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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

TAKING STRIDES

ANNURAG BATRA “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt

 [email protected] RESPECT IS EARNED bit by bit, based on actions taken across different
spheres. Companies who score high on the respect index are those who
have kept their core values intact through turbulent times. The 2022
edition of the BW Businessworld Most Respected Companies (MRC)
survey was conducted by our knowledge partner, TechSci Research,
in the backdrop of the disruptions in economic activities caused by the
restrictions and lockdowns imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey is perception-based and evaluates companies on parameters
such as corporate social responsibility, women-friendly policies, a
rewarding work culture, an effective growth plan and financial returns.
The study maps the current perception levels of employees and self-
employed individuals in India. As many as 21 sectors were identified for
the research, incorporating the views of 575 respondents, including senior
and mid-level employees. Overall, Tata Consultancy Services emerged
at the top of the Most Respected Companies list, based on the chosen
parameters, followed by Google India, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever
and Amazon India.

While TCS tops the MRC list for FY 2021, in the last MRC rankings
published in early 2020 (for FY 2019), the ITeS behemoth had ranked
second. Google India has been ranked second in the list this year. As of
April 2022, it has maintained a 98.71 per cent market share in the search
engine business. The HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank (by
balance sheet size) in India, jumped two places to sit pretty in the third
position in the MRC rankings for FY 2021. The largest consumer goods
maker, HUL, also moved two places up over its MRC rankings for FY
2019, to be ranked fourth. Amazon India is in the fifth position based on
its increased business, local growth, trustworthy leadership and sound
financial returns.

In this issue, we also profile India’s most innovative emerging software
and product companies. The BW Businessworld list of Techtors spotlights
high-calibre companies who are creating successful large enterprises.

As always, we showcase a spectrum of views, comments and even the
quirky quip, of pundits on business and the economy. In this issue, Bibek
Debory, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
(EAC-PM), Amit Kapoor, Chair, Institute for Competitiveness and Aditya
Sinha, consultant, EAC-PM, pontificate on the correlation of urbanisation
and economic development. It you thought it to be a given, think again.

We are always happy to hear from you. Do write in to us with your
feedback. Happy Reading!

4 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022



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www.businessworld.in RNI NO. 39847/81 I 21 MAY 2022 YOUR COMMENTS

AUTO’S NEW-GEN AUTO INDUSTRY ADAPTING RAPIDLY
TRAILBLAZERS
This refers to the editorial (“Dynamic Shift Will
How the new face of leadership in the Change Trajectory ”, BW, May 21). The author
Indian auto industry is shaping the future points out that the Indian auto sector is projected
to reach over $166 billion by 2027. Currently,
Rs 150 among the top five in market size and net worth,
Akshay Singhal the sector will be among the top three globally by
Abhimanyu J Goyal 2026. Post-pandemic the industry has witnessed
Abhinandan Gopalsetty exponential growth in demand for personal vehicles.
Aditya Munjal And, as the Indian automotive industry increases
Akash Gupta production, it is expected to account for 65 million
Akhil Aryan new jobs. Evolving and adapting at a rapid pace,
Aloka the Indian auto industry has been doing it all, from
Amit Kumar strengthening the automotive trade to the promotion
Ankit Kumar of electric cars and more. The author reiterates that
Anmol Bohre electric vehicles in India are still at a nascent stage
Anmol Jaggi but are witnessing strong growth with consistent
Aravind Sanka support from the public and private stakeholders.
Arun Sreyas Moreover, the transformation of the auto industry is
Ashwini Tiwary not limited to new cars only, the used car sector has
Bhavish Aggarwal also seen significant growth during this period.
Chandresh Sethia
Anshu Gupta SANTOSH KUMAR , EMAIL
Gajendra Jangid
Greg Moran A LAST-MILE DELIVERY CHANNEL
Jeehaan Adil Kotwal
Khushboo Gupta This refers to the editorial (“From Bicycles To
Mihir Mohan E-Cycles ”, BW, May 21). It is good to know that
Misha Santosh Nair the Indian e-cycle market is growing at a CAGR
Mohit Sharma of 55 per cent, as per the forecast period of 2021-
Nikhil Bhatia 2026. Increasing fuel prices coupled with the
Nikhil Nair expensive and time-consuming maintenance of
Nishant Arya regular alternate or traditional choices have paved
P. Hari Kiran the way for the growth of e-cycles in India. It is not
Rachitta K Juneja surprising that people are opting for e-cycles for
Ruchit Agarwal their office commute as well as to fulfil their short-
Runa Alhawat distance errands. And, cargo e-cycles are emerging
Sakshi Vij as a choice of the last-mile delivery channels across
Saurav Kumar ecommerce, food delivery and hyperlocal services.
Siddharth Chaturvedi
Sumit Chhazed SARIKA NATU, EMAIL
Tanay Gupta
Tarun Lawadia
Tarun Mehta
Vivek Sharma
Vivekananda Hallekere

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8 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022



CONTENTS

VOLUME 41, ISSUE 16 04 JUNE 2022

MRCPhotograph by Unsplash

12 Jottings 32 Marketing & advertising 60

A growth story gone awry; The wheat export How cause marketing is becoming the What Makes
ban; BPCL divestment on backburner; LIC’s buzzword for brands that wish to not simply Companies
market cap dips; Pininfarina dabbles in survive but thrive in a more socially and Respected?
NFTs, and more environmentally aware new world
Respect is earned bit
14 Columns 34 Influencer marketing by bit, whether it’s for
individuals or institutions.
Ashutosh Garg (p. 14); Vikas Singh (p. 16); Chandramohan Mehra, CMO, Bajaj Allianz For companies specifically,
Amit Kapoor, Bibek Debroy & Aditya Sinha Life insurance on how the ROI from it means keeping their core
(p. 18); Sandeep Goyal (p. 20); Kiran influencer marketing is better or on par with values and character intact
Karnik (p. 22); Srinath Sridharan (p. 24); other marketing channels through times good and bad
Noor Fathima Warsia(p. 28); Viiveck and over long periods
Verma (p. 36); Rachna Chhachhi (p. 120) 58 In Conversation
Cover design by DINESH S. BANDUNI
30 Goafest is Back Sanjiv Bajaj, President, Confederation of
Indian Industry on why CII is bullish on the
The Indian advertising industry’s biggest Indian economy despite the global
annual jamboree returned after a two-year headwinds and inflation and how India can
gap to mark its 15th edition to celebrate grow at a healthy rate
creativity and creative minds from across
South Asia

10 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

104 Shimmer

of Change

Like most consumer-
based industries, the
luxury industry is in the
throes of radical
changes and
innovation

38 Tech Accelerators MOST RESPECTED COS. 84 Wipro
86 Apple India
The individuals behind revolutionary 64 Tata Consultancy Services 87 Tata Power Company
products and services that are making 66 Google India 88 NTPC
the world work better 68 HDFC Bank 89 Asian Paints
70 Hindustan Unilever 90 HCL Technologies
THE TECHTORS 72 Amazon (India) 91 Sun Pharmaceutical
74 Reliance Industries Industries
40 Annanya Sarthak, Awign 76 Infosys 92 Hindustan Petroleum
Enterprises 78 State Bank of India Corporation
41 Amit Khatri, Noise 80 Sony India 94 Flipkart India
42 Anta Pattabiramn, Inai 82 HDFC Life Insurance 95 HSBC India
44 Ashutosh Agarwal, Biocube
Matrics 122 Last 102 Perils of Vaping
45 Avneesh Agrawal, Netradyne
46 Chirag Taneja, GoKwik Word Meenu Walia of Max Super Speciality
47 Gaurav Munjal, Unacademy Hospital on the health risks of
48 Harshavardhana Kikkeri, Spiritual guru vaping, e-cigarettes, and tobacco
HoloSuit Sadhguru on the use
49 Kiran Kalakuntla, ekincare Save Soil
50 Manoj Agarwal, Xoxoday Movement, the 118 Gadgets
52 Mehul Shah, Collabera need for soil
Technologies friendly Gaming on a smartphone has
53 Paavan Nanda, WinZo agricultural become more popular these days
54 Raghunandan G, Zolve practices,and than on any other device. A review of
Innovations much more the Asus ROG Phone 5s for you
55 V.R. Govindarajan, Perfios
Software Solutions TOTAL NO. OF PAGES
56 Varun Goenka, Chargeup INCLUDING COVER 124

ThepagesinBW BusinessworldthatarelabelledBWiorPromotionscontainsponsoredcontent.Theyareentirelygeneratedbyanadvertiserorthe
marketingdepartmentofBW Businessworld.Also,theinsertsbeingdistributedalongwithsomecopiesofthemagazineareadvertorials/advertisements.

Thesepagesshouldnotbeconfusedwith BW Businessworld’seditorialcontent.

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 11

JOTTINGS

A GROWTH STORY Disinvestment
GONE AWRY Target in Peril

GROWTH HAS ASSUMED NOW THAT THE Indian
weird connotations for a government’s proposed
government committed disinvestment in Bharat
to it. Yes, India’s gross Petroleum Corporation
domestic product (GDP) has grown Limited (BPCL) has been
by nearly 50 per cent over the put on the backburner, its
last eight years that the National disinvestment target of Rs
Democratic Alliance (NDA) 65,000 crore for 2023, may
government has been in the saddle. have to be revised.
As a statement made in Parliament
in February pointed out, India’s Bidder interest seems
GDP for the 2021-22 financial to have waned in BPCL
year was at Rs 147.5 lakh crore, compared to a shade under Rs 100 lakh crore in FY 2013-14 (all with the interest of two
figures at constant prices). If the GDP has grown exponentially, sadly, so has everything else, of the three bidders
from prices of food and fuel, to the strength of the dollar versus the rupee – even if they are including the Vedanta
driven by factors that are way beyond the jurisdiction of any government. Group, waning. Both Apollo
When the new regime assumed power on 16 May 2014, the rupee to dollar parity was at Rs Global Management and I
59.44. A dollar now fetches Rs 77.50. Petrol prices have catapulted from Rs 71.41 per litre in Squared Capital have failed
2014 to Rs 105.41 per litre now. Price of transport fuel diesel, has galloped up to Rs 96.67 per to rope in global energy
litre from a mere Rs 55.49 in 2014 in Delhi. Food prices have soared too. Palm oil is around Rs giants and sovereign and
160 a litre from Rs 68-70 in 2014. Mustard oil costs Rs 185-190 a litre today, compared to Rs pension funds for financial
88-90 in 2014. Toned milk, which was available at Rs 38 a litre eight years ago, now costs Rs and strategic support. A
50. As we said, everything has grown since 2014, particularly public angst. —Ashish Sinha global push toward green
energy and pressure from
What’s Up investors to slash emissions
have held back companies
with Wheat? from making significant
investments. Another point
THE 13 MAY ORDER of the Director General of Foreign of contention for investors
Trade (DGFT), banning exports of some varieties of has been the government’s
wheat, created a stir. Why would the government of inconsistent policies on
India deprive wheat farmers of making a buck or two in petrol and diesel prices.
the international market in a year of record production?
The wheat harvest in April after all, had been a record The Union government
high at 111.32 million tonne, going by agriculture ministry may now invite a fresh
statistics. A clarification of sorts emerged four days later on the commerce ministry website, proposal by putting on block
attributing the DGFT decision to ensuring “India’s food security and check inflation”. a 20-25 per cent stake
with management control,
Food inflation, incidentally, was at 8.88 per cent in April, while the WPI-based rate of instead of its entire stake,
the price spiral was beyond 15 per cent. With a heat wave persisting, fruits shrivelling in the as experts had suggested,
orchards and the Kharif sowing delayed, who really knows which way the wind is blowing? BPCL being in the sunset
Of course, a normal monsoon has been predicted, but with Mother Earth on a war path over sector. — Arjun Yadav
carbon emissions, who could foretell the future, especially when two major global wheat
growers, namely Ukraine and Russia, are practically out of the global grain mart? Of course,
we can only conjecture the inferences of the DGFT decision. — Madhumita Chakraborty

12 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022 PhotographbyNiteenkasle,Rozum,TribhuwanSharma

GOOD LUCK LIC!

