Indiaā€™s first CSR Awards were instituted by The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 1999. The aim of the award is to identify and recognize the efforts of companies in integrating and internalizing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

51·ēĮ÷in India, receives (virtually) the prestigious 18th FICCI CSR Award in the august presence of Mr. Anurag Thakur, Honā€™ble Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

The award evaluation covered eight months of rigorous process of proposal writing, on ground assessment and independent audit of impact by FICCI. The award assessment was based on the issue, target population, scale, geographical spread, location, capacity for replication, sustainability, innovation, scalability, participation/involvement, finances and impact.

ā€œCode Unnatiā€ bags the Jury Commendation Certificate

We have also witnessed the profound impact of over the past three years – having touched the lives of 1,080,000 adolescents and children, trained 7,225 youths on Industry 4.0 Skills ā€“ Data Science, ML, AI, IOT, established a total number of 1,452 Code Unnati Centers, trained 5,125 teachers, and enabled 42% of youths to secure jobs. The tremendous yet humbling success has enabled 51·ēĮ÷in India to bag the Jury Commendation Certificate.

ø鱚±ō²¹³Ł±š»å:ĢżFrom Spreadsheets to Jobs: The Big Return on Education

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Given the current business environment and state of economies, Global Bharat will enable Indian MSMEs to become future-ready while driving greater efficiencies by adopting these 3 initiatives:

• Gaining Access to Global Marketplace: MSMEs will have open access to where any buyer can post sourcing needs and any of the four million suppliers on can respond with their ability to deliver the goods and services required with no fees through December 31, 2020. Ariba Network is the largest digital B2B marketplace where more than USD $3.3 trillion in global commerce flows annually. By accessing the 51·ēĮ÷Ariba Discovery offer, Indian MSMEs can enroll themselves as suppliers and access a global customer market.

• Digitally Skilling Workforce: Business owners will have access to 51·ēĮ÷Indiaā€™s Code Unnati, a coveted Golden Peacock Award winning digital skilling initiative. MSMEs will be provided accessibility to 240 courses (more getting added in a few months) on Digital Financial, Soft Skills, Productivity Technologies that will digitally skill the workforce and adapt to the new working environments. The curated courses will be made available through a mobile application for people to access via their android smartphone devices. Under this digital literacy program, 51·ēĮ÷India has already trained over 1 million youth with the help of 1500 physical training centers

• Digitally Transform Businesses: Global Bharat brings affordable and accessible enterprise technology for MSMEs. Through Bharat ERP initiative, they can now adopt SAPā€™s world class ERP; Business One Starter Pack on the cloud. We understand from SAPā€™s partner ecosystem that they will make available this cloud offering for Rs 3999 per user per month with accessibility for maximum of 5 users per MSME. This Digital transformation will enhance efficiencies for businesses while enabling them to provide better products and services to their customers.

Speaking about the program, Deb Deep Sengupta, President and Managing Director, 51·ēĮ÷Indian Subcontinent said, ā€œThe impact of pandemic on economy and businesses has been felt majorly by MSMEs across the country. Being a potential contributor to Indiaā€™s GDP (29%) and providing employment to over 111 million people, it is imperative to strengthen the sector for the revival of the countryā€™s economy. Global Bharat, is our endeavor to enable MSMEs to augment business operations and re-access critical processes that overcome inefficiencies and make them globally competitive.ā€

Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, Vice President and Head of General Business, 51·ēĮ÷Indian Subcontinent further states, ā€œ80% of SAPā€™s customer base are SMEs that have adopted digital technologies and witnessed exponential growth. As India opens up to a post-COVID business landscape, we are excited to partner with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on their digital journeys and support them with technologies and skills necessary to gain scale and compete in the new environment.ā€

MSMEs can access these offerings under the Global Bharat program at

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The Girl Power Tech initiative, announced during the 51·ēĮ÷Developer Kickoff Meet in Bengaluru, by Sindhu Gangadharan, MD, 51·ēĮ÷Labs India, has an ambitious goal ā€” not only to make women in remote parts of the state skill-ready to adjust in the IT space but also to close the loop between competency and employability.

