Harpic Mission Paani Hosts India’s Largest Waterthon On Republic Day

* Leading policymakers, celebrities and corporates celebrated w ater heroes

* The 8-hour long Waterthon addressed the criticality of water for hygiene

As India celebrated its 72nd Republic Day, Harpic Mission Paani hosted its first Waterthon celebrating the country’s water heroes. The 8-Hour long Waterthon brought together leading policy makers, celebrities from all walks of life, the Armed Forces and corporates to address the criticality of water for hygiene and conservation.

India’s largest Waterthon witnessed a series of thought-provoking sessions deliberating on efficient solutions and the need to prioritize efforts towards water conservation. Mission Paani has partnered with WWF-India and Swarovski Waterschool to mobilise their Waterschool curriculum for encouraging early water conservation habits in children.

Laxman Narasimhan, Global CEO, Reckitt Benckiser Group commented, “Hosting India’s largest Waterthon on Republic Day is highly symbolic and a matter of pride for us at RB. People from all walks of life have come together today on the Harpic Mission Paani platform, united towards a common goal of saving water. This day has celebrated India’s water heroes who have selflessly led and addressed the criticality of water for hygiene. We are hopeful that Harpic with its key initiatives will successfully drive behavior change towards water conservation and hygiene with Mission Paani.”

Speaking on building purpose-led brands, Harold van den Broek, President, RB Hygiene said “At RB, we are pioneers of Health, Hygiene and Nutrition and we deliver our purpose- to protect heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner and healthier world. Our brands like Harpic, Finish and Lysol have been at the forefront of driving behaviour change. We are committed to building brands with purpose with a clearly defined fight that is linked to key societal issues in line with UN’s defined Sustainability Development Goals.”

Actor and Mission Paani Ambassador, Akshay Kumar said, “Water is a wealth we have to conserve. The demand for water will rise by 40 percent in the next 9 years, which is something we will not be able to fulfill. Add to that, there are chances of a water crisis taking place in 28% of the country for which we all will be responsible. At the rate that humanity is going, in next 100 years, we will finish all the water available. Water can be sold at the rate of gold, it can even be costlier. We might even see a war on it. There might come a time where there won't be rivers, lakes. We will struggle to even find a drop. It is the need of the hour for us to take a pledge to save water so that we can live a life of a better tomorrow.”

At the event Narasimhan Eswar, Senior Vice President, South Asia, RB Hygiene, said, “Saving water is now more important than ever before. The pandemic has taught us that high levels of sanitation and hygiene are essential for all sections of society. Harpic Mission Paani is a defining people’s movement, aimed at creating a more direct impact on water, hygiene and sanitation. Our aim with Harpic Mission Paani’s ‘Swachhta aur Paani’ campaign is to increase awareness and encourage citizens on the urgency for efficient usage and conservation of water as well as hygienic sanitation.

Sukhleen Aneja, CMO & Marketing Director, RB Hygiene, South Asia said, “Children hold the key to our future and are hence the best evangelists for Mission Paani. With Harpic's Mission Paani we wish to bring about a lasting behaviour change. Last year, we released the Water anthem co-created with legendary AR Rahman and rendered by an all-children's choir urging India on the need for using water responsibly. This year Mission Paani has partnered with WWF and Swarovski School of Water to launch and has mobilised the water  curriculum focused on teaching children the importance of water conservation from an early stage.”

ABOUT RB:

RB* is driven by its purpose to protect, heal and nurture in a relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We fight to make access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment a right, not a privilege, for everyone.

RB is proud to have a stable of trusted household brands found in households in more than 190 countries. These include Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Cillit Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Woolite, Air Wick and more.  20 million RB products a day are bought by consumers globally.

RB’s passion to put consumers and people first, to seek out new opportunities, to strive for excellence in all that we do, and to build shared success with all our partners, while doing the right thing, always is what guides the work of our 40,000+ diverse and talented colleagues worldwide.

For more information visit www.rb.com

*RB is the trading name of the Reckitt Benckiser group of companies.

CitiusTech Named Leader In Everest Group’s Healthcare IT Services Specialists PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2021

CitiusTech, a major provider of healthcare technology services and solutions, announced today that it has been named as a “Leader” in Everest Group’s Healthcare IT Services Specialists PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2021.

