Venue: CII Office, Gurgaon

Event: CII Conclave on NSQF Framework and its Application in Sector Skills Council

Delegate: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

CII conducted an interactive session to project the case of NSQF and its role in facilitating vocational education in India. Due to the government’s concerted attempts at skilling, this has taken particularly crucial a role. This write-up will explore the discussions held during the session by the panel members.

The panel consisted of following members:

Mr. Jayant Krishna

Being in charge of the welcome remarks, this speaker set the context for the discussions ahead. He introduced the panel members while adding points of his own. He spoke about how polytechnics or ITIs (Industrial Training Institute) are seen as end of the road for applicants. There doesn’t seem to be scope for vertical mobility within this industry or horizontal movement with the mainstream education. India has a 48 crore strong workforce yet we have not yet reached a point to take advantage of what is termed as the demographic dividend. The speaker highlighted further damaging statistics. The school dropout ratio stood at a whopping 43% between standard I to VIII. Further the figure rose to 57% when class X was factored in. A large chunk of these students and for that matter even graduates or post graduates in India were unfortunately unemployable. By the tender age of 17, only a third of the people still seem to be studying while it was a measly 13% for those aged between 18 and 24. Thus for those who do not complete mainstream education, vocational education provides that space which can skill the individual to pursue a fruitful career. Yet only 5% of the target audience goes through vocational education.

Further problems were highlighted by the speaker. He spoke about how there exists a complete lack of uniformity in the country regarding vocational education qualifications. What seems to be passable in one state may fail in another and vice-versa. Even a developing country like Egypt has formalized its vocational education standards. We have not done too well in regulating mainstream education either, but at least there exist minimum hygiene factors there, missing completely in the field of skilling. Among developed countries, Denmark has a really well organized skilling system for vocational education. Germany is a country renowned for cutting edge technology, yet the majority of the country ends up pursuing vocational education. Around 80% of that cost is borne by the industry which has a seamless transition system between training apprentices and inducting them into the workforce. In India, though there is no organized labour market. JCB is once corporate this speaker singled out for commendable performances in the field of skilling own staff. This he says is not part of CSR, but indeed core business operations because in the medium to long term, this yields good dividends. There are at the moment a mere 2.8 lakh apprentices in India in manufacturing and this figure is lower than employees in a large firm like TCS. This figure has to change and soon.

Mr. Ajay Goel

Mr. Goel began his session by likening skilling to that famous elephant story where different blind men touch different parts of the animal and come up with different interpretations of the same. NSQF was released in December of the year 2013. NVEQF meanwhile was released in September, 2012. NSQF is thus a unified Indian qualification framework.

The speaker spoke about how traditionally skill training would be imparted in India. The senior would apparently be a Pappu while the apprentice was a Chhotu. The apprentice would eventually pick up all the skills from the ‘expert’ yet there was no social respect for either. NSQF is a mechanism to formalize the apprenticeship as well as on the job learning. This will entail greater social respect and possibly salaries too. There is even an assessment methodology at the end of the module. This will even strengthen industry- academia linkages. Standards have been laid down known as – NOS (National Occupational Standards) & QP (Qualification Pack). Each of them has levels from 1 to 7. Level 7 is the top one yet it does not have equivalence to the mainstream graduation degree. Level 1 is totally unskilled. The same person can acquire different levels for various job roles. Soft skills are aslo included as part of the package.

Some encouraging signs have recently taken places. In the state of Himachal Pradesh a job fair was held for those having qualified from vocational education. The highest placement package went to a class XII finisher at an impressive Rs. 15,000/- per month from Dharamsala which even happens to be his hometown. The average package is around Rs. 8,000/- which is pretty usual. In Gujarat, bridge courses have been started between mainstream and vocational education. Even in Rajasthan, plans are afoot for the same. In Delhi, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Kendra skill centres have been specifically opened up.

There is this idea floating to somehow integrate some relevant vocational skills with mainstream educational courses. For example, the speaker talked about how a student studying B.A. (H) History at DU can be benefitted if he /she is exposed to a videography/ photography training as that can be useful in the study and professional stream. Trainer skills development is also a major challenge. But if students get well trained, them getting differential salaries because of their skill sets would be possible. These courses are getting aligned with similar foreign ones. Thus plans are on to equalize these courses at par with those in developed countries. These training agencies then even help arranging visas for trained workers.

Mr. Ashish Jain

This speaker spoke about how short term courses both after 10^th and 12^th help majorly in job facilitation. He spoke with special focus on the healthcare sector. The government wants to train people for this. There is indeed a supply- demand gap. However, if this skilling gap can be bridged, then there will be positive ROI for the industry. NSDC compliance then becomes paramount for survival and growth. Post training, organizations place them at their own centres. Presently a project is underway with Australia to benchmark skilling standards.

Venue: Hotel Imperial

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This summit was convened by ASSOCHAM to get industry, political and academia leaders to discuss regarding the concept on innovation and creativity in the economy as India moves forward. Also this creativity must be inclusive. This write-up examines the various sessions held and highlights the salient points which emerged out of those.

Plenary Session

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Sushma Berlia

This speaker delivered the theme address introducing us to what were the major points for discussion at the summit. She spoke about how innovation at work can increase productivity multifold. As India’s economy is poised to reach new highs this century, innovation and creativity are necessary to continue to fuel the same. However innovation must be inclusive and not restrictive. Also it must be sustainable for the environment.

Dr. M.O. Garg

This speaker spoke about how CSIR is actually an organization older than the country India itself. Thus it was made before India was made and many decades before the term- ‘Make in India’- was coined. Thus the political and scientific leaders of this country had the foresight to envisage a future of scientific prowess so far back in time. Now it is time we leverage the skill sets we have and develop further in this field of scientific research.

Dr. Anil K Gupta

Dr. Gupta mentioned 3 words which he feels are the cornerstone to how India must attempt frugal innovation. Those words being- affordable, circular and accessible. By affordable, he means that innovation must not make the product or service more expensive. It ought not to be high end technology alone where the R & D charge is too high and an organization needs to recover that much which will be borne by customers. This kind of innovation is needed, but the need of the hour is the frugal innovation. It must also be circular which means that a product must be recyclable / reusable in the future. A Re. 1 sachet of shampoo may appear inexpensive and affordable, yet the cost on environment of that plastic packet is enormous. With many such products, our entire landscape will be filled with such products. Finally they must be accessible to all and not the preserve of the elite alone. This will ensure that we all become part of this process of frugal innovation.

The speaker also warned us regarding the type and quality of products that are easily accessible. He speaks about the state of Gujarat where 605 women are anemic. This in spite of relatively high income levels in that state in comparison with the rest of the country. These products are iron deficient which leads to anaemism among the consumers. Even the children are malnourished due to the quality of consumption rather than quantity available.

The Hindi word Jugaad has often been praised as a sort of Indian frugal innovation. Yet the speaker says that Jugaad is a mental sickness which has curbed India’s growth potential in manufacturing. Today a simple India made mobile phone charger once bought, does not guarantee to connect with the plug socket. This is because of the poor quality of manufacturing where producers only see short term gains and miss out on the bigger picture due to the Jugaad mentality. This country is capable of high level weapons manufacturing and a space project to study the moon, yet simple things are being ignored.

Dr. Gupta then provided us with what he termed as the Innovation Playground Matrix. The matrix is as follows:

Ostrich is the position which is both inside out and outside in low. Toyota can be described as an example of an organization being a pollinator. It never wanted to keep the patents within, opened them all up thus reducing overall cost. Tesla can be considered another such example. A sponge takes a lot in but does not contribute externally. A DBDB is perfect in every sense. The speaker described the DBDB situation as – Dil Bada Dimag Bada- to borrow phrases from Hindi.

The speaker then went on to describe his recent visit to a tribal area in the north eastern state of Tripura. There he interacted with tribal people and purchased handicrafts from them. He even walked on man-made bridges of completely organic plant material created by local people. He then spoke about 5 parameters of include innovators. These parameters are- spaces, sectors, seasons, socials segments and skills (& knowledge).  Dr. Singh then gave us a clarion challenge. He asked aloud for local solutions, for example creating a local Wi-Fi network on individual hillocks in Tripura.

Some months back he was in Purilia district in West Bengal. The area is famous for terracotta statues. He saw a number of statues especially of horses. Some of the really good ones he found intriguingly perched under trees without owner anywhere in sight. So he asked one of the craftsmen why such was the case. The local craftsman explained that he had in fact put up the best ones under tree so that the young people in the village could peer towards them and realize the challenge on their hands. Their generation needs to go one better and improve the art of statue making. The speaker concludes this is a version of open source innovation. These kind of local solutions are needed.

