beyond barriers, sept 2013

Dear junctionites,A couple of things have happened in the recent past.1. The new Company Law Bill which was

recently enacted provides for 2% of Net Profit to be channelized by all Companies who fulfil certain criteria towards Corporate Social Responsibility.

2. Md. Yunus, founder of Gramin Bank and Nobel Laureate has propounded his theory of ‘Social Business’. His belief is that Not For Profit Social Organisations will have a limited impact because their model is dependent upon donations. However, a Social Business, as defined by him, solves a social problem whilst being profitable. So while profit is not the primary objective

of a ‘Social Business’ it is most definitely a desired outcome which will ensure the sustainability of the business and hence the cause. I view mjunction as a Social Business. Our

driving force is not profits but it is to bring efficiency and transparency to the Supply Chains that we focus on and to the Customers that we serve. This we have been doing for the past decade and will continue to do so in the future. Case studies have been written by institutions like IIM Calcutta on what we have been able to achieve in bringing transparency and efficiency to the Steel and Coal supply chains. Another case study is being prepared by the London School of Economics which we will share with you as soon as it is ready.

To nurture and to execute the new ideas that we constantly receive from you, we have set up the Incubation Cell. I am happy to inform you that currently this cell is running eight projects. Each one of these projects has the power that currently is housed in our major businesses such as metaljunction and coaljunction. Some of our extremely innovative young people are working full time on these projects and I am sure that in the next issue of Beyond Barriers it will be possible for me to share with you some of its early successes.

As we need to continue generating fresh ideas and executing them flawlessly, we have launched an initiative called the CEO’s Perfect Execution Model. We came across this model at Tata Global Beverages Ltd and have borrowed the same with some minor alterations and it is now open for ideas to be submitted by you for us to take forward.

We are also seeking entries to Tata Innovista which as you are aware is an initiative started by TQMS to celebrate innovations across the

TATA group. I urge all of you to submit your entries that you feel would meet the criteria.

For some time, I have felt that some of our senior executives such as Chiefs of F&A, Technology, HR, Marketing, etc depend upon our Business Units to learn about our customer needs. This distance that our Functional Chiefs were maintaining with our customers, was not a good thing. So our Functional Chiefs have started meeting with our top 20 customers in a structured manner and the results of such interactions have been enlightening as well as value creating. This process will continue with more and more Functional Unit chiefs interacting directly with the customers, gaining insights and helping to craft solutions which would add value to our customers’ operation.

Finally, I cannot but be proud of two of my dream ventures – ejunction and MET. ejunction created as many as 191 employability opportunities in the first half of FY14 against 36 in the same period of FY13. The number of junctionites involved in ejunction has gone up from 89 in the second half of last year to as many as 225 this year. We have 10 centres now at the end of the second half as opposed to three last year. Congratulations to all of you and I hope the numbers speak for themselves and will motivate you to do more. The MET journey which began in 2011 is going strong. The seventh edition of MET was held in Chennai in July. With an efficient team working on it, we plan to take this initiative to more and more cities. I firmly believe it will, with time, achieve its objective of recognizing and rewarding our unsung heroes and our silent champions who tirelessly work to make this world a better place.Regards,Viresh Oberoi

September 2013Volume V ISSue III

WHAT’S INSIDE

Safety corner 2Milestones @ mjunction 3

mj-McCloskey coal meet 4mj to focus on creation of customer values 5A trek to remember 6ej spreads its wings 8

A learning experience with a difference 9Urmi Basu addresses mjunction 9H3 annual conferences 10

Featured junctionite 117th MET in Chennai 11mjunction in Stepathalon 12An enduring love affair with life 13

Client speak 13Spot awards and new faces 14Gallery 15Quiz Corner 16

BEYONDBARRIERS

From the MD

Volume V. ISSue III. September 2013

2

FROM THEEDITOR’SDESK

DesignDebal Ray, Sobhan Jas

For suggestions, feedback and queries, please write to [email protected]

Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior permission of mjunction services limited. Please inform us if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed.

Disclaimer: This document is for information purpose only. Certain information herein has been acquired from various external sources believed to be reliable. While we have taken reasonable care to compile this report, we in no way assume any responsibility for any error or discrepancy in regards to information contained herein. Readers are requested to make appropriate judgement without any prejudice or compulsion.

Visit our Corporate website at www.mjunction.inVisit our Corporate blog at www.awwb.blogspot.com

Dear Readers,

In the garb of what has come to be known as “resilience” and “diehard spirit”, we celebrate in spite of all odds, in spite of the spiralling food prices, in spite of rising fuel costs, in spite of the chaotic traffic and in spite of dwindling standards of basic amenities like healthcare, education and law. It is not necessarily a bad thing, except that there is a fear of complete lack of accountability on the part of those in charge of governance, and even worse, a lack of awareness of rights on the part of those being governed.

There is no knowing really how to optimally address these problems, except for each one of us to be true to what we are doing and what we are committing. At mjunction, we believe in “with great freedom comes great responsibility.” In fact that is all we can do at this point. Be responsible. A big change always comes as a cumulative effect of small changes and bringing about small changes is up to each and every one of us.

We have left an eventful quarter behind. Our achievements in our corporate sustainability initiatives during the quarter have been really worth a mention. ejunction has gone from strength to strength in terms of student registrations, the number of junctionites involved, the number of centres and the number of employability opportunities that have been created. Health and safety have also been two of mjunction’s top priorities. Our Administration team keeps sending us small tips on these subjects from time to time. One of the recent and most relevant ones was safety tips for Diwali. Learning and development has also been one of mjunction’s focus areas and in this issue we have covered mjunction’s first experience with e-learning.

In every issue we try to bring you a snapshot of our lives at mjunction. We are a young and vibrant organisation with people at the helm who encourage free thinking and new ideas. At every step, therefore, we look ahead to new beginnings and newer pastures to tread on.

Regards,

Madhuchanda DasguptaEditor

Who we aredetermines

What we doDo the Right Thing Always

Smooth surfaces are not always safe to walk on especially in a dimly-lit area. Hence, watch your step because along with less lighting, the floor could be slippery too

Safety Corner

A spill, a slip, a hospital trip

Keep your workplace clean, the walkway area clear and ensure that there are no carelessly spilled

items

Knowing ethics does not make a person more ethical. It helps one to decide what is right and gives him the courage to do that.

Every professional, at least once in his or her career, feels he is crossing a line he does not really mean to. It just happens.

Hence the value of knowing ethics is in knowing where the line is to be drawn . . . before one crosses it!

Contributed by: Sanchita Bandyopadhyay, Ethics Counsellor


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milestones @mjunction

www.valuejunction.in

buyjunction plays key role in Tata Growth Shop logistics requirementbuyjunction, the e-procurement platform of mjunction services, has played a key role in finalising a road transportation contract from Tata Growth Shop (TGS) in Jamshedpur to Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar project in Odisha.

Tata Steel is setting up a world class steel mega manufacturing plant at Kalinganagar, for which large numbers of fabricated structures, heavy machinery and technical equipment had to be moved from Jamshedpur to Kalinganagar. Most of this equipment would be Over Dimension Cargo (ODC) which had to be loaded onto trucks and carried through the road network that has villages, forest areas and bridges.

buyjunction came into the picture at this juncture when TGS approached it to finalise logistics service providers for the transportation contract of this requirement.

buyjunction set for itself the following objectives:

• Optimising a route through a route survey;

• Obtaining a single contract solution for ODC and normal consignment transportation;

• Evaluating vendors and rating them in accordance with Tata Steel safety norms;

• Negotiating a long term contract at the current market price.

Strategy adopted

A route survey was necessary as ODC consignments weighing above 32 tons had to be moved over roads and bridges. Also, tree over-hangs along the route had to be spotted. An unofficial clearance from Gram Panchayats of villages along the route was necessary to ensure smooth passage.

Vendor mapping was done based on their capability, experience and safety compliance records. Vendor credentials were a priority for Tata Steel, and registered vendors with Tata Steel were given preference due to their familiarity with Tata Steel safety and quality norms.

buyjunction prepared a techno-commercial document which contained the following:

• A three-year contract period since TGS wanted certainty;

• Route optimisation through the route survey;

• Screening service providers through three stage meetings; first stage meeting was between mjunction and the service provider; a second stage meeting was at the plant for discussion with the despatch manager and the third stage was an open forum with service providers and the client;

• A new clause was introduced in the RFQ to prevent backing out of the contract, minimising theft and damage, compliance with safety and security norms and freedom from price escalation.

