BW 2-16 AUGUST 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN

GLOBAL
LOGISTICS

ON THE MOVE
The logistics industry is expected to outperform other

businesses this year driven largely by ecommerce, pharma,

T and food processing sectors By Avishek Banerjee

HE WORLD TODAY IS VASTLY DIFFERENT from goods, retail, food and beverages, IT
the one we knew before Covid-19 struck. Just as the hardware, healthcare, chemicals,
different facets of life, the corporate world too has construction, automotive, telecom,
undergone significant changes in the wake of the oil and gas, and others, manufactur-
pandemic, which has compelled companies and in- ing represents the largest segment,
dividuals to reinvent themselves to remain relevant. accounting for the majority of the
As with most other industries, the outbreak has global share. The growth this year will

transformed global logistics in profound ways. But be largely driven by sectors like ecom-

unlike most other industries, the decline in economic merce, pharma and life sciences, food

activity during the pandemic has not impacted the processing, etc.

global logistics too adversely. The consumption of goods, medicines and other Some of the key global players of

essential stuff — and thus the corresponding logistics needs — remained rela- the booming logistics market are J.B.

tively unaffected. Hunt Transport Services, C.H. Robin-

Numerous research firms affirm that the pandemic has been an inflection son Worldwide, Ceva Holdings, Fed-

point for the transport and logistics industry too, thereby compelling organi- Ex, United Parcel Service, Expeditors

sations across the world to focus more closely on gaining end-to-end visibility International of Washington, XPO

in their business operations, fleet management, asset tracking, and shipment Logistics, Kenco Group, Deutsche

monitoring. Post DHL Group, Americold Logis-

While the logistics sector caters to multiple segments such as consumer tics, DSV Air & Sea, Ryder Supply

52 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

small-scale to comprehensive busi-
nesses,” Karan Chechi, Research
Director with TechSci Research, a
research based global management
consulting firm, says.

TECH AVALANCHE

Whether it is automotive, financial
services, food or grocery delivery,
technology has always been the big-
gest disrupter in any industry and
the logistics space is no different.
As more advanced technologies are
getting rolled out, industry pundits
reckon that business processes are
getting streamlined for companies
to deliver better efficiencies. The ad-
vancements in technology, such as
automated material handling equip-
ment, biometrics, GPS, etc, aid or-
ganisations and businesses to work
proficiently, thereby spurring the

Chain Solutions, etc. “With the emerging technologies within
“The disruptions caused by Cov- transportation and logistics space and the
resultant market disruptions, customer
id-19 are making global companies expectation is continuously evolving”
rethink their supply chain strategy. Abhijit Sengupta, Director & Head of Business, India,
Two major areas that are likely to see SAARC & SEA, HERE Technologies
great traction are improved visibility
across supply chains (both for cargo from $7.64 trillion in 2017 to $12.97 growth of the logistics market across
shipments and documentation) and trillion in 2027, registering a CAGR the globe.
drawing a balance between just-in- of 6.5 per cent. As per IMARC Group,
time and just-in-case. India has a long the global logistics market reached a As per a recent study by HERE, ex-
way to go to catch up with the latest value of $5.2 trillion in 2020 and look- amining the key priorities of the in-
market trends whilst catering to the ing forward, the market is expected to dustry revealed that approximately a
evolving needs of overseas buyers,” grow at a CAGR of 4.6 per cent during third of logistics companies in the Asia
says Sanjay Bhatia, Co-founder & 2021-2026. Pacific (APAC) region are considering
CEO at Freightwalla, a digital freight IoT (37 per cent), warehouse automa-
forwarder. “The logistics sector is anticipated tion (33 per cent), and electric vehi-
to show good growth projections cles (32 per cent) as key investment
MARKET SIZE as people are getting back to work- priorities in the next two years. From
from-office routine. The key growth an India standpoint, 38 per cent of
While the world GDP is expected to drivers for the global logistics mar- companies will be channelling more
grow at 3-4 per cent in the next five ket are growing use of multimodal investments in IoT, while 29 per cent
years, the growth of logistics sector is transport, high customer expectation are showing high interest in ware-
poised to be around 1.5x. Various re- and demand, growth of e-commerce house automation and 10 per cent in
search firms peg the industry size dif- and innovation in mobile technolo- electric vehicles.
ferently. A recent study by Allied Mar- gies. Moreover, the increasing cloud-
ket Research says the estimated size of based operations are the major driv- “With the emerging technologies
the global logistics industry will grow ers for the market which simplified within transportation and logistics
the supply chain management from space and the resultant market dis-
ruptions, customer expectation is

Photograph by Shutterstock 53 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN

GWebL202O1 B A L
LEAEOxsxhiahiGbGiilbto1bitIoafl1LS3ogiTsticIs C S

IttnhheebboeectchoonnGGooIDDmnmPbPiioccafatrenhneofdGmdfeDeetecPhc--tcestasoenomcdofoefCmn-CoOceemOorVrmciVccIeemIDeDlfle-ofo-1erg19gcc9ieitstsslhttotoihaigcfcanisCssn,to,tiAcvthAshiseds,ieA-iara1sre9iieiassststihesteoaxexofnpxpftptehhetecehcectretteweeedwsddotttrooootlrfodrlrted.hrec.eecocowvoveoverrerlfdarfsaftasetsretrefrrformom

Real GDP year-over-year growth, % E-commerce logistics market size, Share of
2020–25 growth, EUR billion growth, %
15

10 Asia–Paci c 108.3 57.3

5 Asia North America 45.6 24.1

Africa Europe 23.7 12.6

0 Latin America

-5 NAFTA Middle East 4.2 2.2
Europe and North Africa

South America 3.6 1.9
1.2
-10 Caucasus, Central Asia, 2.2 0.7
and Russia
-15
’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25 Sub-Saharan Africa 1.3

Source: GSCi;IHSMarkit

Source: GSCi; IHS Markit Asia trade growth making up the rest. volve the adoption of technology for
The Asia e-commerce logistics mar- tactical and operational decision
continuously evolving. This inevitably ket will account for 57 per cent of total making. As per CARE Ratings, the
positions the industry for exponen- market growth from 2020 to 2025, industry’s size stands at $11 trillion
tial growth in the coming years,” says the report posits. and is expected to grow at around 5
Abhijit Sengupta, Director & Head of per cent over the next five years.
Business, India, SAARC region and “We project that global companies
SEA, HERE Technologies, adding, with a strong logistics presence in Asia As Sudarshan Shreenivas, Direc-
“While GPS, RFID, and QR codes are or those with a robust Asia-focused tor, CARE Ratings puts it, “The pan-
commonly used in fleet management, logistics plan will continue to perform demic provided a boost to the online
IoT is swiftly gaining popularity in the better than their more conservative market. Since the conventional stores
region. Two out of five logistics com- peers. Missing out on Asia will mean were closed consumers moved online
panies will be implementing IoT solu- not only missing out on the opportu- to buy goods creating a surge in de-
tions across all assets over the next two nities Asia provides but also losing mand for last mile delivery services.
years, as per our recent study.” relevance when it comes to match- Thus, the B2C segment of the supply
ing the demands of global customers, chain/express delivery flourished.
ASIA PACIFIC RULES since Asia plays such an integral part Accordingly, the need for warehouses
in global supply chains,” the Mckinsey increased mainly near to the consum-
As Asia is on course to drive 40 per report states. er.” He adds, “Companies are build-
cent of the world’s consumption, this ing higher inventory levels near the
continent is expected to account for PROJECTED OUTLOOK consumer to safeguard supply chains
half of the world’s trade growth by disruptions. This led to significant de-
2030, according to a Mckinsey re- While infrastructure readiness and mand for warehousing assets.”
port titled ‘Asia: The highway of value technology are expected to be the key
for global logistics’. The same report drivers of growth for the worldwide [email protected];
claims that the trade growth between logistics industry, a number of trends @avishekb001
Asia and the rest of the world will con- will drive this growth and all will in-
tribute about 55 per cent, with intra-

54 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

#BWEmergingSME

PRESENT 4TH EDITION OCTOBER, 2021
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
N O M I N AT E N O W

LAST DATE TO NOMINATE AUGUST 30, 2021

bit.ly/BWEmergingSME

Jury Over the last five years, the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Chair (MSMEs) sector has echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for an
Aatmanirbhar Bharat steadfastly. India currently boasts 68 million MSMEs
U.K. Sinha who not only complement large industries in an ancillary capacity but also
contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the country.
Former Chairman, SEBI
BW Businessworld presents ‘BW Emerging Businesses’ in association with BW
SME World- a conclave that will provide a podium to discuss and fast-track the
growth of MSMEs towards a stronger and brighter future. The conclave will
deliberate on key strategies, identify industry-first solutions and agree upon the
methods and standards that further help to adapt, develop and build the MSME
sector.

Jury Members

R. Ramanan Sunil Alok Kr.Misra Chandrakant Mukesh Mohan
Sr. Vice President Srivastava Former CMD
Tata Consultancy Services Bank of India Salunkhe Gupta
Former (First) Mission Director Former Dy. MD Advisor
Atal Innovation Mission – Niti Ayog Corporate Accounts Group Founder & President

State Bank of India SME Chamber of India Chamber of Indian

Federation of Indian SME Associations Micro Small and

Medium Enterprises

Piyush Santosh Uday Nirupama Nikhel Dr Annurag
Sharma Kanekar Sodhi Soundararajan Kochhar Batra

Global CEO & Board-Member Founder & Entrepreneur Founding Partner Senior Fellow & Chief Advisor Chairman & Editor-In-Chief
C-Suite Advisor BeLive Corp Kurate Digital Consulting Head of Research IIA India BW Businessworld &
Pahle India Foundation Exchange4media
Executive-in-Residence
UCLA and Stanford SEED Consultant

For Awards Nomination Enquiries For Partnerships

Devika kundu Sengupta Talees Rizvi
[email protected] [email protected]

+91 98716 54991 +91 93106 34007

SUPPLY CHAIN Reimagining
COLUMN India’s
supply chain
By Sanjay industry
Bhatia

T India’s supply chain
industry is set to see
major changes as it begins

fixing the anomalies in the

HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC system that were exposed

will leave a lasting imprint by the pandemic

on the global economy, so

much so that the world will

never be the same again. According to experts, the economic RISE OF EMERGING MARKETS

and social disruption caused is expected to be far worse than With the disruption across China’s supply chain and logis-

the 2008 global financial crisis. Interestingly, however, the tics industry, many countries have started shifting to other

pandemic has also proved to be a catalyst ushering in a new emerging Asian economies for their manufacturing needs.

world order, which has rendered the world reconsider its The change in the economic-political environment has led to

socio-economic choices for the long term. further strengthening of many Asian markets such as India,

Now witnessing significant disruption, the supply chain Vietnam, and the Philippines, as they are rapidly attracting

and logistics industry was one of the worst hit by the pandem- FDI. A case in point is Japan. In early April 2020, the island

ic. The supply shock that commenced in China in February nation announced that it has earmarked $2.2 billion of its re-

2020, followed by a global economic shutdown, ensued a mas- cord economic stimulus to help its
sive turmoil across supply chains worldwide. Besides
manufacturers shift out of China.
FREIGHTWALLAtrade restrictions and the US-China This announcement presents an
excellent opportunity for India to
trade war, factors such as equipment attract these global manufacturing giants and their
shortage and an exponential rise in
the freight rates by almost 300 per investments in the wake of global supply chain shifts.

cent had a bearing impact in the wake of the crisis. All these

chains of events paved the way for an economic crisis. ASIA GROWTH ENGINE

According to the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the According to reports, Asia can generate more than half of the

sector lost approximately Rs 50,000 crore due to the pandem- world’s GDP by 2040 owing to cross-border flows shifting

ic-induced lockdown. More than 9 per cent of the shipments toward the region. With rapid integration on the cards, Asia

were stuck, 21 per cent of the orders were delayed and the will account for 60 per cent of goods traded and 56 per cent

delivery percentage witnessed a clear decline of 19 per cent. of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2019, while

Now while the industry spent years building complex supply Asia was the world’s largest FDI recipient of global inflows,

chains designed for operational efficiency and cost optimisa- India was the largest FDI recipient in South Asia (excluding

tion, the pandemic brought to the fore the various inequities China).

and complexities ingrained in the system. The Indian supply With conducive government policies to attract FDI, India

chain industry is set to witness substantial transformation has become an attractive destination for companies look-

with the potential to catapult the Indian economy back on ing for expansion, especially in the Asian market. Business

the growth trajectory. friendly economic policies have also helped India jump 67

56 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNS AND CONTINUING
PAYMENTS TOWARD FIXED COSTS HAVE
SEVERELY STRAINED WORKING CAPITAL,

MAKING THE INDIAN ECONOMY VULNERABLE
TO AN ACUTE LIQUIDITY CRUNCH

places and rank 63rd in the ease of doing business global FIXING CONVENTIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS
index. This drastic shift in global trade dynamics is also set to
influence significant disruption across the country’s supply The Covid-19 pandemic has not only accentuated the weak
chain industry. links across the industry but has reiterated the impending
need for conventional supply chains to get a digital makeover.
THE RISE OF LOCALISATION The crisis has presented an opportunity to fix the inherent
anomalies, thereby transitioning from the current state of
One of the biggest takeaways of the global pandemic has been fragility to resilience.
to reduce the heavy or concentrated dependence on a single
medium (single supplier or region) through adequate diversi- According to a KPMG Outlook Survey 2020, 64 per cent
fication of the supply base. The global economy has primarily of CEOs in India cited the need to reinvent their existing
depended on China, popularly known as the world’s factory. supply chains due to the pandemic. Organisations will im-
However, with global supply chains dismantling, economies plement the structured adoption of new-age technologies
are now looking to eliminate single source dependencies to aid this change, empowering organisations with real-
whilst establishing a more flexible and adaptable supply time decision-making besides adapting to supply chain
chain. These events will also encourage a significant shift variabilities.
from globalisation to localisation as economies will rework
their capabilities to ensure they can draw supplies locally, Even as the world is recovering from the aftershock of the
giving rise to logistics hubs at the regional level. pandemic, businesses are exploring alternative strategies
of digitisation and localisation to mitigate potential risks
MSMES TAKE A HIT by diversifying their supply chains. With seminal trends
such as reconfiguring global supply chains, geopolitical rifts,
The MSME sector contributes more than 25 per cent of India’s and conducive trade policies and support schemes, India
GDP across services and over 33 per cent in manufacturing is by far emerging as the preferred destination for multi-
output. Production shutdowns and continuing payments to- national companies. In the new normal post-Covid-19, In-
ward fixed costs in the wake of the nationwide lockdown have dia has the potential to build itself as an ‘exclusive oppor-
severely strained working capital, making the Indian economy tunity market’, competing with the rest of the world whilst
vulnerable to an acute liquidity crunch. Due to supply chain building a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable supply
disruptions and inventory stockpiles, cash flow constraints chain eco-system.
will continue even after lockdown. With MSMEs working on
shorter working capital cycles, the trend is expected to render The author is co-founder & CEO,
MSMEs as the worst hit. Freightwalla

Photographs by Shutterstock 57 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN Emerging
COLUMN trends in
supply
By Sudarshan chain
Shreenivas &
Arunava Paul

S Due to its fragmented
nature, road transportation
in India suffers from poor
price realisation, higher

UPPLY CHAIN IN India costs and poor service

has witnessed signifi- levels

cant changes in the last

decade due to changing

consumer preference towards cost-effective solution in a companies are holding higher inventory as buffer/safety

time-bound manner. The supportive government policies stock (both for raw materials and finished goods) that too

aimed at reducing the overall logistics cost and promoting at multiple locations. This is leading to greater demand for

transparency was largely aligned in that direction. warehousing space.

