Pandemic Has Led To Geographic Diversity Of Workforce: Sudhir Sitapati Addressed At “CII National HR Conclave”

* The GiG workforce will help bridge the unemployment gaps in India, but there is a need for more depth and commitment towards the business 

* India is one of the fastest growing economies and has the potential to act upon the huge opportunities thrown by some of the global challenges due to its human capital 

* Indian businesses are into multitasking and known for their agility 

* A good leader is emphatic towards its employees and needs to put the greater good of its company at times of crises, rather than soft-pedal his employees to retain them 

The potential of Indian companies to help achieve the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of being a $5 trillion economy and becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat is possible with the help of its human capital. 

Mr. Sanjay Behl, Chairman, CII National Committee on Leadership & HR & CEO & Executive Director, Greaves Electric Mobility during the 12th CII HR Conclavestated that the growth of any business depends on the quality of human capital that it employs. “India is one of the fastest growing economies and has the potential to act upon the huge opportunities thrown by some of the global challenges,” he said. 

He explained that globally, the economic index is contracting and with countries like China fighting some of its own internal crises thus altering the geopolitical dynamics. “India can benefit by increasing its market share. It needs a new play book to seize the plethora of opportunities that has come,” he pointed out. 

The COVID 19 pandemic has helped companies reshape their business models and this has led to a lot of geographic diversity in its workforce which is a huge opportunity to attract talent, stated Mr. Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director, and CEO, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd at the 12th CII HR Conclave - ‘HR RELEASE 2023- Evolve | Innovate | Inspire’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

Mr. Sitapati stated that due to the geographic diversity of the workforce, talent from countries like UK and Singapore are working for Indian companies which is a huge opportunity today to bridge the talent gap. “The GIG workforce is certainly a great way of working and would help in bridging the employment gaps as well, but there is a need for more commitment and depth towards the businesses,” he said. 

He also stated that companies take years to develop a culture around their workforce and that defines the way that businesses are conducted. “The role of the mentors and the human resource team of such companies is to be more emphatic towards the workforce. That is how talent is retained,” he added. 

Mr. Sitapati stated business leaders at times of crises need to focus on getting the things done in hand, and not soft-pedal its employees to retain them. “From being empathic to communicating clearly, the leader needs to put the greater good of its company at times of crises,” he pointed out.  

Mr. Tarun Rai, Executive Director, Wunderman Thompson explained that the people- asset should be looked upon as the most valuable asset in any company. “Instead of expecting employees to be loyal to the company, the companies need to be loyal to their workforce and give them an opportunity to grow. The employees can be loyal to their own careers,” he said. 

According to Mr Rai, post the pandemic, companies are looking at boosting their performance matrix and hybrid models of work. “The plan was already there for many companies; the pandemic just accelerated these models for them. It has only made us test out the technology and embrace change,” he explained. 

He added that with the changing working culture, companies need to come out with new ways of measuring people productivity. "If the company looks at nurturing its human talent and gives them ample opportunity to grow then issues such as moonlighting do not arise," he added. 

Mr Rai also informed that Indians by nature are into multitasking and known for their agility. “That is when we can get global concepts to become fully operational from India,” he said. 

Photo captions: Mr. Sanjay Behl - Chairman, CII National Committee on Leadership & HR and CEO & Executive Director, Greaves Electric Mobility; Mr. Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director and CEO - Godrej Consumer Products Limited and Mr. Tarun Rai, Executive Director - Wunderman Thompson at the 12th CII HR Conclave.

Cummins India Recognized As A “Gold” Employer In The India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) 2022

Cummins India has been recognized as a "Gold" employer in the India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) Top Employer 2022. The award was conferred to recognize the company’s efforts in fostering a safe and inclusive workplace for the LGBT+ individuals through organization policies, diversity initiatives, external communication, and demonstrating transformation and impact over time. IWEI is India's only comprehensive benchmarking study to measure and enable organization efforts for LGBT+ inclusion. 

