Safe and accident-free travel is our motto

— By FPJ Bureau | Aug 24, 2015 12:18 am 

Accident-free roads are a priority and the Maharashtra government will adopt safety and precautionary measures while constructing roads in order to ensure the same in the near future. State Public Works Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Pandurang Mhaske on the future plans of his department. Shinde also shared details of the government’s ambitious plan to construct an 800-km-long expressway between Mumbai and Nagpur, reducing the travel time between the two cities to just 10 hours. This ‘Communication Super Expressway’ will connect Mumbai and Nagpur passing through Amravati, Aurangabad and Ghoti. The project, in partnership with the Centre, will cost around Rs 30,000 crore and is expected to be completed by September 2019. It will be constructed with the help of the Union government.

Q: As a minister of the Public Works Department (PWD), how will you ensure that commuters travel safely on roads?

A: Safety is our main aim. Safe and accident-free travel on highways is our motto and we are working towards it. Simultaneously, we are trying to cut down on the travel time on highways so that commuters can reach their destinations early and safely.

Q: What are the new plans for the safety of commuters? Recently, an accident took place on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in which three people died unnecessarily. Would you assure commuters that they can travel safely?

A: Yes, of course. We have plans to make the Mumbai-Pune Expressway more safe. Last month, there was a series of landslides and three people died. We are with the family of the deceased. We immediately accepted our responsibility and announced financial aid for them. Apart from that, we also made the contractor give compensation to the family.

We have undertaken the repair work of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is set to become safer. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has planned to extend the Adoshi tunnel by 100 metres. Apart from that, the corporation has also planned to install censors at all the sensitive spots along the ghat section of the expressway.

The ghat had been checked by geological experts of ISOFER, a Swiss company. The experts of the company have already made a presentation to the department.

Q: How will the censors work and how will these help in avoiding accidents?

A: The installed censors will read the movement in the rocks and will relay the information to the authorities, which are monitoring the same through the internet. So the MSRDC and the IRB can initiate precautionary steps to avoid further landslides. The company and MSRDC can also alert motorists to avoid certain roads to avert further tragedy. As per the reports from the Swiss company, there will be high-tensile nets that will be put up at the spots where the rocks are more sensitive.

Q: What are any new projects to make traffic faster and safe?

A: There is a plan to construct a tunnel linking Thane with Borivali to shorten the travelling distance between the two towns. The tunnel would be constructed between Tikuniji Wadi and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, reducing the travel time to just eight minutes (from the current half an hour). Thane and Borivali in north Mumbai are separated by a chain of hills, most of which are a part of the national park. A consultant has been appointed to carry out the project study.

Further, an elevated road has been planned along the Godhbunder road at a cost of Rs 518 crore.

Q: What is about the national highway projects? Are there any new projects in the pipeline?

A: We are going to construct a Nagpur-Mumbai communication highway, which is about 800 km long. This highway will follow the model of highways in Germany. It is the state’s largest infrastructure project. Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari assured the state government financial aid for the 800-km ‘communication super expressway’ linking Mumbai to Nagpur via the backward regions of Maharashtra.

I met Gadkari in New Delhi last week with senior MSRDC officials. In the meeting, the Centre had assured that they will share land acquisition costs.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 30,000 crore. However, the actual cost will be arrived at after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. It has not been decided if toll will be charged or not, but it will depend on the financial model.

The ambitious project will be an ‘access controlled road’ like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The super expressway will run through Ghoti (near Nashik), Aurangabad and Amravati and connect Mumbai to the state’s second capital of Nagpur. The much-delayed infrastructure project will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre and will be executed by the MSRDC. An ambitious target of September 2019 has been set for its completion.

Q: What will be there on the two sides of the super expressway?

A: There will be IT parks, smart cities, educational institutions and recreational hubs wherever possible, and the expressway will bring down the travelling time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just 10 hours. The expressway will also be equipped with an optical fibre network (OFN), CCTVs and wi-fi. The expressway will pass through areas with a developmental backlog and touch cities in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. The work will be undertaken in two phases, and in the first phase, land acquisition will be completed and four-laning will be done.

Q: The Ganapti festival is scheduled in next month, with the idols arriving on September 17. Many Mumbaikars visit their native place in Kokan during the festival. They have to take the Mumbai-Goa expressway, which is most dangerous. How will you assure the safety of these people?

