India Needs to Embrace a Start-Up Culture

A recent WHO report shows that out of the 27 million babies born in India every year, close to 3.6 million are born prematurely, and out of this more than 3 million infants fail to survive due to complications.

10-steps to make Bangalore a World -Class City

Once a little-known Indian city, Bangalore today has captured the world’s attention for its IT excellence. Ironically, the very city that delivers innovative solutions to the globe is itself mired in civic chaos evidenced by bad roads, shoddy infrastructure, lack of water & power, unruly traffic and poor waste management.

Fairness In The Workplace Should Focus On Gender Equality

Historically, the corporate world has been a male bastion with restricted entry to women. It is only in recent times that this “men only” club has opened up membership to women.  This has seen a steady increase of women professionals in the corporate workplace the world over and India is no exception.  Corporate India now boasts of a growing tribe of women professionals that constitute 24% of the workforce.  This trend has certainly upset the equilibrium in the work place where men are still finding it difficult to accept women as fellow colleagues and in many cases, as their bosses.  After all, traditionally Indian society and Indian men have regarded women as subservient home makers and not as equal partners in the economic mainstream.  It is therefore this deep rooted cultural and societal mind-set that manifests itself in the way men behave with their female colleagues in their shared work space.

Leading with a Social Conscience

As entrepreneurs embark on a venture, they face a moral choice – should they lead the way, or follow in the path laid out by another? Being a follower has many advantages. Building on a tested and proven idea reduces risk and can lead to success much quicker. Leading, on the other hand, entails hunting for new horizons, and is fraught with the danger of failure.

Women at Work: Biocon Founder on Philanthropy, Sexism and Politics

In the first in a series of interviews with women who are leaders in their field in India, The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time met Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of biotechnology company Biocon Ltd. 532523.BY +0.16%, and one of India’s richest women.

Last month, Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw was named by Forbes as one of the most generous people in Asia.

Wanted Now: A Ministry for Bangalore

Bangalore’s problems are a complex tangle of issues with various civic and utility bodies and their overlapping agendas often working at cross purposes. The result is that in the past few years the city has slid into a morass of neglect and no one knows who is responsible for what.

B.PAC Mission: Rescue and Revitalize Bangalore

Introduction

The past decade has seen Bangalore morph from an economic and climatic paradise into a living hell for its denizens. For a city that contributes over 60 percent of Karnataka’s GDP and contributes 66 percent of its tax revenues, rampant unplanned and mismanaged growth has resulted in crumbling infrastructure, poor public transport, power and water shortage, stifling pollution, and decrepit sanitation.

Indian pharma companies need to be surefooted in their approach to quality

16 May, 2013, 04.56AM IST

By Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

The hefty fine that Ranbaxy Laboratories will pay as part of the drug safety settlement in the US threatens to seriously erode its reputation that can take years to regain.

NEW GOVT MUST STRENGTHEN URBAN POLITICS

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw | May 9, 2013

The Times of India

We are happy to see a clear mandate in favor of Congress, which will enable B.PAC to catalyze a positive change in the political system. Five B.PAC-endorsed candidates have won in their constituencies, we congratulate them and look forward to working with them to ensure they deliver on the B.PAC agenda for Bangalore. 

It's Bangalore's turn!

So the date for elections to Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly has been announced. It’s 05 May.

As we know, more people than ever before went out and voted at the rest of Karnataka’s urban local body elections – and they sent out a strong message: incompetent, inadequate and corrupt political management will not be tolerated.

Now it’s Bangalore’s turn to raise it’s voice similarly. And once again, B.PAC is reminding you: please prepare to go out and vote.  

My presentation at the CII meeting of Karnataka chapter on 14th March 2013

My tenets for aspiring entrepreneurs:

• Be driven by commitment and conviction

• Focus on converting challenges into opportunities

• Be innovation led and build a differentiated business

• Be conscious of the social impact you can make

• Convert failure into success through a learning process

•  Trust your gut instinct more than any analyst report!

• Engrain change management as a part of your business ethos

• Remember integrity is a powerful enabler to success

• Success is even more rewarding if you give back to society.