Monica Magnusson

Ms. Magnusson began her talk by describing how during the peak of summer back home, the temperature at this point is a measly 5 degree centigrade. Thus not just her heart but entire body has warmed up to India. Continuing on the Sweden theme, she informed us that Sweden is a country of barely 9 million people staying in such sub-arctic conditions year on. The only way people could have survived in such weather is through innovation. Innovation has been a constant part of Swedish life ever since the age of the Vikings. She then reaffirmed that she was not a big fan of the Viking method which often meant a quick escape. However, she appreciated their stubbornness in overcoming the environment and establishing a flourishing civilization. Due to this requirement of a quick escape, their ships were designed to be flat bottomed. Sweden’s present rank is 3 and has always hovered in the top for in the Global Innovation Index. Dynamites and safety belts are only 2 of the inventions credited to Swedes.

The speaker now moved on to speaking about her organization i.e. Ericsson. It was founded in 1876. In the telecom industry, it is a global leader having also achieved up to 4G efficiency in mobile internet but now 5G is being explored. In India, Ericsson has been there since 1904. Spotify is another major Swedish innovation. She concluded by saying that while 2 G may have been a European venture, but 5 G is a truly global collaboration with India included in the list of collaborators.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Dr. Kalam was the chief guest of the day and the major attraction for the entire audience. A substantial percentage of the delegates only came to hear him speak. He began his talk by continuing from where the previous speaker from Sweden left off. He spoke about Sweden being a country where 96% of waste generated gets recycled. In fact Sweden imports 800 million tonnes of trash to convert to energy. He then gave a cycle of innovation. As per the cycle, economic development is powered by competitiveness which is powered by knowledge which is further powered by technology which is in turn powered by innovation. Thus innovation marks the genesis for economic development for any nation. He then discussed from the other way round by saying that creative leadership leads to a healthy working environment which powers employee satisfaction which eventually leads to enhanced employee productivity. Dr. Kalam concluded by speaking about the various attempts that were made to launch rocket while he was at ISRO. A number of failures we mocked at by the media suggesting that taxpayers’ money had been wasted, dumped into the Bay of Bengal. Finally though tries succeeded and now India has a worldwide recognized space research centre.

D.S. Rawat

This speaker delivered the Vote of Thanks for the session. He summed up some of the points delivered and ensured that the main points discussed would be further taken forward by ASSOCHAM in the quest to enhancing innovation in the country.

This event was followed by the Networking Tea Break.

Technical Session: Building an Ecosystem for Innovative India

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Dr. Parveen Arora

As the moderator of this discussion, this speaker introduced the key points to be discussed. He introduced each of the panel members, their respective organizations and their individual accomplishments.

Dr. Prabhat Ranjan

This speaker spoke about how his firm has a Technology Vision 2035. This is in line with the government’s Vision 2020 and Beyond. But this one is specifically to do with technology. There are three ways for India to reach the goals of scientific self-sustainability. One is by galloping, another approach is by cantering and finally by trotting. The decision lies with the people and the pace of work at various industries. There is a technology roadmap which his organization has created to ensure these activities are possible.

We tend to compare with China. A simple horizon scanning though does not portray a very positive picture for India. Just as an example there are 400,000 3D printers at various Chinese primary schools. In India though we continue on the path of rote learning. This greatly limits thinking capacity.

There is a massive bias against physical labour in our country. Students at school / college level ignore lab sessions. In computer engineering courses, hardware is ignored in favour of software. In fact non computer students, who may have studied engineering in some other field, are keen on taking up computer based cushy jobs in corporates. Engineers above all do not want to work in manufacturing.

The speaker suggested that every child must be made to do a minimum of 1 hour of physical work per week. This will instill a sense of dignity for manual labour. The work may include gardening, washing clothes, sweeping rooms, dusting the house etc. One must never see the disability but the abilities among young people. With focus on abilities, the accelerometer further registers a rise.

His firm is also engaged in helping patent holders get financial assistance from SIDBI. All of it was done free of cost. They have partnered with NGO called Srijan for achieving this. Large industries need to take up leadership on the scientific development and innovation part. The problem with India at a macro level and with states like Chhattisgarh (where he has worked extensively) at micro level are quite similar. These states possess massive mineral deposits yet choose to export them to other parts of the country or abroad without any value addition.

Finally the speaker concluded by speaking about certain practices among the student community. They all want jobs and placements at big firms. Often these large firms are not conducive for learning as they form a minor cog in them. Alternatively, working in smaller firms can vastly expand the learning abilities as in them the new recruit is a valuable cog from day one.

Manasvi Srivastava

The speaker feels that innovation does not necessarily mean a new product. It may instead mean simply an existing product being delivered in a new manner. In the year 2013, there was a 9% increase in patent applications in the USA. In India too patents granted in 2013 were at an all-time high of 4126 but still much less than USA which touched 302,948 in the same year. There is no one-size-fits-all formula to ensure innovation in a country.

Dr. Maninder Singh

The speaker feels that innovation is a part of human psyche. A look at the recent IIN ads which have divided the nation, can clearly show how a bit of innovation can solve major problems. Sans innovation, yesterday’s performers have become today’s laggards. He also agrees with the earlier statement on how the Jugaad mentality kills off systematic approach. Now the basic buzzwords have branched off to roti, kapda, makan aur internet which has become intrinsic to the knowledge driven modern world.

Dr. B.C. Das

This speaker laments the relatively low level of investment in higher education in India. Most of the education budget is eaten off at the primary school level. In spite of this attitude, India is still ranked 7^th in the world in terms of patents awarded annually. This trend has been ongoing for a few years now and is not a flash in the pan of any particular year. He then spoke about his own organization- Amity University- and how they have been leaders in the education sector in terms of innovation. Especially towards developing a sound sustainable environment, Amity has made substantial progress.

Vijaya Sarathy

Mr. Vijaya Sarathy spoke about the impact of IPRs and how they can be used at industry level. Especially for agriculture this is a burning topic. Yet it does not get the importance at international forums it must do.

G Raj Narayan

Mr. Raj Narayn being a design engineer, gives an extremely pertinent example from the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). JLR was purchased by the Tatas, yet we as a country are not utilizing the core competence of such an acquisition. We must study how it was made and then try to re-engineer the same in an Indian brand. China has been following this principle for years. The idea is to – design, create and go forward.

Sanjay Sharma

This speaker gave a very good version of how innovation works in the real world. He recalled a conversation which he had with his senior many years back. He was told to either innovate or become an excellent copycat. In fact the most successful innovators may not be those who actually initiated the product but the ones who could find a model to bring it to scale and at a fast pace. The speaker cites the example of the White Revolution which took place in India. The entire process totally revolutionized every segment of the value chain. Another similar example could be that of the gaming industry in Japan. While many players did not innovate, they were successful due to the fact that they could scale down their operations in a gaming mad country. Many more people can thus now use them.

The SAS code from North Carolina in the USA has faced a similar story. Innovated but soon could not match the copycats in terms of scalability and ultimately cost. Thus there are few innovators, many more imitators. We need imitators to achieve Returns on Investment (RoI).

This session was followed by the Networking Lunch.

Venue: Magnolia Hall, India Habitat Centre

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This discussion was part of the larger EPSI Annual General Meeting. This session was amongst the most important ones. The moot point of this particular session was regarding a recent bill passed in the parliament which intended to enable the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) to award the MBA degree as opposed to the post graduate diploma till now. The status of the AICTE approved PGDM will not change as a result but it will hugely affect the branding. All the more private business schools are worried that the PGDM offered by them will lose validity and credibility abroad when students apply for jobs or higher education. This write-up will highlight the salient points discussed at the meeting individually by the distinguished delegates.

The panel consisted of the following 16 members:

The following summaries will discuss the points discussed by the speakers who spoke for substantial time period and provided us with significant content.

