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<ul><li>“In India, if you look at the <keyword id="409965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-auto-component-industry">Indian auto component industry</keyword>, there is no specific incentive you get to develop EVs,” said Arvind Goel, <keyword id="9477285" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-autocomp-systems-chief">TATA AutoComp Systems chief</keyword>.</li><li>This came after Union minister <keyword id="26680" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitin-gadkari">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> last week said the country has the potential to become a major manufacturing hub for electric vehicles in the next five years.</li><li>China supplies key components for EVs, including Lithium-ion battery cells. Large parts of these imports from China (except alloy wheels) are sourced by vendors, whereas tyres are sold in the aftermarket, according to Motilal Oswal.</li><li>According to Goel, India can certainly become an EV leader without importing manufacturing parts from China, but for that, Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEM) need to look at the collaborative effort to localize everything.</li></ul>While India is propelling its plan to become a major electric vehicle market in the next 20 years some auto industry players think there isn’t enough support from the government for the EV making companies. “In India, if you look at the Indian auto component industry, there is no specific incentive you get to develop EVs,” said Arvind Goel Managing Director and CEO of TATA AutoComp Systems at ETAuto EV Conclave. “China started making EVs in 2007, and 2008 and the Chinese government saw to it that local investments were made and youth support and local R&amp;D benefits and so many benefits in terms of tax were given to local industries,” he added. Here’s what China did to promote EVs <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">China </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">China started the "863 EV Project" in 2001 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India unveiled the 'National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020' in 2013 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">As of 2019, China has invested $60 billion in subsidies and incentives for EVs. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India released a two-pronged strategy aimed at both buyers and manufacturers, in which it offers $1.4 billion in subsidies to buyers. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">The subsidy for EV customers is RMB 60,000 (₹6,40,000) for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and RMB 50,000 (₹533,000) for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV). </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India offers a purchase subsidy of ₹10,000 per kilowatt to which CEO's want to be extended to ₹15,000 per kilowatt. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">China has over 1.2 million charging points as of 2019 and it plans to add another 600,000 charging points </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Charging infrastructure in India is at a nascent stage </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">China extended a 10% purchase tax exemption on EV sales until 2022. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Indian government also lowered the GST rate on electric vehicles to 5% from the previous high of 12% </td></tr></tbody></table> Gadkari also revealed that the Centre is looking at initiating a pilot project for developing an electric highway on the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai green corridor. READ ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/checkout-the-list-of-indian-startups-working-on-electric-vehicles-and-batteries/slidelist/76562429.