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Lookout For A Startup & Innovation Hub

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Lookout For A Startup & Innovation Hub

Chandigarh is already up there when we talk of the most desirable places to visit in the world, but can we now focus on making it the startup, innovation and entrepreneurship hub for North India, just as Bangalore has established itself as the hub for South India ? This, and many other issues cropped up during a discussion on ‘Chandigarh: An Aspirational Destination’ organized on the occasion of the Annual Session of CII Chandigarh Council on Wednesday. UT Home Secretary Anurag Aggarwal, Chandigarh Mayor Davesh Moudgil and the top leadership of CII’s northern region participated in the discussion.

Anurag Aggarwal in his address said the uniqueness of Chandigarh’s town planning and architecture was already a topic of animated discussion the world over and was a result of French architect Le Corbusier breathing life into then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream of a new capital city for Punjab "a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past".

Photos By: Life In Chandigarh

So, in many ways the aspirations around Chandigarh had already come true, he said, adding that the UT Administration with the support of the people of Chandigarh would not like to sit on its laurels but strive to take it to a still higher level. The effort is not only to make it the  first renewal energy city of the country but also usher it into a leadership role in economic development with a difference.

Spelling out the “small, small steps” continually being taken on the ground towards that end, the Home Secretary said after the Capitol Complex was declared a Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016, a lot of work at restoration and conservation of the buildings and structures in the complex had been undertaken with the assistance of a renowned architectural consultant. “Although we keep hearing talk of the administration not being able to preserve the heritage structures and capitalising on the tourist potential of the Capitol Complex, the fact is that there is a sea change in the condition of the complex four years ago and now. And, for the first time people are getting to see the various assets of the Complex in their original glory,” he said.

The potential of solar panels on rooftops of government buildings had reached a saturation point with 20 MW power being generated from them and now it was time for rooftop potential of private buildings being exploited. “We have been going from sector to sector to rope in the cooperation of the people to set up solar panels atop their houses, but so far we have not been very successful in persuading the people. Less than 2 MW solar power is being generated from private rooftops. Luckily, we have found a new sizable potential of generating another 20 MW by setting up solar panels atop raw water tanks at all waterworks of the municipal corporation, which is going to be exploited soon.”

He said apart from celebrating the heritage buildings and structures, the administration had identified 30 age old heritage trees across the city for conservation and preservation and sought support from CII for this purpose. “These trees can be a rich source for attracting religious tourism,” he added.

For boosting employment opportunities, Aggarwal informed that an economic development model with sharp focus on innovation and entrepreneurship was under preparation. The Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) had already submitted a proposal to the UT administration regarding this and it was being considered. A decision had already been taken to convert the defunct Government Press into the city’s first Incubation and Innovation Centre, he said.

Mayor Davesh Moudgil while pointing to the municipal corporation’s initiative begun on Wednesday to persuade all its employees to cycle to work every Wednesday, said more such steps will be taken in the future to improve the environment. He made an impassioned appeal to the residents of Chandigarh to adopt segregation of waste in every household to prevent an ecological disaster.

He also appealed to the people to be prepared to make more sacrifices in terms of generating greater revenues to enable the municipal corporation to maintain a high level of maintenance of services in the city. He also offered the rooftops of dozens of community centres in the city for installation of solar panels in an effort to generate more renewable energy.

Moudgil utilised the opportunity provided by the presence of the UT Home Secretary, who is also Local Bodies Secretary, to reiterate the growing demand for increasing the tenure of the Mayor from one year to five years as in most states to ensure continuity of development activities.

CII Northern Region Chairman and Chairman & CEO, ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd., Sumant Sinha, while appreciating Chandigarh for its unique architecture and world class infrastructure, felt that the city must aspire to become the first Model Solar City in Northern India, it must be promoted as an economically viable city and needs to be endorsed as a hub for entrepreneurship and startups. Among the other challenges would be increasing its air connectivity with all major cities and towns of the country and establishing a robust local transport system. The ease of doing business must also improve, leading up to ease of living, he said, adding in a lighter vein that since ease of living in Chandigarh was already high, the reverse must be ensured with ease of living leading up to ease of doing business.   

Calling Chandigarh the city of the present and of the future, CII Northern Region Deputy Chairman, and Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Vardhman Special Steels Ltd, Sachit Jain said the city ticked all the right boxes in the field of education, health services, infrastructure, governance, modernity, etc., and was hence very close to being a smart city already. 

 

Sarvjit Samra & Viren Popli Take Charge In Punjab, Sofi Zahoor & Sarvjeet Virk In Chandigarh

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Sarvjit Samra & Viren Popli Take Charge In Punjab, Sofi Zahoor & Sarvjeet Virk In Chandigarh

A New Year, A New Team. The Punjab State Council and the Chandigarh State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday elected new teams, with Sarvjit S. Samra and Viren Popli taking over as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively in the Punjab Council and Sofi Zahoor and Sarvjeet S. Virk occupying the respective posts in the Chandigarh Council for the year 2018-19.

