India Story in last decade

 The "India Story" of the last decade is marked by significant political, economic, and social developments that have shaped the nation on both domestic and global fronts. Below are the key sources of this narrative and examples of developments from 2014 to 2024:

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### 1. **Economic Growth and Reforms**

   - **Rise as a Global Economy**: India became the fifth-largest economy globally in terms of nominal GDP in 2022, surpassing the UK. Its services sector, IT exports, and remittances contributed significantly.

   - **Economic Reforms**:

     - **GST Implementation (2017)**: A unified tax system streamlined India's complex tax structure.

     - **Demonetization (2016)**: Targeted black money but had mixed outcomes.

     - **PLI Scheme (2020)**: Boosted manufacturing in electronics, pharma, and renewable energy.

   - **Startup Ecosystem**: India became the third-largest startup ecosystem, with over 100 unicorns by 2022.

   **Sources**:  

   - [World Bank Economic Reports](https://www.worldbank.org)  

   - [Ministry of Finance Reports](https://finmin.nic.in)  

---

### 2. **Political Landscape**

   - **BJP Dominance**: Narendra Modi's government, re-elected in 2019, pursued policies like "Make in India," "Digital India," and "Atmanirbhar Bharat."

   - **Geopolitical Role**: India enhanced its global standing through partnerships like the Quad (India, US, Japan, and Australia) and agreements with the European Union and ASEAN nations.

   - **Foreign Policy Initiatives**: India's leadership in climate change through the International Solar Alliance and its stance during the Russia-Ukraine war showcased its strategic autonomy.

   **Sources**:  

   - [Observer Research Foundation (ORF)](https://www.orfonline.org)  

   - [Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA)](https://www.icwa.in)

---

### 3. **Social Developments**

   - **Social Inclusion**:

     - Women's participation in the workforce and leadership roles increased, though challenges remain.

     - Policies such as the PMAY (housing for all), Swachh Bharat Mission (sanitation), and Ujjwala Yojana (clean cooking fuel) targeted marginalized communities.

   - **Digital India**: Over 1 billion people now use Aadhaar (digital identity), enabling e-governance and financial inclusion.

   **Sources**:  

   - [NITI Aayog Reports](https://niti.gov.in)  

   - [World Economic Forum](https://www.weforum.org)

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### 4. **Infrastructure Development**

   - **Connectivity**: Projects like Bharatmala (roads) and Sagarmala (ports) modernized infrastructure.

   - **Energy Transition**:

     - Renewable energy grew exponentially, with India being one of the largest producers of solar energy.

     - Electrification of rural villages (completed in 2018) brought power to millions.

   **Sources**:  

   - [Energy Transition Tracker by IEA](https://www.iea.org)  

   - [Ministry of Road Transport and Highways](https://morth.nic.in)

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### 5. **Cultural and Global Recognition**

   - India’s "soft power" through its diaspora, yoga, Bollywood, and digital content surged globally.

   - Events like the G20 Presidency (2023-24) put India on the global leadership map.

   **Sources**:  

   - [MEA Reports on G20](https://www.mea.gov.in)  

   - [UNESCO Cultural Reports](https://www.unesco.org)

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### Key Challenges and Critiques

   - **Social Issues**: Rising polarization, unemployment, and gender disparity in workforce participation.

   - **Environmental Concerns**: Urbanization and industrialization have led to significant environmental challenges despite renewable energy strides.

   **Sources**:  

   - [The Hindu BusinessLine](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com)  

   - [Center for Science and Environment (CSE)](https://www.cseindia.org)

---

These aspects together illustrate how India has evolved over the past decade whiletackling unique challenges in its development journey. Let me know if you'd like deeper insights into any of these areas!

Check this out too <a href="https://www.indiastory.ai/">India Story Dot AI </a>

Mental Well Being in the times of Pandemic

 Pic Courtsey - https://www.unicef.org/serbia/en/how-protect-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

 

 Corona has disrupted lives of many. It is often known in HR circles that Corona is the real disruptor that caused Digital Transformation in most companies. Even those companies that had no work from home policy had to prepare themselves to enable employees to work from home overnight during lockdown. Some businesses thrived , some tumbled and some closed shops forever. I was in discussion with a SME Business owner, he made revenue of 5 crores in 3 months time period. Talk about being at the right place at right time and ability to make things happen. He is the Trusted go to person for many businesses, being in IT Infrastructure, he catered to business needs and solved complex problems innovatively.

I did a random survey on twitter to find out how Corona impacted work and lives of people . 50% said that it increased their workload.25% said their partners shared the workload. For singles, it meant doing all the chores and extending work hours. People dwelling in cities learnt to become independent and not be dependent on househelp .

Mental Health became a priority for organisations Organisations expected Employees to bring best version of themselves at work.
Managers had to learn how to be more empathetic to their teams to provide good employee experience .


