Nooyi - the Indian executive who broke glass ceiling in corporate America

Nooyi is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and Yale University

Chennai-born Indra Nooyi not only broke the glass ceiling in corporate America when she was named CEO of global beverage giant PepsiCo in 2006 but, through her journey, inspired millions of young Indians who dreamed of and aspired to emulate the success the India-born woman achieved in America.

PepsiCo on Monday announced that Nooyi will step down on October 3 after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as CEO. PepsiCo's Board of Directors unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed 62-year-old Nooyi.

Nooyi, one of the most powerful and influential business leaders in the world, was regularly featured on the power lists compiled by Forbes and Fortune magazines. She was also among the few female executives to lead global corporate giants.

Apart from being a prominent face of women leadership across the world, she was also the epitome of success for the millions of young Indians who aspired to be like her as they watched her journey through the ranks of PepsiCo and eventually leading the global conglomerate. She was among the first of a handful of India-born executives to helm global corporates.

She was appointed as CEO in 2006, becoming PepsiCo's fifth chief executive in its 41-year history, and the first woman. MasterCard's President Ajay Banga, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were all named to the top jobs in their companies in the years that followed.

Nooyi was also very vocal about the challenges women faced in trying to find a balance in managing their home and work. She had famously said at an Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in 2014 that women "cannot have it all."

ALSO READ: PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi to step down as CEO, Ramon Laguarta to take over

She had told the Aspen audience that she has died "with guilt" several times in her life as she tried to bring up her two daughters with her husband. She recounted that she felt guilty for not being able to attend several activities at her daughters' school as she could not take time off from work.

Nooyi said she was disappointed at her mother's reaction to her "great news." She said her mother told her "let the news wait. Can you go out and get some milk."

She recalled her mother telling her, "let me explain something to you. You might be president of PepsiCo. You might be on the board of directors. But when you enter this house, you're the wife, you're the daughter, you're the daughter-in-law, you're the mother. You're all of that. Nobody else can take that place. So leave that damned crown in the garage. And don't bring it into the house. You know I've never seen that crown."

A staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton for president, Nooyi had also expressed her disappointment when Clinton lost the presidential elections in 2016. She had said Clinton's loss left her daughters and PepsiCo's employees devastated and there were serious concerns among the company's workers, especially the non-white employees, about their safety in an America with Donald Trump as its president. (Read more)

Bhima-Koregaon: When new Dalit leadership faces off with Hindutva project

The educated Dalit doesn't just want a ride on the bus of democracy; it wants to be at the steering wheels

Maharashtra saw violent protests after clashes between Dalits and some Maratha groups in Bhima Koregaon. Dalits had gathered in Pune to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. These clashes and the subsequent protests brought the focus back on Dalit assertion and its conflict with Hindutva politics. The writer analyses this conflict in this Business Standard Special.The determination and force of the response of the Dalits to the violence at the Bhima Koregaon has unsettled the BJP governments of the state of Maharashtra and the centre. It has also baffled the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This time it has not been easy for the BJP and the governments to denounce the protests the way could do in the past. Previously the Student leaders of the JNU were successfully branded as anti-national. The students and teachers of the Ramjas college of the university of Delhi were also declared anti-national. Before them, the student unrest - mainly led by Dalits - at the central University of Hyderabad was condemned as casteist and anti national. This time the response from the centre’s of power has been slightly complex.

It is true that the RSS tried to blame the violence at the Bhima Koregaon on Umar Khalid and Jignesh Mevani. It did say that the Bharat tere tukde honge gang was responsible for the violence. But interestingly, this time this allegation could not create the kind of frenzied attack on these leaders as we have seen on the previous occasions directed at Kanhaiya, Umar and others.

Student leader Umar Khalid and the newly elected MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani were targeted specifically. Criminal cases were registered against them claiming that it was their provocative speeches which led to violence. But again, these two leaders have not been pushed to back foot. Instead of going defensive, the Dalit leaders have blamed the RSS for the violence and have been demanding the arrest of Guruji Bhide and Ekbote. Prakash Ambedkar has even allaeged that the PMO is saving these accused. The RSS is struggling. How did it happen? Let us try to understand the new situation.

Jignesh Mevani has made it clear after the atrocity at Una that he wouldn’t let the BJP and RSS have respite even for a moment. He is also articulating an alternative vision of development and politics for the Dalits which is much more than getting representation in the electoral politics for them. Even after entering the assembly in Gujarat through elections he has made it clear that his fight would continue on the streets. (more)

Private doctors end strike as NMC Bill goes to Parliament panel

NMC Bill seeks to replace MCI and also proposes allowing practitioners of alternative medicines, such as homoeopathy and Ayurveda, practise allopathy after completing a 'bridge'

Private doctors called off a strike against the proposed National Medical Commission(NMC), after the government decided to refer the Bill in this regard to a parliamentary standing committee. Doctors argue the Bill does not allow representation of private doctors, doctors from states and students.

