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THE
JOBS
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THE HEAT
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FUN WAYS TO STAY
COOL THIS SUMMER
AQUA ZUMBA
INSTRUCTOR, VIJAYA
WHY EMPLOYMENT IS
A WORKSHOP
BECOMING ALARMINGLY
SCARCE DESPITE
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RAKESH THAKORE OF
BRAND ABRAHAM &
THAKORE (A&T)
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FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
W
e often hear about India’s “demographic dividend” being one of our
www.indiatoday.in strongest assets. Sixty-five per cent of the population is below 35 years
of age, making us a youthful, energetic developing economy that can
Editor-in-Chief: Aroon Purie leverage this power in a fast-changing international marketplace. At the same
Group Chief Executive Officer: Ashish Bagga
Group Editorial Director: Raj Chengappa
time, however, one million Indians enter the job market every month. These
Deputy Editors: Prachi Bhuchar, Damayanti Datta, Kunal Pradhan, young aspirants are brimming with hope. Unfortunately, the growth in jobs is
S. Sahaya Ranjit, Sandeep Unnithan
MUMBAI: M.G. Arun simply not being able to keep pace with the rising number of job seekers.
Senior Editors: Uday Mahurkar CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly In 2010, eight key labour-intensive sectors—textiles, leather, metals,
HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon
Associate Editors: Kaushik Deka, Shweta Punj automobiles, gems & jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom/powerloom—
JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar MUMBAI: Suhani Singh PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava
Assistant Editors: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai
had added 1.1 million new jobs. There has been a steady decline since then,
Correspondent: BEIJING: Ananth Krishnan with more than 1.5 million new jobs lost in the last five years in these sectors.
Photo Department: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),
Chandradeep Kumar, Yasbant Negi, Rajwant Rawat, M. Zhazo Even in 2015, when there was a spike as 5 lakh new jobs were added in com-
AHMEDABAD: Shailesh Raval KOLKATA: Subir Halder
MUMBAI: Mandar Deodhar parison to 3 lakh in the previous year, it was still half of the peak figure. The
Photo Researchers: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), slide continues in fiscal 2016 with only 91,000 new jobs created in the first half.
Shubhrojit Brahma, Satish Kaushik
Infographics and Illustrations: Saurabh Singh (Chief of Graphics) Weak industrial growth, a struggling agriculture sector, cost rationalisa-
Art Department: Jyoti K. Singh (Art Director), Vikas Verma
Production Department: Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production),
tions, falling rural demand, a global slowdown, and increasing mechanisation
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma are taking a toll. Although the economy is growing at 7.5 per cent and some
Group Business Head : Manoj Sharma companies are becoming more productive and profitable, we seem to be wit-
Associate Publisher: Anil Fernandes (Impact)
nessing a ‘jobless growth’ that does not bode well for the future. Sectors such
IMPACT TEAM
Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West) as manufacturing, which the Narendra Modi government was
General Managers: Arun Singh, Mayur Rastogi (North),
Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai) hoping would stimulate the job market, are not as labour-
Deputy General Manager: Kaushiky Chakraborty (East)
intensive as they once were. D.K. Joshi, the chief economist of
Sales and Operations: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales) the ratings and research firm Crisil, points out that the econ-
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations)
Manish Kumar Srivastava, Regional Sales Manager (North) omy is generating “less jobs per unit of GDP”. In manufactur-
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (West)
Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South) ing, if 11 people were needed to generate Rs 1 million worth
of industrial GDP a decade ago, only six are needed today.
The Economic Survey 2015-16 further highlights that
of the 10.5 million new manufacturing jobs created in India OUR SEPTEMBER
2013 COVER
between 1989 and 2010, only 35 per cent were in the formal
sector. The government’s ‘Make in India’ push, therefore, may have come a
little late in the day. The organised sector makes up about 40 per cent of the
GDP but accounts for only 7 per cent of the jobs, according to data from the
labour ministry, while the informal sector is 60 per cent of the economy and
accounts for approximately 93 per cent of the jobs, a majority of them in agri-
culture. And, our low-productivity farm sector has an incalculable form of dis-
guised underemployment. One in three graduates in India is unemployed, and
estimates suggest that 25 per cent engineering graduates in India finish college
with the risk of not getting a job.
Volume XLI Number 18; For the week There is still hope from sectors such as financial services, financial technol-
April 26-May 2, 2016, published on every Friday
● Editorial Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex,
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● Regd. Office: K-9 Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001 Shweta Punj, looks at the job famine and examines its impact. We explore the
● Impact Offices: 1201, 12th Floor, Tower 2 A, One Indiabulls Centre, (Jupiter
Mills), S.B. Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai-400013; Phone: 66063355;
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reasons behind rising unemployment and ways to deal with the crisis.
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Several INDIA TODAY surveys have thrown up unemployment as a major
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2377058 ; Fax: 2377059 ● 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, Behind White House, the Indian economy flourish again. While the growth numbers have picked up,
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Fax: 26565293 ● Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout
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it is important that everything the government does translates into the creation
Printed and published by Ashish Kumar Bagga on behalf of of jobs. Our “demographic dividend” is dangerously close to becoming a demo-
Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) graphic disaster. No society or government should have millions of unemployed
and at A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District
Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught youth on its hands. A ticking bomb.
Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Aroon Purie.
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All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of
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(Aroon Purie)
MAY 2, 2016 ◆ INDIA TODAY 10

INSIDE
SPECIAL REPORT
COVER STORY
EMPLOYMENT 10 HEALTHCARE
42 Hard Head,
Soft Heart
WHERE
Healthcare for all is the dream of
heart surgeon Dr Devi Prasad
Shetty. Can he kindle the health
HAVE
revolution the country sorely needs?
THE JOBS
GONE
INVESTIGATION
FIREWORKS TRAGEDY
The Gods
Thousands of job losses, few new jobs, their

changing profile and our skill deficit are bad
24 have their
Bombs
A dual-use explosive substance
news for India’s employment scenario. favoured even in IEDs is suspect
in the Puttingal tragedy.
NATION 6 UPFRONT
BIHAR
8 GLASS HOUSE
Lalu ban 58 EYECATCHERS
30 gaya
Gentleman
Back in power after a decade on the
Cover by NILANJAN DAS
margins, Lalu Prasad Yadav is determined

Page: 66-67
not to repeat the mistakes of his past.
BIG STORY
PMO
SMART MONEY
20 The Modi
Helpline
33 Negotiating
Change
What do revised rules and rates mean for
With a tech push, the prime minister
revamps his office’s grievance redressal
units. Petitions are up, relief too is now
just a click away.
your investments?
02 INDIA TODAY u MAY 2, 2016

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MAIL
The Dirty Bomb

APRIL 18, 2016
Why we should be afraid, be very afraid of nuclear terror
True, collective effort is required to deal with the

threat of nuclear terror, but should we also not try
and understand why people become terrorists in the
first place? We need to tackle the root of the prob-
lem, everything else will only be short-term.
ANIMESH SHARMA , via e-mail
Material It is high time the countries

Discomfort Hagio of the world united and
The face of nuclear danger Graphics kept tabs on nations such
is a nuclear September 11 as North Korea, Iran and
or November 26 (The Dirty Apropos The Patriarch Libya which are major
Bomb). The likelihood of a Act Still Rules, the arti- shelters of nuclear smug-
single bomb exploding in a cle was completely gling and illegal proliferat-
city is greater today than at biased in favour of M. ion. The UN atomic
Karunanidhi. He was
the height of the Cold War. watchdog, IAEA, needs to
one of the worst chief
Companies that sell cata- take tough action against
ministers Tamil Nadu has ever seen. The Sarkaria Commission
strophic terrorism insur- these rogue countries.
went so far as to say that his corruption was “scientific” in its
ance exclude nuclear methods. All he cared for was the welfare of his family, not the peo-
SENTHIL SARAVANA, Mumbai
attacks from their policies. ple of the state. He’s also always been full of vitriol for his rivals and
Nuclear terrorism is still detractors, calling MGR “that Malayalee man from Kerala”, Indira India’s million-dollar
often treated as science fic- Gandhi a “Kashmir pappathi” (Brahmin woman from Kashmir), contribution to the nuclear
tion. Unfortunately, we live Kamaraj an “Andankakkai” or wild black crow, and The Hindu news- security fund and commit-
in a world of excess hazar- paper “the Mount Road Mahavishnu” . The people of Tamil Nadu ment to the three “gift
dous materials and abund- will never forgive him for his hypocrisy and the cheap gimmicks he baskets” for future coope-
ant technical knowhow, pulled on Marina Beach with his two-hour hunger strike to draw ration may buttress its
one in which terrorists the attention of the then central government—of which he was a pitch for entry into the nu-
have clearly stated their partner—to the genocide perpetrated on Sri Lankan Tamils. clear suppliers’ group. In
intentions of inflicting cata- H. NAGARAJAN, Paris its goal for ‘genuine’ global
strophic casualties. Once a cooperation on nuclear
terrorist group acquires a safety, however, it may be
100 pounds of highly-enr- arms race among Iran, ure to prevent the spread less lucky. The US, in spite
iched uranium, building an Saudi Arabia, Egypt and and use of nukes by terror- of being aware of our
elementary nuclear bomb Israel as well as between ists can only stem from a neighbour’s nuke pro-
no longer needs the mind Pakistan and India would failure of the will, not the gramme and dubious poli-
of an Oppenheimer. With be like playing Russian means. Having enjoyed cies on terror, has called
fissile material acquired roulette—dramatically in- seven decades without a on both India and Pakistan
from a nuke-armed state, creasing the likelihood of a nuclear incident, thanks to to be more responsible.
and using publicly availa- regional nuclear war. the strenuous efforts of J.S. ACHARYA, Hyderabad
ble documents and com- Nuclear terrorism can be courageous leaders, this
mercially obtainable items, prevented by pursuing the generation of worthies Unravelled Theory
terrorists can today easily following agenda: a com- must ask what excuse it A few things in your story
construct a dirty bomb that plete ban on HEU or pluto- will give its successors if it Man of Mystery intrigued
could see as much devasta- nium and nuclear bombs bequeaths to them a world me. Why did Shakti Singh’s
tion as a Hiroshima. A pos- would mean an end to nu- of nuclear anarchy. parents or he himself give
sible multi-party nuclear clear terrorism too. A fail- MANOJ GHOSH, Kolkata the place out on rent with-
04 INDIA TODAY ◆ MAY 2, 2016

FROM THE
MAIL FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ARCHIVES
W
out seeing the face of the e often hear theabout
team, India’s
such as “demographic
Johnson dividend”
What If Itbeing Happens one of toourYou
tenant? Why did they notwww.indiatoday.in strongest assets. Sixty-five
Charles, Lendl Simmons per cent of the population is below 35 years
Around the world, job loss is a
try to ascertain the ante- of age, making and Andreus a youthful,
Russell,energeticsaw developing
reality. Indians economy are waking that canup
cedents and
Editor-in-Chief: identity of the
Aroon Purie leverage this powertheir in a fast-changing
team over the international line. marketplace.
to this global truthAt now. the same
ascetic
Group Editorial living
Director:incognito?
Raj Chengappa
time, however, one When millionall Indians
seemed enter
lost the in job market Restructuringevery month.and mergers These
Although
Deputy theBhuchar,
Editors: Prachi baba’s belon-
Damayanti Datta, Kunal Pradhan, young aspirants are brimming
the final, with
Samuels hope.
first Unfortunately,
and the
acquisitions growth are in
a jobsofis
part
gings
M UMBAI suggest
: M.G. Arun he could be simply not being able
went to keep
about pace with
rebuilding the therising number
business of
today job seekers.
and have an
Subhash Chandra
Senior Editors: Uday Mahurkar C
Bose,
HANDIGARH
it
: Asit Jolly In 2010, eight key labour-intensive
innings in the company sectors—textiles,
of impact on employees,
leather, metals, and of-
H YDERABAD : Amarnath K. Menon
can’t
Associatebe established
Editors: Kaushik Deka, Shweta con- Punj automobiles, gems Dwayne & jewellery, Bravo.transport,
He stayed IT/BPO ten andwithout warning. Can an
handloom/powerloom—
employee prepare himself for
An Exercise
J : Rohit Parihar M : Suhani Singh P : Amitabh Srivastava
AIPUR
vincingly.
Assistant
UMBAI
Editors: Ardhendu
P : Aditi S. Pai
UNE
may
ATNA
had added 1.1 million
till new
the endjobs. of There
the has
match, been a steady decline since then,
this eventuality? Moresectors.
impor-
Photo Department: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),in Self-Defeat
make
Correspondent: a coherent
B
EIJING
argu-
: Ananth Krishnan with more than 1.5 million
but it was new jobs
Carlos lost
Brath- in the last five years in these
Even in 2015, whenwaite therewhose was a breathtaking
spike as 5 lakh new tantly,
jobs canwerehe foresee
added the lay-
in com-
ment,
Chandradeep butKumar, itYasbant
doesNegi, not pro-
Rajwant Rawat, M. Zhazo
Apropos of Bihar Goes
A : Shailesh Raval K : Subir Halder
parison to 3 lakh in the previous year, it was still off coming?
half of the Herefigure.
peak are some The of
vide any Deodharanswers. If the sixers in the final over,
HMEDABAD OLKATA
M UMBAI : Mandar Dry, chief minister Nitish the early signals you should
baba was indeed Netaji,
Photo Researchers: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), slide continues in fiscal with2016 the Calypsowith only Kings 91,000 new jobs created in the first half.
Shubhrojit Brahma, Satish Kaushik Kumar’s imposition of a be on the lookout for: your
why didandhe
Infographics not try
Illustrations: to con-
Saurabh Singh (Chief of Graphics) Weak industrialneeding growth,19 a struggling
runs to win, agriculture sector, cost rationalisa-
total ban on alcohol will company’s profits, sales,
tact his family members in tions, falling rural demand, which did a the
global trick.slowdown, and increasing
investments mechanisation
and, of course,
Production Department: Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production), serve only as a tempo-
the last
Naveen Gupta,40 Vijay years?
Sharma are taking a toll. Although Unfortunately the economy for them, is growingsignals at 7.5ofper a centcrunch.
cash and some Take
rary roadblock, and no
INDUBusiness SHANKAR, Varanasi companies are becoming
Samuels more was productive
not on and
strike. profitable, we
notice of any sudden seem tofluctua-
be wit-
Group Head : Manoj Sharma
one knows it better than
nessing a ‘jobless growth’ Few expected that does not bode welltion
Brathwaite for thein thefuture.
stock Sectors
prices. Often such
IMPACT TEAM the CM himself. Didn’t
Calypso Tunes as manufacturing, which
to perform the Narendra
any miracles Modi government
the stock was
market gets wind of
Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West)
General Managers: Arun Singh, Mayur Rastogi (North), he have to revoke the
hoping would stimulate against theBen job market,
Stokes, are of
one not asbad labour-
times first. Watch for ex-
No one gave the West Ind-
Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai)
Prohibition Act the last
intensive as they once thewere.
leading D.K. Joshi, the chief
all-rounders in economist of
its of key managers. Sudden
ies and
Sales much chance
Operations: D.V.S. Rama whenRao, Chiefthe General Manager time, compelled as he
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales) the ratings and research world firm
cricket. Crisil,
Yet, points
he pro- out that andthe quick
econ- resignations are
World
Vipin Bagga,T20 Deputybegan
General Manager (The Cal-
(Operations) was by revenue loss and
Manish Kumar Srivastava, Regional Sales Manager (North) omy is generating “less ceeded jobstoper finishunitthe of match bad news. Start meeting
GDP”. In manufactur-
ypsoGandhi, Conundrum). Actions mafia pressures? head-hunters
worth if you hear of
Rajeev Regional Sales Manager (West)
ing, if 11 people were needed to
with two balls remaining. generate Rs 1 million
speak louder than words,
Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South)
MANJULA PAL, New Delhi
personnel
of industrial GDP a Not decade since ago, onlySingh
Yuvraj six are needed
hit today. records being scru-
the team has given it back tinised
Prohibition has The notEconomic
suc- Survey
Stuart 2015-16
Broad forfurther six con- highlights thatand costs being re-
to critics who said the pla- viewed actively. OUR But nothing
SEPTEMBER
ceeded anywhere.of the 10.5 Now million new secutivemanufacturing
sixes in thejobs created in India
yers lacked brains, that to beat some planning 2013 COVER well in
between
Nitish wants to reinvent 1989 and 2010, only 35
inaugural World T-20 in per cent were in the formal
they were mere mercenar- advance. Get prepared men-
ies who held no allegiance the wheel.sector.By declaring The government’s 2007 has ‘Make onein India’ push, therefore,
witnessed may have come a
tally and financially for any
little
prohibition, he hopes to late in the day. The
such organised
clean hitting. sectorTo makes
top it up about
eventuality. 40Start
per cent
thinking of the
to the national team. For
GDP
win the support of gulli- but accounts for
all,only
the 7 per
Windies cent of
women the jobs, according
about basic to data
financial from needsthe
ultimately, this group of
labour
ble women voters. At the ministry, while
had, the informal
earlier in thesector
day, is 60 per cent
such as of the
housing economy
and chil- and
‘no-hopers’ stole the show
and the World T-20 trophy. same time,accounts he wantsfor toapproximately 93 per cent of the jobs,
won the corresponding a majority
dren’s education of them
muchin in agri-
ad-
culture.
build his election kitty And, our low-productivity
title for women. farm
The sector
West has an
vance. incalculable
Save for the form
rainy of dis-
day.
And with what style. No
guised
from the JD(U)’s share in underemployment. Indies One
have in
been threethe graduates Itin
is India
essential is unemployed,
for employees and
one is likely to forget soon
estimates suggest that 25 per
greatest entcent engineering
ertainers the graduates to have financial
in Indiastayingfinish college
their performances in the the millions the liquor
with the risk of not getting
cricketing a job.
world has ever power for at least six months.
last two games of the tour- smugglers and illicit
Volume XLI Number 18; For the week There is still hope from
seen. This sectors
revival such as financial
in their Without
services, suchfinancial
financial ability
technol-
nament.
April 26-MayUp against
2, 2016, published a stiff
on every Friday vendors will mint. an employee mayisbe pushed in
India Today Group Mediaplex, Whenever a political
ogy, and particularly e-commerce,
fortunes, at least which
in the is flush with funds and investing
target,
● Editorial Officecourtesy another
Living Media India Ltd.,
to make decisions which he of
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Care India Today Group,party needs logistics
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shortest Newofinnovations
format the are giving rise to new kinds
Virat
● Kohli
Subscriptions: special
For assistance in the
contact Customer A-61,
may regret later. Whatand do you
employment
money, it resorts to pro- opportunities,
game, is but
a it
very is important
welcome to embrace the change be
semis, they demonstrated
do when you are sacked? The
ready
hibition, as was the case for jobs that require
development. specialised One training
hopes and new skill sets.
they were not a one-man
Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200;
first thing is to mentally pre-
OurAndhra
cover story,they written willby Deputy this Editor
for- M.G.pare Arun and Associate Editor
team. in Haryana and carry

B-45, Even after the redo-
Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media India
yourself and your family.
●
Limited, Sector 57, Noida-201301 (UP)
Regd. Office: K-9 Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001
in the mid-’90s.Shweta Punj, looks at
ward the job
into famine
the longer and examines
for- its impact. We explore the
uImpact
btable Chris Gayle and Taking your family into confi-
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10 INDIA TODAY ◆ MAY 2, 2016 MAY 2, 2016 ◆ INDIA TODAY 50

UPFRONT RUCHIR JOSHI
GURUGROAN
L
et’s blame Bombay. It all goes back to the moment by an India that was so eager to engage with the world,
when the Shiv Sena decided to take a thriving in- with cosmopolitanism and international commerce.
ternational city—India’s only one at the time—and To also grab the converse side of the argument, these
re-brand it a provincial backwater. Had the citizens re- three names were what the major linguistic group of
acted adequately and organised protests against the each city called them: Tamilians said Chennai; Bengalis,
name change, things might have unfolded differently. Kolkata; Marathis and Gujaratis, Mumbai. Each group
Instead, we had a spate of name changes, first of some knew how to pronounce the name they had developed
of our major conurbations and then of the smaller met- and it was a privilege to be able to refer to the colonial
ros. These changes were brought about by different po- city with a name that marked you out as a particular
litical parties, but all carrying the same message: we, the kind of rooted, native citizen; in the name-change-
Local Ruling Party, are deeply of this soil and, as proof, khichdi everybody now gets to mangle the old names—
we will do away with the Anglicised name of our beloved Chennai often becomes ‘shenoy’ (especially if you’re
city. So the Mumbrand was copy-catted first by Chennai, Australian),‘Mumbai’ is now grossly mispronounced
then Kolkata, followed by Pune and Bengaluru. by 97 per cent of non-Marathi/Gujaratis, most other
It was all very hypocritical, not to mention cheaply Indians say ‘Mumbaai’—the ‘a’ being very short and
ethnicist and anti-historical. There was never a place impossible to render accurately in the Roman alpha-
called Mumbai—there were a few disconnected islands bet) and no one, absolutely non-bengali speaker can
where Mumba Mata may have been worshipped by get ‘Kolkata’ right (Kolkotta, Kolgotha, Kolkatha etc).
local fishing communities but it was the Portuguese Thirdly, each name change is also an attempted
who gave it the name Bom Bahia, which the British verbal ethnic cleansing, targeting the various Indians
turned into Bombay before suturing the islands togeth- who have long histories in these cities: people who have
er to form the city we know today. There was never always called Bombay-Mumbai ‘Bumbai’, Calcutta-
a Kolkata, there were three villages which the British Kolkata ‘Kalkattaa’, Madras-Chennai ‘Madras’ in vary-
took over—Sutanuti, Gobindopur and Kolikata, around ing lilts. What about the rights and sentiments of these
which they built their fort and town. Kolikata was mere- people? Would it not have been fairer and more sensible
ly the easiest of these to pronounce, so they called the to leave the original names in place?
place Calcutta. Likewise, Madras may have come from In the case of Gurgaon-Gudgawa, the bad faith is
Mundiraj, Madrasspattinam or Madhuras, but it was palpable, comparable to Mamata Banerjee ignoring the
the name chosen over Chennai by the British, who built serious needs of Calcutta and striping the town blue and
the place. white, as if the Haryana government has no greater pri-
All three—Madras, Calcutta and Bombay—are orities in Gurgaon and the state generally than pander-
colonial cities developed by the Raj and we do a dis- ing to its Hindutva votebank. The cost of the renaming
service to our history to pretend otherwise. A differ- is unconscionable, even if all the foreign MNCs head-
ent kind of revanchist nomenclaturism might apply quartered there are forced to pay for what they can’t
to Pune, Thiruvananthapuram pronounce. The only good thing
and Bengaluru. These places and Illustration by SAURABH SINGH
is that the jokes will abound
names pre-dated the British and (‘Gurgaon is now Gurugram?
needed to be reclaimed. As refer- Congrats to all contract suppliers
ence, we need to mimic China, who of stationery to Haryana govern-
took the easy-to-pronounce Peking ment’). The one response that
and turned it into a variation of a might even give CM Manohar Lal
French-sounding eggplant (though Khattar some pause for thought
the French, of course, called the is this checkmating gem from
place ‘Pekin’ pronounced vaguely astrologer Bejan Daruwalla:“the
like ‘pecan’ without the ‘n’). There earlier name had Jupiter on its
is some logic in amending tongue- side. Jupiter is the planet that
twisting Thiruvananthapuram, brings good luck, prosperity and
the proximity of Pune to ‘puny’ wealth. The new name also has
and ‘tune’, the not-safe-for-family stagnation planets, Rahu and
variations that have emerged from Ketu, on its side. There is no pos-
Bengaluru, especially if you speak itive vibe one gets from the new
north Indian patois—but there The cost of the renaming is name.”
really is no excuse for ‘Mumbai’, unconscionable, even if the foreign
‘Chennai’ and ‘Kolkata’. A line MNCs there are forced to pay for The author is a writer, columnist and
should have been drawn, especially what they can’t pronounce. film-maker based in Calcutta

