Think beyond Yourself, says Rajashree Birla - A PRapport Exclusive!

• Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, ‘In Conversation with Dr. Pragnya Ram’

I have had the privilege and honour of working with Mrs. Rajashree Birla since 1997. In my CSR portfolio, she is the dream boss. It has been, and continues to be, a great learning experience.

There is something very touching about her tenacity. She leads with a single-minded focus — whatever it takes to lift the poor out of their poverty, she does in her own way. Compassion is the only currency that counts. It’s not just about our Group. Her gaze is fixated at the nation. Rajashreeji’s vision is to help raise the Human Development Index of India, which today stands at a lowly 136, even though we are on the intellectual map of the world. For her, it’s not about choices. For her, it’s a duty.

She does not allow any baggage of the past to disturb her calm. Never a slighting word, no railing, no matter what the provocation — this is yet another ethereal quality of Rajashreeji. A karmayogini, she follows the philosophy of hope. An evolved, reflective, iconic leader, she is by nature endowed with a very sunny disposition and an optimistic, can-do attitude, always focused and forever willing to learn afresh. She is a great role model for women per se. The impact, in qualitative and quantitative terms, is awesome.

Under Rajashreeji’s leadership, we have laboured hard to make her dream of freedom from poverty come true in some of our model villages in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. You can see the changed face of the villages. From abject poverty to meeting the necessities of life. From dependency to freedom. From backwardness to progress — in more ways than one. In most of the villages where we are working, our committed teams have endeavoured to bring in change. There is a palpable difference. Tens of thousands of villagers now seem self-assured, confident and happy at being able to move towards a sustainable livelihood. There is new found dignity among them as they celebrate a new life.

To ask Rajashreeji about our CSR projects, in one’s view, would be a tad superficial. All of you are aware of her stewardship. So one has opted to present different facets of her prismatic persona.

Your philosophy of life

Simple — live and let live. Today, I am about 90 per cent successful in living this philosophy day in and day out. I believe that this ‘live and let live’ principle embodies the philosophy of tolerance. It helps you recognise that every individual is distinct, different from you, and has the right to his or her own views and attitude.

I am also a great believer in self-acceptance. Accepting yourself unconditionally, believing in yourself, is very important. Many times people tick themselves off because they have not measured up to their image of themselves. If it is not for want of effort, you should just let it pass by. I think one has to learn to be kind and gentle to oneself. You must accept yourself as you are. And my mind is like a blank slate. No baggage of yesterday.

“Think beyond yourself”. Have heard you say so often. Elaborate.

Think beyond yourself. Recall Satya Nadella’s email to employees when he stepped in as CEO at Microsoft. He wrote, “I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it’s not just work, but something that will improve other people’s lives.” Reach out to all those, who are not as blessed or privileged as we all are. Work to make a difference to them also. Leave behind a legacy, that of a good, honest human being who cared for others.

Your favourite phrase?

“This too shall pass” — just four words which tell you that everything in life is ephemeral. Nothing lasts forever. In any situation, it holds true, and gives enormous strength, resilience and hope. So it helps you go through the rough times without despairing and good times without being too overwhelmed.

Your most memorable moment?

When Kumar Mangalam cleared his CA in the first attempt and was among the toppers, I was over the moon. At that point in time, there were no coaching classes for students who aspired to do their CA. I know of many youngsters who cleared the CA in the third attempt. Today, there are coaching classes and earning the CA qualification is tough, but not that tough. I know of many Marwari girls who have now earned a CA degree.

You know he did his B.Com and CA together. From Sydenham College he moved to HR College, which had morning classes. It was a tough slog for him, juggling two academic programs side-by-side.

Of course, hard work, perseverance, rigour, meticulous attention to detail, a degree of seriousness and integrity were his hallmarks then and are his defining characteristics even today. But I think all mothers get tense and worried when children take exams. Having said that, Adityaji was absolutely confident and was sure that for Kumar Mangalam it would be no problem.

What about his MBA from London?

In contrast, when Kumar Mangalam enrolled for his MBA at the London Business School, I was not at all worried. Adityaji and I were more than certain that he would make the grade. Neerja went along with him to London and that kind of gave us great comfort and a sense of reassurance. She helped him enormously every which way. And they quickly settled into a groove. Still at 24, Kumar Mangalam was by far the youngest in the class. He did brilliantly.

His entire educational trajectory was charted out by Adityaji and Kumar Mangalam never questioned it. He had blind faith in his father and idolised him.

What about Vasavadatta?

For parents of our generation, being protective of the girl child was the norm. Even for Vasavadatta, Adityaji decided what course she would pursue. So, after graduation, he felt she should go to Switzerland’s finest finishing school. Vasavadatta was also happy to do so.

She has done the Montessori course at Sophia College (Mumbai University). She feels that this course, which is primarily a teacher’s program, has helped her raise her kids — my grandchildren Anandmayi, Yugadikrit and Vishwarupe. Kushagra (Bajaj), my son-in-law, backs her to the hilt.

Is it still a man’s world?

(Laughs) Changing, albeit at a slow pace. But if you are educated, you have the intelligence, the wit and the verve, you can pull it off. In life, I believe you have to find your own trail, you shouldn’t let your (woman’s) identity be subsumed into the man’s, whatever your relationship.

Living one’s passion

Today the world is nowhere near to the world that we knew as young parents. Distances don’t matter. Children leave the comfort of their homes in their teens itself to study abroad. Technology is such a marvel, you can talk whenever you want and you can Skype whenever you want to see them. It’s so different.

