CII has been leading Indian industry’s efforts to

work towards equitable, inclusive growth by

encouraging Affirmative Action in industry for

people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes, since 2006. This year,

Mr B Muthuraman, President, CII, and

Vice Chairman, Tata Steel Ltd and Chairman, Tata

International, chaired the CII National Council for

Affirmative Action, to emphasize the

Affirmative Action agenda

CII’s efforts to enhance the participation of the marginalised

sections of society into the economic mainstream are

concentrated in four major areas:

• Scholarships for SC/ST candidates

• Encouraging Supplier Diversity by giving preference to

SC/ST entrepreneurs

• Vocational Training of SC/ST candidates through skill

development programmes

• Employment of SC/ST candidates

A significant development

to further this agenda was

the appointment this year

of Mr. Harpal Singh, Mentor

and Chairman Emeritus,

Fortis Healthcare, as CII’s

Ombudsman on Affirmative

Action.

CII also interacted with

stakeholders through Council

meetings and conducted

a survey amongst the

membership to capture their

work in Affirmative Action,

and reported back to the Government on initiatives

undertaken.

‘Endeavour’, a magazine featuring success stories of

member initiatives in Affirmative Action, to help other

companies establish or improve their activities,

was launched.

CII engaged deeply with the Dalit Chamber of Commerce

and Industry (DICCI) to link Scheduled Caste and

Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs with CII members, to build

supplier diversity. CII actively collaborated in the Vendor

Development Meet at the DICCI trade fair to showcase 200

Dalit companies involved in manufacturing, construction,

trading, health, hospitality and the knowledge industry in

December, in Mumbai. Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Minister

of Agriculture, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister

of Power, and Mr Digvijay Singh, former Chief Minister,

Madhya Pradesh, among others, participated in the

Meet. From industry, Mr. B Muthuraman, Mr Ratan Tata,

Chairman Tata Group, Mr. Adi Godrej, President-Designate,

CII, and Chairman, Godrej Group, Mr Farhad Forbes,

Farhad Forbes, Co-Chairman, CII National Council on Affirmative Action (AA), and Chairman, CII Western Region Sub-Committee on AA, and Director, Forbes Marshall; Milind Kamble, Chairman, DICCI, and Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group, with CII and DICCI members, at the Vendor Development Meet in Mumbai

Representatives from CII, NSFDC, and the Future Group at the MoU signing ceremony to develop SC entrepreneurs in the Retail sector, in New Delhi

Mr B Muthuraman addressed a webinar to sensitise industry

on opportunities to effectively implement Affirmative

Action.

From April 2011 onwards, 7059 SC/ST students have

been granted scholarships this year. This includes the

scholarships directly provided by member companies to

SC/ST students as well as the 210 scholarships for higher

education granted by CII along with member companies

in association with the Foundation for Academic

Excellence and Access (FAEA) for SC/ST students in

premier academic institutions.

More than 17,000 students have undergone training

in skill development since April 2011 in CII District Centres

set up in partnership with PanIIT Alumni Reach for

India (PARFI).

Tribal women undergoing skill development training at Khamam

Director, Forbes Marshall, and Mr Satish Seth,

Group MD, Reliance Communications Ltd. and

Reliance ADAG Group, as well as many others,

attended the event.

CII, the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development

Corporation (NSFDC) and the Future Group have initiated

a unique Public Private Partnership to build and develop

entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Caste community.

These entrepreneurs will run retail outlets under the Future

Group’s brand, ‘Aadhaar’ in rural areas and in KB Fair

Price outlets in semi-urban and urban areas. The project

will be supported and financed by the NSFDC through its

channelizing agencies in different states.

CII has welcomed the new policy wherein Government

departments and state-run enterprises will give preference

to small units, including those belonging

to SC/ST entrepreneurs, for procurement of

goods and services. Of the 20% procurement allotted to

MSMEs, the policy allots 4% to SC/ST entrepreneurs.

In keeping with these measures, CII is undertaking

Cluster-based supplier training for SC/ST entrepreneurs

to strengthen their manufacturing capability to meet the

requirements of sourcing companies.

