Issue: #2 | May 2014

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Fab India – The journey from a

‘Lab’ to ‘Fab’

ICT: Bridging the Gender Divide Fiinobserva�on of Interna�onal

Days

In this issue:

Seminar on The Companies Act,

2013

ROAD TOENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES

Hear the influencers talk…

“

“

“The role of corpora�ons should be innova�ve and

help devise cost effec�ve, implementable

strategies that work on the ground. The quest for

numbers for corpora�ons should align with ethical

social responsibility.”

“The world is beset with enormous problems. And

as a nonprofit, NGO, founda�on, impact investor,

or socially responsible company, your organiza�on

is on a mission to solve them.”- Marc Epstein,

Author of Measuring and Improving Social Impacts

“Keeping the CSR and business separate has

resulted in a general percep�on that in business

one would do something commercially, poten�ally

not so produc�ve and useful, perhaps even

damaging and pay a li�le bit through CSR.”

-Nachiket Mor,

Reserve Bank of India

Fiinova�on and FKCCI collaborate for the 'The Companies Act, 2013' seminar

01

“We thought small schools were the answer but it

turns out that it doesn't really ma�er what size the

class is, you need a great teacher in front of the

classroom.”- Melinda Gates,

Bill and Melinda Gates Founda�on

New Delhi: Fiinovation collaborated with the Federation of Karnataka

Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) and the Institute of

Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), Bangalore Chapter for a

seminar on 'The Companies Act' on May 2, 2014 at Bangalore. The

event was attended by over 200 participants that included audit

professionals and corporate representatives who remained

engrossed through the event that was hosted at Hotel Le Meridien,

Bangalore. The inaugural session had ofce bearers of FKCCI and

ICSI who helped 'dissect the Companies Act'.

Mr. S. Chakraborty, Fiinovation, a speaker at the conference

reiterated for an increased 'focus on whom instead of what' while

looking at businesses today. He highlighted the importance of

incorporating the perspective of the consumer who should associate

with the brand. The need for an equilibrium which is 'socialistic

capitalism' is important said Mr Chakraborty who also suggested 'the

role of corporations should be innovative and help devise cost

effective, implementable strategies that work on the ground.' He

ascertained 'the quest for numbers for corporations should align with

ethical social responsibility.'

Speaking at the occasion, K Ravi, Chairman, Corporate Laws, CSR &

Capital Markets Committee, FKCCI shared his view of The

Companies Act 2013 being 'simpler and shorter with all clauses in

309 pages'. He advocated employing it to for an advantage. Linking

corporate social responsibility (CSR) to individual social

responsibility, Mr. K G Raghavan explained it as 'old wine in new

bottle.'

The Chief Guest M.R. Bhat, Registrar of Companies (ROC) for

Karnataka explained how the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is now

looking into the 'deluge of representations' received from companies

and their auditors about the new clauses of the law. Clearing doubts

about the prescribed penalties, imprisonments and sections on the

prosecution by special courts, Mr. Bhat viewed them as a medium to

'avert or reduce corporate scams.'

Addressing the issue of Independent Directors & Women Directors in

India, Prof. Vasanthi Srinivasan, IIM-B described the situation as one

of 'shame and altruism.'

Lawyers from S.R. Batliboi & Associates and Amarchand Mangaldas

thoroughly examined separate clauses of the Act specically those

related to Accounts & Audits and SFIO.

The seminar helped create a platform for Chartered accountants to

understand the Act and its provisions. It reiterated the signicance of

CA's to uphold nancial probity and bring corporate governance on a

-Aditi Tewari

- S. Chakraborty,

Fiinova�on

Fab India – The journey from a ‘Lab’ to ‘Fab’

John Bissell in 1960 established Fab India to develop India's potential in the

emerging textile industry. The objective was to amalgamate the best practices of

East and West. The model posed an opportunity to showcase India's handloom

textiles to the global market that provided equitable livelihood opportunities to rural

artisans.

William Bissell, the son of John Bissell gave shape to his father's vision. He was a

believer of social entrepreneurship and deemed it as a key for development. He

started his journey with over a 1000 weavers of the village Chanderi in Ashok Nagar

district of Madhya Pradesh. His interactions with them made him understand the

challenges they face with regard to low rainfall in the region and the slow

disappearance of the cherished fabric of Chanderi. William worked with the

people, motivated them and convinced them of his vision. The process included

introducing the community to the concept of shares in a Community Owned

Company (COC). The community became shareholders, the essence of which was

explained to the people. This paved the path for Fab India which had started as an

experiment. The parallel timeline explains the journey from 1960 to the end of 2010.