Adityaji could choose courses for Kumar Mangalam and Vasavadatta. Today’s children are encouraged to pursue their passion and fulfil their dreams. My grand-daughter, Ananyashree, took a sabbatical to found Svatantra Microfinance Limited, an NBFC. Currently, she is studying at the Oxford University. Kumar Mangalam could have never dreamt of taking a sabbatical. But Neerja and he went with her dreams. Adityaji and I would have been startled if our children would have wanted a break after their board exams. All straightjacket thinking, but now the times are changing.

Your role model?

No single role model as such. I find life is a journey where you meet so many interesting people. Many of them have uniqueness, a trait which I begin to admire, and that influences me as I move on. Having said that, the three people who cast a spell on me are: Ma (Dr. Sarala Birla), my husband Adityaji, and now for nearly two decades, Kumar Mangalam (my son).

Ma (Dr. Sarala Birla): She has an indomitable spirit. She symbolises commitment, passion, integrity and compassion. Apart from being one of the finest educationists, having established more than 20 schools, she is a woman of substance, a highly spiritual person. Even today at 86, she is extremely sprightly and very active. Not a single lazy bone in her. She is a great source of inspiration for me and many, many others.

My husband Adityaji was my greatest guru. I was engaged at 10 and married at 17, that was kind of expected. So, I would go to Birla Park in Calcutta and have a wonderful time with his two sisters — Jayashreebai and Manjushreebai. It was much, much later, and only during the last few months, when Adityaji was at MIT, that we started writing letters to one another, after being permitted to do so by our respective parents. He was 21 and I was 17 when we got married. The early years he was very busy putting up factories in India and outside. He was an absolutely doting father to Kumar Mangalam and Vasavadatta.

A true karmayogi, there was a uniqueness to Adityaji. Beyond dynamism. Beyond vision. So much of compassion. He had a lot of positive energy, the passion and the edge to do something for the underprivileged, besides his companies’ stakeholders. It wasn’t cheque book philanthropy. I deeply admired these traits. And that then had a resonance in my own life, moulding it in so many ways.

A bit on the concept of Karmayogi

The concept of the karmayogi is beautifully explained in the Gita. Comments Aldous Huxley — “The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the Perennial Philosophy ever to have been done. Hence, its enduring value, not only for Indians, but all mankind… The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most systematic spiritual statement of the Perennial Philosophy.”

On all counts, the Gita is the stairway to a higher purpose in life. It teaches how to transcend oneself through contemplation, self-control and meditation, and compassion as well. All of which help quieten the chatter of the mind, which ceaselessly flits from one issue to the other. The Gita teaches you how to master the mind through following the path that it enshrines. It transposes you to an entirely higher plane, giving you inner peace and a kind of tranquillity. Today, more than ever, most people, all over the world, are seekers of this inner peace. People have begun to realise the need for self-control in the midst of unrelenting stress.

We as a family look upon the Gita as our spiritual guide. Our aspiration is to try and reach the exalted level of the true karmayogi. (That’s the secret of Rajashreeji’s calm, unhurried, unflappable self, always brimming with patience.) In fact, Adityaji and I grew up in the spirit of the Gita. Both of us listened to the discourses on the Bhagvad Gita. It gives you an inner strength, a sense of equanimity and fortitude. It helped me cope with the passing away of Adityaji. He was the noblest of the noble. But we did not ask God, why him? We accepted God’s will unconditionally. I read the Gita regularly. And this has percolated. Kumar Mangalam and Neerja hold a satsang every week at home with a group of their friends. During the two-hour satsang, the focus is on spirituality and the teachings of the Gita.

As a parent, I see a lot of compassion, goodness and nobility of character in Kumar Mangalam and Neerja. And I see these values percolating to my grandchildren — Ananyashree, Aryaman and Advaitesha. I admire the way they are growing up. If, as parents, we follow the straight and narrow path, if we keep doing the right thing, children are bound to imbibe those values from you. Of course, ultimately we do what we can do — give the best of values and the best of education. If these two are in place, everything else will fall in line.

On wealth

As a family, we subscribe to the trusteeship concept — the wealth that is generated is to be held for larger purposes. Quite honestly, how much money one needs is a difficult question. People would tend to say whatever is the comfort level for them. Money is important up to a point. Thinking beyond yourself and helping others and making this a part of your life makes me feel good. I think it is a good thing to do.

Running a business?

After Adityaji’s demise, Kumar Mangalam suggested that I look after a few units. Very quickly I realised that I was not cut out for business and I told him so. Then, a year down the line (1997), we set up the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development. Our CSR projects became structured and very meaningful. I find that our work in communities and my involvement has endowed my life with a sense of purpose.

The book on your bedside table?

I believe that if you view life through the lens of a positive prism, you will only be greeted with positivity. I have found that reading books like Don’t sweat the small stuff..... and it’s all small stuff by Richard Carlson, Joy 24x7 by the spiritual master Sadhguru, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, also help enormously in stoking positive thoughts, which enable us to go with the flow. So these kinds of books occupy my shelves.

Wanderlust

Every year, we head off to some exotic destination and explore new countries. We are a bunch of buddies who travel together and press the limits in exploring new geographies and exotic places. So we have been to Australia, Croatia, New Zealand, Canada, the Rockies, South America, South Africa, China, Egypt and Turkey. We will head off to Japan soon. It’s a lot of fun and every place just amazes me, and I see myself soaking in their culture and their history. In a manner of speaking, these are wonderful learning expeditions too, and great leisure pursuits.

