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The doors of academia are opening
The India-U.S.A. Global Business and PR Conference, organised by
the Public Relations Society of India, Chennai Chapter, and Prakruthi,
in association with The University of Findlay, Ohio, got off to
a sedate start at Hotel Green Park, Vadapalani, with Anusha rendering
the prayer song and Dr Paul Sears, dean, The University of Findlay,
lighting the kuthuvilakku. Welcoming the gathering, Daniel Dass,
chairman, PRSI, Chennai Chapter, told the audience that the idea
to host a conference on such a large scale (six days) was mooted
more than a year ago by Dr Nabarun Ghose, professor-marketing and
business, The University of Findlay, and Dipankar Ghose, Prakruthi.
A short film on the PRSI, Chennai Chapter, tracing the body's 38-year
history when it conducted several meetings, workshops and seminars,
was screened.
R.K. Dharan, vice president-south, PRSI, said that the Chennai Chapter
was one of the most vibrant chapters. He made special mention of
V.S. Ramana, past chairman of the Chapter, for taking the lead in
ensuring the conference was conducted on schedule, of Nabarun Ghose
and Dipankar Ghose, and of Dr Sears for supporting the funding and
visit of researchers.
Dr Sears, a classmate of the President of the United States, George
Bush, and dean of an American university with the largest number
of Indian students, on his first trip to the world's fastest growing
free market, said it was worthwhile taking risks in the service
of learning. “We have much to learn from each other in terms
of global business practices and educational excellence. India has
a lead in engineering while the U.S. in management. India is a relatively
recent global business competitor and the U.S. a relatively recent
global educational provider.
Most U.S. institutions did not take global education very seriously.
Changing mindsets have now led to opening the doors in the world
of academia.” The change in Findlay happened about ten years
ago when the university began to look at bringing students from
countries around the world including India. “If you take the
global perspective seriously, institutions like ours can play a
role in bringing people together. It is disappointing not to get
U.S. students interested. The challenge is in breaking stereotypes
and the conference is designed to help achieve this. It takes more
than an understanding of different people and cultures; experience
is required. Communication is important and PR experts can help
reduce barriers,” he said.
India can no longer be ignored
 
Do not ignore India, says Arun Bewoor, president, Madras Chamber
of Commerce, but adds a caveat: India will have to identify a development
model that offers growth and prosperity to large sections rather
than to a few, and it needs extraordinary skills that may be in
short supply. Ranjini Manian, founder-CEO, Global Adjustments, advises
Indians to respect lifestyle differences, communicate in time, and
adapt to power distance (hierarchy). S. Muthiah, editor, Madras
Musings, points out that the common perception that Americans came
to India with the onset of liberalisation is wrong - Ford Motor
Co. began assembling trucks in India in 1930.
No two countries (India and the U.S.) are as dissimilar. It is
a fact we have to confront, said Arun Bewoor, president, Madras
Chamber of Commerce, kick-starting the first session of the India-USA
Global Business and PR Conference. Dwelling on the subject 'Understanding
India & U.S.A.: Interpreting Their Ethos in the Global Corporate
Comity', Bewoor highlighted the differences in the size, population,
population densities and GDP per capita between the two countries
(for example, while the U.S. has a population of 305 million spread
over 8.9 million sq km, India has 1.2 billion people squeezed in
an area one-third that size). While America has a 700-year-old history,
India's history went back 5,000 years. Bewoor talked about India's
long years of suffering, of repeated invasions by adventurers and
conquerors, from Alexander the Great to Nadir Shah to the British,
and of India's partition in 1947 with the coming of Independence.
Bewoor also mentioned about Indians having a sort of paranoia about
foreigners coming to the country. Such fears, he stressed, were
meaningless. He said that India and the U.S., both British colonies,
have had political and business differences after Independence and
the U.S. was concerned about issues such as employment of children,
cruelty to animals, safety standards, methods of manufacture and
ecological damage. “These issues have to be tackled head-on.
The government is not giving up the levers of power. India will
have to identify a development model that offers growth and prosperity
to large sections rather than to a few. Successive governments have
nurtured a sense of dependency among poor people.”
While earlier, the joint family provided support, living patterns
had changed with urbanisation and nuclear families had become the
norm, Bewoor pointed out. “There is bound to be turmoil and
confusion and it will take a while for self dependence. In India,
about 150 families are moving every day from villages to cities.
Such a massive influx will bring pressures and pulls,” he
added. However, with market-friendly politics being followed by
the government, the road to economic reforms had not faltered. Corporate
governance and transparency were crucial in today's economic model.
“The road ahead is long and hard. Agriculture and manufacturing
industry need support. We need extraordinary skills that may be
in short supply. Short-term political gains may override long-term
economic goals. The hub-and-spoke model has now become decentralised.
The strength of a country is now determined by the size of its economy,”
Bewoor said. He had a message for the U.S., India's largest trading
partner today: Do not ignore India; design an India-specific strategy
with long-term perspective; and create cost-effective products.
Relocating the global corporate professional is not easy. Providing
a perspective of what it takes was Ranjini Manian, founder-chairperson,
Global Adjustments. Manian, now on the board of the women's wing
at Harvard University, took the audience on a pictorial journey
and mentioned how Global Adjustments started as an orientation service
when Ford Motor Company established its facility in Chennai 13 years
ago, and how she helped the Americans settle down with their families
in their homes and offices. “Let us not underestimate the
relocation business,” she said, explaining how foreigners
started with excitement and anxiety and bore the culture shock before
finally adapting themselves. She also painted a picture of the stark
difference between India and the U.S. with these statistics: while
in America, there were 500 cars per thousand population, in India
there were only five; 940 among 1,000 Americans had television sets,
while the number was 83 in India; 700 personal computers against
seven, and 490 mobile phones to 50.
Highlighting India's strengths, Manian pointed out that foreign
companies had great people to work for them from a pool of 253 universities,
2.46 million graduates, 300,000 engineers, 100,000 MBAs, and 150,000
IT professionals. Echoing her experience, she said, “Nobody
leaves without saying, 'I am sad to leave India'. We need to break
down the stereotypes and go beyond the 'Bold and the Beautiful'.”
She had three tips for Indians and Americans looking at doing business
together: respect lifestyle differences (the very core of doing
good business), communicate in time, and adapt to power distance
(hierarchy).
Explaining Madras's heritage and its American links, S. Muthiah,
editor, Madras Musings, historian and columnist, pointed out that
the common perception that Americans came to India with the onset
of liberalisation was wrong; Ford Motor Co. began assembling trucks
in India in 1930. General Motors had a presence in Bombay. Both
companies closed down their Indian operations in the 1940s. Ford
restarted in the 1960s and now it is making full use of the growth
in India, he said.
Harking back to history, Muthiah said that before the British, there
was no Madras. In the 16th century, there were only scattered villages
and scrub jungle in what is today the city of Chennai. The ancient
port of Mylapore was used to trade with the East. The Portuguese
came and settled in the 1520s. In 1639, the East India Company was
granted three sq. miles of “no man's sand”, of what
were virgin beaches and fishing settlements. The Company men built
four walls, a few thatched sheds and grandiosely called it Fort
St George. “From Madras, modern India grew,” Muthiah
stressed. Before August 15, 1947, there was no political country
called India, there was only a geographical cultural entity, only
fragmented states with rulers or separate kingdoms. “India
got a political entity only when it faced a conqueror,” he
said.
Two thousand years ago, Roman, Jewish and Arab merchants arrived
in Kerala through one of the well-known trade routes. It was to
do away with Arab middlemen that the West looked to India in the
15th century. It was in 1498 that Vasco D'Gama landed in India,
the most significant date in modern history, according to Muthiah.
It heralded the age of the Empire, led to the two World Wars and
“every single invention of today”, he said. The Portuguese,
Dutch, British, French, Danes and Swedes arrived in India with the
idea of conquest and conversion. The period 1639-1746 was the age
of trade in India, especially the foreigners taking goods such as
spices, precious stones, and timber and cotton textiles from India.
This trade drove consumerism in Britain and Europe. It was this
trade that drove the Industrial Revolution. The beginnings of the
West coming to India were in the south, Muthiah added.
After 1746, the British acquired more land from local rulers. Pondicherry
was run by the French as a trading settlement. The same year, thanks
to the ambition of Frenchman Dupleix and his wife Jan Begum, the
British and French battled each other. Dupleix summoned the fleet
from Mauritius and six shots were fired at Fort St George; during
1746-49, the French commanded Madras. In 1749 when the French lost
to the British in Europe and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed,
the French returned Madras to the British and got Quebec back from
the latter. The British raised an army of Indians. According to
Muthiah, the Indian Army had its beginnings in Madras. Robert Clive
won the battle of Plassey with the help of the Madras Regiment.
Muthiah’s presentation included pictures of built heritage
in Chennai -the St Mary's Church, the oldest Protestant church this
side of the Suez; The University of Madras; Guindy Engineering College,
the oldest engineering college outside Europe; High Court; Imperial
Bank of India (now State Bank of India); General Post Office; Armenian
Church; St George's School, the oldest school in Chennai; Spencer's,
the biggest departmental store in Asia once; Ice House or Vivekanandar
Illam where ice brought from the U.S.A. in ships was stored once;
and Theosophical Society. He also made references to contributions
made to the city's history by Elihu Yale, Reverend John Scudder,
Colonel Olcott and Ellis Dungan.
The session was followed by a tour to DakshinaChitra.
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Branding destinations, creating infrastructure
need of the hour
 
Elancheran and Jagadish name poor tourism infrastructure development,
bad roads and connectivity, political influences and instability,
and insurgency as some of the challenges in developing the North
East region as a tourist hub. The North East has never been a part
of the development process in India and there is a need to build
environmental and cultural awareness about the region, they say.
According to Steve Borgia, chairman and managing director, Indeco
Leisure Hotels, when you avoid formulas and don't walk on the treaded
path, there are more opportunities, the reason why Swamimalai, a
unique heritage hotel set in a village in Tamil Nadu, is a success
story.
Showcasing tourism through effective corporate communications
was the subject of discussion as the India-U.S.A. Global Business
and PR Conference moved to Mammallapuram on Day 2. Elancheran and
Jagadish, engineers both, spoke about destination branding concepts,
the challenges involved, and presented examples of New Zealand and
Arunachal Pradesh in India as case studies.
Destination branding, according to Elancheran, is a process used
to develop a unique identity or personality to tourist destinations,
through a positive image building exercise. It is about communicating
a destination's unique identity to visitors using a symbol, a name,
term, design or a combination of all to create mind recall. Factors
included emotional pull, celebrity value, and building images for
residents and visitors. He outlined the challenges as budgetary
constraints, and political and environmental constraints. He cited
the example of the 'Incredible India' campaign as having led to
the rise in the number of foreign tourists, increased foreign exchange
earnings, and boosted domestic tourism. A short film on the 'Seven
Sisters' of the North East - Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura was shown to highlight how
each place was sold as a tourist destination with the use of effective
words and pictures.
Jagadish emphasised that the North East had never been a part of
the development process in the country and that there was the need
to build environmental and cultural awareness about the region.
He named poor tourism infrastructure development, bad roads and
connectivity, political influences and instability, and insurgency
as some of the challenges in developing the region as a tourist
hub.
Steve Borgia, chairman and managing director, Indeco Leisure Hotels,
said that it would take more than a lifetime to know a vast country
such as India. “It is a terrific time for the youth of India.
When there is a boom all formulas go for a six,” he added,
while explaining how Indeco, without an ad agency or a sales team,
was able to have 90 per cent occupancy during the season at its
Swamimalai property, and how he never really believed in following
set patterns.
The Swamimalai property was a 100-year home that he converted to
an 8-room hotel; today it has 50 rooms after more houses in the
village were purchased over a period. While the cost of construction
was Rs 400 per sq ft, the rooms were rented to visitors for $100
a night. Borgia repeatedly said that he did not know anything about
branding or corporate communications nor did he operate computers
but knew one thing for sure - that when you don't follow formulas
and don't walk on the treaded path, there are more opportunities.
The reason why Swamimalai, a unique heritage hotel set in a village,
was a success story, he pointed out. There are peacocks and deer,
visitors are taken on a duck walk, and they loved the aapam and
fish curry that was offered.
“Business is a lot of hard work. You get more spiritual as
you grow and it is difficult to fail. You can't sell just by advertising.
Sincerity and hard work should be the brand. For example, the customer
doesn't like to see a light burning early morning. If you conserve
energy, it boosts your image. Every customer who comes to us knows
that we care for heritage and that we protect monuments. Today's
business is about inventing your own technology.
Those who are chasing formulas are missing the train. We need to
be open to stories of failure and act for the moment,” said
Borgia, while describing his experience with youngsters and of how
they worked hard to change the fortunes of the company.
The session was followed by a tour to Mamallapuram and delegates
enjoyed water sports at Mudaliyarkuppam.
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Management talent will continue to
flow from India
 
The migration wheel will keep moving. The world is a lot more
integrated today although there are a lot of transitions. We have
to see how the world economy will shape the future. You need to
be a manager with a global perspective, says K. Pandia Rajan, founder,
MaFoi. R.C. Swamy, vice president, L&T-ECC (IT Business), and
Kalyanasundaram, a civil engineer who works in the L&T-ECC Construction
Skills Training Institute, give their take on the IT and construction
industry in India.
After a visit to the Holck-Larsen Centre at the L&T-ECC campus
in Manapakkam, K. Pandia Rajan, founder, MaFoi, spoke about how
the HR function had evolved over the years and how his organisa-tion
had doubled growth every year in the first few years. The dot-com
boom and venture capital aided MaFoi's growth initially but the
company had to go through a transition plan after the dot-com bubble
burst. His receiving the Eisenhower Fellowship Award in 2000 opened
his eyes to HRD practices worldwide. Across the globe, MaFoi has
placed 182,000 people in jobs so far and Pandia Rajan's aim is to
place a person every minute.
Systems for trade and services are continuously evolving. Migration
of labour has a fascinating history, with Indians going to Sri Lanka,
Mauritius and other countries as indentured labour. “Today,
12 per cent of the people who migrate are professionals. There is
migration talent, of capital, of business processes, and trading
on futures and options, which is twelve times that of the virtual
economy. You can't be a company of any considerable size without
understanding these things,” Pandia Rajan said and provided
the example of Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank where youngsters
constitute the workforce profile and cater to clients across countries.
“It is a transformation that is quite breath-taking. The migration
wheel will keep moving. The world is a lot more integrated today
although there are a lot of transitions. We have to see how the
world economy will shape the future. You need to be a manager with
a global perspective. One-third of management graduates today get
overseas jobs and management talent will continue to flow from India
seamlessly,” he added.
Chipping in with his perspective on today's business scenario, R.C.
Swamy, vice president, L&T-ECC (IT Business), said that Indian
IT was primarily associated with work for reputable IT companies.
It was all about economic value creation. “When resources
are limited, the question is how should they be deployed. We have
to work at a competitive advantage,” he added.
Swamy traced the growth of the IT story in India that began in the
early 1990s with the mainframe system using COBOL programming. COBOL
programmers were then needed in large numbers to sort the problem
of Y2K. “The IT budgets were limited then. Today's youngsters
are analytical and can quickly become productive. If the United
States had not outsourced, we might have been doing mundane work.
So, this is a win-win situation, the way any economic activity succeeds.”
Swamy went on to make a presentation on L&T Infotech, the business
model it followed, and outlined the company's rich corporate history,
its investment in people and global presence, and how the company
retained its employees by providing them a healthy environment and
challenges, and creating and celebrating success.
The Indian construction industry employs 40 million workmen; the
number is likely to double in five years. Terming labourers in the
construction industry as “indispensable”, Kalyanasundaram,
a civil engineer who works in the L&T-ECC Construction Skills
Training Institute, said that nobody wanted to sweat it out in the
industry today. “Even engineers are not willing. Everybody
wants a comfortable working environment and more earnings. The unregulated
construction industry ranks next only to agriculture. Labourers
are not certified, there is no control on quality and employability
is a bigger challenge than unemployment. Fifty per cent of employed
youth suffer from some degree of skill deficiency. That the huge
demand for skilled labour is unmatched by supply is evident. Without
construction, no growth is possible.”
According to Kalyanasundaram, the formal education system was outdated.
There were limited vocational training facilities and school dropouts
were a disincentive to productive livelihood. Involving all stakeholders
in the growth process, reforming the formal education system, imparting
vocational training on a large scale, increasing academia-industry
interaction, and promoting public-private partnership in education
and training were some of the ways to address the lacunae, he explained.
The session was followed by a tour of the L&T-ECC facility in
Manapakkam.
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Business is all about brands
 
The end goal of today's PR must be to touch the life of the
end consumer in a meaningful and measurable way, a way in which
value is discovered and partaken, says Harish Bijoor, brand domain
specialist, adding that brand loyalty is dead. Dr Bala Balachandran,
professor of accounting, says universities for technical training
is in short supply in India. Sixty per cent of engineering graduates
need significant further training, according to him, and the quality
of education is not up to the mark. Training is inadequate for corporate
jobs, he adds. Students from the University of Findlay provide their
perspectives on business ethics, cultural differences, marketing
for youngsters, e-marketing and Internet security, and rural healthcare.
Back at Hotel Green Park, Harish Bijoor, brand domain specialist
and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consultants, talked about business prospects
for India. “Business is booming, thanks to urbanisation in
the Indian and U.S. markets. Urbanisation is a bane to some and
a boon to some,” he said. Dwelling on the dynamics of the
Indo-U.S. trade, he was certain that the seesaw of business would
continue. Drawing parallels between various countries in the developed
and developing world, he showed the audience pictures of families
and the amount of food they purchased in a week.
“PR is not as public as it should be. PR is really about consumers,”
Bijoor said, pointing out that PR is of two types skin-deep and
strategic. “Sustainable PR is long-term. The future is about
PR that is brand-based. The end goal of new PR must be to touch
the life of the end consumer in a meaningful and measurable way,
a way in which value is discovered and partaken. Business is about
brands. Life is about brands. Brand is a thought that lives in a
person's mind even the thought of your mother. With different experiences,
there are different perspectives,” he said.
Bijoor provided five insights as he called them:
The glib and slick are not looked on favourably, so market leaders
will be the real brands
This is the era of the irrational being (91 per cent are)
Two ways of building business leadership are the U.S.-Colgate way
(top-down) and the India-Gandhi way (bottom-up)
Brand loyalty is dead although service loyalty is not; there is
promiscuity. The loyalty cycle is six years
Corporate social responsibility is here, but the promiscuous consumer
will be loyal to the biggest cause and most disloyal to the smallest
cause crass commerce
Touching on some of the major issues facing management education
in India, Dr Bala Balachandran, professor of accounting, pointed
out that the country was a major source of manpower for many countries.
In 2006, more than 6.75 lakh Indians had gone overseas on work;
25 million Indians, he said, lived overseas in 130 countries. Together,
their remittances worked up to about $27 billion, more than the
foreign direct investment in India; the economic output of overseas
Indians exceeded $300 billion, a third India's national GDP. Nearly
300,000 people of Indian origin in the United states are millionaires.
Years ago, when he had wanted to come back to India he found few
opportunities and decided to return and settle down in the United
States.
“University enrolment in India is less than ten per cent of
the population, compared to 50 per cent in the developed countries.
Universities for technical training is in short supply in India.
Sixty per cent of engineering graduates need significant further
training,” he said, adding that the U.S., the most favoured
destination for students, had more than 80,000 Indian students studying
in its universities and that Indians constituted 14 per cent of
international students from 200 countries studying there. Although
there was an 800 per cent growth in MBA programme education in India,
according to him, the growth of PhD programmes was only four per
cent. So the production of teachers was minimal.
“The quality of education is not up to the mark. Training
is inadequate for corporate jobs. In frustration, many large private
companies are setting up their own business schools. The move from
India to the U.S. of technical people has dropped. Many are returning.
India can use the knowledge offered by them. Very few Indian institutions
compare well with international standards, the global business focus
is missing. What needs to be done is restrict indiscriminate growth
and allow established institutions to increase their capacities,
encourage faculty to engage in research that leads to publicity
of high quality journals and develop good doctoral programmes for
training teachers,”
Dr Balachandran said. He stressed upon developing good accreditation
criteria, encouraging administration of international students,
inviting foreign-based quality faculty, encouraging Indian faculty
to publish their research findings in international conferences,
compensating faculty competitively, and rewarding faculty for meaningful
research publications.
“India needs skilled management graduates and it can provide
management skills to the world through knowledge process outsourcing.
International exposure is necessary in today's global village,”
he added.
Brittany Jones, president, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), The
University of Findlay, spoke about a cultural approach to market
assessment through a presentation on SIFE, its academic programmes
and business ethics, its Teach-a-child project, and about the Investment
Club. She dwelt on how students who participated in its various
programmes, such as selling textbooks, learnt personal finance management
skills and money saving techniques. Jones also mentioned a SIFE
project that helped the impoverished people of Honduras - over eight
days, 40,000 vitamins were supplied to children and adults; $75,000
was spent in medical and support services; a micro-lending programme
was established; and children were taught to build a better tomorrow.
