Green Revolution- the Road Ahead

Green Revolution, the concept which made Punjab self-sufficient in food supply was one of the most successful initiatives in post-independent India. However, the success of this imitative was short-lived primarily due to the uncertainty looming largely over the complete agricultural sector. Insufficient supply of fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides, antiquated farming practices, declining yield and productivity, exploitative middle men, and un-remunerative prices to name a few, have clouded the success of the First Green Revolution in a big way. The next phase of agricultural development, euphemistically called the Second Green Revolution, will hinge on `Sustainable Agriculture'. With the advent of a ‘Corporate Culture’ in the agricultural sector, profitability is one of the most important elements of `sustainable agriculture'.

Role of Corporate Sector

It is widely considered that large-scale corporate agriculture is more effective than the present system of peasant farming. It is believed to greater efficiency, higher private investment and higher output, income and exports. The radically changing scenario in the agriculture sector after the liberalization of the economy has brought about greater market focus in the whole gamut of agricultural activities.

Second Green Revolution has brought about the changes in the farming methodology by introducing new technology to the agricultural sector. Riding this wind of change are the bigwigs of India Inc, from the Reliance Group to the Bhartis to the Mahindras, Godrejs and MNCs like PepsiCo. All of these major Corporate Houses have enormous resources at their disposal and who have the technical know-how to change the face of Indian agriculture.

More importantly, with their big-ticket investments, these entrepreneur-farmers are all set to change the fortunes of an industry that has consistently lagged the GDP growth for decades but still employs 67% of the country's population. The Corporate Houses are targeting at all aspects of this value chain – research and development, distribution of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, enabling farmers to employ latest technologies, providing market information and credit facilities, contract farming, processing the produce, setting up cold chains and warehouses, transportation, retailing and exporting the produce. And they are throwing in big money in what is being described as the "farm-firm-fork" triangle by most experts.

Corporate farming, most experts acknowledge, could be the answer to India’s agricultural crisis. This is true because it involves high expertise from the Corporate Houses that have the capability to manage risks and sustain losses as compared to small farmers. The biggest positive aspect of this approach is that is provides an assurance to the farmers that their produce will be purchased on a later date at a pre-determined price. This spreads the loss, if any, across to the Corporate Houses, who are well-equipped to manage the losses arising out of market and weather conditions.

Contract Farming – Future of Green Revolution

The future success of Green Revolution depends on the proper implementation and end-to-end acceptance of Contract Farming. This will ensure that the corporate sector will build backward linkages between agricultural research and development with seed selection and variety evolution and forward linkages between processors, marketers, retail chain, exporters, and consumers. It will generate gainful employment in rural communities and a steady source of income at the individual farmer's level with assured prices and markets.

The seasonality associated with rural employment will be neutralized with round-the-year agriculture-related activities, which in turn will reduce migration from rural to urban areas. Eventually, the food production in the country would increase making India less dependent on imports in the food sector.

The corporate sector will ensure that the farmers are exposed to world class technology, which would lead to better output of agriculture produce. It will also ensure crop monitoring on a regular basis to avoid untoward incidents arising out of pests and other malice. Uninterrupted and regular flow of raw material and protection from fluctuations in market pricing will be some of the other benefits of contract farming.

Regulatory Framework – Assured Success

A regulatory framework should be in place for implementing contract farming so that farmers are not short-changed by the big Corporate Houses. On the other hand, Corporate Houses should be assured of a return on their huge investment as a large number of small farmers come into the picture thus increasing the risk factor. Also, there is no comprehensive and deregulated crop insurance scheme in the country to secure farmers or Corporate Houses from the losses incurred on farming as a result of natural disasters.

Implementing tax deductions on investments made in creating extended services for participating farmers linked to the procurement of output will create new opportunities in the farming sector. The comprehensive legislation should be put in place to decide whether or not it is permissible to procure agricultural produce directly from the farmers. Waiving-off taxes or duties on import of agricultural equipment in a registered contract-farming program would introduce new technologies to a larger mass of people in the country. Measures have to be taken to abolish all fees, taxes, cess duties, and levies on procurement by a registered contract-farming program.

The number of corporations-domestic and MNC-making a beeline for the agriculture sector is on the rise. Making the most out of this new trend would ensure success of the metamorphic Second Green Revolution in India.

e-Choupal – Setting in new trends

Of all the changes that have been part of this new green revolution, perhaps the one that has made the biggest difference to the lives of the smaller farmers has been the induction of information technology. It was tobacco major lTC's e-Choupal model that broke new ground in the early 2000s, showcasing the power of IT to the farmers. By delivering real-time information about market prices and customized knowledge and resolving the crop related problems of farmers through its IT kiosks and information database, it has managed to build tremendous equity among farmers across the country. In addition, the new storage and handling system offered as part of the initiative preserves the identity of different varieties right through "the farm gate to the dinner plate".

The globalization of trade along with the rising need of most food retailers in the country for high-speed transportation means the emergence of a huge market for companies that specialize in supply logistics. Many companies are sourcing millions of dollars worth of fruits and vegetables all the year round as the market is very lucrative.