Padmashree Dr. Manjamma Jogathiand Co-founder of Pride Circle Srini Ramaswamy presented the award to Annapurna Vishwanathan, Chief Information Officer and Sponsor of India Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG), Cummins India, and Neema Nair, Technical Director- Engine Business and Inclusion Champion for India Pride ERG, Cummins India at the award ceremony in Bengaluru in the presence of LGBT+ leaders, changemakers, organization leaders, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Neema Nair also moderated a panel discussion on "What's Next? The Future of LGBT+ Inclusion at the Workplace".  

On receiving the honor, Anupama Kaul, Human Resources Leader, Cummins India, said “Cummins’ mission is making people’s lives better by powering a more prosperous world, a world where everyone is included and treated with respect. Our methods are designed to cultivate a deep-rooted commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) by creating a safe, inclusive, and equitable space for all including the LGBTQ+ talent. Celebrating 60 years of our remarkable presence in India this year, we are thrilled to be recognized as a "Gold" employer in the India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) 2022. This award is a testimony to the strides achieved by Cummins India in advancing our strategic goals to make our DE&I vision a reality.”    

Since its inception in early 2018, Cummins India Pride ERG has made continuous efforts and progress to create a safe, equal, and inclusive work environment to support and empower LGBTQ+ individuals through employee and organization policies, medical benefits, gender-neutral restrooms, trainings on LGBTQ+ 101, Pride Ally program and more. The dimensions of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression are included globally in our Non-Discrimination Policy, Treatment of Each Other at Work. This year in June, the Pride ERG actioned a special campaign – ‘#PoweringPride - For A World That’s Always On’ to celebrate the pride month and power its vision of building LGBTQ+ friendly and inclusive workplace and communities through insightful sessions, inspiring leadership messages, engaging conversations, and fun activities at Cummins. 

Annapurna Vishwanathan, Chief Information Officer and Sponsor of India Pride ERG, Cummins India said, “Cummins strongly believes that with a diverse and inclusive workforce, we can bring the ideal combination of perspectives, insights, and skills to help solve problems and power innovation for customers; and create sustainable long-term success.The India Pride ERG champions LGBTQ+ causes and has played an instrumental role in sensitizing employees, shifting mindsets, addressing bias and stereotypes, and ensuring a safe and inclusive work environment for LGBTQ+ talent by actioning a multitude of impactful initiatives, policy changes, and leadership reinforcement.”  

In its third year, IWEI 2022 witnessed participation from 105 organizations - a 62% increase from its first edition and a 46% increase from the 72 Organizations in IWEI 2021. India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) is a benchmarking tool for employers to measure progress on LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) equality and inclusion in the workplace. This tool is based on the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, which was launched in the United Kingdom in 2005. IWEI was introduced in India by diversity and inclusion organizations such as Pride Circle, Keshav Suri Foundation and Stonewall (UK). It is also the first of its type in India and the only definitive study on workplace LGBT+ inclusion in the subcontinent and it has assisted organizations in creating an inclusive and safe environment for its LGBT+ workforce. 

About Cummins India Limited  

Cummins India Limited, part of the Cummins Group in India, is headquartered in Pune since 1962 and is the country's leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines for power generation, industrial and automotive markets. Cummins India Limited has a country-wide network of 20 dealerships with over 450 service points that provides products, services, and after-market solutions for uptime of Cummins equipment and engines to customers in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.  

Premiumization Drove “Smartphone Market Growth This Festive Season”

The premium segment of the smartphone market grew faster during the two weeks of Navratri and Dusshera compared to the preceding two weeks of Shraddh, according to the findings of GfK, a global leader in data and analytics. Other segments grew faster during the weeks of Dhanteras and Diwali. 

According to the GfK report, smartphone sales increased by 40% during Navratra and Dussehra compared to Shradh. The premium segment and 5G-enabled devices drove the majority of the growth. 5G devices grew by 51% and accounted for 48% of the market during Navratri and Dusshera as compared to 24% contribution during festival period in year 2021.  The sales contribution of 5G devices by value was around 75%. 

