Apply Ancient Wisdom To Your Digital Lives: Cyber Security DCPs

• Most of the victims of cyber fraud or crime, 95% of them are well-educated and 80% are software professionals: Cyber Crime DCPs
• Cyber Crimes are becoming more organised now: Ms Ritraj, DCP, Cybercrimes, Cyberabad
• If you are using ChatGPT, even cybercriminals are also using it. Be alert, tell experts
• Report Cyber Crimes to the 1930 helpline

FLO (FICCI Ladies Organisation) organised a session “Unlocking Cyber Secrets’, on Safe Guarding Against Digital Threats with three top cyber expert police officers of Telangana Police at Integrated Control and Command Center at Jubilee Hills on Friday. 

The session was inaugurated by Mr CV Anand, Police Commissioner, Hyderabad.

Giving her opening remarks, Ritu Shah, Chairperson of FLO said, Cybersecurity is a social responsibility. We all have a role to play, she said quoting Magda Chelly, a noted expert on Cyber security.

We are living in an age where technology seamlessly intertwines with every facet of our lives. From the moment we wake up to the time we rest our heads on our pillows, technology accompanies us like a steadfast companion. Cybersecurity is the bedrock upon which our digital society rests, ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data and systems that shape our modern existence. It's a profound honour to welcome you to this distinguished panel discussion, "Unlocking Cyber Secrets, Safeguarding Against Digital Threats”, she said.

This discussion promises to unveil insights, strategies, and solutions to protect our digital landscape, she added.

Participating in the panel discussion moderated by Mr Santosh Kaveti, CEO and Founder of ProArch, Ms Sneha Mehra, IPS, DCP Cyber Crimes, Hyderabad; Dr B. Anuradha, DCP Cyber Crimes, Rachakonda, and Ms Ritraj, DCP Cyber Crimes, Cyberabad, said people must be able to differentiate who is a foe and who is a friend. Most of the victims of Cyber Fraud, it is very sad to note that are well-educated. 95 per cent of them are highly qualified. And 80 per cent of them are Software professionals.

(Right-most) CV Anand - Police Commissioner Of Hyderabad Seen inaugurating Session on Cyber Security also seen are Ritu Shah, Sneha Mehra, Dr Anuradha

Cybercrimes are happening because of a lack of logical thinking, and awareness. People must use common sense, they added. 

Another reason for becoming a victim of many cyber frauds is a lack of Cyber Hygiene. The practices and steps that users of computers and other devices need to take regular initiatives to maintain system health and improve online security. These practices, said Ms Sneha, are often part of a routine to ensure the safety of identity and other details that could be stolen or corrupted.

(L-R) Ritu Shah , Sneha Mehra, Dr B Anuradha and Ritraj DCPS

Safe Cyber Transactions must become part of your daily conversations, advised Ms Sneha Mehra.

Cyber Criminals use public fear, greed, and guilt as their opportunities and their weapons to cheat people. You must be aware of this fact. If somebody promises easy money, the simple thing is to use your common sense. Illiterate people are safe because they use common sense. But unfortunately, many learned people who are falling prey to these cyber crooks are not using their minds. Think before you act, Dr Anuradha said.

She narrated how a woman who returned from abroad recently fell prey to a part-time job racket and lost rupees two crores a couple of days back in Rachakonda, is now living in guilt for ignorantly sharing a ten-second nude video to come out of the mess she landed in. She is now being counselled by a professional appointed by Rachakonda Police. 

When she approached the police along with her husband, it was too late and scamsters syphoned of the booty through 100 different accounts and the money had gone down through 30 layers and the police were helpless, Dr Anuradha added. 

Another sad thing is despite being social animals, many people in these kinds of situations suffer in silence and don’t share with any of their family members and friends. 

Santosh, the moderator reminded 150 plus FLO members of the Thirty Crow story and advised them not to be greedy and get tempted by easy money offers. They must cross-check, verify and consult experts before they act upon them. If the crow could use its common sense so as we, he said.

Another fraud that is trending off-late is that cybercriminals are taking the help of ChatGPT to draft alluring and tempting messages, offers that you are bound to take seriously. So be aware of these trends and act accordingly, he said. 

Ritraj said cyber crimes are becoming more organised. They are trying to get more professionals.

Referring to many calls people receive in the disguise of SBI Bank, she said, no public sector bank like SBI calls you at odd hours or after bank hours. They don’t call you from a private number. They don’t use social media to communicate. She advised people to think logically and act, she said.

You can report it to the 1930 helpline or log in National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and report it they advised the public.

Indian B-Schools Doubt ​the ​Value of Their Own People: Aman Gupta, Shark on Shark Tank India, Entrepreneur and Investor

Aman Gupta and Ritu Shah

ISB where I studied never invited me. Ghar Ki Murgi Daal Barabar. Indian business schools doubt ​the ​value of their own people: Aman Gupta, Shark on Shark Tank India, Entrepreneur and Investor

Ghar Ki Murgi Daal Barabar (Familiarity breeds contempt). People are often taken for granted the things that are familiar to them. The same may be the case with ISB (Indian School of Business), where I studied. Harvard Business School invited me. It calls me every year. It wrote a case study on us, but ISB ignored me, it never invited me. Looks like Indian business schools don’t value their own people said Aman Gupta, Shark Tank India fame.