Selection of vendors was done strictly as per norms and out of 17 vendors only seven were selected for bidding.

A cost model was submitted to TGS based on an analysis of market prices and taking into account several options such as the online price, multiple

www.buyjunction.in

market contracts based on the size of consignment and the cost of investing in a fleet of ones own.

Key achievements

• A three-year contract reduced the rate and service uncertainty;

• The cost was lower than market benchmark prices and resulted in savings between 2 to 30% for varying consignments. A Rs 82-crore contract was signed against a free market price of Rs 150 crore;

• The seven best logistics service providers were chosen in ODC category;

• A win-win contract was worked out both for TGS and the vendor;

• A similar road transportation contract was finalised for Tata Steel subsequently for raw materials and finished goods.

Carbon black is in powder form and not many logistics service providers like to use their trucks to carry this load because the trucks can get darkened and rendered unfit to carry other commodities unless they are put through an expensive wash each time after use.

PCBL gives very short notice to conduct the auction and normally requires the job to be completed within 15 days. Within this time, a spend analysis has to be done, the RFQ has to be floated, earnest money has to be collected, list of vendors finalized for the auction process, training of vendors to participate in the auction and the auction conducted for 344 markets in the country. A customized report is then generated to help the client confirm the bid.

Objectivebuyjunction set itself the objective of finalizing he outbound road transportation contract through reliable logistic service providers (LSP) at competitive rates.

Strategy When buyjunction was mandated to carry out the auction for the second year, it did an in-depth study of the requirement.

Many industrial users of carbon black do not have adequate warehouses to store this raw material at their plants and hence work on a Just in Time work philosophy which requires on time deliveries. Hence, reliability of the transporter was very important.

PCBL already had a vendor base for logistics service providers (LSPs) and as they are limited in number, they can form a cartel to negotiate the price for these small markets. buyjunction realized that getting new LSPs into the game would make the auction more fair and competitive. So, eight new LSPs were identified and screened after intensive market making to take the total to 22 who would participate in the auction. This was the first challenge to be overcome.

Danish also found that LSPs operating in the North and East of India were more operationally compatible to each other’s regions and similarly LSPs in Western Region and South India were more compatible. For example, LSPs from North were less keen to operate in South India and vice versa. This affinity for LSPs arose from varying road conditions and languages in India. Calculation of transit time had to take into account the road conditions prevailing.

Meeting the timeline of 15 days set by the client was important and so a structured plan was developed to monitor activities on a day to day basis.

Two categories of LSPs were needed based on volume. High volume routes were those which had 50 truckloads a year, called Category A and the Category B included less volume routes of less than 50 truckloads a year. The total volume to be auctioned for carriage was 272,073 tons. The total transaction value was Rs 60 crore.

As many as 344 markets were divided into 42 zones so that a transporter gets allocation according to a zone. Auction of Category A was first conducted by inviting mass bids and then carrying out a reverse auction. For Category B, a reasonable price was fixed by buyjunction in accordance with market rates which winners of Category A had to accept.

As many as 22 LSPs participated and 15 won the contracts. The eight new LSPs identified bagged 49% of the business.

Key AchievementsThe assignment was executed by buyjunction within the timeline of 15 days with LSPs of high reliability and a saving of a further 2.25% of total transaction value was achieved in second year of the auction.

valuejunction helps Tata Sky sell set top boxesvaluejunction, mjunction’s business unit dealing in e-sale of idle assets, was approached by Tata Sky to sell 20 lakh units of its MPEG2 set-top boxes. Tata Sky, a leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider in India, is a joint venture of the Tata Group and Star. Tata Sky was in the process of replacing the MPEG2 set-top boxes with MPEG4 ones.

Business challenge• The set top boxes could only be sold as e-waste

• They could be sold only to e-waste recyclers with available finance and the capacity to lift the material within 15 days

• The set top boxes, once sold, had to be lifted from 43 locations across India

• Tata Sky wanted all 20 lakh units to be sold to a single buyer to enable easy coordination and payment

valuejunction met the challenge head on in a systematic, efficient and innovative matter. They first enlisted interested e-waste recyclers who met all the client requirements with respect to finance and lifting capabilities. Within six days of receiving the mandate, the team at valuejunction conducted the auction with five e-waste recyclers bidding for the set top boxes.

Since the set top boxes had to be sold as e-waste, they were auctioned on a per kg basis. Tata Sky not only achieved good price realisation through the sale, it also achieved fast turnaround time and a completely hassle-free sale process. A price of Rs 86 per kg was achieved through the auction and Tata Sky received a total value of Rs 20 crore for the entire consignment.

Freight contract finalised for Phillips Carbon Black Phillips Carbon Black Limited (PCBL) has four plant locations from where carbon black is despatched to different locations all over India. PCBL has been using the services of buyjunction to finalise the freight forwarding rates of its finished product carbon black. continued on Pg 4


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• To conclude the sale within the designated timeframe

Strategy adoptedThe challenges for valuejunction were two fold – to identify and make a list of materials inside the plant that could be sold and to find competent buyers.

There were two options to conduct the eAuction: either to sell the whole plant as a single lot or to segregate the complete inventory into categories. valuejunction chose the first and the more unconventional approach.

The valuejunction team designed a unique two-part bid auction strategy – a sealed bid followed by e-auction to make the event successful.

There was a lack of a buyer base to rely on and so it advertised. The team conducted intensive marketing for the project through diverse online and offline modes

and reached out to potential buyers. The efforts paid off and 27 buyers expressed interest. Thereafter, the selection of possible buyers was done by evaluating them along three parameters of financial capability, technical capability and past experience in undertaking such dismantling jobs. Fifteen buyers were then invited for inspection and the terms of the sale were framed based on their feedback. These kept into account the timeline to be met by the client and a staggered payment method that would suit the buyer without harming the client’s interest. Following this, an e-auction was held after proper training to the buyers.

Key achievementBy getting the right set of bidders and a scientific auction method, valuejunction sold the plant, an idle and stressed asset, in record time and at an attractive price. The results achieved exceeded the expectations of the client.

The 7th Indian Coal Markets Conference

& Awards dinner was organised by mjunction and IHS McCloskey on 24-25 September at The Westin, Gurgaon. More than 200 delegates from the coal value chain of nine countries participated in the conference.

Awards in seven categories were bestowed upon organisations to recognise their commitment and service to their customers.

The conference was attended by several key speakers and delegates from the international and domestic coal industries. Among the prominent speakers were former Coal Secretary Alok Perti, Planning Commission Energy Advisor I.A. Khan, former Power Secretary R.V. Shahi and Coal India Limited Director (Marketing) B.K. Saxena.

The participants thrashed out key topics plaguing the global coal community, posed pertinent questions and sought answers from the relevant quarters.

Bringing in an international perspective, John Howland, Senior Director Coal, IHS McCloskey, placed a review and thrashed out global supply and demand in the Indian context.

Other speakers from IHS McCloskey were Bishal Thapa, Consultant, (Indian

Energy), who elaborated on the issues affecting Indian imports while Chris Holmes, Senior Director, Global Gas and LNG, expanded on the natural gas supply, demand and price dynamics.

Adika Manohar Rao Director (Planning & Projects), Singareni Collieries Company Limited, explained the challenges faced in ramping up domestic production and Ashok Kumar, Chief Technology Officer, Process, Tata Steel gave an overview of steel expectations and coking coal demand.

M.K. Palanivel, president, All India Bulk Shipping Division, Merchant Shipping Services, Samsara Group, gave an update on the current shipping markets and existing logistics infrastructure and the impact of the ban on iron ore exports on the overall economy, particularly on coal logistics.

Other participants at the conference included Coal Preparation Society of India

president R.K. Sachdev, GMR Group president Avinash Shah, Avantha Power & Infrastructure’s COO Neelkant N a r a y a n a n Kollengode, Adani Power’s Head of Fuel Management & Coal Logistics Kapil Thapar and Tata Power Delhi D i s t r i b u t i o n ’ s AGM (Power Management) Sumit Sachdev.

