing
the proceeds to debt. Here,
the fund manager would
sell 5 per cent of the equity
portfolio and buy some
debt. As the markets are
going higher this automatically ensures that an investor is booking some
profit invariably and not
chasing high-priced
stocks. Says S. Naren, CIO,

ICICI Prudential Mutual
Fund: Balanced funds are
a suitable way to beat volatility and benefit from reasonable risk-adjusted returns as they have a
pre-determined allocation
towards debt and
equity, thus offering the
benefit of both worlds
growth of equity and relative stability of debt. Naren further elaborates that
such type of funds tend to

do well in different types of
market cycles when one
holds for the long term.
With the benefits of asset
allocation and tax efficiency, these products
could form part of investors core portfolio, says
Naren. Certified financial
planner Mukesh Dedhia
reckons that balanced
funds work well in two of
three market conditions.
First, when markets are

bad, balanced funds do
better than markets or
other equity funds. When
markets are flat, balanced
funds do as well. Only
when markets are rising
do balanced funds slightly
lag behind equity funds
because of the debt component. Thus, Dedhia, also
a director at Ghalla and
Bhansali Stockbrokers,
says that investors are better off with balanced
funds.
Balanced funds have
been around for some time
now, but investors have recently warmed up to them.
Data from ValueResearchOnline show that investors pumped in Rs 28,484
crore into balanced funds
in FY16, compared to Rs
15,417 crore in FY15, a
whopping 84 per cent increase. And, given that its
popularity is waxing, this
category is only likely to
balloon in coming years.
Says Naren, Largely, the
increase in assets of balanced funds is on account
of incremental allocation
by investors who have been
underweight on equity asset class over the past few
years. There have been
bouts of volatility from the
beginning of the year, due
to which we have been recommending our investors
to invest in balanced advantage funds to benefit
from volatility. In fact, in-
PERSONAL WEALTH
vestors have a number of
balanced funds to choose
from. Equity-oriented balanced funds are those that
have a higher equity component, while debt-oriented balanced funds have
a higher debt component.
So, if an equity-oriented
balanced fund invests 65
per cent in equity, a debtoriented balanced fund
would invest 65 per cent of
its portfolio in debt.
While an equity-oriented balanced fund suits
a moderate to aggressive
risk-taker, a debt-oriented
balanced fund suits a
highly conservative investor because of the low equity component. Dedhia
reckons that investors
could invest without much
fuss in equity-oriented balanced funds if s/he has a
higher risk appetite.
There is another kind of
balanced funds that is dynamic, where the equity
proportion can swing
from 35 to 70 per cent depending on market conditions. Also, known as dynamic asset-allocation
funds, these funds invest
according to valuations in
the market. If equity
prices are too high, dynamic asset-allocation
funds drop the equity exposure to as low as 35 per
cent. On the other hand, if
equity valuations are too
low, such funds increase
the equity component to
as much as 75 per cent.
In this kind of balanced
funds, investors need not
take on the stress of timing
the market and when to
INVESTMENTS
make that switch between

equity and debt. This takes
the strategy of an investor
to a higher level, where one
can actually market full-on
when equity prices are very
low, and ensures that the
fund continuously books
profits when equities are
rising in value. When equity prices are very high, as
these funds have a very low
equity component, investors can aim to make better
returns than normal balanced funds.
Says Naren: These
funds are structured to invest in equities when markets are cheap and book
profits when markets are
rising, thus minimizing
risk and aiming to provide
good long-term returns.
These funds have the ability to incline the portfolio
towards the more favorable asset class depending
by using valuation yardstick such as price-to-book
value and comparing it
with the mean in order to
arrive at the asset allocation break up.
For investors, as balanced funds combine both
debt and equity in a single
investment structure, it
leaves the hassle of asset
allocation to the fund
manager. If investors try to
balance their asset allocation through separate
funds or individual strategies, they may have to pay
short-term capital gains
tax or a higher exit load,
and so on. Says Dedhia:
There is a continuous
process of buying low and
selling high, and if inves-
HOW BALANCED
FUNDS WORK
THE INITIAL EQUITY
COMPONENT AND
DEBT COMPONENT
OF A BALANCED FUND
10 0
75
10 0
Equity
65%
50
25
0
Debt
35%
10 0
Equity
75%
25
0
Debt
25%
FUND THEN SELLS

10% EQUITY OR 10%
DEBT TO REVERT
TO ORIGINAL
ALLOCATION
10 0
Equity
55%
50
25
75
50
IF EQUITY GOES
DOWN, THE ASSET
ALLOCATION
CHANGES TO, SAY,
75
IF EQUITY GOES
UP, THE ASSET
ALLOCATION
CHANGES TO, SAY,
75
Equity
65%
50
Debt
45%
25
0
Debt
35%
THUS INVESTORS BUY WHEN

EQUITY PRICES FALL, AND SELL
WHEN EQUITY GOES UP
tors want to do this regularly on their own, taxes

can kick in. But balanced
funds offer switching benefits without these additional levies. Besides, the
risk-adjusted return can
be better than in equity
funds in some balanced
funds because of the
steady debt component of
the portfolio. The debt
component helps iron out
equity volatility, and keeps
steadies a portfolio when
too much choppiness prevails. Data from ValueResearchOnline show that
this category has given returns of 15.2 per cent in
the last three-year period.
funds come with tax advantages. As most balanced funds have 65 per
cent exposure to equity,
they are taxed like equity
funds. Therefore, if the
holding period is greater
than a year, the applicable
long-term capital-gains
tax is nil. Dedhia, however,
recommends that, as there
are a myriad strategies
that balanced funds follow,
investors would do well to
follow the advice of a financial planner. All balanced funds do not have
the same equity component; and some follow a
dynamic asset-allocation
strategy. Besides, each in-
BALANCED FUNDS NEED

3-5 YEARS FOR A CYCLE
TO BE COMPLETE
THE BENEFITS
OF BALANCED
FUNDS
Balanced funds invest in both equity and
debt and, therefore, their preset asset allocation

works for the moderately aggressive investor
The debt component in these funds helps
stabilise the portfolio which, in turn, reduces

volatility in the fund
dividuals needs and risk

levels are different; hence
investors need to know
their risk appetite and
which balanced-fund category suits them best.
However, investors have
to come into the market
with a long-term outlook.
Balanced funds require at
least three to five years for
a cycle to be complete. But,
if you want to take a moderate risk and make investment planning and asset
allocation a lot easier, then
balanced funds should be
your route.
Clifford.alvares@gmail.com
For more on personal finance
and investments, visit www.
Balanced funds automatically rebalance to
pre-determined ratios, hence they help stay ahead

of the market conditions
When equities go up, balanced funds help book

profits out of equities and vice versa due to
rebalancing
Dynamic balanced funds follow a more

conservative approach to equity exposure by
investing in equity according to its valuations
Balanced funds are taxed as equity funds,
hence investors get the benefit of long-term capital

gains if held for over a year
There are various types of balanced funds;
some come with an aggressive equity exposure,

while others have lower equity exposures
Investors could choose between different

balanced funds according to their risk evaluation
and how much equity exposure they want
Balanced funds work better when equity
markets are volatile or flat, but investors need to

maintain a three-year investment horizon
Besides, when markets

have been around the
same levels in the last oneyear period, these funds
have given returns of
around 1.44 per cent. So,
this shows that they preserve gains when markets
are falling, and the equity
component gives the
kicker to returns when
markets rise.
In a three-year period,
the best-performing balanced fund returned over
22 per cent to investors,
while the worst-performing ones returned just 7.9
per cent. This shows that
balanced funds have actually made money for investors. Besides, balanced
IN CONVERSATION
Committed to the
Make in India policy
The group CEO believes in growing business through
the Make in India initiatives across defence and civil
aerospace sectors as well as the smart city mission
By Ashish Sinha
RENCH multinational Thales Group, which designs

and builds electrical systems, and provides services for
the aerospace, defence, transportation and security
markets, has been present in India since the 1950s. It
has joint ventures with Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat
Electronics, Samtel and others as well as an MoU with
IIT-Bombay. PATRICE CAINE, chairman and CEO,
Thales, during a recent visit to the country, talked to BW
Businessworld about the Mirage 2000 fleet upgrade, the
PHAROS fire control radar systems, as well as other defence and civil
projects that it is engaged with. Edited excerpts:
Thales has been in India for the past six decades

now. How do you view your India business
past, present and future?
We have been present in India since
1953. In fact, Thales has been contributing in the development of India
in the fields of defence, aerospace and
ground transportation (Railways
and metros). Today, we have over 300
employees working with our whollyowned Indian subsidiary, Thales
India. Thales has been supporting the
requirements of all three branches of
the Indian Armed Forces Indian
Navy, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the
Indian Army. Together with Dassault
Aviation, Thales has been working on
the upgradation of the IAFs Mirage

2000 fleet, and the first four Mirage
2000 I/TI fighters have already been
delivered. Our association with HAL
goes back more than five decades.
Further, we have created joint
ventures with Samtel, BEL and L&T
Technology Services. From the original focus on defence in India, we have
extended our footprints to other key
domains such as ground transportation (becoming a leading provider
of ticketing systems for metros) and
aerospace in late 90s. We are a globally recognised leader in providing
smart city solutions for mobility and
security, and with Indias ambitious
plans for developing smart cities, the

company is well positioned to assist
Indian authorities in building cities
for the future. Going forward, Thales
will continue to strengthen its India
presence.
What is the update on the Mirage 2000 upgrade?

Since 2011, Thales and Dassault
Aviation have been working on the
upgrade of Mirage 2000 fleet. Four
upgraded Mirage 2000 aircraft have
been delivered to the IAF. The rest
of the fleet is being upgraded under
the responsibility of HAL with the
support of Dassault Aviation and
Thales teams as per the contract. The
upgrade will enhance the technicaloperational capabilities of the Mirage
2000 fleet. As a result, the IAF will
have a coherent platform system
combination for the next 20 years.
The IAFs air potential will be further
enhanced by the integration of new
capabilities. Let me point out that the
Mirage 2000 upgrade programme
also serves the strategic requirements
of the Make in India initiative for the
Indian government.
How have your joint ventures performed?

How can you contribute to the Make in India
campaign?
Thales strategy is in line with the
Indian governments policy of Make
in India to develop the industrial
defence base of the country.
Our association with HAL, BEL,
PATRICE CAINE
SAYS THE MIRAGE

2000 UPGRADE
PROGRAMME ALSO
SERVES THE STRATEGIC
NEEDS OF THE MAKE IN
INDIA INITIATIVE
FOR THE INDIAN
GOVERNMENT
IN CONVERSATION
Samtel and L&T Technology Services
are a testament to it and so is our Go
to India approach through which we
have been promoting India as a sourcing destination and co-operating with
the Indian private sector to innovate
together, to build transfer of technology and supply chain partnerships
to support our growth plans for the
market.
Thales and HAL have been
long-term partners in providing
airborne avionics, mission systems
and equipment for aircraft and
upgrade programmes. One of the
key programmes, the Mirage 2000
upgrade, that we are undertaking
together with Dassault Aviation is
a fine example of our association
with HAL. Then the BEL-Thales
Systems (BTSL) joint venture, which
was incorporated in August 2014, is
dedicated to the design, development,
marketing, supply and support of
civilian and select military groundbased radars for both Indian and
international markets. During Defexpo 2016, Thales and BTSL signed
a partnership agreement for the
joint development of the PHAROS
fire control radar. Thales holds 26
per cent equity in BTSL with Bharat
Electronics taking the balance.
We forged a joint venture with
Samtel in 2008 to locally develop and
produce helmet-mounted sights and
displays, military avionics and airborne sensor systems for the defence
market. Samtel Avionics holds 74 per
cent equity in the joint venture, while
Thales owns the balance. The joint
venture is fully operational and the
production of displays for the Mirage
2000 upgrade programme paves the
way for future opportunities to serve
local and export markets. We also
have a jv with L&T Technology Services, which was inked in June 2014.
This joint venture has been formed
with a view to develop software engineering activities in India, particu-
larly in the avionics domain.
of innovative technologies.
Can you throw some light on the BEL-Thales

joint venture?
What is the role of R&D and innovation in India?
Thales and BTSL signed a partnership agreement for the joint development of the PHAROS fire control
radar during Defexpo exhibition
this year. This strategic co-operation
contract will allow Thales and BTSL
to jointly develop PHAROS, a fire
control radar for both gun and missile systems. The PHAROS system
will cater to both domestic and
international market requirements.
This strategic step goes beyond the
co-development partnership. It reaffirms our commitment to India and
the Make in India policy. PHAROS
will provide defence against small,
fast moving and highly manoeuvrable air and surface targets that
may also be encountered in littoral
missions. Its joint development will
also strengthen the co-operation
between Thales and BTSL in the field
Innovation is an integral part of

Thales which invests 20 per cent of
its annual revenues on R&D. Innovation enables Thales to better focus its
efforts on high value-added products
making them more attractive and differentiating it from the competitors. It
also helps in increasing the companys
overall performance. A third of
Thales employees are engineers.
Our future lies in continued investments in India and by partnering
with universities, commercial and
technology partners, and hiring and
training local resources, amongst
others. India is rich in engineering,
human talents and certainly a source
of competitiveness for our group to
grow here. Thales and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a jointly
supervised IIT Bombay-CNRS Ph.D
space sector?
Thales is the only company in the
world with leadership positions in
both on-board equipment (cockpit
and cabin solutions) and ground
equipment (radars, air traffic management systems, etc.). It has made
significant strides towards success
in the civil aerospace sector in India
which includes retrofit of avionics and
in-flight entertainment to Air India,
critical avionics to IndiGo and Jet
Airways, and navigational aids to the
Airport Authority of India. Thales
also provides a wide range of support
and services for avionics in the civil
aerospace market. In 2015, IndiGo
extended its long-term avionics
maintenance agreement with Thales
for its growing fleet of Airbus A320
aircraft, including the A320neo.
Thales has been a partner to IndiGo
since the airline took delivery of its
In 2015, IndiGo extended its long-term

avionics maintenance agreement with
Thales for its growing fleet of Airbus
A320 aircraft, including the A320neo.
Thales has been a partner since 2006
fellowship scheme starting July
2016. Previously, Thales had signed
an MoU with the Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore in October last
year. Through these collaborations
with Indian academic institutions,
Thales looks forward to contributing
to the Indian governments mission
of skilling and up-skilling people,
and its focus on enhancing the R&D
fields in India.
How is Thales performing in the civil aero-
first Airbus A320-200 aircraft in

