Mumbai, August 26, 2009: Marico Innovation Foundation announces its 3^rd edition of the Innovation for India Awards to be held on 12^th March 2010 in Mumbai. A significant initiative by Marico – the “Marico Innovation Foundation” was founded in 2003, with an objective to fuel Innovation in India. Under the leadership of stalwarts like Dr. Ramesh Mashelkar, the Foundation focuses on providing the country with a belief that Innovation is a crucial way to leapfrog into the center stage of global business leadership.

Over years the Foundation has effectively played the role of a catalyst by creating knowledge through years of in-depth research, multiplying this knowledge through various platforms and recognizing breakthrough innovations through its Innovation for India Awards.

Innovation for India Awards is the prestigious recognition for business and Social entities that have done some amazing breakthroughs that could hold lessons across all sectors. This year the Innovation for India Awards has added a new category- Public Services, which includes all innovations by Central or State government or any wing of the government including public-private partnership has innovated and have displayed a ‘clear public impact’.

So far the Awards have been recognizing and applauding outstanding leadership with innovative focus in Business and Social arena. Its intent is to reward projects and businesses that make a real difference to India and community at large. Based on the criteria of uniqueness, impact & scalability, ‘India’s Best Innovations” are declared at these Awards. Over the last 3 years, 23 such innovators have been recognized which includes organisations like Kirloskar Brothers, BOSCH MICO and Titan Industries Limited & Azim Premji Foundation, MV Foundation, Trichy Police and Kudambashree, ITC IBD,  Evalueserve. Tata Motors was recognised for their spirit of Innovation – The NANO by being bestowed with the Global Game Changer Award at the 2008 Awards.

Any Indian company, social organization, government body and/or individuals who have successfully conceptualized and nurtured a brilliant idea, made it work and brought it to market is eligible to participate.

The three categories under which Innovation will be awarded are – Business Innovation (Products/Services, Business Model and Innovation in social space by a business organisation) and Social Innovation (innovation by a social organisation). Public Services Innovation (innovations by Central or State governments or any wing of the government including public-private partnership)

The guiding principles for selection of Awards are transparent, Qualitative, Consistent and Fair. A high profile jury consisting of India’s most respected and eminent personalities, will judge the Innovations on the basis of its uniqueness, sustainability and scalability through a rigorous four-stage selection process.

For the purpose of evaluation of candidates, and architecting the awards process, the Marico Innovation Foundation uses Erehwon Innovation Consulting’s path-breaking innovation methodology and framework. This methodology has been used successfully for innovation evaluation across various platforms globally.

Dr R A Mashelkar,FRS CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow, National Chemical Laboratory & Chairman of The Marico Innovation Foundation states that “The Foundation’s mission is to encourage Innovation in India, by providing the nation with a belief that Innovation is indispensable and is the way to leapfrog India into the center stage of global business leadership. Through these awards we want to commemorate projects and businesses that make a real difference to the country and community at large.”

“Innovation in India is a key theme in India’s global repositioning as an emerging economic superpower. With the second edition of the Innovation for India awards, the Marico Innovation Foundation seeks to continue to fuel innovation in India- amongst other achievements, let Indian businesses build a cascade of successful and enduring Indian Global brands,” believes Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Council Member, Marico Innovation Foundation & Chairman and Managing Director, Marico Limited

Photographs from last year’s event:

(from the left)-Actor & Director, Aamir Khan, Ad-Guru & Lyricist, Prasoon Joshi in discussion with Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman

Mr. Sam Balsara, CEO Madison, awarded Mr. Kunwer Sachdev, CEO Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. for Innovation in Business Process

About Marico Innovation Foundation

The Marico Innovation Foundation was created in March 2003 under the stewardship of Dr. Ramesh Mashelkar. The Foundation’s Mission is to Fuel Innovation in India, by providing the nation with a belief that Innovation is possible and is the way to leapfrog India into the center stage of global business leadership. The Foundation also believes that a framework will enable leverage innovation for quantum growth. The foundation is steered by a governing council that oversees both its vision and direction.

The reach is first envisioned to cover the business community, both professional and entrepreneurial.  The reach will soon expand to future business leaders and the general public.  The Marico Innovation Foundation is led by its Council Members, who are visionaries like Dr R A Mashelkar, FRS, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow, National Chemical Laboratory, Anu Aga, Chairman, Thermax, Sam Balsara, CEO, Madison, Ashwin Dani,  Vice Chairman, Asian Paints, Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP, Arun Maira, Chairman, Boston Consulting Group, Harsh Mariwala, Chairman & Managing Director,  Marico, K V Mariwala, EX-Director, Marico, Rajiv Narang, Chairman & Managing Director, Erehwon Innovation Consulting, Dorap Sopariwala, Consultant. Visit www.maricoinnovationfoundation.org for more information.