NEWSFLICKS SPARK
ENOUGH
ALREADY!
Sponsors are feeling the cricket
overkill. And that’s good news for
kabaddi and football
SPORTS SPONSORSHIP FOR 2015 AND AS FAR AS INDIVIDUAL ...WHICH TRANSLATES

IN INDIA GREW TO SPORTS ARE CONCERNED... TO A GROWTH OF
2014 (`CR) 2015 (`CR) 300%
5,185.4 CR 464.7 91.6%

Cricket
529.5
59.5
Football
114
45 53.3%
Marathon
THAT’S A 69
GROWTH OF 35.6 32%
12.3%
25.3%
Tennis
47
13.9%
12
Kabaddi
48
FROM 2014 Kabaddi Football Marathon Tennis Others Cricket
178
Others
223
TOP 5 CATEGORYWISE EXPENDITURE TOP 5 CATEGORYWISE EXPENDITURE TOP 5 CATEGORYWISE EXPENDITURE

(TEAM SPONSORSHIPS) (TEAM SPONSORSHIPS) (TEAM SPONSORSHIPS)
INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE PRO KABADDI LEAGUE

Mobile handset 13.5%
FMCG 31.6%
Real estate 15.2% Real estate 13.8%
Telecom 11% Financial services 13.6% Financial services 10.5%
Consumer durables 10.6% Energy 9.4%
E-commerce 12.9% Others 34.8%
Real estate 9.7% FMCG 9.5% It seems advertisers
Apparel 6.8% are feeling the
Airlines 6.5%
cricket redundancy...
Others 48.5% Others 42.2% are you as well?
Source: ESP Properties-SportzPower report, GroupM Central Trading Group
VISUAL NEWS ON YOUR PHONE DOWNLOAD FROM OR SMS NF TO 52424

GLASS HOUSE by SANDEEP UNNITHAN
ONE MAN
TWO POSTS
T he BJP seems to have quietly buried
its ‘one man one post’ policy meant
to separate party and government. The
RSS famously invoked it in 2005 to oust
Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani as
CUP OF BJP president. On April 8, BJP president
SORROWS Amit Shah appointed minister of state
Vijay Sampla as president of Punjab
S o far, Bihar tipplers
took comfort in the
fact that they could
BJP, which dual role he will play at least
till the assembly elections. Assam BJP
chief Sarbanand Sonowal, meanwhile,
swing by neighbour-
has continued as Union minister of
ing Uttar Pradesh and
state for sports and youth affairs since
Jharkhand to beat the
November 2015. Union Health minister
prohibition blues in
J.P. Nadda is also member secretary of
their own state. They
the party’s central parliamentary board
clearly underestimated
while Union Minister Piyush Goyal is
chief minister Nitish
also party treasurer.
Kumar. Now that he Illustration by SAURABH SINGH
has become JD(U)
national president and
is being projected as RED CARPET
a pan-India, anti-BJP
leader, Nitish has said
he will campaign for
O n his visit to China last week, defence minister
Manohar Parrikar became one of the first foreign
officials to be given a tour of the expansive new headquar-
prohibition in UP and
ters of the newly formed Western Theatre Command,
Jharkhand too. He
PLA’s biggest military region. Parrikar’s predecessor A.K.
might well win over the
Antony had also hoped to visit the strategically important
women, but the tipplers
western region, but had to settle for a visit to a facility near
might decide to vote
Beijing in 2013, when ties were strained, shortly after a
with their feet.
three-week-long stand-off along the LAC.
FIRST AS TRAGEDY, THEN AS FARCE... CRUISER

K erala chief minister Oommen Chandy now has to
play mediator between warring IAS and IPS officers
CONTROL
after the Puttingal temple tragedy. Home secretary Nalini
Netto blamed the police and recommended action against
F ormer chief
minister B.S.
Yeddyurappa’s return
three key officials in Kollam. A selective briefing ensured
to Karnataka as the
her report to the government was leaked to the media.
head of BJP’s state unit has
DGP T.P. Senkumar blamed the district administration for
reunited him with his erstwhile cote-
not being involved in rescue and relief.
rie. Sugar baron and former indus-
tries minister Murugesh Nirani,
QUICK THINKER industrialist-turned-politician Katta
Subrahmanya Naidu and real estate
C hief ministership has taught Devendra Fadnavis

to think on his feet. Chief guest at a function to
commemorate B.R. Ambedkar birth anniversary, he
baron and former minister S.N.
Krishnaiah Shetty were among the
first to reach his residence when he
presented several awards on behalf of a TV channel landed in Bengaluru on April 17.
but forgot to bow before a photo of Ambedkar. He Nirani even gifted BSY a Rs 1 crore
had left the dais when someone pointed out the gaffe. Land Cruiser which ‘gift’ he has
Asking the organisers to quickly arrange two more had to return after the considerable
awards, he returned, as though after a short break. furore it created.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS CAPTAIN AMERICA
P arliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu is push-
ing for priority legislation to increase the number of seats in
the Telangana legislative assembly from 119 to 153 and the
I n a move aimed at
countering the
Aam Aadmi
Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly from 175 to 225. This is Party’s influ-
in keeping with the AP Reorganisation Act. A bill to the effect is ence on the
to be tabled in Parliament soon. The BJP hopes to emerge as a Punjabi dias-
major political power in one or both states in time for the 2019 pora, Punjab
assembly polls. Congress chief
Captain
Amarinder Singh will
ALMS AND A LEG embark on an 18-day tour
C hief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s govern- to Chicago, Los Angeles,

ment is spending Rs 1,855 per person a day in San Francisco, Toronto
ferrying Punjabis of all denominations to pilgrima- and Vancouver, starting
ges under the Mukhya Mantri Tirath Yatra Scheme. April 19. It may not all be
The cash-strapped state allocated Rs 46.5 crore smooth sailing for the
and followed it with another Rs 140 crore in the captain, though. NRI
current budget for the effort. But given how well Punjabis are likely to raise
people have taken to the freebie, officials say the some uncomfortable
money is likely to run out soon. questions, particularly his
clean chit to Jagdish
Tytler, who was allegedly
involved in the 1984
anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
FREE FOR ALL by Saurabh Singh
DELAYED AID
A ndhra Pradesh CM
N. Chandrababu
Naidu is peeved over
delays in central assis-
tance to his state. The BJP
central leadership has
commissioned reports
to assess the Naidu min-
istry’s performance and
whether funds released
to the state under the AP
Reorganisation Act are
being diverted elsewhere.
AP’s public debt already
accounts for 27.88 per
cent of the GSDP, over
the 25 per cent danger
BILL POSTERS... Some messages that didn’t go down well in north India mark.
Dehradun: Varanasi: Poster Kanpur: Posters put up by

Anonymous post- depicting Uttar Pradesh as the BJP party unit show
ers showing BJP ‘Draupadi’ being disrobed PM Modi, BJP president
president Amit by the Kauravas—the BSP, Amit Shah, while declaring
Shah buying rebel Congress, SP and AIMIM that “to live in India, you
Congress MLAs leaders. Keshav Maurya is have to say Bharat Mata
shown as goats Lord Krishna. ki Jai”
With ANANTH KRISHNAN, JEEMON JACOB, SANTOSH KUMAR, AMITABH SRIVASTAVA, ARAVIND GOWDA,
KIRAN TARE, KAUSHIK DEKA, ASIT JOLLY AND AMARNATH MENON

NEW JOBS COVER STORY EMPLOYMENT
WHERE
2010
1,100,000
ARE THE
JOBS? NEW JOBS
2015
500,000
WHY IS AN ECONOMY APPARENTLY

ON THE UPSWING NOT BEING ABLE TO
GENERATE ENOUGH NEW JOBS?
WELCOME TO JOBLESS GROWTH
By Shweta Punj and M.G. Arun
A
t 8 pm every day, 200 young technicians at
pathology giant Thyrocare Technologies begin
work at its automated clinical chemistry labora-
tory at Turbhe in Navi Mumbai. For the next 12
hours, they operate a range of state-of-the-art
diagnostic equipment, which can process up to
200,000 investigations a night for thyroid, kidney and liver
diseases, testing nearly 45,000 samples flown in from 1,300
collection centres in India. What would have taken several
days of investigation by at least 1,000 technicians a decade
ago is now being done by a workforce a fifth the size in less
than a day. “Many job-seekers are qualified for the job, but not
skilled,” says A. Velumani, the company’s CEO, who ensures
freshers are given specialised training. The new challenges
are exciting and even lighten the manual load, but that’s for
a lucky few. For the majority of jobseekers in the healthcare
segment, the prospects are grim, with little job security and
salaries roughly half what large diagnostic chains may offer.
Every month, a million Indians become age-eligible to
Photo imaging by BANDEEP SINGH

COVER STORY EMPLOYMENT
GETTY IMAGES
join the workforce, but the growth in
jobs has not kept pace with the ris-
ing number of aspirants. The result:
unemployment has been on the rise,
despite India supposedly being one of
the brighter spots in a slowing global
economy. Thirty-three-year-old Ratna
Shankar Choubey, a father of two, in
Bihar recently lost his job for resisting a
change from being a permanent to tem-
porary in the company. “Employment
creation will be one of our greatest chal-
lenges for the next decade,” says Jayant
Sinha, minister of state for finance.
India’s unemployment rate grew from
6.8 per cent in 2001 to 9.6 per cent in
2011, according to Census 2011 data.
THE BIG PICTURE

The situation has only worsened since,
thanks to weak industrial growth, a
struggling agriculture sector with wide-
spread drought, cost rationalisations
in several sectors and the knock-on
effect of a global slowdown. Also, tradi-
tionally labour-intensive industries are
beginning to increasingly mechanise
their operations. While it makes them
more productive and profitable, it also
shrinks job opportunities.
According to the labour ministry’s
27th Quarterly Employment Survey
of eight employment-intensive indus-
tries—textiles, leather, metals, auto-
mobiles, gems & jewellery, transport,
IT/BPO and handloom/powerloom)—
there were 43,000 job losses in the first
quarter of FY 2015-2016. The second
quarter was better, with 134,000 new
jobs, but even then the 91,000 net new
jobs created in the first half of FY 2015- AUTOMOBILES
16 look desultory (see The Job Crunch). INCREASED USE OF ROBOTS; WILL NEED 3.9 MN SKILLED WORKERS BY 2022
At their peak, these sectors had
added 1.1 million jobs in 2010. In the
following five years, however, 1.5 mil-
lion jobs were lost. FY 2014-15 saw a Aggarwal: “Contractualisation is a
spurt, with 500,000 new jobs added as universal phenomenon. The system
compared to 300,000 the year before, of production of goods and services is
but it was still half the peak figure. different. Value addition is happening
There have been no signs of recovery across the world and, depending on the
in FY 2016; in fact, there is a decline. circumstances, people decide where “EMPLOYMENT
One reason for the decline in to go. We are witnessing a decline in CREATION WILL BE ONE
jobs could be a reduction in contract growth across the world. To get jobs, OF OUR GREATEST
workers (nearly 70,000 of them were we need flexibility in hiring.” CHALLENGES FOR THE
retrenched in the first half of FY 2016,
compared to 161,000 additions in
Employment in export units, reeling
under shrunken global demand, also
NEXT DECADE”
the first half of FY 2015). Says labour saw a sharp decline. There were only —Jayant Sinha
and employment secretary Shankar 5,000 job additions in the first half of MoS, Finance

FY 2016 compared with 271,000 in the “NEW JOB CREATION IS POOR
corresponding period of FY 2015. In the
automobile sector, for instance, there
BECAUSE THE INVESTMENT CYCLE
were 23,000 job losses in export units HAS NOT KICKSTARTED ”
compared to the 26,000 job additions —Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, HCC
in the other seven labour-intensive sec-
tors in the second quarter of FY 2016.
DOWNSIZING PAIN
Large manufacturers are trimming
operations, throwing many jobs into
jeopardy. Nokia, locked in a tax dis-
pute with Indian authorities, shut
down its handset-making factory in
Chennai in November 2014, rendering
8,000 workers jobless. For Microsoft,
the new owner of the Nokia handset
brand, making smartphones in China
and Vietnam was cheaper. Meanwhile,
GETTY IMAGES
some MNCs in the financial sector have
also recently exited India, after finding
the domestic competition tougher than
they had bargained for. Following on
the heels of Goldman Sachs and Nom-
ura, JP Morgan Asset Management of IT, ITES
the US exited its onshore India-based NASSCOM SAYS SOFTWARE START-UPS WILL CREATE 800,000 JOBS BY 2017
mutual funds business, selling out to
Edelweiss Asset Management, the sev-
enth foreign-sponsored fund house to two-year-old Mumbai-based food chief economic advisor with the $40
exit the Indian MF business in the past ordering software start-up, is still in billion Aditya Birla Group. “Moreover,
three years. Cement major Lafarge is dire straits, even after it fired hundreds. this growth is capital-intensive, not
also planning an exit, after selling its 11 Zomato, yet another food tech company, labour-intensive.” D.K. Shrivastava,
mt business here. Hardly a surprise as laid off 300 employees, or 10 per cent of policy advisor at consulting firm EY,
the global cement industry is beset by its workforce, last year as the business explains, “Whatever growth there is
overcapacity and weak demand. went through a squeeze. does not seem to be translating into
“We’ve only been downsizing in the jobs. Either the growth is in sectors
last few years, especially in infrastruc- GROWTH WITHOUT JOBS that are not employment-intensive, or
ture,” says Sunil Kanoria, president, Many wonder why an economy suppos- overall growth is overstated.”
Assocham, and also vice-chairman, edly growing at a rate of over 7 per cent This year’s Budget had specific
SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. “The is not creating enough jobs. Economists provisions to expand productive emp-
financial situation is so bad, companies say this is because more work is now loyment, while also giving a push to
are struggling to get more resources.” being done with fewer employees. certain sectors of the rural economy
Avantha Group firm Crompton “The economy is generating less jobs and infrastructure that would create
Greaves is reportedly divesting its con- per unit of GDP,” says D.K. Joshi, chief jobs. The move to encourage small
sumer business for Rs 2,800 crore. economist at ratings and research firm and medium enterprises to hire more
A.M. Naik, chairman, Larsen & Toubro Crisil. Illustratively, in manufacturing, workers while the state pitches in
(L&T), has gone on record saying the if 11 people were needed to execute a with provident fund contributions,
engineering and construction giant piece of work that generated Rs 1 mil- and the emphasis on roads and other
will exit all businesses with revenues lion worth of industrial GDP a decade infrastructure are all good measures.
under Rs 1,000 crore, even if it means ago, today only six are needed. Joshi’s However, it will take a lot—particu-
closing some without finding buyers. verdict: “The economy has become less larly significantly increased invest-
The $35 billion Essar Group is reported labour-absorbent.” ments by both private business and
to be in talks to sell part of its refinery Other corporate analysts offer sim- the state—before real benefits appear.
business as well as a portion of its ports ilarly sobering opinions. “India’s 7.5 As things stand, private investments
business to pare its steep debt. per cent growth is based on the gross have been static, and with the govern-
Even some celebrated start-ups, value added methodology, which is ment firm on its fiscal consolidation
touted as the next big thing, have found being debated, and the growth could be targets, public spending too is some-
themselves in a tight corner. TinyOwl, a closer to 5 per cent,” says Ajit Ranade, what constrained.

EMPLOYMENT IN THE
COVER STORY EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC SECTOR
In million
TOTAL 17.5
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
THE BREAK-UP 2.5

STATE GOVERNMENT
7.2
ORGANISED VERSUS
UNORGANISED
In million TOP 5 INDUSTRIES
MANUFACTURING
28 1.0
(organised)
FINANCE, INSURANCE,
REAL ESTATE ETC.
1.4
437 MINING AND QUARRYING
(unorganised)
1.1
TRANSPORT, STORAGE
AND COMMUNICATION
Data for 2009-10

3.1
Source: National Sample Survey
Organisation COMMUNITY, SOCIAL
Graphic not to scale
AND PERSONAL SERVICES
9.1
FY 10
11,00,000
FY 11
900,000
FY 12
800,000
THE JOB
FY 15
500,000
FY 13
450,000
FY 14
300,000
NEW JOBS ADDED* FY 16 (H1)

91,000
Source: Citi Research, Labour Bureau, Economic Survey 2012-13;

National Sample Survey Organisation, 2009-10
FY: Financial Year, H1: First Half
*In eight labour-intensive sectors
EMPLOYMENT IN THE
PRIVATE SECTOR
In million
TOTAL 11.4
REASONS FOR
TOP 5 INDUSTRIES THE FALL
1
MANUFACTURING
Increased automation
5.4 of operations
2
FINANCE, INSURANCE,
REAL ESTATE Lack of ease in
1.7 hiring and firing
(pending labour
AGRICULTURE, HUNTING
reforms) has
discouraged industry
0.9 to hire more
WHOLESALE AND
RETAIL TRADE
0.5
COMMUNITY, SOCIAL AND
3 High interest rates
and excess capacity
have hurt expansion
PERSONAL SERVICES plans
2.4
CRUNCH
4
Falling exports for
over a year due to the
global slowdown have
hurt export-led, labour-
intensive sectors
5 India’s growth model

is more capital-
intensive and less
labour-intensive
6
Drought-like
conditions for two
consecutive years
have shrunk
rural demand
Graphic by NILANJAN DAS

DANESH JASSAWALA
HEALTHCARE
JOBS HERE WILL EMERGE IN ULTRA-EARLY DIAGNOSIS, SENIOR CARE AND TREATMENT, ARTIFICIAL FUNCTIONAL DEVICES AND ORGANS
Ajit Gulabchand, chairman of the in the supposedly high-growth period of the population—the much talked
$650 million Hindustan Construction of 2004-2010 compared with over 60 about ‘demographic dividend’.
Company in Mumbai, laments: “New million between 1999 and 2004. The The government’s Make in India
job creation is poor because the invest- BJP, in its election campaign, highlight- jamboree held in Mumbai this February
ment cycle has not kickstarted. We are ed the previous government’s failure to saw investment commitments of Rs 15
in a slow economy and the global slow- create jobs, reiterating that while the lakh crore from Indian and overseas
down is not helping.” The government UPA could create only about 1.5 mill- investors, but those projects are still
could incentivise job creation by giving ion jobs a year on average in the 10 largely on paper. The programme aims
infrastructure a push, finding a way to years it was in power, the earlier NDA to increase the share of manufacturing
lower interest rates and improve ease regime had created over 10 million a in GDP from the current 16 per cent to
of doing business, he says. In his assess- year. Accordingly, one promise the BJP 25 per cent by 2022, and create 100 mil-
ment, “the economy will take 2-3 years made in the run-up to the 2014 election lion additional jobs by then. But experts
to get into the fast mode of growth.” was that it would create 10 million jobs say this may not be an opportune time
Others blame higher levels of auto- a year, leveraging the power of youth for a manufacturing-led model of the
mation for the job squeeze. “The growth below 35, who comprise 65 per cent sort that created 64 million jobs in China
rate in jobs has distinctly slowed down between 2011 and 2016. “Creating
with significant improvements in auto- manufacturing jobs will be tough with
mation and productivity,” says Rajeev the advent of robotics,” says Ranade.
Dubey, group president, HR & Corporate
Services, of the $17 billion Mahindra MANUFACTURING BLUES
& Mahindra. CII president Naushad Currently, the manufacturing sec-
Forbes attributes the job squeeze to tor has an overall employment share
the slow pace of labour reforms. “It of 12-13 per cent. While this share
has dissuaded companies from creat- “SLOW LABOUR has been growing, even if gradually,
ing formal employment, and incentiv- REFORM HAS in the past decade, the number of
ised investments in automation.” DISSUADED COMPA- workers per factory has been drop-
The India Exclusion Report 2013- ping in the past 3-4 decades due to
14 by the Delhi-based Centre for Equity
NIES FROM CREATING increased outsourcing. Moreover,
Studies, an autonomous research and FORMAL EMPLOYMENT” the growth has not been consistent
social justice advocacy institution, —Naushad Forbes across the country and is primarily
says only 27 million jobs were added President, CII in mid-sized factories and through