The awardsThe awards were presented in seven categories and were

given away by the mjunction CEO & MD Viresh Oberoi.

The winners in the various categories are:l Coal Importer of the Year:

Adani Enterprises Ltdl Coal Indian Domestic Trader of the

Year: SG Projects Ltdl Coal Transporter of the Year: Adani

Enterprises Ltdl Coal Port Performer of the Year:

Krishnaptnam Port Col Coal Inspection Agency of the Year:

SGS India Pvt Ltdl Coal Mining Contractor of the Year:

Adani Mining Pvt Ltdl Trade Finance Bank of the Year:

State Bank of India

mj-McCloskey coal meetheld in Delhi

continued from Pg 3

valuejunction helps Rallis India sell pesticide plant Rallis India, a leading pesticide manufacturer, had a chemical plant near Hyderabad. It was away from residential areas when it had been set up but increasing urbanization and expansion of the city resulted in government pressure to move the plant. Rallis had four months to close down the plant. Rallis India, approached valuejunction to sell its plant.

Objectivesvaluejunction set itself the following objectives:

• To unlock value for the client by selling off the pesticide plant at a higher premium than the reserve price


5

Can you tell us about the company's vision statement for 2014-19? How will it translate in terms of transaction value, revenue and profits?mjunction felt the need to revisit its Vision statement as the targets we set for ourselves in the old statement will be achieved in the current financial year. For the new Vision beginning FY15, which will see us through the next five years, the spotlight will be on creation of customer value, in our quest to become more customer-focused, innovative and technology-driven.

As we went about the task of coining the statement, we kept in mind that the new Vision statement should not only be aspirational but also extremely ambitious, without appearing impossible. Of course, it had to be unambiguous, so that there is no scope for any misinterpretation among all stakeholders.

Our new statement reflects long-term direction and aims at achieving a year-on-year revenue growth of 25% based on continuously creating value for our customers. Over the next three years, mjunction plans to achieve a revenue figure of Rs 250 crore, maintaining a gross margin of at least 30%. We are in the process of quantifying our vision target, which will be in terms of value created for our customers.

Will the company be able to continue growing at the breathtaking pace of 80 per cent CAGR recorded over the past decade?We are looking at a new horizon. Four years ago, we had co-created a vision which stated that by FY14, which would be the fifth year, we would have transactions of $10 billion in value. Last year, which was the fourth year of our vision, we achieved a transaction value close to Rs 42,000 crore. So I believe that we are very much on target to close this year with a value of transactions close to Rs 55,000 crore. (Of course, when we had last created our vision statement, the dollar was closer to Rs 50 than the current Rs 60!)

In the new vision, our focus will shift from growth in terms of value of transaction to growth in value creation for our clients.

Could you elaborate on the three pillars of

technology, customer focus and innovation that is part of your long-term strategy?mjunction was the result of an innovative thought – a small thought germinating into a business idea. Since that day in 2001, it has been a story of continual innovation and exceeding our brief. And I would like to believe that innovation should continue to be a focus area. As long as we keep innovating, we will grow.

Of course no innovation will be of any use of it is not geared towards the customer, who is at the core of all our business processes. We exist because of our customers and we have to be focused on innovative solutions which will benefit our clients. So on one hand we have a customer account manager and on the other we have a service delivery manager. We have now added the third person in the box – the category manager. While earlier we had sales and business development teams dedicated for each business unit, this year we have a corporate sales team which will cross-sell our various units.

And then there is technology, which forms the foundation and backbone of our business, and therefore which cannot be overlooked come what may. Even this year, when we concentrated on optimising our expenditures, we invested heavily in technology. Over the years, mjunction has come to be known for its ability to choose a process or a technology and then adapt it to its customer’s needs. And our customers expect no less from us. All solutions that we provide are backed by superior technology and for the long term too, we will not compromise on building uniformly reliable I-T infrastructure.

How effective has the restructuring exercise of your business units been following implementation of McKinsey's three-horizon strategy? Please tell us about this strategy.mjunction adopted McKinsey’s three-horizon strategy as part of its strategic planning process to achieve transformational growth with a high degree of stability. We did this with the help of Goldratt Consulting as well as the Tata Quality Management Services (TQMS).

The objective of this approach is to help us to align our resources to opportunities in an optimal manner. Thus, mjunction has segregated its various services into mature, emerging and nascent businesses, which has made it extremely convenient for us to chalk out separate strategies and growth paths for all three.

Horizon 1 consists of our mature businesses which provides most of our revenue and profits and with which our customers and promoters identify mjunction. The purpose of this horizon is to build world class practices and drive efficiency.

Horizon 2 consists of our emerging businesses, which may not be profitable but are growing fast, capturing markets and getting promoter attention. The purpose of these business units is to grow and grow fast.

Horizon 3 consists of nascent businesses that could go any which way, but which hold the potential to drive long-term growth.

As of now, mjunction has two business units

mj to focus on creation of customer valueAfter a decade of successful growth, mjunction services is focusing its business lens on creating customer value. CEO and managing director Viresh Oberoi spoke to tata.com about the company’s new vision. We reproduce the interview here for you.

in Horizon 1 and three each in Horizon 2 and 3 respectively.

Tell us about the Movement for Efficiency and Transparency (MET) initiative started by mjunction. The Movement for Efficiency & Transparency (MET) was kickstarted in 2011 with the first event at Kolkata in August. This is a movement which is personally very close to my heart.

Having realised that mjunction’s services have brought about transparency in its client’s operations which led to efficiencies and unlocking of value, I felt that similar examples in society need to be recognised and appreciated, especially at a time when corruption in society had peaked. This is how the concept of MET came about. The focus of MET is on raising awareness of just causes by bringing individuals and institutions doing similar good work in corporate governance or civil society on a common platform that can result in a significant driving force to influence policies and inspire the masses.

The first edition of MET was held in Kolkata in 2011. Since then, it has travelled to five other smaller cities and everywhere the response has been overwhelming. Several change and thought leaders have shared their ideas on the platform.

What kind of response did you get to the three MET conferences held during the year? Will you continue hosting such conferences in future?Let me answer the second question first. Of course we will continue to host such conferences as I feel we are not even at the tip of the iceberg as far as what we want to achieve. For me and everyone at mjunction, MET is not just an event but as the name rightly suggests, it is a movement and we will not rest till we achieve our mission.

Coming to the three MET conferences we held this year in the three steel townships of Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela, the response was tremendous. In all the three towns, it was held in association with the respective SAIL plants there, who leant full support to the events.

Mr G.S. Prasad, Mr P.K. Singh and Mr Pankaj Gautam, the CEOs of Rourkela Steel Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant and Bhilai Steel Plant respectively, not only graced the conferences with their presence but also addressed the respective gatherings.

We have had bright and young visionaries as well as people with a rich tapestry of experience take part in MET and I feel we are on the right track.

What are the highlights of the new corporate sustainability initiatives that you plan to undertake?mjunction formed a trust in 2007 called ejunction as part of its corporate sustainability initiative to promote e-education and employability for the financially challenged and underprivileged.

The initiative had begun with a batch of 20 students, consisting mainly of mjunction support staff and security personnel. However, as the initiative picked up, it was opened up entirely. mjunction employees refer and nominate trainees and also double up as trainers. It is purely a voluntary service.

Over the last few years, ejunction has successfully trained over 1,500 individuals. The initiative took another step forward when it decided to join hands with CII to conduct a special batch for candidates from the SC/ST/OBC community. Last year, ejunction created employment opportunities for 112 students, out of whom 57 were able to secure jobs for themselves.

In the current financial year, we plan to train 800 students and create employment opportunities for 400 of them. We also plan to open over 15 new ejunction centres. We currently have two centres in Kolkata and two in Jamshedpur.

I believe mjunction is a for-profit organisation with a heart. It also regularly sponsors and supports sports events and cultural activities of various NGOs.


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A trek to remember

On July 3, a group of 17 executive trainees at mjunction were picked up from their respective homes at 4 in the morning. I was one among them and as I got into the car, I had mixed feelings

about the upcoming trip with a group of virtual strangers. We had all joined mjunction just two days ago on July 1.

The feeling was indeed mixed I am sure for all of us. On one hand there was the excitement of novelty and on the other there was apprehension about spending the next few days among some unknown people.