• FINALLY, FOCUS ON VALUE ADDITION AND NOT WEALTH CREATION

Turn Ideas into economic growth

In today's knowledge-driven economy, innovation is the prime driver of progress. India's ability to generate wealth and create social good will come to naught unless we monetise innovative ideas by unshackling entrepreneurship. For innovation to flourish, we need to fund ideas to take them to market. Without capital, even the most transformative ideas can die before they take wing.

India's economic agenda is being shaped to deliver high growth based on an innovation matrix that cuts across social and economic activity. This approach is expected to result in economic reforms and value-added products and services that are key drivers of India's progress. Whilst the strategy is sound, the process of implementation is pivotal to its successful outcome.

Financing the innovation ecosystem: What India needs is a national innovation ecosystem that puts in place a financing cycle: academia generate ideas, especially those based on science and technology, which are incubated to proof of concept through government-sponsored seed and incubation funding and then taken to market through businesses backed by venture funding. India's ecosystem is not only suboptimal but it also lacks a some enabling mechanisms that can help innovation germinate and take root.

Let's start with academia's role in generating ideas. While government funding supports this phase of the innovation value chain fairly adequately, it falls short in nurturing ideas and growing them to a proof-of-concept stage where business can intervene. The notion of incubating start-ups within academic institutes is still nascent. The regulatory reforms that permit researchers to unconditionally assume dual roles as academicians and entrepreneurs is yet to be fully implemented. Academic entrepreneurs have virtually built the entire US technology sector and are continuing to do so despite the economic recession. India urgently needs to emulate this aspect of the US innovation ecosystem.

It is when the proof of concept is taken to the market through a process of commercialisation, that venture funding makes the critical difference between an idea and successful business. Venture funding relies on a regulatory framework that encourages risk-taking. Today, venture funds in India typically steer clear of risk-ridden small business ventures, leaving a huge funding vacuum in the commercialisation process. Venture funding in the US, on the other hand, is at the heart of driving innovation to the market. A sobering statistic offers food for thought: Venture capital investments in India reached $658 million in 2010, a 19.8% increase over 2009, according to data collated by Venture Intelligence. Compare that with China where venture capital investments reached $5.4 billion in 2010, a 79% increase over 2009.

A secondary stock exchange: I strongly believe the disconnect lies in lack of access to capital markets. Technology companies that do not have revenues are not eligible under Sebi guidelines to apply for listing. Such companies are stuck in a loop in terms of availing venture funding: venture capitalists won't fund technology companies that don't provide exits to capital markets and capital markets are not available to such companies owing to listing regulations. Industry bodies such as the Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE) have been pushing Sebi for differentiated eligibility criteria for technology, research and innovation-driven companies for several years to no avail. Unencumbered entry and exit will be the catalyst in taking innovation to the next level.

So, how do we create an enabling innovation ecosystem that enables entrepreneurs to propel ideas into a sustainable business that adds value to our economy? The only option is to set up a secondary stock exchange to allow technology-driven, revenue-less, innovative companies to access capital markets, emulating the role Nasdaq plays in the US for technology companies and London's AIM for technology companies in the UK. This will spur innovation and unleash an entrepreneurial avalanche that will transform the pace of value-added growth in the Indian economy.

Drip feeding innovation will not build a sustainable technology sector, nor will risk-averse investors build a credible innovation ecosystem. Innovation requires sustained capital infusion both by the government and private sector. Unless investors are willing to back innovation, it will not create a credible knowledge-led economy that delivers high value to the economy. This is the underlying rationale for a secondary stock exchange for technology/innovation-driven companies that do not generate revenues but drive value creation as they approach the market.

Beyond capital markets: The ecosystem must also facilitate curiosity-driven research across academia and business. India's diverse social and economic challenges provide a substrate for innovative solutions that can create innumerable business opportunities based on affordability and accessibility. The size of the Indian market adds to business opportunities. But the optimal financial model to catalyse innovation is missing.

The government has initiated the investment process through some financing mechanisms that cut across grants, seed and incubation funding. The private sector now has to bring in the next level of funding through venture capital and access to capital markets. We need regulatory reforms that enable the creation of another exchange to spur innovation. Ideas abound in India. The challenge is to monetise these ideas through successful ventures. Only then can India move rapidly up the value chain to achieve faster, more sustainable growth.

Straight out of university

What is your best advice to someone starting out at university?