A: We are planning to make arrangement for more state transport buses. Around 800 buses will be on the

road for the festival. The buses arranged for Kumbh Mela at Nashik will be back and will be sent to Konkan.

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Modi has great sense of drama but not of reality`: Congress

— By Agencies | Aug 22, 2015 07:18 pm 

New Delhi: The Congress Party on Saturday criticised the BJP-led NDA Government for the present fiasco over the NSA-level talks with Pakistan and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a great sense of drama but no sense of reality.

“I think it’s very unfortunate that we have reached this situation. We are very keen that all issues have to be resolved through dialogue,” Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

“The present fiasco is entirely because of Narendra Modi because he went to Ufa. He has a great sense of drama but he has no sense of reality,” he added.

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‘We want to make them like us’ – Shamini Murugesh

— By Abhijit Mulye and Prakash Kulkarni | Aug 17, 2015 12:52 am 

In her interview with Abhijit Mulye and Prakash Kulkarni, Shamini Murugesh, Chief Mentor of WNS Cares Foundation, the CSR arm of WNS, says their aim is to be able to touch the lives of underprivileged children and transform them to be just like us…

Please give us an overview of the foundation.

WNS Cares Foundation (WCF), set up in January 2011, is registered as a Company under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956. WNS board of directors guide us and we run over 20 programs from WCF chapters spread across 22 cities internationally. We have presence in countries like Costa Rica, North America, Philippines, Romania, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, UK apart from India where we cover 15 cities.

How were you oriented into this? Did you have any previous experience?

Yes. Previously also I had set up organisations which work for the underprivileged and has vast experience in creating sustainability programs. I’ve always felt that each of us has the power within us; the power to create an equitable society and my endeavour had always been to be able to lead people to be able to develop this faculty. When my husband Keshav Murugesh joined WNS as CEO, it automatically came to me that I should be working with the WCF. I work here voluntarily and on honorary basis.

How would you define the aims and objectives of your foundation?

To “Educate, Empower and Enrich” is what we have decided to be our mission. But, our aim is not just to reach out to the economically or socially weak recipients or what would generally be termed as the ‘beneficiaries’. It goes beyond and tries to reach the soul of the donor. That way for us even those of our employees who participate in the program too become beneficiaries of a different kind.

Why did you decide to focus on the education?

We see millions of children across the globe suffer due to lack of basic necessities every year. Caught in the web of poverty they survive in the most pitiable of conditions. There can be several ways to be able to influence their lives positively and there would be differences of opinion over how best one can influence others lives positively. Hence, at WNS we had conducted a Global Poll Survey with our employees giving them various options. 72% employees chose “Education” as a cause for the Foundation to support. In my personal opinion also, education is the best way for anyone to get rid of the desolation. So, for me it was easy to be part of the program.

What generally is the form of your programmes?

When we started working within the economically disadvantaged populations, we realised that the dated education system hits the children the most. The children are coerced into a disempowering thoughtless acceptance of the content of the syllabus and textbooks. The negative effects of such a top-down educational system are further compounded by lack of parental guidance and absence of an environment that encourages and supports questioning or critical thinking habits. Hence, tailor made projects and programs were developed for each of our international locations. We have academic programs like computer literacy, remedial education, spoken English, dictionary based activities ect. We also have non academic programs like in sports, arts, health. We have recently started with a program called e-mentoring, where our employees in developed countries like the US mentor under privileged students in India.

How do you go about executing the programs?

The common thread that runs through all the programs is to give every child an equal opportunity in this world. We aim at bridging the gap between school, parents and children. Most of the underprivileged children are first generation school goers. This means that the parents are not in a position to give any support from home as they themselves under pressure for their daily work to ensure provision of next meal to their family. This is where the WCF steps in. We identify needy schools in the vicinity of its office locations. After conducting a need assessment of the school we set up Libraries or Computer Centers or both in these schools. We also invest in beautification of the Computer Labs to make the environment more friendly, warm, welcoming and conducive to children’s learning.

Do you get all these things done through paid workers?