Sarvjit S. Samra: Managing Director and Principal Promoter of the rapidly expanding Capital Small Finance Bank Limited, Sarvjit S. Samra is an MBA in Finance and Marketing and based out of Jalandhar. He has been a driving force behind India’s first small finance bank, which graduated from a local area bank in 2015. Today the bank has 100 branches with a very strong footprint in Punjab and planning to rapidly expand towards Delhi and Haryana. The total business of the bank at present is Rs.4450 crore with nearly 5 lakh accounts. The bank has 80% of its business in rural and semi urban areas.

Photos By: Life In Chandigarh

Viren Popli: Currently Chief Operating Officer of Swaraj, the second highest selling tractor brand in India and farm equipment sector of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Popli is based out of Mohali. He has over 24 years of work experience across diverse industries ranging from pharmaceutical, media and two wheelers to farm mechanisation. Viren is a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Nagpur University and Masters in Management Studies from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai University. Before taking over as COO of Swaraj Division, Viren was the Chief of Operations, Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited. Before joining Mahindra, Viren worked with Star India for 10 years and with Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited for 6 years. He also managed India’s first girl band – Viva! Besides being a seasoned professional, he is also a qualified scuba diver.

Sofi Zahoor: Senior Director India – HR and Operations for India, Quarkxpress Publishing R&D (India) Pvt. Ltd., Sofi Zahoor brings several years of professional experience to Quark. During his career he has worked with multinational companies across several positions. His 18+ years of experience in IT industry brings forth a unique blend of cross functional experience with over three years experience in customer support, five years in sales and marketing and almost 10 years in human resources management covering areas of talent management, organizational design, performance management and entire gamut of change management initiative in the area of HR.

Sarvjeet S. Virk: Co-founder and Managing Director of Finvasia Group of Companies, Sarvjeet S. Virk has had 10 years global experience holding various positions. Before founding Finvasia, he had experience of working in USA on multiple positions and his last profile was as Vice President, Spectrum Novel Solutions Inc (NY). He has a CABP (Executive Professional Course) from City University of New York-Baruch College and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Amity University with a specialization in International Business and Marketing. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Punjab Engineering College. Sarvjeet has extensive knowledge of all aspects of business, including business development with global institutional investors, risk management practices and day-to-day operations.

 

Collective Farming The Way Out; Approach It As A Business

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Collective Farming The Way Out; Approach It As A Business

The only way small and marginal farmers can escape the debt trap is to cut down on fixed and variable agricultural input costs, which can be achieved solely by indulging in collective farming and approaching agriculture practice as a business instead of merely as a means of sustenance. This was the broad consensus which emerged from deliberations by farm experts, progressive farmers and farm mechanisation companies on the concluding day of the two-day 11th Progressive Farmers’ Meet jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Mehram Publications at the CII Northern Region headquarters on Tuesday.

Focussing on the topic ‘Custom Hiring Centres – Making Farm Mechanization Affordable’ the participants felt that individual small and marginal farmers must curb the tendency of buying tractors and mechanised farm implements on their own since the capital cost of mechanisation was too high and economically not viable. Instead, such farmers must organise themselves into groups and collectively hire these through custom hiring centres (CHCs) at an efficient cost. Progressive farmers Gurvinder Singh Sohi and Buta Singh shared their experiences of successful collective farming with the audience comprising largely the farming community.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

Responding to the discussion, Punjab State Pollution Control Board Chairman Kahan Singh Pannu, who was the chief guest, said modern precision farming was the future for making the business of farming profitable and CHCs are going to become of the fulcrums of change in the coming years. He advocated that suitable changes be made in the laws and policies to encourage collective farming. Sharing his experiences during a visit to US a decade ago, he said the tractor and mechanised farm implement companies there themselves opened CHCs for the benefit of farmers and Indian companies also have to follow suit if they are to maintain growth in their businesses.

The CHC service providers can also work closely with the state government on crop residue management, create an eco-system for crop diversification and work along with the government on extension services, he added.

Punjab Agriculture Commissioner Dr Balwinder Singh Sidhu informed that the state government was in the process of bringing a bill in the vidhan sabha to formalise legal leasing of land for farming on a large scale. To an observation regarding subsidy on solar powered submersible pumps, he said a conditional subsidy of 70 percent was being offered to farmers who took steps to conserve water in farm practice like drip irrigation.

Spelling out the state government’s initiatives to encourage modern farming practices, Punjab Agriculture Department Director Jasbir Singh Bains said agricultural zoning was being planned to promote particular crops in a zone depending on its suitability. Strict measures had been taken to ensure quality agro chemicals are supplied to farmers, farm machinery banks had been planned and new crop insurance models were being devised in association with farm experts, he added.

Vikram Ahuja, Managing Director of Zamindara Farm Solutions Pvt Ltd, which is majorly into leasing out of farm machinery especially in Fazilka and Muktsar areas of Punjab, asserted that leasing rather than ownership of farm machinery and implements was a much more profitable proposition. At the cost of replacement of a set of tractor tyres, a farmer could hire a range of farm machinery for an entire year’s operations on a 4-5 acre farm.  There are two formats of hiring – one Library service, which entails hiring farm machinery for a fixed period of time, and two, Taxi service, under which the company gets the desired work done on per acre or hourly basis.