Conclusion

There is a visible change in the approach of the farmers, policymakers, intermediaries in the agricultural process and all other stakeholders for ushering in the `Second Green Revolution'. However, only those corporations that are equipped with technology, management expertise and financial resources are willing to face the challenges of the `Second Green Revolution'. Addressing the challenges would mean introducing a comprehensive legislative measure to create a win-win situation for the farmers and the Corporate Houses.

National Agricultural Policy, which envisages a big role for private sector through contract farming is expected to accelerate the capital inflow, which will assure a market for crop production within a fixed timeframe.

• U Padma Shenoy
• Company Secretary

LAW FOR MERGER AND ACQUISITION- A CRITICAL REVIEW

Introduction

The recent years has seen a considerable increase in the Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity across the Indian Corporate Sector. India Inc., has emerged as the most strategic market for M&A for foreign players at the same when Indian Corporate bigwigs are eyeing major players on a global level. At the end of the day India, Inc., stands to be the largest gainer.

The M&A activity in India is governed by numerous cumbersome laws and regulations that it leaves ample space for misinterpretation. Even the largest of the Investment Banks lives in the fear of that it might overlook one of the basic rules of compliance and attract negative coverage in the media.

Recently, the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 entered the Guinness book of world records for registering maximum number of amendments. The amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961 is so cumbersome and unclear that it leads to many interpretations. In one of the high-profile cases a local tribunal erred in interpreting the judicial decision of a higher court and as a result the company had to file and re-file the tax applications. In the meantime, the permissions granted by other regulatory authorities lapsed and the company had to repeat the exercise resulting in enormous wastage of time and money.

Cases such as the above actually keep out the foreign players from being the strategic players in the M&A activity in India. In India, the M&A activity takes approximately six to seven months to reach completion. The reason being the long list of compliance requirements, which calls for liaising with various regulatory bodies to complete the M&A activity.

Overview of the Regulations

A broad overview of such compliance requirements includes the following:

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs: Regulates compliance under the Companies Act, 1956. The Ministry is governed and still dwells into law that was enacted five decades earlier and maintains a long list of documents for every small change in the nature of company and its management.

Rules of Taxation: Draws the power from the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The slabs for taxing the capital gains and treatment for accounting entries during M&A are very complicated. Ensuring compliance with all the listed provisions, sub-clauses, and amendments is a Herculean task.

SEBI: Regulates the Indian Stock Markets and draws power from the SEBI Act to ensure proper functioning of the Stock market. Ketan Parekh made a fortune by cheating the investors in a big way under the nose of the very watchful SEBI. During M&A activity, it becomes extremely necessary for the participating companies to comply with the SEBI rules with considerable time being devoted to be safe from “intelligent” people like Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh.

Competition Commission: Took over the ‘traditional’ MRTP Commission but Competition Commission is still in the budding stages and is always the target for carrying out trial and error process in a move to ensure healthy competition in the Indian Corporate Sector.

FEMA: Enactment that regulates Foreign Exchange in India with FIPB and the RBI being the regulatory Authorities. The regulated cap for foreign investment is highly volatile. In a recent case, a medical equipment company of US wanted to set up its base in India. Mid-way through the process the company realized that it missed out on the long list of reserved items in the SSI category. The company intended to make equipments made of stainless steel for use in the dental clinic, which is a reserved item for SSI. The company applied for exemption and the Ministry is yet to respond

Indian Stamps Act: Compliance with act is a difficult task for foreign investors as each State has its own set of enactment for Stamp duties. The Stamp-duty regulations change at regular intervals and the companies have to assess the deal regularly to be safe for mistaken under-valued registration of the deal. In certain cases, there are huge differences in stamp value between two states within Indian Territory.

Apart from the ones discussed above, there are several Labour Laws, Sales Tax, Custom Duties, etc. that require clearance at every stage. And compliance with sector specific regulators such as TRAI for Telecom industry and IRDA for Insurance sector, add up to the woes.

Each regulating body has its own set of enactment and regulating rules that makes compliances a real nightmare. Each Ministry issues a Press Note/ circular or notification, which are not in tune with those issued by their other relevant Ministry. This increases the chances of landing in a situation where compliance to the notification from one Ministry might end-up in non-compliance to the notification from another Ministry. Additionally, there exists clarification or corrigendum, which complicates the issue further. The requirement for approval from High Courts in addition to the approval of stakeholders, make the complete M&A activity in India a long-thought process.

Cause and Comparison

The governing laws in India today were drafted during the early days of Independence when India was not even an industrial nation lest being the emerging economic super power. All the laws and regulations were drafted in line with the prevailing conditions during late 1940s with a vision up to the early 1960s. India Inc., has come a long-way during these years and has gone on to become one of the leading players in the global corporate sector. The sad part is that the “good old” governing law prevailing today proves to be obsolete in many cases with the base matrix having evolved long ago.

This is not to say that there are no such laws and regulations in other countries. The laws and regulations may be many but the time take to complete the process is very easy in developed countries such as the US or the UK and even in emerging super powers such as China and Japan. Most of the countries follow a single-window concept to provide all the necessary clearances. Also, any amendments to the law are made only after assessing the total impact on all other related laws.

The Indian Law mandates a waiting period of 210 days after the Merger plan is reported to the government before completing the deal as against the 30 day waiting period in the US. The US law also provides for reducing the waiting period if there are no competitive problems and the parties request an early termination; such a provision is not available in the Indian law.