2006.
What are your plans for the transportation

sector?
Thales is a long-standing partner
of public transport in India with
systems in operation both in metros
and on main lines. In metros, Thales
provides different urban systems
(ticketing, passenger information,
signalling systems) for New Delhi,
Gurgaon, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyder-
abad and Bangalore. In main line

rail, Thales provides electronic axle
counters to the Indian Railways.
Also, it is currently deploying Train
Protection and Warning System for
the Southern Railway on the Basin
Bridge-Arakkonam section. With
this, Thales brings to India the most
advanced signalling system that it has
already successfully deployed in Europe. Since last year, Thales has been
focusing on transfer of production
of its TPWS signalling technology to
India, through its local supply chain
partners. Thales is actively supporting the ongoing modernisation plan of
the Indian Railways.
What opportunities do you see in Indias

Smart Cities project?
India is the biggest market in the
world in terms of planning smart
cities. In India, there is an increasing need to make cities safer. With
safe and smart cities being one of the
priority areas for the current government, we see a huge opportunity to be
a partner of choice.
Given our experience and expertise in defence and transportation,
we are well-equipped to meet the
concerns of city authorities, with a
particular focus on security, cyber
security and mobility. Our smart city
solutions enable customers to provide
an expanded range of mobility and
transportation services as well as
manage crises and coordinate emergency services and response. We are
therefore well positioned to bring our
global expertise to India, capitalising on key references such as Mexico
Citys urban security and Aucklands
regional ticketing system that allows
multi-modal travel with a single pass.
In January this year, we signed a MoU
with Engineering Projects (India) to
jointly work on projects for smart cities in India.
CASE STUDY
COME, MEET RANI

True cultural connection is the Holy Grail for brands if they want to create
an enduring emotional relationship with people. Adam Chmielowski
By Meera Seth
KARAN WALIA STEPPED OFF THE

plane and switching on his phone
read a message from Dave Wilkins,
global appliances head of Elwoods International. I am at the Irish Bar. We
can walk to the next terminal after
a sandwich. Dave had flown into
Frankfurt from Washington and
Karan from New Delhi and both were
heading for a product management
conference with R&D. A unique item
on the agenda of this conference was
introduction of a competitor product
or a new product that a competitor
was doing well in, but in which

Elwoods had no presence in that
region. Or, if an Elwoods product
was making waves in one region
whereas it was slow in another, then
the successful region would present
the success.
Routine greetings followed and
finally Karan pulled out a photograph
and slid it before Dave. In the dim
light of the Irish Bar, Dave figured
this was going to be Karans point at
the conference.
Dave: Who is this?
Karan: Rani. A regional brand that

is sweeping the East and South.
Dave: So, whats with her?
Karan: A model of success. We need a
brand like her. She can give our Elsa
a run for her money.
Dave: Oh! Then, you dont have an
Elwoods success to talk about? I
know I know, you are making a point
about making our brand locally
relevant. But you are changing Elsas
script itself now, isnt it? You want
Elsa to change! I have always told you,
give us a brief and we will develop
Our brands
are not in
sync with
Indian
cuisine
and eating
habits
not. She seems to vest her faith in the
local brands Sparrow, Dharani
Then, there is the matter of aftersales service. The prime mover behind a brand is the assurance that the
brand follows you wherever you go,
with cheap and accessible after-sales
service, not merely a bored callcentre. We will do some retail visits
and you can observe how every prospect invariably asks about after-sales
service/cost of spares. The common
refrain Service kaise hai iski? is the
equivalent of How much does she
give? in cars. And that is something
Elsa hasnt been able to build due to
pressure on margins. I know you will
say an MNC has royalty to pay, higher overheads, etc., unlike an Indian
brand. But frankly that is not the consumers problem! She wants to know
who will look after the product once
I bring her home. And for that, she
wants service that knows the product,
that is happy delivering it and dependable. Dave. Our after-sales is
very bad; you know and I know.
Dave: Well! What can I say! I have

never understood why we need such
a high servicing level in India when in
the other Asian countries, in Australia in Europe we have not needed
after-sales with such intensity!
Karan: And I can tell you why. Elsa
is not entirely in sync with Indian
cuisine needs. You need 750 watts,
very simply. If not, the lady is going
to overwork Elsa. The other thing, of
course, is the most annoying power
fluctuation and sudden failures that
damage the product. This is a given
in India, hence your offering has to
come with built-in protection.
Our brands are not in sync with
Indian cooking methods and eating
habits. Yes, I eat a toast at breakfast.
But do I want to occupy 16 x 8 space
in my kitchen with a toaster? No.
Most kitchens are small. Juicer, yes,
we do juices but twice a week. It takes
me as much time to clean the juicer as
it takes for me to wash the vegetables
in the Kent. So, we end up just eating
them. Food processors cannot cut
okra or bottle gourd or French beans
or bitter gourd or pumpkin the way
we use them in our cooking. And we
cook a lot of these. I have an Elwoods
FP 299, but we use them in winter
for grating red carrots for halwa.
Yes, that red stuff I got you last year.
Sometimes we make pesto. But the FP
occupies half my island in the kitchen
for which space there are other strong
contenders! Yes, the coffee machine
is a winner so too the coffee grinder,
which we use for dry masalas as we
get ground coffee
Dave: And you forget Elsa, the mixer-
PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK
what suits your market. We will come

to that later. For now, sell what we
have in our stable our toasters, juicers, food processors, sandwich grills,
waffle irons, coffee machines
Karan: Dave, we try very hard. The
promos on these have exceeded
budgets. I have told you that we have
been totally unable to make inroads
into the South and the East markets,
entirely because their cooking styles
are different from the North where
Elwoods has a good market.
Dave: But then, we are selling very
well in western India! Their cooking
cant be so different?
Karan: It actually is. You take Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra. Grinding is predominantly a feature in
Maharashtra. I analysed this recently
when I went about studying every
market. It seems to me Maharashtrian cooking involves more of lighter
grinding like coconut, as against
grains and lentils in the South.
But West Maharashtra those
districts that are closer to Mumbai
have chosen to run with Elwoods
and our competition. But going eastwards, buying behaviours in districts
such as Nagpur, Yavatmal their
buying behaviour matches those in
the East Bihar, Kolkata, so you will
see less and less of Elwoods there.
India is different, I have told you.
To the extent of urbanisation, you
will sell toasters and juicers. But what
about the rest of India, which is vaster
than urbanised India? The lady in
Dharwad, for example, also serves
juices to her family, but she does not
buy an Elwoods Juicer, noiseless or
CASE STUDY
grinder-blender (MGB).
Karan: Dave, I asked for a heavy duty
mixie. I told you grinding of lentils
and rice is huge in India. You gave me
a 500-watt machine that does not
handle rice and dal. It gets overheated. The Indian woman does a lot of
the home management herself. Then
again, she has to wager with the power supply. Now he is there, now he is
not.... And he is more not, than there!
How much can we trade off for
good looks?
Dave: Well, I heard a lot about Plims
Food Processor and its lavish entry
into the Indian market. Are you
saying it is not doing well?
Karan: India is a mixed bag, Dave.
You have a sharp skew among the urban educated in high-paying, top jobs
where a point comes when you start
looking for What else can I buy? That
segment definitely bought the Plim
FP. But the few who are really
hands-on cooks have found the user
manual pointless. While it tells you
how to assemble that monster, and it
tells you how you can make coleslaw,
for Gods sake, you need to understand that your Plim FP is not just being sold to a person, but it is being sold
to Indian cuisine. Is there a good fit?
I would examine that first. In fact, if
you recall our tiny tiff over the launch
of our smoothie maker. I had told
you to rename it as the lassi maker.
Smoothie is not Indian. Yes, Janardhan (India Marketing Head) has a
smoothie for breakfast. He is a fitness
freak. The average Indian is not fitness conscious when it comes to food;
he may go to the gym, but will still lust
for his paneer makhni and bisi-bele
or amras pooris. India drinks lassi
in every state, throughout the year.
All we needed to do was adapt your
recipes using the Indian lassi habit.
But our smoothie maker is still an
alien. Four families I met, kept their
smoothie maker in the cupboard!
Dave (smiling): And you are saying?

Karan: The most used appliance gets
pride of place on the kitchen platform.
Nobody else. All the other guys
smoothie makers, juicers, waffle
irons, sandwich irons neatly in their
cartons under the bed storage or in
the lofts. Dave, the cook must be in
the kitchen not on top of a cupboard!
Never mind, we are talking about a
mixie now.
My point is, dont enter India. Enter
our kitchen and our habits.
Dave: So, let me understand, where
did Plim go wrong?
Karan: I am not saying they went
wrong. I am saying there is a heck of
a lot of money in the entry, just make
sure you have a seat earmarked for
you. Like Philips air fryer. At first,
everyone was peering at it through
the glass. And imagining, What
can this do? I went to buy one and the
fellow said, Oh, no. We dont do
demos. You wont do demos? And you
want me to chip out Rs 8,000? And

then, Foodhall did the most brilliant
act. There, in their cold storage, they
began to use the air fryer for you to
see! They pulled out their marinated
meat and potato things from the
freezer, they air fried it right before
you and let you eat it too. So many
conversions they got!
The Plim FP did not do that. The
stores created an exclusive aura by
saying, The Plim rep will be in on
Tuesdays. Why dont you come and
ask him? This is the arrogance I
address. You, the brand, need to be
dying to sell! My point is, you have
four blades, three jars, and a gaggle of
other attachments. Show me how you
work it and I will figure what parts of
my cooking your Plim can do. They
have been in the market two years,
they have not made a serious dent
other than selling to some super high
income homes. Your serious cooks are
in India, Dave. Find them, take your
product to them, ask them, Where

does a product like mine fit into your
cooking habits?
Dave: And for all your talk, I have
inputs from the market that the air
fryer is good for only French fries and
nuggets that come out of the freezer.
Karan: The thing is, if you get a
good demo, then the good mind
knows what else it can do. I know any
number of people who are creating
magic with the air fryer. India has a
vast repertoire in cuisines. There is
just so much you can do with it! Yes, it
is meant to cut out oil, so dont look for
dhabha dripping deliciousness.
Let it be, Dave, what is my point?
Understand the cuisine and sell to the
cuisine. Because to do that, you would
have truly understood what your
product can do for the cuisine. The
consumer is a given, thereafter.
Dave: And you are saying we have not
understood Indian cuisine.
Karan: Yes, I am saying precisely
that. And how you sell, that speaks
for your care. This, I learnt from you.
Possible that many men in the West
rustle up their lunch and know knobs
and buttons and stuff. In India, the
cook and the kitchen management is
predominantly the woman even now;
and you, the manufacturer, must
therefore have in place a person who
has experienced the product. We
had a modular kitchen installed by
our builder and he had chosen a top
drawer combination oven for which
the manufacturer sent a technician,
repeat, a technician to show us how
it works. The man did not know what
broiling was; did not know under
what conditions I need to use the fan
and the oven icon and under what
conditions not to use the fan. He
could not get to the thaw function,
which was actually a combination
of two functions but he told my wife,
You will be able to figure it out. This
points to a marketing that is male led,
Dave, the
cook must
be in the
kitchen, not
on top of a
cupboard
male thought, male felt and male
decided. How can a man sell to a
woman products that are used predominantly by women?
Dave: And that translates to?
Karan: To this: you quite clearly
dont give a damn whether you are
liked or not, what you care about is
top line, pushing a sale, entering a
home, signing an AMC, making your
brand visible in the home. This is the
kind of brand that we should not be!
It should make a difference to us how
the consumer feels about our brand! If
you are truly smart, you will go back
and visit your buyer and see how she
is using your product. I recall the time
we had bought a second refrigerator because we thought our first was
old and ailing. This first, we had
bought overseas, it was 16 years old
and working well, and my wife had
an emotional attachment to it. The
second refrigerator was delivered and
two guys came the next day to instal
it. One of them, the senior, looked
at it and went misty eyed. Knew the
parts intimately and told us about the
greatness of the brand. He was touching it like you would your child who
has come home for the holidays. He
told my wife, Dont ever get rid of this
beauty. In case you face a problem,
which you wont, call me. I will have
her up and singing in no time. They
dont make refrigerators like this
anymore he said.
See how well he knew the product
and the brand! That is how our people
need to know the appliances.
Dave: Make your point, you story
teller
Karan: Hire women to sell appliances not disinterested men, for heavens
sake. Men cant talk food unless
its around a table and over beer. You
must hear women talk food it is
music. Especially the gals who seriously cook.
Dave: And all this spiel was for hiring
women in appliances sales?
Karan: Dave... we must buy Rani.
Dave (startled): Eh? Whats going on?
Karan: Dave, I am serious. Rani
is the kind of mixie we should have
made. She has all the gusto, the
power, the verve, the grandeur that
will sit so well with us.
Dave: This is now getting absurd.
Why do you want a local brand?
Karan: A local brand is a sigma of
your entire culture; an MNC grown
brand is not. A local appliance brand,
has clearly been grown organically
at least, this one seems to be, as there
is so much structure it understands
what the needs from the product are,
and has no pretences. To build such a
brand takes years, Dave... years!
Dave: Karan, Elsas brand equity is
very visible, renowned. We cannot do
these fly-by-night acts. We should
develop our own brand. We have an
international portfolio. You are thinking India. But I need to think Japan,
Australia, Europe... We have an
image of elegance world over. I see
your passion, I know how sincerely
you are committed to bringing good
cooking processes to the Indian user.
I promise you, I love your attitude.
But we cannot buy a local brand, my
friend!
Karan: Look, allow me... first of all,
food is a very regional business. How
people cook also varies is what I found
CASE STUDY
in my research. In some regions,
women add the masalas into the hot
oil. But in some other regions like Rajasthan, they mix it in dahi or water
and then add it. In the same way, how
they use the appliances depends on
their kitchen environments, cooking styles, food habits, etc. So on and
so forth. All this is part of the entire
learning process behind Indian cooking, and cooking appliances, that I
have been watching and studying and
assimilating the last 12 months. Anyone wanting to enter appliances has
to go the whole nine yards painstakingly. If you have a lady manager who
is a hands on cook, on this you halve
your time. Company learns gradually
how regions prepare their food, how
they cook, what appliances they need
and accordingly the equipment offerings from us also develops.
Can we afford this long haul? Say
yes, and I am game.
Dave: Give me a prototype Karan and
I will grow you an Indian brand out
of our stable 700 watts, 750 watts...
whatever the demand is. Exactly as
you want it.
Karan (recalling Amarinders
words): I feel anything that comes out
of an MNC stable will be alienating or
inhibiting. One or the other.
Dave: Now that is new! Where did
this come from?
Karan: A lot that the Indian woman
does is with her hands. Indian cooking is like that. You need equipment
to work for you, not be delicate and
elegant. So, we have wooden muddlers, stone mortars, iron woks,
marble rolling pins. No plastic and
glass and la-di-dah. Your mixie has to
have that I am a toughie appeal. But
importantly, the experience has been
that stylish glass and steel finish
fellows leave the woman cook in
doubt and hesitation.
All this has to enter the personality
of your mixer-grinder. That learning
The Indian
woman
comes with
a 'value
for money'
mindset
and development by an MNC will
take time and effort. It makes more
sense to buy a brand that is already
successful and with it the learning,
than reinvent the wheel. This is what
I feel. The second reason: all said
and done, the go-to market, which is
the distribution in India is still very
unorganised. About 92-93 per cent is
still very unorganised. All mom and
pop. Which means they go by a lot of
loyalty towards brands and distributors than the company and that takes
time to develop and cannot be built
for the asking. Dave, the minute a
product comes from your stable it is
seen as an MNC offering and channel
can be standoffish.
So yes, channel loyalty and retail
advocacy is huge to the success of an
appliance brand. A lot of wooing and
worship will be needed to have the
channel look your way. But crucial is
the consumer-habits-learning. What
we learnt from exploring the market was way, way beyond what any
first-hand study could have brought
for us. Add channel friendship, and
Rani is your bet. She captures the
mood perfectly. Yes, yes, yes I used
the product and speak from the little I
experience as a Sunday cook.
Dave: This is crazy. And you are saying Elsa is not good enough for the
Indian kitchen?
Karan: Dave, I think I am so sold on
Rani that anything we do will be a

