WORLD HR DIARY

Infinite Computer Solutions' founder chairman to address during the Wharton School’s Global Conversations tour in New Delhi

Sanjay Govil, Founder & Chairman, Infinite Computer Solutions (BSE: 533154, NSE: INFINITE) will be in India this month to speak at The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School’s Global Conversations Tour to be held in New Delhi on 27 October, 2015. This was announced in a statement issued by the company today.

Infinite has a global workforce of over 6000 employees in offices spread across India, US, UK, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore including delivery centers in the US at Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts and in India at Bangalore, Chennai & Gurgaon. -The conversation will be led by the dean of the Ivy League school, Fulbright Scholar and highly acclaimed political economist, Dr. Geoffrey Garrett.

The Delhi event will be the tenth in the series of The Global Conversations Tours, where Dr. Garrett embarks upon sharing his vision for the School and engaging with Wharton alumni, which comprise the top business leaders and thinkers globally. Dr. Garrett has previously held similar Tours in Hong Kong, Philadelphia, New York City, London, Miami, San Francisco, Boston, Seoul, Tokyo, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Mr. Sanjay Govil (WAM’08) is a member of the Global CEO Advisory Council for the Wharton Fellows program & the Board of Directors for the Future of Advertising Project at the Wharton School of Business. He was also nominated to be a member of the Graduate Board for the Wharton School of Business. Mr. Govil established Infinite Computer Solutions with an investment of just $1,000 in 1999. The company’s IPO on BSE and NSE was oversubscribed 43 times making it one of the most successful IPOs in 2010. Under Mr. Govil’s leadership, Infinite has won several awards including the Forbes Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion, NASSCOM’s Top 20 Players in IT Services, Red Herring Top 100 Global Award, Stevie Awards, TMC's CRM Excellence Award and IDC’s 5th Best employer in India. With several Fortune 1000 customers, the company today has emerged as a global service provider of Platformized™ Solutions and Frameworks for a digital economy covering IT Services, Product Engineering Services, Enterprise Mobility & Next-Gen Messaging Products and Solutions for many sectors including Telecom & Media, Healthcare, BFSI, Hi-Tech and Technology. Its Infinite Convergence platform delivers over a trillion messages globally to more than 130 million subscribers. Among his philanthropic activities, Mr. Govil particularly supports education related activities including the TiE DC’s Young Entrepreneurs Program.

The Wharton School’s Dean Garrett is a Trustee of the Asia Foundation in San Francisco, a Member of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, and an Editorial Board Member of Global Policy. He was named one of Australia's "Top 50 Most Influential People in Education 2012"and has previously held continuing academic appointments at Oxford, Stanford and Yale universities.

The Global Conversations Tour will later travel to Mumbai which will feature another distinguished Wharton alumni, Sun Group’s Vice Chairman Mr. Shiv Khemka (WG’90, G’90).

Connect with the Wharton School’s Global Conversations Tour by visiting the Wharton Alumni Relations Flickr channel, registering for upcoming events at the Wharton Global Conversations Tour webpage, or watching videos of Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett in action at the Wharton Magazine YouTube channel.

Dettol, the iconic brand of Reckitt Benckiser pays a tribute to Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Global Handwashing Day

Dettol, the iconic brand of Reckitt Benckiser in a statement today said that on the occasion of Global Handwashing Day and the birth anniversary of former President of India Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, it will pay him a tribute by taking the message of hygiene and sanitation to his hometown Rameshwaram.

In partnership with NGO Gramalaya, Dettol will reach out to schools and communities in Rameshwaram to increase the awareness around importance of hygiene and sanitation. As part of its nationwide initiative Dettol Banega Swachh India, this project will focus on imparting hygiene education to school children, building toilets for communities, renovating primary and middle schools with proper sanitation infrastructure and maintenance of these facilities.