Required Initiatives

J J Irani Committee Report proposed upgrading the Companies Act three years ago; however it is yet to see the light. There have been many instances where the Company Law is in conflict with the Listing Agreement and there is an urgent need to address such overlapping issues.

A single window clearance system can resolve many issues related to clearances from various authorities and a dedicated body to provide such service to M&A activity can help improve the situation. Further liberalization of Indian economy is required to ensure smooth transitions during M&A activity. This can be achieved by abolishing sectoral caps and approval of FIPB for share swap.

The most important thing required in this chaotic scenario is regularizing Stamp Duty slabs. A single slab for Stamp duty must be introduced to ensure uniformity in M&A transactions across all the States in the Indian Republic. Simplifying the tax procedures and reducing the tax incidence would attract more foreign investment.

The new Competition Law is not yet properly in place and all the regulators discuss is that the new law is sure to pose a threat to commerce in the country. The regulators have failed to introduce strong governing laws to bring India's M&A control regime in line with prevailing global trends.

Board Meetings through Tele/Video Conferencing

The latest technological developments have made their way into the corporate Board Rooms with more and more companies preferring to hold their Board Meetings via teleconference or video conference. The governing Act that regulates the manner in which the Board should be functioning is the Companies Act, 1956. This was drafted way back in 1956 when teleconference was unknown to the society and hence, there are no provisions or prohibitions pertaining to remotely conferencing Board Meetings in this piece of legislation.

Section 287 of the Companies Act, 1956 prescribes quorum i.e. minimum number of directors at Board meeting and section 288(1) prescribes procedure for adjournment for want of quorum. Section 299 requires disclosure of director’s interests at meetings. Section 301 requires placing register of contracts at meeting and signing it by directors. Regulation 71 of Table A requires every director to sign attendance register at the meeting of Board or Committee.

It is quite possible to comply with all the above-mentioned regulations and still hold a Board Meeting via teleconference. The Companies Act makes no specific provision that the Board Meeting must ensure physical presence of directors at a specified place. In fact, law-making authorities never perceived this problem when the law was actually made. Except for signing the register, all other requisites specified in the Companies Act with reference to a Board Meeting can be held if such a meeting is held via teleconference. Videotaping the Board Meeting is possible which in itself vouches for the presence of the quorum, thus serving to achieve the rationale behind the law to sign the register. There are many people in the industry who advocate Board Meetings to be held via teleconference or videoconference.

Definition: "conducting a meeting involving participants at two or more locations through the use of audio-video equipment which allows participants at each location to hear and see each meeting participant at other location, including public input. Interaction between meeting participants shall be possible at all meeting locations."

Department’s take on the issue as per Press Release dated 15.04.2002

1. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (erstwhile Department of Company Affairs) proposes to make an amendment in the Companies Act, 1956 to enable companies to hold the Board Meetings through electronic devices such as video conferencing and telephone conferencing to take advantage of information technology.

2. The Department has received proposals to allow such meetings and it has held extensive consultation with various shades of opinion.

3. The Department has decided to allow such meetings of the Boards and its Committees.

4. However, DCA has also decided that there are some subjects of special importance that should only be decided or transacted by meetings in person i.e. "physical meetings". It is proposed to notify such subjects from time to time.

5. The Department feels that considering the advantage of "physical meetings”, it should prescribe a certain minimum number of Board meetings must be held in person. This would also be notified from time to time.

6. It proposes to regulate the new provisions through promulgation of Rules, which can be progressively liberalized or modified in accordance with the experience gained from time to time. These decisions have been taken on 'demands' received from various sectors keeping in mind the progressive globalization of the Indian economy.

An analysis of the pros and cons of holding Board Meeting through remote conference highlights the following points amongst others.

Advantages:

1. Frequency of meetings can be increased

2. Time and costs incurred on travel can be reduced

3. Fully interactive with all sites and the same can be recorded for the future requirements

4. Photos and color graphics look great on video and can help convey a difficult concept or simplify complexities

5. Some systems allow application sharing, allowing users at each site to see and edit a document. This kind of sharing encourages collaboration and real-time feedback

Disadvantages:

1. Technical problems such as connectivity, quality of voice and picture, authenticity of proceedings can cause disturbance

2. Costs incurred on taping and saving the meeting is considerably high

Video Conferencing in Other Countries:

Source: NEBRASKA OPEN MEETINGS ACT (1999, Cum. Supp. 2004)

Board Meetings can be held via teleconference or videoconference, provided the following conditions are met

1. Advance public notice is issued

2. Complete arrangements are made to accommodate the public's right to attend, hear and speak at the meeting

3. Arrangements are made for seating, recording the proceedings by audio and visual recording devices, and an reasonable opportunity for inputs from the public

4. At least one copy of all documents being discussed is available to the public at each site of the videoconference

5. At least one member of the public body is present at each site of the videoconference, and

6. No more than one-half of the public body's meetings in a calendar year are held by videoconferencing.

Conclusion

The Government may consider forming a committee of a Group of Experts to frame rules pertaining to remotely conferencing Board Meetings. The E-meeting should be permissible, if specific provision is made in Articles of a company by suitably amending the regulations. Normal resolutions may be passed in such meeting but not where disclosure by director or signing of register is required. An amendment to the existing law would ensure more and more companies to leverage the potential of information technology. This would ensure a whole new dimension to the traditional Board Meetings (that were held in a closed room) by increasing the participation. This would also ensure voluntary participation from the members rather than the mandatory participation and reduce overheads on travel expenses incurred on such meetings.