waste of time. Here is your formula
for market supremacy. All we need
to do is make them an offer. I hear
they may not be averse to selling as
they are entering new business. But
if you think like I do, then this is the
point: Can an MNC enter the Indian
kitchen with a will to deliver the
performance that the Indian woman
(cook) wants? What is the point
selling to them a mixie that whips
and blends? If she is not getting from
your 450-watt machine the joy of
easy cooking, why put more money
on Elsas advertising? I dare say she is
not even being heard!
And this, Dave: The Indian woman
comes with a value for money
mindset. Even if you develop a hardy
home appliance for India, it is going
to be premium priced. Whereas
the Indian housewife wants a hard
working appliance at a value price
may not be the Miss World in looks.
Seriously, why are you wasting costs
on conforming with global standards
in appliances on environment, RoHS
compliance, etc.? These are not mandatory in India and simply add to cost
of selling.
Dave: Bottom line, Karan?
Karan: Three point strategy: a) We
cannot wait for 2-3 years for global
R&D to start thinking. The market is
in the here and now and people will
not stop eating. I would like to go buy
out Rani. b) And on its back you can
push the international range in these
cities since we are facing a barrier in
the South and East markets. c) I want
the appliances business to be woman
centric hence thought out by women.
So, we need to get the gals in!
Please come to India, I want you to
meet Rani...
To be continued...
casestudymeera@gmail.com
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ANALYSIS
The writer is vice-president, marketing & commercial,
Coca-Cola India and South West Asia
companies entering India find themselves in. A land of 1.2 billion wherein
any number divided by the huge
denominator energises the uninitiated and they feel that it is a huge
opportunity. In a swift set of moves,
a set of headhunters are contacted,
an organisation is created, a supply
chain erected and a set of products in
the existing portfolio is shipped in
ready to conquer the new frontier. Enter the Elsa FP 299 or the Plim Food
Processor. And then they meet the
ground reality of local competition
(ala the queen of the South, Rani!)
and dont know how to react.
If Elwoods needs quick wins in
India, then the marketing team needs
to delve really deep into the strengths
of the two brands Elsa MGB and
Rani.
The way I see it, Elsa is primarily suited to help the more affluent
households in their non-regular
chores. This is unfortunately not a
sustainable competitive advantage.
Karan himself points out that his
own household does not use the
machine regularly it is used
occasionally for carrot grating in
winter. He also points out that
it cannot cut pumpkin or bitter
gourd in a way that they become India-cooking friendly.
It also does not handle rice or
dal! This clearly points to a deep
malaise which, unless addressed,
will make this product a very niche
proposition for India.
On the other hand, Rani seems to have everything going for it. A great India (er... South) relevant
performance, the right amount of power, fantastic
after-sales service and great retailer recommendation. The two areas of concern, in my mind, are lack
of aspiration and the inability to penetrate beyond
the south.
Hence, if Elwoods is looking for rapid immediate
growth then it has no option but to seriously look
at buying Rani (of course, with the necessary due
diligence) as it has a portfolio gap, which will limit
its expansion in not just South but into heavy user
middle and upper-middle class households across
the country. If Rani is acquired, then the product
team needs to look at ways of building in more aspi-
LEASE COME TO INDIA, DAVE. I WANT YOU TO MEET
Rani! It is amazing how the same invitation is

viewed differently by the two dramatis personae
in this case. To Karan Walia, Rani is the panacea to all his troubles in India and is the key to
unlocking unbridled growth in the southern
markets. The magic pill, the silver bullet!
On the other hand, to Dave Wilkins, Rani is a poor country
cousin to the wonderful global portfolio that Elwoods has. It is,
at best, a quick fix, a lazy solution offered by his Indian colleague.
In his mind, there is no reason why Elsa, which has worked for the
company across the world, cannot be redesigned to suit the needs
of the Indian consumer and views the entire fascination with Rani
that Karan has, as a distraction and believes that it is off-strategy!
So, who is right? I wish there was a direct answer one that is
unequivocal. There probably isnt. Hence, let us try and examine
the issue in greater detail.
DEBABRATA MUKHERJEE
See The Bigger

Picture
Both Karan and Dave need to
rise above their individual turfs
and take a decision which is
appropriate
Karans dilemma is not unique to this
category this is an issue that most MNC
leads face when they enter India regardless
of the segment that they play in. Here we are
confronted with a very simple question to which
we need an answer remake/remodel Elsa to suit
the needs for a pan-India audience or buy Rani and
get a significant share in a market segment which
is difficult to penetrate with the current offering?
Simple, right? The reality is, a question that seems
really easy to answer in isolation can seem very
difficult once the lens of context is applied.
To me, the more pivotal question is: What is the
role of India in Elwoods portfolio of countries that
they operate in and hence what should their portfolio for products for India be?
Let us examine a few scenarios.
Scenario 1: India is a revenue driver for Elwoods
and they want to win aggressively across categories, quickly.
This unfortunately is the zone where most of the
rational elements for Rani (without losing the functionality) and at making Elsas functions more India relevant. Issues around channel segmentation needs to be addressed
as it will be key to drive complementary strength of the
portfolio. Ranis foray into North can completely consume
Elsa and hence it is very important to clearly look at consumer motivations and shopping behaviour by economic
class and then create an easily understood and executable
picture of success on ground. In essence, the conversation
has to shift from Dave and Karan who are both trying to
protect their own turfs to a wider conversation around
the business.
Scenario 2: India is a long-term revenue driver for
Elwoods and they want to build a profitable business at
a consistent medium pace.
In this situation, the entire approach can change. As Karan
points out, the current machine works very well in the
markets where light grinding is
required. His time will be well
spent in ensuring that he puts in
place a strong plan to recruit new
users into his brand in these markets. For South, he can work in
close conjunction with the product development team to create
an Elsa variant that is sturdier.
The freedom that he will enjoy in
this case is the lack of mindless
rush, which will allow him to do a
detailed set of consumer immersions before he perfects a product
for the South. There are a million examples of this from the
FMCG category that is, a lot of
companies that sell powdered tea
and coffee have different product
compositions and use a varying
degree of sweetness in the South
vis--vis North.
However, in this case, it is extremely important to
clearly define the milestones and a clear picture of success.
Time after time, we have seen organisations running out
of patience. Any news of Rani strengthening its position
or any adverse news around Elsas inability to penetrate
further into the Indian heartland sets the cat among the
pigeons. The local management starts putting pressure on
the global team saying that the portfolio is not good enough
and buying Rani is the only option. The global team counters by insisting that a product that has worked all over the
world must work in India as well and the inability of the
team in India to create the requisite local linkages to the
global portfolio is leading to sluggish performance.
All hell breaks loose, the blame game starts and hence
there is a need to ensure that everyone is aligned on expec-
tations and timelines.

In this scenario will Rani matter? Maybe. If Elwoods is
not able to create a viable alternative in a span of three to
four years, the conversation on acquiring Rani will still be
relevant. However, it is important to ensure that Elwoods
uses all possible options at its disposal before it considers
the acquisition decision.
Scenario 3: India is profit-play for Elwoods and not a
volume or high revenue play.
I have to admit that very few companies treat India in this
manner. The mad adrenalin rush of seeing so many people
on the streets and believing that each one is a potential
buyer clouds the vision. However, if Elwoods does view
India through the pure profit-play lens, Karans time is
better spent in creating a range for the upper-middle and
the affluent and in not worrying about local competition.
There could be a few other scenarios as well but, in my
mind, these are the primary
ones that surface in determining
any entry or expansion strategy.
In sum, the way forward has
to go beyond a conversation
in a dimly lit restaurant in a
European airport between two
marketing professionals and has
to be part of a business strategy
dialogue. After that, both Karan
and Dave will be able to rise
above their individual turfs and
take a decision which is appropriate.
Any reference to Rani or the
queen takes me back to the
seminal work of Lewis Carroll,
Alices Adventures in Wonderland. Although the Rani in this
case study does not remotely
resemble the Red Queen and her
Off with the head approach to countering global competition, both Karan and Dave should take inspiration from
the conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat.
Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from
here? asks Alice.
That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,
says the Cat.
I dont much care where, says Alice. Then it doesnt
matter which way you go, says the Cat.
This is the most critical decision for Elwoods. If they
articulate their vision and purpose for being in India in a
non-ambiguous way, the portfolio decisions will easily fall
into place.
My only advice to Dave and Karan will be: See the
bigger picture! And if it isnt there, help create it jointly,
collectively.
Any news of Rani

strengthening its
position or any
news around
Elsas inability
to penetrate
further into the
Indian heartland
sets the cat
among the
pigeons
ANALYSIS
The writer is COO, Strategic Marketing for
Godrej Group of Companies
preconceived notion (I dont believe

this!) at the first demonstration of
that performance.
3) There is the attitude towards
materials. Plastic versus steel. Steel,
the long standing Indian material
of choice for pretty much everything
versus the new plastics. Natural metal
versus artificial plastic and its related
connotations.
4) And underlying above two, is
the choice of industrial ruggedness
versus delicate sleekness (regarding
Elwoods: Your mixies are good for
milk shakes when kids come home
and regarding Sumeet/Suneeta
Zyada der bhi chal jata hai).
5) And finally user interface (regarding Sumeet/Suneeta, There is no this
and that to get it working versus confusing numbering of buttons). Elsas
personality like a stylish memsaab
also suggests knowledge and care in
handling versus Rani, which serves
and supports, and is an extension of
self (noisy worker like me) and not
difficult to understand.
There is finally one other question
of Ranis market footprint. Clearly,
the brand has travelled outside
its home territory of Andhra
and not just nearby but all the
way to Kolkata suggesting
that it seems to be fulfilling
something uniquely for coastal
cuisine along the Bay of Bengal
besides Karnataka. Is rice grinding, as done by Jahnvai as the first
task, critical and the deciding test for
mixer- grinder-blenders (MGBs)?
There may also be a belief around expertise a
brand built by those who know Indian cooking
and specialists in just that versus kitchen appliances from a company that
makes TV, fridge, coffee
machines, etc.
In this household itself,
there is an indication that
Suneeta and Elwoods were
not perfect substitutes. Both
existed and seemed to be doing different things. And it is
not just a wattage issue. It is
a total experience issue that
HE DILEMMA IN THIS CASE IS BY NO MEANS RARE.
Stripped of the brand names and storyline, the

marketing posers are essentially two is there a
segment/need that requires a product model that
is not in current line-up and can that segment be
accessed by existing brand or needs a new one?
It is too easy, and often expedient to quickly
mimic a competitors successful models specifications and address a gap in portfolio line-up. And also too easy to see benefits of
marketing efficiency to also conclude that riding on existing brand
with an appropriate moniker should pretty much do it. Except that,
close on the heels of the first two questions and a solution such as
this one will come the third one of investing behind its commercial success and the returns on that investment as well. Let us look
at the issues that seem to be characterising choices in this case.
1) There is the MNC brand versus Indian brand. The company
has knowledge that MNC brands were being bought by differ-
SHIREESH JOSHI
Immerse Then
Sell Strategy
Instead of saying buying
Rani is the only option, also
demonstrate why other options
are weaker in outcomes, or
less likely to succeed
ent kind of households. Then, there is
Jahnavis first reaction, Rani? as well
as the narrative that describes the Walia
kitchen. A kitchen that was expanded in size
with island clearly points to someone who enjoys
and wants to spend time on cooking and is setting
it up as such not as a workshop for chores. And in
that kitchen, the modern Elwood appliances sit
on the island while where cooking is taking place,
there is first Sumeet and then, its
replacement (mistakenly a passoff brand in this story).
2) There is the performance for
Indian food. First, the expectation of powerful motor (delighted
reaction Oh, 750 watts!) and
then, the results delivered
(Oooh, is she swingin! And
how quickly the rice was
ground!) and overturning of
Is rice grinding
the critical and
deciding test for
mixer-grinderblenders?
is a combination of the five issues discussed earlier.