K K Aggarwal, immediate past president of the Indian Medical Association, says: “Issues of doctors working in the private sector are different from government doctors. Also, the government should not be part of this committee if it wants to make the NMC an autonomous body.”

Also Read : Modi, Tendulkar most popular parliamentarians on Facebook in 2017

The NMC Bill envisages a four-tier structure for the regulation of medical education, with a 20-member body at the top. The proposed NMC has five doctors; the others are to be government officials. The protesting doctors say they have been kept away from electing their own representatives on the body. And, that they'd be answerable to bureaucrats than those from their own profession.

Among the other things the doctors are protesting at is that they will have to pass a separate examination before being given a licence to practice.

The Niti Aayog recommended doing away with the Medical Council of India, replacing it with the NMC. This new committee was supposed to have representatives from states to look into medical education and practice. The government decided on the move on the argument that doctors guilty of breaches of law and so forth were flourishing despite complaints were not being addressed. There have been cases where doctors accused of corrupt practices were appearing at international medical fora.

VIP treatment: Woman blasts minister as flight delay makes her miss funeral

Watch: Woman doctor lashes out at Union Minister Alphons over flight delay

Imphal (Manipur), Nov 22 (ANI): A ruckus was created at Imphal Airport after a woman doctor lashed out at Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Alphons Kannanthanam, after her flight got delay due to VVIP arrival schedule at the airport. The woman shouted at Alphons saying she had to attend to a critical patient but got late because of the delay.

Union minister K J Alphons was confronted by an enraged woman passenger at the Imphal airport over the delay in her Kolkata-bound flight she was taking to rush to Patna to attend a funeral of her relative.

Alphons on Wednesday said he was not responsible for the delay of the flight due to VVIP security protocol after a video footage of the passenger identified as a lady doctor arguing and directing her ire at him on seeing the minister at the Imphal airport went viral.

The video of the incident that happened on Tuesday showed the woman complaining to Alphons about the flight being delayed due to VIP movement.

Alphons, who is Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, had come to Imphal to attend the Northeast Development summit which was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday. President Kovind's aircraft was due to land in Imphal around the time of departure of the Kolkata-bound aircraft.

"I have to reach Patna. The body is waiting, otherwise the body will decay. I am a doctor, I know that. The body is still at home," the woman can be heard pleading with Alphons, who tries to soothe her anger. She was also heard asking Alphons to give in writing what time her flight would take off.

The woman was booked on an IndiGo flight from Imphal to Kolkata from where she had to take a connecting flight to Patna.

On her repeated insistence to give her in writing as to what time the flight would depart, the minister is heard saying he does not have the authority to do so. (more)

Qatar offers visa-free entry to India, 79 other nations amid Gulf crisis

Energy-rich Qatar's economy took a hit since Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain moved to isolate it

Qatar announced on Wednesday it was scrapping visa requirements for visitors from 80 countries as it weathers a boycott by four Arab states and gears up to host the World Cup in 2022.

Under the new policy announced by Qatar Airways and authorities, citizens of 33 mostly European countries can enter without a visa for 90 days in single or multiple trips during a 180-day period.

Americans, Britons, Canadians and citizens of 44 other countries can enter visa-free for an initial 30 days on single or multiple trips, and can extend that for a further 30 days.

Energy-rich Qatar's economy has taken a hit since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain moved to isolate it two months ago over allegations it supports extremists.

Also Read : Current Affairs on News

The quartet of Arab nations is particularly irked by Qatar's ties with Iran and its support of Islamist opposition groups. Qatar denies it backs terror groups and says the allegations against Doha are politically motivated.

The four countries cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June, and barred Qatar from using their airspace and shipping lanes.

In a related development, the UAE and Bahrain today sought to clarify a statement made the day before by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which said both countries had agreed to open up some of their airspace, including new "temporary or contingency" routes, for Qatar Airways.

The two, in statements carried on the UAE's and Bahrain's state-run news agencies, said that they had not agreed to open up their airspace in full to Qatari flights but to only allow Qatari aircraft to use their airspace located above international waters.

Loneliness may be a greater public health hazard than obesity: Study

Loneliness and isolation may actually lead to early death, researches say

Loneliness may be a greater public health hazard than obesity, according to a study which found that social isolation may put people at an increased risk of early death.

"Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need - crucial to both well-being and survival," said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor at Brigham Young University in the US.