Dr. H Chaturvedi

Being the alternate chairman of the EPSI and session chair, Dr. Chaturvedi was in charge of inaugurating this session. He introduced us to the grave dangers of the IIM Bill being accepted for the business schools offering PGDM at the moment. The PGDM was an IIM initiation as them not being universities could not award degrees. Thus this diploma was given equivalence to degree so students graduating from them could apply for jobs or higher education or jobs. This same PGDM now attained same status for all other business schools not affiliated to any university but ratified by AICTE. Now if the IIMs start awarding MBA, then what happens to the hundreds of institutions which are awarding the AICTE approved PGDM? These were the major questions to ponder upon at this session. The session chair invited the panel members to speak out their opinions and then a decision will be taken by EPSI over the next 3 weeks. As per this decision, the EPSI will apply to the government regarding opinions on what should be done. Thus there will be a united front presented by all PGDM awarding non-IIM institutes.

Dr. G Vishwanathan

According to this speaker, opposing the IIM Bill was not a valid option. This will mean open mutiny and we do not want that. That will imply that PGDM institutes do not want IIMs to award MBA, but that is not the case. These private business schools are simply concerned about the welfare of their students who have graduated from their institutes with PGDM qualification. Do they now get stripped of chances to pursue higher studies or apply for government jobs? Thus instead of outright rejection, the PGDM institutes must instead try to find a solution. He then went on to add that Indian students who have a PGDM still do not have equivalence to the MBA and especially abroad this is a problem as foreign universities will not recognize the same.

Dr. R.C. Natarajan

Dr. Natarajan feels that there is no immediate reason to panic, but yes over the next 5-7 years of settling time, this issue can blow up. He also does not agree that the PGDM is not treated at par with MBA abroad or in India. The moment a PGDM gets clearance from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), then the PGDM is considered equivalent to the MBA in all spheres of technicality. Yes, a problem that exists is that many business schools which are awarding PGDM have not taken up

Dr. Jitendra Das

The speaker compared the situation with that existing in the USA where private business schools, once approved, can confer MBA degrees on their own. He feels something like that option will have to be explored in India also. Out of the 4000 odd management institutes in this country, only around 400 of them are AICTE approved PGDM granting business schools. Because the number is so low by comparison, thus the government’s focus is on the bigger picture of university affiliated MBA institutes. So the government’s stance is understandable, yet it must not compromise the position of those 400 odd institutes of which probably 100 of them provide quality education.

Dr. P.K. Biswas

Dr. Biswas recounted his previous experience as being among the founder members of the prestigious Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) in Bhopal. IIFM when started was promoted by IIM-A and thus holds a special place. Also due to the focus on forest management as a specialization rather than conventional management, this presents a particular basket case. Yet Dr. Biswas informed the audience that long before the formalization of the AIU, students from IIFM not only got jobs but also got admissions to doctoral programmes abroad. This was only possible due to the brand name of the institute. Thus the speaker feels that if institute branding is alright, then the transition may not be as tough as come predict.

Dr. Sharad Jaipuria

The speaker spoke about the travesty that while the original IIMs have all stood the test of time, it is quite unfair to award the same prestige to the new IIMs as well. In fact a lot of private business schools which are AICTE approved have consistently shown top quality as well as adherence to standards which even the IIMs may struggle to replicate. This is what the government will have to consider.

Dr. Arya Kumar

This speaker started off with a hilarious yet pointed statement. He spoke about how the IIMs are the poster boys of the PGDM. In case they themselves because of whom in the first place this entire concept of a diploma equivalent to degree started, where does that leave the others. The others will simply be seen as imposters. Till now there were question marks raised against the diploma. But the standard answer was always provided that the best institutes in the country- the IIMs- were also awarding the same. This statement assured all but now with this umbrella thrown out if the bill succeeds, then the students graduating from the other institutes will be left nowhere.

Dr. Suresh Lalwani

This speaker feels that the very reason that the IIMs right at the beginning decided to opt out of an MBA degree was that they wanted greater freedom. They wanted the freedom to set up their own curriculum and their own selection criteria for students as well as faculty. They did not want to comply with university standards as they felt those were not keeping in with the times. Thus the PGDM was started while they had the opportunity in the first place. Now if the IIMs go back to the MBA option, then they ought to lose autonomy. Also some of the stipulations as per the proposed bill suggest that the IIMs will continue to be registered as societies while getting the benefit of awarding MBA. This will be a double advantage but disadvantageous to millions of students who have graduated from the other business schools with an AICTE awarded PGDM.

Dr. Gauri Modwell

This speaker spoke about how many industries have got specific regulators. Within the broader category of technical education, there exist. For disciplines such as architecture and medical there are separate bodies besides AICTE. For management which is such a super specialized course, there ought to be one such internal industry regulator. The question now arises in case most of the 400 odd PGDM institutes in this country are to be converted to MBA ones, then who all will be conferred with the said prestige and who will decide. Which is the body to decide on quality? Who will then confer the MBA degree, the stand alone institutes themselves or AICTE? But AICTE does not have degree conferring status. These points need to be cleared by the government and HRD ministry.

Ms. Radhika Srivastava

The speaker believes that AICTE has become a police body forever inspecting the institutes rather than adding to their intellectual level through proper regulations. The institutes are thus unable to plan long term for the benefit of their students as they are forever in a state of uncertainly regarding AICTE status next year or year after that. They cannot discuss any concrete plans with overseas partners for example. Thus these institutes feel they cannot fulfill their commitments to students. This affects all spheres of the management including academics, placements and admissions.

Dr. Sumesh Raizada

Having experienced life on both sides, Dr. Raizada described working as a college affiliated to some university is a horrendous position to be in. Universities treat these stand-alone institutes with nothing but contempt. The institutes have little power in any decision making, In fact they can’t even declare holidays for their own employees without universities’ consent. It is far better a proposition to be awarding AICTE approved PGDM.

Mr. Amit Agnihotri

Being from MBA Universe, which keeps track of all matters related to management, Mr. Agnihotri had some important points to speak. As an outsider, he suggested to the forum, that these private business schools must present to the government a simple fact: repeatedly 75 out of the top 100 business schools in the country across surveys have been offering PGDM rather than MBA. Thus the credibility of PGDM as a course cannot be in any doubt. Due to the massive contributions these institutes have made to the corpus of the country in both academics as well as industry, these institutes must be protected. They form a crucial cog for Indian industry. PGDM must brand itself in that sense and not as an alternative to the real thing of MBA. The speaker feels that across management education fairs, the brand of PGDM is never communicated prominently. And this must change due to the quality provided.

Mr. Mahesh Sharma

This speaker from Careers 360 spoke about a landmark case in Orissa which is taking place. He spoke about how similar to this case, the Orissa Technical Association has already taken exception to AICTE norms and lodged case against them. The verdict of that case will be crucial. In case AICTE wins it, then the 5-7 years suggested by a panelist as bedding time for non- IIM PGDM awarding institutes will be thrown out of the window. The period will be reduced to perhaps less than a year. So it is time to act for all these institutes.

Venue: AIMA Centre

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This session was organized by AIMA for members to explore the art of happiness and how we can imbibe the same in otherwise stressful lives. The session consisted of 2 panel members who were as follows:

Mr. Sumit Chaudhary

The speaker opened the session by asking few simple questions from the audience. The delegates were asked questions on their usual happiness levels, their material wealth and the correlation. The simple straw poll revealed that there was not such a strong co-relation between wealth and happiness. Post this revelation, Mr. Chaudhary introduced the audience to Dr. Rekha Shetty and her achievements. He then outlined the plans for the session’s objectives. At the end of the event he even delivered the vote of thanks accompanied by the presentation of memento to the distinguished guest.

Dr. Rekha Shetty

The speaker began her session with a mock yoga drill. She asked all to extend their arms straight to their respective trouser pockets, pick out mobile phones and switch them off. She described this asana as cell-asana. This mock drill was intended to demonstrate how mobile phones have intruded into the lives of people and how they come in the way of happiness. She then proceeded to another drill where each of us were asked to turn sideways and compliment the person sitting next to us. Then the delegates were asked to repeat the sideways movement but this time, they were to pat the other person. This drill was intended to show the power of touch and how high-touch culture can be more suited to delivering productivity than the so called high-tech.

The next activity involved a plate full of an orange and an ice cube being put in front of each of the delegates. Dr. Shetty asked each of the delegates to pick up the ice cube, hold it for a while and then behave as they would have when they were 18 years old. The idea was to let go of inhibitions. The speaker then moved to the technical aspect of the session where she explained how the so called Swachh Bharat campaign may not succeed. She feels that just by brooming for a few days, problems will not disappear and nor will the volunteer get much credit. Instead a culture of integration must be implemented. For this she suggested 4 steps. These steps were- sustainable development, cultural vitality, economic vitality and communication. We will now have a look at these 4 steps individually.

