CII has been leading Indian industry’s efforts to
work towards equitable, inclusive growth by
encouraging Affirmative Action in industry for
people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes, since 2006. This year,
Mr B Muthuraman, President, CII, and
Vice Chairman, Tata Steel Ltd and Chairman, Tata
International, chaired the CII National Council for
Affirmative Action, to emphasize the
Affirmative Action agenda
CII’s efforts to enhance the participation of the marginalised
sections of society into the economic mainstream are
concentrated in four major areas:
• Scholarships for SC/ST candidates
• Encouraging Supplier Diversity by giving preference to
SC/ST entrepreneurs
• Vocational Training of SC/ST candidates through skill
development programmes
• Employment of SC/ST candidates
A significant development
to further this agenda was
the appointment this year
of Mr. Harpal Singh, Mentor
and Chairman Emeritus,
Fortis Healthcare, as CII’s
Ombudsman on Affirmative
Action.
CII also interacted with
stakeholders through Council
meetings and conducted
a survey amongst the
membership to capture their
work in Affirmative Action,
and reported back to the Government on initiatives
undertaken.
‘Endeavour’, a magazine featuring success stories of
member initiatives in Affirmative Action, to help other
companies establish or improve their activities,
was launched.
CII engaged deeply with the Dalit Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (DICCI) to link Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs with CII members, to build
supplier diversity. CII actively collaborated in the Vendor
Development Meet at the DICCI trade fair to showcase 200
Dalit companies involved in manufacturing, construction,
trading, health, hospitality and the knowledge industry in
December, in Mumbai. Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Minister
of Agriculture, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister
of Power, and Mr Digvijay Singh, former Chief Minister,
Madhya Pradesh, among others, participated in the
Meet. From industry, Mr. B Muthuraman, Mr Ratan Tata,
Chairman Tata Group, Mr. Adi Godrej, President-Designate,
CII, and Chairman, Godrej Group, Mr Farhad Forbes,
Farhad Forbes, Co-Chairman, CII National Council on Affirmative Action (AA), and Chairman, CII Western Region Sub-Committee on AA, and Director, Forbes Marshall; Milind Kamble, Chairman, DICCI, and Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group, with CII and DICCI members, at the Vendor Development Meet in Mumbai
Representatives from CII, NSFDC, and the Future Group at the MoU signing ceremony to develop SC entrepreneurs in the Retail sector, in New Delhi
Mr B Muthuraman addressed a webinar to sensitise industry
on opportunities to effectively implement Affirmative
Action.
From April 2011 onwards, 7059 SC/ST students have
been granted scholarships this year. This includes the
scholarships directly provided by member companies to
SC/ST students as well as the 210 scholarships for higher
education granted by CII along with member companies
in association with the Foundation for Academic
Excellence and Access (FAEA) for SC/ST students in
premier academic institutions.
More than 17,000 students have undergone training
in skill development since April 2011 in CII District Centres
set up in partnership with PanIIT Alumni Reach for
India (PARFI).
Tribal women undergoing skill development training at Khamam
Director, Forbes Marshall, and Mr Satish Seth,
Group MD, Reliance Communications Ltd. and
Reliance ADAG Group, as well as many others,
attended the event.
CII, the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development
Corporation (NSFDC) and the Future Group have initiated
a unique Public Private Partnership to build and develop
entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Caste community.
These entrepreneurs will run retail outlets under the Future
Group’s brand, ‘Aadhaar’ in rural areas and in KB Fair
Price outlets in semi-urban and urban areas. The project
will be supported and financed by the NSFDC through its
channelizing agencies in different states.
CII has welcomed the new policy wherein Government
departments and state-run enterprises will give preference
to small units, including those belonging
to SC/ST entrepreneurs, for procurement of
goods and services. Of the 20% procurement allotted to
MSMEs, the policy allots 4% to SC/ST entrepreneurs.
In keeping with these measures, CII is undertaking
Cluster-based supplier training for SC/ST entrepreneurs
to strengthen their manufacturing capability to meet the
requirements of sourcing companies.