“India is not a poor country, it is a

poorly run country.”

“In two to three years, all our

employees and suppliers will be

shareholders in Fab India.”

– William Bissell

02

- Rahul Choudhury

1960

1975

1988

1992

19

93

1996

1998

1999

2000

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

20

10

Fab India Founded by John Bissell

First Store in Delhi

William Bissell returns to India after nishing college in Wesleyan University

William Joins Fab India

Second Store in Delhi

First store outside Delhi (Bangalore)

John Bissell passes away

William Bissell takes over as MD

Fab India Launches its Home Furniture Range

Rs 24 cr to 100 cr in 2 years. Opens its rst store in a Mall (Spencer Plaza, Chennai)

Organic Food Introduced

William again decides to increase revenue upto Rs 240 cr in 4 years, meets target in two years.

Launches personal care products

William plans to create 1 lakh jobs, sets up AMFPL to invest in 17 community owned companies

Handcrafted Jewellery Launched

Fab India acquires 25 percent in EAST, UK based retail brand

Over 120 Stores, including 6 overseas, Revenue Rs 300 crores

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Over the years Fab India has shifted its focus from being an export house to

becoming a successful retail business that presents Indian textiles in a variety of

natural bers. This ingenious model reaped many benets for the rural artisans

which did not restrict themselves to just economic terms. The value of their shares

increased and provided them enhanced dividends. The artisans are provided loans

arranged through banks. The artisans use the credit to buy new looms or expand

production.

The biggest difference Fab India made through its entry was that it started sourcing

fabric worth Rs 1 crore from Chanderi itself. Today its annual turnover is over Rs

300 crore that includes 90 per cent of domestic sales.

As of today, Fab India sources its products from over 15000 craft persons and

artisans across India. They support the craft traditions of India by providing a

market and thereby encourage and sustain rural employment. Today they have

retail outlets in all major cities of India (120 at last count) in addition to international

stores in Rome, Italy, Dubai, UAE and Guangzhou, China.

ICT: Bridging the Gender Divide

03

- British companies would contribute as much as 100 million pounds per year for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) going in India by The Companies Act, 2013.

- India is now ADB's fourth largest shareholder. Since the start of its lending operations in 1986, ADB has approved 210 loans amounting to $31.5 billion, $173.8 million for 10 grants and $262 million for 348 technical assistance projects as of 31 December 2013.

- India's share in R&D spending to the total global R&D spending stands at 2.1% while the share of China is 12.5%.

- In 2007, there were 380 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which exceeds the natural range of the past 650,000 years.

- India's total expenditure on health per capita was $157 in the year 2012.

Food For Thought...

The informal sector in India accounts for 90% of women who indulge in

economic activities. These women specialize in an array of

occupations ranging from weaving, sewing, vending, rolling cigarettes

and handicrafts. It is well known that the nature of their employment is

not regularized barring them from any benets. Thus, their struggle to

earn a livelihood makes them susceptible to vulnerabilities. In this

regard poverty alleviation programmes prove to be viable solutions

which help address their life challenges. Alternative models of poverty

redressal like Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) is

gaining relevance.

For the last 20 years, India has actively used ICT for development

across all its programmes. Women's empowerment has been a core

issue for India considering the current grim scenario. ICT is being

utilized as medium to encourage and promote interaction within the

women community. It functions by highlighting their situation and

creates awareness by identifying possible solutions. Few examples of

programmes running under ICT are India Shop, an e�commerce

website in Tamil Nadu, designed to sell products made by rural women

cooperatives, Sewa's community learning centres, school of science

and technology and the Theli Phone Project have had positive

impacts. Due to such interventions women have been successful in

selling their home produced goods at competitive prices in domestic

and foreign markets.

Sewa’s ICT school for women empowerment emphasizes upon

building the skills of the rural women through various vocational

courses. Text boxes on the side explain the nature and location of the

initiative.

This programme has empowered more than 8,000 rural women and

community members by teaching them computer ski l ls.

