One of the biggest faced by governments across the globe battling terror is money laundering. How to stop the funding and transfer of funds to terror outfits? Post 9/11, a lot of measures have been put into force to curb the transactions. All these actions are labelled as Anti-Money Laundering or AML. Recently there were reports of how sleeping cells in Germany and Canada were recieving money through Internet. In fact, Internet has become a favored means for surreptiously sending across money by terrorist outfits.
AML is a war, rather an ongoing war. And the biggest weapon that the governments have with them is technology. By using IT extensively, money laundering can be curbed to a great extent. Indian authorities have also woken up to AML and are trying to put in place the strategy, it is an uphill task. I had authored a story on the issue, and it was published in CIOL. Thought, I'd share the same....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battling terror by choking finance
Several countries are in the process of implementing anti money laundering measures to fight off the evil of terrorism. Where does India stand? An analysis.
One hot summer morning in June, 2000, Mohammed Atta and his close associate Marwan al-Shehhi sauntered into the Florida SunTrust Bank and opened a joint account with few and forged documents. Just a few months ago, Atta and al-Shehhi had opened accounts in Citibank and HSBC’s Dubai branches, respectively. Over the summer, approximately $109,440 was wired into their account from their U.A.E. bank accounts. According to FBI, the deposits to their bank account totaled $303,481.63 in over a year. This money was used for airline tickets, flying lessons, living expenses, etc. The whole operation culminated on the morning of September 11, 2001, when Atta crashed the American Airlines Flight 11 Boeing 767-223ER aircraft in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. And the world woke up to terrorism, and the evil known as money laundering.
Post 9/11, U.S. came down stringently on money laundering, trying to eradicate the financial sources was an important objective of America’s war on terror. To that end, numerous legislations were promulgated; in the U.S. it was the Patriot Act, while the European Commission set up the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations and the Wolfsberg Principles on Private Banking. “The FATF has a set of forty recommendations which are updated on a consistent basis to keep pace with money laundering techniques. The FATF membership now includes 31+ countries with some countries from the Gulf Council as permanent members,” says Hanuman Tripathi, MD, Infrasoft.
It is certainly not an easy task, as the criminals try and stay one step ahead of the legal dragnet. And technology is on their side. With the boom in Internet banking and online transactions, fraudulent funds can be transferred at click of the mouse. Premjit Dass, associate director (Advisory), Forensic Services, KPMG, estimates that close to $590 billion to $1.5 trillion are laundered annually, “When viewed in the context of the global GDP, it is a very large amount,” he points out.
But the authorities are trying to catch up, with the use of technology, especially software. Major banks across the developed countries have put in to place anti money laundering (AML) processes; these could range from appointing an officer to installation of an enterprise wide software solution.
In the Indian context, money laundering has always been a big problem. Hawala and black money economy are the two big issues that have plagued the various regulatory authorities over the years. Black economy according to estimates was around 40% of GDP in 1995-96, (Source: The Black Economy in India, author Arun Kumar). “Few can realistically estimate the dramatic amount of wealth locked out of the Indian economy and the myriad means through which is seeks legitimacy,” says Suheim Sheikh, managing director, SDG & head (Capital Market & Anti Money Laundering Solutions), 3i Infotech.
Ironically, money laundering has never been considered a serious issue in India, it is often deemed as a legitimate mean to save money from the tax department. All that seems to be changing now, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government coming down heavily on money launderers and trying to get to the very roots of these activities.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 has come into effect from July 1, 2005. The RBI has issued KYC (know your consumer) guidelines to banks that were needed to implement by December 31, 2005, but many Indian banks are still in the process of implementing these guidelines. “SEBI (Securities and Exchange Bureau of India) has also issued AML guidelines to stock brokers vide its notification ISD/CIR/RR/AML/1/06 dated January 18, 2006. A FIU or Financial Intelligence Unit has also become operational,” adds Premjit.
According to source at Indian Bank Association, the format for the KYC feedback forum is still being discussed.
To help banks and financial institutions keep track of fraudulent transactions, many IT firms have developed enterprise level AML software. “AML software is essentially a pattern recognition and behavior detection technology. It is largely comprised of a KYC and transaction monitoring modules,” says Hanuman. Simply speaking, if there are constant transactions of big amounts of money, the system will alert the bank and it could then keep a tab. Were, this system in place in 2001, the big transactions made by Atta and al-Shehhi would have alerted the authorities. The software has the ability to categorize the customer from a risk-based perspective. The bank customers are a worried lot though, as the authorities will be watching and recording every transaction.
Indian IT companies are vying to grab a chunk of the global anti money laundering that is estimated to be worth around $10 billion, whereas the Indian market is estimated to be worth around Rs. 185-220 crores. Companies like Infrasoft and SDG-3i Infotech are the leading players in the domestic space. While most of the multinational banks have or are in the process of implementing AML processes, it is the nationalized banks that seem to be dragging their feet.
There are many reasons as to why public sector banks are lacking in comparison to private ones, chiefly because they have much larger number of branches situated in far-flung areas that are difficult to connect and they also have a complex decision making process.
“The MNC banks have an additional advantage since they have had to implement their group AML standards as they fall under the purview of the regulators in the home jurisdictions that have had AML legislation and rules and regulations for a number of years,” adds Premjit. Banks like Vijaya Bank, UTI Bank, Karnataka Bank, Canara Bank have all implemented AML systems.
Indian IT firms are also making a foray into the Middle East and South Asia markets and looking at garnering a major share. Meanwhile, companies like TCS, Iflex, Infosys, etc. are also looking at tweaking their core-banking solutions, so as to be able to deliver AML features.
Finally, will the stopping the cash flow really make an impact on global terrorism?
The answer is unequivocally yes. Nothing works like money, if these terror groups are deprived of their legitimate finances, they will be unable to carry out any major attacks. It isn’t a coincidence that with the implementations of these measures, U.S. has become a lot safer and hopefully there never will be another 9/11.
Feature: Anti Money Laundering and India
Interview: Krish Mantripada (RFID)
Radio Frequency Identification or RFID, has been in news for past many years but yet it remains an enigma. Walmart popularized the tags and entreprises were promised manna, freedom from manual tracking, from the manufacturing floor to the warehouse. Well, the picture might not be as rosy, things have been moving on the ground. For instance, DHL has been a big case, using RFID tags to track the parcels. There is still a lot in store on that front.
Sometime back, I had interacted with Krish Mantripada, from SAP. He is evangelizing the use of RFID and is well-known for his work on the same. The interaction was published on CIOL.