ON HIRE GROUND
informal employment.
In the infrastructure and manufac-
turing sector, getting good talent at the
Pundits foretell the emergence of a ‘gig economy’
leadership level, especially to handle
T
profit and loss responsibilities with req- he world is changing faster than major sectors such as manufacturing,
uisite commercial skills, is not an easy we think. Could we have imagi- core (which would include coal, natural
task, says Yogi Sriram, vice-president, ned a world even three years gas, electricity), ITeS, IT, BFSI, the hiring
corporate HR, L&T. What the country ago where Indians would be buying sentiment looks positive, with employ-
requires, he says, is youth oriented to groceries on their cell phones, and ers across sectors expecting an aver-
working on the shop floor. The ‘dignity not only in the metros but even in age increase of about 14.5 per cent in
of labour’ remains an exotic concept smaller towns which are now the hiring in 2016. Though lower than last
in India. “Shuffling papers is seen as focus areas for e-commerce firms? year, it is a positive sign.
more dignified as compared to hold- Or a scenario where a company would Sectors such as retail, e-commerce,
ing a torque wrench,” he observes. The actively seek a social media manager? BFSI, pharmaceuticals, telecom and
manufacturing sector has been losing Or a time when bulging wallets would other manufacturing (jewellery and
people to the services sector, which is be replaced by sleek digital ones? silverware), the survey says, are lead-
seen as more glamorous, and better- Or the fact that Tesla Motors, the ing the way, with an increase of over 20
paid. It’s also much easier to switch jobs company that jumpstarted the 21st per cent in hiring numbers, followed by
and gain international exposure here. century electric car industry, is now BPOs, KPOs, ITeS firms and companies
fighting over technology and design in the core sector.
THE SERVICES STORY with Apple, the company that has rein- The survey also found that the
Yet, there are some areas that still vented and conquered every segment composition of permanent and con-
stand out when it comes to job cre- it has ventured into? tractual employees is changing. With
ation, notably the financial services Technology is changing the way increasing focus on cost and time
and the financial technology sectors.
For example, ever since the RBI grant-
ed licences to 10 new small banks and
11 payment banks in 2015, employ-
ment opportunities have been grow-
ing. The traditional banks have been
opening new branches and hiring per-
sonnel to augment their services in
the face of intense competition from
the new players. Similarly, in financial
technologies, the entry of outfits such
as PayTM that combine technology
with financial services is also giving a
new impetus to job creation.
The other upbeat sector is e-com-
merce, which is flush with funds and
investing heavily in logistics and last- ALTERNATIVE FUTURES
mile delivery. “Broadly, supply chain, NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL SHAPE NEW JOBS
logistics and distribution-related jobs
do well when there is economic growth
and a pick-up in manufacturing,” says we live and work and will determine the efficiency, there has been an increase
E. Balaji, president, People Services, at jobs of tomorrow. There will be jobs that in the hiring of contractual labour. At
TVS Logistics. “Logistics services grow will be redundant even as soon as two the moment, however, more than 40
at almost three times the rate of GDP to three years from now, such as travel per cent of the employers have 0-1 per
growth, globally speaking.” agents, copywriters, librarians, personal cent of their workforce as contractual
assistants, banking clerks etc. As fur- employees. Over 30 per cent of the
JOBS BELOW THE RADAR? ther automation sets in and companies respondents said more than 10 per cent
Some skilling and data experts such strive towards great efficiency, we will of their workforce was contract labour.
as Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal see the onset of what HR pundits are Tackling India’s job scarcity will
Global Education Services, and Dilip calling a ‘gig economy’, where a person never be easy for any government. But
Chenoy, former CEO, National Skill will do two or more jobs depending on an understanding of its dynamics is
Development Corporation, argue that the skills and requirements. essential to prepare the country for
the data does not fully capture the According to a CII hiring intent sur- future challenges.
movement in the economy. “When vey, covering 150 employers across 12 by Shweta Punj

you talk of highest coal production or the Flipkarts, Myntras and Snapdeals analytics and cloud are offering new
power generation or maximum roads of the world, and these jobs are not avenues of growth across verticals for
built... these have not been achieved picked up by the numbers. We are also IT companies. Artificial Intelligence
without creating jobs,” says Chenoy. focusing on traditional economy jobs (AI) is another upcoming area.
Also, in India, the informal sector like fisheries, embroidery etc.” Positions likely to be demand in the
accounts for the larger chunk of jobs The labour department is cogni- coming years include data scien-
created. India has only about 30 mil- sant of the limitation of its data and is tists, retail planners, product manag-
lion jobs in the organised sector and working towards expanding the scope ers and digital marketers. In certain
nearly 440 million in the unorganised of the survey. From July this year, it will instances, the advent of new technol-
sector. The Economic Survey 2015-16 include 10,000 establishments, up from ogy will require more specialised skill
highlights this conundrum: of the 10.5 the current 2,000-2,500 and expand to sets. For example, interactive voice
million new manufacturing jobs cre- 18 sectors from the current eight. response (IVR) can easily manage a
ated in India between 1989 and 2010, Start-ups, the increased focus on BPO unit of 500 professionals now,
only 3.7 million, or about 35 per cent, medium and small enterprises and but we will still need technology pro-
were in the formal sector, where prop- greater self-employment too do not get fessionals to ensure correct delivery of
er job contracts are signed between accounted for in the data. According information through IVR.
employers and staff, salaries are to IT industry body Nasscom, 3-4 IT The other interesting trend is the
fixed and contributions to Employees’ start-ups are born every day in India. shift of ITeS jobs to Tier-2, Tier-3 cit-
Provident Fund guaranteed under In calendar 2015, 1,200 start-ups were ies and rural areas—a trend that may
government labour laws. launched in the tech space alone, a 40 owe to simple cost effectiveness, but
The total number of establish- per cent rise from 2014. India has the which will require higher emphasis
ments, according to the Survey, increa- third highest number of start-ups in on interpersonal and communication
sed by 4.2 million between 1989 and the world at 4,200, behind the US and skills. The earlier euphoria over call
2010, but the formal sector accounted Britain, but ahead of China and Israel. centre jobs has all but vanished. Here,
for just 1.2 per cent of this growth. The Nasscom estimates software start-ups India seems to be losing out to coun-
year 2000 marks an inflection point, will create 800,000 jobs by 2017. tries like the Philippines and Malaysia
when informal sector growth plateaus which have staff trained in non-voice
and employment falls even as formal CHANGING IT WINDS analytics and accounting work.
sector employment picks up. However, Meanwhile, the traditional IT sector
the Survey states the informal sector is experiencing big change that will HOPE ON THE HORIZON
could be credited with creating jobs impact job profiles and opportunities. Nonetheless, there are those who still
and keeping unemployment low. Automation, self-service portals, cost- see a glimmer of hope on the employ-
Industry leaders agree with this sharing are all dampeners on job cre- ment horizon. “India is among the few
hypothesis. “Economists and policy- ation in the ITeS segment. countries in the world that has a rea-
makers seem to underestimate the Customers are seeking more pro- son to be optimistic,” says N.S. Rajan,
contributions of the informal sector ductivity and value addition. While member, Group Executive Council, and
in creating employment,” says R.C. this will require a higher level of Group Chief Human Resources Officer
Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki, skill, it will not result in more new job at the $100 billion Tata Group. “This
India’s largest carmaker. The com- opportunities. The model of compa- could be due to the favourable struc-
pany has not been making any sub- nies going to engineering colleges to tural growth story or the presence of a
stantial additions to its workforce, of recruit staff is changing. Disruptive huge demographic dividend or the sta-
late. However, when it rolls out 1.5 technologies, such as social, mobility, bility that is provided by democracy.”
million cars a year, it also creates any- However, even these assets can only
where between 800,000 and a million be redeemed if the requisite skills and
jobs, Bhargava estimates. These jobs capabilities and the right kinds of jobs
are in driver training, repairs, spare are available, he concedes.
parts shops, insurance, dealerships For all the turbulence, the
etc. “This applies to a whole lot of significance of new economy enter-
other industries as well, where infor- prises should not be underestimated.
mal jobs are created in the thousands These could be in education, health-
in the downstream sector,” he adds. “WE HAVE ONLY BEEN care, e-commerce and hospitality.
Government data too does not DOWNSIZING. THE More than half the companies that
capture this trend in informal jobs. LOSSES IN THE LAST raised money through IPOs in the
“Organised sector employment cap- equity markets in 2015-16 were from
tures only one side of it,” says Jayant
FEW YEARS HAVE these sectors. As Sebi chairman U.K.
Sinha. “The entrepreneurial sector BEEN MASSIVE Sinha told INDIA TODAY in December
is very poorly tracked. Many of the —Sunil Kanoria 2015, “This gives a signal that there
jobs in the economy are created by President, Assocham is a shift happening in economic

activity—new entrepreneurial energy “THERE’LL ALWAYS BE A TRADE-OFF BE-
is betting on new areas. The tradition-
al sectors such as power and steel have
TWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND THE WORK-
not raised much in fiscal 2016.” FORCE PERFORMING THE TASK”
This new economy—which is more —Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MoS, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
digital and technology driven and is
slowly but definitely changing how we
live—from technology interventions
in rural areas (the ‘JAM’ trinity of Jan
Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile
connectivity for targeted subsidies) to
buying groceries online. India is on
the cusp of a second-generation digi-
tal revolution, which will spread across
the economic spectrum, from agricul-
ture, rural, healthcare, education,
retail, other services, manufacturing,
and create a new set of jobs and render
some existing ones obsolete.
The government, on its part, seems
to have grasped this change: new
‘thrust areas’—such as Digital India,
Skill India, StartUP India and Make in
India—all focus on creating an ecosys-
tem that will generate jobs.
Pankaj Bansal, co-founder and
CEO, Peoplestrong, an HR consultancy
AGRICULTURE
firm, talks about the rise of a ‘gig econ- NEARLY HALF INDIA’S FARM LABOUR WILL HAVE TO MOVE TO OTHER SECTORS
omy’—one in which people will work
on a skill- and need-based basis, doing
two or more jobs in a year. HR consul-
tants anticipate a digital divide in the need to create skills portable across United States. However, getting to 20
country where the digital economy will borders. “Green sectors such as solar per cent is possible and that would
demand very different skills, though energy and wind, besides defence and account for another 100 million jobs.
some real economy vocations such as aerospace industry, construction, edu- “The good news is, policy moves are
plumbing or carpentry will survive. cation and healthcare will be the new accelerating the five labour market
India’s skill development minister, job creators,” he says. Job profiles too transitions that are journeys to higher
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, hopes to address will change. Mechanical engineers productivity—farm to non-farm, rural
the challenge through Industrial Trai- who can build robots will be in demand. to urban, subsistence self-employment
ning Institutes, but he also believes one “Look at the transformation in pass- to decent wage employment, informal
needs to focus on the bottom of the pyra- port kendras. Too much manual work to formal, and school to work,” says
mid, as “the volumes there are higher”. leads to inefficiencies. Digitisation is Sabharwal. Reforms in the labour mar-
“We need to understand that skill dev- the solution,” says Ramadorai. ket and a greater emphasis on labour-
elopment in the country is being car- It’s evident India has missed the intensive industries such as textiles are
ried out by 22 ministries through more manufacturing export opportunity needed to boost formal employment
than 70 schemes,” Rudy told INDIA TODAY. China had in the 1970s. Job creation and sustain urban demand growth.
While saying his ministry’s mandate is will be a consequence of increased “The skilling challenge is across the
not to create jobs, he agrees there are domestic consumption, which requires board,” he adds. Nearly 50 per cent
skills that have either been lost or are macroeconomic stability (low inflation of India’s labour force on farms
in decline because of the introduction and interest rates), reduced regula- needs to transition to non-farm jobs,
of new technologies. “However, we tory hassles, further decentralisation but often does not have the skills.
need to understand there will always and an aggressive skilling campaign. “A million young men and women
be a trade-off between technology and Teamlease’s Manish Sabharwal will join the labour force every month
the workforce previously performing doesn’t believe India will ever get to a for the next 20 years, and many of
that task,” he says. situation like China’s where 34 per cent them will have degrees but will be
S. Ramadorai, chairman, National of its labour force will be involved in unemployable,” he says.
Skills Development Council and advi- manufacturing, up from the current 11 Not a pretty picture. ■
sor to the prime minister, speaks of the per cent, equivalent to post-industrial with Amitabh Srivastava

BIG STORY PMO
THE MODI
noticed that around 20 members of
the public grievance wing were sitting
in Rail Bhavan due to lack of space in
South Block. Over the next few months,
the process to free up office space to
HELPLINE
integrate the team began, while an
execution plan was laid out for smoo-
ther functioning and quick results.
Almost 200,000 files were checked,
and about 60 per cent of them—some
dating back to the 1960s—were dispo-
sed of. The total waste, including
paperwork and unwanted furniture,
With a tech push, the prime minister revamps was six truckloads. The 1,800 sq ft that
his office’s grievance redressal units. Petitions was freed up allowed the public griev-
ance wing to finally sit under one roof.
are up, relief too is now just a click away. Then a swim lane flowchart was
used to map each petition from arrival
By Uday Mahurkar this: the public grievance wing is now to disposal. This system, which segre-
W
only a few mouse-clicks away, connec- gates various processes into differ-
hile opinions may dif- ted to petitioners directly through both ent lanes, revealed how long it took
fer on the NDA govern- the internet and text messaging. for a petition to move at every stage,
ment’s performance on The PMO is also dealing with peti- and how this could be speeded up. An
the economy and social tions much faster—with a 50-member online petition platform was then cre-
reforms front, one area team filing and handling each petition ated on the PM’s official website, which
where there has been a sea change is electronically, and responding within was integrated with the centralised
the citadel of power in South Block, the two days on SMS and through online public grievance redressal and moni-
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). status updates. Applicants can now toring system (CPGRAMS), an online
Led by tech-savvy Prime Minister track their petitions, lodge reminders, cell administered by the department
Narendra Modi’s online push, the off- and even see the action report gener- of administrative reforms and public
ice is now more in touch with the com- ated by the departments concerned. grievances (DARPG). This became part
mon man, and more efficiently dealing This substantive makeover is of the central mail management unit
with personal petitions, than ever directly linked to a management rede- (CMMU) in the PMO’s online redesign
before. The transformation is perhaps sign led by Modi and his officials soon that ensured all such e-mails landed at
best reflected in the surge in represen- after assuming office in May 2014. the same place and could be monitored
tations to the PMO’s public grievance “The transformation of the grievance directly by the officers concerned.
wing. Against an average of about one redressal system is rooted in the new These changes reduced reaction
lakh petitions per year when the UPA management style of the PMO through time considerably. In the past, petitions
was in power, it’s now up to nearly 6 process re-engineering,” says Anurag received on e-mails on multiple forums
lakh petitions annually over the last Jain, a joint secretary in the PMO. had to be downloaded and processed
two years. The principal reason behind Soon after coming to power, Modi offline in physical files. This resulted in

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI AND PRINCIPAL SECRETARY NRIPENDRA MISRA MEET
MEMBERS OF THE PMO ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF HIS GOVERNMENT, MAY 26, 2015
GETTING UP TO SPEED
1.7 lakh PMO Extra space of Processing

files examined; integrated with 1,800 sq ft time reduced
1.14 lakh CPGRAMS, created in to a maximum
identified for the government’s PMO, 45 new of two days
weeding online grievance workstations in spite of
portal, for faster put up 7-fold rise
delivery in petitions
Graphic by SAURABH SINGH
THEN NOW
Number of petitions Over 1 lakh Nearly 6 lakh

▼
Processing time 4-7 days 1-2 days

▼
E-mails sent to PMO were printed and Petitions can be filed online by
▼
How to reach the PMO

treated as physical petitions logging in to PMO website
Tracking No online tracking was available Online tracking can be done

▼

BIG STORY PMO
CLOCKWISE: OFFICERS AT WORK; THE DISUSED FURNITURE THAT WAS CLEARED TO MAKE ROOM
K. Kasturi
39, House help, Chennai
In March 2015, she went to a bank
to open a Jan Dhan account, but
the bank opened a regular savings
account instead. Later, when she
requested the bank to rectify the
mistake, she was told the term for
Jan Dhan bank accounts was over.
On January 22, she filed an online
complaint at the PMO portal and
within two days, she got
her Jan Dhan account.
“This is real empowerment CHANDRADEEP KUMAR
of the poor and signifies TODAY, ALL PETITIONS

good governance.”
Rachit Shyam, Kasturi’s employer
REACHING THE PMO
CAN BE TRACKED IN
REAL TIME. DISPOSAL
RATE OF PETITIONS IS
OVER 80 PER CENT NOW.
massive paperwork and made follow- for the Group D (helper/peon) exam
up difficult. Today, all petitions can be in the Railways in 2013. Though he
Roshan Lal tracked in real time. Ambuj Sharma,
an under-secretary at the PMO, says
passed the tests, in his final verifica-
tion he was rejected wrongly on health
82, retired Havaldar, Delhi disposal rate is over 80 per cent now. grounds. He petitioned the PMO on
In March 2014, when he moved from Another advantage of this method December 10, 2015. Within a fortni-
Sonepat to Delhi to live with his son, is that the PMO is able to analyse the ght, his papers were re-verified and
he could not get the pension depart- nature of complaints received over Kumar joined service in January 2016.
ment to move his account for over a time, which helps in making policy Apart from the reformed pub-
year. On August 21, 2015, he wrote to decisions. For example, there was a lic grievance system, another big
the PMO and by September rule in the Jan Dhan Yojana that if an change is the management of the
1, 2015, his pension with arrears ATM card-holder didn’t use the facility PM’s National Relief Fund, where the
was credited to his account. in the first 45 days of account opening, sanction of funds for applicants suf-
the health insurance facility under fering from poor health and in need
the scheme would not be available to of urgent treatment has been made
“My problem was solved
them. After a series of complaints, the much faster. In fact, a personal letter
within two weeks. This is period was extended to 90 days. from the PM now goes to the applicant
a true example of honest Shashi Kumar, a 28-year-old hel- when the fund is sanctioned, and a
and sincere governance. per in the Railways workshop at prior intimation reaches him through
Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, tells the an automated text message. For a PM
We are indebted to the story of how the PMO came to his who believes in “optimum results”,
Modi regime.” aid. A resident of a small village in that’s saying a lot.
Saharanpur district, he had appeared Follow the writer on Twitter @udaymahurkar

INVESTIGATION FIREWORKS TRAGEDY
WAITING TO
EXPLODE
The unregulated use of a dangerous explosive is the root cause of the Puttingal tragedy

KERALA’S POWDER TRAIL
Potassium Fireworks asaans
Nearly 1.5 tonnes
chlorate is banned (master craftsmen) The firecracker
of potassium
from fireworks as use it to boost dis- industry in
chlorate was used
it is a dangerous plays, with spectacular Kerala is worth
at the Puttingal
substance; only pyrotechnics. 253 Rs 4,000 crore
festival, where the
matchstick places of worship, both and is the
blasts killed 114
industries are Christian and Hindu, largest in the
people and injured
permitted to stage elaborate fire- country
353 others
import it works displays
By Jeemon Jacob investigators say. The rest were killed
I
by the shockwave of the blast or
nvestigations by the Kerala police crushed by the lethal debris—concrete
into the April 9 Puttingal tem- beams and building material.
ple tragedy that killed 114 per- “Had potassium chlorate not been
sons have zeroed in on the use used, we would not have seen so many
of a banned explosive, potassium casualties,” says R. Venugopal, the
chlorate, as the prime reason for the Hyderabad-based deputy chief con-
magnitude of the tragedy. “The pyro- troller of explosives. In Puttingal, police
technic workers we arrested admitted investigations found that the asaans or
to using the chemical to enhance the ‘master craftsmen’, an honorific used
sound and colours of the firecrack- for pyrotechnics experts in Kerala,
ers,” S. Sreejith, Inspector General of purchased 1.2 tonne of the deadly
Police, Kerala Crime Branch, told INDIA potassium chlorate. Master craftsman
TODAY. The workers stockpiled nearly Krishnakutty of Paravoor, now absco-
one tonne of the white, volatile pow- nding, bought the chemical from Abdul
der in a godown on the premises of the Rasheed, 48, a Kollam-based dealer. His
500-year-old temple in Kollam district, competitor at the festival, Surendran,
with catastrophic consequences. was killed in the blast. Some 17 peo-
Over 350 people were injured in ple have been arrested since April 11
the blast which took place after a stray and police have recovered around 4
rocket from the display hit the godown tonne of potassium chlorate stored in
barely 15 metres from the temple yard. different godowns in Kollam district.
The highly volatile chemical stockpile Another stockpile of 800 kg was recov-
exploded, showering lethal shrap- ered from three cars parked at a near-
nel all over. In one instance killing a by temple. Surendran had kept it there
motorcyclist over a kilometre away. to avoid police scrutiny.
Only 11 people died of burn injuries, The police version on the use of
potassium chlorate was corroborated
by a probe team from the Petroleum and
Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO),
an organisation that controls and mon-
“IF A LOCAL FIREWORKS itors the use, storage and licensing of
CRAFTSMAN CAN explosives in India. Sudarshan Kamal,
COLLECT A TONNE OF chief controller of explosives, who vis-
ited the site, termed it a “gross violation
POTASSIUM CHLORATE, of explosives norms and safety stan-
TERROR GROUPS CAN dards”. His report to the Union minis-
SURELY USE LARGER try of commerce and industries and a
copy to the state government mentions
QUANTITIES TO CARRY the use of the banned chemical.
A MASTER CRAFTSMAN
OUT ATTACKS.” The findings of this investiga-
LINES UP HIS BIG BANG Senior police official tion, particularly the easy availabil-
CREATIONS AT A FESTIVAL ity of potassium chlorate, have now