CitiusTech is positioned as a “Leader” due to its ability to drive transformational change across the healthcare value chain including payers, providers, life sciences and healthcare technology companies. Everest Group cited focus on delivering next-gen digital solutions, deep healthcare domain expertise and strong technology partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, AWS and GCP as key areas of strength.

“Our Leader positioning in Everest Group’s Peak Matrix Assessment 2021 is a testament to our strong focus on digital innovation and years of continuous investment in next-gen technology and healthcare domain expertise,” said Vinil Menon, CTO of CitiusTech. “We will continue to invest in future ready solutions, products and talent so we can consistently deliver higher value to our customers to enable better care and outcomes.”

“The move to new sourcing models has led to an increase in the role and influence of specialists within enterprises' portfolios,” said Chunky Satija, Practice Director at Everest Group. “While large service providers still dominate the services industry, these specialists have been able to carve out a niche for themselves, due to their superior domain expertise, quality of talent, and client intimacy. CitiusTech, with its extensive suite of IP and accelerators and strategic partnerships and reseller relationships with big-tech players, including AWS, GCP, IBM, Microsoft and Salesforce, has positioned itself as a modernization partner for healthcare enterprises. In addition, CitiusTech’s acquisition of FluidEdge Consulting, accompanied by healthcare domain expertise and presence across provider and payer segments, enabled it to be positioned as a Leader in Everest Group’s Healthcare IT Services Specialists PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2021."

The report evaluated digital service capabilities of 12 companies in the healthcare technology and consulting sector and mapped them on the Everest Group PEAK Matrix®, providing a data-driven comparative analysis of specialized healthcare IT digital service providers based on market success and delivery capability. It also observed that in a space dominated by global technology service providers such as Accenture, Cognizant and TCS, specialists like CitiusTech have been able to carve out a niche for themselves and gain market share through superior domain expertise, high quality talent and greater client intimacy.

TCS iON Announces Winners Of The 3rd Edition Of Its IntelliGem Contest

 

* Tata Consultancy Services’ Contest that is Structured as a Test, Helps Young Learners Develop 21st Century Skills

* Students from Bengaluru outperform with 4 wins at the National Level Skill Testing Contest

TCS iON™, a strategic unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced the winners of the Grand Finale of the 3rd edition of the TCS iON IntelliGem contest.

TCS iON IntelliGem helps students gain 21st century skills through a contest format. It was conducted for students of Grades 5 to 9 in three stages – qualifiers, pre-finals and a national-level Grand Finale. To ensure student safety, TCS iON IntelliGem went fully online this year and witnessed participation from schools across over 180 cities from 27 states of India.

Of the 50 students who made it to the Grand Finale, 10 emerged winners. The winners and finalists were awarded exciting cash prizes, new age toys, trophies, certificates, books and subscriptions.

Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head, TCS iON, said, “At TCS iON, our objective is to enable educational institutions to integrate the necessary life skills in their curriculum and drive focus on 21st century readiness. Watching these young, bright minds showcasing their preparedness at a national platform assures us that our initiative has laid the foundation for future leaders, in its true sense. We believe these young gems have the potential to go on to become impactful nation builders in an exciting and challenging world.”

Registrations for the 4th edition (2021-22) of the contest are open from today. Schools across the country can register for the contest on intelligem.tcsion.com

About TCS iON

TCS iON is a strategic business unit of Tata Consultancy Services focused on enabling institutions, government departments and organizations from multiple industry sectors to be efficient in their recruitment/admissions process, learning and skilling and overall business operations with the use of ‘Phygital’ platforms. These are platforms that overlay digital technologies over physical assets. TCS iON delivers this with a unique IT-as-a-Service model that provides easy-to-use, secured, integrated, and hosted solutions in a build-as-you-grow and pay-as-you-use business model. Serving clients with the help of best practices gained through TCS’ global experience, deep domestic market exposure along with industry leading technology expertise.