*************************
‘The application of RFID is only limited by your imagination’
During the Second World War, the Allied commanders were having a tough time identifying friend from foe when it came to aircrafts. From ground, it was virtually impossible to discern a Lutwaffe (Geman Air Force) Messerschmitt from RAF’s (Great Britain Royal Air Force) Spitfire; hence the anti-aircraft batteries were not much of help. The problem was solved by ingenious British scientists with the invention of IFF radio transponder. IFF stands for identification friend or foe, and all the Allied aircrafts were fitted with one, making it easier for ground troops to identify Lutwaffe planes using radio frequency. This was the precursor to the RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that one finds at numerous malls spread across the global.
RFID has been around for quite sometime, but has been creating news in the past few years only, all thanks to retail giant Wallmart. A few years back, Wallmart decided to automate all its back-end processes. Supply chain management or SCM was the biggest challenge, especially if you consider Wallmart vendors are based all across from Shenzen to San Francisco. Wallmart readily adopted RFID, using it to track its goods, manage inventory, business intelligence, etc. Today, it has become a poster boy for RFID deployment.
The technology is slowly making a mark on the Indian landscape as well. The early adopters were suppliers to international retail giants like Wallmart, etc. Now, Indian companies are also actively evaluating the deployment of RFID on a mass scale. SAP offers a quite a few integrated ERP solutions that are RFID enabled. Krish Mantripada, Director, Global Solution Strategy, RFID, SCM Solutions Management, SAP, spoke to Shashwat Chaturvedi from CyberMedia News at the recently held SAP Summit about the latest on RFID and his projections about the future. Excerpts.
RFID has often been associated with the retail space only, though it promises to do a lot more. Do you think the perception is changing?
Indeed it is. With increasing RFID adoption, enterprises are becoming more and more aware about the possibilities that this technology presents. Currently more than 16 different industry verticals are actively using RFID, from the manufacturing to pharmaceutical. Even, a lot of governments are employing the technology for tracking and identification; pretty soon U.S. passports will carry RFID tags. While it started off as a great retail industry tool, RFID has become much bigger now.
RFID was termed as expensive, especially due to the prohibitive costs of the tags, has that changed?
The price for the tags have come down drastically, currently they are hovering in the 10-15 cents (U.S.) per tag bracket. Sometime ago, the cost was around 50 cents. As the adoption spreads, the economies of scale will bring the cost further down. Also, there has been a lot of innovation; some companies are testing polymer-based tags instead of silicon. One firm is also testing paper-based tags with the use of conductive inks.
Why has the Indian markets been largely untouched by the RFID revolution?
It is steadily changing; a lot of enterprises are evincing keen interest in the technology. It is really surprising about how much people are aware about RFID. In fact many firms are actively pursuing pilot projects. Indian markets would no longer be untouched by the revolution.
Are you working with Indian companies on an RFID implementation?A few leading companies are currently in the early stages of implementation. Will be unable to share precise details as of now.
From which sector do these clients hail from? Is it retail only?
It is retail and manufacturing both.
Has SAP also tied up with any company in India for RFID?
We have tied up with TCS and Infosys as system integrators; there are more such partnerships in the offing.
Isn’t it strange, that while retail is the key driver behind the RFID adoption, SAP does not have a major client in this space?
But we are actively working with all the retail majors. Consider this, a majority of Wallmart and Home Depot suppliers are SAP customers. We are catering to the RFID ecosystem.
There has also been talk about the emergence of RFID viruses, your views.Yes like every other technological innovation, there will be mala fide users who will try to misuse it. Similarly, counterchecks are evolving for RFID as well, like firewalls, etc. that will detect malicious behavior and take preventive actions. As we learn more and more, so will the protective measures evolve.
Finally, what are innovative uses of RFID technology?
There are just so many, take for instance, in California, I just drive through the Expressways, while the tollbooths capture the data with the use of RFID tag and send me a monthly bill. Some hospitals are talking about tagging their patients with RFID, to ensure that correct medicine is given to the correct patient. As mentioned earlier, a few countries are talking about RFID tagged passports. Chinese authorities in Shanghai, used RFID to track slaughtered pigs. Pharma companies are trying to curb counterfeit products with the help of RFID. In fact, Nokia has come out with a few handsets that enable RFID authentication. The application of RFID is only limited by your imagination.
Feature: Green Electronics
Everyone talks of green nowadays; so you have green IT, green servers, green storage and now even greeen electronics. The vision is simple, move towards eco-friendly world, so many NGOs, especially Greenpeace, are leading the call for manufacturers of electronic goods to go clean and stop using toxic material. The biggest movement has come from the EU, that has put in regualtions and stipulations on the same.
Talk of green is important for India, as we are steadily ramping up our manufacturing capabilities, it makes sense to put in best practices at the start. It would be very foolish if, we did not. The story on Green Electronics was published in Dataquest magazine...(http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/industrymarket/focus/2007/107091701.asp)------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call for Green Electronics
Electronics manufacturers need to stop using toxic metals in the manufacturing processes; they need to go green
Monday, September 17, 2007
'At my signal, unleash hell, roared Maximus Desmus Meridius to his wearied men lined up against the last of the Saxon tribes. Which they summarily do. This scene from the film Gladiator captures the might and ferocity of the Roman Empire. In its heydays, the empire spread form Western Europe to Northern Africa. At the turn of first millennium, there was no other force in the world that could face up to the mighty Romans.
Yet, something from within the empire was gnawing at their strength. Most of the affluent Romans were stricken by Gout or strange mental illnesses. In fact, the Roman emperor Nero was supposedly playing the fiddle out of his insanity, when the city of Rome was aflame. Imperium Romanium was crumbling due to a bluish white metal known to them as plumbum, and to us as lead.
Toxic lead was responsible for most of these ailments, as the use of the heavy metal was quite prevalent in ancient Rome. The citizens, especially the blue-blooded ones, used to wine and dine out of vessels having lead in them. Lead was used in make-up, lead sugar (lead acetate) was used to sweeten wine, and so on.
Even today, some 2,000 years later, lead accounts for hundreds of deaths annually across the world, especially in developing countries. And, this time the culprit is not vessels or food but modern technologythings that making our life easier are the very things that are threatening our existence.
E-wastage
Modern equipment have made our lives much easier and comfortable. Yet, they are laden with toxic and health endangering chemicals. Right from the computer monitor to the semiconductor chip, almost all the part are either fabricated out of toxic metals or treated with them. Take the case of lead, it is found in glass panels and gasket (frit) in computer monitors (3-8 pounds per monitor), and solder in printed circuit boards and other components.
Cadmium occurs in such components as the SHD chip resistors, infrared detectors, and semiconductor chips. Mercury is used in thermostats, sensors, relays, switches, medical equipment, lamps, and mobile phones are found quite liberally in batteries. Barium is used in the front panel of a CRT. Beryllium is found on the mother-boards and "finger clips" as a copper beryllium alloy used to strengthen the tensile strength of connectors and tiny plugs while maintaining electrical conductivity, and so on. All these metals are known to have quite perilous impact on the human health.