You dream of An India free from poverty. In the villages, and elsewhere, when you see men and women ravaged by poverty, it hurts. We have seen all this. With the right focus on inclusive growth in the foreseeable future, this is not a pipe dream. And of course a world with more of peace and minimal conflict. Utopia? Is it?

(Reproduced with the permission of Dr. Pragnya Ram, Editor, ‘Aditya’, the management journal of the Aditya Birla Group).

Narendra None-2: Political Sandwich!

'app apna kaam theek 
kar rahe  hain

S Narendra, former advisor to PM, recounts his 
experiences during change of guard at PMO

Working as government PR point person when power gets transferred from one political order to another is very tricky. I was caught in this uncertain situation in May 1996, when BJP formed the government and lasted for 13 days.

I was Spokesperson for the government of India as well as information adviser to PM.. The gracious BJP leader, Atal Behari Vajpayijee received me very cordially when I called on him and told me that I should continue to function as before. His I&B minister Smt Sushma Swaraj was equally gracious and was highly supportive.

However, there were many others who were keen to replace me - few with themselves! They were carrying tales against me and had branded me as a Congress fellow traveler. It was no fault of mine that Congress party was in power longer than any others and as part of permanent civil service, I had served governments that happened to belong to the Congress.

One of the charges against me that had surfaced was that as the government spokesperson, I had kept in readiness a draft speech to be delivered by Narasimha Rao, soon after his swearing in after the 1996 elections. It is customary for newly sworn in PM to make a national broadcast, and I was supposed to have assumed that Rao would be reelected as PM. A secondary accusation was also in circulation stating that being a Kannadiga, I had kept ready a draft speech for Janata party candidate Devegowdaji,  as PM. It was conveniently ignored that the latter was a last minute compromise choice by John front, after Christmas had vetoed Joti Basu's candidacy.

It took little time for such allegations to acquire velocity. I was more than willing to step down from my position but Smt Swaraj and senior Journalist TV R Shenoy, who was close to BJP leadership, assured me that there was no move to replace me. But the story that I had prepared in advance draft speeches for Rao and Devegowdaji continued to make the rounds.  

When you are in PR and media jobs, it is a great advantage to anticipate developments and have an appropriate plan to deal with it. Such advance planning has to become a second nature when one is serving a PM and heading the government communication system. In this case, the truth was that expecting a hung Parliament after the polls, I had kept ready three draft speeches, one for BJP candidate, another for Congress  and a third one for a candidate from the other political front. I had drawn inputs for the drafts after carefully studying the different election manifestos and campaign statements. As a measure of

abundant precaution, I had submitted the file containing all the three drafts to the outgoing I&B minister P A Sangma and even obtained his signature. When I showed this file with the ex –minister’s signature to Smt Swaraj, that also contained a draft speech for BJP leader, she had a hearty laugh. Next day, she went on to announce that the government had no plans to replace me, as it had full confidence in me.

The PM Vajpayijee personally spoke to me to tell me that I was doing my job as expected by the government: “Humko galat soochana deegayithi. app apna kaam theek kar rahe  hain" There is more to this 13 days official Spokesmanship. But in the next installment!

Spoof! Newstainment with a Twist!

Have the news channels become entertainment channels?.

I am not the only person to ask that.

 In fact, TV News anchor Rajdeep Sardesai himself told us at our Mumbai conclave in February 2014 that one could turn to News Channels for entertainment!

 The news channels seem to be losing their seriousness. In fact, BJP boycotted NDTV during the poll campaign on the pretext that the channel was not fair to them. Today, we hear some spokespersons threatening Times Now that they will not come to the channel as they are not allowed to speak.

 Even a student of mass communication feels that the news channels are not doing the right thing.

 My daughter, then doing her masters in mass communication, had this experience during a guest talk by Rajdeep. At the end of the talk and the Q & A, she musters enough courage and ask Rajdeep: Sir, why do some of you anchors do not allow your panelists to respond.

Rajdeep passes this question to Sagarika.

My daughter says: She is even worse!

Let me narrate another anecdote.

We had this interesting debate during the Press Club Mumbai’s Red Ink Awards for excellence in journalism last year.

Arnab, Rajdeep, Kumar Ketkar were the panelists and Piyush Pande, Chairman of Ogilvy, and Uday Shankar, Star TV CEO, were the moderators or anchors.

Uday began by saying: Arnab, Rajdeep and Kumar. The rules of this debate are: I will ask you a question. I will not allow you to answer and I will ask you more questions.

Arnab: Uday, you have begun it well. But you forgot one more rule of the game. You will ask a question. Answer it yourself. And ask more questions….

The topic was: ‘Elections 2014: Were We Fair, Or Did We Stoke the NaMo Wave?’

While Arnab and Rajdeep went about discussing the media’s role on propelling the wave, Piyush interrupted ….you may remember that it was Piyush’s Ogilvy that coined the catch phrase: Achhay Din Aanay Walay Hain.

Piyush said: Arnab and Rajdeep, please don’t credit yourselves for the wave. None of us created or stoked it. WE JUST RODE THE WAVE!

So much for credit snatchers and those who claim the highest TRPs.