Schneider Electric Accelerates Its Sustainability Strategy, Comes Top In Corporate Knights Ranking Of World’s Most Sustainable Corporations

* Company announces six long-term commitments, with aim to reach eleven concrete sustainability goals by 2025

* Becomes world’s most sustainable corporate, according to Corporate Knights 2021 Global 100 ranking

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today doubled down on its long-standing strategy to embed environmental, social and governance considerations into every facet of its activities – and to assist its customers and business partners in achieving their own sustainability objectives.

The announcement coincided with the news that Corporate Knights, a Canadian media and research company   producing rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance, has for the first time recognized Schneider Electric number one of its annual index of “the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world”. A jump from 29th position the previous year, the top ranking for 2021 represents an important external recognition of Schneider Electric’s early and sustained commitment to ESG issues. It also highlights the company’s transformation into a leading provider of digital solutions that facilitate energy efficiency and sustainability.

“The core of our strategy is to build a sustainable business and company. Customers, employees, partners and investors have never been more focused on ESG considerations than they are now. Schneider has long embraced those issues, and we keep raising the bar for ourselves, and for our customers and partners,” says Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “When we introduced our first sustainability barometer in 2005, we were an early adopter of ESG matters. But ESG commitments cannot just be a one-off, and we have reinforced ours every three years. All of us – companies, governments, individuals – can contribute to make the world greener and more inclusive. Our new commitments define the next steps of our contribution.” 

The new Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) program will span 2021-2025 and amounts to a significant acceleration of previous targets. It is built on six long-term commitments, which are set to deliver on each of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These commitments are to act for a climate-positive world; to be efficient with resources; to live up to its principles of trust; to create equal opportunities; to harness the power of all generations; and to empower local communities.

“The ability and willingness to make the world greener and more equitable is not just a moral responsibility – it makes good business sense too,” said Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric’s Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer. “The year 2020, marked by COVID-19, a string of climate-linked disasters, and the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change, reinforced the urgency for action. It has also intensified the appetite from our customers to accelerate their own transitions towards a lower-carbon world. Our solutions can help them achieve their goals, too.”

Eleven concrete targets, deliverable by 2025, underpin these commitments. And, for the first time, leaders of the more than 100 markets in which Schneider operates will set local targets to address grassroots-level needs in their communities.

Repeatedly recognized in key rankings for its sustainability achievements, Schneider will continue to report on its extra-financial performance on a quarterly basis, as it has done since launching the world’s first corporate sustainability barometer in 2005.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.

We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.

We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.

Vi Inks A Strategic Partnership With Voot Select To Bring Exclusive Premium Content To Its Customers

* Vi users will now get access to content library of VOOT Select comprising of international content, originals, movies, network shows and 54 linear channels

With an aim to provide enriched entertainment to its customers in India, Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), India’s leading telecom operator has announced a strategic partnership with Viacom18’s premium subscription led video on demand streaming service, VOOT Select, to offer premium content on its digital platform- Vi Movies and TV app. Under this partnership, aimed at bolstering the growth of digital ecosystem in India, customers of Vodafone Idea can now enjoy the curated content offering of VOOT Select, with a seamless viewing experience on their Smart phones. 

To strengthen current content offering on Digital platform - Vi Movies & TV app, the partnership will give customers access to hours of exclusive content pieces  from Voot Select which includes the very successful original mini-series The Gone Game, high octane espionage series Crackdown and other critically acclaimed series such as Asur, Illegal & The Raikar Case, to name a few. Vi customers will now have full access to watch premium Hindi Shows of Colors & MTV like BIGG BOSS season14, Roadies Season 18, Splitsvilla & Khatron Ke Khiladi.

Vi users can also enjoy a host of International shows like Shark Tank, Top Gear, The Office, Tin Star, Nancy Drew, Pink Collar Crimes to name a few. With continuous content addition, users can look forward to an exciting library of content that will keep them entertained 24/7. Voot Select, through its immersive content slate across genres offers a great value for India’s screenagers seeking diverse content experiences. 

Not to forget the daily soaps like Naagin 5, Namak Isk Ka, Molkki, Shakti, Barrister Babu, Raja Rani Chi Ga Jodi, Choti Sarrdaarni,Jeev Zala Yeda Pisa & Kannadathi.