The size of the Indian logistics industry is estimated at While this strategy has resulted in continuity of opera-

$215 billion during FY20. It is expected to grow at a rate tions, it has also translated into higher working capital

of 10-12 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) requirements for corporates.

over the next five years, despite the short-term disruptions

due to the pandemic. Diversification of sourcing arrangements and focus on

Third party logistics (3PL), express logistics, warehous- greater localisation

ing and cold chain are segments within the logistics In post-Covid world the companies are di-
versifying their sourcing arrangements to
space that are expected to remain as the pri-
mary focus area. CARE avoid supply disruptions. The unavailability
of suppliers during the pandemic has forced
The pandemic has provided an opportunity
for the supply chain industry to focus on its RATINGS companies in several instances to look out
long-term goal of “shortening the supply chains for local suppliers in each region where they

and ensuring that goods are delivered in cost operate.

effective time-bound manner”. To achieve these, g r e a t e r Hence as compared to the pre-Covid strategy of deriving

investments are required in technology and automation economies of scale benefits from sourcing greater quanti-

and the bigger players with sound financials are well poised ties from fewer vendors, the risk mitigation strategy adopt-

to take the advantage. The smaller players especially the ed over the past 15 months calls for multiple and localised

transporters were worst affected by the pandemic and go- sourcing arrangements.

ing forward the industry is expected to consolidate. The On a pan-India basis, this has led to more opportunities

following are key trends that are emerging in the post- for localised logistics and 3PL operators as well as for the

Covid scenario. large 3PL players to increase their market penetration.

Multilevel inventory management leading to increased

demand for warehousing space Increased outsourcing to 3PL players by manufactur-

Post-Covid, companies are trying to manage their inven- ing companies

tory in a more practical way. To avoid supply disruption The Indian logistics industry has been experiencing a struc-

58 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

tural change in the past five years after GST, e-way Bill, and The small players in the unorganised segment continue

grant of infrastructure status. Supply chain operations are to rely on traditional methods such as use of dry ice in con-

shifting from small unorganised players to large pan-India ventional trucks to maintain low temperature, while the

players who are integrating with the global supply chains larger players in the organised segment use reefers and

for imports and exports. 3PL has gained wide acceptance refrigerated godowns for transportation and storage of

in developed world and is evolving in India. Post-Covid the perishables.

market for 3PL is expected to grow at a faster clip at around The lockdown has resulted in several small players shut-

15-20 per cent in medium term, compared to a growth rate ting operations and this has led to consolidation in the in-

of 7-8 per cent for the overall logistics sector. The prefer- dustry. The lockdown and work from home culture has also

ence towards large 3PL players is due to the belief that their resulted in higher consumption of frozen foods by house-

operations would exhibit greater resilience to localised holds which augurs well for the cold supply chain industry.

disruptions in India and overseas that are still expected to In fact, CARE Ratings’ discussions with industry players

occur periodically over the foreseeable future. Sectors such suggest that the demand for cold supply chain from frozen

as e-commerce, consumer goods, organised retail, pharma, food industry over the next three years could be thrice the

auto ancillaries and engi- demand from quick ser-

neering are likely to drive vice restaurants, the seg-

this growth. ment which traditionally

was one of the largest users

Greater reliance on rail of services of the cold sup-

and sea transportation as ply chain industry.

alternative to road Interruptions in op-

The focus of the govern- erations of quick service

ment was always to cre- restaurants due to Covid

ate seamless multimodal along with change in

transfers to ensure efficient consumer preference to-

freight movement. The wards frozen foods (due

government always pro- to combination of grow-

vided thrust to move long- ing percentage of nuclear

haul cargo through more families and avoidance of

efficient modes such as THE PANDEMIC HAS ACCELERATED restaurants) are driving
railways and waterways, this change.

with first and last mile con- THE PACE OF CHANGE FOR THE Conclusion
nectivity by road. GOOD OF THE INDUSTRY. THERE Overall, the pandemic has

The pandemic has

helped to change the WAS ALWAYS A NEED TO UPGRADE accelerated the pace of
mindset in that direction, THE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES change for the betterment
given that interstate road of the industry. There was

transportation was halted ACROSS THE ENTIRE CHAIN always a need to upgrade
at several locations due to the systems and processes

the closure of state bor- across the entire supply

ders, while rail transport continued uninterrupted pan- chain in the form of optimisation of inventory holding and

India. The pandemic has shown the need and provided proper planning of transportation routes. While in the

opportunity to leverage rail and waterways in a more ef- short to medium term operating costs could see an increase

ficient manner. This trend is expected to continue going due to holding of excess inventory, this is expected to cor-

forward. rect thereafter.

The pandemic had hastened the process of change with

Cold supply chain demand received a boost more usage of technology and automation. Additionally,

Cold supply chain (CSC) companies have traditionally smaller companies in the transportation and 3PL space are

catered to demand from industry segments such as dairy, likely to make way for the larger players.

ice creams, chocolates, poultry, fish, meat as well as pharma

and to a lesser extent certain industrial products which Shreenivas is Director at CARE Ratings & Paul is
need to be transported at controlled/low temperatures. Associate Director, CARE Ratings

Photograph by Envato Elements 59 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN Supply chain
COLUMN management:
Covid and
By Sameer beyond
Bhatnagar

T The supply chain strategy
needs to be assessed
thoroughly as there may

be other events that could

HE PRE-COVID-19 ERA cause disruptions on a
saw organisations focus- scale seen during Covid

ing on globalising their

supply chains to optimise

the costs targeting production and supplies from countries gistics and transportation bottlenecks. This saw accelerated

with low input costs to gain competitive advantage. China adoption of digital solutions to de-risk the revenue streams

emerged to be the world’s factory along with other smaller from demand perspective. Examples include higher adop-

countries in the Asia-Pacific such as Vietnam, Indonesia, tion of online channels for driving sales through ecommerce

Taiwan and Bangladesh. platforms, direct-to-consumer approach, use of chatbots for

However, the Covid-19 pandemic uncovered the vulner- customer service etc.

abilities and weaknesses of these supply chains as lock- While many organisations have been able to provide im-

downs were imposed restricting supply and transportation mediate solutions to the rapid change in the environment, a

of goods and supplies between countries. more fundamental assessment of the supply chain strategy

The first lockdown was imposed in India from the is required with a presumption that Covid-19 may not be a

midnight of 25 March 2020. Various state governments rare one-off disruptive event and we could see other

enforced border controls as well. This meant KPMG events of political, environmental, technological
curtailment of most economic activities, except nature, among others.
those deemed essential like food and medicine A customer-centric resilient supply chain strat-

thereby leading to demand as well as supply chain egy leveraging digital-first approach is expected to

disruptions. This posed a challenge to the stabil- ity and be the key to unlocking value in the face of disruptions. In

reliability of even more inter-connected and often global the post-Covid-19 era, supply chain leaders and manag-

supply chains in case of unforeseen events. ers would be required to build resilience into their supply

Organisations faced lot of challenges during this phase chains on both demand side (customer preferences) and

which needed resolution on a war-footing basis to manage supply side factors (disruptions). These will require sce-

the supply chains. Experimenting with different solutions nario planning, supplier risk management and micro supply

took the centre stage as the pandemic unfolded. chains are envisaged to be key focus areas to de-risk adverse

One of the primary challenges was first to ensure peo- impacts from disruptions for achieving the objectives of

ple safety. Simple solutions like roster mechanism with future supply chains.

new safety procedures and protocols worked well to ensure The digita-first approach will act as a key enabler towards

people’s safety thereby ensuring continuity of business op- end to end supply chain management. We discuss these in

erations. the subsequent paragraphs.

Simultaneously, organisations had to assess the demand Customer centricity is imperative to reassess and adjust

side disruption, manage supply side risks and solve the lo- to the future customer behaviour with respect to buying

60 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

behaviour, product preferences, and preferred buying chan- affected regions or working with internal stakeholders as

nels. Examples include shift towards savings rather than well as critical suppliers to contractually agree on logistic-

impulse or need driven purchase, preference for health and based costs and necessary buffer stock, in order to manage

well-being-oriented products and services, faster adoption price volatility.

channels enabling buy-from-home (“BFH”) compared to This will also require answering strategic questions

traditional retail outlet channel. around outsourcing v/s insourcing, off-shoring v/s near-

These changes need to be factored to drive future offer- shoring or reshoring, single supplier v/s multi-supplier

ings for revenue growth. Organisations that will be able to base. In such cases a collaborative relation built with trust

leverage technology to proactively address shifting cus- and transparency, overtime with critical suppliers, can go a

tomer preferences on the delivery channel and interface long way in developing supply chain resilience.

experience (such as seamless buy-from-home experience Organisations might need to evolve their operating model

through online platforms, professional last mile delivery and shift towards micro supply chains, creating value as

at home experience, real-time virtual tracking of orders, close to customers or in the customer interface as possible.

responsive online customer service etc.) could gain much Micro supply chains are finite, agile “mini operating mod-

better access to customers els” with flexible contracts

inspiring customer delight and manufacturing closer

and loyalty while also gain- to the point of purchase. As

ing sharper visibility of per KPMG Insights on The

their aspirations. Future of Supply Chain,

Resilience will need these micro supply chains

to be at the heart of an ef- could be prudent in tack-

ficient, predictable, and ling vulnerabilities not only

agile supply chain to meet during pandemics but also

the disruptions or shifts in other macro phenomena

customer aspirations. Ac- like volatile interest and

cording to KPMG’s Beyond exchange rates, tax regime

This Challenge series on change, trade tariffs and

supply chain management, quotas, wage inflation and

this will require technology crop failure.

driven scenario planning, IN THE POST-COVID-19 ERA, A digital-first approach
supplier risk management, SUPPLY CHAIN LEADERS AND leveraging leading tech-
end to end supply chain nologies such as Industry

management, and micro MANAGERS WOULD BE REQUIRED 4.0, IoT, AI/ML, RPA for
supply chains. TO BUILD RESILIENCE INTO THEIR more predictive, intelligent
and agile end-to-end sup-
Scenario planning will

enable organisations to SUPPLY CHAINS ON BOTH DEMAND ply chain management for
simulate potential future SIDE AND SUPPLY SIDE FACTORS demand prediction, pro-
disruptions and take pre- duction planning, inven-

emptive action in view of tory management, network

such eventuality. It will enable organisations to see a bigger planning, distribution management, etc. will be the key to

picture and make effective trade-off decisions on issues re- managing disruptions.

lated to effective inventory control versus cost of lost sales. Some or all of these approaches might get reinforced as

Artificial intelligence and automation empowered deci- the current pandemic impacts continue. However, it will

sion making could help in not just predicting but prescrib- be exciting to see how organisations innovate and optimise

ing “sweet spots” between apparently conflicting objectives, the costs to remain competitive without compromising on

based on real-time capacity, inventory, customer demand, factors that drive customer delight.

and supplier data.

Supplier risk management using real-time supplier With inputs from Dhaval Raut, Manager, KPMG in

data such as system performance category alerts can help India & Abhishek Kumar, Manager, KPMG in India

manage performance and issue resolution. Supplier risk

management systems will have to manage the supply and The author is Partner - Transport & Logistics,
demand either by reaching out to all the suppliers outside KPMG in India

61 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

COLUMN Ashutosh Garg

I N A COUNTRY which is the “youngest” country in the we were discussing getting older.
world, where over 700 million of us are under the age “Age is only a number,” said another.
of 30, we have an increasing number of people who are So working in our regular jobs as employees till we are be-
growing old as well.
Just like the baby boomers in the USA, India too has tween 60 and 65 is something we can normally expect to do
its post-independence children, born after 1947. The as per ore terms of employment.
oldest of these children were in their early to late-sixties
in 2015 and a majority of these pre-independence kids As we reach the age of superannuation or retirement, I see
may probably still be working but thinking of the impending so many friends becoming insecure and afraid of becoming
retirement. irrelevant. When it is time to retire, we forget what we told
Looking back on the years gone by I am sometimes amazed ourselves. What has changed in the last three decades that we
at the resilience and persistence exhibited by us mere mortals are afraid to slow down or pace our work or recognize that our
in our lives. In our effort to make ends meet and prepare for minds and bodies are ageing?