As for me, I was a trifle nervous at the thought of rock-climbing and staying in a jungle. However, not for a moment did I doubt that this was indeed going to be a unique experience. All 17 of us were to participate in an outbound training programme on the hills of Panchalingeshwar in the Balasore district of Odisha, which is something mandatory that new junctionites have to undergo. The company believes the programme provides leadership orientation with nature as the teacher. The training and its components are also expected to make the participants perceive the importance of values like self-awareness, teamwork, confidence, decision-making, trust, tolerance and patience. The programme also aims to help

develop a positive outlook and enjoy with bare minimum facilities.Thus mentally prepared, we reached the station and as we boarded the

train one by one, it was amazing how all of us hit it off from hour one. In fact, the comfort factor was so high that we hardly felt that we barely knew each other even a few hours ago.

At about 11 a.m., we reached the Balasore station where we were received by the Solo group, our official trainers of the trekking camp. As we got on to our cabs to head to our camp site, we were engulfed by the beauty of nature. The widely stretched green fields, uneven ranges of small hills, a thundery sky and a strong breeze were our companions along the way. The isolation

from the main town, the “kachchi sadak”, the serenity and calmness of the greenery everywhere, filled our souls with peace.

Meanwhile away from our homes, and in a setting completely devoid of the comforts most of us are used to, a comfortable bonding developed among us.

It was a journey of about 1 and a half hours to the base camp and after we reached we were allocated our tents. Thereafter we literally inspected the whole place after tea and a small introduction with the trainers. For

A trek to remember

Sohini Banerjee, metaljunction


7

the next five days, we would be staying inside a tent which is 1.5 ft high with negligible ventilation, no electricity and very basic washroom facilities bordering on the primitive. After the initial excitement, we started craving for basic facilities, which we would take for granted in the city.

We spent that entire day lazing around. After a sumptuous and delicious lunch, in the evening we were taken for a walk through the jungle, which by itself was a mesmerising experience.

The real exercise began the day after. We woke up at 4 a.m. while it was still dark outside. We had to assemble at fall-ins and were handed out the schedules for the rest of the day. That morning started with jogging in the vicinity. The fresh and crisp morning air and the dew-wet grass made the exercise calming. However, we also realised how our sedentary city lives had made us unfit. Among all the gasping and panting, it was an enjoyable experience.

The same day, we were taken to the rocks. Our first day of rock-climbing was a learning experience by itself. We were first briefed by the trainers and it was followed by a demonstration. The exercise kickstarted with a practice session on a few small rocks. We were taught about the various equipment like Harness, Karabiner, Climbing rope and knots like clove hitch. One by one we had to climb the rock. It was very difficult initially, some of us were hurt but we kept at it till we made it. Of course it was all possible due to the support of our trainers.

In fact, this brings me to one of my most significant takeaways from the trip – the grit, the passion, determination and dedication of the trainers. They turned into extraordinary people in our eyes as we listened to their stories and watched some documentaries. They were in love with their dream and would go to all lengths to stick by it. They could serve as perfect inspiration for people who want to pursue their dreams against all odds.

That night was scary to say the least. With no electricity and deep

darkness descending upon us, it was only thanks to our tired bones that we fell asleep.

The next day onwards we had rigorous schedules of rappelling and mountain-climbing and after returning to the camp-site and having our lunch, we would have to participate in strategy games. In the evenings, we were shown documentaries of the trainers of their trekking events. We also did Flying fox, Moon-walk, Sky-walk etc. in the last day of our camp.

In all activities, it was finally either leadership skills or team work which was put to test, and these skills were sharpened and honed.

One challenge which really stands out among all is an evening when we were divided into two teams. It was 8.30 p.m. and in the middle of a deep dark forest. One team was handed an aluminium bowl, five eggs, two onions,

salt and mustard oil and the other team was handed one such bowl, tea leaves and sugar. Our challenge was to cook in the bush and in the dark. We were led by the Solo team to extremely dense forests. We were given three match sticks and a damp match box. It was a triumph of team spirit as some gathered the dry leaves, some lit the fire and some did the actual cooking of the tea and the egg bhujia. Another incident which stands out is when there was a mock drill regarding one of our team mates who had apparently gone missing. This tested us on alertness and presence of mind.

In the meantime, we learned the ways of survival as we carried water from tubewells and bathed

inside the space tents. It all somehow seemed easier in the company of our teammates with whom we had developed close bonding.

The stint ended with a beautiful campfire, where we sang and danced and made merry. And as we left we left with these memories.

This trip, apart from changing my world view regarding tough times and survival, also gave me a bunch of friends who became more than only colleagues over those few days.


8

ejunction spreads its wingsXII students. Presently we have two batches there - in which 40 young adults are getting training.

• Ramnagar Unnayan Sangstha in Midnapore: ejunction has a tie-up with this organisation and three batches are running here. We have 60 students in that centre.

• Hemchandra Library: This is the oldest captive centre of ejunction. The renowned library is located at Khidirpore at Kolkata. Right now we are running a batch of 25 students here.

Maiden joint convocation of ejunction-ApeejayThe first ever joint convocation of ejunction's independent centre and the captive centre at Apeejay was held on September 19 at mjunction's Godrej Waterside premises.

The convocation was attended by senior officials of both mjunction and Apeejay. The CEO and MD of mjunction Mr Viresh Oberoi and the ejunction managing trustee Mr Suvajit Chakraborty were among those who attended the convocation. From Apeejay, the director Mr Ashok Ghosh, Chief Technology Officer Mr Subhasish Saha and the VP Technology & Corporate Communication Ms Renu Kakkar attended the ceremony.

Mr Oberoi and Mr Ghosh gave away the certificates to 43 successful students from both the centres.

The first ever ejunction batch in Apeejay House began on May 27 this year with 15 students. There were 15 volunteers who had signed up as mentors and trainers. They have conducted ejunction classes for 1.5 hours daily, 5 days a week for over three months. The course got over on August 23. ejunction has facilitated the entire programme starting with student mobilisation, content development, training planning, assessment to post training employment opportunities of these trainees.

Eleven students from the Apeejay batch have successfully completed the course and 10 employment opportunities have been created so far for them. Two of them got selected by their respective employers.

ejunction had its largest ever batch at its independent centre at Godrej Waterside, and 32 candidates have successfully graduated in this batch. As many as 16 employment opportunities have been created so far.

In a communication to Mr Oberoi, the CTO of Apeejay Mr Subhasish Saha has expressed his intention to participate in any voluntary activity even in his individual capacity. Mr Saha has said that despite good intentions, it often does not become possible for an individual for lack of opportunity. In this context, he said that ejunction provides the correct platform to individuals to do their bit for society at large.

ejunction, the corporate social responsibility initiative of ejunction, has always been an initiative with a heart where junctinites

doubled up as trainers. The objective of the programme was to

e-enable graduates and help them become employable.

In 2012, ejunction widened its scope and included placement. Thus, it not only awarded certificates of completion to successful students, it also helped them find jobs by tying up with corporates and conducting job fairs.

ejunction, which began in a very small way in 2006, has come a long way since then, and as things stand, is working with a three-pronged approach.• Vocational: This is the employability-linked

programme that most of us are familiar with. This involves imparting a four-month training module to graduates and then creating as well as aiding placement opportunities.

• Educational: This is a relatively new initiative whereby ejunction is targeting school students of primarily Stds VIII to XII. The same module is imparted to these school students to help them have an early advantage in e-literacy.

• Promoting NGO products: Over the last few years, ejunction has periodically provided a platform to select NGOs to exhibit and sell their wares on mjunction premises. This was done mainly during festivals such as Diwali, Christmas and Rakshabandhan.

Some ejunction facts• There are as many as 430 active ejunction

students on roll now.• There are as many as 225 active trainers

as of now, which includes internal voluntary trainers as well as external trainers.

• ejunction has tied up with government schools like Mohishtikori High Schook, Singur, Hooghly & Padmapukur High School in Kolkata for the extended computer education programme and the Howrah Municipal Corporation for Skill Development of BPL youth.

• In the first two quarters of FY13, ejunction has created 191 employment opportunities. ejunction students are now working in the Ambuja Neotia Group, PWC, Globe Industry Services and Spencer’s, among others.