THE MUCH-TALKED ABOUT, discussed, analysed and oversubscribed nearly three times since the issue was
critiqued Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the Life Insurance launched on 4 May.
Corporation of India (LIC), finally got listed at the stock
exchange on 17 May. But things did not pan out in keeping And it’s also true that LIC raised around Rs 21,000 crore
with the expectations of market pundits. The stock ended and was valued at a little over Rs 6 lakh crore at its upper
the first day of trading at Rs 872.70, down Rs 76.30, or 8.04 price band of the issue of Rs 949 a share. But at the close
per cent from its issue price of Rs 949. A significant event, of trade on 17 May, when it was down 8.04 per cent from
considering the size and financial might of the LIC and the its issue price, the market capitalisation of India’s largest
mega expectations of all stakeholders from it. insurance company and major financial institution, also
came down to Rs 5.5 lakh crore. But tomorrow is another
In simpler terms, the investors of LIC lost over Rs 50,000 day. So good luck to LIC! May the days ahead bring rewards.
crore on the stock’s debut on 17 May. Yes, LIC’s IPO was
—Ashish Sinha

PININFARINA ENTERS
THE WORLD OF NFTs

PININFARINA, the celebrated Italian design house, known of the Mahindra group announced the auction on Twitter. In
for automotive design, has entered the world of digital 2015, the Mahindra Group acquired a 76 per cent stake in the
art with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the 1970 design firm and collaborated to start work on its ‘Dealership
Pininfarina Modulo concept car. This project has been of the Future,’ where digital technologies such as Augmented
developed in collaboration with the renowned artist, Sasha Reality(AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) would enhance
Sirota. The result of this incredible collaboration is a series consumer experience. The AR and VR experience was
of five unique pieces of art, merging design, music, and showcased at the 2018 auto expo. — Jyotsna Sharma
technology. Back in the day, when the Modulo was launched
in 1970, it had attracted people with its unconventional
design, which was quite similar to a spaceship.

This NFT collection comprises the original sketches of the
Modulo, created in 1970, that have never been unveiled to
the world. The collection will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s
from 24-26 May, according to media reports. The buyer
will own a specially made digital booklet of rare, previously
unseen sketches, together with two limited-edition physical
prints of the artwork signed by Pininfarina Chairman, Paolo
Pininfarina. A few days back, industrialist Anand Mahindra

PhotographbyUmeshGoswami, ININFARINA 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 13

COLUMN Ashutosh Garg

F OR MOST RETAIL BUSINESSES, franchising offers an excellent op- l Reduced risk through proven busi-
portunity to grow the brand across a large geographical territory very ness model – The franchisor must be-
quickly. Opening up a company’s systems and its heart to an individual lieve that the learnings of the franchisor
who wants to come on board primarily because he senses a financial can be transferred to a potential fran-
return on his investment takes an organisation time to understand chisee so that his learning curve is not
and digest. as steep or as expensive as that of the
franchisor.
It is essential to make sure that a company embarks on franchis- l Defined territories protect fran-
chisees from competition – Once a
ing only when the organisation and its people are ready to welcome a franchise territory has been defined, it
becomes a valuable piece of “real estate”
franchisee into its fold. since there should be no other franchisee
in this defined territory.
Benefits of franchising
From the perspective of a franchisee, it is important to understand what benefits he
can expect and from the perspective of a franchisor, he must understand that he must

Franchising
Basics, Prospective

Franchisees
Should Know

be able to provide value to any potential franchisee. Franchisor Checklist
l Consumers buy from brands they trust – Brands are what convey credibility A franchisor must look at what he can of-
to a consumer and brands outlive any promoter or manager. A strong brand ensures fer to a potential franchisee before agree-
long- term profits and an association with a strong and credible franchisor helps to ing to sign up and give the rights to their
build a long-term and sustainable business for an investor. brand to any franchisee.
l Strong Value Proposition – the
The franchisor must support his brand and the franchisee must assure the brand brand proposed to be franchised must
owner that the brand will be respected and that no steps would ever be taken that offer a strong, clear and unambiguous
would tarnish the image or diminish the value of the brand. value proposition to the potential fran-
l Efficient business practices as systems are proven – Strong companies are chisee.
able to bring strong systems and good business practices into the business of any l Control Systems – The franchisor
franchisee. It is important to adhere to these values to ensure that there is no clash of must have strong back office and con-
values between the franchisor and the franchisee. trol systems to help a franchisee manage
lMarketing costs are lower through volume – Being a member of a large franchise his business as well for the franchisor to
operation helps to defray marketing costs over a large number of business owners. manage several franchisees.
l Mentoring the franchisees – The franchisor must put together a senior team that l Buy in from everyone within the com-
is available to mentor all franchisees through their early stage of taking the franchise. pany – Getting a buy in from every de-
This mentoring is really an extract of all the learnings of the company over a period partment and every head of department
of time through experience.

14 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

From the perspective of a franchisee, it is the training to handle the chosen busi-
important to understand what benefits he can ness. I have met a number of potential
expect and from the perspective of a franchisor, franchisees who assume that they simply
he must understand that he must be able to have to make an investment and then
provide value to any potential franchisee wait for the results. When I tell them that
they have to actually run their business
is essential for the process to work. The at the field level where issues start be- and not simply make an investment, they
franchisor must create a dedicated team tween the two formats. Such issues need start to think twice.
of people who will be able to address the to be tackled immediately before these l Get professional advice from an ac-
issues faced by any franchisee. become serious problems. countant, lawyer or other business ex-
l Business Plan – The franchisor must pert – I always ask a potential franchisee
not prepare or commit to a business plan From a customer’s perspective, the to develop a business plan before they
for any franchisee. All that he should do franchisor must remember that there is start making the investment. Unless a
is to give the assumptions for preparing no differentiation and if there is a prob- franchisee understands his own business
a business plan and share all the relevant lem in service delivery, the franchisor model, he will never be able to extract
data from their company owned opera- cannot tell the consumer, “The problem the maximum value for his franchise in
tions in a similar market. The business occurred because of the franchisee”! terms of monthly returns after meeting
has to be run by the franchisee and they all his costs.
have to commit to their numbers, not the Franchisee Checklist l Check out the franchisor – It is the
franchisor. Before an individual takes up a franchise responsibility of the franchisor to give
l Don’t differentiate from company of any brand, he must address the follow- a detailed data pack to every potential
owned store – Franchisee operations ing questions to his satisfaction. Once franchisee to conduct a detailed due dili-
have the same needs as those of compa- money is committed, then it is very dif- gence on the company and its directors.
ny owned operations and the franchisor ficult to change one’s mind. This is important so that a person who
cannot afford to differentiate between lIs this the right franchise for you wants to invest money satisfies himself
these. This problem becomes more acute – Every franchisee should ask himself about the franchisor and people behind
the question whether he has the skills or the company.
l Speak with existing franchisees –
Potential franchisees must be encour-
aged to meet and discuss the franchisor
experience with other franchisees. Only
when they hear a satisfied franchisee
speaking will they understand the value
they can get for themselves from the
brand and organisation they may choose
to partner with.
l What is the exit strategy and what
goodwill can be retained? – For eve-
ry potential franchisee, the franchisor
must offer an exit by offering to buy out
the franchise at the end of the agreed pe-
riod. If the franchisee wishes to continue
longer, the renewal should be on terms
then applicable.

The writer is a business and executive coach, a
storyteller and an angel investor. He hosts the
highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called
You. He is also the founder Chairman of Guardian

Pharmacies and author of eight best-selling
books. He writes for several online newspapers

Photograph by Rafapress 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 15

COLUMN By Vikas Singh

Inflation Taming
Requires Both
Monetary
Intervention &
Fiscal Action

INFLATION IS GALLOPING. Food and vegetable prices are up 12 per cent and still food in the CPI is close to 50 per cent.
climbing Clothing and footwear prices are up by nine per cent. Most poor are Indian households don’t nearly spend
in distress. The rich too are beginning to ‘notice’ the rising prices. The political that much on food. They spend more on
system is equally concerned and can no longer remain indifferent and aloof. services such as education, healthcare,
Inflation is an outcome of several ‘knowns’, but equally some ‘unknowns’. and transportation.
The collinearity between events that trigger inflation and outcomes as a result of
those events is often dodgy, mostly indeterminate. The economic phase and cycle, Hyperinflation, besides putting up-
and the accompanying economic activities play a far bigger role than imagined or ward pressure on interest rates, imposes
acknowledged. downward pressure on the rupee. Rising
input costs as a result of inflation, have
A ‘little’ inflation is acceptable, beneficial & not detrimental to growth a spiralling effect, and adversely affect
Central bankers must embrace the idea that for a growth economy like ours a ‘little economic efficiency.
more than a little’ inflation may not be a bad thing. The pandemic induced lockdown
halted economic activities. It disrupted the supply chain, triggered higher input costs They particularly hurt the fragile MS-
that translated into soaring consumer prices. India will import inflation due to the MEs who have neither the moat to ‘pass
rising cost of raw materials. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has escalated the pain. on’ the price increase, nor the negotiating
power to reduce input cost. There are
While inflation has been supply-led, one cannot ignore the role of demand. also several impacts that are indirect and
The lockdown was particularly harsh on the smaller firms that lubricate the eco- intangible. Inflation gashes investment
nomic wheel, create jobs and drive consumption. The Indian economy has a rapid sentiments, increases inequality. If not
(fuelled by fiscal and monetary stimulus), but equally lumpy and craggy recovery. The tamed, it may derail the growth momen-
nature of recovery has adversely influenced key economic drivers. tum and impede growth.

Inflation is transitory. Will rise, before it ebbs. Taming will need some doing Inflation by nature is porous
Taming inflation will require both monetary ‘intervention’ to cool the heating econo- Inflation is globalised and has engulfed
my, as well as fiscal measures to ease the supply constraint and reduce cost. over 80 per cent of the global economy.
Inflationary pressure, particularly in the
About 300 items across, eight ‘major’ categories constitute the consumer price USA, may create a more pronounced
index (CPI). They include food, housing, household operations, clothing, transpor- domino effect across most emerging
tation, health and personal care, education etc. They are assigned proportionate economies. This will weigh heavily on
weights. Data is collated from over a thousand rural points, across 300 urban towns. the minds of the policymakers, even
The methodology is robust enough. though the linearity and the impact of in-
flation is getting less pronounced. India
However, CPI is a ‘convenient’, not an accurate reflection of consumer spend- will not catch cold if the USA sneezes.
ing, nor an explicit estimate of the cost of living. As an example, the weightage of

16 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

Most governments in India
have been voted out of
power in spite of inclusive
and healthy growth. Macro
indicators are very noisy, but
we should not sacrifice the
much-needed growth for a
temporary (solvable) pain.
The economic actors should
prioritise economic growth
ahead of taming inflation

The monetary policy plays a key role and can theoretically alter the course of of fuel (direct and indirect) is around 1.9
the economy (steering the economy from the perils of rising inflation). However, per cent in the overall inflation numbers.
monetary institutions must make a judicious decision, primarily based on whether For every 10 per cent increase in fuel cost
economic growth is above the ‘long-run’ trend rate, and whether this growth is caused there is a 0.5 per cent increase in CPI
by aggregate demand increasing faster than productive capacity. numbers.

