Sustainable Employability with a Green Perspective

 In the wake of climate change and environmental degradation, the world is undergoing a paradigm shift towards sustainability. This transformation isn't just about reducing carbon emissions or implementing renewable energy solutions; it's also reshaping the job market. The emergence of green jobs signifies a crucial transition towards a more environmentally conscious and economically viable future. 

Understanding Green Jobs 

Green jobs encompass a wide array of professions across various industries, all with a common goal: promoting environmental sustainability. These roles can be found in renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation, and more. What sets them apart is their focus on minimizing negative impacts on the environment while maximizing positive contributions to sustainability.   

The Growing Demand 

With increased awareness of climate change and the urgency to mitigate its effects, the demand for green jobs is on the rise. Governments, businesses, and consumers are increasingly prioritizing sustainability, creating a growing market for environmentally friendly products and services. This shift is driving the need for skilled professionals who can innovate, design, implement, and manage sustainable solutions.

Examples of Green Jobs 

1. Renewal Energy Specialist 
2. Sustainability Managers 
3. Environmental Engineers 
4. Green Building Professionals 
5. Conservation Scientist 

Challenges and Opportunities 

While the growth of green jobs presents promising opportunities, it also comes with challenges. These include the need for specialized training and education, overcoming resistance to change, and ensuring equitable access to green job opportunities across diverse communities. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration between governments, educational institutions, businesses, and civil society to create supportive policies, provide training programs, and foster an inclusive green economy. 

 Conclusion 

The rise of green jobs signifies a fundamental shift towards a more sustainable and resilient future. By embracing sustainability in the workforce, we not only address environmental challenges but also create economic opportunities, improve public health, and enhance overall well-being. As individuals, businesses, and societies increasingly prioritize sustainability, green jobs will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping a more prosperous and harmonious world for generations to come. 

Brand You-nique: Mastering Personal Branding for MBA Mavericks

 Welcome, future business moguls! If you're starting an MBA program, congratulations on taking the first step toward world dominance—I mean, success. As you embark on your business school journey, keep in mind that, in addition to learning about profit and loss statements and Porter's Five Forces, you must also master the art of personal branding. After all, you're not just another MBA student; you're a budding disruptor, a future unicorn, and a maverick in waiting.  

So, welcome to Brand You-nique, where we'll discuss how to create a personal brand as unique as you are. 

1. Embrace Your Inner Unicorn: First and foremost, stop worrying about fitting into the proverbial box. You are not a component in the corporate machine; you are a gorgeous unicorn frolicking around the business world. Accept your peculiarities, eccentricities, and unique thoughts. After all, oddballs, not conformists, are the ones who alter the world.  

 
2. Elevator Pitches—Make Them Elevating:  Ah, the dreaded elevator pitch—the torment of each MBA student's existence. But do not worry, wannabe entrepreneurs: your elevator pitch does not have to be as dry as last semester's case studies. Put some personality into it! Perhaps you are the Elon Musk of sustainable fashion or the Oprah Winfrey of block chain technology. Whatever it is, make it memorable, impactful, and, most importantly, enjoyable. 

3. Network as if You Were Speed Dating: I understand how frightening networking events can be. Consider them a professional speed dating event. Approach each conversation with the passion of someone looking for their soulmate—except that your soulmate is a possible employer or investor. Remember that it's more than just swapping business cards; it's about building true connections. So, channel your inner social butterfly and fly through those networking events like the charming MBA maverick that you are. 

4. LinkedIn, More Than Just a Fancy Resume: Ah, LinkedIn—the professional equivalent of Facebook. But, let's be honest: nobody wants to read a dry, corporate-speak-laden résumé. So, enhance your LinkedIn profile! Show off your personality, give your thoughts, and maybe even include a meme or two (but don't go overboard; we're going for professional with a side of pizzazz, not full-on meme lord).  

5. Dress to Impress, but Also to Express: Fashion is just another form of self-expression, and you want to make sure your outfit screams "I'm a force to be reckoned with" rather than "I borrowed this suit from my dad.". Make sure you portray yourself the way you would like yourself to be seen. Grooming plays a very important role in the way people see you. 