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Here are the startups fuelling India’s electric vehicle dream</a> India’s EV industry wants more from the government But the industry wants more. “You have to start thinking about it for eight or ten years in advance. You can’t start in two years, decide to switch to EVs, and say that I want to localize. What happens then is you start importing the technology and components from outside. So everything has a timeline that requires support and regulatory push from the government,” he said. One of the pending demands from the EV makers is for a 50% rise in purchase subsidy to ₹15,000 per kilowatt. “The government and OEMs have to work together to reduce the cost by making in India and making it locally, even the batteries and cells. If it happens, we will win the race and become the largest EV market in the world," <keyword id="191133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sulajja-Firodia-Motwani">Sulajja Firodia Motwani</keyword>, founder and CEO of Kinetic Green, <a href="https://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/kinetic-green-sulajja-firodia-motwani-india-ev-story-remains-very-strong-and-we-can-convert-the-pains-into-gains-56536">earlier told AUTOCAR professionals</a>. Union minister Nitin Gadkari last week said the country has potential to become a major manufacturing hub for electric vehicles in the next five years and the Centre is trying to extend best possible concessions to this sector. The final assembly is just one part China is a key<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/products-like-air-conditioners-cars-electric-vehicles-tv-and-even-medicines-are-highly-dependent-on-material-from-china/articleshow/76618654.cms"> supplier for sub-components used in an engine, electrical /electronics, alloy wheels, tyres</a>, etc. It supplies key components for EVs, including Li-ion battery cells. Large parts of these imports from China (except alloy wheels) are sourced by vendors, whereas tyres are sold in the aftermarket, according to Motilal Oswal. <div type="image" title="EV charing" msid="76669371" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Hindustan Petrolium corporation limited Launch Electric vehicle Charging Station in 2017&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The other major barrier for EV adoption in India is the unavailability of public charging infrastructure (PCS). However, the government has plans to install charging infrastructure for EVs in 70 cities and 20% of highways by 2025. Collaboration is the way to being Atmanirbhar (self reliant) <keyword id="9210258" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="atmanirbhar-bharat">Atmanirbhar Bharat</keyword> is the campaign, a series of reforms, declared by the Indian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-narendra-modi-announces-a-20-lakh-crore-financial-stimulus-for-a-self-reliant-india/articleshow/75700217.cms">Narendra Modi to make India a self-reliant nation</a>. According to Goel, India can certainly become an EV leader without importing manufacturing parts from China, “but for that, Indian OEMs need to look at the collaborative effort to localize everything. You can’t put a factory requirement; the factory needs to be for an international market. For example, some capes (capital expenditure) is put by Mahindras and some by Tatas, and they utilize each other’s facility to reduce the total investments into space” Whereas <keyword id="32047" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahesh-Babu">Mahesh babu</keyword> CEO &amp; MD of Mahindra Electric thinks self-reliance has been misunderstood by other market players and asserted that India should go hand in hand with other countries. He said, “self-reliant is not about making it in India; I think it’s a misconception. In self-reliant, I believe you have to collaborate. We collaborate with European companies that help us in designing some of the hardware. We collaborate with American suppliers and some Chinese suppliers today, we are collaborating with Japanese and Korean suppliers. The collaboration has to be international.” SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-needs-over-600000-buses-for-25-million-commuters-daily-to-follow-social-distancing-norms-in-times-of-coronavirus/articleshow/76417090.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">India needs over 600,000 buses for 25 million commuters daily to follow social distancing norms, according to a study</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/pidilite-brands-fevicol-mseal-and-dr-fixit-make-over-3000-crore-a-year-in-revenue/articleshow/76623265.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Fevicol, MSeal, and Dr Fixit make over ₹3,000 crore a year in revenue — but that’s not enough for Pidilite to recover from COVID crisis</a>