Raising interest rates may seem like an obvious solution but is not the only one. A substantial portion of taxes that
Raising interest rates may solve one problem, trigger several others, especially for an consumers pay ‘go’ to state governments.
economy that is facing growth pangs. They need to honestly evaluate their ability to They need to come on board.
influence the economy.
Devil’s alternative
Monetary doers must examine both the nature of the relationship between inflation Inflation, even if it’s temporary, needs
and growth, and the direction of causality. History tells us that all possible combina- taming and the finance ministry uses the
tions have occurred: development with and without inflation, no inflation with and abundant fiscal space to supplement the
without development. The European economy ‘suffers’ eight per cent inflation and efforts of the RBI.
yet has a zero rate of interest. This narrative must evolve our thinking.
Hyperinflationary pressure spooks
Monitory mandarins must row, yet keep the water still. Avoid disruption governments. Most governments in In-
Raising interest brings in other macro challenges. Some get entrenched. And there is dia have been voted out of power in spite
a delicate balance. The economy facing institutions must play a balancing act. They of inclusive and healthy growth. Macro
must guide the economy along the safest route and navigate it through the fastest indicators are very noisy, but we should
growth pathway. This inflation is largely because of supply-side issues and is not not sacrifice the much-needed growth
demand-led, and needs more than the monetary healing (raising interest rates and for a temporary (solvable) pain. The eco-
tightening liquidity). nomic actors should prioritise economic
growth ahead of taming inflation. They
These institutions will need to apply small, opposing pressures and release a little need to watch the ‘trends, and not the
simultaneously and several times. They must lean on the CPI data but importantly numbers’.
anticipate what is around the corner, focus on trends to be ahead of the curve. They
must monitor, and manoeuvre. The political leadership must think
long-term, diligently focus on jobs
Despite the bravado, economic growth is patchy and still not durable. The RBI and growth, which are long-term mul-
should be persuaded to hold interest rates, to support growth and nurture the econo- tipliers.
my. However, something has to give. Resorting to fiscal measures i.e. reducing import
duty on intermediaries is one option. Fuel prices have a substantial and direct impact The author is an economist and columnist
on the household budget across several pricing points. They have the potential to The views expressed are personal and do not
create a pronounced and cascading inflationary effect. The weighted contribution
reflect those of BW Businessworld

Photograph by CANVA 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 17

COLUMN by Bibek Debroy, Amit Kapoor & Aditya Sinha

Correlation doesn’t mean causation, the relationship
between between urbanisation and economic
development is also complex. For in-
Urbanisation stance, while Somalia ranks second last
and Economic in terms of per capita income, the level of
Development urbanisation in Somalia is higher than
in India. Truly urbanised cities trace
T HE WORLD BANK ESTIMATES that about 4.2 billion people, or 55 per their emergence only to the 20th Cen-
cent of the world’s population, live in the cities. By 2050, this number will tury. The advent of industrialisation in
rise to 70 per cent. Urbanisation is often seen as inevitable when a country Europe and North America coincided
transforms from a ‘traditional society’ to one which is geared toward ‘high with the sudden rise of the urban popula-
mass consumption’. These familiar terms are the first and last ‘stages of tion towards the end of the 19th Century.
economic growth’ propounded by Walt Whitman Rostow. Unfortunately, industrialisation was not
always a precursor to the rise in urban
Often, urbanisation is also correlated with economic development. The proof of the population in other parts of the world.

pudding is in the eating. Already, 80 per cent of global GDP is generated in cities. There One should quote Paul Bairoch’s semi-
nal work Cities and Economic Develop-
exists a positive correlation between the higher GDP per capita income and urban ment. He found that “at a comparable
stage of urbanisation in developed na-
population (as a percentage of the total population). tions (i.e., from 1860 to 1870), the gap
between the percentage of industrial jobs
The level of the urban population in countries like Switzerland (73.92 per cent), Nor- in the cities and the level of urbanisation
had been only 50 per cent, in the Third
way (82.97 per cent), US (82.66 per cent), Denmark (88.12 per cent), Sweden (87.98 World in 1950 it was 130 per cent.

per cent), Australia (86.24 per cent) and Canada (81.56 per cent) is significantly high. And despite the accelerated industrial-
isation occurring in the Third World be-
Conversely, countries with lower levels ginning in 1948-1955, the gap remained
at just about the same level”. This could
of GDP per capita have lower levels of gramme Implementation (MoSPI) had be attributed to either high levels of un-
employment in urban areas or higher
urban population. Burundi (13.1 per cent in 2019 estimated urban and rural per

urban population), South Sudan (20.20 capita income in terms of Net Value Add-

per cent), Afghanistan (26.03 per cent), ed (NVA) to be Rs 98,435 in urban areas

Rwanda (17.43 per cent), Ethiopia (21.70 and Rs 40,925 in rural areas, respectively.

per cent), Kenya (28 per cent) and Myan- It is more than double in urban areas.

mar (31 per cent) are some examples. One would, thus, assume that urbani-

Let us look at the case of India. The sation is perfectly correlated with eco-

Union Ministry of Statistics and Pro- nomic development. Since correlation

18 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

From left to right : Bibek Debroy, Amit Kapoor & Aditya Sinha ral in India as there are several incentives
attached with being classified as ‘rural’.
levels of employment in the tertiary sec- of poverty compared to their peers with
tor. In many cases, it is both, including lower levels of urbanisation. To understand the impact of urbani-
in India. sation and economic development, it is
Conversely, Michael Lipton, author of necessary to understand the nature of
In many countries, colonialism led to Why Poor Stay Poor, would attribute the urbanisation and whether urbanisa-
development of urban agglomerations. higher level of poverty to inherent urban tion creates an enabling environment
The pre-colonial towns in these countries bias. Lipton says Urban Bias “exists un- for economic development. There are
were either destroyed or co-opted. Since ambiguously whenever an outcome, for several factors that determine whether
colonies acted as a source of raw mate- example, an endowment of schools or a urbanisation translates into economic
rials for industries of colonisers, urban set of prices, persistently favours urban development.
agglomerations were built around ports people vis-a-vis rural and thereby harms l Studies have shown that urbanisation
and colonial capitals. Even though the both efficiency (static and dynamic) and due to migration from rural areas leads to
urban transition has happened in many income distribution (especially in ways economic growth as compared to natural
low and middle-income countries, it has that deepen poverty)”. urbanisation (i.e., due to birth or death).
not delivered the same levels of econom- This is in consonance with the theories on
ic prosperity as was the case in Europe. According to this theory, urban bias migration and agglomerations. Migra-
This, in turn, has contributed to the pro- leads to migration towards urban areas tion also has a multiplier effect as remit-
liferation of slums in urban areas across and propels economic development in tances by the migrant have a propensity
the ‘global south’. Regardless, empirical urban areas, thus limiting avenues for to propel growth in rural areas.
evidence suggests that more urbanised economic development in rural areas. l Reclassifying villages and towns into
developing countries have lower levels But this should be taken with a pinch of cities/urban areas done for administra-
salt. There is a bias toward remaining ru- tive and political purposes doesn’t nec-
essarily translate into economic growth.
To understand the impact of urbanisation Thus, the definition of urban and urbani-
and economic development, it is necessary sation becomes crucial. We will be delv-
to understand the nature of urbanisation and ing into it in our next column.
whether urbanisation creates an enabling l Economic growth is also a function of
environment for economic development an increase in productivity. Urbanisation
leads to the division of labour and econo-
mies of scale, which in turn gives rise to
productivity. The economies of scale can
be both for firms and the government.
Economies of scale allow the government
to invest in public infrastructure. Further,
there is also complementarity between
the cities and skill development.

However, these economies can turn
into diseconomies if the state does not
invest in providing necessities like sanita-
tion, affordable housing, drinking water,
public health and basic infrastructure.
Thus, the state should act toward ad-
dressing such diseconomies if they want
to reap the benefits of economic develop-
ment associated with urbanisation.

Bibek Debroy is Chairman, Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM);
Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for
Competitiveness;
Aditya Sinha is consultant, EAC-PM

Photograph by Himanshu Kumar 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 19

FIFTY-FIFTY / Sandeep Goyal

To Board go manager also said something on lines
or Not to of ‘behaviours such as this, and that of
drunk passengers, deems them unfit to
Board? travel’,” she adds.
The Indigo
Imbroglio Manisha goes on to say that other pas-
sengers opposed the Indigo manager,
T HISISTRULYACASEWHEREFifty-Fiftyisavalidverdict.Thequestionis with much shouting and swearing but
whether an airline should hold up nearly 150 passengers for one passenger. the Indigo team did not relent and did
But then the bigger question is what if the one passenger in question is not take the child and his parents aboard
a handicapped or specially-abled child? What should take precedence? the flight. Many passengers apparently
Punctuality? Or compassion? demanded to see the rule book.
Something exactly like this happened in the first week of May when a
Ms Gupta further says that, “They
specially-abled child (some reports say adolescent) was barred at Ranchi held up their mobile phones with news
articles, and Twitter posts on supreme
airport from boarding a flight as he was in “a state of panic”. As the boy was prohibited court judgments on how no airline could
discriminate against passengers with
from boarding the airline’s Ranchi-Hyderabad flight on Saturday, his parents – who disabilities. There was a delegation of
doctors that was taking the same flight.
were with him – also decided to not enter the plane. They offered to provide full support to
the child and his parents, if any health
The whole incident came to light when a passenger, one Manisha Gupta, detailed episode were to occur mid-air,” but the
IndiGo staff did not change their deci-
out the incident on LinkedIn. sion of barring the child from taking the
flight.
She reported that on Saturday, 7 May, at the Ranchi airport, an adolescent with
IndiGo on Monday, 9 May put their
special needs, reported for check-in with his family but he was apparently quite dis- own version, “In view of the safety of pas-
sengers, a specially-abled child could not
traught. “The exhaustion of the drive to board the flight with his family on May 7,
as he was in a state of panic.” The ground
the airport and then the stress of secu- he would calm down but he continued to staff apparently waited for him to calm
down till the last minute but to no avail.
rity check has sent him into the throes of be aggressive and difficult.

hunger, thirst, anxiety and confusion. His Manisha Gupta’s post continues,

parents obviously knew how to handle “Then we witnessed the full display of

his meltdown – with patience, cajoling, brute authority and power. The IndiGo

stern-ness, many hugs,” she mentioned (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) staff declared

in the post. By the time the boarding be- that the child would not be allowed to

gan, the child had been fed and given his take the flight because he was a risk to

medicines. The hope obviously was that other passengers,” she writes. “The Indi-

20 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 06-20 January 2021

After the flight departed, the airline ap- much so that the apex child rights body that no human being should have to go
parently made the family comfortable in the country, National Commission for through this and he himself is investigat-
by providing them a hotel stay and they, Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), ing the incident.
including the specially-abled child, flew has asked the Jharkhand police to reg-
the next morning to their destination. ister an FIR against IndiGo for barring But let me, in all fairness, argue on
For good effect, Indigo also apologised. a specially-abled child from boarding a the side of the airline too. The child was
“We regret the inconvenience caused flight. The NCPCR Chairperson Priyank obviously panicked, if not actually hys-
to the passengers. IndiGo prides itself Kanoongo has also asked the Directorate terical. He was really not fit to travel. Had
on being an inclusive organisation, be General of Civil Aviation to initiate an in- he been allowed aboard he could have
it for employees or its customers; and quiry into the matter and take necessary created problems mid-flight – created
over 75,000 specially-abled passengers action against the airline and its man- a commotion, perhaps got violent. Any
fly with IndiGo every month,” its state- ager. The Commission is of the opinion such incident may have been then dif-
ment said. that there was prima facie violation of ficult to handle in the air. It could then
Section 7 of the Rights of Persons with have created a situation not easy to han-
The moot question is who is right and Disabilities Act, which is cognisable in dle inconveniencing, if not endangering,
who is not? The specially-abled child’s nature. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya other passengers. Who knows? So the
case is pretty strong. Being denied board- Scindia too has joined the chorus saying airline was only erring on the side of cau-
ing was surely a case of discrimination. So tion – both in the interest of the child, and
of the other flyers.
The child was obviously panicked, if not actually
hysterical. He was really not fit to travel. Had he been But the matter seems to have become
allowed aboard he could have created problems mid- both emotional and political for now.
flight – created a commotion, perhaps got violent. Any The rights of persons with disabilities
such incident may have been then difficult to handle in are being constantly trampled upon – the
the air. It could then have created a situation not easy to Ranchi incident and all the indignation
handle inconveniencing other passengers that has followed is just a result of all the
frustrations that have been building up
– and Indigo have just become the fall
guy.

In this case, though many would disa-
gree, I would give Indigo the benefit of
the doubt. The child did calm down by
the next morning and took the next flight.
The airline was not really discriminat-
ing – they were just being extra careful.
In further atonement, I believe Ronojoy
Dutta, CEO of Indigo has gone on record
to say, “We offer our sincere regrets to
the affected family for the unfortunate
experience and as a small token of our
appreciation of their lifelong dedication
would like to offer to purchase an electric
wheelchair for their son.” Methinks the
matter should be allowed to rest here.

Both sides are right in their own way.
The disabled must get their dignity and
respect. But then business too should not
always be maligned and mauled. Fifty-
fifty.