Children can be powerful agents of change and it is imperative that they inculcate good hygiene and sanitation practices from the very beginning. Recognising the role children can play in the success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Dettol has partnered with the best child education experts at XSEED and Butterfly EduFields to develop a hygiene curriculum for children in primary schools. This curriculum will create hygiene and sanitation awareness amongst children, who in turn can educate their families and communities. The curriculum has been developed in 4 languages – Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu - and comprises student workbooks, a teachers’ manual and innovative teaching aids. The curriculum consists of 45 lessons over 3 years, covering 5 modules in Personal Hygiene, Hygiene at Home, Hygiene at School, Hygiene in the Neighbourhood and Hygiene during Illness. This will be taught in both government and private schools across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu over a period of 3 years and will educate 2.5 million children in the first year.

Talking about initiatives undertaken by Dettol on Global Handwashing Day, Arjun Purkayastha, Marketing Director - Dettol, Developing Markets said “Global Handwashing Day is a special occasion for Dettol and it also marks as the birth anniversary of Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. This year we want to honour his advocacy of the role education plays in shaping up children for tomorrow. We truly recognise the cause he stood for and want to pay a tribute to his commitment with a small gesture by educating children in his hometown of Rameshwaram about importance of hygiene and sanitation. This is a small step towards our larger goal of taking this message to 2.5 million children across the country through the hygiene curriculum in the next one year.”

In addition, Dettol in partnership with Indian Ocean had launched a new track “Banega Swachh India” on 2^nd October 2015 to unite the nation towards the Swachh Bharat movement. The music track has received phenomenal response from the audience with views reaching to millions on social media. For every video share on social platform until end of October 2015, Dettol has pledged to educate one child on the importance of hygiene and sanitation. You can view the music track by clicking here.

‘Shubh Aarambh’, the national CSR programme of Mondelez India completes one year mark

Mondelez India, in a statement today said that it celebrates one year completion of its national CSR programme “Shubh Aarambh” this month. To celebrate this milestone, colleagues from across the company’s locations stepped up to volunteer towards community development initiatives to create delicious moments of joy for over 2500 beneficiaries which included children, youth, parents, teachers and communities.

In the week of October 5th, colleagues volunteered towards community projects which are a part of ‘Shubh Aarambh’, which focuses on the holistic development of a child from “childhood to youth”. Employee volunteers were engaged in delivering nutrition education lessons, participating in sports for development sessions and improving access to fresh foods in schools and communities across India.

Chandramouli Venkatesan, Managing Director at Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. said, “I am delighted that Shubh Aarambh completes one year this October. To celebrate this milestone, our entire organization has come together and hundreds of colleagues across all our locations have participated in community projects which are part of the Shubh Aarambh Programme, creating a positive impact for close to 2500 beneficiaries. The Shubh Aarambh programme aims to reach out to 200,000 beneficiaries across 5 states over the next two years.Our vision is that Shubh Aarambh will create a long term grassroots sustainable model which will build communities of healthy, educated and productive young people. In just one year, Shubh Aarambh has already impacted over 23,000 lives including children, youth, parents, teachers, and the communitythrough play sessions, health, hygiene, nutrition education and growing fresh foods.”

The volunteering activities were planned keeping in mind the three fundamental pillars of the Shubh Aarambh Program, namely:

· Sports for Development: Building awareness about important social messages like health, hygiene, nutrition, gender diversity, using sports and active play as a medium.

· Nutrition Education: Sessions to educate the beneficiaries about the importance of nutrition and help mothers and children inculcate better eating habits.

· Growing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – Teaching the beneficiaries the concepts of kitchen gardening and planting nutritious vegetables at home, so as to eat and live healthy.

The company has partnered with NGOs Save the Children and Magic Bus to develop a unique delivery model to implement this multi-pronged and multi-year programme in India.

Shubh Aarambh is designed to address children across the age groups of 0-6, 7-14 and youth from 15-18 and has a holistic approach to development. Working alongside parents, educators and community health workers the programme aims to improve nutrition and health, encourage sports and play, deliver development messages, provide access to fresh foods through kitchen gardens, train youth leaders, encourage and support education and skills development.