U Padma Shenoy

Company Secretary

CSS Technergy Limited

Hyderabad

Hyderabad Baarish

Baarish…few drops of water from the heaven……..the lightening and thunderstorms that follows a baarish is most memorable thing to me as a child.

Mom says that the sounds of thunderstorms are because of two chariots of war in heaven thrashing against each other while the Science teacher says it’s the effect of clouds hitting each other due to variation of temperature in space. Whatever it may be….we are used to say to ourselves a small prayer rather words..”Arjuna Phalguna” to wipe off the ill effects, if any of such thunderstorms. The lightening, “tubelight of The Almighty”, frightens me even today.

The rains in Hyderabad are usually preceded by cool breeze with sweet smell of the wet soil and a cold temperature. This is followed by smallest drops of rains..one might wonder, is it a rain or a shower!!!! Then it starts off with bigger drops resulting into a heavy downpour. Being in Hyderabad for over 20 years, I had the opportunity to drench a number of times in such heavy downpours and recently, 15 kms drive through the slushy, muddy roads of Somajiguda to Necklace road to residence……… ..ahh..memorable.

As kids, we were never allowed to drench for the fear of fever, cold and what not..now we enjoy the same rains getting fully drenched and no one to shout at us…...such a drastic change as we grow up from childhood to adulthood.

Inspite of the rough roads and hectic traffic, the weather really mesmerizes one to stay back and enjoy the ambience. Recently, I happened to drive through a smallest lane in Somajiguda that is not crowded at all………the trees stand tall on both sides of the lane with red colour flowers decorated all over its branches. The raindrops fall from it like dew drops and believe me it’s a picturesque scene.

Coming to the Begumpet roads, the traffic is horrible with continuous horns blowing into ur ears. I happened to give a look around myself and while some were busy listening to iPods, some were fuming with frustration for the bad roads. Poor traffic policemen, they drench in rain to control the heavy flow of traffic whistling to their best to stop the unruly drivers.

As one drives further, the aroma of hot pani-poori tickle the nostrils and one cannot but stop to gulp down a few of them. Thereafter, a pillion ride through the Military Area in AOC center, one would definitely like to spread out their arms and give a Titanic look-alike scene.

The drive on necklace road is another experience in itself. Two shadows hugging each other at a far off place is a definite scene in such an atmosphere. Having an ice-cream in such a chill weather on necklace road, though looks highly crazy, has a sort of satisfaction in itself. Though the Tankbund stinks of dirt, the tinkling lights from far off distance gives a coolest picture of nature. Gautam Budha appears to stand still amidst the noisy traffic and glittering necklace road on either side of the Hussain Sagar Lake. After a cold ice-cream, we start shivering slightly, and how can we skip Bhelpuri??? Enjoy a plate of Bhelpuri there itself and start driving again through the busy roads of Hyderabad.

Upon reaching home, Mom gets worried that we drenched fully, while we give her a naughty smile and run to dry ourselves. By the time, we have a change, a cup of hot steaming coffee is ready on the table with biscuits or pakora’s alternatively. What else does a heaven look like?? Need to explain more???????

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS – NOT JUST COMPLIANCE BUT A REQUIREMENT

Introduction

With India emerging as a prominent player in the global economy, there is an urgent need in the Indian Corporate Sector to upgrade the Corporate Governance System on par with the international norms. It has been widely observed that the Indian MNCs are way ahead than the PSUs in terms of quality of management; the PSUs, however, have an edge in terms of transparency of management.

Foreign Institutional Investors are investing heavily in India and it is for sure that the Corporate Sector in India has to inculcate a lot of professionalism in their functioning methodology. The Corporate Governance in the Indian Corporate Sector has to change rapidly in order to remain a strong force in the global economy.

Barring a few exceptions, the Indian Corporate Houses continue to function in the same conventional manner as they used to over a couple of decades ago. The quarterly Board Meetings have become a mandatory ritual, where trivial issues are discussed. It has also been observed that the Promoters prefer to appoint their acquaintances to the Board of Directors, in order to restrict the external interference in the management. Law is enforced to bring about a change and that very same Law is usually tweaked to ensure compliance as well as preference. Voluntary compliance to the regulations in strict sense is the only option to ensure a good Corporate Governance system.

Independent Director

The term "Independent Directors" became a part of the Indian Corporate dictionary after the publication of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee Report, which led to the introduction of Clause 49 in Listing Agreements.

The appointment of an Independent Director (Non-executive Directors) in the Indian Corporate Sector has become a matter of mere legal compliance. It is very common to have a retired bureaucrat, a celebrity like a film artist, a retired major general from the army, a retired judge from the High Court or the Supreme Court, etc. as the Independent Director on the Board. There is nothing wrong in this approach per se but more often than not these Independent Directors end up as a decoration on the Christmas tree.