Vicky Watwani, another MBA student at the University of Findlay,
dwelt on bridging the cultural divide between the Indian Diaspora
in the U.S. and American society. Stating that more than 350,000
business visas were issued to those wanting to visit the U.S., he
said that the challenge was to accept differences and overcome the
cultural shock in the shortest possible time. “India is a
more masculine society. One does not feel comfortable when things
are uncertain. While there is a strong family system in India, there
is more individualism in the U.S. A visitor to the U.S. goes through
various stages - a honeymoon period, rejection, regression, acceptance
and, finally,
re-entry.” Lack of family support, presence of a dating culture,
different business ethics and practices, and the absence of bureaucracy
make it a whole new world for the uninitiated Indian. “This
can't be avoided. But you can minimise the effect by going with
the flow. You can't ignore differences; you need self-initiative.
Cross-cultural training programmes are necessary,”
he said.
Prof Soney Mathews, senior faculty, Department of Management, Centre
for Management Studies, the Jain Group of Institutions, Bangalore,
provided a perspective on the paradigm shift in marketing for youth,
their values, attitudes and lifestyles and how they are a-changing.
“Anywhere in the world, it's great to be young. The role of
youth in family purchases is growing more and more significant.
While in the 1950s, young consumers were price-driven, in the 1970s,
the quality of products and services became important. In the 1990s,
lifestyles became hectic and stressful and the focus was more on
the entertainment value. Today, with more spending power, youngsters
have a great impact on marketers, retailers, companies and culture.”
Mathews' presentation was based on a study conducted in Bangalore
where youngsters in the 19-22-year age group were chosen as the
sample audience. Following were some of the observations from the
study:
Home matters for 48 per cent of youth; family is number one priority
for them
Majority want to spend time outside home
Youth and fashion are inextricably linked
Youth prefer having food at home
Majority get entertained by media
Youth believe they have a role to play in society
Many youth believe that politicians will not solve the country's
problems
Self-employment is considered the best
Education is very important for success
Cultural values are more important in life
A foreign degree is considered more glamorous
Youth are crazy about brands but are not rational buyers
Youth buys products to satisfy the peer group
For youth, shopping is a leisure activity, like partying
Girish Harokeythanahalli, founder-member and captain of the University
of Findlay cricket team, talked about e-marketing and Internet security.
The Internet has been growing at a rapid pace with one million new
websites a month. E-marketing, he said, is traditional marketing
infused with technology. For example, Ebay, with 103.6 m listings,
worldwide, was adding 6.1 m listings daily.
“E-marketing is a powerful communication tool that develops
relationships with existing customers through frequent reminders,
immediate e-mail response, instant live chat, etc. It is helpful
in acquiring new customers through potential customer Web searches,
referrals, e-mail intros, pop-ups and advertising on websites. With
increase in the use of the Internet, Internet security is a matter
of concern. Worries over privacy inhibit 100 m from shopping online,
according to Forrester Research,” he said.
Harris Interactive, he added, found that more Americans were concerned
about loss of personal privacy than healthcare, crime or taxes.
“Loss of personal data is the biggest challenge online retailers
are facing. The latest secure software is to be used while building
websites,” Girish stressed.
Megha Agarwal, from McKinsey & Co, New Delhi, who has been working
on reforming education in North India the past year and focusing
on educating the girl child, took the audience on a journey to rural
India (70% of India's population lives here) and to healthcare existing
there.
“In the new world order, India is the second fastest growing
economy in the world. India, which has 2 per cent of the world's
area, 16 per cent of the population, and 20 per cent of disease
burden, has half the undernourished people in the world. By 2021,
cancer cases will rise by 26 per cent, malaria by 29 per cent. There
is one physician for 3,640 people; 63 per cent of public specialists
posts are vacant in India, lagging behind other Asian nations. India's
future is unhealthy,” Agarwal said, adding that while the
majority of people in India lived in rural areas, 80 per cent of
doctors, 75 per cent of dispensaries and 60 per cent of hospitals
existed in urban areas.
Rural India struggles with hunger and disease and lacks minimum
needs like proper sanitation and basic health infrastructure. Although
12 per cent of rural income is spent on healthcare, 66 per cent
do not have access to critical medicines in India. “People's
perception of healthcare providers is poor. We need good quality,
reliable healthcare at affordable cost. Innovative marketing can
cater to the healthcare needs of rural India,” Agarwal said.
She then presented case studies conducted in Brazil, Korea and South
Africa, and of rural healthcare initiatives of Hindustan Lever,
Reliance and Telco. “Stop thinking of the poor as victims
or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient, creative
entrepreneurs and value-conscious customers,” she added.
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Hands-on learning, key to effective
management
 
Recent critics of management education have argued that business
education has become so detached from practice so as to become irrelevant.
We teach students about management, not how to manage. The University
of Findlay has been trying to balance concept and theory on one
hand by providing experiential, practical, hands-on learning, says
Dr Paul Sears, dean, University of Findlay. Thomas George, CEO,
Turning Point, dwells on the importance of soft skills training.
And students share their experiences on managing attrition, building
business relationships, healthcare projects, and how to compete
in the global business world.
After an exchange between the students and delegates, Dr Paul
Sears took over. He said his journey into the world of business
began after reading the book 'The Competent Manager' written by
Richard Boyatzis. The book detailed key skills and competencies
utilised by effective managers. “I was fascinated by the book
because of its specificity. I began to shift my thinking as to what
we should be doing with future managers - the emphasis was on content
and competencies. Another book he (Boyatzis) co-authored, 'Primal
Leadership', argues that the major tasks of leadership is to manage
the emotional climate of the organisation. Competencies such as
skills and abilities can be developed from practice, from experiential
learning or learning by doing. If content is combined with competency
development, it is an appropriate mix of opportunities for students.”
In India, business education has historically tended to focus on
either competencies or content, not on both. Earlier, it was all
experiential, or apprenticeship-based. In 1911, Frederick Taylor's
Principles of Scientific Management strengthened the emphasis on
conceptualisation. He said that coal workers could be more productive
if they took breaks. Such productivity helped reduce the number
of workers at Bethlehem Steel from 500 to 100. Gradually, business
schools began to challenge accepted practice. Theory began to gain
precedence; practice became a secondary concern. “Today, heavy
reliance on theory and concepts may not be the best approach. Recent
critics of management education have argued that business education
has become so detached from practice so as to become irrelevant.
We teach students about management, not how to manage. The University
of Findlay has been trying to balance concept and theory on one
hand by providing experiential, practical, hands-on learning. We
are also developing student-run businesses such as Oiler bank.com,
to educate students on personal financial management concepts and
tools and offer bank products and services to members of the University
community,” Dr Sears said.
Dr Sears listed the competencies needed for global business managers:
Special business knowledge
Communication skills
Stamina and adaptability
Perceptual objectivity
Positive regard
Creativity
Integrity and accountability
Teamwork
Self-confidence
“Global business offers opportunities for understanding things
in a different perspective. Business students should learn acting
skills to be more creative. Business relations are based on personal
trust in many parts of the world. Our student-run businesses help
domestic students to practice their skills and work together for
a common purpose. When confronted with unfamiliar challenges and
tasks, they must exercise their creative problem-solving abilities
and figure out answers in a completely different environment,”
Dr Sears said.
Dr Sears had the following observations to make during a Q&A
with students:
Teamwork cannot be learned by reading books
The text book doesn't tell you how to run your business
You have to enhance students' ability to take risks
Students don't challenge the professor, and don't want to take the
risk of setting up their own business even with support from the
university
Business schools need to push students out of their comfort zone
Students do not consciously link what they learn with what they
are doing and do not apply what they learn to work
Business students need international experience
Business is not really about well-defined problems
It is better to implement a good solution quickly than wait for
the optimum one, by which time the market would have changed
The session with Dr Sears was followed by Rashmi Dharaskar's comparison
and financial overview of major component manufacturers. Dharaskar
was not present, but her presentation was shown on the screen.
Thomas George, CEO, Turning Point, spoke of how soft skills training
enhanced the competencies of college students to suit industrial
requirements. He dwelt on the current education scenario, industrial
and corporate requirements, and the need for adequate subject knowledge,
effective communication skills, motivation, logical thinking, leadership
skills and team building ability. He gave an example of how a students'
outbound programme tailored by him helped in teaching them how to
set goals, strategizing and planning, and working in groups.
Swapna Pratap Jathan, pursuing her MBA at the University of Findlay,
explained how the cost of business operation can be reduced by managing
attrition; the paper was co-authored by Nabarun Ghose. “Attrition
is a dynamic problem that affects all businesses. The business cost
is related to the organisation losing staff to direct competition
or to others,” she said, giving examples of annual attrition
in the service and manufacturing industry that had led to a loss
of $20 million in training and maintenance costs. She outlined the
strategies and tactics used to retain employees, based on their
values, attitudes and lifestyles, motivation and resourcefulness,
type of personalities, on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and on the
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.
Devin Games, an MBA student, spoke about building business relationships
and how the Rotaract and the University of Findlay had joined together
to do something for people who needed help and support. Her presentation
showed how India and the U.S. could work together for the benefit
of the human race. Thirty members were active in the community and
were getting associated with international projects. She cited a
project in Costa Rica in which she was involved, about a visit to
an orphanage shelter. She presented a list of projects at the district
conference, encouraged clubs within the district to adopt an international
service project, formed relationships and made several key contacts
with business professionals. The result was more business opportunities.
Chandramohan Seelam described his involvement in healthcare projects
in India. A survey conducted in India, covering pain balm, allergy
medicine, tonics and vitamins, tried to look at whether Indian medicines
were better than foreign brands (read American). “India offers
excellent opportunities to foreign marketers. There are different
sizes of market segments. A large population is indifferent or unaware
about the origin of the products sold. Foreign marketers can target
this group by creating awareness about products, offering competitive
prices, and providing better quality products.
Dr Nishi Shah, from the University of Findlay, provided a perspective
on global competence, which she pointed out, was based on knowledge
skills, attitudes and beliefs. Regarding knowledge, she said that
business students should know how the modern world works, about
international relations and comparative politics. Language proficiency
and adaptability contributed to skills, while appreciation for other
cultures, tolerance, willingness to try different approaches, and
learning about other cultures shaped attitudes.
Dr Nishi outlined a global competencies master plan and stressed
that many of the competencies could be acquired through classroom
training. She also outlined the advantages and disadvantages of
traditional teaching techniques, some of which were outdated, according
to her. “Experiential learning or learning by doing is essential
in today's world. There is need for global competencies for competitive
success; it positively impacts interpersonal skills, prepares students
for the real world and inspires personal growth,” she said.
Vishal Pathak, an MBA student who had worked with Thomas Cook as
customer executive, citing a survey, said that 85 per cent of U.S.
Fortune 500 companies did not have enough global leaders, and that
67 per cent of existing leaders were deficient in global skills
and knowledge. Echoing what Dr Nishi had stated, Pathak said that
youngsters needed ability, knowledge as well as personality. “Credibility
is important too. Transferable skills are highly valued by employers.
Study abroad broadens students' horizons and shows employers that
students are motivated.”
Elizabeth Blosser, preparing for the global world of business, was
of the view that knowledge and information is useless without communication.
“It is important to be able to explain ideas and concepts,
to be a successful business person. Precise and clear communication
is necessary. Communication can be difficult between people with
different backgrounds. Growth in technology offers the opportunity
to communicate in a diverse workplace. Globalisation causes inter-cultural
communication. Two cultures have two sets of ideas, beliefs, attitudes
and behaviour. There is the need to understand other cultures, respect
them, and be open minded,” she explained.
Dr Prakashsingh Parmar, threw some light on the homeopathy market
in the U.S., the challenges and opportunities for marketing affordable
alternate medicines that had low side effects as well. Homeopathy
faced opposition from different interest groups; there was lack
of information, and lack of knowledge as well.
Outsourcing is one of the buzzwords today. Explaining the intricacies
of outsourcing (getting a job done by finding a source external
to a particular organization) Sreesudha Annavarapu said that there
were several issues that a vendor had to consider - cost savings
vs growth, speed vs quality of service delivery, organisational
coherence maintenance vs knowledge and innovation. There are reasons
for outsourcing research, such as reduction of operating costs and
access to world-class capability, sharing risks. “Outsourcing
generates fundamental risks and concerns. On the flip side, there
is lack of transparency and suspicion. Choosing the right vendor
is very important. India is the fastest growing country in the field
of information-communication technology (ICT). FDI is a useful source
of investment. Outsourcing will increasingly lose lustre, but will
remain a useful solution,” she said.
The students' presentations were followed by a cultural programme
in the evening, which included a Bharata Natyam performance by Varsha,
and Mohiniattam by Parvati. MOP Vaishnav College students Shraddha,
Poornima and Gayathri, former faculty, PR dept., MOP coordinated.
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Of social service, rural advertising,
outsourcing
 
Sam Singh, a native of Bulundshahr, Uttar Pradesh, had migrated
to the U.S. in 1963. He worked for DuPont for 35 years, eventually
retiring as president of its South Asian operations. Now, Singh
runs in Anoopshahr, his hometown, the Pardada Pardadi Educational
Society. It has been a life's mission for Singh making more than
1,000 girls from deprived families self-reliant. Atul Tandon, director,
Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, says that advertising
in rural India is not easy and that Western models cannot be adopted
easily. Syed Lal, consultant business analyst, says that outsourcing
should be encouraged when trade among nations is. Companies are
looking at outsourcing as a growth strategy; it integrates the economies
of various countries and makes them more interdependent, it expands
market opportunities and supports more choice, he adds.
How the public perceives your company is how your company will
grow. The company's bottom line will keep it afloat but it again
depends on how the public perceives your company,” Sam Singh
said, and echoed John Kennedy's famous words: Ask not what your
country can do for you… ask what you can do for your country.
Ideas come when you are committed, he said, quoting an instance
from the Mahabharata. “If you believe that deep down you can
change the company, then ideas will come,” said the man who
had headed DuPont's South Asian operations. He mentioned how the
picture of a garbage heap on the front page of The New York Times,
which showed an old woman foraging for food along with a dog and
cow in a garbage heap, had pricked his conscience as he was on his
way to a meeting. He then felt he had to do something. He saw the
disparity in rural India - while girls and women worked, men had
fun.
The Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) was his vision, a
facilitator in creating a society where rural women have equal share
in the continual growth of the nation. Singh came up with a package
for empowerment - free books, clothes, cycle transportation, health
training, food, deposit of Rs 10 a day for each girl student, and
a guaranteed job. Overall, it cost Rs 50 a day for each girl. Anoopshahr
Tehsil had 196 villages; 40,000 families below the poverty line.
If one girl from each family joined PPES, it would make a difference.
“If you try and do that for the whole of India, you can imagine
the amount of money needed. So no amount can solve the problem.
Therefore, a hardcore business approach is needed to make this sort
of programme sustainable, scaleable and holistic.
“The drop-outs have come down from 85 per cent to 11 per cent.
Result -empowered women have created new customers. They now have
a socially and financially independent future,” Singh said,
reeling out statistics of the women who have benefited from his
programme running 35 stores and generating Rs 8 million a year,
about 200 girls earning Rs 50 a day, eleven students having turned
full-time employees, and several students benefiting from scholarships
for further studies. He planned to enroll at least one daughter
from 40,000 families, to spread the concept of PPES to the rest
of the world, to start a separate school for boys, develop two villages
as model villages by 2010, and develop a corpus for the organisation.
“If business is based on sound principles, money is not a
problem,”’ Singh said. He urged the students to dream.
A film of PPES was screened.
Atul Tandon, director, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad,
spoke about the challenges in communication and advertising in India.
He was all praise for the TOI Lead India campaign winning an award
at Cannes and mentioned how India and China had lost their political
leadership but was now regaining it.
Outlining the challenges, Tandon spoke about the diversity across
India - geographic, demographic, ethnic, and of language, religion
and lifestyle. “After six decades, I am still an alien in
my country… a mixture of contrasts and contradictions. Many
in rural India still haven't seen a steam engine. You cannot adopt
Western models - the media needs to show much greater responsibility.
Religion is the largest brand in the world, an area that needs to
be addressed. There is cultural diversity too India is a confluence
of cultures. Purchase behaviour is related to cultural conditioning,
location, source of income, education and occupation; also, the
rural-urban divide.”
Tandon touched upon the aspect of developing effective communication,
such as rational, emotional and moral appeals. He listed the issues
concerning advertising as social responsibility, machismo, insensitivity,
sexism, ethics and pomposity. “How would you now look at Jaguar
and Rover now that the brands are owned by an Indian company?”
he asked the audience.
With liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation, the whole
world is one market now, said Dr Nandan Shah, University of Findlay,
focusing in general on business environment issues in domestic and
foreign markets and particularly on pharmaceutical and healthcare
products. “Increasingly, many companies are trying to get
out of their geographical boundaries and enter the global market.
Doing business in foreign markets is not easy. The U.S. market poses
challenges to foreign companies wishing to enter it,” he said,
adding, “many consumers are not aware of anything; they just
buy what they like.”
For the benefit of the audience, a video showing user satisfaction
in Internet ads across English-speaking countries was screened.
It was a presentation by Vinutha Mahadev, a University of Findlay
student, who was unable to come. In it, the audience saw how e-commerce
had changed the way people buy things. User satisfaction, a function
of attitude, was directly proportional to advertising content. Study
results varied between countries while U.S.A. scored high on strong
content and technology, the U.K. scored high on information about
products, and India on looks. According to Mahadev, users were not
satisfied with advertisements, not necessarily the best way to communicate
with customers.
Tehzibfatema provided a comprehensive overview of the Indian and
U.S. economies. “Both economies are lucrative to investors
and marketers; despite recession, the U.S. provides a large market
to many businesses and India's large population provides ample opportunities
for multiple competitors.
Talking about 'Benefits and Challenges of Outsourcing: The Case
of U.S. Business', Syed Lal, consultant business analyst, said that
outsourcing wasn't about moving jobs, it was about the flexibility
to put resources in the right place at the right time. “Outsourcing
is done to allow businesses to focus on their core competencies.
Profit and shareholder value is very important. The objective is
to provide the best services at least cost to customers. Outsourcing
should be encouraged when trade among nations is being encouraged.
Companies are looking at outsourcing as a growth strategy; real
wages get a boost, economic activity increases; exports rise. Outsourcing
integrates the economies of various countries and makes them more
interdependent; it expands market opportunities and supports more
choice. It is important to understand what processes to outsource.
Although labour savings from global outsourcing can be substantial,
it is peanuts compared to the enormous gains in efficiency, productivity,
and quality and revenues that can be achieved by fully leveraging
offshore talent.”
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Indians are second to none in capabilities
 
At the valedictory session, David Hopper, Consul, U.S. Consulate
General, Chennai, provides the viewpoint of the Consulate, which
is responsible for U.S. interests in South India. He mentions four
important challenges and opportunities for India: infrastructure
investment, financial sector liberalization, bilateral investment
and clean technology.
Dr. S. Bhakthavatchalam, deputy director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Department,
says it is necessary to promote tourism as it leads to economic
development and contributes revenue to the country. Excerpts from
Hopper's speech follow:
We have been immensely impressed by India's achievements, especially
in the area of software development and in related fields such as
IT engineering and Internet services. What we have come to understand
more fully is that these developments represent only the tip of
the iceberg of what India can achieve across the wide spectrum of
knowledge -based service industries. In a wide array of leading-edge
and emerging industries such as basic science, pharmaceutical and
biotech, research and development, professional services, remote
sensing, space research and video animation and more Indians have
shown that they are second to none in their capabilities and that
they have the sheer mass to become dominant players in the world
market.
The second point we have come to recognise is that India's market
is not only India, but the whole world. This affects the way U.S.
participation in the Indian market should be understood. As India
seeks to leverage its resources by accessing global capital markets,
and growing its industries to world scale, there is a tremendous
need for infrastructure development and for a more liberal trade
and investment regime.
Third, having carefully reviewed India's priorities, we are now
more convinced than ever that our two countries have a special synergy.
Whether it is in IT and services, or in building infrastructure,
U.S. companies can help India achieve its goals in ways those few
if any other countries can. We need to recognise these synergies
and make them work to our mutual advantage.
Trade between the United States and India has continued to expand,
doubling in the course of only three years and reaching over $50
billion last year. Cultural and people-to-people ties are also strong,
with nearly three million Americans of Indian descent and over 80,000
Indian students in the United States. Indeed, India is the No. 1
source country for foreign students at American colleges and universities.
Another measure of the scale and strength of the human and business
links between India and the U.S. is that my office here in Chennai
issues more visas for skilled workers than any other U.S. diplomatic
or consular post in the world.
Throughout the period of remarkable growth, we have also witnessed
a deepening U.S.-India partnership. We cooperate on everything from
increasing trade and investment, to educational exchanges, to research
and development. We also have learned that the success of India's
economic policies and the acceleration in growth present their own
challenges. These challenges include ensuring India's physical infrastructure
grows sufficiently to support the country's expanding economy. Even
more important is to ensure that India's newfound growth and prosperity
are shared by all. And, as India's presence in global markets expands,
it is also increasingly called upon to address global challenges.