Most of us would have achieved what one set out to at the
start of one’s career or we would have accepted that what one

RETIREMENT:

Today’s
60 is

Yesterday’s
40

our future we are often forced to endure thankless and some- has achieved is all that is possible in the career that we have
times abusive work environments for years on end. chosen. We would have also seen the push coming from our
younger colleagues in the workplace to move aside to let the
Stress becomes our new best friend as we attempt to pay youth brigade move forward faster.
never ending day to day bills while somehow also providing
for big ticket expenses like education, clothes, cars and wed- There is no point in agonizing over the past because there
dings. We are forced to delay the pursuit of our own interests is nothing that we can do about it. I have always believed in
and passions because there is either not enough time or not looking ahead with a positive frame of mind.
sufficient free money.
Yet most people if they have led a relatively healthy life will,
I spoke with many friends, both men and women over 60 with modern medicine see their life expectancy increase sig-
who were either already retired or were just starting to think nificantly. Our parents would generally be well into their eight-
about it. What I found most shocking was the level of denial ies and we could expect them to live into their nineties. Given
and postponement in thinking about the subject of retire- the right set of genes, there is no reason why we would not live
ment. While many people had been diligent about saving to at least 90 years of age, maybe more, if we have not abused
and investing, few had considered the psychological jolt that our body too much.
usually accompanies the end of an active working career.
Retirement is not the end of the world.
“Yesterday’s 60 is today’s 40,” said a close friend to me when It is the beginning of a new and more fulfilling life without

62 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

RETIREMENT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.
IT IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW AND MORE FULFILLING LIFE
WITHOUT THE STRESSES AND STRAINS, THE PULLS AND

PRESSURES WE HAD WHEN WE WERE YOUNG

the stresses and strains, the pulls and pressures we had when trum to be on the positive side as you look to reinvent, reboot
we were young. We may have looked forward to retirement but and rewire your life?
a fulfilling retirement will not just happen. You have to plan for
it and you have to plan by including the most important person Examine your behaviour pattern. Be honest with yourself.
in your life, your spouse. Unless both of you are in agreement l When a challenge arises, step back and see it for what it
with your plans, prepare for dissonance in both your lives. is. Look for the opportunity within the challenge. Sometimes
the opportunity is merely the experience gained from getting
Let’s say there are two ends of the retirement spectrum – through it.
the optimist and the pessimist. You may be at any point of the l Don’t let the problem become your life.
spectrum. l Move into action to resolve the problem immediately.
Make a plan and get started.
t The optimist experiences a challenge. They see it as a l Believe in yourself and your power.
temporary situation, something that they’ll get past. An opti- Cast off society’s belief about aging and retirement. Opti-
mist will often make a plan for recovery, and take action. An mists may have greater success, health and happiness. Pessi-
optimist looks to the future. mists may experience a self-fulfilling prophecy of unhappiness
and despair. You choose your spot on the spectrum from where
t A pessimist is at the opposite end of the spectrum. They you will make the start to rebooting your life.
see a problem, and the problem affects every aspect of their In conclusion, it is my belief our new life ahead can be the
life, and no solution to the problem is in sight. There is usu- adventure of a lifetime. It doesn’t have to be a permanent rest.
ally someone to blame for this problem. Have you ever tried Ask yourself whether your negative beliefs about retirement
to help a pessimist solve a problem? They will argue with you are getting in the way of how you really want to live the “third
that every possible solution will not work. There is no happy half ” of your life.
future, all is hopeless.
The writer is an executive coach, angel investor and Founder
A pessimist will say that an optimist is not realistic. Maybe Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is also a best selling
that is the case. However, perhaps that slightly unrealistic author of six books, including The Brand Called You
view is what allows the optimist to meet the challenge head
on and succeed.

How can you move along your place on the retirement spec-

Photograph: Envato Elements 63 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

BW HEALTHCARE INTERVIEW

“Wehave a few other colleagues from other labs was invited by Dr
donenearly Balram Bhargava for a conversation on how private labs
2.5million can be involved in the fight against coronavirus. Amit
RT-PCRtests Shah, the Home Minister had told Dr Bhargava, who is
the Director General of ICMR, to involve private labs in
sofar” the nations fight against Covid-19. It was in March that
we were called and from that time onward there are more
DrArvindLal,ExecutiveChairman,DrLal than nearly 1,500 RT-PCR labs out of which, 60 percent
PathLabsandaPadmaShrirecipient, are private. It is not a bad number and the number of
inanexclusiveconversationwithBW tests that have been done are approximately 38 crore.
Businessworld’sJyotsnaSharma,speaks Of this, 60 per cent of tests were done privately. We at
abouthowtheleadingdiagnosticchaintackled Dr Lal PathLabs have done more than 2.5 million tests.
Covid-19,expansionplansandthekeyfocusareas
forthehealthcaresector. What were the specific challenges that you faced
when undertaking RT-PCR tests?
Let us begin by talking a little bit about the third wave. The most important challenge was that there was no ma-
There have been reports that the case numbers are terial for testing available in India, off the shelf. Indian
increasing. So what do you think? suppliers were coming up and we were also arranging for
The third wave may not happen or it may be milder than material to come from foreign suppliers.
the second wave only if we follow the dictum of T3V,
where people strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour Looking at it from the point of view of infrastruc-
and the authorities extensively work on Test, Track, Treat ture, we have really got to up our game to be able to
(Isolate) and Vaccinate. Many experts have opined that deal with an eventuality like Covid- 19. We need to
the third wave can occur anytime till mid-November. increase the spend on healthcare, and there has to
be a lot more public–private partnership etc. What
What are the challenges Dr Lal’s PathLabs faced? in your opinion are the other key aspects we need to
How many tests did you conduct over the first and focus on?
the second wave, and how are you prepared for the The first thing is that we should take care not to an-
third wave? nounce victory over COVID-19 prematurely, unlike in
During the first wave there was only one lab in India that January 2021, when politicians, bureaucrats, and many
was doing the testing for the Covid-19 virus, I along with others, had claimed victory over COVID-19. This trans-
lated into a false sense of normal times coming back
amongst people, who let down their guard and this led
to the second wave, which was four times more aggres-
sive than the first.

Secondly, we should learn to create infrastructure
very quickly and not dismantle it soon afterwards. We
should take the help of the Indian Army and learn from
them how we can make rapidly deployable hospitals with
ICUs, especially in rural areas and smaller towns. We will
also need to mobilise additional healthcare workers to
run these hospitals. India adds nearly 75,000 to 80,000
doctors a year and we hear that additionally, final year
medical students and interns are being trained to take on
Covid duties. Also, additional healthcare workers should
be mobilized and incentivized to work in Covid wards.
Many such recommendations have been submitted and
the government is already working on some of these. .

The key to avoiding the third wave and to keep your-
self safe is to vaccinate. We have faced a lot of criti-

64 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

cism on how we gave away our vaccines, and ran short healthcare workers who can give an intra-muscular in-
of doses. What do you have to say about the slow pace jection, to join in this national effort immediately.
of the vaccination programme?
Talking about the vaccine doses sent abroad, 6.6 crore
There are two aspects to this – One is that you have to of doses were sent to 93 countries both under an inter-
make available sufficient quantity of both indigenous national COVAX agreement and also as a part of vaccine
and imported vaccines. The Government has declared diplomacy. This ensured the availability of vaccine to
that all adults shall be vaccinated by December 2021, for poor countries.
which we would require 190 crore doses of the vaccines.
The good news is that now we have five vaccines avail- What are the expansion plans for Dr Lal PathLabs?
able viz. Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V, Moderna and Any immediate plans to expand in rural India?
Johnson & Johnson. We are pretty well represented in most of the metro
towns, though we are better represented in the north,
The second thing is that the current pace of vaccina- central and east rather than in the west and south India.
tion is very slow. We should be vaccinating about 88 lakh We are currently running about 234 labs all over India,
people a day, whereas the number had come down to an and about 5,000 odd collection centres. Some of the
average of 30 lakh in the last month. Looking at this, large hospitals also outsource their tests to us.
we are not going to reach the set target of vaccinating
95 crore people by end December. It is my special ap- As for rural India, it is not financially or operationally
peal to the Government to go on a blitzkrieg mass media viable to build labs. However, now with the advent of
campaign that includes all TV channels, all FM Radio Covid-19 we are preparing a rural model where we col-
Stations, all newspapers, to highlight the importance of lect the samples and bring them to a testing lab. We are
vaccination against COVID-19. This way, people will be planning to expand to Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns as well.
motivated to get themselves vaccinated quickly and vac-
cine hesitancy will be also be reduced. Additionally, the [email protected];
Government should authorize any doctor, nurse, other @jyotsna _of f

Photograph by Ritesh Sharma 65 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

COLUMN By Raghav Chandra

T HE AVIATION sector may and Lockheed Martin, has trimmed costs flective. People are sensitive about trav-
have taken a drubbing so that the prices for its Atlas V rockets elling out and there is a movement that
during the pandemic and are down from $225 million per launch is promoting travelling by transport like
may still not have recov- to just over $100 million. Arianespace, trains as safer, more environmentally-
ered, but, recent events a European firm, has also cut prices for friendly and cheaper. Movements like
have triggered a signifi- its Ariane 5 and hopes the Ariane 6, due Flight Shaming may not be globally popu-
cant and determined re- to make its first flight next year, will be lar, but they do find resonance with young
set. Results: determined 40 per cent cheaper than its predeces- people. It is forcing aviation companies to
initiatives for cost-reducing technologies, sor. Starship has a carrying capacity that experiment with sustainable aviation fuel
consolidation of businesses and restruc- is more than six times that of the Falcon technologies, the only catch being their
turing of balance sheets. Most notewor- 9 and is fully reusable, and is intended higher cost. Bio-fuels being produced
thy is the new green push. to be far cheaper than SpaceX’s current from crops, algae and waste are possible
Elon Musk’s and Jeff Bezos’ foray into rockets – projected to cost less than $2 but expensive – making their commer-
space opens new vistas for adventure million per launch. cialization difficult. The one significant
aviation. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space area of innovation is the use of hydrogen
company is already viewed as a Tesla of The International Air Transport Asso- and electric for powering aircraft. Hydro-
the skies. While Tesla’s mission to “accel- ciation’s (IATA) immediate outlook is not gen is used in zero carbon fuel cells with
so rosy with its prediction that only 30 of

Green Aviation
and Space
Industry

erate the world’s transition to sustainable the world’s 700 or so airlines would sur- the only byproduct being water vapour.
energy” is indeed grand, SpaceX’s is no vive the crisis without government help. No doubt this will entail aircraft redesign
less grand – to use its rockets to make hu- Indeed, carriers that failed to get bail-outs because of the logistical issues and the
manity a “multi-planetary space-faring have fallen like ninepins – Flybe, Europe’s lower calorific value of hydrogen, yet it is
civilisation” by establishing a colony on largest regional airline, in March 2020; worth pursuing – as indeed companies
Mars. According to information sourced Virgin Australia in April and Latam, like Zero Avia are doing.
by The Economist, SpaceX is valued at Latin America’s largest carrier, in May.
$74 billion, up from $46 billion in Au- Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Vir- The days ahead will be different – exas-
gust 2020, ranking it as one of the most- gin Group, aptly quipped, “The easiest perating and also exciting – for the avia-
valuable startups in the world. Further, way to become a millionaire is to start out tion and space industry. Once the world
Starlink service being tested in parts of as a billionaire and then go into the air- restores to its original form, there will be a
America, Britain and Germany, using its line business.” But, that has only spurred pent-up demand for travelling to all man-
satellite networks, will beam fast internet further cost-cutting and energy-saving ner of extraordinary destinations includ-
access to every corner of the planet. initiatives. ing outer space. Hopefully, along with
sustainability there will also be a restora-
Related initiatives for reusability of Society too has now become more re- tion of aviation sector bottomlines.
space vehicles has pushed established
companies to change. United Launch The author is a former Secretary, Government of India
Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing The views expressed are personal

66 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

#BWHRTech

AUGUST, 2021

NOMINATE NOW

bi t . l y/BW H RT EC H 1 0 0
LAST DATE TO NOMINATE AUGUST 20, 2021

BW HR Tech Summit & Awards 2021 brings together all facets of leadership in innovation, driven by HR Tech that
contributes to sustainable economic development at scale. BW HR Tech Summit & Awards 2021 seeks to provide a
platform for industry stakeholders to share a road map for unleashing the true potential of the Business. The discussions at
the forum would focus on the ongoing changes including the evolution in the Workforce Industry, People Management,
Digitization in Workforce etc. with a view to understand the influence of these developments on business and explore the
need for operations excellence; new strategies and a pool of next gen leaders to sustain high growth in the present

changing Working Environment.
JURY MEMBERS

AALOK ANIRBAN DR ANNURAG DR C.P
KUMAR CHAKRABORTY BATRA SHRIMALI

President & CEO Managing Director & CEO Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Former Director
NEC Corporation India Tourism Finance Corporation of India BW Businessworld & MDI Gurgaon

exchange4media Group

JAYARAM MANKIRAN RUCHIRA SHAILENDER
EASWARAN CHOWHAN CHAUDHARY KUMAR

Author and Managing Director Author, Managing Director
Management Consultant Indian Subcontinent Executive Coach and Academic Oracle India

SAP Concur For Speaker & Partnership:
Mr Talees Rizvi
For Nominations: [email protected]
+91 93106 34007
Mr Ashish Kumar
[email protected]

+91 97179 22747

IN DEPTH DIGITALINDIAMISSION

IDPANLITGCAEIOTTGFAMROLMAROTMEN!D
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

envisions bringing together all citizen-centric services of both

central and state governments onto a common integrated

digital platform By Poulami Chakraborty
P
RIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI hasapenchant DIGITAL PLATFORM
for pithy slogans and the one he created for the Digital India
Mission read like a mathematical equation. He described The Union Ministry of Electronics
India’s digital transformation as Indian Talent (IT) + and Information Technology that
Information Technology (IT) = India Tomorrow (IT). sprearheads the Digital India Mission,
In the four years since the mega Rs 1,13,00 crore Digital now intends to use it to bring all citizen-
India Mission was launched, it has indeed not only made centric services within the ambit of
a common digital platform. “MeitY
government services easily accessible digitally, but also holds a vision to bring together all the
citizen-centric services that both central
created an opportunity for technological innovation. The and state governments cater for under
a common integrated digital platform.
mission has also created ample job opportunities and The ministry is working with various
other ministries, state governments
attracted investments from global technology giants, qualifying as a gateway to a and industries to adopt emerging
technologies to improve the quality
technology-driven future. of services and infrastructure,” says
Rajendra Kumar.
As Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
The MeitY envisions seamless
(MeitY), Rajendra Kumar, points out, the IT sector has grown exponentially over delivery of government services
through web-based and mobile devices
the last two decades, providing close to 4.5 million direct and 10 million indirect to more Indians, especially in remote

employment within the country. The IT sector’s revenue is currently estimated at

about $194 billion, which is expected to reach $350 billion by 2025, creating many

more jobs in the process.