But Hyderabad is the lucky city for me. I have so many memories of this place. Many firsts have happened here, he said.

boAt, the company I co-founded, created history. It has become the 2nd biggest wearable brand in the world. We placed India on the global wearables map, homegrown brand achieving it is a matter of great pride. boAt has also solidified its position in the Indian market by capturing significant market share, shared Aman Gupta.

Ritu Shah Chairperson of FLO seen presenting a Book it brought out recently 

Indian brands are here to stay and they are all set to go places, he declared. People are buying Indian brands, he said.

I worked with JBL, an American audio equipment manufacturer. Now I am the biggest competitor to them, he said.

He was in the city at the invitation of the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO). He addressed 200 plus members on “Ride on the Waves of Success with The Great Indian Shark with Aman Gupta” on Saturday evening at Hotel Park in Somajiguda.

Giving her welcome address Ritu Shah, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad recalled what once Hillary Clinton said, ‘Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world — Talent which once given direction shall take them a long way in life”. Historically women faced many challenges and barriers. And they overcame with determination.

 

Seen FLO members at a session organised by it

The hall was packed. Women were very enthusiastic to listen to him. Seeing in such large numbers, he said “I am nervous. I have never addressed so many women in one place”. He struggled a bit in the begging but gained confidence and earned their trust. He was at his best with his humour. He made his 45 minutes talk very jovial and fun.

I had six failures before boAt happened. I never looked back. In a short span, we have reached the 1 crore units mark. Nearly 5000 people work in our company. The valuation of our company is Rs 10,000 crore. I hold a 25% share. Our sales revenues stand at Rs 4000 crore. We were profitable on day one. I don’t have to work for money. I have sufficient money. I no longer run my business. It is now run by professionals. What drives me most is people, their energy and enthusiasm. I invest in people. I love being busy. I like to inspire people.

Now I am being invited to deliver guest lectures and I am paid for it. The additional money now I make by way of speaking assignments I give to charity, he said.

Aman Gupta admitted that he was never a technocrat. But, JBL where he worked had made some good learning. And some of the people who were his colleagues joined him to build boAt, technically superior products. He was asked what if his own colleagues desert him and pose a competition. He replied that he takes care of his employees well. I don’t want another Aman Gupta born out of my company he said.

When asked between Idea and execution, what he prefers? The idea is good, but the execution is great. Success comes sometimes out of hard work, luck, idea, execution and what have you, he said.

He gave eight lessons of success that guided him through his success. They are 01. Customer is king, 2. Frugality, 3. Back to basics, 5. Do what floats your boat, 6. Money and Mann, 7. Let youngsters run your business and 8. Ham bhi bana (we too can do) attitude.

Archana Khosla Burman takes over as the Chairperson of Mumbai Chapter of FICCI Ladies Organisation

To Lead the Mumbai chapter for the year 2023-24 based on the overarching theme of Democratizing Access with Awareness, Skill and Opportunity

The Mumbai chapter of the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) announced the appointment of its new Chairperson, Archana Khosla Burman, for the year 2023-24 through the national change of guard ceremony held annually at FICCI House, Delhi. The chapter marked its 20 years of operations last year in an illustrious celebration that saw participation from key women leaders.

Archana Khosla Burman -  Chairperson - FICCI FLO Mumbai

Archana Khosla Burman is a Founder Partner of VERTICES PARTNERS, one of the leading corporate law firms headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Gurugram and Bengaluru. Her practice areas include Corporate Commercial Law, Venture Capital and Private Equity Investments.

Passionate about Women Empowerment, she has introduced unique but fundamental initiatives to promote good work practices for women. These include #MenstruationMatters and Period Leave that hold international importance within the narrative of women empowerment. She also works closely with organisations to empower women and mentors and advises budding and seasoned entrepreneurs on several startup and investment forums. Archana sits on the advisory board of several start-ups and new age entrepreneurial ventures.

On her appointment, Archana Khosla Burman, said, “FLO is a reservoir of varied and powerful impact programs that make tremendous contribution to the women empowerment narrative. Honoured to take on the chairperson role of Mumbai chapter, we have a trifecta mission of Women & Youth Entrepreneurship, Upskilling and Social-economic development to further the cause of all-round, advancement of the region under the overarching theme of Democratizing Access with Awareness, Skill and Opportunity”

Outlining her goals for 2023-24, she said, “This year, we aim to engage with more women and youth in urban, rural, as well as underprivileged sections of the society through deeper experiential initiatives. We are bringing special focus on facilitating a level-playing field for women and girls with barriers; making entrepreneurship a reality for women at all levels of the society, starting right from the youth; and the rural holistic development for encouraging socio-economic participation at each level of the society. We also aim to transform the lives of women and youth in the rural areas through vocational training, awareness on sustainable farming practices, health & wellness drives, as well as awareness drives on legal rights and duties.”

Archana has also announced her core committee members, which constitute of Senior Vice-Chairperson, the National Film Award Winning Designer, Neeta Lulla, Vice-Chairperson and entrepreneur in the STEM field, Pooja Arambhan, , Treasurer, Chief Business Strategy Officer in the FinTech space, Upasna Batra, Secretary, social entrepreneur, Seema Saroj, Joint Treasurer, entrepreneur in lifestyle segment, Sheetal Desai, and Joint Secretary, a social impact maker, Heena Shah.