India can be a major player in the global community only if it demonstrates
much-needed leadership on common challenges and opportunities such
as climate change, energy security, non-proliferation, and global
trade and investment.
I want to mention four important challenges and opportunities: infrastructure
investment, financial sector liberalization, bilateral investment
and clean technology. Providing the physical infrastructure - the
roads, ports and airports, power generation, water supply and sewage,
and communication links - India needs to support accelerated growth.
Official estimates suggest that India requires upwards of $500 billion
in infra-structure investment over the next five years. Policymakers
are counting on a significant portion of this investment coming
from the private sector. Our engagement also highlights specific
issues that inhibit domestic and foreign private investment. These
concerns include regulatory environments, dispute settlement and
investor protection, financial sector development, and capital account
issues. Financial sector liberalisation and capital markets reform
will effectively be the linchpin for sustaining India's growth trajectory
and mobilising the huge amount of capital needed to meet the country's
development needs. Liberalisation frees up capital in the financial
sector that can be used to fund development projects and the borrowing
needs of India's consumers and firms. Coupled with comprehensive
reforms, accelerated liberalisation will enable India's capital
markets to mobilize and allocate financial resources.
Allowing greater participation of international financial service
firms will accelerate the development and competitiveness of India's
capital markets. In parallel, it is essential for any economy to
create an enabling regulatory framework based on international standards
and best practices. A strong regulatory framework will help to ensure
that capital enters India in a transparent, productive and enhancing
way.
A bilateral treaty investment (BIT) between the United States and
India would provide an enormous opportunity for both countries by
ensuring legal protection for investors. BITs are great incentives
for two-way investment. This is particularly true of infrastructure
industries, which require large investments in immobile capital.
India already is a party to 45 BITs based on a European model that
protects existing investors. In February 2008, the U.S. government
began exploratory discussions with our Indian counterparts about
the U.S. model, which goes further than the European one by allowing
investors to establish businesses in all sectors except where specifically
prohibited.
India's rapid economic growth and expanding middle class have placed
additional demands on an already strained power sector. India must
more than double its current generation capacity in the next decade.
In India, coal-based power already represents half of the total
generation capacity. America's goal, both through bilateral and
multilateral efforts, is to help India expand the share of renewable
energy in its power generation mix as the country's overall generation
capacity grows. Tamil Nadu traditionally has been an energy-rich
state, and it has the potential to lead the way in terms of development
and wide adoption of alternative energy projects.
These four key issues are significant opportunities. They will enable
us to enhance our bilateral partnership. They will enable us to
foster economic growth. They will enable us to protect the environment,
and they will enable us to promote global economic stability. Greater
Indo-U.S. contact and cooperation are good for India, good for America,
and good for the world.
Providing his impressions of the six-day seminar, Dr Paul Sears
said that the seminar was a learning experience for him, one that
had the spirit of sharing different perspectives. “Honestly,
in this seminar, students were teachers. I learnt a great deal,”
he said, urging students to reflect on their experiences. “Cultivate
the reading habit. Prepare a list of reading material. Do not compartmentalize
the experience; continue to develop more interest and more ideas.
It is an on-going process. Look at the role models you had an opportunity
to meet,” he added.
Dr S. Bhakthavatchalam, deputy director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Dept.,
said that people who visited Tamil Nadu usually came back again.
“Tourism and PR complement each other. It is important to
develop and implement a strategy to attract major sporting and cultural
conferences and events. A good travel website can also be used as
an international marketing tool. It is necessary to promote tourism
as it leads to economic development and contributes revenue for
our country,” he said.
Whether it be adventure tourism, exploration of culture, pilgrimage,
beautiful beaches or scenic hill resorts, Tamil Nadu has them all.
The State Tourism Department has initiated schemes for tourists
such as Bed & Breakfast - tourists stay as guests in Tamil households
(often a room is rented out) and get to experience first hand Tamil
hospitality. Trained and experienced guides chip in by providing
a wealth of information about a heritage or tourist spot, or life
in the towns, cities and villages of Tamil Nadu. Autorickshaw drivers,
taxi drivers and porters have also been trained to be courteous
to tourists. It is all part of the PR effort to spread the good
word about Tamil Nadu.
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TTDC plays the perfect host
 
Dr S. Rajaram, Commissioner and Director of Tourism and Managing
Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., understands
the importance of Public Relations as a tool in corporate governance.
He lent his wholehearted support to the India-USA Global Business
and PR Conference and was glad to bring the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department
as Conference Partner. He was also instrumental in hosting for delegates
a session at TTDC Beach Resort, Mamallapuram.
‘Showcasing tourism through effective corporate communications’
was the subject of discussion on that second day.
The delegates were taken on a tour to Mamallapuram, 60 kms away
from Chennai to see the ancient monuments and experience what it
is to be in a World Heritage Centre. Delegates saw 7th century rock-cut
structures and cave art. The tour included a visit to the Shore
Temple, the Pandava Rathas (monolithic chariots), nine cave temples,
and Arjuna's Penance and the Descent of the Ganges, one of the world's
largest and finest open-air bas reliefs.
The trip to Mudaliyarkuppam backwaters, 36 km from Mamallapuram,
was even more enjoyable. There was boat riding - row boats, pedal
boats and water scooter - which provided the delegates the break
they needed.
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29th All India PR Conference
'PR and Infrastrucutre Development
in India'
Seminar web album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29_all_india_pr_conf/ |
People responsible for quality of
life
Leveraging its strengths and becoming a model country is India's
challenge, says
Dr. Partha Ghosh, founder and director, Partha Ghosh & Associates.
He is for celebrating India's Vedic philosophy and creating 'humanware'
that can be the envy of others.
K.V. Rangaswami, president (construction) and member of the board,
Larsen & Toubro, feels what matters ultimately is deliverance.
He is confident India will become a developed country by 2020.
The 29th All India PR Conference, hosted by the Public Relations
Society of India, Chennai Chapter, began with a devotional song
rendered by Anusha. It was after 14 years that Chennai was playing
host to members of the PRSI from across India. After bouquets were
presented to the chief guests, R.K. Dharan, vice president - south,
PRSI, welcomed the gathering and stressed that 'PR and Infrastructure
Development' was an apt theme for the Conference since India was
progressing fast on various fronts. The theme had elicited good
response from members, he said, pointing out that the first registration
(by Ramkumar Singaram, Chennai) had been made within 48 hours of
it being made open.
Dr. Ajit Pathak, national president, PRSI, lauded the efforts of
PRSI members in making the Conference possible. He said that although
infrastructure and development were well and good, PR practitioners
could not ignore the vast community that looked for fruits of development.
“We must showcase India in the best possible way to foreigners.
The Chak De feeling is there everywhere,” he reminded the
audience.
Stealing the limelight at the inaugural session was Dr. Partha Ghosh,
founder and director, Partha Ghosh & Associates, Boston, U.S.A.,
who presented the keynote address. An IIT Kharagpur graduate, Dr.
Ghosh had started his career with Eveready India. “People
from different echelons of society are involved with various activities.
Infrastructure is an important subject worldwide; while it includes
security in the U.S.A., it also means integration and security in
Europe,” he said, emphasising that each individual had to
play a role in developing infrastructure and that the 'humanware'
element was vital “the way we behave, whether we spit or not.”
“It is the behaviour of people that determines the quality
of life we have,” he said, narrating his experience of driving
from Meenambakkam Airport to the hotel. He noticed car drivers,
belonging to upper echelons of society, unmindful of red lights
at traffic signals.
Recalling his visit to Nippon Steel in 1985, Japan, Dr. Ghosh spoke
about how a blast furnace installed in 1933 in the factory was maintained
every year at a high level of efficiency. He outlined the fundamental
challenges facing the country as being subject to scale, severity
and sensitivity. “So, how we relate to nature is important;
how we connect with infrastructure matters. How do we move from
'entropy to symphony'? We are talking about the lives of people
coming together physical, spiritual, monetary and educational. If
we can as a nation leverage the strengths we have…”
Talking about India's stable democracy, Dr. Ghosh said that the
country had strengthened its balance sheet since Independence and
that Indians had the confidence to move ahead. The country had gained
global stature, its economy driven by the IT, pharmaceutical, automobile
and construction sectors. While 1,500 villages had electricity in
1947, 500,000 villages were electrified by 2003. By the end of the
11th Five Year Plan, 70 percent of India's villages would have electricity.
However, there were several disconcerting areas: 60 percent of the
population did not have access to sanitation; 40 percent had no
access to clean water.
India's per capita consumption had increased 30 times during the
past 50 years. But the per capita consumption of electricity was
very low. Based on per capita income and per capita consumption
parameters, India was at a very early stage of development. “You
can design economic activity that generates wealth whether you follow
the Canadian or Japanese example.
In the past five years, I do not see emphasis on energy efficiency.
If India has to achieve 20 percent of the per capita consumption
of the U.K., we have to add capacity equal to what we have built
in the past 100 years. Such is the challenge of scale. Without (proper)
behaviour and discipline, everything goes waste. It's disheartening,”
Dr. Ghosh said. According to him, 59 percent of electricity capacity
was not used in India. If the power plants were run at 80 percent
efficiency, then 100 billion watts could be produced and savings
of 2.5 trillion rupees, he added.
Dwelling on rural aspects, Dr. Ghosh pointed out that land productivity
had to be increased by a factor of 3. “I am not surprised
you have suicides in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. We have not
solved some of the fundamental problems.” In the Ninth Plan,
63 percent
of the allocation was for top-end infrastructure. Water, sanitation,
agriculture and education got only 37 percent of the resources.
He was all for the development of a strategy to balance portfolios.
Talking about India's metro cities, Dr. Ghosh said that pavements
were fast disappearing. On the road, the Mercedes Benz, a handcart
and people struggled for space. “We have to bring a certain
amount of order,” he stressed. “When I was in China
in 1979, I was amazed at the orderliness. People ride properly,
cross the road at the right place, throw garbage at the right spot.
This doesn't need a lot of money. The challenge is: how do we become
a model country?”
Dr. Ghosh referred to a World Bank report of ten years ago in which
it was mentioned that 35 percent of India was exposed to arsenic
poisoning. “The trade balance is negative although foreign
capital is coming in. India is not competitive vis-à-vis
China and Vietnam. Whose life and what competitiveness are we talking
about? Can we develop a vision of what we want the country to be,
in a knowledge-intensive global environment?”
Infrastructure, Dr. Ghosh said, could not be thought about in isolation.
The challenge was to create equitable wealth, he added. The world
was changing rapidly. By 2050, 65 billion tonnes were likely to
be thrown into the atmosphere. Many places could be under water.
With increased population, there would be more deforestation. The
rich-poor divide would persist. “The world is running out
of resources.
Even Bill Gates and Warren Buffet drive small cars. PR has to develop
public awareness. We have to think of infrastructure with a different
perspective and move to conservation-centric models. We have developed
a consumption-based economy. We have to think of creating small
towns, decentralise, instead of creating another Bangalore or Hyderabad.
Think of mass transportation. Move away from consumption-centric
models. We
have to think of innovative solutions,” he urged.
Dr. Ghosh reiterated the need to enrich the fundamental relationship
between man and nature to fabricate infrastructure of the future.
“The packages we develop for our villages can be sold worldwide.
We have the Vedic advantage, the stabilising factor, in times when
skills are getting challenged every five years. If the Vedic philosophy
can be celebrated, we can create humanware that could be the envy
of others. We need to practise the Vedic philosophy, not by chanting
slokas though.”
Chief guest of the evening, K.V. Rangaswami, president (construction)
and member of the board, Larsen & Toubro, presented a brighter
picture of India. According to him, things had begun to fall in
place, India was almost in a significant stage of development, and
infrastructure was keeping pace with development. The next world
war, he said, would be fought for water. “Some of the primary
needs will become high-end as we go along. We have to ensure that
our villages get electricity and water. What matters ultimately
is deliverance. There is a long gap between concept and commissioning.”
Rangaswami said that the manufacturing, service and agriculture
sectors should all contribute towards growth. India, he pointed
out, would need $500 billion in the coming 5-10 years for infrastructure
growth. Only one-fourth of what was planned had been achieved. Against
a construction market in India worth $ 60-70 billion, only $ 20
billion worth of activity was going on. “Good supervisory
staff and workmen are not available. Massive training is required.
Project managers are in short supply. Cement, steel and stone aggregates
are in short supply. Machinery is in short supply. Natural resources
are available in plenty. We need to see how we can get along without
affecting nature. I am confident India will become a developed country
by 2020. PR has an important role to play.”
A copy of Pathak's book, ‘Dedication to the PR Community’,
was released at the inaugural.
Top |
Zelma Lazarus receives Lifetime Achievement Award
 
The Public Relations Society of India presented Zelma Lazarus,
director, Impact India, the Lifetime Achievement Award for her invaluable
contribution to public relations spanning 35 years. Rajesh Kumar,
vice-president (north), PRSI, read out the citation:
Ms Zelma Lazarus has come to epitomize professional excellence,
personal dedication, devotion to a cause and a zest to excel in
the chosen cause. She has brought to the profession of Public Relations
a deep honesty and dynamism, which has kindled respect for her among
Public Relations professionals the world over. As a PR professional
for over 35 years now, Ms Lazarus has been an inspiration to scores
of us who have drawn inspiration from her leadership, clarity of
thought and courage of conviction. She has been the President of
International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and has taken
Public Relations to a new pedestal.
Over the years she has successfully shown the way forward by spreading
happiness among thousands of disabled people. As CEO of Impact Foundation,
Ms Lazarus has brought together NGOs, Corporates, the government
and other world agencies in order to bridge the gap between the
privileged and the underprivileged. She has been a catalyst in making
the world a better place for at least some of the marginalized people
of the society.
Today, the Impact Foundation has spread to about 15 countries the
world over. The foundation's flagship project - the Lifeline Express
Hospital Train - has spelled magic in the lives of over 50,000 people
from rural India. Impact Foundation has been recognized as the United
Nation's Inter Agency Global Initiative for the prevention of disablement.
In the personal sphere, Ms Lazarus is an accomplished artist. She
loves to paint when she is not busy spreading happiness among people.
Her humbleness, humility and her ability to take everyone along
are worth emulating.
Today, as Public Relations Society of India bestows the Lifetime
Achievement Award on Ms Zelma Lazarus, the fraternity of Public
Relations practitioners salutes her endeavour to give the profession
a nobility of purpose and benevolence of thought.
It is a great privilege to honour Ms Zelma Lazarus.
Lazarus received the award from K.V. Rangaswami, president (construction)
and member of the board, L&T.
Speaking on the occasion, Lazarus said that everybody who had made
the Impact project successful would share the credit for the award.
Chennai, she said, was the place where Impact India had organised
its first major activity - in 1986, 3,00,000 children were immunised
against polio. The United Nations had cited it as an outstanding
project.
“PR has come to occupy a unique place in the intellectual
life of PR practitioners and has tried to reflect the larger and
more enduring challenges of our times. India is a land of contrasts.
The corporates are aware of the need to address the agenda of human
development. Illiterate and underpowered people are an economic
and social liability. How can we in PR contribute to rapidly remove
this imbalance? How can creativity and empowerment be created in
rural areas, and development be ushered in? No government can do
this alone. The corporate world and NGOs can contribute to building
a strong, competitive, prosperous country. Joint partnerships between
NGOs and the corporate world can contribute a strong force towards
development,” she said.
Lazarus worked for Tatas for 30 years where the philosophy was 'what
people give has to be returned'. Impact's Lifeline Hospital training
programme had helped about 5,00,000 people with hearing and facial
deformities; 75,000 surgeons from across India had donated professional
skills. “Partners in a common cause can create healthy, skilled
and empowered people,” she said, beseeching the audience to
help put together corporate and NGO skills.
Lazarus presented Dr. Ajit Pathak, national president, PRSI, a book
on Mahatma Gandhi's sayings.
Top
Infrastructure
needs sensitive touch
You need to be sensitive before starting to build infrastructure.
PR has a far bigger role with people than with companies and media
relations, says Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consultants. Prof.
Atul Tandon, director, Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA),
wants Indians to look at the country's achievements with some degree
of pride and understanding.
The session on 'India and Infrastructure' got off to a flier with
Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consultants, narrating an interesting
experience he had in Munnar years ago. Once, while staying in a
guesthouse atop a hill there, he noticed a set of lights on either
side of a distant hill at 5 am and wondered why they were on. Later,
he found that the lights belonged to the homes of workers in a competitor's
tea estate. The workers were out of their homes for early morning
ablutions. It was a practice they had been following the past 80
years.
Researching further, he found that a young management graduate had
one day told the managing director of the company to build toilets
for the workers at the base of the hill. Rs 16 lakh was spent on
the toilets, and none other than the district collector turned up
to inaugurate. Ten days later, the management found to its dismay
that not a worker was using the toilets. When a survey was conducted,
it all boiled down to idle talk - women loved to banter while squatting
in the fields… it was a habit that had grown over generations
and they were loathe to leave it. The toilets were broken down and
turned into tea stocking godowns.
“You need to be sensitive before starting to build infrastructure.
The standard development paradigm need not be common to all. PR
has a major role here, but PR has forgotten its actual vocation.
PR practitioners believe that their fundamental role is creating
an image for their companies and media relations. There is a far
bigger role with people. We have forgotten the role of 'public';
PR has become more of 'private relations'. PR's meaning has got
hijacked,” he said, adding, “PR is not about a small
set of people who run newspapers or read them. PR is tactical, skin-deep
and strategic, a forever campaign. Sustainable PR is a long-term
effort. This is the future, it is broad-based.”
Bijoor explained that there were five layers to PR:
1. decision-making PR,
2. pink-paper PR (business dailies),
3. white-paper PR (mainline dailies),
4. mass media PR and
5. consumer PR or one-to-one PR.
According to Bijoor, a study on 216 PR organisations in India revealed
that only 2-3 percent of time was devoted to the fifth layer, while
84 percent of time was devoted to mainline and business dailies.
Infrastructure, Bijoor, stressed, was not about building roads and
bridges; it was also about taking into consideration the emotional
aspect, the mindset of people. His question: how does the Indian
start respecting infrastructure? “Forty-seven percent of Indians
urinate in public; 98 percent of them men. It is all about attitudes.
Infrastructure development must have a model that believes in consumers
being important. Infrastructure is not a friendly word. It needs
to be demystified. You have to make it friendly for consumers to
understand,” he said, referring to bang-for-the-buck economics.
Bijoor also pointed out the need to remove caste differences, plan
right and get rid of the I-me-myself attitude. Green infrastructure
was the future, he added.
Prof. Atul Tandon, director, Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA),
explained that culture, consumer and communication were three verticals,
with PR and communication influencing changing behaviour. He believed
that private individuals and the government were doing a good job
in communicating. Prof. Tandon wondered whether India could sustain
its progress. The huge business opportunity in the country presented
PR an equally huge role to invite industry and government to invest.
“We must look at infrastructure keeping in mind the stakeholders
involved and encourage private-public partnerships. Funding options
will be driven by government.”
Prof. Tandon listed out the investments needed in various sectors
of infrastructure: $150 billion for 70,000 MW power; $ 76 billion
for roads, expressways and national highways; $ 63 billion for railways;
$ 18 billion for ports; and $ 65 billion for telecom and IT. He
pointed out the need to educate people on how to drive on roads,
change lanes; maintain parking around railway stations; reduce congestion
at ports; and to build a sense of national pride.
Prof. said that ITC's e-chaupals were a great step forward in contributing
to rural infrastructure. PR's role, he cautioned, was not just about
educating people, it included creation of infrastructure by inviting
participation, maintenance of infrastructure, and preservation (educating
people on how to use infrastructure). Citing the case of Nandigram
in West Bengal as a bad case of PR, he said that it was important
to convince people to give up land they own for infrastructure development.
Had any PR agency taken the initiative to create a rapprochement
between different political parties on the nuclear issue, he asked.
Centre-state coordination was vital, especially when political ideologies
were different, he added. Prof. Tandon pointed out that the future
of India lay in creating pride in the minds of 500 million people
who are less than 25 years of age and 300 million below 15. “People
appreciate cleanliness irrespective of illiteracy or education.
Only by example can we demonstrate. Let us look at what we have
achieved so far with some degree of pride and understanding. Can
PR correct India's standing in the World Development Index?”
he asked, urging PR members to do something.
Renuka Salwan, deputy director-PR, Bureau of Indian Standards and
representing the Chandigarh Chapter, PRSI, chaired the session.
She mentioned how, thanks to her Chapter's efforts, the Chandigarh
Government had sensitized auto drivers to project the city in a
good light to tourists.
Top
A world-class facility does not come free of cost
 
Thomas Abraham, general manager-corporate communication, Ashok
Leyland, lists the challenges of the transportation sector as maintaining
operational efficiency, providing safety and comfort, and creating
communication opportunities. Rohit Modi, chief executive, Roads
& Bridges, L&T, says the best PR person of a company is
the CEO himself. PR, he adds, is about listening 80 percent of the
time. S. Viswanathan, editor and publisher, Industrial Economist,
says PR practitioners have spoiled journalists who rely on press
handouts. He is all for state governments to undertake large infrastructure
projects.