Sustainable development will involve the digging / construction of compost pits in individual neighbourhoods. Such has been successfully implemented in Gujarat and even high rise apartments in Bangalore. The idea is to dig these compost pits and disperse all organic waste into them while the paper waste would be disposed off to the garbage collection team. The compost pit can work very well for growing greenery instead. Dust bins are a complete no as they only increase pollution.

Cultural vitality refers to a culture where elders instruct / guide the youngsters on waste management and disposal. Economic vitality means the financials derived out of such procedures. Communications refers to the amount and level of communication between people. The speaker feels that in the present times, there is a lot of digital media to help us communicate better with others. But we misuse them. She did not outright criticize the likes of Facebook or Whatsapp, but instead warns that they must be used with due diligence.

Finally she asked the audience to open up the orange which was provided in the beginning and eat it up. She asked the members to use all 5 senses and discover the various ways in which nature has bestowed us with pleasures. The kind of packaging that an orange or other fruits or for that matter the human body have gone through is impossible to be replicated by humans and machinery. A book written by Dr. Shetty was then released and some copies handed over to prominent delegates. As a conclusion the host thanked the speaker for the wonderful session and how all delegates seemed cheerful and energetic in spite of the time being past 7 pm.

Venue: Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This conference was organized to bring together various stakeholders from the young but vibrant industry known as sports entrepreneurship. While it’s a long in existence industry, the reason it may be termed as young is because it’s been largely unorganized till now and a significant proportion of the sports entrepreneurs are in the sub 35 age category. This write will explore the various sessions held and will highlight the major points discussed in them.

Inaugural Session

This session consisted of 4 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Sudha Sastri

As the moderator of the session, this speaker got things underway by providing us a brief summary about the panelists. She spoke about the efforts TIE is making in the field of encouraging sports entrepreneurs but yet how much mores till needs to be done. She particularly spoke about the complete lack of female entrepreneurs in this line more than others and this is something where more work needs to be put in.

Mr. Ajit M Sharan

This speaker was asked by the session moderator regarding what steps the government is taking to ensure greater opportunities for entrepreneurship in sports. At this Mr. Sharan answered that it is a blessing in disguise that the government is staying away. In fact the most competitive sports entrepreneurship ventures have developed in regions / countries with minimal government interference. The execution part has to be carried out by private players. He also spoke about the need to escape the subsidy culture that has plagued sports entrepreneurship. He feels that a for-profit model will work well in this line along with taking advantage of CSR competencies of corporate houses. Subsidies in sports from government need to reduce as they result in lower rates of accountability.

Mr. Sharan then claimed that in particular schools and colleges need to play a part for society and not just for their respective students. He lamented the fact that schools and colleges get land from the authorities at subsidized rates, including the sports arenas, yet do not allow members of the general public to use their grounds for non-paid sports. He feels that in the evenings i.e. post school hours, the school football field and other sports premises must be open to the public. There is presently a lack of sports facilities which the general public can use mainly due to the congestion at cities.

Finally Mr. Sharan spoke about the difficulties regarding appointing a single nodal agency to solve all informational gaps. He says that this industry has sub components that are so varied in themselves that appointing a central informational agency is next to impossible. As an example, he took the case of floodlights. He says that stadium authorities usually have very little technical information on floodlights, as that part is entirely outsourced to a firm like Phillips for who this is part of core competency.

Dilip Chenoy

This speaker re-affirmed what was spoken by the previous panelist. Government interference must be only at policy level and in making sure funds are dispersed. The execution must stay within the hands of private players. As an example he cited the football leagues in Europe or the sports leagues in the USA. He then spoke about how the title of this conference is a little misleading, as beyond entrepreneurship, there is a massive scope for salaried employment in this industry of sports management. To just name a few he suggested- analytics, sports nutrition, training youngsters, training sports staff, mobile apps etc.

The speaker then did a play on words by suggesting that the phrase lack of facilities must be replaced by opportunity. Wherever there is a component missing, an opportunity exists for the business world to rectify it. This is where the NSDC comes prominently into the picture. The NSDC will support initiatives and the speaker invited budding entrepreneurs / sports managers to write to write to them regarding new ideas. In case of approval, projects are adopted by NSDC for period of 10 years where 75% financial support is provided to the enterprise. There is a separate fund for research purpose. In addition, grants are provided for setting up business in difficult areas and geographies of work.

While discussing with the audience, the speaker himself proposed an idea. He compared with the book-my-show app and pondered aloud regarding an app to book a sports coach or sports ground. He finally concluded by speaking about some initiatives NSDC has undertaken in the field of sports management. Edu Sports, K-11 Fitness Academy, Tenvic and Edu Strokes were mentioned as few of those.

Amir Ullah Khan

This speaker thanked all the other panelists for their contributions to this inaugural session. He then moved on to some points of his own. He said that money is not the solution here as the entire industry is so unorganized. In case more funds do become available, then the sports industry in India will be confused as to how to make use of that money. There has not been any industry wide study of finances required or spent. In fact there is no scientific basis developed to price tickets at stadiums.

This session was followed by the Networking High Tea.

Technical Session 1: Learnings from Across the World 

This session consisted of 5 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Sudha Sastri

The moderator posed a very relevant question to all the panelists. This being a session with foreign speakers, the focus was on how different is the sports culture in those countries. Whether there was initiative from the government or was there something different in the way people approached sports. These topics were posed by the moderator.

Ben Sakker Kelly

This speaker spoke about how in Australia sport is a way of life. Australia has massive infrastructure and excels in a number of sports. There are thousands of amateur clubs in the country catering to people who are active in some sport or the other. From a young age, kids try their hands (or feet) in a number of sports, thus they develop as athletes. Then at around the age of 14, it is understood which sport suits a particular child best. Even adults who do not turn professional, do participate in sports on weekends. This is helped by Australia’s liberal employment policies which prefer a strong work- life balance.

Mr. Kelly is himself a member of an amateur soccer team that plays in Delhi. He also spoke about the sport of soccer (popularly known worldwide as football) and the challenges the sport in particular throws up. Australia like the USA has a number of sports which are followed but which do not have much following outside. The clear examples would be- cricket, rugby league, rugby union and Aussie rules football. Due to these sports being established the global sport of football lagged behind, but now the A- League has been established and is making inroads as a quality league.

Mr. Kelly then spoke about the challenges faced by Australia in integrating sport with the often marginalized indigenous population. In the mid-2000s there was a major uproar among the aboriginals. Sport was one of the tools which enabled the natives to mix freely with the Caucasian (white) population on a level playing field. This is reflected in the growing numbers of natives playing at top levels of professional sports. In addition to natives, a large number of non-Caucasian/ non- Anglican immigrant populations are also well represented in the major sports. Immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, the Balkans, Africa and Greece have made it to national or professional teams of various sports.

Antoine Delcourt

This speaker being from Belgium spoke about the sporting landscape in the country. Belgium is a tiny country by comparison to India as well as Australia and USA whose representatives were panelists on this session. He spoke about how Belgium has produced top ranked tennis players, cyclists and now boasts one of the strongest football teams in the world. The government has always played a key role being the primary facilitator. But the actual execution and implementation are carried out by private players.

While not really comparing with India, but still Mr. Delcourt did give some key pointers regarding sports administration and the hurdles in India. He spoke about an ISL (Indian Super League) game he watched last year in Kolkata. The ground was full to the brim with supporters yet the facilities were deplorable. In another instance he watched a hockey match in Delhi where the infrastructure was world class, yet the ground was eerily empty. The speaker feels that something needs to be done so that we can take the positives from both these instances.

Brandon Young

Mr. Young represented the USA at the forum. He spoke about the massive sports infrastructure that the USA has and how it all developed. Specifically he eulogized regarding the college programme which provides scholarships to able athletes and trains them during the course of 4 years to become top level professionals. This is unique in the world as everywhere else there are youth leagues which feed the professional level. But due to the college structure, those athletes who miss out due to a number of reasons and cannot bridge the professional gap, have a backup to fall back upon. They do not miss out on an education. Certain universities are particularly well known for sports like Alabama and Duke.

The speaker then went on to speak about the how the Big 4 in particular have a strong grip over the nation’s sporting calendar. By the big 4 he meant the sports leagues- NFL (American Football), NHL (Ice Hockey), NBA (Basketball) and MLB (Major League Baseball). Some of the rivalries in these sports like the New York Yankees- Boston Red Sox in baseball, are part of American folklore. He also specially spoke about the NFL Super Bowl which is financially possibly the biggest single game in the world of sports. Corporates pay up to 15 million US dollars for a 15 second commercial.