When compared to Navratri and Dusshera weeks, Dhanteras and Diwali saw a 41% increase in smartphone volumes. The sub-15K price segment gained the most, with volumes increasing by more than 50% and contributing 24% to the overall Smartphone category (34% same period in 2021). 

Anant Jain, Head of Market Intelligence, India at GfK, said: “This festive season, Indian smartphone shoppers were back in action, splurging after the mood-dampening COVID-19 pandemic in previous years. Every year, by the end of September, people do not shop due to Shradh, which is immediately followed by festivities. That is when people tend to splurge the most. GfK’s weekly report reflects interesting insights into the festive season. The premium smartphone segment during the same time period (?40K+ segment) grew by 60%. Total smartphone category revenue grew by 38% where 6-6.5" screen size contributed 54% by value and grew by 41%- during Navratri and Dusshera v/s Shradh season this year.” 

On the other hand, the GfK report shows that 4G device sales increased by 48% during dhanteras and Diwali period while 5G only increased by 32%, indicating that manufacturers are clearing 4G-enabled inventory through support schemes. During this period, devices with 6.5-7" screen size grew faster (61%) and contributed 50% to the overall smartphone category.  

GfK. Growth from Knowledge. 

For over 85 years, we have earned the trust of our clients around the world by solving critical business questions in their decision-making process around consumers, markets, brands, and media. Our reliable data and insights, together with advanced AI capabilities, have revolutionized access to real-time actionable recommendations that drive the marketing, sales, and organizational effectiveness of our clients and partners. That’s how we promise and deliver “Growth from Knowledge”. 

Disclaimer: GfK’s Weekly report is a representation of Organized retail and represents 70% (by sales units) of the channel in the country 

Meta Supports FICCI’s XR Open Source Fellowship Program, NeGD Joins As The Technical Partner

* As part of its XR Programs and Research Fund, Meta will support XROS fellowship program to enable ~100 Indian developers to work  on open source projects for the metaverse and will accelerate India’s contribution in XR technologies

* The XROS fellowship program will support in enabling an open ecosystem for the metaverse to spur innovation

Building on its commitment to accelerate India’s contribution in developing XR technologies, Meta is supporting Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) with $1 million for the XR Open Source (XROS) fellowship program. Run by FICCI, XROS will support 100 Indian developers working on XR (extended reality) technologies by providing them with fellowships which includes stipend and mentoring. The National e-Governance Division, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), will be the technical partner to the program.

The program will support developers to make contributions to open source projects related to the XR technology and will further lay the foundation for India specific solutions that are affordable, appropriate and localized to Indic languages. The XROS program is part of Meta’s global XR Programs and Research Fund under which the company announced a $2 million fund for the XR Startup program with MeitY Startup Hub earlier this year. XROS further aims to provide developers with the resources they need to create digital public goods and generate potential employment opportunities in the field of XR technologies.

Sharing his views on the program, Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, Meta said, “The metaverse won’t be built by one company alone. Through programs like XR Open Source, we will support Indian developers working on these exciting technologies. With their talent, insight and effort, we hope to ensure the next generation of internet technologies are built in an open, collaborative and accessible way.”

Present at the launch of the program, Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said, “The vision for India’s techade can only be achieved when the young developers and start-ups, including those from tier II & III cities, contribute to enabling future technologies like XR in the metaverse. I am glad that FICCI and Meta are launching this initiative which will not only focus on providing a monetary boost to the developers but will also support them with the right mentoring to build immersive technologies.”