Khabar Lahariya a weekly newspaper in Bundeli (local dialect of Bundelkhand) is being run by a group of women from various sections of the society from the interiors of Chitrakoot and Banda in Uttar Pradesh. Their main objective is to reach out to the nearby villages and provide them with ‘infotainment’.

Despite having a limited exposure to the literacy and information, their ability to interact with various people in public sphere and coming up with innovative ideas is extremely remarkable. Their works have been acknowledged and credited by leading National Dailies including The New Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Tehelka and various other dailies and weekly’s.

In 2008, the Khabar Lahariya group registered themselves as an independent organization, Pahal. With the incredible support from Nirantar, which is an acclaimed centre for gender and education, Pahal has now found its place in rural women’s media collectives of our country.

Khabar Lahariya carries out news that is of primary importance to the masses in and around these areas. Although they do have sections regarding current affairs, national and international news, they strongly highlight the cases of violence against women, issues on Dalits and more. This 8-page newsletter also covers issues on institutions like schools, marriage, health care and more.

Although these journalists do not come from strong literary background, they do ensure the quality does not receive a set back. Significant efforts have been made in order to improve their technical skills, their reporting and writing skills and more. Apart from the above, they also encourage public interactions and gather inputs to cater to the specific needs of the women. Meanwhile, frequent workshops are also being conducted by these women to encourage more writers and volunteers to have an in hand practical experience of running a newspaper.

Depending on the need of the hour, they hold meetings at their editorial office to divide their beats and after enormous research and writing they go all the way to the nearest city Allahabad for printing.

Click on the image below to read an issue of Khabhar Lahariya:

These phenomenal revolutionaries, who have gone beyond their capacity to go on fields, have received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson. Also, three members of the group have received fellowships from the Dalit Foundation in 2004, for reporting on issues related to rights of the Dalit community.

Overwhelming technological cloud has also been bestowed upon the offices of KL as they now work on computers with broadband connections. The challenge of consistently making an outstanding appearance in the face of media and having an unbiased opinion regarding the political scenario of our country comes very easily to them. They aren’t restricted in writing what their leaders want them to write. They write information regarding subjects that pertain to them. Hats off to the women behind this initiative, they have managed to achieve what many of us with enough resources have been unable to do!

Read more details about Khabar Lahariya, including how the paper is produced, edited and distributed at Nirantar’s website: NIRANTAR

This article written by guest reporter Jheel Parekh.
All images courtesy NIRANTAR.

Meet Laxman Rao. He sells tea on the roadside in Delhi. He is also an author, having penned 20 novels in Hindi so far. What’s more, Hindi is not even his mother tongue! Laxman originally hailed from Maharashtra and has settled down in Delhi, running a tea stall. His interest in writing manifested in the form of a book in the late 70s when he published his first novel Nayi Duniya Ki Nayi Kahani.

When he wrote his first book, no publisher was ready to give him a second glance. After numerous failed attempts at getting the book published, Laxman decided to take the task upon himself. He got the book printed at his own cost and then set out to market it as well! Since then, Laxman has been printing his books and distributing them to various organizations. His books are available at the Delhi Public Library and many school libraries.

Laxman’s penchant for writing started early in his life, during his school years. Since then, he has read a great deal including the works of Gulshan Nanda, Mahatma Gandhi, Shakespeare and many more. By virtue of his novels, Laxman has had the chance to meet Indira Gandhi and recently President Pratibha Patil. Winner of the Inderprastha Sahitya Bharti Award, Laxman is an inspiration for many of us! To know more about Laxman Rao and to see his pictures, please check out the following stories about him:

1. More than his cup of tea | The Tribune – This is a great profile of Laxman, talking about his past, his current life and how he has managed to keep his passion alive.
2. Brewing up Books | Open Magazine – This is a recent article on Laxman and continues to convey his message of positivity and persistence.

Image on the homepage courtesy AFP and The Tribune.

In the recently concluded Asian Youth Chess Championships 2009, India has bagged 23 medals out of a total of 36, says this report in The Hindu. The championship was conducted by the Asian Chess Federation and was held at New Delhi, India. It is a great feat shown by India by being the majority medal winner. The second in the medals tally is Vietnam. India’s spectrum of medals included 8 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze.

The Asian Youth Chess Championships is conducted for both boys and girls under the following categories:
Under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years of age.

What is interesting for us is how this sport has been nurtured and carefully guided in our country so that we have now become an important ‘player’ in chess globally. The Asian Chess Foundation carries an interview of Mr. D. V. Sundar, Hon. Secretary of the All India Chess Federation. In this insightful interview, and perhaps an interview that many other sports bodies can take note of, Mr. Sundar explains how India has become a force to reckon with in chess. Addressing a question on what he believes has helped make India successful in chess, he says:

We hold many children’s tournaments. Every week there is a children’s tournament going on in one part or another of our 30 States. The five most active are in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal. These States are historically good in producing chess players.

We have many children’s tournaments, alternating age groups Under-8 to 16. The AICF insists that all tournaments give Certificates to all children. Not only children are encouraged but specially their parents.