No. The focus of CSR at WCF is also to engage the employees in every project that we support. We do hire some workers, but most of the things are done by our employees voluntarily. Our aim is to create awareness on critical issues to sensitize staff and provide opportunities for significant participation in response to community needs. We appeal WNS employees to donate one hour every month for the WCF activities. We also empower the school teachers so that in absence of the volunteers, the program does not hamper. But, to inculcate the habit of giving amongst the students is the essential thing that we emphasise more upon. The employees may choose to come early to office once a month or go directly to the chosen school after the office hours. Sometimes they also work when they have weekly off.

How would you summarise the impact of the program?

It is our endeavour to ensure that all our efforts are directed at confidence building and providing life skills learning to the children on our program so that they can blossom into educated, empowered, responsible and confident adults. In terms of numbers, we can say that till the beginning of this year, we had touched 84215 lives, had 27666 volunteering hours, covered 174 schools, developed 37 libraries etc. But, the sheer joy WNS employees get out of the habit of giving is what I think the most fulfilling measure to count our success and we can boast that we have a 200% ROI in this aspect. Recently, we had some kids from Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in Ghatkopar visiting our office at Vikroli. One of the girls, when asked what she wants to be when she is grown up, she instantaneously said, she wants to be like one of our volunteers who often goes to that school. A countless number of such experiences too reassure us that we are on the right path, where we would like to make “them” like “us”.

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“Keep the kids so busy…” – Dr. Marie Fernandes

— By Shraddha Kamdar | Aug 17, 2015 12:44 am 

“… that they have no energy left for anything untoward,” Dr. Marie Fernandes, Principal – St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, tells Shraddha Kamdar

Troubleshooting comes as part of the job description, but the morning that I went to visit, her door didn’t remain shut for longer than a few minutes at a time. It was constantly moving with the students and staff approaching her for advice, or for an approval or even for showing off their achievements. It is always like this, since she is extremely approachable, and has a friendly ear ready whenever her students need it. In fact, just that morning on her rounds she was stopped by a few students to inform her of something. Dr. Marie Fernandes, Principal – St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, was able to meet me that morning since she was not busy with lectures. Excerpts from an interview:

Within the limitations of the syllabus, how do you ensure that students get practical exposure to what they are learning?

n In almost all our self-financing courses, our faculty come from the industry, and most of them have had hands on experience in whatever they are teaching. The self-financing courses allow for that. In fact, just this morning a few students told me how happy they were with a professor in the journalism class. He is a senior journalist, and offers them real-life experiences to learn from.

I must mention that the mass media students (BMM) are very creative and the course allows them to express themselves. They have creative ways to address issues, and so the vice principal in charge of these courses also finds different ways to engage and help them grow.

Apart from that, how do you face the challenge of attracting the students to the classroom, that is, actually motivating them to attend?

In ten years of being the principal, I have seen that if the faculty conducts the classes in an interactive and friendly manner, the students will come. The students do not always begin the day with the intention to skip classes. It is only when they know nothing interesting will be going on, do they decide to skip. If the faculty keeps the class engaged, allows them some freedom of thought and expression, students will show up. And with technology savvy classrooms, engagement can be taken to a new level.

In addition to that, we have regular meetings with the student council to discuss issues that students face. These could relate to any problems – including the teaching and learning method, infrastructure, or even the canteen! These issues are discussed and addressed at the earliest.

Where does technology stand when we talk of student interaction and development?

Technology is here to stay and we should use it positively. You see, we already have projectors and white boards in classrooms. Plus, with notes as well, the college is very prompt and all the notes are uploaded on the Moodle server where students of respective classes can access them. We are now in the process of introducing smart ID cards for students for access to the campus including the library and the canteen. This will prevent outsiders from loitering in our campus. Apart from that, a mobile app for the college is also in the pipeline, where students can track their attendance.

We are planning on having WiFi zones in certain areas on campus including the classroom, but we will have to look into matters like accessibility to social media sites. It will prove advantageous to the teachers who will be able to access information quickly in real time to engage the students.

How can we develop discipline among students besides administering the strict rules provided by the university?

Basically, the goal of the college is to cultivate discipline of the mind, body and spirit. For that, the necessary measures are taken. If you take a stroll around the campus, you will know of the dress code that the students need to adhere to. We also tell the students that they need to be polished and refined in their speech as well, apart from their attire. Once the students know the purpose, they accept the spirit behind the rules. Say for instance, once I told the students that they could treat the library like the canteen and would be allowed to talk. They realised that those who seriously wanted to work will get disturbed and students understood that the library is considered a sacred space. They also appreciated the fact that the librarian constantly asked them to maintain silence.