A dedicated website, www.ciiaffirmativeaction.in

has been launched to serve as a platform for members, the

Government, NGOs, beneficiaries and other stakeholders

to share experiences, aid learning, celebrate achievements,

connect and collaborate, and also disseminate information

on best practices. The website reflects progress achieved

by industry in Affirmative Action by showcasing member

initiatives. It also lists the signatories to the voluntary Code

of Conduct.

Session on ‘Corruption-free India’ in Hyderabad

At the session on ‘Corruption-free India’ in Lucknow

Corruption hinders economic growth, reduces social

services, and diverts investments in infrastructure,

institutions and social services, undermining

efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). It fosters an environment characterized by

uncertainty, unpredictability and declining moral values

and disrespect for constitutional institutions and authority.

Evidence from across the globe confirms that corruption

impacts the poor disproportionately.

The fight against corruption has

been declared a high priority by

Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister

of India. The Government of India

has taken several measures in

that direction, including coming

out with new laws. The Supreme

Court too has taken a firm stance

against corruption in recent years,

with several important rulings. The

Right to Information (RTI) Act now

grants citizens access to government

information and a mechanism to

control public spending.

In terms of international norms, India endorsed the

ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Action Plan, and has recently

ratified the UN Convention against Corruption.

However, political and bureaucratic corruption, public

funds embezzlement, fraudulent procurement practices,

judicial corruption and corruption in industry remain

widespread. Law enforcement is weak and reforms have a

long way to go.

At the session on ‘Integrity and Transparency in Governance & Society’ in Ahmedabad

At the session on ‘Corruption-Free India’ in Chennai

To give special focus to this issue, CII

has set up a Task Force on Integrity

& Transparency in Governance,

chaired by Mr. Adi Godrej, President

Designate, CII, and Chairman, Godrej

Group. The Task Force includes

prominent industry leaders from across

the country. One of its important

activities has been the publication

of a Code of Business Ethics, which

has been circulated to members for

implementation on a voluntary basis.

CII was invited by the Standing

Committee of Parliament to give its

views and comments on the Draft Lok

Pal Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of

Foreign Public Officials and Officials of

Public International Organisation Bill,

2011, the Right of Citizens for

Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and

to exchange views and experiences on values and ethics.

CII engaged with schools, colleges, universities and

professional institutes to include ethics as a part of their

curriculum.

Moving forward, conferences on corruption to exchange

ideas and experiences are on the agenda. A publication

on best practices on compliances is also under preparation.

Plans are underway to sensitise members to ethics and

value systems through specific programmes involving

professionals and academics, supported by the belief that

it is the responsibility and duty of every Indian to be ethical

in his/her dealings, and to fight against corruption to

promote integrity.

Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill 2011.

CII also had the opportunity to place its views before the

government-constituted committee on natural resource

management, an area where corruption is widely prevalent.

CII is studying some activities and departments of the

Government such as land, direct taxes, etc which are

prone to corruption. Specialized Groups are studying these

areas to make suggestions to simplify the process and

thereby reduce corruption. CII is also working closely with

international agencies such as WEF and

OECD on Governance-related issues.

Over the year, six programmes were held in different

parts of the country involving the youth, amongst others,

CODE OF

BUSINESS

ETHICS

With the agenda for 2011-12 being ‘Business for

Livelihood,’ Skill Development was one of the

three key focus areas for CII. The CII National

Council on Skill Development, chaired by

Mr S Mahalingam, CFO and Executive Director, Tata

Consultancy Services, drew strong participation from

industry, government, academia, international organisations

and NGOs. Through five Council meetings held during

the year, the Skills Development agenda was driven with

passion, with the focus on issues affecting both the

demand and supply sides of the vocational training system.

CII’s Skill Development work for the year started with the

recognition of the need to move from a vicious cycle to

a virtuous cycle in the process of skill development. Our

broad initiatives related to

• Public Private Partnerships, with Government, and the

National Skill Development Council (NSDC)

• Attitude Transformation, through conferences and skill

competitions

• Policy Advocacy, through efforts for the Apprentice Bill,

and towards a single National Qualification Framework

• Inclusive Growth, through recommendations for the 12th

Five Year Plan on Skill Development,

on-ground interventions, and special focus areas

Under the ‘Upgradation of ITIs through Public Private

Partnerships’ scheme, CII members adopted 100 ITIs

this year. To facilitate smooth delivery of this scheme, CII

conducted regional workshops with ITI Principals and

Chairpersons of the Institute Management Committees (CII

members).