The author is Managing Director of ad agency
Rediffusion. He is also CEO of the Punjab CSR

Authority, a job he does pro bono
The views expressed are personal

Photograph by XL_Lcosmo 06-20 January 2021 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 21

KIRAN’S KONTRARIAN KORNER

By Kiran Karnik

DRESSING
UP AND
DRESSING
DOWN

S HORTS AND SNEAKERS are not even before ties and only fastidious dandies any longer wear cufflinks.
yet acceptable as corporate attire Other accessories like pens are rarities, and wrist-watches – especially
in India, unlike in the Silicon Val- amongst the young – are as uncommon.
ley. However, dressing up daily in
a business suit is equally likely to DRESSING DOWN
invite a dressing down from col- Dressing down seems to be the fashion of the day. One detects a slow
leagues. Long gone are the days when a but steady movement towards a Zen-like minimalism, with various
tie – if not a jacket – was mandatory for “unnecessary” pieces of clothing – like hats, jackets and ties – being
upcoming executives, even in the hot and done away with. Lest much of this is seen as a male-chauvinist view,
sultry Bombay summers. In formal meet- let us note that there is a broadly similar trend amongst women.
ings too, a jacket is now a rarity and ties are
fast becoming a collector’s item. The sari has substantially given way to dresses or trousers and tops.
The last two, I suspect use less cloth than a sari and blouse, showing
The change is not limited to offices. that the minimalist trend is not limited to men. Many women now
Cricket fields, long populated by players dispense with the dupatta as an accompaniment to a kurta: empha-
in pristine white, have now become a riot sising both informality and minimalism.
of colour with only the ball – in the short
format – being white. The players sport a Counter trends too are visible, though. For example, it is no longer
range of colours, with multi-coloured uni- a surprise to see swimming pools filled with people – both men and
forms covering the spectrum from violet women – with clothing from ankle to cap and waist to wrist. This is a
to red. Some even have a strong dose of lot of additional clothing compared to bare-chested men, or women in
gold, as bright as a jewellery shop, while bikinis! The reason is no mystery: it is to protect against the chlorine
others have enough red to attract all the and other chemicals in the pool water.
bulls in Spain.
Also bucking the minimalist trend are parts of the world where
The transformation relates not mere- additional clothing is becoming the norm. In some societies, women
ly to clothing, and ranges literally from have now begun wearing – whether by choice or coercion – full body
head to foot. Hats were dumped long cover clothing, sometimes including the face too (burkha/abhaya).
back, along with our past colonial masters,
while formal shoes are increasingly being In India, parts of the country have recently gone through much
replaced by slip-ons or sandals. For some, controversy – even riots – over the wearing of hijab (a head scarf ) by
socks are optional, and many no longer girls and women. Some saw it as a religious requirement, which was
carry a handkerchief. Tiepins disappeared merely an addition to their school uniform; others perceived it as the
provocative flaunting of religious symbolism, not permitted as an
accompaniment to the uniform.

22 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

parently as sentimental as the
Bollywood-movie, Mother.

HIJAB CONTROVERSY

The hijab controversy clearly

showed that, for many, such

dressing up called for a severe

dressing down. As a counter-

measure, some young men and

women began to go around with

saffron shawls or scarves.

Unfortunately, all this addi-

tional clothing is a dampener

to our “growing minimalism”

theory. Of course, it does add to

the demand for cloth and may,

therefore, benefit our cotton

farmers as also the textile mills.

All this controversy over uniforms, hijab and the like could possibly be ended by We need to be careful,
a “one country, one dress” formula. Will someone please take this up? After all, though, that the sudden spurt
there are many who favour a “one country, one everything” approach. With this, in demand for saffron scarves
we can move towards a single curriculum, language, cuisine, and – yes – dress. and hijabs does not lead to
higher prices. This would hurt

Given the present unnecessary diversity of couture across the country, there the sentiments of RBI, which

isdangeroffurthercontroversyonchoice.MaybewecouldfollowGandhi(the is amidst an epic battle with

original one, the Mahatma) at least in dress style, in keeping with the trending inflation (caused, doubtless, by
minimalism? There is, of course, an option that is more radical. We could follow Russia’s hurt sentiments about
the dress code of certain beaches abroad and, by reports, even in Goa Ukraine and NATO’s relentless
expansion).

All this controversy over uni-

forms, hijab and the like could

India’s religious ambience has, by and possibly be ended by a “one country, one dress” formula. Will some-

large, long been easy-going, syncretic and one please take this up? After all, there are many who favour a “one

completely tolerant of alternative prac- country, one everything” approach. With this, we can move towards

tices. Of late, it has become porcupine- a single curriculum, language, cuisine, and – yes – dress.

like, bristling at the slightest touch, with Given the present unnecessary diversity of couture across the coun-

some group or the other constantly tak- try, there is danger of further controversy on choice. Maybe we could

ing umbrage at a perceived provocation follow Gandhi (the original one, the Mahatma) at least in dress style,

or disrespect. in keeping with the trending minimalism? There is, of course, an

option that is more radical (note: we avoid the use of revolutionary,

‘HURT SENTIMENTS’ since some in the judiciary are apparently allergic at usage of seditious

“Hurt sentiments” are as frequent as heat- words like krantikari and inquilabi).

waves this summer, and seem to spread as We could follow the dress code of certain beaches abroad and, by

quickly as Covid’s BA 2 (stealth Omicron) reports, even in Goa. This takes minimalism in dress to the next level

version. They are taken note of by the au- and cannot be unacceptable, since it is the “dress” in which we are

thorities and police, with their speed of ac- all – irrespective of region or religion – born. What we wore on our

tion matching that of hypersonic missiles. birth day may be the best form of dressing down, putting an end to all

The courts too seem to be especially dress controversies.

concerned about sentiments and handle

these cases with exceptional promptness.

One thought that the only institution sen- The writer loves to think in tongue-in-cheek ways, with no maliciousness or offence
sitive to sentiments was the stock market,
but the executive and judiciary are ap- intended. At other times, he is a public policy analyst and author. His latest book is

Decisive Decade: India 2030 Gazelle or Hippo (Rupa, 2021).
The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of BW Businessworld

Photograph by Sonulkaster 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 23

(A)MUSE & MUSINGS By Srinath Sridharan

T to cut down expenditures and mobilise funding from various
sources”.
HAT CITIZENS EXPECT the govern-
ment to spend on education, health, The report pushes across the observation that the diversion
defence, infrastructure, subsidies, law of municipal corporation funds may have severe consequences
and order, and general administration, for the financial sustainability of cities in the short to medium
is a given. That most of us, the citizens, term. This has impacted their ability to provide services to lo-
do not know or understand how the cal communities, as municipalities and gram panchayats have
government’s revenues and budgets are spent on Covid fighting measures. The report also concludes
segregated across the Union, state and that the local governments suffered from insufficient budgets,
municipal levels is an understatement. overreliance on funds from upper tiers of government, lack of
access to new sources of revenue and limited autonomy.
Most citizens assume that because
Administration – a reckoner
The administration in India operates at three levels, the central
government of India, the state governments, and the local mu-
nicipal bodies. The state and central governments raise funds for
their developmental works through direct and indirect taxes.

MUNICIPAL
FINANCES:

Test of
States’
Governance

they pay direct and indirect taxes of dif- The State Municipal Acts are legislations enacted by the state
ferent kinds like income tax and GST, governments to establish municipal governments, administer
their local municipality would be rich them, and provide a framework of governance for cities within
and have sufficient resources to keep the the state. Every state has its own municipal Act and some states
local areas smoothly functioning! And have more than one municipal Act, governing larger and smaller
importantly, that to spend enough, gov- municipalities under different Acts.
ernments, including the local govern-
ment and municipalities, must have suf- Local governments – panchayats in rural areas and munici-
ficient revenues, is not spoken of openly palities in urban areas – are the closest to the people at the grass-
in the daily citizenry conversations. roots level. They provide critical civic amenities such as roads,
water and sanitation, and primary education and health.
In its last released State Finances
2021-22 report the Reserve Bank of To effectively have urban governance, the involvement of local
India (RBI) noted that the urban local bodies like municipalities is critical. Creating capacities at the
bodies and municipal corporations have municipal level, both in terms of talent as well as finances (for
“come under severe strain, forcing them urban development) is a crucial component of urban govern-
ance. It is vital to ensure that across governmental civic bodies,

24 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

adequate capacity is built to ensure that In its last the local government, and showcase the gap in collaborative
physical and socio-cultural-economic released decision-making between the urban local bodies and the state
planning processes are well-coordinated ‘State governments.
and within the spirit of the local laws. Finances
2021-22 Municipal financing options
The accountability now rests with the report’ the Just like any company adopting efficient financing mechanism,
Urban Local Bodies (ULB) but it is not Reserve Bank cities too need to be funded on the basis of the revenues they
backed by either adequate finances or the of India(RBI) generate today, so that their future services are met by predict-
capacity for planning and management. noted that the able future revenues.
State governments have an important urban local
role to play, not only in transferring func- bodies and A prudent mix of public debt issuance and institutional fund-
tions, funds, and functionaries but also municipal ing is required. Efficient city financing should have the mix of
in providing an enabling environment corporations taxes and public borrowing that maximises the profitability of
through legislative and institutional re- have “come firms and the welfare of city residents. An efficient way to finance
form, whereas the Government of India under severe the construction of city infrastructure would be to structure the
provides the strategic leadership. Indian strain, forcing city revenues over the productive life of the assets and to use
cities are not fully empowered within them to long-term infrastructure debt financing. It would be prudent to
the federal framework to take on the cut down assume that the taxes collected on the resultant improved value
challenges of urbanisation with rapid expenditures of city land should then be used to take care of land maintenance
growth. and mobilise as well as to repay the debt.
funding
In addition to the lack of financial de- It has been observed that cities in a panic or politicising mode,
volution, there is a lack of financial au- could misuse long-term debt to take care of the gap between
tonomy – both in mobilising resources present revenues and spending. This would be blatant abuse of
and in setting user charges to cover their its powers. But who questions these?
costs. Property tax rates and exemptions
are typically set by the state government. City governments can easily generate finance locally, if their
These are a major source of revenue for records on citizenry, businesses, municipal asset usage are up-
dated, traceable and preferably digitised to enable real-time

Photograph by Ranjith Siji 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 25

(A)MUSE & MUSINGS By Srinath Sridharan

updates. This would allow for timely de- MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE
mand of and efficient collection of local IN INDIA
revenues like property taxes, business
taxes and user fees. n Municipal governance in India in its current form has
existed since 1664. In 1664, the Fort Kochi Municipality
Financing for town development will was established by the Dutch, making it the first
have to rely on unlocking land value municipality in the Indian subcontinent. It got dissolved
through instruments such as impact fee when the Dutch authority got weaker in the 18th Century
and by taxing increment financing. Since
the costs and benefits of infrastructure n The British followed suit with the formation of the
development are not equally distributed Madras Municipal Corporation in 1687, and then the
within the region, cooperative financ- Calcutta and Bombay Municipal Corporations in 1726
ing arrangements will have to be devised
within the federal framework with active n In the early part of the 19th Century almost all towns
engagement of the cities and towns in in India had experienced some form of municipal
the region. governance

Municipal bonds n In 1882, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Ripon, passed a
In terms of financing capabilities, the lo- resolution for local self-government
cal municipal bodies form the weakest
layer in the administrative framework. n The total municipal bonds issued in India are worth
In India, municipal corporations cannot around Rs 2000 crore (compared with the national debt
run a deficit budget, by legal mandate. securities market size of Rs 1.5 lakh crore)
Their revenue receipts must exceed rev-
enue expenditure in their budgets. The the revenues or taxes generated from these specific projects.
municipal corporations can borrow, only General Obligation Bonds – used to finance general infra-
after formal approval from their respec- structural purposes and are repaid from the common pool of
tive state governments. government funds or municipal level taxes.

Using the Municipal Bonds route, Way forward
very few Indian municipalities have suc- Self-financing and the ability to generate public financing has
cessfully raised debt so far, and a very been shallow in the Indian municipalities. Notwithstanding
small proportion (almost negligible) of the few municipal bonds raised, the amount raised are a tiny
their fund requirement at that. Pune, proportion of the overall budgets.
Hyderabad, Indore, Amravati, Bhopal,
Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Surat, In the short-term ahead, increasing the financial autonomy
Lucknow and Ghaziabad have raised and accountability of civic bodies, strengthening their govern-
municipal bonds. ance templates and making them financially-independent units
are critical for their effectiveness at the grassroot level. In effect,
Municipal bonds are usually tax-ex- a speedier way that can devolve funds to municipal bodies from
empt on the interest, making them at- the Fifteenth Finance Commission can also catalyse effective
tractive products for investors. However, governance at the grassroots. How quickly the state govern-
they are not necessarily risk-free. While ments strengthen the local machinery would be a test of their
the market sentiment looks favourably governance. After all, none want to part with their authority
on these despite no explicit repayment easily, a financial one at that!
guarantees, it is an implicit backstop
that the state governments honour The author is a corporate advisor and independent markets commentator
these commitments. Also most munici-
pal bonds are small in issue size and have
low trade volumes which make the bonds
illiquid.