Spreading Rakhi cheerstraightline, the online retail portal of mjunction, ran a campaign called "Buy a Rakhi, gift a smile", as part of which rakhis and chocolates

would be distributed to underprivileged children for every Rakhi product that would be sold on the portal.

As part of that campaign, on August 20, a group of select junctionites visited a Kasba-based NGO the Dakshin Kolikata Sebashram, which mainly works with orphans. They tied rakhis on the children, making the festival of Rakshabandhan socially inclusive. The smiles on the young faces put the stamp of success on the campaign.

ejunction captive centresApart from mjunction's own centre at Godrej Waterside, ejunction now runs its four-month module from other captive centres in West Bengal. As all of you contribute to this cause, it may give you satisfaction to know how much it has grown. The following are some details of the captive centres.• Apeejay House: This is a captive batch

of ejunction which has resulted from a tie-up with Apeejay Surrendra. In the first batch which ended on August 23 this year, 11 students cleared the course. Here the students are young adults from slums in and around Park Street and also other parts of Kolkata. The second batch, consisting of 16 students, will begin on October 22. This is part of the Apeejay Group's Individual Social Responsibility initiative.

• Dakshin Kolikata Sebashram: This is a government home founded by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Chittaranjan Das. There is an orphanage which houses a government run primary school. Two batches have begun here and some of the students are orphans who are housed there. Some other students are from Poddopukur High School. Right now we have 25 students in that centre.

• Aman Mohalla Unnayan Samiti on Bright Street: There are 80 students in this centre and most of the students are from in and around slums there. The remaining are from schools around the locality.

• Sarada Math Rasikbita in Dakshineshwar: Three batches have begun here of 20 students each. These batches are only for girls and there will be 60 students in every quarter.

• Vivekananda Computer Training Centre in Singur: This is another centre which is supported by Sarada Math which is run in a village called Kumroguri. The batch is run in a school called the Mohishtikori High School and is a school programme mainly for class


9

As part of its learning and development programme, mjunction has floated e-learning modules on Customer Focus,

Process Improvement and Time Management across the board for its middle management. These are organizational level trainings designed by the Tata Management Training Centre-Harvard University. Subarna Gupta of financejunction narrates how one of the modules helped her in her work.

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.

– Winston Churchill

The format and the design of the modules, which was case study and application based, made learning that much more interesting. Here I will basically talk about the module on Customer Focus. This was the first module I completed.

The module could hold my attention and interest primarily because of a small SAIL Dealer Finance portfolio that I manage. My customers were new and the portfolio was at a nascent stage. This was the right time for me to understand what they feel about the service they are paying for and how to convert my newly acquired customers into my loyal customers. A wise man had once said, “We are in the business of headache” and I wished to find out how far these people have been relieved of their ‘headache’ by dealer finance. So I thought of using one of the tools provided in the Customer Focus module which is called ‘Service Quality Assessment’.

It was a one-page survey feedback form where the customer was required to rank the line items both in terms of satisfaction and importance. There were two open ended questions as well to capture further inputs. It was easy to understand for the dealers who are primarily based out of tier 2 or Tier 3 cities in the country. For the line items I chose the areas which came out in my previous interactions with the customers in terms of the activities involving financejunction in their day-to-day disbursements. I circulated the form among my customers and collected the duly filled forms within five working days.

Once I put the feedback into analytics, what

came out were some interesting insights, some ‘good’ as well as some ‘not so good’ facts that the customers highlighted. I put the entire exercise, the background and the findings into a presentation and arranged for a team meeting to decide on the action points. The two hour session provided me and my team an 18-pointer action plan arranged in terms of priority (short and long term). Presently my service delivery team is working on the actionables post which I plan to send a communication to the customers on the improvement initiatives for dealer dinance.

The course, the module and the exercise was an enriching experience for me and I look forward to growing personally as well as professionally with more such endeavours.

Junctionites speak

Archi Choudhury, coaljunctionExtremely interesting and useful! Now paucity of time can no longer be an excuse to go for skill upgradation. I have really enjoyed the courses as it refreshed my knowledge and it gave me to study while in office and on tour.

Amit Karmakar, metaljunctionExcellent course material, learning procedure and evaluation method. Topics help to improve and evaluate our concepts.

Atanu Saha, buyjunctionThe course material is good specially the mix of practice questions, experience sharing and theory. It also held in refreshing our knowledge especially in the subject of "Time management". The reading was also enjoyable as it was not monotonous.

Amit Banerjee, coaljunctionIt was indeed a brilliant learning experience – specially the demonstrations and sharing of experience through videos and charts. In fact, the situations were so similar to the ones I face on the job, and there was good takeaway from this programme.

Chaiti Mazumder, buyjunctionThis is the first time I have participated in any online training course. I had a mind block regarding these courses earlier as thought it would be difficult to understand the course material without any physical guidance from faculties. However, that notion changed after I went through these courses. I enjoyed the course material thoroughly as it explains through practical examples, videos and pictures.

Pamela Roy, buyjunctionThe case studies covered through the e-learning courses was an eye opener towards many of the misconceptions about various management concepts. These courses facilitate the development of skills and competencies required for the overall success of the team in the ever changing market scenario. It gives an insight to increase productivity of all employees by motivating and educating them, to understand the value of customers and to identify the potential of creating successful relationships with them, to understand how simple changes can bring huge positive changes in employee and customer satisfaction and how a proper schedule can lead to better time management amidst dynamic and unanticipated changes in market requirements.

Mousumi Pal, straightlineThe inputs were very interesting which we practice in our daily work. The assignment was made realistic with case studies. Good learning experience.

Arup Chatterjee, metaljunctionThis is my first experience of e-learning. It was extremely interesting and useful and an excellent way to learn.

CongratulationsWe congratulate Vinaya Varma, Indranil Chaudhuri, Kaushik Sarkar, Anirban Sarkar and Ashish Goel for successful completion of CPSM-Level-2 examination. We also congratulate Samya Mukherjee, Sourav Dey and Indranil Karak for successfully completing the CPSM-Level-1 examination.

A learning experience with a difference

Ms Urmi Basu, founder of New Light India, addressed a select group of about 30 mjunction executives on

July 2 on the topic of "Giving back to society." New Light is a non-profit organisation dedicated to working for children of the red light areas in the city of Kolkata. New Light also fights a constant battle against child prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sex trade.

Ms Basu's address was followed by an interactive session with the executives. This was part of mjInter@ctive, an endeavour on the part of the mjunction management to enable employees to interact and learn from change agents and industry leaders across all sections of society.

This was the seventh such session

organised on the mjunction premises. Some of the previous speakers include Mr P. Shankar, retired IAS & former CVC, Govt. of India, Mr P.S. Bhattacharyya, former chairman of Coal India and Ms Tripti Roy, Ethics Counsellor of Tata Steel.

Ms Basu founded New India after 15 years of professional work in the development sector. A chance encounter with the cage girls of Mumbai was the trigger which made her want to protect these children, who she said, were one of the most neglected sections of society. Her mission is now to bring out these children from the depths of darkness and give them education, shelter, food and

clothes. She said help is welcome in any form, whether donations or voluntary service.

The CEO and MD of mjunction, Mr Viresh Oberoi, proposed the vote of thanks. He said one can take a leaf out of Ms Basu's life and do his or her bit in contributing to a much larger cause.

Urmi Basu addresses mjunction


10

mjunction’s Guiding Force

Horizon 3 holds its annual conferencesmjunction’s Horizon 3 businesses consist of the company’s nascent businesses. The businesses in this horizon are billed to be the drivers of future growth of the

company. They are now being nurtured and are constantly evolving. The effort is to continuously evaluate these businesses and migrate them to Horizon 2.

Annual conferences of these businesses were held over three days from July 16 to 18. The business units in Horizon 3 include valuejunction, the Incubation Cell, and the B2C businesses straightline and autojunction.

The performances of the last financial year were reviewed and plans were drawn up for the short-term and the long-term.

Junctionites of these business units let their hair down at a party organised after all the conferences were held.


11

K. Chandrasekhar was born and brought up in Jamshedpur, and is the youngest of six children. Thus, he recollects, his father retired

from Tata Steel after 35 years while he was still in school. A simple man, his father was the pillar of the family while his mother looked after all needs of the house. However, his father’s retirement brought with it the expected financial pressures on the family and circumstances forced Chandrasekhar to enter the professional world immediately after his graduation. He was just 21 then, and his professional foundation was strengthened as he worked in different small and medium scale industries. He believes that exposure so early on in his career has made him strong, resilient and well prepared to face all situations, adverse or otherwise. The experience gave him enough opportunities to develop an inner strength and the courage to weather all odds and adversities.