The Government’s Modular Employable Skill (MES)

Scheme provides Vocational Training to school drop-outs,

current workers, ITI graduates and others to improve their

employability. The existing skills of persons can also be

B Santhanam, Chairman, Skills & Employability Sub-Committee, CII SR, and President – Flat Glass, South Asia, Egypt & MD, Saint Gobain Glass India Ltd.; Dilip Chenoy, CEO & MD, National Skill Development Corporation; S Mahalingam, Chairman, CII National Council on Skill Development, and CFO & Executive Director, Tata Consultancy Services; Dr Franziska Schwarz, Director- International Relations, Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education & Training, OPET; J P Rai, Executive Director, National Council for Skill Development; T T Ashok, Chairman, CII Southern Region, and MD, Taylor Rubber Pvt. Ltd.; and Supriya Banerji, Deputy Director General, CII, at the 5th Global Summit on Skill Development in Chennai

tested and certified under this scheme. CII is a National

Assessing Body for the MES Scheme, and works with the

Directorate General of Employment & Training of the Union

Ministry of Labour, under its quality parameters.

CII is working closely with the NSDC on the Skills

Development agenda, through initiatives such as Sector Skill

Councils, Workskills Competition and

Skill Gap Studies.

Sector Skill Councils (SSC) build a demand-led system and

engage the private sector in sector specific competencies

as well as in setting standards and quality in curriculum and

accreditation systems. CII’s proposal for the Healthcare SSC

has been approved by the NSDC. We are also facilitating

the Banking Financial Services & Insurance SSC in support

to the Bombay Stock Exchange. A proposal for the Logistics

and Warehousing SSC has been submitted to the NSDC.

Working with the NSDC, CII fielded a 7-member team

to the WorkSkills International Competition 2011 in

London. CII will field participants for the next WorkSkills

International 2013 in Leipzig, Germany, too.

Mr S Mahalingam Chairman, CII National Council on

Skill Development, and CFO & Executive Director, Tata

Consultancy Services, led a CII Skill Delegation to WorkSkills

London 2011, comprising representatives from government

and the private sector, to understand the role industry

needs to play to bring competitors upto WorkSkills levels

and to make vocational education aspirational to the youth.

Mr M V Subbiah, Past President, CII, and Chairman, NSDC,

and Mr Mahalingam, met with Mr John Hayes, Minister for

State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning,

UK. Meetings were also held with the UK Commission for

Employment and Skills, the UK Sector Skills Councils, and

the Association of Colleges, with the focus on industry-led

skill development.

CII has conducted 10 State, 17 District and 5 Sectoral Skill

Gap Studies. We are now aligning our work and supporting

the studies undertaken by NSDC.

The CII Regional and National Workskills Competitions,

now in their 24th year, recognise and encourage industrial

workers. CII is aligning its WorkSkills competition to

WorldSkills International in terms of standards and age

criteria. Regional Workskills Competitions were conducted

successfully across the country, with over 350 participants.

Within the CII Council on Skill Development, a Task Force

of CII members, along with representatives of international

organisations, has been formed to work towards a single

National Qualification Framework. CII’s view that two

frameworks (NVQF and NVEQF) will not benefit the country

has been shared with appropriate Ministries and authorities.

Policy recommendations for amendments to the

Apprenticeship Bill have been submitted to the Union

Ministry of Labour & Employment, and other Government

departments. Our recommendations on Skill Development

have been submitted for the 12th Plan.

To understand the grassroot enablers in Vocational

Education, CII has set up Skill Centres/Hubs in Chhindwara,

Madhya Pradesh, Balasore, Odisha, and Bhiwadi,

Arjun Munda, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, inaugurating the CII PanIIT Gurukul at Gumla

Participants from India in the World Skills Competition 2011, London

Rajasthan. These hubs are scalable and replicable

models, with a training capacity of 1500 to

3000 candidates per annum.