How should Elwoods decide?
It is useful to list all possible choices (mutually exclusive,
collectively exhaustive) before being tempted to choose
what looks like the right one. For example, here are some in
this particular case.
a) Choose to participate with equivalent model, and ride
on Elwoods national brand and retail footprint to make
inroads into Ranis share.
b) Choose to participate with differentiated model
match the grinding performance (key test), but everything
else (sleek design, etc.) to match Elwoods existing range.
c) Acquire Rani, and leverage nationally to generate returns on acquisition.
d) Or choose not to participate: Serving the market served
by Rani, will require investing in a significant platform at
multiple levels even at just an sku level, and product development efforts to beat existing
leader in an area thats not current expertise is not a straightforward task.
In this story, Elwoods clearly
does not have the credentials
or expertise to be able to take
Rani head on with an equivalent
model in Rani markets. But is
there a market outside coastal
states that Rani hasnt exploited? If yes, then gains and investments in a) versus c) become the
basis for decision between those
choices. The time saved and the
certainty of having an existing
experience that works versus
uncertainty in time and cost
of creating one of own is a big
factor that tilts choice in favour
buying Rani. And clearly Rani
wins customers from Day 1 pre-use there was scepticism, but once usage began, Jahnavis switch from being
a sceptic to a fan was pretty rapid, suggesting powerful
marketing efficiency in demonstrations and word-ofmouth.
Point b) is a testable idea and can be prototyped. It
probably has a better match with existing manfacturing and may be possible in shorter time and development
expense. And there may be a segment that while needing
the powerful grinding would prefer the rest of the sleek
stylish experience that Elwoods is known for. This could be
a parallel project to determine both technical feasibility as
well as size of segment that could be attracted parallel to
examining M&A, for example.
For c) to work, Rani has to be willing to sell at a price on
which reasonable returns can be made. There is clearly no
benefit in this case of buying share as there are no synergies between Ranis business model and Elwoods. Thus the
belief in being able to grow Rani beyond existing markets (and not at risk to Elwoods) must be significant. Or
headroom in existing markets that Rani has not been able
to tap and Elwoods can. And then, an understanding and
ability to preserve the elements that make Rani successful
because it is different. It is clearly built with different engineering design and sensibilities than Elwoods products
so keeping the development team independent for a period
would be key to not destroying this.
In the Karan-Dave conversation, Karan argues passionately about many things, uniqueness and variety of
cuisines and selling to cuisines, using women in the selling
efforts, why a certain kind of service model is needed.
Global positions in MNCs are tuned to looking at proven
models to leverage with speed and scale around the world
and are always aware there are
local niches that may be insufficiently interesting for a global
player. A local market on the
other hand will see the local opportunity much larger relative
to their market than any global
role holder would. Such gaps in
assessment of a situation cannot
be filled through just conversations. In most cases, mere conversations will never overturn
an MNC headquarters choice
of global standard versus local
difference as first choice for an
appliance application. Karans
selling strategy to Dave needs to
be more immersive and comprehensive.
If Karan wants to win over
Dave, he should create experiences that build appreciation on cuisine. Instead of meeting in an Irish bar, have that beer in an open kitchen with
a chef who can show preparatory steps for home cooking,
product demonstrators that demonstrate appliance performances for those steps, for example. Instead of saying
buying Rani is the only option, also demonstrate why other
options are weaker in outcomes, or less likely to succeed.
This should include scenarios of investment and likely
returns based on consumer reaction to prototypes in other
options.
Then, either video capsules like Jahnavis experiences
(sceptic to fanhood conversion with Rani versus remaining
unconvinced with Elwoods options) or, better still, home
visits with these products and seeing reactions first-hand.
Then, there may be a better, a more productive talk with
global leadership and even a successful sale of an idea.
Mere conversations will never

overturn an MNC
HQs choice of
global standard
versus local
difference as
first choice for
an appliance
application
BW EVENTS
WOMEN LEADERS
WOMEN RULING THE WORLD
OU know you have set off something of significance

and important when you have an auditorium full
of guests converging at your event venue in the
middle of a working week and nearly all of them
sitting through the evenings line-up of panel discussions,
without worrying about the commute back home or the pileup of work at the office.
The first edition of BW Businessworlds Women Leaders
Forum got off to a splendid start at ITCs Grand Central Hotel
in Mumbai on 27 April.
The event kicked off with a welcome speech by BW
Businessworld's chairperson Anurag Batra. He took the
stage and promised to make the Women Leaders Forum an
annual event, where the magazine will showcase emerging
women business leaders and women entrepreneurs, and
will give them a platform to share their story. Author Sudha
Menon, who conceptualised and executed the special
edition on 'Women Who Impact The Way We Live', spoke
about the needs of women to leverage their collective
strength and mentioned about her own experience of
working with an all-woman team of writers to put this
edition together.
It was an evening with much food for thought as
Businessworld put up a couple of sparkling panel discussions
with a lined-up stellar women leaders and entrepreneurs.
"Do 'nice' women get the corner office?," was the first panel
discussion and it churned up with the panel comprising
Kyazoonga co-founder Neetu Bhatia, Areta Advisors'
Monika Sood and New Enterprise Associates Bala
Deshpande taking positions on the much-controversial

subject. And while reams have been written about how
women sabotage their own chances of career growth by
adhering to conventional thought that women have to be
sugar, spice and all things nice, the ladies on the panel were
categorical that the opposite of 'nice' does not have to be
'nasty'. "Every woman has to find her own way of getting
around the stereotypes in careers and if this means having
to be assertive, firm and clear about your beliefs, than just
do it," the ladies shared.
Director general of Police Meeran Chadha Borwankar, the
first-ever female police to be headed as the Commissioner
of the Mumbai Crime Branch, anchored a session on women
entrepreneurs and set off much introspection when she
asked each of them to introduce themselves without the
trappings of their job-related designations. "When was
the last time we thought of ourselves as human beings that
has nothing to do with being professionals; mothers, wives,
daughters, or sisters? Start doing it now and maybe you will
see yourself in an all new light", she addressed the ladies.
Private equity maven Renuka Ramnath won many hearts
when she talked about her unapologetic commitment to her
career. An unhappy, unfulfilled woman makes for a sorrowful
mother, she figured out long ago and decided that she would
prioritise her career. Her children and her family supported
her on her every step. She added, calling on women to
carefully make their life choices and stick to their goals, once
they have identified them.
It was also a fun evening as women walked in as strangers
Photographs by Umesh Goswami, Subhabrata Das
5
and went back home with new friends. The newer lot of
entrepreneurs enjoyed their time in the sun and networked
happily, giving out media bytes and exchanging cards.
Fashion designer Masaba Gupta came in for a while
and watched the proceedings quietly, leaving almost
immediately after her felicitation. Her all-black ensemble
was stunning in its minimalism. Trishya Screwvala, the name
behind volunteering NGO The Lighthouse Project was
accompanied by her doting father Ronnie Screwvala. We
are wondering if Screwvala, who now invests in promising
new ventures, found a couple of entrepreneurs from our list
of entrepreneurs, to invest in. We wont be surprised if he
does!
Kalyani Khona of Wanted Umbrella and Inclov the
countrys first dating app for differently-abled left
everyone gasping in amazement with her projections of
1. (FROM LEFT) Author Sudha Menon; BW Businessworld, executive editor

Gurbir Singh; BW Businessworld board director Neeran Chibber; BW
Businessworld chairman Anurag Batra; D.G. Police Meeran Chadha
Borwankar unveil the Special BW Businessworld edition on Women Leaders
2. Sudha Menon in a panel discussion with New Enterprise Associates senior MD Bala Deshpande; Kyazoonga co-founder Neetu Bhatia; Arete Advisors
co-founder Monika Sood
3. Gurbir Singh, Neeran Chibber with Anurag Batra felicitating Meeran
Chadha Borwankar
4. Anurag Batra delivering the inaugural speech
5. Neeran Chibber with Anurag Batra felicitating Ashni Parekh, Legal
Consultant Media and Entertainment
just how much money there is to be made by catering to
the matching-making needs of this segment. And Namita
Banka the self-effacing daughter-in-law from a
conservative Marwari family turned entrepreneur with
her eco-friendly Banka Bioloo, gathered many admirers .
While many of the ladies featured in the edition had to
miss the event because of outstation commitments, the
ones that arrived were busy after the event, giving tips to the
guests, many of who were aspiring entrepreneurs.
The trio of Neetu Bhatia, Bala Deshpande and Monika
Sood charmed invitees by revealing that they all shared
a common trait: Each of them have played national level
cricket in their younger days.
And when the panel discussions and the felicitations were
over, guests were treated to a veritable feast showcasing
the ITC brand s culinary traditions .
BW EVENTS
WOMEN LEADERS
6
7
10
6. Meeran Chadha Borwankar takes part in a panel discussion

with Wanted Umbrella and Inclov co-founder Kalyani Khona,
Bioloo founder & CEO Namita Banka and Wetravelsolo cofounder Shefali Walia
7. Renuka Ramnath, founder, MD & CEO, Multiples Alternate
Asset Management, delivers the keynote address
8. Neeran Chibber with Anurag Batra felicitating Kavita
Bhupathi Chadda, CEO, Globosport
9. Neeran Chibber, Anurag Batra with Meeran Chadha
Borwankar felicitating Namita Banka, founder & CEO, Bioloo
10. Neeran Chibber, Anurag Batra and Meeran Chadha
Borwankar felicitating Trishya Screwvala, founder, Lighthouse
Projects
Borwankar felicitating Masaba Gupta, Fashion Designer
12. Sudha Menon addressing the guests
Borwankar felicitating Monika Sood, co-founder, Arete Advisors
11
13
12
Presenting Partner
Gift Partner
NEW INITIATIVES
MAHIPAL S. SACHDEV, Centre For Sight
VISION FOR FUTURE
TS A LITTLE OVER THREE MONTHS

since Delhi-based Centre For Sight
(CFS) got the approval from the capital
markets regulator to raise funds worth
about Rs 115 crore from the bourses to
expand its operations and offer a partial exit to its existing investor Matrix
Partners.
We will use the corpus to strengthen
our presence in the northern part of the
country, says Mahipal Singh Sachdev, a
former AIIMS ophthalmologist and founder of the Delhibased eyecare chain. The corpus will primarily
be used to construct a super-speciality eyecare
centre in Dwarka and add at least six more eye
centres. A part of it will also be used to buy
shares from existing shareholders of CFS
Netralaya, located in Meerut, among others.
With CFS, Sachdev forayed into the single
specialty healthcare segment way back in the
mid-90s, when the concept was totally new in
the country. When you come to a multi-specialty hospital, patients have to intermingle
with patients of all specialties which are considered sickness. As far as eyecare is concerned, it is a specialty where many ailments
related to it are not particularly considered
sickness, he says highlighting the growth
prospects of the bourgeoning single-specialty
segment across the country where overall
healthcare penetration is severely low.
Single-speciality hospitals or day care centres as they are typically known focus on specialty care services in any one area of healthcare it can be eye care, dental care, fertility
or oncology, to name a few. So even as multi-specialty
hospitals are here to stay, single-specialty chains are
increasingly gaining popularity with customers. More
so, because you also get specialised doctors for one
healthcare segment. Also, in a lot of ways, single-specialty healthcare chains work out to be cheaper on the
wallets of consumers.
In multi-speciality chains, there are several factors
that work out to be more expensive. For instance, there,
one typically cannot ignore costs associated with average length of stay of a patient and per bed price.
Besides, sometimes, there are also additional charges
pertaining to ICU. In our case, we typically provide day
care facilities where patients need not bother about
beds as the average length of stay could be an hour or
two. So, the thought process on how we run and manage
the eye care chain is thoroughly different from multispecialty healthcare chains, says Sachdev.
Certainly, there is a robust pipeline of healthcare IPOs
in the current market. These include Aster DM
Healthcare, Thyrocare Technologies, Dr Lal Pathlabs
VISIONARY: CFS founder M.S. Sachdev is looking

to take his eyecare chain to many parts in the north
and Narayana Health. Besides, the IPO of Alkem

Laboratories, one of the largest drugmakers in India by
domestic sales is yet another landmark healthcare IPO.
All in all, the growth in healthcare is definitely here to
stay across all categories and it is a sector which is
dependent on the domestic market. Now that we have
got the approval from SEBI, depending on the market
conditions, we will take the plunge, says Sachdev
Paramita Chatterjee
AFTER HOURS
GADGETS, GIZMOS,APPS
/ HE A LT H & F I T N E S S / BOOK S / A ND O T HER F UN S T UF F
128
SOUTH KOREAS
TRENDSETTING
TEMPLE TOURS
132
APPLES SECOND
AND SMALLEST
IPAD PRO
135
APPS THAT HELP

TO WORK WITH
YOUR TEAM
138
DEBASIS CHATTERJI
REVIEWS WHY
SHOULD ANYONE
WORK HERE?
142
EXTRACTS FROM
WILLIAM N.
GOETZMANNS
MONEY CHANGES
EVERYTHING
Photograph by Ritesh Sharma, Model: Sharon Winslet
17 - 30 November 2015 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 127
AFTER HOURS
TRAVEL
WHEN ZEN
BECKONS
The temple stay programme in South Korea is a

trendsetter, especially for corporate honchos and
businessmen who want to pause from their hectic routines
to experience meditative calm By ABHILASHA OJHA
REATHE DEEP,
relax your mind,
she says.
I obey.
Outside, heavy
rain continues lashing
mercilessly. Rain signifies a new lease of life, she
continues saying in her
soft, gentle voice. Its at

that moment, I find myself
pondering on an important
understanding how
we perceive a situation is
what, perhaps, makes it
positive or negative. Only
minutes ago, we (a group
of 20 women journalists
from India), clutching our

umbrellas, even shivering
a little from the cold wind
and rain were complaining
quietly amongst ourselves
of how the rain had ruined
an otherwise beautiful day,
how we would be unable
to walk in the midst of the
otherwise lush green, picturesque surroundings

We are in Jingwansa,
a traditional Buddhist
temple in Seoul, which we
are exploring as part of the
temple stay programme
thats an initiative of the
Korean Tourism Organisation. Considered one of the
best temples near Seoul
(less than an hours drive
from the city), situated in
the midst of the lush green
Bukhansan National Park,
Jingwansas immediate appeal is the quietude thats
broken only by the sound
of rustling leaves on trees;
the burble of the nearby
stream; chirping of the
birds on window sills; the
arresting howl of a lone dog
in the far distance. Inside
the temples main hall,
Inside the main hall of the Jingwansa

temple where monks prostrate before the
idol of the Buddha (on the facing page);
Jingwansa temple, its architecture influenced by Chinese temples
which has a mesmerising

Buddha statue, one experiences a calming stillness.
I focus on my breathing,
and with every breath, I
feel lightheaded. Monk
Seon Woo, a corporate
professional-turned-bhiksuni (nun), encourages us
to look at the lashing rain
in a new way. You brought
with you rain, she says,
continuing, it depicts life.