A dedicated website, www.ciiaffirmativeaction.in
has been launched to serve as a platform for members, the
Government, NGOs, beneficiaries and other stakeholders
to share experiences, aid learning, celebrate achievements,
connect and collaborate, and also disseminate information
on best practices. The website reflects progress achieved
by industry in Affirmative Action by showcasing member
initiatives. It also lists the signatories to the voluntary Code
of Conduct.
Session on ‘Corruption-free India’ in Hyderabad
At the session on ‘Corruption-free India’ in Lucknow
Corruption hinders economic growth, reduces social
services, and diverts investments in infrastructure,
institutions and social services, undermining
efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). It fosters an environment characterized by
uncertainty, unpredictability and declining moral values
and disrespect for constitutional institutions and authority.
Evidence from across the globe confirms that corruption
impacts the poor disproportionately.
The fight against corruption has
been declared a high priority by
Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
of India. The Government of India
has taken several measures in
that direction, including coming
out with new laws. The Supreme
Court too has taken a firm stance
against corruption in recent years,
with several important rulings. The
Right to Information (RTI) Act now
grants citizens access to government
information and a mechanism to
control public spending.
In terms of international norms, India endorsed the
ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Action Plan, and has recently
ratified the UN Convention against Corruption.
However, political and bureaucratic corruption, public
funds embezzlement, fraudulent procurement practices,
judicial corruption and corruption in industry remain
widespread. Law enforcement is weak and reforms have a
long way to go.
At the session on ‘Integrity and Transparency in Governance & Society’ in Ahmedabad
At the session on ‘Corruption-Free India’ in Chennai
To give special focus to this issue, CII
has set up a Task Force on Integrity
& Transparency in Governance,
chaired by Mr. Adi Godrej, President
Designate, CII, and Chairman, Godrej
Group. The Task Force includes
prominent industry leaders from across
the country. One of its important
activities has been the publication
of a Code of Business Ethics, which
has been circulated to members for
implementation on a voluntary basis.
CII was invited by the Standing
Committee of Parliament to give its
views and comments on the Draft Lok
Pal Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials and Officials of
Public International Organisation Bill,
2011, the Right of Citizens for
Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and
to exchange views and experiences on values and ethics.
CII engaged with schools, colleges, universities and
professional institutes to include ethics as a part of their
curriculum.
Moving forward, conferences on corruption to exchange
ideas and experiences are on the agenda. A publication
on best practices on compliances is also under preparation.
Plans are underway to sensitise members to ethics and
value systems through specific programmes involving
professionals and academics, supported by the belief that
it is the responsibility and duty of every Indian to be ethical
in his/her dealings, and to fight against corruption to
promote integrity.
Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill 2011.
CII also had the opportunity to place its views before the
government-constituted committee on natural resource
management, an area where corruption is widely prevalent.
CII is studying some activities and departments of the
Government such as land, direct taxes, etc which are
prone to corruption. Specialized Groups are studying these
areas to make suggestions to simplify the process and
thereby reduce corruption. CII is also working closely with
international agencies such as WEF and
OECD on Governance-related issues.
Over the year, six programmes were held in different
parts of the country involving the youth, amongst others,
CODE OF
BUSINESS
ETHICS
With the agenda for 2011-12 being ‘Business for
Livelihood,’ Skill Development was one of the
three key focus areas for CII. The CII National
Council on Skill Development, chaired by
Mr S Mahalingam, CFO and Executive Director, Tata
Consultancy Services, drew strong participation from
industry, government, academia, international organisations
and NGOs. Through five Council meetings held during
the year, the Skills Development agenda was driven with
passion, with the focus on issues affecting both the
demand and supply sides of the vocational training system.
CII’s Skill Development work for the year started with the
recognition of the need to move from a vicious cycle to
a virtuous cycle in the process of skill development. Our
broad initiatives related to
• Public Private Partnerships, with Government, and the
National Skill Development Council (NSDC)
• Attitude Transformation, through conferences and skill
competitions
• Policy Advocacy, through efforts for the Apprentice Bill,
and towards a single National Qualification Framework
• Inclusive Growth, through recommendations for the 12th
Five Year Plan on Skill Development,
on-ground interventions, and special focus areas
Under the ‘Upgradation of ITIs through Public Private
Partnerships’ scheme, CII members adopted 100 ITIs
this year. To facilitate smooth delivery of this scheme, CII
conducted regional workshops with ITI Principals and
Chairpersons of the Institute Management Committees (CII
members).