Chandrasekhar’s professional career began with a cutting tools manufacturer under the Piramal Group, and he was posted in Jamshedpur for nine years. After the first nine years, he was first transferred to Ankleshwar in Gujarat and then to Kolkata. After working in Kolkata for three years, he returned to Jamshedpur as Residence Executive, and was given the responsibility to look after the sales and distribution of all authorised dealers and few actual users in Jharkhand and parts of Bihar.

Chandrasekhar recalls that his stint with mjunction started in January 23, 2006 through an interview. After getting selected, he was posted at the Tata Steel inside works in Jamshedpur, and that gave him the flavour of working for a big corporate house. Apart from his regular administrative functions, to him the most appealing and interesting assignment was to attend to despatches in the absence of the concerned head. He recalls that this is

what gave him the opportunity to gather wide experience regarding the Tata Steel department heads and their requirements at the time of exigencies. Chandrasekhar considers himself lucky that he got this opportunity. After seven years, he finds his work challenging and interesting. A job which throws up enough challenges to keep him satisfied, he feels.

A very different facet of Chandrasekhar is his love for sports. In school and in college, he represented his school and in college he was part of the team at inter-college cricket tournaments. He also played ‘A’ division cricket league matches organised by the Bihar Cricket Organisation. Chandrasekhar says that even now, he cannot resist joining in whenever he sees children playing.

Travelling is also one of his passions and one he pursues with great enthusiasm. During his college days, he visited a lot of places such as Tirupati, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty and Goa. Now he wants a taste of the mountains of India and it is his wish to spend his vacations among the hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.

Chandrasekhar is thankful to mjunction for offering the opportunity for a perfect work-life balance. Happily married to Laxmi, he is proud father to two daughters. He is a family man at heart and loves to spend time with them.

Old world music is also another of Chandrasekhar’s passions. He loves to listen to Manna Dey, Mukesh and Mohd Rafi numbers. A song stays with him for long and he hums to himself very often.

Chandrasekhar leads a simple life with his love for his family, his sports, his travelling and his music. Perhaps he knows that it is simplicity which holds the key to happiness.

FEATURED JUNCTIONITE

K CHANDRASEKHAR

Philosophy of life: Health is wealth Silence is gold, speech is silver but aggressive silence is bad while cheerfulness is good for health.

Source of inspiration: My parents.

Strength: Honesty and hard work.

Weakness: Short tempered

Likes: Simplicity and straight forwardness

Dislikes: Dishonesty, boasting

Hobbies: Playing cricket and listening to music

Favourite movie: Sarfarosh, Lagaan

Favourite film star: Amitabh Bachhan, Madhuri Dixit

Favourite music: Hindi classics & ghazals

Dream travel destination: Switzerland

Favourite food: Wife’s recipes

Favourite singer: Md Rafi, Mukesh, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh

Vision for yourself: To be a good human being

Favourite quote: Be good and do good

Comments about mj: Good working environment

The seventh Movement for Efficiency and Transparency (MET) conference was held on July 12 at Chennai in association

with 5th Pillar, an organisation associated with the anti-corruption movement in India.

The event marked the launch of Project “VIGEYE” in Chennai. Project VIGEYE (Vigilance Eye) is a citizen-centric initiative, wherein citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corruption in India. The portal launch in Chennai happened through this platform.

The conference witnessed an enriching panel discussion with change leaders like N. Vittal , former CVC, Govt of India, M.G. Devasahayam, IAS (retd) and Trustee, SUSTAIN , Mr N. Gopalaswami, former CEC, government of India .The conference also saw R. Srikumar, Vigilance Commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission, Mr Vijay Anand, co-founder and President 5th Pillar and Linus Lobo, Chief of Marketing , mjunction, addressing the audience on the subjects of efficiency and transparency.

The conference was attended by a cross-section of the society including students and

professors from various colleges in Chennai, corporates in Chennai and adjacent cities, NGOs from Chennai, our clients and members of the press. The panellists were flooded with questions regarding Project VIGEYE, the anti-

corruption movement by citizen society and about the protection of identity of the whistle blowers.

Linus Lobo welcomed the guests to the event and spoke about how we have transformed the sales processes of Steel and Coal supply chains and sourcing and procurement processes across industries in India. He also spoke about how the mjunction MD and CEO Viresh Oberoi founded this movement to catalyse and inspire similar achievements in civil society.

Vijay Anand spoke about how corruption has been rampant because of the lack of two major components-certainty of detection and severity of punishment. He said that the time has come for citizens to take charge of accountability, transparency and therefore pave the way for a cleaner administration.

R. Srikumar, who was the chief guest of the event spoke about “Project VIGEYE” and its effectiveness as a whistle blowing tool, however he also mentioned the budget constraints due to which the messaging app is currently not functional. He thanked us and 5th Pillar for this initiative to propagate VIGEYE in Chennai.

7th MET in Chennai


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autojunction.in, the automobile portal of mjunction services limited, has entered into a partnership with Volkswagen Motorsport

for the 2013 season of the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India, a globally recognised entry-level racing series for upcoming drivers looking to make their mark in international competition.

autojunction.in is the official online media partner of the race series, and as part of this association, Volkswagen will get key coverage aimed at the right demographic on the portal, with expert analysis of every race. For the privilege of partnering with Polo R Cup India, autojunction.in branding will be visible on one of the 20 race cars, while also being displayed at the press conference areas, in the pits and on the race tickets. The Polo R Cup India is the best feeder series for drivers looking for a top-line international racing career in the DTM, FIA GT Series, Porsche Carrera Cup etc.

Polo R Cup India is fully-supported by Volkswagen India and the race cars are based on Volkswagen's popular Polo hatchback, albeit with a highly-tuned 1.4-litre TSI (Turbo charged Stratified Injection) petrol engine, paddle shift

gearbox, and full-spec FIA-specified safety features.

Twenty drivers compete in the series, with a different car being allotted to a different driver through a lottery system at every round. All 20 cars are tuned and repaired by the same set of mechanics to ensure a level playing field, and no favouritism.

Drivers undergo extensive coaching by professional drivers from the VW driving academy, including multiple Indian racing

champion Rayomand Banajee. They also receive physical and mental coaching to help them deal with the high-stress environment of a frontline racing series.

The championship consists of five rounds of two races each, and is being held at three different circuits in the country, including the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, which hosts the annual Indian F1 grand prix, the Madras Motor Sports Track at Sriperumbudur and the Kari Motor Speedway near Coimbatore.

Harmaan R A J Madon, Head - Content for autojunction.in, said: "The Volkswagen Polo R Cup India is now in its fourth season in India. Kudos to VW Motorsport for persisting with this championship, which is one of the best things to happen to Indian motorsport, especially for young talent looking to make a top-line international career. We are proud to partner with Volkswagen India in this initiative, and hopefully this will serve as a stepping stone for an Indian driver to win a major international championship."

On September 12, mjunction services signed an agreement with the Bokaro Power Supply Company Limited

(BPSCL), a joint venture of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), for Enterprise Procurement System (EPS) for a period of five years.

Over the last few months, the mjunction customer relationship teams in both Kolkata and Bokaro have been holding several rounds of discussion and training at BPSCL plant locations. The objective of the meetings was to familiarise the audience with the dynamics of the EPS mechanism as well as the reverse auction platform.

Subsequent queries from BPSCL were also addressed at appropriate levels.

“This sign-up is just another feather in the cap for mjunction’s services which focus on superior technology,” as per vice-president of mjunction’s Horizon 2 Businesses, Mr Vinaya Varma.

The agreement was signed at the BPSCL office in Bokaro. BPSCL was represented by their CEO Mr Rajesh Bhargava, the GM power plant Mr S.K. Mitra and the DGM purchase Mr J.M. Prasad. Mr Suman Mallik, the customer relationship manager for SAIL and the mjunction advisor Mr Arun Babaria were present on behalf of mjunction.