Look how the stream flows
with water. Faith, she
says in a soothing voice,
should keep flowing. It
cant be still.
Continuing to share with
us her own lifes experiences, Monk Seon Woo, who
is currently pursuing her
research in Indian philosophy in a college in Seoul,
tells us how Buddhism
helped her through the

darkest days, including the
untimely death of her sister
(with whom she had earlier
studied a year-long diploma course in Buddhism).
Its through her experience,
she urges us to understand Buddhism being
happy, no matter what sort
of crises you encounter
in your lifetime. Yes, it is
easier said than done but
BEFORE YOU GO...

When to Go: Best time to visit is April to end June when it is spring. This is the time to see
cherry blossoms in full glory.
How to Get There: China Southern Airlines flies via Guangzhou to Seoul. The airline
arranges for overnight accommodation of passengers in plush, clean and safe hotels. Air
India also has a direct flight from Delhi to Seoul.
Visa: Visas are typically valid for three months, unless specified otherwise. It takes fourfive working days to apply for the visa.
Temple Stay Programme: South Korean tourism authoritys temple stay programme
gives a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of the country. It allows you to live alongside
Buddhist monks and engage with them. Though 120 temples run this official programme,
only 16 temples offer it for foreign tourists.
Duration: From a four-hour package to two-day stay inside the temples premises, the
temple stay packages include Buddhist rituals, Zen meditation, tea ceremonies, and
barugongyang (traditional Buddhist meals). Additional activities may include mountain
trekking, lotus lantern making, and rubber stamp making.
How to book: The best way to book a temple stay is through http://eng.temple stay.
com, the official website for the programme. You can also visit http://english.visitkorea.
or.kr/enu/index.kto for more information. Make sure you book in advance and spell your
requirements clearly.
Suitable for: Most temples encourage children (grade one onwards) to participate in
the programme and engage them in a range of sessions, including simple meditation
techniques and communal tasks in the kitchen gardens. Tip: Specify your requirements to
temple programme coordinators for a curated, bespoke experience. You can experience
this holistic programme as a family (men and women, however, have to live in separate
premises), individually or even in corporate groups.
Cost: The cost of a temple stay ranges between Rs 3,000 and Rs 10,000, or more, depending on the duration and the activities conducted. This would include meals.
one just needs to try it, she

emphasises. Buddhism is
seeing a revival of sorts in
South Korea, even though
the majority of citizens do
not follow any religion.
From the glitz, glamour
and busyness of Seoul,
Jingwansa (the temple
facilitates only women
Buddhist monks) is starkly
different. Im reminded of
the previous night when I
had shopped for numerous
cosmetic products and devoured different street food
items from one of Seouls
bustling markets. That was
me, the hoarder. Now, as
I listen to Woos guidance
on Buddhist philosophy,
and look around me, I appreciate the sparseness of
this delightful temple. The
sparseness is everywhere
in the room, which I share
with two other colleagues;
in the delicious monastic food; in the simple,
comfortable clothes we
have worn in keeping with
the temples uniform. Only
nature, I observe looking
at the area, surrounded by
lush green trees and mountains, is in abundance.
Our spacious room,
lined with a self-heated linoleum floor, has a quilted
sleeping mat, pillow and
comforter that the temple
has provided us. Youll
get a glimpse of the monk
life, we are told by our
guide, who adds quickly,
Their day-to-day routine,
of course, is stricter than
what you will experience.
Shes right. The monks
wake up around 3:00
am and by 3:30 am, they
AFTER HOURS
TRAVEL
(Left): An ancient rock-carved Buddha

statue at the entrance of the Jingwansa temple; A painted window at the
Jingwansa temple
start with their prayers,

chants and other rituals.
Throughout the day, they
busy themselves with
various activities related
to the temple and what
they pursue in their daily
lives. Woo, like other Buddhist monks, has her head
shaved (Initially, it took
me some time getting used
to the ways here, she confesses to us caressing her
bald head) and laughs at
the suggestion of makeup
and dressing up.
I find out a little more
about the temple over
dinner, which starts at
5 pm! As I delight in the
simple, delicious temple
food, including deep fried
seaweed, steamed tofu
chunks served with kimchi, a bowl of clear soup,
sticky rice, among other
delicacies, I learn about the
significance of Jingwansa
Temple. It is one of the four
major temples around
Seoul dedicated to
Preceptor Jingwan in 1010
BC by King Hyeonjong,
the 8th king of the Goryeo
Dynasty. Later, during
the Joseon Dynasty, King
Sejong built a library in
Jingwansa for Confucian
scholars. Though it was
destroyed and reduced to
ashes during the Korean War (fought between
North and South Korea
from 1950-1953), a decade
later the various buildings
were painstakingly restored. The craftsmanship
of the pagodas, the aesthetics and the discipline in the
architecture is worth noting. The pagodas in many
of the Buddhist temple
complexes, represent Buddhas teachings and house
important symbols; relics

of the Buddha, an important sutra or other religious
artifacts. Though initially
influenced by the design of
Buddhist temples in China
(remember, Buddhism
reached Korea via China in
372 AD), over the centuries, Korean pagodas have
developed a style distinct
from the pagodas of China.
The inside area of the temple is highly ornamented
and decorated to enhance
the beauty of the temple
complexs architecture.
The next morning is
almost like the prelude to
spring. Our day begins at
four am; though blearyeyed from lack of sleep,
hunger and no caffeine in

my system, I am soothed
by the chants. Next, we are
told to do 108 prostrations
to the Buddha to ensure
that our body and mind
are in sync. Heres why:
According to both, Hinduism and Buddhism, there
are 108 defilements in the
mind. Each bow, done with
complete reverence, takes
away one corrupt habit,
thus, cleaning your mind
and strengthening your
body. This is tough, we
complain. Woo smiles and
tells us to do whatever is
comfortable for us. The experience is uplifting. After
the session, some of us seek
guidance on various issues
bothering us financial,
relationship, health. Feeling rejuvenated, we step
out to make our way to the
cafeteria. Along the way,
Woo says: Soon there will
be cherry blossoms here.
You see, you have to undergo some harsh seasons
to finally blossom.
A week later, in the midst
of the chaos, pollution
and maniacal routine
of New Delhi, I think of
Woos statement. That rich
thought, an important slice
of Buddhist philosophy,
along with so many other
beautiful memories, is
what I have carried back
from the temple stay and
the rest of my trip.
The author is a Delhi-based
freelance writer
For more travel stories,
visit www.businessworld.in
BEING HEALTHY
HIS YEAR, we have decid-
ed to do something different. Every fortnight, I

try and unravel a health
mystery for you, and
so many of you write in with queries.
Some of you read my column and sign
up for disease reversal programmes
with me. Hence, every quarter, Businessworld will uncover the journey
of one working professional (true ac-
By Rachna Chhachhi
suppressants to suppress and re-modulate the immune system. Levels of

inflammation inside the body are high
and the pain levels are unimaginable.
And yet, this young man somehow continued with his work, popping in pain
killers and medicines the doctors gave
him, which have severe side effects on
the stomach lining, liver and kidneys.
But he was willing to do anything to get
rid of the pain.
From
Incurable
To Im Fine
count) who overcame his disease and
grabbed his/her quality of life back.
The first case deserves to be that of
Abhinav Verma, 26, whose grit and
determination amazed me. He came
to me last November. A Systems Engineer in Tata Consultancy Services, he
walked like an old man, had tremors
in his neck and hands, a stiff spine and
a lot of lose fat around the middle. He
had constant pain in his spine, shoulders and hands but his job needed him
to continue. He had ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a rheumatic auto-immune
condition that affects 1 per cent of the
population and has no cure.
Doctors put AS patients on steroids,
chemotherapy drugs and immuno-
I began his treatment by attacking

the causes a compromised immunity
and high levels of inflammation, which
were causing symptoms of extreme
pain and tremors and weakening the
spine. So I gave him a health plan (not
just diet chart) that would strengthen
his immunity, upping his ability to fight
diseases and decreasing inflammation
inside his body, hence reducing pain
levels. Every week, some aspect of his
plan would change as per his progress.
By week 5, we had achieved lowered
inflammation levels, and his pain and
stiffness started disappearing. He was
off the painkillers. Now, we had to use

functional training to re-build the
functionality of his spine. For stretches
and functional training, we opted for
the outdoors. By the sea at Bandstand.
Slowly, the flexibility began returning.
Once inflammation reduced, the effects of my functional training combined with physiotherapy began showing results. He lost 13 kilos in three
months, and could actually move his
neck! His skin had started glowing,
and his parents, who thought he was
wasting money on my treatment, began to see a new side to their son.
AS comes with extreme fatigue and
mental fuzziness, but by the end of the
second month, Abhinavs fatigue had
vanished and his brain returned to its
razor sharp self.
Abhinav is a true example of someone
who overcame an incurable disease.
He didnt deviate from the health plan,
didnt give up, and most importantly,
his level of positivity and belief made
him eradicate his pain. I have treated
many cases of AS, but Abhinavs case
stands out since he never hid behind his
job or family or circumstances to say he
couldnt do it or he was fed up. Autoimmune conditions and medications tend
to make patients depressive but I never
saw that in Abhinav.
Disease is what we make of it; we can
either pop the pills and opt for emergency care, or choose the path of eradicating disease and embracing good
health. As Thomas Edison said, The
doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in
the care of the human frame, diet and
in the cause and prevention of disease.
That time has come.
The author is a certified nutritional therapist and WHO certified in nutrition. BW Businessworld
published her book Restore, to order a copy mail at rachna.chhachhi@businessworld.in
AFTER HOURS
GADGETS & GIZMOS
SMALL
DIFFERENCE
APPLE ADDS ITS SECOND AND SMALLER 9.7INCH IPAD PRO TO THE LINEUP ALONG WITH
THE IPHONE SE FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR A
SMALL FORM FACTOR
By MALA BHARGAVA
'VE BEEN LIVING

with both the iPad Pro
tablets for the past few
weeks. Invariably, I
find I tend to pick up
the larger 12.9-inch Pro
for long hours of work. It's
got a comfortable fullsized keyboard and just
perching it on my knees
wherever I happen to be
sitting, I can launch into
some work.
But when I need to go
off somewhere, I pick up
the other iPad Pro. The
9.7-inch tablet that Apple
just recently added to its
lineup of tablets. I really
like the fact that it fits into

my sturdier handbags
and that I can flip it open
to work with when I'm on
the go especially when
sipping a cup of coffee at a
cafe. While travelling out
of town too, the 9.7-inch
iPad Pro is the companion
I choose because of how
easy it is to carry. It's no
featherweight, but compared with a laptop, it'll
do just fine.
And then, when done
working, I detach the
keyboard and set it aside
or flip it backwards and
read. Or pick up the Apple
Pencil and indulge in

my favourite activity
digital photo art. It's very
difficult to turn the larger
iPad Pro to portrait mode
to read because it's just too
large for that. The canvas
for art though, is great.
So, the two iPad Pro
tablets, similar as they
look, call for different
usage habits. Someone
who has a heavy amount
of work to do and isn't
flitting from place to place
would be better off with
the larger one of the two.
I think of it as the 'lean
forward' tablet. Someone
SMALLER THOUGH IT MAY

BE, THE NEW 9.7-INCH IPAD
PRO STILL COSTS A PRETTY
PACKET AT RS 49,900
32GB, 128GB and

256GB storage
variants
who wants to use it for

short spells of light work,
take it travelling and
switch from work to relaxation in an instant, should
consider the smaller iPad
Pro.
Smaller though it may
be, the new 9.7-inch tablet
still costs a pretty packet.
Rs
49,900
IPAD PRO
9.7-inch
2048x1536 display with True Tone
12MP and 5MP cameras with Live Photos and 4K recording

and Retina Flash
Keyboard and
Stylus support
A9X chip with
2GB RAM
The tablet itself is Rs