INVESTIGATION FIREWORKS TRAGEDY
opened up a serious internal security ingredient for the safety match industry,
dimension. “If a local fireworks crafts- its use in fireworks was prohibited.
man can collect a tonne of potassium Kerala’s fireworks industry soon
chlorate, terror groups can surely use looked across the border, to Tamil
larger quantities to carry out attacks,” Nadu, for ways to circumvent the
says a senior police official. ban. The VO Chidambaranar Port
Such fears are not unfounded. In Trust in Thoothukudi, nearly 137 km
2013, after the US clamped down on north of Kanyakumari, is the gateway
the Afghan Taliban’s supplies of ammo- for nearly 80 per cent (nearly 8,000
nium nitrate, the organisation started tonnes) of potassium chlorate impor-
using potassium chlorate to fashion ted from China. All of it is accounted
lethal improvised explosive devices for because it is imported under licence
(IEDs) to attack coalition troops. A by 36 importers, ostensibly for use in
third of Taliban IEDs were estimated the safety match industries in Kerala
to contain potassium chlorate sourced and Tamil Nadu. And here’s the catch:
from Pakistan’s safety match indus- a majority of the match industries in
tries. More recently, the chemical was both states are today defunct, over-
“THE MATCHSTICK allegedly used by the banned Students taken by the arrival of cheap cigarette
Islamic Movement of India to carry lighters. Their licences are, however,
FACTORIES DON’T USE out a blast which killed one person in used by fireworks industries to import
IT, SO THE POTASSIUM Bengaluru in December 2014. How the deadly substance. “The few match-
CHLORATE IMPORTS this chemical finds its way into Kerala stick factories still functioning now
is a lethal cocktail of illegality, lethargy, use potassium perchlorate, so the end
MUST BE GOING TO blatant violations of multiple govern- users must be the fireworks industry,”
THE FIREWORKS ment norms and corruption. admits Joe Villavarayar, a container
INDUSTRY” terminal operator in Thoothukudi.
JOE VILLAVARAYAR
THE POTASSIUM CHLORATE TRAIL The end use of the chemical is
It’s a week after the tragedy and Putt- not monitored. “After the chemical
Container terminal operator ingal temple has reopened to the pub- leaves an Indian port, it is not tracked.
lic. The village is also slowly limping Anybody can purchase it and use it as
back to its feet. The district administr- they wish,” admits a senior police offi-
ation has been providing villagers with cial. The chemical is trans-shipped to
drinking water as the blast has con- fireworks manufacturers in Kerala,
taminated the village wells. Around sometimes repacked as barium chlo-
700 people, witnesses to the tragedy, rate to hoodwink officials. Once the
have been given counselling and 15 of trucks carrying the explosive mate-
them psychiatric care. Five of the seri- rial enters Kerala, it simply vanishes.
ously injured remain critical. There is no mystery, however. “If you
To know why this lethal chemical total the volume of explosives blasted
that changed their lives is so easily during the festivals, you have your
“THE PUTTINGAL available, one has to understand the answer,” says T.R. Thomas, former
competitive ostentation at the heart chief controller of explosives. A four-
INCIDENT WAS A
of Kerala’s booming fireworks indus- hour display could consume between
GROSS VIOLATION try (worth Rs 4,000 crore annually). 4-6 tonne of explosives.
OF EXPLOSIVES What makes it unique is the patronage Kerala has a shockingly callous
NORMS AND SAFETY by an estimated 253 places of worship, approach towards the handling of
both Christian and Hindu, through the explosives. The collectors in all 14 dis-
STANDARDS” state’s festive season that begins in tricts issue around 2,500 licences under
SUDARSHAN KAMAL February and goes on until May. the Explosives Act every year to quarry
Chief controller of explosives Over the years, competition has operators and the firecracker industry.
become intense and the crackers have Violations of safety standards are
grown in size, easily outstripping the evident from documents that list the
15 kg limit a licensed pyrotechnician is names of valid licensees in the state.
allowed. As was the case in Puttingal, PESO issued just six licences to make
celebrations turned into illegal ‘fire- 497 kg of firecrackers for the year with-
works competitions’ between rival gro- in the state. Nearly all the giant rock-
ups. Potassium chlorate appeared on ets, now an essential part of fireworks
the scene a few years ago. A routine legal displays, are illegal. The religious

Graphic by SAURABH SINGH
FROM CHINA, TO KOLLAM How ‘Made in China’ potassium chlorate travels via
Tamil Nadu’s ports to Kerala’s cracker factories
4
Transhipped to
fireworks manufac-
turers in Kerala via
Kaliyikavaila check-
post and via Tenkashi
crossing points
TAMIL NADU
3 From Thoothukudi, the substance
is transported illegally in trucks to
KERALA
the fireworks industry in Madurai

and Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu
Fireworks manufacturers in Sivakasi
do not use the potassium chlorate
MADURAI
because there is a lot of scanning,
screening and verification of the SIVAKASI
substances used in firecrackers
2
Shipped to godowns by importers in
trucks. One container shipment carries THOOTHUKUDI PORT
25 tonne of potassium chlorate
1
Nearly 36 per cent of India’s annual import, from China
around 8,000 tonne of potassium chlorate, lands
here. The powder is imported from China
overtones to the displays mean every- Kerala police set up a special cell to mafia which pays huge amounts to
one turns a blind eye to violations. Dr monitor sales of explosives in the state. political parties. Several politicians
Sebastian Paul, a former CPI(M) MP A circular sent to all district police and police officials are believed to be
and now a Kochi-based lawyer, puts chiefs instructed them to inspect explo- on their regular payroll.
this social menace in perspective, sives storehouses in their regions, verify Political pressure had mounted
“Kerala has only 762 liquor shops but documents and report back. The spec- after district police officials started
it has over 2,500 explosives licences.” ial cell was also asked to set up a data raiding premises and registering cases
bank with names of explosives licensees against offenders under the Explosives
A botched EXPLOSIVES REVIEW? and offences, if any, registered against Act. Former DGP Jacob Punnoose, the
In 2011, a task force headed by then them. But then the cell was quietly dis- original proponent of the special cell,
national security advisor (NSA) Shiv banded (without an order) and officers wants it to be revived. “There should
Shankar Menon made several recom- transferred out to other departments. be a system that monitors explosives,
mendations to address India’s internal A senior police official, who does not otherwise more such tragedies will
security challenges, one of them being want to be named, explains why. The happen,” he warns. Unfortunately,
controls on easily available commer- special cell’s activities had disturbed the boom of Kerala’s fireworks has
cial explosives. The same year, the the state’s politically-connected quarry drowned out such voices of reason. ■

PROFILE M.N. DINESH
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
OF A NEW KIND
Since his release from jail, this IPS officer has got back on the job with a vengeance
Cow Shelter, which had been running embarrass Vasundhara Raje”. Shah
By Rohit Parihar
a fodder scam with impunity for over and he were together in Sabarmati jail.
R
etired IPS officer D.G. Vanzara a decade. Dinesh arrested eight offi- Dinesh just laughs it off.
may blame “dirty politicians” cials on March 30 and 31. A fortnight His name is now invoked regu-
for the nine years he spent in earlier, it was another holy cow—the larly to put fear into officials asking
jail, but in Rajasthan, Dinesh Jaipur Development Authority—that for bribe. Several Facebook pages are
M.N., inspector general of police with Dinesh took on, arresting four of its dedicated to him—one has 29,000 fol-
the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), has officials openly demanding bribe at a lowers. Another says it Bollywood style:
decided to put the past firmly behind camp held to regularise land in Jaipur. “Dinesh MN, Real Singham.” His fear-
him. He is concentrating instead on It has been a long, personal battle lessness is perhaps his most redeem-
the future, and that lies in ensuring for Dinesh to get where he is today. ing feature but it has equally got Dinesh
Rajasthan is rid of corruption. On Detained in the 2005 Sohrabuddin into more than his fair share of trouble.
April 4, he arrested Bharat Bhushan Sheikh encounter case, his arrest and A mentor of sorts, Sudhir Pratap
Goyal, sub-divisional magistrate of incarceration went largely unnoticed Singh, additional director general,
Shahpura, located on the Delhi-Jaipur outside Rajasthan. All attention was CRPF, recalls him as “an excellent
highway, for accepting Rs 3.5 lakh as focused on Vanzara, who was consid- officer who was always keen to work
first instalment of a Rs 25 lakh bribe ered close to Prime Minister Narendra in public interest as probationer”. He
an entrepreneur was giving him to set Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister. cannot fathom how the man got him-
up a manufacturing unit for ayurvedic Dinesh was Udaipur SP when Sheikh self into “so much trouble”. Singh was
medicines. Goyal’s predecessor Gopal and his wife Kauser Bi were killed in SP, Jodhpur, when Dinesh trained with
Singh Shekhawat too was booked, for an encounter in Ahmedabad. him in the late ’90s. He had already
demanding Rs 3.8 lakh more after hav- Freed on bail in April 2014 beca- begun to emerge as a pro-people offi-
ing pocketed Rs 13 lakh earlier. use there had been no trial in the case cer, but soon his seniors, bureaucrats
Every day, Dinesh and his team get till then, Dinesh was given a non-police and ministers figured out he could be
information on hundreds of such cases appointment as director of the Rajasthan ruthless in enforcing the law. He came
of extortion, even though the govern- Small Industries Corporation. A year to be seen as an officer who could be
ment claims to have ensured transpar- later, he was asked to head the ACB, used in a crisis, dumped under politi-
ency through e-auctions. A day after an assignment he accepted readily and cal pressure and brought back for
Goyal’s arrest, it was excise inspec- proved worthy of when, three months troubleshooting. In 2000, for instance,
tor Puja Yadav’s turn. She was caught on, he arrested Ashok Singhvi, principal when he took on one of the biggest
accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from an secretary, mines, who was running an vernacular newspaper and TV groups
allottee who wanted to set up a liquor extortion racket with middleman Sanjay accused of cutting cables of rival TV
vend he had won rights for through Seth. His new innings have struck fear networks, he was shunted from Jaipur
an e-auction in Bhilwara. The team in the heart of the corrupt civil bureau- under political pressure and sent to the
recovered Rs 5 lakh and 19 bottles of cracy. It elicited the charge that “he is dacoit-infested Karauli district.
liquor smuggled from other states from Amit Shah’s man (in Rajasthan) out to There, Dinesh went on to cleanse
her residence. The next day, Dinesh the ravines of 10 major dacoit gangs,
arrested Ahmed, a middleman, and methodically hunting down outlaws
two officials of the Jaipur Municipal responsible for looting idols from the
Corporation for taking Rs 70,000 in Timangarh Fort, annoying the local
“I HAVE EMERGED
bribe to allow the construction of a politicians who patronised such crimi-
house in posh Malviya Nagar. STRONGER, MENTALLY nals. They accused him of not allowing
Dinesh has been making enough of AND PHYSICALLY,” dacoits to surrender. In 2001, Dinesh
an impact for the Rajasthan High Court had told INDIA TODAY: “I won’t allow a sur-
to take notice and enlist him to take says Dinesh, about his render with garlands. Let them walk
action against the state-run Hingoria seven years in prison. into a police station and do it.” At that

PURUSHOTTAM DIWAKAR NO HOLDS BARRED: M.N. DINESH, IGP, RAJASTHAN ACB
time, his friend and batchmate Biju Jat leader enough for him to pressurise Auschwitz inmate. At Mumbai’s Taloja
Joseph, SP of the adjoining Dholpur Vasundhara Raje to get him transfer- jail from 2012-14, Dinesh would climb
district, also a hotbed of dacoits, had red to a non-field posting. However, the 20-feet-high bars of his barrack 40
said: “He should be careful in taking in August 2004, he was again requisi- times in a go. At the Ahmedabad jail
away life even when law permits it.” tioned for riot control in Udaipur, his from 2007-12, he ran 5 km a day.
Kavita Srivastava, secretary of the request for relieving him for deputa- Dinesh still exercises relentlessly.
People’s Union for Civil Liberties, once tion to the Centre rejected. Udaipur Instead of guns, though, he now toys
impressed with Dinesh’s accessibility was to become his nemesis. with documents to trap the corrupt.
and responsiveness, turned against Seven years in jail have taken a toll, Says Jaipur lawyer R.A. Katta: “His
him when he killed dreaded dacoit but failed to break him. He attributes presence has made officials less bra-
Ram Singh Gurjar, responsible for 25 it to his “discipline and self-assess- zen in extorting bribes.” At his office
murders and 30 kidnappings, in Sawai ment”. “After the initial shock, I con- and modest official residence in Jaipur’s
Madhopur. In May 2003, he was pos- cluded that some things—like getting Gandhi Nagar, he meets many complai-
ted as SP, Jhunjhunu, to curb the liquor bail—were not in my control. I had nants. His colleagues, other civil ser-
mafia patronised by the local politi- to work on things that were, like my vants, are nervous. They shun him at
cians and to ensure peaceful conduct health, mental stability and physical social dos. It does not bother him. Seven
of assembly and Lok Sabha elections fitness.” His favourite companion in years in jail have taught Dinesh M.N.
He succeeded, but then went after a jail was Viktor Frankl Man’s Search how to turn solitude into an advantage.
gang of bookies. It infuriated a local for Meaning, the 1946 bestseller of the Follow the writer on Twitter @rohit0

NATION BIHAR
LALU
By Amitabh Srivastava
T
he group of a dozen Musahar
women, the lowest of the low
among the scheduled castes,
BAN GAYA
had travelled over 230 km
from Bairia block of West Champaran
district. Now they were here at Lalu
Prasad’s sprawling 10, Circular Road
residence in Patna, being ushered in
GENTLEMAN
for an audience with the Rashtriya
Janata Dal boss. But there’s little time
for pleasantries—the women unleash
a volley of demands: “We don’t have
land”; “We haven’t got a house under
Indira Awaas”; “Where are the job
Back in power after a decade on the margins, cards?”; “We want schools for our chil-
dren...please talk to collector sahib”.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is determined not to Seated on a rattan chair, Lalu tea-
repeat the mistakes of his past ses them for a while. “But why come to
me? This is an administrative issue. Go
LALU WITH SONS

TEJ PRATAP, CENTRE,
AND TEJASWI

to (chief minister) Nitish Kumar, he is the phone back and sums up the issues. from meeting the people? ...the people
the bada sahib, let him take a call,” he The officer is told to do everything he of Bihar have given us a huge man-
says in his thick Bhojpuri accent, (still can and submit a compliance report. date,” he says. Indeed, it has even had
unaffected by his decades in Patna). This is what Lalu does—injecting a sobering effect.
But the women are equal to the task. a sense of empowerment and belief in
“No, you are the bada sahib, we may people who call on him, that they will MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME
be illiterate, but we are not fools,” they get relief, that their work will be done. Having been on the political marg-
say, standing their ground. Though the BJP sees red in Lalu’s gro- ins for over a decade since the RJD’s
So a call is promptly placed to the wing interventions (Opposition leader drubbing in the 2005 assembly polls,
district magistrate. Lalu tells the IAS Prem Kumar says he’s “acting like a it’s only in November 2015 that Lalu
officer to listen to the women’s compla- super chief minister...someone who has managed to bounce back. Now
ints. The phone is then passed to one of has authority without any responsi- he’s the leader of the largest party in
them. “Hello, tum hamare yahan kyon bility”), the numbers visiting his home the mahagathbandhan led by JD(U)’s
nahin aati ho?” a woman in her 30s are surging. “Laluji bahut badal gaye Nitish Kumar, controlling 12 heavywei-
wants to know, having overcome her lagte hain (Lalu seems to have changed ght portfolios, including road construc-
initial struggle with the phone. “Arre, a lot), he does not scold anyone,” says tion, buildings, health and finance.
it is a male officer, tell him kyon nahi Ashok Kumar of Nawada, who visited But in this new phase of life, Lalu
aate ho,” Lalu intervenes, asking her the RJD boss to seek a farmer’s sub- has quickly discovered that though he
to correct the gender even as he rolls sidy. Lalu, as usual, is unperturbed may be the most popular politician in
around with laughter. He finally takes about the criticism. “Who can stop me Bihar, there is little recall of how he
“empowered the masses” when he
last ruled as chief minister 19 years
ago. Indeed, the fodder scam case that
THE TRIP METER forced him to step down in July 1997
has largely overshadowed his gover-
RJD at the hustings over the years
nance achievements in the eye of politi-
cal observers. Not much survives of his
ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS governance legacy either. There are
no portraits, no milestones, no plaques
264 293 left from that time. Even the chapter on
276 (124) 217
(167) 175 his life, ‘Mitti ke Gaurav,’ was deleted
(122) (75) (54) from the Class VIII Hindi book in 2007
168 101
(22) (80) when Nitish was ruling with the BJP.
Today, Lalu, already convicted in
one fodder scam case, perhaps sees
the latest mandate as the last oppor-
28.34%
23.45%
18.84%
25.07%
18.35%
25.61%
27.98%
tunity to cement his stature as a lead-

er of the masses. Almost a thousand
90 95 00 05 05 10 15 people come to meet him in Patna
19 19 20 20 eb 20 ct 20 20
F O every day. The willing listener in Lalu
refuses no one, even when a problem
Vote share, Seats Contested, figures in ( ) are seats won
is beyond his influence. Like when a
young man from Nalanda (Nitish’s
hometown) wanted help getting back
LOK SABHA ELECTIONS his wife who had eloped with some-
one. Lalu played patient listener, but
36
44 26 since sympathy itself is no solution,
(31) 36
(22) 38 (22) for good measure he also called the
(17) (7) cops to take up the man’s case.
27
The ‘super CM’ tag, then, is not
(4)
idle gossip. From questioning a sub-
inspector for branding an “innocent”
a Naxalite in Samastipur to taking a
20.46%
28.29%
26.58%
30.67%
31.88%
34.14%
health official in Saharsa to task for

missing medicines at a primary health
91 96 98 99 04 14 centre, Lalu is stopping at nothing, or
19 19 19 19 20 20
nobody, as he pulls up public officials—
Vote share, Seats Contested, figures in ( ) are seats won from the chief secretary to a police
SONU KISHAN
NATION BIHAR
ALL IN THE FAMILY

Between them, Lalu Yadav and progeny have a strangehold on Bihar politics
TEJASWI YADAV MISA BHARTI

Mild-mannered Tejaswi is a lot like his father. He Though unconfirmed reports suggested Misa
is Bihar’s youngest deputy chief minister. With his Bharti was peeved at being denied a berth in the
father anointing him as his political heir, many think Nitish cabinet, Lalu’s first-born is seen as a frontrunner
Lalu’s younger son is being prepped for Bihar’s top job for a Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar. The division of power in
after the next assembly polls. For good measure, Tejaswi the family seems to be clear, at least for now. While the two
has described Nitish Kumar as his political guru. Tejaswi’s sons are to remain in state politics, Misa may emerge as the
department has opened a bridge over the river Gandak that RJD’s face in Delhi.
reduced the distance between Bettiah and Gopalganj by 75
km. He has toured nine divisions for checks on quality of
work. Also responds to FB messages regarding work issues.
RABRI DEVI
Though Rabri Devi, 60, is still a member of the
Bihar legislative council, Lalu’s wife appears to
have semi retired from politics. Rabri, who was Bihar CM for
TEJ PRATAP YADAV 2,718 days (third-longest serving) after Lalu stepped down
Lalu Prasad’s elder son is an automobiles fan following a CBI chargesheet against him in a fodder scam
and is the virtual No. 3 in the Nitish government. case, did not contest the 2015 assembly polls. Rabri has
Known as much for his horse rides as for deputing oth- always been a doting mother and a devoted wife. When it
ers in the cabinet to answer assembly questions pertaining came to the crunch, she didn’t hesitate to disown her
to his department, Tej Pratap has made efforts to grow. He’s infamous rebel brothers, Sadhu and Subhash Yadav, who
credited with the crackdown on spurious medicines in Bihar. were once her favourites.
station clerk—to deliver his brand of people waiting to record everything lawmaker (incidentally, the son of
instant justice. Former Rajya Sabha you say or do. Be on your guard,” is RJD MP Taslimuddin). “Maa-bahan
member Shivanand Tewari says, the commandment. He has also ens- se battamiji karne wala par karya-
“Lalu always had excellent chem- ured that the duo, though entitled to vahi hona chahiye,” Lalu declared, in
istry with the people. But he’s prob- ministerial bungalows, stay put at the a complete departure from the past
ably more eager to deliver this time, family’s 10, Circular Road residence. when he used to maintain a studied
thanks to the massive mandate.” Trusted IAS officers Sudhir Kumar silence on such issues. Again, the RJD
and R.K. Mahajan, from Lalu’s days suspended its MLA, Rajballabh Yadav,
THE TASKMASTER at the Centre, now manage Tejaswi’s who is accused of raping a teenager.
When his two sons, Tejaswi and Tej roads department and Tej Pratap’s Meanwhile, with Nitish’s elevat-
Pratap, returned home after being health department respectively. ion as JD(U) chief being linked to his
sworn in as ministers on November Though his party has never been national ambitions, Lalu Prasad is
20, the first thing Lalu apparently told famous for upholding the rule of law, expected to help with his larger social
them was to sack all favour-seekers the RJD boss has been, of late, doing base. On the face of it, it sounds perf-
posing as friends. The first one to go everything to change that old ‘jungle ect, as Nitish’s national role will open
was a young man who had been work- raj’ perception. So when extortionists the ground for Lalu’s sons in Bihar. But
ing as Tej Pratap’s secretary. Many killed two engineers in Samastipur in will the Bihar CM’s national role come
others also got the sack. December, it was Lalu who was talk- in conflict with Lalu’s ambition for his
Lalu knows well that there are ing of stern action (which even turned sons? For now, the RJD boss is unwill-
many who hope his sons will create the into a war of words, alliance partner ing to look too far ahead, except to say
same problems his infamous brothers- JD(U) not taking kindly to being lec- that all socialist friends need to bury
in-law, Sadhu and Subhash Yadav, did tured on, of all things, law and order). their egos and join hands. “Bihar has
for the RJD in its 15-year rule. The In January, when a woman charged already shown a way to the country.
sons have been told to be prudent over JD(U) MLA Sarfaraz Alam of misbe- It’s high time all of us came together,”
expressing opinions or writing on gov- having with her, Lalu was again the that’s all he’s willing to commit to.
ernment files. “Remember, there are first to demand action against the Follow the writer on Twitter @Amitabh1975

Smart Money
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42 Hard Head,
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rate. However, one can
WHERE
request their bank to
Shetty.switch
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HAVE
revolution the country sorely needs?
HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU?
Under MCLR, if you
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April 1, 2016, and if your
bank cut rates on April 6,
GONE 2016, then you will get the