Even today, in most of the companies, Independent Directors have no say in management issues. Over the years, “Manpower” played a key role in making or breaking a Corporate Structure. The Independent Director needs to have a prominent role in the management affairs of the Company and should be able to devote considerable amount of time to do the same rather than just remain a Namesake.

The rationale for requiring an Independent Director on the Board is to ensure a special check on the finances and functioning of the company particularly through the Audit Committee. The appointment of an Independent Director just to comply with the law defeats the complete rationale behind enforcing such a law.

The Legal Provisions do not define the required qualifications for a person to be appointed as an Independent Director, but rather specify grounds on which a person could be disqualified from being an Independent Director. The Law requires the Independent Directors to have discretion to think and act independently in the management affairs. The Law also mandates that the shareholders should elect an Independent Director.

In practice, however, the Promoters nominate or rather choose the candidates to be elected as an Independent Director. This transforms the “election” of an Independent Director to just “selection” of an Independent Director for the Shareholders point of view.

The ideal methodology to be employed in appointing an Independent Director should be based on certain values encompassing a proper mix of specialization in the areas of accounting and finance, technology relevant to the Company, Corporate Management, marketing and industry knowledge, etc. Perhaps, a skill matrix, which lists desirable competency versus those presently available on the Board, is useful in determining the gaps, which could be filled in by appointing a person with the required competencies.

It would be more appropriate that the Code of Conduct for Corporate Governance of a Company should specifically include the qualifications and attributes that the Company seeks of an Independent Director. A critical element for a person to be an Independent Director is being independent of the pressures exerted by the Management, in true sense and also as perceived by the general public.

Independent Director’s independence should include the will and ability in terms of knowledge and experience to ask the hard questions required to provide effective foresight in general, and especially in dealing with potential Conflict of Interests.

Conclusion

The appointment of truly Independent Director to the Board of Directors is not a panacea for all the evils. An Independent Director, however, if truly independent, can bring about transparency in management and can help avoid situations like the not so old Enron scandal on a global level and Global Trust Bank scandal back at home.

The Corporate Sector in India today, is largely governed with people’s money. A common man is also a shareholder in an Indian MNC today and most of the Equity Capital comes from the pockets of a common man in the society. In such a situation, the Indian economy cannot afford to witness another scandal of bankruptcy, where the root cause is corrupt management. This would affect the Indian society at a ground level, bringing the complete economy to its knees both in terms of finances as well as credibility in terms of global exposure.

The writing on the wall is very clear: unless Ethics are as important as Economics, unless Fair Play is crucial as Financial Success, unless Morals are as vital as Market Share, we cannot emerge as the global Corporate Leaders.

Speech that won me prize

Speech that won me “Better Speaker Award“

This speech is the most memorable one…..not only for the prize it secured me..but for the circumstances under which I was awarded the prize. The competition was between the unequals….only thing that made me compete was…………. passing the CS final exams at a very young age that made me the youngest amongst 30 CS final pass outs.

This speech has another significance ….as I secured the second prize whereas a person with almost 15 years of experience took the third prize. I felt as if I can talk and communicate better than a person working in Managerial cadre at Capital IQ.

It was the session on Enhancing Communication skills at the Training Programme and the faculty asked the participants to come and speak on “the happiest moment of life” So I started…….

“good evening friends………..at the outset, I would like to say that most of the moments in my life are happiest moments , this doesn’t mean that there were no hurdles and neither was my life a bed of roses…..well, there were horns too, but were very few I feel. Am here today to share the happiest moment of my life….for this I should go to flashback for about 3 and half years ..that is June 23, 2003….being a CS student, the date appears to be odd coz it is neither the date of results nor the date of exams. It is the day when I was declared the 23^rd ranker on National level in CS foundation exams.

The postman brought the magazine at about 5 pm in the evening and till 5.15 pm I went back for 8 months. Wherein I used to struggle and work for about 10-12 hours a day. ..wake up at 4.30 AM, take the bus at 5.30……attend coaching classes ,then degree college and then rush to tuitions and again sit and read. Coming from a Maths background, it was really tough for me to cope up with Commerce. All the words like Balance sheet, Profit & Loss Account were like Greek and Latin for me. And when I joined the coaching classes, my classmates, surpassed me and I had to work hard more than them to succeed. All these moments flashed in my mind for 15 minutes. I started shouting with joy and parents came out to see what it was. And when I showed them the page…..where my name was printed…tears rolled down their cheeks. Today, I may be holding a good position in my office and earn a fat pay packet but the spark I saw in my parents’ eyes on that day…is not visible today. This clearly shows that, its neither money nor position that matters…..its wholly the emotions.

This was in fact the first time when someone’s name appeared in a magazine in my family. The happiness of my family is really memorable. The moments of that day are still fresh in my mind and it is the happiest moment in my life. The success is not only mine but also that of my family who supported me all through the hard days of my career, and special thanks to my brother .

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for giving me this golden opportunity and special thanks to Suryanarayana Sir who gave us an opportunity to speak on the happiest moment…..Sir, we have many opportunities where we can speak on various issues, but people hardly ask us to share such emotions. Thank you once again sir, thank you one and all.”

Speech that was delivered in a combi of 3 languages-English-Hindi and Telugu

My Speech at valedictory Session of Secretarial Modular Training Programme (SMTP)

Good evening Chairman Sir, Dignitaries on the dias and off the dias, and my co-participants at the training programme.