But how can all these metals inside the computer and the mobile phone threaten us? E-waste is a term that describes the process of the transfer. Every year, users discard millions of PCs and phones across the globe, more so in the developed world. These 
PCs and phones are dumped for newer, better and sleeker models. With hundreds of millions of such equipment discarded annually, the amount of electronic waste (or e-waste) that stacks up is mind-boggling.
According to Greenpeace, the amount of electronic products discarded globally has skyrocketed recently, with 20-50 million tonnes generated every year. To get an idea of the amount, if the estimated e-waste generated every year would be put into containers on a train, the train would go once around the world in terms of length!
Poison in the Soil
Sadly, much of this e-waste finds its way into the developing countries in Asia and Africa. China and India have been one of the favored destinations for such dumping. Local contractors are paid to dismantle these products, which they do by employing cheap manual labor. It is during this dismantling that toxins come to the fore. They not only endanger the life of the laborer but also seep into the soil thereby contaminating the water table. Now the dangerous domino is set in motion, the contaminated water used for irrigation results in toxin-tainted food crop and poisons the whole food chain. The ill effects of these toxic metals are bone chilling. Poisoning threatens even people who have not been in direct contact with these metals; people like you and me.
Going Green
Of the many solutions for tackling this gargantuan e-waste crisis, green electronics is the most promising. Rather than trying to solve the crisis at the ground level, isnt it better to deal with it at the very onset at the manufacturing level? The idea is simple and sure to work. All electronic manufacturers must stop using hazardous metals while fashioning computers or other devices. And, going a step further, they should put into place a robust recycling strategy for their discarded products. If there are no toxins in the e-waste, it wont threaten our lives. Yet Green Electronics is easier said than done.
There has been a lot of resistance to this movement, not surprisingly from electronics manufacturing companies. In this outsourced world it is difficult to control all the manufacturing processes, take the case of a mobile phone, the screen could be fashioned in one part of China, the IC in Taiwan, the plastic body in Vietnam, and the software in India. And this is just the tip of the iceberg as these contractors would further sub-contract the work. In such a scenario, where the company is not in complete control of the manufacturing process, it is very tough to ensure that the manufacturing process does not harm the environment.
Secondly, the process of finding replacements for these commonly available products can be quite expensive, not only in terms of research but also in sourcing. Little wonder that companies have often shied away from sharing information about their manufacturing processes. But the tide is shifting.
Green Guide
Under pressure from governments and non-governmental bodies, electronics manufacturers have been under fire for a shift towards a greener manufacturing process. The biggest push has come from the European Union that has over the last few years passed strict legislations against the use of toxic materials in the manufacturing process. Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive and Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive are two legislations that have set the ball rolling.
From the NGO side, Greenpeace has been a driving force behind the move for Green Electronics. Every quarter, Greenpeace publishes the Green Electronics Guide that ranks leading mobile and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products discarded by consumers. All these companies are ranked on information that is publicly available and through communications/clarifications with companies.
The last list was published in the end of June, 2007. Of the fourteen companies that were ranked, Nokia, Dell and Lenovo were the toppers, while HP, Panasonic, LGE, and Sony came in last. 
Greenpeace list of companies that are using environment friendly manufacturing and recycling processes. Released every quarter, Nokia tops the list this time, followed by Dell and Lenovo. The ranking criteria were based on two aspectscompanies clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances; and take back and recycle their products responsibly, once they become obsolete.
Over the years, Nokia has maintained its leadership on the top of the table, but the gains made by Dell have been very impressive. The computer manufacturer has put in place a strong definition of the precautionary principle, timelines for substituting toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and explicit support for individual producer responsibility. Dell has also announced its intention to provide global free take back and recycling services to individual consumers wherever its products are sold.
The only reason why Dell lost points is because it did not have models free of PVC and BFRs on the market. Dell now scores top marks for reporting its recycling rate as a percentage of sales. The company has even put in a recycling program in India as part of global efforts. Even the Environment Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) has given a Gold to Dells latest OptiPlex 755 line of desktops and notebooks.
On the other hand PC manufacturers like Lenovo, and Apple lose points on the Greenpeace list because of a weak global take-back program, and also not eliminating the worst chemicals from their product lines. HP has been falling on the tables because of its failure to provide clear timelines for eliminating the worst chemicals. It also looses points for weak definition of take-back policies.
Not all Agree
But even the Green Electronics Guide is not without its detractors. Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, does not quite agree with the findings and disputes the very basis of the report. Moore disputes Greenpeaces contention that PVC is dangerous for the environment and should be discarded. He recently pointed out that PVC is one of the safest and most sustainable materials available and that in contrast, it is the alternatives that often pose unknown health or environmental risks. According to media reports, he told electronics manufacturers not to "blindly follow the Greenpeace political agenda," which is "devoid of any scientific basis" and would result in more costly, less climate-friendly products.
Whatever might be the outcome of this debate, it has quite significant implications for countries like India, simply because we are already suffering due to dumping of e-waste, and if proper mechanism for environmental control is not established in the numerous manufacturing facilities, the results could be dire. Hopefully, the global companies setting up operations in India, will continue to follow the principles of Green Electronics and not resort to malpractices due to laxity in legislation and enforcement.
Every year thousands die due to toxic poisoning. For the sake of humanity, lets hope that history does not repeat itself. It goes without doubt that companies like Dell, Apple, HP and others have a responsibility for reigning in the hell that has been unleashed upon our environment, knowingly or unknowingly.
Shashwat DC
shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in
***
Effects of Toxic Metals
Lead: Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood, kidneys, and reproductive systems. Effects on the endocrine system have been observed and its serious negative effect on children's brain development are well documented
Cadmium: Cadmium compounds are toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on human health, and accumulate in the body, particularly kidneys
Mercury: Mercury can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys, as well as the foetus. Most importantly, the developing foetus is highly susceptible through maternal exposure to mercury
Hexavalent Chromium/Chromium VI: Chromium VI is still used as corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates, and as a decorative or hardener for steel housings. It easily passes through cell membranes and is then absorbed, producing various toxic effects in contaminated cells. Chromium VI can cause damage to DNA and is extremely toxic in the environment.