Thomas Abraham, general manager-corporate communication, Ashok Leyland,
set the tone for the session on Indian highways by recalling the
names of ordinary citizens who had made a mark and made India proud:
M.S. Dhoni, son of a migrant mechanic; Prashant Tamang, a policeman,
another son of a migrant; E. Sreedharan, who introduced 'corporatisation'
in project management; B. Seenaiah, a builder of roads; A.B. Vajpayee,
India's former Prime Minister who kicked of modern highway construction;
and Arvind Kejriwal, an IT professional, a “singular influence”
on the Right to Information Act. Highways, the roads towards efficiency,
he said, represented modern India. India that once looked up to
the U.S.A., now had newfound confidence; Indian economy had found
its own idiom of efficiency.
“Idle inventory is a sin. We need reliable logistics, predictable
roads. Highways reduce hold-ups, inventory cost, transportation
cost,” he said, relating one instance years ago of how he
had reached late for an appointment with his would-be father-in-law
due to oversleeping and a bad Mumbai-Pune road. “Today, thanks
to the expressway, I could oversleep for another two hours,”
he quipped.
Providing the industry perspective, Abraham said that the extra
demand for vehicles had softened the blow of recession. The transportation
sector had witnessed a 26 percent growth in the past six years because
of the demand for modern vehicles. The average age of vehicles had
come down, and the market profile of vehicles was changing to 'hub-and-spoke'
and tractor-trailer. This had resulted in quicker turnaround time,
better payload, better power-to-weight ratio, the demand for ready-to-use
vehicles with specialised and customised bodies that came with maximum
productivity had increased, and the importance of reliability and
service to guarantee delivery time had gained momentum. Thanks to
privatisation of road maintenance, there was a move towards a rated
payload regime. “We must change the lives of the average trucker.
The second generation of truckers is holidaying in places like Honolulu,”
he pointed out.
Touching upon the aspect of road safety, Abraham said that powerful
vehicles, increased road speed and driver shortage were leading
to more accidents. Many drivers were 21-26 years of age. “The
Indian truck driver does not come out of any academy. Driving often
runs in the family. Most drivers start as cleaners, and no skills
are taught as such. If we can give drivers respect, they will take
care of vehicles and people.”
Abraham listed the challenges of the transportation sector as maintaining
operational efficiency, providing safety and comfort, and creating
communication opportunities. A truck stops almost every 50 km for
tolls; it has to cross 73 checkposts travelling Chennai-Delhi! Abraham
stressed that stricter safety norms, vehicle inspection and proper
driving license systems, and providing car-like driving comfort
were key issues. And about communication: “Do people in India
really understand the benefits from the Golden Quadrilateral? We
have to demonstrate them on the national stage. We have to involve
corporates, and make travel a pleasure,” he said.
Taking off from where Abraham left, Rohit Modi, chief executive,
Roads and Bridges, L&T, dwelt on the critical role PR and communication
played in public-private initiatives. He listed six “facts”:
India is a trillion dollar economy. Against a population of 1.1
billion, the average per capita income is less than US $1,000. Any
developed country has an average per capita income of
US $16-20,000. If India grows 15-16 percent every year, the country
would reach US $ 8,000 per capita in five years, if population does
not grow. Since that will not be the case, the 8000-mark would be
reached only in 20 years. By then, developed countries would have
reached the US $50,000-mark
With the Indian economy likely to grow 9-10 percent in real terms
over the next 20 years, we are talking about one of the strongest
economies in the world, with savings/investments exceeding a growth
rate of 35 percent
lWhile earlier, the entire economic growth was driven by states
such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu, today the growth process is getting widened and most chief
ministers were talking about development
There is a deepening of the growth process. Earlier, it was IT,
services and manufacturing. Now we talk of inclusive growth, rural
employment, agricultural productivity and more money in the hands
of the poor
The world is aging. Seventy percent of the work force is young.
By 2025, Indian growth rates would overtake China. India will become
a preferred supplier (“sweet spot of demography”)
Three years ago, the question was how to attract FDI. Today, we
talk about managing foreign capital. India is the only country to
have a realistic interest rate of 6 percent or thereabouts. With
expected rupee appreciation, there will be huge capital inflows
and investments can actually exceed the domestic savings rate
Talking about Indian highways, Modi pointed out that transportation
had a demand elasticity of 1.2 to 1.5, and that the demand for transportation
would grow 12-15 percent every year at a conservative estimate,
what he termed as “an incredible growth beyond all expectations.”
Railways and ports, he added, were beneficiaries of such demand.
Through the 1990s, the average expenditure on national highways
was Rs 500 crore. Between 2000 and 2006, it had multiplied ten times,
to Rs 5,000 a year. Modi was of the view that expenditure during
2007-2015 would multiply five times to reach Rs 25,000 crore a year.
“But nobody talked about this. It is a PR failure,”
he said.
“The U.S. was able to construct fantastic highways thanks
to the Federal Highways Act of 1956, which levied a road cess. India
was among the first countries to have a road cess - 3 paise per
litre in 1927. It remained the same for 70 years! It was Vajpayee's
vision to levy a Re 1 cess on diesel. He avoided the rural backlash
by saying he would use 50 percent of the money generated on rural
roads,” explained Modi, referring to the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojna that has now not only made the Golden Quadrilateral
(Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Saurashtra to Silchar) possible, but also
made every state government a stakeholder. He lauded Vajpayee's
standing firm when truckers struck work then. “We have not
had an issue on tolls since. The Indian Tolls Act is vintage. The
issue was never willingness to pay, but unwillingness to charge.”
Modi also referred to a “celebrated case of PR failure”
in Coimbatore. A bridge and bypass were being built; construction
of the bridge was completed in 12 months, the bypass took another
12 months. However, the bridge was opened earlier and a toll was
collected from passing vehicles. People were reluctant to pay because
the bypass was not ready; and were not well-educated on this first
“BOT (build-own-operate) concept based Road & Bridge project”.
Modi provided the East Coast Road example as one of good PR. He
said that the instance of a PR practitioner becoming the CEO of
a company was rare, but the best person for PR was the CEO himself.
“PR is actually a strategy about listening 80 percent of the
time and responding. If you want a world-class facility, you cannot
get it free of cost. You will have to pay a world-class price for
it.” He exhorted PR practitioners to follow the 3Ps of attitude
(pride and passion, perseverance, patience), backed by the 3Ps of
planning, preparedness and pragmatism.
Recalling his experience about PR, S. Viswanathan, editor and publisher,
Industrial Economist, who was once editor of a transport monthly,
said that there were very few PROs in the 1970s. Once, a cigar-smoking
PRO of a cycle manufacturing company, attired in a three-piece suit,
asked Viswanathan how the latter had got figures relating to cycle
production in his company, for even he had no access to that information.
Viswanathan had sourced the figures from a report of the Industries
Department that mentioned production figures of large transport
companies. Such were the disclosure norms in those days. “I
see a tremendous transformation in the past 50 years. The public
sector has done
a remarkable job in giving PR stature. The PR practitioner may head
organisations as a matter of right,” he said.
When Viswanathan visited Germany in the 1960s, he noticed that the
major thrust then was on infrastructure, the autobahn. “Till
Vajpayee, our approach to highways and tolls was atrocious. He drew
a similar parallel in the Indian Railways for 40 years, addition
to the railways was zilch till George Fernandez (former minister)
came along. Most of the development of the railways happened under
the British. Under the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans,
additions amounted to less than 50 percent of targets, according
to him. “There was failure across the board. Shipping, for
example, carried hardly ten percent of the traffic.
A minister, after the crashing of an Airbus 320, grounded all such
aircraft for a year. It was Rudy (Pratap) and Praful Patel (the
first a former civil aviation minister and the second who took over
from him) brought about change in the skies.”
“We have been spoilt by PR practitioners like you, relying
on handout journalism. You have made us lazy. Very little of investigative
work is being done. In SEZs (special economic zones), for instance,
there is no proper knowledge about rehabilitation packages. It is
essentially an art in PR. Development issues are given less importance.
Let us not concentrate on peripheral issues, let us look at issues
of development,” he said, pointing to the introduction of
the Rs one lakh car to be launched by Tatas. “Imagine the
state of our roads then. The solution lies in going for mass rail
transit systems, like in London and New York, the London underground.
Today, Tamil Nadu, with a budget of Rs 45,000 crore, can afford
to think of large projects. Large-scale funding is viable today.
The southern regions are prosperous but not thinking of large projects.
Can we have a Chennai-Bangalore corridor, through Sriperambudur,
Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Vellore, Krishnagiri and Hosur? Can we not
then raise such a corridor to Hosur? Companies can afford if they
have the commitment.”
Viswanathan had a few more pertinent questions for PRSI members:
Three lives are lost in Chennai everyday due to road accidents.
Can something be done about it?
Except Ashok Leyland, no company in the south offers training or
induction programmes to drivers. Can others too set up driving schools?
Two-wheeler drivers do not use helmets. Can something be done about
it?
Answers to these questions could be found, he was convinced, if
media and corporates became more conscious about the issues.
Top
Transparency
in communication earns respect, goodwill
Cities and citizens get the infrastructure they deserve, says
V. Suresh, director, Gold Souk, pointing to several low levels:
of infrastructure, service, maintenance, capacity to pay, collection
and recovery, and investments. Ramesh Nair, director-corporate solutions,
Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, stresses that clients seek world-class
facilities and that the communication strategy should focus on the
client. Anuj Dayal, chief PRO, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, is
convinced that the old style of working no longer helps. Construction
areas have to be barricaded, made protected areas. It improves the
image of any construction organisation, he says.
As against 10 percent urbanization in 1900, more than 50 percent
of the world's population today lived in the cities. From two billion
a hundred years ago, urban population had grown to six billion.
Twenty-one megacities were situated in the developing world. By
2050, urban population was likely to cross 9.3 billion, and the
developing countries' population will constitute 88 percent of the
total population. In India, 540 million people, or 40 percent of
the population, would be urban dwellers by 2021. V. Suresh, director,
Gold Souk, a real estate development company, provided the interesting
statistics.
The growth of India's cities continues unabated. While greater Mumbai,
Kolkata and Delhi were 10 million-plus population cities, Chennai,
Bangalore and Hyderabad were fast catching up, each with population
exceeding 5 million. Ahmedabad, Pune and Surat followed, in the
3-5 million population range; Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow and Nagpur
in the 2-3 million category; and Patna, Indore, Allahabad, Rajkot
and many other cities brought up the rear with populations of 1-2
million each.
Cities were major growth engines that contribute to the economy.
In India, city-based economies contributed 70 percent of GDP, thanks
to the manufacturing and services sectors. The average GDP growth
rate hovered around 8-9 percent. Disposable incomes were five times
more than they were in 1995. According to Suresh, Rs. 2,20,000 crore
would be spent by 2012 in modernising and upgrading highways, building
four-lane (14,274 km), and two-lane (2000 km) roads, as well as
express highways (1000 km).
Suresh said that the Indian Railway network needed modernisation
and expansion, introduction of high-speed trains, container trains,
and freight corridors for which an investment of Rs. 300,000 crore
was needed. He added that 750 metric tonnes of goods were transported
every year, and 6.5 billion people travelled in trains every year,
the number growing at 5 percent annually. In the world's second
largest commercial aircraft market, passenger traffic was growing
20 percent a year. Modernisation and expansion of airports would
require an investment of Rs. 40,000 crore. And 23 more ports at
an investment of Rs. 8,000 crore were needed (there are only 13
ports now) along India's 6,400-km long coastline to be able to handle
various cargos. Nearly 400 projects under the National Maritime
Development Programme needed an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore.
Additional power generation required Rs. 6,10,000 crore investment.
An annual investment of Rs. 2,25,000 crore was required to set up
all this.
Suresh listed out areas that were not drawing necessary attention
from government: water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management,
roads and city transportation networks. Protected water supply,
proper sanitation, provision of latrines, refuse collection and
disposal, or electrification, there was all-round deficiency. “Maintenance
of assets is the key. Cities are bursting at the seams and civic
conditions are in disarray because funding from central and state
governments, local bodies, and banks and financial institutions
only add up to a tenth of the resources needed. It is a vicious
circle: low level of infrastructure, low service level, low maintenance,
low capacity to pay, low collection and recovery, and low investments.
Cities and citizens get the infrastructure they deserve. According
to the WHO, 85 percent of all diseases is due to bad quality water
supply, lack of sanitation, drainage and waste disposal and environment
pollution. Every one rupee spent on infrastructure saves Rs 10 crore
in public health cost later,” Suresh pointed out.
Suresh provided the example of Alandur in Chennai, where 20,000
families raised money to set up a good sewerage system. “No
city has taken the initiative to recycle water; in China, 65 percent
of the water is recycled. We need additional finance, the latest
technologies, and Indian managerial skills. A regulatory authority
is needed to ensure that projects are completed on time,”
he said. Drawing from the Philippines, Gujarat was the first state
to formulate an Infrastructure Development Act, he pointed out.
Suresh listed the “imperatives” as; development of legal,
regulatory and institutional mechanisms; a fiscal and financial
framework; creation of a new breed of urban managers; development
of innovative financing and security mechanisms, creation of public-private
and government-citizen partnerships; general consensus on national
issues; and creation of awareness and mobilizing public opinion
to attract investments.
Ramesh Nair, director-corporate solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj,
touched upon the trends in the real estate sector and the broad
communication strategy for PR in the sector. Stating that current
trends as well as a future outlook were important, he mentioned
that sustainability of projects, environmental responsibility and
management, investing in high-performing systems, indoor air quality
were all important considerations today. Energy consciousness, he
added, was viewed as the best long-term method for stretching scare
resources, and investors were pushing for 'green building' norms.
Fifty percent of the FDI coming into India was targeted at the real
estate sector. Global companies had established offices in Chennai.
“With globalisation, clients seek world-class facilities.
The latest trends come here in two or three months. There are four
generations at work in the real estate business, each with different
values. The communication strategy should focus on change management.
The focus has to be on the client. You must differentiate, focus,
personalise, build trust and be professional,” Nair said.
Anuj Dayal, chief PRO, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, emphasised
that communication and construction went hand in hand; communication
helped reflect the working culture. With the experience of the Delhi
Metro behind him, Dayal looked at the construction activity at the
Kathipara junction with a critical eye. As he drove from Meenambakkam
airport, he noticed various places dug up, no barricades, and no
apparent concern for public safety. “Expectations of people
have risen in proportion to their standards. People in Delhi now
are not willing to accept low standards. You cannot get away with
the old style of working. In Delhi, construction areas are barricaded;
they are protected areas. “It improves the image of any construction
organization,” he said.
He went on to narrate how proper communication had enabled Delhi
Metro to get its approvals quickly, how it led to people associated
with the Delhi Metro project being treated with respect, and how
it helped save money in advance (the reference was probably to legal
claims). Communication was essential, especially at the implementation
stage, he added.
Incidentally, the Delhi Metro was the largest urban intervention
project since the country's Independence. Overseas visitors arrive
every day to have a look. Sixty-five km of metro rail was built
three years ahead of schedule. The success of India's most modern
metro has led to its likely introduction in Bangalore and Hyderabad
soon, and possibly in Chennai, Kochi and Ludhiana.
The success, according to Dayal, was about selling dreams to the
public, while controlling information outflow. “Getting media
interested was important. There was emphasis on local reporting.
Site visits were arranged for the press. I have learnt a lot of
civil engineering myself to be able to communicate to the press.
Civil engineering can be converted into very interesting stories.
We did not use much advertising but conducted community interaction
programmes where our engineers were introduced to the public and
our schedules explained. The communication channel opened a safety
valve. We listened, addressed grievances, replied to queries; so
they were thoroughly surprised.”
Thus, there was grassroots interaction. Students were sent to malls
to educate people on how to use the escalator, for example, in Hindi,
Punjabi and Haryanvi. “You have to be careful with television;
to be used only sparingly. Most of the reporters (TV) are young
with no background (civil engineering). No camera byte was given.
Radio was very effective. We don't participate in exhibitions -
not worth the money. Printed literature, yes. You have to be prepared
as a PR person to act very fast. Give accurate information always.
Allow only interaction with the PR department.”
Dr. Ashok Kumar Balyan, director - HR, ONGC, moderated the session.
|
Top
When private
enterprise scored
Why can't we build an airport like the one in Singapore? Because
we don't have the pride in ourselves to say we can; we have first-class
talent but no unity (of purpose), says
Dr. A. Ramakrishna, former president and joint managing director,
L&T, and adds that both PR pressure and private enterprise is
needed.
Captain K. Mahadevan, former GM-marketing and planning, Spice
Jet, points out that cheap air travel motivates people and gives
them reason to travel more often.
Dr. A. Ramakrishna, former president and joint managing director,
L&T, set the ball rolling, stating that engineers and contractors
preferred to keep a low profile and did not communicate to the outside
world as they should. Referring to a point made in an earlier session,
Ramakrishna confessed that in the case of the Coimbatore bypass
project, there was lack of proper communication to the people at
large.
Returning to the subject on hand, Ramakrishna said that the boom
in the civil aviation sector was a big success story. The number
of airlines and airplanes had increased, making air travel affordable,
popular and useful. “When we started bidding for the Bangalore
airport, the Karnataka Government had failed in negotiations with
Singapore Airlines even though Deve Gowda (former Indian Prime Minister)
had signed the agreement. Because no decisions were made. The Tatas
gave up and L&T was thus involved.”
Ramakrishna provided the example of Switzerland's Zurich airport,
built by Siemens, Germany. “Nobody thought that a private
company could build an airport and maintain it well. The airport
caters to three million passengers a day.” In the case of
Bangalore, S.M. Krishna (former Karnataka chief minister) extended
full support; the Vajpayee government was very proactive. “They
supported us. It took two and a half years for all agreements to
be signed and a policy framework to be put in place. Hyderabad under
Chandrababu Naidu (former chief minister) followed the Bangalore
example. So, we had two Greenfield airports, 5,000 acres each, and
the BOO (build-own-operate) mode in place,” he explained.
The challenge was, of course, to make the Bangalore project viable.
Siemens contributed 40 percent, L&T and Zurich Airport 17 percent
each, the Airport Authority of India 13 percent, and Karnataka Industrial
Development Corporation 13 percent. The objective was to work together
and gain public acceptance in the face of opposition. The project
provided direct employment to 1,000 people; and indirect employment
to 4,000, for every million passengers using the facility.
When 9/11 happened, the civil aviation sector faced a setback. Only
7 percent growth in air traffic could be projected. Subsequently,
after Praful Patel (Minister of Civil Aviation) visited the United
States and announced the 'open sky' policy between the two countries,
it made a tremendous change. Many private operators came into the
picture. Fares turned cheaper. Common people were able to travel
by air. And there was a lot of PR exercise by different airlines.
Elaborating on the Hyderabad airport project, Ramakrishna said that
it took three and a half years for all the agreements to be signed
and passed. The project was executed under the BOOT (build-own-operate-transfer)
model and a concession fee of 4 percent was paid to the government.
By then, the aviation sector was booming at 26 percent growth and
the project became viable. The Bangalore and Hyderabad success stories
(increased passenger inflow and increased economic activity) led
to proposals for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports. By
2012, these are likely to turn into world-class airports, fit to
cater to 100 million passengers.
“Why can't we build an airport like the one in Singapore?
Because we don't have the pride in ourselves to say we can. We have
first-class talent but no unity (of purpose). Again, connectivity
from the city to the airport is not happening, unlike in Singapore,
Hong Kong and Kuala Lampur. PR pressure is needed and private enterprise
should come in even for railways. Non-metro airports will witness
tremendous growth,” Ramakrishna said. However, he bemoaned
the lack of engineers who could plan with a long-term view. He estimated
the total investment in airport in the coming five years to be about
Rs 50,000 crore. He was confident that finances would come from
the private sector and stressed the need for public-private partnerships.
Captain V.K. Mahadevan, former GM-marketing and planning, Spice
Jet, and former head of in-flight business development and sales,
Air Deccan, remarked that everybody was looking forward to developments
in the aviation industry. Earlier, airlines were never considered
as an option for the common man, but low-cost airlines had brought
convenience and grown the economy. He spoke of the need to play
the AIDA marketing ploy - Attract attention, raise Interest, translate
interest into Desire, and transform desire into Action. Air Deccan
had followed this method and relied on word-of-mouth publicity.
Capt. Mahadevan added that cheap air travel motivated people and
given them reason to travel more often. Internet had changed the
rules of the game, and quality had improved with competition. There
was need to focus on destinations and several other areas. Today's
traveller was more demanding, and information, from reservations
to car rentals, was always solicited. Attracting new customers and
retaining existing ones was not an easy task, he said.
Anu Mazumdar, PRO, Power Grid Corporation of India, and chairperson,
PRSI, Guwahati Chapter, chaired the session.
Top
Words and pictures
play their part
 
How many of us work on the computer using our mother tongue?