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SHUTTER STOCK
However, you will be
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he norm so far has cost of raising funds. MCLR to set at least five MCLR pricing and interest rates
been that banks is calculated on the basis of rates—overnight, one- On the downside, if
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24 have their
different this time, as a few longer tenures). culating their lending rate With RBI cutting repo
banks announced rate cuts The actual lending on the MCLR for a year rates on April 5, banks will
even before the RBI Thousands
had of jobislosses,
rate MCLR few
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announced its monetary andwhich
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banks willare bad
TO WHOM DOES IT APPLY? A dual-useto borrowers sooner or
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policy on April 5. This news
is for India’s
determineemployment scenario. The new formula applies
after factoring later
favoured even in IEDs is suspect
because of the marginal in their business strategy only to new loans, not toin the Puttingal tragedy.
cost of funds-based lending and the credit risk of the the entire loan book of the WHAT SHOULD ONE DO?
rate or MCLR, to which borrower bank MCLR rates are expected
NATION
all new loans, sanctioned The RBI has asked banks Existing borrowers will6 UPFRONT
to be lower than the
BIHAR
on or after April 1, 2016, existing base rates for one
8 GLASS HOUSE
will now be linked. It is a year. In a falling interest
Lalu ban 58 EYECATCHERS
welcome move as the new
XP E ERT VIEW
rate scenario, experts
30 gaya
interest rate calculation say, the MCLR
is expected to be more methodology will benefit
Gentleman
sensitive to policy changes. New bor- NILANJAN DAS
Only 1%Cover byborrowers as the reduction
Under the earlier base rowers should of bank bor- in repo rates will reflect in
Back in power after a decade on the
rate method, despite theis determined be aware that rowings are their interest rates
margins, Lalu Prasad Yadav
frequent
not rate
to repeat thecuts by the
mistakes of his past.
the inter- dependent However, in an
Page: 66-67
RBI, banks were unable to BIG

est STORY
rate and on repo, 99% ascending interest rate
tenure of the
PMOloan may is contributed by other
transmit the entire benefit scenario, the borrower will
change frequently in case borrowings. Operating
20
to borrowers. have to bear the pain of
SMART MONEY of an MCLR-based The Modi expenses of banks too
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home loan. remain the same.
HOW IS THE NEW FORMULA Helpline
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34 INDIA TODAY u MAY 2, 2016 MAY 2, 2016 ◆ INDIA TODAY 47

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CHANDRADEEP KUMAR
C
onfusion seems
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document that required
filling in details of foreign
travel and dormant back
accounts, it was renotified
after being pared down
to three pages. This year,
even though the forms
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here are some of the other
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tions, treasuries report NEW ITR FOR RICH TAX PAYERS to be declared Once you opt for this ser-
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the income declared or not. with respect to their ITR by Jinsy Mathew
Divakar Vijayasarathy, CEO, MeetUrPro account Follow the writer on Twitter @
It is an additional level jinsymathew

smart
money SMALL SAVINGS FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
W
e often hear about India’s “demographic dividend” interest rate regime
being one of our
www.indiatoday.in strongest assets. Sixty-five per cent of the population Individualsiscan belowbrace 35up years
of age, making us a youthful, energetic developing for more interest economy ratethat can
cuts
Editor-in-Chief: Aroon Purie leverage this power in a fast-changing international marketplace.
in the future At the same
Group Editorial Director: Raj Chengappa
time, however, one million Indians enter the job market every month.
The biggest concern These
is
Deputy Editors: Prachi Bhuchar, Damayanti Datta, Kunal Pradhan, young aspirants are brimming with hope. Unfortunately,
for senior the growth
citizens in
who jobs
relyis
M UMBAI : M.G. Arun simply not being able to keep pace with the rising number
solely on of job
interest seekers.
income
Senior Editors: Uday Mahurkar C HANDIGARH : Asit Jolly In 2010, eight key labour-intensive sectors—textiles, for meeting leather, their metals,
expenses
H YDERABAD : Amarnath K. Menon
Associate Editors: Kaushik Deka, Shweta Punj automobiles, gems & jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and Forhandloom/powerloom—
other individuals, all
J : Rohit Parihar M : Suhani Singh P : Amitabh Srivastava
AIPUR UMBAI
Assistant Editors: P : Aditi S. Pai

UNE
ATNA
had added 1.1 million new jobs. There has been aissteady not lost decline
yet. Atsince a time then,
Correspondent: B EIJING : Ananth Krishnan with more than 1.5 million new jobs lost in the lastwhen five years
consumer in these sectors.
inflation is
Photo Department: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),
Chandradeep Kumar, Yasbant Negi, Rajwant Rawat, M. Zhazo Even in 2015, when there was a spike as 5 lakh new at 5.2jobs per werecent, added in com-
PPF yields
A
M
HMEDABAD
UMBAI
: Shailesh Raval K
: Mandar Deodhar
OLKATA : Subir Halder
parison to 3 lakh in the previous year, it was still half 8.1 perof the peak
cent, figure. The
providing
Photo Researchers: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), slide continues in fiscal 2016 with only 91,000 new jobs
real created
return of 2.2in the
perfirst
cent,half.
Shubhrojit Brahma, Satish Kaushik
SHUTTER STOCK
Infographics and Illustrations: Saurabh Singh (Chief of Graphics) Weak industrial growth, a struggling agriculture whichsector, cost rationalisa-
is higher than return
Production Department: Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production),
tions, falling rural demand, a global slowdown, and increasing
provided by bank mechanisation
deposits.
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma are taking a toll. Although the economy is growing at 7.5 per cent and some
Group Business Head : Manoj Sharma companies are becoming more productive and profitable, WHAT TO DO? we seem to be wit-
nessing a ‘jobless growth’ that does not bode well for the future.
Retirees who are Sectors
not such
IMPACT TEAM
as manufacturing, which the Narendra Modi government financially was savvy and fall in
SURVIVING THE FALL

Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West)
General Managers: Arun Singh, Mayur Rastogi (North),
Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai) hoping would stimulate the job market, are not asthe labour-
10 per cent tax bracket
intensive as they once were. D.K. Joshi, the chief economist can continue of with tradi-
Sales and Operations: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager
the ratings and research firm Crisil, points out that the econ-
tional saving schemes
The Bagga,changes in(Operations)
interest ratesomy onissmall savings schemes,
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
Vipin Deputy General Manager
Manish Kumar Srivastava, Regional Sales Manager (North) generating “less jobs per unit of GDP”. In manufactur- But individuals in the
and what they
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (West)
Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South) signify for your ing, investment
if 11 people portfolio
were needed to generate Rs 1 million higher worthtax bracket should
of industrial GDP a decade ago, only six are needed today. their invest-
recalibrate
T
he interest rate land- Patra and national The Economic Survey 2015-16 further highlights ment thatstrategy, perhaps
XP
scape in India has of the 10.5 million new manufacturing jobs created
savings certificate. movein India
away from OUR taxSEPTEMBER
inef-
seen some several Starting this between
financial 1989 and 2010, E onlyERT 35 per VIEW cent were inficient
the formal
2013 COVER
and lower yielding
developments since the year, these rates sector. The
will begovernment’s ‘Make in India’ push, therefore, fixed/recurring may have come to
deposits a
start of this year. Interest revised every little late inThe
quarter. the day. The organised sector It is time
makes up debtaboutfunds 40 per cent of the
Indian inves-
rates on fixed deposits current rateGDP will but accounts for only 7 per cent of the jobs, according
be appli- Top rated todebt
datafundsfrom the have
tors start
have been going down cable till June labour30. ministry, while the informal sector
realigning is 60 per cent
yielded of the
over economy
9 per cent and
in
rapidly, but the major jolt Other thanaccountsthis, thefor approximately 93 per cent
expecta- of the jobs,
a a majority
three-year of them
time-frame, in agri-
has been the reduced rates recent policy culture.
rate cut And, our low-productivity farm
tions from fixed income sector has an
where incalculable
returns postform three of dis-
on small savings schemes. of 0.25 per cent guised to underemployment.
6.5 basket,Oneas in
daysthree graduatesyears
of 8-9 in India enjoy is unemployed,
indexation and
Popular with retail inves- per cent, itsestimates
lowest in suggestfive thatper
25cent
per interest
cent engineering
rate are graduates
benefits in India finish college
tors, particularly retired years, will ensurewith the risk of not getting
that passé.aRetirees
job. for regu- Tax free bonds are anoth-
individuals,
Volume XLI Number they 18;have
For the been
week deposit rates head There is still hope lar
south from
cashsectors
flow can such con-as financial
er services,
option forfinancial
individuals technol-
April 26-May 2, 2016, published on every Friday
useful for meeting long- ogy, and particularly sider a combination
e-commerce, which of
is flush with
falling funds
in theand30 is
perinvesting
cent in
Editorial Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex,
Phone: 0120-4807100 WHY THIS CHANGE? logistics and last-miletax free bonds
Newand bank
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term
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Sector-16A, Given
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- 201301;
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delivery. innovations are
taxgiving
bracket rise to new kinds of
deposits,
butpreference
●
are the changes that one

High interest employment
rates in opportunities, it is important to embrace For younger the changeindividualsand be
should know about:
Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, schemes such
Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; ready for jobs
as post office sharesspecialised
that require and systematic training and new skillparents
especially sets. with a
Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media term India and recurring Our cover
depos- withdrawal
story, written from debt
by Deputy Editor M.G.girlArun childand Associate
below 10 years,Editor
Punj, looks atfunds
●
WHAT’S CHANGED
Limited, B-45, Sector 57, Noida-201301 (UP)
● Regd. Office: K-9 Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001 its were in directShweta competi- the job famine and examines theitsSukanya
impact. Samriddhi
We explore the
● Impact Offices: 1201, 12th Floor, Tower 2 A, One Indiabulls Centre, (Jupiter
On
Mills), S.B. March
Marg, Lower Parel 18, the
(West), govern-
Mumbai-400013; tion with banks
Phone: 66063355;
Fax: 66063226 E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn,
●
reasons actingbehind
as a risingAshish
unemployment
Shankar, and ways toYojana deal with thean
is still crisis.
attractive
ment announced interest
New Delhi Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai,
●
Chennai-600018; Phone: 2847 8525 201-204 Richmond Towers, 2nd Floor,
●
deterrent for theSeveral
latter to
INDIA TODAY surveys have
Head, Investment thrown up option,
unemployment given the
as a tax-free
major
rate cuts52,ranging from 60Kolkata-700071;
Fax: 22218335; ● Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, cut deposit publicrates concern—almost as highMotilal
advisory, as the usual bugbears 8.6 per that centareyield
inflation and
to 130 basis
23400479,points (bps) 23410982, 23411498;Given thatcorruption.
Phones: 22825398; Fax: 22827254; 6-3-885/7/B, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-500082;
Phone: 23401657,
●
23410100, 23402481, there is a The ModiOswal government
Privatecame Wealth to power withFor the middle promise
aged of making
individu-
Fax: 23403484 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; Phones: 2377057,
for
2377058small savings schemes, direct the Indian
co-relation betweeneconomy flourish again. While the growth als, numbers
equity mutual have fund picked areup,
●
; Fax: 2377059
● 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, Behind White
House, Management
effective
Fax: 26565293 Copyright
● from LivingApril
Media India1,
Ltd. 2016
All rights reserved deposit
throughout and it is
lendingimportant
rates, that everything the government does
the translates
best bet into
along the
with creation
The
Printed andschemes
published by Ashish Kumar Bagga on behalf of lower deposit
include of jobs.
ratesOur will “demographic dividend”
other factors is dangerously
that prompt- fixedcloseincometo becoming
options men- a demo-
Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
public
18-35 Milestone, provident
Delhi Mathura Road, fund Faridabad-121007, (Haryana)pave the way graphic disaster. Noedsociety
for compara- or government shouldtioned
this decision have millions
above of unemployed
and at A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District
(PPF), post office
Kancheepuram-603209, schemes,
(Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaughttively loweryouth lending onrates
its hands. A ticking bomb.
Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Aroon Purie.
recurring
● INDIA TODAY and
does not take termfordepos-
the responsibility returning unsolicited Controlled inflation and SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED?
its, Sukanya
All disputes are subject Samriddhi
to the exclusive jurisdiction the of government’s intent to This series of rate cut by Jinsy Mathew
Yojana, Senior Citizen’s
competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only
rein in fiscal deficit to 3.5 is just the beginning of a Follow the writer on Twitter
Saving Scheme, KisanVikas per cent of the GDP are the long journey towards a low (Aroon Purie)
@jinsymathew
50 INDIA TODAY ◆ MAY 2, 2016 MAY 2, 2016 ◆ INDIA TODAY 370

smart
money DORMANT ACCOUNTS
withdrawal transaction
from your accounts once
a year
HOW TO REACTIVATE YOUR

ACCOUNT
The process is the same
as opening a new account
Submit an application
to the branch manager,
stating why you could not
transact for two years
Carry KYC documents,
SHUTTER STOCK
many banks require you
to be physically present to
verify signature
Many banks have online
facility for reactivation for
NRI clients
WAKE UP THE SLEEPY A/C RBI RULES

No activation charges
Dormant accounts are vulnerable to fraud, close them if for inactive or dormant
account
you don’t need them, or get them reactivated Banks can’t charge
minimum balance penalty
D
o you have more HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR the world. At 43 per cent, either on dormant or inop-
than two bank ACCOUNT IS DORMANT? the rate of dormancy is erative account
accounts but do When you cannot make quite high
not use them often? If yes, any transaction through POINTS TO NOTE
then you must ensure that any banking channel, be it MEASURES TO KEEP YOUR No bank can classify an
you either reactivate or ATM/phone/online ACCOUNT ACTIVE account dormant before 24
close the account. As per An inoperative account Divide your transactions months of inactivity
the Reserve Bank of India may not affect your credit between different accounts The account will be treat-
guidelines, any savings or history, but to avoid fraud, to keep all your accounts ed as operative as long as
current account which has it is better to reactivate it active. For example, dividend or FD income is
seen no transactions for According to a World pay loan EMIs from one credited into it
two years, will be deemed Bank report, India account, utility bills from Account will be treated
inoperative or dormant. accounts for 195 million of another, SIPs from a third, as inoperative only after
Here are a few tips on how the 460 million adults with for example two years from the date
to reactivate your dormant accounts around If nothing, make one of the last credit entry of
account. dividend or FD, provided
there is no other customer-
WHY DOES YOUR BANK ACCOUNT EXPERT VIEW induced transaction
BECOME INOPERATIVE OR Dormant account reac-
DORMANT? One should show a withdrawal tivation procedures differ
If there has been no transaction from their account at least for each bank
transaction in the account once a year so that the account remains To reduce risk of fraud,
over a one year or more, active at all times. check your savings
then it becomes inactive Adhil Shetty, CEO and Co-founder, Bankbazaar.com accounts from time to time
However, if there has While filing returns,
been no transaction for submit details of all your
two whole years, then the It is not uncommon to have inactive/ accounts, including dor-
account automatically dormant accounts given the increased job mant and inactive ones.
becomes dormant mobility or temporary migration to pursue
Only a savings or cur- academic and professional courses. by Sarabjeet Kaur
rent account can become Praveen Kutty, Head, Retail & SME Banking, DCB Bank Follow the writer on Twitter
dormant @kaursarabjeet

smart
money
INSIDE INSURANCE RIDERS
COVER STORY
EMPLOYMENT
MIND
10 THE RIDER SPECIAL REPORT
HEALTHCARE
Critical illness, personal accident and term riders make for comprehensive
Hardcoverage.
You can buy them as riders to existing life insurance policy, or as separate
Head,
policies.
Soft Heart 42
WHERE
BUY A RIDER OR A SEPARATE
Shetty.POLICY?
Can he kindle the health
revolutionIndividual policies always
HAVE
the country sorely needs?
offer more comprehensive
coverage than buying cover
THE JOBS
as a rider. For example,
most life insurers offer only
personal accident policy
GONE as a rider. But if you buy it

as a separate policy from a
general insurer, permanent
and total disabilities too are
covered, apart from death
coverage.
SHUTTER STOCK
On the price front, riders

may look cheaper, but the
coverage is limited. Before
buying, always compare
coverage and do not base
your decision on premium
A
long with basic cover, ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT INVESTIGATIONrates alone
FIREWORKS TRAGEDY
a life insurance
policy also offers
E XP ERT VIEW RIDER
Provides additional sum
A personal accident
rider can be bought at a
additional benefits to widen assured on death due to The Gods
premium of around Rs
24 have their
protection. Comprehensive The accident 500. But comprehensive
coverage is important for benefit of Can be bought with life coverage (permanent
people who have taken Thousands of job losses, few taking
new a jobs, their
insurance policy as rider Bombs
and temporary disability)
loans, so that their changing riderdeficit
families profile and our skill is that are bad
with base policy. But under individual policies is
A dual-use explosive substance
do not have to struggle news even if the
to for India’s employment scenario. separate policies offer favoured available for aispremium
even in IEDs suspect up
event occurs for which
repay them in the event comprehensive coveragein the Puttingalto Rs 1,000
tragedy.
the rider was taken,
of an unforeseen mishap. with disability cover option Riders also do not
the benefit of the base
Among the many riders The last provides you allow much flexibility.
NATION policy continues. 6 UPFRONT
on offer, the three most with a living benefit in case For example, the rider
BIHAR
popular ones are: term Aalok Bhan, Director of permanent or partial premium cannot be more
8 GLASS HOUSE
rider, accidental death & Head, Product disability leading to than 30 per cent of the
Lalu ban
benefit rider and critical Solutions, Max loss of income 58 EYECATCHERS
base premium. Similarly,
30 gaya
illness rider. Here is a Life Insurance sum assured in a rider
lowdown on what these are CRITICAL ILLNESS RIDER cannot be higher than sum
Gentleman
and whether one should CI cover offers protection NILANJAN
Cover byinsured DAS base policy
under
buy them
Back as after
in power riders on a on the
a decade Individual against major critical There is no shortage of
life insurance
margins, policy
Lalu Prasad or as
Yadav is determined policies illnesses, such as cancer, options to choose from. But
Page: 66-67
separate
not policies
to repeat from a
the mistakes of his past. offer heart and artery, major the more the choices, the
general insurer. BIG STORY organ, brain and nervous more crucial it becomes
more
PMO system benefits for you to make the right
comprehen-
20
TERM RIDER Payment can be made choice. Do your research
SMART
A pure MONEY
protection plan,
sive coverage, but very
few riders do that.
The Modi
in lump sum, on first before opting for a policy
it offers additional risk Helpline
occurrence of illness with extended additional
33 Negotiating
coverage in case of death
Change
You can pay a one-
time premium or regular
What do revised rules and rates mean for
Yashish Dahiya,
Co-founder
PolicyBazaar
The additional
With a tech push, the prime minister
terminated
& CEO,his office’s grievance
revamps
CIrelief
units. Petitions are up,
redressal
Benefit,
too isbut
now
rider is
on payment of
the policy
benefits.
by Priyadarshini Maji
Follow the writer on Twitter
premiums just a click away. continues @PriyadarshiniM9
your investments?
40 INDIA TODAY u MAY 2, 2016

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SPECIAL REPORT HEALTHCARE
DEVI SHETTY
HARD HEAD,
SOFT HEART
Healthcare for all, that’s the dream on which heart surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty built
his billion-dollar company. Can he kindle the health revolution the country sorely needs?
By Amarnath K. Menon
K
ali, Shiva, Ganesha, Lak- statistic hawks blinked in disbelief, he with 5,442 beds. “Devi Shetty is creat-
shmi, Hanuman. And raised his hands, pointing to the heav- ing models of superior quality tertiary
with the gods on the pra- ens, and said: “Call it what you will... care at high volume and low cost,” says
yer shelf, a photograph of coincidence, destiny or divine grace.” Dr K. Srinath Reddy, president, Public
a man. Without fail, every Shetty set up Narayana Hru- Health Foundation of India. “He has
morning, Ishita Bose, dayalaya in 2001 with the motto: also conceptualised a pro-poor insur-
mother of a 14-year-old in Kolkata, ‘None shall be turned away because ance cover for surgical procedures.
lights incense for all her gods, includ- they can’t pay.’ It is, as a UNDP case That helps in filling a part of the gap
ing the man on the shelf, Dr Devi Prasad study puts it, a “combination of com- in India’s healthcare by expanding the
Shetty. It began 13 years ago when he passion, high quality medical know- health workforce through innovative
saved her four-month-old baby boy, ledge and skills, and an astute sense strategies that increase both numbers
born with a rare congenital heart def- of making the business work for the and quality.” NH’s ‘dream’, of course, is
ect. She recalls how at Narayana Hru- poor”. With 31 hospitals in 19 cities in even bigger—30,000 beds.
dayalaya in Bangalore, the doctor India and one in the Cayman Islands
looked up heavenwards before the sur- (see graphic/Ticker Tape), NH—with I ECONOMIES OF SCALE I
gery and said, “I am just a technician. If a particularly strong presence in What sets NH apart is that it’s among
the man up there decides he’ll live, no Karnataka and eastern India—calls the most economical. And that’s the
one can take him away. You just pray.” itself ‘one of India’s largest healthcare core of Shetty’s evolving strategy: that
That’s typical of Shetty who turns service providers’. growth and expansion in size as well
63 on May 8. On January 6, when his The two largest hospital chains as consolidation keep down costs.
Narayana Hrudayalaya Pvt Ltd, which in the country—Apollo, steered by “When I began doing heart surgeries
operates a chain of multi-speciality Dr Prathap C. Reddy and Fortis in Kolkata, it cost Rs 1.5 lakh. We do
and super-speciality hospitals under Healthcare driven by Malvinder Mohan the same operation now for less than a
the brand name Narayana Health Singh, are marked by their presence lakh with better results,” he says.
(NH), notched a staggering value of in different parts of India. NH is fast NH treats over two lakh inpatients
over one billion dollars (Rs 6,880 catching up with them. It’s the leader and some 18 lakh outpatients a year—
crore) on its stock market debut and among other multi-centre hospitals, most from rural and underprivileged