Plastics including PVC: Plastics make up 13.8 pounds of an average computer. The largest volume of plastics (26%) used in electronics has been poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC). PVC is mainly found in cabling and computer housings, although many computer moldings are now made with the somewhat more benign ABS plastics. PVC is used for its fire-retardant properties. As with other chlorinecontaining compounds, dioxin can be formed when PVC is burned within a certain temperature range
Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs): BFRs are used in the plastic housings of electronic equipment and in circuit boards to prevent flammability. More than 50% of BFR usage in the electronics industry consists of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), 10% is polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and less than 1% is polybrominated biphenyl (PBB)
Barium: Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium has caused brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver and spleen
Beryllium: Beryllium has recently been classified as a human carcinogen as exposure to it can cause lung cancer. The primary health concern is inhalation of beryllium dust, fume or mist. Workers who are constantly exposed to beryllium, even in small amounts, and who become sensitized to it can develop what is known as Chronic Beryllium Disease (beryllicosis), a disease primarily affecting lungs. Exposure to beryllium also causes a form of skin disease that is characterized by poor wound healing and wart-like bumps. Studies have shown that people can still develop beryllium disease even many years following the last exposure
Phosphor and additives: Phosphor is an inorganic chemical compound that is applied as a coat on the interior of the CRT faceplate. Phosphor affects the display resolution and luminance of images that is seen in the monitor. The hazards of phosphor in CRTs are not well known or reported, but the US Navy has not minced words about the hazards involved in some of their guidelines: "NEVER touch a CRTs phosphor
Coating: it is extremely toxic. If you break a CRT, clean up the glass fragments very carefully. If you touch the phosphor, seek medical attention immediately." The phosphor coating contains heavy metals such as cadmium and other rare earth metals, eg, zinc, vanadium, etc. as additives. These metals and their compounds are very toxic. This is a serious hazard posed for those who dismantle CRTs by hand.
Source: http://www.itwastesolutions.co.uk/
***
Did you know?
The average lifespan of computers in developed countries has dropped from six years in 1997 to just two years in 2005 Mobile phones have a lifecycle of less than two years in developed countries 183 mn computers were sold worldwide in 200411.6% more than in 2003 674 mn mobile phones were sold worldwide in 200430% more than in 2003 By 2010, there will be 716 mn new computers in use. There will be 178 mn new computer users in China, 80 mn new users in India
Source: Greenpeace
Feature: India's Best IT Employers
Every year Dataquest in conjunction with IDC India, conducts a comprehensive HR survey titled as the Best Employer Survey (BES). The purpose is simple to gauge the latest trends in the IT industry from the perspective of the employers and more importantly from the view point of the employees. Like every year, this year's BES also throws up some interesting surprises, the biggest one is the downfall of the domestic companies and rise of the foreign firms. The implications are quite obvious, Indian companies can no longer take foreign for granted, thinking that Indian employees will choose them over the latter. They need to buck up, as the IBMs and Accentures of the world are adopting Indian customs and amalgamating themselves in the Indian milieu. The flattening of the world had benefited Indian companies, now the foreign firms are going for the kill.
I would encourage, all of you to read this story on DQ website (the link given below) as there are a lot of graphs that complement the story. Hopefully, it will be accessible. Await your comments...(http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/DQTop20_07/employers07/2007/107083117.asp)------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Other Side of the Flat World
American and European services firms have figured this out and are taking on the India-based firms head on in people management, even adapting global HR policies to suit Indian needs.
They're succeeding.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Smugness and Infosys hardly go together. Yet, in the spring of 2004, Nandan Nilekani had famously proclaimed that the global playing field "had been leveled. The CEO of Infosys was conversing with visiting American journalist Thomas Friedman. The change, according to Nilekani, had been brought about by technology and globalization. For once, Nilekani seemed to let go of his natural modesty as he extolled the strategies adopted by his company. And also by his other Indian peers.
Friedman was impressed. So much so that he called his wife from his hotel room to tell her that the world was "flattening". His book, World is Flat, eulogized the tactics adopted by Nilekani, Ramadorai, Premji and others, proclaiming a new world order. It was meant to be a warning note to the developed nations, particularly, America.
But even before Friedman loudly asserted it, companies like IBM, Accenture, EDS, CSC, and ACS the North American services firms were feeling the heat. Not only were these Indian firms taking their market share in IT services, many of them had listed in America and had soon become the darlings of Wall Street.
The Indians, of course, were beating them hands down in cost. A large part of that cost advantage came from Indias low-cost work force, which was equally good, if not better than the American IT workers.
It was time for them to tap that talent too. Between 2004-2007, almost all American firms and a few European ones significantly ramped up their Indian delivery. Today, for many of them, including the biggest of them all IBM have more workforce in India than in any other part of the world, excluding of course, USA.
In short, the success in the American (or European) marketplace is increasingly depending on how successfully you compete in the Indian market for talent.
While many of them were hiring rapidly, the Indian firms maintained that just hiring by paying more would not make them successful in India. Satisfying the needs of Indian employees which are very different from those in the US (say the need for job security)was not going to be easy.
Easy, it was not. But possible, it is.
This years DQ-IDC Best Employers Survey (BES) gives enough reasons to believe that the non-Indian firms are steadily mastering the art of managing Indian employees, because that has become the numero uno factor for success in the marketplace.
This years BES gives an interesting insight that seems to coincide with Friedmans flat world contention. For long, Indian services companies were making the most of tech democratization, going from strength to strength. But, somehow, non-Indian service firms have come to terms with the new order, and are bringing the battle to India. They have realized that the Indian workforce is the key to the future and have staked a claim.
The success in the American (or European) marketplace is increasingly depending on how successfully you compete in the Indian market for talent . When Indians started to pitch for American IT contracts, they were the challengers; the American firms were the incumbents. In the Indian talent market, the same phenomenon is repeating itself, with the order having been reversed. It is the Infosys and Wipros who are the incumbents; it is the IBMs and Capgeminis that are the challengers.
The survey results show that the world is indeed flat equally flat for all. Or, as they often say, globalization is a two way street. We have come a full circle.
Challenge to Indian Service
If Friedmans flat world was the new world order, call it the new, new world order. In BES07, four non-Indian services firms have made impressive debut. Now there are a total of five non-Indian services firm in the list. IBM, Capgemini, Cognizant, CSC, and Ness Tech these companies have either made a debut or have moved up in the ranking, while the Indian giants, but for TCS, have tumbled.
Non-Indian services firms have also learnt how to make best talent in this flat world It is obvious that Indian services companies that had been using the global service delivery model had a lot of faith on their people management skills. While these companies were bidding and winning contracts abroad against global service companies, so were the non-Indian service companies. Not only have these global companies set up base in India, they have also studied and adopted themselves to the Indian climate. Thus IBM India is just like any other Indian IT biggie, only more attractive due to the international lineage. The implications are loud and clear.
Non-Indian services firm have also learnt how to make best use of the not-so spiky world of ours.