Amit Mittan, Country Manager of Finland based Agroy Group, which provides a digital platform to groups of farmers for sourcing quality fertilisers, agro chemicals and seeds at highly competitive bulk prices, and very recently started operations in India, emphasised that modern mechanisation was extremely essential for profitable farm operations. Listing out various reasons why mechanisation was increasingly becoming essential, he said labour shortage was a key factor. Among the advantages were efficiency of farm practices, bringing down post harvest losses, effective cost and profitability management and reducing time engagement of farmers in production activities.

Stressing on the need for farmers to organise themselves into groups for affordability and efficiency of farm operations, he also emphasised the need for preparing long term business plans, a concept which was woefully lacking in India.

B.N Sachan, Product Development Head, Escorts Tractors, asserted that selection of tractors as per an individual farmer’s or group of farmers’ requirements was essential for cost effective farm operations. He said to make the ownership of a tractor more profitable for farmers Escorts had started a pilot project to facilitate tractor owners to till the farms of other farmers as well. The company would in the near future also offer tractor-farm implement packages to farmers, he added.

Moderating the discussion, Past Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council and Chief Executive Officer, Nectar Lifesciences Ltd Dr Dinesh Dua said accelerated growth in the farm sector through increased mechanisation will go a long way in achieving India’s goal of 10 percent overall economic growth in the coming years.

Earlier initiating the discussion, President of the Borlaug Farmers Association, South Asia Paviterpal Singh Pangli cited various recent scientific studies to suggest that the heavy depletion of soil quality in overexploited states like Punjab had resulted in an alarming fall in the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables, leading to several deficiencies in our daily diets. 

Elections Looming, Indo-Pak Border Tensions May Worsen

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Elections Looming, Indo-Pak Border Tensions May Worsen

The heightened intensity of skirmishes on our borders and the recent spate of audacious terror attacks in Kabul can be seen as a clear retaliatory action by Pakistan to its arm-twisting by the Donald Trump Administration on the issue of reining in the terrorist groups operating from its territory. And with the general elections in Pakistan due in July this year, to be followed by elections in India, the situation could turn for the worse.

These observations echoed right through the inaugural session of the two-day national seminar on “Emerging Geo-Strategic Manifestations in Pakistan: Implications for India”, on Tuesday. Top ranking security experts and researchers are participating in the seminar being organized by the Department of Defence & National Security Studies (DDNSS), in the Golden Jubilee Hall of the Panjab University.

Photos By: Life In Chandigarh

The speakers were pragmatic in acknowledging that Pakistan had been extremely successful in exploiting its geo-strategic advantage because of its location and that India could not contain the hostile neighbour merely by adopting a tactical approach. The leadership in India has to act responsibly and display statesmanship instead of taking recourse to brinkmanship, was the general refrain among them.

In his keynote address, Lt. Gen. M.M. Naravane, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Shimla said the increased US pressure on Pakistan was likely to push it closer towards China, which had already replaced US as the largest supplier of military hardware to Pakistan. China’s tacit support to Pakistan’s nuclear programme was also well known, though a recent development of China not opposing Pakistan being put back on the terror financing watch list was heartening. Whether this was an indication from China to Pakistan that its support could not be taken for granted, is something to be seen, he added.

Lt. Gen. Naravane delivering the keynote address

Emphasising that Pakistan should continue to remain a major focus area of India’s foreign and military policies, Lt. Gen. Naravane advocated that while dealing with the hostile neighbour, statesmanship on the part of the Indian leadership should take precedence over brinkmanship. The growing radicalisation and intolerance over petty issues in our society cannot also be wished away, he said.

Prof. A.K. Grover (R) conferring honorary professorship on Dr Arvind Gupta

Chief Guest at the inaugural session, Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, Vivekananda International Foundation and former Deputy National Security Advisor, in his inaugural address wondered whether India knew Pakistan as well as the world believed it did. India has never focussed deeply on understanding the mindset in Pakistan and what drives the hatred towards us. There has hardly been any research done in India with Pakistan as a subject, he said adding that whatever social contact we have had as two peoples was also clouded by emotions.

Describing Pakistan as an artificial state with a lot of internal contradictions, but held together by an Islamic ideology, he made out a case for a deeper study of its intentions and strategies to come up with an answer to the rogue state. On the issue of the never ending debate within the country on whether or not to hold talks with Pakistan, he said while leaving diplomacy to the diplomats, the Indian leadership should focus on further strengthening its military, economic and soft powers and its relationships with the other neighbouring countries in a long term strategy to isolate the hostile neighbour.

Asserting that India should not close any option vis-a-vis Pakistan, Dr Gupta advocated taking a hard look at and revisiting the Indus Treaty between the two countries because the neighbouring country depended heavily on the Indus river system for meeting its water needs.

Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Chair Professor at PU and former Western Army Commander Lt. Gen. (retd.) K.J. Singh while describing Pakistan as PPP (Persisting Pain of Proximity) said the hostile neighbour had displayed a capability to punch beyond its weight. He said with the institutions in Pakistan crumbling, political parties being sidelined,  Chinese influence taking a stranglehold on its economy and US putting pressure on it to rein in terrorist organisations, the outcome of the July general elections in Pakistan would be watched closely by India and the world. He stressed the need for adopting new doctrines towards Pakistan.

Others who spoke were former Lt. Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Puducherry Lt. Gen. (retd.) Bhopinder Singh, DDNSS Chairperson Dr. Jaskaran Singh Waraich and Prof. Rakesh Dutta.

Panjab University Vice Chancellor Prof. Arun Kumar Grover, who presided over the inaugural session, conferred honorary professorship of DDNSS on Dr Arvind Gupta.

After the inaugural session, a panel discussion on “Pakistan’s Military Capability – An Assessment” was held. The panellists included Air Marshal (retd.) Amit Aneja, who gave an “Assessment of Pakistan’s Air Power”, Maj. Gen. (retd.) Amarjit Singh, who highlighted “Pakistan’s Strategic Culture”, Dr. Vijay Sakhuja, former Director, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, who spoke on “Pakistan’s Maritime Strategy” and Dr. Shalini Chawla, Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, gave an “Assessment of Pakistan Military”.

The panel discussion was followed by two technical sessions in which several researchers presented their research papers on issues related to the seminar theme.

Prof Grover’s Ironical TIFR Days

Recalling his old memories of Panjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Grover which dated back to the late 1970s at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Dr Arvind Gupta said Prof Grover was his senior in the Ph.D. course. While studying for his Ph.D. (Physics), Prof Grover besides being a very committed student was also a bold leader who did flinch from taking on the faculty in the interests of students, Dr Gupta added. Ironically, Prof. Grover, who once espoused the cause of students, is now the butt of the students’ ire on one pretext or the other.  

Kids In 4-14 Age Group To Sparkle In Groovy New Styles

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Kids In 4-14 Age Group To Sparkle In Groovy New Styles

The kids’ fashion week brand is here. Chandigarh will for the first time witness the branded ‘Junior’s Fashion Week’, which has travelled to Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi NCR before setting foot in the city. On Sunday, 140 odd children, who had registered with the organisation online during the past few weeks, will step on the ramp in two sessions at JW Marriott and make a stylish fashion statement no less than their professional counterparts in prestigious shows like the Lakme Fashion Week and Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. The children in the age category 4-14 years, who will showcase the Spring Summer kids’ collection for some of the top brands, went through a grooming and personality development workshop under the supervision of a seasoned academician, model, choreographer and stage director Jessica Gomes Surana from Kolkata.

Speaking exclusively with lifeinchandigarh.com at the venue of the workshop just before it got under way, Jessica said the Junior’s Fashion Week was not just about modelling, “It’s a platform to groom children and develop social skills and confidence in them. When children in this age category, especially the 4-5 year olds, first come to such a platform they tend to cling on to their parents and are very reluctant to leave their company. We as professionals take personal care of each child and handle them with a lot of sensitivity to allow them to open up at their own pace.”

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

“Most of the children would be taking to the stage for the first time. They would not have faced large audiences, cameras, glaring lights and high decibel music too. We groom them and give them the confidence that they can take all these in their stride,” Jessica said.

As we could see in the hall where the workshop was being held, some children were rank shy, others were tentative and unsure, but some among them jelled with the new environment like fish takes to water. When the time arrived for the children to start posing for the cameras some of the girls especially seemed ready to take on their professional counterparts, such poise and style, it was unbelievable!! Volunteers from city’s Indian Institute of Fashion & Design (IIFD) were on hand to help children feel at ease and acclimatise to the new environment.

Jessica, however, had a word of caution here for the parents. “We are in the business of grooming the children, developing in them social skills and instilling in them a sense of confidence, so that when they go back home and to school they are ready to take the stage and face audiences, which will help them immensely later in life. However, what we would not want is for parents to get too ambitious with their children and start pushing them hard into commercial activities at this tender age. Care should be taken that children at this age are not be deprived of their natural growing environment, games and fun and frolic.”

Coming back to Sunday’s Junior’s Fashion Week, she said the first session will start at 12:15 p.m. in which the children will showcase the Spring Summer 2018 collection of Marks & Spencer and The Children’s Place. The second session, beginning at 5:15 p.m. will feature the collections of US Polo Kids Girls, Flying Machine and US Polo Kids Boys. Hair styling, make-up and technical rehearsal will precede the show.

Photos From Earlier Shows

The Junior’s Fashion Week is the brainchild of Vin Sharma, who earlier worked with Lakme Fashion Week and later launched his own brand in 2016. It has held more than a dozen shows across the country so far, with the latest destination being Chandigarh, where it has received an enthusiastic response on its very first outing. 