Mondelez India will be celebrating the one year anniversary of Shubh Aarambhacross all locations in India where it has its operations- Induri, Thane, Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kolkata (West Bengal), Delhi, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Hyderabad, Sricity (Andhra Pradesh), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Malanpur (Madhya Pradesh), and Pollachi (Tamil Nadu).

SHRM India acknowledged organisations with HR excellence at it's annual conference 2015 in New Delhi

SHRM India, in a statement today said that it felicitated organisations across sectors with the coveted HR Awards during the SHRM India annual conference and exposition 2015. These awards were presented to the winners in a glittering ceremony on the first day of the conference. This year, there were 11 award categories where 55 companies across 21 industries participated.

This is the fourth consecutive year that SHRM Awards acknowledged the organizations, which work passionately towards raising the bar for the profession and motivate their workforce through constant innovation. The jury for the award continuously evaluated the participating organisations based on the criteria of Innovation, Impact, and Sustainability & Scalability of the HR initiative to select the winners.

Tech Mahindra Limited won the awards in three categories - excellence in social media practices, excellence in developing leader of tomorrow and excellence in community impact, which the company shared with watchmaker Titan Company Limited. Among other categories, excellence in diversity and inclusion went to Aegis Limited while excellence in talent sourcing and staffing was awarded to WNS Global Services (P) Limited. The award for Excellence in HR for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises went to Kronos Incorporated.

While Microsoft India bagged the award for employer with best employee health and wellness initiative, the award for excellence in human resources in South Asia went to SriLankan Airlines. Special recognition awards were also given to Hindustan Petroleum Limited and School of business, NMIMS University.

Tech Mahindra Limited also received the runners up award in the Employer with best Employee Health & wellness initiatives category. Whereas Hindustan Unilever limited were declared the runners up in the Excellence in developing leaders of tomorrow category. Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, and OSScube solutions limited were the runners up in the following categories: Excellence in HR-South Asia (Excluding India), Excellence in Talent sourcing and staffing and Excellence in HR-MSME respectively.

Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM India said, “I congratulate the winners of the coveted HR awards. These awards are recognition for those organisations, which not only adopt best HR practices but also keep fine tuning and changing their policies in line with the changing trends and business environment. People are a key resource in any organization and it is important to keep them engaged and motivated to ensure productivity. These organizations, which have been contributing to the society through their constant innovation, truly deserve the awards.”

NHRD Network announces its leadership team for the period 2015-17

National HRD Network (NHRDN), the national apex body of HR professionals announced the appointment of its new leadership team for the period 2015-17.

The team would be led by K. Ramkumar as the National President of the Network, and he will succeed Rajeev Dubey, Group President - HR & Corporate Services & CEO, After Market and Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra. Ramkumar will be supported by a highly experienced and dedicated team of senior business leaders to lead the organisation’s mission.

His newly appointed team includes SV Nathan, National Secretary NHRDN and Sr. Director and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte Haskins and Sells; Nishchae Suri, National Treasurer, NHRDN & President Delhi & NCR Chapter, Head People & Change & Partner - Management Consulting, KPMG; Pankaj Bansal Regional President (North), NHRDN and Co-Founder & CEO, PeopleStrong; Hema Ravichandar, Regional President (South), NHRDN; Suresh Tripathi, Regional President (East), NHRDN, Vice President (Human Resource Management), Tata Steel; DrRituAnand, Regional President (West), NHRDN and Dy Global Head HR, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

Speaking on this occasion, K. Ramkumar, National President, NHRDN said, “I accept this honour with deep gratitude. It is an immense responsibility and I eagerly await the journey ahead. I look forward to engaging with all the members of NHRDN. Together, I hope to bring about positive changes in HR practices in the country.”

Kamal Singh, Director General, NHRDN, said "It is a pleasure to welcome the new team of NHRD Network led by Mr. Ramkumar. I am really excited as we embark on this journey and look forward to working with the team to take NHRD Network ahead."