At the outset, let me congratulate all my co-participants who have been through this long journey of CS …the stages right from Foundation, Inter, Final, Training programmes, on-job training, etc.

Let me be frank enough Chairman sir, when I was supposed to undergo this 15-day training programme, I was under the impression that it would be a traditional class room teaching that would require me to sit in a closed room from 9.30-5.30 but when I attended the classes, I realized that SMTP was a combination of eminent faculties from the industry both in practise and employment. This made me realize that the 15-days could be as short as the word SMTP (the abbreviation of the training programme).

Not to mention all the 35 and odd classes, we had in these 15 days where faculties of various fields addressed us, I would like to mention a few……Ms Deendayal taught us how to be dayalu towards co-professionals, Raghu Babu Sir told us how to be laghu (short) in speech but big in deeds …….Shyamala Madam said..with the advent of MCA21 project, the CS profession is Sasya Shyamalam (ever green) ………….Ravi Shankar Sir demonstrated how can we be Ravi (leader) in the profession………Balachandra Sir impressed by telling that one is never bala(child) in professional courses ……..Vishwanadham Sir took us through the realities of Vishwam through his talk on motivation & leadership and last but not the least, Pavan Sir taught us not to be on pavan (air) while attending the Interviews. The list goes on with many more morales in the name and advise of each faculty.

Apart from the bookish knowledge what we had acquired in the past 3-4 years, the 15-day SMTP enables us to acquire practical exposure in the big competitive world.

Personally, I have made 29 good friends whom I can always look at during my crisis and am confident that each of the other 29 co-participants here are feeling the same. I would not be exaggerating if I tell that Prabhakar Garu “thana pratibha toh, mammalni prabhavitham chesthey” Prashanthi Garu “ anni samayalallo prashanthanga vundaalani Sandeshanni ichaaru”

And I would like to thank the organizers, caterers, co-participants, faculty and all the brains behind making this programme successful. Friends, separation is a thing that makes our heart pain but friendship is a thing that makes us meet again. Finally, we always have a smiling Seshu Sir in the Administrative wing who seems to be telling…..there is still something Sesham (remaining) …..What is that???? Obtaining Associate membership of the ICSI.

Well friends, I can’t say nothing more than this, because everything is hidden in that itself. Thank You and wish you good luck for all the future endeavors.

Glorious Moments

Taking birth as a women is, in itself a big glorious moment. Making umpteen efforts and making each moment glorious is something different from what everyone else does. Here i go about praising myself and this self praising is inspired from a lecturer who said "when u do something good, and no one appreciates, don't stop doing good things, pat ur back , say sabash to urself and get going" . that is what i am doing it here, whenever i feel dejected or demotivated, i just dwell into my glorious past and take a quick tour to it and come out with more energy that keeps me going. A few snippets of my glorious moments:

1. Being the class monitor in 8^th standard. Well, it was the position that allowed me to boss over my co-students coz I was being bossed over at home (myself being youngest at home) and become the favorite student of teachers. Though it appears so silly now, the sense of responsibility of a class monitor is very memorable.

2. The accolades I got for perfect organization of farewell party to seniors at Inter-college …come next to my mind. With all the back biting of reluctant students………this farewell party gave me a sense of perfection in organizing a 4 hour programme for so many students of college. This gave me a boost, that I can do so many things apart from studies…manage funds, prepare invitations, arrange for refreshments, select dance programmes, organize game shows, host the programme, look into comfort levels to seniors, lecturers and what not….every small thing made a big difference……. All the stress I took for the programme was worth it….

3. Securing “Topper of the year” award from the Inter College………….this was like expected one, but being invited by the college for the Annual Day programme in the next year of completing intermediate, is in itself a big success. I went on the stage..received the cup and addressed the Juniors who were eager to listen to me….first time in life, I shivered on stage..still managed to speak a few words for 3 minutes.

4. Securing 23^rd rank on national level, discussed in earlier post needs no mention again. And this issue will be mentioned again and again in my posts. (cant help....self praise…..)

5. An invitation from ICSI-Hyderabad Chairman to address to their students on preparing for CS examination………..enthralled me. The gathering was of some 60 students and other members of the Institute. Can I do it was what came to my mind first………..i started off with the words..…..”don’t work hard” people raised their eyebrows and later when I said..”work smart” …they took a relief. ….and the words “Aham Brahmasmi” (meaning…………am the GOD..in the context of “I can do anything for CS”) impressed upon the students a lot.

6. Securing Gold Medal for being topper in Bcom 2^nd year is though, a happy moment…the happier one was being invited by the Degree college also to attend the Annual day programme in the next year of completing the college…same purpose… honouring me with Silver medal (Topper-runner up). I was a bit disappointed for missing the Gold medal but still, being invited is in itself a great opportunity.

7. My speech at the valedictory session of the Secretarial Modular Training Programme that secured me a “excellent” from the Chairman and the echo of claps for One whole minute in the hall…..most memorable………….can never forget it. At the end of the programme, the Chairman commented..”pitta konchem, kootha ghanam” (small in size, but can make a mark with her voice”) Will soon post the speech.