Fifty junctionites are walking their way to good health as per WHO recommended norms over 100 days beginning September

12. mjunction is participating in Stepathalon, a walkathon organised by Stepthalon Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd., a global wellness company, which lays special emphasis on mass participation in the corporate sector.

The event will see each junctionite being encouraged to walk the WHO recommended 10,000 steps every day.

Each Stepathlete, as the participants will be known for these 100 days, has been given a pedometer which will keep a count of the steps. The number of steps taken each day has to be uploaded each day by each Stepathlete for 100 days.

This will be added at the end of 100 days and the company which covers the longest distance will have the distinction of winning the honour of being the fittest company.

mjunction’s maiden participation in this event is an effort to promote awareness of a healthy lifestyle among its employees.

We wish all junctionites the very best for the event.

autojunction.in is the official online media partner of the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India

mjunction inStepathalon 2013

mjunction signs EPS pact with Bokaro Power Supply


13

For Paromita Sen of HR, participating in car rallies goes much beyond just a love for cars. By her own admission, for her

it is a celebration of life itself. Every time she is at the navigator’s seat, she feels alive in the real sense of the word, completely in control of things. And every time she is on the podium receiving a prize, it is a completely different sense of success and achievement.

Car rallies were not something Paromita grew up with. Rather, her induction into this very interesting sport happened after she got married in 2004. Both her husband and her brother-in-law are keen rallyists and had been it at since their college days. Soon after, in 2005, Paromita participated in one of the club rallies as a navigator in their new Maruti 800. This was her first experience and she immediately warmed up to it.

Her next opportunity did not come until 2009, when she was offered by one of her acquaintances to join her as a navigator for the Lake Club Rally. They formed an All Ladies Team and also decorated her black Scorpio with the theme of a Chess Board. They nominated themselves for the Best Ladies Team and Best Decorated Car categories and as luck would have it, they won both. Paromita feels it was both providence and her own sustained interest that contributed to her continued involvement in this sport.

Cooking was one of Paromita’s passions and it was at this point that she decided to make rallying a part of her life too. From 2009 to 2011, she, along with her friend, participated in various club rallies, winning in the general as well as special categories. She not only enjoyed the sport, but also basked in all the attention she received in a circuit where women were not only rare, an all women’s team was even rarer.

As the journey continued, in 2012, Paromita was offered to participate in one of the club rallies, and that is the time she decided to move away from an all women’s team and join one of her friends Mr Rajdeep Dasgupta. They won again and were fourth in the overall category.

Even till this point, Paromita feels rallying was more of a hobby that she thoroughly enjoyed. However, she feels she got inducted into serious rallying in January this year when

she got an opportunity to team up with Ms Debarati Chanda, wife of one of the eminent rallyists Mr Somdeb Chanda.

In fact, Paromita recalls, Mr Chanda has been a huge source of inspiration for her. He is an architect by profession and a gold medallist from Jadavpur University. He has participated and won various national rallies like Raid De Himalaya, Desert Storm and Dakshin Dare. He started rallying in bikes from 1992 as a Navigator and then got into into cars from 2002. He started rallying as a Driver in 2009. For him, juggling his dual roles of rallyist and an architect came easily. He made switching these roles look very easy. For Paromita he became a role model and she wanted to walk a similar path – juggle her roles as a human resource professional as well as a rallyist.

Paromita’s teammate Debarati Chanda has also been rallying since 1998 and has participated in various rallies at national level in and around Kolkata like Twilight Drive, Rural Run, Monsoon Drive and Mahindra, mainly in 2012. She has also participated in a few rallies with her husband like EMSA AUTO Fiesta 1999.

When Paromita was offered to rally with her in January 2013, she was overwhelmed. She was trained for seven days with the various gadgets that are used for rallies at the national level – the rally computer, GPS and Teratrip. She was used to rallying with a scientific calculator and the usually car meter and single digit trip meter that is present in any ordinary car, and for her, this was exciting beyond measure. She was taught the art of navigation by Soumya, her brother-in-law, who started rallying in 2002

An enduring love affair with life

and has won various local as well as national rallies. But it was Mr Chanda and his navigator Nirav who trained her to take up challenges at the national level.

The team went on to win the Mahindra Great Escape Challenge 2013 and was awarded the Best Ladies Team and Overall Best Performer in the open category. For Paromita, it was her gurudakshina to not only Somdeb Chanda but also Nirav Mehta who found time from their busy schedules to groom her for national level challenges.

For Paromita, every rally is a learning experience. A unique experience was the Blind Rally organised by Just SportZ, where the road book is given to a blind navigator who reads the words in Braille. They won again in both the All Ladies Category and stood overall fourth in the Expert category.

Next in line was the JK Tyre Rotary club Safety for Women Rally and where they won in the Best Ladies team category. In August 2013, they participated in the Monsoon Drive Kolkata-Haldia Car Rally, a 250-km route which had to be covered non-stop in eight hours. For Paromita, it was an experience which belies all expression – a test of patience, tenacity and stamina. They were awarded for the Best Ladies Team.

For Paromita, this promises to be an ongoing journey. As mentioned earlier, for her this is something which nurtures teamwork, patience, interpersonal skills and coordination. As a navigator, it is also very important to have good presence of mind and excellent reflexes.

mjunction can only wish bon voyage to Paromita. May your expedition continue.

“We would like to express our appreciation for the support provided by the mjunction team in helping us to dispose of 19 lots of IADC materials with good realisation value.”

N.C. DasAGM (M&BP)

SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant

“On behalf of SAIL Refractory Company Ltd, I would like to thank the entire mjunction team for helping us to procure through the reverse auction platform. Some of the auctions that I would like to mention are those of outbound transportation, fused magnesia, ladle resins and contract tenders. The team of Saranathan Srinivasan, R. Uma and Thiruvalluvan contributed to make these auctions a success.”

Anil A. ShenoiAGM (Commercial), SAIL Refractory Company Ltd, Salem

“The e-auction conducted on behalf of NMDC Ltd, Kirandul complex, for disposal of scrap and idle assets was a success, thanks to the mjunction team of S. Raghavendra and K. Sivakumar.”

K.S. RaoJoint general manager (materials)

NMDC, Hyderabad

Client speak


14

Bundle of joy Nirek for Niraj Vaishnaw of metaljunction

Little Rishabh lights up life for Amit Karmakar of metaljunction

The newborns

Spot AwardsJuLyAmit Bhansali, finance Ankit Kumar, bj1Apurba Dey Singha, financeArijit Das, bj1Arun Mistry, bj1Arup Chatterjee, mjAvijit Mitra, incubation cellAyan Roy Choudhury,mjBiswajit Agarwal, mjDebipriya Sengupta, straightlineIndranil Chatterjee, mjIndranil Karak, bj2K Chandra Sekhar, mjK. Sivakumar, mjKamlesh Kumar Ghode, mjMadhurendra Kumar, mjMd Shahnawaz Alam, mjMd. Anamul Haque , mjMoutushi Bhattacherjee, bj1Nabaruna Paul, mjNiraj Kumar Vaishnaw, mjObhishek Roychowdhury, mj

P. Dhanaraj, bj1Payel Misra, bj1Pranab Chattaraj, mjEdgeRabi Shankar Hazra, incubation cellRachita Das, mjEdgeRaunak Bose, mjRuchi Jain, bjS. Raghavendra, mjSanchita Pal, mjSangeeta Roy, mjSanjoy Gopal Singha, mjSaranathan Srinivasan, mjSaswati Nandy, mjSatyesh Kumar Singh, bj1Shirshendu De, cjSourav Ganguly, corp. accountsSourav Mitter, mjSubhashish Mukherjee, fjSudip Saha, straightlineSudipta Mukherjee, mjSumit Jalan, mjEdge

Sushil Kumar Rai, straightlineTanmoy Pal, mjTanmoy Ray, mjTarak Mondal, bj1

AuGuSTKaushik Kr. Mitra, cjSrijan Datta, cjDebasis Datta, corp. accountsSaikat Barman, technologyAalia Baksh, cjPrateek Bose, cjDeepika Udeshi, bj2Avik Ray, mjPuja Chakraborty, technologyArchi Choudhury, cjSomnath Das, technologyAbhishek Sen, cjAvik Das, cjAnirban De, bj2Souvik Ghosh, cjSudhakar Danam Dandu, mjAnanya Brahmachary, internal

auditAkhilesh Dwivedi, bj2Sayantan Dutta Chowdhury, cjAmit Banerjee, cjAngana Das, incubation cellGaurav Biswas, technologySubha Roy, incubation cellDipsankar Samanta, incubation cellArijit Paul, cjSaroj Kumar Anand, bj2Rajesh Addakula, mjAsiya Zaki, cj