There are two types of such bonds:
Revenue Bonds – used to finance spe-
cific projects. These are repaid through

26 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

GUEST COLUMN

CHANGING
WORKPLACE

home in the new hybrid model. Touchless technology
has grown across the offices.

While we all like to collaborate in person,
technology has given solutions for the employees to
work from anywhere. This is bound to be a part of our
future life and a lot of innovative ways for different
industries are going to emerge, to hold their talent
and give flexibility to their employees. Surfaces,
which absorb sounds will play an important role as
we all start preferring in-person events for meetings,
and adhering to covid protocols. Material easy to
clean and wipe would generate more attention and
antimicrobial surfaces will have an added advantage
in our offices.

Written by
SATISH KUMAR SHARMA
President : Sales &
Marketing

WORKPLACE had been evolving at a In India, with the third Covid wave subsiding,
superlative speed in the last two years many corporates are opening up for the employees
due to Covid challenges. @workplace, to return to office. There is no one size fits all. We
we come together to meet, collaborate, ideate, have witnessed depending upon the industries
create, connect and solve problems. We all had been and their respective functions, ways of working
working tirelessly, to adapt to these changing times. have undergone a drastic change and are bound to
Leaders always had been trying hard to keep these keep evolving even in the future. Trust, resiliency,
human-centric places, a compelling destinations for compassion, empathy and flexibility would be the
employees. key differentiators among the different corporate
cultures which would like to build upon to retain
Well-being, safety and happy employees are the their talent. Geographies do not matter anymore, for
key parameters on which the future workplaces a few job profiles and industries. We all need to reskill
are being designed. We all started preferring the and keep embracing the new challenges ahead.
open areas to closed ones, as air quality is much
better. Emphasis on sunlight, fresh air, and biophilic With the hybrid model going to be a part of our
started becoming more important than ever before. lives, it will be interesting to see how organisations
Technology has grown exponentially and many of us are going to develop and maintain their own distinct
feel, very effective even though we are working from culture.

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 27 12 January 2015 | BW | BUSINESSWORLD | 27

Noorings [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY on. The big question though is
WITH PURPOSE how do we create social impact?
Some of us are still grappling with
Technology is the fuel that is powering how human interest stories make
all kinds of businesses today but its true impact sense to business readers. Is there
really a place for this kind of jour-
is seen only when it is put to use for making a nalism? There is, and we must
difference for the larger good learn it better.

by Noor Fathima Warsia If one reads the signs around
them, whether it is the conversa-
W HAT IS THE REAL role of technology? There are tion about a sustainable India or
enough and more debates and discussions where about companies rooting their
this question has been tabled from different per- work philosophy in being purpose-
spectives. Is it to make our work – at home or the driven or the absolute urgency to
office – easier? Is it to build more trust and trans- pay attention to climate change, bi-
odiversity, gender equality, educa-
parency? It is to improve the quality of life? Is it to tion, food and other similar goals,
it is clear that these are prime areas
entertain us? Is it to replace us? The answers to all of importance, and will remain so.
Everyone must change to become a
the above are always a yes, but it is never as simple as that. One answer, which part of the next normal. Journal-
ism is the same, and technology
must take more space, is that technology’s role is to make an impact for the too is no different.

larger good, to work with a purpose. Many examples of ‘technology
for good’, defined as something
A week ago some of the cub journalists at BW Businessworld were under- that makes a difference for the
larger good of human lives, have
standing storytelling with social impact. True, some of us do not like the been seen over the years. Tech
companies have made it a part of
word ‘storytelling’ but journalism, after everything is said and done, is ex- their mandate and in the process
look for opportunities to either
actly that. The right narratives impact the reader, and hopefully, influence work with companies including
startups that solve for social issues
positive behaviour. This is a subject we must train and re-train ourselves or embark on missions of their
own where they make a difference.
As India hits its 100 unicorn mark,
it is evident that companies that
are using tech to create positive
benefits for the masses will lead the
ranks of the business leaders of to-
morrow.

The real power of technology
will come into play only after this
change is the mainstay and not the
few sporadic examples in between
that we see today. These examples
are yet the sign that the change has
begun, and everyone must catch
up to it very soon.

28 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022



MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

GOAFEST ards Council of India (ASCI), wherein
RETURNS IN Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary (CA),
Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food
STYLE Distribution chatted with Piyush
Pandey, Chairman of Global Creative
Thetwo-dayfestbrings Ogilvy Worldwide & Executive Chair-
man, Ogilvy India about the impor-
togethersomeofthe tance of consumer protection and the
responsibility that we have as profes-
mediaandadvertising sionals.

industry’sbrightestminds Thereafter, another super-talk by
Kiran Bedi, former LG of Puducherry
inacelebrationofcreativity and ex-IPS officer, who highlighted
the importance of leadership saying,
andcreativeminds “Leadership is internal — you start
with yourself; if you can’t lead your-
By Team BW self, you can’t lead people.” She also
added that one must live by what one
AFTER A TWO-YEAR hiatus, Goafest made a comeback with all the says and they automatically will have
pomp and show for its 15th edition in May 2022. The two-day festival followers.
not only brought together some of the advertising industry’s brightest
minds but felicitated notable creative thinkers from South Asia with This year, for the first time ever,
prestigious industry awards. the Advertising Club collaborated
The festival opened with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and with The One Show taking the ABBY
the unveiling of AAAI’s new logo. The official unveiling of the redesigned logo at Awards to the global standards of rec-
the Goafest was done by Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO of FCB Ulka and film ognition. With the coming together of
star Yami Gautam. this partnership, participating agen-
cies as well as jury chairs have shown
The festival kicked off with the industry conclave presented by ABP Group. immense enthusiasm towards it.
The first session of the day saw actress Yami Gautam in a one-on-one conversa-
tion with Rana Barua, Chairman, Abby Awards Governing Council 2022 & Vice Speaking about Goafest 2022, Anu-
President of The Ad Club. The two spoke about films, values and the need to priya Acharya, President, Advertising
imagine and build a life beyond numbers. This conversation was followed by a Agencies Association of India (AAAI)
keynote by Vineeta Singh, Co-founder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics, who high- said, “It’s been a tough two years, and
lighted the importance of building a brand with quality products and content it’s great to be back on ground not
before focusing on advertising. only in terms of organising the festi-
val but also where achievements are
Knowledge Sessions Galore concerned. We are thrilled to have eve-
ryone back, bonding and celebrating
Next up was a knowledge session in partnership with the Advertising Stand- this festival. We owe it to the industry
to bring something of global stand-
ing especially when we are one large
world.”

On day one, a total of 15 Publisher
ABBYs and 87 Media ABBYs were
awarded.

Celebrating Creativity

Day 2 kicked off with MX Player’s
Knowledge Seminars which saw
PV Sindhu, India’s No.1 badminton

30 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

SHARING KNOWLEDGE:(From the top) Madhuri Dixit chats up fellow actor Tisca player and a two-time Olympic medal
Chopra; cricketer Mithali Raj opens up to Sharlene Lobo, Anchor, Mirror Now; and winner in conversation with Sameer
badminton ace PV Sindhu talking to actor & TV presenter Sameer Kochchar during Kochchar, TV presenter, actor and
different at the Goafest. anchor.

Next up was Disney Star’s Knowl-
edge Seminar with Sam Glassenberg,
Founder & CEO of Level Ex shedding
light on the potential of video games
and how brands can reach audiences
through this medium. He also spoke
of the perils of gamification versus the
importance of emphasis on real game
design.

The second half of the day began
with Shilpa Rao singing melodies to
woo the crowds and raise the tempera-
ture at the festival. It was followed by a
session that the audience was eagerly
waiting for — legendary cricketer Ka-
pil Dev in conversation with Charu
Sharma, sports broadcaster & entre-
preneur.

Soon after, it was time for Times
Network’s Leadership Summit with
Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief
& Editorial Director, Times Now, who
underscored the significance of leader-
ship while having the courage of con-
viction. He strongly recommended
that a leader must stand for the public
interest at all costs.

At the same time, throughout the
day, Master Classes were organised
by presenters like Sharechat, Google,
Snapchat, and Meta. These classes fo-
cused on topics like how the creator
economy is driving brand success; how
to appeal to consumers in an excellent
new way by taking part in Shorts@
Goa; the power of camera marketing;
and Instagram for Business - A Spot-
light on Creator & Reels.

On Day 2, a total of 32 Broadcaster
ABBYs, 19 Design & Design Craft AB-
BYs, 40 Digital & Digital Craft ABBYs,
31 Direct ABBYs, 7 Mobile ABBYs, and
32 Public Relations, 16 Technology
ABBYs were awarded.

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 31

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

STANDPOINT

Brands’ Magic
With Purpose

A cause-marketing playbook that helps identify the
right cause, establish credibility and achieve impact
By Ravi Bhatnagar

THE YOUNG millen- The Essentials nurture in the relentless gies to address the cause.
nials and Gen Z are pursuit of a cleaner and From aligning with the
actively shaping the Finding the right cause is healthier world and this sustainable development
evolving retail and brand the most critical step when purpose is well entrenched goals (SDG) of the United
landscape in India. From seeking to build a brand across its brands in the hy- Nations to forging strong
products and services with purpose. An article giene, health and nutrition relationships with interna-
that seamlessly align with published in the Harvard businesses. tional NGOs such as Plan
their fluid lifestyles to the Business Review, ‘What India and leading industry
entire cycle of explora- is The Purpose of Your Creating an effective bodies such as Assocham
tion, discovery, payment Purpose’ summarises marketing strategy to as well as local influenc-
and procurement, the the thought in this one amplify the cause amongst ers; Reckitt’s Durex brand,
new-age consumer seeks statement – ‘don’t rally the key target audience and through initiatives such
values beyond the price around a cause unless you enable change is equally as TBBT and the Condom
tag. actually have one.’ The important as identify- Alliance, has successfully
purpose must be clearly ing the right cause itself. amplified the need to focus
Forward-thinking and expressed as well as seam- Thoughtful partnerships on the youth’s sexual and
progressive values build lessly permeate through with relevant international reproductive health
an immediate connect every aspect of the busi- and national organisations
between the brand and the ness in order to establish as well as on-ground NGOs Designing the Content
large younger demograph- credibility and achieve are critical for building Innovation and creative
ic, while purpose strength- impact. Further stated scale and the right syner-
ens this connect and leads in the aforementioned
to the creation of a loyal Harvard Business Review Adopting causes that are in
community that serves article -- the full potential sync with a brand’s values
not only as consumers but of purpose is achieved only creates a self-sustained
also as brand advocates. when it’s aligned with a model that instantly appeals
Thus, cause marketing is company’s value proposi- to the discerning Gen Z
becoming the buzzword tion and creates shared
for brands that wish to not aspirations both inter-
simply survive but thrive nally and externally. For
in a more socially and en- instance, Reckitt’s mission
vironmentally aware new of ‘purpose-led business’
world. aims to protect, heal and

32 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

thinking are essential to Cause marketing is becoming and encourage others
design content, messag- the buzzword for brands that wish to including consumers to
ing and communication not simply survive but thrive in a partner in the brand’s
that compels the larger more socially and environmentally journey of bringing about
audience to take notice aware new world change. Along with an
and eventually become online reach of over 320
partners in this journey of RAVI BHATNAGAR, million, TBBT has reached
making the world a little Director, External Affairs & Partnerships, over 50K students and
bit better. TBBT aims to South Asia, Reckitt 30K parents across 1,300
inform and educate the schools, with nearly 2,300
adolescents and youth in of commitment and own- better health for our future trained teachers. While
north-east India about ership. Being a frontrunner generations while staying the numbers are stark in
sexual and reproductive at the TBBT events and committed to providing themselves, they become
health as well as empower staying actively engaged in power, protection and even more staggering
them to make the right forging new creative paths pleasure. when one connects them
choices. The north-east for the programme allow to the adverse situation of
is known for the locals’ Reckitt’s Durex to now be Finally, it is the transpar- dealing with a pandemic.
inherent love for music, recognised as a thought ency and the impact that Thus, showcasing the
art and culture. Hence leader, invested in ensuring help create the necessary positive influence of the
these elements formed credibility for the purpose programme and its strong
an integral part of the circle of advocates who are
creatively designed social willing to face all odds to
media strategy as well as see the much-needed social
the on-ground efforts, change – creating a true
training and workshops win for the brand and the
that continue to serve as campaign.
catalysts to start those
meaningful conversations Product or service
and foster change. focused marketing is no
longer sustainable with a
Creating a holistic eco- highly evolved consumer
system with a strong digital base. Cause marketing
footprint has allowed the allows brands to answer
programme to reach a the all-important ques-
large target audience and tion of ‘why they exist’ and
compel them to take notice ‘why they matter’, while
and initiate those some- positioning themselves as
times uncomfortable but change-makers. Adopting
essential dialogues around causes that are in sync with
TBBT’s core pillars of in- a brand’s values creates a
clusion, awareness, equity, self-sustained model that
consent and protection to instantly appeals to the
build a healthier tomorrow. discerning Gen Z audience,
who aren’t afraid to call
The Effort Counts out green-washing efforts
Funds are important to even by some of the largest
support a cause and even conglomerates.
essential to build the online
and offline activations as  TheauthorisDirector,
well as amplify the reach,
however, it is the efforts External Affairs &
that are rewarded as a sign
Partnerships, South Asia,