It was interesting to see that all channels were claiming the Number 1 viewership position after the election results.

It is equally interesting to watch anchors like Rajdeep Sardesai attacking the race for TRPs among news channels?

We have called them the noise channels long ago.

Here is how it will look if we have a debate among news anchors and political party spokespersons.

Let me present an imaginary debate and let me start with a disclaimer: This debate that I am going to narrate is purely imaginary and fictitious and not to be taken seriously at all.

Don’t blame me if you find it real!

Now, the debate begins something like this.

Rajdeep: My son does not watch news channels.

Arnab Goswami: The nation wants to know why!

Barkha Dutt: It is quite sad. Don’t you feel terrible about it? It must be really disturbing.

Rajdeep: In this race for TRPs, we seem to be losing out. We are losing sense in sensationalizing the news.

Print journalist Kumar Ketkar: For you, everything is breaking news.

Rajdeep: Yes, Arvind Kejriwal leaves home…breaking news….Kejriwal reaches Jantar Mantar….breaking news

Arnab: I will not take this. You cannot pass judgement against me on my channel. My viewers know me well.

Barkha: We have different standards. But we can’t live in isolation.

Rajdeep: Breaking news is breaking down.

Karan Thapar: It is particularly disturbing to see all kinds of nonsense. You must explain.

Prannoy Roy: We have spent 25 years in reporting the news…they say the dot makes all the difference….Now let me ask my young friends on what they think of the news.

Rajdeep: My so does not watch news channels.

Arnab: Never ever. Never. Ever. Never Ever. Say such things. My viewers know me well. Now, let me open up this debate and….let me take this call from Chikamagalur.

Manish Tewari: With regards to your call, how many people watch English news channels? My information is that people in places like Eluru or Chakimagalur or Jumri Talayya do not even get to see English or Hindi news channels.

Rajdeep: Yes, regional media is exploding. But does this TRP race is spreading among them as well.

Barkha: I was in Kashmir. I could freely speak in English.

Arnab: Everyone on my channel speaks English. My Hindi isn’t all that good.

Mayank Gandhi (of AAP): The nation need not know this.

Karan Thapar (tightening his teeth): But, but….dont you think it is highly irresponsible on part of some viewers not to watch TV channels?

Arnab: This is undemocratic. The nation wants to know why this selective black out is happening.

Prannoy (holding his chin with his right palm): Let them have the freedom to chose what they want.

Rajdeep: Only in my newsroom, do we watch 20 news channels. And we have some 483 channels airing the news 24x7.

Subramaniam Swamy: Don’t say it so loud. Some parties will give multiple TV sets as freebies during the poll campaign.

Raghav Behl: That will be good for the economy. The FMCG industry may see growth. Dalal Street will look up.

Arnab, Barkha, Karan and Rajdeep try to say something and all that we could hear is noise. Swamy, Tewari and Gandhi just smile away.

-BNK

PRCI forms guest faculty pool for BMM colleges

Public relations Council of India (PRCI) has embarked on a novel project - The Guest Faculty Pool to help Mass Communication colleges impart practical training to their students.

The project, launched on a pilot basis by the Mumbai Chapter of PRCI, has evoked tremendous response. It has been launched as a national project at the 8^th Global Communication Conclave- Mumbai on February 15, 2014.

PR professionals, journalists and corporate trainers volunteered to join the pool and share their practical experiences with the upcoming young professionals.

PRCI got in touch with various mass communication teaching institutions offering the facility.

PRCI hopes that the project will help BMM and other colleges offering degree./diploma courses in tackling the shortage of teaching faculty. Since the focus will mainly be on practical knowledge and case study presentations, the Pool will be tremendous use in keeping the students up-to-date with the developments in their chosen foelds – be it advertising, PR, and journalism.

Our stress will be more on practical aspects than mere theoretical ones. We will deal with Public Relations, Crisis Communications, Reporting and Editing Skills and above all asking the right questions!

We at PRCI invite experienced PR and media professionals to join in and strengthen the pool.

The particulars may please be filled in this format for ready reference. 

Sr No

Name of Faculty member

Areas of specialization/Interest

Brief

City

PRCI will scrutinize the list and ten recommend the guest faculty to the mass media colleges. PRCI has already begun to map the faculty as per their geographies, matching them with the Mass Media colleges.

PRCI Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor M B Jayaram formed the following coordinators for giving a national shape to the Guest Faculty Pool and they will work the President – National Executive for finalizing the formalities.

Contact:

Coordinators -  Masscom Guest Faculty Pool

National Coordinator	Dr K R Venugopal	+91 98440 36885 venugopalkr@gmail.com
Regional Coordinator - North	Ms Renuka Salwan	renuka.bis@gmail.com
Regional Coordinator - East	Mr B K Sahu	sahu.bibhatsu@gmail.com
Regional Coordinator - West	Mr Amit Tripathi	+91 98200 87149 amit@id8labs.com
Regional Coordinator - South	Ms Geetha Shankar	+91 97421 68570 Geethashankar2007@gmail.com

Future shock for media! Social Media overtaking fast

Narendra None

Introducing a column by S. Narendra* ((Former PIO and ex-adviser to Govt. of Karnataka)

Who's there? I, so and so (with a given name), that's how we identify ourselves all our life. .But in the next decade, the world's virtual population will exceed the population of the Earth. People's multiple virtual identities will overlap their physical identities, such as given names. At another level, where we get our information and what (information and news) sources we trust will have a profound impact on our future identities. What's in store for news on Internet is known and the battles over information monetization strategies and content syndication will continue. But as entry barriers for new information and news providers and their aggregators get lower, how will it affect the media landscape?