Archana has been associated with FICCI FLO for the past several years and has curated various initiatives like 360-degree impact programs for Incubation & Mentorship and startup entrepreneurs. As a core member at the FICCI FLO national level, she is a part of a high-power team that promotes women in the business eco-system as both, FLOpreneurs i.e., women entrepreneurs as well as FLO Angels, i.e. angel investors. In 2021, Archana was selected to lead the FLO National Startup Cell cohort as the National Head of Programming and Collaborations for two consecutive years. She also led the Virtual Incubator portfolio responsible for signing MOU’s with various external accelerators and relevant players in the field. In the past, she has spearheaded Startup Caravan, a workshop series for new and aspiring entrepreneurs curated by FICCI FLO Mumbai and Vertices Partners.

Archana has been recognized as Forbes Top Lawyers in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Joint Ventures and M&A and awarded ET Leaders of Change 2021 as the country’s leading lawyer in PE & VC, Women Leading in Business and Women Change Makers by ET powered by Femina 2021 and Top Under 40 Alternative Investment Professionals by AIWMI. She has also been featured in Asia Legal Business (Thomson Reuters) 40 Under 40 Top Lawyers List in Asia Pacific Region and the 40 under 40 Rising Star by Legal Era. She has also been featured by ALB in Women in Law and has been awarded as the Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 by Indian Women Convention.

Space Travel at a cost of air ticket travel is not too far away: Skyroot Co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana

Space Travel at a cost of air ticket travel is not too far away: Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder, Skyroot Aerospace--the Hyderabad start-up behind India's first privately designed and built rocket that was launched recently

Hyderabad is India’s Rocket City, says Pawan Chandana, at FLO session

Indian tourists travelling into space is not far away and will become reality in the next 10 years

Telugu states' contribution to Indian space technology is immense

Hyderabad is the rocket city. Most of the recently launched India’s first private rocket was entirely built in Hyderabad. The supply chain is very critical. Hyderabad is the best city in India for the supply chain for building rockets. It is also the best in the world said Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace--the Hyderabad start-up behind India's first privately designed and built rocket that was launched recently.

Talking to FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO) Members at Hotel Radisson Blu in Banjara Hills on “THE METTLE AND THE MANTLE” Indian Business Growth Trajectories, he said only a few countries in the world have the capabilities of building satellites on their own. India is far ahead in space technology. And Hyderabad is becoming a hub.

The talk was organised by FLO Hyderabad. Welcoming the gatherings Shubhraa Maheshwari, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad said ‘be a solution to the problem, nobody can stop being a unicorn’.

150 FLO members attended the session. 

Alok Bansal seen lighting the lamp to inaugurate the session The Mattle & The Mantle--The Indian Business Growth Trajectories

Shubhraa Maheshwari, Alok Bansal, Pawan Kumar Chandana, Pavan Guntupalli

Pawan Kumar Chandana participated and spoke along with two other startup co-founders—Alok Bansal Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, Policy Bazaar---a one-stop destination online for all types of insurance products and Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder of Rapido--India's first and fastest-growing Bike taxi app with a whopping 25 Million+ app downloads.

Space technology is exciting. Only 10% of the universe is covered by mobile technology. The rest of the 90% is space. It is very challenging and exciting. We would like to focus on building smaller satellites of less than 500 kg, he shared

Around 100 to 150 satellites are launched every year over the world and well over 1000 satellites are launched every year. In the next ten years, this number is likely to go up to 40, 000. So we will focus on how we can launch small satellites most cost-effectively.

Replying to a question whether they have any plans to take tourists into space he said that is already happening in the west. As far as India is concerned it might take about ten years. And we are not focusing much on that now. Our focus is on building smaller rockets. The future is not far away see Indian tourists going into space. The future is not far away to see the cost of travelling to space will come down as reasonable as an air ticket said Pawan

Speaking about their plans he said they are working on Vikrant 1. It will be a bigger one that will put satellites into orbit. We are planning to launch it next year, Pawan, the Indian Elon Musk in the making revealed.

Space will be democratized. Everyone can dream of going into space in future he said. Until now Rockets can take a maximum of ten people. But the research is on that an aircraft load of passengers is likely to go into space in future.

Earth is overpopulated. Now outer space is being explored for human habitation. Internet through satellite will become as common as the internet we are using in the next five years, Pawan informed.

Telugu states have contributed immensely to space technology. We have two promising space technology startups — Dhruva Space and Skyroot Aerosoacelocated in Hyderabad. We have ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota which is in the Telugu states. Hyderabad is the Rocket building aerospace hub, informed Pawan.

Women do a lot and can contribute more to space technology. This sector has less than 10% women Pawan said. He wants more Kalpana Chawlas in aerospace technology.

Alok Bansal, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, Policy Bazaar---a one-stop destination online for all types of insurance products and Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder of Rapido--India's first and fastest-growing Bike taxi app with a whopping 25 Million+ app downloads have shared their journey.

Most people were sceptical that women would not use Rapido, but it was proved wrong. 22 to 40% of users are women shared Pavan Guntupalli

Our journey was tough in the initial few years. But, we never looked back since 2014, shared Alok Bansal.