As you start out at university, you stand at a crucial juncture in your lives. You must understand that your choice of course and career can affect the direction your life will take. So you must have a compelling reason to choose the course. Choose what appeals to you and if you have an aptitude for it. For example, I wanted to pursue a career which had a scientific inclination and I therefore opted for B.Sc. Zoology Hons.  followed by a post graduate program in Brewing technology.

Once your education begins, ensure that each and every incident at the university – formal as well as informal – is a learning experience. This will provide a strong foundation for your future. Never be intimidated by the newness of the subject or the environment, or with your fellow students. Be diligent about your studies. Remember there is no substitute to hard work. However, do make time for your hobbies – be it music, games or books. I was very studious at the university I attended but made time to pursue my interests.

What are the do's and dont's and include one top tip that can hold the new university student in good stead?

Life at any university has enriching experiences, so be open to all of them. First of all take your studies seriously. Informal lessons learnt at university are just as important. You will meet students from different backgrounds and upbringings. Learn to be accommodating. If you join a foreign university, take interest in the culture and traditions of the land, blend in and foster respect. Try and be as participative as you can at various University Forums.

Anything else about university education and interesting anecdotes/experiences that can benefit a first timer

When I joined Ballarat University, Australia for a course in brewing and malting technology, I was the only woman student in my class as brewing was considered a male vocation. Instead of letting that affect me I tried to enjoy each second of my stay there. Because of the circumstances I found myself in I became extremely independent and learnt to survive in a man’s world. It did wonders to my self-esteem and my sense of independence soared. I knew I would not merely survive in a man’s world, but thrive. I also learnt one of the greatest lessons of my life there – that I should never feel subservient because of my gender because I was interacting with my male colleagues on equal terms.

Women Leadership: Improving the quality of life through innovation

• What can be the ways through which corporates can encourage women participation in strategic decisions?

• Do you observe any great change as far as gender equality in India is concerned?

My own views on this matter are as follows:

I have seen a positive shift in gender equality in Corporate India.  I do believe that women are being provided greater opportunities to participate in strategic areas of management.  The main concerns that continue to plague women mangers is mobility and transferability.  Women are forced to give up senior management responsibilities if their spouses are transferred or if marriage influences this.  Women are also less willing to undertake extensive business related travel and both these put them at a disadvantage.  As a woman employer, I have lost many a senior woman manager to either marriage or to a spouse being transferred either overseas or to another location in the country.  One can argue by saying that men can also leave organizations if they opt for jobs elsewhere but the point I am trying to make is that the reasons for female attrition are not necessarily job related whereas attrition among men is job related which can be addressed by HR.  I hope this helps. Maternity leave is something I think all corporates can deal with but very often women opt to take a few years off which again impacts companies.

Thoughts on Leadership

According to you, what is leadership?

Leadership is about pursuing a mission through shared vision.

Leading is about being able to inspire people, empowering them, earning their respect, and motivating them to perform at their optimal best. Leadership is also about looking beyond your organization so that your sense of purpose is for the greater good of the community at large.

Which leaders have inspired you the most?

I have been inspired by several leaders at different stages of my entrepreneurial journey. Impressed as I am with pioneering efforts, ability to differentiate, excellence, and values, I have discovered and interacted closely with a few people along the way who possess such stellar attributes and have built their respective organizations with strong stewardship.

Among my leadership icons are Jack Welch whom I admire for building an interactive and boundary-less organization of enormous global scale.  I look up to Ratan Tata (and, of course, JRD) for building such a well-respected, diversified organization with a stamp of excellence. Narayana Murthy for pioneering the software sector in India and creating an enviable brand reputation based on a high personal code of ethics and governance. I admire Sunil Mittal for his sheer ability in growing the scale of India’s mobile communications market so rapidly and connecting rural India to the mainstream. My other favourite business leader is the late Anita Roddick, the creator of Body Shop, a unique and differentiated cosmetics business based on innovative marketing.

Beyond industry, I respect Mohammed Yunus for pioneering the micro-finance revolution with his missionary Grameen Bank and Dr Devi Shetty for building his highly successful healthcare business model on a platform of affordability.

What is the biggest leadership challenge faced today?

For me the biggest leadership challenge is to try and build global leadership as an Indian company with sub-optimal infrastructure.