Puppetry Companies From 4 Countries To Perform

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Puppetry Companies From 4 Countries To Perform

Puppetry has been a rich source of entertainment for generations, but today it is categorised as a dying art. However, children and their parents in Chandigarh have been thronging in their hundreds annually to watch international puppetry at the Tagore Theatre for the last five years. The four-day 6th International Puppet Festival, featuring one puppetry company each from Italy, Brazil, Argentina and India, is getting underway from February 25. Every day the 45-50 minute show will start at 6:30 p.m. Entry is free and unrestricted for all age groups. Anyone, and everyone, is invited.

Sharing the programme with media persons on Thursday, Tagore Theatre Director Kuldeep Sharma said the festival is jointly organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Chandigarh Administration, and the Tagore Theatre Society in collaboration with
Delhi-based Ishara Puppet Theatre, which has been making efforts for the last 16 years to keep the art alive. The trust has been organising its annual International Puppet Theatre Festival in Delhi, where puppetry companies from across the world have been participating. Chandigarh has been selecting a few of these shows through the Trust and these have been very popular with the children and their parents, Sharma added.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

He informed that a morning show on each day of the festival has been reserved for students of government schools, especially in the labour colonies and villages, who may not even have visited the Tagore Theatre ever. The Social Welfare Department of the Chandigarh Administration is also extended an invitation every year to bring children from shelters run by it like the Snehalya so that they get thoroughly entertained.

A local puppetry group ‘Putul’ will also organise a puppetry workshop for the benefit of children in the compound of the Tagore Theatre every evening of the festival. A display of big puppets in the open will also be part of the workshop.

Programme :

Date – 25th February

ITALY

Hanging by a Thread

Performed by: Di Filippo Marionette

Directed by: Remo Di Filippo

Language: Musical

Duration: 45 minutes

Suitable: For All Ages

Number of Artists – 2

A marionette puppet show full of simplicity and poetry, it takes you in, moves you and lets you have fun. The many marionettes tell their own stories, are alive and emote. Sometimes profound, the show is also playful, enchanting, magical and perfect for the child inside all of us.

The show received First Place at the Kleinkunst Festival in Usedom, Germany 2017. The show has performed in Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, France, Holland, Germany, Argentina, the United States, Peru, Greece, Romania, Portugal, Hungary and Australia. 450 performances and counting!

Date – 26th February

BRAZIL

Dust Circus

Performed by: Circo Teatro Boneco

Directed by: Caio Stalai

Language: English

Duration: 50 minutes

Suitable: For all ages

Number of Artists – 2

Dust Circus is a spectacle that mixes the language of the circus, theatre and puppet. In a poetic and entertaining way the play tells the history of the circus through the memories of an Old master. His character is the narrator of the story who relives his past as a circus master through his co-actor, clown manipulator who breathes life into the character of Old Master shrouded under the Dust cloth. Once brought to life, he takes the audience through a nostalgic journey touching upon his experiences in different countries such as India and China comprising of varied elements of show business such as fire capoeira dancers, ballerinas, musicians, and the most valuable, the public or the audience.

Date – 27th February

ARGENTINA

A Button in My Head

Performed by: Arriba las Hu! Manos

Directed by: Laura Soledad Mac Laughlin

Language: English

Duration: 45 minutes

Suitable: For all ages

Number of Artists – 3

In the Dance of Creation, Hands give birth to the first puppet of the story: Clott. One of the hands is green, it moves like a snake and it does not want Clott to live, so it breaks the head of the newborn into two. Since that day, a red button holds Clott’s broken head together, but that makes him feel different from the others. His sister Juana and his best friend Luchito, bother him. He only finds solace in his Grandfather’s company. Clott wishes to be normal, without the button. On his part, Green Hand will do anything to unbutton and finally destroy Clott. How will Green Hand carry out his devious plans? Will Clott’s head get unbuttoned? Watch to find out.

Date – 28th February

INDIA

Me & Baba

Performed by: Moving Sutra Arts

Directed by: Shamsul

Language: Non-verbal, Musical

Duration: 45 minutes

Suitable: For All Ages

Number of Artists – 5

A moving tale of friendship between an old Man (Baba) and a Dog. A story of true love, loyalty, hope, trust and bonding. “Get ready for a journey on a roller coaster of emotions with me and Baba, woof woof!!”

Young India Should Be Proud Of India’s Achievements: Dr Rajiv Kumar

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Young India Should Be Proud Of India’s Achievements: Dr Rajiv Kumar

He started his address with a compliment to the Panjab University for providing him the honour, and first ever experience, of being welcomed by an all-woman dais. Leading Indian economist and vice chairman of the NITI Aayog Dr Rajiv Kumar, while delivering the 46th Panjab University Colloquim-cum-3rd Shenmar Memorial Oration on the topic “New India@2022” in a jam-packed Law Department audotorium, urged Young India to feel proud of their country for what it had achieved since its independence, and not harbour a pervasive feeling of inferiority, which earlier generations did.