Someone from the audience posed a question regarding the position of soccer (football) in USA and whether the MLS can be added to the list as a Big 5. To this question, Mr. Young replied that the other sports have an established history in the USA ranging to well over a hundred years whereas football has only recently made inroads. Thus over a period of time football will catch up and USA will be heard on the world stage of the biggest sport. With the likes of David Beckham, Kaka, Thierry Henry and now Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Villa turning out for American teams, the days of football glory may not be very far away.

Finally, the speaker also remarked on how professional female sport has risen in development. In football, America has one of the best female national teams while other sports like basketball and lawn tennis have professional structures. Lacrosse is one sport which is dominated by female athletes.

Javier Ceepi

The speaker is in charge of the under- 17 football world cup that India has been awarded to host. This is the first major FIFA mandated tournament that India will be hosting and thus preparations need to be in full swing. The speaker is the FIFA representative in charge. He spoke about how the USA and Australia to mention the panelists, can host a tournament of this magnitude the next day from being informed, such is the sports and related infrastructure available with the country. Due to the size, Belgium may be a little behind, but per capita even that tiny European country has very good facilities compared to India. In India it’s a complete 4 year battle.

He honestly admitted that corruption charges in this country were not untrue. Indeed that was a part of this country. He himself belongs to Chile in South America which is hosting the same next FIFA tournament which India will host subsequently. He tried various means to stop corruption, yet he never had full control. Also due to some of Chile’s negotiations, they lost a key contract in the motorsports world’s premier Paris- Dakar Rally in which traditionally Chile hosts a segment. That has been taken away from them.

Technical Session 2: Grassroots Sports Development

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

The major points discussed and learning derived from this session were as follows:

• The government of India has stipulated strict CSR norms to be followed. This includes 2% of total revenue for companies earning Rs. 10,000 crore or more. While this seems a massive pie, only a certain portion of that will be directed towards sports as there are many other activities that may be clubbed under CSR.
• There is a total output of CSR that will be out in to what is known as National Relief Fund. This has been valued at around Rs. 18,000 crore.
• Fitness is something that is very much lacking in India. A large proportion of people are either obese or malnourished.

This session was followed up by the Networking Lunch.

Technical Session 3: Startup Showcase

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Vaibhav Tandon

As the moderator of this session this speaker introduced the panelists and then proceeded to begin the session. In the end, he even delivered the vote of thanks and summarized the discussions of the session.

Porush Jain

As the founder of Sportskeeda, his contributions to this sector are immense. Indeed today Sportskeeda has instant recall nationally. The name itself has enormous recall value and the branding has leveraged this fact.

Mr. Jain started by describing the early days and how at their college campus this venture was started using the internet available. The website was hosted on their college computer servers. Initially a group of bloggers were recruited to write honorifically for the website. Eventually the turnaround came in the year 2011 when India was playing a football match in Qatar. For good reason, Google had put up Sportskeeda on top of the feed but while fans had turned the website on, for some reason there was no live commentary. 5 minutes had elapsed and still none if the usual minute-by-minute match report was on and this created massive embarrassment. This is when 1 viewer from Qatar started writing his own live commentary. This created a chain as others joined in writing there. This game proved to be a trendsetter as since then, Sportskeeda has started a live feed system whereby fans provide information to fellow fans. Thus there is a peer-to-peer information flow.

He then spoke about some of the recent achievements. The Indian Ice Hockey team was travelling for some games, but there was limited funding. To raise funds, Sportskeeda started trending this event by developing a hash tag- #SupportIceHockey. Due to the presence on Sportskeeda, this news item got massive online coverage. Within some time the Gautam Gambhir Foundation donated Rs. 4 lakh for this cause.

Dr. Ridwana Sanam

Dr. Sanam started out by speaking about her own life and how she was attracted to this field of physiotherapy. She belongs to an influential business family in Kashmir and could have got for herself a cushy government job. However, instead she chose physiotherapy as a career in Delhi as she feels it’s a life-saving medical art. Physiotherapies annually prevent 35,000 surgeries in her clinics alone. There lots of doctors and hospital chains which clamour for surgeries when physiotherapy can do. This is because surgeries are money spinning as opposed to simple physiotherapy. She was herself scared of blood when she was young and this prompted her to develop a line of medical thinking where blood was less involved and could be executed more naturally.

She then spoke about the field of hydrotherapy which has limited exposure in India. There are very few swimming pools which are hygienically designed for the same. However, those facilities her firm- KRV- has at their centre in Gurgaon and other places. Hydrotherapy is extremely effective in re-aligning slip discs. More of these procedures must be brought in to the field of sports.

Dhruv Verma

The speaker spoke about his time in the UK and his interaction with a few youngsters playing golf at a posh club. His first reaction was that the kids must have been really wealthy to afford that. So he posed them a question on how expensive the club membership was. He was shocked to understand that they weren’t members but instead they were on a round (a single game of golf) sharing arrangement with an aggregator which had taken up membership and was sharing rounds with non –members who wanted to be a part of the game. This idea struck with him and he implemented something like this on return to India. He then started his firm with a similar format. He feels there is massive scope for growth of such firms as golf is a growing sport. The sport has a perception of being lazy, expensive to play and not conducive to those seeking fitness. While some of these perceptions are not way off the mark, it is also true that the sport involves tremendous amount of skill and is extremely popular world over including in countries that are not incredibly wealthy.

Adnan Adeeb

The speaker spoke about how his firm has developed what can be termed as a blue ocean strategy which implies that something never tried out before has been implemented successfully. His firm developed what is known as the Devil’s Circuit. This is a sort of an obstacle race where runners need to pass en number of obstacles on their path to the final. He feels that initially when this was proposed, the major opposition came in the form of payments. He wanted a payment module but the others in the planning team suggested that a run on public territory could not be charged. There was opposition from even the townspeople. But the speaker’s team stuck by and finally they launched the obstacle race on a payment basis as decided. The first ever Devil’s Circuit was scheduled to be held in Gurgaon but just a few weeks before the launch the local team got psyched and the venue was thus shifted. At last ditch only Ludhiana agreed. Mr. Adeeb had little idea about Ludhiana and knew no Punjabi. It was difficult to communicate, publicize or advertise. Finally Devil’s Circuit got support from an unlikely source, a Facebook group known as – Tyre-burners. Being quite a wealthy industrial city, Ludhiana prides itself on boasting many expensive cars. This Facebook group had as membership criteria, people who possessed cars worth a minimum of Rs. 20 lakhs. This group supported this cause as it appealed to their ‘macho’ ideology. They won over many more supporters and finally the Ludhiana leg proved to be a grand success. This was then replicated elsewhere in the country.

The speaker then spoke about the event titled –fittest corporate’ where corporates need to race but in categories based on weight, age and gender. This creates a very equitable pool to judge the fittest team. This event and others lined up are just to demonstrate the importance of fitness in the country.

Siddharth Pandey

Mr. Pandey borrowed a phrase from Mr. Porush Jain’s remark on how brand recall due to a funky name can work towards one’s advantage. Sportskeeda has been able to leverage this and so has LEH LEH Sports. Though LEH LEH stands for – Learning Excellence Happiness- Listening Empathy Humility-, the accompanying catchy acronym certainly helps.

The speaker described his time at Australia and how the benevolent (by Indian standards) working hours gave him something new to do. Every day he was out of office at 5 pm which is unheard of in India. Thus he had a lot of time with not much specific to do. This is when he saw everywhere in Australia and realized not much was being done in India for sports. Then he developed this model which his firm follows and is a pioneer in India in. The idea is to let people play, they must not be restricted due to lack of facilities. They simply need to sign up. Thus lot of agreements have been built with corporates, schools, colleges, residential areas and now organized sports at amateur level is taking place. He finally even urged Sportskeeda to take up the cause of promoting amateur sports in a way professional sports has been done.

Venue: Hotel Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This conference was conducted by the CII to enable a forum for discussion on manufacturing with respect to India. With the government’s rallying cry on ‘Make in India’, manufacturing a taking a whole new turn with lot of fresh interest in the same. This write-up will explore the various sessions which were conducted on this day and will highlight the salient points that emerged out of each of these.