The FLO session was addressed by three Co-founder of three Indian promising companies that have disrupted their respective domains

Only 2 out of 100 Women Invest for Their Retirement: Priti Rathi, Harvard Alumni, MD and Promoter, Anand Rathi Group and Founder of LXME, India's 1st Financial Platform for Women

Women retire with one-tenth of the money man retires: Priti Rathi

Priti Rathi said women retire in poverty

Financial Fitness --Bootcamp for women held. Addressing 100 plus FLO members on Saturday night in Hotel Radisson Blu in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Ms Priti Rathi, Founder & MD of LXME, India's 1st financial platform for women said we believe every woman should aim for financial freedom and have therefore built an ecosystem for them to be financially fearless and ready to take charge of their money

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Hyderabad Chairperson, as part of its national initiative, organised a Bootcamp on Financial Fitness. It was one of the series of sessions of Shubhraa Maheshwari, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad and other FLO Chapters across India on the subject.

Managing Director & Promoter, Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd Priti Rathi addressing her participants said women need not be good at Mathematics and Academics to manage their finances. Women should be in control of their finances. Women retire with one-tenth of the money men retire. Women retire in poverty. Women live longer than men. Women don't talk about money actively.

Women must start talking about their money. She told her participants to start money conversations at home. Normally this subject is brushed under the carpet. Financial literacy is a life skill. The money habit has to be spoken about at home. Don't leave your financial security or goal to some family member. Women need to take care of at least two financial goals such as ---Emergency Fund and Retirement Fund.

Speaking further she added that financial literacy is the most important life skill, but unfortunately, no educational institution teaches it. There is no systematic learning.

Priti Rathi whose business presentation at Harvard Business School has become India's first financial planning app catering specifically to women that helps them invest independently aims to create, through LXME, a new wave of financially fearless women. Believing that women are inherently good investors but have been left out of the investment conversation for far too long, Priti Rathi Gupta wants to end women's reliance on their husbands, brothers or fathers to invest their money.

She told them to bear four pillars of financial management such as 01. Earn 02. Spend 03. Save and 04.Invest

Do not save what is left after spending, but, spend what is left after saving. She gave a golden rule for budgeting. 50% of your earnings must go toward your needs, 20% towards your financial future and 30% towards your wants.

Referring to the findings of Women & Money Power-2022, a study on where women stand on Money Matter, she said 49% of women either do not have their money at all or are not aware of the investments in their name. Only 2 out of 100 women invest for their retirement. Only 9% of women invest independently through self-learning. 58% of women have no insurance in their name. 73% were saving less than 20%of their income.

Earlier welcoming the gathering of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Hyderabad Chairperson Shubhraa Maheshwari said women still run their kitchens and run their businesses. They still take care of their families. They are multi-taskers. But, somehow leave their financial management to somebody. This must change. They must take control of their earnings and investments.

To Support Women Entrepreneurs, FICCI FLO, Hyderabad and IIIT Hyderabad Announce the Inauguration Of FLO Incubator@CIE, IIIT-H

FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter has partnered with CIE IIITH to establishthe FLOIncubator@CIE IIITHin an effort to empower women entrepreneurs and women-led startups.

The virtual inauguration was attended by FLO Hyderabad Chairperson UsharaniManne, Ramesh Loganathan, Professor Co-Innovation/Outreach at IIIT Hyderabad, Sanjay Jesrani, Founder, Go North Venturesand Member, IIITH Foundation GB, members of FLO Hyderabad and CIE@IIITH.

Addressing the gathering, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad, UsharaniManne said, “The mandate of FLO being the economic empowerment of women at all levels,enabling entrepreneurship is at the heart of everything that we do. The FLO Incubation Cell is a national-level initiative that was launched by all 17 chapters during the current year, that is, 2020-21.”

Declaring the FLO Incubator open, she said, “We expect that FLO Incubator @ CIE IIITH will empower our member-entrepreneurs with startup intelligence, mentorship, networking and bespoke guidance. The Centre will offermentorship programs such as FLO Talks on emerging business models andIdea/Opportunity Validation Boot Camps that help understand models for assessing business & market strategies. Microaccelerator programs have also been designed to help entrepreneurs in developing sustainable strategies and biz models to accelerate their startups”.

FLO Incubator will assist in enabling FLO members and women-led startups at early stages through Talks/Roundtables on emerging business models, strategies for scaling up, differentiating a start-up from conventional businesses, types of funding etc., workshop and case studies, and one-on-one mentoring and guidance sessions with expert mentors.

The FLO Incubator@CIE aims at facilitating 20+ women entrepreneurs with each cohort structured to run for 1 month. The team built for the Incubator comprises of members from both FICCI FLO Hyderabad and CIE, IIIT Hyderabad.

 

Sanjay Jesrani, a TedX speaker and a specialist in startups and financing for women entrepreneurs, in the FLO Talk titled: “Understanding the salient features of Startups & funding sources" shared his understanding and experiencesin the angel investment sector. He said it is proven that women make better entrepreneurs and have better financial acumen. Talking about solopreneurship, he said that a team of founders is any day preferable assolopreneurs get stretched physically, financially and emotionally. Emphasizing on enough prep before embarking on any new venture, he said knowledge of the particular business and industry is non-negotiable. It is imperative to find a must-solve problem and not start with a solution torch. The customer base must be clearly identified. He shared a startling statistic of 95% mortality rate in the startup sector.


Breaking the myth that a great idea coupled with a great fund guarantees a great exit, he said that, unless the Founder and his team have industry sapience, clarity of purpose and unrelenting passion, long-term sustainability can become out of reach. Typically, it is a lack of market reach, validation and absence of financial discipline that will lead to failure. He spoke to length on the importance of a go-to-market plan, bootstrapping vs. VC funding, working capital and other aspects.

