May 27, 2007
CII to Name Ombudsmen
on Affirmative Action Soon: Mittal By Arvind
Padmanabhan and Nayanima Basu
New Delhi
Maintaining that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark on corporate
salaries had been taken well by India Inc, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the
new president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said
the lobby group will soon appoint ombudsmen to monitor progress on
affirmative action.
"We will formulate a code of conduct on affirmative action for our
members. The idea is to have some tangible and measurable targets
that can even be placed on the annual reports of companies," said
the Bharti group chairman.
"This will serve as a role model for the captains of industry. In
fact, we will also have ombudsmen on affirmative action and may even
think of some form of an award," Mittal told IANS in an interview.
He said in some parts of India and in some sectors, minorities,
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members were already represented
well. "In some areas like IT and telecom it may be low. Skills have
to be developed and we will."
Addressing the annual general meeting of the industry lobby
Thursday, the prime minister had said that industry must become
pro-active in offering employment to the less privileged sections of
the society at all levels of the job ladder.
"The representation companies give to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled
Tribe, other backward classes, minorities and women in their
workforce must increase. I am encouraged by CII's Report on
Affirmative Action," he had remarked.
Reacting to another comment by the prime minister that Indian
companies should resist excessive remuneration to senior executives
and discourage conspicuous consumption, Mittal said in some
industries lower salaries were not possible.
"In some sectors there is a shortage of trained manpower in India.
So we have to import and pay global scales. But the point the prime
minister made and we agree was don't flaunt your wealth since it can
create social unrest," Mittal said.
Asked how he would manage the perceived divide in corporate India
over foreign equity in the retail trade industry, since his own
tie-up with Wal-Mart has been criticised, Mittal said he has
inherited and will follow CII's position.
"Our position is permit foreign equity in retail trade. CII welcomes
foreign direct investment. But do that is a calibrated manner, do
that in a phased manner so that existing players are not hurt," he
added.
Mittal, who transformed his Bharti group from a small cycle parts
manufacturer to India's largest private telecom service provider,
said his focus during the one year as CII president well be on small
and medium enterprises (SMEs).
"The CII-LM Thapar Centre for Competitiveness will be our flagship
institution in this regard," the 49-year-old first-generation
entrepreneur said, referring to the institute that serves as a
one-stop shop for all the needs of SMEs.
The centre has been providing consultancy to SMEs by promoting
clusters with the idea that they can learn and grow together, he
said. "Our target is to increase the number of such clusters from 75
to 150 by the end of this fiscal."
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