Inaugural Session

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Rajiv Gandhi

Being in charge of the opening remarks, Mr. Gandhi spoke about the need for conferences like this one and what all this day’s discussions plan to achieve. He introduced the panel members one by one. He then went on to give some points of his own.

The speaker says that in the ‘ease of business’ ranking as last published, India is ranked an abysmal 142^nd in the world. Considering that there are around 200 independent countries in the world, this rank has to improve if India achieves to attain great power status as has been touted several times. In addition, the speaker mentioned how economic growth and to a lesser extent manufacturing success is limited to tier- 1 and tier- 2 cities. Tier- 3 towns though need substantial investment and development. Technology is changing at a rapid pace and manufacturing innovations are often being unable to keep up with this level of change. In earlier times, an innovation would remain unchallenged for years, maybe decades, but now in some product categories, every 6 months there is a seismic shift in customer preferences and tastes. In this kind of an environment, even well flourishing businesses with deep roots, can start floundering after a few bad deals, investments or decisions. Some have even become history.

There is a greater need for a top-down approach towards manufacturing. Sometimes populist demands force manufacturing to be done on the basis of worker demands alone. But for efficient manufacturing, a good strategy from the top is necessary while taking care of worker needs. To ensure this happens, Mr. Gandhi’s firm- Maruti Suzuki- has set up a centre of excellence. Manufacturing and related ideas are brainstormed at this centre before implementation.

Rajiv Bajaj

Mr. Bajaj began his talk by describing the present times as – VUCA. VUCA stands for- Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous. Indeed today business decisions cannot be made for too much of a long term in perspective. Instead plans are made for only today and tomorrow, not the substantial future. Companies need to start collaborating more as that will provide better ideation. Forums like CII provide perfect setting for ‘rivals’ to start collaborating on new projects together.

Post VUCA, Mr. Bajaj provided us a new term- SMART. By SMART, he includes- Simple, Maintenance- friendly, Affordable, Reliable and Time-to-market. Any manufacturing activity must take into consideration, these 5 tenets to ensure success in the present scenario. Due to the speaker’s experience with a Japanese research firm, he is in perfect position to describe Japanese production models having studied from close range. Japanese OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) study the society in detail before undertaking detailed manufacturing strategy.

The speaker says that the days when machines will communicate with ERP systems and logistics chains is not far off. Robots have already started playing an active role in some manufacturing concerns especially Japanese ones. He then introduced us to the term- CPI. CPI stands for- Cyclical Physical Integration. This system enables a complete integration of all manufacturing processes and systems.

Another positive aspect highlighted by the speaker that has emerged recently is that a number of MNCs are shifting their manufacturing potentials and offices away from Africa to India. Africa is deemed too far off from crucial markets/ business hubs like Japan and Singapore while being more or less equidistant from Europe and the Middle East. These are the geographically strategic advantages India provides. Finally, the speaker highlighted that if India is to become a manufacturing power, then it has to develop its own unique value. Every other major market has some USP or the other. China for example is all about scale. This scale India will never be able to match and must not try to replicate. The USA provides a conducive environment for entrepreneurial and manufacturing innovations unparalleled elsewhere in terms of opportunities. Japan is known for precision and quality. Germany and the rest of Europe is known for its focus on high performance and technology intensive products. India can be called the land of frugal engineering and cost performance. It is a continuation of the age old practice in India of Jugaad that has been well documented.

Gaurang Pandya

The speaker lamented the fact that Haryana state was once a leader in industrial activities but now lags behind. There is a lot of hope from the new government. Gurgaon is working its way towards being considered a smart city. However, the path will not be easy as it is littered with obstacles, many of its own creation. Overall infrastructure in Haryana is not satisfactory. More ought to be done. Criminal cases were another issue, as the speaker feels that such must only be applied for major crimes and not for insubstantial ones.

Vineet Garg

Mr. Garg began his talk by describing the activities of HSIIDC. He then gave the audience the positive news about the proposed Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway has been cleared by the ministry and work will begin anytime soon. This will ease traffic from Gurgaon towards northern Haryana, Rajasthan and U.P. This will also lessen the road traffic pressure for commercial activities on Delhi. The speaker then spoke about special tailor made camps being organized to cater to individual needs of different industrialists’ needs. Common camps instead will be developed for industry, labour and environment purposes.

Hon’ble Captain Abhimanyu

The honourable minister first began by congratulating CII for organizing such an event and for being able to convene such an august gathering. Then he thanked the speakers before himself. He then spoke about the industrial policy of Haryana state and how the state is a national leader in manufacturing. Certain structural and procedural reforms are currently taking place. The government of India is grading all the states of India on parameters of ease of doing business. Unfortunately in that index, Haryana does not do so well. This is something he wishes to change. In Haryana, presently the focus is on helping out MSMEs.

One of the innovations that have been implemented recently has been the technical testing of rice. Earlier for this simple task, all samples had to go to a facility in south India. But now facility has been established in Panipat thus vastly reducing cost, energy and easing operations. It has been set up under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. As discussed earlier in the session, work on the KMP bypass has indeed begun. Once completed, it will be a massive boost to industry.

The speaker however then warned that vested interests among stakeholders lead to unnecessary obstacles. For example, residents of Haryana have been found to be laggards on possession of Aadhar cards. This is in spite of higher income levels across the state. However, drive has begun and now Haryana leads in growth of UID registration. The speaker is also extremely keen on developing e- governance in the state. He has had lengthy discussion with departments in the state for GIS based data on all parameters. GIS based data is now to be generated for every inch of soil in Haryana and people who stay or even visit the state. E-Registration and e-stamping have also begun on large scale. Gurgaon however is the most challenging circuit. Ideally it should be the most IT savvy but in reality this district is lagging behind.

The honourable Captain Abhimanyu expects the Goods & Services Tax (GST) to be a major boon to the economy of the whole country and not just the state. He sees April 2016 as the date when it will finally be implemented. Haryana has been a supporter of GST right from the beginning. E-Governance has increased revenues by as much as 25% due to the online mode and greater transparency. E-tendering of liquor vents has also been started. The same applies to mining. In fact the speaker wants even HUDA plots to be auctioned online.

Sameer Munjal

This speaker delivered the Vote of Thanks for the panelists. He spoke about how a vision is emerging for the industrialization of the state of Haryana. He then spoke about how CII is organizing a follow-up session in the month of September for the same purpose- manufacturing.

This session was followed by the Networking High Tea.

Technical Session 1: Making India a Global Manufacturing Hub

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Suman Bose

The speaker got this session underway. He introduced the theme of the session as well as introduced the panel members. Then he spoke briefly about his own organization – Siemens.

Arun Bhatia

This speaker began his talk by speaking about the aerospace industry which he feels is still disproportionately dominated by Europe and USA. Otis elevators which have become ubiquitous in this country are part of the Carrier group which he was representing here. He then informed us that India is actually the second largest elevator market in the world at present. However, the market penetration is still pretty low at only 4%. Haryana is among the most active states in this regard. It is residential areas which are pushing the penetration higher than before.

He then moved on to speak about Sikorsky which is another group company. It is based in Hyderabad and is among the world’s largest rescue operator producers. Carrier meanwhile is based out of Gurgaon. A matrix has been designed by his form to reduce time wastage as much as possible. Last year alon,e his company saved 13 million man hours due to this matrix.

He feels that manufacturing needs to be more glorified as a line of work. Also more women must enter this line. In some departments at his firm, 255 of the technicians are female. He feels this trend must continue at Carrier group as well as the economy as a whole.

D.L. Sharma

Mr. Sharma began by speaking about the textile cycle. Clothing is a basic human need. He gave us some facts regarding textile industry. Apparently 5% of the GDP and 6.5% of industrial output is occupied by the same. India has the world’s second largest textile industry after China. However, the rank may be misleading as our production is pegged at around 1/6^th of Chinese output in the same. This is in spite of highest cotton fibre production in India. Till the 1980s Indian and Chinese levels were nearly matching but then this disparity developed.

He then spoke about how labour intensive an operation textile manufacturing is. Thus this is a major source of employment in the country. He provided us with some ball park figures. According to his data, 80 farmers were required to produce a certain unit of cotton fibre. A further 10 were required during the ginning stage, 45 while spinning and another 45 during the weaving process. However, a 1000 workers were required at the plant for the manufacturing stage making this the most labour intensive stage.