The Charge of the Foreign Brigade
It is certainly not the first time that these non-Indian services firms have performed well on BES. Over the years, they have staked claim to quite many places on the Top 20 list. Last year, five non-Indian firms were on the list, of which three (Cadence, CSC, and Kanbay as part of Capgemini) are back again this year. There were six non-Indian firms in 2005 and over 10 in 2004. In fact in 2004, non-Indian firms topped 4 out of the 8 broad categories like image, culture, job content, etc, while they had topped 8 of 10 in 2003. Over the last few years, non-Indian firms have been recruiting heavily, for instance, IBM India and Cognizant added around 14,000 employees each in the last year itself and were amongst the largest recruiters in India. Little wonder these companies are gaining prominence in the BES.
By and large, the reasons remain the same over last year. The only significant change: overseas opportunities now matter more than growth opportunity. However, managers complain that the love for overseas is restricted to postings abroad for one-two years, unlike earlier. Most of them want to come back to India after a short overseas stint
Of the lot, Cadence has been the most persistent. It was ranked at the very top (#1) in 2003, came in #4 in 2004, #6 in 2005, and #5 in 2006. This year Cadence falls 9 places to be ranked #14because of a fall of 12 places in HR rankings. IBM India has been another regular in the BES, it was ranked at #5 in 2003, #3 in 2004, and #8 in 2005. It did not participate in 2006 and this year IBM re-entered the list again at #6. IBM ranks at #3 on HR rankings and #12 on employee rankings, meaning it still has a lot of work etched out for it. The other most interesting MNC debut this year was that of the European major, Capgemini that ranks at #6, with IBM. The interesting part being that it ranks #31 on the HR list and #5 on the employee ranks, a difference of 26 ranks between the two, the second largest in BES this year.
The change is evident. In the past these companies tried to fit the operations to the processes they had brought along with them. This was certainly not the best way, as Indian employees lay a lot of emphasis on inter-personal relationships. Indians not only work for a company, but, more often than not, are married to them. So while a good pay package was always good, it was never the be all of a job. Thus, a lot many employees preferred the hospitable and informal atmosphere at Indian companies rather than process driven MNCs.
Non-Indian companies have woken up to this unique characteristic of Indian employees and are changing themselves with a gusto. Take the case of Capgemini, its India center is not a clone of the HQ, but follows distinctive HR policies that are aimed at the Indian audience. IBM is trying to be more personal, with Sam Palmisano making frequent trips to India and displaying his love through huge get-togethers that seem like a typical Indian wedding. On the other hand, Intel, has taken a leaf out of the Tatas and is increasingly talking about its CSR activities. It would seem that these non-Indian services are adapting to the Indian work culture and beating the big Indian players in their own game.
Interestingly, growth opportunity and technology one is working on are the two parameters where people are fairly satisfied; yet they would change for those reasons. The toughest challenge for employers
The results of this transformation are there for all to see. Take the case of dream companies four non-Indian companies have made their place in the Top 10. The implication is clear: more Indians prefer non-Indian service firms to their Indian counterparts.
Even when it comes to work culture, non-Indian firms are scoring. There are four non-Indian services companies in the Top 10 with Infosys plummeting to #20 on the culture parameter. The myth that non-Indian companies pay better seems to be dispelled as there are only three non-Indian services companies in the Top 10 list. In fact Infosys is last at #20, preceded by IBM at #19. When it comes to satisfaction parameters, growth opportunity tops. Not surprising considering the industry is still growing at more than 30% and with that everyone is growing
The signs are ominous. There are still a lot of non-Indian firms, like HP, Oracle, etc that used to be part of the BES in the past but are not so now for a variety of reasons. Whereas companies like Microsoft, Accenture, EDS, SAP, Google, etc, that have been quite active in India did not participate in the survey. In the days to come, as these non-Indian services companies adapt further, they will continue to give the Indian companies a run for their employees.
Bangalore Tigers Tamed
But for TCS, the big Indian IT humpty-dumpties have taken a fall, especially the Bangalore tigers. The biggest surprise has been Wipro Technologies, which has dropped by 14 places and is out of the Top 20 list. The main reason can be its dismal performance on employee ranking. It is rated quite poorly on parameters like preferred employer (internal), appraisal, training, and culture. But has retained its HR rank, and is ranked at #3. Over the years, Wipro has had its ups and downs on the annual BES. In the first survey, in 2001, it was ranked a #8, rising to #3 in 2002, falling to #7 in 2003, to #18 in 2004, rising again to #15 in 2005 and #9 in 2006. There has been a lot of inconsistency in Wipros performance over the years, and for the first time, this year it is out of the Top 20.
On the other hand, Infosys has dropped by 4 places and is ranked #8. Like Wipro, Infosys also has performed badly on the employee rank, falling from #8 to #15 this year.
The drop could be attributed to the fact that the company has performed badly on the following parameters: preferred employer (internal), company image, salary, and others. In fact, on a lot of parameters Infosys is at the bottom, like appraisal, people, overall satisfaction, image, job content, culture. There seems to be a major discontent brewing among Infosys employees, all this while the company makes a media splash of its foreign interns.
The explanation offered oft times is that as both these companies are ramping up rapidly, there seems to be a tradeoff. Employees joining the organization now might be expecting the same informal atmosphere that used to exist half a dozen years back, for which these companies have been known. But that personal touch might have been lost in the huge number game. Whatever might be the case, one thing is certain, the Bangalore tigers need to get their act together.
A Giant on Top
While the rest of the Indian biggies have tumbled, TCS has, in a way, improved on its performance. This year too it retains its number one position in the overall rankings. In the HR ranking, it tops the list, though there is minor drop in the overall HR score due to low CAGR as compared to last year. But on the employee part, TCS has gone a notch higher and is ranked #3.
TCS is ranked at the top on two parameters: overseas opportunity and job security. With the company going more and more global, obviously the employees seem to be excited about the opportunities opening up. The employees also seem to be quite happy, as the company scored well on the preferred employer (Internal) parameter, as compared to last year.
Yet, TCS must pay attention to lower and mid-level employees as it is ranked #9 on the issue that the appraisal system was fair. It is ranked #10 for "I get regular and constructive feedback from manager/superior" and #8 "I get a sense of great professional and personal accomplishment from the work I do". TCS is followed by another Indian strong player, HCL Info, ranked at #2.
Size Does Not Matter
Year after year, there is a discussion on how well small companies have fared on the BES. When we talk of small companies it means relatively, in terms of the big Indian and non-Indian giants. This year there were close to eight small companies in the Top 20: iGate, RMSI, Synechron, Tavant, Accel Frontline, Cybage, AztecSoft, and Geometric. iGates performance has been truly impressive as it gained 26 places to be ranked #3.
These small companies have performed well on the employee ranking vis--vis HR, implying that employees are satisfied with things like salary hikes, payment at par with industry standards or, more importantly, that employees are encouraged to take risk at work. Most of these companies have ranked high on the employee ranking, like iGate at #2, RMSI #4, and Tavant #6. Only Synechron, amongst these companies, has been ranked high on the HR ranking, # 5, and RMSI is #8.