Ramesh Loganathan shared about the programs on the anvil from FLO Incubator viz Idea Validation Bootcamp, Micro Accelerator and Monthly FLO Talks and urged participation by FLO members from across the country.


FLO (FICCI Ladies Organization) is the women’s wing of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). An all-India forum, FLO is headquartered at New Delhi and operates through 17 chapters across the country. FLO believes that it is important to encourage and facilitate the inclusion and application of women’s skills, talents, experience and energies across all levels of economic activity. Towards this, FLO has been promoting entrepreneurship and professional excellence through various initiatives, activities and by providing opportunities for learning, skilling and sharing. The Hyderabad Chapter of FLO is the largest, with 800+ members, most of who are entrepreneurs and professionals hailing from a diverse range of industries and sectors.


IIIT Hyderabad manages its innovation, entrepreneurial and technology outreach efforts through Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), the largest academic Incubator in the country established to accelerate Deeptech startups. The Centre houses90+ startups, runs several microaccelerator programs to support tech startups, two structured accelerators (DeeptechandMedtech) and is actively engaged in Hyderabad city’s startup ecosystem.


“I believe FLO Incubator at CIE, IIIT Hyderabad will help us leverage and take advantage of the FLO & IIIT-H ecosystems to build a resilient entrepreneurial culture in women.The two organizations are committed to work towards creating Women Entrepreneurs and facilitate an appropriate platform for women to think, learn, create, adapt and achieve true financial freedom as also gain the power to produce wealth.This is another momentous step in the direction of our vision to ‘Live Empowered.’ It is also a way of keeping the #oneflo mission flying high with cross-chapter collaborations,” UsharaniManneadded.

The FLO Incubation team of SarithaChilakapati, ManishaTibrewal, Neha Reddy, led by Social Outreach EC Lead, Radha Rani Sunkara were specially mentioned for their incessant efforts in the area of creating incubation and mentorship opportunities for FLO members.



Visit the website to know more and apply: https://cie.iiit.ac.in/flo-incubator-cie/

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Launches FMC-FLO Mentorship Cell in Hyderabad

A mentor is someone who looks at the business and gives objective inputs: Prof Ramesh Loganathan, IIIT-H

Good Mentor doesn’t give answers but challenges Mentee: Prof Ramesh Loganathan, Guest Speaker

93 per cent of startups admit mentorship is instrumental to success: Ms Usharani Manne, Chairperson, FLO Hyderabad.

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) unveiled its ambitious initiative FMC-FLO Mentorship Cell here in the city in a Webinar on Monday evening.

The Mentorship Cell of FLO provides support to existing and new entrepreneurs, to establish a new business or enhance existing ones shared Ms Bindu Sastry, National Head, FMC speaking immediately after launching the initiative. It is a PAN India initiative being introduced across 17 Chapters all over India.

The vision of FMC is to be a self-reliant entrepreneurial ecosystem for FLO members by FLO members, shared Ms Bindu Sastry.

Addressing the online gathering, Guest Speaker Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, the veteran in this space shared his wisdom. He covered areas such as women representation in startup space, an overview of mentorship, what it takes to be a good mentor, mentor overload etc.

A good mentor shouldn’t give answers. Instead, he or she must challenge mentee. The Mentor shouldn’t share opinions, Mr Ramesh Loganathan, Professor Co-Innovation/ Outreach at IIIT-Hyderabad said.

Make sure the need of the community or society is understood well and served. Your solution should be a differentiator. The customers must be able to derive value from your solution, said Mr Ramesh, former HYSEA President

There is more to pivoting than many entrepreneurs understand. Pivoting in the startup space means shifting to a new strategy as marketing conditions, corporate environment, a pandemic like the current one may force. Sometimes it entails to drastically change the whole company and its plans, strategies. The mentor can bring in his experience in such scenario and help the best way to pivot, he shared.

Speaking about Mentor Overload, the Professor who heads Innovation at IIIT-H said in your entrepreneurial journey some of you may encounter Mentor Overload. In such a scenario, stay cool even if you get conflicting views and make an informed choice.

Concluding his talk, he observed that a mentor is someone who looks at the business and gives objective inputs

He also answered many questions facilitated by Ms Pooja Mitra asked by the participants and answered them and clarified their doubts.

According to Ms Bindu, FMC is a 1-on-1 Mentorship program, lasts for 3 to 6 months. It will facilitate Workshops in Entrepreneurial Areas. It is a voluntary based initiative. It will have two levels both at Chapter and National level. Mentors who volunteer will be trained formally and Certification will be provided. We will have useful collaborations and programs with premier organizations both national and international level.

The Mentorship cell will be a facilitation platform, connecting women entrepreneurs to experts who can guide, mentor and assist them in taking their business to the next level, added Ms Bindu.

Adding further she stated that this initiative is only for FLO women-women with an idea wanting to convert it into a business, existing women entrepreneurs wanting to grow their business, women who have been thrown into business due to unforeseen circumstances.

Welcoming the virtual gathering, Ms Usharani Manne Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad Chapter said we didn’t have such a luxury of Mentorship when I first ventured into my business 25 years ago. Today it is different. Mentorship is an organized service available on tap for entrepreneurs at every stage of their lifecycle.

And I have no hesitation in accepting, Ms. Usharani added that any degree of success one achieved during those times was through trial and error and sheer persistence.