This new team will work together for the next two years and will try tostrengthen NHRDN’s presence in the market in alignment with the vision and mission of the network

Data Security Council of India enters partnership with Pearson VUE to deliver new data privacy exam

Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the premier body for data protection in India, has entered into a new partnership with global computer-based testing (CBT) leader Pearson VUE to deliver a pioneering data privacy credentialing program, DSCI Certified Privacy Professional (DCPP©), across India. The certification aims to address the growing need for privacy professionals in the country.

DCPP© is a pioneering credentialing program, based on the Privacy Body of Knowledge (PBoK), which empowers and equips individuals with the necessary privacy related skill sets to advance their careers. It intends to make individuals aware about the general privacy concepts, privacy evolution, current privacy landscape in India and major economies of the world, contemporary global developments, data protection laws and regulations, trans-border data flows, privacy principles and more.

Vinayak Godse, senior director – data protection at Data Security Council of India, said: “Data privacy is a green field area, and an emerging function in organizations. There is currently an absence of any formal education or certification that caters to present and future demands of privacy professionals in the country. DSCI aims to create a talent pool of privacy professionals and increase the industry readiness in the domain, with possibility of a Privacy Law getting enacted in India looming.

“This certification will be of immense value to employees of all organisations handling sensitive personal information of customers and employees, especially banks and telecom companies.”

He added: “Our partnership with Pearson VUE will allow us to scale the delivery of this exam across the country while maintaining the consistency and quality.”

Divyalok Sharma, director of client development at Pearson VUE, said: “I am delighted that this new agreement will enrich the lives and careers of data privacy professionals across India.”

The self-study program caters to Privacy, Security and IT professionals, Lawyers, Compliance Officers, Information System and Security Auditors, Risk Professionals and graduate students.

The DCPP© examination, will be delivered at Pearson VUE’s extensive network of test centres in India, offering the convenience of on-demand testing locally rather than having to travel to a city-centre on a particular day.

SAP Labs collaborates with Srishti to absorb early talent through scholarships

SAP Labs India recently announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangalore-based Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology, with the intent of building a pipeline for early talents in the User Experience Design (UXD) area.

As part of the collaboration, Srishti and SAP’s human resources team with support from key lines of businesses will be offering a one-of-a-kind "work while you study” pilot program. Selected students will have the opportunity to work and earn whilst they pursue a Masters’ program in Experience Design. SAP will sponsor their education and also pay the students a monthly stipend.

Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Managing Director, SAP Labs India, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Suite Engineering, SAP said “Our aim is to identify and absorb early talent in the UXD area, which we believe will go a long way in achieving our strategic people-centric goals of promoting talent from within”.

As a part of the pilot program, the selected scholars will work out of the SAP Labs office in Whitefield, Bangalore for three days of the week and be on campus at Srishti for the remaining two days. The total program duration will be for two and a half years, during which the scholars will dedicate two years towards their academics and the remaining six months for their induction into SAP Labs.

The scholars will initially work in two different UXD teams for two practical phases, each lasting 12 months. Based on fulfilling the academic criteria set by Srishti, the scholars will be awarded an M.A. (Professional Practice) in Experience Design which is also accredited by the University of Mysore. They will then have the opportunity to be absorbed into full time employment with SAP Labs based on their performance in academics and practical phases.

Dr. Girish Prabhu, Director, Srishti Labs at Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology and the key architect in designing this industry focused program said, “It gives us immense pleasure and pride to partner with a leading global firm such as SAP in our efforts to facilitate the empowerment of potential talent to design for the real world. We strongly believe that the creative design expertise of Srishti and the technology expertise of SAP Labs will help nurture and enable the successful linking of creativity and innovation within the identified talent, who would eventually contribute to the running of SAP Labs’ business”.

The program intends to extend SAP’s current portfolio of business offerings as the human resources team had received feedback and suggestions from the business to look at a possible program in the design sphere. SAP’s human resources team worked closely with Srishti and experts from the UXD field to build the curriculum and model as per SAP’s requirement.