ā€œGirl power tech is going into some of the very remote areas within Karnataka,ā€ Gangadharan says. ā€œIn some parts of northern Karnataka we’re trying to bring in women from underprivileged areas and not just give them the skills but also close the loop for them where they can come in (to the organisation) and experience for a period of eight weeks, what it means to work in a corporate environment like SAP,ā€ she says. In some cases, this will be followed up by a role within the organization if there is a potential fit based on a particular skill set.

has given 51·ēĮ÷the opportunity to leverage technology and talent and create sustainable ways in which it can give back and empower communities. To the company, these core programs also help in nation-building.

Code Unnati, she said, has touched more than one million adolescents and children. ā€œMore than 7000 youth have been trained in our industry skills, data science, machine learning, AI, and IoT,ā€ she says.

Gangadharan says 51·ēĮ÷Labs has picked the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) around equal opportunity and gender equality. Many of those goals and how the company aligns with them are listed here.

With Mahindra & Mahindra, 51·ēĮ÷is also supporting the ā€˜Nanhi Kali,ā€™ an initiative focused on the girl child. Since Girl Power Tech is a Human Resources initiative, Gandhadharan says itā€™s the employees who take the initiative of driving it. And that, according to her is also one of the best things about working at 51·ēĮ÷Labs ā€” the use of technology for the larger benefit of humanity.

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Subramanian (ā€˜Subbuā€™) Ananthapadmanabhan, VP, Digital Core, Mumbai

ā€œMy full name is very long ā€“ Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan,ā€ he explains. ā€œSo a lot of my customers actually say that Iā€™m the walking, talking SAP. After all, those are my real initials. So they say that when theyā€™re talking to SAP, theyā€™re not just talking to a company, theyā€™re talking to a man who is 51·ēĮ÷as well. Maybe I was destined to be at SAP!

ā€œTo date, Iā€™ve spent about 24 years here and all of that time has been spent in software. One thing that drew me to 51·ēĮ÷was the belief that when you think youā€™re the best, youā€™d better be working for the best.

ā€œI used to be at Oracle before and I used to see the struggle that Oracle had when they were talking to enterprise customers for ERP. They were very strong in database and Microsoft were very strong in office applications, but if youā€™re going to be in the enterprise space, you need to be with the leader. My personality is such that I donā€™t know what failure is, and thatā€™s been a trait since my childhood. Anything and everything that Iā€™ve completed, Iā€™ve always given it a thousand per cent.

ā€œI can actually count on the fingers of one hand the number of losses Iā€™ve had in the working world, from a sales standpoint. Iā€™ve been in sales all through, except for the first two years of my career and the number of losses have been very few, 24 years later. I have not known failure and God forbid, I donā€™t want to know failure. So at that point in my life seven and a half years ago, I was very clear that if I considered myself good, I had to be working for the best company in the world. Thatā€™s what drew me to SAP.

ā€œIt just so happened that the week before I joined SAP, I fell and fractured my leg. I was raring to go but I was in a hospital bed, and I even signed the joining documents from my hospital room. I started off my first interaction with the team from home. My entire team used to come over and there were at least five occasions when this happened because I was completely immobilized for six weeks. I used to do the reviews and the forecast calls from home. So I actually saw the office for the first time about two months after I joined SAP, even though I had already met every member of my team on multiple occasions before that. But it was about eight weeks before I stepped into the office building.

ā€œIt was immediately apparent that the beautiful thing about 51·ēĮ÷is the special energy that is shared all the way up to the CEO. You could almost describe it as a positive hyperactivity, and itā€™s derived from the fact that nobody here likes to lose. That was very evident the moment I got here.