6. Be Yourself: Finally, follow the golden rule of personal branding: be yourself.       In all seriousness, sincerity is crucial. Your personal brand should reflect your true self, not who you believe you should be. So, embrace your quirks, take pride in your abilities, and remember that the most successful companies are those that remain true to themselves. 

 

Revolutionizing the Banking Industry with Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

The banking industry has always been at the forefront of technological advancements, aiming to improve efficiency, accuracy, and customer experience. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has become a game-changer for the banking industry in recent years. RPA streamlines processes while also enabling banks to concentrate on strategic decision-making and improved customer service by automating repetitive and rule-based procedures. In this article, we'll examine how RPA is transforming conventional banking procedures and the banking industry as a whole.

 RPA in Banking

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technique that uses software "bots" to conduct repetitive, rule-based tasks by mimicking human behavior. Like human operators, these bots can connect with programs, retrieve and process data, and carry out transactions. However, they do it more accurately and efficiently. Customer onboarding, data entry, account maintenance, transaction processing, compliance checks, and other activities are just a few of the ones that the banking industry uses RPA for.

 Benefits :

 

Improved Efficiency: RPA enables banks to drastically cut down on manual work, resulting in quicker and more precise task completion. Bots are always active and improve turnaround times for crucial procedures.

Cost savings: Banks can save a significant amount of money over time by automating repetitive processes to cut down on operational costs associated with manual labor.

Improved Accuracy and Compliance: RPA lowers the chance of human errors, assuring consistent and legal job execution—essential in the heavily regulated banking sector.

Seamless Integration with Legacy Systems: RPA can be integrated with existing IT infrastructure without requiring major system overhauls. This enables banks to leverage automation without disrupting their current processes.

Enhanced Customer Experience: By automating back-end processes, banks can free up resources to focus on improving customer service, resulting in a better overall experience for clients.

  Use Cases of RPA in Banking

Customer Onboarding:
RPA can streamline the account opening process by automating document verification, data entry, and compliance checks, reducing the time taken to onboard new customers.

Account Reconciliation:
To ensure the authenticity of financial data, RPA bots can automatically reconcile the accounts as well as find discrepancies and alert suspected fraudulent actions

.
Loan Processing:
By automatically evaluating applicant data, running credit checks, and producing loan documentation, RPA helps speed up the processing of loan applications.

Payment Processing:
RPA bots can handle payment transactions, monitor transaction statuses, and send notifications to customers, reducing the risk of payment delays.

Compliance and Risk Management:
By automating compliance checks, KYC (Know Your Customer) processes, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) operations, RPA can help banks stay in compliance with rules.

 Challenges :

To successfully integrate RPA, staff must receive the necessary training. Cultural and organizational adjustments may also be necessary.

Data Security: As RPA involves handling sensitive customer data, ensuring data security and privacy is of paramount importance. Banks must employ robust security measures to safeguard against potential breaches.

Process Complexity: Some banking processes might be highly complex, involving multiple systems and decision-making. Identifying and automating such processes can be a challenge.

For the banking sector, robotic process automation is a game-changer since it provides unmatched efficiency, money savings, and a better client experience. 

By leveraging RPA to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks, banks can shift their focus to strategic initiatives, drive innovation, and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving financial landscape.

As technology continues to advance, RPA will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of banking.

 

 

Blog by 

- Shardul Deogiri

Assistant Vice President

Credit Suisse Bank

Wealth Management Operations

shardul.deogiri@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Role of Financial Calculators in Wealth Planning

 

Financial planning refers to planning the finances that we need to prioritize over the others and save for future expenses. Financial planning has become a very significant part of our lives, probably due to the ever-increasing prices of essential commodities, real estate as well as lifestyle and travel expenses. All these expenses need to be constantly checked and planned for, to avoid going bankrupt.

But how does one estimate the exact expenses over the years that we may need to incur? There are many needs for different age groups. Let us reflect on each of them one by one.

The younger generation form the apex of all expenses as they are developing and harnessing new skills in life. Gen Z as they are referred to, normally falls in age group between 11 years to 26 years. Due to the availability of resources easily, this generation is very actively participating in income generation as early as the age of 11 years by way of social media, video sharing on you tube or music and dance competitions, Olympiads prize winning.etc. They therefore need to invest their earned money to gain stability and assured financial backup at the times they decide to take a break or simply run out of money due to adverse circumstances. Getting high salary package at younger age is also a dominant reason to plan and save your earnings for assured future and provide for emergency or layoffs etc.