It is clear that mainstream media, such as news channels, newspapers and news agencies, will always be a step behind in reporting news. The world's breaking news will continually come from platforms like Twitter, and its competitors: open networks that facilitate information sharing instantly, widely and in accessible packages.

As more and more people use data enabled devices, who breaks the news is a matter of chance. Unknowingly, a civilian live tweeted the killing of Osama bin Laden from Abbotabad.

The lag time before the mainstream media can get the story will alter the nature of audiences and their loyalty, as they seek more immediate methods of information delivery. Every generation will be able to produce and consume more information than the previous generation. This will lead to splitting of loyalty between new platforms for breaking news and the established organisation for the rest of the story.

News organizations will remain an important and integral part of society but many outlets will not survive in their current form. The effect of having so many new actors involved in news reporting through a range of online platforms into the great, diffuse media system, is that major outlets will report less and validate more.

Reporting duties will become more widely distributed, while expanding the scope of coverage but probably reduce the quality on a net level. The role of mainstream media will primarily be one of a credibility filter. But competition for being first with breaking news is diluting the role of filters. So also the wide presence of hand held devices enables thousand of sources to contribute to the pile of breaking news. Here, particularly for the elite - validation and cogent analysis will be important. The strength of open, unregulated information sharing platforms is their responsiveness, not their insight or depth.

Mainstream media will have to find ways to integrate all of the new global voices they can reach, a challenging but necessary task. The business of Journalism will become less extractive and more collaborative. Of course, chances of errors may also rise.

Global connectivity will introduce entirely new contributors to the supply chain. One new subcategory to emerge will be a network of local technical encryption specialists who deal exclusively in encryption keys. They will provide the necessary confidentiality mechanism between parties. In the Middle East, several VPNs or virtual private networks have come up and accessed by locals and international news outlets. Stringers serve such networks. 

As part of cost cutting, mainstream media reduced their staff for foreign news coverage and began to rely more on stringers. In New Delhi, for example, most foreign correspondents working for newspapers and other outlets are stringers, who are paid a retainer plus a payment on contribution basis. Another type of stringers had emerged in India during the height of militancy and violence in Punjab and J&K.Foreign agencies paid stringers for tipping them off about violence, including barbaric killings by militants in remote rural areas. 

The Author: S Narendra

Sometimes even militants themselves had turned stringers to gain international coverage for their acts. Mostly they were using the then latest technology, STD. For increasing coverage of hinterland, AIR uses dozens of stringers.

In the same way, a new type of Stringers will emerge. The latter risk their lives and offer digital content and online sources of news. But media outlets will have to exercise greater caution and seek validation for their news from such sources.

When people find the mainstream media failing to cover conflicts or other such developments, celebrities or even ordinary people, may start their own online portals.  Mainstream media will find such new serious competitors in the future. Many will still favour and support the established media outlets out of loyalty and trust in institutions and the serious work of journalism. There will always be demand for not so serious tabloid variety of content.

Just as they do today, with charities and business (even governments) ventures, celebrities will look to starting their own media outlets as a logical extension of their 'brand'. Not only technology is enabling this but also it does not involve much investment. Loyalties are fickle when it comes to media. That trend will get exacerbated when the field is crowded. If errors in content occur, that will further erode the audience loyalty.

Expanded connectivity promises more than just challenges for media outlets. It offers new possibilities for the role of media particularly in countries where the media is not free. Connectivity helps upend control over media by corrupt regimes, especially where local encryption facilities crop up and NGOs become active. Assisted by NGOs outside the country, the local ones find their voices. This kind of disaggregated, mutually anonymous news gathering system would not be difficult to build. Two new trends are-""safer reporting backed by encryptiop" and a wider readership, 

international, due to gains in connectivity ' would challenge oppressive or corrupt regimes. Green activists (even non-five star ones) have used the new information platforms very effectively to network and challenge administrations and businesses that ignore environmental and health safety considerations). *(Based on New Digital Age by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen)

=======================================================================

About the author

S Narendra has been Information adviser to the PM, Principal Information Officer to Govt Of India and Government Spokesperson. Has worked in both public and private sectors in the fields of Advertising, PR, Journalism, Communication Research.

Now, heads own Communication Consultancy. Has been associated with Communication projects of UNICEF, UNAIDS, World Bank, Gates Foundation, UNFPA, EU etc., 

PRCI focus on skill development & going global

Masterstroke Interview with B.N.Kumar, National 

President,Public Relations Council of India (PRCI)

April 7, 2015 Richa Seth Interviews. Vikypedia Exclusives

Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), a premier industry body of PR, advertising, HR and media professionals and academicians, has appointed Concept PR Executive Director B N Kumar (BNK for friends) as its next national president. Earlier, BNK led Mumbai chapter of PRCI and was the national vice president. He has close to four decades of experience in mass communications as a journalist and PR professional. In the words of PRCI Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor M B Jayaram, “BNK has been taking active interest in furthering the cause of our oganisation and he led two successful Global Communication Conclaves at Mumbai.” “As the programme committee chairman of the just concluded 9th Conclave, he played an exemplary role in ensuring its success.”