ā€œThat positivity about 51·ēĮ÷is extraordinary. A few other things stood out for me. Everybody that I saw around me was a successful man or woman. Everybody. There was an element of joy as far as you could see. The second thing is that everything seemed so simple. Because of where I came from, this was a deliverance for me. It was the simplest I had ever seen in terms of compensation, of approvals, of running the business. The entire focus was on the customers. There was no requirement to spend time internally, because everything was crystal clear. Nobody could hide under any kind of shadow and nobody needed to waste any time at all doing internal politicking. It was that beautiful. Here was a company that was extremely simple and extremely customer focused, with the underlying atmosphere of total positivity. Everybody you spoke to had high regard for the company, for the solutions, and for the management.

Employee recognition awards and career success at SAPĀ 

ā€œI didnā€™t have an interview when I joined SAP, because at the time when I joined there was a lot of movement between Oracle and SAP. A lot of people were coming from Oracle to join SAP. So I was picked up and told, please join. I just walked in and when I walked in, there was no need for introductions here because I actually knew more than half the people on the floor.

ā€œMy very first job after my Masters was in IT. I joined Wipro and I was the first person to be selected from campus. In 1996, when I graduated from my MBA, IT was the employment hotbed, leading the way in recruitments. I just happened to be in technology, so to be straight up, IT was just about coming in. I was drawn towards the human relationships and personal connections in the industry. I was very clear that I wanted to be in a role where I could influence instead of waiting for the market to pick up on the basis of marketing initiatives or advertising initiatives. I consider myself quite creative and I wanted to work in a one-on-one setting where I could really make a difference. Thatā€™s how I agreed to join Wipro, and from then on Iā€™ve only ever worked in IT.

ā€œEven as a child, I was drawn to technology. I always loved the fact that it was possible to automate and take the manual stuff out of the labor equation. Back in the days when there were a lot of science fiction movies, I always used to think that thereā€™d come a time when robots would take over. Back then, the terms ā€˜roboticsā€™ and ā€˜artificial intelligenceā€™ did not really exist, but I was drawn to the concept of how automation would change the way we were accustomed to living our lives.

ā€œIn the early days, the industry was just selling or peddling computers and hardware devices but as soon as I got into software I realized that it could provide answers for every problem. Unfortunately those kind of opportunities only existed outside India at the time ā€“ because Indian customers used to buy out-of-the-box package applications. But that was the driving factor that pushed me deeper into technology. I was driven by the need to find ways in which to change the world through technology. At its very basis, that was my desire to make the world run better, which explains why I fitted in so neatly to the 51·ēĮ÷way of thinking. The whole 51·ēĮ÷ethos mirrors my overall philosophy. I donā€™t ever see myself working for any other company apart from SAP.

ā€œIn my childhood, I actually had two dream jobs and while they may have seemed diverse, they actually converged. The first aspiration in my very young days was to serve in the armed forces because I wanted to take care of everyone around me and I guess you could say I wanted to be a hero. And then when I moved out of school and into college, this might sound strange, but I forever visualized myself as a rabble-rousing leader, a motivational speaker around whom people would rally. I wanted to bring immense value for people. At that time I wasnā€™t as comfortable or as accomplished in terms of spoken English, which has improved considerably in the last 15 years, giving me the confidence to stand up and talk in front of any audience. If you can draw a connection between those two dreams of mine, it comes down to taking care of people and having the energy to make sure that everybody around me is given an equal opportunity to shine in a way in which I can actually take that tide along with me.

ā€œ51·ēĮ÷gives me the chance to do exactly that. It is a beautiful place to do that. Itā€™s true to say that customers here are friends for life. I may have had different experiences because I work for product companies, but all of my customers, even those who change jobs, have only been working on 51·ēĮ÷systems. For them, 51·ēĮ÷has been part of their life for 20 or 25 years and 51·ēĮ÷has made their careers, bringing them the success that they have today. They have a deep and immense respect for 51·ēĮ÷and that respect is evident on a personal level as well, which is what creates friends for life. The relationships that you make at 51·ēĮ÷will never die because they have an association with the product as well as with the person at the same time. When we add value to them, the connection really is cemented. To give you an example of thisĀ ā€“ outside of the office I have had numerous personal invitations from customers for their personal celebrations, which is highly unusual in professional life. But thatā€™s the bond that 51·ēĮ÷creates.