There has also been a change in the way employees perceive these companies. Take the case of image, there are three small companies that have come in the Top 5. Even on the preferred employer (internal) parameter, there are two small companies in the Top 5. Though in the dream company parameter, there is only one small firm (iGate) in the Top 5. Small companies score on the job content front, as was made obvious from the fact that four small companies appear in the Top 5. They are also ranked highly on the culture parameter, with three in the Top 5.
The small companies have also learnt the art of retaining: RMSI is ranked at #1 and iGate at #2 on the retention rate. Though attrition is high as well, as on the same parameter, there were three small companies in the Top 5.
According to some arguments, employee rankings are no real indicator of a companys success, as a sudden windfall to cash to employees or other emoluments like ESOPs could influence that. So these companies need to get their HR processes in place to be termed as the great Indian employers.
The Ones that Lost Out
This year there have been quite a few upsets in terms of companies in the last years Top 20 missing the list this time round. Seven companies, to be precise. As stated earlier the most notable was Wipro that has been ranked #22. The others are GlobalLogic (formerly Induslogic) at #21 and Nucleus Software at #28. Companies like NIIT, Sasken, Sierra Atlantic and Interra IT did not qualify for the employee round.
The main reason being a drastic drop in employee ranks. Take the case of GlobalLogic, while its HR rank fell by three places, its employee rank fell a whopping 15 places. In case of Wipro the fall was all the more drastic, with employee rank falling a whopping 19 places to be ranked #30. Nucleus Softwares employee rank fell by 13 places and it was ranked #26. These three companies fared badly on basically three major employee parameters, namely salary, appraisal and preferred employer (internal).
Meanwhile, there were other companies like Honeywell, Virtusa, Zensar, L&T Indo, Tech Mahindra, Nagarro, Mphasis, and Patni that are ranked beyond the top 20 and could find place in the coming year or years.
Roti, Videsh aur Tarakki
Salary, overseas opportunity and growth opportunity are the top three factors employees cited that would make them shift jobsthe same as last year. However, there is a slight change in priority. While salary and compensation did continue at top, this year, overseas opportunity has replaced growth opportunity as the No 2 factor. Surprising considering that the number of Indians abroad who want to come back to India is also on the rise.
The HR managers agree, however, with the finding, while offering an explanation. Many of them contend that overseas posting is still a big lure for employees; but unlike say ten years back, todays young IT engineers do not want to go abroad to settle there. "It is very difficult to find someone willing to be posted abroad for five-six years; but everyone wants a 1-2 years stint," says an HR chief. The reason, he explains, is saving some good money "so that you can come back, buy a property and settle in Delhi or Bangalore." So, in essence, it is a reaffirmation of the first point.
However, what is noteworthy is that in almost all the top parameters (except location), the scores have come down, meaning no single reason is now enough for changing the job. They want a better balance of everything.
When it comes to satisfaction about parameters, growth opportunity tops. Not surprising considering the industry is still growing at more than 30% and with that everyone is growing. Surprisingly, all talks of long hours/stress notwithstanding, most employees feel that they have a good balance of social life and work life. And most of them are happy about organization culture and work climate as well.
The BES also asked the employees to react to specific statements. The maximum agreement was in the area of peer relationships. As many as 84.2% employees strongly agree to the statement that "my relationship with my peers make for a better work environment". More than 81% strongly agreed to the statement that their colleagues help them when they need them. About 76% respondents strongly agreed that people in their organizations treat each other with mutual respect and trust.
The other area that got a lot of strong agreement to positive statements was company culture. Most employees (more than 70% in each case) strongly agreed about their employers value & ethics, fairness of business practice, honesty & integrity, and professionalism towards all stakeholders.
Not surprisingly, most of the disagreement and "somewhat" agreements were in the area of salary and compensation. Only 34% strongly believed that they are getting paid at par with the industry and 28% said they are not encouraged to take risk at work.
It is still a very positive feeling by Indian employees. Peer relations and organization culture are the areas employees are most satisfied about. The total agreement is obtained by adding the "Strongly agree" and "somewhat agree" responses
Attrition Down
While the Indian employees have become more confident and are demanding more salaries, the average attrition rate of the industry has, in fact, gone down by a percentage point. It currently hovers at around 14%, unlike 15% last year. The main reason for Indian employees leaving the company are: overseas opportunity and growth opportunity. Subsequently, retention rates have improved by a percentage point and are currently at 82% for the industry at large.
Being Fair(er)
As India marches on with high growth and rapid development, so do Indian women. Over the last many years, the percentage of Indian women in companies has been steadily rising. In 2007 it was 23.7% (from the companies surveyed). It has grown from 14.5% in 2004 to 19.7% in 2005 and 23.6% in 2006. A growth of 0.1% point is nothing much to cheer about though, there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
The number of people who strongly agreed that the company is sensitive to its women employees has dropped over the years from 66% in 2004 to 64% in 2006, to 63.32% in 2007. It could also be due to the fact that a lot of women employees in the workforce were able to voice their concerns this year.
Summing up, its obvious that Indian service companies are facing stiff competition from non-Indian service firms. The paradigms of the games have changed. Companies like Wipro and Infosys need to gear themselves against the turning tide. The war for the Indian employee is on, and at the moment the adaptive non-Indian firms seem to have an upper hand.
Much water has flown since Nilekani made the assertion about a flat world. He was indeed right, the playing field had been leveled, but one doubts if he counted on the fact that non-Indian firms could also use it to their advantage.
A flat world is certainly not a safe world.
Shashwat DC
Interview: Vinod Dham (Father of the Pentium)
*************************
Not physics, but economics limits Moore's Law'
‘Pentium is dead’ screamed the headline. It had a rather ominous ring to it. For over ten years, Pentium (standing for fifth, penta = five) and ‘Intel Inside’ were symbolic of computational power or rather man’s technological prowess.
The name Pentium stood for trust, people were ready to pay hideous sums of money just for the latest version. And with the launch of every newer version, the previous one met a vain end. Thus, Pentium II killed I; III killed II; and IV killed III. So, it was but natural, to expect Intel to launch a Pentium V, after all it had been over five years since the launch of Pentium IV.
But, that was not to be. Paul Ottelini, CEO, Intel, deemed otherwise. The company last month launched Intel Dual Core brand of processors, signaling the end of the trusted Pentium.
Circa 1975, Vinod Dham, a graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, arrived in Cincinnati on a scholarship, he had a few dollars in pockets but was high on ambitions. After completing his MS, Dham joined NCR and shortly thereafter he was at Intel.
Beginning at the lower rungs, Dham quickly scaled up the ladder and in January 1990 was made in charge of the 586 (later renamed as Pentium) development program. It was due to this, he earned the sobriquet, Father of the Pentium.