It is wonderful to note that the sport is being encouraged amongst children and thereby giving players enough time to hone their skills by the time they reach the international arena.
Mr. Sundar goes on to say that the AICF is aiming to create a mass appeal for chess:

Aside from the traditional chess States, we have developed chess in Goa, Delhi, Orissa, Assam and Jharkhand. Kerala now organizes five to six rated tournaments per year with 150 to 300 participants each.

Rajasthan now organizes two or three tournaments every year. We are creating a mass appeal for chess.

You can read his complete interview here. It explains in detail how the game of chess is being spread in the country and how we are able to generate players of high caliber at a consistent rate. This could well be adapted for other sports too.

Congratulations to all the players who participated in this year’s Asian Youth Chess Championships!
The official website of Asian Chess Federation is www.asia-chess.com and that of the All India Chess Federation is www.indianchessfed.org

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

This article is a reader contribution. Our reader Neeraja Raghavan talks about her tryst with a wonderful Government officer, breaking the myth that everyone out there is inefficient. Read on in her own words:

I was told by my auditor that IT returns of quite a high amount (above Rs 25K) were due to me, from the filing of tax returns for the financial year 2007-2008.

Although these had been filed before 31st July 2008, and the returns are supposed to ‘automatically’ get credited into one’s account after six months, my auditor told me: “Madam! This is the most corrupt department in the country! The officer handling this told me he wants a 2% cut.”

“Bribe?” I asked.

“Yes, madam,” was his answer.

“I am not going to bribe,” I replied.

“Then, Madam, it will take more than 2 years,”he replied.

I said ok, let it take as long as it takes, but I refused to bribe anyone.

Nevertheless, I filed a grievance on some website in December 2008, when 6 months elapsed, but apart form getting a fancy and instant acknowledgement on the website with a registration no:, nothing further happened. (Needless to say, every attempt of mine to get the name of the bribe seeking IT officer from my auditor failed utterly.)

Well, I had an eventful day about two months ago.

Hot as the afternoon was, I decided to invest some of my sleepy time at work, in telephoning the IT department. So I went onto the Net and searched for every telephone no: there is for IT officers in Bangalore.

From the lowest to the highest: that is my usual thumb rule in such cases. So I patiently telephoned from the lowest rung in the ladder to the highest.

Firstly, every single number of the fifteen EPABX numbers rang off the hook, with no one even bothering to pick up the receiver.
Secondly, the PRO cell by some fortuitous chance, managed to tell me which ward/range my PAN number came under, so that helped in my further tracking.
Very knowledgeably, I then began asking for the IT officer in charge of my Range, if at all I was lucky enough to have a human voice answer me at the other end.

Now this went on and on from 2 to 3:30 pm, after which I was emboldened enough to go all the way upto the COMMISSIONER in charge of my Range, and listen to this: at 3:30 I was told by his peremptory secretary: “He has gone for lunch and will be back at 4:30 pm. No, I don’t know his e-mail address.” I laughed: for if an officer goes for lunch saying he will return at 4:30 pm, you can be sure he will not return for the day, for don’t all Government offices close at sharp 5 pm?
Well, I made good use of the time between 3:30 and 4:30 pm, and managed to get the e-mail address of this commissioner, from his colleague, yet another commissioner in charge of yet another range/ward. (Madam, I am sorry this does not fall under my jurisdiction…OK sir, could you please tell me whose jurisdiction it does fall under? And would you be so kind as to give me his e-mail address?)

I mopped the sweat off my brow and sent off an e-mail to the lunching Commissioner, and no sooner did the clock strike 4:30 pm than I called up his office. Very reluctantly, his secretary handed him the telephone.
I explained my problem. I took care to also add that all EPABX numbers were just ringing off their hooks, and since I could not reach the concerned officer, I was sorry but I had no option but to bother a high up person like him.

He not only listened to me patiently, he also asked me if I would be interested in exposing the officer who purportedly asked for a bribe (to which I said sure, but since I only had my auditor’s word without a name for it, I really had no authentic proof).

Then he noted down all my contact numbers, and called me back within 15 minutes.
He explained that due to some new system of computerisation, there had been enormous delay in processing of 2007-8 returns, and I was amongst 80% or more tax payers who were still waiting for the refund.
He said that despite this, since I had been inconvenienced to such a degree, he had arranged for my returns to be credited into my account right away. (He also clarified that the bribe angle could not have much truth in it, as there were so many whose dues were pending, so my auditor could well have been voicing his won desire! I agreed that this could well be the case.)

Further, he said the EPABX was indeed not responding as he had himself tried the telephone nos and found my experience to be his as well. He said he was looking into this as well.
All this happened on that one day. Now, I am not only in receipt of the full money (with interest), my attempts to thank the concerned officer have met with embarassed brush offs! “I am only doing my job!” he said.

So there are good Government officers, too! And it has been my good fortune to encounter one such!

Above article written by Neeraja Raghavan. Thanks!