NARAYANA HRUDAYALAYA
FOUNDER DR DEVI SHETTY
ROHIT CHAWLA
backgrounds. It performs about 12 investment of US $50 billion. The gaps

per cent of the 130,000 heart surger- remain substantial with a bed intens-
ies done in India every year, eight times
more surgeries per day than any other
ity of 1.3 beds for every 1,000 people
(the WHO guideline is 3.5 per 1,000). TICKER
TAPE
hospital that does heart operations. Nearly 70 per cent of available beds
“The annual need is two million heart are concentrated in the top 20 cities.
surgeries in India,” Shetty adds. “So if Just to reach a target of two beds per
we can push the surgeries we do to 20 1,000 people by 2025, India needs an One man’s vision is now a
per cent, the cost will go down. It will additional 1.8 million beds. There is $1 billion worth healthcare
go down still further if we have more also a staggering shortage of qualified titan. The Narayana Health
beds. Our margins will also improve medical professionals, though it has
juggernaut, in numbers
significantly.” Biocon founder Kiran the largest number of medical colle-
Mazumdar Shaw agrees: “He is an ges globally (381) that churn out the
innovative thinker on healthcare deliv- highest numbers, about 50,000 medi-
ery. In fact, he’s changed the paradigm cal graduates a year. India has 0.7 doc-
through economies of scale to make tors and 1.71 nurses per 1,000 people,
healthcare delivery affordable and far below the WHO global average. It
accessible—clearly dissociating afflu- needs an additional 1.5 million doc-
312
ence from the quality of care.” tors and 2.4 million nurses to match
the global per thousand people aver-
I CRISIS IN HEALTHCARE age. India spends a paltry 1.1 per cent
INDUSTRY I of its GDP on healthcare. Daily surgeries,
It’s a much needed innovation, given This is why private equity (PE) out of which 32
the state of India’s health infrastruct- investors and venture capital firms are are heart-related
ure. “A mixed health system has attracted to India’s hospitals business.
evolved by default with services unco- In 2013, over a tenth of all PE invest-
12,627
ordinated in both public and private ments in India were in healthcare and
sectors,” says Reddy. Weak regulatory it’s growing every year. Dr Rana Mehta,
systems have also led to a lack of stan- executive director and leader, health-
dardisation in quality and healthcare care, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Full-time employees and
costs and erosion of ethics in clinical says, “Indian healthcare is today possi- students (62% women)
practice. While we can boast of some bly at an inflexion point. A US $100 bil-
world-class urban tertiary care cen- lion industry is growing at 12 per cent
1,406
tres, even lay claim to international propelled by an increasing incidence
medical tourism, both rural and urban of lifestyle diseases, a growing middle
primary care services are in disarray.” class, penetration of health insurance
However, growing prosperity has and investments from private equity
prompted a demand for high quality funds.” He expects 2016 to see many Full-time doctors
medical care and increasing private more healthcare companies going for
sector participation. Private entities IPOs to fund growth plans.
contributed 70 per cent of the coun- This need for more and more beds
12%
try’s hospital beds added over the past and medical professionals will translate
decade, according to a Deloitte 2016 into capital investment of Rs 1.65 tril-
global healthcare outlook. To match lion by 2017, says a 2014 PwC report.
bed availability to standards in more Hospital chains, as well as potential of 130,000 heart
developed nations, India needs to doctor-entrepreneurs, are conscious surgeries in India
add 100,000 beds this decade at an of the fact that it is a daunting task
to develop infrastructure in keeping
with regulatory norms. Business and
“INDIA WILL BE THE
$1 bn
growth strategies will differ as hospital
groups offer a range of surgeries and
FIRST TO DISSOCIATE
treatments along with pharmacies,
HEALTHCARE FROM diagnostic centres, medical and nur- NH’s stock
AFFLUENCE. IN A DECADE, sing education facilities and inhouse market value
WE WILL PROVE THAT THE research foundations to make it both
viable and profitable.
WEALTH OF A NATION HAS NH is distinct because of its patient-
NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.” centric approach—the cost advantage,

4 mn 2 mn
Estimated number
Rs
95,000
of patients treated at
Poor farmers insured in NH hospitals and at Basic cost of heart surgery at
Karnataka can avail of a its other facilities NH. About two-thirds of what
variety of surgeries at NH it cost 20 years ago. Costs
facilities at Rs 18 a month $106,385 in the US
THE SPREAD THE FLOW

31 hospitals Phenomenal growth but new added
across 19 cities facilities have impinged on revenues
Vaishno Devi 150

Guwahati 1371.6
Jaipur 1117.5
Lucknow 120
Palanpur
Ahmedabad 854.4 90
788.6*
Berhampore
660.7
Durgapur 60
Mahuva Kolkata 480.2
Mumbai Jamshedpur
30
Bhubaneshwar minus
Bellary (loss)
1.36 2.58 2.48 3.17 1.25*
Dharwad Raipur -1.09
Davangere 0
Hyderabad
Shimoga 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Mysuru
Annual revenue in crore
Bengaluru Existing
Profits in Rs crore
Upcoming
Kolar *(till September 30, 2015)
THE BIG GROWTH 2007-12

3,700 beds
2013-17
6,600 beds
How NH grew in the last 15 years 15 facilities 33 facilities
11 locations 21 locations
2001-06
1,350 beds
2000-01
2 facilities
225 beds 2 locations
1 facility
1 location
it offers. “Ours is a for-profit model

which has evolved around mak-
ing healthcare solutions affordable,”
emphasises Shetty.
I THE JOURNEY I
DIFFERENTLY
The eighth of the nine children of res-
taurateur Bommaiya Shetty, who ran
ABLED
a chain of Udupi vegetarian eateries
in Mumbai, Devi, after getting his MS
degree from Kasturba Medical College,
Mangalore, trained in cardiac surgery DAILY PROFIT
AND LOSS
to work first in the UK, at Leeds and
Guy’s Hospital, London. However, it is At noon, previous
day’s revenues,
when he came to Kolkata, after mem- expenses, EBITDA
bers of the B.M. Birla family who fre- margins SMSed
quented the London hospital for their to management,
doctors
health checks hired him, that Shetty
40
Done daily on
came to grips with the challenges in NH machines.
Many others do
launching and managing a hospital. “I CT barely half that
always wanted to come back and my SCANS number
wife Shakuntala nudged me into tak-
ing that decision,” he says.
It was at the B.M. Birla Hospital
that Shetty started leading with his
heart, doing cardiac surgeries for less
privileged children free of cost. “What
I have done since day one is to use the
30
PER CENT
money from parents who can afford it
Reduction in
to treat children who cannot pay,” says the cost of ECG
the genial surgeon. “I was not happy machines by
getting own
leaving Kolkata. I strongly believe software to
that at some point I must have been read the data
a Bengali in an earlier life,” he remi- into a PC
nisces, and recalls how his meeting PROCUREMENT
with Mother Teresa, some four years  Combination of lease and  Centralised purchase
before her death, “changed my life for- purchase of medical equip- of drugs and consuma-
ever”. “She was a divine personality, ment to save on infrastructure bles (70%) to get best
and people costs deals from suppliers
just simplicity, innocence and sheer
love. She imparted a new perspective
 Collaborated with Texas Instruments to develop a digital
to what we are doing...as god’s work to
x-ray plate based on an expired patent, bringing down costs.
fix problems in human beings that he
created,” Shetty explains. So, it is with
this mission, again on Shakuntala’s
prodding, that he moved to Bengaluru,
where veteran Dr Ramdas Pai gave
him “total freedom to build the Manipal for the people,” he says, while narrat- comprehensive and also the cheapest
Heart Foundation, taking cues from ing how he established NH as a 225- health cover, to get more patients while
the great lessons at B.M. Birla”. But bed hospital on a 25-acre plot off a also giving his doctors a wealth of expe-
even that wasn’t satisfying enough. single lane road, in what was then the rience. “When I spoke 11 years ago of
northeastern suburb of Bengaluru in how if farmers give Rs 5 a month, we
I HOW I DID IT I 2000. It is named after Shetty’s father- can provide health cover, many were
Shetty sensed that continuing would in-law, Charmakki Narayana Shetty, surprised. We have treated 10 lakh far-
only mean notching up more numbers a well-known irrigation contractor in mers and done one lakh heart surger-
as a successful surgeon. “I wanted a lar- Karnataka during the 1950s and ’60s. ies since then. I am sure if the 900-odd
ger campus to bring in change...there Beginning in 2003, he leveraged million who now spend Rs 150-200 a
is no point in talking about advances in the innovative Yeshasvini health month on a mobile phone spare Rs 20
cardiac sciences if it is not affordable insurance for farmers, then the most a month for healthcare, it is possible

“LOOKING AT THE PROFIT-
AND-LOSS STATEMENT
AT THE END OF THE
MONTH IS LIKE READING
A POST-MORTEM. ON A
DAILY BASIS, IT’S LIKE A
DIAGNOSTIC REPORT.”
11,000
TESTS A DAY
acquire state-of-the-art equipment for
Done at its flagship
hospital. It allows NH to
12-14
WORK HOURS
better patient care. In turn, it benefits
equipment makers like us,” admits
negotiate with manu- Vinod Ramnani, chairman, Opto
facturers and suppliers High capacity utilisation to Circuits India Limited, Bengaluru.
to cut costs pare costs. NH has a shift
system that allows OTs to
work till night, allowing more I THE ROAD AHEAD I
surgeries, patient care NH is still far from being truly pan-Indi-
an. As much as 83 per cent of its rev-
enue comes from the Karnataka cluster
and its operations in the Northeast.
But that’s true of India’s other big two,
Apollo and Fortis too. No direct compar-
isons of the three are possible as they
have distinct business growth models.
Apollo has relied largely on the green-
IT EDGE field route—building from scratch—to
TELEMEDICINE grow in India and abroad. Fortis, which
Uses ISRO satellites, video conf- began a year after NH, is India-centric
erencing, Skype for consultations
and is largely a brownfield story, build-
THE CLOUD ing and developing acquisitions.
Medical records in huge digital Fortis executive chairman Malvin-
storehouse, trims costs by 15%. der Mohan Singh says this is because
“we have institutionalised a system
ONLINE CONSULTATIONS comparable with the best in the world.
Doing away with patient’s personal
presence saves everyone’s time We have put in place processes mini-
MANAGEMENT mising patients’ waiting time even as
 Doctors are
we enhance hope, trust and faith in
INTELLIGENT ICUs
important stake- our services. This is why 35 per cent
Managing critical patient care data
holders, playing
using newer tools and apps of patients at our Gurgaon facility are
a key role in man-
agement decision from outside India,” he says. He is to
making; minimum double the bed count of 4,600 in five
administrative roles years by scaling up and optimising
for operational staff
existing facilities and adding more
medical programmes like oncology
to provide more comprehensive and
holistic services.
Apollo, meanwhile, is set to take its
to provide them cover for a small fee,” like reading a post-mortem,” says bed count past the 10,000 mark, the
emphasises Shetty. Volumes, he firmly Shetty. “Looking at it on a daily basis is first hospital chain to get there, this
believes, drive down costs (in line with a diagnostic report. There is no point year. “We are investing Rs 1,400 crore
an Udupi restaurateur’s credo that vol- in knowing why a patient died. We in building four hospitals, opening new
umes keep the cash registers ringing). should know before the worst happens clinics and also on Apollo Homecare,
NH also makes its doctors cost-con- and act on it.” NH has reined in costs the new division of the group,” says
scious. Every day at noon senior doc- by negotiating directly with equipment chairman Prathap C. Reddy. He points
tors and hospital administrators get a makers like GE and, in some cases, out that these investments are being
text message on the revenue, expens- encouraging domestic companies to made from internal accruals as the
es and EBITDA margin of the previous make inexpensive local duplicates. company has always kept a decent
day. “Looking at the profit-and-loss “Corporatisation of hospitals and list- debt equity ratio so that it can take up
statement at the end of the month is ing on the stock market leads them to expansion on its own. Apollo is also the

world’s largest private cancer care
NILOTPAL BARUAH
provider and runs the world’s largest
solid organ transplant programme,
having performed over 1,500 solid
organ transplants in 2014-15 alone.
Financial analysts contend that NH
is at an inherent disadvantage given
the geographies in which it has hos-
pitals. They point out that in 2014-15,
NH’s top three facilities contributed 58
per cent of its revenue and such high
concentration is a key risk, but not a
major worry. “All hospital chains are
invariably unique models because of
promoters’ varying perceptions for
growth,” says Praveen Sahay, senior
research analyst, Batlivala and Karani
Securities, Mumbai. They fall broadly
in just two categories—premium and
DR DEVI SHETTY EXAMINES A PATIENT AT THE NARAYANA HOSPITAL, BENGALURU
affordable. Premium ones like Apollo
are therefore able to show better
returns quicker than NH.” post-surgery more often than when I get a second opinion from the health-
Apollo is way ahead on return on used to physically,” says Shetty. care software before beginning treat-
net worth (RoNW) at 10.72 per cent Though advances in health tech- ment,” predicts Shetty.
while it was minus 1.42 per cent for nologies tend to drive up costs, he Like any conscientious doctor,
NH and minus 2.60 per cent for Fortis sees new and more effective ways to he is apprehensive about mortality.
in 2014-15. For the first half of 2015- improve care delivery emerging with “Cardiac surgery, unlike other surger-
16, RoNW for NH was 2.77 per cent digital connected health. NH already ies, has a very small margin of error
and for Fortis 2.47 per cent. “There is had electronic medical records on the because we are dealing with an organ.
room aplenty for growth,” says Sahay. Cloud much before others thought Whenever I operate on a middle-aged
“Fortis, which has a room that costs about putting data there. “An inter- person, my thoughts go back to my
Rs 200,000 a night at its Gurgaon ventional radiologist, for instance, days as the eighth of nine siblings,
facility, co-exists with NH and others cannot get the volume of work he can how if anything had happened to my
with more modest facilities. NH is still do at a single hospital. He is a skilled father when we were young we could
very much a work in progress, boost- technician who improves with prac- have never dreamt of reaching where
ed by Shetty’s iconic appeal.” tice and is, therefore, to be used as a we have reached, about how he raised
At Narayana Health, Shetty appre- group resource...and in the process us with values. In the absence of social
ciates that innovation is also at the help to control costs, maintain qual- security to take care of children, there
heart of advancing medical care and ity and save time,” explains Shetty. is tremendous pressure on us sur-
can help maximise India’s limited Managing critical patient care data geons during the care of young par-
healthcare resources at a lower cost. in any part of the world online with- ents,” says Shetty. “Belief in god with
Given his penchant for communica- out visiting the patient will become the firm conviction that he will ensure
tion technology, NH has treated over the norm, he feels. “We are working everything will be alright is the great-
53,000 heart patients using telemed- on smart software that will make a est humbling force in dealing with
icine. “We began at a time when we smarter diagnosis than doctors in complex health issues.”
were using an ISRO satellite,” recalls less than five years. Within 10 years, Now, in his 60s, when many hope
Shetty, pointing out how technolo- it will be legally mandatory for us to to sit back, there is no let-up in Shetty’s
gy is leveraged for a doctor to see a messianic zeal. “India will become the
patient in bed at home without mak- first country to dissociate healthcare
ing a house call. He uses an iPhone to from affluence. Within a decade, we
view images of wounds, inflammation
“WE ARE WORKING will prove to the world that the wealth
and investigation reports, including ON SMART SOFTWARE of a nation has nothing to do with the
ECG and TMT, from patients sent by THAT WILL MAKE A quality of healthcare its citizens can
WhatsApp, e-mail or a text message. SMARTER DIAGNOSIS enjoy. We can do it because we pro-
So, in a sense, he is in touch with them duce some of the most passionate doc-
24x7. “I use it to do the rounds of the
THAN DOCTORS tors, nurses and technicians,” says
ICU following up on patients I have IN LESS THAN Shetty. Ask Ishita Bose.
operated on. So I see them in the ICU FIVE YEARS.” Follow the writer on Twitter @AmarnathKMenon

WILDLIFE TIGERS
STILL
IN THE
WOODS
Global tiger numbers
AGAM SINGH GOKANI
may have risen, but with

habitats shrinking, the
future still looks grim
By Prerna Singh Bindra A POISONED WATERHOLE IN PENCH KILLED BAGHIN NALA AND HER CUBS
O
n the eve of the third Asia Ullas Karanth, director, Science Asia- has been exterminated. Cambodia’s
Ministerial Conference on Wildlife Conservation Society, urged last tiger was camera-trapped in the
Tiger Conservation, inau- caution, warning that “using flawed Mondulkiri Protected Forest in 2007.
gurated by Prime Minister survey methodologies can lead to The country now dreams of repop-
Narendra Modi on April 12 in New incorrect conclusions, an illusion of ulating its forests with tigers. It only
Delhi, the World Wide Fund for Nature success, and slackening of conserva- admitted to the extinction (just before
(WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum tion efforts, when in reality grave con- the summit) in a bid to seek help, and
(GTF) announced a 22 per cent jump cern is called for”. tigers, from India. (In 2014, the min-
in the world’s wild tiger population— Consider this: tigers now occupy ister for environment, forests and cli-
from 3,200 in 2010 to 3,890 now. only seven per cent of their historic mate change, Prakash Javadekar, had
The announcement syncs with the range. The World Conservation Union generously offered “to donate a few to
‘Tx2’ goal—doubling numbers across (IUCN) points to a “tiger range col- those countries which are lacking”.)
13 range countries by 2022—adop- lapse”, confirming a 40 per cent loss But is Cambodia, with the highest
ted at the Global Tiger Summit in St since 2010. Poaching hasn’t dropped deforestation rates in the world, ready
Petersburg in 2010. either, data by wildlife trade monitor- for it? Experts question the wisdom of
So is all well with the tiger, as ing network, TRAFFIC, says “parts of investing between US $20-50 million
was laid out at the summit? There a minimum of 1,590 tigers were seized in essentially what is a “futile exer-
are definitely more tigers in the wild by law enforcement officials between cise”. The focus, instead, should be
than was estimated before, attribu- January 2000 and April 2014”. on recovering populations in reserves
ted at least partially to a more rigor- This double whammy has meant where tigers are far below their opti-
ous counting methodology coupled that tigers are functionally extinct in mum density. It can be done. Thanks
with extensive surveys. However, in a Lao PDR, China, Vietnam—in such to rigorous monitoring and protection,
strongly worded statement, four lead- low numbers that there is no scope populations have recovered, remarka-
ing tiger experts, including India’s Dr for revival. In Cambodia, the big cat bly so, in specific reserves in Southeast

AN ILLUSION OF SUCCESS network of existing, and proposed,
mines and highways across the cen-
Why tiger conservation is still in critical mode tral Indian tiger habitat. It was the PM
who addressed the elephant in the
A 22% jump in the world wild tiger population room, asserting that “tiger conserva-
from 3,200 in 2010 to 3,890 today hides grim ground realities tion, or conservation of nature, is not
a drag on development”, adding on
40% decline in range since 2010; tigers have vanished from nearly “the need to factor in tiger concerns
half the area they once occupied in sectors where conservation is not
the goal”.
Tigers functionally extinct in Lao PDR, China, Vietnam.
R
Exterminated in Cambodia. eally? Then how is it that the
ill-advised expansion of Natio-
nal Highway 6 & 7 tore through
India’s finest tiger landscape, disreg-
arding the mitigation measures by
experts? Or how Panna, a tiger relo-
cation success, is doomed by the Ken-
Betwa river-linking project, which
will submerge about 90 sq km of the
reserve, and half its breeding tigers.
The National Board for Wildlife
has also cleared a number of projects
with deleterious impacts on crucial
tiger habitats. In its last few meetings,
it approved roads inside Dudhwa (UP)
and Kali (Karnataka) tiger reserves,
rail tracks through Mahananda wild-
life sanctuary (North Bengal) and the
proposed Ratapani reserve (MP), an
ashram in Rajaji, one of the country’s
TIGER BONES SEIZED FROM POACHERS NEAR CORBETT NATIONAL PARK newest tiger reserves, to quote a few
examples. Most worrisome, though,
is the fraying of the policy and legal
Asia, Bhutan and Russia, and indeed four of the skins with tigers captured framework, with a proposed change
India—particularly so in Karnataka, on camera-traps within the core of the in India’s environment and forest laws
Uttarakhand, Assam and even in some Corbett Tiger Reserve. In MP’s Pench, which have been the bedrock that has
lesser known ones such as Valmiki in a poisoned waterhole resulted in the protected wildlife, and enabled India’s
Bihar. In his speech, PM Modi invoked loss of a tigress, Baghin Nala, a favour- global leadership in conservation.
India’s rich history of protection and ite of the tourists, and her young cubs. There is no room for complace-
its cultural connect with nature. No One week later, a poacher was arrest- ncy. The tiger is again at a crossroads.
country has invested as much to ed in the same reserve with four tiger Tigers occupy about three per cent
recover tiger populations, including in paws. The tiger’s mutilated body was of India’s terrestrial area—and here,
a Special Tiger Protection Force and found buried two days later. it must hold sway. Key tiger habi-
funds to incentivise voluntary reloca- Oddly, or perhaps intentionally, tats need to be sacrosanct—to afford
tion from core areas of reserves. the conference skirted around the a secure future for India’s national
Yet, the tiger is not out of the woods, contentious issue of the pressures of animal. Fortunately for the tiger, the
not even in India. According to the a developing economy on vital tiger prime minister has made a power-
Wildlife Protection Society of India, in habitats; and the fact that the tiger is ful pitch for its conservation, stating
the first quarter of 2016, 25 tigers have being increasingly perceived as inim- that tiger reserves provide a range
been killed, the maximum in the past ical to development. Nepal’s increase of economic, social, cultural and
15 years. Even the finest of reserves in tiger numbers was applauded, spiritual benefits. He stressed that
are not secure. On March 13, five tiger yet the proposed rail and road pro- saving the tiger was not a choice,
skins plus 125 kg of tiger bones were jects that imperil its flagship Chitwan but an imperative. Here is hoping he
seized near the Najibabad-Haridwar National Park found little mention. walks the talk.
road by the Uttarakhand Police’s So were other threats like the mas- (The author is a former member, National
Special Task Force. Scientists at the sive thermal power plant on the edge Board for Wildlife)
Wildlife Institute of India matched of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans, or the Follow the writer on Twitter @prernabindra