Jagruti Trivedi, CEO, MINE, says that it is time we are able to
do things ourselves without being dependent. Creating software for
all Indian languages is as tough as getting to know the existence
of language specialists, she adds. Pablo Bartholomew, ace Indian
photographer, explains the need for more interaction between linguists
and industry and points out that archiving and delivery of content
are some of the challenges facing photographers and users today.
Words and visuals constitute 'mental infrastructure' in the modern
era. While bridges and roads connect physically, language connects
people mentally by providing understanding; words not only enable
clear thinking, but also better social organisation; words and visuals
are a better medium for education, transmission of knowledge and
propagation of the arts; they open new roads for the transport and
traffic of ideas, said Dr. Sundari, head of the PR and Communications,
Department of Stella Maris College, Chennai, introducing the session
on language and communication.
Expanding on the topic, Jagruti Trivedi, CEO, MINE, and former secretary
of the Vadodara Chapter of the PRSI, pointed out that language represented
many aspects, including silence and body language. Whether you called
a person 'tum' or 'aap', it was good enough as long as the message
was communicated, she added. “Literature is the deepest form
of communication. We always tend to think of the language we represent
as important. The world is shrinking and there is a need for open
minds and harmonious communication. We have to understand the mind
and psyche of consumers. We have to learn more about other languages.
Person-to-person communi-cation is important,” Trivedi explained,
pointing out that with multinational organisations entrenching themselves
in India, French and German were no longer just foreign languages;
many Indians spoke them. According to her, knowing the native language
was the best means to penetrate the population, it helped you cross
the bridge halfway.
Global companies, spanning telecom, medicine, engineering, finance,
automotive, heavy engineering, legal, religion, and even NGOs, were
focusing on India. The need for language specialists had arisen.
No longer was it enough to produce a company brochure in English.
User manuals usually included local languages. With the Right to
Information Act coming into force in India, even patients could
seek explanations from doctors in the language preferred. At another
level, foreigners liked to know more about India's local deities,
for example, not just about the Ramayan and Mahabharata.
Talking about the technical aspects of language communication, Trivedi
said that the focus had to shift from pen and paper to computers
because it saved time and was more productive. There was the need
for computerisation at the grassroots level, and server-based or
server-independent translation memory tools. There had been some
technological development in India in these aspects thanks to the
initiative taken by the Technological Development for Indian Languages,
which had developed tools such as the Desika software and Sanskrit
processing tools. “Can you work on the computer using your
mother tongue? Today, you have to do things yourself, not be dependent.
How do we go about doing this for all Indian languages? How do we
get to know the existence of language specialists? There is a need
for more interaction between linguists and industry. There are 1076
distinct languages in India; 33 of them are spoken by at least a
lakh,” she said.
Dwelling on visuals as a key aspect in communications, Pablo Bartholomew,
ace Indian photographer known worldwide and who now specialised
in photo data-based solutions and server-based digital archiving
systems, displayed a series of his pictures that sought to sensitise
the community to certain subjects such as the Bhopal gas tragedy,
tribal life in India, refugees, and morphine addicts. He mentioned
photography as “only emerging” in India and classified
it as documentary, photojournalism, editorial, corporate events,
advertising, weddings and portraiture.
Photography came to India fairly early, starting with glass negatives
and the large wooden camera. World War II saw 35 mm photography
becoming popular, as well as the compact hand-held camera. Magazines
such as Life, Time and Paris Match began to use a lot of visual
material. “Photography is now in everybody's hand. You can
take pictures with a cell phone. It has propelled the citizen journalist
in everybody and you can use the image to document or tell a story.
You are the fly on the wall and can see how things evolve,”
said Bartholomew whose pictures had appeared in Time, Newsweek,
National Geographic and won several awards including the World Press
Photo Award in 1975 for pictures portraying the junkie era in India
(after the hippie era). Bartholomew had also captured life behind
the scene in the Bombay film industry - pictures of Big B, Nafisa
Ali, stuntmen as well as poignant images of suicide deaths in Vidharba,
pictures of Nihangs in Punjab, of Sant Bhindranwale in the Golden
temple complex, and of surrender after Operation Bluestar.
Bartholomew urged PR practitioners to consider some “crucial
questions” before hiring a photographer for corporate work:
the kind of photographer, who owns the rights to pictures, the assignment
and day rate, negotiation of licensing, buying photography or hiring
work. “A photograph is really the intellectual property of
the artiste that is translated into film.” Referring to the
American Society of Media Photographers, he said that there was
a need to develop such an association in India. He pointed out that
archiving and delivery of content were some of the challenges facing
photographers and users.
Top
Internet, Indian
Railways: powerful forces both
 
David Appasamy, chief communications officer, Sify Technologies,
says PR helps build the right perception about a company and if
only 'old media' is used, it is not effective in today's world.
He stresses on two-way communication and the power of the Internet,
which he says must form the core of any PR programme. S. Anantharaman,
chief commercial manager, passenger marketing, Indian Railways,
points out that if the Indian Railways is absent, then seven crore
lorries and 5.11 crore buses will be needed to transport men and
material.
The road ahead, he adds, lies in strengthening core competency and
pursuing public-private partnerships.
In recent years, information technology (IT) was the driving force
behind the Indian economy. The IT boom in India would not have been
possible without the Internet, which had led to the creation of
development centres across the country delivering work to other
parts of the world. Talking about 'PR in the age of the Internet',
David Appasamy, chief communications officer, Sify Technologies,
pointed out that Internet was a network of networks that touched
human beings. “We in PR have not truly understood the power
of the Internet nor embraced it. Others have and are doing wonderfully
well.” The power of the medium, he said, lay in the fact that
users generated a whole lot of content, and that the IT infrastructure
would get more and more ubiquitous because of anywhere-anytime connectivity.
The possibilities for PR would thus be immense.
While print publications provided static, one-way communi-cation,
and radio and television too, to a large extent, the Internet had
opened out a whole new world of possibilities. According to Appasamy,
it democratised information (made information available to anyone
anytime, anywhere); it was a dynamic, interactive platform; the
medium enabled text, audio, video and rich graphics; and the user-led
content invited participation, enables social interaction.
“PR is a relationship between the general public and an institution
of any kind. It helps build the right perception about a company.
If you continue using 'old media', you are not building relationships.
You need a two-way communication channel. The power of IT infrastructure
is that it is open to all whatever be the size of the organisation.
There is global IT infrastructure you can use to build and shape
your business,” he explained. Appasamy narrated the example
of Steve Madden whose shoe business boomed thanks to his Website
catalogue and his interaction with customers through chats and blogs.
Madden was able to connect and give customers what they wanted.
The Steven Madden brand was driven by PR empowered by the Internet,
Appasamy said, adding that Madden used minimal advertising.
“How many of you have the Internet at the core of your PR
programme? We are using it only peripherally. Fifty percent of India's
GDP is from the service sector where PR is important. Look how the
Internet can be leveraged. Hire young people to strategize. Identify
opportunities. Create a new momentum to relationships you build
for companies and brands. See how you can lift PR to a higher level,”
Appasamy exhorted PRSI members.
Turning the spotlight on the Indian Railways was S. Anantharaman,
chief commercial manager, passenger marketing, Indian Railways,
and zonal secretary, Institute of Rail Transport India. Fourteen
lakh railway employees ran 9,200 passenger trains everyday; more
than 22 lakh people travelled everyday on the Indian Railways;
720 million tonnes of freight were carried in 2007. Referring to
romantic journeys, Samir Goswami, former national president, PRSI,
and chairman, Kolkata Chapter, who chaired the session, said that
Indian Railways not only carried men and material, but also helped
the development of the country's socio-economic culture.
Anantharaman put the role of the Indian Railways in better perspective
by pointing out that if the railways were absent, then seven crore
lorries and 5.11 crore buses would have to be used to transport
men and material. “So you can imaging the impact on roads,
environment, health, economic growth and mobility. In Chennai, for
instance, we would need 14 lakh lorries to carry coal to power houses;
3835 additional lorries in Chennai!”
Calling the Indian Railways the 'real link in the supply chain,
Anantharaman listed the 'elements of turnaround' as: higher asset
utilisation, rationalisation of tariff, higher speed incentives,
leveraging of economic growth, a re-look at operating prices, and
higher employee morale. The railways, he added, always had a favourable
turnaround ratio. The past two years had witnessed an incremental
loading of 70 million tones; productivity had increased substantially,
return on investments too. The Railway Minister (Laloo Prasad Yadav)
had focused on two aspects: utilisation of assets, and leveraging
systems to the hilt. Speeds of all mail and express trains had increased.
A series of incentives had been introduced for corporates such as
bulk and volume discounts and specific concessions.
The GDP growth of 8.9 percent coincided with the railway boom. The
Railway Minister, Anantharaman said, had suggested a re-look at
operating practices and set a “virtuous cycle” in day-to-day
operations. “Everybody wants to be a part of a success story.
It is the greatest motivation. We are growing at ten percent. While
staff size is reducing, we are geared to meet the challenges ahead.
Faster-heavier-longer is the mantra. The operating ratio (78 percent)
or expenses-revenue ration of the Indian Railways is the best in
the world,” he said.
On the anvil was the setting up of a dedicated freight corridor
(Mumbai-Delhi; Delhi-Calcutta), laying of 5,000 km of track with
higher axle load capacity at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore. The road
ahead, according to Anantharaman, lay in strengthening core competency,
pursuing the public-private partnership model especially for financing
railway projects, development of agro chains for better movement
of agri products, establishment of a dedicated freight corridor
and enabling port connectivity. Space on stations would be exploited,
gauge conversion would continue, there would be track renewals for
safety and comfort, bridges and world-class terminals would be built,
and suburban transportation infrastructure would be developed. All
this, he said, would come about by 2015, at an estimated cost of
Rs 3,00,000 crore.
Top
Nuclear energy
in the time of power shortage
 
Rural electrification is the biggest joke; many Indian village
have feeble electricity or hardly any power at all, says Prof. A.
Gopalakrishna Iyer, editor-in-chief, Enertia-Falcon Media. He adds
that malls must set up captive power plants or find a source of
their own.
Dr S.K. Malhotra, head-corporate communications, Department of Atomic
Energy, clears misconceptions about nuclear power with a humour-packed
lecture. No debate about going hydro, thermal or nuclear is needed
when there is shortage of resources, he says, and is convinced that
if the Indo-U.S. nuclear talks fail, India will lose face and there
will be a 6,000 MW shortfall.
It was with a comparison between India and China that Prof. A.
Gopalakrishna Iyer, editor-in-chief, Enertia-Falcon Media, Mumbai,
kick-started the session on power. As against an installed capacity
of 1,30,000 MW (shortfall of 40,000 MW) in India, China had an installed
power capacity of 4,00,000 MW; however, China's GDP, at $ US 3.8
trillion, was three times more than that of India's $ US 3.8 trillion.
India was a more efficient user of energy, but did not have the
resources. During the past five years, Mumbai, Delhi, the National
Capital Region, and Chennai, thanks to call centres and industries,
faced a peak power situation almost throughout the day. Tamil Nadu
usually had a shortfall of 600 MW, with the shortfall peaking in
summer, at 1,500 MW.
“Rural electrification is the biggest joke. Feeble electricity,
or hardly any electricity at all, flows in Indian villages. And
I'm not talking of Bihar. Even in Maharashtra I know of several
such villages. Against an installed capacity of 15,000 MW, the state
has a shortfall of 8,000 MW. Dabhol, a power project that could
have developed the Konkan and Vidharba areas, was an example of
bad communication,” said Iyer, pointing to the negative publicity
that the failed power project generated. “You need to make
development fit for everybody. Malls may lift the lifestyles of
a few but they must go for captive energy or find a source of their
own. They are only compounding the electricity crisis in Mumbai.
Our development model is incorrect. Farmers need electricity,”
he added.
Iyer provided the example of a pilot project in a village in Gujarat
where a 24-hour single-phase connection was provided to homes and
a three-phase, three-hour connection to farmers. This led to women
turning entrepreneurs and generating income. “We need to use
electricity efficiently. When states overdraw, grids trip. Electricity
is a concurrent subject while the Centre lays down one policy, states
follow other policies.” The Central Board of Irrigation Power
that conducted a lot of research was a powerless body, according
to him. The Planning Commission did not take into account ground
realities. “Policy making, planning and implemen tation is
not seamless. Our electricity model is skewed. Only 45 percent of
power is available for the domestic and agricultural sector. The
next big war will be fought over electricity and water,” he
cautioned.
Referring to the importance of hydro energy, Iyer remarked that
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina had together set up a 14,000
MW power project. “You may displace people but you can provide
them alternate accommodation. NGOs can play an important role and
make long-term investments sustainable. If the private sector invests
and builds, it can bring about a very important element of change
in the energy sector. You can use coal as well as futuristic technology.
Energy can make or break our nation. It is the driver of our economic
growth.”
In a presentation peppered with humour, Dr S.K. Malhotra, head-corporate
communications, Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai, spoke about
the advantages of nuclear power and helped clear several misconceptions
about it. The various aspects of atomic energy included electricity
generation; and use of it as a fuel substitute, for producing hydrogen,
and as the future fuel for transport. Nuclear power had applications
in the fields of health, food, agri industry, environment, water
resource management and national security.
“India is the fifth largest generator of electricity. Except
human resources, whatever we produce has to be divided by a large
denominator. If you consider the per capita generation of electricity,
you are pushed to the 120th or 130th position. This (per capita
consumption) is what determines the growth of a country. Double-digit
GDP growth can happen only if we can ensure 6-7 percent growth in
electricity production year after year. That is, 45-50 years from
now, we must be able to produce ten times of what we produce today,”
Malhotra said.
Six percent of the world's coal was consumed by India. If India
had to produce ten times of what it was producing today, it would
have to use 46 percent of the world's coal, which was not practical.
According to Malhotra, studies showed that in spite of a judicious
mix of available resources, 25 percent of the energy needs would
have to be imported. “So the problem is big. We must not debate
whether hydro, thermal or nuclear. Each resource has to be used.
No debate is needed when there is shortage of resources.”
Malhotra explained what India's three-stage nuclear power programme
was all about. He termed it as “unique” moving from
stage to stage, from production of Uranium 235 to Plutonium 239
and Uranium 233. He said that unless there was a strong base of
using U 235, you could not move to the second stage to multiply
energy capacity manifold. The spent fuel of the first stage was
used for the second stage, to run the fast breeder reactor programme.
The challenge, he felt, was to convince people who did not know
much about nuclear science. “Until you have sufficient uranium-based
reactors, you won't have enough plutonium, and until you don't have
enough plutonium to have a large fast breeder capacity, you will
not be able to convert thorium into usable fuel. We are commercial
as far as stage one is concerned,” Malhotra said.
India now had 17 nuclear reactors operating with an installed capacity
of 4120 MW. The installed capacity would grow to 7,000 MW in the
coming five years. By 2020, nuclear power would account for 20,000
MW, 12,000 MW from indigenous resources. “If the Indo-U.S.
talks fail, we will lose face. There will be a 6,000 MW shortfall.
Everyone has some opinion about nuclear energy. Many look at it
favourably, yet suffer from 'not in my backyard' or the NIMB syndrome.
Such skepticism is based on false presentation of facts. There are
lots of erroneous facts floating in the media. Again, if you are
a good environmentalist, you oppose nuclear power,” quipped
Malhotra, adding that people like him had to deal with NGOs who
opposed development programmes, politicians, medical and health
professionals, academicians, citizens in a locality and media.
Some experiments of the Department of Atomic Energy had succeeded,
such as the conduct of regular journalist workshops. “We need
to change public perception. Dust in a uranium mine is far less
than in the outside world,” he said, pointing to the wrong
perceptions that existed nuclear mines were associated with Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; nuclear reactors were not safe; nuclear waste is dangerous.
“If an average Indian family of four is to use nuclear energy
for 25 years, the wastage generated would be of the size of a paperweight.
If it is coal, your house would be buried under the ash. Death is
not present in a nuclear power station. You are at a higher risk
on the road,” he said.
Top
Of alliances,
social responsibility, simple communication, controlled PR
Cooperatives, numbering 5,00,000 in India, should go for partnerships
and alliances since they have unique networking strengths, says
Mohan Mishra, director-PR and chief vigilance officer, National
Cooperative Union of India. Nazeeb Arif, vice president-corporate
communications, ITC, is for business creating social capital, synergising
shareholder value enhancement, and embedding CSR in its business
model. With 17 major languages and 1,650 dialects, getting messages
across to rural masses in India is a communication person's nightmare.
R.V. Rajan, chairman, Anugrah Madison, and founder-president of
the Rural Marketing Agencies Association of India, stresses the
need to keep communication simple and to take time in communicating
messages. There are different mindset patterns, so think differently,
there is no standard formula, he says. S.W.M. Rizvi, GM-PR, Hindalco
Industries Ltd., showcases his company's active contribution to
encouraging a sustainable way of life for weaker sections of society.
There is lack of information and knowledge and farmers are getting
into debt traps and committing suicides; there is lack of will power
on the part of governments to solve problems, Ganshyam Das, GM,
IFFCO, points out. Positioning a company properly before an IPO
is crucial, says P.D. Hindwan, consultant, Ernst & Young and
Reliance Industries Ltd., Controlled PR is better than a burst of
PR, and one or two spokespersons at the most, he cautions.
Chairing the final session at the 29th All India PR Conference,
Dr R. Kannan, former administrator and now academician and writer,
made an interesting point that the Madras Presidency was a pioneer
of cooperative credit societies and cooperative wholesale and retail
stores. Infrastructure, he pointed out, encompassed a wide spectrum
of economic activity, including agriculture, marketing of horticultural
produce, environment and climate change. He mentioned that the cooperatives
were an intermediary between unfettered capitalism and state ownership.
The cooperative sector did not have expertise in PR although ITC
had created some change with its e-chaupals.
Elaborating on cooperative societies in India, Mohan Mishra, director-PR
and chief vigilance officer, National Cooperative Union of India,
said that the immense depth of the cooperative sector was not well
known to many, and the fact that cooperatives were pockets of excellence
was not acknowledged. The need of the hour, he added, was more PR
and communication.
What was once a monopoly was now a playground for the private sector.
India, with a GDP growth of 9.6 percent, was the second largest
growing economy after China (11.3 percent). There were contradictions
in managing a large diversified economy; the task of managing sustained
growth is evidently complex. “Cooperatives have served the
country in isolation for 100 years. Cooperatives should now go for
partnerships and alliances since they have unique networking strengths.
Cooperatives have a social purpose, they are actually business organisations
where profits are shared by members,” Mishra said.
Mishra named cooperative society values as self-help, self-responsibility,
democracy, equality, equity and solidarity, honesty, openness, and
social responsibility and a sense of caring. In India, 240 million
people spread over 5,00,000 cooperative societies formed part of
the cooperative movement. Canada and the United States had one-third
and one-fourth of their populations as part of the cooperative movement;
worldwide, 800 million people were members of cooperatives. Thus,
cooperative societies played a significant role in various economies
of the world. The cooperative movement covered more than 70 percent
of rural households in India. According to Mishra, the challenges
were many: cooperatives could function in isolation, members' expectations
and market needs had to be balanced, the management system had to
be modernised, and there was the need to safeguard against 'corporatisation'.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some of the recurring themes
were globalisation and sustainable and inclusive growth. ITC was
one company in India's corporate sector that included the aspect
of 'sustainable growth' in its corporate campaign strategy and brought
growth and a meaningful difference in the country's rural sector.
Nazeeb Arif, vice president-corporate communications, ITC, spoke
about growing inequities in India and the world. For example, ten
percent of the top richest adults controlled 80 percent of the household
wealth; the bottom 50 percent owned only one percent! India, which
had joined the world's trillion-dollar economy, had the largest
number of the billionaires among countries in Asia, and had 200
companies each with a market capitalisation of one billion US dollars.
However, one-third of India's population was illiterate; 1.1 million
infants died in the first month of birth; one mother died every
seven minutes; 300 million lived in abject poverty; there was social
unrest. Arif pointed out that the economic growth machine was not
going hand in hand with equity.
So, what are the issues confronting India that had 17 percent of
the world's population, 2.4 percent of its landmass, 4 percent of
its water resources, and one percent of global forest resources?
Arif mentioned depleting natural capital as one of the main issues
it was not enough to fuel ten percent growth, he said. Pressure
on water, soil, air and biodiversity was another. India faced the
largest impact of climate change.
“If we are growing at the rate we are, we still need the resources
of two planets,” he said. He added: “Business must contribute
to society. Creating social capital is very important. We need to
synergise shareholder value enhancement and societal goals of sustainable
and inclusive growth. CSR (corporate social responsibility) is embedded
in our (ITC's) business model, such as in our e-chaupals, social
forestry and farm projects.” ITC has trained farmers as sanchalaks,
introduced them to best practices in farming, provided them access
to quality inputs and services as well as information about the
weather. ITC's Chaupal Sagar provides farmers the urban retail experience.
Arif stressed on the potent force or the power of consumer franchise.
He was for enlisting consumer support and enhancing their awareness,
creating an institutional framework that would help consumers make
an informed choice.