“Eveninthemidstof thepandemic,leadingcompaniesinthissectorcontinuehiring

in large numbers across experience and job levels. Overall, the sector is expected to

witness a 12 per cent increase in hiring this year,” says Kumar.

68 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

locations, anytime, anywhere. “MeitY M-GOVERNANCE digital inclusion to move India towards
aims to achieve good Sustainable a more digitally empowered nation.”
Development Goals (SDGs) with the Abhishek Singh, President and CEO,
use of information, communication National eGovernance Division When the pandemic struck early in
and technology (ICT) enabled services (NeGD), tells BW Businessworld, 2020mostgovernmentofficeswereinafix.
and enhance every opportunity to “The flagship programme leveraged The need to maintain physical distancing
leverage E-governance, which certainly technology-enabling access to better and the lockdown in force impeded day-
plays a crucial role in securing citizen services for education, healthcare and to-dayfunctioning.Althoughdigitisation
engagement and participation in agriculture, ensuring transparency and had occurred in various spheres since the
decision-making, enhancing access to accountability. The government intends mid-1990s,accesstodigitaltoolswasquite
information and in removing barriers to serve governance at the finger-tips of limited at that point.
to public service delivery”, says Kumar. beneficiaries through m-Governance
by offering services on mobile phones THE PANDEMIC & AFTER
The focus of e-Governance is shifting and by ensuring that access to online
from the digital storage tower mandate services to all is a reality today.” The pandemic compelled
to services that touch the lives of government divisions to fall back
millions of beneficiaries, dependent on Singh says, “Implementation of extensively on digital platforms for
government services. The public digital initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI and both communication and delivery
platformstherefore,needtobeprioritzed Digilocker is ensuring faceless, cashless of government services. The Modi
so that digital services may be provided and paperless governance that has laid government’s emphasis on the Digital
seamlessly from OneGovernment or a the foundations of a strong, robust and India Mission saved the day, not only for
Connected Government. secure Digital India, enabling a digital central government departments, but
infrastructure, digital services and the state governments as well.

Photographs by Shutterstock 69 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

IN DEPTH DIGITALINDIAMISSION

“The last 15-18 months have proved discretion in tax assessments and helped

how robust our system has become, bring in transparency and trust through

especially in the backdrop of Covid-19 the principle of honouring the honest.

management – from management of Introduction of FASTags and electronic

testingfacilitiestovaccinerolloutthrough toll collection have brought efficiency in

the Co-WIN platform and several other freight movement and resulted in cost

important work that was carried out savings for transporters and people.”

seamlessly even in the remotest parts of

the country,” recalls Rajendra Kumar. DIGITAL INDIA IMPACTS

“AarogyaSetu – one of the world’s AmajorachievementoftheDigitalIndia

largest digital contact tracing apps, has Mission has been delivering essential

helpedalotinpreventingthecoronavirus services in rural areas through the

infection. Several countries Common Service Centres

are showing interest in “MeitY aims to achieve good Sustain- (CSCs). The CSCs have not

India’s Co-WIN app for able Development Goals (SDGs) only taken government
vaccination. They want to through ICT -enabled services,and services to rural areas but
takeadvantageofthisscheme enhance every opportunity to leverage alsoprovidedemploymentto
in their country too. Having E-governance,” the rural youth. Leveraging
such a monitoring tool for technology and ensuring

vaccination is proof of our Rajendra Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY services to the last mile
technical proficiency,” says requires building a digital

Kumar enthusiastically. infrastructure capable of

Manoj Kumar Mishra, Secretary, the state government has generated coping with the objectives of a digitally

Electronics and IT, Government of enormous job opportunities for the empowered nation.

Odisha,shareshisexperienceatthestate youth. During the pandemic virtual “At NeGD, we are working on

level.“Wedevelopedaseamless,intuitive meeting platforms ensured that work connecting all our villages through

Covid dashboard that redefined our progressed seamlessly across the state. BharatNet – a robust fibre-based

pandemic response and management connectivity. This is essential to ensure

strategy.Thedashboard,usingpredictive THE GST NETWORK access to digital services in rural India.

analytics, offers a one-stop solution While access to public services through We aspire to take the fibre to every

for identifying the spread of infection e-Governance and m-Governance

across the state, intra/inter-state through the Digital India Mission has

benchmarking,insightsintotestingand helpedimprove“easeof living”formore

infrastructure requirement for infected Indians, technology has also helped

patients,” he tells BWBusinessworld. India move up in the Ease of Doing

Orissa,likeTelenganaisamongstates Business rankings. The robust GST

that have adopted the Digital India Network (GSTN) has more than 1.28

programme on a mission mode, with crore taxpayers registered on it and has

‘MinimumGovernmentandMaximum helped mobilize more than Rs 34 lakh

Governance’ as a vision. As a matter of crore in tax revenues. It has also helped

fact, Odisha has come a long way in on- process almost 200 crore e-Way Bills.

boarding digital technologies. As Singh elucidated, “Under direct

Over the past two decades, the state taxes, we have brought in Faceless

has been a hub for skilled manpower Assessments which have eliminated

in the IT sector. The IT sector in

Odisha has not only been one of the “The flagship programme leveraged

top recruiters, but has also promoted technology - enabling access to better services
growth of small and medium scale IT for education, healthcare and agriculture,”
companies and tech startups, to build a
robust ecosystem for employment. Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, NeGD

A slew of digital interventions by

70 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021



IN DEPTH DIGITALINDIAMISSION

household under the GharTakFiber Amidst the chaos unleashed by the beenabletodeliverwhatwasenvisagedof

Scheme. We have launched the PM pandemic, colleges in many cities it.Indiaisdevelopingintoasuperpower

WANI scheme to increase internet verifiedschoolcertificatesforadmission and much credit goes to digitisation. It’s

connectivity across the nation through with the help of the DigiLocker. a long road ahead but the government

an innovative system of public access “MeitY’s SVANidhi scheme has under the leadership of Prime Minister

points. We launched the undersea enabled inclusion of street vendors in Narendra Modi is committed to walk

internet cable to the Andaman and thebankingsystembesidesdisbursalof along it and take the country to greater

Nicobar islands, that’s giving a big small loan amounts for their business. heights in technology development.”

boosttotele-education,tele-healthand With drone mapping of village lands “The National Programme on AI has

tourism. Similar connectivity is being under the Svamitwa scheme, it has beendesignedwithanaimtomakeIndia

built for the Lakshwadeep islands as become easier for legally and digitally thegloballeaderinAIspaceandensure

well,” points out Singh. responsible and transformational use

National Public Digital Platforms in of AI for all,” says Manoj Mishra. “The

health, education, agriculture, logistics, components of the programme include

womenandchilddevelopmentarebeing AIRAWAT (Infrastructure), AI4All

worked out. A National Digital Health Projects (ambitious projects with a short

Missionwaslaunchedon15August,2020 timeline), ICTAIs, Skilling, Financing

and initiated in six Union Territories. AI, and National AI Data Platform. The

A blueprint for similar platforms for national strategy on Blockchain has

agriculture and education is ready and been prepared and public consultation

public consultations have been held. has been held and the views gathered are

incorporated.”

THE MISSION VISION While the vision of an AatmaNirbhar

The Digital India programme aims to Bharat (self-reliant India) and achieving

provide the required thrust to the nine a trillion dollar Digital Economy inspire

pillars of growth, namely Broadband many MeitY projects, the ministry is also

Highways, Universal Access to Mobile focussed on India’s resolve to emerge as

Connectivity, the Public Internet Access a knowledge economy.

Programme, e-Governance, Reforming As Singh points out, “The Hyperscale

Government through Technology, Data Centre Scheme has been designed

eKranti-Electronic Delivery of to make India an attractive
Services, Information for All, “We developed a seamless, intuitive
destination for setting up

Electronics Manufacturing: Covid dashboard that redefined hyperscale data centres. It is

Target Net Zero Imports, IT our pandemic response and planned with an aim to add
for Jobs and Early Harvest management strategy. The dashboard 2000MW(ITLoad)by2026.
Programmes. offers a one-stop solution for The beneficiaries include
identifying the spread,” Data Centre Park Developer
“A great example of how (DCPD), Data Centre
Digital India has made this

possible is DigiLocker,” Manoj K. Mishra, Secretary, Electronics Developer (DCD) and Data

points out Abhishek Singh. and IT, Government of Odisha Centre Operator (DCO).”
He says a Digital India
“Keeping school certificates,

college degrees, driving Infoway will also be rolled

licences, passports, Aadhaar or any mapping properties in villages. Crores out to define the Network of Networks,

other documents has always been a of citizens are now benefiting from which is expected to be the next

majorconcernforpeople. Manyatime, the platforms developed for online generation secure network with high-

important identity cards of people get education and delivering medicine,” speed,redundancy,arobustarchitecture

destroyed in floods, earthquakes, says Kumar at MeitY. and security which is continuously

tsunami, or fires. But now all the updated with emerging technologies.

documents from the 10th, 12th grade, A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY “It will be a high-end multi-tier, multi-

college and university mark sheets, At the NeGD ,Singh emphasises that technology research, education and

can be stored easily in the DigiLocker.” “The Digital India Mission has mostly eGovernance network,” says Singh.

72 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

August 18, 2021

August 18, 2021

IN CONVERSATION

‘INDIAIS Whenthe
EMERGINGASA Digital India
Mission was
GLOBALIT launched
SUPERPOWER, four years
ASSERTINGITS ago, it was a pathway to many
goals of the government,
DIGITAL particularly connectivity
SOVEREIGNTY’ with the remotest corners
of the country. The extent
It has been four years since India embarked on the Digital India mission. of dependence on digital
What in your opinion, are the achievements so far? connectivity that the
Technology has been a great enabler for governance and for service delivery pandemic necessitated
to citizens and businesses. The Digital India programme was launched in was definitely a situation
2015 with an aim to transform India into a digitally empowered society and that no one had dreamt
knowledge economy. of then. Mobile telephone
connectivity was among the
In the last few years, the Digital India programme has changed the digi- boons that the country and
tal profile of India. So far, Digital India has contributed significantly to the the government could fall
digital transformation of India. By adopting a citizen-centric approach back on when restrictions on
in delivering services with the latest technologies, the quality of govern- movement became necessary.
ance has changed remarkably in rural areas. However, transforming the The ArogyaSetu app and the
entire rural populace into a digitally empowered society under this flagship Co-WIN portal have been
programme is a huge challenge, especially in remote areas. To deal with it, indispensable digital tools that
the Indian government has
relied on to contain and curb
the Covid-19 disease.

Additional Secretary in the
Union Ministry of Electronics
and IT (MeitY) Rajendra Kumar
tells BW Businessworld’s
Poulami Chakraborty in an
exclusive interview that not
only was India emerging as
a global IT superpower, the
country was also taking “firm
measures to safeguard data
privacy” and the online rights
of citizens. Excerpts:

74 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

Digital India has emphasized using
the most advanced Information and
Communications Technology (ICT)
by leveraging various existing infra-
structures in an integrated manner
to drive processes to their desirable
output within a minimum timeframe
with almost zero scope for manipula-
tion and minimum operability.

What were the most remarkable
achievements of the mission?
There have been many remarkable
achievements under the Digital In-
dia Programme. Some of the key
achievements are the JAM Trinity,
Aadhaar, Aadhaar-enabled Direct
Benefit Transfer, Common Services
Centres (CMCs), Digi-Locker, My-
Gov, the Unified Payments Interface,
UMANG, the government e-Market-
place, the GST Network, the Arogya-
setu App and the Co-WIN vaccina-
tion app.
n (Please see box on page 77: Key
Achievements of the Digital India
Mission)

With the advent of more technolo-
gies, concerns about their security
have grown too. How has MeitY
dealt with these challenges?
Security of digital platforms is of
prime importance and it should be
considered even while conceptualiz-
ing any development. Security is not
confined to a single level but needs
to be addressed at business (defining
security policies), infrastructure (ap-
propriate configurations at network,
data centre, and hardware), appli-
cation (application deployment, OS
hardening) and data (storage, access)
levels.

