16 JULY 2022 BW BUSINESSWORLD

Photographs courtesy: Rainbow Children’s Hospital

51 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

COVERSTORY

INTERVIEW

How important are intensive care services which are necessary for the improved survival of critically
in determining the efficacy of a children’s ill children.
hospital?
Intensive care services are an integral part of any chil- In Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU), we admit ba-
dren’s hospital. Most children come to the hospital be- bies who are born pre-term, have breathing difficulty, dif-
cause of emergencies. There are two kinds of intensive care ficult transition after birth and surgical problems, among
services in any children’s hospital — a Newborn Intensive other issues. To save the smallest baby (the smallest baby
Care (NICU) and a Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU). In we saved weighed 375 grams at birth) we need advanced
a good children’s hospital, they constitute anywhere be- intensive care and monitoring, apart from expert nursing
tween 25 per cent and 30 per cent of the total beds. and medical care.

Intensive care services are the fulcrum of all the care How important is the role of an intensive care unit in
provided for any sick child in any paediatric speciality. supporting other specialities in a children’s hospital?
It has been proven that the outcomes of post-surgical As like subspecialists for adults, now paediatric subspe-
patients, including transplant, is 20 per cent better in a cialists are well recognised, like paediatric cardiologists,
children’s hospital. paediatric neurologists, paediatric gastroenterologists,
paediatric hemato-oncologists, paediatric pulmonolo-
During epidemics like dengue, H1N1 and Covid-19, gists, developmental paediatricians, endocrinologists,
when children had conditions called MIS-C, we were able orthopaedic surgeons, and so on.
to save many lives because of good intensive care support.
Children became unstable very fast and we needed to be Children in sub-speciality, when they get sicker, will
very meticulous in recognising early warning signs of need intensive care support for survival and better out-
deterioration and also in carefully determining the drug come. If a child has refractory seizures, acute liver failure,
doses, fluid management and age and weight appropri- kidney failure, or a child with altered sensorium, post-
ate ventilation. This improves the outcome and survival. cardiac surgery, an oncology child with severe infection
— they all need intensive monitoring and PICU support
Following surgery, including transplants (both liver for better outcomes.
and kidney), bone marrow transplant (BMT), neurosur-
gery, cardiac surgery and trauma, children need PICU Apart from sub-speciality knowledge, they need in-
support to improve the outcome as they are unstable after tensive care support to ensure that the child is stabilised
surgery and need intensive monitoring. both from oxygenation, maintenance of blood pressure,
management of infection and ensuring that the child’s
Children need dialysis, ECMO, neuromonitoring, all of

52 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

life is set for the future. Another role of intensive care is to smallest baby to survive. The parents had come from Raipur

integrate all sub-specialities under one roof to ensure that and no one gave her any chance of survival. It was more than

when patients get sicker, they are given intensive care and three months’ journey in NICU, but at the end of it, she made

provided the best care. it, after being on respiratory support for nearly 105 days. See-

ing her smiling, walking, running was so fruitful.

What more do we need in children’s intensive care The Guinness Book of World Records lists us for the

services at the moment? And what does the future hold largest gathering of children born pre-term under one

in this realm of specialisation? roof. We had a gathering of 445 pre-term babies who have

I have seen the journey of intensive care in India over survived in that list in 2016.

the last two decades. We started by providing tertiary Another incidence that comes to mind involves Rain-

intensive care services and have now graduated to offer- bow Children’s Hospital’s Newborn Emergency Trans-

ing quaternary intensive care. port, when we first picked

We are taking care of pa- up a newborn at 26 weeks of

tients following liver trans- gestation, born to a couple

plant, kidney transplant and after 14 years of marriage.

post BMT. We are providing The baby survived and is now

ECMO services, neurosurgi- nearly 20 years old. Now, we

cal services, saving pre-term are the largest neonatal and

babies — born before 24-25 Cherry was born at 25 paediatric emergency trans-
weeks of gestation — provid- port service provider in the

ing renal dialysis, CRRT for weeks of gestation with a country.
providing dialysis for new- Recently, for the first time

born babies, and providing birthweightof 375grams in the county, we started high
transport oscillation while frequency oscillation and ni-

transporting sick babies. and is a Limca Book record tric oxide during transporta-
So this advanced support is tion.

now properly developed in a holder and South Asia’s Then there was a child
few centres in the country, like who survived after being

within the Rainbow Children’s smallest baby to survive. on ECMO for more than a
Hospital chain. A few other month. It was very reward-
Theparentshadcome from
centres also provide these ser- ing for the team to see him
vices. We visualise that these Raipur and no one gave her absolutely normal.

types of services should be any chance of survival We get a lot of satisfac-
available in every state capital tion from successful organ
of India. transplants in children.

They should have one such Transplants are offered to

major hub that can provide critically ill children. It is

quaternary services, so that so satisfying to see them go

every newborn and every home recovered. So far Rain-

child gets the best care. And bow Children’s Hospital has

we should be able to save every successfully enabled 13 liver

life. We should be able to give transplants, 20 kidney trans-

every life the chance to sur- plants and 60 BMT.

vive, and every parent a chance to smile. I would also like to mention an EXIT procedure. A baby

was born with a huge neck mass, detected antenatally. Nearly

Can you highlight any critical cases that were treated 20 doctors from different specialities — foetal medicine, ob-

successfully at Rainbow Children’s Hospital’s inten- stetrics, anaesthesia, neonatology, surgery and ENT — were

sive care units? there in the delivery room to ensure that the baby survives.

The first case that comes to mind is that of Cherry. Cherry An EXIT procedure was done for the first time when the

was born at 25 weeks of gestation with a birth weight of 375 foetus was still in the mother’s womb. The baby stayed in

grams and is a Limca Book record holder and South Asia’s NICU for two months.

53 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

IN CONVERSATION

“WE ARE MOVING
TOWARDS FACIAL
AUTHENTICATION”

Indiahas,drivenbytheCoWINplatform,beenabletodispenseover197croredosesofCovidvaccines
asonJune28,2022.TheCoWINplatformisatestamenttoIndia’smuchadmireddigitalpush,andwork
inthedigitalpublicinfrastructure(DPI)space.Judgingbyreports,andtheassessmentofexperts,the
digitaleconomycouldcreatevalueinexcessof$1trillionby2025. NationalHealthAuthority(NHA)Chief
ExecutiveOfficerDrR.S.Sharma, discussesunlockingthevalueofthedigitalpublicinfrastructure(DPI)

in a conversation with Jyotsna Sharma of BW Businessworld

India has made significant progress in the digital public open API, open source, and are scalable and interoperable.
infrastructure (DPI) space. What is the best way to unlock This means that irrespective of the systems used, communi-
the value of the various platforms? cation through these Digital Public goods is possible using
India has proved to the world that it is second to none in standard APIs.
adopting technology and innovating around it. The pandemic
highlighted the need for a robust digital public infrastructure What are the challenges to the success of the DPI?
(DPI). In particular, the pandemic proved the value of digital Generally, adoption of digital technologies by all the stake-
systems that were already in use, had basic but flexible func- holders is a challenge for a country. For instance, we have
tions, and could be applied to the pandemic response effort many small clinics across the country which need to be
and other common challenges. brought on to digital systems. Secondly, for the doctors, we
need to provide them a system which is easy to use. We have
These digital public infrastructure (DPI) systems included to find ways and innovate to make systems easy to use.
digital identification, payments, and data exchanges. None of
them were developed with the pandemic in mind, but they How can we get the privacy and customer engagement
became critical enablers of public health, social protection, aspects right?
and economic responses by the government, businesses, By design we created the digital public goods such that mini-
organisations, and individuals. mal information is collected, and this information is encrypt-
ed. Moreover, notice is given wherever the data is used, and
When we began this journey 12 years back with the crea- consent is taken before use. Then the purpose limitation is
tion of Digital Identity for every individual, our aim was to factored in, and individuals also have a facility to lock their
provide individuals a method to authenticate their identity authentication. These are some of the safety features that
in an efficient manner. At the moment, it is biometric and were introduced in the creation of the Aadhar (Privacy by
OTP-based, but we are moving towards facial authentication. Design), and these have been followed for all other digital
public goods as well. The federated data structure also pro-
Back then, this project was ahead of its time, and today it vides added security.
has become central to various processes such as banking etc.
Onewayof lookingatitisaplugandplaymodel–thisauthen- To get users engaged with these platforms, methods like
tication can be used across various sectors to ease processes. advertising on social media could be used. Incentives can
Similarly, for UPI, we thought about the fact that digital in- be rolled out for people to engage with these programmes.
teractions might require transactions. And, hence the UPI, We must focus on better user support for the citizens and
which allows digital transactions remotely and securely. fast resolution of queries and grievances. Additionally, de-

These DPI goods are horizontal and not built for any par-
ticular platforms. Further, these are based on open standards,

54 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

velopment of user-friendly and interactive “Digital health tions have been planned for the ABDM?

websites and applications is important. Also, needs a major Theoverarchinggoalof theABDMistolever-
let’s not forget that privacy should be kept in focus and push as age technology to deliver equitable and afford-
mind while developing any programme, with able health services in an accessible manner.

proper frameworks and regulations in place. after the Individuals can maintain longitudinal history

Which areas need more focus and a bigger pandemic for better diagnostics that can be shared with
push? everybody has the physician, based on his consent. Federated
data structure is being maintained for security
Digital health needs a major focus and push, come to realise the of data.
as after the pandemic everybody has come to We have also created building blocks such
realisetheimportanceofhealth. Digitalhealth importance of as a consent manager, authenticated registry
systems can play a crucial role in connecting health. Digital of doctors, authenticated registry of facilities

patients to doctors online, helping them buy health systems can and so on.
medication, and so on. These are the highlights of the ongoing ini-
Education about these programmes in rural play a crucial role tiatives:
in connecting pa- l Consultation to build a ‘Drug Registry’ with
areas is another crucial aspect that requires
focus.Internetforallandaccesstomobilecon- tients to doctors” credible information about drugs and their
nectivity is very important. Finally, job creation substitutes. This is in the development process.

in the IT sector will help solve the resource crunch in the l WeareworkingtocreateaHealthClaimsExchange(HCX)

digital sector. platform for swift processing of insurance claims.

l Repurpose CoWIN to become a platform for universal

Which are key factors behind the success of CoWIN? immunisation.

It was the need for smooth and equitable vaccine coverage l Working along with NOTTO [National Organ and Tissue

that drove the creation of CoWIN. We needed a digital back- Transplant Organization] to digitalise processes for organ

bone for a country-wide coverage that was also portable and donation. An example would be auto-forwarding the infor-

scalable.Moreover,wewantedinteroperabilitysothatpeople mation about a brain death case to applicants desiring the

could book their vaccines through various applications. said organ, auto-dissemination of information about a person

needing an organ transplant etc.

In her 2022-23 Budget speech, Union Finance Minister, We are also working to make available anonymised and

Nirmala Sitharaman, announced an open platform for aggregated health data in the public domain for the benefit

theNationalDigitalHealthEcosystemundertheAyush- of the research community.

man Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). What new innova- [email protected]

Photograph by Bobby Singh 55 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

Essay

THE NEW AGE engagement scores leading us to pub-
OF WORKPLACE lish the Top 75 Great Mid-Size Work-
CULTURE places as opposed to a Top 50 until
last year. With the effect of Covid set-
Businesseswillneedtocultivateaculture ting in, organisations saw a surge in
premiumtoattract,recruitandretainthebest their engagement scores on account
talent ByAkshatShah of proactive steps taken by them to
ensure the wellbeing of employees
T HE PARADIGM OF workplace culture and what it takes to be a great coupled with an increased sense of
place to work is changing. The last two years have been nothing short gratitude from employees.
of this demonstration. The outbreak of the pandemic, followed by
the Great Resignation, has not been very easy. Our data shows that Ninety-three per cent of employees
mid-size companies will want to up their headcount by 35 per cent at the best workplaces believe that
on average over the next 12 months. As a result, it will be even more taking everything into account, their
important for businesses to cultivate a culture differentiator and a organisation is a great place to work.
culture premium to attract, recruit and retain the best talent in the market. Moreover, the best workplaces out-
perform their industry peers across
Over the last five years, we have seen a steady increase in the participation eight major industries.
of mid-sized organisations (defined by Great Place to Work® Institute as those
that have 100 to 500 employees on their payroll) coupled with an increase in Our research shows that the best
workplaces have expanded their
boundaries to create aspirational or-
ganisations. They foster a culture of
flexibility, inclusion, fairness, and ef-
fective leadership behaviour.