Throwing light on aspects of rural communication was R.V. Rajan,
chairman, Anugrah Madison, and founder-president of the Rural Marketing
Agencies Association of India. Rural marketing was given step-motherly
treatment, he pointed out, adding that except for Hindustan Lever
and ITC, which had deep pockets, there was little effort from anybody
else. Low literacy levels, poor media reach, and a heterogeneous
and diversely spread audience posed challenges to the communicator.
With 17 major languages and 1,650 dialects, getting messages across
to rural masses was a communication person's nightmare.
It was important to invest in the right communication package aimed
at a specific target audience. More and more sons of farmers were
getting educated and moving into non-agri ventures, Rajan pointed
out. Rural masses were intelligent and could not be hoodwinked.
They understand symbols and colours better, were conscious of value
for money, spent a lot of time with products.
“It is important to have an in-depth study of the mindset
of consumers of each region for each product category before developing
any communication package. Experience of one product category cannot
be automatically extended to other categories. Keep communication
simple; take time in communicating messages. Think in the local
language; traditional and cultural considerations have to be borne
in mind. Demonstration is important. Analogies help better in comprehension.
There are different mindset patterns, so think differently, there
is no standard formula,” advised the veteran ad man.
S.W.M. Rizvi, GM-PR, Hindalco Industries Ltd., and chairman of the
Varanasi Chapter of the PRSI, showcased his company's active contribution
to encouraging a sustainable way of life for weaker sections of
society. The company had adopted 250 villages covering 3,69,000
people under the 'model village' concept. Based on five focus areas
of sustainable livelihood, education, health, infrastructure development
and social issues, Hindalco's PR team made strategies and acted
as catalyst, coordinating between villages and government agencies.
Hindalco programmes included running four Aditya Bal Vidya Mandir
schools, five balawadi centres, providing support to local government
schools, distribution of merit scholarships, conducting pulse polio
immunization, family planning and widow re-marriage programmes,
construction of low-cost latrines, and running a rural technology
park and a vocational training-cum-production centre.
“Indian agriculture is at the crossroads. Productivity is
declining across states and the impact of fertilizers is reducing.
Farmers are consuming more fertilizers than necessary. Input costs
are growing all the time. We exist because of farmers. Farmers are
not getting adequate returns; the new generation is not interested
in farming. There is lack of information and knowledge and farmers
are getting into debt traps and committing suicides. There is lack
of will power on the part of governments to solve problems. Communicating
effectively with the rural audience is not easy. We must keep the
soul of farmers in our advertisement campaigns,” said Ganshyam
Das, general manager, IFFCO.
IFFCO was helping farmers with information about the weather, and
which mandi they could get remunerative prices. It was entering
into joint ventures with companies in India and abroad to help farmers.
Its Kisan Seva Trust helped farmers in times of need and addressed
location-specific concerns through fairs, exhibitions, distribution
of crop-specific literature in the vernacular, and the media.
Emphasising the importance of IPOs (initial public offerings) for
infrastructure development,
P.D. Hindwan, consultant, Ernst & Young and Reliance Industries
Ltd., said that India needed $ 600 billion in the coming five years
for infrastructure development. Raising that kind of money was not
easy, and contributions from banks and financial institutions were
not enough, he added. ONGC, NTPC and ICICI had in recent years raised
thousands of crores of rupees through IPOs.
The top ten companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the
top 50 NIFTY companies together accounted for 77 percent of India's
share market. Giving an example, Hindwan said that on a particular
day (December 10, 2007), 10.70 lakh shares were traded on the BSI
transactions worth Rs 47,278 crore. Foreign investments had helped
raise the Sensex to 20,000 points. According to Hindwan, 70 percent
of retail applications were from Western India, especially Mumbai,
and 90 percent of money came from these applicants.
How did an issue oversubscribe? Well, the image of the company mattered,
valuation of the company, the grey market quote for issue, profit-equity
ratio, earning per share, and the sector of industry the company
belonged to. “Positioning of a company, the growth potential
of the industrial sector it is in, the company's performance and
track record are important factors. Good listed companies yield
good dividends, you get a good return on investment, there is good
liquidity and you can work out your future plans. The IPO of equity
shares through the book-building route is what is being followed
in the country,” Hindwan explained.
In 2003, Maruti's IPO had kick-started a dormant market. Disinvestments
by the government helped people to invest in large blue-chip companies.
Retail investors were greatly influenced by opinion makers and the
media. Many options were available to investors in the primary market
at any point of time. Targetting retail investors, intermediaries,
institutional investors and influencers, the communication objective
should be to create an image for the company and “an appetite
for its equity.” “You must create a buzz to ensure that
the IPO is a success with high levels of investor participation,”
Hindwan said, adding, “The communication mix must include
corporate PR, corporate advertising, statutory advertising, issue
advertising, road-show management, and messages to intermediaries
and opinion makers. Controlled PR is better than a burst of PR.
And one or two spokespersons at the most.”
Top
Call for a more
professional approach to PR
K.K. Acharya, MD, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., bemoans
the dearth of competent people in every sector, especially civil
engineers, even PR practitioners. He emphasizes the need to grow
skilled manpower and urges universities to include PR as a part
of its curriculum. Dr. Narasimha Reddi, editor, PR Voice, says PR
and infrastructure development must go hand in hand. He wants the
government to establish a PR and communication division at the national
level, encourage PR education, and also to revive India's communication
heritage and integrate it with the IT boom.
Addressing PRSI members at the valedictory session, Dr. Ajit Pathak,
national president, PRSI, urged everybody to ensure that PR was
used as a tool to propel India to the top of the table among nations
of the world. He acknowledged that PR practitioners were finding
it difficult to convince top managements in companies about the
need for a more strategic role for PR. PRSI, into its 50th year,
had witnessed several ups and downs, he said.
Dr. Pathak announced that the All India PR Conference 2008 would
be held in Guwahati, in PRSI's golden jubilee year. PR conferences
for students would also be held in Delhi and Raipur. Ek Shaam Jawano
Ke Naam, a programme for the jawans will be held.
He announced the release of two issues of the academic journal.
He encouraged members to study for a doctorate in PR (he is India's
first) and said that a member achieving a PhD would be given life
membership of the PRSI and a cash prize of Rs. 11,000.
Guest of Honour K.K. Acharya, MD, Chennai Petroleum Corporation
Ltd., displayed the logo symbolizing 50 years of the PRSI. The first
All India PR Conference was held in Delhi in 1968 when a code of
professional ethics was adopted. The objective was to promote PR
as a strategic management function. The growth of the PR movement
in India went back to 1958 when visionaries such as Farukh Ismullah
established PRSI in Bombay. The Society has grown and today it was
a partner of the Global Alliance for PR headquartered in Chicago,
Illinois, U.S.A.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Narasimha Reddi, editor, PR Voice,
said that the 29th Conference was a well-organised conference. He
termed it as “unique” - for the first time a topical
subject was the theme. He lauded Chennai PRSI for being a vibrant,
model chapter. “Now we can invest communication capital to
provide quality services on par with international standards. PR
is essential to encourage transparency and reduce corruption. Media
relations have hijacked PR and we should maintain relations with
the management and stakeholders. There is lack of training, and
there are no quality books on PR,” he said.
Dwelling on the theme of the Conference, Dr. Reddi said that there
should be more investment in infrastructure in India through public-private
partnerships. “PR and infrastructure development must go hand
in hand. The government should establish a PR and communication
division at the national level. We must encourage PR education.
PR in India lives in towns. We must develop a global perspective
to PR and focus on integrated PR communications. We need to revive
our communication heritage and integrate it with the IT boom,”
he added. Citing the examples of Buddha, Ashoka, Swami Vivekananda
and Mahatma Gandhi.
Acharya said that PR had become all the more important as India
was projecting itself through road shows to the world. China, India,
Brazil and Russia would dominate as global players in the coming
10-20 years, he added. Acharya bemoaned the non-availability of
skilled manpower and human resource development people. “There
is a dearth of people almost everywhere, especially civil engineers.
Nowadays the accent is on electronics and communication. We need
to grow skilled manpower in the country. There is a shortage of
PR practitioners too. Universities must include PR as a part of
its curriculum and provide best skills to institutions.
Suganthy Sundararaj, secretary, PRSI, Chennai Chapter, proposed
the vote of thanks, and brought the curtain down on an eventful
three days.
Top
Winners all
At the 29th All India PR Conference 2007, PRSI National Awards were
given to PR practitioners in recognition of their outstanding exhibition
of talent and creativity. In all 38 Awards in 14 categories were
presented to the best of works by PR practitioners across the country.
At the valedictory session, R.K. Dharan announced the names of the
winners. K.K. Acharya, MD, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., presented
the awards.
PRSI congratulates the winners.
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Seminar
on Travel Tourism & Hospitality PR
Seminar Web Album : http://www.flickr.com/photos/44538498@N00/show/
World’s
No. 1 industry desperately needs effective PR
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| While Tamil Nadu may one day well
become the No. 1 tourist destination in India, for domestic and foreign
visitors, a lot remains to be done to make it happen. At another level,
the travel and tourism industry is the largest income generator in
the world and in India as well, way ahead of the IT sector that many
think is the only money-spinner. India is today the world's tenth
largest economy. The potential the country has for tourism is simply
huge. But can we leverage on our strengths and build a national brand
to emerge as one of the top tourist destinations in the world? We
can, but success will have a lot to do with effective communication
and PR. |
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Tamil Nadu is the No. 2 destination
in India for foreign tourists (12 lakh tourists visited the State
last year), and the No. 3 destination for domestic visitors (three
lakh are expected this year), and if we have to make the state the
No. 1 destination in the country on both counts, it will only be
with the help of people like you,” said N. Suresh Rajan, Minister
for Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, addressing public relations
practitioners at the inaugural session of a seminar on Travel, Tourism
and Hospitality PR conducted by the Public Relations Society of
India, Chennai Chapter, at The Accord Metropolitan Hotel.
Rajan pointed out that the State Tourism Department was working
towards promoting various tourism initiatives: setting up a tourism
police force, putting in place a team of tourist guides, extending
support to those who wished to promote lesser-known places by waiving
tax for the first five years, providing easy finance and clearances,
promoting employment, and producing publicity material in English
and Hindi. Rajan also said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.
Karunanidhi, was keen to promote tourism in the State and make it
the No. 1 tourist destination in India.
Earlier, Rajan lit the kuthuvilakku to inaugurate the
seminar. He was joined by Aswini Kakkar, executive vice-chairman,
Mercury Travels, and former chairman of the World Travel and Tourism
Council; Ajit Pathak, president, PRSI, National Chapter; Geoff Magee,
CEO, Accord Metropolitan; V.S. Ramana, chairman, PRSI, Chennai Chapter;
and R.K. Dharan, regional vice-president, south, PRSI.
After a short film on PRSI, Chennai Chapter, Ramana welcomed the
gathering and said that the Society had shared knowledge and information
the past 38 years with PR practitioners. “PR has undergone
a sea change. We are exploring all facets of providing enhanced
services. The changing environment is challenging the old order,”
he said, adding, “Indians are re-exploring their own country.
The focus of this seminar will be brand-building, forming strategic
partnerships, networking and PR.”
Pathak praised the Chennai Chapter team for having worked hard
to earn the status of being the No.1 PRSI chapter in India. He declared
that Chennai would be the venue in December for the 13th All India
PR Conference, and that preparations for the same had already begun
in New Delhi.
India's ability to influence others through culture, religion,
philanthropy and other fields is well known. It was against this
background that Pathak read out a couplet in Hindi, which meant:
The winds will decide the fate of life, only he survives who struggles.
“Athithi devo bhava - we must maintain our culture,”
he said, and referred to how an Indian doctor had conducted a heart
transplant for a Pakistani child and the wonderful bonds that resulted
between people of the two countries because of it.
After Independence in 1947, the country crossed another milestone
in 1991 when it adopted the path of economic liberalisation and
globalisation. Today, India is the tenth biggest economy in the
world; six million Indians surf the Internet everyday. Dwelling
on the resultant direct impact on tourism, booming infrastructure,
and more airline services, Pathak exhorted PR practitioners to give
off their best. Underscoring the need for better standards in PR,
he added, “We need accreditation and must only encourage people
with the right academic background and professional experience.”
He mentioned that the National Council had sent a draft proposal
to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry seeking accreditation
to uplift the quality of PR practice in the country.
Referring to the diverse paths in tourism and how tourism had grown
by leaps and bounds, Magee said that tourism was no longer about
visiting temples and the usual places of interest. Adventure tourism,
medical tourism, eco-tourism and wildlife tourism would constitute
the rapidly growing areas, according to him.
The evening clearly belonged to Kakkar, and his scintillating
speech was peppered with facts and figures. Travel and tourism,
he said, was the single largest industry in the world. Whilst the
software industry earned 900 billion dollars a year, the travel
and tourism industry earned 4.63 trillion dollars, equal to the
earnings of the automobile, chemical and software industries put
together.
According to Kakkar, the travel and tourism industry employed one
out of every 12 employable persons in the world. In spite of putting
very little effort, travel and tourism fetched India revenue worth
6 billion dollars. “If we attain one-tenth of China's earnings,
we will earn 30 billion dollars,” he pointed out. The tourism
industry was a great wealth distributor - bellboys, darwans and
children selling waste material, all made a living. If the software
industry offered jobs to 120,000 software professionals every year,
the travel and tourism industry had the potential to generate 5-10
million new jobs every year, the next three years. “We need
to increase our share of the world tourism market. By 2010, there
will be one billion travellers; one out of six people will be travelling.
Seven trillion dollars will be spent every single year. India receives
only five million visitors a year whereas Paris welcomes 75 million
tourists,” he said.
Wondering whether anybody in the audience even understood the kind
of tourism potential India had, Kakkar referred to the 3000-km long
and 300-km wide Himalayan range, the 8,000-km long coastline, the
desert in Rajasthan, the Deccan Plateau, Chilika, the largest freshwater
lake, and Cheerapunji, which received the highest rainfall. “If
we have to create one temple, we have to spend one-fourth of a billion
dollars. We don't look at the return on investments. In the last
50 years we have not created even one lasting monument. At least
let us maintain the ones we have,” Kakkar said. He added:
“We have 14,000 monuments but the government can spare only
Rs 7,000 per year for 3,000 of them. For that amount you can't even
hire a watchman!” Singapore, Kakkar pointed out, spent 9 percent
of its GDP on travel and tourism. The result was that 15 percent
of its GDP came from that industry. India spent only 0.5 percent
of its GDP on the sector. Making yet another comparison, Kakkar
remarked that while the total number of hotel rooms available in
India was about 105,000, Manhattan in the USA had more than that
number! With new investments being made, about 120,000 new hotel
rooms would be added, he said. “So, what has happened as a
result of our apathy? Our own centres have lost the hub status,
which the smaller countries (Singapore and Dubai) have taken over.
Emirates Airlines takes Indians from Indian cities to Dubai and
makes them change planes there for other destinations. Namaste,
yoga and ayurveda have all been usurped by others. There is no claiming
what are our intellectual property rights. There is no PR or advertising.
All of you have a very large role to play,” Kakkar explained.
“Management of chaos will be a daily occurrence in our lives.
The role of government is changing, from being in business it is
moving more in the direction of policy making and economic growth.
Services are overtaking the world,” he said. Indeed, from
65 percent, the contribution of agriculture to GDP had reduced to
20 percent.
Outlining a big role for PR, Kakkar said that there was nobody
promoting the country, there was no PR. Word-of-mouth publicity
and PR was ten times more effective than advertising, he emphasised.
Kakkar also made a plea for responsible journalism. “Bad events
sell newspapers but are not good for the country. Government participation
is crucial. The travel and tourism industry is the No. 1 industry
and a hugely evolving industry in a hugely evolving world. Tourism
trade on the Internet generates 80 billion dollars. Communication
and PR are infinitely more important. The 21st Century will make
the 20th Century seem like a tea party,” he concluded. |
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‘We need to be proud
to be an Indian’
The Incredible India campaign has made India one of the most
popular holiday destinations in the world today. With Indians making
an impact around the world in various fields, with the skies opening
up and airfares becoming cheaper, there is a fresh burst of energy.
Indeed, it is fashionable to be an Indian. However, there are challenges
too, and one of it is taking the India brand to the world. |
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Tourism is the largest industry in the world. The
past two years have witnessed a dramatic change in tourism in India
thanks to the Incredible India campaign that has made its presence
felt on a London cab as well as at New York's Times square. The
campaign has turned India into a modern destination and marks a
fresh beginning for Indian tourism. The country is now one of the
top ten destinations for tourists world over and could well move
to the top five, with better infrastructure development and PR.
“People used to dread coming to India, often seen as a country
of diseases and as a trouble spot. Today, it is considered a fairly
safe destination and the number of foreign tourists has increased
dramatically the past two years,” said Sudheer Nayar, regional
director-South India, Travel Corporation of India, speaking during
the first session, 'India Tourism Rediscovered Globally and by Indians',
at the seminar.
He added: “Indians are making an impact around the world
in various fields. This has attracted other people towards India.
It is almost as if the country is reborn. The skies have really
opened up; airfares are cheaper, and healthcare tourism (patients
want to experience more of India after treatment) has grown. People
from Western countries come here for treatment, not only for Ayurveda
but also because of the excellent medical facilities available.”
Pointing to the huge amount of interest in India, Prabhat Verma,
general manager, Taj Coromandel, said that it was fashionable to
be an Indian today. With the kind of investment happening in infrastructure
development, he predicted an 8-9 percent growth in tourism in the
coming years. The international investor and traveller were sometimes
awestruck by the sheer pace of development in India. In Chennai,
the ECR-Puducherry Road and the IT Corridor were examples. Hotels,
especially budget hotels, were mushrooming everywhere. The Taj Group
itself had two or three hotels in each metro. According to Verma,
the smaller cities were likely to take the pressure off the metros
soon. “Today's destinations extend beyond the popular Agra-Jaipur,
Goa and Kerala legs. Indians are rediscovering India themselves,
thanks to an increased pay package, global exposure, increased awareness
and wanting to travel for relaxation and adventure. The need for
a break from the usual routine is helping India. A new set of airlines
is allowing Indians who had never entered an aircraft before to
enter one,” he explained.
Young travellers are looking for a lot of fun, which they have
experienced in Thailand and Malaysia, said Sujaya Menon, consultant,
Cox & Kings, adding another perspective. “Children here
are totally left out, unlike in Thailand where the hotel staff takes
care of them and allow the parents to relax. Also, we shouldn't
remain only a country of temples. We should showcase the more happening
modern India. If Malaysia and Singapore can cooperate, why can't
the four southern states get together to sell the southern peninsula
and compete with the north!” she wondered.
Menon came up with a slew of ideas. “The Japanese are looking
at new places to get married. We can market our country as an excellent
marriage venue. There is nostalgia tourism, colonels and doctors
who want to go on a holiday. And medical tourism hospitals here
must be accredited to international chains and work in tandem with
government tourism to make their facilities well known.”
She, however, bemoaned the lack of attention paid to building a
good environment, such as clean toilets at airports, for instance.
She was for convention centres having better facilities - food courts,
beauty parlours and boutiques. Worried about what she called the
Bollywoodisation of our culture, Menon exhorted Indians to travel
more within India and preserve the country's culture. “Our
smile, our willingness to help, these are the attributes that must
be packaged and sold,” she said.
Stating that tourism in India was a small business segment when
he joined the industry 30 years ago, R. Rangachari, secretary general,
South India Hotels and Restaurant Association, stressed that every
country that wished to develop tourism ought to market and position
itself as a brand. He cited the example of Sri Lanka that spent
huge sums on promoting tourism, Rs 1.7 million, compared to which
India spent only
Rs 0.5 million. He provided Orlando's example, a place that had
300 hotels and where 100 airlines operated.
Speaking about India's dirty hotels, poor infrastructure, bad roads
and lousy food, Rangachari asked aloud whether our policies had
gone wrong. “Tourism is everybody's business. We must have
the aim of attracting tourists. We must know what we are selling.
We can't sell beaches to Miami or wildlife to Africa. If Malaysia
can sell Thai poosam, why can't we in Tamil Nadu sell our own product?
If Spain is known for the Matador, why can't Tamil Nadu be known
for its Jallikattu? If you want to sell India, you have to be practical,”
he said.
Posing some pertinent questions to the panelists was V.S. Ramana,
chairman, PRSI, Chennai Chapter: Was public-private partnership
the answer to improving tourism infrastructure? How many tourism
departments used PR agencies? And was the India branding and PR
adequate?
Nayar was all for a public-private partnership. “The private
sector will make profits and save the tax-payer's money,”
he was convinced. Verma stated that the private sector was not exactly
waiting for government help, but was focused on the customer.
While Menon wanted the tourism department to work closely with dynamic
airlines, Rangachari was for the government helping private initiative,
such as identifying a place for a hotel. He was against competition
between the partners.
Dr K. Sundari from Stella Maris, sought collaboration between the
tourism department and educational institutions. “Youngsters
know very little about India and its people when they go out,”
she said.
As far as PR and effective communication was concerned, it played
a very important role, especially in damage control, Menon said,
referring to Sri Lanka's example.