The Government’s Modular Employable Skill (MES)
Scheme provides Vocational Training to school drop-outs,
current workers, ITI graduates and others to improve their
employability. The existing skills of persons can also be
B Santhanam, Chairman, Skills & Employability Sub-Committee, CII SR, and President – Flat Glass, South Asia, Egypt & MD, Saint Gobain Glass India Ltd.; Dilip Chenoy, CEO & MD, National Skill Development Corporation; S Mahalingam, Chairman, CII National Council on Skill Development, and CFO & Executive Director, Tata Consultancy Services; Dr Franziska Schwarz, Director- International Relations, Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education & Training, OPET; J P Rai, Executive Director, National Council for Skill Development; T T Ashok, Chairman, CII Southern Region, and MD, Taylor Rubber Pvt. Ltd.; and Supriya Banerji, Deputy Director General, CII, at the 5th Global Summit on Skill Development in Chennai
tested and certified under this scheme. CII is a National
Assessing Body for the MES Scheme, and works with the
Directorate General of Employment & Training of the Union
Ministry of Labour, under its quality parameters.
CII is working closely with the NSDC on the Skills
Development agenda, through initiatives such as Sector Skill
Councils, Workskills Competition and
Skill Gap Studies.
Sector Skill Councils (SSC) build a demand-led system and
engage the private sector in sector specific competencies
as well as in setting standards and quality in curriculum and
accreditation systems. CII’s proposal for the Healthcare SSC
has been approved by the NSDC. We are also facilitating
the Banking Financial Services & Insurance SSC in support
to the Bombay Stock Exchange. A proposal for the Logistics
and Warehousing SSC has been submitted to the NSDC.
Working with the NSDC, CII fielded a 7-member team
to the WorkSkills International Competition 2011 in
London. CII will field participants for the next WorkSkills
International 2013 in Leipzig, Germany, too.
Mr S Mahalingam Chairman, CII National Council on
Skill Development, and CFO & Executive Director, Tata
Consultancy Services, led a CII Skill Delegation to WorkSkills
London 2011, comprising representatives from government
and the private sector, to understand the role industry
needs to play to bring competitors upto WorkSkills levels
and to make vocational education aspirational to the youth.
Mr M V Subbiah, Past President, CII, and Chairman, NSDC,
and Mr Mahalingam, met with Mr John Hayes, Minister for
State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning,
UK. Meetings were also held with the UK Commission for
Employment and Skills, the UK Sector Skills Councils, and
the Association of Colleges, with the focus on industry-led
skill development.
CII has conducted 10 State, 17 District and 5 Sectoral Skill
Gap Studies. We are now aligning our work and supporting
the studies undertaken by NSDC.
The CII Regional and National Workskills Competitions,
now in their 24th year, recognise and encourage industrial
workers. CII is aligning its WorkSkills competition to
WorldSkills International in terms of standards and age
criteria. Regional Workskills Competitions were conducted
successfully across the country, with over 350 participants.
Within the CII Council on Skill Development, a Task Force
of CII members, along with representatives of international
organisations, has been formed to work towards a single
National Qualification Framework. CII’s view that two
frameworks (NVQF and NVEQF) will not benefit the country
has been shared with appropriate Ministries and authorities.
Policy recommendations for amendments to the
Apprenticeship Bill have been submitted to the Union
Ministry of Labour & Employment, and other Government
departments. Our recommendations on Skill Development
have been submitted for the 12th Plan.
To understand the grassroot enablers in Vocational
Education, CII has set up Skill Centres/Hubs in Chhindwara,
Madhya Pradesh, Balasore, Odisha, and Bhiwadi,
Arjun Munda, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, inaugurating the CII PanIIT Gurukul at Gumla
Participants from India in the World Skills Competition 2011, London
Rajasthan. These hubs are scalable and replicable
models, with a training capacity of 1500 to
3000 candidates per annum.
