<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54545801.cms" />&#xa0; 
 <keyword id="6653" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ICICI-bank">ICICI bank</keyword> said it has crossed one-lakh Virtual Payment Addresses (<keyword id="2151334" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="VPA">VPA</keyword>) on Unified Payments Interface (<keyword id="6358921" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="UPI">UPI</keyword>) within three weeks of its launch. 
 So as to further increase the usage of UPI, the bank has announced partnership with <keyword id="2834772" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aditya-Birla-Fashion">Aditya Birla Fashion</keyword> and Retail Limited (ABFRL) and <keyword id="156828" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindustan-Petroleum-Corporation-Limited">Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited</keyword> (HPCL) to offer UPI based payments at its retail outlets, making it the largest forthcoming deployment of in-store payments using UPI. 
 UPI is available on two of the bank's customer facing mobile <keyword id="6354778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Banking">banking</keyword> applications - 'Pockets' and 'iMobile'. Anyone, including <keyword id="3694196" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="non-icici-bank">non-ICICI Bank</keyword> customers can access UPI by creating their VPA on 'Pockets'. 
 With this, customers who have their VPA on ‘Pockets’ as well as ICICI Bank customers with ‘iMobile’ will be able to pay at over 6,500 HPCL petrol pumps and more than 2,000 stores of ABFRL across the country. The customers also can shop from Louis Philippe, Peter England, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, <keyword id="3694195" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="planet-fashion-and-linen-club">Planet Fashion and Linen Club</keyword> among others. 
 "UPI is a path-breaking concept which will enable convenient person-to-person and merchant payments using mobile phones. It is the first time in the world that a project of such a scale is being introduced to customers. We intend to continue exploring more such potential partnerships which will go a long way in popularising the usage of UPI," <keyword id="225262" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chanda-Kochchar">Chanda Kochchar</keyword>, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank told ET. 
 VPA acts as a financial address for a user in lieu of their 16 digital bank account number and the 11 digit <keyword id="373618" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IFSC">IFSC</keyword> code. Once the customers are registered for VPA, they can send and receive money from their smartphones without having to go to the bank and enter their bank account information or net banking user id and password. 
 
Users can also make payments using UPI 24*7 on all days including bank holidays. Payment can also be made to merchants from their mobile phones. 
(image:&#xa0;Indiatimes)

ICICI Bank’s UPI app is re-defining banking, reaches 1 lakh downloads

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53822809.cms" /> 
 Two books that I read recently gave me insights into the experiences of two powerful women who have carved their place in male dominated workplaces. One of them was Justice (retd) <keyword id="138835" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Leila-Seth">Leila Seth</keyword>’s autobiography, On Balance and the other one was Lean In, the book on the experiences of Facebook chief operating officer,<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/How-Sheryl-Sandbergs-grandmother-taught-her-it-was-okay-to-lean-on-other-women-for-support/articleshow/52909071.cms"> Sheryl Sandberg</a>. 
 
In her book On Balance, Justice Seth recounts her initial days at after being elevated as judge in the Delhi High Court. She says that people used to address her as the “new lady judge” and she had to frequently correct them, “I am not the new lady judge, but the new judge.” In her own words, she had to be “equal-plus” in order to be taken seriously. On a similar note, <keyword id="611995" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sheryl-Sandberg">Sheryl Sandberg</keyword>, in her book describes the gender stereotypes that have existed since her childhood and were even visible in her workplace environment. These books give a glimpse of the conscious and inadvertent biases that exist around us. They also bring out the physiological impact of <keyword id="3590826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gender-disparity-in-employment">gender disparity in employment</keyword> and what women go through in such situations. As most of the top level positions are held by men, it is assumed to be natural that women cannot break the glass ceiling. Unfortunately, many educated and working women have also started believing in this theory. Being a woman in a corporate set-up, I could relate to their accounts. 
 Amidst a raging debate around <keyword id="499855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gender-diversity">gender diversity</keyword>, a recent ASSOCHAM-Thought Arbitrage Research report indicates that there was a spurt in the number of working women in India during 2000-2005. It jumped from 34 percent to 37 percent. However, the female labor force participation rate has reduced continuously thereafter and reached 27 percent in 2014. 
 