49,900 for the base model
(more storage space and
cellular connectivity will
mean you spend even
more) and then there's the
Smart Keyboard at Rs
13,900 and the Pencil at
Rs 8,600. And wait you
also need to buy a cover for
the back because the keyboard part only protects

the front. That should be
another Rs 3,000 or so.
All this is enough to make
anyone wonder whether
they should think of
picking up a pretty good
notebook instead or settle
for a non 'Pro' tablet and
buy a cheaper third party

keyboard attachment.
No other tablet has the
kind of stylus support
and applications that the
iPad Pro does, but that's
something people need for
something specific. Apple
says that every industry
finds its own use for that
Pencil. Surgeons use it to

get into anatomy apps and
demonstrate very precisely
where a procedure is to be
done. This works astonishingly fast. Artists will use
it to sketch and paint and I
know that many people on
the artists group I'm part
of on Facebook promptly
equipped themselves with
iPad Pro's and Pencils.
Anyone else who needs to
annotate, make precise
markings or do work by
hand carefully, could do
with the Pencil. But certainly that's not everyone.
With my main task
being writing, I find that
it takes a little while to
switch from a full keyboard to a smaller one. I
touch the wrong keys for
a while until I start doing
better. But it's workable.
The smaller iPad Pro
actually jiggles a bit when
I type though because
it's lighter and each key
press moves it a little. On
a flat surface, it's stable of
course.
The 9.7-inch iPad Pro
has a few features that set
it apart from the larger
one. Its display is less
reflective and has a 'True
Tone' feature that lets it
sense the light around you
AFTER HOURS
GADGETS & GIZMOS
IPHONE SE
Rs
39,00049,000
HAVE you ever found yourself wishing

smartphones today weren't quite so
large? You may not be alone, but you're
definitely in the minority as it's the 5-inch-plus
devices that sell the most these days. It's logical
when you think that there's much more one can
f/2.2 12MP iSight
do on a phone and one needs the screen space.
camera with 4K
recording and Live
But in a throwback to the smaller phones of a
Photos
couple of years ago, Apple decided to fill a gap for
that niche of users who still want a small phone
and launched the iPhone SE. It looks all-Apple, much like
the iPhone 5s, except for fine tuning of design elements.
f2.4 1.2MP
But on the inside, it's almost like an iPhone 6s. Almost.
FaceTime
The diminutive iPhone SE runs on the same A9 procescamera
sor that the flagship 6s does. Also the M9 CoProcessor. In
short, it's a powerful little device. Apple says
it's the most powerful phone in that size
64-bit A9
and they're right about that, though it's also
processor with
M9 motion
the most expensive. It doesn't feature the
coprocessor
much talked-about Force Touch or 3D Touch
technology from the 6s and also has an older
4-inch Retina
the screen in dark condiversion of its Touch ID fingerprint sensor technology, but
display
(1136x640
tions but I've always
it does have NFC, which isn't yet of much use to us here as it
@326ppi)
found the results looking
enables Apple Pay. It also easily runs Apple's latest version
with Nightpretty frightening,
of iOS, 9.3 and brings with it the popular Night Shift feature
Shift
though perhaps that's
which schedules the screen to turn warm yellowish and dim
just me.
as night approaches preventing blue light from ruining the
Though Apple clearly wanted to bring in an affordable
user's chances of getting to sleep.
model into emerging countries like India with the iPhone SE
But small or not, the iPhone SE certainly doesn't disappoint phone photography enthusiasts who will be delighted it's rather doubtful whether Rs 39,000 to Rs 49,000 can
be considered affordable for a tiny phone. Anyone who's
to find it houses the 12MP iSight camera which steadfastly
coming from a larger phone will find it very difficult to adjust
remains one of the best cameras on a smartphone. There's
to the size, especially of elements like the keyboard which
something rather nice about having a capable camera in
has to be squeezed up to fit the screen space unless you
such a small form factor just whip it out and take a quick
capture. It even has the new Live Photos which shoots a few want to switch to landscape every time you want to input
text. I've been using it as a second device and while it's
moments before the click and is a sort of one second video.
great to pair up with the Apple Watch, I'm unable to make it
You can actually also do 4K and slow motion recording, but
my primary phone because that size is just not enough for
there's no optical image stabilisation. The front camera is
all there is to do now.
also only a 2MP one. It has a True Tone flash which lights up
and adjust accordingly,

making it easier on your
eyes. You can see this
working when you move
to another room where
the light is different.
The other bonus fea-
ture is that it comes with

the 12MP camera that
is on the current flagship iPhone 6s. Everyone
doesn't like taking photos
with a tablet, but sometimes, this is really enjoy-
able as you have a bigger

viewfinder. And you can
scan documents real well
with it.
In the end, one needs
to see whether the entire
package of tablet plus
accessories makes sense.

Buying just the tablet
without them is a bit of a
waste and buying them
with, is expensive.
mala.bhargava@gmail.com
Photograph by Ritesh Sharma, Model: Sharon Winslet
AFTER HOURS
APPS
TEAM IT UP
ON THE
BOARD
CUT THE
SLACK
IT'S QUITE
ASANA
TRELLO IS AVAILABLE on the web,
SLACK IS A very
widely used collaboration tool,
again, available
on the web and
apps on all platforms. Slack let's
you organise your team conversations
in open channels. Make a channel
for a project, a topic, or anything and
everyone has a transparent view of all
thats going on. For sensitive information, create private channels and
invite a few team members.You can
also reach team members directly.
There are some features for which you
go into a paid version, depending on
the number of people who will use it.
It's a tool for today's "social enterprise" which is an idea dreamt of for
many years but which people didn't
know how to implement until tools like
Slack came along. With Slack, you can
share files just drag and drop and
add comments to things like PDFs
and spreadsheets. You can also link to
online storage services.
A SIMPLE COLLABORATIVE platform,

Asana, is again available via apps
and the web. However, it is more
to-do list based. A team can create
their workspace, based on a project
they're doing together. Within each
project, you create tasks and tag
them, attaching files, comments and
notes.
For all its
apparent
simplicity, Asana is a
full-fledged
project management and
collaboration platform and also has
a pricing structure based on whether
advanced features and multiple
users are needed, though it's free for
groups of less than 15 members. They
can talk, ask questions, and discuss
the project they're working on as
they track completion together. It's
described as teamwork without the
email. As they work, team members
can get updates on progress.
with a Chrome extension, on iOS and

Android. It's a project management
tool aimed at helping you organise
your life, much like Evernote does, I
suppose. But it's based on the visually
attractive concept of boards and
cards. In Trello, a board can be a project to which you
invite members
from your team,
collaborating
with you. You
can have as
many boards as
you want. You
can colour-code them.
Within each board, you create
cards which will contain anything from
pictures to links to notes. You drag
team members to those cards to link
their responsibility to whatever's on
the card. They can be moved around
and archived when done. It takes the
tedium out of planning and thinking
because it's so visual.
Different apps to help you get to work with

your teams By Mala Bhargava
LIVING DIGITAL
TS A LITTLE word with big im-
plications.
One used to associate a bot
with a little robot or autonomous
software code that did whatever
it was programmed to do on a
network.
Fast forward to today and just
about anyone you meet connected to
the tech industry is chatting about
bots, telling you that you will soon be
chatting with bots.
Put that autonomous code or virtual
robot together with artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural
language processing, and you have
these entities that can talk to you, sell
to you especially sell to you help
you with this and that, and be your connection to all sorts of services. Apps,
according to some, will just roll over
and die. Life online will predominantly
be spent on a messenger (specifically
Facebook Messenger or M but also so
many others like WeChat, Line, Hike,
Telegram etc) from where one can get
things done, from booking a cab to
calling for pizza to paying ones bills to
buying a bag.
As the Internet of Things ecosystem
increases, bots will be everywhere
looking after your banking, travel,
food, and even work. One has to wonder whether we were short of human
beings to need bots now.
What about the whole overload of
apps on your smartphone or tablet?
That will disappear, because botmakers say you wont need them. That
therell probably be an overload of bots,
doesnt seem to matter yet.
Bots will hardly restrict themselves
to being text-based interactions on
messengers. Theyll be integrated with
voice assistants like Siri, Google Voice,
By Mala Bhargava
Make
Way For
The Bot
A three-letter word has
suddenly taken the tech
world by storm, promising
to change everything
Cortana and Alexa. This will redefine

human-robot relationships, for sure,
but also human-human relationships.
Its a particularly frightening prospect
because the tech giants are trying to
make this happen now, even as we
speak. Microsoft is putting bots into
Skype. Google, Amazon and Apple
are going to use bots, and Facebook is
pushing the bot revolution harder than
everyone. And client companies are
scrambling to build bots and experiment with them.

Digital marketers couldnt be more
pleased as a new opportunity comes
up not only to reach potential customers and existing ones with services
and CRM, but new branding possibilities emerge.
Ive barely gotten over the pain of
dealing with recorded voices on the
phone to various services like banks
and ISPs, and now an army of bots is
marching in...
One major problem is that the upcoming bots are going to start out far
from perfect. How easy or frustrating its going to be to talk to bots with
their intelligent but limited systems
and at what point they hand off to humans (those who still have jobs, that
is) is going to pan out, starting now.
How intrusive and time consuming
these are going to be also remains to
be seen.
Its tempting to think of bots as
mere hype and a fad that will go away.
After all, apps seemed to be here to
stay but one can already see that a
majority of them wont be needed.
Couldnt the same happen with bots,
fast enough? Its possible, especially if
they fail at doing their job well enough
or take longer to perfect themselves
than they did to appear.
For now though, tech leaders like
Satya Nadella and Mark Zuckerberg
are impassioned with the idea of what
bots can do and that means well see
a lot of action in that space. Rather
than a fad, the bot phenomenon is being thought of as the next computing
platform.
mala@businessworld.in, @malabhargava
For other columns by Mala Bhargava, visit www.businessworld.in
This is the venue for our next immuno- cleanse weekend.

Where you learn to stay healthy & disease free.
Over a glass of wine.
In Goa.
To book your weekend for June 2016,

email therestoreretreat@gmail.com or call +919867256541; +919833710731
AFTER HOURS
LIBRARY
WHY SHOULD AN YO
NE
WORK HERE?: What
It
Takes to Create an Au
thentic Organization
Rob Goffee and Gareth
Jones
LEAD
REVIEW
HA RVARD BUSINES
S
REVIEW PRESS
Pages 256; Rs 995
WRITE FROM
THE HEART
OUR BEST PEOPLE
leave when they

know the value
they add is greater
than the value
the organisations add to
them, write authors and
academicians Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones of
London Business School
in their recent book Why
Should Anyone Work Here?
What it Takes to Create an
Authentic Organization.
To begin with, it is not a
guide or work book. This
management treasure
talks tough. There is no
sugar-coated pill here.
You will only experience
complicated surgery. It
is little difficult to implement the sermons of this
book in a well-established
organisation. If you are a
maverick, then go ahead
and try to implement few
measures. I guarantee you
will change the face of the
organisation.
The book discusses
threadbare the difficulties
of many organisation citing
ample number of real life
BY DEBASIS CHATTERJI
problems with all honesty.

It does not hide facts, figures or names. It has three
themes theory, strategy
and diagnostic tools. Diagnostic tools are quite handy
to implement to determine
the present status of your
organisations.
Almost every company,
big or small, has Mission
and Vision statements.
And trust me, everyone
writes big long sentences
with complicated jargons
in different ways. But the
core message is always
same: We will serve our
customer. We will be the
top performer in our target

market, we will take care
for our employees. But the
question is, do we really
mean it? Ask anyone in the
organisation about mission
and vision statements. You
will hardly get to hear the
well written words of
Mission and Vision. The
reason is simple. They are
only written on the paper
and not in the hearts of
each and everyone in
the organisation. On the
contrary, go to the factory of BMW and ask any
employee in their factory
about the motive behind
their work. You will get
exactly the same answer
from everyone: We deliver
the ultimate driving experience. This is ingrained
in everyones psyche. Now,
you ask, how is this possible? This is exactly why
you need to read this book
as it is going to shake our
conventional management
wisdom.
Both the authors have
done substantial research,
mostly, on a large pool
of European and North

American organisations,
interviewed top CXOs at
length to understand the
root cause of the problem.
And then, they prescribed
their remedies for longterm customer-employee
experience improvement
in a sustainable manner.
The analysis is nonconventional and pathbreaking. Read this paragraph to understand the
depth of this work: While
many companies define
difference along the lines
of traditional diversity
categories gender, race,
age, ethnicity the executives we interviewed were
after something subtler.
they surrounded themselves with people whose
differences in perspectives, habits of mind, and
core assumptions would
challenge and push them
in new direction. We will
focus on the fundamental
differences in attitudes
and mindset between
one person and another
(whether or not there is also
a demographic difference
between them).
In another paragraph,
they write: Make no
mistake: Companies that
succeed in nurturing
peoples uniqueness and
individuality may have
to forgo some degree of
organisational process and
structure.
The authors have come
up with a model of six
DREAMS dimensions.
1. Differences in personality must be celebrated
2. Radical honesty must be
followed
3. Extra value should be
added to ones career
4. Authenticity of work
should be strong
5. Meaning (community
connection) for the job
should be internalised
6. Simple rules should be
created which are fair,
clear and workable
I strongly recommend
this wonderful treasure for
the CEOs of every startup

who are going to build
their organisations from
the scratch. Simply put, it
is easy to implement if you
start with a good foundation.
Chatterji is CEO, Netxcell
GO BEYOND GOALS
and staying power.