SEPTEMBERSaranathan Srinivasan, mjRakhee Biswas Gandhi, bj1R Viswanathan, bj1Satya Vani Burra, bj1Saikat Barman, technologySumanta Ghosh, technologySubhankar Gupta, technologySubroto Mukherjee, technologySubhajit Dutta, technologySourav Dihidar, technologySujay Dhar, technologySnehasish Banerjee, mjNitu Kedia, Administration

Capt Rama Shankar, AdministrationSourav De, vjMadhurendra Kumar, mjSurya Bhushan Singh, technologyBaishakhi Dutta, technologySudipta Kumar Das, technologyAnew Nag Sarkar, technologySurajit Dasgupta, technologyJaved Islam, mjThiruvalluvan K, bj1Gaurav Biswas, technologySuman Sen, incubation cellMonalisa Shaw, buyjunction 1Gobinda Pramanick, incubation cellSaket Kumar Singh, mjAlok Pal, Legal & ComplianceManish Ranjan Dey, mjSusant Kumar Das, mjUma R, bj1Mumtaz Ahmed, bj1Debasish Chandra Barman, bj1Tushar Jana, bj1Suvendu Das Adhikary, technologyPriyam Chatterjee, technology

HEARTIEST WELCOME TO ALL

New facesAdhiraj BhattacharyaAlok PalAlpana KumariAmbuja Kumar SahuAnamika DattaAniruddha GhoshArijit DasArijit Sarkar

Avijit PanditAvik PaulBhaskar ChakrabortyBiswajit AgarwalChaiti MazumderChandrani SahaChandreyee BhowmickDipankar Das

George BanerjeeGitimoy MukherjeeGoutam DasKamlesh Kumar GhodeMitesh MahatpurkarMithun KunduMukesh Kumar SinghN U Venkateswara RaoNabakishore KaloNilanjan SarkarParag Madan Bhake

Parna SahaPriyalina BasuPriyanka DasPurvi TulsyanRavi GoelRicha DarukaRituparna MoulikSai VedulaSanjib MukherjeeSanjoy Gopal SinghaSantanu Roy

Santu GhoshSayak NahaSohini BanerjeeSoumya Prakash AcharyaSrinjay NathSudipta SenSumit DeyT Robert RaoTridiv BiswasVikram Verma

Deepak Kumar of metaljunction was blessed with baby boy Mayank

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p

Sukhen Chowdhury of Administration becomes proud father to baby Shivanshiq


15

Anirb

an M

onda

lAn

irban

Mon

dalThey say a stitch in time saves nine, and that was clearly demonstrated

when Anirban Mondal’s brother was able to save his grandmother from an impending heart attack.

Anirban, a graphic designer with mjunction’s B2C marketing business, was imparted a safety training in office and he had demonstrated the health safety procedures to his family and friends. This training stood the family in good stead as his brother’s grandmother could be saved with timely application of some of these.

Anirban is grateful to mjunction for this training as it saved a life. His brother’s grandmother is 87 years and a patient of Alzheimer’s disease. One morning she became unstable on her feet and subsequently fainted. Her breathing also became irregular.

That is the time Anirban’s brother checked her tonsil gland pulse and applied the “Listen, Look & Feel” method and then finally the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) approximately 25 times. After a minute of doing so, the lady showed visible signs of regaining her senses. Meanwhile the cardiologist was informed who arrived soon afterwards. It was the doctor who pronounced that it was CPR which saved her and averted a possible cardiac attack.

Anirban feels this training that he received at mjunction was really valuable and his family benefited immensely from it.

One training which saved a life

Join the group

Gallery Anirban Mondal of B2C Marketing and Sourav Chakraborty & Avik Paul of buyjunction, train their lenses on two different facets of life – festivals and the beauty of Mother Nature. While Anirban captures moments in the run-up to festivities, Sourav and Avik take snapshots from Nature in its myraid hues.

Avik

Paul

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QUIZ CORNER

They say knowledge is power and information is liberating. That is why we provide you with this fodder for your brain every quarter. It is our pleasure to receive your entries and

feel your enthusiasm.Please mail your answers to [email protected] and you stand a chance to win 250 straightline points.

The winner of the last quiz is Subha Ranjan Mallik of Technology.

Congratulations Subha Ranjan!Just as earlier, the winner of this quarter’s quiz will also be decided after conducting a lottery among the all-correct entries. The decision of the quizmaster will be binding and final in all respects of this quiz.

1. Dogfight, a book by Fred Vogelstein, is the story of the fight between which two companies?

2. If Bajate Raho is the tag line of RED FM, Bachate Raho is the tagline for which brand?

3. What lucky charm did NASA send to ISRO for succeeding in the Mars mission?

4. The company began its journey in 1790 when two companies Breen & Co and Butterfly & Co merged. This large engineering company went through bad times and was nationalised in the 1970s and put under BBUNL. It was privatised in 2003 and sold to Ruias for Rs 18 crore. It has now sought permission to close down. Name this historic company which is now very much in the news.

5. After sourcing ketchup for the last 40 years from Heinz, McDonald’s has decided to look for new suppliers. Why?

6. Under what name would Reliance in partnership with 2 sisters Food Group, UK launch a fast food restaurant chain in India?

7. Naach re mayu ra, a non-film song sung by Manna Dey marked the launch of a landmark service on Akashvani. Name the programme.

8. In Amazon, meetings start differently. There are no PowerPoint presentations. How do they start?

9. Which Ahmedabad-based company has registered the MODI Kurta brand – mandarin collar shirts with an Indian twist?

10. What is the subject of the movie Fire in the Blood by Dylan Mohan Gray?

If you have scored between• 0-3 points -You need to keep abreast of current affairs• 4-6 points -You are on the right track• 7-9 points -You are ready to replace me• 10 points - Where have you been hiding?

The answers to last issue’s quiz are as follows:1. Konosuke Matsushita 2. Videocon 3. Dhirubhai Ambani 4. People, Planet5. Sunderlal Bahuguna 6. Receptionist7. Lexus 8. Slazenger 9. Welspun 10. AVM Productions

Compiled by Debashish Mukherjee, Corporate Accounts

mj 1st runner-up at regional Tata Crucible finals

The mjunction quiz team consisting of Debashish Mukherjee and Abhishek Kar emerged the first runner-up at the eastern Regional Finals of the

Tata Crucible Business Quiz 2013 held yesterday (Sunday, September 22) at Taj Bengal in Kolkata.

In a nail-biting finish, mjunction lost out to TCS on the very last question of the quiz. The margin between the two teams was a very narrow 5 points.

As runner-up, the team received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 along with a host of other prizes.

The quiz was hosted by renowned quizmaster Mr Giri Balasubramanium. In the Tata Track, the team competed with five other teams from the Tata group. It was a closely fought event, with mjunction starting slow and lagging in the first two rounds. Unfortunately, the team lost out to TCS Kolkata (regional runners-up 2012) on the last question of the quiz, thereby losing the opportunity to represent the company in the National Finals by a narrow margin.

The Chief Guest for the occasion was the mjunction managing director Mr Viresh Oberoi, who handed over the prizes to the winners and runners-up of the quiz.

The quizzing duo of Debashish Mukherjee & Abhishek Kar started representing mjunction services limited in the corporate quizzing circuit from September 2012 onwards. Before this, both of them had actively represented the company in several quiz contests. They were Regional Winner (Kolkata) at Tata Crucible 2012 & National Finalist- Tata Track. They were also champions at the Royal Bengal Corporate Quiz 2013. They were finalists at the BCCI Mindspark Business & Finance Quiz 2012 and also the BCCI Tech Quiz 2012.

Part of prize money for ejunctionThe winners and runners up of the regional rounds of the Tata Crucible Quiz are permitted to nominate a charity of their choice for receiving a part of the prize money.

As runners up, Debashish and Abhishek have donated an amount of Rs 15,000 to ejunction, a charitable trust promoted by mjunction.Congratulations team mj!!

beyond barriers, sept 2013

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