How can students be helped in enhancing their personalities while they are in college?

We have value addition programmes. We need to impart values which will stand them in good strength. They also learn through unique programmes. In their second year, students have to put in 20 to 25 hours in an outreach programme addressing the needs of the marginalised or the disadvantaged. Initially, many of them are hesitant, but they later come back with rewarding experiences. In fact, our NSS Unit has also won an award for the blood donation drive it conducted.

In degree college, we are strong on research. I am a PhD guide myself and I push faculty and teachers to work towards it. We have several journals published annually and we host national and international seminars every year. The idea is to keep the kids so busy that they have no energy left for anything untoward.

There are many students who are not as privileged in terms of living in a metropolis like Mumbai, or even going to colleges that have infrastructure such as ours. What can such proactive students do to enhance their own knowledge?

First, I feel that they should make full use of the internet, since that has penetrated everywhere. There are courses available online which students can sign up for on sites like Coursera. There are also other MOOCs available. Khan Academy is another resource that students can learn from, and I strongly advise students to take a look at it.

Other than that, I feel that these students have to be self-driven, and with potential they could look at finding ways of migrating to other institutes. They should draw inspiration from the late APJ Abdul Kalam.

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We are the Industry’s 2nd largest non-life insurance company – Rajesh Aggarwal, chairman & MD, NIC

— By Ambar Mukherjee | Aug 11, 2015 12:10 am 

The National Insurance Company (NIC), headquartered in Kolkata is India’s oldest general insurance company and has climbed to the second position in the insurance sector in the last six years. This despite the challenges following liberalization of the India’s insurance sector. NIC chairman and managing director Rajesh Aggarwal in an interview with the FPJ correspondent Ambar Mukherjee gives an overview of the initiatives taken by the company in overcoming the challenges and ensuring its upward movement.

THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL: After the liberalisation of India’s insurance sector, non-life insurance has been characterised with high growth and intense competition. What steps have been taken by the National Insurance company to face the competition?

RAJESH AGGARWAL: In fact competition has made us stronger – Only 6 years ago we were No 4 amongst 4 PSGIC. Today we are the industry’s 2nd largest non life insurance company notwithstanding the fact that we are headquartered in the East which has traditionally not been as prolific industrial development -wise as the other parts of the country.This resurgence may be attributed to the dynamic and visionary initiatives taken by its corporate management and implementing them fully both in letter and spirit by NICians of all offices pan India and Nepal.

Some of these initiatives are as follows. Adoption of innovative marketing strategies, expansion of office network, enhancing customer delivery services, harnessing of technology to extend last mile insurance in under served geographies, recruitment of employees from all cadres including specialists, up skilling of employees through a well planned learning and development programme, effective agency management, strategic alliances with automobile majors and two wheeler sector and bank assurance tie ups. Today our strategic alliances contribute approx. 21% to the total business of the company. The captive customer base of the Banks has helped us expand Reach and increase the insurance penetration.

Q: What is the position of National Insurance company in the insurance sector?

A: With a work force of 14902 skilled personnel and 1998 offices all over India including operations in Nepal, National Insurance stands tall today as India’s 2nd largest non life insurer. Leader in 2 zones that is North and East, NIC recorded a premium of Rs 11282.64 crore in the last fiscal with its highest ever profit before tax amounting to Rs 1196.74 crore as against 1007.82 crore in previous year. NIC contributed a handsome Dividend of Rs 165 crs to the National Exchequer in 2013 -14 and proposes to contribute Rs 194 crs this fiscal.

NIC is India’s oldest general insurance Company. It was incorporated in Kolkata on 5th December, 1906 to fulfill the nationalist aspiration for Swaraj. Sixty-six years later, after nationalisation it was merged along with 21 foreign and 11 Indian companies to form National Insurance Company Ltd, one of the 4 subsidiaries of the Govt. owned General Insurance Corporation of India.

Q:  What is the net worth of the company?

A: Net worth of the Company is Rs. 3790.55 crore as on 31.03.2015.

Q: What is the gross overall premium earned by National Insurance company?