Leaders at the best workplaces
have adopted a more inclusive ap-
proach to decision making paving
the way for higher agility and col-
laboration. The positive perception
of “Management involves people in
decisions that affect their job or work

56 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022 Photograph by Indiapicturebudget

environment” has seen an 8 per cent with employees. The increase in dation of fairness and institution-
increase over last year continuing positive perceptions around fairness alising practices that promote flex-
a trend of significant improvement across all organisations indicates ibility, integrity and inclusion is the
in this area over the last two years. that leaders are now a lot more con- distinguishing formula for the best
Interestingly, employees working in scious. They are also focused on en- workplaces. However, the new age of
organisations that enable a higher suring managers are equipped and workplace culture has challenged the
percentage of their workforce to work coached to be transparent in their traditional mechanisms, and creat-
remotely/flexibly experience a higher approach and mindful of any uncon- ing or sustaining a great workplace
sense of empowerment and report scious biases they may be letting out. culture is much more than just adopt-
fewer instances of feeling burnt out at ing good people practices.
work. The best workplaces have a sig- At Great Place to Work® Institute,
nificant edge over the others around our research tells us that leaders play Today, organisations face a busi-
the perception of striking a balance a very critical role in how employees ness imperative to create a consis-
between work and personal life. perceive the culture and the organ- tently great place to work. Unfor-
isation. At best workplaces leaders tunately, most companies today fall
The best workplaces continue have established credibility by ensur- short of this goal. Even in the best
to maintain their edge in ensuring ing that they walk the talk and deliver workplaces, few employee segments
perception around equity — both in on promises made. have a less positive experience at
compensation and profit-sharing work than others. Our research re-
To summarise, building the foun- veals that organisations that have
focused on ensuring consistency of
93 per cent of employees at the best workplaces believe their experience across their employees
have seen significantly higher intent
organisation is a great place to work to stay, advocacy, and productivity.

The study also revealed that when
organisations maximise human po-
tential through effective leadership,
meaningful values, and a foundation
of trust, good things happen. One of
those things is innovation. Leaders
need to foster a culture of innovation
across their organisation. Our data
shows that organisations that expe-
rience optimal levels of innovations
succeed in managing exit rates, burn-
out, motivation, and productivity of
employees.

In conclusion, leaders at best work-
places have created a perfect balance
between responsibility, humility, pas-
sion, people, and results. This serves
as a starting point for carving a route
to overcome the challenges of the
new-age workplaces. To move for-
ward leaders must focus on bridging
the gaps in experience to maximise
human potential and foster a culture
of innovation within their workforce.
The mantra for the workplaces of the
future is a workplace that works For
All!

Akshat Shah is VP, Great Place to
Work® India

57 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

METHODOLOGY

THE GREAT PLACE TO WORK®
FOR ALL METHODOLOGY

Insightsintotheframeworkof instrument known as Trust Index© and carries 75 per
India’slargestandmostcredible cent weightage. The survey helps in seeking anonymous
workplaceculturestudytoidentify feedback from employees and the For All model not only
bestworkplaces looks at the aggregate employee experience of an organ-
isation but also checks that various employee groups have
EVERY YEAR, more than 10,000 organisations a chance to experience a consistent level of trust. The sec-
from over 60 countries partner with Great Place ond lens is called Culture Audit©; it is a proprietary tool of
to Work® Institute for assessment, benchmarking the Institute that evaluates the strength of the leadership
and planning actions to strengthen their workplace as supported by meaningful values and philosophy and
culture. Great Place to Work® Institute’s methodology, de- quality of the practices and programmes that shape em-
rived from 30 years of studying best workplaces across the ployee experience, build consistent levels of trust and en-
globe, is recognised as rigorous and objective and consid- able each individual to use their potential to better organ-
ered the gold standard for defining great workplaces across isational performance. This carries 25 per cent weightage.
business, academia and government organisations.
The Institute undertakes a robust validation process on
However, Great Place to Work® Institute’s latest re- the data gathered. The cumulative score of Trust Index©
search shows that the meaning of a great workplace has and Culture Audit© determines an organisation’s position
evolved over time. Fast changing competitive landscapes, in the ranking scoreboard and helps in identifying ‘India’s
need for speed and agility indicate that doing healthy busi- 75 Great Mid-size Workplaces’. No individual or jury has a
ness is about improving results by creating workplace cul- say in who makes it to the top 75 list—only employee feed-
tures where leaders empower all individuals to reach their back and quality of culture audit© determine if an organ-
full potential and where every employee feels a sense of isation is a great workplace.
belonging regardless of their demography. This forms the
base of the new “For All” methodology. Disclosure
Every participant receives their employee survey feedback
All organisations that nominate themselves for India’s report with an online analytics dashboard after the com-
Great Mid-size Workplaces list undergo an assessment. pletion of the assessment, for which each organisation pays
This aims at studying the ways in which organisations a standard fee. This assessment is done pro bono for NGOs
fully channelise the people power and create inclusive and social service organisations in India. The Institute also
workplaces through effective leadership, meaningful has a consulting practice. The total consulting revenue
values and a culture where all employees experience high of Great Place to Work® Institute, India from the ‘India’s
levels of trust, such that each employee is able to bring Great Mid-size Workplaces,’ in the financial year 2021-22
their best to work. All organisations are studied through is 0.54 per cent of the total revenue of the Institute in India.
two lenses. The first lens measures the quality of em- Great Place to Work®, India has a stated policy of not solic-
ployee experience through our globally validated survey iting business from the winners of India’s Great Mid-size
Workplaces.

Photograph by Vect_Variant 58 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

NEXUS MALLS –
A WHOLESOME
EMPLOYER

About Nexus Malls Hiring of People with Disabilities

Nexus Malls is the Indian Retail Portfolio arm of world’s a key initiative at Nexus Malls. These initiatives vary
leading investment firm, The Blackstone Group. It boasts from workshops to development centers, work-life bal-
of a portfolio of approximately 10 million square feet of ance, and self-defense training. 25% of our workforce
Grade A retail space in the country. comprises of women in various roles. It is our endeavor
to ensure that we provide an atmosphere where the
The journey of Nexus Malls began in 2016, by acquir- women can thrive and excel.
ing the first two assets in Ahmedabad and Amritsar. ► As part of our Women Empowerment, Development
Since then, it has grown at a rapid pace. Today, the port- and Retention Program, we conducted a series of
folio of 17 assets is spread across 13 major cities like Mum- trainings for our women employees including the out-
bai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Indore, Pune, source staff.
Bhubaneswar, Udaipur, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mysore, Through these trainings, we hope to empower and
Mangalore & Hyderabad. make them an integral part of the Nexus family
Some of the trainings that were conducted are:
I. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion • Personal Branding
• Leadership Development training with ISB insti-
At Nexus Malls, we take great pride in having the best
talent across the retail industry in India working with tute for the women leaders.
us. We are constantly striving to ensure that the right • Financial literacy – For women seeking assistance
opportunity is provided to the right candidates across our
portfolio of malls. in financial planning.
• Self-defense workshops for contracted employees.
We also think it’s remarkable that approximate 30% • Women Menstrual Hygiene Workshops and Free
of our employees are from diverse background including
gender diversity. Sanitary dispenser vending machines installed
across our malls.
We aim to hire approximate 200 ex-servicemen, their
kin and specially abled individuals by 2023. Currently, III. Employee Wellbeing & Development
25% of our workforce are women and we aim to take this
figure to 30% by 2023. As we place great emphasis on importance of continu-
ous learning, one of our top priorities during the early
II. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT& DEVEL- phase of the pandemic, when the industry came to a halt,
OPMENT: was to ensure that our employees’ growth and develop-
ment remained on track. We implemented several im-
► Women empowerment, development and retention is portant training programmes by leveraging the online
platforms. We also continued engagement activities on the
virtual model to keep our staff motivated and involved.
Through these activities, constant interaction and con-

nection, a sense of belonging was fostered. ■

“Our employees are our brand ambassadors and
pillars that support our continued growth and suc-
cess. We invest in their overall development through
various programmes that upskill them in accordance
with market needs. Regular training and engagement,
together with a diverse and inclusive work culture,
have ensured increased productivity as well as em-

ployee satisfaction”

Rohan Vaswani, Chief People Officer

RANK 1 PROFILE

Company Name : Version 1 Services Solving For Individuals
Industry : Information Technology Pathways also recently won the Best
India HQ : Bengaluru Talent Development Initiative by the
Employee Strength : 158 Irish Institute of Training and Devel-
opment 2021. It makes it easy for em-
BIGONTRUST, ployees to assess where their skill gaps
EMPOWERMENT are and understand how to fill them. It
is ‘self-driven’ by employees through
Version1’s bet is on allowing people to self-service and achieved on an indi-
thrive and unleash their potential,cul- vidual, self-paced basis. The number
ture fitment,employees development one objective of Pathways is to ensure
that it is a centralised, holistic, and in-
Version 1 looks to clusive career development model ap-
ensure that peo- plicable to every Version 1 employee.
ple, at all levels,
have a voice in Pathways’ learning ethos is rooted
the company. Traditional- in the principle of continuous learning
ly, younger people with less through three core learning channels,
experience would rarely be utilising the 70:20:10 training model
offered an opportunity to
air their thoughts, suggestions and feedback to their more to describe the optimal
senior peers. sources of learning. The
model enables employees
One of the company’s best practices aims to change to make the absolute best
this. Shadow Board is a mix where employees under the use of their time and focus
age of 30 meet with the management monthly to discuss on specific, targeted career
topical happenings. conversations which are
objective and transparent
Another best practice of the company, Pathways, was by design.
launched to empower and support employees in devel-
oping the skills and knowledge they need to grow their What Employees Say
careers and deliver great customer service. “Version 1 holds up tal-
ented candidates and
provides umpteen chal-
lenging opportunities to push indi-
viduals to the max learning curve.
A unique thing is recognition. The
company does a great deal to recog-
nise people via various means such
as profit sharing to even customised
gifts. Management reaches out to a
personal level and also takes things
into account if one has any problems.
The company gives importance to
both the emotional and physical
wellbeing of the employees,” says an
employee of the company.
The sentiment is echoed by several
others who highlight the organisation’s
quarterly internal surveys, training
and mentoring programmes, flexibil-
ity to cross skill, offering various paid
courses to upskill and the like.

60 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 2 PROFILE

DEVELOPMENT
FORALL

GGS hires with inclusion in mind and
then reaches out to its support staff to
enable them to achieve more

Company Name : GUS Global Services India
Industry : Education & Training
India HQ : Gurgaon
Employee Strength : 368

GUS Global Services (GGS) focuses on extending set needed to perform successfully.
its core responsibility of learning and education The company also has a UPES Skill
to its various stakeholders viz the students, fac-
ulty, employees and the community. The respect Development Programme for all tal-
and opportunities extended to the marginalised are note- ented employees, aimed at the uplift-
worthy in the company’s initiatives. ment of its support staff at the campus
by training them in literacy skills such
Growing Individuals as computer competencies, written and
Some of the best practices at the company include a com- spoken English and so on.
pany-sponsored 11-month post-graduate programme in
leadership and management that is offered to all to help Happy Employees
build skills and attitudes necessary for bigger roles and One of the company employees says,
responsibilities. The programme, LEAP, has been designed “The organisation always thinks for the
to develop gen-next leaders and gives opportunities to high- professional growth of its employees,
potential people to create a strong pipeline of leaders. providing free Coursera certification,
Leadership Programme etc to upscale
To broaden their talent practices, GGS management employees capability. Several skill-
created a pool of differently-abled employees by providing development programs are run for all
them with job opportunities. The general staff, peers, col- professional brackets, from executive
leagues, and seniors were educated to prevent misconcep- to higher management levels.” Another
tions and focus on inclusion. employee adds, “The organisation gives
room to bring original and fresh per-
The company also has a training roadmap for each em- spectives. It provides feedback when
ployee that involves creating individual plans, which is in necessary and the required resources
line with the need and employee’s ability level and the skill to get the job done. This combination is
unique and inspiring. The organisation
provides equal opportunity to perform
and gives recognition.”