Reckitt

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 33

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

STANDPOINT

Rise of Influencer
Marketing: Creators
to Customers
10,000 followers.
The ROI from influencer marketing is better or on par with Brands new to influenc-
other marketing channels By Chandramohan Mehra
er marketing may overlook
W HILETHE also not limited to sec- another, so every company nano-influencers for their
PHRASE tors like food & beverage, needs to find the right mix small family of followers.
personal care, fashion of influencer categories to But despite having the
‘influencer and technology. It is now achieve the metrics they lowest following, nano
marketing’ was unheard noticeable in other sectors desire. influencers report the
of a decade ago, it has since like BFSI and fintech too. highest engagement. With
become one of the fastest- At the top of the chain an average engagement
growing industries in The Indian Landscape are celebrities, who are rate of 7 per cent and an av-
India and across the world. The Indian social media prominent and established erage video view rate of 60
Currently, the global influ- landscape has different personalities in the media, per cent, nano-influencers
encer marketing industry, categories of influencers, entertainment and sports on social media outper-
pegged at $6 billion in all of whom have a distinct industries. Then, there are form every other influ-
2020, is expected to grow role to play in the market- mega influencers with over encer category. They also
at a CAGR of 32 per cent to ing funnel. The target 1 million followers, macro- report an estimated reach
reach $24.1 billion by 2025. audience of each of these influencers with 1,00,000 of 30 per cent and have the
The Indian influencer categories of influencers to 1 million followers, highest average engage-
marketing industry is also varies, as does the cost of and micro-influencers ment rate on Instagram at
keeping pace. Valued at Rs engaging them and the with 10,000 to 1,00,000 8 per cent.
900 crore, it is expected engagement rates they followers. Lastly, we have
to grow at a CAGR of 25 bring in. What works for nano influencers, who are Micro influences aren’t
per cent to reach Rs 2,200 one brand may not work for regular, relatable social too far behind either. There
crore by 2025. media users with less than is a 30 per cent higher
chance of consumers pur-
The shift from relying Every company needs to chasing a product that is
on celebrity endorsements find the right mix of recommended by a micro-
to employing influencers influencer when compared
for product placements influencer categories to to a product promoted by a
has been massive in recent achieve the metrics they celebrity.
years. In 2021, celebrities
held only 27 per cent of the desire These numbers reveal
market share of marketing that micro- and nano-
campaigns, while influenc- influencers can prove
ers had the bigger piece of to be powerful distribu-
the pie at 73 per cent. The tion channels for brands
growth of influencers is because they are often
relatable and engage with
their audience on a more
personal level.

34 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

How Do They Help? UTM links brands can also ers,’ as they are known—to and services they promote,
Influencers do more than track their sales activity drive user engagement while others may use
just create awareness about and trace the influencer and take their products facts and data. Yet others
a brand. They also impact whose efforts led to the to grassroots levels. From break down complex BFSI
the mid and bottom of sales or lead generation. the user end of things, concepts and seamlessly
the funnel metrics, which This empowers companies people are relying more introduce a BFSI product
include leads and conver- to identify the influencers and more on finfluencers relevant to the context.
sion. The use of various who work best for their to understand personal
social media features like brands and continue to finance, to find new BFSI Brands have embraced
sharing links to product partner with them. service providers and even the fact that the value addi-
pages, using influencer- make important financial tion through this channel
specific discount codes and Influencer marketing is decisions. may be significantly higher
posting reviews of true use also making waves in the than what traditional mar-
cases have the potential BFSI sector. BFSI brands Some of these finfluenc- keting offers. In fact, as per
to increase the web traffic are collaborating with ers use storytelling to pro- the India Influencer Mar-
for a brand, improve lead influencers—or ‘finfluenc- vide clarity on the products keting Report 2021, of the
generation and drive up brands that have already
sales conversions. partnered with influenc-
ers, over 80 per cent are
What’s more, through satisfied with the return on
investments. And nearly
In 2021, 90 per cent of marketers
celebrities held opine that the ROI from
only 27 per influencer marketing is
cent of the better or on par with other
market share marketing channels.
of marketing
campaigns, Having said that, there
while needs to be shared respon-
influencers had sibility for content creation
the bigger between the influencer
piece of the pie and the brand. Influencer
at 73 per cent training to ensure adher-
ence to the brand ethos
CHANDRAMOHAN and guidelines becomes
MEHRA, extremely important.
CMO, Bajaj Allianz While measurement and
Life Insurance ROI analysis of influencer
marketing programme
will drive the adoption in
future, the impact or suc-
cess of any regular media
campaign is relative and
evaluated upon previous
benchmarks. Influencer
marketing should also be
looked in similar light and
put to test with a long-term
vision and not one-time
tactical.

 MehraisCMO,Bajaj
Allianz Life Insurance

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 35

COLUMN By Viiveck Verma

sional fatigue is necessary.

Ways Out An Exhausted Workforce
of Burnout As Forbes reports, in 2020 Gallup
identified a reverse trend dubbed, the
“Burnout is a slow, insidious experience. Burnout is not afraid of playing the long ‘Well-Being-Engagement Paradox’ in
game. To prevent burnout, we need to play a long game, too.” — Sally Clarke which the well-being of the American
workforce plummeted to lows not seen
GETTING TIRED IS NOT A SPECTACULAR EVENT in the present epoch. As since the 2008 Great Recession. “Em-
the grind at work and in the world overwhelms us, we push the envelope ployee engagement and well-being
every day in terms of outliving our almost chronic exhaustions. However, became disconnected from each other
is it necessary to purchase professional accomplishment and personal and went their own ways,” according to
fulfilment at the cost of our well-being? It is to be understood that while Gallup. As this trend continued during
working hard has its costs, it is detrimental to let fatigue become the the 2021 pandemic, work as we know it
norm of our professional functioning. Well-being, a good life and feeling inspired got turned upside down.
at work reconstitute our labour power to show up at work every day and deliver
optimal results. Accordingly, an unravelling of the problem of widespread profes- An exhausted workforce, burning the
midnight oil at home, claim they be-
came modern-day workaholics – 40 per
cent by one account. Employee burnout
seems to have reached an all-time high,
with 52 per cent of survey respondents
in an Indeed study indicating that they
feel burnt out. It is thus, time to rethink
our survival in the terrain of modern
work itself. The pandemic might have
worsened things but the problem has
been here for a while and will stay be-
yond the pandemic as well and conse-
quently, merits discussion.

We must distinguish normal exhaus-
tion from working hard, from feeling
tired, demotivated and stagnant in the
long run. It is crucial to identify the
signs of a professional burnout as early
as possible. As Mokokoma Mokhono-
ana notes, “Being tired is pleasant when
you think what has tired you was worth
the portion of your life.” The problem
occurs when the spiritual rewards and
fulfillment you garner in a day cannot
override the fatigue you feel. The signs
are not difficult to spot.

You can feel an increased alienation
and disengagement from work, can feel
overworked and ceaselessly stressed
about projects. You may feel uninspired,
disconnected from motivations and
experience brain fog and other physi-
cal and mental problems during and

36 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

Work is more than just a mechanism to earn our livelihoods. It is a
commitment to ourselves and the society at large, to make our
individual and collective lives more rewarding.
If you are placed in a non-conducive work schedule, it is a good

idea to speak to superiors and colleagues and find out ways to find
time and space for recharging your batteries

beyond work. When these signs appear, it is probably time to come up with a new to explore can also help you revitalise
strategy to go about your workday. yourself. Above all, it is essential to find
space and time to keep yourself in a po-
It is to be identified whether the work regime is giving you a hard time or whether sition to contribute effectively.
it is your handling of it. If you are placed in a non-conducive work schedule, it is a
good idea to speak to superiors and colleagues and find out ways to find time and Work is more than just a mechanism
space for recharging your batteries. It is good to develop strong ties with your team to earn our livelihoods. It is a commit-
since work might feel dreary in the absence of a professional community. Dysfunc- ment to ourselves and the society at
tional work dynamics have to be taken care of for meaningful productivity and for large, to make our individual and col-
that, you must be willing to discuss concerns with supervisors and co-workers and lective lives more rewarding. Thus, it is
foster communitarian ties. incumbent upon us to not let a culture of
burning ourselves out distract us from
Introspection is Necessary our duties and take away the joy of pro-
On the other end of the spectrum, if you evaluate your burnout as a function of your fessional endeavour.
personal responses to work, introspection is necessary. For instance, if you think
that prolonged exposure to screens during your work-from-home time is causing Professional fatigue is just one among
you health troubles, you can find ways to schedule your assignments in a way so that many hurdles to make the world better
you take breaks when you are not facing a screen for some time. You can develop and can be taken care of with the right
your own solutions, such as doing some work off the screen and then putting it all interventions.
together digitally. Finding time to try out activities you enjoy or have been wanting
The author is Chief Impact Officer,
Recykal Foundation

Photograph: Diego Cervo 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 37

ESSAY / TECHTORS

THE TECH-
ACCELERATORS

Revolutionary products and services, created by valuable
and innovation-led companies, are making the world work
better. With technology reshaping the core of every sector,
Techtors recognises the best among the best

By Resham Suhail

T HE technology industry has enjoyed an enor- across sectors, showcasing how unique technology-driven
mous boom for over a decade now. Two stormy solutions for critical issues, are on the rise.
years for all sectors contributed towards creat-
ing India’s much-celebrated ‘techade’ and the Growth Trajectory Set To Rise
future ahead also looks extremely promising with the rise
of tech startups. The role of technology is transforming. By India has recently achieved the mark of 100 unicorns in
making things functional and work smoother, technology the country and the credit is bound to go to the zealous
is also trying to make a difference and bring a change for and innovative young entrepreneurs. According to Jungle
the better. BW Disrupt’s Techtors looks at tech solutions Ventures, Southeast Asia’s technology startups had a
that fall in this area. combined valuation of $340 billion in 2020 and this is
anticipated to grow triple-fold by 2025.
What Is Techtors?
India has a vast as well as diverse population that has
An exclusive initiative of BW Businessworld in associa- different problem areas to solve. Startups are emerging
tion with BW Disrupt, Techtors recognises exceptional and introducing technology as a golden saviour across
startups whose clutter-breaking technology innovations every sector, be it healthcare, finance, education, HR,
have created a place for themselves in the startup ecosys- ecommerce and many more. Despite constantly grow-
tem in India. ing challenges, entrepreneurship remains the stone of
development.
Techtors aims to give young companies one more reason
to celebrate as they push forward in their journeys that are As the sector rises, the key players in the sector also
revolutionising several businesses in India. These compa- ride the wave. New companies and established brands
nies are introducing solutions that are making a difference both were seen among Techtors nominees this year as
in the workplace and India at large. they looked to identify different problem areas and create
relevant solutions.
In its fourth edition, Techtors acknowledged disruptive
technologies that provided solutions to a specific set of The Jury Process
people. Entrepreneurs reiterate that failures have proven
to be critical lessons to innovate and grow. Techtors The jury panel for this year included Rajeev Chitrabhanu,
received an overwhelming number of nominations from CEO and MD, JM Financial Service; Rajesh Pathak,
Country Director India and SAARC, Accedian; Abhishek