What CEOs say India can learn from China to get more electric vehicles on the road

New Delhi, Mar 27 () The Abhay Firodia Group, which includes automobile manufacturer Force Motors, on Friday announced setting up of Rs 25 crore fund for coronavirus pandemic relief activities. The group, led by Jayahind Industries along with its subsidiaries Force Motors and Jayahind Montupet, has earmarked Rs 25 crore to support COVID-19 relief activities by NGOs, medical establishments, citizens and by industry platforms. "The deployment will be aimed at supporting upgradation of health care infrastructure, enhancing blood collection capability, and facilitating mobile clinic/testing capabilities," the group said in a statement. Commenting on the initiative, group Chairman Abhay Firodia said, "In this hour of major national crisis, we reiterate our dedication, for rendering service to society and the nation." The group will be working closely with bodies like Maratha Chamber Foundation, eminent private hospitals, and select NGOs, to maximise the effectiveness, the statement added. RKL RVK

Coronavirus: Abhay Firodia Group sets up Rs 25-cr fund for relief activities

Shares of <keyword id="411591" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Force-Motors-Ltd-">Force Motors Ltd.</keyword>, a maker of tourist vehicles and engines, hit a fresh high after reporting a sharp surge in earnings and profitability on the back of higher vehicle sales. <keyword id="131640" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="force-motors">Force Motors</keyword>, a part of the <keyword id="272380" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Firodia-Group">Firodia Group</keyword>, said its profit in the first quarter jumped 84 percent to 36 crore rupees compared with 19.4 crore rupees in the same quarter a year ago. <keyword id="474440" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="total-income">Total Income</keyword> rose 17 percent to 640 crore rupees during the April-June quarter versus 454 crore rupees in the same period a year ago. Force Motors' operating margin rose to 8.6 percent versus 6.7 percent over the two comparative periods. Force Motors rose 73 rupees, or 2.8 percent, to 2,603 rupees, a fresh high, on the <keyword id="53581" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="NATIONAL-STOCK-EXCHANGE">National Stock Exchange</keyword> where 6.44 lakh shares were traded by 2.50 pm compared with the 5-day average of 4.55 lakhs. 

	Titan's market capitalisation has soared 350 percent in the past one year to 3,500 crore rupees as investors latched on to India's expanding auto boom.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Know how Force Motors is making its presence felt at Dalal street

<ul><li><keyword id="2665691" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">Niti Aayog</keyword> held meeting with chiefs Bajaj Auto and <keyword id="46156" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TVS-Motor">TVS Motor</keyword> on Friday. </li></ul><ul><li>The government think tank wants two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles in India to go electric by 2023 and 2025 but the industry is protesting. </li></ul><ul><li>The meet was attended by Bajaj Auto MD, Rajiv Bajaj and TVS Motor Chairman, Venu Srinivasan, among others. Hero MotoCorp Chairman Pawan Munjal skipped the meeting. </li></ul>The Narendra Modi government in India is keen on electrifying as many vehicles on Indian roads as possible. However, the latest proposal to set a deadline of 2023 for two-wheeler makers and 2025 for three-wheeler makers has the companies up in arms. In a meeting with representatives of two and three wheeler manufacturing industries, the central think tank of India, the NITI Aayog on June 21, has asked the industry majors to draw up and present a plan to switch to <keyword id="6354973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</keyword> (EV’s) in the coming years, in two weeks. However manufacturers have shown disappointment with the plan sitting that they have already been forced to deal with an accelerated timeline for the new emission norms that are due to sweep in in 2020. While Rajiv Bajaj, the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, reportedly called it ‘shock and awe’, Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor, told the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/two-wheelers-three-wheelers/india-inc-wants-nitis-ev-juggernaut-to-move-out-of-the-fast-lane/articleshow/69920504.cms">Economic Times</a> that the government seemed to “negate in one stroke” the strides made by India in building the world’s largest <keyword id="411149" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="two-wheeler-market">two wheeler market</keyword>. While Bajaj and TVS argued for more reasonable timelines, Pawan Munjal who heads India’s largest two-wheeler company, Hero Moto Corp, did not even attend the meeting on Friday. Further, the companies argued for fiscal incentives to promote manufacturing and sales of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. “I’m in awe of the apparent willingness to subsidise EVs — an approximate ₹1 lakh per vehicle — to help achieve reasonable price parity with ICE two- and three- wheelers for an estimated minimum industry size of 25 million by 2025,” Bajaj said. However, the Niti Aayog reportedly has the support from two-wheeler EV startups, represented by Tarun Mehta, founder of Alther Energy, and Sulajja Motwani of the Firodia group. However, the current manufacturing capacity of the startups is too low to meet the government’s target.

India’s top two-wheeler makers are on a collision course with the government over the deadline for electrification

Her paternal grandmother, Kokilaben, stood by husband Dhirubhai but never joined him as he redefined the boundaries of Indian entrepreneurship. Her father’s sisters, or her aunts, were married early into business houses, with little discussion about joining the business: Dipti into the Salgaocar family and Nina into the Kothari family. Her mother, Nita, broke the mould somewhat and has done a fair bit on the business end of the group. But Isha Ambani, 22, is poised to redraw the family-business construct for Reliance women scions. 
 