A:  Gross overall Premium (global) earned by the company is Rs. 11282.64 crore.(FY 2014 -15)

Q: From which segment do you earn the largest premium revenue?

A: The twin Growth Drivers in the industry today are motor and health – NIC’s leads in motor where it draws the largest share of premium of 4944.67 crs constituting 46% of total GDPI. NIC is 2nd largest in health.

Q:  What is the market share of the company at present?

A: As per figures till June 2015, the market share of National Insurance is 13.58%

Q: What are the biggest challenges that the company is facing at present?

A: Over the last five years (i.e.2010-2015) the non life insurance industry in India has been growing at an appreciable CAGR of 17%. The Growth Drivers have been Motor, accounting for 42% and Health at 22% of the industry premium. Adapting to the changing market dynamics NIC has also focused on Health and Motor Lines of Business successfully occupying Pole position in Motor and 2nd in Health which has placed us as Leader in retail insurance.

However, with increasing competition our biggest challenge lies in retaining this leadership position.

Some of the Challenges we face are, 1) Changes in the Regulatory environment, 2) Increasing consumer awareness and their involvement, 3) Segmentation, 4) Retaining the existing customers 5) Making available products at an affordable price 6) Products for multiple channels. 7) Innovative products to counter competition, 8) Fraud management 9) Technology enablement. 10) Training 11) Depletion of Manpower 12) Strategic Alliances 13)Insurance Awareness

Q: What are your future plans?

A: NIC’s development plan for the future builds on its existing strengths while also exploring new avenues for growth like product development. In fiscal ending 2015, our focus continued to be on Health and Motor segments, our growing and predominant business. In both these segments the Company has introduced new and innovative products. During the year we launched National Medi-claim Plus Policy, a high variant retail health insurance product.

Besides being a first of its kind in the PSU space, the product includes three plans with a sum insured ranging from INR 2 lakh to 50 lakh. Two new family health insurance floaters with several innovative and interesting features are on the anvil.

Q: What is your position in the health insurance segment?

A: The Company has been in the business of Health insurance since 1986. It has been meeting with the Health insurance requirements of individuals and corporate clients through product innovation and service delivery. While in the early days there was only one product called Mediclaim, with the passage of time it added many new products to meet with the demands of market. These products cater to the requirements of different segments like individuals, families, senior citizens, students, BPL population and so on. While earlier, the claim servicing was done in- house & a policy holder had to meet the medical expenses first and then claim reimbursement, in the year 2002 the claim services were outsourced to Third Party Administrators (TPA) & cashless system was introduced for the benefit of policy holders through tie ups with hospitals.

Despite the entry of private general and standalone health insurance companies after the passage of IRDA Act of 1999, the Company has maintained its position as a lead player in health business. With only Rs 196 crs Premium in health in FY 2001 -02, business as on 2014-2015 has reached Rs 3751 crores making the Company the second largest mobilizer of health insurance business in the country. This amount exceeds the combined health business of the five standalone Companies as at the end of 2014-15 (Rs 2852 crs)

Q: What steps has the company taken to simplify the process of getting claims in the wake of increasing complaints from customers of facing difficulties in getting their claims?

A: Some of the administrative measures have been as follows:

• Company has embarked upon an exercise for simplification of Claims Form.
• Faster Decision making enabled through enhancing financial powers with reference to Claims
• Increasing List of Surveyors and Periodic monitoring of their performance
• Regular Reviews of performance of our Operating Offices in areas of Claims Settlements, grievance redressal and Timeline Compliance
• Diligent pursuance of conformity with the provisions of Policy Holders Rights as laid down by IRDA.

For Motor Insurance which is the largest portfolio of this Company, we have cashless settlement arrangements. In case of Motor Tie-up business particularly in respect of Maruti Vehicles there is a system of automated surveyors appointment within 15 minutes. Turnaround time for settlement of claim of Tie-up vehicles are 3 days. In Health Insurance we are introducing the facility of direct payment of claims through our banking portal which will reduce the turnaround time in claim settlement. We have also drafted detailed claim settlement guidelines for the use of our offices and Third Party Administrators which address most of the contentious issues that are faced by them. These guidelines have facilitated processing of Health claims smoothly. Compliance with the Citizens Charter and Policy Holders Rights as laid down by IRDAI is our ultimate goal to ensure every Insured as a satisfied and empowered customer.

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