It is least costly and most effective
to plan for and implement security-
specific functions in the Target Ar-
chitecture as early as possible in the
platform development cycle to avoid
costly retrofit or rework because the
required building blocks for security
were not added or used during sys-

75 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

IN CONVERSATION

tems development and deployment. devices, computer systems and data
With the advent of technology that has eased the life of l Online identity and data theft, etc.
It is noteworthy to mention that India has made it to
the human being, a large number of aspects of daily needs
and necessity are available at one click. But just as every the top 10 in the Global Cyber-security Index (GCI) 2020
coin has two sides, technology also has a dark parameter launched by the International Telecommunication Union
attached to it. The World Wide Web has provided ample (ITU) on 29 June, 2021, moving up 37 places to rank as
opportunities and has also brought certain measures for the tenth best country in the world on key cyber-safety
illegal activities to flourish with anonymity. parameters. Further, India has been ranked fourth in
the Global Cyber-security Index 2020 in the Asia-Pacific
What has MeitY done to ensure data protection and region with an overall score of 97.50. India is emerging as
privacy in this environment, when technology to coun- a global IT superpower, asserting its digital sovereignty
ter technology evolves rapidly? with firm measures to safeguard data privacy and the
While administering the IT Act, 2000, MeitY has the spe- online rights of citizens.
cific responsibility to ensure better internet governance,
data protection, cyber security, privacy over the internet, What were the key challenges in initiating this digital
promotion and regulation of technology companies and
promotion of e-governance transformation of India? How did you overcome these

The Information Technology Act has adequate provi- challenges?
sions to provide a regula-
tory framework to address The primary challenges faced in implementing the Digi-
the following issues and
challenges: tal India programme

l cyber crimes, were digital literacy
l illegal access on de-
vices, computer systems “India has ranked and digital connectiv-
and data,
l illegal interferences ity. The government
(through data input, alter-
ation and suppression) on fourth in the Global has already taken the
devices, data and computer
systems Cyber-security Index necessary measures to
l illegal interception on 2020 ... tackle these challenges
through the Pradhan
India is emerging as a Mantri Gramin Digi-

global IT superpower, tal Saksharta Abhi-
yan (PMGDISHA) to
asserting its digital bridge the digital divide
sovereignty with firm in the country with the

measures” objective of covering six

AAROGYASETU APPLICATION

n AarogyaSetuisamobileapplicationlaunchedbythe on the AarogyaSetu self-assessment data, Bluetooth contact
Government of India on 2 April, 2020, to aid the efforts of the tracing data and number of Covid-19 infected persons in and
government to combat Covid-19. The App works based on the around the area during the last 15 days. Depending on the risk
contact tracing method and helps the government identify, of spreading the Covid-19 infection, the probable hotspots are
monitor and mitigate the spread of Covid-19 across the country. classified into four categories as Pink-Very High Risk, Amber- High
The App also augments the Covid-19 initiatives of the government Risk, Dark Blue- Moderate Risk, Light Blue- Low Risk.
inproactivelyreachingouttoandinforming usersoftheappof
risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the n Inaddition,theAarogyaSetuInteractiveVoiceResponseSystem
containment of Covid-19 (IVRS) hasbeenlaunchedasaservice,withanIVRSnumber1921.
This service can be availed by anyone in India, including users of
n TheAppiscurrentlybeingusedbyover19croreusersandit feature phones (who are not able to use the App).
has successfully predicted a large number of potential Covid-19
hotspots, way before the actual Covid-19 outbreak started in n Co-WINisaplatformforcitizensofIndiatoregisterfor
many regions across India Covid-19 vaccination and schedule their vaccination slots at the
nearest vaccination centres. MeitY has played a vital role in the
n TheITIHASmoduleofAarogyaSetufocusesonforecasting development of the Co-WIN platform in terms of integration of the
potential hotspots across the nation. In the context of beneficiary management systems, strengthening the platform to
AarogyaSetu, the hotspot is a geographical area where there is a handle concurrent users as well as providing authentic, machine-
possibility of spread of Covid-19.The Hotspot is forecasted based readable digital Co-WIN certificates .

76 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME

nJAM Trinity - 118 crore mobile phones, 76.5 crore internet n UMANGisempoweringpeoplethroughM-Governance.At
subscription, 129 crore Aadhaar, 43 crore Jan Dhan Bank present, 21,499 services are made available. Umang users have
accounts have laid a solid foundation for Digital India. increased from 1.91 crore on 1 April 2020 to 3.19 crore today.

n Aadhaar – The world’s largest biometric based digital n Government e-Marketplace – It has onboarded 19.35 lakh
identity platform is the foundation for DigiLocker, Direct sellers and service providers and is offering 37 lakh products
Benefit Transfer, eSign, Jeevan Pramaan, Biometric and more than a lakh services. It has surpassed a transaction
Attendance System. order value of Rs 1.13 lakh crore within five years of its
establishment.
n Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfer has delivered
592 crore transactions worth Rs 5,25,112 crore in the financial n GST Network – One Nation One Tax Platform – It has on-
year 2020-21. The removal of ghost accounts and checking boarded 1.28 crore taxpayers and has processed Rs 34.14 lakh
the leakage has saved the government exchequer Rs 1.78 lakh crore worth of payment.
crore.
n Other sectoral platforms – e-Hospital (for healthcare),
n Common Services Centres have ensured that government e-Sanjeevani (Tele-medical consultation), DIKSHA (for
services are available near localities of citizens living in villages education), SWAYAM (for Education), National Centre of Geo-
and in remote areas. 350+ services are delivered to citizens Informatics (for 580 GIS applications with more than 600 GIS
near their locality through the network of 3.74 lakh common layers), etc.
service centres (CSCs).
n Aarogya Setu – 19.19 crore downloads have been made
n Digi-Locker is leading to paperless governance in the across Android, iOS and KaiOS platforms.
country. As many as 429 crore documents have been made
available through Digi-Lockers. The number of Digilocker n CO-WIN Vaccination App – more than 38 crore vaccination
users has gone up from 3.7 crore on 1 April 2020 to 6.3 crore doses have been given.
today.
n Mobile phone companies have grown from two in 2014 to
n MyGov is the leading citizen engagement platform. The 268 today.
Corona Helpdesk is providing AI-enabled chatbot services on
social media platforms. MyGov users have increased from 1.11 n Indian tech startups are growing at eight per cent to ten per
crore on 1 April 2020 to 1.79 crore today. cent year-on-year (y-o-y) with more than 55,000 startups at
present. India today has 54 unicorns, of which 14 unicorns have
n Unified Payment Interface – Within five years of its been added in 2021 alone.
operation, it has taken the leadership position among
payment instruments. It has contributed to 253 crore monthly n Four crore people have been imparted training under the
transactions worth Rs 4.9 lakh crore in May 2021 alone. world’s largest digital literacy programme i.e., the Pradhan
Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA).

crore rural households, along with the BharatNet project, citizen-centric healthcare services available to citizens
which aims to connect all 2,50,000 gram panchayats in India.
(GPs) in the country with 100 Mbps connectivity.
(Please see box: The Arogyasetu Application)

Please tell us how the department was able to lever- What was the budget allocation for the Digital India
age IT for e-Governance both before the onset of the Mission?
pandemic and during these Covid times. Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers mul-
The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented tiple projects of various central ministries, departments
demand for digital health technology solutions. In these and states and Union Territories. Each project has its own
tough times, ICT has emerged as a key means for resolving budgetary requirement and accordingly a project-plan
challenges caused by the pandemic, particularly identifi- has been charted out by the implementing ministry and
cation, isolation, contact tracing, and treatment to deal departments and budget details are being maintained by
with the evolving situation in the country. the concerned ministries, departments, states and Union
Territories. The budget allocated under the Digital India
Under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Infor- programme during this year is over Rs 3,000 crore.
mation Technology (MeitY), the Government of India has
started various e-Governance initiatives in the healthcare [email protected];
sector with the objective of making technology-enabled

77 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

COLUMN INDIAN FINTECH
By Manoj Joshi, Suhayl Abidi, and Aseem Chauhan

O UR MEMORY IS short and lessons from the past may not al- was an unsecured credit. However, the
ways ward off the doom. This is especially true of the VUCA SCF was not shown as debt in the books
environment we live in, which is volatile, uncertain, complex of accounts and thus escaped the scru-
and ambiguous. Repeatedly we witness overconfident and tiny of the regulatory authorities. The
over-enthused entrepreneurs erupting on the business stage SCF business was worth $26billion in
with their disruptive but complex business models and snare 2020. Greensill made its money by ex-
tending the tenure of the supply-chain
even the biggest banks in their net. We often see large and facility to its clients who would not be
entertained by the bigger banks due to
established banking icons such as Credit Suisse, which insti- their poor creditworthiness.

tuted extra sturdy risk management systems after the 2008 Within the bounds of usual supply-
chain tenure, which averages around
financial meltdown, falling prey to being shown a picture of the glorious future 30 days, it was a safe business but as the

where they will earn fat fees and executives amassing obscene bonuses. In their

single-minded focus on profits and bonuses, they fail to see the underlying weak-

nesses of the disruptive model, which they are backing. VUCA inevitably teaches a

Greensill Insolvency: Prof (Dr)
Manoj Joshi
Cautionary
Tale For Indian

Fintech

painful lesson to such institutions and was declared insolvent under similar tenure increased so did the uncertainty
individuals. circumstances. SCF is a centuries old and repayment under difficult business
financial instrument also known as conditions such as a Covid-19 pandem-
The 2008 global financial meltdown, factoring or bill discounting. This is a ic. Softbank supported Greensill used
also referred to as The Great Reces- short-term instrument to help compa- investor funds to provide these unse-
sion, was triggered by the bursting of nies get prepayment from banks, from cured loans in the guise of supply-chain
the housing loan bubble in the United 1-3 months, on supplier invoices to aug- finance. As the business became more
States. The biggest casualty was the ment their working capital funds while profitable, Greensill kept on extending
demise of Lehman Brothers. It contin- the banks get paid by the buyer once the such unsecured loans amounting to bil-
ued to buy securities rated AAA and seller’s credit period is over. Up to this lions of dollars. Further, Greensill inno-
thus low risk which were later found point, the business is low-risk and mil- vated the model further and started of-
to be high-risk based on subprime lions of small businesses benefit from it. fering advance funds against predicted
mortgages. Moody’s which rated these Greensill started extending the tenure future invoices, often with no obvious
securities was later fined $848 million of SCF from 30 to 180 to 360 days which predictive evidence, extending unse-
by the U.S. government. Did the system essentially means that these funds were cured loans dressed up as something
learn? Perhaps no. not being used as short-term working less risky and without any disclosures.
capital but obtaining a credit line from These loans were securitised through
Circa 2021, a fintech company the issuer. Therefore, in practice, this asset managers such as Credit Suisse
Greensill Capital which was in the
business of supply-chain finance (SCF)

78 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD chain in the Indian business environ-
CONSIDER GIVING THE SAME ment with little escape net from VUCA
WEIGHT TO RMS AS TO events such as demonetisation and
STATUTORY AUDITS. THESE Covid-19 pandemic. These are vulner-
TWO STEPS WILL REDUCE, IF able to fintech overtures.
NOT TOTALLY PREVENT
EXCESSES TO A LARGE EXTENT The fintech sector will witness in-
creasing velocity, innovation and dis-
Dr. Aseem Suhayl ruption and expand the market for SCF
Chauhan Abidi in a big way. Fintech is also attracting
a large amount of private equity which
and sold to gullible investors. Greensill According to the data on the Nation- expect large financial returns.
securities was also given top ratings. al Automated Clearing House (NACH)
platform in November of last year, as Therefore, under these circumstanc-
This suited struggling firms who much as 40.1 per cent of auto-debit es, it would not be difficult for another
were turned away by the traditional transactions by volume in October had adventurous Greensill to present a
banking system and was a win-win sit- failed, largely due to insufficient funds. dazzling new product. It is for the RBI
uation for all, hidden from the regula- Most failures were borrowers of non- to ensure that fintech follows prudent
tory authorities, till VUCA struck in the banking financial companies (NBFC) business practices without restricting
form of Covid-19 pandemic and clients with poor creditworthiness; and as the lending to the small sector. RBI can
started defaulting. pandemic struck, it shrank the incomes look at two suggestions to protect the
and borrowers defaulted. Pandemic fintech sector.
Lessons for India? reluctantly compelled individuals and
Fintech is a new and growing part of businesses to borrow afresh from fin- The first is to use technology to over-
the commercial lending business in In- tech lenders at a high interest rate of see technology-based lending prod-
dia and to compete with the traditional up to 30 per cent. ucts. The most important of these is
banking channels, they offer easier and blockchain. If blockchain was institut-
faster access to funds. These are not There are more than 63 million mi- ed at Greensill, the system would have
subject to strict regulation and often cro, small and medium enterprises rejected the extended tenure SCF.
resort to risky lending practices. (MSME) in India. They are the weakest
The second is to strengthen the
Risk Management System (RMS) in
lending companies. In both, Lehman
Brothers and Greensill, the Chief Risk
Officer’s caution and advice was over-
ruled. In India too, Risk Management
Committee at ILFS had not met for
two years before the crisis broke. Our
entire banking system has outdated
and poorly managed RMS. The gov-
ernment should consider giving the
same weight to RMS as to statutory
audits. These two steps will reduce, if
not totally prevent excesses to a large
extent.