It is ironical that this downward trend was more pronounced during the period when economy was experiencing unprecedented growth and less and less women were contributing of this boom period. This was a loss for not just India Inc. but for the entire country. We lost on the prospects of nurturing women leaders’ bridge the gender gap. 
 
As the Assocham study shows women are usually seen leaving their jobs when they get married or plan their families. In fact, it is the single largest cause of females leaving their careers mid-way. They are expected to handle domestic responsibilities around children and elders. 
Then there are issues such as gender biases, extreme work conditions and the lack of learning and development opportunities – all these make women quit their jobs. It glaring that despite having good academic qualifications, there are very few women who actually attain leadership roles. We can think of role models like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Kiran-Mazumdar-Shaw-says-Government-should-make-consistent-policies/articleshow/51124909.cms">Kiran Majumdar Shaw</a>, <keyword id="68907" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indira-Nooyi">Indira Nooyi</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/SBI-Chairman-blames-stalled-projects-for-Indian-banking-sector-stress/articleshow/53080413.cms">Arundhati Bhattacharya</a> and <keyword id="225262" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chanda-Kochchar">Chanda Kochchar</keyword>. They have been the epitome of success through hard work and persistence. But we need to create more such role models for young girls to believe in themselves and repeat the success. 
 
Move the needle on gender diversity 
 
Irrespective of the sector, organisations need to make women centric agenda a company priority. Clear targets need to be defined to promote diversity at workplace and obstacles that stifle women talent and empowerment have to be removed. If marriage or maternity are the prime reasons for attrition of women employees, companies should have policies to offer continuity of career if they return, and even incentivise top talent to come back. Earlier this year, Telenor Group took a lead and declared a mandatory 6 month <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Maternity-Bill-passed-in-Rajya-Sabha-26-weeks-of-paid-leave-for-working-women/articleshow/53666268.cms">maternity leave policy</a>. More organisations have followed and even the Indian government is seeking an amendment in the Maternity Benefit Act to provide 26-week maternity leave to all working mothers. Initiatives such as giving flexi working hours or having a crèche or day care centres in the office premises has helped new mothers strike a good work-life balance. 
 
However, to build a pipeline of women leaders we also need create a career roadmap for them. Education, training and professional development modules have to be designed to bring them on a par with their male counterparts. Additionally, companies can focus on setting targets for women representation across all levels of the organization – including senior leadership and develop action plans to achieve these targets. Last year, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came up with directions for listed firms to appoint at least one woman director on their boards with this objective and was stringent enough to get it implemented. Clearly apart from internal plans, a regulatory push always helps. 
 
But policies are not the only intervention required. The work culture and the mind set needs to change. Time and resources have to be invested towards women oriented initiatives. Taking cognizance of this important topic and to promote women leaders, Telenor Group has started an initiative known as Women Inspirational Network (WIN) across all its 13 business units. WIN will provide focused leadership development to women leaders at CXO-1 and CXO-2 levels – ensuring gender balance in the organization’s overall leadership planning. 
Companies need to consciously and cognitively take such steps for inclusive growth at workplace. Studies have shown that by meaningfully engaging with the women employees improves the overall functionality of the organization. The 18th Annual Global CEO Survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) had recently reported that 85% of CEOs whose companies have an inclusiveness strategy said it improved their bottom-line. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Apple-says-it-pays-women-the-same-as-men/articleshow/53530954.cms">Apple says it pays women the same as men</a> 
 
With <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/What-India-Inc-leaders-love-to-do-when-out-of-their-Boardrooms/articleshow/52779268.cms">India Inc.</a> getting noticed keenly globally for their business acumen, the world will be keenly scrutinizing the diversity agenda being pursued by these companies. The new age companies and start-ups are throwing up innumerable opportunities for career oriented women to come forward with their own set-ups. The journey has begun, how long it will take for us to reach the destination only time will tell. 
 