"Extreme examples show infants in custodial care who lack human contact fail to thrive and often die, and indeed, social isolation or solitary confinement has been used as a form of punishment," said Holt-Lunstad.

"Yet an increasing portion of the USPopulation now experiences isolation regularly," she said.

To illustrate the influence of social isolation and loneliness on the risk for premature mortality, Holt-Lunstad presented data from two research reviews.

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The first involved 148 studies, representing more than 300,000 participants, and found that greater social connection is associated with a 50 per cent reduced risk of early death.

The second study, involving 70 studies representing more than 3.4 million individuals from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, examined the role that social isolation, loneliness or living alone might have on mortality.

Researchers found that all three had a significant and equal effect on the risk of premature death, one that was equal to or exceeded the effect of other well-accepted risk factors such as obesity.

"There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators," said Holt-Lunstad.

The Black Friday Heist: Financial phishing increases during holiday season

The number of financial phishing attacks is expected to rise during the Holiday season which starts unofficially on so-called Black Friday and continues through Cyber Monday and Christmas.

Retrospective research by Kaspersky Lab specialists shows that, over the last few years, the holiday period was marked by an increase in phishing and other types of attacks, which suggests that the pattern will be repeated this year.

A peak season for sales is obviously also a peak hunting season for criminals: retailers offer lots of hard-to-resist deals and people plan on spending money on gifts for themselves, their friends and relatives. So, while e-commerce customers are making wishes for the upcoming sales, the retailers themselves are preparing their stores for a massive rise in the number of visitors, and financial infrastructure owners - banks and payment systems - are getting ready for a huge increase in the number and value of transactions; cybercriminals are preparing too.

At least, that was the case in previous years.

As Kaspersky Lab threat statistics shows, in 2014 and 2015 the proportion of phishing pages that hunt financial data (credit cards details) detected by the company during Q4 (which covers the holiday period) was around 9 percentage points higher than the average for the year. In particular, the result for financial phishing in all of 2014 was 28.73%, while the result for Q4 was 38.49%. In 2015, 34.33% of all phishing attacks was financial phishing, while in Q4, that type of phishing was responsible for 43.38% of all attacks.

Holidays influence the type of financial targets that criminals are after. Both in 2014 and 2015 Kaspersky Lab researchers witnessed a significant (several percentage points) increase in phishing attacks against payment systems and online stores. Attacks against banks also grew, but at a lower rate.Read more

BRICS summit: How India failed to convince other nations on Pakistan

BRICS summit: How India failed to convince other nations on Pakistan

The Indian side, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his officials, pushed for the BRICSSummit Goa Declaration to specifically mention “cross-border terrorism” that India was faced with and also the names of Pakistani-based terror outfits. However, it failed to convince the other member states.

The Goa Declaration didn’t refer either to the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is headed by Masood Azhar, the man India believes was behind the Pathankot terrorist attack, or the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Saeed is considered to be the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

It did, however, name such groups as the Islamic State, Jabat-al-Nasra, the Syrian Islamist rebel group, and other UN designated groups. Amar Sinha, India’s chief negotiator in the BRICS, said that India couldn’t get a consensus on naming Pakistan-based terrorist outfits since it doesn’t concern all the BRICS countries.

Later, Islamabad criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement where he called Pakistan “the mothership of terrorism”. Sartaj Aziz, foreign affairs advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that Modi’s statement was misleading and a desperate attempt to hide India’s brutalities in Kashmir. “Pakistan joins all the members of BRICS and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) in condemning terrorism and reaffirms its full commitment to fight the menace of terrorism,” Aziz said.Read more.

Surgical strikes achieve tactical closure, not strategic detente: Former NATGRID CEO

Surgical strikes achieve tactical closure, not strategic detente: Former NATGRID CEO

Military power is never about the number of troops, tanks, ships or aircrafts. If military power was all a country needed to establish superiority, America would not have been beaten by Vietnam, the Soviet Union would not have been routed by Afghan tribes and the juggernaut that is the Indian Army would not have been held at bay by a few thousand Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

A country’s military power is actually determined by a combination of economic realities, governance frameworks, national will and strategic thinking – which work together to deliver a punch worthy of its weight.

Surgical strikes : Comparing India’s military power to Pakistan’s from this perspective actually yields a startling conclusion.

In 1999, Pakistan’s army chief at the time was mid-air when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to sack him. Denied permission to land in Pakistan and faced with the option of making an emergency landing on Indian soil, the sacked general decided to land in Karachi anyway. He communicated his orders to his military subordinates through the civilian aviation channel and by the time his plane landed, Pervez Musharraf was firmly back in the saddle while Sharif had been toppled off his. That is the power of the Pakistani military.