CII, with the PanIIT Alumni Reach for India (PARFI), has
opened eight ‘Skill Gurukuls’ in Puducherry, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The Gurukuls
ensure industry linkage with 100% placement of trainees
and have a unique sustainable model of finance for BPL
trainees. The Gurukuls are residential models located at
the district level, mainly covering blue collar trades such as
construction, driving, catering, etc.
The CII – European Union funded project on Vocational
Education and Training for Vulnerable and Marginalised
Groups in India is being implemented by CII in partnership
with the British Council, City & Guilds (UK) and the Aditya
Birla Group. The project, being undertaken in two backward
districts, Sirsa, Haryana, and Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, involves
vocational training of 3000 BPL youth in auto service and
maintenance, hospitality and tourism, and agri trades, as well
as soft skill training of 10,800 beneficiaries.
The CII-HPCL Swavalamban Project to impart vocational
skills to empower the marginalised to become self-reliant,
has been running effectively since 2006. This year, the
project trained 3,650 candidates in 18 States and
28 centres.
Prithibi Majhi, Minister for Labour & Employment, Assam; Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam; Paban Singh Ghatowar, Union Minister of State for DoNER; and Abhijit Barooah, Co-Chairman, CII North East Council, and MD, Premier Cryogenics Pvt. Ltd, at the CII North East Skills Conclave in Guwahati
The special focus area this year was
Jammu & Kashmir. Under Project Udaan,
the first batch of 30 students from the
University of Kashmir underwent 6
weeks training at the CII Naoroji Godrej
Centre of Excellence in Mumbai. The
second batch of 35 students is currently
undergoing training.
To sustain our skilling efforts, a Skill
Centre has been set up in Srinagar by
the SkillPro Foundation, a CII partner,
where 200 BPL youth, particularly
school drop-outs, are being trained in
various vocational trades and linked to
employment.
In the North Eastern Region, our other
special focus area, CII, supported by
the Union Ministry of Development of the North Eastern
Region, and NSDC, organised the North-East Skills
Conclave in Guwahati in January 2012. The conclave was
inaugurated by Mr Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam.
The NSDC Skill Gap Study for the 8 North Eastern States
was launched on the occasion.
CII is also training 300 BPL youth in short vocational courses
and facilitating their placement in jobs through two training
centres in the region.
The 2nd National Conference on Skill Development,
with the theme ‘Towards Sustainable and Scalable Skill
Development,’ was organised in collaboration with the
Union Ministry of Labour and Employment in New Delhi
in September. The conference discussed the imperatives to
implement the National Policy on Skill Development.
The 5th CII Global Summit on Skill Development 2012,
held in partnership with the Union Ministry of Labour &
Employment, the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Mission,
the National Skill Development Corporation and Partner
Country Switzerland, hosted discussions on issues at both
the demand and supply side of the vocational training
market and showcased learnings from international skill
development models.
CII and The Swiss VET, represented by SkillSonics India
Pvt Ltd, signed a MoU for co-operation and assistance in
vocational education training at the event.
In keeping with its objective of developing an aligned
vision for the India of 2022, India@75 worked
through the year to engage in meaningful dialogue
with Government, industry, NGOs, consumers, students,
professionals, farmers et al.
This year, India@75 floated the concept of Collaborative
Public Reasoning, inviting thousands of Indians, who were
traditionally disconnected from the planning process, to
share their views and thoughts.
As recommended by Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy
Chairman, Planning Commission, and Mr. Arun Maira,
Member, Planning Commission, India@75 initiated an
exercise to seek citizens’ inputs on the 12th Five Year Plan.
Developmental issues and strategic challenges, as identified
by the Planning Commission, were discussed and debated
online with over 16,000 people, using various social media
platforms and online tools. A report was then submitted to
the relevant Steering Committees and Working Groups in
the Planning Commission.
Consultations were held online on the 12th Five Year Plan
The Roshni Prachodya Society was created to fulfill the
vision of Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India,
‘To make all urban habitats eco–friendly and sustainable.’