61 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 3 PROFILE

Company Name : Mahendra Accelo - India
Industry : Manufacturing & Production
India HQ : Mumbai
Employee Strength : 291

‘MY HOME’ should avail of leave and spend time
APPROACH with family.

MahindraAccelo lets people experiment Mahindra Accelo wants its employ-
as well as undertakes practices for em- ees to be proud of their workplace and
ployees to be proud of their workplace treat it like their own. It believes that
this should start with the junior em-
Mahindra Accelo has ployees. Thus was born the ‘Maze ghar
a range of platforms mazi factory’ best practice. Each plant
that encourage em- operations executive adopts a 500 sq
ployees to share their feet area in the plant. The employees
voice on matters relating to the or- treat this as their own space and work
ganisation, collaborate for work and on Kaizens and improvements to show-
have the power to choose, involving case that area as a place of pride. This
employees on matters that directly practice of ‘My factory is my house’ has
impact them. Retired employees are contributed significantly to the increase
also engaged as mentors for new or in the number of Kaizens.
junior staff. A learning environment for employees is built
around the 3E approach of education, experience and ex- For The Employees
posure using Shadow Board, Kaizen culture, career con- “All employees irrespective of designa-
versations and grooming employees in multiple skill-sets. tion, qualification or gender are treated
equally and everyone is given a chance
There are separate councils on promotion, compensa- to be heard. Even during the pandemic,
tion and performance with cross-functional participation. the company’s first priority was to en-
Rewards and recognition programmes acknowledge great sure the safety and well-being of its em-
performers, employees living up to the organisational val- ployees. There were no lay-offs or pay
ues, and great ideas. cuts during the lockdown,” comments
a company employee.
Ensuring Best Practices
The company has a programme called ‘Family holiday at
Club Mahindra’, wherein the company sponsors an em-
ployee and family for a vacation anywhere in India. Em-
phasis is that employees and their families should enjoy
the holiday benefit from the company and the employee

62 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

6th

RANK 4 PROFILE

Company Name : Chalet Hotels cess, the company seek suggestions
Industry : Hospitality from employees. In regards to this, it
India HQ : Mumbai launched a ‘BrainWave Ideation Plat-
Employee Strength : 137 form’, a platform to share ideas that
cantransformbusiness challenges into
FUELLING EQUAL opportunities. They encourage ideas
POWER that will challenge the current ways of
working to make it more effective, ef-
Chalet Hotels is always working to make ficient and engaging. Employees are
the working environment safe, secure, askedtoshare abrief ontheirproposed
faster, easy and friendly idea, along with a plan to implement
this idea and the tangible benefits that
Chalet Hotels makes noteworthy efforts toward are estimated as an outcome of imple-
including a diverse range of members in their menting their idea. The employee then
teams with a special focus on making women presents to the BrainWave Committee
employees feel supported and involved. Their and the best ideas are recognised and
training and development initiatives are also commenda- rewarded.
ble in range and detail. Internal growth is bolstered through
the many leadership grooming interventions. Overall, there Adding to one’s family by adopting
is an environment of care and professional enrichment. a child is wonderful but involves a lot

Diverse Practices of planning, legal work and expense.
The company has a programme to promote women entre- Chalet Malls helps offset the costs
preneurs. Chalet Pink Power is a startup launcher initiative and ensures the employees have qual-
for women entrepreneurs. It’s an initiative to help women ity time with their little ones with the
to extend their business in shopping malls and test business adoption assistance policy. The policy is
viability for their products by winning the gratification of company-sponsored and financially as-
free retail space provided by the mall for six months. This sists employees and provides paid leave
is a very successful event and an ongoing effort by the com- for the adoptive parent employee.
pany to encourage and promote women entrepreneurs.
Women Friendly
To enhance collaboration to make any project a suc- “The facilities during maternity break
and easy come back, women’s day cel-
ebration, equal opportunity to grow for
both men and women, wonder women,
adoption policy are some of the policies
that make it a great place to work for
women. Everyone is allowed to express
new ideas and if found viable, they are
implemented as well,” says a Chalet
Malls employee.

64 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 51 PROFILE

PEOPLE Meraki Works
CENTRICITY
“It is the Meraki and Samirness that
Modicare believes in developing employ- make it a great place to work. Our
ees,encouraging two-way communication founder is very approachable. He lis-
and lauding their contribution tens and provides solutions and is com-
mitted to employee growth and engages
Modicare has a people- with people through regular town halls.
centric culture with a His vision and mission of giving finan-
philosophy called ‘Me- cial freedom to our direct sellers are
raki’ that underlies unique,” says a company employee.
the way it works and identifies ele-
ments that define what it believes “I love this organisation because
in, stands for and values. This phi- they treat us like family. Here employ-
losophy and the related behaviours ees have a great opportunity to enrich
aid in decision making and are their knowledge and enhance skills
interlinked with various people that help them to perform even better
practices aimed at hiring the right fit, values assimilation and to achieve desired goals,” says an-
in welcoming and induction, performance management, other employee. As a place to work for
celebrations and recognition. women, one employee says, “The ma-
ternity policy, work from home during
Inclusive & Knowledge Sharing Practices medical exigencies for self and parents,
To overcome language barriers at the shop floor level, company car facility for late sitting and
Modicare has initiated special training sessions which are conveyance reimbursement, celebrat-
done in the local language. Modicare also believes in inspir- ing women’s day, promoting women to
ing and motivating all members to skill and upskill them- represent the company on various fo-
selves so that as an organisation or as an individual, one can rums are some of the things that make
exhibit higher levels of productivity and better adaption this company a great place to work for
to changing market trends. The programme Modicare women.”
Lighthouse Talks is a quarterly initiative through which the
organisation wants to tap its internal talent and capitalise
on their knowledge with this platform. Employees across
the levels have utilised it to share insights. The Lighthouse
talks are powerpack delivery of short but powerful talks.

65 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 6 PROFILE

CONTRIBUTION Company Name : Finjent
BASED WORK Industry : Information Technology
India HQ : Kochi
Fingent’s practices look to go beyond Employee Strength : 423
the usual while recognising and reward-
ing its employees initiative also supports every employ-
ee’s development. These sessions help
F ingent does not follow the ‘typical’ industry norms employees and their peers to learn and
in its ways of working and in doing so it aims to keep themselves updated regarding
provide a more enriching experience for its em- projects and technologies, as well as
ployees. The company believes there are multiple learn new technologies.
platforms and opportunities to hone professional skills and
contribute meaningfully to organisational objectives and The organisation invests in develop-
even to the community. ing its people through internal (non-
billable) projects, which are executed by
Custom Made transitioning high-skilled staffing out
While the most common performance management prac- of billable projects and practices and
tice in the industry is a ranking-based system, Fingent has processes used for customer projects.
a contribution-based performance evaluation intended for
the development of a Fingentite rather than a performance The Employees’ Thumbs Up
metric. This has been practised from the initial days and the “Fingent’s culture is unique. We are
evaluations were mostly verbal. Though the feedback was treated like people and not as a resource
effective, as the company grew, it wanted a more impactful to do just the job. This is a people-ori-
system that stayed true to its philosophy of performance ented organisation where importance
management. Fingent built a custom-made system for this. is given to people. Fingent is like family,
people help each other and they support
It recorded any form of feedback, about a job well done or us even if we are having personal trou-
a need for improvement, or a new skill development area, bles. The management is putting sig-
the only constraint being that it must be specific and use- nificant effort to maintain the culture
ful to the Fingentite and is created only after one-on-one and they are very ethical,” comments an
interaction with the employee. These enable managers to employee, voicing the popular school of
recommend merit-oriented increments based on qualita- thought in the company’s workforce.
tive judgements.

The company also has Knowledge Sharing sessions
(KSS) through FinCast. This training and development

66 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 7 PROFILE

STRIKINGTHE Company Name : Junglee Games
RIGHTBALANCE Industry
India HQ : Information Technology
Junglee Games’mantra is to encourage Employee Strength
people to also see beyond the office and : Gurgaon
contribute to self and society
: 439
Junglee Games stands for
employee care and op- programme hosts sessions once a year
portunities. Its benefits or twice a year focused on life skills,
include personal devel- leadership and health. The training
opment, health development presentations are publicly shared
and gaming benefit, childcare so the leaders can further train their
support and others. The lead- teams in different aspects and the de-
ers keep a keen eye on identify- velopment throughout the company
ing talent and leveraging them. continues.
Creating a new role based on a candidate’s abilities when
hiring to fluid career movements based on abilities and Employee Equality
training for the new roles with an unlimited professional “Here at Junglee Games, every employ-
development budget are inspiring growth stories. ee is treated equally.... Ideas are always
encouraged and rewarded. There are
Bringing In Best Practices ample growth opportunities. Work-life
At the advent of the pandemic, Junglee Games introduced balance is stressed, and organisation
The Unplugged Weekends to address the work-life bal- understands its importance on the em-
ance and employee burnout by encouraging them to take ployees’ mental health. Overall, it has
time off by extending the weekend on Fridays or Mondays been a very rewarding and satisfying
that could be availed twice a year. experience so far,” says an employee.

The company also created ‘Make a Difference’ commit- On leadership, another employee
tees, where aside from the formal means of communica- adds, “We have ‘GTK session-get to
tion and conversing, casual celebrations at the Junglee know’ monthly, where people from dif-
Games are a regular affair. During this time there are no ferent teams are randomly matched
distinctions between boss and newcomers. and meet over company-sponsored
coffee. It is such a small and great ini-
Also, the leadership team via the centre of excellence tiative as it promotes understanding of
a person outside work.”

67 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 8 PROFILE

AUTONOMY AND makes sure that its managers can del-
ACCOUNTABILITY egate tasks with correct information
and guidance. It is a prerequisite for
Altudo Consultancy Services invests in train- them to spend time with their team
ing its managers to become better leaders members to help them understand
and further train an effective workforce projects, define roles, and make them
feel valued.

To strengthen its leadership hier-
archy for bigger and broader roles,
the company has a leadership devel-
opment programme called ‘Big Bets
Programme’ for people who have con-
sistently high value scoring over three
quarters. It helps them understand
the big picture aspects of business and
leadership to enhance their existing
abilities, acquire new skills and be-
come better for tomorrow.

Altudo created a special Social Influ-
encer Award category to honour and
reward such employees who help max-
imise reach, fortify brand presence, and

Company Name : Altudo Consultancy Services

Industry : Information Technology

India HQ : Gurgaon

Employee Strength : 473

Altudo Consultancy Services solves marketing create value for consumers.
problems with technology. The company de-
livers one-on-one experiences across channels Employee Testimonials
driven by data, experience design and marketing “One good point is that there are
technology. It works across the marketing tech ecosystem good skill development training pro-
including content management system, marketing auto- grammes for technical skills as well as
mation, customer relationship management, community, managerial skills in Altudo. I think the
social media, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, management works towards personal
ecommerce and analytics. growth and trust with your decision and
key initiatives. There are many learning
Growing Together opportunities here. There is a culture of
Altudo trains its managers to become better coaches. peer support which is very good,” says
From conducting mandatory training sessions with an employee.“Newideasarecelebrated
senior leadership that brief them about the values and and executed if the management feels
work culture at induction to scheduling refresher ses- this could add value to the company’s
sions every quarter and providing its managers with the vision. Not just that, people are given
necessary guidance and learning materials, the company ownership to execute the ideas and re-
does it all to make them better leaders. By creating the warded handsomely for the same,” adds
right balance between autonomy and accountability, it another employee.

