WFH can boost women's participation, says Arundhati Bhattacharya

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2020, Bhattacharya said the Covid-19 pandemic has not only changed the perception of WFH not being effective but is also re-shaping the workplace.

Women's participation in workforce could get a boost with enterprises embracing the work from home (WFH) model as they will get flexibility in managing both their homes and work, Salesforce India CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2020, Bhattacharya said the Covid-19 pandemic has not only changed the perception of WFH not being effective but is also re-shaping the workplace.

She said the workforce participation of women in India is actually falling but the country has a large number of well-trained women who are sitting at home, not able to work because they can't get out of the house as they are the primary caregivers.

"Imagine the flexibility which these women can then get because this can be the primary caregiver and work."

The former SBI chairperson said that when women quit their jobs to be caregivers, it is often difficult for them to get back in and even when they re-join the workforce, they join at lower levels than their peers who have moved up in careers by then.

"So, I think the flexibility that this (situation) has created is actually very good for all of us," she said.

The former banker said people tend to believe that allowing people to work from home would not be very productive.

"However, the lockdown has forcefully conducted that experiment and shown us that WFH can be just as productive...we've got to not only change the way people work, but our thoughts about what a workplace should look like," she added.

RBI seeks internal car loan investigation details from HDFC bank

The RBI is also seeking information on steps taken by HDFC Bank to remedy any issues identified during the investigation, the people added, asking not to be named.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked HDFC Bank to provide details of an internal investigation into allegations of improper lending practices in its vehicle-financing operation, according to people familiar with the matter.
The RBI is also seeking information on steps taken by HDFC Bank to remedy any issues identified during the investigation, the people added, asking not to be named.

A spokesman for HDFC Bank declined to comment, saying that the lender has nothing to add to recent remarks on the investigation by Managing Director Aditya Puri. A spokesperson for the RBI didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Puri said on Saturday that the inquiry was triggered by a whistle-blower and uncovered “personal misconduct” by some of the bank’s employees. “Based on internal inquiry findings, appropriate action was taken against a set of employees in the auto loan business segment for their act of personal misconduct,” Puri said during the investor call that followed the bank’s latest earnings report.

The vehicle financing unit had outstanding loans of nearly Rs 1.2 trillion as of June 30, 2020. HDFC Bank is bracing for a leadership change with Puri set to step down after 26 years at the helm.

He will retire when he turns 70 in October under RBI rules that restrict the age of top bank executives.

According to media reports, HDFC Bank has fired at least six senior and mid-level officials after an internal probe on the allegations of "improper lending practices" and "conflict of interest". The probe found they breached the code of conduct and governance rules and indulged in corrupt practices.

One year of Chandrayaan-2: Isro gears up for Chandrayaan-3, Gaganyaan

Isro is now in the midst of preparations for its next ambitious mission, the Chandrayaan-3, and the first manned mission, the Gaganyaan.

India's historic lunar mission Chandrayan-2 completed its first anniversary on Wednesday. With the orbiter continuing to map the surface of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said in a statement: "Extensive data has been acquired from Chandrayaan-2 payloads and parameters are being derived for the presence of water-ice in the polar regions, X-ray based and infrared spectroscopic mineral information and mid and high latitude presence of Argon-40, a condensable gas on the moon."

While Isro in September 2019 lost contact with its Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, which was to make a touchdown on the dark side of the Moon, the orbiter has a mission life of seven years. Isro Chairman K Sivan said the Chandrayaan-2 mission achieved 98 per cent of its objectives. He said the orbiter was doing well and performing scheduled science experiments.

What next for Isro?

Isro is now in the midst of preparations for its next ambitious mission, the Chandrayaan-3, and its first manned mission, the Gaganyaan.

Chandrayaan-3

Scientists will incorporate lessons learnt from the failure of the Chandryaan-2 into the third mission with robust design and capacity enhancement for mission flexibility. While the type of payloads the Chandrayaan-3 will carry remains unknown so far, if is believed to retain all the main objectives of the Chandryaan-2 and consist of payloads identical to those within the Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover.

 

Covid-19 crisis: Ratan Tata says layoffs show India Inc's lack of empathy

While Tata Group has not laid off any employee, several Indian companies have retrenched staff due to lack of cash flow after the nationwide lockdown.

Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata on Thursday said layoffs by Indian companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic was a knee-jerk reaction and showed lack of empathy among the top leadership.
“These are the people that have worked for you. These are the people who have served you all their careers. You send them out to live in the rain. Is that your definition of ethics when you treat your labour force that way?” asked Tata in an interview to news website YourStory.