Yet, there is more to Dham than Pentium. At the height of his fame in 1995, he quit Intel and joined a startup named Nexgen, which was acquired by AMD. He was briefly at AMD, before the entrepreneurial bug hit again and he joined another startup Silicon Spice. Broadcom acquired the company and Dham moved on.
Currently, he is donning the cap of a venture capitalist; he is the cofounder of New Path Ventures. He has invested in a host of new ventures. In an exhaustive interaction with Shashwat Chaturvedi from CyberMedia News, Dham spoke at length about his views on the latest trends in the semiconductor industry, the roadmap for India and of course, on the death of Pentium. Excerpts:
Your take on the story, Pentium is dead.
I do not know in which context this was said, for 15 years we were trying to improve on the performance of ever-faster processor, if the story spoke about the end of that idea, then they are right about that.
From 8086 to Pentium IV, Intel was always striving for more and more processing power. In the eighties and through the nineties, due to the limitation of the processors, things like surfing on the Internet, or working on the spreadsheet were quite an onerous activity. The only solution was a processor that could do all this and more at a faster speed. But in the last few years, the balance had been achieved. The software that ran the CPU and the processor were finally evenly matched. Thus the imbalance that was fuelling the race for ever-faster processor is over. Pentium was a representative of that idea, that notion. In a way, you could say that Pentium is no more.
Your views on the latest Intel Dual Core processor. Have they got it right with two cores against one?
The idea is not necessarily two against one, the objective is to provide higher performance but with lower power consumption. This requirement has its roots in the laptops, where battery life is a major concern. But now mobile machines are driving this initiative.
Take the case of a cell phone. Normally, most of us charge the battery in the night before and then the whole of next day we do not bother about it. No need to tag along extra battery or charger, and things like that. That’s a good sign of mobility. Even desktops need to adhere to this criterion. With the global energy crisis, power consumption is a big issue and electricity is a part of it. Currently, desktop machines consume too much power. Especially, when you put up a data center like a server farm, the amount of electricity consumed is mind-boggling. We could not afford to continue in this vein.
One of the solution was to keep the performance the same by using multiple cores, each one cooler than the big heavy core. By stringing these cores together, one can get higher performance, at lower power. Dual Core is the first step in that direction. In future, you would multiple cores and more of them. It is the beginning, probably the best solution that one could have.
Does that mean that the focus shifts to power and performance takes a backseat?
Indeed, the focus has shifted to power and as I said earlier mobility is the key driver. Power is an important issue for laptops and more so for the server, for things like data center, grid computing. The next decade, in semiconductor terms, belongs to power, the last two were dedicated to performance.
What about the famed rivalry between AMD and Intel? Who has got it right?
It is not a question about who has got it right, or who has it wrong. AMD has a big leg up on Intel, both in terms of introduction of solution in the market, as well as creating a multi-core product ahead of Intel. Finally, Intel seems to be catching up. But I feel somehow, Intel’s solution isn’t the most elegant one today. Though I am sure, with time they will modify it, refine it and get it right.
Is the semiconductor industry becoming too consumer centric?
The semi-conductor market has evolved over the last four decades or so and has run through its course. Were we to plot a graph, we would be at what one traditionally refers to as the bit curve. First there is the innovation, followed by adoption and then saturation. I think we are at the top of the bit curve, a saturated market, where the cost of semiconductor is very cheap and the performance required is no longer an issue.
Semiconductor has become an integral part of our everyday existence; it is present in cameras, cell phones, DVD players, and others. Every aspect of home is getting the full benefit of this semiconductor revolution and the main beneficiaries are the consumers. Companies have become conscious of this demand, and the industry is re-structuring itself right now.
In the past, you had spoken quite vociferously about the telecom processor, what is the latest on that?
Back in the nineties, I had realized that the race for higher and higher performance would come to an end. Connectivity would be the key in the future. The idea was to stay connected on high-speed bandwidth. But, with Internet becoming more pervasive, there was a slowing in the flow of information. In that context, I had coined the word telecom processor to put the discussion, that we need a chip that allows us to have that connectivity, in center stage. At Silicon Spice, we had created a prototype of the telecom processor that enabled Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and even allowed multiple VOIP conversations. The idea has now taken off in a big way, globally.
What about the race to Moores Law (according to which the transistor density of integrated circuits doubles every 18 months)?
I think that Moores Law is reaching a point where it is a getting more limited by economics rather than by physics. Doubling the density is getting very complicated by the day and it will take lot more effort and much more expense to reach the same point, every time. Thus very few companies would be able to reach the same point (doubling the capacity). The primary reason for reaching that point was to get higher density, which translated in lower cost. This was the driving force for most of the microprocessor industry to for last 20 years. But now affordability will be a big constraint, thus doubling the density will not be the main objective anymore.
There has been a lot of debate on the road India should take, should we go for manufacturing or design?
India is a great destination for chip design. Silicon Spice, a company I funded back in 2002, is a testimonial to that. I think there is absolutely no reason why Indian engineers who have been doing so well in software, should not move into the new space. India could easily extend its software expertise to chip design.
But as far as manufacturing is concerned, one has to be very careful. There has to be in-depth analysis on the course of action to be taken. For instance, what is the real competitive cost that India can offer over the Chinese manufacturers? How can Indian players compete in against these well-entrenched companies? Before we invest billions of dollars in the country, one has to make a partnership with potential customers so facilities are not idle.
It is like buying a Jumbo 707 and not getting the permission to fly that plane, it does no body any good. One might take the high ground of owning a big plane but you will be losing millions everyday. Hence, I caution everyone against having a fab in India, one has to careful about how to go about such an enterprise.
But then India is losing out to even smaller countries, for instance Intel chose Vietnam over us?
My gut tells me that Intel would have very much liked to do this plant in India. It was in reality an assembling and packaging plant, not exactly a fab. But it was the perfect way to start in India. India should have been very firm on the commitment. But for some reasons the Government of India was not willing to offer the same concessions that Vietnam or prior to that the Chinese and Malaysian governments have offered to Intel. At the end, it is all about business and Intel chose the location that gave them the highest returns. According to me, it was India’s loss.
Indian government should have been more accommodative to Intel because not only would this plant have got more jobs but also the technology. Sadly, the Government of India was not willing to go to the extent where other governments are willing to go, in order to bring these business companies in to the country
What is the latest on you avatar as a venture capitalist?
At the start of my VC days, I had focused on hardware companies, builders of systems, semi-conductors and embedded software, etc. I had invested in companies like Nevis Networks, and others.
Going forward, I am doing a new fund for Indo-US ventures, for which we will be addressing the market in terms of projects in the mobility spaced and things surrounding service infrastructure, healthcare and other areas
A word on Indian innovation and Indians, at large.