68 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022



RANK 9 PROFILE

LIVING BY
VALUES

CrowdStrike’s values and goals include
the need to put the employees first
building an inclusive growth culture

Company Name : CrowdStrike
Industry : Information Technology
India HQ : Pune
Employee Strength : 287

Extensive efforts have been made to percolate CrowdStrike believes that people
and imbibe the organisation’s values and phi- ‘own their output’, and the work-
losophy at CrowdStrike. The company brought force often chooses how and when
together representatives from a broad range to complete their work. This allows
of functional units and backgrounds to form a culture their people to balance work and life
team, partnering with executives, acting as a sound- as they need. The company also of-
ing board, and advocating for cultural initiatives. The fers an entry-level foundational pro-
team developed their culture statement and defined the gramme for newly promoted or hired
company’s values that shape how they operate, behave people managers.
and influence their business revolving around people,
innovation and customers. Growth For All
CrowdStrike also offers an internal
CrowdStrike offers its people a chance to work on mentorship program through the
projects they are passionate about during its annual Women of CrowdStrike ERG that is
‘Think Week’ to spark learning, collaboration and inno- open to all employees regardless of
vation. A quarterly recognition programme is designed gender identity or expression. The
for peer nominations. The company also has employee program offers participants organi-
resource groups that are employee-led, self-directed, sational exposure and career devel-
and voluntary groups working in line with organisa- opment opportunities.
tional mission, values and goals.
“The organisation takes care of its
Growth From Within employees by allowing ample space
Crowdstrike offers all its employees access to flex sched- and time for work and personal life
ules so they can manage their work and personal lives balance. They take care of our well-
in a way that works for them. It has had a distributed being. For instance, during Covid,
workforce since its inception in 2011. they were very understanding about
our performance as too many of our
families were affected by it,” com-
ments a CrowdStriker.

70 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK10 PROFILE

FOR THE
EMPLOYEES

Gera Developments is a rare realty firm
that puts their employees’needs before
external factors and market risks

Company Name : Gera Developments
Industry : Infrastructure & Real Estate
India HQ : Pune
Employee Strength : 246

Gera Developments fosters a culture of apprecia- on the nominations, the winner is re-
tion wherein the extra mile efforts are valued. warded at the Outdo Awards.
Its rewards and recognition program is woven
around the organisation’s philosophy of ‘Let’s Another programme, Pathbreak-
Outdo’. The management is focusing on building a culture ers, was started to develop entrepre-
of development, wellness, and inclusiveness. It believes in neurial abilities among employees. The
a collaborative approach and seeks feedback from employ- long-term focus was to drive entrepre-
ees and customers at regular intervals. The organisation neurial culture in the organisation to
revolves around its core values and lives by them in every build a greater sense of belonging and
aspect of doing business and involving all stakeholders. ownership. It refers to the inculcation,
development and polishing of entre-
Recognitions & Pathbreakers preneurial skills to establish and suc-
Being a real estate organisation, Gera thrives on collabo- cessfully manage a business. It is a real-
ration both internally and externally. To institutionalise time opportunity for the employees to
and recognise the importance of effective relationships, showcase entrepreneurs’ underlying
cooperation and collaborative working across teams, the potential.
company introduced a new category in the appreciation
gamut, the Fair Play Awards. The award is intended to map The Right Culture
the collaborative score of individuals in terms of their per- “The unique aspect of this organisation
severance to tackle difficult situations and work effectively is the opportunities created. Unlike oth-
with cross teams towards achieving a common project goal. er real estate players, the focus here is
more on doing things differently, being
The company also has a 360-degree-based nomination, a brand of our own and people live this
making the award by the people and for the people. Based value. Leaders focus on creating oppor-
tunities. People here are not afraid to
fail as there are ample developmental
opportunities for them to come up the
curve,” says a Gera employee.

71 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK 11 PROFILE

Company Name : Colorbar Cosmetics
Industry : Manufacturing & Production
India HQ : Delhi
Employee Strength : 139

COLOURS OF are celebrated like grand events.
TEAMWORK The company has always treated us
like family members and was always
Colorbar seeks to grow its employees there even in tough times like Covid.
via initiatives like knowledge dissemina- I always feel happy coming to work,
tion and creating a sharing culture it is indeed a great organisation to
work with,” comments a company
Colorbar Cosmetics has an employee-centric work veteran.
environment. The company continues to create
an engaging work environment with initiatives “The company makes me feel at
that support employee growth and development home. I am not treated as an employee
and ensure they are supported and taken care of during but as a family member and this ap-
their tenure. Colorbar Cosmetics has focused on build- plies to every employee. We work here
ing strong two-way communication and ensuring that all as a family, being on each other’s side all
employees continuously feel recognised and rewarded for the time. We can be ourselves around
their efforts, performance and contribution. people, around management, and we
are always encouraged to be mad and
The Sound of Victory try what we are good at,” adds another
A metal bell is hung at the company’s head office, and when- employee.
ever it achieves a new milestone, the COO or the depart-
mental head rings the bell as a sound of victory. The compa- “Every employee in this organisation
ny also has a newsletter that covers aspects of make-up and is given ample opportunities to inno-
skin and gives a sneak peek into the life of the frontline sales vate, develop new ideas and grow with-
staff or the hustlers on the field. Colorbar’s trend talk is a in the organisation. Honest failures are
one-stop resource for beauty enthusiasts and for those who treated as learning opportunities. Top
stay ahead with the latest trends. This newsletter quenches management is very empathetic toward
the thirst for up-to-date topics such as sustainability, being employees and places their well-being
vegan, happier lifestyles and nuanced beauty tips. on a very high priority. Every employee
is given space to excel and grow,” says a
What Employees Say staff member.
“This organisation always thinks about its people first.
All the celebrations, whether Diwali, Holi or birthdays

72 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK12 PROFILE

PRIORITISING
WELLBEING

RVU India has undertaken several initia-
tives focused on its people, leading to a
stress-free work environment

ticipate in the organisation of festivals,
which allow all employees to relax
while practising a sporting, cultural or
fun activity, which is above all pleasant
and without constraints.

Employee Wellbeing
“The long-term incentive benefit, free
cabs, work from home, no weekends,
no overtimes, work-life balance, fun
budget, TGIF, LWR, Shares Scheme
(bonus) are some of the things that

T he people practices at RVU India are driven by Company Name : RVU India
the mission of effective utilisation of best human Industry : Information Technology
resource practices fostering a world-class work- India HQ : Gurgaon
ing culture, a great workplace and cultivating Employee Strength : 146
a conducive environment facilitating growth for their
employees. As an organisation, it has allocated resources make our organisation a great place to
and working hours to focus on upgrading the skills of its work,” comments an RVU India em-
employees. The management is approachable and sup- ployee.
portive. The health and well-being of its employees is a
key priority for the company and it has many programs Seconding this, another view is,
around it. “Employees here are not just numbers,
we are treated as members of a fam-
The Right Experiences ily. Easily approachable management
The company has a ‘888 Feedback Mechanism’ pro- team.”
gramme for new team members. The objective here is to
ensure that the processes in recruiting, onboarding, and “Equal opportunity, decision mak-
accelerating new team members into RVU India have the ing, taking care of employees well-
desired effect. The company believes it is critical to get being, personal life balance, when
candid, data-driven, and early feedback. Periodic feedback needed received mental support
is taken from all the new joiners after completing eight from the management. You can ask
hours / eight days / eight weeks to sense their pulse and any question to the management.
take immediate action if any. The focus is more on employee em-
powerment and giving them auton-
The company also has a ‘Thank God Its Friday (TGIF)’ omy in areas they are working,” says
initiative that takes place every Friday. It includes quiz- another employee.
zes, games, fancy dress and the like. Employees also par-

73 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK13 PROFILE

APPRECIATING shortlisted candidates to know more
EVERY PRIMO about Bacardi from authentic sources.
The company wants to focus more on
Bacardi India employees believe that this is a com- the candidate’s experiences during the
pany that invests in its employees by helping them interview and hence believes that the
grow professionally candidate before coming for the inter-
view should know about its history and
culture. This Batpack provides answers
to the possible questions candidates
have before appearing for the interview.

The Batpack also prepares the short-
listed candidates for the interviewing
process listing what they should expect
during the interview. During integra-
tion, new Primos receive at home a pre-
joining kit with products and a booklet
about the company’s brands and cock-
tails. There is a special Cheers! card that
instils the culture at a very first point.

Company Name : Bacardi India
Industry : FMCG - Food & Beverage
India HQ : Gurgaon
Employee Strength : 315

Bacardi India uses interesting ways to inspire, devel- Growth & Development
op and engage its people. Employees are referred
to as Primos which means cousin and thus brings The company recognises Primos who
to the forefront one of its cultural pillars which is live the cultural pillars by including be-
family. At Bacardi, every Primo is appreciated for who they haviours as a key element in ‘Let’s Talk’
are, what they do and who they can become. They live and performance review conversations,
breathe togetherness while cherishing every employee’s which can lead to an increased merit
uniqueness and hence reflecting the same in the consumer and bonus payout for individuals who
activations they plan and deliver. act as cultural role models. It also has
a tool called Primo Profile that enables
The company has also built a culture of recognition Primos to define the next potential roles
through Cheers!, an application, where Primos can send they would want to take and create a
‘thank you’ and gratitude messages to each other. All the development plan.
employees are equally celebrated by showcasing their
professional and personal journey over email and screen There are various ways in which
displays every day. Overall a culture of appreciation, trans- Primo can seek exposure and learn on
parency and development. the job to prepare for the Next Move –
SWAP, which is about moving to a dif-
The Spirit of Celebration ferent role for six months, STEP UP,
The purpose of the company practice ‘Batpack’ is to enable which is about taking on additional re-
sponsibilities in addition to current and
various other coaching tools.

74 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022



RANK14 PROFILE

Company Name : Space Teleinfra
Industry : Telecommunications
India HQ : Gurgaon
Employee Strength : 217

PREMIUM ON execution and corporate expectations.
HAPPINESS It is all about developing the skill set of
the circle business head and facilitating
Practicing a caring culture, Space the growth parameters.
Teleinfra wants its employees to be
at their positive best The company also has a happiness
challenge. A group on a social messag-
The leadership team at Space Teleinfra believes in ing platform was made to communi-
creating an ecosystem and a mindset that will help cate with employees and a ‘Happiness
its employees deliver their best. The company has Challenge’ is introduced. This involved
built a collaborative and inclusive culture where employees posting their ‘happiness’
regardless of one’s role or contribution, all employees, right moments with their families like do-
from the housekeeping staff to the senior managers and ing household work, cooking food and
leadership, are respected for their contribution. The focus so on.
is on the overall development and wellness of employees.
The Right Culture
Mentoring and Challenging “The company has a caring culture,
The company has a platform called ‘Gurukul’, a circle men- where top management personally
toring by the leadership team. This plays a significant role connects with employees and their
in empowering and encouraging a learning culture. Each wellbeing. During Covid, with over
circle has a mentor, who is part of the leadership team. The 50 employees and families impacted,
mentor takes an active part in working with the circle on there was a one-on-one touch with all.
its skill set and guiding on how to approach the business. Oxygen concentrators, cylinders, and
medicines were freely and proactively
Constructive dialogues help the circle meet the larger arranged. There is a balance of peo-
objective. It is also a way to bridge the gap between circle ple and performance with an equally
strong focus on both,” says an employee.

“The company has an empowering
professional-entrepreneurial culture.
People here not only help you in your
daily work-related tasks but also make
efforts to make you happy on various
occasions such as festivals, birthdays
etc., which strengthens the bond be-
tween the employees. This leads to bet-
ter teamwork which in turn helps us
achieve the goals faster. Another thing
that is special about this organisation is
the kind of opportunities it provides,”
adds another employee.

76 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

RANK15 PROFILE

LEADING WITH Company Name : Esri India Technologies
EXAMPLE Industry : Information Technology
India HQ : Noida
Esri India’s people practices are marked Employee Strength : 411
by a supportive work culture,workplace
camaraderie and engagement the problems that its customers, users
and communities are facing.
Esri India ensures its workforce is motivated and en-
gaged through various people-centric initiatives. All full-time Esri India employees are
The company makes sure that its people are well eligible for Special Dating Allowance. It
trained and have enough opportunities for growth is paid out for the married employee on
and professional development. Esri India’s work environ- their wedding anniversary and single
ment is characterised by workplace camaraderie and en- employees on their birthday.
gagement as evident in the celebratory and recognition
initiatives that ensure all the individual and organisational What Esriites Say
milestones are given due importance and appreciation. Esri
India believes in offering leadership visibility through vari- “It is a place where people are flourish-
ous connects and communication channels along with pro- ing as they work and as a result, they can
viding a supportive work culture to its people as reflected exceed performance expectations. Em-
in the wellbeing and supporting initiatives offered by the ployees are encouraged to express their
company. opinions on the firm’s issues. There is
a quarterly meeting where employees
Connecting With Leaders are recognised and appreciated for their
Esri India believes that leadership is providing time for the significant efforts and contribution to
employees to connect and learn from the leaders. To this the company. And also there is a ‘Pat in
end, it launched Leadership Live! series under the banner the back’ event for acknowledging the
of Let’s Talk to allow leaders to share their experience with work of new hires,” says an employee.
the employees across all levels of the organisation. Employ-
ees are encouraged to ask questions, seek insights, and even “The fact that strategic inputs are
connect with the leader post the session as convenient for considered valuable input even from a
the two. The company also launched an ideathon for all junior resource in the company by the
Esri’tes to take part and share ideas, which can solve some of managing director and the message
is cascaded for resolution of any small
issue that is raised,” adds another em-
ployee.