F ONE HAD TO PICK A SINGLE senHowever, everything starts with
tence from The Process Matters:
managers setting things that are
Engaging and Equipping People
needed to be done and engaging
for Success (Princeton University
their employees to change. SucPress) that could summarise the
cessful changes require managers
book, it would be: It is not just what
to do the following:
we accomplish as
1) Get employees to
managers that matbe dissatisfied with
ters but also how we
the current state; 2)
accomplish it. This
Show employees a
reflects what is befeasible and better
hind this great book:
alternative (typically
the idea of meeting
in the form of a comgoals and targets in
pelling vision of the
the right way and
future state); 3) Set
with consistency and
the famous plan to
accountability.
move from point A to
Joel Brockner is a
point B; 4) Deal with
Professor of Busi BY PAU ABELL
employees resisness at the Columbia
PELLICER
tance to the change.
Business School. He
The also famous
lists several easychange management.
to-achieve pointers to show that
The psychology is also a part of
effective process requires very less
the process. Employees who experieffort or money. These have to be
ence esteem (feel good about themtaken into consideration to get betselves), identity (see themselves
ter processes: a) Time: any process
as integrated and real persons)
is as important for the immediate
and control (feel that what they
effects, for the short term, as well
do matters) based on how they are
as its long-term ones; b) Quality:
treated by the organisation where
in terms of the attributes of the
they work, respond with greater
process and in terms of the internal
productivity, have higher morale
experience that the process elicits
and greater sense of well-being.
in people at the receiving end; c)
Regardless of whether the quality
Team effectiveness: Measured in
of the process refers to its attributes
terms of productivity, satisfaction
or to the psychological state, we also

need to consider a key aspect: the
ethical dimension. Not everything
is valid. The way events and decisions are handled by top managers
also affects employees tendencies
to do the right things ethically.
The final chapter of the book is
another classic: What if managers
readily agree to implementing fair
processes that allow their teams
to experience esteem, identity and
control and not to neglect with
ethical dimensions, these policies
are not more often implemented.
In other words, things are easier
said than done. The book also adds
a very interesting questionnaire
to help managers diagnose their
strengths and weaknesses as agents
of organisational change.
Pellicer is MD, Roca Bathroom Products
AFTER HOURS
LIBRARY
THE BEST YOU CAN DO

BY APARNA TADIMETY
V. RAO IS REGARDED as the
father of HRD in India. He had

pioneered several HRD concepts
like the 360-degree feedback, much
before they were introduced elsewhere across the globe. Raos book
Effective People (Random House India) starts with an autobiographical
note and proceeds to analyse some
people who are, well, effective! Now
what do we mean by effective people?
As per Oxford dictionary, effective
means Successful in producing a
desired or intended result. So, does
successful refer to those who are successful in producing desired results
for themselves? Not really, according
to Rao. The author, who has decades
of hands-on experience with people,
students and employees across sectors, writes that effective people are
those who influence other peoples
lives in a positive way so as to give
them direction and enable them to
achieve success. Someone who uses
his or her talent to help others and
make a difference.
BOOKMARK
NEW
ARRIVALS
It was only after I became an adult that I began to ask

questions about that famous tryst. Why was the speech
made in English? Was Nehru just a romantic or a real leader?
And did he not know when he talked of the world being
asleep at midnight that it was not midnight everywhere?
Tavleen Singhs last book, Durbar,

dealt with the betrayal of India by an
inexperienced ruling class. She has written
three other books, Kashmir: A Tragedy of
Errors; Lollipop Street:Why India Will Survive
Its Politicians and Political and Incorrect.
She currently writes three weekly political
columns in English and Hindi.
Cover design HarperCollins Publishers India

Cover image iStockphoto
www.harpercollins.co.in
f HarperCollinsIndia t @HarperCollinsIN
Recent read: The Art of

Thinking Clearly by Rolf
Dobelli; Essentialism by Greg
McKeown
I recommend: The Hard
Thing about Hard Things:
Building a Business When
There are No Easy Answers by
Ben Horowitz
` 699
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
INDIAS BROKEN TRYST
ARUN
JAGANNATHAN,
CEO,
CrackVerbal
Being effective is not about self, but

about how a person recognises inner
talent, how he or she uses it to make a
difference in other peoples lives. So,
an Effective Person is one who uses
his or her talent to help others and
make a difference. The best example
of an effective person is a mother,
who recognises her capabilities of
influencing her child and help him/
her achieve success in life.
The author gives us some pointers,
a few examples, stories and suggestion in order to help every person
become effective. He has categorised
people into three categories: effective
people; very effective people, who not
just influence a handful of people but
extend their talent to a large number
of people and takes this as a mission
for life; and super effective people,
who not only devote themselves to
this mission but build other people
and lasting institutions to continue
their work even after their lifetime.
Rao, among many achievements,
has also been a professor at the
INDIAS
BROKEN
TRYST
TAVLEEN SINGH
Indian Institute of Management,

Ahmedabad for over 20 years. He
cites cases of various successful
Indian personalities doctors,
education entrepreneurs, sportspersons, social workers, political leaders,
thinkers, civil servants, actors who
have made a difference to the society.
He has given examples of people
like Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Dr M.C.
Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin
Tendulkar, E. Sreedharan, Vinod Rai,
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, among others.
The book gives an insight into the
lives of these personalities, how they
became successful in their respective
careers, and analyses the criteria to
be an effective person in the abovementioned fields.
OFF THE JACKET

Y
ears after Jawaharlal Nehrus

historic Tryst with destiny speech,
in Indian cities and villages millions
survive on less than the bare minimum.
Children are not in classrooms, women
have nowhere safe to relieve themselves,
and jobless men lie around in a daze.
In cities, where initiative should flourish,
a merciless state looms large over every
common endeavour. The civilization that
was India, that grand culture, has not
found utterance again. Long years after
freedom from the British, why do we
remain suppressed?
In Indias Broken Tryst, bestselling
author and popular political columnist
Tavleen Singh chronicles the damage
done. Here is the story of Surekha, who
lives on the pavements of Mumbais
landmark Marine Drive with memories
of crushing hunger. Of Ali, the idli seller
who is forced out of his honest livelihood
by cops and corporators. Of Sahib and
Sardar, little boys torn from their mother
on the criminal charge of begging.
Of those nameless servants who do not
have access to toilets even as they service
the luxury apartments where Singh lives.
From the very poor to the very rich,
Tavleen Singh catalogues in bold,
eviscerating detail the systematic
unmaking of our sense of destiny.
Can an Indian dream stretch beyond
food and water, literacy, toilets, and
in some cases just a document of
identification? If not, what destiny?
INDIAS BROKEN TRYST

TAVLEEN SINGH
(HarperCollins)
Rs 699
DISSENTING DIAGNOSIS
ARUN GADRE, ABHAY
SHUKLA (Random House)
Rs 399
MONEY CHANGES
EVERYTHING
WILLIAM N. GOETZMANN
(Princeton) $ 35.00
FLYING IN HIGH WINDS

S.K. MISHRA
(Rupa Publications)
Rs 500
Singhs
analyses of the
political and
economic
state of the
country
On medical
institutions
prescribing
unnecessary
tests and
medications
Finance is a time
machine that
allows us to
move value forward and help
societies grow
A principal secretary on his

work, bureaucracy and the political personalities
he worked with
AFTER HOURS
AFTER HOURS
BOOK EXTRACT
BOOK EXTRACT
THE NEW
FINANCIAL
WORLD
Americas
introduction
to the world
of capital
markets
HE SEMINAR ROOM WAS

CLASSIC HARVARD:
paneled walls; a coffered

ceiling; and a long,
beautiful table. Professors
and graduate students wandered into
the room to take their seats following
the accustomed pecking order that
reserves prime spots for senior
professors and chairs along the wall for
doctoral students. Into the room strode
a young historian who seated herself
at the head of the table. She unfolded a
sheaf of papers, waited for the room to
still itself, and then took a hand grenade
out of her satchel. Without a word she
set it upright in front of her. It was not
clear to the audience whether they
should smile or simply bolt. Regardless,
Julia Ott succeeded in getting their
attention. Her seminar that day at
Harvard Business School was a lesson
in how Americans adopted stock
market investing. The hand grenade
was from the First World War. It was
a reminder that much of American
attitudes toward investing emerged in
the wake of the Great War.
As post-war Russia in the 1920s
marched toward a Marxist state,
Americans moved vigorously in the
opposite direction with a distinctive
American kind of idealism and fervor.
The subject of Julia Otts lecture
and the subject of her extensive
dissertationwas the profound shift
in the American mind about the issue
of stock market investing. While
Europeans, particularly the British,

had long relied on capital markets as
a means of savings and investment,
investing by American households
increased significantly only during the
First World War. The US government
issued savings bonds to finance the
American war effort, and these were
purchased, in part, as a matter of
patriotic duty. As the US government
retired this debt, investors sought
financial substitutes, and brokers
sought additional product.
Julia Ott is now a historian at the
New School of Social Research in New
York and an expert on the conversion
of America to the cult of equity in
the early twentieth centuryin her
words, a shareholder democracy.
Retail investing was pushed, not
pulled, particularly at the outset. While
Russians were being trained in the
1920s to reject the bourgeois idea of
money and savings, Americans were
introduced to a sophisticated new
world of capital markets by brokers
and bankers who saw retail investing
as a new profitable area of marketing.
The zeitgeist of market speculation had
finally crossed the Atlantic.
...Julia Ott points out that investment
in American companies in the 1920s
became a means for self-improvement,
self-reliance, and personal empowerment. For the price of a share, an
investor became a voting partner in a
giant company and a stakeholder in its
future. These themes did not emerge
Americas
introduction
to the world
of capital
markets
THE NEW
FINANCIAL
WORLD
HE SEMINAR ROOM WAS

CLASSIC HARVARD:
paneled walls; a coffered

ceiling; and a long,
beautiful table. Professors
and graduate students wandered into
the room to take their seats following
the accustomed pecking order that
reserves prime spots for senior
professors and chairs along the wall for
doctoral students. Into the room strode
a young historian who seated herself
at the head of the table. She unfolded a
sheaf of papers, waited for the room to
still itself, and then took a hand grenade
out of her satchel. Without a word she
set it upright in front of her. It was not
clear to the audience whether they
should smile or simply bolt. Regardless,
Julia Ott succeeded in getting their
attention. Her seminar that day at
Harvard Business School was a lesson
in how Americans adopted stock
market investing. The hand grenade
was from the First World War. It was
a reminder that much of American
attitudes toward investing emerged in
the wake of the Great War.
As post-war Russia in the 1920s
marched toward a Marxist state,
Americans moved vigorously in the
opposite direction with a distinctive
American kind of idealism and fervor.
The subject of Julia Otts lecture
and the subject of her extensive
dissertationwas the profound shift
in the American mind about the issue
of stock market investing. While
Europeans, particularly the British,

had long relied on capital markets as
a means of savings and investment,
investing by American households
increased significantly only during the
First World War. The US government
issued savings bonds to finance the
American war effort, and these were
purchased, in part, as a matter of
patriotic duty. As the US government
retired this debt, investors sought
financial substitutes, and brokers
sought additional product.
Julia Ott is now a historian at the
New School of Social Research in New
York and an expert on the conversion
of America to the cult of equity in
the early twentieth centuryin her
words, a shareholder democracy.
Retail investing was pushed, not
pulled, particularly at the outset. While
Russians were being trained in the
1920s to reject the bourgeois idea of
money and savings, Americans were
introduced to a sophisticated new
world of capital markets by brokers
and bankers who saw retail investing
as a new profitable area of marketing.
The zeitgeist of market speculation had
finally crossed the Atlantic.
...Julia Ott points out that investment
in American companies in the 1920s
became a means for self-improvement,
self-reliance, and personal empowerment. For the price of a share, an
investor became a voting partner in a
giant company and a stakeholder in its
future. These themes did not emerge
MONEY CH ANGES
EVERYTHING: How
Finance Made Civilization
Possible
;
William N. Goetzmann
LIO
PENGUIN PORTFO
600 pages; $ 35.00
spontaneously in American society;

rather, they were carefully nurtured by
Wall Streetparticularly through the
promotional activities of the New York
Stock Exchange. Julia Otts research in
the archives of the exchange turned up a
vast amount of material about how the
idea of a shareholder democracy was
managednot only through speeches
and publicity releases, but also through
such populist media as financial
cartoons that distilled the complexities
of financial operations for ordinary
people and appealed to aspirations of
family security and self-improvement.
In contrast to the popular pre-war
notion of a Wall Street dominated by
insiders like Daniel Drew, Cornelius
Vanderbilt, and J. P. Morgan, the New

York Stock Exchange in the 1920s
emphasized fairness. In the New Era
of stock market investing , the small
American investor was no longer
a victim of market manipulation
by insidersthe New York Stock
Exchange promoted itself as the seal of
approval for a square investment deal. If
common stocks once were synonymous
with speculation and back-room
trickery, they were now transformed, via
a period of patriotic fervor and sudden
familiarity with brokers and investment
portfolios, into a major new appliance
in the American household...
Stocks Versus Bonds: Keynes was
right. Stocks captivated the American
imagination in the 1920s in a fundamentally different manner from the British

investor movement of the Victorian era.
Most of Henry Lowenfelds studies of
global diversification in London used
bonds to illustrate a sound investment
policy. The Foreign and Colonial
Government Trust was fashioned to
capture high average bond yields, not
capital appreciation of shares. Keynes
was an exceptional early advocate of
equities as the future of finance, but he
was a bit ahead of his time in Britain.
But in America, tastes turned sharply
toward equities. Americans still bought
bonds, but people grew increasingly
wary of them. One thing made bonds
less safe in the modern era: they carried
the risk of inflation.
The hyperinflation in Germany
after the First World War horrified the
world. From 1921 to 1924, prices in
Germany rose more than a trillion times
over: currency reform in 1924 involved
lopping off twelve zeros from the bills
in circulation. Money was literally not
worth the paper it was printed on...
Yale economist Irving Fisher went so
far as to postulate that ordinary people
could not even perceive the terrible
effects of currency devaluation. In a
curious, perhaps unconscious echo
of Marxist money fetishism, Fisher
coined the phrase money illusion to
describe the human tendency to believe
that the nominal value of currency
was somehow fixed and reliable. He
argued instead that people needed to be
convinced to use real value: the value
AFTER HOURS
BOOK EXTRACT
after accounting for inflation. In Fishers view, people got hung up on the
monetary prices as reference points for
the value of goods and ignored the extent to which this was determined by the
quantity of money in circulation. His
prescription to savers: stay away from
money and bonds. Future dollars might
be worthless. Better buy real things
like real companies. Shares in American
corporations promised not only a dividend cash flow but also a stake in tangible
corporate assets whose monetary value
would automatically rise when the
government printed money...
Fishers contribution to financial
economics was particularly important.
He took the mathematics of present
value (first formalized by Fibonacci!)
and applied it to investment decisions.
In Fishers analysis, corporate managers acting in the best interests of
shareholders should choose projects
with the highest positive net present
value that takes into account not only
the time value of money but also the
risk of the project. Generations of Yale
graduates who took his courses in
finance learned to apply this rational
decision criterion. Fishers net present
value equation is the workhorse of
all modern financial analysis today.
Fishers study of corporations and his
analysis of the effects of inflation led him
to strongly advocate stock investing as
opposed to bond investing. It was advice
he took himself, moving much of his
personal wealthand the savings of his
well-to-do wife and her familyinto
equities.
Fund A and Fund B: Edgar Lawrence
Smith worked on Wall Street as a bond
analyst in the early 1920s. Interested in
the stock market craze, he ran a test to
see whether an investor who held stocks
would have done better than an investor
who held bonds over the long term. This
was a quite different study than Henry
Lowenfelds of decades earlier. He was
not interested in global investing or in
risk per se but rather in return. Which
did betterstocks or bonds?