1. Being the class monitor in 8^th standard. Well, it was the position that allowed me to boss over my co-students coz I was being bossed over at home (myself being youngest at home) and become the favorite student of teachers. Though it appears so silly now, the sense of responsibility of a class monitor is very memorable.

2. The accolades I got for perfect organization of farewell party to seniors at Inter-college …come next to my mind. With all the back biting of reluctant students………gave me a sense of perfection in organizing a 4 hour programme so many students of college. This gave me a boost, that I can do so many things apart from studies…manage funds, prepare invitations, arrange for refreshments, select dance programmes, organize game shows, host the programme, look into comfort levels to seniors, lecturers and what not….every small thing made a big difference……. All the stress I took for the programme was worth it….

3. Securing “Topper of the year” award from the Inter College………….this was like expected one, but being invited by the college for the Annual Day programme in the next year of completing intermediate, is in itself a big success. I went on the stage..received the cup and addressed the Juniors who were eager to listen to me….first time in life, I shivered on stage..still managed to speak a few words for 3 minutes.

4. Securing 23^rd rank on national level, discussed in earlier post needs no mention again

5. An invitation from ICSI-Hyderabad Chairman to address to their students on preparing for CS examination………..enthralled me. The gathering was of some 60 students and other members of the Institute. Can I do it was what came to my mind first………..i started off with the words..…..”don’t work hard” people raised their eyebrows and later when I said..”work smart” …they took a relief. ….and the words “Aham Brahmasmi” (meaning…………am the GOD..in the context of “I can do anything for CS”) impressed upon the students a lot.

6. Securing Gold Medal for being topper in Bcom 2^nd year is though a happy moment…the happier one was being invited by the Degree college also to attend the Annual day programme in the next year of completing the college…same purpose… honouring me with Silver medal (Topper-runner up). I was a bit disappointed for missing the Gold medal but still, being invited is in itself a great opportunity.

7. My speech at the valedictory session of the Secretarial Modular Training Programme that secured me a “excellent” from the Chairman and the echo of claps for One whole minute in the hall..most memorable………….can never forget it. At the end of the programme, the Chairman commented..”pitta konchem, kootha ghanam” (small in size, but can make a mark with her voice”)

Friends

Friends! the word itself has so many definitions, so many meanings..friends make a marked difference in each one's life. Sometimes, we tend to take friendship as Love and later contend ourself, it is just crush, attraction or whatever..........and when we find a life time friend in the relation of Husband/wife..we call them spouse.

When we make friends, we expect to be with them forever, but Alas!!! we loose their touch in the hunt for studies, career, relocation, no enough time on hand to pen down a letter or mail. Still, we make friends. Here, i would like to mention a few friends of mine , some r in touch, some r seniors, some r e-friends(whom i have never seen)

Gayathri: My classmate in Intermediate, sitting very next to me everyday. Intelligent girl, now with Wipro. Though our fields are different, we find time once in a way to have a chit chat

Sheetal: My classmate in graduation not in touch now

Deepthi: My schoolmate but as our seats were far off, literally didn’t get closer to her. Hard working and a good girl

Hima Bindu: My senior at my first work place. Besides being a good guide, is also my saviour in tuf times. Now working as Company Secretary in a leading company

Rithika: A Bitter experience…… Not in touch now

Praneeth: My senior at work place, good guide and a good emotional support when I had tuf times. Currently preparing for CA, CWA and MBA..patient guy to pursue so many courses

Deepa: My collegue / junior at work place…now married but finds time to say a occasional hi

Madhavilatha: Latha madam as I call her..very friendly irrespective of the age gap..prefers to call me “pilla”

Santosh: My schoolmate ..silent and short..but now seems to be vibrant and tall..haven’t met after school but thanks to orkut..we r in touch

Rufus: my buddy since KG classes, should give me some chocolates yet…for winning a silly bet in class 6….he forgot it long back..well, working for Railways now

Jeevith: My sweet buddy in school. Can recollect many incidents when I write about him. Not in touch now

Srinath J: hmmn…takes some time to write about him.My co-monitor in school days….considered as a head strong guy. Working currently, thanks to orkut, we r in touch.

Srinath P: My Online buddy.....always busy with and the usual question i ask him is...when r u planning to come to Hyd and when shall we meet???

Srinivas K: My First online friend, hard working guy...and career oriented.

Deepak: The e-friend from hyderabad who argues with me for no reason and says that i argue with him!!!!

Raghu: the e-friend from Bangalore who finds fun in puzzling me with his puzzles

Sunil: the e-friend from bangalore again, who taught me to write these blogs

Krishnakanth: Still in love with a lovely lady....wish to meet him once to see how he looks like

Vasu: The person who married his long-time love ..very confident and good at heart

ESOP

Buzz word of the corporate world today….what is it all about ?? Why this hue and cry??

ESOPS stands for Employee Stock Option Purchase Scheme..this is a scheme instituted by the Company management to retain the technical staff for certain period of time called the vesting period. With the software industry in a boom, the ESOP is highly popular in that industry.

ESOP is an option granted to an employee to buy the underlying shares or opt out of it. The employee is requested to sign an options agreement, which, interalia, states the vesting period, criteria to opt for the shares and number of options granted, time period within which the options should be availed, etc.