38 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

Goenka, Head and CIO, RPSG Capital Venture; Para- THE WINNERS
suram P S, Independent Media Innovation and Strategy
Consultant + Entrepreneur-in-residence; Ashish Sharma, 1. Annanya Sarthak,
Managing Partner, Innoven Capital India; Rajiv Singh, Co-founder and CEO Awign
Founder and CEO, Khetifresh; Anjali Malhotra, Founder, Enterprises, Awign
C-Xcel Director, Founder Institute Accelerator, Delhi
chapter; Phani Bhushan, Founder and CEO, AnantCom- 2. Amit Khatri, Co-founder, Noise,
puting; Harsh Wardhan, CEO, CXOE Partner LLP; Ved Noise ColorFit Ultra Smartwatch
Shukhla, Founder and CEO, Mylomart; Hoshie Ghaswal-
la, CEO, BW Engage, BW Businessworld; Annurag Batra, 3. AntaPattabiramn,Co-founder
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld and and CEO, Inai, Inai Technologies
Founder, exchange4media; and Noor Fathima Warsia,
Group Editorial Director, BW Businessworld. 4. Ashutosh Agarwal, Managing
Director, Biocube Matrics,
The process of finalising the winners took place under IdentityasaService (IDaaS)
the supervision of the jury chair - Yashish Dahiya, Chair-
man and CEO, PB Fintech. More than 700 entries were 5. Avneesh Agrawal, Co-founder
received which were then brought down to over 300 after and CEO, Netradyne, Driveri
a screening round. Subsequently, after the second level of
deliberation, a total number of 55 nominees were short- 6. Chirag Taneja, Co-founder and
listed and invited to present before the power-packed CEO, GoKwik, GoKwik
jury panel. Nominations received for Techtors were put
through a multi-tier screening and shortlisting procedure 7. Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder and
to get the list of well-deserved winners. The jury process CEO, Unacademy, Unacademy
followed a certain set of parameters to evaluate the entries
and these were the uniqueness of the tech service/prod- 8. Harshavardhana Kikkeri,
uct, current market value, the potential for growth and Founder and CEO, HoloSuit,
customer attraction to date. HoloSuit

9. Kiran Kalakuntla, Co-founder
and CEO, ekincare, ekincare

10. Manoj Agarwal, Co-founder and
CEO, Xoxoday, Xoxoday Plum

11. Mehul Shah, Managing Director,
Collabera Technologies, Collabera

12. Paavan Nanda, CEO, WinZo,
WinZo

13. Raghunandan G, Founder and
CEO, Zolve Innovations, Zolve

14. V. R. Govindarajan, Co-founder
and CEO, Perfios Software
Solutions, Perfios Cam and Fraud
Analytics

15. Varun Goenka, Co-founder
and CEO, Chargeup, Battery as a
Service

Photograph by Sergey Nivens 04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 39

TECHTORS SOLVING FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT
Q&A
Withtheobjectivetopredominantly‘gigify’core
activities,Awignlookstomakeadifferencesays
AnnanyaSarthak,Co-founderandCEOofthecompany

You set up Awign as a tech-led en- Product: AWIGN trends you see ahead?
terprise gig platform in 2016 along While gig work has been around, the
with Gurpreet Singh and Praveen Company: AWIGN growth and adoption of technologi-
Kumar Sah. What have been some ENTERPRISES cal solutions in the past few years have
changes that may have influenced enabled the ecosystem to deliver un-
your product along the way? Sector: ENTERPRISE matched on-demand services at scale.
Awign means removal of obstacles in TECHNOLOGY The gig economy has the potential to
Sanskrit and staying true to its name, provide up to 90 million jobs in the
we are committed to helping enter- Leader: ANNANYA next decade, contributing 1.25 per
prises run their businesses at scale SARTHAK cent to India’s GDP. The top gig-able
by solving and managing end-to-end roles at the forefront are in operations,
outcome-based execution. We closely code technology platform has been customer support, transaction opera-
work with enterprises to meet busi- built to optimise and streamline core tions/processing, and HR. Tech break-
ness requirements through eight core functions for enterprises through a throughs have reduced the distance
on-ground and digital enterprise func- gig workforce. Currently, our services between individuals and services, es-
tions. Our most recent addition, Awign can be accessed in every state of India, pecially in the jobs market. Tech has
Expert, helps businesses hire, assess, across 500+ cities and 12,000+ pin allowed all to embrace the gig culture.
and manage high skilled contractual codes including eight Tier-I cities, 76 With the infusion of powerful tech
and gig talent across niche profiles of Ter-II cities, and several Tier-III cities. infrastructure and the introduction
tech, marketing, finance, data science of work-tech platforms, a formerly
and human resources. The HR and skilling sector is chang- informal sector is today streamlining
ing continually, what are some itself.
Since its inception, Awign has been
solving the problem of unemployment,
underemployment, and skill gap in In-
dia by providing employment opportu-
nities to the youth, along with upskill-
ing them with relevant knowledge.

Has the outcome been encouraging
so far?
Very much so. In the course of the last
six years, we have positively impacted
over one million gig workforce, com-
pleting over 7 million tasks for our
100+ enterprise partners. Our no-

40 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

TECHTORS THE GREAT NOISE

Seenasamarketleaderinthesmartwatchcategory,
NoisewasoneofthefirstbrandsinIndiatooffertruly
wirelessearbudsBYRESHAMSUHAIL

I A Multi Play provider of high-quality consumer
technology,” says Amit Khatri, Co-
NDIA’S WEARABLES MARKET is Noise is currently present in mul- founder of Noise.
booming. Demand for wearables is tiple product categories including
skyrocketing as consumers become that for wearables and audio and Product Perfect
more health-conscious in the wake plans to expand its geographical
of the recent worldwide outbreak presence as well. Its future plans Noise has in-house research and
of the coronavirus. An Interna- include entering the eyewear seg- development and design teams that
tional Data Corporation report ment. collaborate with the original design
reveals that the wearables market manufacturers to finalise the prod-
witnessed 144.3 per cent growth At present, Noise is available in ucts. The products are subsequently
year-on-year during the 2020-21 4,000-6,000 offline stores and manufactured and then shipped
financial year, to register over 36.4 the company expects to expand to India. When the products reach
million shipments. significantly in the offline space. India, Noise is able to sell them at
“We envision Noise becoming a relatively lower prices than other
Founded in 2014, Noise began globally connected lifestyle brand, brands with similar features.
by selling smartphone cases and putting India on the global map as a
then pivoted to enter the wear- The initial challenge for the brand
ables space. In 2018, it ventured was to win trust as it did not have a
into smart wearables and wireless physical store and did not advertise.
headphones. Pushing the trajectory Furthermore, the market is crowd-
forward, it branched out into wire- ed with local players, who play
less headphones as well. Noise was the price game by importing from
one of the first brands in India to China. Consumers usually gravitate
offer wireless earbuds. The startup between a cheap brand or offerings
has been entirely bootstrapped from a branded company.
since inception and expects to clock
a revenue of Rs 850 crore this year. According to the Noise Co-
founder, establishing an identity
Product: NOISE COLORFIT was a challenge. But challenges are
ULTRA SMARTWATCH inevitable, so Noise focuses on inno-
vation and understanding the need
Company: NOISE of the customers. This business ap-
proach offers a substantial edge to
Sector: CONSUMER the company in developing custom-
ELECTRONICS (IOT) ised, high-tech, feature-rich goods
that Indian customers demand and
Leader: AMIT KHATRI appreciate.

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 41

TECHTORS

Product: INAI

Company: INAI

Sector: FINTECH

Leader: ANTA
PATTABIRAMN

P
AYMENTS IS A rapidly evolving INTEGRATING
sector that has seen many clutter- FINTECH
breaking innovations in the last few
years. As newer payment methods Inai’spaymentmodelmakesthecustomerexperience
continue to emerge especially moreseamlessandreducesbothcostandtimeof
in booming markets where the settlementformerchantsByReshamSuhail
preference for newer formats such
as BNPL (buy now pay later) scale complex global payment solutions, payment partners. It also improves
rapidly, Inai believes the future has we’re unlocking a whole new world conversion and reduces costs that
many more opportunities. of entrepreneurial possibilities,” would be in high demand. For most
observes Inai’s Co-founder and founders, the biggest challenge
A full-stack payment integra- CEO, Anta Pattabiramn. The latest is finding a product-market fit, a
tion provider, Inai offers payment funding secured by the company reliable use case, an ideal customer
solutions to companies playing in was $4.25 million in a seed round. persona, and a channel that can be
the sectors such as ecommerce, The company plans to utilise these leveraged at scale.
edtech, gaming, digital content and funds to expand its portfolio, intro-
marketplace among others. Inai duce new tech products and also to “Don’t take too long to launch,
is a SaaS-based no code payment strengthen its team. it’s better to launch an imperfect
platform that enables businesses product and learn from the market
to manage their international Learning On The Go rather than hypothesise. Stay lean
payment stacks in less time. The in the early stages until you can find
startup works on a fixed subscrip- Inai focuses more on business-to- a repeatable customer profile and
tion-based model with a variable business payments. As merchants a channel that helps you find that
transactional charge. look for more efficient outcomes, ideal customer,” advises Pattabi-
it helps them connect to multiple ramn.
Inai came into being, driven by
Anta Pattabiramn and Karthik
Narayanan in March 2021. The
Inai technology helps businesses
enter new markets and offers a
digital experience that consumers
increasingly demand. “By empow-
ering non-engineers to operate

42 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022



TECHTORS DEALING WITH
IDENTITY THEFT
Q&A
AshutoshAgarwal,theManagingDirectorofthe
companysharesmoreaboutthecompany’splansina
conversationwithBWBusinessworld ByTeamBW

You received funding on a converti- Product: IDENTITY AS A hardware, thus minimis-
ble debt about six months ago. What SERVICE (IDAAS) ing the capex required by
are some plans to utilise this and cre- the company to imple-
ate more revenue streams? Company: BIOCUBE ment biometrics.
We received funding of Rs 3 crore MATRICS
on a convertible debt basis about six How are you looking at
months ago. We were a pre-revenue Leader: ASHUTOSH growing the business
company till the end of CY 2021, but AGARWAL from here?
have started clocking some revenue Identity verification will
this year already. We aim to earn rev- Sector: TECHNOLOGY ultimately become pass-
enue from the platform by selling it word-free and users will
both as a product and a service offering. we have now is the world’s first and be able to access multiple
only identity platform with artificial services at the click of a
A typical engagement will have a intelligence-enabled, multifactor and button. A portable and
one-time development fee, integration multimodal self-service biometrics. interoperable identity
fee, annual maintenance charges and The platform can disrupt the biometric verification mechanism is the need of
per-user or per-transaction charges, market as it requires zero specialised the hour. Our go-to-market and busi-
which will account for the bulk of the ness development started in 2021 and
revenue. subsequently, over the next six months,
we completed a few high-value deals
We understand the platform was and pilots with both enterprises and
born after the personal experiences governments.
of one of your co-founders. Tell us Currently, we have more than 20 pi-
more about the journey. lots running at different stages of com-
Our idea was indeed conceptualised pletion and four full-time contracts.
back in 2015 by our Co-founder Sub- Going forward we aim to convert many
odh Narain Agrawal when he was a of the pilots in the pipeline into com-
victim of identity fraud. mercial contracts and substantially in-
crease the revenue by the end of 2022.
In 2019, the core team was formed We are looking to significantly ramp up
and the development of this platform the team over the year and we will keep
was initiated. After extensive research on upgrading the platform.
and development, by 2020 we were
ready with the beta testing. What

44 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

TECHTORS By Resham Suhail

A MOVE TO MAKE
ROADWAYS SAFER

WorkingwithOEMstointegratetechnologyintonew
commercialvehicles,Netradyne’sgoalistoensurezero
accidents.Co-founderandCEO,AvneeshAgrawal,
discussestheideabehindthecompany.Excerpts:

Q&A called Driveri, was designed, manu- Therefore, technology advancements
factured and made in India for the rest to assist drivers in reducing accidents
Tell us more about the inception of of the world. continue to be our primary focus.
the company and its business model.
In 2015, strong technology trends such Since our inception, we were focused How has your monetisation model
as 4G deployment could be observed on a service-based business model. evolved over the years?
and adoption picked up rapidly as ar- Technically, this would be considered We have raised $197.5 million till date
tificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, hardware-enabled SaaS. We would with key investors such as Reliance,
using deep learning, were getting take care of the hardware and con- Microsoft Corp, Point72, Hyundai and
more accurate and intuitive. It was the nectivity, and charge a fixed monthly Softbank. Our monetisation model is
perfect opportunity to develop edge or annual subscription fee per vehicle. a subscription model wherein we of-
computing devices, running advanced fer a per device/per month charge that
computer vision algorithms using W hat was the primary focus area? includes the hardware, connectivity as
deep learning. We believe that the vast majority of well as cloud-based services benefits.
all vehicles on the road for the next
Road safety was a pressing chal- 10 years will be driven by humans. What are your long-term and
lenge globally. We saw an oppor- short-term goals?
tunity to dramatically improve We are looking at global expan-
road safety and disrupt the auto sion. We have been commercial
insurance market. Netradyne was in the US and India for a few
born with the mission of creating years now. This year, we expand-
safer roadways by using advanced ed to Australia, New Zealand
vision technology. A state-of-the- and the UK. We plan to launch
art edge computing technology, in Canada, Mexico and several
countries by next year. Our goal
Product: DRIVERI is to maintain our position as an
industry leader in fleet safety so-
Company: NETRADYNE lutions by improving driver be-
haviour and fleet performances.
Sector: VISION-BASED,
ADVANCED DRIVER What has been your biggest
ASSISTANCE SYSTEM learning as an entrepreneur?
(ADAS) FOR FLEET SAFETY Tomorrow is always unpredict-
able. Especially in the early days,
Leader: AVNEESH when you are trying to raise
AGRAWAL funds, recruit talent, develop a
product, and find customers ...
If you are up for the challenge, it
is a lot of fun.