Smiths experiment was simple. He
checked whether the actual cash flows
from investing from the 1830s to the
1920s in corporate stocks would have
covered the payouts to bondholders. He
found that over the long term, stocks
practically always beat bonds. He also
argued that equities should be able to
make a steady dividend payout that
grew proportionally as a percentage
of market values. He published the
study Common Stocks as Long Term
Investments in December 1924.
...Smith turned the traditional idea of
safe investing on its head: bonds, which
were once considered conservative and
safe, were now deemed extremely risky.
...In Smiths careful empirical
analysis, replete with graphs and
figures, American investors found
a convincing argument for revolutionizing the way they saved for the
future. Benjamin Graham and David
Dodd, fundamental value investors
of the 1930s, scoffed that Common
Stocks as Long Term Investments
was destined to become the official
textbook of the new-era stock market.
John Maynard Keynes reviewed it
positively in 1925. Irving Fisher was
even more enthusiastic, arguing
that Smith had started a trend that
fundamentally altered the relative
demand for stocks and bonds.
Edgar Smith launched the Investors
Management Company shortly before
the publication of his landmark study.
It offered its services on a strictly fee
basiseliminating some of the extreme
conflicts of interest held by other firms.
Unlike big Wall Street companies,
Investors Management Company did
not underwrite securities and then park
the failures in their investment trusts.
The firm offered two products: Fund
A and Fund B. Both allowed investors to
hold a diversified portfolio of common
stock, formed chiefly according to the
principles outlined in his book. Fund
A planned to pay out 5% per year in
dividends, which was the rate Smith

figured was a sustainable yield based
on historical analysis. Fund B allowed
investors to plow back all dividends
by reinvesting in more common stock
shares. Smith not only demonstrated
that stocks were a superior longterm investment; by launching his
investment funds, he also offered
Americans a vehicle to capitalize on
his research. Although the Investors
Management Company Funds A and B
were not the very first mutual funds in
America, they were very prominent and
immediately attracted imitators.
Just as suddenly as Americans
became infatuated with buying stocks,
Street Talk Stocks
Not only did Irving Fisher lose his own life

savings, but he lost his in-laws savings as well
they fell in love with investment trusts.
The simple idea of pooling investor
money and buying a diversified
portfolio of securities is a great one
and is certainly not new. After all, the
Dutch invented mutual funds every bit
as sophisticated. The British model for
American fundsincluding the famous
Foreign and Colonial Government
Trustwas widely acknowledged in
the 1920s. Trusts were even referred
to as a British style of investing. The
American wrinkle was the emphasis
on equity. Irving Fisher was also a

big fan of investment trusts: the risks
that attach to [common stock] may
be reduced, or insured against, by
diversification . . . investment trusts and
investment council tend to diminish
the risk to the common stock investor.
This new movement has created a new
demand for such stocks and raised their
prices, at the same time it has tended to
decrease the demand for, and to lower
the price of, bonds.
Notice what this statement predicted.
Fisher reasoned that, as small investors

began to use diversified investment
trusts as vehicles to hold stocks, the
risk of their portfolios would go down.
Historically, the risk of holding just one
stock is about twice the risk of holding
a portfolio of stocks. If you can buy a
portfolio as easily as a single share in
one company, then you can double your
stock market investment while keeping
the same level of risk. Fisher predicted
that, because of this diversification
effect, small investors would dump
bonds and buy stocks. This would push
stock prices up, and the market would
reach a permanently high plateau. In
the optimistic world of the 1920s, Fisher
foresaw a new financial order based on
stocks and investment trusts. Investors
big and small would hold investment
trusts that offered broad, diversified
stock market portfolios. They would
provide a sustained demand for shares
in Americas corporations.
Unfortunately, Fisher made his
prediction in the summer of 1929, and
the American public never forgot it. Not
only did Irving Fisher lose his own life
savings, but he lost his in-laws savings
as welland he was devastated to have
encouraged a nation of small investors
to invest with him in the market.
Yale University bailed him out by
buying his grand house on Prospect
Street in New Haven and renting it back
to him until he passed away in 1947. The
cloud of his market forecast followed
him to the grave.
Excerpted with permission from
Money Changes Everything: How
Finance Made Civilization Possible,
by William N. Goetzmann. Copyright
Princeton University Press 2016
captivated the American

imagination in the 1920s in a
fundamentally different manner
from the British investor movement
of the Victorian era
PEOPLE
IN THE NEWS
ON A NEW WICKET
A KNIGHT IN STEEL ARMOUR

He has rescued several steel plants and hundreds of jobs in the
UK so far. And he is doing it again. Industrialist SANJEEV GUPTA,
founder of commodities trading firm Liberty House, has said his
company will put a bid for Tata Steels UK arm, which employs
11,000 people. His interest in Tata Steel, however, comes with
a twist. He has a turnaround plan that may cost as much
as 1 billion as he wants to shut down the blast furnaces
and instead produce steel from the scrap generated in
domestic market. He recently bought two Scottish
steel mills from Tata.
FUTURE MOVES
Riding Ahead
Alibaba Group Holding chairman JACK MA overtook Dalian Wanda Groups Wang Jianlin as Asias
richest man after the e-commerce giants financial
affiliate raised a record amount in its latest round of
fundraising. Ma added $4.3 billion to his fortune in
April after his Ant Financials latest deal, expanding his wealth to $33.3 billion, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That puts him ahead
of Wangs $32.7 billion.
The Golden Boot

As Yahoo tries to sell itself amidst
revenue drops and cut jobs, alongside several other jobs in jeopardy,
most notable is that of CEO MARISSA MAYER. If she does, in fact,
get ousted, she will get considerably more than the
boot: she stands to gain $54.9 million, according
to a regulatory filing. Her potential payout includes
cash severance of $3 million, $26,324 to continue
her health benefits, $15,000 for outplacement, and
if thats enough nearly $52 million worth of
accelerated restricted stock and options.
The Board for Control of

Cricket in India (BCCI)
has appointed RAHUL
JOHRI as its first CEO.
Johri, who last served as
Discovery Networks Asia
Pacifics executive vicepresident and general
manager for South Asia,
will be taking on his new
role starting 1 June. He
was associated with
Discovery Networks for
15 years.
Apple Turns Sour

Clearly so for billionaire activist
investor CARL ICAHN. Despite
repeatedly calling the stocks
of the company undervalued,
Icahn sold his entire stake in
the technology firm soon after
reports of its dismal quarterly
performance, over fears of
Chinas economic slowdown
and government interference.
Reports suggest he made $2
billion from the stake sale. Icahn
acquired his initial stake in
Apple valued at about $1 billion
in 2013, adding another batch in
2014 valued at $3 billion. At the
end of 2015, he had shares worth
$4.8 billion.
Future Group chairman

KISHORE BIYANI stepped
down as managing
director of Future Retail
as part of its restructuring with Bharti Retail
it acquired a year ago.
As per the deal announced in May 2015,
both the companies had
proposed a demerger
of the retail business of
Future Retail to
Bharti Retail
and separation of the
infrastructure
business of
Bharti Retail
into Future Retail.
However, Biyani would
continue to hold office
as non-executive director of the company.
CAR CZAR
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive
A SWEET PERK
Chobani founder and CEO HAMDI ULUKAYA has done what
no executive has done before. At least, not quite in the same
fashion. He gave the companys 2,000 full-time employees
ownership stake in the company, which could potentially
make some millionaires. Each employee was given a number of shares that came directly from Ulukayas own
holdings based on his or her tenure which they can use
to cash out when the company goes public or is sold.
is also taking the wheel

at Ferrari, a move that
gives him charge over
the luxury sports car
maker his company spun
off less than a year ago.
The widely anticipated
move, following Amedeo
Felisas decision to retire,
comes as Marchionne
looks to find a partner for
Fiat Chrysler.
PHOTOGRAPHS: BLOOMBERG, RITESH SHARMA
SERGIO MARCHIONNE
LAST WORD
Editor,
Sanctuary
Asia
Bittu Sahgal
What in
blazes is
going on?
Ignorance led Indias leaders to ignore warnings of the

likelihood of such fire damage. Closeted away from the
advice and opinion of all, Indian decision-makers ordered
that platitudes and indignation replace rationality as the
dominant climate discourse. No Indian prime minister
OREST fires have become the unwelhas thought fit to address Indias farmers, fisherfolk, ordicome flavour of the month for Indias
nary rural folk or urban citizens on how climate change is
monocultured media. You cant look
altering and threatening their way of life.
anywhere without being exposed to
The Indian Forest Fire Response and Assessment
orange-coloured images on channels, and
System for the monitoring and management of forest
newspapers. Unfortunately, most reports
fires warned long ago that 55 per cent of Indias forest area
emerge as shallow and misleading. Comwas prone to annual fires. The advice lies buried in files.
mentators have fallen for the line sold that villagers are to
Avarice is at play. The oil, coal and gas lobbies, tutored by
blame for the fires.
partners overseas, leveraged delayed climate action that
Undoubtedly, the fires were lit by humans. But justiallowed business as usual for a few years more. Meanwhile,
fied or not, they have been doing this for decades to collect
our carbon-sequestering, water-supplying and climatetendu leaves, or mahua, or to spur the growth of ash-fertilmoderating natural ecosystems includised grasses soon after the first rains.
ing forests, withered.
April and May has always been fire
Arrogance played a lead role too,
season in India. So why were the fires
serendipitously, supported by a pockmore widespread? And why did they
etful of myopic, but equally arrogant
rage more strongly than ever before?
environmental groups and experts with
And why are they burning longer than
preferential access to Indias decisionusual in Uttarakhand and Himachal?
making elite. Thus the carbon lobby
Ironically, for the same reason that
egged Indias leaders on to fiddle while
floods and droughts are now more viIndia burned. They rightly blamed the
cious, more frequentbecause
industrial North for causing climate
climate wobbles have led
change, but ignored the disaster that
to subtle but catastrophic
Most reports emerge as
was breaking against our front door. All advise to
changes in temperature
shallow and misleading.
Commentators have fallen for
protect forests from industry, agriculture, pillage
and humidity. In the
the line sold that villagers are
and fire was ignored.
case of the forest fires,
to blame for the fires
Nothing worked. Forest protection budgets were
soil moisture evaporated,
cut. Water tables fell. Floods and droughts turned more
while ground temperatures
frequent, more intense as 1.3 billion people went about
rose. In combination with
their business as usual. Clearly, apathy, the fourth Horsewinds tinder-box circumstances were created. As a result,
man of our Ecological Apocalypse catalyses the adverse
normal fires that might once have merely singed barks,
impact of the first three Ignorance, Arrogance and
metamorphosed into infernos to consume the entire heartAvarice. Meanwhile, the Juggernaut of climate change
wood of ancient trees that survived scores of earlier fires.
trundles on in a world already 2 degrees warmer than it
A deadly domino effect has been set into motion. More
should be.
fires will burn at higher temperatures, trigger greater soilThe last word? Indias economy has been built on a stable
moisture evaporation, in a vicious cycle that will end only
ecological foundation. Shake this and like a house of cards,
when the heavens open and rain saves us. At which point
the economy will come tumbling down.
we will have to deal with killer flash floods.
PHOTOGRAPH: BIVASH BANERJEE & SHUTTERSTOCK

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+ INDIAS BEST EMPLOYERS: A BW- AON HEWITT SURVEY

RNI NO. 39847/81 I 30 MAY 2016

COLUMNS & BW- MRSS

6 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

VOL. 35, ISSUE 20 FOR THE FORTNIGHT 17 - 30 MAY 2016

HUMAN RESOURCES: Yamini Sharma (yamini@businessworld.in)

BW Businessworld Media Private Limited

RNI NO. 39847/81 I 16 MAY 2016

In the pre-Lehman Brothers global

10 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

Freecharge teams up with

CAN INDIA PRODUCE A DONALD TRUMP?

In reality, state elections can

ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2016: THE

How the 1996 Lok Sabha

Government Efforts To Deport Vijay Mallya,

Billionaire Vijay Mallya, who fled

Electric cars will

Trade Unions Angry Over Labour Law Exemptions To Startups

Unions say the concessions given to startups will create an environment in

The bad-loan debate has

Corporate represents a market of

12 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

Juggernaut Books Wants

The best part of the

JOTTINGS & SNAPSHOTS

Social Media Scan

Marketing & Advertising

TWO YRS OF MODI GOVT

THE BIG STORIES

How balanced funds can help

Apple to line up its second and

Patrice Caine of Thales Group

A selection of apps that

16 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

Earlier, the government had to

18 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

IT takes anywhere between 10 and

a wise move. No global OEM is keen to

Flipkarts current valuation to be anywhere between

SHOOT THE MESSENGER

issue. The Companies Act, 2013

17 - 30 May 2016 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 19

Making Mumbai Manhattan

IF THE AD is smart but the product

now that passengers

the last few years, Railways

20 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

Photograph by Ritesh Sharma

NPAs: WHAT MINT ROAD

UST ABOUT everybody

Bank of India (RBI). His

sharply to 14.5 per cent at

situation here is not much

Mint Road has had enough

22 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17 - 30 May 2016

VER SINCE the Modi

four offensive private

threats, promises of unspeakable acts of violence,

taken up to the Prime Minster, but little changed and

17 - 30 May 2016 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 23

TROLLS ONE: RAJDEEP ZERO