Speaking about the partnership Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer, Vi said, “We are excited to partner with Voot Select and provide unique content propositions to our customers to ensure that they keep coming back to us for more. Digital content consumption has sky rocketed in past few months with users moving towards OTT platforms and guzzling content, especially entertainment. Vi is a brand in tune with the needs of the customers, in these ever-changing times. This collaboration with VOOT Select reflects our commitment to offer the best and latest to our customers. The VOOT Select library is currently exclusively available on Vi and we are excited to bring this wide array of content to our users.”

Speaking on the partnership, Ferzad Palia, Head, VootSelect, Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18, said, “Voot Select has very rapidly risen to become India’s fastest growing premium video streaming service. With one of the most powerful and diverse content offerings in the business, we are delighted to now extend our service to subscribers of Vi on the Vi Movies & TV platform. Our ‘Made For Stories’ offering is sure to delight audiences across the country”

Mr. Amit Arora, President- India & South Asia, IndiaCast Media Distribution Private Limited added “We are delighted to announce that our channels are now available on Vodafone Idea. This marks the dawn of a great partnership to bring cutting edge content to the viewers across India. We stand by our commitment to entertain all generations with the diverse genres of channels that we distribute. Our collaboration with such a leading telecom player shall aid to reinforce the faith viewers have in us. We shall continue to work closely with Vodafone Idea to build our association from strength to strength.’’

About Vi Movies and TV 

The Vi Movies and TV app previously known as Vodafone Play ,Idea Movies & TV has undergone a name change .It is a one-stop entertainment destination to enjoy live TV Shows, latest movies and original content. Downloaded by more than 10 Million+ Vi subscribers it gives access to over 9500+ movies,in13 different languages, 400+ live TV channels along with a huge catalogue of original web series and International TV Shows across all genres.

About Vi:

Vodafone Idea Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s leading telecom service provider. The Company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platform. With the large spectrum portfolio to support the growing demand for data and voice, the company is committed to deliver delightful customer experiences and contribute towards creating a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. The Company is developing infrastructure to introduce newer and smarter technologies, making both retail and enterprise customers future ready with innovative offerings, conveniently accessible through an ecosystem of digital channels as well as extensive on-ground presence. The Company is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

The company offers products and services to its customers in India under the TM Brand name “Vi”. 

About VOOT Select

Voot Select is Viacom18’s premium subscription led video on demand streaming service that offers you access to the best Indian and International content across genres. Along with some of the most popular network shows, the platform boasts of promising Voot Select originals, specially curated international content, live TV and much more. The diverse range of offerings make Voot Select one of the most sought-after content destinations in the streaming space. With an exalting purview of more than 15000 hours of content, ranging across 10 languages, Voot Select caters to the never-ending needs of a discerning digital audience across segments. Made for stories, the premium OTT platform from the house of Viacom18 offers critically acclaimed Indian originals along with exclusive global content from studios like CBS, like CBS, CBS All Access, Showtime, Fremantle, Endemol Shine, Chelsea TV, Arsenal TV, Real Madrid TV, BBC, and Sony Pictures, among others.

About Viacom18

Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India's fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. A joint venture of Network18, which owns 51%, and ViacomCBS, with a 49% stake, Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in shop and through cinema.

About IndiaCast Media Distribution Pvt. Ltd.

'IndiaCast’ is India’s first multi-platform ‘Content Asset Monetization’ entity, jointly owned by TV18 & Viacom18. The company’s mandate includes Domestic Distribution, Placement Services, International Channel Distribution, International Marketing & Advertising Sales, New Media (digital) distribution and Content Syndication for TV18, Viacom18, A+E Networks|TV18 and Turner International India. In India, IndiaCast aggregates and distributes over 63 channels including HD, spanning genres including General Entertainment (Hindi & Regional), Kids, News (Hindi, English, Business, International and Regional), Music (Hindi & International), Infotainment and Lifestyle, Movies (Hindi, Regional  & English).

Skill Development, Rewarding orkforce And Support From Government Essential To Driving Innovation: Microsoft-IDC Study

•  29% organizations are investing in growing enterprise-wide capabilities and skilling initiatives.

•  28% of organizations in India prioritize and formalize innovation rewards over traditional performance.

•  25% businesses in India expect government support in advancing digital and tech skills of the workforce.