Speaking about the partnership on the program, Abhishek Singh, President & CEO of NeGD, said, “Open source technology driven ecosystems can play a big role in building robust digital public goods which are interoperable and follow federated architecture. Indian developers, especially from tier 2/3 cities, will play a significant role in shaping the future of emerging technology and the metaverse for India and the world. We are glad to support XROS initiative and hope that program will act as a catalyst to nurture the immersive technology developer ecosystem and the open source community in India. It will be a stepping stone for making this decade India's TechAde.“

Highlighting the importance of the program, Devin Narang,  FICCI Committee Member & Country Head-India, Sindicatum Renewable Energy, said, “XROS Fellowship Program is a uniquely curated initiative aimed at supporting Indian developers to make significant contributions to open source projects related to  extended reality (XR) technology. The program will provide the necessary impetus towards fueling the growth of investments in future technologies in line with the government's vision for making India a trillion-dollar economy by 2025. We thank Meta for their support and NeGD for the partnership on this program.”

The XR Open Source program is the second program in India through which Meta aims to boost the developer ecosystem around immersive technologies and will further the open ecosystem for building the metaverse. From the very beginning, Meta has supported and launched various open source initiatives such as No Language Left Behind (NLLB), a single multilingual AI model which supports 200 low resource languages, including 25 Indian languages. 

Last year Meta partnered with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to bring immersive technologies to over 10M students and 1M educators over the next 3 years. The partnership with CBSE underscores Meta’s commitment to India, and reflects the joint ambition to universalize STEM education by ensuring that students across India have equitable access to quality educational content which will prepare them for the Future of Work in a digitally powered economy. In June 2022, Meta launched the LeARn Program to train 40,000 students in AR, and developed the School of AR, a flagship program that up-skilled 1,000 developers to work on advanced capabilities in MetaSpark. Meta’s XR Programs and Research Fund is a two-year $50 million investment in programs and external research with industry partners, civil rights groups, governments, nonprofits and academic institutions.

About Meta Platforms Inc.

Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.

About National E-Governance Division (NeGD)

NeGD, established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, works on the programme management, project development, technology management, capacity building, awareness and communications related initiatives under Digital India, the flagship programme of Government of India. NeGD supports Central Ministries / Departments, State Governments, and other Government organisations in their Digital India initiatives. NeGD has developed and is managing several national public digital platforms such as DigiLocker, UMANG, API Setu, Poshan Tracker, Academic Bank of Credits, National Academic Depository, OpenForge, MyScheme, etc. It has also played a critical role in the quick national rollout of Co-Win and Government e-Marketplace.

About FICCI

Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India's struggle for independence, its industrialization, and its emergence as one of the most rapidly growing global economies. A non-government, not-for-profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India's business and industry. From influencing policy to encouraging debate, engaging with policy makers and civil society, FICCI articulates the views and concerns of industry. It serves its members from the Indian private and public corporate sectors and multinational companies, drawing its strength from diverse regional chambers of commerce and industry across states, reaching out to over 2,50,000 companies.

Hathras-Based Coding Champion Beat 69Thousand Women Coders To Win Geek Goddess Champion's Trophy

* Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, presided over the 8th edition of TechGig Geek Goddess and invoked the ethos of Digital India and the role of technology in the country’s progress 

TechGig Geek Goddess Is India’s Biggest Coding Competition For Women Programmers

* Overall, five winners were awarded prizes worth Rs 10 Lakh and merit certificates 

Who would have known Hathras a while ago? Today, this sleepy city from west Uttar Pradesh, is the proud home of India’s top woman coder. Yes, Hathras-based, IIIT-Una student Muskan Agrawal beat 69Thousand women coders to claim the title of ‘Top woman coder’ and Rs 1.5 Lakh prize at TechGig Geek Goddess 2022. Her coding expertise helped her win India’s biggest coding competition and make her mark in the coding history. 

Geek Goddess is an annual coding competition for women, instituted by India’s biggest technology community - TechGig. It brings talented women engineers and technology companies together to celebrate their coding genius and innovations at a national level. 