Prof (Dr) Manoj Joshi
is a Fellow Institution of Engineers, Professor
of Strategy, Director, Centre for VUCA Studies,

Amity University;
Suhayl Abidi is a consultant with Centre for

VUCA Studies, Amity University;
Aseem Chauhan

is a Founding Trustee of the Amity Education
Group and currently serves as Chancellor
Amity University

(The views expressed are personal and do not
reflect those of BWBusinessworld)

79 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

Investments / Investors

The cryptocurrency market in India has custody partners. Another
been booming since the time it was first crypto firm CRED raised
USD 215 million in a Series
launched in India. This calls for a regulatory D in April that valued the
Indian startup at USD 2.2
framework that would govern investments billion (post-money), up
in this market from about USD 800 mil-

By Anisha Aditya lion valuations in the USD
81 million Series C round in

C crypto trading platforms like January this year.
Binance. Cryptocurrency prices con-
tinue to be in the green as on
INVESTMENTRISE August 8th 2021. The global
cryptocurrency market cap
Singapore-headquartered is $1.85 trillion, a 5.24 per
crypto platform Vauld is cent increase over the last
looking to expand its inter-

national presence by ramp- day while the total crypto

ing up hiring and licensing market volume over the last

R Y P T O C U R R E N C Y to continue offering crypto 24 hours is $123.413 billion,

exchange Unocoin was bankingandinvestmentson which makes a 17.28 per cent

launched in 2013, making its platform. The company increase.

it accessible for Indians to announced raising USD 25 Ethereum’s London hard

buy and sell Bitcoins. The million (Rs 186 crore ap- fork went off without a

same year witnessed a rise

in the price of Bitcoin from INCREASING
USD 100 to USD 1000.
Lately, cryptocurrency has

been in the news following

INVESTMENTS IN INDIANwildpriceswingsandwitha
pandemic-induced boom in
trading meant several new- CRYPTO MARKETS
comers have started dab-

bling in this asset class. NECESSITATE NEED FOR
However, the sword of

regulatory uncertainty REGULATIONS
hangs heavy on the crypto-
currency market in India

with policymakers making

their discomfort with the proximately) in a Series A hitch this week, and inves-

asset, quite clear through round of funding led by Pe- tors are now looking for

various suggestions and terThiel-backedearly-stage fresh highs above $3,100.

decisions in the past. The technology venture capital After Bitcoin’s price soared

overall crypto-market re- firm, Valar Ventures. above $44,000, the bullish

mains extremely volatile at Founded in 2018 by Dar- momentum continued, and

the moment. shan Bathija and Sanju Ether is currently trading at

The recent uncertainty in Sony Kurian, Vauld cur- $3,050.

the crypto-market has been rently counts Binance and

triggered by a barrage of BitGo as exchange and REGULATORYHALTS

unpleasant announcements Digital currency is the way of

ranging from Elon Musk’s the future but the complete

tweet to China crackdown shift is not only unlikely but

and tight regulations and also quite concerning con-

investigations against sidering the turbulent status

80 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

of cryptocurrencies. and money laundering are ed to be working on a cryp-
While the number of private being committed through tocurrency bill and the RBI
cryptocurrency exchanges many of the cryptocurrency (Reserve Bank of India) is
operating in India is grow- exchanges”, FM Sitharaman also planning to introduce
ing, the Union Government stated, “No such informa- Central Bank Digital Cur-
has no official data on them tion has come to the notice rency (CBDC) in a phase-
or the number of investors of the Government.” wise manner to curb the
linked to these exchanges. In The Finance Minister also damaging consequences of
reply to a query on the num- denied that the Govern- private virtual currencies.
ber of cryptocurrency ex- ment was planning to im- The RBI Deputy Governor
changes operational in India pose an equalisation levy T. Rabi Sankar recently said
and the number of investors on the number of investors that the central bank was
linked to them, Union Min- who have bought cryptocur- “working towards a phased
ister of Finance Nirmala Si- rency from abroad. In the implementation strategy
tharaman in a written reply meantime, the European and examining use cases
tabled in Rajya Sabha on Commission’s proposed which could be implement-
July 27th, 2021 said, “This Regulation on Markets in ed with little or no disrup-
information is not collect- Crypto Assets (MiCA) is tion”.
ed by the Government”. In going through its first read-
response to another query ings in the Council and the The RBI is currently
on “whether it is a fact that European Parliament. This examining the scope of
narcotic drug traffickings regulation will form part CBDCs, the underlying
of the EU’s Digital Finance technology, the validation
Strategy and is likely to sig- mechanism, distribution
nificantly impact the opera- architecture, and degree of
tion of the crypto market in anonymity, etc.
the EU.
The cryptocurrency space
THERBI’SMOVE in India has been witnessing
a revolution for the past cou-
The Government is expect- ple of years. Despite the am-
biguity in regulations and
Despite ambiguity in regulations and extreme volatility, millions
extreme volatility, millions of Indians prefer of Indians prefer investing
in cryptocurrencies instead
investing in cryptocurrencies over gold of gold.

Based on the sudden
increase in the consumer
base, the Indian govern-
ment is now considering an
introduction of a new bill
that is similar in spirit to
its previous versions, how-
ever, intends to ban private
cryptocurrencies in India
with certain exceptions to
promote the underlying
technology and trading of
cryptocurrency. And thus
provide a framework for
creating an official digital
currency that will be issued
by the RBI.

[email protected]

Photograph by Shutterstock 81 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

Investments / Investors

O WHY VENTURE
CAPITALISTS ARE
BETTING BIG ON INDIAN
EDTECH SECTOR

VER THE LAST DECADE, acquiring seven companies With over association between teachers
edtech (short for education including Vidyartha, 4,530 active and students in the edtech
technology) has been ac- TutorVista, and Edurite. industry, Teachers Pay
knowledged as a necessary edtech Teachers is a unique edtech
innovation to resolve the RISEINUSER-BASE startups in company founded in 2006
challenges in the present India today, in New York that connects
education system around From 2015 till March 2020, teachers with teachers
the globe. The fact that the Byju’shadgarnered45million venture allowing them to exchange
forthcoming generation is freeusersontheplatform,with capitalists are study material. Such unique
heavily dependent on tech- 3.5 million paid subscribers developments in the industry
nology is not just a coinci- and, in the last few months, increasing are keeping it moving at an
dence with the rapid growth the number has gone up to 70 their unfathomable rate.
of the edtech industry. The million users and 4.7 million
push that gave the edtech in- subscribers. shareholdings The edtech user base has
dustry its final edge was the in the growing grown from 45 million to 90
pandemic, which though The USD 11 billion edtech edtech sector million in the k-12 & post k-12
pushed many sectors into a startups have wrapped up a sector, in a report by RedSeer
catastrophic journey, gave five-yearcycleofrenewalsand By Anisha & Omidyar network India,
an immense boon to the ed- haveclosedtheyearwithan86 Aditya including both free and paid
tech industry. per cent renewal rate. Byju’s users. Thereportalsosaysthat
popularityreacheditspeakby those who are willing to pay
Online education has becoming one of the official have increased by 40 per cent
revolutionised the whole sponsors for the ongoing and the number of paid users
educationalsystemleadingto Indian Premier League. has increased by 83 per cent.
a compound annual growth
rate of 19.9 per cent in 2021 to There are over 4,530 active The online education
USD 377.85 billion by 2028. edtechstartupsinIndiatoday, offerings are said to increase
Nearly 95 per cent of schools out of which 435 were the 6.3 times by 2022 creating a
are using the technology as result of the past 24-months marketof$1.17billion.Aspera
partoftheirsystemtoincrease alone. The total funding recentLinkedinsurvey,almost
efficiency. Speaking of edtech raised by these edtech firms 63 per cent of professionals
revolutions,Byju’s,theworld’s since2010standsatUSD2.46 have also increased their time
most valued edtech startup, is billion.Byju’sandUnacademy spent on online learning to
an extremely important case have raised the most capital enhance their skills or reskill
study to consider as it landed USD 2.32 billion and USD themselves to stay relevant.
many accomplishments 354millionrespectivelyinthe
including but not limited year of the pandemic. POST-COVIDERA
to hitting USD 12 billion
valuations in its recent round Amidst the presumptuous Edtech aims to improve
offundingofUSD200million student outcomes, enhance
ledbyBlackRockandT.Rowe
Price in November 2020 and

82 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

individualisededucation,and with recognised universities Artificial Intelligence (AI),
reduce the teaching burden globally. It offers a variety of Augmented Reality (AR),
from instructors’ higher highlyadaptive,engagingand and Virtual Reality (VR),
learning degrees, diploma effectivelearningprogramsfor and contribute significantly
and certificate courses across studentsinclasses4-12(K-12) to the market growth which
offers an interactive learning
The online education offerings are experience online. Zooming
said to increase 6.3 times by 2022 into the global investments,
HolonIQ released a report
creating a market of $ 1.17 billion showing USD 7 billion global
education venture capital
domains such as data science, and competitive exams like funding in 2019. They are
digital marketing, artificial JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE, also predicting a tripling of
intelligence, and machine and GMAT. investment in edtech over the
learning, in association next decade.
FUTURE OF EDTECH
Looking more broadly
Education technology in scope to include learning
solutions are expected to technology suppliers,
evolveinlinewiththeadvances according to Metaari, there
inthelatesttechnologies,such was USD 18.7 billion of
astheInternetofThings(IoT), global private investment
in learning technology
suppliers in 2019.

Moreover, when the
government intervened with
NEP (National Education
Policy) 2020 it aided the
exponential growth of
the edtech industry with
predictions of further rise in
the growth rate.

From an estimated size of
USD 700 million today, the
edtech market is headed for
8x to 10x growth in the next
five years. The radical set of
policies is predicted to boost
the industry to build vibrant
communitiesofacademicians
and nobles, break down
damaging silos, and enable
students to become an
all-rounder.

Furthermore, features and
innovations keep on piling up
to suffice the roaring needs
rising due to the enormous
demand for online education
especiallyduetothepandemic
and the limitations it poses.

[email protected]

Photograph by Shutterstock 83 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

Investments / Investors

F 24.39 billion, followed by Availability received a total FDI of
the construction activities of expanding $30.23 billion in 2020-21.
DI (Foreign Direct Invest- (US$ 7.15 billion), service markets along Maharashtra managed to
ment) plays a significant sector (US$ 3.86 billion), rakeinRs1.53lakhcroreFDI,
role in the economic de- and trading (US$ 2.14 bil- with digital while Karnataka stood third
velopment of any country lion). Indian-origin block- innovations with an investment worth Rs
as the capital inflow of chain technology com- are helping 78,160 crore. Delhi bagged
foreign investors supports pany Polygon receives an fourth place and attracted
strengthening the infra- unclosed investment from India to foreign direct investment
structure, increasing pro- US­based tech billionaire attract a worthRs59,830croreduring
ductivity and creating em- and serial startup inves- record FDI of the April-December period.
ployment opportunities. tor Mark Cuban, who is $ 81.72 billion
India attracted a total infl­ the owner of NBA’s Dallas during FY GROWTH OF FDI
ow of $72.12 billion dur- Mavericks and one of the 2020-21
ing April-January (2020- main ‘shark’ investors on By Anisha FDIs are directed towards
21), including reinvested the American reality TV Indiaduetoitsliberalforeign
earnings, the highest ever show, ‘Shark Tank’. Aditya directinvestmentpolicieslike
for the first ten months of tax redemption. In March
a financial year, accord- “Measures taken by the 2021, the parliament also
ing to data released by the government on the fronts approved a bill to increase
Department For Promo- of FDI policy reforms, foreign direct investment
tion Of Industry And In- investment facilitation and (FDI) in the insurance
ternal Trade (DPIIT). In ease of doing business have sector from 49 per cent to
the financial year 2020, 74 per cent, and Shripad
Singapore had the highest FDI AND ITS Naik, Minister of State for
FDI equity inflow to India, IMPACT ON Defence stated that a total
which was valued at over THE STARTUP of 44 Indian companies,
1036 billion Indian rupees, ECOSYSTEM including public sector
followed by Mauritius val- units, received approvals
ued at over 577 billion In- resulted in increased FDI related to FDI for joint
dian rupees. inflows into the country. The production of defence items
trends in India’s FDI are an with foreign organisations.
Data for 2020-21 indi- endorsement of its status 100 per cent FDI in the DTH
cates that the computer as a preferred investment broadcastingservicesmarket
software and hardware destination amongst global was also enabled.
sector attracted the highest investors,”thecommerceand
FDI equity inflows of US $ industry ministry has said in The availability of large,
a statement. expanding markets and
low-wage workers due to
Gujarat has bagged the the increasing population,
top spot in terms of the digital revolution, and the
highest FDI for the fourth latest innovations in the
consecutive year now. With start-uphubalsoactasstrong
a 37 per cent share, Gujarat

84 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

FDIs increase exports, dynamicity Though FDIs act as an
of lifestyle and technology, and help economic benefactor, the
Indian venture capitalists
stabilise the exchange rates are faced with immense
competition as these firms
attractions for FDI, making in the country. They help in are likely to be forced to
investors overlook barriers the inflow of cash into India lower their criteria and
like illiberal exit barriers which in turn are utilised valuation while dealing with
and lack of decision-making to develop the rural and companies to remain in the
authority with the state backward areas. Investment game. However, the fact
governments. is the major factor that that the new start-ups prefer
contributes to the growth Indian investors stands as
IMPACT OF FDI of GDP. An increase in the Indian venture capitalist
level of investment leads firms have an edge over
Sequoia Capital India, to the multiplier impact FDI in knowing the local
Nexus Venture Partners, on increasing the levels of strategies to survive in the
SAIF, India Angel Network, employment and income. market. This resonates with
and Intel Capital India are a There is a significant role Indian start-ups and gives
few of the most prominent of foreign investment in them a familiar guideline,
venture capitalist firms in open economies, directly or support and structure.
India who are faced with indirectly.
FDI competition along with Even though FDIs have a
private equity firms like The promising global expansion
Everstone Group. characteristic, startups
often depend on Indian
TheFDIsincreaseexports, investors to guide them into
the dynamicity of lifestyle local expansion in order to
and technology, and help strengthentheirnationalgrip
stabilise the exchange rates on the company.