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPTS
THE INDIRA WE
DIDN’T KNOW
House proud, fond of cards and parlour games, shopping or just having plain fun,
her physician offers a glimpse of the person behind the prime minister
By K.P. Mathur the seating arrangements so that ev- her hunch was about Jayalalithaa!
eryone enjoyed the food and the com-
I
had the occasion to see PM herself pany. Even for the official dinners at “I WILL START A THEATRE
changing the bedcovers on the diwan. Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the staff COMPANY WHEN I RETIRE”
It was the day after the Bangladesh was trained and experienced, she Sometimes, after lunch, she liked to
War had started and she had worked would go through the menu and seat- play cards. Her favourite card game
late into the night. When I went to see ing arrangements. On one such occa- was Kali Mam, which none of us knew
her in the morning, I saw her dusting. sion, J. Jayalalitha, an MP then, was how to play. On one occasion (in 1970),
Perhaps, it helped her release the ten- invited but assigned a seat way down she engaged us in play-acting. On small
sion of the earlier night. Another thing the main table, away from the chief chits of paper the acts which were to be
which intrigued me during my early guest. PM was quick to realise she was performed were noted. These chits
days was a yellow rectangular mat- a rising star on the political firmament were then put in a large jar from which
tress on the floor. I asked her PA about of the country and bound to go up fast each one was asked to pick up one and
it. She told me that PM used it for her with her personality and political acu- act the role indicated. Yashpal Kapoor,
morning exercise and yoga. One day, men. She saved the situation by get- her PA, picked up a chit on which was
she noticed me looking at this mattress ting her to leave the designated place written sapera (snake charmer).
and told me its history. She said that and sit closer to the centre of the table Kapoor made some clumsy movements
during the freedom struggle, they had and nearer the chief guest. How right with one hand, flexing his wrist, mak-
to travel in third-class coaches of trains ing a sideways movement like a snake
and the mattress was custom-made to in the basket. He moved the other hand
fit the rail compartment berths. in front of his chest up and down like a
snake charmer playing his been (snake
“PM IS CHECKING THE CUSHIONS” charmer’s flute). Everyone had a good
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s favourite drinks, laugh. On my turn, as noted in my chit,
cigars had been arranged. A day before I had to play “ the Arab sheikh of oil and
the conference, PM and party reached gas”. Those were the days of the inter-
Shimla by helicopter and landed at national oil crisis and newspapers
Annandale helipad (in 1972). On the were full of it, which was perhaps on
way to the Retreat, PM passed by the her mind too. It was a pretty difficult
side of the Himachal Bhawan which part to play in comparison with others.
was going to be Mr Bhutto’s residence Without looking nervous, I wrapped a
and stopped to have a look if all the ar- towel lying there round my head to look
rangements were up to the mark. She like an Arab’s headgear, pulled out a
was not satisfied with a few things and We all know a Doc/ bed-sheet and wrapped it around my
gave instructions based on which many who works round the clock/ body to resemble the Arab gown
things were changed; new upholstery, from backaches to colds, he cures all “Thob” and caught hold of an empty
curtains, bed linen and a new sofa. ills/ with ointment, massage or bottle of Coca-Cola to make for a bottle
On all such occasions, PM was very multicoloured pills of crude oil. With small steps, I walked
particular that everything was done forward making a hissing noise with
tastefully: furniture, furnishings, cut- On his auspicious birthday/ my lips, like gas leaking from an oil
lery, flower arrangements. She would from family and friends he is far away/ well. Everyone had a hearty laugh and
supervise the menu to ensure all So we join to give him best wishes/ PM also appeared to enjoy my acting.
guests enjoyed the meal. Even at her In health, happiness or just plain Pointing toward me, she made an an-
private dinners, she wanted every- riches! Whatever he may covet/ nouncement, “Look, when I retire from
thing to be perfect. She would review Let him have it & love it! active political life, I will start a theatre

GETTY IMAGES PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI IN A 1969 PORTRAIT
company and I would employ you as eryone. One morning she casually leader, the two were together again in
one of my lead actors.” mentioned: “Don’t you think in such the same lodging. I was walking down
times of adversity we should not ap- with PM to the Red Square where the
“WE SHOULD NOT BE pear to be a house divided?” ceremony was being held. The ground
A HOUSE DIVIDED” was slippery and I could see Margaret
PM woke up at the usual time, took her “LEAVE THE LADIES TO DENNIS” Thatcher walking behind her, strug-
breakfast, went through newspapers. PM was wearing salwar kameez—and gling to catch up but her stilettos would
To keep busy she would pace between canvas PT shoes, Mrs Thatcher was not let her walk fast. But PM had no
the few rooms of the house. Always a dressed in slacks and blouse, both in difficulty since she was in gumboots. I
perfectionist, she would adjust the holiday attire and mood. PM and brought to PM’s notice Mrs Thatcher’s
furniture, pictures and wall hangings, Margaret Thatcher greeted each other plight. “Let her,” she whispered, but
dust her own room or peep into the and were coming towards the door stopped. The two of them exchanged
kitchen. She had no office, no staff car where Dr P.C. Alexander (her principal greetings and Mrs Thatcher, looking at
or even a car of her own. The staff car secretary) and I, were standing. PM, PM’s gumboots, said something. PM
allotted to her had been withdrawn (in addressing Dr Alexander, said, “We said a word of praise for her valet for
1977) and she had no telephone op- don’t seem to have made any arrange- being careful about these things. Mrs
erator and she had forgotten the num- ment for the ladies for shopping or Thatcher responded, “I wish I had one
bers of friends. Her adversaries even sightseeing.” Before he could reply, like him too.” Such friendly banter, just
spread rumours that she had lost her Mrs Thatcher intervened, “Don’t like two female friends anywhere else!
mental balance and moved around worry about the ladies, leave them to
the house aimlessly with her eyes and Dennis (her husband who had accom-
mouth open. Some well-wishers ad- panied her on the visit), he knows how The Unseen Indira Gandhi
vised her she should detach herself to handle the ladies.” The two leaders (Konark Publishers,
from Sanjay (Gandhi, her son) because had a good laugh and almost ran, like Pages: 164). The author,
in their eyes it was Sanjay whose mis- schoolgirls, for a picnic on the beach. K.P. Mathur, now 92,
adventures and abrasive behaviour Once in Moscow, at the height of was Indira Gandhi’s
and mannerisms had antagonised ev- winter, to attend the funeral of a Soviet personal physician

LEISURE BOOKS
STORY OF
EVERYWHERE
Karan Mahajan draws a fictional circle
between two real bombings
By Shougat Dasgupta
The Khuranas, Vikas and Deepa, lose

their two young sons in the 1996 Lajpat
Nagar bombings. The bombings are an
actual occurrence but Karan Mahajan’s
novel is not a journalistic exercise.
Instead, in his second novel, Mahajan,
whose first was celebrated for its comic
The Association
of Small Bombs: A brio, attempts the profound exercise of
Novel picking shrapnel from his characters’
By Karan Mahajan minds and revealing their scars.
Fourth Estate, “A good bombing,” Mahajan writes
Harper Collins India in ‘Chapter 0’ (ground zero in this case
KARAN MAHAJAN
Pages: 288; being Lajpat Nagar, a “formless swamp
Price: Rs 499 of shacks, it bubbled here and there structure and involves in various ways all those affected
with faces and rolling carts and sloping by the Lajpat Nagar bombing, from victims to perpetrators.
beggars”), “begins everywhere at once.” It is this “every- The Khuranas now have a daughter, a child whose life is
where” from which Mahajan takes his cue, following the so coloured by a tragedy before her birth that she dances
moment of the blast into the lives of the Khuranas (who, to film songs from the ’90s, fossilised in cassettes owned by
as the novel’s opening sentence points out, “were not pres- brothers she never knew. Her father can barely bring him-
ent” for the bombing), into the lives of the Ahmeds, whose self to look at her, his grief for his sons, he believes, having
son Mansoor, a close friend of the Khurana boys, survives only begun when his daughter was born. The Khuranas’
the blast and into the lives of the ‘terrorists’, the deadly marriage, held grimly together after the first bombing, dis-
and feckless men of the fictional Nepal-based Jammu and integrates after the second. For the Ahmeds, fortunate to
Kashmir Islamic Force (JKIF). have had their son survive the Lajpat Nagar bombing, the
What happened in Lajpat Nagar in 1996 certainly qual- Sarojini Nagar bombing shows how fragile that luck is.
ifies as what the ironic title describes as a “small bomb”. But the second half of the novel is too schematic,
In a megapolis like Delhi, even in the mid-’90s when such Mahajan’s characters, so distinctly drawn in the first half,
attacks were infrequent, the Lajpat Nagar bombings faded are reduced to line drawings. Self-flagellating Vikas and
quickly from public memory. “In a great city,” Mahajan angry Deepa, particularly, bear the brunt of Mahajan’s
notes in a parenthetical aside, “what happens in one machinations. Some of the care, by the second half, seeps
part never perplexes the other parts.” The smallness of too from Mahajan’s language. Associations are pat, glib
the Lajpat Nagar bombing is a fact that troubles Shaukat rather than resonant: “And Mansoor began to shed reli-
‘Shockie’ Guru, the JKIF’s deceptively avuncular, balding gion, grew angry at it.... After the 1996 bomb, it was the
bomb maker. Can it even bring the media attention these second thing that had blinded him.” The cliches begin to
men crave for their political, rather than religious, convic- mount. Vikas, we are told, “had become a broken man”.
tions, for the liberation of Kashmir? There is too a peculiar strain of humour running through-
As The Association of Small Bombs shows, the reverber- out the novel, an archness out-of-kilter with the horrors the
ations of a blast have a way of lingering. The Khuranas, of novel describes. The ironies too, whether it is small bombs
course, as parents of victims, live always with the effect of that are not really so small, or terrorists who model them-
the bombing. By the end of the novel, when bombs have selves after Gandhi, begin to weary, to grate.
exploded in Sarojini Nagar nearly two decades later, the Where Mahajan is good is in his depiction of the
Khuranas are activists devoted to caring for victims of young terrorists, their longing for intimacy, their petty
‘small’ bombs, embarrassing the government into action. private miseries with horrifying consequences. Sadly, it
The Sarojini Nagar bombing gives the novel a circular is not enough. ■

NET FLUX by LAKSHMI KUMARASWAMI
55.92 MARVEL’S DAREDEVIL

web wow
ERE ARE FEW GU 24.94 HOUSE OF CARDS
VE TH ILT
PRO YP
L
Y, 4.57 FULLER HOUSE
EA
LL
SU
BA
4.43
AR TV SHOWS, GLO
RES
BETTER CALL SAUL
LIKE BINGE WAT

3.06 FLAKED
PEOPLE’S
VERDICT ON India Calling
TV SHOWS 1.64 FAMILY GUY
The web fixated on various
aspects of the royal couple’s trip
1.46
PUL
BREAKING BAD to India, including marks left on

CH
O
Prince William’s hand after greet-

ING
P
1.39
ST
GREY’S ANATOMY ing PM Modi, and an Anita Dongre

N
O ET
FL
TH
EM IX dress worn by Kate Middleton.
1.34 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
1.24 FRIENDS
Graphic by VIKAS VERMA * All figures in percentage
viral video
web lol
web win
The Counsellor
A toddler using a pipe to defend An unnamed Rihanna fan has
his grandma from China’s man- revealed that the singer helped him
agement force wowed 3.5 million come out of the closet. Through
Twitter direct messaging, she coun-
selled the fan who was apprehen-
Desi Dating sive about telling his family.
Tinder for Desi Men is a comic from a web series called Inedible
India. Created by Chennai-based Rajesh Rajamani, the drawings
parody the dating app while putting the spotlight on Indian soci- smart sheet
ety’s two-faced attitude towards relationships.
Over 4.5 million loved Uber’s
prank to pick up riders in a net fail
A Mother’s Wisdom
Lamborghini driven by ‘Batman’ CEO and ICICI Bank managing
Crass Code director, Chanda Kochhar’s letter
A 2015 Tamil film to her daughter on her struggles
song Selfie Pulla and life lessons was trending
went viral in Romania. on FB.
Netizens were
surprised when
Romanians started
Over seven lakh were intrigued posting comments on the song’s video, until a Google search
by a video from North Korea showed that ‘pulla’ is the Romanian word for male genitalia, giving
under a media blackout for years the song’s chorus ‘Let’s take a selfie pulla,’ a whole new meaning.
what’s new Eat this Much plans Shop and Compare

your meals and lets you compare the prices
App Alert portion intake of products sold online
Follow the writer on Twitter @lkummi

GLOSSARY by DAMAYANTI DATTA
MALADY OF
MINIMUM SCIENCE
AS THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR GLOBAL ACTION TO
COMBAT DIABETES, INDIAN DOCTORS SOUND OUT A WARNING ON THE UNBRIDLED
USE OF UNTESTED AYURVEDIC FORMULATIONS TO TREAT THE DISEASE IN INDIA
FENUGREEK 1
May help reduce blood sugar in diabetics
The key compounds Saponins, believed to slow
down carbohydrate absorption after meals and
improve insulin sensitivity
Potential side-effects
May cause gas, bloating and diarrhoea. It may
also interact with blood-thinning drugs
CINNAMON
2
Emerging as an effective add-on therapy for
blood sugar control
The key compound Hydroxychalcone, which is
WIDELY USED said to improve insulin sensitivity, the key

metabolic defect leading to Type 2 diabetes
Potential side-effects Coumarin, also found in
NATURAL cinnamon, may worsen liver damage
REMEDIES
Ayurveda texts and research
3
GURMAR/GULANCHA
literature have long documented
Believed to have anti-diabetic properties;
these plant-based products as
helps curb sugar cravings
useful in controlling blood sugar.
The key ingredient Jamboline, a chemical in the
A lot of manufacturers today
seed that reduces blood sugar and sugar in urine
call these products safer than
modern medicines. It’s critical to
Excessive intake may alter blood sugar levels
know the research behind them
dangerously or lead to gastrointestinal
and how they are made
complications
Little information Fuzzy difference Is there any measure No definition

WHY on ingredients
and preparation,
between herbs,
Ayurvedic
of their toxicity?
Toxicology
of active
components, no
DOCTORS ARE manufacturers medicines and func- studies for ayurvedic standardisation of
WORRIED ABOUT cite “time-tested” tional foods such as products have been procedure or meth-
WHAT’S GOING ON Ayurvedic texts probiotic yoghurt relaxed in India od of drug testing

Graphic by VIKAS VERMA
WHAT
DOES SCIENCE SAY
ON EFFICACY AND
SAFETY OF AYURVEDIC
RESEARCH?
Three major
studies found
plenty wrong
Insufficient evidence
to recommend their
use in routine
clinical practice
2001
Research
from Cedars-
Sinai Hospital,
Los Angeles
Underpowered
studies,
inappropriate
statistical methods
2001
BITTER MELON Research from
Extracts believed to maintain Oregon Health
5 healthy blood sugar levels and Science
The key compounds University, US
Cucurbitane triterpenoids, said Methodological
to activate an enzyme that
deficiencies and
encourages muscle cells to
absorb blood sugar
small sample sizes
4 JAMUN May cause gastro-intestinal
2001
Believed to show anti-diabetic action distress and allergic reactions Research by
The key ingredient Jamboline, a chemical Indian doctors
in the seed that reduces blood sugar and from Chennai and
sugar in urine Australia
Potential side-effects:
Human trials fall short
Excess intake may alter blood sugar levels
dangerously, leading to body pain and fever of methodological
standards
A IT’S A MYTH THAT AYURVEDA A 2008 Harvard study

held that 1 in 5 Indian
Never meant to be
packaged, we don't
Some herbs lose
their medicinal
IS WHOLLY SAFE. THE CLASSICS
PROUD NEVER CLAIMED THEY CAN BE
herbal medicines sold know what happens power within a year
online had dangerous- to an ayurvedic drug of collection. Do we
TRADITION, CONSUMED WITHOUT SIDE- ly high arsenic, lead when it is sold as a know dates of col-
BUT... EFFECTS OR EXPERT GUIDANCE and mercury levels commercial product lection and expiry?
Source: The Lancet, April 2016, ‘Alternative Medicines for Diabetes in India: maximum hype, minimum science’ by Anoop Misra et al,
Fortis C-DOC Center of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases, and Endocrinology, New Delhi
EYECATCHERS
SHE’S GOT
THE MOVES
Glam girl and robot girl? Amy Jackson is
perfecting her AI moves with megastar
Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar in Enthiran
2.0, the sequel to the 2010 robot-with-a- ALL HACKED UP
heart blockbuster. The Isle of Man lass It isn’t just Kangana Ranaut
also has Glam Squad lined up, where she and India’s cyber laws that
hooks up with Nawazuddin Siddiqui. are exercising Hrithik
Roshan these days. He’s also
prepping for Roshan Sr’s
Kaabil and even learning
Awadhi for a Yash Raj project.
WE ARE FAMILY
Dads and their li’l girls. Kapil
Dev’s Khushii Foundation is
to release a coffee-table
book that celebrates the
bond with, yes, celeb photos
of Alia and Mahesh Bhatt,
Zoya and Javed Akhtar,
Sadhguru with Radhe Jaggi,
to name a few. Meanwhile,
Kamal Haasan and daughter
Shruti hope to replicate their
Twitter camaraderie onscr-
een in a trilingual comedy.
HOW WAS THE WEEK? WRESTLE MANIA

It’s mudpits and chokeholds for
Bollywood’s bad boys, as the
Sultan and Sarbjit teasers show.
Apart from Salman Khan and
Randeep Hooda, Aamir Khan
too gets all dirty for Dangal.
SUPER
Dipa Karmakar
The Tripura-based athlete
made history by becoming Shake a Leg
the first Indian gymnast to It’s the Jugnee
qualify for the Olympics Festival, and the
best of contem-
porary dancers
will be in Mum-
bai, with So You
Think You Can
Dance judge
GREAT
Shah Rukh Khan Terence Lewis
Spun magic with his dual act presiding.
in Fan. Welcome back. ■ Compiled by Suhani Singh
Follow the writer on Twitter @suhani84
Volume XLI Number 18; For the week April 26-May 2, 2016, published on every Friday Total number of pages 76 (including cover pages)
I
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TTHERE
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ORI
ESON
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HE
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10YE
ARSOFSE
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PLEASE CONTINUE
TO YOUR FREE MAGAZINES
APRIL 2016 MAY 2016
THE HEAT
BREAKERS
FUN WAYS TO STAY
COOL THIS SUMMER
AQUA ZUMBA
INSTRUCTOR, VIJAYA
A WORKSHOP
CHANGE
MAKERS
MEET THE PEOPLE WHO
DESIGN LANDSCAPE
RAKESH THAKORE OF
BRAND ABRAHAM &
THAKORE (A&T)
MAY 2016
A MONTHLY CITY MAGAZINE
THE HEAT
BREAKERS
FUN WAYS TO STAY
COOL THIS SUMMER
AQUA ZUMBA
INSTRUCTOR, VIJAYA
A WORKSHOP
SIMPLY HYDERABAD Inside
Editor-in-Chief
Aroon Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer
Ashish Bagga
COVER STORY
Group Editorial Director
Raj Chengappa
A Summer
Editor-at-Large
Kaveree Bamzai
Soiree s-4
Fun activities that
KRISHNENDU HALDER
n
Assistant Editor
will keep you cool
Mona Ramavat this summer.
Editorial Team
Ursila Ali
Photo Department Cover photo by
Photograph by
Vikram Sharma KRISHNENDU HALDER
Photo Researchers
Prabhakar Tiwari, Satish Kaushik
Art Director
Jyoti Singh
Design
Vikas Verma,
OUR PICK of the month
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma Himalayan Adventure
Production May 15-22
Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production),
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma, The exhibition of photographs
Prashant Verma by travel photographer Saurabh
Layout Execution Chatterjee, titled The Mighty
Ramesh Kumar Gusain, Himalayas will be about his
Pradeep Singh Bhandari travels in the Himalayas in
n the last decade. Showcasing
Group Business Head the colours and culture of the
Manoj Sharma people living in the region, these
Associate Publisher (Impact) images evoke the vibrancy of
Anil Fernandes life, set against the pristine
n beauty of the Himalayas.
IMPACT TEAM At Lamakaan, Road No 4,
Senior General Manager: Banjara Hills
Jitendra Lad (West) Website siaphotography.in/
General Managers: saurabh
Upendra Singh (Bangalore);
Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai)
Want to tell us about an event? A new store? A restaurant? People doing interesting things?
Deputy General Manager:
Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) Anything newsworthy? Please email us at: simplyhyderabad@intoday.com
s-2 SIMPLY HYDERABAD u MAY 2016

I
NDIANSEXUALDESI
RES
AN
DKINKSUNMASKED!
GE
TTHERE
ALST
ORI
ESON
LYONT
HE
‘
10YE
ARSOFSE
XSURVE
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DI
GIT
ALMAGAZI
NE’
KNOW MORE
SURVEYMAG NE
AZI
I
ATODAY.
NDI NS
/ EX
I
WWW.
SIMPLY HYDERABAD Cover Story
A SUMMER ❯❯ROWED IN
Fun Kayaking
SOIREE
MAKE THE MOST OF THE SUMMER
MONTHS WITH THESE COOL ACTIVITIES
THAT COME WITH A HEALTHY TWIST
I t’s no big deal that
Hyderabad doesn’t have a beach,
since a sunny afternoon can turn
into a fun day of kayaking at the
Hussainsagar Lake. So move over-
brunches for there’s a better way
to spend a fun weekend—kaya-
king with friends, while finding
an adrenaline rush too. “It is indeed
about adrenaline and fitness besides
BY MONA RAMAVAT fun,” says Suheim Sheikh, 51,
founder president of the Yacht Club
of Hyderabad, who started the kayak-
ing sessions last year. And while know-
ing how to swim is good, it is not a
criterion if you’d like to kayak,
since lifejackets are given to every-
one and you go into the water under
proper supervision.
The session starts with a few
minutes of training outside the water
on maneuvering the kayak by trained
experts. “Rowing the kayak—espe-
cially if you are in a race—is about
deriving thrills while burning the
calories too, since you manage to
exercise your upper body enough,”
shares Sheikh. Teamwork can be an
added skill you’ll end up learning as
well. And it’s only a myth that only
youngsters enjoy kayaking. “We’ve
had 60-year-olds participate as well.
All you need is a fit body and a sporty
spirit, besides a hunger for adrena-
line,” says Sheikh.
◆ PRICE Rs 650 onwards
◆ AT The Yacht Club of Hyderabad,
Friends kayaking at Tank Bund Road
the Hussainsagar Lake ◆ TEL 8885062220
Photograph by KRISHNENDU HALDER