Example: If Company X has 5 Crore options in the Scheme. It recognizes certain hierarchy of employees who are eligible for that and get an option agreement signed by them. By and large, the vesting period is 3-4 years (in Indian context). The agreement terms may be like this:

Mr A can opt for 5 Lakhs of shares over a period of 4 years. He can opt to purchase 1 lakh upon completion of one year subject to performance levels set by the company. Upon completion of second year, A would be eligible for another 2 Lakhs of shares and so on and so forth. At the end of year one, if A wishes to leave the company, he can opt to purchase only 1 lakh shares and he would stand to loose the balance options for 4 lakhs shares.

The ESOP is granted to employees at a much lower price than the prevailing market prices. In Indian context again, the usual trend is to offer the shares to employees at a price that is reduced by 50% than the prevailing rate on the Stock Exchange on the previous day. Example: if the market price on 4^th March 2008 is Rs 200, and Mr A opts for 1 Lakh shares on 5^th March 2008, then he should pay the company Rs 100 lakhs (Rs 100 X One lakh shares) and he would become the owner for One lakh shares in the company.

Turning Point in my life

it is all greenary in my life..loads of fun..good old school days..homework, play and friends...this is what everyone does till the enigma called career takes a more important step in one's life.

this Career probably takes away all the childishness and brings in seriousness and a kind of desire to excel in life. Settle down like elders at home, feel like not end up like the romeo at the end of the street or the housewife in the neighbourhood.

After Intermediate..what next was the biggest problem which even i faced like many. Not lucky enough to write EAMCET and pursue engineering, my future seemed to be dark. Many advices from elders..go into Chartered Accountancy like ur brother....give an attempt to EAMCET.join Bcom, join BSC.....and many more. Well, it was my life and i had a desire to explore maximum opportunities within my reach that would give me a secure future.

At that point of time, BSc filed was in downtrend and there appeared to be very less opportunities . So option left was shift from Maths, Physics and Chemistry to Commerce.

A very tough and hard decision. this required loads of hard work. And only Bcom???not my cuppa tea..wanted to touch the skies..took up Company Secretaryship to find out how much can i achieve.

it was not a easy task, it required every bit of my brains , complete attention, no fun, no movies, no friends. Life was almost routine.go to coaching classes, attend Bcom classes, come home and read. where am I heading to????

my friends on the other hand made fun with what is known as Crushes, boy friends, movies and masti .........and what not!!!!!!!!

when i was in a dilemma to give up this tough days and end up in Bcom alone....there came a monthly test at Coaching. Baapre.here am thinking of quitting the course and it was a test in Accountancy. i appeared for the test and as expected, i scored very less..just border marks. first time in life......i was happy for the feeling that i could get through Accountacy paper.

A sort of energy run through my veins and i gave in more of hard work and resulted in topping the coaching classes in business Law test..great Achievement padma..go ahead is what people told.

and a tough period of 8 months passed by....the final exams for Foundation in December seemed to approach fast. the night lamps burned a lot...a reading of about 10 hours a day for 5 papers started. health started deteriorating..still, a strong desire to excel didnt let me stop. Amidst fever coupled with fear..i gave the exams.

In the exam hall when all appeared to take bundles of additional answer sheets for economics..i left the hall with only the answer sheet given in the beginning.......will i fail .will my hard work go in drainage???fear encircled me. And the day of result was inevitable. I passed and to my surprise scored well in Economics. .my joy knew no bounds.

then bcom appeared to be the easiest part in life. passed Bcom first year with unexpcted results...topped the class with 99 marks in Accountancy and 94 in Quantitative techniques. My hard work for CS paid off.....My success didnt stop here........

My happiest day in life. June 23, 2003...when i was declared to have ranked 23rd on National Level (4th in State) in the Foundation Course. wowwwww! unexpected.....Tears rolled down the eyes of my parents .i cannot forget the spark in their eyes when they showed me the magazine wherein my name was printed!!!!!!!

hard Work pays offf

Family

where should i start with??

this is the first question that comes to anyone who wants to write about himself/herself

So let me start from the stage when i dont know what was good and what is not. Even today i feel am lost in distinguishing between what is rite and what is wrong

Padma shenoy as known to most of you is a single girl but behind her is a strong family bond that is her strength and weakness.

Head of the family: Dad...retired now..but is my greatest support. was working with Syndicate Bank as Commission agent.

his words "All for one and One for all" in a family rings in my mind every now and then
restricted to his job and no divertions seemed to be his only motto.

Home Minister: Mummy.....Physically strong but emotionally weak lady. Supported dad through all the tuf times. Used to help us thru our homeworks in school and come to aid when teachers scold

Big Boss: Pratima..my eldest sister..now married and resides in bangalore but still has her umbrella of care and love over us. the initiator of the thought of puruing CS course to me and my source of strength

Big Brother: Prashant...my elder and only brother. the most serious person int he house..dwelling nto books and loads of books everyday ....expects me to read for about 10-12 hours a day to pass CS exams. My success as a CS is atrtributed to him

Sweet Sister: Poornima...elder to me by one year but is more than a friend to me. i prefer to call her by all possible nicknames. My emotional support at all times.

let me think what i am to write about me , my past and what it took for me to get here