While Tata Group has not laid off any employee, several Indian companies have retrenched staff due to lack of cash flow after the nationwide lockdown. The Tata group, however, has cut salaries of its top management by up to 20 per cent. Several Tata Group companies, including its airlines, hotels, financial services, and auto business, are severely hit, but have not laid off employees to date.

“It is impossible to survive as a company if one is not sensitive to its people,” said Tata, adding, “Covid-19 hits you wherever you are. Whatever your reasons may be, you have to change in terms of what you consider fair or good or necessary in order to survive.”

“While everyone chases profits, the question is how ethical the journey has been. Business is not only about making money. One has to do everything right and ethically for customers and stakeholders,” said Tata.

Making mistakes is a part and parcel of business. The important thing is to do the right thing at every turn and not shy away from difficult decisions, he said.

Asked what he missed the most during the pandemic, Tata said he has not ventured out since March when the government announced the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. “It’s not been yachts, manors, and huge estates. It’s been a wonderful experience of interacting with people who stand for the same ideas as you do... that’s something I’ve come to miss,” said Tata.

ASTHROS Mission: NASA to use football stadium-sized balloon to study Cosmos

Likely to be launched in December 2023 from Antarctica, ASTHROS will spend about three weeks drifting on air currents above the icy southern continent.

NASA has started work on a new mission to send a telescope, on a football stadium-sized balloon, high into the stratosphere to observe wavelengths of light invisible from the Earth. The mission will try to find answers about formation of giant stars in the galaxy.

The telescope mission called Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths (ASTHROS) is likely to be launched in December 2023 from Antarctica. It will spend about three weeks drifting on air currents above the icy southern continent, said the American space agency on Wednesday.

Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ASTHROS will observe far-infrared light, or light with wavelengths much longer than what is visible to the human eye at an altitude of about 130,000 feet (40 km) roughly four times higher than commercial airliners fly. The balloon included a telescope, science instruments, and subsystems such as the cooling and electronic systems. Engineers at JPL will begin the integration and testing of those subsystems in August.

In a statement, NASA said, "Scientific Balloon Program has been operating for 30 years. It launches 10 to 15 missions a year from locations around the globe in support of experiments across all of NASA's science disciplines, as well as for technology development and education purposes. Balloon missions don't only have lower costs compared to space missions, they also have shorter times between early planning and deployment, which means they can accept the higher risks associated with using new or state-of-the-art technologies that haven't yet flown in space."

Will be conscious of govt directives: L&T on partnering with Chinese firms

L&T Group Chief Financial Officer R Shankar Raman said Chinese firms, which it had contracted, are providing critical equipment for some of the projects and helping in implementing and operating them.

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday said it will be "conscious" of government's directives while getting into future partnerships with Chinese firms for fresh orders, even as it would continue with the existing tie-ups for contracts as most of them are for critical projects.

"...it's something that we need to work through because as you know the orders from supply from China are contractual orders and we cannot, based on political stance, immediately turn turtle. So we have to make sure that all the obligations are understood in whatever contracts we have signed," L&T Group Chief Financial Officer R Shankar Raman said during a media call.

Amid rising tensions between India and China following violent clashes at the border, the government had banned 59 Chinese mobile apps.

Some of the major establishments such as Indian Railways decided to cancel a contract awarded to a Chinese firm, while MMRDA scrapped the tender process which had attracted bids from only Chinese firms.

Raman said that Chinese firms, which it had contracted, are providing critical equipment for some of the projects and helping in implementing and operating them.

"So we are not trying to turn them off and send them away. They are much part of the deals, but fresh deals we will be very conscious of what the government is saying...at the same time we have to develop an alternate ecosystem and it is not going to be an on-off kind of situation where you find a next equally compelling vendor or supplier available," he added.

No one wants conflict in Indo-Pacific, need to work with partners: US envoy

The Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster on Wednesday said that no country wants to see a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region and the United States will work with trusted and like-minded partners to develop guidelines and other ways to fulfill the "inclusive" vision for the region.
"No one wants to have conflict in the region (Indo-Pacific). We want it to be an inclusive vision but we are going to need to work with trusted and like-minded partners to develop guidelines, red lines and other ways to fulfill the vision we share for the Indo-Pacific region," Juster said at the India Ideas Summit.

He said that the US has begun some of the work through its discussions with the remaining Quad members -- India, Japan and Australia.

"We are writing the first chapter of what will be a project over next several years and the book that we complete will be critical to future of not just this region but to the world," Juster underlined.

The Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims in the South China Sea.

Juster said that India has provided pharmaceuticals for over 100 countries around the world.