CII, with the PanIIT Alumni Reach for India (PARFI), has

opened eight ‘Skill Gurukuls’ in Puducherry, Andhra

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Jharkhand,

Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The Gurukuls

ensure industry linkage with 100% placement of trainees

and have a unique sustainable model of finance for BPL

trainees. The Gurukuls are residential models located at

the district level, mainly covering blue collar trades such as

construction, driving, catering, etc.

The CII – European Union funded project on Vocational

Education and Training for Vulnerable and Marginalised

Groups in India is being implemented by CII in partnership

with the British Council, City & Guilds (UK) and the Aditya

Birla Group. The project, being undertaken in two backward

districts, Sirsa, Haryana, and Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, involves

vocational training of 3000 BPL youth in auto service and

maintenance, hospitality and tourism, and agri trades, as well

as soft skill training of 10,800 beneficiaries.

The CII-HPCL Swavalamban Project to impart vocational

skills to empower the marginalised to become self-reliant,

has been running effectively since 2006. This year, the

project trained 3,650 candidates in 18 States and

28 centres.

Prithibi Majhi, Minister for Labour & Employment, Assam; Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam; Paban Singh Ghatowar, Union Minister of State for DoNER; and Abhijit Barooah, Co-Chairman, CII North East Council, and MD, Premier Cryogenics Pvt. Ltd, at the CII North East Skills Conclave in Guwahati

The special focus area this year was

Jammu & Kashmir. Under Project Udaan,

the first batch of 30 students from the

University of Kashmir underwent 6

weeks training at the CII Naoroji Godrej

Centre of Excellence in Mumbai. The

second batch of 35 students is currently

undergoing training.

To sustain our skilling efforts, a Skill

Centre has been set up in Srinagar by

the SkillPro Foundation, a CII partner,

where 200 BPL youth, particularly

school drop-outs, are being trained in

various vocational trades and linked to

employment.

In the North Eastern Region, our other

special focus area, CII, supported by

the Union Ministry of Development of the North Eastern

Region, and NSDC, organised the North-East Skills

Conclave in Guwahati in January 2012. The conclave was

inaugurated by Mr Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam.

The NSDC Skill Gap Study for the 8 North Eastern States

was launched on the occasion.

CII is also training 300 BPL youth in short vocational courses

and facilitating their placement in jobs through two training

centres in the region.

The 2nd National Conference on Skill Development,

with the theme ‘Towards Sustainable and Scalable Skill

Development,’ was organised in collaboration with the

Union Ministry of Labour and Employment in New Delhi

in September. The conference discussed the imperatives to

implement the National Policy on Skill Development.

The 5th CII Global Summit on Skill Development 2012,

held in partnership with the Union Ministry of Labour &

Employment, the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Mission,

the National Skill Development Corporation and Partner

Country Switzerland, hosted discussions on issues at both

the demand and supply side of the vocational training

market and showcased learnings from international skill

development models.

CII and The Swiss VET, represented by SkillSonics India

Pvt Ltd, signed a MoU for co-operation and assistance in

vocational education training at the event.

In keeping with its objective of developing an aligned

vision for the India of 2022, India@75 worked

through the year to engage in meaningful dialogue

with Government, industry, NGOs, consumers, students,

professionals, farmers et al.

This year, India@75 floated the concept of Collaborative

Public Reasoning, inviting thousands of Indians, who were

traditionally disconnected from the planning process, to

share their views and thoughts.

As recommended by Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy

Chairman, Planning Commission, and Mr. Arun Maira,

Member, Planning Commission, India@75 initiated an

exercise to seek citizens’ inputs on the 12th Five Year Plan.

Developmental issues and strategic challenges, as identified

by the Planning Commission, were discussed and debated

online with over 16,000 people, using various social media

platforms and online tools. A report was then submitted to

the relevant Steering Committees and Working Groups in

the Planning Commission.

Consultations were held online on the 12th Five Year Plan

The Roshni Prachodya Society was created to fulfill the

vision of Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India,

‘To make all urban habitats eco–friendly and sustainable.’