❯❯GREEN BOWL Food blogger Arundati Rao

rustling up a salad
Summer Salads
A
sk her what’s cooking, and food blogger the eating bit,” she says, tossing spinach to
Arundati Rao, 38, will put together a full make her version of the Lebanese tabouli
class on what you’d like to cook, instead. salad. “I don’t believe in strictly following
Her salad classes are booked much in recipes since there’s no point in struggling
advance—way before the onset of summer. to get an exotic ingredient when you can
And like her other classes, these are not easily replace it with something easier to
a quiet affair. Her culinary studio—the find. For instance, jowar instead of bulgur
first of its kind in town—bustles with wheat in this salad, or lobia and chana
knives striking chopping boards, her thrown in into a Mexican salad,” explains
self-confessed “200 words per minute” Rao. She also believes in making healthy
instructions and detailed explanations to food interesting and will show you how to
the occasional nutrition tidbit and some up the nutrition quotient of just about any-
humour as garnish. Previously a corpo- thing. Refreshing and filling, these green
rate trainer by profession, she used to be a and bean bowls are perfect for a complete
far cry from the ‘kitchen queen’ that she’s healthy summer meal.
turned into over the last seven years. “My ◆ CONTACT facebook.com/
interest in food back then was mostly about escapadesculinarystudio
s-6 SIMPLY HYDERABAD ◆ MAY 2016

❯❯COOL AID
Vegan Ice reams
B
inging on ice cream this summer could be and tested. Jajodia also makes several of her
absolutely guilt-free and Madhulika Jajodia, syrups at home with natural ingredients and
48, shows how. Completely vegan and with none of her ice creams contain preserva-
a sugarless option for each, these ice creams tives. “There’s barely any difference in the
are made with healthy ingredients, “So an taste between vegan and other commercial
extra helping or two will only help rather ice creams, except that these are lighter
than hurt,” she assures. Soft skills trainer and healthier,” says Jajodia. The sugarless
turned animal rescuer, Jajodia took to being option contains dates in place of the organic
vegan several years ago but dabbled into her sugar she uses otherwise. Besides selling,
venture of home-churned vegan ice creams she also holds demonstrations on making
in 2015. “This was after much experiment- vegan ice creams at home and vegan cook-
ing while trying to get my teenage sons to ing in general. Even today, she feels happier
switch to vegan ice creams,” she says. Made when the compliments for her ice creams
with coconut milk, soy milk and cashew, the come from non-vegans.
ice creams are flavoured using fresh sea- ◆ PRICE Rs 300 per litre
Madhulika Jajodia
making vegan ice sonal fruits or the usual butterscotch and ◆ AT Alpine Heights, Somajiguda
cream sundae chocolate for people who prefer the tried ◆ TEL 8099662924
❯❯WATER WORKS Multi gym in the water at

Leonia Resorts
Aqua Gym
A
multi gym in the water is not something out demonstrating how it is done. Since the
of a futuristic movie but a specialty feature pool is always covered, the water turns
at Leonia Resorts. “It’s a one-of-its kind rather cool and you need to constantly
in the city, if not in all of India,” says work to keep the body warm. Guests at the
Akshat Iyangar, 25, sports manager at resort are encouraged to experience the
the aqua gym, while he’s in the midst of benefits of training at the aqua gym, which
a core-strengthening routine in the water. has turned into a preferred fitness destina-
“Keeping yourself afloat in water uses tion for the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad.
up energy and that’s how you burn more “It’s exercising with no risk of sprains or
calories. Besides you get to use muscles injuries, or even breaking into a sweat.
of the arms that you would otherwise use So why not do your crunches and ab train-
sparingly,” he says. A lighter workout ing under water?” signs off Iyangar, diving
involves jogging in the water from one end back in.
of the pool to another for strengthening ◆ AT Leonia Resorts,
leg muscles. “Or why not get a treadmill Shamirpet
inside the water as well?” offers Iyangar, ◆ TEL 66400000

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Model, dancer and fitness

instructor, Abhimanika
Yadav (front, in orange top)
❯❯POOL MOVES
Water Dancing
I
t’s fun with the addition of fit-
ness when you decide to get
into the pool and groove to
catchy tunes, waist down in
the water. Abhimanika Yadav,
29, a model, dancer and fit-
ness instructor ups the group’s
energy with a water dancing
session while leading the way
from the front. “Since water
offers greater resistance, you
tend to burn nearly twice
the amount of calories inside
the pool,” says Yadav, barely
breathless, between dance
numbers. Her effortless moves
come from a disciplined fit-
ness regimen and training in
Andhra natyam, a blend of
Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam
that she learnt from her moth-
er at the age of three. Her
seven-year-old son too is a
complete natural and dances
alongside Yadav in her class-
es. “He keeps everyone moti-
vated with his unstoppable
energy and is my dance part-
ner of all time,” says Yadav.
Come summer and her water
dance sessions are in demand,
designed to various themes.
She’s had a session
on pool dandiya in the past
and also put together an
Arabian theme for another
event with fun props like
tambourines and drums.
“Ultimately, it’s all about
finding ways to make fitness
enjoyable,” adds Yadav.
◆ WEBSITE abhimanika.com

❯❯SPLASH IT Vijaya Tupurani
Aqua Zumba holding a class
I
t’s an ‘age-no-bar, weight-no-bar’ whom were on the obese side. Another
deal at her aqua zumba classes and plus, she says, is there are no mirrors and
Vijaya Tupurani, 38, gets a high motivating that helps people lose inhibitions. “They
people perform energetic moves, especially are no longer fixated on getting their steps
in the water. “The body tends to work more right and being self-conscious about others
in water and you don’t even realise it till watching. You aren’t so visible waist-down
some time after you’ve stepped out of the anyway,” Says Tupurani. Since 2013, when
pool and feel the crunch,” she says. But she introduced aqua zumba to the city,
aqua zumba is not just a water version of Tupurani has done more classes outside
floor zumba. “Instead, the choreography is Hyderabad than back home. “We have a
altered to factor in the instability of stand- vibrant community of water fitness
ing in water,” Tupurani says. Chubbier enthusiasts but not enough places with
women who can’t lift their weight up and usable pools, like in Bangalore or Pune,”
jump normally would find it easier to do she rues, but hopes this situation will
so in water. “During my first aqua zumba change soon.
class three years ago, we had a hundred ◆ PRICE Rs 600 onwards
participants inside the pool, several of ◆ WEBSITE facebook.com/vijaya.tupurani
MAY 2016 ◆ SIMPLY HYDERABAD s-11

SIMPLY HYDERABAD Buzz
KRISHNENDU HALDER
Photograph by
THINGS TO LOOK
5 FORWARD TO
1 RESTAURANTREVIEW / WHITEBOARD CAFÉ
air a slim and trim salad, made with sea-

sonal fruits and vegetables and a dash of
yogurt, with a protein-packed smoothie or
pick a book off the shelf for company. At
Whiteboard Café, it’s all about eating healthy and
2WRONG
grabbing some food for thought too. Everything DOING
C
from the ‘dosas and parathas’ section is filling and ricketing sensa-
easy on the stomach, with the calories in check. tion Virat Kohli’s
Sample Robin Uthapa, for instance—besides the co-owned brand
sense of humour, it is packed with semolina and of men’s wear, Wrogn is
coconut. Or snack on the light as heaven bhel puri now housed at their newly
sans the heartburn. The main course has a couple launched flagship store in
of surprises too, like the Chapati chowmein or the city. Casual T-shirts and
strips of chapati tossed with vegetables and linen shirts with a sporty
parmesan cheese topped parathas, besides the very outdoorsy attitude fill the
safe dahi chawal. What has a white board got to racks of this stylish store,
do with it all? Nearly everything, since the café has besides cool denims. No
earmarked boardrooms with white boards for busi- surprise that a car on the
ness discussions over a mocha frappe or Basundi ceiling is part of the store’s
blitz sweetened with jaggery, if you will. décor, very much in line with
FOR TWO Rs 1,200 plus taxes Kohli’s jazzy style.
AT Opp Cyber Gateway, Hitec City PRICE Rs 999 onwards
TEL 33165073 ■ By Mona Ramavat
AT Forum Sujana Mall,
Kukatpally

SIMPLY HYDERABAD Buzz
4
STAGE WHISPER
Sit back and enjoy the antics in Art,
a comedy put together by the group, The
Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Directed by Laukik
Desai, the play is about a bunch of friends
arguing over the value of a painting,
which happens to be a plain white
square. AT Lamakaan, Road
No 4, Banjara Hills
3 CLASSICAL EVENING
MAY 10
Kuchipudi danseuse Vineela of SLB Kuchipudi Kalanilayam
5 STONED HIGH
The recently launched Tempesta collec-
is known for her soulful rendition of many moods through
tion of luxury décor stone by StoneLife is all
dance. She is a gifted artist with an infinite passion for
about artistry, the sort that could belong in
performing and imparting the rich tradition of the classi-
a gallery. Inspired by the Venetian technique
cal Indian dance form—Kuchipudi. Her latest performance
of murano glass-making, these colour-
in Hyderabad too promises to be an evening of poetry on
infused murano stone slabs are perfect to
stage. Danseuse Vineela has done over 600 performances
create a feature wall. Metal, leather and
all around the country in cities including Delhi, Bangalore,
fabric-like finishes form the overall look of
Ahmedabad, Konark, Chennai, Tirupathi, Vishakapatnam,
some of the others in collection, to lend a
Vijayawada, Kakinada, Dwaraka Tirumala besides
stylised, dramatic or chic look to your space.
Hyderabad.
AT StoneLife, Konda Pride, Jubilee Hills
TIMING 7.30 p.m.
AT Lamakaan, Road No 4, Banjara Hills
DIGITAL EDITION
THANK YOU FOR READING

MAY 2, 2016 `40

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TO YOUR FREE MAGAZINES
APRIL 2016 MAY 2016
THE HEAT
BREAKERS
FUN WAYS TO STAY
COOL THIS SUMMER
AQUA ZUMBA
INSTRUCTOR, VIJAYA
A WORKSHOP
CHANGE
MAKERS
MEET THE PEOPLE WHO
DESIGN LANDSCAPE
RAKESH THAKORE OF
BRAND ABRAHAM &
THAKORE (A&T)
APRIL 2016
A MONTHLY CITY MAGAZINE
CHANGE
MAKERS
MEET THE PEOPLE WHO
DESIGN LANDSCAPE
RAKESH THAKORE OF
BRAND ABRAHAM &
THAKORE (A&T)
SIMPLY DELHI Inside
Editor-in-Chief
Aroon Purie
M ZHAZO
Group Chief Executive Officer
Ashish Bagga
Photograph by
Group Editorial Director
Raj Chengappa
Editor-at-Large
Kaveree Bamzai COVER STORY difference, Noida is the hub
n of creativity.
Editorial Team
Designs of Change s-3
Ursila Ali From award-winning interior
Photo Department designers to architects with a Cover photo by M ZHAZO
Vikram Sharma, Chandradeep Kumar,
M Zhazo, Rajwant Rawat
Photo Researchers
Prabhakar Tiwari, Satish Kaushik
Art Director
Jyoti Singh
OUR PICK of the month
Window to India
Design
Vikas Verma, Till May 15
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma
The essence of any country reflects
Production
Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production), through its thriving art and culture
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma, scene. It is no surprise then, that India
Prashant Verma lists at the top of the most creative
Layout Execution nations in the world. Celebrating the
Ramesh Kumar Gusain, creativity of the Indian artist is the
Pradeep Singh Bhandari Creative Intent VI, a group exhibition of
n paintings and sculptures by renowned
Group Business Head artists like Ashok Gulati, Swaraj Das,
Manoj Sharma Rahul Kumar, Kuldeep Singh, Dibyendu
Associate Publisher (Impact) Bhadra, Deepak Madhukar Sonar,
Anil Fernandes Ramesh Gorjala, Minni Kumari and
n Ranjeet Singh. The exhibit will see a At Gallerie Alternatives,102,
IMPACT TEAM confluence of styles of different schools DT Mega Mall, DLF City, Phase-I,
Senior General Manager: of art and give visitors a chance to Golf Club Road, Gurgaon
Jitendra Lad (West) decode techniques, meanings and im- Timings 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
General Managers: agery by each artist. (Tuesdays closed)
Upendra Singh (Bangalore);
Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai)
Want to tell us about an event? A new store? A restaurant? People doing interesting things?
Deputy General Manager:
Kaushiky Chakraborty (East) Anything newsworthy? Please email us at: simplydelhi@intoday.com
s-2 SIMPLY DELHI u APRIL 2016

SIMPLY DELHI Cover Story Mansi (right) and
Suhani Mahajan
Photograph by M ZHAZO
designs of
Change VERDANT ESCAPE
FROM AWARD-WINNING INTERIOR
DESIGNERS TO ARCHITECTS WITH
A DIFFERENCE, NOIDA IS THE HUB
OF CREATIVITY.
Mansi and Suhani Mahajan, 34 and 30, Owners, House of Kapaali
adly in love with life, with a penchant for yoga, its conception, the sisters had a certain mood
M
travel, dance and design, sisters Mansi and in mind that they wanted to give to the space.
Suhani are the creative minds behind House “House of Kapaali is modern-vintage, picking
of Kaapali—a beautifully done up B&B amidst up the essence of the mid-century modern era,”
the verdant greens of Greater Noida. In 2007, says Mansi. Both the girls believe ‘the devil is
when Mansi came back to India from Australia in the details’, and that is why each and every
with a masters degree in film, she decided to piece of furniture and fixture has been sourced
convert the spare bedrooms in her new home painstakingly and emotes the House of Kapaali
into a B&B. She then applied for a license from feeling, creating an experience that is seamless,
BY MOHINI MEHROTRA the Ministry of Tourism and that’s how House luxurious, yet at it core, soulful. The Mahajan
AND URSILA ALI of Kapaali was born. Soon after, her younger sisters, recently held their first transformation-
sister Suhani quit her job as a freelance pro- al retreat programme for a group of American
duction coordinator with a leading sports chan- women at House of Kapaali.
nel to join House of Kapaali as well. During WEBSITE houseofkapaali.com
SIMPLY DELHI Cover Story
DESIGNING
DREAMS
Anjali Goel,
50, Interior Designer
CHANDRADEEP KUMAR
stablished in 1988
by MD Anjali Goel as a small
bespoke studio in Noida, La
Sorogeeka has over the years
not only become Asia’s biggest
design facility but also one of
Photograph by
the most reputed brands in
the international market, cre-
Anjali Goel, MD, La Sorogeeka
ating extraordinary interior
spaces for people for over 30 years. “The concept behind La Sorogeeka was
to offer a one-stop dream shop for luxury furniture, furnishings and acces-
sories—something no one had heard of at that time,” says Goel. The USP of
La Sorogeeka is that while you may enter the state-of-the-art showroom and
choose a particular displayed concept as a whole, you also have choice of
customising it as per your aesthetic taste and liking. Goel is now going to take
a big leap in terms of international presence with La Sorogeeka all set to par-
ticipate in the Milan Furniture Fair in 2017. WEBSITE lasorogeeka.com
SMART HOMES A
David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore, &T, a well-known
Designers brand for fashion and acces-
sories established by David
Designer Rakesh Thakore Abraham and Rakesh Thakore
launched their home furnish-
ings brand back in 2002. Since
its inception, A&T home fur-
nishings have been sold in
some of the best stores around
the world. “We never had an
articulated philosophy,
we just designed what we
loved. But we strongly believed
in traditional Indian textile
craft and yet always wanted to
work with a modern and con-
temporary sensibility, designing
products that we could relate
to personally in our everyday
lives,” says Rakesh. Under the
brand, the designer duo
M ZHAZO
is now planning an exclusive

collection of handmade carpets
Photograph by
this year. WEBSITE abraha-

mandthakore.com
DESIGN MAVEN
Sonali Bhagwati, President, Designplus Architecture
A t the first glance, it becomes evident that Sonali

Bhagwati, president of Designplus Architecture has
a flair for creativity and design. Dressed in subtle metal-
lic shades from head to toe, Bhagwati stands out from
the stiff-collared corporate lawyers that surround her
at the office of a well-known law firm in Delhi designed
by her. Her love for creating the extraordinary inspired
Bhagwati to take a state transport bus to enrol herself at
the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
University, Ahmedabad when she was just a teen-
ager, and 30 years on, the love affair continues. “The
building of my alma mater was one that grew on me. Sonali Bhagwati
Unconsciously, it would manifest in my projects,” says
the architect. Lamenting the lack of women in her field, one that has been included in many lists of India’s best
Bhagwati agrees that architecture is a profession that architectures, commended for its fluid and unconven-
is largely male dominated. Another shift she observes tional design. With many other projects underway in
in her field is the break away from the tradition of the the NCR, the architect who has also researched urban
master builder, where one architect would envision the metamorphosis, urges on the need for a facelift of the
entire project. “Now the architect is a mere conceptual- region. “Integrated mass transit, seamless pedestrian
iser, working in a team of technologists, visualisers and movement, multilevel parkings, creating public spaces
structural teams,” she rues. and bringing in private parties to regulate these spaces
Among the many structural marvels created by is the way forward for Noida,” says Bhagwati.
Bhagwati, the vibrant Adobe headquarters in Noida is WEBSITE designplus.org.in
GOING LOCAL H
Sourabh Gupta, 39, Principal architect and managing
idden inside an industrial sector in Noida, Studio
director, Studio Archohm
Archohm, conceptualised by architect Sourabh Gupta,
is an oasis that oozes creativity and innovation. The
studio replicate’s Gupta’s love for the unconventional
by breaking away from form and using exposed bricks,
rustic interiors and even a cobbled floor at the recep-
tion of the office. “For me architecture is a marriage
of technology and art, the meeting point of creativity
and engineering,” says the 39-year-old architect who is
the brains behind prominent townships, bridges, cor-
porate and cultural spaces in the country. A graduate
of Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
University, Ahmedabad, Gupta later went on to study at
the TU Delft University in Netherlands where the archi-
tect got introduced to traditional and avant garde build-
ing. This is where his design philosophy was influenced.
Enthusiastic about upcoming projects that include resur-
facing the Taj Mahal complex in Agra and the Lucknow
Imambaras, Gupta talks about the scope for urban plan-
ning in Noida. “The biggest problem is the lack of public
spaces here. Large shaded green spaces can have func-
tional and aesthetic appeal by putting cycle tracks, public
utilities, trees, lighting, sculptures and creating urban
nodes,” says Gupta. WEBSITE archohm.com
Sourabh Gupta
CHANDRADEEP KUMAR
Photograph by
Vidur Bharadwaj, architect
CONSCIOUS DESIGNS
Vidur Bharadwaj, Director, The 3C Company
up, I was infatuated with old

W ith the motto of his compa-
Indian havelis and their elements
such as courtyards, sun shading
ny being—create, care and con- devices and water bodies,” says
serve—Vidur Bharadwaj, director the architect who specialises in
of The 3C Company, not only using locally available materials
believes in but breathes sustain- that complement the geography
able creations. “Design should be and climate of a particular region.
simple and should get inspired Talking about urban planning
from our ancestors, so its soul is issues within the region,
constant over the centuries. But Bharadwaj believes that a good
the skill must evolve in accordance public transport system will tackle
to modern technological process,” the infrastructure crunch in the
says the graduate of School of NCR. “I do not believe that a
Planning and Architecture. developed nation is one where
An indisputable design giant in every poor person drives a car,
the country, Bharadwaj’s creations rather it is where every wealthy
mark the cityscape of Noida, Lotus person uses public transport,”
Greens being one of the prominent he says.
townships in the region. “Growing WEBSITE the3c.in
SIMPLY DELHI Interview
WHAT A
BLAST
WEST BENGAL MINISTER FOR
SUBIR HALDER
TOURISM AND PLAYWRIGHT
BRATYA BASU SPEAKS TO
SIMPLY KOLKATA ON HIS
NEW PLAY, BOMA
Photograph by
In Conversation
Q. What made you take up Sri BRATYA BASU I was nominated by our now Chief Minister,
Aurobindo’s life for a play? Mamata Banerjee in 2011 and I contested
Boma is a deconstruction and an inti- assembly elections and won. That was the
mate observation of a revolutionary. There are two start of my entry into legislative politics. I do use theatri-
aspects to a revolutionary—who the state calls revolu- cal metaphors to understand situations around me.
tionary or a terrorist. Another thing is that when we
talk about our past, our tendency is to glorify it. Q. Your adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was
In this saga I have kept it absolutely objective. set in Mumbai. Why not Kolkata?
Nobody is beyond the truth. There was no intent to Twelfth Night’s Illyria is a city of carnival. And Mumbai
glorify and Aurobindo is not the main focus of the provides a stage for a lot of things—underworld
play. This is more about the interrelation between the cricket, betting, Bollywood and beggars. Mumbai is
Jugantar Samiti and all the hardcore revolutionar- carnivalesqe. It’s happening. The flipside of it is the
ies. Though it is their inner conflicts and those of the oppression.
Bengali middle class that come to the surface—which
are relevant even today. For me it was a way of studying Q. Are you saying Kolkata is tragic? Considering you set
the past to understand our present. one of the greatest known tragedies here…
(laughs) Well one can’t deny Kolkata is rather serious
Q. But why this trial? and is for serious plays. So Hamlet is set here. Boma
But why not, is my question. One can take anything is obviously set here. Mumbai is something I would
from the past to understand one’s present. From this choose for fun and lightheartedness.
era or the medieval era, anything really.
Q. What are your next ventures?
Q. Your plays have always had political consciousness. The play I am planning next revolves around famous
Does being in politics help or provide an advantage while Bengali playwright Ashim Chakraborty who was treat-
directing plays with political relevance? ed like an outcast after his play Barbodhu. As for films, I
When I did 17 July in 2004, I wasn’t in politics. I did have had to turn down over five films recently. But I am
Winkle Twinkle even before that in 2002. I wasn’t even considering Golam Mostafa Farooki’s next film.
part of politics in college. I became politically active dur-
ing the Singur and Nandigram movement in 2006. At Q. As the tourism minister of Bengal what are your five
that point of time the then intelligentsia was wondering favourite tourist spots in Bengal?
whether to join politics or not and I was one of the first Mongpong in Dooars, Sajnekhali in Sunderbans,
to say that it wouldn’t be just enough to protest but also Gorumara in Dooars, Lava in Kalimpong and
to come out in support of the alternative party. Takda, Darjeeling. ■ By Malini Banerjee
s-8 SIMPLY DELHI ◆ APRIL 2016

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DEVI SHETTY BETA TESTING INSIDE THE PMO

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