Mr. Sharma then gave us the example of Bangladesh’s exports which are now up to US$ 24 billion a year. They are soon to increase till US$ 30 billion. India’s exports however have stagnated at US$ 18 billion. Vietnam is another upcoming power in this. Labour issues continue to plague the Indian manufacturing sector. Then there is the plug and play model which is becoming quite a regular fixture in Indian manufacturing. The speaker feels this is a good idea as investment is then reduced only for productive parts of the process.

Pau Abello

The speaker who hails from Spain says that in 2006 he came to India as part of Parryware which is what Roca was fully termed then. Now Roca is far bigger pegged at Rs. 10,000 crore. There a total of 4000 employees spread across 7 factories in India. 7 factories out of a total of 78 factories worldwide is a fairly impressive count. He has also experienced China and feels that while India is coming up in manufacturing, China has somewhat stagnated. The present government is quite business friendly. The weak and unstable rupee is a bit of a challenge though. He has studied the impact of GST across the world and can’t think of any major economy where it has not succeeded after being implemented. Corruption is another obstacle weighing down upon India. GST will ensure faster movement of trucks and generally smoother supply chain which will be a massive boost.

Pankaj Dubey

This speaker feels that greater flexibility is needed in the manufacturing sector in India. The one thing where Indians had a major advantage over their Chinese counterparts was the English language. But now Chinese are catching up fast. So we need to step up our efforts.

Sanjay Kakkar

This speaker wants to serve emphasis on ICT technology where he feels a lot more work needs to be and can be done. His firm- Vihaan- is on the infrastructure side of telecom and not the more glamorous services side. Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei are the other companies on this side. A bottom of the pyramid approach has to be undertaken.

Mr. Kakkar feels that post India’s independence a period emerged where manufacturing was given a lot of importance. However, they got neglected later. In fact post the 1991 reforms, imports started trickling into the country, many of which were actually quite cheap to buy for the final consumer. There has been a 25% growth in demand CAGR but only 20% of that is being met by Indian manufactures now. Domestic players are only witnessing a 5-10% annual growth. Only in tele-density have we really prospered. There is 104% penetration in that in the big cities.

Technical Session 2: Imbibing Innovation & Quality in the Customer Value Chain

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Neeraj Munjal

This speaker introduced all the members in the panel. He also thanked the delegates for attending this event.

S.G. Mani

This speaker spoke about the innovation called the K – series launched by his company- Maruti Suzuki. This will enable automation for material transfers. Driverless cars are on the horizon and can be expected to hit roads pretty soon.

Soumendra Banerjee

This speaker lamented the fact that around 80% of crude oil used in the country came in the form of imports. More of gasoline and diesel are required and less of fuel oil. However during conversion from crude, we do not always get desired quantities and are often saddled by excess fuel oil. The separation process is fairly complicated.

V. Sridhar

His firm is responsible for some iconic brands like Activa and Unicorn. The company is worth Rs. 20,000 crore presently and employs 17,000 people. A skill map is prepared for each person separately. Mole hitting is one of the ways in which employees are further trained to perform better.

Surabh Mittal

This speaker spoke about Ricoh’s role in manufacturing in India. Recently Ricoh have opened a football stadium in England which is branded under the company name. They have plans to replicate similar stuff in India too.

Vinod Sood

Mr. Sood spoke about how a particular talent base is required to work in manufacturing. Unfortunately India is lacking that at the moment. Also especially for labour organized, labour exchanges are the need of the hour. This will benefit all stakeholders alike.

This session was followed by the Networking Lunch.

Technical Session 3: Cluster Development- Strengthening Tier II & Tier III

This session consisted of 6 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Anoop Chaturvedi

Being charged with the opening remarks, Mr. Chaturvedi spoke about the session objectives. He spoke about how the cluster approach was proving to be a solution for a number of SMEs which did not have the funds otherwise to set up expensive facilities. This enabled a sort of co-working sphere. He then introduced all the panel members to the audience.

Nishant Arya

This speaker spoke about how the cluster development approach has enabled three wheeler manufacturers to scale up. This is why three wheelers are experiencing high level of growth in production. He then suggested two approaches to OEMs. The first one was a plan-do-check-act approach. This was lengthier and more thorough. The other approach has been labeled as MMA or Mass Manufacturing Approval.

Rajiv Chawla

This speaker spoke about how his firm has inked a Joint Venture (JV) with the Bosch group regarding solar energy generation plant. Besides this he mainly spoke about the small industry cluster that he is president of in Faridabad. He spoke about how the government supports MSMEs and has pledged to enable their handholding for a period of 18 months including financial support of Rs.2.8 lakhs per unit. Lean management is another aspect that has entered into the lexicon of MSME clusters.

Clustering also helps in energy efficiency. There is a 25% subsidiary for units up to Rs. 10 lakhs each. This has been done in collaboration with SIDBI for energy efficient technology. Now the scheme has been launched for the first time by his cluster beyond the confines of Faridabad.

The Steinbeis Foundation based in Germany (Stuttgart), has also inked a JV with his cluster for an initiative known as Tod Phod Jod. The aim of this initiative is to inculcate an idea of re-engineering. Here manufactured products are dis-assembled and then reworked to fit again. In this way, the participants get to know how a product was produced from scratch practically. The cluster also now has a career guidance and placements cell. A lot of MSMEs do not have proper functioning knowledge of finance. For this an initiative known as Finance Mantra has been developed at the cluster in Faridabad. SMEs now need to be digitized and that is something this cluster is working upon. ERPs developed however, need to be cheaper for SMEs than larger firms. Thus for this they have developed a strategic sourcing centre in Taiwan to help out in all such matters.

Anand Prakash Srivastava

Being from SIDBI, this speaker has worked quite closely with a number of SMEs. He feels they act as nurseries for entrepreneurship. The levels of investment here are very different. The risk concentration is also fairly high. There are certain gaps in the credit and non-credit sectors which are now being tried to close down by various agencies.

T.L. Satyaprakash

The speaker says that among all the ideas that have been proposed to him during his time as a public servant, the most bogus one is the concept of ‘smart cities’. He says that cities can never be ‘smart’ but it is the people who ought to be so. He recounted an example near a factory where workers were protesting. The workers had threatened to damage equipment and infrastructure. Mr. Satyaprakash then neither threatened back nor try to convince the crowd otherwise. Simply a drone was let loose. After a few hours the workers themselves descended down for negotiations. All of this was because of fear of photography which is the power drones give. Thus the speaker feels labour doesn’t want issues but solutions which is what he as a bureaucrat needs to provide.

The speaker then lamented the fact that clusters in India were not functioning in the genuine style but simply as supply chains for bigger, more powerful firms. He feels that Karnal ticks all boxes when it comes to developing an ice cream making cluster. The dairy industry is active, many other raw ingredients are available and a number of local manufacturers are at play. Thus something has to be done to ensure this.

He then gave another personal example, this one from Yamunanagar in northern Haryana. Due to political unrest in Myanmar, the famous teak from that country stopped arriving. Thus overall cost doubled. The speaker then suggested to them to stop using veneer instead print the same. This suggestion worked and thus costs could be kept low in spite of lower imports. He then stated that consultancy in manufacturing is not very lucrative and so many people have stayed out.

Subhash S Joshi

The speaker started his talk by highlighting his journey from the oldest Hero plant in Dharuhera. He however lamented that majorly assembling practices are dominating many such plants. In addition, in Gurgaon running ACs constantly is a major problem. An agreement has recently been inked with GAIL for sourcing gas to better run ACs at the plant.

The process of greening plants is underway and has made progress. However certain practices are cumbersome. For example, the speaker discussed about the problem of repairing motors. Each time a motor is repaired, it results in a 5% reduction in efficiency which multiplies over a period of time. Thus the speaker feels that instead of continuously repairing, it is actually quite a sound environmental as well as financial practice to simply purchase new motor equipment. Sometimes motors are fun too fast on factory floors. Other times motor size not right. This is not a good practice for the fluid. Rightsizing is extremely important.

The speaker concluded by speaking how consulting is big business in a lot of business areas yet has not caught up in manufacturing. The reason for this is simple. Manufacturing knowledge is very location specific and cannot be transferred from one place to another

This session was followed by a session closing tea/ coffee session.

Venue: PHD House

Attendee: Mr. Aritro Dasgupta

This summit was organized to bring together different stakeholders in the solar power industry. This included producers, suppliers, consultants, traders, government representatives and academicians. This write-up will discuss each session and the salient points that emerged from them.