Research and surveys prove that while growth matters, over 70% of startups fail because of premature scaling. Mentored startups grow 3.5 times faster and raise 7 times more money. 80 per cent of successful CEOs said that they had relied on some form of mentorship. In another research by Sage, 93 per cent of startups admit that mentorship is instrumental to success, the FLO Hyderabad Chairperson shared.

The FMC Hyderabad Chapter is comprised of three members -Ms. Nanda Rao, Uma Chigurupati and Pooja Mitra. Sharing the plan to take the initiative forward Ms. Nanda Rao said it will cover areas such as Marketing, Branding, Sales, Legal, Cyber Security, Finance, Digitization etc others. Several Biz Talks related to the subjects will be organized such as this one every month first Wednesday, she shared.

Minister unveils FLO Report on Women Participation in Indian Agriculture

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Report on Women Participation in Indian Agriculture was released by Shri Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India at a webinar held on May 7, 2020 in the Capital.

FLO has collated the report on Women Participation in Indian Agriculture to analyse the role of women in agriculture and provide solutions on how women in agriculture can get their due share and be recognised.



[caption id="attachment_145171" align="alignleft" width="300"] H'ble Minister Parshottam Rupala[/caption]

On this occasion Mr. Rupala congratulated the great initiative taken for the first time by any Chamber of Commerce and encouraged the President and the FLO members to develop a channel to connect women farmers directly to the households. “ We are willing to extend our support to the Chambers wherever required.  Citing the success story of Amul, he added that women can create so many more such stories in agriculture and allied sector, bee keeping is one such sector which has enormous potential”.

“The government is already giving special subsidies to women farmers and looks forward to supporting any viable project for the economic empowerment of women in agriculture. We are open for a 100% FPO (Farmer Producers Organisation) for women and for them there’s a 100 crore IT rebate which makes it very lucrative for the Food processing sector to get involved as well”, he added.

 “As the President of FLO and also as an individual, I am hugely passionate towards attaining economic empowerment and this has to begin with women in agriculture given the  statistics that over 75 percent economically active women in India are

[caption id="attachment_145169" align="alignright" width="200"] Harjinder Kaur talwar, President FLO[/caption]

associated with the Agriculture sector. I began my term by launching the Agriculture Initiative nationally and have done my best to work towards facilitating the growth of women in agriculture. Now, with in-depth research, state wise analysis was created and in this report,  we have come up with reasons as to what stops the growth of women in the field of agriculture and recommended solutions for the same.”, said Harjinder Kaur Talwar, President FLO. 

Women are of vital importance to rural economies and the agriculture sector. They are important for ensuring food security and preserving the local agro biodiversity. While the men mostly venture out of the villages in search of livelihood, the womenfolk are relegated into working in the fields from dawn to dusk, in addition to her traditional role of caregiver in the family. In spite of their vital contribution to the economy, these women are mostly invisible and unheard. Be it due to gender inequality or patriarchal society norms, they face a lot of discriminations.

With this though, FLO, led by President Harjinder Kaur Talwar, initiated the focus on this important sector of Indian economy and this report is a humble attempt in bringing out this set of analysis and recommendations on Women Participation in Indian Agriculture, with the objective of bringing women in this sector to the forefront.

Policy Recommendations by FLO are as follows : 

• Creating a proper database of women in agriculture sector


•  Improving Female Landholding Patterns


•  Putting an End to Forcible Land Relinquishment (Haq-Daan) by Women


• Improving the land leasing framework


•  Women only benefits


•  Enabling “Scientific & Climate Resilient” Smart Women Farmers


• Support the formation of Female Farmer Producer organisations (FPOs):


•  Implementation of SHG (Self Help Group) Model on national level 

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Nitin Gadkari Unveiled the FLO Compendium of 100 Stories of Women in MSME

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises e-unveiled FLO Compendium of 100 successful women Entrepreneurs in MSME organised by Ficci Ladies Organisation ( FLO ) today in the capital.

[caption id="attachment_144960" align="aligncenter" width="662"] FLO Compendium of 100 successful women Entrepreneurs in MSME[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_144961" align="alignleft" width="214"] Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways[/caption]

While unveiling the Compendium, Shri Gadkari said, "In these hard times, you all are striving hard to work and overcome the situation, my best wishes to all of you. Keep moving forward with this positive attitude and strong will, we will soon overcome Corona War as well economic crisis war and India will become super economic power. However, the priority is to wine over the Corona war."

The situation is very bad and challenging but there is a blessing in disguise for India. Japan, US, Germany and all the European countries wants to withdraw from China and it is a golden opportunity for India to take up this position. This is a time for conversion of knowledge into wealth. Innovation, R&D, Technology, joint ventures and most importantly entrepreneurship is required to covert the knowledge into wealth. He also stressed on taking initiatives in converting waste to wealth, giving examples of how it's been done under his Ministry's initiatives and suggestions.

The government has announced various relief packages and support for the industry and is soon announcing few more to help the MSME industry overcome the situation. We should resume the operations slowly and gradually keeping in mind all the guidelines issued by the government.

During the International Womens Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation, IWEC Awards hosted by FLO in November 2019, Shri Nitin Gadkari, announced to launch a compendium of 100 successful women entrepreneurs in MSME. Being the only pan-India business chambers of women, FLO was entrusted with this responsibility by the MSME Ministry.