The roadmap ahead for
FDIs suggests that India
is expected to attract FDI
of US$ 120­160 billion
per year by 2025; over the
past 10 years, the country
witnessed a 6.8 per cent rise
in GDP with FDI increasing
to 1.8 per cent. In terms of
attractiveness, investors
ranked India in the third
position as 80 per cent of
investors have plans to invest
in India in the next 2-3 years
suggesting that India holds
a secure relationship with
foreign direct investments.

[email protected]

Photograph by Shutterstock 85 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

Investments / Investors

IN CONVERSATION

“BUILDING A BUSINESS
IS NOT A JOURNEY OF

INCOME, IT IS A JOURNEY
OF WEALTH”

In conversation with Anisha Aditya, Senior Editorial
Consultant at BW Businessworld, Ninad Karpe, Partner

at 100X.VC speaks about capital chasing ideas and
accentuated growth of technology industry

Ninad Karpe is the Part- ter time to launch a start-up led you to join the VC In-
ner of 100X.VC and For- in India”. He is a firm believ- dustry?
mer CEO of Aptech. With er of supporting local artists I was with Aptech for ap-
the experience of starting and has been behind the proximately seven years.
an international product production of two theatre After working in the tech-
in consumer space India plays in Mumbai “Perfect nology space, I decided to
in the 1990s and leading a Murder” and “Maharathi”. work in a space that is really
global software develop- He has also authored a book growing fast. The experi-
ment company in India, ‘Bond to Baba’ which is on ence of starting out an inter-
Karpe chose to advance his Strategy and Management national product in India in
career as a Venture Capi- Consulting, woven with the 1990s, which has a glob-
talist with 100X.VC. Dur- lessons from James Bonds al presence, was absolutely
ing an exclusive interview movies, Formula 1 and unparallel. We built an In-
with BW Businessworld, he Kabadi. Read the excerpts dian brand in the consumer
stated that an idea in a labo- as follows from his inter- space in India and emerging
ratory is very different from view with to know more on countries outside India - it
an idea on the street and the his thoughts on the emer- was a massive challenge.
pandemic has made tech- gence of edtech companies,
nology a required resource fintech landscape and how After gaining experience
across sectors. Karpe said, VCs choose to evaluate tech- with a listed education com-
“Post-pandemic, the growth nology start-ups in India. pany, gaining experience as
of technology across con- a consultant, and working
sumption, production, You helmed Aptech as with an MNC, I realised
provision is going to be the MD and CEO for sev- the best way to channelise
massive”. eral years, developing a all that I learnt would be
product in the consumer in the VC Industry. This is
When asked if now is the space. Can you talk to us
right time to start a venture, a bit about that and what
he stated: “Do not wait. Do
it. Today, capital is chasing
ideas. The world is conspir-
ing to make you successful.
There has never been a bet-

86 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

problem that edtech can Can you tell us about your
solve. Edtech has got a mas- experience of leading the
sive scope in India and has a West Region of Confeder-
key role to play in develop- ation of Indian Industry
ing diversity, infrastructure, (CII)?
and quality of education. CII provided me with in-
sight on policy advocacy,
the space where everything You had earlier men- on how policymakers work,
came together for me. tioned that “India can be and it is one of the reasons
a laboratory for fintech which led me to become a
Edtech has received a sub- start-ups”. Can you tell us venture capitalist in India.
stantial amount of fund- why?
ing over the past year, We have to find value in the After investing in more
how do you see the market fact that the world’s larg- than 50 start-ups, would
ahead for early staged ed- est valued edtech start-up, you say 100x has certain
tech start-ups? Byju’s is from India. strategic investments se-
We have to be proud of the crets of venture capital
fact that the world’s larg- Customers want smooth investing? Can you tell us
est valued edtech star-up transactions and fewer fric- about the key elements
Byju’s is from India. The tion points, technology and sought by venture capi-
student base for the educa- fintech can solve many of talists when investing in
tion sector in India is huge. its problems. There are still start-ups?
These students want quality massive markets for the VCs love start-ups that
education at their location, Fintech sector of India. The scale rapidly. At 100x, we
at their price, which is the large MSME sector of India scale early-stage start-ups
has deep financial needs. at a seed and early revenue
stage. Start-ups are evalu-
“The secret is to know if the founder can ated based on the capabili-
implement the idea and scale it big and if ties of the entrepreneurs
to scale the business. 100x
the market size has growth potential” has developed the iSAFE
model which stands for In-
dia Simple Agreement for
Future Equity. iSAFE has
allowed us to make deals
much faster.

An idea at a national level,
and a global level requires
different sets of skills. Build-
ing a business is not a jour-
ney of income, it is a journey
of wealth. We believe that
the secret sauce is to know
if the founder can imple-
ment the idea and scale it
big and if the market size of
the product or service has
growth potential.

[email protected]

87 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

BW DIALOGUE INTERVIEW

“CustomerExperience
HasGotEnhancedBecause

OfDigitisation”

“Our forefathers taught us ingly well to ensure that we were always on and connected
to always invest in society, with each other.
customers, stakeholders and
employees. If that is ingrained We actually went back to our drawing board to see what our
in our value system, we have to cost elements were and where we could cut costs further to
see how the environment around become agile and nimble. We worked on it extensivly across
is evolving to address every all our companies and figured out that there was a scope for
cost-reduction. Across the board, that was the mantra.
stakeholder”
What are the post-pandemic changes that are permanent
Speaking to BW Businessworld, Mahesh as opposed to changes that are temporary and possibly we
Chhabria, Managing Director at Kirloskar will use them till we are compelled to use them?
Industries talks about the various Certainly, in the case of work-from-home and work-from-
changes that his company went through, office, a significant change has happened – I don’t see all of
in terms of rebranding and otherwise, during the us going back to the office. If you are employing a front end
pandemic. Excerpts: office that is interacting with the customers, does it really need
to be in the office or does it need to be at the customer’s end?
How have been the last 18 months both personally and The digital conversation is also a systemic challenge: how do
professionally? you record what you are doing with customers and how does
Very exciting and challenging at the same time. The pan- it get documented? How do you negotiate with customers on
demic had us stop, pause, refresh and restart again. First a real-time basis (digitally)?
three months, none of our offices was operational and we had
to communicate to our customers, employees, board and to Maybe in the future world of tomorrow, 70 – 75 per cent of
every stakeholder. We weren’t aware that it was not going to the workforce will be back in the office, 25 will never be back.
stop, and go on for so long. It meant a lot of rebalancing at the So, that is possible.
supplychain. Ittookalotofconviction,dialogue,andcajoling
to make that happen. And, fortunate for us, the union finally Recently, you underwent a rebranding exercise: what
stepped in and understood that this is going to extend for necessitated that and how did you evolve the current
way longer than was anticipated. The good part atleast is the thought process?
office guys managed to migrate to technology, and we stayed We call it “refresh”, actually. It goes back to what the forefa-
connected. All systems on the IT backend worked exceed- thers of our group taught us. This is a 130-year old legacy
group, and our forefathers taught us that you must always
invest in society, invest in your customers, invest in your
stakeholders and employees. If that is engrained into you as
a value system, we have to see how the environment around
is evolving to address each of the stakeholders.

As I see it today, not just you, customers are also evolving.

88 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

on how it will affect the change on account
of technology, digitisation and customer
experience.

Especially in the engineering sector and
almost all sectors, we are heavily depend-
ant on China for components and ingre-
dients. Has in any way China’s role as a
part of the supply chain come down or
will you see that coming down in the next
few years?
In our view, again, China has been a factory
to the world almost for 25 years now; and
China used scale advantage to offer prod-
ucts and at very competitive rates. The fact
is it led to productive gains or deflationary
kind of impact and made a lot of industry
uncompetitive.

Will it continue, is it here to stay, and
should we look at China plus one as a strat-
egy? The answer is yes. (China Plus One is
the business strategy to avoid investing only
in China and diversify business into other
countries.) Quite a lot of global corporations
are doing that right now. Everyone is work-
ing on a China plus one plan - however, I am
not saying China will become zero. Because,
you are dependant on China for some criti-
cal components at a favourable cost struc-
ture and advantage. The second is China
has invested a lot of money in logistics, sup-
ply chain, which a lot of us at this side of the
world is yet to do or adapt. Hence, a need to
invest in the back-end.

So, how much have you invested in digitisation onto your What should the policy-makers do so that
platforms? How is a product working for a customer on his India leverages on the slogan that “this
factory floor? It throws out a lot of data. So, it is great learn- decade is India’s decade” and move to-
ing. We can tell a customer that we are ready for preventive wards becoming a five trillion economy?
maintenance, and it also helps the customer so he can then I think they are working consciously and
plan his production schedules, and therefore, it gives more continuously. If you see a lot of good policy
connect with customers. Customer experience got enhanced frameworks that have already been an-
thanks to digitisation. Hence, the need to refresh the brand nounced: a movement to EVs, a move to
gas as a source of fuel, the move to make
more renewable energy, etc. The fact that they have agreed
to privatise a lot of ports and airports infrastructure is a good
move. On the farm rules, the agri-framework though is met
with a lot of challenges, but in our view, it is a positive move
if implemented correctly. The policy framework on supply
water to all houses is a phenomenal policy. So, if they were to
implement, the industry will be investing since the industry
is beneficiary of this policyframework.

89 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

AFTER HOURS / COLUMN

By Sangeeta Maheshwari

That Nagging Fear: If we do not defend ourselves, we
think we will get eaten up. We are con-
‘What Will Those stantly strategizing on how to keep our
defence guard by protecting ourselves
from “what will people say”?

Let us flip the coin and see what hap-
Other People Say?’ pens instead, when we start focusing
on what we want to say that makes us
happy?
In the beginning, it all sounds
T HIS PHRASE is a strange and selfish. That is how
giant impediment to our we have been trained. Prioritize
growth and freedom. others’ needs over your own.
When we get consumed However, even airlines recom-
mend using the oxygen mask first

by what impressions we on yourself before helping others.

leave on people, we for- So why can’t we fly high on our life

get to live for ourselves. journey by prioritizing wearing

We avoid connecting to one of our oxygen masks before provid-

the most vital questions: what do ing them for others?

I want to say? We are all born unique and are

Why do we care so much about meant to shine in our uniqueness.

proving ourselves to people? This uniqueness makes us stand

Our world revolves around our out. Isn’t that our purpose of liv-

relatives, colleagues, and friends. ing; to explore and express our-

Their feedback is important to us, selves?

as we wish to live an inclusive life When we do that, we do not need

in our society. others to approve or acknowledge

Any negative feedback triggers us and give us attention.

our primal fear of rejection. This However, we are fearful to stand

validation-seeking phenomenon out because it requires confidence,

and trying to please others has WE FOCUS ON OTHERS AND clarity, and courage. We need to

made us into mini pressure cook- DESPERATELY DESIRE THAT THEY take responsibility for our voice
ers. We are steaming away, desiring TREAT US SPECIAL AND HELP US and actions.
approval, admiration, and accept- STAND OUT. INSTEAD OF TRYING
ance. It indeed appears a daunting
task, so we conveniently try to

Humans are social animals, and TO PROVE OURSELVES TO mingle with others and follow their

each one is born unique. We start- OTHERS, WE NEED TO WORK ON rules. We focus on others and des-
ed living in tribes to be inclusive HOW TO IMPROVE OURSELVES perately desire that they treat us
and supportive of one another, so special and help us stand out.

no one felt lonely. Instead of trying to prove our-

But in the world today, we have taken Flight mode.’ This term defined a selves to others, we need to work on

this to a whole different level. Instead hunter’s instinct when confronted by how to improve ourselves.

of supporting one another, we are liv- an animal in olden times. The hunter Once we commit to being our own

ing in fear of being left out, mocked, would either fight or flee. faithful friends, there will be no need

and hurt. To protect ourselves from Unfortunately, it has become a way to worry about, “What will other people

isolation, we are fighting to prove our of modern living because we feel per- say!”

competence to others. manently threatened and under attack

We are on a permanent ‘Fight or by others. The writer is an author and Inner Growth Mentor

90 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

#BWHealthcareSummit&Awards

SEPTEMBER 2021

NOMINATE NOW

Dr Narottam Puri Atul Mohan Kochhar Dr. K.N. Agarwal

Former President, Fortis Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Senior Paediatrician, Dharamshila
Former Executive Director, Max Healthcare, National Acccreditation Board for Narayana Superspeciality Hospital
Hospitals & Healthcare Providers President, Health Care & Research
Former Chairman, NABH
Currently Advisor – Health Services & (NABH) Association for Adolescents

Medical Value Travel &
Board Member, NABH

JURY MEMBERS Sudhir Mishra Dr. Sonia Lal Gupta Dr. Vijay Agarwal Smriti Mishra

Founder & Managing Partner Director, Metro Group of Hospitals President Advisor
Trust Legal Consultant Neurologist CAHO Health Sciences and Pharma

(Stroke and Headache specialist) Ernst & Young LLP
Co-Founder, Voice of Health

CELEBRATING BEST OF
HEALTHCARE IN INDIA

6th

6TH BW BUSINESSWORLD HEALTHCARE SUMMIT & AWARDS, A DAY-LONG SUMMIT JURY CHAIR
ON THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY COVERING ALL IMPORTANT SECTORS OF THE
INDUSTRY LIKE HOSPITALS, MEDTECH, DIAGNOSTIC CENTERS, PATH LABS, ETC.; Dr. Randeep Guleria
ANALYSING TODAY’S MACRO ENVIRONMENT & TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE
TRENDS, INNOVATION, INVESTOR OUTLOOK, ETC. Director
All India Institute of Medical Sciences