Last week, ET reported the only daughter of Reliance Industries owner Mukesh Ambani had joined global consultancy McKinsey in the US. Isha, a Yale graduate in psychology and South Asian studies, had joined her father at the Reliance annual general meeting in Mumbai last year. While the company declined comment, corporate observers say the McKinsey stint is probably a stepping stone to larger things in the family business empire. 
 Across India Inc, more and more women scions can be seen at the frontline of their family business. There are some who have made a mark: like Nisa <keyword id="6369697" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Godrej">Godrej</keyword> and Tanya Dubash at the Godrej Group. There are some who are asserting themselves: like Radhika Piramal, the 34-year-old, Harvard-educated managing director of VIP Industries. 
 
And there’s a new lot stepping in: like 30-year-old Gursimran Mann, managing director of Simbhaoli Sugars, and the first woman in four generations of the family to play a hands-on role in its business. According to business historian Gita Piramal, who is also the mother of Radhika Piramal, 20 years ago, she predicted it would take two generations before Indian women in the family business became the done thing. “I find it has taken one generation to do so,” she says. 
 
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Three Pivots Of Change 
 
“It is a belated effect of what is happening in society,” says Ashvini Chopra, MD &amp; CEO of Universal Trustees, a firm that helps business families in succession planning. When it comes to women in business, this change pivots around three aspects. 
 
The first is education. “Parents who would typically give professional education, including overseas exposure, only to their sons are now also encouraging daughters,” says Prabir Jha, chief HR officer, Reliance Group, speaking in general and not in reference to the Ambani family. “Their entry into business responsibilities is then a logical corollary.” 
 
Secondly, family size is shrinking. Joint families are becoming nuclear, resulting in a fall in the number of male heirs. “In many families it’s a father and son and daughter like situation. And daughters are the heir apparent,” says Kavil Ramachandran, Thomas Schmidheiny Chair professor of family business and wealth management at Indian School of Business. “Also many families are realising that girls are as good as, or better than, boys in performance.” 
 
For some like Sulajja Firodia Motwani, vice-chairperson of Kinetic Engineering, all this was a given. “A combination of a good atmosphere at home, freedom to do what we wanted and treating daughters like sons encouraged me to get into the family business,” she says. While she feels this is how it should be, Piramal says it’s still not the case in all families and inequalities manifest themselves in many forms. “We are only half way there,” she says. “There are several prominent business families where daughters are not at the forefront of handling businesses in terms of true equality.” 
 
That leads to the third pivot of change: an amendment in the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, in 2005, which removed gender discrimination in inheritance in Hindu joint families. Previously, only the male line, down to the great-grandson, had inheritance rights. The amendment gives women an equal share in the family business. “Even women married before 1994 can come back and claim equal rights into the family business as well as inherited assets,” says Sameer Tapia, senior partner at ALMT Legal. 
 

	But the exciting, radical change is happening in operations, and Tapia offers some sense of its magnitude. “We have at least 40 per cent family-business clients where women are playing an active role in the family business, and are part of crucial strategy or execution teams.” And many, like the four women profiled here, are leaving an imprint. 
	 

	 
	 
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Through the Ranks 
 
Unlike many, if not most, women scions in India, Lakshmi Venu had a point of reference on the gender question. Her mother, Mallika Srinivasan, is the chairperson and chief executive of tractor company Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited. But Lakshmi, 31, gravitated towards the businesses managed by her father, Venu Srinivasan—auto-component company Sundaram-Clayton and two-wheeler firm TVS Motor. In 2010, Lakshmi was inducted as director-strategy and whole-time director of Sundaram-Clayton. In May 2011, she was also made vice-president in charge of global business strategy at Sundaram-Clayton. 
 
It capped close to a decade of her involvement with the family business. Back in 2003, Lakshmi joined as a management trainee in Sundaram Auto Components. She also did stints in business strategy, design, corporate affairs, and sales and marketing at TVS Motor. Lakshmi declined comment for this profile. 
 