In this free and frank exclusive interview with Richa Seth, BNK, who has close to four decades of Media and PR experience, talks about his vision for PRCI and the industry. Excerpts:

1. In your new role, what are the initiatives that you would like to undertake? Please elaborate?

I firmly believe in inclusive communication. I would like to involve all of PRCI chapters. We have quite a few initiatives on hand.  In Mumbai, we floated a Guest Faculty pool for mass communication colleges which, as we all know, have teacher shortage. Experienced professionals from our pool will be sent to colleges on request to give practical training to PR and journalism students. We are glad to have some fine journalists in our pool. We would now like to spread this across major centres.

During the 9th Global Communication Conclave, we received a suggestion to help private and public sector companies train their new PR professionals. We are ready to take this up. As they say in Sanskrit, ‘Spardhaya Vardhanti Vidya’ (Knowledge improves by discussion). At PRCI we have initiated Knowledge Forums. We would like to further this by holding seminars and discussions on current issues that confront the media and communication industry. Along with the Press Club-Mumbai and BARC, we did couple of media seminars on Radiation and Urban Garbage Management.

Yes, I must tell you about our unique e-mag. It’s neither weekly, nor monthly or quarterly. It’s online and gets updated on a 24×7 basis. PRapport  or prrapport.blogspot.in has quickly caught the imagination of communication professionals in India and abroad. Here, we report not only on PRCI activities, but discuss issues related to our profession.

We have  a youth wing called YCC  or Young Communicators Club which provides a platform for journalism and PR students to strengthen their knowledge. Our target is to spread YCC activities to all BMM and other mass communication colleges.

2. As the adage goes, ‘PR has a PR problem’, how do you think PRCI can help to build the reputation and value of PR among C level executives?

Rapport is the solution. As you said, we also suffer from communication problems. Most of us do not communicate. We cannot afford to function in isolation. This is where the top management participation in our programmes significance. We will continue to communicate with the C level executives through Corporate Communications and HR professionals who are our members. Simultaneously, we will focus on corporate memberships and their participation. We have couple of other initiatives. You will soon see action. Please keep a watch on http://prrapport.blogspot.in/

3. What are the initiatives that PRCI will take to connect with the youth community and get them more involved?

We already discussed the YCC initiative.  We would like partner other forums like Mediaforum. We also have advanced skill training programmes for the upcoming professionals. This generation is blessed with technology. We would like to use it to the hilt. We also have awards for young professionals to encourage their talent. In a first of its kind initiative, we would like to support the BMM and other PR and journalism colleges with internships at our member companies.

4. Largely PR industry bodies are often seen as populated with members of PSUs, what will be your strategy to get members from across the board?

We firmly believe in going with both public and private sector companies. You can see from the response that we get for the various programmes and awards – both PSUs and private companies respond well. If you look at PRCI’s signature Chanakya Award winners in various categories, you will realize that PRCI is for all sectors – PSU, private, SME and even startups.

5. Could you share details about the advanced skill development modules that PRCI is planning to launch for private and public sector companies?

Good question. We will draw resources from across and help companies make their new and young PR professionals industry ready. Everyone knows about media and nobody knows media enough. With this in mind, we can run media familiarization programmes on what makes news and what doesn’t, what to expect from media, how to write press releases, the importance of online media and so on. We are developing PRraport into a web site which will also serve as a knowledge forum.

6. What do you think are the challenges faced by the PR industry today and how can it be overcome?

Challenges are quite a few. There is no fun in working without any challenge. On a serious note, I think the biggest challenge is the credibility. We are at cross roads of credibility in view of the recent developments which I need not name. Corporate governance, transparency and ethical practices are among the issues that confront us as communication practitioners. Designing media acceptable communication is another challenge.

Every company wants its news in Times of India and The Economic Times. Even I would like this interview to appear in top papers. Is it possible? Everybody wants to be a Thought Leader. They need to realize that it doesn’t happen overnight. Many companies and their Corporate Communications departments lay so much of stress on English media that the overkill proves counterproductive. Many often neglect the regional media. We do business in rural India but when it comes to media, all of us want the news only on English media. Also, we need to impress upon the corporates that PR should be used as an interface and not as an interference tool.

In these days when scams are the flavour of the season, getting a negative story stopped from getting into print or breaking news is just impossible. As we say in our media training sessions, ‘Asking a journalist to kill a story is like asking him not to do his job’. Managements need to be educated on this. Close rapport between Corporate Communication professionals and journalists is a must. To give you an example, we had Prasar Bharati Chairman, General Secretary of the Editors’ Guild of India and Director General of Cellular Operators’ Association of India addressing the PRCI’s 9th Global Communication Conclave at Delhi. Our rapport with the media can be exemplified from the fact that late Vinod Mehta inaugurated PRCI ten years ago at Bengaluru. And, year on year, we have been having senior journalists like Arnab Goswami, Rajdeep Sardesai, Chandan Mitra, later M V Kamath, Kumar Ketkar, Barkha Dutt, Prakash Akolkar and Ayaz Memon participating in our programmes.

7. Your advice for the youngsters in the industry?

Many of our young professionals do not read. Though they are blessed with Google, they try short cuts. Many even do not know how to write mails and whom to address their communication. For instance, what is the point in sending the press release about an obscure award to the Managing Editor of Business India? And the, these young kids call him up and ask: “Sir which beat do you cover?” As late Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told us during the inauguration of the Press Club building, young media persons, particularly from TV channels do not how to ask questions. Don’t we remember the infamous case of a TV journalist asking the Union Home Minister, after taking his byte: Sir what is your name and designation?! The same is applicable to PR professionals too. How many of our young PR professionals know that Eenadu is published from Mumbai and Delhi as well? How many of us realize that even the less circulated newspapers are read by the editors of large papers? I may be sounding harsh but the hard reality is we don’t like to do any hard work and we always try for shortcuts.