Inaugural Session

This session consisted of 5 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

 Gopal S Jiwarajka

Being in charge of the welcomes address, this speaker set the agenda for the day’s forum for discussions. He introduced the panel members and what stakes they respectively represent. He then spoke about some of the challenges that bespoke the industry as a whole and the individual players. State governments have sometimes while developing solar energy been unable to choose their agencies. This must change. Another challenge is to lower the initial investment which scares away many potential implementers of solar energy. There needs to be increased R & D (Research & Development). Also there needs to be a system whereby particular certifications can be issued to various players to certify their respective credentials. Even the carbon credit trade has not hit off in India as well as the potential that exists. Finally, the speaker spoke about solar parks and what important purpose they serve.

Dr. Harish Ahuja

The speaker began his talk by first declaring that the Modi government had completed one year in power and this was a good time to make an assessment on the same in the field of renewable energy in general and solar power in particular. His team had conducted a 360 degree evaluation of the same. Based on that evaluation, a road map may be created for all stakeholders. Their findings are quite interesting. They marked an 82% approval on the utility scale. Rooftop installment though needs to improve. Partly that is as a result of the federal nature of the government and the fact that state governments have gone the populist way. They have opted for conventional energy to satisfy those lobby groups. The government has made plans for expansion of solar power capacity in the country in a phased manned. This year the target is 4 GW, set to expand to 6 GW next year before maturing at up to 17 GW in a few years’ time. Eventually the number has to reach a whopping 60 GW annually. That will be a quantum leap not even envisaged by previous governments according to the speaker. The industry can be a partner in progress in this line of work.

Rs. 500 crore has been specifically allotted for certain states which have shown potential and implemented some of the plans. Those states include Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the Ladakh region in Jammu & Kashmir. Certain players have installed 1000 MW at strategic locations to support local infrastructure. Another Rs. 20,000 crore has been allotted in addition for developing rural infrastructure in solar power generation. There has even been talk of green corridors where solar parks can be developed at subsidized rates. Last year alone 1100 MW was added to the grid. This is a record for any year in particular.

Another welcome news is that NTPC as well as other players are now bidding actively in public tenders where previously they were loath to do so. That shows a willingness among the giants to expand into this business substantially. There are feasible plans to expand rooftop capacity to 40 GW by 2022. The speaker however spoke that private players occasionally face discrimination while applying for projects. He says they need to go through the same procedures as government players and apply best manufacturing as well as installation techniques, yet face battle against the subsidized government backed firms. This culture of subsidy has to go to ensure healthy competition. NTPC procures land for installing solar power capacity at cheaper rates on the premise of supporting local industry. Meanwhile subsidies on rooftop installations have still proved ineffective. They haven’t been able to increase numbers or capacity.

K.S Popli

This speaker spoke about some improvements that have taken place especially with tariffs which were higher earlier. Over the years the global capacity has increased from 40,000 MW a year to over 180,000 MW. The target is a whopping 500,000 MW  by 2020 and 1,000,000 MW by the year 2022. Europeans are most efficient in terms of RoI (Return on Investment) for solar power. In addition, the speaker feels that there are about 1 crore sugar farmers in this country. They can ideally make use of solar energy. The speaker also spoke about his firm- IREDA- not being slow and inefficient as the typical stereotype for government agencies is.

Tarun Kapoor

Mr. Kapoor spoke about how some amount of sweetening will be required to push through more rooftop solar power installations. Sweetening could include deals on soft loans, bundling etc. Germany & the larger EU zone are example of region making massive progress in this. 30% of total energy generation is from renewable sources in Germany out of which 15% falls under solar power. WTO regulations matter for local manufacturers as they need to comply by international standards. The speaker assured the private sector that it has nothing to fear.

He informed us that NTPC has recently signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Andhra government. But no favoritism has been shown to PSU’s like NTPC. They have won the tender purely on the basis of a calculation involving CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Checks) formula. No abnormal profit has accrued to them.

There exist major challenges for transmission from solar parks. Often located in remote regions does not make the task easy. The target is 10,000 MW this year and 15,000 MW next year. However, we do not want a situation where there is a sector crash due to excessive capacity expansion. Any investment must give regular returns for 10-12 years. This will also enable recovery on the initial cost.

Some push by the government of course is needed. To enable this, the government has announced hedging risk for channel partners. Rs. 5,000 crore tax free bonds have been issued for this purpose. Mr. Kapoor says that the culture of subsidy which exists in this industry has been harmful. Subsidies were provided initially to encourage investment in this line. But now there is no need for the same. Also the speaker says that when tenders are passed, it is already power sufficient states such as Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh which step up and bid for projects. Whereas, the speaker feels that it is the power deficient states that must go for this technology as it can alleviate large sections of the population from being energy deficit.

Dr. Ranjeet Mehta  

This speaker summarized the discussions so far. He declared that the PHD Chamber would further forward the roadmap that was discussed on the day to the concerned policy makers. Finally mementos were presented by this speaker to the panelists.

This session was followed by a round of Networking High Tea.

Technical Session 1: Funding & Development of Solar Parks- Issues affecting harnessing of solar potential

This session consisted of 9 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Dr. Ashvini Kumar

The speaker says that till a couple of years back, wind energy was the poster child of renewable energy. Now the focus has changed in favour of solar energy. The Solar Mission set up by the central government has helped fuel this interest. JVs have been set up to facilitate this work in states like AP, MP and Kerala. However, the equity base is small in most places.

Dr. Pawan Singh

Dr. Singh spoke about the financing issues prevalent with solar power projects. These issues are not just restricted to solar energy but to the broad framework of renewable energy. His firm PTC is listed on both the BSE & NSE. Due to the financing issues in this line, up to 2 years back only project finance loans were available to these firms. His firm has been involved in financing many such projects long before formal banking channels desired to enter this field. Even FIs were not very forthcoming earlier. Many key players started their work with help from PTC and now they have grown large enough to attract financing from established BFSIs.

Solar power is still not efficient enough to get grind level parity. The handling price is quite high. This industry is globally financed on the bond market. That however, is not so common here in India. Thus long term financing is difficult to procure. The ECB even borrows what are known as Green bonds. The speaker ended his talk refuting that there is any discrimination between private and public agencies. He says that this is not true, they all get equal treatment in the market.

Anmol Jaggi

This speaker is an entrepreneur whose firm has conducted a detailed technical study on the utility of solar parks as opposed to purchasing their own land and setting up own enterprise.  He says that 3.8 GW of solar power capacity has been installed this year. Also there is good traction now. There is however a supply constraint on the talent side. Thus bundling techniques have been developed.

He spoke about how while going for solar parks, benefits of co-working can be obtained. Land, roads, power evacuation, common infrastructure, security, internet, water supply and its treatment are some of the major benefits and cost savings as tenants only need to pay a small amount clubbed with other co-tenants. Certain solar parks like those at Mehboobnagar or Rewa are well connected to the grid. He spoke about how in Neemach no one wanted to invest and his firm acquired land at minimum rates. Now that the area has been developed, land rates have increased 6 times. Similar impact has taken place in Pokharan are in Rajasthan where earlier investors only wanted to invest in Jaisalmer for solar power projects. Other benefits include flat land, leveling, fire safety, drainage facilities, hospital, telecom network and even a helipad. Even on private land, these costs increase. Overall around Rs. 12 lakhs per acre are saved at solar parks. In addition they also manage soft costs.

The speaker ended his highly technical session by announcing his firm had entered into a JV with a Spanish firm called- Solarig.

Technical Session 2: Solar Energy Technology- Mandating Domestic content in Solar Technology at the backdrop of Make in India

This session consisted of 3 panel members. The panel members were as follows:

Dr. V K  Tikku

Dr. Tikku spoke about his firm being located in Gujarat. Their specialty is the corrugated metal sheet cables which they have installed underground. These offer not just protection against ageing but also rodent protection. In many advanced European countries even, rats and squirrels have easily cut through cables which they will not be able to against corrugated ones which his organization manufactures.

Anand Kumar

The speaker spoke about the Make in India campaign that the present government has kindled. He however added that the focus must be on quality products. Some countries have banned cheap Chinese imports as they have destroyed competition in the market. He feels that modules to increase penetration of rooftop installments must be set up immediately.

Dr. Ranjeet Mehta

This speaker delivered the vote of thanks. He added that the role of NGOs as well as forums like today add to the publicity of this renewable source of energy. Mementos were presented to all the speakers for their contributions to the free flow of ideas.

The day’s events ended with the Networking Lunch where all delegates on and off the dais interacted with each other and discussed possible business collaborations.