“We have actually achieved a lot, from becoming self sufficient in our food requirements to becoming a leading country in space technology. By adopting our constitution in 1950 we became the only country in the world to begin the process of triple transformation – social, political and economic – simultaneously. Other major countries in the world, whether in North America, Europe, Russia, China or Japan, began the transformation sequentially, leading to massive loss of lives, he added. 

 Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

“We have nearly completed the simultaneous triple transformation,” he asserted adding that every citizen in this country has received a bouquet of rights, including the right to vote without any discrimination after a threshold age. The social transformation can be gauged from the fact that a ‘dalit’ woman leader became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times, once even completing her entire 5-year term. In comparison, UK women were given a conditional right to vote only in 1918 after the 1914 First World War, that too on completing 30 years of age. They subsequently won the right to vote at par with men at the age of 21 in 1928, Dr Rajiv Kumar pointed out.

Although the country has made strides in the economic sphere as well, “we still have to improve a lot as far as economics go. A very high percentage of inhuman poverty still stares us in the face. There is dualism in our economy. The urban-rural divide, the relative neglect of the farm sector as compared to other sectors of the economy have to be addressed head on, and are now being addressed. The recent focus on rural development and doubling farmers’ incomes is a step in the right direction,” he opined.

Dr Rajiv Kumar felt that the perception that economic development is an activity aimed at benefitting the elite has to go. Economic development has to be mass development. The fruits of development have to percolate down to the last man in the queue. It is here that NITI Aayog is playing a major role with its six guiding principles of Poverty Free India, Direct and Squalor Free India, Corruption Free India, Terrorism Free India, Casteism Free India and Communalism Free India, he said.

The NITI Aayog Vice Chairman felt that the market will not deliver to end poverty in the country. Direct intervention from the government is necessary to ensure that the basic issues concerning the common man, including health, education and per capita income, are addressed in the shortest possible time. “For this we need to grow our economy at a much faster rate than we are going now. We need to give a big push to research and development and innovation. As against around one percent at present, we need to quickly start spending doubt or three times that.”

“To encourage innovation, the NITI Aayog is focussing on implementing the Atal Innovation Mission under which among other things 500 Atal Tinkering Laboratories are being set up in schools across the country to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds. Besides this, 50 Atal incubation centres are also being set up that would nurture innovative start-up businesses,” Dr Rajiv Kumar said.

“We also need to further improve our ranking in the ease of doing business,” he said adding that “we have improved from 140th to 100th rank. But we have to be up there in the top 50,” he said. The biggest breakthrough towards ushering the country into a higher growth path of 10 percent plus annual growth, he said will be the e-highway project being executed in the country. Under this project 1.5 lakh village panchayats are being connected with optical fibre network to provide information as a free tool to the rural masses.

The Niti Aayog vice chairman said there was no stopping the country from becoming a shining example for the rest of the world “if we can rid the system of corruption, shift focus from demographic benefit to democratic benefit, competitive populism to competitive good governance and from public-private partnership to public-private-personal partnership. People of this country need to shed the ‘mie baap sarkaar’ mindset towards the government and hold it responsible and accountable for delivery of good public services.”      

The 46th Panjab University Colloquim-cum-3rd Shenmar Memorial Oration was organized in collaboration with Department of Social Work, PU, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

About Dr Rajiv Kumar

Dr. Rajiv Kumar took over as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog on September 1, 2017. Prior to this he was:

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  1. Founding Director of Pahle India Foundation (PIF), Delhi;

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  2. Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics, Pune.

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His earlier full time positions have been:

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  1. Senior Fellow, Centre of Policy Research, Delhi (2013- 2017)

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  2. Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI, 2010-2012)

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  3. Director & Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER, 2006-2010)

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  4. Chief Economist, Confederation of India Industries (CII, 2004-2006)

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  5. Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank, Manila (1995 to 2005)

    6. rn

  6. Economic Advisor, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, (1992 to 1995)

    7. rn

  7. Senior Consultant, Bureau of Costs and Prices, Ministry of Industry, Government of India (1989-1991)

    8. rn

  8. Professor, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi (1987-89)

    9. rn

  9. Senior Research Program Officer, ICRIER. Delhi, (1982 to 1987).

    10. rn

rn

In the past he has served as Government of India nominee on the Boards of:

rn

    rn

  1. Government of India nominated Director on Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India

    2. rn

  2. Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and Asia (ERIA) Jakarta

    3. rn

  3. Central Board of the State Bank of India, Mumbai

    4. rn

  4. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi

    5. rn

  5. Part Time Member, National Security Advisory Board (2006-2008)

    6. rn

  6. Part Time Member, Economics, Telecom Regulatory Authority India (TRAI), New Delhi (2007-2010)

    7. rn

rn

He has also served as:

rn

    rn

  1. Member of the International Board of Management of King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, Riyadh, chaired by the Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy

    2. rn

  2. Member, Board of Directors, Indian Institute of Management, Vizag

    3. rn

  3. Member, Board of Directors, Institute of Human Development, Delhi

    4. rn

  4. Member, Board of Directors, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow

    5. rn

  5. Independent Director on the Board of DHFL (publicly listed housing finance company)

    6. rn

  6. Member, Indian Advisory Board, CISCO (the San Jose based US MNC)

    7. rn

rn

He has published more than a dozen books. ‘Modi And His Challenges’ (Bloomsbury New Delhi, 2016) is his latest book.