Indians are doing an outstanding job, across the board. I am proud of people like Ram Krishnamurthy (at Intel) and others for the wonderful work they have done.
I think it is going to become more prominent then it has been because in 1975, when I came here there were very few Indians who were given the opportunity to lead and work on these kind of programs at big and high profile companies but now a host of Indians across that are doing more.
Feature: CSR by IT companies in India
There is much difference between charity and social responsibility. If one were to gloss over the Indian history, almost all prominent thinkers have emphasised social responsibility, referring to it as 'Dharma'. So there was the Raja's dharma towards his population, the population's (jan) dharma towards the land and so on. Sadly, the concept of Dharma seems to have fallen out of favor for Indian corporates, like any other capitalist entity their sole focus seems to be in amassing wealth. The little that they do, they do it as a favor.
Take the case of Indian IT, not many companies have a CSR policy so as to state, and even those that do, have it just in writing. Most of the companies are having small itsy-bitsy projects on education, etc. There is the famous case of a multinational that adopted a village and made a lot of hue and cry about it, and next year it even took away the computers that it had installed.
The good thing is that it is the MNC's itself, who have brought the concept of CSR in India. And Indian companies need to learn from them. The notable exception will always be the TATAs. Today, every Indian citizen takes the name of the company with immense respect, only because of the amazing work done by the company. And to think of it, they were doing it for over a century, when the concept of CSR wasn't even born. So, to be honest, Tatas have been the only ones who have lived by the Dharma, the rest are more or less Adharmis (sounds a wee bit too harsh).
Anway, I had done an extensive article for the Dataquest, where I had examined CSR policies of various companies, namely IT and how they are faring. Here is the story....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The charitable side of Indian IT
There is one kind of charity common enough among us… It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes the ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick. I am far from decrying the noble spirit, which seeks to help a poor or suffering fellow being… [However] what advances a nation or a community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, but to lift up the best and the most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country.
-- Jamsetji Tata
Tata is more than a surname in India. Tatas are one of the largest industrial conglomerates in India, yet the fame of the group is not indebted to company’s economic prowess. The name symbolizes trust and ethicality, an intangible asset that has accumulated over a long period of time. Parents are known to have beatific smile when their wards join any Tata company. Not many years in the past, employees would put up with lower salaries, just because it happened to be a Tata company. The answers are not really that hard to find.
In the late nineteenth century, when Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata founded the group; corporate ethics or social responsibility were coins that were yet to be minted. Still, Tata took a wholly different approach. He talked about human resource management, giving back to the community and philanthropic initiatives. His successors followed suit and over time Tata Group transformed from being just another a corporate entity to a trusted brand name. Intel is another company that has been fairly active in India. “Under the umbrella of the Outreach program, Intel in India has been working to increase literacy, specifically in science, mathematics and computer literacy. We have invested substantial efforts and money in CSR projects in India. Our main focus has been in the K-12 (children up to 12 years). We have different projects running, like Intel Teach, wherein we have a fairly comprehensive training program for teachers to learn computers. We have trained around 6,00,000 teachers in 14 states in India,” says Timothy McGuill, Asia Pacific Region PA (India Public Affairs), Intel.
IBM too has initiated a host of CSR projects in India mainly targeted at increasing computer literacy among the children. “IBM’s philosophy is not just to get involved in community but also to stay involved in order to bridge the digital divide that exists in the society. Hence, most of our corporate community relation initiatives are ongoing campaigns, designed to impart education to lesser-privileged children across age groups through technology. IBM’s Community initiatives – internationally and in India – focus on education and children,” says Jalaja Pillai, manager (Corporate Community Relations), IBM India.
It is fairly obvious that the CSR in India is still linked to individuals, so Narayana K Murthy is a driving force behind Infosys Foundation, while Azim Premji is the inspiring light behind Wipro’s philanthropic arm. Corporates have to yet to truly awaken to the underlying economic benefits that can accrue from CSR.
By involving employees, companies achieve two things; it results in better employee morale as it gives the worker a sense of belonging towards the company. Secondly these employees turn into brand ambassadors for the company and spread the word around. A beaming employee is worth more than a full-page advert.
There are also some unique and interesting projects taken up by companies. For instance Sapient India’s MD Soumya Banerjee had auctioned to slave a day to any employee. Eventually, the silent auction went for Rs. 35,000 that was donated to charitable causes.
This brings us to the essential question, is CSR just another branding exercise, a way to create a favorable impression among the stakeholders and public at large? That was a view that was prevalent a few years back, but gradually that is changing as well. Many corporates now understand the need for CSR and are pretty serious about it as well. While HR dept is often entrusted with the task to carry out CSR projects. A few companies have gone ahead and established a small team to look into such activities.
Yet some challenges persist, as Mcguill from Intel says, “currently the CSR activities are happening in lot isolation. These dots need to be connected in someway.” For instance, he talks of an occurrence, where Intel and a competition were funding a computer literacy program in the same school itself. “There is a lot of overlap that could be avoided and needs to be avoided,” he says.
The government also needs to be more aware of CSR and needs to implement policies and strategies that promote it. Not just from the regulatory point-of-view but general welfare, there could be incentives like tax benefits for companies that are rated highly on CSR quotient. Companies could also look at reporting their CSR spend in the annual reports according to international benchmarks like, ILO Conventions, UN Millennium Development Goals, etc.
All in all, the seeds have been sown and the saplings are taking root.
Is Wikipedia Altruistic?
It was first time my name was published in the Time Magazine. The magazine has a section, wherein readers are invited to send their question for one of the invited guests. I had a question for Jimmy Wales (in fact I have quite a few still). Of all the hundreds that Time recieved, mine was selected, and answered by Wales .
To be honest, none of us could have imagined that Wikipedia would be the success that it turned out to be. Millions of people across the globe contributing and correcting each other, it is truly representative of what the Web purports to be. But I often do wonder, as to what is the purpose behind so many individuals to contribute and correct anonymously. In this materialistic world, it is hard to imagine such a venture. And this is the reason why I feel that probably Rousseau was right, man is indeed a noble animal..corrupted by the ills of society; the noble savage, so as to say.
Coming back to the article. I really admire Jimbo's (as Wales is popularly known) work and have had the good fortune of interacting with him at a personal level for my own publication. Also, It is a great feeling to see your name in Time, something that can hardly be described. And I have a strong belief that there would be a lot many more times one would get to see my name in that hallowed magazine. This is just the beginning :)
(http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1601491,00.html)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 questions for Jimmy Wales
What drives people to contribute to Wikipedia? Altruism?—Shashwat Chaturvedi, Mumbai, India
No. It's realizing that doing intellectual things socially is a lot of fun—it makes sense. We don't plan on paying people, either, to contribute. People don't ask, "Gosh, why are all these people playing basketball for fun? Some people get paid a lot of money to do that."