But senior auto industry professional RL Ravichandran, who has worked in a senior position in TVS Motors, says Lakshmi was interested in the business from early on. Even with her impeccable academic qualifications, he adds, she earned her way through various roles. “(It’s why)…there was no resistance from employees when she was inducted on to the board.” 
 
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior TVS manager who interacts with Lakshmi describes her as “level-headed” and “business-like”. She currently manages the entire component business, which includes die cast, rubber, plastics and seats. “She is handling the business well and it is showing results,” he adds. Unlike Lakshmi, brother Sudarshan Venu, 24, had an easier entry into Sundaram-Clayton, joining its board in 2011. 
 
According to VG Ramakrishnan, managing director of Frost &amp; Sullivan, a consultancy, it’s a good sign when scions spend time in the business rather than being parachuted into it. “Children are being groomed to take over executive roles and responsibilities right from the beginning as part of effective succession planning,” he says. “It shows the progressive nature of these companies.” 
 
 In 2011, Lakshmi married Rohan Murty, son of <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> co-founder Narayana Murthy. Her lineage aside, she is seen as a leader in her own right. Anil Singhvi, founder and director of Institutional Investor Advisory Services, a proxy shareholder advisory firm, has been baying against the tendency of business families to induct women scions into the board simply to meet the new rule of minimum women representation. But for Lakshmi, he says: “She is competent to take the business forward.” 
	 

	 
	 
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When a 21-year-old Bhairavi Jani returned from the US in 2000, after a year of working as a supply-chain consultant in KPMG’s Washington DC office, she battled two stereotypes as she tried to make her mark in the male-dominated Indian logistics business industry: gender and age. “There were people who did not want to work with me, who thought I was probably amusing myself for a few years before being married off,” she says. “And then there were customers, even MNCs, who refused to give business to a young woman, who they were sure would fail miserably at logistics planning.” 
 
Her father had thrown her into the deep end, and told Jani to learn to swim. Instead of making her a part of Blue Dart, his flagship before he sold it to DHL in 2004, Tushar Jani stumped his elder daughter by asking her to set up her own venture. “His view was that people from family-owned businesses tend to take things for granted,” says Jani, now 34. “Going through the pain of setting up a venture would teach me two things: never be afraid to take risks and value what it takes to sustain a business.” 
 So, Jani set up i3pl, to provide end-to-end logistics services to corporate clients. After initially struggling for business, i3pl obtained its first client in M&amp;M, and subsequently signed up British Petroleum, Sara Lee and <keyword id="60299" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Walt-Disney">Walt Disney</keyword>, among others. Jani roped in partners in 2003 and, in a planned exit, sold out to them in 2005. 
 
That same year, Jani assumed the role of group director for the SCA Group, which has four verticals: warehousing, supply chain technology, cargo handling and freight forwarding, and shipping, respectively. At present, she provides strategic and operational guidance, operating as a link between the board and professionals; she also directs new projects and is in charge of joint ventures and alliances. 
 
Jani set up the warehousing vertical, via a company called Transmart India, in 2007. Percy Dhunjisha, a former CFO of Blue Dart Express and a person who had worked closely with her father, was her mentor there. He describes her as a searching and questioning manager. “Bhairavi’s management style is, forethought is better than afterthought,” he says. “She does not accept things as they are presented, but will often probe enough with questions to determine whether there is an alternate way of doing things and whether the same has been considered before arriving at the solution presented.” 
 
At SCA, she has her father’s backing. “Daughters are as astute and sharp in financial management, balance sheet and P&amp;L [profit and loss] accounting, says Tushar Jani. “I have always believed in that. Therefore, Bhairavi has always been given full charge of our projects and companies, including P&amp;L responsibility. And like any CEO, she has been answerable to the board.” 
 