ā€œI used to run a team of 40 people and we were extremely proud of the energy that we brought to our market unit. One of the key parts for me was to raise a team that would be powerful enough, to be proud and to be able to stand in front of customers and negotiate in a meaningful way. Itā€™s almost like positive arrogance, and being able to carry it everywhere. You need to wear that on your sleeve. While we were building the team, we knew that the ā€˜whyā€™ part of the equation was very important, because not everyone works for money. What we sell, we know. How we sell, we know. But why we were doing it was very important and thatā€™s the reason that the ā€˜whyā€™ element had to be linked toĀ 

A proud moment for Subbu and his son

ā€œWe go around saying that we make the world run better, but what exactly we do to contribute to the world was not really a question that has been answered for a lot of people. With this in mind ā€“ and it was the first time that this ever happened at 51·ēĮ÷India ā€“ I took my entire team of 40 people and brought them into Mumbai, where we invested three quarters of a day setting up a center. We inaugurated this in a place called Dharavi, which is Asiaā€™s largest slum.

ā€œWe set up the Code Unnati center for underprivileged sections of society and taught them scratch programming. Even though it was a working day for us, we introduced several of them to programming and we could see straight away that there were converts there ā€“ people who could never have believed that they would ever do this in their lifetime. They were completely touched. There was real gratitude. It gave us a real feeling of yes, Iā€™m actually doing something for the betterment of the world. There was a growing realization that each of us was really able to contribute to this. Even now, some of my colleagues tell me they are so grateful for the fact that we opened their eyes to something that they never thought they would do ā€“ giving back to society in such a meaningful way. Now we plan to take it a lot further by doing it with extended teams, so that weā€™re all in it together in terms of volunteering.

ā€œIā€™ve also agreed to do an employee engagement project for the entire company and not just my LOB. In addition, we do a volunteering workshop exercise once a year and Iā€™m planning to conduct very specific Code Unnati workshops for the entire company, in different blocks of course. This will help people feel that theyā€™re really making a difference to society. I want to institutionalize that instead of restricting it to just one team.

ā€œMaking a difference is just one element of this. I love to see that Iā€™ve added value to the team. I love to see the gratitude and respect in the eyes of people, truly indicating that their time spent with me has been valuable or has been a value-add for them. Not everything appeals to everyone, so you have to do different things for different people. The element of purpose is always uniform across what we do, while the element of teaching or learning appeals to people in different ways.

ā€œSo what I do during the course of the year is not just this, I also invest time in running the young talent program in the country. I take all the Academy graduates out in the last quarter with 14 of my senior managers into a room to run a half-day experience workshop on negotiation skills. These are real-life negotiation situations, based on our experiences over many years and designed to give them a genuine flavor of what to expect. Thatā€™s not something you can get in any textbook. You simply cannot get 14 senior people together in a room in Q4, talking to you about what negotiation is all about, based on the depth of their cumulative experience. You get a real sense of immense satisfaction from the Academy graduates.

ā€œIn addition to that, wherever there is an opportunity, I spend time mentoring them on how they can improve themselves for the next year. I set up one-on-one meetings for them with some of my key leaders to tell them what they need to improve on when they branch out into different roles. This brings elements of acceptability, gratitude and respect. What I like to do is to make sure that when I am no longer involved in their lives, this is a mark or a lasting influence that Iā€™ve made on their lives. Thatā€™s really what keeps me going on a daily basis.