 8. Finally, as a veteran of close to four decades of experience, what do you think is the future of PR industry?

Man is a social animal. We cannot live without communicating. PR industry is evolving by the day and I firmly believe that this industry has a great scope. And we at PRCI would like to play the role of a catalyst in making the industry play a meaningful role in the country’s socio-economic change. If India has to emerge as the Numero Uno nation by 2025, PR has to play its role across the board – industry, governments, urban areas and villages.

- See more at: http://www.vikypedia.in/2015/04/masterstroke-interview-with-b-n-kumarnational-presidentpublic-relations-council-of-india-prci/#sthash.rU7aA3sK.5u5c7jGs.dpuf

Date with Delhi - Day 1

A Collage of snapshots of Day 1 proceedings of the 9th Global Communication Conclave - March 13, 2015

From the President’s desk-2: Towards Inclusive Communication...

I may not be young, but I too have a dream!

The dream of contributing to PRCI emerging as a truly ace and premier communication platform.

Ever since I have been appointed as the President of the National Executive, I have been flooded with greetings and goodwill messages which are full of enthusiasm to do something new. It’s nice to so much of energy and eagerness to take PRCI to new heights. While it is natural for us to expect the youth among the PRCIans to show lot of promise, it is equally heartening to note that even the veterans are full of ideas. What is even more important is the fact that they all love new ideas. And one common thread that holds us all together is the determination to keep the PRCI flag flying.

Over the past decade since its formation, PRCI has come a long way, but we have miles to go. The field of communication is rapidly changing with technology serving as the enabler. We have begun to use the technology in a unique way.

Perhaps for the first time, we at PRCI have launched our e-Mag truly online at no cost at all. You must have seen http://prrapport.blogspot.in/ which has caught the imagination of not only PRCIans, but the communication world around.

It's a big wow! As I key-in  this message, PRapport has crossed the record 500-page views mark in a short span. The audience wise breakup is: India 353. US 141. UK 4 and one each in Spain,  Kuwait, Maldives and Turkey. Thank you friends, let’s look forward to 1000 soon and as Mr S K Kaul says 100,000 mark!

PRapport is one of the many ways to stay in touch on a continuous basis. Do keep visiting and commenting and contributing. Please send your reports, pictures, videos to me. The subjects could be PRCI related activities, information that can enhance knowledge and policy issues that may have an impact on our profession.

As I have been talking and moving around, one question that I have been facing is: So, Mr President, what do you want us to do?

It is not the question of what I want the teams to do. It’s about all of doing it together as a team, and all chapters put together.

I have set this agenda for myself. Do correct me if I go wrong anywhere.

Strengthen PRCI Chapters: We need to plan and launch chapter wise activities which will culminate into at least quarterly zonal and half yearly national activities. But before that we need to activate our existing members and hen launch new, but a select, membership drive. Unless we have a broader representation, we cannot grow from the present position. I am sure all of you must be tired of seeing the same faces at conclave after conclave.

We did couple of unique activities for strengthening the participation at our recent conclaves. In Mumbai, we had an inter-collegiate contest and winners with their supporters participated in the 8^th Conclave. In Delhi, we had a large number of corpcom friends from PSUs joining us at the 9^th Conclave.

YCC: While we look at approaching senior professionals, we also should activate the YCC chapters. The mass communication and journalism students who join the YCCs will be our future brand members and even ambassadors.

Guest Faculty Pool: At Mumbai, we successfully experimented with initiatives like The Guest Faculty Pool and Knowledge Forums. The guest faculty pool is like a speakers’ forum from where we keep nominating professionals for lectures/presentations/seminars at mass communication colleges and the professionals include those from PR, Advertising and Media.

Knowledge Forums: For Knowledge Forums, we tied up with The Press Club where we conduct programmes on issues of general interest. For instance, we had a couple of media seminars with the BARC scientists on Radiation for crops and Urban Garbage Management. This helps us in increasing the awareness about PRCI in the minds of media fraternity. I am sure we can do at last one activity a month with the Press Clubs. Its cost effective and its useful.

Professional Training: At the 9^th Conclave, a suggestion cropped up on the need to train upcoming PR professionals in public and private sectors. Taking the NTPC example, we offered to work with the corporates on making their professionals industry ready. For this, we could take the help of senor journalists who are ever ready to share their knowledge and tell us on media expectations from PR in this ever changing world. For instance, cocktail dinners which were a vogue ten years ago, do not get any media response!

Fastest 500: With 25 chapters, if we look at a monthly activity each with Press Clubs and one YCC programme, we can look forward to 50x10+ 500 activities to report at the 10^th Conclave. It is an achievable target for all us of put together. I am sure the Zonal chairmen will all agree with me! Even if we achieve 200-activity target, we would have made a solid beginning.

The activities could be very simple – from addressing local issues to professional matters. Let me tell you how it works in Mumbai. The Press Club, being the partner,  gives us their 40-seater hall free. The hi-tea costs less than Rs 5,000. But the goodwill that we gain is priceless.