“If I talk about my company then the support extended by them was excellent. We went to work from home model even one week before the govt declared the lockdown. We are still working from home. No salary cuts. They send regular mails to us mentioning that they have our back. “ @Parul_RajeevM on twitter

“Mine is comparatively small company set up (US based IT company) while my husband works at a senior position in an IT giant (Indian) but his  company has cut the variable component from salary of all the employees in his band “


Professionals had to deal with job losses, salary cuts. While others were lucky to retain their jobs. According to one estimate , 2.5 crore Job loss are estimated due to Covid in India alone. That number doesn’t count labor in informal economy . The hospitality and travel sector were worst affected. Every day I receive resumes by professionals who are looking for jobs . This added on anxiety to already stressed out lives. Mental health professionals were in much demand. People did not know how to deal with loneliness brought upon by epidemic.
Mental Health conversations were brought to the fore. Some of the celebrities committed suicide due to lack of work and lack of social support.  


Coming back to Mental Health , kids had to go through a lot as they couldn’t go out to play.

See this brilliant ad by Cadbury's how parental pressure affects kid's Mental Health 

Kids and Teachers had to learn new skills to study and teach online respectively. All of a sudden, people were required to spend uncountable number of hours online for learning, shopping, entertainment, staying in touch with colleagues, friends, family, parents.  

 

People had no option for Digital Detox but to remain online for living lives . Technology connect us all but also isolates us in indirect manner.  This caused a heavy toll on mental well being of people.

“The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. “ - CDC.GOV

Fear isn’t over yet. Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation still concerns most people. But there is Hope. Thank God there are vaccines which are available in market now. We just have to make informed decision on which vaccine one must take. Vaccine politics is going on, consuming too much negative news also adds on to anxiety. 

Regarding Mental Health conversations, always a good thing to stay connected with community which offers solidarity and understand your mental health challenges in a non judgemental manner and through safe space. 

I discovered one such space on Clubhouse hosted by Sonam Mahajan . She has warmth , grace and empathy. Her club on Clubhouse  envisions to enhance individual and collective wellbeing by improving mental health. 

 HR Leaders are attempting to normalise MentalHealth conversations at workplace after learning lessons from Pandemic. 

In total, poor #mentalhealth was estimated to cost the world #economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030 - Source WEF

We have had enough of 2020 . Thank God it’s over.
Darkest night has brightest dawn .
Human Resilience to bounce back from setbacks is amazing. I am hopeful, 2021 will bring upon new hopes, dreams  and people will come up with new ways to live more balanced healthier lives. 

 

https://twitter.com/VijayNallawala/status/1346349110765309952?s=2

 

 

Could Womenomics save India Economy ?

I have been inflenced by Stephen Covey 7 habits of highly effective people all through my Life. I read that book when I was 20 . Like the old love which keeps returning to your life again and again, 7 Habits kept returning to my life again and again. 

When I joined in Corporate Trainer role at IBM in 2008 , I got an opportunity to attend 7 Habits workshop by one of the Best Facilitator we had around at that time . Stephen Covey was common between her & me . And I knew the habits by heart compared to managers who had already undergone the program. This perhaps impressed her. 

Few years later, I was given the opportunity to attend TTT Train the Trainer on 7 Habits to facilitate workshops for Managers in my Organisation. 

Now coming back to how we can ensure supply of more Women Leaders in the society and organizations. 

I am a Gender Equality Ambassador and believe, Women must occupy their rightful place in the world and balance the world more in economic terms. 

So what is Womenomics ? 

 "Womenomics"—the promotion of economic empowerment for women. The term was first coined by Japanese Prime Minister to make sure Women in Japan turn some of their dreams into reality. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has deployed several initiatives to get women in the workforce. Women are achieving their full potential , giving back to their communities, and taking their lives in new Direction. 

Since 2014 the rate of female participation in the job market in higher in Japan that it is in the US .  (1) 

Lets focus on India and analyse what is happening here. Female Labor Participation in India is on constant decline from last years. What ? Yes, Female Labor Participation is on decline in India desire rising levels of Education amongst Women. 

The female labour force participation in India has fallen to 26% in 2018 from 36.7% in 2005, amid lack of access to quality education and underlying social, economic barriers limiting the opportunities for women, says a Deloitte report. 

What are the reasons for decline of FLP in India ? 

What can bring upward trend in FLP ? 

Why despite much talk on Gender Diversity, female labor participation is going down ? 

India can become a $5 trillion economy if our Prime Minister comes up with Womenomics - Strategy to ensure Women Labor participation goes up both in informal labor as well as organised labor. 

P.S - I am Ruchi, Founder of HRGurukul. And I help businesses achieve profits and productivity gains by being a Trusted Business Advisor and integrating People, Process, Technology. 