Author of several research papers, he also is a noted economic columnist.

He has a D.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University (1982) and a Ph.D from Lucknow University, India (1978). 

Satluj Public School Leads Charge For Future Tech

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Satluj Public School Leads Charge For Future Tech

Innovation drives success. And for children to become innovators, they need a future ready environment. A school next door has embarked on a journey to provide just that. Satluj Public School, which runs a junior school and a senior school from two different locations in Panchkula, spread over 12 acres, has begun a 3D printing lab for its students and is in the process of including in its curriculum several other technologies which are projected to drive the future of mankind. Sharing his thoughts on this path-breaking initiative in a select media meet, Dean of the CBSE affiliated school Reekrit Serai, who introduces himself an educationalist, publisher and Angel investor, says up next are labs for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (iOT). “We are not boasting. We are doing it on the ground,” asserts young Reekrit.

Interacting with lifeinchandigarh.com on Friday, Reekrit, showed us the 3D printers and some of the Pokemon characters students of the senior school had made using special plastic wire rolls. “The students make 3D designs on a computer using special softwares. These are transferred to a chip which is slotted in a 3D printer, to which the plastic wire roll is also fed. The printer makes real life characters or models as the case may be, using the plastic wire in molten form with the help of an inbuilt heating device.”

Curious ï»¿Satluj Public students take turns to understand the features of one of the 3D printers in the school lab.

Photos By : Life in Chandigarh

According to Reekrit, Satluj Public was the first school in the region to start EduCom smart classes as early as in 2001-02. “The new initiatives are in-sync with the Satluj ethos of being at the forefront of educational innovation. The 3D lab, and the other labs to follow, will become new technology play fields where NCERT topics will be taught to students as a part of a developed progressive curriculum. These initiatives will change the way teachers teach and students learn, and will further enhance the learning outcomes. We are also training students to be thought-leaders of tomorrow.”

For the school’s transformational approach, it had been recognised as one of the most innovative schools in the country. “The prestigious Fortune magazine has also ranked us among the Future 50 schools of the country,” Reekrit informed.

“We have a full fledged innovations team, which is tasked with keeping tabs on all futuristic technologies and practices emerging at the global level and passing that on to the teachers and the students in a structured manner. True to our motto ‘Global Vision Is Our Tradition’, our global connect is very strong, and it helps our students become global citizens, armed with skill sets ahead of the times. Before they pass out they are ready for the real world both at the personal and professional level,” he maintained.

Dean of the school Reekrit Serai explaining the working of the 3D printer.

Besides keeping the students abreast with the latest technological developments, the school’s focus on sports is equally strong. “We have very strong cricket and football teams which excel in all tournaments. Besides being the education partner of Minerva Punjab FC, the school is closely engaged with the world’s best football and basketball clubs – Arsenal and NBA – to maintain high stands in these games in the school,” Reekrit added.

The future of education is here, a well-rounded approach to education …. An inspiring story, indeed !!

Even Tier 2 & 3 Cities Now Prefer Brands

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Even Tier 2 & 3 Cities Now Prefer Brands

What’s a brand ? How important is it to build one ? What does it take to go on to take a brand to an iconic level ? These were some of the issues deliberated upon and debated by CEOs and top functionaries of a host of indigenous and foreign fashion brands at the ‘Conference on Building World Class Fashion Brands – Trends, Challenges & Opportunities’ organised at the CII Northern Region Headquarters on Thursday. The simplest answer to ‘why brand ?’ was provided by Sandeep Jain, Chairman of the conference and Executive Director, Monte Carlo Fashions Limited, who explained “Selling a product is all right, but if you want to consistently make money in the long run from a business you have to create a brand.” The conference was aimed at creating awareness among the members of the fashion retail industry on how brand owners and retailers can go about building their brands and making them competitive in a highly technology driven and digitalised world.

Participating in a session on ‘Value Of Brand Creation – First Steps In Creating Consumer Brands’, the panel, heavily loaded with Jains – Rajesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO, Sports and Leisure Apparel Limited, the licensee of global brand Lacoste in India, Amit Jain,  Managing Director, Shingora Textiles Limited, and Sandeep Jain – and also including Manu Idrayan, Co-founder and CEO of 612 League, and Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi, Business Director, Wazir Advisors, was unanimous that brand building was an expenditure in the short run, but was a wise investment in the long run, when it starts paying rich dividends.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

Defining brand as a name which is remembered and respected by the targeted consumers, Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi of Wazir Advisors, while initiating the discussion, said brands which have a tenacity and ability to evolve while at the same time retaining their core strengths are the ones which sustain in time, and some of them go on to become iconic.