ā€œDoing something like this, to make a difference to others who are just beginning their careers, goes back to the people who influenced me. In my formative years, my mother (sitting, in this photograph) had a huge influence on me and although she is 76 today, anything and everything has to be just and fair in her eyes if itā€™s worth spending time on. It doesnā€™t matter what is entails. She doesnā€™t flinch, ever. If there is injustice, she will raise her voice and will do everything in her power to ensure that the matter is settled properly. So yes, I certainly draw a lot of inspiration from the way Iā€™ve been brought up. You have to be fair to everyone around you and if people are going to respect you, then you need to draw on your own experiences to give back in whatever way you can.

Subbu and his family

ā€œI also have an interesting 51·ēĮ÷story to tell in the context of my fatherā€™s medical situation a few years ago.Ģż When my dad was hospitalized in 2014, it was Q4 and we had a $3 million deal on the table for a start-up. There was no way that anybody could have stepped into my shoes at that particular point in time because it was too far into the engagement cycle. I had no choice but to find a way to balance it out. Yes, I had to be there in the hospital with my father but I simultaneously needed to be an integral part of the engagement process, even though I couldnā€™t physically be there in the office.

ā€œI am my parentsā€™ only son, and I had to strike the right balance, not just for my family, but for 51·ēĮ÷too. The first thing we did was that we got my father into a hospital suite, so he was in one room while I used the other room as my office. None of the people at 51·ēĮ÷were aware that the reviews and the calls that were being answered were actually being attended to in a hospital. Not one of them knew that.

ā€œThe only person who was aware of this unusual situation was the person to whom I was selling, because he had to know that I could not be there 24/7. Do you know what this gentleman did? He actually volunteered to come to the hospital to negotiate the deal. That was something that will remain with me throughout my life because it was a net new deal and we had struck a chord in the relationship to the extent where he said, ā€˜Iā€™ll come over to the hospital and weā€™ll sort it out there.ā€™

Family moments for Subbu are an integral part of his life

ā€œOf course, I didnā€™t allow that, so we went back to his office at a suitable time to complete it, but that experience is something that will remain with me for a long time. That really does speak volumes about the extent of relationship-building on which I pride myself.ā€

This article is number 37 in a Ā of employee stories to mark SAPā€™sĀ  years in APJ and was featured on .Ģż

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Beneļ¬ciaries at the launch of the Code Unnati, Nanhi Kali event

Most of us take computers for granted ā€“ we dash off emails, write reports, do accounts, play games without a second thought.

It is only when you meet 14-year old Priyanka Kumari and 13-year old Rubina that you realize how empowering and life-changing computers can be for a whole section of people.

The two girls study at a government senior secondary school in the suburbs of Delhi and now nurture ambitions to become an accountant and a teacher respectively. These ambitions awakened only when their school got computers and they got trained in how to use them.

The daughter of a driver, Priyanka says she had never touched a computer until SAPā€™s Code Unnati began a digital literacy project in her school. ā€œWe didnā€™t know anything about computers until our school added a lab funded by SAPā€™s Code Unnati. They taught us MS Word and Excel,ā€ she says, enthusiastically describing what all she can do with the software.

Priyanka is totally fascinated by spreadsheets now and hopes they will lead to a job in accounts. ā€œOur principal runs an orphanage. Perhaps I could help out with accounts there,ā€ she says.

Rubina, meanwhile, wants to become a computer teacher. She says she would love to impart the skills she has learnt to others who have no access.

Itā€™s rather humbling to hear how the girls want to use their newfound skills to train others. It also shows how a small intervention can become a movement and lends credence to the theory that if girls are empowered, the whole nation beneļ¬ts.

The 51·ēĮ÷ intervention at Priyanka and Rubinaā€™s school came about thanks to a partnership with the Mahindra Groupā€™s , which works with girl children. The aim in joining hands is to provide quality education and digital access to over 11,000 underprivileged girl children by 2020.

Since 2017, Code Unnati has trained over a million children across 14 states in language, digital literacy and maths. By tying up with Nanhi Kali the programme gets strengthened and also aligns with the governmentā€™s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.

They say teach a man how to ļ¬sh and you feed him for life. Well, teach a girl how to handle a mouse and you can change a whole communityā€™s life.

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