CATEGORIES 1. BEST STANDALONE HOSPITAL 11. BEST EYECARE STANDALONE CLINIC For Nominations: Tarun Ahuja
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GADGET REVIEW What we liked

O PPO RECENTLY OPPO RENO 6 5G: Design
launched its latest
series of Reno A GOOD Performance
smartphones aimed at LOOKING ALL
the affordable flagship ROUNDER Display
segment, the Reno 6 Pro
5G and the Reno 6 5G. The The OPPO Reno6 5G is a good mix of Selfie Camera
Oppo Reno 6 comes with looks and performance. The stylish
a 6.4-inch touchscreen look and impressive cameras are the 65W Fast Charging
display with a resolution of main draws here with a good processor
1080x2400 pixels and an being the cherry on the top Thermal Management
aspect ratio of 20:9. By Siddharth Shankar
What We Didn’t Like
It comes with 8 GB of MiMO and Bluetooth 5.2 different this time as well.
RAM and packs 128 GB of are on board. Bloatware in ColorOS
inbuilt storage. The Oppo New Features
Reno 6 runs Color OS When tested with a The Reno 6 brings a lot of Omission of 3.5mm jack
11.3 on Android 11 and is Wi-Fi 6 Mesh router, the new things to the table, like
powered by a 4300mAh Reno 6 5G never dropped the bokeh flare portrait No Stereo Speakers
battery supporting 65W a connection and we mode which turns all
fast charging. consistently got high-speed the light sources in the can shoot Full HD videos as
data transfer. Streaming background into beautiful well, if you want to do some
Camera movies or downloading out-of-focus bokeh balls, vlogging.
In the camera department, large files over Wifi should for photos and video both.
the Oppo Reno 6 on the never be a problem. Design
rear packs a 64-megapixel The selfie camera, a The most interesting thing
primary camera, an The Reno Series from 32MP unit, takes bright about the Reno 6 5G is
8-megapixel wide angle Oppo has always been and crisp selfie shots and the design. The iPhone 12
camera, and a 2-megapixel camera focused, and it’s no inspired flat edge design
macro shooter. It sports a is quite appealing and one
32-megapixel camera on can get a good grip on the
the front for selfies. smartphone.

Powering the Reno 6 The rear of the phone
5G, is the latest MediaTek is made of smudge-proof
Dimensity 900 processor. glass and has a pearlescent
This is one of the first texture on it. Oppo calls it –
smartphones in India to use Reno Glow. The front is all
the 6nm, 8-Core Dimensity screen with minimal bezels
900 SoC. Thanks to the and an inconspicuous
6nm build, the new chipset punch hole selfie camera on
is light on power and does the top.
not heat up much under
heavy loads, a problem that The OPPO Reno6 5G
most high-end chipsets is priced at Rs 29,990 in
from Samsung and India and at this price, the
Qualcomm face. smartphone is a good mix
of looks and performance.
Connectivity The stylish look and
The Reno 6 5G brings a impressive cameras are
lot of connectivity options the main draws here with
to the table, multiple 5G a good processor being the
bands are supported, with cherry on the top.
Dual Sim 5G, Wi-Fi 6 with
[email protected]

92 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021



CAR REVIEW

T HE VOLKSWAGEN POLO GT TSI BS6:
Polo came to India
in 2010, and since STILL THE HOTTEST HATCH
then it has been a drivers’
delight. The taut chassis, The first five kms of driving the Polo GT TSI, you know it’s
accurate steering, precise different and it’s going to be fun. It bears a hint of the POLO
handling and the butter GTI,withanaddedsportyflavourBy Siddharth Shankar
smooth 1.2L TSI engine
with the DQ200 7Speed So, does the new found the new gearbox to be great handling package is
DSG gearbox made the Polo powertrain make the Polo very eager to shift gears when still intact. The first five kms
GT TSI a benchmark in its GT TSI a dull car to drive? required, up shifts and down of driving the Polo GT TSI,
segment. Apart from the Well for starters, thanks to shifts were very quick when you know it’s different and
PuntoAbarth,noneof the forced induction technology driven enthusiastically. But it’s going to be fun. The flat
hatchbacks ever came close the motor, though smaller the gearbox does tend to be a bottom, leather wrapped
to POLO GT TSI when it in displacement, puts out bit jerky in the “S” mode and chunky steering wheel and
came to the fun factor and 110 bhp of power compared we found during bumper- the plaid seats give the hint
the driving appeal. of the POLO GTI and adds
tothe105bhpof theearlier Gearbox: to the sporty flavour of the
With BSVI norms coming 1.2 L unit. Despite the TheTorque car. The dashboard and
in and reliability issues smaller motor, with one less convertergearbox instrument console still
cylinder the peak torque iswell-tuned remain unchanged and still
with the DQ200 gearbox, remains the same at 175nm. feels high quality and well
Volkswagen has updated the With the power figures to-bumper traffic, the creep built. On the exterior too,
Polo GT TSI with a new 1.0L largely remaining the same mode is a bit excessive, the not much has changed apart
three-cylinder turbocharged the biggest change is the car lurches forward and from the GTI body kit, skirts
motor and a six-speed gearbox, while earlier the constant brake inputs are and a large roof spoiler. The
torque converter gearbox. DSG gearbox was creamy required to modulate the design is ten years old and yet
Not much has changed in smooth and lightning fast speed. With that said, the still looks premium.
the exterior and interior in changing gears, the new torque converter gearbox
with this update because the six-speed torque converter in the POLO GT TSI has Polo GT TSI, doesn’t
MQB platform that the new isn’t really a downgrade. We been tuned very well by have all the technology and
polo is based on, is larger Volkswagen and doesn’t take features that the competition
than the Sub four-metre away much from the DSG has. There is no sun roof, no
category that the Polo in experience of the earlier car. touchscreen-based maps,
India falls in. no digital instrument cluster
The rest of the car hasn’t and no ventilated seats.
changed, and hence the What the Polo GT TSI still
has is the ability to put a
smile on your face. Outright
performance is what the
POLO GT TSI offers, if you
want more, there are tons
of aftermarket upgrades
available as well. So, is the
Volkswagen POLO GT TSI
still the hottest hatch? Yes!
and we say that with a big
grin on our face.

[email protected]

94 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021



COLUMN By Astro Friend Chirag Bejan Daruwala

What the Stars Theywillbecomemoreoriented. Youwill
Foretell for You advance economically.Those in industrial
A RIES: Dear Aries natives, this and biomedical fields will be more moti-
will be a happy spell. A family making it a more prosperous phase for vated. Take good care of your health.
member will come home from you. If you start anything as a sole owner,
a distance. People in business you will be able to give it your all. Keep SCORPIO: Ganesha says you will be bus-
will make good money, but may run into your valuables and money safe. Ex- ier than usual between your job and your
some difficulties later. Wednesday and penses may build up, but you will make family obligations. Be wary of foreign in-
Friday are good days to invest in a com- progress. vestment swindles. You will be able to ef-
pany. If you have asthma, take care. fectively handle your job, but your plans
LIBRA: Ganesha says you will make a to quickly generate more revenue may
TAURUS: Ganesha says dear Taurus, you larger contribution to the great cause. falter. Avoid stock markets on Monday
will be able to put your mental abili- Your children will take better decisions. and Wednesday.
ties to good use. You will also spend
quality time with your family. Your SAGITTARIUS: Ganesha says to per-
prayers will bear fruit. Your subordi- form well, you will need to push yourself
nates will back you at the career front. a bit. You will put greater emphasis on
You may have to travel. You will de-
flect your opponents. personal development and emotional
balance. Those in the textile and gar-
GEMINI: Ganesha says your adver- ment industries may have copyright
saries will cause you problems, but difficulties. Be careful about hurting
you will gain respect and dignity in yourself when you exercise.
society. Your sixth house is strong
now, so you are likely to get upgraded CAPRICORN: Ganesha says your
at work. Avoid engaging in a new fervour and thrill will show forth.
partnership business. Watch your You may cause a stir at your company.
blood pressure. If you work as a freelancer, you may be
given a long-term employment with
CANCER: Ganesha says you will Astrologer: Chirag Bejan Daruwala a decent salary. More opportunities
spend more time in noble work and in will arise for you.
assisting others. Your friends and sup- WHAT DOES THE
porters will always be there for you. 9-15 AUGUST PERIOD AQUARIUS: Ganesha says you will
Avoid arguing with your managers over HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? direct your efforts toward beneficial
trivial issues. If you are in the commercial CARRYING FORWARD THE activities. Your psychological health
industry, make sure you only sign solid LATE BEJAN DARUWALA’S will improve. The Seventh House,
deals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. LEGACY, THE AUTHOR which represents money influx, will
GUIDES YOU SO YOU MAY be more strengthened for business-
LEO:Ganesha says good energy will MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT people. Bonuses will be lined up for
keep you safe and comfortable. Be care- those who are already employed.
ful about how you use your money. Now LIFE HAS TO OFFER
is an excellent time to start looking for PISCES: Ganesha says you will be re-
properties. If you work, unanticipated lying on philosophical practices. You
profits will flood your wallets. Avoid dis- will be able to control how your body
putes at the workplace. and mind respond to situations. Your
professional life will be more complex
VIRGO:Ganesha saysJupiter and Mer- now. In business, you will make a signifi-
cury will connect in your zodiac now, cant amount of money from an outside
source. The equity market will mostly
close in your favour. Be cautious about
catching the flu.

The author is the reknowned astrologer Bejan
Daruwalla’s son and carries forward his legacy

96 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021

#BWSocialImpact

SEPTEMBER 2021

NOMINATE NOW

ANNOUNCING

JURY MEMBERS

JURY CO CHAIR Anu Aga Dr. Achyuta Aruna Roy
CHAIR Samanta
Dr. Kiran Former Chairperson Founder-Member, Mazdoor Kisan
Arun Maira Karnik Thermax Limited and Chancellor, Shakti Sanghathan (MKSS)
KIIT and KISS
Former Member of Planning Former President Philanthropist National Campaign to People’s
Commission of India, NASSCOM Right to Information (NCPRI)
Former India Chairman & the School for Democracy (SFD)

Boston Consulting Group

Subroto Miniya Dr. Vikas Dr. Ganesh Dr. Bhuvan Lall
Chattopadyay Chatterji Singh Natarajan Executive Chairman
Lall Brothers
Chairman CEO, Sustain Labs & Founder Chairman - 5F World, Entertainment & Media
Adj. Professor Lighthouse Communities
The Peninsula Studios Crux Management Foundation & Honeywell
SciencesPo Paris
Automation India

Noor Fathima Madhumita Jyotsna Dr.Annurag
Warsia Chakraborty Sharma Batra

Group Editorial Director Associate Editor Senior Editor Chairman & Editor-in-Chief
BW Businessworld &
BW Businessworld BW Businessworld BW Businessworld
exchange4media Group

For Partnerships
Talees Rizvi | [email protected] | +91 93106 34007

For Awards Nomination Enquiries
Devika Kundu Sengupta | [email protected] | +91 98716 54991

LAST WORD S.K. Roongta

“Only Good Institutions Can Take
Forward Nation Building Process”

In an exclusive interaction on BW Dialogue “Nation Builders” series, Former Chairman of
SAIL S.K. ROONGTA talks about the relationship between institution building and nation-

building and the qualities of a leader required to build institutions that last. Excerpts:

Q. How have been the last 17 ly, to build an institution, a leader

months for you both personally should have vision, passion and

and professionally? the ability to think big. Because

It has been an unprecedented unless we really think big, we can-

period – the world and our lives not accomplish.

have changed in unforeseen ways.

It won’t be an exaggeration to say Q. You understand the link be-

that there is a world before Covid tween “institution building”

and there is a world after Covid. and “nation-building”. Give us

Now, on the professional front, af- a sense of how institution build-

ter the initial shock and uncertain- ing can lead to nation-building.

ty, organisations have responded I think the nation consists of peo-

very well in terms of resilience and ple and communities. There can-

adaptability. They have tried to be not be nation-building without

more agile in functions, be it tech- people and institutions as they

nology, marketing, HR practices, are an integral part of a nation’s

or logistics. And, I think, leave progress. So, obviously, there is a

aside the government, if you talk strong link between institutions

about the industry, organisations, and nation-building.

citizens and other social groups, I Just think of it as, say, for the

suppose we have responded well. steel needs of the country, we

And, there were many actions “Institutions with strong need steel, cement, and other in-
taken which were the need of project management can really save puts for our infrastructure, now
the hour. For me personally, a lot of money for the nation. They can
during this period, boardroom it is paramount to have efficient
institutions that can really pro-

engagements were more lively ensure growth comes back fast” vide that. SAIL (Steel Authority

and informative; I could connect of India Limited) is not primarily

with trade bodies and industry as- a steel producer but steel-builder

sociations through virtual mode. to our nations (that is our punchline that

there is a little bit of SAIL in everybody’s life) – we felt that

Q.Inanycrisis,whatmattersisleadershipwhenitcomes we are not producing steel but that we are touching the lives

to the nation, institution or corporates. What are the of each and every Indian. Institutions are an integral part of

traitsofleadershipthatarerequiredinthisenvironment a nation, and only good institutions can really take forward

to build institutions that last? the nation-building process. Institutions with strong project

I would like to talk with regards to my experience as a prac- managementcansavealotofmoneyforthenation.Theycan

tising manager in building institutions. I think, firstly, for a ensure growth comes back fast.

leader, he should not have duality – whatever is inside should And, if there are good institutions with very strong internal

be outside. What he says, he should mean. So, it is a question systems,theycanimpartittootherinstitutions.Thus,agood

of building trust. This is of paramount importance. Second- institutioncanleadtobuildingmultiplegoodinstitutions.

98 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 02 - 16 August 2021 Photograph by Bivash Banerjee



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