About the author: Pooja Thakran is the Chief Communication Officer &amp; Head of Social Responsibility at Telenor India Communications 
 
<a href="http://stg.businessfirstmagazine.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Depositphotos_49517177_m.jpg">Image source</a>

Winning by promoting gender diversity at
workplace

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/52779895.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" />For corporate honchos, stress comes as easy as big money. Let's agree that getting things always right is a tough task, and leaders of <keyword id="46431" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India-Inc">India Inc</keyword> are always battling the slightest chances of a downfall that could land their firms in trouble. 

	They are stressed, catch them any time of the year. And to beat stress, they too need little time to unwind like everyone else, except that they have their own lavish and luxurious ways of relaxing. 
 

	Here's what these masterminds do in their free time, when they are out of their boardrooms:

What India Inc leaders love to do when out of their Boardrooms

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47354635.cms" /><keyword id="6355975" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Axis-Bank">Axis Bank</keyword> and <keyword id="6653" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="ICICI-bank">ICICI Bank</keyword> share a similar profile in terms of corporate exposure and funding roads, power companies, etc, still there could be a divide emerging between the two. 
 
The stock performance of the two banks clearly point out the divide as the latest quarter financial performance indicate investors believe that Axis Bank is better place than ICICI. 
 The past year saw Axis outperform ICICI by a huge margin. Axis rose 68.71% in the past year when compared with ICICI, which gained 12.23%. The broader BSE <keyword id="54657" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bankex">Bankex</keyword> rose 21%. 
 
ICICI Bank's March quarter earnings rose 10.2% to Rs 2,922 crore, while Axis reported an 18.36% advance to Rs 2,180.6 crore. 
"Axis' earnings growth for the past few quarters has been at 18% while that of ICICI Bank has been at around 10%. Its growth is almost double, which is driving investors to the stock," Vaibhav Agrawal, Vice President research - banking at Angel Broking told Economic Times, adding "Axis Bank's asset quality has been steady while ICICI Bank has seen a rise in its net nonperforming loans. This has also been a positive for Axis Bank." 
 
Meanwhile, Anish Tawakley, analyst with Barclays, said for ICICI Bank, the slippages from the restructuring book are very high as loan exposures come out of the moratorium. 
 
"In large corporates, there can be some lumpy accounts. Even if the economy picks up, they can see stress as they are highly leveraged,” he told ET. 
Even though Axis and ICICI apparently emerged from their past issues - partly created by the economic slowdown that saw bad loans of the industry's largest bank rise to 1.40% of total assets - investors seem to choose former over latter. 
 
"As far as the impact of NPA additions is concerned, as the bank has previously explained, the higher slippages to NPA have come mainly from the existing restructured portfolio; hence the impact on NII and margins is not significant," an ICICI Bank spokesman told the financial daily. 
 Both ICICI and Axis are run by chips of the same block - <keyword id="45875" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Chanda-Kochhar">Chanda Kochhar</keyword> and <keyword id="6356453" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Shikha-Sharma">Shikha Sharma</keyword> - who rose up the ranks at ICICI under KV Kamath. 
 
The newspaper reported that Sharma, who spent almost three decades at the ICICI Bank Group before moving to head Axis Bank in 2009, showed some aggressive management style by buying Enam Securities for Rs 2,070 crore, while Kochhar spent steadying the ship by pulling back funds from overseas businesses. 
 
"Asset quality continues to be challenging due to the tough operating environment and the economic recovery being slower and volatile," Kochhar said during the post-earnings call. In the past few years, she said. 
 
Kochchar added that restructuring was done keeping in mind assumptions of a possible turnaround in the economy. "But the pick-up in economic activity has been gradual and volatile affecting these companies. Asset quality in 2016 will be better than last year," said Kochhar. 
 
"The asset quality environment continues to be challenging with economic activity being weak," V Srinivasan, executive director at Axis Bank, told ET, adding, “We will have to monitor our exposure."

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ICICI Bank’s UPI app is re-defining banking, reaches 1 lakh downloads

BI India Bureau

Winning by promoting gender diversity at workplace

Guest Author

What India Inc leaders love to do when out of their Boardrooms

Anushree Singh

Indian investors are cozying up to Axis bank. Know why

BI India Bureau