Businesses in India have identified workforce alignment through skilling and rewarding and support from government as winning strategies for strengthening innovation and business resilience, said a Microsoft-IDC study. According to the recent report, ‘Culture of Innovation: Foundation for business resilience and economic recovery in Asia Pacific’, 29% of Indian businesses are investing in intensifying enterprise-wide capabilities and skilling initiatives. Per the survey, 28% of organizations in India prioritize and formalize innovation rewards over traditional performance. Significantly, among the workers surveyed for the report, 55% acknowledged that businesses should formalize innovation-based rewards. The findings also highlighted that 25% of Indian enterprises expect support from government to advance digital and tech skills in the workforce.

Future-proofing business with skilling and diversity

The report highlights that while businesses are keen to innovate, long-term, sustained innovation must be driven by a focus on diversity and skilling. The findings point out that organizations with a strong and forward-thinking approach to empowering their people are most likely to innovate faster and better. 15% of Indian workers and 13% of business development managers (BDMs) surveyed believe that leaders need to prioritize a culture that embraces innovation. Moreover, 51% workers and 48% leaders acknowledge that in 3 years workforce models should include re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities, so that employees adapt with agility to changing requirements.   Recognizing the necessity of diversity to drive innovation, 30% of organizations have also increased focus on hiring a diverse cross-industry, multicultural, and multigenerational workforce.

Innovation and digitalization need to be supported by the development of people that are digital-ready.  Specifically, 36% of organizations in India indicated that they would invest in tech skills across the organization as tech-savvy employees are needed to support digital transformation. Over the next 12 months, businesses are looking to focus on Technology (45%) and People (19%) to remain resilient and recover faster.

Transformation is at risk if there is no workforce alignment

93% of workers believe that a culture of innovation is most important in attracting and retaining people for the workforce alignment, while 72% of organizations reported their main approach is to reskill and retain staff and try to minimize layoffs, while. The report also states that such a culture should be built into all aspects of an organization – from rewards and performance measures to building trust and good connections. This can be achieved through performance-based rewards and encouraging disruptive ideas.  30% of organizations in the study said that they have developed a culture promoting disruptive ideas and encouraging innovation as a corporate value. However, 50% workers have also stated that their organizations are yet to prioritize a culture that strives for innovative and disruptive ideas, hires innovative talent, or focuses on upskilling – underlining the need for increased focus from organizations. 

“It is encouraging to see business leaders recognize the importance of skilling & re-skilling to build enterprise-wide capabilities and incentivizing breakthrough ideas to drive long-term innovation. At Microsoft, we believe that enhancing people’s capabilities is critical to building tech intensity – an essential factor in enabling the culture of innovation. We are committed to working with organizations to build an innovation-led business ecosystem where the workforce is highly skilled and constantly driving improvements in products and services.” said Rajiv Sodhi, COO, Microsoft India.

Government support for advancing digital and tech skills

To further drive innovation, government-business symbiosis is essential.  A significant share of business leaders surveyed expect the government to support the economy and businesses, particularly in the areas of advancing digital and tech skills in the workforce (25%) and digital technology adoption incentives for businesses (21%).

The report ‘Culture of Innovation: Foundation for business resilience and economic recovery in Asia Pacific’ introduced the Culture of Innovation framework based on the parameters of People, Data, Technology, and Process. It is based on a survey covering 439 business decision-makers and 438 workers in India within a 6-month period, before and since COVID-19. The India study was part of a broader survey among 3,312 business decision-makers and 3,495 workers across 15 markets in the Asia Pacific region.

About Microsoft India: 

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 13,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.

Indian CXOs More Resilient, But Anticipate Regular Disruptions Compared To Global Peers: Deloitte’s 2021 Global Resilience Report

 

Of the 21 countries surveyed, Indian executives gave their organisations the highest rating for maintaining diverse workforces and fostering inclusive cultures.

Indian organisations are at par with global businesses, in terms of having had technology in place to enable remote working.

Once the pandemic and lockdowns end, Indian CXOs expect a slightly larger percentage of their workforce to continue operating remotely, as compared to global executives.