This compendium is a ready reckoner of 100 inspirational stories of women in MSME, who have ideated, innovated and worked tirelessly to create a niche and successfully contribute to the economy of the nation.

This book is another milestone in the illustrious journey of FLO as it is for the first time in the history of FLO that the Ministry of MSME has supported a publication with its logo, adding great significance to the Compendium.

[caption id="attachment_144962" align="alignleft" width="300"] Harjinder Kaur Talwar, FLO President[/caption]

FLO President, Harjinder Kaur Talwar said, "As the FLO President, I got an opportunity to passionately work on this dream project of highlighting success stories of women entrepreneurs. After 5 months of dedicated time frame and support from the MSME Ministry, my dream has been transformed to reality now and I have never been so happy!"

She added, "It is highly encouraging to see that we have a huge repertoire of women entrepreneurs in our country. No success is complete without documenting it. This is an attempt to collectively showcase the success stories of women in MSME, documented and recorded as inspirations for the next generation of women entrepreneurs."

"This compendium will encourage many more women entrepreneurs and I want FLO to work towards empowering rural women entrepreneurs. He also urged the members to invest in industrial clusters being developed along the National Highways in order to decongest the cities and decentralise the industry," added the MInister

During the Q&A session, he suggested to work on another book which could list the new ideas, and businesses, women can take up. He also welcomed FLO's idea of having this compendium translated in different regional languages for far reach and also creating a platform where the new business ideas can be propagated, formal training sessions can be conducted and adequate technical and financial help can be given to women entrepreneurs to start their ventures.

~ Newsvoir

Nitin Gadkari Unveiled the FLO Compendium of 100 Stories of Women in MSME

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises e-unveiled FLO Compendium of 100 successful women Entrepreneurs in MSME organised by Ficci Ladies Organisation ( FLO ) today in the capital.

[caption id="attachment_144960" align="aligncenter" width="662"] FLO Compendium of 100 successful women Entrepreneurs in MSME[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_144961" align="alignleft" width="214"] Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways[/caption]

While unveiling the Compendium, Shri Gadkari said, "In these hard times, you all are striving hard to work and overcome the situation, my best wishes to all of you. Keep moving forward with this positive attitude and strong will, we will soon overcome Corona War as well economic crisis war and India will become super economic power. However, the priority is to wine over the Corona war."

The situation is very bad and challenging but there is a blessing in disguise for India. Japan, US, Germany and all the European countries wants to withdraw from China and it is a golden opportunity for India to take up this position. This is a time for conversion of knowledge into wealth. Innovation, R&D, Technology, joint ventures and most importantly entrepreneurship is required to covert the knowledge into wealth. He also stressed on taking initiatives in converting waste to wealth, giving examples of how it's been done under his Ministry's initiatives and suggestions.

The government has announced various relief packages and support for the industry and is soon announcing few more to help the MSME industry overcome the situation. We should resume the operations slowly and gradually keeping in mind all the guidelines issued by the government.

During the International Womens Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation, IWEC Awards hosted by FLO in November 2019, Shri Nitin Gadkari, announced to launch a compendium of 100 successful women entrepreneurs in MSME. Being the only pan-India business chambers of women, FLO was entrusted with this responsibility by the MSME Ministry.

This compendium is a ready reckoner of 100 inspirational stories of women in MSME, who have ideated, innovated and worked tirelessly to create a niche and successfully contribute to the economy of the nation.

This book is another milestone in the illustrious journey of FLO as it is for the first time in the history of FLO that the Ministry of MSME has supported a publication with its logo, adding great significance to the Compendium.

[caption id="attachment_144962" align="alignleft" width="300"] Harjinder Kaur Talwar, FLO President[/caption]

FLO President, Harjinder Kaur Talwar said, "As the FLO President, I got an opportunity to passionately work on this dream project of highlighting success stories of women entrepreneurs. After 5 months of dedicated time frame and support from the MSME Ministry, my dream has been transformed to reality now and I have never been so happy!"

She added, "It is highly encouraging to see that we have a huge repertoire of women entrepreneurs in our country. No success is complete without documenting it. This is an attempt to collectively showcase the success stories of women in MSME, documented and recorded as inspirations for the next generation of women entrepreneurs."

"This compendium will encourage many more women entrepreneurs and I want FLO to work towards empowering rural women entrepreneurs. He also urged the members to invest in industrial clusters being developed along the National Highways in order to decongest the cities and decentralise the industry," added the MInister

During the Q&A session, he suggested to work on another book which could list the new ideas, and businesses, women can take up. He also welcomed FLO's idea of having this compendium translated in different regional languages for far reach and also creating a platform where the new business ideas can be propagated, formal training sessions can be conducted and adequate technical and financial help can be given to women entrepreneurs to start their ventures.

~ Newsvoir

Social Media is a Fire: Mallika Sarabhai; Every Educated Woman's Duty is to See Others are Educated: Interior Designer Sunita Kohli

FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter celebrates Women’s Day Eve by organising an interactive session with two legendary icons and women achievers acclaimed dancer and activist Ms. Mallika Sarabhai and renowned interior designer and Architectural Restorer Ms. Sunita Kohli here in city today.