Project Roshni is a green innovative concept encompassing

environment management and empowerment of

local communities, to create inclusive and eco-friendly

sustainable urban habitats. The Roshni Society has taken

initiatives in solid and liquid

waste management, water

conservation and rain water

harvesting, bio–diversity

conservation, energy audits,

energy conservation, use of

new and renewable energy

sources, etc.

To enable implementation

of Project Roshni, India@75

has established contacts with

the Raj Bhawans, institutes,

and industry, and is reaching

Exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Roshini Project

out to Residents Welfare Associations through its volunteer

workforce. To sensitize schools and children about Roshni, a

‘Best Logo’ competition has been initiated, inviting students

from 11000 schools across the country to participate.

India’s 1st Skill Enterprise Plan Competition, ‘Power To

Empower,’ co-organised by India@75 and the National

Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), reached out to 41

premier management, technology, sectoral and degree

colleges across the country, and to 3000+ students.

The three stage competition, which commenced in July,

saw participants working on business ideas and plans.

In December, the six finalists from IIM Ahmedabad (two

teams), IIT Kharagpur, IIM Kozhikode, Welingkar Institute of

Management, Mumbai, and Xavier Institute of Management,

Bhubaneshwar, made their presentations to an eminent

jury comprising Mr. M V Subbiah, Past President, CII, and

Chairman, NSDC, Ms. Sneh Lata Kumar, MD, TRIFED, and

Mr. James Abraham, CEO, Sun Borne Energy Services, in

New Delhi.

India ranks 66 on a list of 88 countries on the Global

Hunger Index. The BhookMitao campaign is an endeavor

to create a movement where all Indians work together to

abolish hunger in the country.

In its first phase, BhookMitao is an online campaign (www.

bhookmitao.org) giving an opportunity to individuals to

sponsor mid-day meals for school children in Gujarat,

Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The campaign allows citizens to

Winning teams at the ‘Power To Empower’ competition in New Delhi

‘insure’ a-meal-a-day for two months for Rs 100, and 12

months for Rs 645. India@75 has partnered with Give India

to process these donations online and with the Akshaya

Patra Foundation to convert the donations into meals.

The creation of 500 developed world class cities, as

envisaged in the vision document of India@75, is being

taken forward through ’City Connect,’ an industry-led

platform, wherein cities forming autonomous platforms

will also create a website which will connect them to other

cities through a mother website hosted by India@75. This

will enhance mutual learning by pooling of resources and

sharing knowledge.

Autonomous platforms have been

successfully created in Bangalore,

Chennai, and Pune. Workshops

for sensitizing local industry

champions, bureaucrats, politicians,

NGOs; CSOs etc have been held in

Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh,

Gurgaon, Balasore, Erode and

Muzaffarpur. Workshops are planned

at 20 more cities, including Indore,

Ranchi, Korba, Lucknow and

Thiruvananthapuram. The India@75 team has also made

presentations to CII State Councils to sensitise them and to

expedite the process.

India@75, at the behest of Mr. S. Ramadorai, Advisor to

the Prime Minister of India on Skills, has embarked on

an ambitious journey to create self-sustaining microcosm

models for skill development within semi-urban and rural

India, that will seek to achieve the following objectives:

• Consideration of the aspirations of the beneficiaries,

i.e the skilled masses

• Increased livelihood opportunities within local

eco-systems

• Positive contribution to

harmonious development

of local eco-systems

Working with diverse

stakeholders ranging from

grass-root NGOs, educational

institutions and the target

group, India@75 will run

pilots in a district over a

period of two years with

the larger objective of

replication (with contextual

customization) across other

districts in India. Data has

already been collected from

150 households in the East

Khasi hills of Meghalaya

and Sopore in Jammu and

Kashmir.

Under its Volunteer Initiative, India@75 works with

corporates/ industry/ companies on several Employee

Volunteering Programmes. These programmes are

structured around the respective companies’ core

competencies. Employees volunteer and serve in

communities, using their core professional skills in

the social sector.

India@75’s Employee Volunteer Programme was

kick-started this year with three projects in partnership

with IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, in Coimbatore, Kochi,

and Indore.

City Connect session on Sustainable Urbanisation in Indore

Data collection for the Skill Development initiative