The island country remained a tourist spot in spite of years of
strife in its eastern parts.
“We don't often focus on public transport that is often used
by tourists. Auto drivers can be taught to be friendly,” said
Dr Ajit Pathak, president, PRSI, National Chapter, who chaired the
session. He had the last word and summed it all up succinctly when
he said: “We need to be proud to be an Indian.”
Top |
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An experience of the soul
The hotel room has now become a virtual home office. Hospitality
is no longer just about providing shelter but also about providing
an experience, even if it be touching, feeling, licking, gulping
and swallowing Indian food - an experience of the soul. New concepts
such as the 'eco-hotel' concept are gaining ground and becoming
the preferred choice of customers. But above everything else, the
guest wants transparency and responsibility. |
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Pointing to the trends and challenges in the hospitality
sector today,
Dr Palani G. Periasamy, chairman and managing director, Le Royal Meridien,
who chaired the second session titled 'Cutting-edge Services', spoke
about how the hospitality sector had a lot to learn to respond adequately
to the changes in the economy. Fierce competition and the need for
more and more rooms necessitated the formulation of new strategies
for success. In the old days, nobody had heard of a toll-free number.
Today, Internet booking accounted for 34.7 percent of sales, he said,
adding that the profile of guests was constantly changing and what
most of them wanted was a different experience. A hotel room now had
become a virtual home office.
Kicking off the discussion, Geoff Magee, chief executive officer,
The Accord Metropolitan, stressed that preservation of Indian culture
such as forests and wildlife and protection of heritage for future
generations was very important. Environment, according to him, was
getting more and more popular and there was increasing awareness
of keeping streets clean, of conserving forests, and of the eco-hotel
(a certification that a hotel receives based on adherence to certain
norms) concept.
Dwelling a while on the eco-hotel concept, Magee outlined five
basic parameters that are considered for such accreditation: energy
conservation, water conservation, solid waste management, employee
education and training, and environmental commitment (including
education in schools and colleges). Orchid in Mumbai was India's
first eco-hotel,
The Raintree in Chennai the third; there were now 34 eco-hotels
in the world, Magee pointed out.
The scoring pattern for accreditation was usually very tight. Most
hotels seeking accreditation received four out of a maximum of five
globes (stars). Magee explained that an application for certification
could be made even while building the hotel, in which case attention
had to be paid to the use of eco-friendly material such as bricks,
Portland cement, rubber, wood and recycled paper, and installing
devices for rainwater harvesting. Once an eco-hotel, the property
had a better image and employee morale rose. Although the investment
cost was 10-15 percent higher, operating expenses came down in the
long-term. The Hospitality Evaluation Services was the only franchisee
evaluating authority based in Delhi.
Magee underscored the need for community contribution and generating
awareness of the need to keep the environment clean and protect
heritage. He cited the example of The Raintree Hotel, which carried
the message of avoiding wastage of material to schools, colleges,
petrol bunks and auto drivers, the number of discussions the hotel
initiated with the Chennai Corporation to educate Corporation workers.
However, even Magee was clear that an eco-hotel concept was not
common in India but a niche word that was slowly getting by; reaching
a larger section of the community he said would take time.
“The guest wants to see the hotel transparent and very responsible,”
said Steve Borgia, chairman and managing director, Indeco Leisure
Hotels, while narrating the story about how a doorman in Paris ended
up owning 20 great hotels in the world. “In those days, we
used to bend down to tie the lace of children's shoes and scan the
check-in list to note the number of the taxi that had been sent
to the airport to pick up a guest, so as to offer the right welcome.
But today's guest can see through your hospitality games. So, do
not pretend; be what you are. There is no need to make a loud greeting.
Just a gentle smile will do.”
Hospitality and tourism were two different components, Borgia said.
“It is not about providing shelter but more of giving an experience
even during the short time that the guests are in their rooms.”
Borgia cited the example of a Sterling Group hotel in Thanjavur
where foreign visitors were taught how to drink tender coconut water
without a straw. “You can charge for such services. It can
be fascinating for the tourist. We have found a way to get responsible
people in the village to work for us. That's the advantage of being
in India. Everything can be sold. I wouldn't leave it for all the
gold in the world.”
Borgia provided other interesting examples of a person in Kochi
who walked visitors around, from teashop, to dump yard, to toddy
shop, to a restaurant offering fish-curry-rice. At yet another Sterling
Group property, in Swamimalai, which Borgia termed India's unique
heritage hotel, 70 percent of the workforce were employed resided
within a two-kilometre radius. There was an old-age home and a school
for girls. “PR is so critical. It is all going to change.
Our old training books have changed. People want something genuine.
Hotels have become minute-by-minute experiences. The key lies in
successfully bringing in the local aroma; rural tourism if you like.
Even getting tourists to sit in the homes neighbouring the Kapaleeswarar
Temple in Mylapore to watch the activities around the temple can
be an experience. And, therefore, we have a big opportunity,”
Borgia said.
It was Chef P. Soundararajan, executive chef, Club Mahindra and
general secretary, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations, who
highlighted the relationship that went beyond even the best goodies
you could get to buy - the importance of first developing a relationship
with people, before providing cutting-edge services. “Even
if you have had the best cuisine laid out in a seven-star hotel,
you would still say that it did not match what my mother made at
home,” said Soundararajan.
Does Indian cuisine have the cutting edge? “We may not have
the best presentation but our cuisine has been tested for more than
10,000 years; even the French cuisine is only 2,000 years old. Twenty-five
years ago, I thought that French or Western cuisine was the best,
but today I know that Indian cuisine is. Cuisine changes every 100
km in India. We have not packaged and marketed cuisine as part of
the hospitality industry,” he said.
Chef Soundararajan narrated his experience at an international
culinary conference where another chef asked him why Indians were
superstitious. The Chennai-based chef asked his friend to close
his eyes and think of an ingredient that could survive without the
sun. (India is a land of sun worshippers.) At a culinary conference
in New York, Soundararajan laid out his preparation on banana leaves
and asked his hosts to eat with their fingers. “Touching,
feeling, licking, gulping and swallowing Indian food are important.
It is a wholesome experience, an experience of the soul.”
Chef Soundararajan said that India had a lot to improve on the
hygiene front and that somewhere along the way Indians had lost
their natural hygienic systems. Explaining the change in lifestyles
and the need to eat healthy food, he added: “Years ago, we
did a lot of work. So, we could eat and digest a lot of ghee. Today,
we resort to fast food because there is just no time to eat, and
frozen food because ingredients are not available.”
The chef had words of advice for the audience:
- Evolve Indian cuisine
- Develop Indian fast food concepts
- Develop cuisine to take care of healthy aspects
- Consider the importance of hygiene and cleanliness of food
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Are we flying high?
India's domestic carriers offer 150,000 seats today everyday,
compared to 20-30,000 seats in 1992-93. After the IT sector, it
is tourism that earns the most amount of foreign exchange for India.
The younger generation is taking to the skies thanks to the increasing
impact of technology. And it might no longer be a dream for somebody
from the lower middle class to train and become a pilot. |
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V.S. Ramana, chairman, PRSI, Chennai Chapter, had
interesting statistics for the audience, chairing the session, 'Aviation
Sector Flying High', after lunch. According to him, the First Planning
Commission had placed tourism at the 269th spot (for allocation
of resources). Today, the tourism industry had recorded 9.7 percent
growth and 375 million Indians
were rediscovering Indian destinations. Rs 95,000 crore was expected
to be the domestic tourism spend during the coming year. About 7-10
million jobs a year were likely to be generated. The aviation sector
had registered a 25-30 percent growth; the passenger
base was now 10.4 million and at any given time there were 7.15
million passengers at
the terminal.
Harish Shenoy, general manager- southern India, Jet Airways, felt
that there had never been a better opportunity for Indians to thrive
within the country's geographical boundaries. Every form of transport,
rail, road and air, was leveraging on the other to benefit the passenger.
There has been a 50 percent growth in air passenger numbers, out
of which about 40 percent travelled by low-cost aircraft, he said,
adding that the market was purely price-driven. Shenoy expected
such passengers to graduate to airlines that did not offer any sops.
“The market today has become customer-centric. For example,
the quality of food served on flights is a very important component.
Maximum complaints relate to food,” he pointed out.
India's domestic carriers offer 150,000 seats today everyday; in
1992-93, only 20-30,000 seats were available. The occupancy rate
was season-driven though. Jet Airways, according to Shenoy, offered
38,000 seats a day. The airline had registered 18 percent growth
the past year. It was the first Indian airline to operate the Colombo-Singapore-Kuala
Lumpur leg. The airline was likely to introduce the Chennai-London
direct flight this October. Giving an indication of the tourism
boom, Shenoy said that earlier there were only holiday packages;
now airlines offered weekend, seasonal, family and honeymoon packages.
With 500 new aircraft set to join Indian skies (Jet Airways had
requisitioned 48) in the coming five years, the aviation sector
was indeed poised for further growth. Allaying fears that it was
no bubble waiting to burst, Shenoy said that the fundamentals, unlike
during the dotcom boom, were strong and that the economy was doing
well. After the IT sector, it was tourism that earned the most amount
of foreign exchange for India.
Shenoy, however, had words of caution: “Unless infrastructure
grows, unless airports are made more passenger friendly and airline
friendly, the costs of operation will go beyond control. If the
government is willing to reduce excise duty or allow us to hike
fares, it will help the industry. The economic landscape is finally
designed by its people.”
V. Narayanan, general manager-PR, Indian Airlines, New Delhi, spoke
about how IA, a heritage airline as he called it, had revolutionised
air travel, pioneered maintenance standards, set new standards in
customer care and proved that it was the lifeline of the country.
He traced its growth from Indian Airlines Corporation to Indian
Airlines and to Indian now, complete with the new logo that represented
timelessness.
“With increased inbound and outbound traffic, people now
feel that air travel is now affordable. While there were only 0.43
million passengers in 1953, there are 8.5 million passengers today.
From 23,000 km, IA services now extend to 163,000 km; from 3,000
seats, IA offers 42,000 seats a day; 400 tonnes of cargo are handled
daily. With new sectors opening up, we have leased new aircraft
and dumped our old planes. We have faced trials and tribulations
on the way, but triumphs too. Our major brand change was the result
of using PR as a tool. Whether it is operational excellence, international
operations, creation of profit, productivity, safety audit, marketing
or profitability, we match international standards. However, marketing
is still a challenge and we have to match growing demands that have
come with the open-sky policy. There is a paradigm shift in the
lifestyles of people. The younger generation is taking to the skies
thanks to the increasing impact of technology,” Narayanan
described.
Narayanan also dwelt on the multiplier effect - even if one small
aircraft that could carry 100-odd passengers was introduced in a
particular sector, other services were required too, such as cars
for rental, and hotels.
Enlivening proceedings after lunch was captain S. Arulmani, deputy
general manager - operations, Indian Airlines and VC, Madras Flying
Club, describing the activities of the Club. One of the premier
training institutes in India stared in 1930 (there was no Meenambakkam
airport then) to inculcate aviation-mindedness among people, the
Club had trained 400 pilots, 300 aircraft maintenance engineers
and several Defence personnel the past 75 years. Even today, the
Club conducted joy rides, authorised by the Director-General of
Civil Aviation, helped in pamphlet-dropping (to spread pertinent
messages) and flower-dropping for important functions. Although
the Club had faced a few dark years, it had “pulled up its
sleeves and is going ahead full steam”.
To train as a pilot at the Madras Flying Club, a candidate should
have passed Plus-2,
with physics and maths. He or she had to pass an entrance test and
a personal interview, as well as stringent medical tests at the
Institute of Aerospace Station, Bangalore, or the Central Medical
Establishment of the Air Force in New Delhi. If you had a background
of diabetes or heart ailment, you could not apply. Medical tests
were conducted on each student every six months; this included the
ECG. The cost of flying per hour was Rs 4,000. To get a private
licence, you had to train for 40 hours (costs Rs 160,000). For a
commercial pilot's licence, 200 hours of training was required (costs
Rs 800,000). To obtain an instrument rating licence, simulated training
was necessary. This and the cost of training
on ground aspects worked out extra approximately Rs 10,00,000 to
obtain a commercial pilot's licence.
The Madras Flying Club, a non-profit organisation, offered training
(it has 25 students now) at an economical cost. It had two 4-seater
Cessna aircraft for training and operated short-haul flights to
Vellore, Tirupati, Salem, Tuticorin, Madurai and Pondicherry. It
used
state-of-the-art equipment, had audio-visual aids and a full-fledged
library.
Captain Arulmani said that it was possible for him to enter the
profession because at the time he joined, the Tamil Nadu Government
provided scholarships to seven students to obtain the commercial
pilot's licence and he was one of them. He made a special appeal
to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to look into the matter so that
potential pilots from middleclass and lower income groups in the
state could enter the profession if they liked.
Replying to R. K. Dharan's question as to why airlines were not
looking seriously at smaller towns, Shenoy said that the cost of
operation was prohibitive. Indeed, the sustainability factor even
today was questionable. Supplementing Shenoy was Narayanan, who
said that there was the need for runways and navigational facilities
in smaller towns.
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'Let PR be your lifelong partner’
Planning for a conference may be easy but implementation is
a tough exercise, bringing PR skills to the fore. Engaged in an
equally tough PR exercise is IRCTC, the marketing arm of the Indian
Railways, which seeks to make travel in trains a pleasure. To be
effective, PR has to be structured. At the end of the day, understanding
people is the key and that can happen only by communicating effectively
and building lasting relationships between two groups of people. |
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Planning for a conference or seminar is a laborious
and painstaking exercise. Starting with bidding for the conference,
identifying the destination, pin-pointing the actual venue, to preparation
of the conference budget, identifying the conference manager, reservation
of blocks of rooms in various hotels, the exercise has become very
difficult nowadays.
Throwing some light on travel services and indicating that it was
not as simple as it appeared was Dr M. K. Ajit Kumar, vice-president,
Hi-Tours. There were several other areas that needed close monitoring,
according to him: transport of delegates, airport pick-up and drop,
booking halls for various sessions, providing interpretation facilities,
establishing a conference secretariat, printing and distribution
of information brochures, engaging an emcee, appointing well-trained
staff and volunteers, setting up audio-visual equipment and backdrops,
mikes, signage and podium, readying photocopy material for delegates,
arranging a press room, forming a registration area, organising
exhibition stalls, setting up reception counters at airports, credit
card swipe machines, and also looking after social functions, safety
aspects, spouse programmes, external sourcing, food stalls, games,
and security aspects.
Providing the railway perspective was V. Sriram, regional director,
IRCTC, the marketing arm of the Indian Railways that was set up
on World Tourism Day in 2001. About 11,000 trains ran everyday in
India, through as many stations. Eleven million passengers (equal
to the population of Belgium) travelled daily by rail in India,
covering a distance that was two and a half times the distance to
the moon. Fifty million domestic tourists used the railways every
year. Goods trains carried 700 million tones of freight everyday.
However, proper deliverance of services had not matched expectations
and that was one of the reasons that led to the formation of IRCTC.
IRCTC operated from five zones Delhi (corporate office), Kolkata,
Mumbai, Chennai and Secunderabad and oversaw catering on trains
and at stations. It had 70 food plazas in India, 25 in the south.
Passengers had welcomed Rail Neer, the mineral water supplied by
the Railways on trains. Sriram pointed out that the focus would
now be on tourism, an aspect that had remained unstructured for
years. One hundred Rail Ratna Hotles would be set up soon, 25 of
them in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Milk bars would be another
addition. Catering services in mail and express trains were likely
to be upgraded. Bharat Darshan trains would be introduced you could
travel about 7,000 km within India, with the cost averaging Re 1
a km. Hill trains (in Darjiling) as well as luxury trains (Palace
on Wheels) might become a major market for the railways, according
to Sriram, who stressed that mass tourism and public-private partnership
were the key.
That people in India valued the Railways so much was evident from
the fact that the IRCTC web site, www.irctc.co.in, was the second
largest e-commerce site in the world. More than 25,000 tickets were
sold through the site everyday. Sriram spelt out other forthcoming
initiatives: bringing the ticket to the passenger by facilitating
purchase of tickets at post offices, through call centres, mobile
vans, and at petrol bunks, establishing tourism facilitation centres
at important stations, planning budget hotels (0.2 percent of the
Indian subcontinent is owned by the railways, said Sriram, and this
land could be used for the construction of hotels), and forming
special packages for the four southern states.
Enlivening the proceedings towards the end of the day-long seminar
with a thought-provoking and back-to-the basics speech about public
relations and tourism was
P. Kamalanathan, secretary of the Public Relations Society of Malaysia.
PR was a nice thing to talk about, but not many practiced it, he
began, referring to the vast potential India had and how far the
country could go. Citing a World Tourism Organisation report, he
stated that tourism earned for the United States 680 billion dollars
a year, or two billion dollars a day.
“PR is not a function. It is all about evaluating public
attitudes, identifying policies and procedures, planning, executing,
and creating public understanding and acceptance. And linking tourists
with host communities, attractions and environment. 'I will not
instruct others to do what I will not do' is important,” he
explained.
PR was the most economical process of getting a message across;
you could save 50 percent of the costs (of advertising) and reach
a wider audience, Kamalanathan said. “PR is not free but it
is effective and sustainable. You need not buy advertising space;
you solve confusion and disseminate news. You can use PR to promote
a destination without advertising. Terrorism, avian flu, tsunami,
Katrina… are all global problems. It does not mean that it
is the end of the day. You can't fight God. Truthful information
has to be disseminated. You can't lie about any product. We must
understand the country and its people,” he added, giving the
example of an island in Mauritius that faced hurricanes every year,
yet took it in its stride and looked ahead.
The challenge, according to Kamalanathan, was how creative Indians
could get. “You have an enormous product in India. You have
to be creative. You have to create an identity for a particular
brand. If Malaysia can market Pongal, why can't you in Tamil Nadu?”
he asked.
Kamalanathan exhorted the audience not to forget the 3Ps persuasion,
personality (how and when to talk, and to listen twice as much as
you talk), and power. Let PR be a life-long partner, not a sleeping
partner, he cautioned.
At the end of the session that was chaired by Ananthakrishna Gupta,
managing director, Travel Air Madras Pvt. Ltd., Joseph Jose from
the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board introduced the audience through
an audio-visual presentation to 'Visit Malaysia 2007', a yearlong
celebration of the 50th year of Malaysia's independence. The Visit
Malaysia Year was officially launched on January 6; 240 events had
been scheduled till December 31 this year, including 50 major and
five super-major events as he termed them.
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Search of 'the other' is changing
the face of domestic tourism
Quasi-original experiences are no match for the real. The tourist
is looking for new experiences, even a throwback to the old. He
seeks the right direction, which more often than not he does not
receive. With rural tourism set to explode and the independent female
tourist a common sight, travel in India has gained a new dimension.
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Nancy Kao from the Singapore Tourism Board and G.
Krishnan from Indian Airlines were the lucky winners at the 'Visit
Malaysia 2007' draw of lots at the valedictory session. Courtesy
Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, they can now travel to Kuala
Lumpur anytime during 2007. P. Kamalanathan, secretary, Public Relations
Society of Malaysia conducted the draw of lots.
Earlier, Dr Babu George, a professor at the Department of Tourism
Studies, University of Pondicherry, provided some pointers as to
where tourism in India was heading. According to George, the tourism
industry had a fragmented identity (small-scale and miniscule providers
of services were coming up and tourism was extremely friendly to
them) and there was the need for partnerships, which he stressed,
was better for consolidation. In this context, he mentioned the
presence of the exogenisation and cannibalism (another industry
taking over) factor.
Technology was a great leveller. With a website or portal you
could sell your product anywhere in the world, even from a boat
in Kerala. George cautioned travel agents to be careful lest the
end-users got directly in touch with small service providers.
“We live compartmentalised lives. People in India are now
in search of 'the other'. They are now realising what is lacking
in their daily lives. People want to go to their village where their
parents lived; quasi-original experiences are no match for the real,”
explained George, adding that PR often pushed people in the wrong
direction. Thus, George saw no great future for urban tourism, as
he did for tourism in rural and unexplored areas.
Today's customers had become e-savvy and they sought bargains.
They had become more price-conscious and had more knowledge. “No
tourism product survives for more than 5-10 years if there is no
constant innovation and improvement of the product. The product
cycle is getting reduced. There is a greater variety and demand
base and offering tailor-made products is essential. Special facilities
need to be provided to the aging population whose numbers are rising,”
he said.
Short-haul travel (Bangalore to Pondicherry, for instance) was
now popular. George related it to what he termed the 'leisure paradox'
- more money, less time. “There is a blurring distinction
between work and pleasure. Travel service providers have to offer
services to people on the move. That may pave the way for longer
vacations,” he said.
George urged the tourism sector to target the bottom-of-the-pyramid
section the lower middle class. He urged the industry to also look
at the independent female tourist who needed secure accommodation
among other special facilities.
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One Day Seminar - "Public
Relations in Healthcare"- 21.04.06
When PR is Patient Relations
At the inauguration of the 'PR in Healthcare' seminar, Dr S.S.