77 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

PROFILES BY Team BW

CLOUDTHING INDIA RANK
16

PART OF the Kerv Group, CloudThing solves complicated problems with digi- ORIFLAME
tal experiences. They combine power platform, DevSecOps, data science and INDIA
software engineering to achieve measurable business outcomes for their clients.
CloudThing India provides an environment to its employees where their develop- RANK
ment is focused upon and there are initiatives that encourage two-way communi- 20
cation and promote diversity and inclusion. The company has an initiative called
Virtual Pair Programming where a senior team member gets two or more ORIFLAME INDIA offers
employees along with him/her to solve an interesting problem together. a comprehensive range
of beauty products, with a
I2E CONSULTING RANK focus on skincare and well-
17 ness, created in Sweden.

I2E CONSULTING is digitally transforming the pharmaceutical industry and They also offer a unique
empowering organisations to achieve consistent business growth. Their opportunity for people to
expertise lies in digitising and optimising processes that allows them to build their own business as
improve the quality of operations for any pharmaceutical organisation in soft- independent Oriflame
ware application development and services. The company believes in creating Brand Partners, selling
employee-centric policies that support open communication, offer easy acces- their products and recruit-
sibility to leaders and ensure a supportive work culture. It understands that ing more people to sell.
employees are true assets of the organisation and thus have invested in devel- Employees at all levels are
oping its employees. advocates of the organisa-
tion’s family culture.
KHOROS INDIA RANK
18 The company has an ini-
tiative called ‘Dragon Den’
KHOROS INDIA is an IT product company that develops software that helps that encourages innova-
clients to deliver the best customer experiences by building and scaling digi- tion, creative thinking,
tal care, social marketing, and brand communities. They believe listening is criti- and entrepreneurship.
cal to the business and have initiatives that ensure its employees as well as cus-
tomers are heard. They have a community platform called ‘Atlas’ where employ- Employees pitch their
ees and customers can post their ideas about product enhancements or features. ideas to a committee that
Ideas are selected based on their popularity and on the number of customers shortlists them based on
who want to see them implemented. Complete transparency is maintained the execution plan,
about how ideas are chosen so that community members can see that their ideas resource management
are heard and acted upon. and timeline.

PERKINELMER INDIA RANK
19

PERKINELMER is a global technology leader driving growth and innovation
in human health and environmental health markets. PerkinElmer India is
in the business of selling and servicing of analytical instruments across differ-
ent industries viz. food, pharma, chemical, etc. The company has created an
environment where employees are supported, their development is focused
upon, and they are appreciated for their efforts and performance. This is
reflected in initiatives such as guaranteed pay for 90 days to new hires, reim-
bursal of home quarantine expenses for employees and family, variable incen-
tives, RSU for high performers and benchmarking to ensure equity.

78 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

BRIGADE HOSPITALITY RANK
21

AWHOLLY OWNED subsidiary of Brigade Enterprises, Brigade RANK
Hospitality is an eminent organisation with a diverse portfolio in the 25
hospitality industry. Besides clubs, hotels and convention centres, they also
specialise in catering services and independent living for seniors. They have SAMUNNATI
an initiative called ‘CAWS – Challenges and Winning Solutions’. Initially
planned as a monthly event, this was fast-tracked and done as workshops, SAMUNNATI FINANCIAL
the purpose of which was to identify challenges, ideate, think, and be crea- Intermediation and
tive in finding solutions to the challenges under specific categories. The Services works with agri
inputs captured from employees were further broken down as operational value chain players and
and strategy. offers financial, non-finan-
cial and advisory services.
EURONICS INDUSTRIES RANK The company provides a
22 motivating environment to
its people by recognising
EURONICS IS the largest selling public washroom automation accessory their efforts, getting them
brand in India with significant presence across the IT sector, hospitality, together to celebrate and
commercial building, airports, industries and retail space. With over 15 offering a caring work cul-
pan-India offices, four international offices and 225+ strong workforce, ture that focuses on
Euronics is a preferred brand for almost every Fortune 500 company and employee wellbeing.
leading Indian corporations. They offer an engaging and supportive work ‘Samvaad’ is one of the many
culture. Providing interest free loans to all employees, including labourers initiatives that truly reflects
and offering a special education fund for labourers’ children every year are the focus on wellbeing.
some examples that reflect their caring and supportive work culture. Under Samvaad, the people
function team connects with
PUBMATIC INDIA RANK employees over calls to
23 understand the health and
wellbeing of employees and
PUBMATIC IS is the automation solutions company for an open digital media their family members in
industry. Featuring the leading omnichannel revenue automation platform for uncertain times and offer
publishers and enterprise-grade programmatic tools for media buyers, PubMatic’s the required support.
publisher-first approach enables advertisers to access premium inventory at scale.
PubMatic believes in creating positive experience right from the time the employee
joins the organisations — which is quite evident in the extensive pre- and post-
onboarding engagement programmes. They extend the same level of positive expe-
rience to employees throughout their tenure through their various programmes
that promote equity in pay, promotions, and development opportunities.

VDX.TV RANK
24

ADIVISION of Exponential Interactive Inc., VDX.tv is a global advertising tech-
nology company that creates video-driven experiences that integrate a brand’s
TV and digital messages and empower marketers to captivate viewers, compel
action, and convert awareness into response. VDX.tv follows an open-door policy
culture, and has an approachable management that follows a collaborative and
inclusive approach. They focus on overall development and wellness of the employ-
ees. To ensure a breather for their employees, the company introduced a system of
scheduling meetings every other week with meetings to be scheduled only on three
days of that week.

79 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

PROFILES BY Team BW

ENABLE INDIA RANK
26

CONSIDERED A pioneer in employability and employment of persons with COCA-COLA
disability (PwD), Enable India is a non-profit organisation working for eco- INDIA
nomic independence and dignity of PwD since 1999. Their mission is to build a
sustainable livelihood ecosystem for millions of PwDs to attain a dignified life RANK
while having a positive impact on the economy and society. Enable India’s work 30
culture is equally inspiring as its mission. Employee involvement in decision-
making through various committees, clear & open communication from the AS PART of an operating
top, learning & growth opportunities and various celebratory activities clearly unit for India, Coca-
indicate the employee-centric culture. Cola India owns the brands
and is responsible for con-
ELCA COSMETICS RANK sumer brand marketing ini-
27 tiatives. The company
makes its branded beverage
HEADQUARTERED in Mumbai, Elca Cosmetics owns and operates cosmet- products available to con-
ics stores and offers makeup and skincare products. They currently have 10 sumers around the country
brands in India including Clinique, Aveda, Tom Ford Beauty, Estee Lauder, through their network of
Aramis Designer Fragrances, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, MAC, company-owned and inde-
Smashbox, Glamglow. The company has a unique initiative called ‘Behind the pendent bottlers system.
Scenes’ series, launched as a result of the feedback by retail teams to understand
corporate functions better. The idea is for retail employees to have an overall The company believes in
business understanding. open and transparent
two-way communication
LOGISTICS PARK INDIA RANK to ensure all critical
28 information is shared and
employee feedback is heard.
LOGISTICS PARK India is a leading service provider of logistics services in central PowerHours, launched at
India. The company provides services to top 45 Indian multinational companies the onset of the pandemic,
for storage and distribution of their products across India. They have multiple ave- is an initiative in this direc-
nues to incorporate employee feedback. ‘Bindas Bol’ (critic session) is one platform tion. PowerHours are hour-
where employees are encouraged to speak freely, suggest new initiatives, and also long topical conversations
allowed to dissect the ongoing activities and give feedback to the management. on a variety of topics of
Another such initiative is ‘Khula Munch’, an annual event which offers junior team employee interest.
members an opportunity to express themselves. These are in addition to the HR
team’s daily visits and meetings with employees.

SEEDWORKS RANK
29

HEADQUARTERED IN Hyderabad, SeedWorks International is a science
company engaged in research, production and marketing of hybrid seeds
of rice, cotton, pearl millet, mustard and vegetables. Their mission is to pro-
vide superior seed solutions by harnessing technology and innovation to cre-
ate value for all stakeholders in a sustainable manner. To ensure that the
management trainees are off to a great start, the company has designed a cre-
ative programme called UDGAM (U Develop Graduates as Managers).

80 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

GREAT PLACE TO WORK
STUDY RANKINGS 2022

Rank ORGANISATION Rank ORGANISATION

1 Version 1 Services Private Limited 38 Forsys Software India Private Limited
2 GUS Global Services India Private Limited 39 Randstad RiseSmart
3 Mahindra Accelo - India 40 JM Financial Home Loans Limited
4 Chalet Hotels Limited 41 Indusface Private Limited
5 Modicare Limited 42 MiQ Digital India Private Limited
6 Fingent 43 Acquia India Private Limited
7 Junglee Games 44 Jio Haptik Technologies Limited
8 Altudo Consultancy Services Private Limited 45 Globus Infocom Limited
9 CrowdStrike 46 Coloplast India Private Limited
10 Gera Developments Private Limited 47 Inorbit Malls (India) Private Limited
11 Colorbar Cosmetics 48 3Pillar Global
12 RVU India 49 Talentica Software
13 Bacardi India Private Limited 50 Nabler Web Solutions Private Limited
14 Space Teleinfra Private Limited 51 Practus Advisors
15 Esri India Technologies Private Limited 52 Crayon Software Experts India Private Limited
16 CloudThing India Private Limited 53 Nehru World School
17 I2e Consulting Private Limited 54 IMCD India Private Limited
18 Khoros India Private Limited 55 GAIN Credit (Global Analytics India Private Limited)
19 PerkinElmer India Private Limited 56 Cyfuture India Private Limited
20 Oriflame India Private Limited 57 U&I
21 Brigade Hospitality Services Limited 58 Dorset Industries Private Limited
22 Euronics Industries Private Limited 59 ZestMoney (Camden Town Technologies Private
23 PubMatic India Private Limited
24 VDX.tv Limited)
25 Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services 60 Precisely Software and Data India Private Limited
61 Kinaxis India Private Limited
Private Limited 62 Icreon Communications Private Limited
26 Enable India 63 STT Global Data Centres India Private Limited
27 Elca Cosmetics Private Limited 64 Get My Parking
28 Logistics Park India Private Limited 65 Honasa Consumer Private Limited
29 SeedWorks International Private Limited 66 Mindspace Business Parks REIT
30 Coca-Cola India Private Limited 67 4D Global Medical Billing Services Private Limited
31 Coupa Software India Private Limited 68 Popular Auto Works Private Limited
32 Tarento Technologies Private Limited 69 Savills Property Services (India) Private Limited
33 Centiro Solutions Private Limited 70 Forever New Apparels Private Limited
34 Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Limited 71 SEWA Rural
35 Seclore Technology Private Limited 72 Experion Developers Private Limited
36 Meta Soft Tech Systems Private Limited 73 FE fundinfo India Private Limited
74 Teleflex Medical Private Limited
37 CleverTap Private Limited 75 ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Limited

81 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

IN CONVERSATION

‘I WANT
KARNATAKA TO
CONTRIBUTE $1.25
TRILLION TOWARDS

THE INDIAN

ECONOMY’

BengaluruhasemergedasthelargeststartuphubinIndia,climbingtwospotsthisyear
andsolidifyingitspositionintheglobaltop10hotspots.AttherecentDavosSummit,
thestategovernmentsignedRs60KcroreworthofMoUsspanningsectorslikeIT,
renewable energy and manufacturing. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai
spoke with Annurag Batra, BW Businessworld’s Chairman and Editor-in-Chief about

hisvisionforKarnatakaandmoreelse.Excerpts

You were in Davos recently, tell us about the highlights of your
discussions and deliberations with the business community
and leaders?
I had detailed interactions with 25 leaders from global compa-
nies across different fields, right from data centres to renewable
energy to semiconductors, aerospace, and others. The entire
world is looking at India as a resurgent economy in the post-Covid
world, because the west has locked itself, and China is also under
lockdown. Even more than India, they are looking at Karnataka,
because of its strong technological base and all the new technolo-
gies and startups, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renew-
able energy, hydrogen energy, ammonia manufacturing etc, that
the state is known for. If you see, a lot of the new concepts that we

82 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022 Photographs by Ritesh Sharma

83 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

IN CONVERSATION

see in the world now have already been envisaged in Kar- the next level as its infrastructure has not kept pace

nataka, and especially in Bengaluru. We have also signed with the fast-growing business ecosystem?