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 45

TECHTORS THE STRATEGIC
ENABLER
W
GoKwikisadatascience-firstcompanyandasan
ITH CONSTANT advancement in ecommerceenabler,itaspirestounlockvaluefromdata,
technology, the way we experience technologyandAItoimproveconversion,reduceRTO
the ecommerce industry will evolve riskandincreaseGMV ByReshamSuhail
as well. Commerce is going to move
closer to content. This will lead to funnel. The startup is striving to preference. It embeds these solutions
the rise in social and conversational build the best-in-class checkout into its products to deliver value.
commerce. Experts foresee that experience for D2C brands that solve
five years down the line, people for personalisation, return to origin Growth Story
will be able to shop wherever they (RTO) reduction and conversion rate
are consuming content, instead of improvement across the entire fun- The ecommerce enabler has ob-
only in storefronts. nel. Its large network data and state- tained back-to-back funding of $5
of-the-art ML models are proving to million in September 2021 and $15
Creating the Conversion be the game-changer. million in November 2021 from
Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital
Technologies such as artificial The company also applies its pro-
intelligence (AI) and machine prietary deep learning algorithms to respectively. Recently GoKwik
learning (ML) make the func- predict consumer behaviour includ- has been backed by a third round
tionalities of direct to consumer ing, but not limited to, product affini- of funding of $35 million led from
(D2C) smoother. GoKwik aims to ties, RTO, credit risk and payment Think Investments and RTP
solve the difficulties D2C or ecom- Global.
merce platforms face specifically
in conversion at the shopping GoKwik will utilise the newly
obtained funds to broaden its
Product: GOKWIK ecommerce enablement stack and
Company: GOKWIK grow its network of brands. “The
Sector: FINTECH - company is committed to build-
ECOMMERCE ENABLER ing an ecommerce sanctuary,
Leader: CHIRAG TANEJA plans to enable more payment op-
tions, increase the prepaid success
rate and also provide financing al-
ternatives to help partner brands
enable affordability to an aspiring
‘Bharat’,” says Chirag Taneja, Co-
founder and CEO, GoKwik.

In technology startups, the
next important thing is cracking
the go-to market via the product.
Taneja believes that growth is
painful but is also self-healing,
implying that growth is the solu-
tion to most problems.

46 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

TECHTORS EXCEPTIONAL
GROWTH

T Founder GauravMunjalandco-foundersRomanSaini
andHemeshSinghsharesomesectoralandcompany
highlightswithBWBusinessworldByTeamBW

HE digital shift has paved
the way for exceptional
growth in the edtech in-
dustry during the pan-
demic. Edtech players are
now focusing on custom-

ised learning plans where

learners can learn at their

own pace. Further, with the penetra-

tion of technological advancements,

Unacademy is striving to bridge the

gap between education and technol-

ogy to democratise education across

the country.

The Monetisation Model quality curriculum and educator are Product: UNACADEMY
In recent years, Unacademy has some key challenges that all the players
emerged as one of the largest edtech are facing. Company: UNACADEMY
companies and is currently valued at
$3.44 billion. Over the last six years, At Unacademy, we constantly in- Leaders: GAURAV MUNJAL,
the growth rate has been four-fold (FY troduce new products and offerings to ROMAN SAINI, HEMESH
2020-2021). The subscription model meet the education gap in the industry SINGH
for Unacademy Plus and Iconic sub- and make learning more accessible.
scriptions, and the recently launched For instance, Unacademy is enabling Sector: EDUCATION
Icons model have proved to be ex- online education for millions by opti- TECHNOLOGY
tremely successful. mising high-quality user experience
at lower bandwidths and dated devices on high-quality education has helped
Currently, the core business is offering better thermal or battery per- it become India’s largest online learn-
around Rs 1,000 crore in annual rev- formance. ing platform.
enue. The monetisation model that the Expansion Plans
company follows is majorly through Unacademy will continue to work As a part of our future growth plans,
the paid subscriptions offered across towards democratising high-quality Unacademy is building a multi-prod-
all the competitive exam categories. learning for everyone. uct platform for consumers – with
offerings such as Test Prep, Graphy,
Change Triggers In the past few years, we became Relevel.
The majority of the Indian pop- the platform of choice for learners and
ulation resides in non-metros educators. The company’s emphasis We will continue to diversify our
where operational problems and a presence in new categories and work
lack of trained teachers are still chal- towards profitability for the core
lenging. business.

Access to technology devices, inter-
net connectivity, and the lack of a high-

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 47

TECHTORS

A Product: HOLOSUIT

Company: HOLOSUIT

Sector: SKILL METAVERSE

Leader:
HARSHAVARDHANA
KIKKERI

S ARTIFICIAL REALITY and virtual THE ‘MADE IN INDIA’
reality become more immersive and METAVERSE
natural, many fantasies like experi-
ences are turning into realities. HoloSuitaimstocreatecompellingexperiences
leveragingtechnologythatallowspeopletoenjoythe
One player enabling this is the virtualandrealworldstogetherByReshamSuhail
bi-directional flagship HoloSuit,
which has 40 embedded sensors for gies are disrupting the metaverse. and phygital lab experiences for the
arms, legs and fingers, tracking a This is also what HoloSuit has put education industry.
user’s array of movements and play- into play.
ing them in the digital outcome. HoloSuit, as the company calls
These technologies are powering it, is the interface of the future. “We
This product essentially creates experiences and allowing anyone, are growing gangbusters and have
a digital twin of the body and when from anywhere to experience the already shipped to 19 countries
it interacts in a digital interface, a unreal in real. around the world. We are getting
person can experience everything more enquiries than we can handle
very closely through the sensors HoloSuit is a business-to-busi- and are rapidly doubling our team
and technology instilled in the suit. ness player that charges for build- every few months,” says Kikkeri.
ing the metaverse experiences and
As the company grows, Harsha- also charges a percentage of the As an entrepreneur, HoloSuit’s
vardhana Kikkeri, the Founder revenue generated from the Kikkeri stresses that the focus
and CEO of HoloSuit explains experience. should be on first adding value to
that the company is also building the customer rather than looking at
HoloWorld, a metaworld that hosts The startup is funded by Yuvraj returns.
phygital (physical and digital) Singh Ventures and has generated
metaverses in education, sports, revenue from building cricketing He says, “Always look at giving 10
robotics and security. experiences in sports metaverse, times the value and you will get 100
robotic experiences for security times back in returns.”
Virtual vs Real

Motion capture, holographic
projection, extended reality (XR)
interaction, volumetric capture,
humanoid robotic and embodied
artificial intelligence (AI) technolo-

48 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022

TECHTORS

Product: EKINCARE

Company: EKINCARE

Sector: HEALTHTECH

Leader: KIRAN
KALAKUNTLA

THE WELLNESS
SPRING

EkincareclaimstobetheonlyIndianplayerwithAI-
basedassessments&advancedanalytics,withastrong
foundationforfutureproductlines ByReshamSuhail

A made use of artificial intelligence- healthcare services and benefits,
based assessments and advanced health analytics and engage-
N INTEGRATED, comprehensive and analytics to create it product lines. ment. The flywheel effect comes in
exclusive B2B2E (business to busi- wherein delivering health benefits
ness to enterprise) health benefits The startup has raised a Series-B and outpatient department care
and wellness platform, ekincare round of $15 million and is tracking results in higher engagement and
works to solve health benefits prob- towards a $15 million annual run utilisation, more data and analyt-
lems making it a complete ecosys- rate this year. Its business model ics, higher customisation based
tem with a unique model integrat- engages both the B2B and the on need, cost-effective pricing
ing healthcare, tech and insurance. B2B2E spaces where employer- and more insured members, all of
paid and employee availed services which help deliver high-quality
A Diverse Biz Model contribute to its revenue streams. healthcare experiences to the end-
In the B2B2E segment, ekincare user.
Founded by Kiran Kalakuntla, has complete coverage across OPD
Srikanth Samudrala and Noel care, health financing and employ- Currently, it is present in over
Coutinho, ekincare’s network has ee wellness. “There are no clichés 200 cities across the country. It
over 10,000 healthcare partners, in the life of an entrepreneur. The plans to expand its footprint into
4,000 hospitals, 6,000 gyms, 1,000 learning curve is steep. For me, it Southeast Asian countries where
doctors and 420 corporates. It has has been an experience of a lifetime problem statements are identical to
in building, pivoting, scaling and India with rising healthcare costs,
now in the hyper-scale phase of health insurance premiums and a
ekincare,” says Kalakuntla, the Co- fragmented healthcare ecosystem.
founder and CEO of the company. It aims to be an integral part of the
120 million India’s corporate em-
The Big Plan ployees and their families’ health-
care journey.
Ekincare’s focus is on delivering

04 June 2022 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 49

TECHTORS

Product: XOXODAY PLUM

Company: XOXODAY

Sector: REWARDS,
PAYOUTS AND INCENTIVES

Leader: MANOJ AGARWAL

REWARDS PROCESS, run rate of $10 million (2021-22), it
REIMAGINED has raised the first round of institu-
tional funding from Giift backed by
CompaniesuseXoxodaytoimprovetheirchanneland Apis Partners Growth Fund II.
salesperformance,increaseemployeeengagement,
andbuildbrandloyaltyByReshamSuhail For a tech startup, it is essential to
become product-centric and work
I N 2017, MANOJ AGARWAL along with his three co-founders launched on getting the right target audience,
Xoxoday, a horizontal SaaS platform for rewards, incentives and pay- segmentation and ideal customer
outs. The founders chose this business as they had tasted early success profile for the product. By enabling
with Giftxoxo, a rewards and incentives platform. the right data metrics, this market-
Xoxoday provides the technology infrastructure to enable businesses ing engine would be an important
to automate rewards, incentives and payouts processes across the value factor influencing decision-making
chain. Xoxoday has a suite of three products – Plum, a horizontal plat- and growth.
form for rewards, incentives, and payouts; Empuls, a vertical platform
that enables holistic employee engagement and Compass, which is a platform Agarwal says that Xoxoday is well
to turbocharge sales channels through gamification and real-time commis- placed to take a “leadership position”
sions. in the rewards, payouts and incen-
tives space and emerge as a formi-
Simplifying with Tech dable global player in the next two to
three years. He adds, “Today’s market
“Our mission is to bring simplicity and continuity to a complex, everyday opportunity is around $1 trillion, and
problem of human motivation, using technology,” explains Manoj Agarwal, we had processed $1 billion worth
Co-founder and CEO, Xoxoday. After bootstrapping the company to an annual of rewards and incentives through
our platform last year and plan to
increase this exponentially.”

Growing Footprint

For its next steps, Xoxoday plans to
tap into generating additional rev-
enues by cross-selling and upselling.
The startup aims to grow and expand
its customer base in the North
American and European markets for
each of the products.

While technology facilitates scale,
businesses have woken up to the
need to enable the human touch with
personalised features embedded in
their technologies, to make the gifts
meaningful for the receivers.

50 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 04 June 2022