Project Roshni is a green innovative concept encompassing
environment management and empowerment of
local communities, to create inclusive and eco-friendly
sustainable urban habitats. The Roshni Society has taken
initiatives in solid and liquid
waste management, water
conservation and rain water
harvesting, bio–diversity
conservation, energy audits,
energy conservation, use of
new and renewable energy
sources, etc.
To enable implementation
of Project Roshni, India@75
has established contacts with
the Raj Bhawans, institutes,
and industry, and is reaching
Exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Roshini Project
out to Residents Welfare Associations through its volunteer
workforce. To sensitize schools and children about Roshni, a
‘Best Logo’ competition has been initiated, inviting students
from 11000 schools across the country to participate.
India’s 1st Skill Enterprise Plan Competition, ‘Power To
Empower,’ co-organised by India@75 and the National
Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), reached out to 41
premier management, technology, sectoral and degree
colleges across the country, and to 3000+ students.
The three stage competition, which commenced in July,
saw participants working on business ideas and plans.
In December, the six finalists from IIM Ahmedabad (two
teams), IIT Kharagpur, IIM Kozhikode, Welingkar Institute of
Management, Mumbai, and Xavier Institute of Management,
Bhubaneshwar, made their presentations to an eminent
jury comprising Mr. M V Subbiah, Past President, CII, and
Chairman, NSDC, Ms. Sneh Lata Kumar, MD, TRIFED, and
Mr. James Abraham, CEO, Sun Borne Energy Services, in
New Delhi.
India ranks 66 on a list of 88 countries on the Global
Hunger Index. The BhookMitao campaign is an endeavor
to create a movement where all Indians work together to
abolish hunger in the country.
In its first phase, BhookMitao is an online campaign (www.
bhookmitao.org) giving an opportunity to individuals to
sponsor mid-day meals for school children in Gujarat,
Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The campaign allows citizens to
Winning teams at the ‘Power To Empower’ competition in New Delhi
‘insure’ a-meal-a-day for two months for Rs 100, and 12
months for Rs 645. India@75 has partnered with Give India
to process these donations online and with the Akshaya
Patra Foundation to convert the donations into meals.
The creation of 500 developed world class cities, as
envisaged in the vision document of India@75, is being
taken forward through ’City Connect,’ an industry-led
platform, wherein cities forming autonomous platforms
will also create a website which will connect them to other
cities through a mother website hosted by India@75. This
will enhance mutual learning by pooling of resources and
sharing knowledge.
Autonomous platforms have been
successfully created in Bangalore,
Chennai, and Pune. Workshops
for sensitizing local industry
champions, bureaucrats, politicians,
NGOs; CSOs etc have been held in
Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh,
Gurgaon, Balasore, Erode and
Muzaffarpur. Workshops are planned
at 20 more cities, including Indore,
Ranchi, Korba, Lucknow and
Thiruvananthapuram. The India@75 team has also made
presentations to CII State Councils to sensitise them and to
expedite the process.
India@75, at the behest of Mr. S. Ramadorai, Advisor to
the Prime Minister of India on Skills, has embarked on
an ambitious journey to create self-sustaining microcosm
models for skill development within semi-urban and rural
India, that will seek to achieve the following objectives:
• Consideration of the aspirations of the beneficiaries,
i.e the skilled masses
• Increased livelihood opportunities within local
eco-systems
• Positive contribution to
harmonious development
of local eco-systems
Working with diverse
stakeholders ranging from
grass-root NGOs, educational
institutions and the target
group, India@75 will run
pilots in a district over a
period of two years with
the larger objective of
replication (with contextual
customization) across other
districts in India. Data has
already been collected from
150 households in the East
Khasi hills of Meghalaya
and Sopore in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Under its Volunteer Initiative, India@75 works with
corporates/ industry/ companies on several Employee
Volunteering Programmes. These programmes are
structured around the respective companies’ core
competencies. Employees volunteer and serve in
communities, using their core professional skills in
the social sector.
India@75’s Employee Volunteer Programme was
kick-started this year with three projects in partnership
with IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, in Coimbatore, Kochi,
and Indore.
City Connect session on Sustainable Urbanisation in Indore
Data collection for the Skill Development initiative