MoUs worth around Rs 60K crore. The other reassuring The state is witnessing phenomenal growth. Now the only

thing was that more than ten companies, which are al- way Bengaluru can grow in a planned way is to decongest

ready there in Karnataka, have committed that all the ex- it. Recently our prime minister sanctioned the suburban

pansions that they are planning will be done in Karnataka rail project which will cost Rs 15K crore and will con-

alone. That shows the confidence of all these investors. All nect all the peripheral towns. He also laid the stone for

these companies have a very good experience of operating the satellite town which is going to connect the Mumbai

in the state. Also, the way our honourable Prime Minister highway with the Chennai highway. It will also connect six

Narendra Modi has dealt with Covid has given confidence satellite towns. We have industrial townships coming up

to businesses in India and abroad. which will be self-sufficient. As I said, we want to deal with

the infrastructure problem, but the issue is that everyone

What is your vision for Karnataka? wants to live in the middle of the city.

With our strength in technology and the ecosystem that A lot of new developments are taking place on the infra-

we have built over the years, we follow the approach of structure front. The government of Japan has got a town-

less governance and more impact and performance. I ship, the government of Singapore has got an ITPL, and

have been travelling the length a lot of other foreign countries

and breadth of Karnataka, I have got the townships done in

know the strength of the state. “I also believe that new Bengaluru and nowhere else in
I know its natural resources as India. There are a lot of newer

well as human resources. I be- innovations should also models and a lot of new invest-
lieve everyone who is born in have a prominent place, ments coming up. In my budg-
Karnataka or has lived here is et, I have declared that five new

blessed. I feel blessed to have which is precisely the industrial towns will be coming
become the chief minister of reason why there are so up beyond Bengaluru soon.
such a progressive state. Hav-

ing said that, my responsibility many startups in Kar- Karnataka has a strong and
is to see that the very fine legacy exemplary higher education
nataka. This legacy will
that I have inherited continues continue, and we have got sector. What are your plans
without any tinkering. And it for that sector?
has to be enhanced and it has We have the largest number

to be more business-friendly. a new policy for semicon- of engineering colleges and
I also believe that new in- ductors” technical schools. We have got
a very good number of manage-
novations should also have a

prominent place, which is pre- ment institutes, we have the

cisely the reason why there are National Law School, IIT and

so many startups in Karnataka. This legacy will continue, Institute of Science and even IIM. Now we want to up-

and we have got a new policy for semiconductors. Now we grade all these institutions. I have seen students working

are building semiconductor parks; we have a defence park hard to enter the IITs. Some of them qualify, while most of

too which the Union defence minister will inaugurate. Out them are not able to get admission. Now we have decided

of the 500 top companies, 400 are in Karnataka. I think to create our own IITs. We have started the Karnataka

that speaks a lot. And 400 globally recognised R&D cen- Institute of Technology and we are upgrading seven of

tres are already in Karnataka. No other city in the world our engineering colleges to the level of IITs. With this

but Bengaluru can boast of this feat. approach, over the next five years, we will have seven IITs

As I said, I will continue this legacy as there should be in the state. Recently our prime minister laid the founda-

a place for innovation, for consolidation and most im- tion for an 850-bed research hospital and inaugurated the

portantly for growth. Our Prime Minister has a vision of Human Brain Research Centre there. So, a lot of new and

making India a $5 trillion economy, I want Karnataka to innovative things are happening in the state, both in the

contribute one fourth of this vision, which is $1.25 trillion government and private sectors.

towards the Indian economy.

Clearly, you have a big vision for the state. As you set

What are the things needed to develop Bengaluru to your sights on the upcoming elections, what would you

84 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

like to tell your electorate? I’m also concentrating on education and health. These
Our prime minister has laid a strong foundation. He are basic human development activities, and a strong hu-
speaks of participative democracy, and I firmly believe man resource will lead to a strong state. I have got a big
in it. For me, the economy is not just money. Economy is vision for Karnataka and I will walk the talk. Karnataka
the strength of the people. should lead and real development is not growth in terms
of finances, but it’s the real growth in the strength of tal-
Those who are the movers and shakers of this economy ent depository.
are at the bottom of the pyramid.
There is a question often asked whether a state should
So, we have to recognise it, and value it, and see that be rich or its people should be rich. If you see, in the last
their hard work pays. As far as per capita income is con- 40 to 50 years, we have seen people working hard to make
cerned, data says only 30 per cent of people are contribut- the state rich, but I want my people to be rich; rich in edu-
ing. I want 60-70 per cent of my population to contribute cation, rich in culture, rich in health, and that alone can
to total income. For that to happen, I have got a lot of new lead to a rich state.
schemes included in my budget.
This is my vision and the people of my state are accept-
For women we have got a special scheme. Right from ing it and within a few months you will see the real impact
financing to giving them projects to getting them to build of this vision.
quality products and marketing them, we have intro-
duced end-to-end solutions. We plan to create a large Who are the people you look up to for inspiration?
number of jobs. To begin with, we are planning to create In my earlier days, two people influenced me the most
five lakh jobs, and IT alone is providing three lakh jobs – Subhash Chandra Bose and Lal Bahadur Shastri. On
every year. the spiritual front, it is Swami Vivekananda who has
influenced me a lot. In recent times, if there is anyone
That apart, I’m introducing an employment policy who has influenced me the most, it is our Prime Minister
where those who give more jobs will get more incentives. Narendra Modi.
I want agriculture to grow at a minimum rate of 5-7 per
cent every year. Because I per cent growth in agriculture [email protected]
will trigger four per cent in manufacturing and ten per
cent in service.

85 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

IN DEPTH INFRASTRUCTURE

REIMAGINING
BENGALURU SHOULD be like a planet
With an eye on making Bengaluru the where there will be satellite towns along with
coolest destination for multinationals the best of connectivity with rail, road, hi-
and investors, the Basavaraj Bommai tech travel systems and easy mode of trans-
government in Karnataka is going all portation for the passengers.” Karnataka
out to spruce up the infrastructure in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was not
just thinking aloud when he spoke about the idea of build-
India’s Silicon Valley ing-integrated cities around Bengaluru to accommodate the
By Ashish Sinha growing population and provide better amenities. He walked
the talk too – he went ahead and allocated Rs 8,409 crore for
the ‘comprehensive development’ of Bengaluru in the state
budget presented in March this year.

In fact, Bengaluru and its development has remained an
area of focus for successive state governments. As India’s Sili-
con Valley, the city is one of the biggest contributors to the Un-
ion’s coffers. However, its unplanned and rapid expansion – it
boasts a population of 12 million-plus – has made life in the
city increasingly difficult due to its treacherous roads, declin-
ing air and water quality, encroached and polluted lakes, rapid
reduction in the green cover and what not.

All-round Development
Not just Bengaluru, regions surrounding Bengaluru are also
being developed to meet the growing demand across sec-

86 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

BENGALURU

tors, state government officials say. Take, for example, global Decongesting Bengaluru
industrial townships like the 70-acre Technology Innovation There are several initiatives and projects the Karnataka gov-
International Park (CDC Taiwan) that boasts grade-A infra- ernment is undertaking to decongest Bengaluru. Recently,
structure. “Then there is Japan Industrial Area Township PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation for two projects in-
spread across 520 acres with 200 acres already allotted, 31 cluding the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) and
acres have been reserved for commercial activities, uninter- Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road Project.
rupted power supply,” says Bommai.
KRIDE or Rail Infrastructure Development Company
The state is also developing mega industrial parks. The In- (Karnataka), a joint venture between Karnataka and the Rail-
dospace Industrial & Logistics Park, coming up in Narasapura way Board is implementing the 148-km suburban rail project.
and Mindahalli, has excellent connectivity with Bangalore In the first phase, KRIDE has taken up the Baiyappanahalli-
city. The Tumkur Machine Tool Park, another large project Chikkabanavara corridor for implementation. A deadline of
spread across 530 acres is India’s first machine tool park built six years has been fixed for completion of all the four corridors,
to international standards. Bommai informs.

Bommai maintains that Karnataka offers huge business The Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road Project (STTR)
opportunities for the construction industry as it is em- will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of
barking on major infrastructure development including India (NHAI) and will include a road from Hoskote to the
roads and flyovers, industrial infrastructure and power. Tamil Nadu border. The construction work from Dabaspet
Then there are multiple sector-specific clusters being to Hoskote, a stretch of 87 km has already been taken up. The
developed across the state. For instance, a toys cluster is total length of the STTR project will be 280 km and it will con-
coming up in Koppal; another one for consumer electron- nect important towns including Dobbspet, Doddaballapur,
ics and durable goods is being developed across 400 acres Devenahall, Hoskote, Anekal, Ramanagaram, and Magadi.
in Dharwad district attracting Rs 3,500 crore in invest-
ments. Then the state is also developing an EV cluster in Mega MoUs
Ramanagara, around 50 km from Bengaluru. Going green is yet another motto for the Karnataka govern-

Photograph by Bivash Banerjee 87 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

IN DEPTH INFRASTRUCTURE

BASAVARAJ BOMMAI, based ACME Cleantech Solutions whereby ACME Cleantech
Chief Minister, Karnataka Solutions will invest Rs 52,000 crore for setting up a hydro-
gen and ammonia plant with associated solar power unit in
“Karnataka is at the forefront of the Mangaluru. ACME Group has established the world’s first
renewable energy sector and the state hydrogen-ammonia, solar plant in Bikaner, Rajasthan, which
has already started production.
government is formulating a green
hydrogen policy. The state government Commenting on these MoUs, CM Bommai said: “Karna-
taka is at the forefront of the renewable energy sector and the
would provide all the support and state government is formulating a green hydrogen policy. The
cooperation for speedy state government would provide all the support and coopera-
tion for speedy implementation of the project.”
implementation of the project”
While in Davos, the state government also signed a MoU
ment. In the past 40 days, the state government has signed with the Lulu Group International, which seeks to invest Rs
a number of mega MoUs. The first of these was signed with 2,000 crore in the state. The company intends to open four
ReNew Power during Bommai’s trip to Davos, Switzerland. shopping malls and a hyper market. It is also keen to estab-
ReNew Power intends to invest Rs 50,000 crore in sectors lish export-oriented food processing units in the state. The
across wind, solar, hybrid power, battery storage and green projects are expected to create employment opportunities
hydrogen. More specifically, ReNew Power intends to set for 10,000 people.
up production units in renewable energy, battery storage
and green hydrogen over the next seven years in two phases. Bommai said his government’s new R&D and employment
The project will create employment opportunities for about policies are aimed at making Karnataka the most attractive
30,000 people once two phases are complete. investment destination. The state will be host to a Global In-
vestors’ Meet (to be held in Bengaluru in November) and the
The state government has signed a MoU with Gurugram- Bengaluru Tech Summit where big multi-national companies
are expected to participate.