Indian CXOs (77%) appear relatively confident about their organisation’s ability to adapt, and their own ability to lead through uncertain times as compared to global peers. In the wake of a tumultuous 2020, CXOs also believe disruption is here to stay, according to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Resilience Report. In fact, 70% of the CXOs surveyed in India, do not see 2020 as a rare event and believe they are likely to see occasional, or regular, disruptions of this scale going forward, as compared to 62% globally.

Worsening climate events have given Indian CXOs enough cause to anticipate regular disruptions. They also have a higher propensity to believe that climate change is a crisis of greater magnitude (51%) than COVID-19, as compared to global peers (44%).

“The year 2020 has propelled organisations in India, and the rest of the world, to think creatively given the disruptive environment. Our research reveals that resilient organisations; with flexible, adaptable, long-term, innovative mindsets that cultivate resilient cultures, are better positioned to overcome disruptions and help usher in a “better normal” post pandemic”, said Joydeep Datta Gupta, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. “It shows that acting early, and being prepared, matters and offers proven lessons for increasing organisational success”, he added.

Like their global counterparts, Indian CXOs who had taken specific actions, prior to 2020 or who had ongoing efforts to move to new-age work mechanisms, seemed to have been better at weathering the change. These include diversifying revenue streams (61%) and an increasing use of advanced tech, to create new business models and market opportunities (66%). Globally (including India), over one-third of CXOs who said their organisations are doing very well, were all implementing advanced tech into their strategies to become more resilient, and anticipated growing at over 6% in the next year. 

Once the pandemic and lockdowns end, Indian CXOs expect a slightly larger percentage of their workforce to remain in remote-working scenarios, as compared to global executives. Over two-thirds of CXOs in India (71%) also believe they had kept their employees and customers safe. These organisations had already invested in technologies to enable remote working (59%) or provided flexible working hours (63%), either prior to 2020 or during the year.

The disruptive events of 2020 reflect prominently in the top societal issues identified by surveyed CXOs. Climate change, along with healthcare or disease prevention, and income inequality were the top three issues for Indian CXOs. This was followed by gaps in education, skills and training. Indian executives also exceed their global peers for honouring societal and environmental commitments, including demonstrating a higher commitment to transparency in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.

Recognising the imminent need for change and to drive responsible climate choices within the organisation and beyond, Deloitte has unveiled its WorldClimate initiative, thereby committing to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.

The ‘characteristics of resilience’

Resilient organisations did not necessarily predict the events of 2020, but withstood immense pressure, by enabling and promoting nimble strategies, nurturing adaptive cultures, and implementing and effectively using advanced technologies. Deloitte’s research identifies five attributes of resilient organisations that serve as a strategic, operational, and cultural guidepost. They are:

Prepared: Successful CXOs plan for all outcomes, both short- and long-term. 65% of Indian CXOs said their organisations have done well/very well at balancing both, short-term and long-term priorities.

Adaptable: Leaders recognise the importance of having versatile employees, especially after a year like 2020. To that end, flexibility and adaptability (51%) was, by far, the workforce trait Indian CXOs said was most critical to their organisation’s futures. Majority of Indian respondents indicated that they had implemented actions to make their workforce more adaptable—through training or reskilling workers, implementing worker redeployment programmes, or offering flexible working options.

Collaborative: CXOs indicated the importance of collaboration within their organisations, noting that it sped up decision-making, mitigated risk, and led to more innovation. Two-thirds of respondents who said their companies removed silos in their organisations before the pandemic, reported managing the events of 2020 better than their peers. Technology was a critical enabler of collaboration throughout the pandemic and 83% of CXOs in India said they had invested in technologies and systems that supported remote working, prior to 2020.

Trustworthy: CXOs understand the challenge of building trust with key stakeholders. Indian executives rated their organisations higher than their global counterparts for most trust measures, especially for maintaining trust between leadership and employees, and maintaining digital trust. 

Responsible. Most CXOs acknowledge that the business world has a responsibility beyond the bottom line. Of all the countries surveyed, Indian executives rated their organisations the highest - 91% of CXOs in India said their organisations had done very well in creating diverse and agile cultures.

For more information and to view the full results of Deloitte's 2021 Global Resilience Report, visit: www.deloitte.com/resilience2021.