Amit Jain of Shingora, which is into business of shawls, scarves and other soft accessories, especially for women, was of the opinion that the product is ultimately the king. “For a product to become a brand it has to create a niche for itself in the mind space of the consumer. What is promised has to be delivered in true spirit. The entire chain of deliverance, from production, to sales to service, has to be aligned with the promise and for this training and sensitisation of employees at all levels has to be a regular and ongoing exercise.

For Sandeep Jain of Monte Carlo the most important consideration for launching any product in the market and making it a brand is thinking differently all the time. Giving example of his own company right from the time of its founding chairman Jawahar Lal Oswal, Sandeep Jain said when the rest of the market was concentrating on shirts, trousers and formal suits, his company decided to promote itself as a sweater brand, which paid off handsomely. “Till 2003, when I joined the company, it was a purely winter wear brand. Nobody was thinking  of t-shirt business (Lacoste then was not focussing much on the Indian market). We jumped into the t-shirt business and did well again. Since then jackets, as opposed to formal suits, and track suits businesses have also been a runaway success for us,” he added.

He felt that a strong customer-connect had kept them relevant in the market for so long. “We continue to rely on a 360 degree customer and market feedback system to remain ahead of the competition. We also have a deep focus on our sales teams, which are an excellent means of relaying our perceptions and convictions to the market and the customers.”

Rajesh Jain of Lacoste India felt that in this digital age, when the customers have a plethora of choices and brand loyalty is diminishing, the first and foremost prerequisite for success of any brand is quality of the product. “Quality has to be maintained at all cost even if the pricing has to be kept competitive. It will hurt at times in the short run but then it pays off in the long run.”

He said, “Since we are in business of fashion, and it changes rapidly, innovation becomes even more important and challenging. Also, the entire shopping experience of the customer has to be seamless and exhilarating, right from the window display to the point of sale. “

Manu Indrayan of 612 League was of the opinion that for a brand to succeed there has to be a clear purpose behind it. Giving his own example he said “when we came into the market in 2009-10 the kids wear brands were targeting children in the age group 3-14 as one category. We felt that till a child doesn’t start going to school he is depending completely on his parents for choice of clothes, but once he is in school he starts having a say. As he grows, his   choices keep changing. Hence we designed our products to suit different age brackets within the children category. It has worked well.”

He was also convinced that the customers in tier two and three cities and towns now wanted standardised fashion wear. “They have also started differentiating between products and brands, hence the scope for more brands to step in.”

Capital Small Finance Bank Is 100-Strong

Sanjeev Kochhar
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0
Capital Small Finance Bank Is 100-Strong

Unknown to many, a largely rural bank steered by Punjab’s very own Sarvjit Singh Samra, has grown to become one of the strongest small finance banks in the country. The Capital Small Finance Bank On Wednesday achieved a new milestone by opening its 100th branch in Balachaur area of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. Starting with a local area bank initially confined to just three districts of Punjab, and later expanding to another two, the bank was upgraded to a small finance bank in April 2016 with 47 branches at that time. Adding 53 branches, and spreading operations to Chandigarh, Panchkula and Delhi, in a challenging span of less than a year has been no mean feat. And the future plans are even more ambitious – 250 branches by the end of financial year 2020-21 and projected business of Rs.12,000 crore.

Sharing the development, an elated Sarvjit Singh Samra, Managing Director of the Jalandhar headquartered bank, told lifeinchandigarh.com that the bank now has two branches in Delhi, one in Chandigarh, one in Panchkula, besides covering entire Punjab by pioneering the concept of modern banking facilities in rural and semi-urban areas at low cost.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The geographical barriers for expansion having been removed, with the conversion of the bank to Small Finance Bank, the bank is now set to grow exponentially and spread rapidly to the rest of the country, concentrating initially on Haryana and Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), he informed.

Detailing the strengths of the bank which have contributed to its phenomenal growth, Samra said “from day one 7-day branch banking was introduced with extended banking hours. The focus on serving the common man with a personal and local touch has given the bank a competitive edge over other banks operating in the region. Within a short span, most of the branches have become market leaders of their respective centres. The Bank is providing a safe, efficient and service oriented repository of savings to the local community while reducing their dependence on moneylenders by making need based credit easily available,” he added. 

Sarvjit Singh Samra, Managing Director

Sharing some business stats, Samra said “The total business of the bank has crossed Rs. 4400 crore with more than 4.95 lakh accounts. The bank has 80% of its business in rural and semi urban areas, with priority sector lending of 84.96% of the adjusted net bank credit as on March 31, 2017. The bank is extending loans primarily to small borrowers and 53% of the total advances are up to the ticket size of Rs. 25 lakh as on March 31, 2017.

Before conversion to a small finance bank, Capital Local Area Bank was the largest bank in its category in the country. Out of the 16 years of its existence, the bank operated in three contiguous Punjab districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur in the initial initial 13 years. In January 2013, the Reserve Bank of India accorded its approval for expansion in the bank’s area of operation to two more districts of Ludhiana and Amritsar.

Capital Small Finance Bank was granted scheduled status by the Reserve Bank of India vide its notification dated February 16, 2017.

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