About 150 women professionals and entrepreneurs listened attentively as the two speakers recounted their creative and commercial journey and spoke about women empowerment. Mothers of Past Chairs of FLO Hyderabad Chapter along with the two Chief Guests for the evening inaugurated the session on the eve of International Women’s Day. Entrepreneur, Writer, Producer Ms. Nita Khanna was the moderator for the session named ‘Trail Blazers – Creativity, Enterprise and Empowerment’. On the eve of Women’s Day the Past Chairs of FLO Hyderabad were honoured. 

[gallery type="thumbnails" size="large" columns="1" ids="142670,142669,142667"]

Ms. Sona Chatwani, Chairperson, FICCI Ladies Organisation – Hyderabad Chapter in her welcome address said that it’s a privilege for FLO to have such illustrious personalities with us on the eve of Women’s day. What they have achieved is unparallel. Both of them are great inspiration.  With their multifaceted achievements each one of them has redefined the role of women in today’s context, Ms. Chatwani said. 

Speaking about her life and journey 73 year old Ms. Sunita Kohli said that she grew up in Lucknow. She was born in Lahore in undivided India. Her father and mother moved to Lucknow later. The story of her Mother and Father is the story of displacement which is replicated a lot in North India. My Father and Mother gave me education and their value systems, she said. Lucknow and Hyderabad too have deeply secular values, she opined. The Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb that I had growing up in Lucknow influenced my life, Ms. Kohli stated. 

Speaking on how she started in her creative career, Ms. Sunita Kohli said that creativity is the ability to conceptualize. It comes with several influences in our life. It can come from anywhere and any place you see, hear or from even a phrase from poet Rumi. She opined that travel adds to one’s visual education and that there is no substitution for education and research. 

Interior Designing was an unplanned profession, Ms. Kohli said. I taught myself the nuts and bolts of interior design and aesthetics. When I started there were no barriers. If you can do the work you were given the work. Feminism, Enabler, Influencer were not part of our lexicon when we were working. All our drawings / perspectives were hand drawn, she said. Nowadays if someone designs something, they click 20 pics of the same and flood the Facebook and Instagram. We did not have social media then, she said. Feminism is a western concept, I did not face any bias in my work, Ms. Kohli said. 

Speaking about empowered women, Ms. Sunita Kohli said that ‘empowered women’ is contextual in society and is relative. For me it is the ability to empower others. We are privileged to be educated. We must to something for the less privileged, everybody can do something, she said. Every educated woman’s duty is to see others are educated, she stated. You might be a designer, but that is just one aspect of your life, we are much more, she opined. 

Commenting on the success and how we measure success of women, Ms. Kohli said that success is relative. One is as successful as your last project. You are as good as your last project and you are as good as much as you give, she said. 

Acclaimed dancer Ms. Mallika Sarabhai addressing the media prior to the interactive session wished more power to women on the eve of international women’s day. Women are the driving force within family and outside, she said. She said that gathering like these bring attention to women empowerment. It brings to forefront and lays emphasis on women empowerment. 

Addressing the gathering at the interactive session, Ms. Mallika Sarabhai said that Social Media is fire. It can purify or burn. But, we are using it to burn. Social media has power to transform. But, we are using to spread venom. I get lot of hate mails, because of the views I have. In the year 2002, I started speaking against the government. But, in the year 2010, I decided to write back to each person who posted a hate mail. Believe me, 50 per cent write back to me and said that they didn’t expect me not only read but also respond. They felt bad and repented for posting the hate mail. When we get hate mails like that, we must engage them she said. 

Speaking about power of ‘one’ in rapid fire round she said one person can start a storm, one person can create history. One can do many.

Giving her views on ‘Me Too’, Mallika said, it took tremendous courage for women to lead “Me Too” movement. It is very important movement. It is quite natural for some to exploit it, but that is fine.

Mallika Sarabhai said that India is going through an intense transitional phase where women are standing up and are being seen on streets fighting for the idea of India. Women have found their calling and democracy is being celebrated at its best, she stated. 

The Society is changing but it should change faster. Today we have men who can say that I want to be a Chef; I want to be a House-husband. Women have to bring up children to be human beings /  persons first, not just a Hindu or a Muslim. Good health and literacy are key to women empowerment, she said. Joining in renowned Interior Designer Ms. Sunita Kohli said that it is women who have to bring up children differently. Society will not change. Literacy is the key to bring about a change, she opined. 

Women have so many identities... daughter, wife, mother, career woman... we allow society to brand us in gender, religion or caste. We allow us to be cast in a mould, but women are much more. We copy the West but we are much better. We have a tendency to copy bad things a lot. We are more than gender. We are not consumers. We must find out souls as human beings commented Ms. Mallika Sarabhai. Though we are born as human beings but we have to learn to be human beings, she stated. I always make it a point to speak at gatherings so that at least in those 500 people, five many change. And those five may change others, she added. 

Dance is in my DNA, it is what gives me strength and energy for all other activities, she said when she was asked about the role of dance in her life. 

FLO Hyderabad Chairperson Ms. Sona Chatwani shared that out of 150 plus ladies of the toddy selling Dhoolpet community trained in vocational courses by them are being offered jobs. FLO organized training in different vocations like pickle making, cooking, jute bag making, beauty, Mehendi application, and even computer basics. Fifteen ladies were granted micro loans in liaison with Oriental BGank of Commerce, she shared. We also tied up with CIE – Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIIT-Hyderabad - to encourage startups in the areas of deep tech and med tech. FLO Hyderabad steps into its 20th year. 

FLO also honoured its past chairpersons