The 8th edition kicked off on August 23 this year and invited women programmers to share unique coding submissions in 54 coding languages for problems statements. Top five programming languages for submitting codes were Python3, CPP14, Java8, Java and C. Similar to the last year, most participants belonged to Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru. 

TechGig Geek Goddess celebrated its 8th edition this year with 69Thousand registrations and 7 corporate partners. This year’s edition was presented by American Express India, for the fifth successive year. Other corporate partners included Synchrony, Goldman Sachs, EY GDS, Persistent, Wipro and Logitech.  

From all the code submissions, the complete and valid ones underwent a crucial scrutiny. The top 500+ participants made it to the final round. This round was held virtually on November 19 where finalists coded non-stop for 4 hours to submit their winning programming solutions.    

Geek Goddess 2022 concluded with its flagship TechGig's Women Disruptors' Virtual Conference on November 23. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, presided over the event as its chief guest and delivered the special address. Speaking here, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, lauded the efforts of all 69Thousand participants. “Technology can be a great enabler and a great change agent for our society,” he said. Reiterating the vision of Digital India launched in 2015, Rajeev Chandrasekhar added that technology can help bring transformational changes in jobs, skill and entrepreneurship among other aspects. “As envisioned in Digital India, technology can empower young people to build platforms, devices and products that could be consumed globally. This invested interest in technology helped India brave the COVID-19 crisis better than any other country. This focus on technical superiority will lead India to become the master of upcoming decade, indeed it will be India’s techade” 

This year’s conference was attended by women business and technology leaders from Deloitte, Cognizant, Intel, Wipro, Synchrony, Goldman Sachs, EY GDS, HCL Technologies, Thoughtworks and American Express India. The event hosted a series of panel discussions and fireside chats where these leaders decoded the nuances of tech careers for women software engineers. Overall, the event garnered more than 35 Million impressions on the internet with about 5 Thousand+ mentions for its hashtag #SheTheInnovator. 

Congratulating the winners of Geek Goddess 2022, Sanjay Goyal Business Head, TechGig said, “Geek Goddess is our flagship event to promote the participation of women engineers at tech workplaces. It is an annual celebration of diversity at tech workplaces and also a prominent reminder of how we need to be on the course to make technology a 50:50 playing field for all engineers. Over these eight editions, it has helped 3.3 Lakh women engineers polish their tech skills, realize their coding potential and connect with over 50+ progressive technology companies.”

“Whether coding with advanced programming languages, or applying the latest tech to solve real-world problems, women technologists are continuously making their mark,” said Ruchika Panesar, VP and head of technology for American Express in India and APAC. “American Express proudly backs women in tech and we congratulate all the Geek Goddess competitors for raising the bar once again.”

All details for the event are available here. The winners’ tally is: 

Geek Goddess 2022 champion: Muskan Agrawal 

1st runner up: Battul Bohra

2nd runner up: Rinki 

3rd runner up: Radhika Patwari 

4th runner up: Mahiyat Tanzim

About TechGig 

TechGig is a young and enthusiastic technology company, offering cutting-edge solutions to its clients using innovative technologies. We help our business partners realize their true talent and business potential using our specialized skill assessment, community engagement and recruitment solutions.

Tata Motors Joins Hands With HDFC Bank For Electric Vehicle Dealer Financing Program

Key Highlights:

* First-of-its kind Electric Vehicle Inventory Financing program for Tata Motors’ dealers

* Limits extended towards EVs will be over and above regular dealer finance limits for Internal Combustion Engines (ICE)

* Attractive special pricing linked to REPO rates

* Additional limit in peak seasons; can be extended 3 times in a year

In a bid to increase EV adoption in the country, Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive manufacturer has joined hands with HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, to offer an Electric Vehicle Dealer Financing solution to its authorized passenger EV dealers. Under this scheme, Tata Motors will provide its dealers additional inventory funding over and above their ICE finance limit with attractive pricing linked to Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR). The repayment tenure will range from 60 to 75 days. Furthermore, the bank will also offer additional limit to cater to high demand phases, which will be available to dealers 3 times in a year.