I offer training workshop "People to Profits " for  managers and employees of Startups and SMEs . In case , you would like a 30 min free consultation call, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

My coordinates - 

Email ruchibhatia23@gmail.com

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchibhatia23/ 

HR Value to Organisations and India Economy

I consider myself privileged to be a key member of the SHRM Network and one of the Top 10 HR Influencer recognised by SHRM .

 My observation after attending HR Conferences - 

At the risk of sounding tad bit skeptical -  Where is the voice of  key stakeholders in HR Conferences -  #GigWorkers, #Women Leaders who face gender discrimination, #LGBT,  #Employees who are your Brand Ambassadors, GenZ, Millennials, Techies, Learners,  #People with different abilities et al ? 

For whom we in HR design policies , programs , practices ? For whom we in HR buy HR technology ?  Employee Experience, People are our Best Assets sound empty words, unless  diverse voices of key stakeholders are also included . HR Conferences serve as great Echo Chambers in a way,  providing great,  hi touch , human experience for All -  Sponsors, Vendors, Startups, Delegates, Speakers  ! 

My big idea to SHRM is to invite and focus on SMEs for SHRM Annual Conference in October 2019 . SMEs are the ones who need HR Advisory and Consulting and Insights from HR , HRTech Conferences most for Productivity gains .  In an Economic paper , interesting insight came up that One Quarter of GDP is Persuasion.  

One can establish value of SHRM Contribution and Impact on SMEs , if we ensure survey data is collected from SME sector prior to SHRM Event and Post the intervention.  

Such an intervention with SME Focus would be embraced and welcomed by Modi Government. MSME is regarded to be Growth Engine of Indian Economy. 

HR tech adoption results in time, cost, productivity gains for organisations: Report

In very simple economic terms, Capital and Technology investments Lead to Productivity gains, which lead to Jobs growth , which further enables MSMEs to export more, demand and consumption of goods and services rises enabling firms and Economy to grow for further leading to a virtuous economic cycle .   

( Source - A Guest Lecture by Subramanian Kri , Chief Economic Advisor, India ) 

How a Superior HR Tech drives Experience, Productivity and Performance

Economic Survey 2019: The curious case of Indian firms starting small & staying small

The Economic Survey says even Mexico does far better on this dimension than India.

Comparing employment and productivity with firm age in three countries: U.S., Mexico and India (Hseih and Klenow, 2014)the Survey found that the average employment level for 40-year old enterprises in the U.S. was more than seven times that of the employment when the enterprise is newly set up. 

A similar tale unfolds with productivity as well when we compare these three countries for the effect of aging of firms on productivity. The average productivity level for 40-year old enterprises in the U.S. was more than four times that of the productivity of an enterprise that is newly set up. In contrast, the average productivity level for 40-year old firms in India was only 60 per cent greater than the productivity of an enterprise that is newly set up. Thus, once they survive for forty year .. 

Read the ETB Report on MSME in detail here https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/economic-survey-2019-the-curious-case-of-indian-firms-starting-small-staying-small/articleshow/70069672.cms 

I believe , MSME sector is where HR Startups, HRTech Startups, HR Consultants and HR Advisory can add most value and maximum Impact.

Nourishing dwarfs to become giants for MSME growth: Economic Survey 2019

I will be at SHRM Annual 2019 Conference , Look forward to meeting HR Friends, Best minds in the Industry and getting exposed to new ideas and insights at the Event. 

Future Ready WorkForce

Future Ready Workforce will constitute Individuals who are LifeLongLearners, who have the ability to learn, unlearn, relearn and reinvent themselves. Who are agile, and make  investment in self education and acquiring new skills.

Future ready workforce also mean networked and collaborative workforce. They know how to collaborate, create trust in virtual environment, reach out to experts across borders and locate expertise quickly at the tip of fingertips to create value for clients. 

Future ready workforce means individual employees may not have all the answers to client problems however have the skills to find the answers and reach out to experts.

Who knows what , who knows whom and who knows what you know  becomes utmost important , hence the value of networks.

Future ready workforce know how to manage work & get work done in a borderless economy.

What I am still learning.....

1. Catch 'em young. (Newcomers )

2. Learn how to fish ( What we won't teach you but expect you to learn )

3. The Art ~ not to loose sight of "People Equation " while managing business

4. The perpetual debate ~ Great Managers /Leaders are born or made ? Fit versus Flexibility approach

5. Plenty of opportunities ~ ~ Globally connected people's economy
key skill required ~ Imagination

6. Let's talk beyond compensation - what motivates ~ Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose ( Daniel Pink's video on Ted Talk - surprising truth about motivation )


7. Chuck the 3 year 5 year Career plan .Allow room for new experiences, improvisation and serendipity .

8. Belongingness ? ~ Join communities of interest to stay current on an industry

9. Mantra for success - Don't be shy to ask for help , Volunteer to share your expertise , Help a newbie Succeed, Professional giveback .

10. Leaders are not afraid to follow. Be both a follower & a Leader.