Now compare the Pakistani army’s swiftness to India’s handling of the Kandahar hijacking in 1999. When the Indian Airlines flight was taken over by terrorists and parked in Amritsar over the course of its long journey, the Indian establishment could not decide between blocking the aircraft’s departure or letting it go. That ambivalence cost India the advantage it had in being able to control events happening on its own turf.Read more.

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Sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach over: India

Sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach over: India

The "sell-by date" of Pakistan's "anachronistic approach" is long over and the country should "abandon" its "futile quest" for Kashmir, India has said in a strong rebuttal to Islamabad's allegations that New Delhi is escalating the current situation.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin strongly rejected remarks by Pakistan's envoy Maleeha Lodhi, who said during a General Assembly debate on 'Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organisation' that India has created conditions that pose a threat to peace and security in the region by its recent "declarations and actions."

Akbaruddin responded sharply by saying that Pakistan's claims in the UN are finding no resonance and it should abandon its quest for Kashmir, which is an integral part of India.

"Our response to Pakistan is consistent. Abandon your futile quest. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so," Akbaruddin said asserting that no amount of "misuse" of international platforms by Pakistan will change that reality.

"The sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach is long over," he said on Wednesday.

Akbaruddin said claims by Pakistan, a global epicenter of terrorism, on Kashmir find no resonance amongst the international community, with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raising the Kashmir issue in his General Assembly address also finding no support.Read more

Over 500 call centre employees detained in Thane for duping US citizens

Over 500 call centre employees detained in Thane for duping US citizens

In a major raid, over 500 employees of some call centres were detained for allegedly threatening US citizens and siphoning off their money in Mira Road area here, police said today.

The raid was carried out by over 200 police personnel, mostly from the Crime Branch, late last night and continued in the wee hours today, they said.

The persons operated from call centres in Mira Road locality, which comes under the jurisdiction of Thane Rural Police, and posed as officials of US Tax Department, which is equivalent to the Income Tax Department in India, police said.

They would call up the US citizens and demand their financial and bank details, failing which they would allegedly threaten them with dire consequences, including legal action.

After obtaining the requisite details from the American citizens, these call centre employees would siphon off money from their accounts, police said, adding daily turnover of such dealings was estimated to be over Rs 1 crore.Read more

In sickness and in health, a parallel in the journeys of MGR and Jayalalithaa

In sickness and in health, a parallel in the journeys of MGR and Jayalalithaa

When M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) was shot by fellow actor M.R. Radha on January 12, 1967, I was probably a few weeks old in my mother’s womb. MGR’s next near-brush with death was 32 years ago, and as an aware 17-year-old, I have distinct memories of it. MGR was admitted to the same Apollo Hospital where his protégé J. Jayalalithaa is now apparently battling for life. The parallels are stronger than mere calendrical coincidence.

MGR was then 68 – so far as birth records are reliable for a man who came from such humble beginnings as him, about the same age as Jayalalithaa is now. He had suffered a kidney failure, and was soon flown to Brooklyn Hospital, New York for treatment. In the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984, Rajiv Gandhi went in for snap polls a few months ahead of schedule. MGR’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) was in alliance with the Congress.

Those were pre-satellite channel days, and the media had great prestige but could easily be thwarted by the government. During the long months of treatment, there was little real news of MGR’s condition but for the periodical press releases that H.V. Hande – now a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a physician himself and a minister in his cabinet – issued. The press releases carried little credibility, and in one of his famous wordplays, MGR’s erstwhile friend, sworn political enemy and many-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, called it ‘Hande pulugu, anda pulugu, aakasa pulugu’. The line is untranslatable, but the rhyming reference is to ‘blatant lies of universal proportions’.Read more

India strikes back as Army conducts surgical strikes across LoC in Pakistan

Significant casualties inflicted on terrorists; Pakistani DGMO informed of strikes post operation

The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday night on launchpads where terrorists had amassed and positioned themselves to infiltrate into India, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh informed the gathered members of the press at the joint briefing following the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting held on Thursday.

According to Times Now, a total of eight surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian Army. There were no Indian casualties during the operation.

Singh said that the strikes were based on credible information and that the terrorists were poised to conduct attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other major metros in the country. Singh revealed that significant casualties were inflicted on the terrorists in the operation.

The DGMO added that he had contacted his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation conducted by the Indian armed forces on Wednesday night.

"It has been a serious matter of concern that there has been continuing and increasing infiltrations by terrorists across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. This is reflected in the terrorist attacks at Poonch and Uri on September 11 and 18, respectively. Almost 20 infiltrations attempts have been foiled by the Indian Army successfully this year. During these attacks and infiltration attempts, we have recovered items, including global positioning systems and stores which have had Pakistani markings," the DGMO added.Read more.

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