As per reports, a whole host of corporates have expressed

88 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022 Photograph by Ritesh Sharma

MEGA
PROJECTS
UNDERWAY

METRO &
TRAIN

n Bengaluru Metro Rail

Phase 2
n Bengaluru Metro Rail

Phase 2B (connecting

Kempegowda

International Airport)
n Bengaluru Suburban Rail

Project

ROADS

n Satellite Town Ring Road

n Peripheral Ring Road

UPCOMING Strict Deadlines
AIRPORTS IN Many mega projects like the metro, outer ring road, flyovers
KARNATAKA and several other public works have led to huge challenges
for the city residents and their 9.4 million vehicles that ply
n New Bellary Airport on poor quality roads. According to the Bruhat Bengaluru
Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, Bengaluru
n Bidar Airport has 13,847 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads, of which only
295 km are said to be in good condition and another 246 km
n Bijapur Airport have been ridden of potholes.

n Chikkamagaluru Airport Taking note of the rising traffic congestion in Bengaluru,
Bommai recently asked officials to decongest 10 prominent
n Hassan Airport bottlenecks, including the Hebbal flyover and the Silk Board
Junction. The instructions were given at a meeting on Bengal-
n Shimoga Airport uru traffic management that Bommai chaired with officials of
the BBMP, the BWSSB, the Urban Development Department
n Bagalkot Airport and the police. Some of the other key traffic bottlenecks are
Mahadevapura Outer Ring Road, Whitefield Road, St John’s
n Chitradurga Airport Hospital Junction and Bhattahalli. The measures would in-
clude the synchronisation of traffic signals and removing
interest in setting up offices, warehouses, and manufacturing hindrances, an official statement said.
units, among other projects. Siemens is taking up two projects
in Bengaluru focusing on magnetic imaging and diagnostics Once all major infrastructure projects are executed as per
and a health related R&D project. The state government plans, the state will see more revenue generation. The gross
has assured special incentives for the company to set up its state domestic product of Karnataka for 2021-22 (at current
production unit for modern medical equipment. Reportedly, prices) is projected to be Rs 17.02 lakh crore. Even though it is
discussions were alsoheld on the‘Beyond Bengaluru’ project 5.6 per cent lower than the revised GSDP estimate for 2020-
to draw investments to Tumakuru, Hubballi-Dharwad and 21, the completion of infrastructure projects coupled with the
Mysuru cities. setting up of plants, data and R&D centres will only help the
state exchequer swell.
Dassault Systems is keen to invest in electric vehicles, mod-
ern production systems, industrial training for students in [email protected]; @Ashish_BW
specific projects in the state. FMCG major Nestle is said to be
looking to expand its instant coffee unit in Nanjangud, while
Bharti Enterprises Chairman and CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal
has expressed interest in setting up a mega data centre in the
state. Ikea, meanwhile, has already opened its store in Ben-
galuru. The India head office of Ikea is in Bengaluru.

Photograph by Lalam 89 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

L AW SCHOOL ESSAY

Celebrating the Photograph by Maxxyustas
top 100 premier
legal education
institutes in India
for their contri-
bution in shaping
the legal minds
of the future
By Ashima Ohri

INDIA’S
TOP LEGAL
SCHOOLS

90 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

E DUCATION IS NOT THE FILLING of a pail, but their data; secondary sources for those who did not
the lighting of a fire, according to W.B. Yeats. respond to our postal mails; government rankings; jury
Recognising that knowledge is power BW Le- assessments and inputs received from the industry as
gal World set out on the search for the premier part of our due diligence. The rankings aim to capture
educational institutes that have contributed the industry’s perception through the collective views of
toward igniting young legal minds and helped practitioners, academicians, general counsel, law firm
them in charting a career in law for them- partners, and legal experts represented by our Jury. The
selves. To ensure—in the words of Abigail virtual Jury meet was held on June 11, 2022, where all
Adams—‘learning is not attained by chance, the Jury members met between 11 am to 2 pm to share
but is sought for with ardour and attended to with dili- their insights and peer perception about the shortlisted
gence,’ BW Legal World decided to launch its inaugural colleges to guide and lend credibility to the process.
edition of BW Legal World Law School Rankings 2022
based on primary sources for institutes who shared The intention of the publication is to celebrate the top
100 Colleges in India. The rankings are an indication of
the progress, achievements, and potential of the legal
institutions in the country and do not intend to show
any institute in poor light. The BW Legal World Law
School Rankings aim to become a catalyst for institu-
tions to move towards excellence and should not be
viewed as a critique of any institution in the field of legal
education. To arrive at the rankings with a well-rounded
assessment of the institutes, the colleges were scored on
four key indicators of Infrastructure (100), Placements
& Pedigree (100), Academic Excellence (100), and Peer
Perception (100). Scoring for Peer Perception was based
on intern-interactions, alumni-interactions, faculty-
interactions, competitions and other such factors—by
our Jury.

Our august Jury Board comprised of Pinky Anand,
Senior Advocate, Former ASG Supreme Court of India;
Hemant Kumar, Group General Counsel, Larsen & Tou-
bro; Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
and Founder, Pavan Duggal Associates; Annurag Batra,
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld and
Exchange4media Group; Vaibhav Kakkar, Partner,
Saraf & Partners; Priyanka Walesha, Functional Head
and Senior Manager – Legal, Yum Digital and Technol-
ogy; Siddharth Batra, AOR, Supreme Court of India;
Divyam Agarwal, Partner, JSA; Ashima Ohri, Managing
Editor, BW Legal World; and Gareema Ahuja, Business
Head, BW Legal World.

The launch of the rankings was heralded by BW Legal
World Future of Legal Education in India Conference
held at IIC, New Delhi on June 18, 2022. The confer-
ence was graced by distinguished lawyers, jurists, and
professors of the country and culminated in stimulat-
ing discussions focused on the future of legal education
in India in terms of keeping pace with the global law
school curriculum, building legal minds of the future-
verse, and nurturing talent for new-age careers in law.
The conference came to a delightful close with the felici-
tation of the colleges present at the venue.

[email protected]

91 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

LAW SCHOOL Q & A

GUJARAT particular order) Ravindra
NATIONAL LAW Kumar Singh for Contracts
UNIVERSITY I, II and the seminar paper;
Girish R. for Administra-
Situated in a tive Law; Debashri Sarkar
place that has for Family Law; Fakkiresh
entrepreneurship S. Sakkarnaikar for Inter-
in its soil pretation of Statutes; and
William Nunes for Intro-
Anuroop Omkar looks back fondly on his journey at duction to Political Sci-
Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) and shares ence.
how the college sparked the entrepreneur in him,
leading him to his own law firm and a policy think What would you say is the
tank ByAshimaOhri USP of the college?
The USP of GNLU is that
How has been your per- Modi when he was Chief it is situated in the state of
sonal experience at the Minister of Gujarat. It was Gujarat. Entrepreneurship
college? When did you a project close to his heart is in the soil. Civil servants
graduate and what are and he often came to the are extremely streamlined
the few remarkable mo- campus for state func- and hardworking. Every
ments etched in your tions. People would go to local person you talk to
memories about your the function just to hear generally has a side hus-
college? him speak. One of the re- tle. They are all cool about
I graduated exactly a dec- markable moments was the hard work it requires
ade back. The experience when for our convocation to have more than one job
has been a mixed one. By we witnessed the presence or to be an entrepreneur.
the time I passed out, we of the then Chief Minister I particularly remember
had the new campus (exist- and present Prime Min- this juice seller who came
ing campus). I still love see- ister alongside the then up with easy tools to de-
ing photos of the campus Chief Justice of India K. G. husk a boiled corn cob and
on social media by the pho- Balakrishnan. make milk shake without
tography club at GNLU. electricity. They were in-
Our present campus is in Subjects and professors novative, open minded and
the ‘Knowledge Corridor’ you like the most. at the same time spiritually
envisioned by Narendra My favourites were (in no tuned.

Spending my forma-
tive five years in Gujarat
changed my entire per-
spective towards life and
the legal profession. I draw
a lot from my lessons and
experience there while now
running my law firm and
policy think tank.

Hostel facilities and
food were good. Sports was
highly encouraged. I still
miss the GNLU cultural
fest Pentagram.

Having spent some good

92 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

It is not an employment. It be a successful lawyer if you
is rewarding but there is love what you do even if you
no instant gratification. I don’t come from a premier
don’t know how a college institute or a second-gen-
can inculcate these quali- eration/ third-generation
ties and set the expecta- legal family. The students
tions of a new entrant but should focus more on creat-
that is what is extremely es- ing hope for themselves and
sential so that law students not giving up rather than
are not disillusioned when being bogged down with
they start practising. the thoughts of premier and
non-premier institutes.
Additionally, colleges
should work towards Can one make a good ca-
creating a triple helix reer in law with knowl-
method of education. edge of regional language
There is need for greater and laws? If no, why? If
collaboration between the yes, how?
academia, industry and Presently making a good
government to churn out career in law based on
lawyers and legal policy regional laws may not be
professionals who have possible because different
adequate work exposure states in India have not
as they study to actually evolved equally in terms of
improve the quality of le- their existence. Trial prac-
gal services in India. Add- tice should not be allowed
ing extra credit courses to become a dying art. For
and summer schools to that to happen we need
its repertoire shall also intelligent minds to focus
be a worthy addition for on trial practice which re-
a 360 degree focus and quires strong skills in re-
outreach. gional languages.

While hard work may However, looking at law
from different lenses and
“We need intelligent minds to focus on trial practice which not just as a profession,
requires strong skills in regional languages” there is room for practice
not just at the topmost
years in the profession, be the key to everything, courts but also at the
what according to you are sometimes education smallest taluka in a state.
areas our colleges must from a premium insti- We need policy profession-
focus on to cultivate the tute remains a distant als who can work at the
legal minds that the coun- dream for many reasons. grassroots level to protect
try needs? What then can students rights of the unprotected.
We are looking at a genera- do to ensure their future We need advocacy profes-
tion of professionals who is not marred by lack of sionals to spread aware-
try to compare the legal resources? ness of legal rights among
profession with other em- The students should learn the common man.
ployment. There is a differ- to appreciate that the legal
ence. This is a profession profession is a 24x7 job on  AnuroopOmkaris
and it becomes a way of life. desk and in mind. You can HonoraryDirectorat Bridge

Policy Think Tank

93 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

LAW SCHOOL Q & A

Pedigree aside, have been asked to pick a
the slender cost of name, I would like to go
premium education with Mool Chand Sharma,
at Faculty of Law, who inspired a generation
DU is a huge plus of lawyers. He was very
meticulous, had a deep
Meghna Mishra reminiscences about life understanding of the sub-
and law 25 years ago at Campus Law Centre ject and encouraged us to
(CLC), Faculty of Law, University of Delhi discuss the legal implica-
By Ashima Ohri tions in various scenarios.
When I think of my good
How has been your per- etc. When I graduated in old days at CLC, I vividly
sonal experience study- 1999, I had a treasure of remember the jam-packed
ing at the college? When memories that I carried lecture rooms when Sid-
did you graduate and with me but perhaps the harth Luthra would take
what are the few remark- most impactful were the classes. His classes were
able moments etched in seminars and conferences very sought-after where-
your memories about that were organised where in he shared his personal
your college? eminent jurists would experiences and practi-
My journey with the law come and speak and share cal knowledge with the
started more than 25 years their experiences with the students.
back when I joined Cam- students.
pus Law Centre in 1996. What would you say is
Being a first-generation Subjects and professors the USP of the college?
lawyer many of the op- you like the most. CLC caters to more ma-
portunities that CLC pro- It is very difficult to pick ture students, being a
vided were revelations for just one name out of the 3-year post-graduate pro-
me. CLC provided many many very renowned acad- gramme. This results in
opportunities such as emicians who taught us, the approach of students
moot courts, seminars, it is like picking a needle being very different when
lectures by visiting faculty from a haystack! But as I compared to the 5-year
programme. The students
have already done their
graduation, so they ap-
proach and understand
law differently.