	Gender and age still come up in conversations, though. Even today, there are few women in the logistics industry, and Jani still has to face issues of equality with male colleagues and work-life balance. “But I am confident that women in leadership roles in business will pick up sharply,” she concludes. 
	 

	 
	 
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Set up in 1933, Simbhaoli Sugars has seen four generations of the Mann family nurture it. But in that journey, women from the family, though present as shareholders and promoter-directors, were conspicuously absent on the frontline. Gursimran Mann, belonging to the fourth generation, changed that. 
 In 2005, just 21 and out of college, she joined Simbhaoli— a business with inert appeal to the young and a workforce in which women made up less than 1%. In doing so, she was turning her back on options available to her like consulting and investment banking. She even considered joining a consumer products or an agri-trading company, having done internships with Nestle, <keyword id="76102" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Cargill">Cargill</keyword> and ED&amp;F Man. 
 
“It was my decision,” says Mann. She grew up in the Simbhaoli factory compound, in rural Uttar Pradesh, listening to conversations about the business and watching sugar being made. “This background, combined with my training in economics, made me realise the opportunity that existed for me to help grow the business further.” The only child, she did not immediately start reporting to her father and chairman Gurmit Mann. Joining as a trainee, Mann worked in various departments—factory, farm operations and trading —reporting to different people. 
 
“My promotions were not on auto mode,” she says. After completing her MBA from London Business School, Mann became an executive director in 2012 and managing director in July 2013. At Simbhaoli, she counts among her achievements increasing asset utilisation, partnering with global sugar trading company ED&amp;F Man, setting up sugar refinery on the Gujarat coast to tap the import-export play, reducing the cyclical nature of the sugar business by pushing the power and the alcohol business, building a consulting vertical that advises other companies on all things sugar, and raising new capital from private equity. “She has taken the challenge to professionalise the business,” says Devin Narang, India MD of Singapore-based PE fund Sindicatum, which has invested in the company. 
 

	For Mann, it’s all in a day’s work. “There is an overall social and cultural change, leading to a change in mindset among business families regarding acceptance of daughters to take charge,” she says. 
	 

	 
	 
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The middle of three daughters, Arathi Krishna was the first women in her family to join the business, in 1989, when she was just 20. “I had an easy transition into the company,” says Krishna, now joint managing director of auto-component major Sundram Fasteners. “I was easily accepted by employees.” Acceptance from the industry has followed. The 45-year-old spearheads the Rs 2,651 crore company’s domestic business. 
 “This is a logical succession,” says Sonu Iyer, partner &amp; diversity and inclusiveness leader, <keyword id="151258" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ernst-Young-India">Ernst &amp; Young India</keyword>, a consultancy. “The daughters [younger sister Arundathi is in charge of overseas operations and business development] have grown up in an entrepreneurial set up, and it’s only natural for them to be entrepreneurs and also do it better.” 
 
According to Arathi, her parents gave her an environment to flourish and the freedom to choose. “There was no difference between a son or a daughter,” she says. “My parents are very progressive, willing to take risks and pushed us to pursue our interests. But they never pushed us into the business.” Arathi did an MBA from the US. She stayed on, first to work in automotive strategy with a consulting company and then with Sundram Fasteners for five years. “I knew I would, at some point, come back and join the business,” she says. 
 
“So, I took up jobs in the US that were related to the business. I wanted to make myself worthy when I came back to join the business.” Arathi returned to India in 2006, and became joint MD in 2011. Arathi counts among her achievements making the workforce at Sundram Fastners younger, and the work culture more performance-based and technology oriented. Around 2005, the average age of the Sundram workforce was 40 years; it’s now down to 35 years. 
 
In her earlier years, at industry meets, Arathi would feel out of sorts in what was essentially a man’s world. “But then, I felt it was tougher to work in a Japanese or a Korean company,” she says. At present, 10% of Sundram’s workforce is made of women. “We have always believed in equality at the workplace. We are promoting more women to join the manufacturing ranks in the company.”

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