The MoU for this partnership was signed by Mr. Aasif Malbari, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Mr. Arvind Kapil, Group Head -Retail Assets, HDFC Bank.

Commenting on the rollout of this finance scheme Mr. Aasif Malbari, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. said, “We are extremely delighted to associate with HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, for this financing programme for our authorized electric passenger vehicle dealer partners. Our dealers have provided constant support to us for faster adoption of EVs, and this association with HDFC Bank will further help us in our vision of achieving green mobility. We are optimistic that through this tie-up, we will make the EV buying experience much easier for our customers and this will positively impact their overall buying experience of Tata cars.”

Speaking of this partnership, Mr. Arvind Kapil, Group Head-Retail Assets-HDFC Bank said, “We at HDFC Bank are delighted to be associated with this programme. This will help us tap new consumer segments through a customised financing programme as well as promote the EV culture in the country. This is one more step in our journey towards  becoming carbon neutral by 2031-32.”

Tata Motors has been revolutionizing the Indian automotive market with its pioneering efforts and is leading the e-mobility wave in India with a commanding market share of 89% in FY’22, with over 50,000 Tata EVs produced till date in personal and fleet segments.

About Tata Motors

Part of the USD 128 billion Tata group, Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM; BSE: 500570 and 570001; NSE: TATAMOTORS and TATAMTRDVR), a USD 37 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses, offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top three in the passenger vehicles market.

Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state-of-the-art design and R&D centers located in India, UK, US, Italy, and South Korea. With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. The company is pioneering India's Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and driving the shift towards sustainable mobility solutions by preparing a tailor-made product strategy, leveraging the synergy between the Group companies and playing an active role liaisoning with the Government in developing the policy framework.

With operations in India, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia, Tata Motors’ vehicles are marketed in Africa, Middle East, South & South East Asia, Australia, South America, Russia and other CIS countries. As of March 31, 2022, Tata Motors’ operations include 86 consolidated subsidiaries, two joint operations, four joint ventures and 10 equity-accounted associates, including their subsidiaries, in respect of which the company exercises significant influence.

MoU Inked between SIDBI And AfD For Greening The Finance For Net Zero 2070

On 29th November 2022, SIDBI, and AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT (AfD) joined in partnership with the aim of strengthening the cooperation on climate change and greening finance.

AFD is a public development finance institution which objective is to support both India’s international commitments on reducing greenhouse gases emissions and to ensure economic and social development of the country. AFD is a member of IDFC.

SIDBI a public development bank which promotes the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in India, providing green finance and tools to its beneficiaries. SIDBI is a member of IDFC and heading the climate-working group of IBA.

This Partnership will explore the potential sustainable finance facility towards green finance and other projects related to greening SIDBI financial system, and in turn aiming to strengthen the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Net Zero 2070 objectives.

A steppingstone arrangement used in seeking the cooperation opportunities between AfD and SIDBI to support and encourage programs and projects that are in line with green strategies.

The signatories will define potential areas of cooperation and business development related to the Green Indian Financial System aka the GIFS Initiative, develop projects whose objective is to green the financial system in India and other projects related to sustainable finance, and provide consultancy services for technical assistance.

About AfD

AFD Group implements France’s policy in the areas of development and international solidarity. The Group includes Agence Française de Développement (AFD), which finances the public sector and NGOs, as well as research and education in sustainable development. The teams are involved in multiple projects to promote common good in 115 countries, in territories in crisis, and in Overseas Territories. Their  projects deal with climate change (projects aiming to be 100% in line with the Paris Agreement), gender equality, biodiversity, peace (via the Minka Peace and Resilience Fund), education, and health.

About SIDBI

SIDBI is the principal financial institution set up under an Act of Parliament for promotion, financing and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and for coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. Over the years, SIDBI has been instrumental in taking up various initiatives for the development of the MSME sector through credit and more importantly, credit plus activities.