Website: The work on – www.publicrelationscouncilofindia.com – in progress and we should see it up and running soon. I am getting quite a bit of content from our headquarters in Bengaluru. I request all chapters to keep sending their activity information.

We have to make a beginning, let’s do it now.

Please send in ideas and suggested plans of action as we move on. More importantly, please guide me to do well.

Yours sincerely,

Date with Delhi - Day 2

Video collage of Day 2 proceedings of the 9th Global Communication Conclave held at New Delhi on March 13 & 14, 2015.

In case of difficulty in downloading, copy-paste this URL on your browser; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-elub4DtpEI

Comply or face jail: must comply with the Sexual Harassment Act

Organisations irrespective whether they have women employees 

or not must comply with the Sexual Harassment Act

How many women face sexual harassment at workplace? It could come in any form from indecent jokes, innuendos, ogling, inappropriate remarks, pictures and, text messaging and MMS. Women do not complain fearing job loss and stigma that one may get as a nasty cribber.  Some organisations even consider this harmless, while refuse to recognize the difference between a compliment and harassment. Do women have to suffer silently? Don’t they have any redressal mechanism? These incidents lead to a cycle of depression for the victim and ultimately lead to loss of morale, motivation and cause under performance and even absenteeism which contributes to a hostile work environment. Aggrieved women even feel insecure and quit jobs while organisations lose trained employees and the time and resources spent on training simply go waste. The government has brought out The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 on 9^th December 2013, but unfortunately most organisations do not seem to be aware of the need to comply with the law. In this interview to PRapport, Vishal Kedia, who has been advising companies thorough his company Complykaro, decodes the law and explains how women need not shy away from asserting their rights.

Question:What is the significance of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law?

Answer:  The Government of India, on the directive of the Supreme Court, has brought out The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 w.e.f. 9^th December 2013 to create a safe, secure and conducive work environment for women.

Vishal Kedia making a special presentation at 9th Global
Communication Conclave on March 14, 2015

Organisation can no longer dismiss workplace sexual harassment with a ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude as it is their responsibility to ensure safety of all women whether employed in their premise or coming in contact with other people within their premises. It mandates that organisations employing 10 or more employees should have Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at each of its location to tackle the complaints of harassment and gender bias.  Failure to comply with the law could lead to heft penalties, imprisonment and even closure of business. In fact a company in Chennai, where a woman complained of sexual harassment, was fined Rs1.68 crores for its failure to comply with the law. 

Question:How does one comply with the law? 

Answer: Apart from the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), every firm needs to formulate an Anti-Sexual Harassment policy and publicise penal consequences of sexual harassment by putting up necessary posters.   All employees – male and female - must be made to undergo sensitization training programme so that they understand what constitutes sexual harassment and their rights and responsibilities as per the law.

Question: Is this law going to safeguard only those who are working in a particular company?

Answer: As per law, management of government offices and every private firm are responsible to ensure that no women (whether she is an employee or not) is sexually harassed within their premises. Even if a women is harassed at a mall, railway station or airport the management of such premises is legally obliged to assist the aggrieved women make a complaint against the accused, if she desires to do so.

Question: Tell us something about the ICC and how the committee needs to function?

Answer: At least 50% of the committee members must be women including the Presiding Officer who must be a woman employed at senior level within the firm.   There must be minimum two other employee members and an external member who is an Advocate or social worker from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women.  Such members must undergo skill training programme.

The ICC is mandatory at each location for any organisation employing 10 or more people, irrespective of men or women.  The companies need to file their compliance statement as part of their Annual Reports.

In case the complaint is against the management itself or in case the firm is a small outfit having less than 10 employees, the law provides for a district level Local Complaints Committee (LCC) setup by the Government for redressal of such complaints.

Question: What if any organisation fails to comply with the law?

Answer: The law is clear. As I said, non-compliance with the law can invite trouble for the managements, from fines to shutting down of businesses. They even face charges of abetment of the crime and criminal prosecution.

Question: Is the law applicable only to companies?

Answer: No. It is applicable to all, including associations, proprietorship, partnership firms, LLP, trust, society, clubs and sports events like marathons and matches, schools, colleges.

Question: What do you think of the awareness levels of the law?

Answer: Unfortunately, not many seem to be aware of the law. A quick survey by the field staff of Complykaro in Mumbai’s business districts of Nariman Point and Parel showed that less than three per cent of the big and small offices are aware of the law and most of even those do not have ICCs at each location or have done training of employees and committee members. That’s a sad situation. But I am happy that increasing number of women employees have now begun to take the issue seriously. They are complaining. My sincere appeal to all companies, groups and management is that they should comply with the law. Sooner the better, else be ready to suffer as women are asserting their rights.

Kerala teams bag honours at PRCI Awards

PRCI Kerala Chapter Chairman U S Kutty, Secretary T Vinay Kumar Treasurer P K Natesh and Regional Council Member Sunil Kannath receiving the Best Chapter  Award  from the Hon. Union Minister for Tribal Welfare Sri Jual Oram at the 9th Global Communication Conclave at India Habitat Centre new Delhi. PRCI Chief Mentor & Chairman Emeritus M B Jayaram, The Week Resident Editor Sachidanad Moorthy and National President B N Kumar are also seen.The Kerala Chapter Secretary of PRCI T Vinay Kumar got the Best Secretary Award also.

PRCI appoints BNK as new Prez - Media coverage snapshot