Approximately 800 women have started their own micro enterprise initiatives in a range of activities like hardware repairing

photography, screen printing and data entry. About 1100 women have been recognized as master trainers. This programme has

generated employment for 1764 trainees in ICT sector and 926 in non-ICT sectors.

Even though this initiative has had a signicant impact yet there are some loopholes of accessibility in ICT initiatives. This

inaccessibility is detrimental for its holistic success. Women's accessibility to these initiatives is determined by various social

determinants such as gender, education and livelihood among others. Therefore, future research for ICT must look at making

technology accessible and suitable for women. - Ankita Dash

Voca�onal courses available at ICT school for Women Empowerment

Loca�on of Sewa’s ICT school for Women Empowerment

Journalism, Telly Caller Training, Voice & Video Edi�ng, GIS, DTP & Web

Designing, Accoun�ng, Screen Prin�ng,Language Training & Computer

Training.

04

Fiinobservation of International Days

W H O e a r m a r k e d 7 t h A p r i l a s

International World Health Day to attain

the echelon of health with happiness.

The day draws attention globally

towards specic health issues existing

and percolating in the system.

This year's WHO theme was Vector

Borne Diseases- particularly Malaria.

According to the WHO epidemiology

report of 2013 there were approx. 207

mill ion cases of malaria and an

estimate of 627,000 malarial deaths

reported. This is indicative of the fact

that despite considerable advances in

t e rms o f p reven t i on & con t ro l

measures, there is still lot to be

achieved in order to reduce and control

the spread of the disease. Malaria has a

large impact in poor countries because

of its interaction with malnutrition.

World Health Day aims to raise

awareness about the threat posed by

vectors and vector-borne diseases and

to stimulate families and communities

to take preventive measures.

World Health Day 7th April

The International Mother Earth Day came into force in 2009, after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that was endorsed by over 50 member nations. It is celebrated on the 22nd April. This day is celebrated as a platform to give everyone a chance to promote harmony with nature and to safeguard earth. Mankind have been relatively slow to respond to the crisis posed by global warming looming over our head and the damage that has been caused due to anthropogenic activities. The day marks the interdependency of all living species and the planet that we all inhibit. The theme for this year is “Green Cities” and focus is on mobilizing millions of people to create a sustainable, healthy environment by greening communities worldwide.Economic growth associated wi th unsustainable patterns of consumption and production is hindering the quest for harmony, both within and between societies, as well as between humankind and the natural environment. The effective implementation of the outcomes of scientic research can support, among other things, efcient uti l ization of resources, environmental protection and poverty eradication.

Interna�onal Mother Earth Day 22nd April

6 t h A p r i l , 2 0 1 4 w a s t h e r s t

Internat ional Day of Sports for

Development and Peace. Sports is

viewed as a common denominator

which breaks down all barriers. Ban Ki-

moon, the UN Secretary-General,

advocates for sports as a worldwide

industry that is a powerful tool for

progress and development. It is an

important component for the holistic

development of youth as they promote

their physical, mental and emotional

well being. Sports also helps build

social connections and promotes world

peace and harmony. It teaches the

values of effort, victory and defeat. It is

also about bridging the cultural and

ethnic divides.

Sports could serve as a practical tool to

s u p p o r t t h e a c h i e v e m e n t s o f

Mil lennium Development Goals.

Research suggests the use of sports as

a tool for social mobilization and

advocacy. Sports has been utilized in

countries like Liberia, South Korea,

South Africa etc and has worked well in

promoting social and global integration

About Fiinova�on

Fiinovation, a research based organization, is an integrated solution enabler in the CSR and sustainability domain. It is focused towards enhancing quality across

organizational value chain through meaningful innovation thereby ensuring sustainability. It is Asia's rst proposal research laboratory wherein research is focused

primarily on four sectors, which include Health, Education, Livelihood and Environment. Work is done through different practices namely: CSR-CSO partnership,

CSR Policy design, programme design & management, impact assessment, and sustainability assessment and sustainability reporting.

Fiinovation

24/30, Ground Floor, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III New Delhi - 110020, Delhi

Phone: 011-42332200 | Fax : 011-42332205

To know more please visit our website: www.inovation.co.in | Email: media@inovation.co.in

Interna�onal Day of Sports

for Development and Peace 6th April

- Kumar Anshuman - Rahul Choudhury- Dr. Shilpa Jain