Being a premier institu-
tion, established almost
a hundred years ago and
having alumni consist-
ing of many retired and
sitting Supreme Court &
High Court judges, senior
counsels and other legal
luminaries who have made
their mark in the profes-
sion has always helped the
students while doing the
courses as they guide and
take seminars/ lectures at
CLC as it is a homecoming

94 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

“Law colleges must emphasise the importance of giving back
to the community.This is one aspect which is overlooked”

for them when they are that will always keep law es and laws? If no, why?
“Back to School”. Being lo- students in good stead it If yes, how?
cated right in the middle would be good communi- Having knowledge of a
of the Delhi University is cation skills, time manage- regional language(s) can
a big plus and the general ment and having an eye for give you an upper hand. If
upbeat environment of DU detail. Law colleges must one practices in a particu-
is infectious. One further help students focus and lar state, then knowledge
important aspect is the improve on these aspects. of the regional language
negligible cost of legal edu- Internships which are al- and laws would give you an
cation here at CLC. ready part of the curricu- edge. Knowledge of local
lum are very essential to laws and customs is impor-
What according to you bridge the gap between tant and helps in under-
are areas our colleges theoretical knowledge standing of local matters.
must focus on to cultivate and practical applica- There is certainly an ele-
the legal minds that the tion. Internships also help ment of comfort with the
country needs? students get an exposure local clients who may be
If I list some of the things so that they can take in- more comfortable sharing
formed decisions about factual narrative in their
potential legal streams to regional language.
pursue after college.
That said the world has
When it comes to the fu- shrunk and we are look-
ture of legal education ing at international legal
in India, what needs our players coming into India
immediate attention and in the future. Accordingly,
what are the ways we can so while knowledge of a
improve? regional language can be
We must provide better an additional qualifica-
infrastructure and facili- tion if one is looking at a
ties to law colleges. Each pan India/ international
year we have too many presence and practice one
lawyers who pass out and should not limit oneself to
we must ensure that the practicing only in the re-
quality of lawyers is not gional languages.
compromised. Law col-
leges must emphasise If you could go back in
the importance of giving time to your first year
back to the community. in law, what would you
This is one aspect which tell yourself to do differ-
is undermined and over- ently?
looked. Few other facets I would not do much that
that can be looked at are was different. Perhaps in
more exposure and focus hindsight I could have
on drafting, negotiation interacted more at an in-
and mediations. dividual level with some
of the great teachers I
Can one make a good ca- had.
reer in law with knowl-
edge of regional languag-  MeghnaMishraisPartner
at Karanjawala & Co.

95 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

LAW SCHOOL Q & A

A lawyer can terest in corporate law was
succeed with a inspired through profes-
good grasp on sor Mitra, whose clarity of
regional languages thought and skills in peda-
and laws gogy are second to none.
Not only did he allow me to
Vaibhav Kakkar reflects on his understand corporate law
journey at NLU Jodhpur as the in its truest sense, but devel-
alumnus of the founding batch of oped a commercial bend of
the institution ByAshimaOhri mind, which shapes my de-
cision-making even today.
How has been your per- portantly, NLUJ gave me
sonal experience studying a platform to develop my As the founding father,
at the college? personality and helped it was his vision and con-
I graduated from National me in meeting a lot of like- viction that allowed gen-
Law University Jodhpur minded people that remain erations of students and
in the year 2006 with the close friends till date. I take professors to make NLUJ a
B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree immense pride in the fact premier legal institute that
and belong to the founding that I could witness the it is today. He made sure to
batch of the institution. The formative years of NLUJ provide us students with all
five years of college from and could contribute to the the required resources to
2001-06 to date remain university expanding to be- transform us into quality
some of the most memo- come one of the premier law lawyers and more signifi-
rable and significant mo- universities in India. cantly into quality human
ments of my life. Those five beings. My academic incli-
years at NLUJ established Subjects and professors nation towards corporate
the foundation of my legal you like the most. law also translated into my
knowledge which has great- I always had an inclina- career choices and were a
ly contributed to the heights tion for corporate laws and contributing factor in me
I have achieved in my pro- ended up doing my honours getting due recognition at
fessional career. More im- in the same as well. My in- my internships and eventu-
ally me getting into a corpo-
rate law firm straight after
graduating from NLUJ.

What would you say is the
USP of the college?
At the time when I joined
NLUJ, it was the first in-
stitution of its kind that
offered integrated courses
combining law with man-
agement and science. The
USP of NLUJ has always
been its academics with top
quality professors from all
across the country contrib-
uting in shaping the legal
minds of the future. Also,
in order to provide practi-
cal experience to students
the university offers Court

96 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

on internships, to help culti-
vate and prepare the future
legal minds.

“To provide practical experience to students the university When it comes to the fu-
offers Court Room Exercises (CREs) in various subjects” ture of legal education
in India, what needs our
Room Exercises (CREs) in as a corporate lawyer in immediate attention and
various subjects as a part of premier law firms, I can say what are the ways we can
the curriculum. The CREs that the legal universities improve?
assist the students in tack- must focus more on teach- I think the steps that have
ling a practical factual situa- ing students on the appli- been taken to expand the
tion and building their legal cation of legal principles number of national law
thinking and arguing skills to factual situations. While universities and improve
which forms the base for the the universities may teach the standards of the exist-
start of their professional students regarding the ba- ing ones have been steps in
careers. These skills trans- sic principles of law and the the right direction. By mak-
lated into students over the texts of the bare acts, it is ing premier legal education
years, winning the choicest of utmost importance that more accessible to diverse
accolades in moot court the students are guided to- regions of India as well to
competitions across India wards applying these legal more number of students
and the world. Apart from principles to practical cases is only going to improve the
academics, the uUniversity as well. A strong core of legal quality of legal minds that
has a state-of-the-art cam- knowledge combined with are produced in our country.
pus with spacious hostels practical knowledge will
and several sporting facili- make the students well suit- Can one make a good ca-
ties for the all-round devel- ed for starting in corporate reer in law with knowl-
opment of students. jobs after graduating from a edge of regional language
law college. I am delighted and laws? If yes, how?
What according to you are that NLUJ has recognised Yes, a lawyer can succeed
areas our colleges must fo- this need and has started with a good grasp on re-
cus on to cultivate the le- implementing initiatives gional languages and laws.
gal minds that the country like the CREs, regular lec- A lawyer with such knowl-
needs? tures with professionals, le- edge can be an excellent
Having spent over 16 years gal aid camps and emphasis litigating lawyer in a dis-
trict court or a high court
where the use of these par-
ticular regional languages
and laws is prevalent. Even
the commercial disputes
teams in corporate law
firms, which have started
to establish their offices
in diverse regions of this
country, are looking to re-
cruit lawyers with knowl-
edge of required regional
language and laws.

 VaibhavKakkarisPartner
at Saraf&Partners

Photograph by Ritesh Sharma 97 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

LAW SCHOOL Q & A

An ode to my law posure to the aspirational
school: The West world of debating socie-
Bengal National ties and moot courts!
University of
Juridical Sciences, Through the first cou-
Kolkata ple of years, a lot of grow-
ing up happened – both
Sreerupa Chowdhury, alumna of the within and outside the
first batch of WBNUJS looks back at her classroom. Any arrogance
time at the law school and the life after that I may have had from
By Ashima Ohri my previous life was tem-
pered in the presence of
How has been your per- a hard copy letter from people far more talented.
sonal experience at the NUJS arrived at the mail- The credit also goes to the
college? box. And that sealed my exchange of thoughts in
I still remember the day fate. a milieu that encouraged
the CLAT results were one to critically question
declared and I secured The initial days at The all ideas and shaped me
an All India Rank of 194. West Bengal National into the person I am today.
NUJS was my first-choice University of Juridical
programme. I had a fas- Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS) I also landed up in the
cination for the school however, were a reality most socialist of all socie-
since I was from Kolkata check of sorts. From kin- ties – the Legal Aid Soci-
and had seen the beauti- dergarten to high school, ety, which though not as
ful sandstone coloured the only student diaspora glamourous as some of
façade multiple times. I had been in touch with the other student clubs,
Would I make it with my was a mix of Marwaris and became my home for
rank? It might be touch Bengalis. It was going to quite a few years, and
and go, I thought. After a be my first time meeting moulded me into wanting
few nerve-wracking days, students from across the to take law to the masses
country and getting ex- – a thread that I carried
with me well outside law
school.

From learning to cre-
ate 5,000-word projects
in one night to making
my best set of friends at
the eponymous Biju Da’s
canteen, from organising
cultural soirees to going
on decadent parties, and
learning to accept the
world as a melting pot
of beautiful people with
wildly different person-
alities – I thank my alma
mater for giving me a bit-
tersweet taste of reality
outside its gates.

Having spent some good
years in the profession,
what according to you

98 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

are areas our colleges it is what you make of it of organisational feed-
must focus on to culti- for your own life. At law back and practical skills
vate the legal minds that school, we are often given gained.
the country needs? a glamourised picture
The law schools of our of some of these options I am also in favour of re-
country are places where while not enough is said moving the restriction on
young, bright minds en- about the others, leading law professors from prac-
ter, many times not know- everyone to clamour for tising in the profession
ing what they really want the same goals whether or – in my view this hinders
to do with their lives, but not the same is attuned to their ability to train their
with a keen curiosity to their behavioural traits. students on real-world
find out. case studies that they can
When it comes to the fu- work on.
In my opinion, it is the ture of legal education
utmost responsibility of in India, what needs our And lastly, I think it is
educational institutions immediate attention and important for us to realise
and the alumni to give what are the ways we can how important a degree
these young kids a taste of improve? in law is. The skills that
various options available I personally am not in one gains in law school
to them – some tradition- favour of a five-year are not only useful to the
al, some non-traditional pedagogy model within profession of law but just
and some completely off classrooms, and believe as useful to any other pro-
the beaten path. No choice that just like the medical fession.
is inherently good or bad,
Many professions re-
quire one to determine

“ I am in favour of removing the restriction on law
professors from practising in the profession”

profession, we need to get the right questions, find
students to get full-time answers through re-
practical training for the search and surveys, learn
last year or two of their quickly, deal with people,
courses. Four-week in- negotiate, come to agree-
ternships do not suffice ments, collaborate, work
in giving students a full on a cross-section of ide-
breadth of the profession- as, work with regulations,
al rigour expected of them make presentations, as-
later, and also lacks suffi- similate volumes of infor-
cient investment from the mation, look at data and
organisations towards the interpret the same – all of
students’ learning curve. which are learnt in some
The only way to mitigate form or the other in law
this is giving the option of schools.
full-time internships for
the last year or two of the  SreerupaChowdhuryis
courses, to those students Co-founder & CEO, Flywork.
who wish to opt for the io; Co-founder, Lawfarm.in;
same instead of optional
courses, and evaluating and Executive Committee
the students on the basis Member, NUJS Alumni
Association

99 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022

LAW SCHOOL Q & A

Lawyers must be discussions and not just
capable of adding marking based examina-
logic to law tions. What will make good
future lawyers is the capabil-
Akshata Namjoshi, alumna of the National Law ity to add logic to law.
School, Bhopal says there’s something to learn every
day in the field of law as she reflects on her college Sometimes education
days ByAshimaOhri from a premium insti-
tute remains a distant
Arya for subjects Space Law, dream for many reasons.
and Women & Law. What can students do
to ensure their future
What would you say is the is not marred by lack of
USP of the college? resources?
Moots and academics kept A good institute plays an im-
me busy during my law portant role, but one learns
school. But the hostel life the most on the job. Every
did teach me a lot. NLIU student needs to take exten-
hostels are generally decent sive internships. Also, iden-
and at par with the other law tifying the areas of interest
schools in the country. early on is very important.

What has been your personal experience at the college? What according to you are Can one make a good ca-
The fact that it was a national law school that invited people areas our legal colleges reer in law with knowl-
from all parts of India made a huge difference. The exposure must focus on? edge of regional language
was unparalleled. I graduated in 2014 and hostel, moots, As law school students, we and laws?
debates, all the memories have a special place in my heart. are very scared to explore in- Lawyers in more court-fac-
teresting areas to research ing roles, especially litigat-
Subjects and professors you like the most. and explore. Five years is a ing lawyers greatly benefit
Ghayur Alam for the subject Fundamentals of Law and Raka beautiful time, which gives from knowledge of regional
the necessary ecosystem to languages. Because it’s
students to think beyond one thing to know the law,
the conventional black let- and another to effectively
ter law. Both colleges and practice law to your client’s
universities need to think benefit.
beyond the conventional ex-
amination system and focus If you could go back in
a lot on discussions. Learn- time to your first year in
ings from jurisprudence can law, what would you tell
be effectively retained with yourself to do differently?
I would tell the 17-year-
old me to be more open to
ideas. There are so many
possibilities in the field of
law, that one keeps learn-
ing something new every
day.

 AkshataNamjoshiis
Associate Partner at KARM

Legal Consultants

100 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 16 July 2022