Badrinath and Dr K.M. Cherian are in the limelight. While Dr Badrinath
stresses the need for the human touch in hospitals, Dr Cherian is
certain that if Chennai is to be the medical capital of India, adequate
infrastructure has to be in place.
Dr S.S. Badrinath and Dr K.M. Cherian took centre stage at the
inaugural of a one-day seminar titled PR in Healthcare organised
in April by the Public Relations Society of India, Chennai Chapter.
The presence of the two stalwarts added a different dimension to
the event.
Time was when missionaries came to India to set up medical institutions.
Today, patients come to India from all over the world. India is
trying to realise the dream of 'health for all'. Chennai is fast
emerging as the healthcare capital of the country and there are
strong possibilities of the city becoming a Mecca for medical tourism.
Viewed against this background, public relations in hospitals and
nursing homes is actually 'patient relations'; PR goes beyond just
building a brand.
Dr Badrinath is well known as an ophthalmologist and institution
builder. Acting with vision, he and his team at Sankara Nethralaya
have made a difference to the lives of many, offering quality eye
care through cutting-edge technology. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan,
a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Canada, and consultant
to the Indian Armed Forces, Dr Badrinath emphasised that the PR
function in a hospital, where the patient is the customer, is a
challenging task.
“A doctor has limitations in dealing with problems. Patients
usually have hundreds of questions and doctors do not have the time
to answer them. Patients particularly from rural areas are scared
to enter the portals of a large institution. To them, it is a concrete
jungle and they often do not know where to go and what to do,”
he said, explaining how the smooth functioning of a hospital, to
the total satisfaction of the customer, depends on the PR department.
He added: “We do not use PR as a marketing gimmick. We'd like
to earn a name through a satisfied customer. A department should
not be like a machine, it has to have a heart and soul.
A smiling face, a soothing word can work wonders. If the human touch
is missing, nobody will come to you. PR may not have answers to
all problems but it is as noble as the medical profession itself.”
He cited the example of how the PR department in Sankara Nethralaya
looks after the varying needs of overseas patients and how once
its PR executives accompanied a dead body to the crematorium.
Dr Cherian is one of Chennai's best-known cardiac surgeons. A dexterous
and gutsy surgeon who is also known to take on challenging cases,
Dr Cherian has performed hundreds of heart surgeries.
Spreading the right message is the key
In a freewheeling and hard-hitting address, Dr Nalini Krishnan,
Director, REACH, highlights the misinterpre-tation of crucial healthcare
messages leading to the public often getting ill informed. Organisations
need to promote good health within, and PR practitioners must become
ambassadors of social change, she emphasises.
India is a land of paradoxes. While we have a large buffer stock,
millions go hungry. We have some of the most eminent doctors and
surgeons, yet the hospitals do not induce cheer. Are we in a buyer's
market in healthcare, wondered T.G. Nallamuthu, past chairman of
the PRSI, Chennai Chapter, while welcoming the speakers and opening
the first technical session at the conference, which focused on
social responsibility.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Nalini Krishnan, Director, Resource
Group for Education and Advocacy in Community Health (REACH), stressed
that while she is aware of the dichotomy in healthcare, a strong
link with PR practitioners would help. PR, she said, is a much bandied
about, much abused term; however, it is time to get healthcare providers
to recognise what PR could do for them.
Against the background of the huge information overload in healthcare,
there is
a lot of respect for the printed word, often taken as the gospel
truth. There are vested interests pushing certain products. As the
message is often misinterpreted or spun within the community, the
information is like dynamite in the hands of the public,
she added.
There is antibiotic abuse as well as over-the-counter (OTC) drug
abuse. Although public health is seen as a government responsibility,
the responsibility for addressing issues such as diabetes and obesity
often get fuzzy. There is a characteristic dichotomy between public
and private healthcare that impinges on the patient. “We therefore
need to go beyond looking at healthcare as a doctor-patient or disease-cure
relationship,”
Dr Krishnan said, adding, “Right information is the key that
will help the medical community communicate the right message. The
value of communi-cating with patients, that extra five minutes,
is crucial and all medical personnel are not born with this expertise.”
Dr Krishnan pointed out that India carries one-third of the global
TB burden, with the highest incidence reported in the 18-40-year
age group. “There are no new drugs. One infected person infects
15 others. There is lack of proper diagnostic facilities, and treatment
in many cases remain incomplete,” she said. The Government
DOTS programme, according to her,
is successful because there is political commitment, patients undergo
a sputum test, drugs are given for six months and treatment is under
observation. However, many patients are not aware of this and are
not accessing the programme. “The only way to bring down the
number of those suffering from TB is to ensure that patients are
completely cured. We have the drugs, the delivery system, DOTS,
but no awareness. Private providers therefore have to come into
the picture,” she was convinced.
REACH has treated about 700 TB patients the past eight years. The
organisation has been trying to sensitise both people and doctors.
Help for the programme has come from an unexpected source the econo-mically
underprivileged. Employing a scientific method to measure the success
of the programme's advocacy, REACH has found an improvement in awareness
particularly among women.
With the pattern of work changing, Dr Krishnan said that psychosocial
and stress-related issues have now gained importance. Illnesses
from the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs have taken centre stage,
as much as HIV/AIDS. “You must see how you can help improve
health within organisations and then take it outside. Bring health
into your activities; assess the impact of your communication. I
do not have the expertise to communicate. The PR practitioners can
thus work with media to produce the desired effect. Corporate social
responsibility is a very good business exercise and you must be
ambassadors of social change,” she exhorted the audience.
Media, public can help treat poor patients
At the same session, Manju Wadwalkar, PRO of the Post Graduate
Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, provided
an overview of the working of the institute. PGIMER’s model
could serve as an example to hospitals to rope in local media and
generate public support to gain financial help. Many poor patients
have been treated that way by generating a ‘social fund’
with public-media support.
Health is indeed wealth
As medical costs continue to rise, the common man is finding
it more and more difficult to cope. Only a miniscule percentage
of Indians take insurance and out of those numbers, very few actually
plan and invest in insurance. Compulsory medical insurance is the
only way out, says Padmanabhan, chartered accountant, while cautioning
that insurance companies, both public and private, are not too keen
to bear the responsibility of providing coverage.
Public health is one of the most neglected sectors in India. We
have the highest incidence of diseases and millions of Indians die
due to chronic illnesses every year, many of the deaths occur in
the 35-65-year age group, the most productive phase. Padmanabhan,
chartered accountant, addressing participants at the seminar, came
up with some chilling statistics such as: there would be 7.3 million
deaths from chronic diseases by 2020; the number of diabetic patients
would grow to 57.2 million in 2025, from 19.3 million in 1995. In
India, 80 percent of medical expenses are met
from personal contributions or private savings. The money thus used
is not available for economic development.
The result is indebtedness and a vicious cycle of poverty.
The only saviour is insurance. Even though there are public and
private sector service providers, more and more insurance companies
are avoiding the responsibility of providing health insurance, according
to Padmanabhan. “While the public sector is saddled with the
responsibility of providing insurance cover, the private sector
is not too willing. Insurance premiums in India are the least in
the world and insurance is a losing proposition. So, who's going
to pay for the cost of medical care?” he asked.
How many Indians take insurance? Only two percent of Indians insure,
and most take insurance foreseeing an illness. Even the knowledgeable
and intelligent don't bother much. Medical insurance is driven more
by compulsion and is not planned, as it should be. There is also
very little regulation as far
as the quality of medical care is concerned and quality care is
not consistent with healthcare
providers. Reimbursement is cost-based
and for higher premiums, you get higher reimbursement. “Medical
insurance should be taken the moment a child is born. It must be
made compulsory and a suitable mechanism must be evolved so that
it becomes a habit. Abroad, no doctor will touch you if you don't
have proper insurance,” said Padmanabhan.
He added: “Insurance companies are not in the charity business.
No pre-existing diseases are covered. Agents who market the policies
do not provide complete information. People tend to get disillusioned
because of this. PR, therefore, has a definite role to play.”
The ultimate marketing dream
How do we create value in the Indian brand? What value can
India bring to the table that cannot be duplicated? And are we communicating
the right messages? Ashok Ananthraman, President, Business Development
Group, Apollo Hospitals, stresses that India has to be first positioned
well before it is pitched as a medical tourism destination.
In a brilliant address, Ashok Ananthraman, President, Business
Development Group, Apollo Hospitals, spoke of the seamless integration
between the hospitality industry and the hospital (healthcare) industry.
But as far as health tourism is concerned, have we leveraged enough
on PR, he asked the audience.
Even till the early 1990s, there was very little scope for innovation
in the healthcare sector and there was hardly any concept at the
time, according to Ananthraman. Wealthy Indians got treated in the
US. However, today, with more than 6,000 beds and medical technology
on par with the best in the world and some of the most complicated
surgeries being performed with success rates on par with those abroad,
it is a different picture altogether. “Even so, we have scratched
only the tip of the iceberg. The concept of tourism associated with
wellness, of combining treatment with a holiday, is a non-starter
still. The success depends on the integration of two different industries
healthcare and tourism. These are two broad market segments we have
to address,” Ananthraman said, adding, “The whole approach
to health and well being is changing. We have to look at the supply
and quality aspects as well. A strong domestic market is a requisite
for medical tourism to take off, which can position India as a healthcare
destination. It is really a combination of product and service,
providing visitors a world-class experience every time. Only then
will India become a world-class destination.”
Citing the example of Kerala, a great combination of travel and
health, Ananthraman pointed out that the country has to be positioned
as a value-for-money destination India has a tremendous cost advantage.
Tourism is growing at the rate of 18-25 percent a year, India is
one of the top five must-visit countries, and we have hotels comparable
with the finest in the world. There has been a 70 percent increase
in Central Government allocation to tourism for the development
of tourism hubs.
“An integrated marketing effort with a PR initiative can help
dispel wrong perceptions. There can't be a more personal product
than healthcare and a voice from somebody who has had a good experience
goes a long way. The thrust has to be at three levels - unit, industry
and the Ministry of Tourism. There are no accreditation standards
for hospitals in India yet. We have to constantly raise the bar
to retain the competitive advantage and everybody has a role, government
and private sector included,” Ananthraman pointed out.
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A question of ethics
My doctor gave me six months to live. When he saw I couldn't
pay his bills, he gave me six months more. This wisecrack perhaps
suggests the need for more ethical behaviour amongst doctors. Krishnan
Iyengar, Assistant Manager-Corporate Communications, SPIC, takes
a close look at medical ethics.
Medical ethics is a sensitive subject. From the family doctor to
the modern physician who orders a battery of tests, from homely
nursing homes to corporate hospitals, we have seen them all. Whatever
it is, most patients in India revere doctors as gods.
Krishnan Iyengar, Assistant Manager-Corporate Communications, SPIC,
highlighted the role of PR in shaping medical ethics, the symbiotic
relationship between the PR practitioner and the doctor and wondered
whether they could enhance the quality of each other's existence.
Classifying doctors into four categories - individual practitioners
who don't really need PR because of the loyalty factor; doctors
in polyclinics who offer low-cost specialist care who have begun
appreciating the need for PR but don't carry it out in an organised
fashion; high-profile doctors in corporate hospitals who charge
exorbitant rates and also invest in PR in a focused manner; and
doctors in state-run hospitals - Iyengar pointed out that ethics
is basically all about moral principles and practices and the ability
to differentiate between right and wrong.
“We need to make ethical positions culturally justifiable
and look at ethics in terms of human rights. Thus, doctors must
show compassion, respect, responsibility and professionalism. The
sense of responsibility, for instance, can mean saving the patient
even if legally the position is not tenable. Medical ethics is also
about training. Unfortunately, the will to learn and acquire knowledge
is not there,” Iyengar said, adding, “Ethics and law
are closely related. The Vedas talk about the need for good spiritual
and mental health. The medical codes today are defined by organisations
such as the World Health Organisation, the American Medical Association
and the Medical Council of India.
Iyengar was for doctors to be more humane and non-discriminatory
in nature. PR practitioners in hospitals should have an orientation
towards medicine. “The performance measurement of PR is a
big challenge today. Those interested in pursuing a PR career in
hospitals must consider the ethical practices followed in hospitals,
rather than just salary, before joining, he said. Iyengar was of
the view that most corporate hospitals do not have transparent operations.
A sacred, moral responsibility
Ethics is one of judgment. Does a doctor walk his talk? Is
your belief matched by what you do? In a hard-hitting address, Dr
Arjun Rajagopalan, Head of the Department of Surgery, Sundaram Medical
Foundation, says that although the Indian doctor operates under
tremendous pressure, financial and other incentives have eaten into
the moral fibre of medical ethics.
Dr Arjun Rajagopalan, head of the department of surgery, Sundaram
Medical Foundation, riding a “veritable minefield” that
is medical ethics, reiterated what Iyengar said (see page 5), that
ethics is action based on ideas of right and wrong, not based on
what you think and feel. “The definition of right and wrong
is vague and is getting vaguer,” he said, pointing out that
the practice of medicine involved a four-way interaction: observation,
measurement, intervention and a series of assessments.
“Do not think of us as gods but as average human beings. A
doctor-patient relationship is a fiduciary responsibility, and at
all times the doctor will only do that which is good for the patient.
Patients do not like doctors who do not communicate and if a doctor
fails to communicate well, he is not good enough,” he said.
Healthcare, Dr Rajagopalan stressed, is a sacred, moral responsibility.
The onus is on the doctor, he said, to ask himself whether what
he is going to do will be effective, if it will be better than what
was done previously, and to ensure that the intervention is safe,
and, finally that he is practising good economics.
“The panel approach is very fashionable today. Ordering tests
too often for unproven indications is unethical. The annual health
check-up may be fashionable but is dubious. Inadequately developed
therapy cannot be promoted. Clinical trials, for example, must be
handled with ethical efficacy. The patient must at all times be
given full information. The burden under which and Indian doctor
has to practise has grown. Financial and other incentives such as
attending conferences at the expense of drug companies, physician's
bills being picked up by companies, accepting kickbacks, overseas
visits have eaten into the mortal fabric of medical ethics,”
he pointed out.
Logistics has greater relevance in healthcare
Medical logistics forms the nuts and bolts of the healthcare
system, as it were. Transporting the patient to hospital, sending
a recovered patient home, or sometimes even arranging for a funeral,
medical logistics is a challenging task. Dr B.V.L. Narayanan, who
served the Railway Traffic Service, is certain that medical institutes
can add value and productivity through improved logistics.
Dr B.V.L. Narayanan, a doctor by profession but a student of strategic
management (he served the Railway Traffic Service), pointed out
that although logistics is the same in any field, in the medical
field, it has greater relevance and utility. The medical profession,
he felt, must look at logistics seriously if the services are to
be improved. “In healthcare, certain interventions cannot
be taken to the patient; he has to be brought to the hospital sometimes.
There is also an emotional aspect to the service of healthcare.
The level of customer satisfaction is linked to the quality of services
rendered. A medical institution must add value and logistics is
one way of doing so,” explained Dr Narayanan.
Dr Narayanan said that if interventions could be offered at one
place to help the poor, for example, it would make a difference.
“Bleeding during the first two hours of an injury is the biggest
killer. Again, vaccines get ineffective by the time they reach farflung
areas because of the lack of a cold-chain facility. The medical
fraternity needs to look at these issues and ensure that improved
logistics provides additional value and additional productivity.
Both together makes for superior customer value,” he pointed
out.
Dr Narayan listed three issues as critical: responsiveness, a crucial
issue in emergencies; reliability, such as the existence of a cold
chain; and relationships with other entities. He also stressed the
need to look at reverse logistics such as reuse of material.
Chennai must capitalise on its strength: quality care and
hospitality
Chennai has some excellent medical centres, some of the best
in India. We need not look to the West any longer for the best medical
care. We not only offer excellent medical care but also combine
it with our traditional hospitality. However, the public image of
medical centres in India needs a makeover. Dr Prem Sekar, consultant
paediatrician, and Satyan Bhat, MD, Prism PR, provide interesting
case stories.
Dr Prem Sekar, consultant paediatrician, provided an excellent
example of what quality of healthcare is all about. A pregnant mother
lost her first child to heart disease. When she was six months pregnant
with her second child, she came to Madras from Tirupati for a check-up.
A scan at Mediscan Systems revealed that the baby's heart was abnormal;
there was a severely blocked valve but no associated lesions and
that the condition could be treated only after the child was born.
The pregnancy thus continued till the baby was born at Sundaram
Medical Foundation. Echocardiography confirmed what the scan had
detected earlier. The baby turned blue after birth and at three
days of age was rushed to Frontier Lifeline Hospitals for balloon
dilatation or valvuloplasty, a complex procedure to rectify the
condition. The child recently celebrated its first birthday.
Satyan Bhatt, managing director, Prism Public Relations, provided
an example of what PR could do for a medical institution. CMC, Vellore,
100 years and more old, has an excellent track record. The institution
has several first to its credit and ranks very high in many disciplines.
Yet, for all that, a survey showed that CMC, Vellore, is perceived
as a 'sick' institution. A media strategy was drawn up to try and
change the perception.
Further analysis revealed that there are indeed problems: salaries
are low; every member of the key group (doctors) is pressurised
for time; since it is not a corporate hospital, but a service initiative
and, therefore, not running for profit, the energy and enthusiasm
is missing. After all, founder Ida Scudder's dictum was that the
poor might not pay but the rich would. After brainstorming sessions,
a PR strategy was put in place. The thrust was on projecting CMC,
often the last resort for hundreds of patients, in better light.
Human-interest cases were highlighted; CMC was given a human face
through its director; and the institution's work in tsunami-affected
areas was highlighted.
Touch people's hearts
Never ever oversell or undersell; never highlight the negative.
In a scintillating valedictory address, Dr K.P. Misra, senior cardiologist
and Director, Medical Education, Apollo Hospitals, exhorts PR practitioners
to serve the community and show their human face.
What is the purpose of life, a small child asked Swami Vivekananda
once. Swamiji explained with the help of a flower and a bud. The
only purpose of the bud is to become a flower. The bud has all the
qualities that a flower possesses; only it is not fully manifest.
Likewise, explained Swamiji, love and compassion lie hidden within
us. All of us have inherent good qualities in us. Like the bud,
we need to bring these qualities to the surface. And that is the
purpose of life. Starting his valedictory address with this example,
Dr K.P. Misra, senior cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, set the tone
for the session. “We have to uplift society. The affluent
must support the less privileged. Remember, we are inter-dependent,
neither dependent nor independent,” he remarked.
Citing the examples of CMC, Vellore, which he called a place of
pilgrimage, and Sankara Nethralaya, Dr Misra emphasised that nothing
succeeds like success and that your work will sell itself. “Only
PR will not do. You have to build a track record.” Again,
taking the examples of Jesus Christ, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami
Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi and Mother Teresa, Dr Misra pointed
out that love in action is service. “If you cannot love somebody
you see, how can you claim to love somebody you cannot see?”
he asked the audience, quoting from John's Gospel, and adding, “Every
religion spreads the message of love and PR's larger role is service.”
Throwing a word of caution, Dr Misra said that India would soon
have the largest number of patients suffering from heart ailments,
diabetes and hypertension. “Good health, as Charaka mentions
in the Sastras, is fundamental to enjoy life and do your duties.
Man needs prayer and hope too. But do PR people talk about it at
all? Is PR just a formal relationship or are your hearts filled
with love? Doctors should actually touch the patient and touch his
heart. But where is the personal touch, where is the human face?”
he asked, and referred to what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami
Vivekananda had said about serving man and throwing all gods into
the sea.
Doctors have just no time to talk about lifestyle management and,
therefore, PR should do something about it, he added. 'May I help
you' are four lovely words, but write them in your heart, not on
a piece of wood, he remarked. And get motivated by positive-minded
people, he concluded, citing the example of Walt Disney who never
gave up his dream in spite of going bankrupt 17 times!
News Gallery
Top
'Effective
Communication- The Internet Way'
One Day Seminar - 20.08.99
Speaker Topic
Mr. Aubrey Sequeria "The
Internet beats Sex!
CEO & Chairman
Group Gold Wire
Mr. Jean Jacques Lavigne
"Impact of the Web on PR"
Director - PR Line
Ms Shobha Ponnappa "Oh!
What a tangled Web we weaved"
Managing Director
Avigna Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. D Ravichandran "How
to select an ISP?"
Head - Internet Marketing
Satyam Infoway Ltd.
| Chairman Mr. Mohan Punnen welcoming the
gathering. |
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Mr. Aubrey Sequeria, CEO & Chairman,
Group Gold Wire addressing the
Delegates.
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| Mr. Jean Jacques Lavigne, Director - PR
Line on 'Impact of the Web on PR'. |
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Ms. Shobha Ponnappa, Managing Director,
Avigna Technologies Pvt. Ltd. addressing the delegates. |
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| Mr. D.Ravichandran, Head - Internet Marketing,
Satyam Infoway Ltd. along with Mr.Satyan C.Bhatt at the
Seminar/dais. |
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Chairman Mr. Mohan Punnen handing over a
memento to Mr. R.Asokan (keynote speaker) at the Seminar. |
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| Delegates at the Seminar. |
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