Millennials referred to people in age group of 27-years to 42 years, are normally in process of planning for goals like career advancement, travel expenses, House property investment etc.  

Gen-X refer to the people in age group of 43 to 58 years. This age group, we assume, has accumulated a stable position financially, and have savings set aside for emergencies and medications. Their financial needs vary too, with age. They might be planning for retirement corpus and medical and insurance needs which provide safety cover for everyone.

While Boomers mainly age group 59 years and 77 years may have higher medical expenses and it is time for them to reap the benefits of their financial planning. The retirement corpus gives regular income, and they may need to pay for increasing property and personal maintenance and medical bills.

Questions to deliberate upon……….

1.     But how does one estimate the amount to save for the future?

2.     What things does one need to know about his/her financial status?

3.     Can I estimate my future earnings?

4.  What are the interest rates offered by banks on savings deposit, as against mutual funds and other investments returns rate?

These questions will surely sound an alarm about your financial status, while calculating specific needs and translating them in required amounts, sounds too complex.

This is precisely the task for Calculators! We use them all the time!

There are numerous tools available on the internet to help you along the financial planning way. One important tool is the financial calculators.

Financial calculators are a step ahead that help you to exactly put the amounts in different boxes and predict your financial needs accurately and extract a certain amount you need to save or invest or earn.

You will be surprised with the variety of financial calculators available online.

For example, If I wish to calculate my retirement corpus, I need the Retirement calculator.

Likewise, there are Calculators for different financial needs. We can club these into following broad headings:

·       ➤Financial Calculators:

Loan Calculator, Annuity Calculator, PPF calculator, Gratuity calculator, Compound interest calculator, Credit card payoff calculator, maturity amount calculator, interest calculator..etc

These calculators estimate the interest, loan or specific financial formula of say compound interest or simple interest on savings.

·       ➤ Goals Calculator:

Retirement Calculator: How much amount should I save to get rs. 1 crore corpus after retirement?

Education Loan Calculator: How much loan amount should I apply for if I want to do an MBA? So here you might be planning for a specific College MBA. Then you must know the fees, travel expenses, Mess and Hostel expenses if required, daily expenses, etc. to arrive at an amount. The Education Calculator may take in account the inflation rate, and interest rate on Education loan and amount of repayment period you may need to fix for repaying installments.

Insurance Calculator: How much amount is appropriate for my health insurance, if I want to Insure myself? If I have a major disease, or plan for a major surgery etc. that expenses need to be input. The Insurance calculator will determine your insurance needs based on your medical expenses in last one year or last five years. It should also consider the maturity amount you plan to insure for fulfills your medical needs.

Marriage Expenses Calculator: What scale of marriage do I plan? Whether destination wedding that may cost much more than a simple wedding or a court marriage and reception that may save lakhs of rupees. A calculator will therefore ask for specific amounts like marriage hall charges, destination wedding or event management charges, travel charges, clothes and wedding card charges..etc. After inputting them you can adjust them to suit your requirements, thus giving an exact idea of the expenses you are about to make.

 

·        ➤Investments Calculators:

Real Estate Calculator: Based on the term of investment and capital availability this calculator will accurately estimate whether you should invest in land, house, shop/office and returns thereby.

Earnings/Salary Calculator: This calculator will estimate the amount of salary based on your lifestyle expenses and help you assess your financial status.

Mutual Funds Calculator: It will help you to get returns based on number of years you desire to lock your amount and invest in boost fund or growth fund or regular income fund. Few calculators also give the riskometer or the ingrained risk with each of the types of mutual funds.

Tax Calculator :  It will help you sum-up all your taxes like house property tax, road tax, income tax, GST, to help you analyse how much amount is expended each month on taxes only.

·         ➤ ADVICE:

Various trading platforms and demat accounts provide accurate calculators. It is advisable to use the calculators provided by your bank account and demat/trading services provider to get accurate estimate of your past present and future finances. Also, it is important to note here that calculators give a tentative amount of result so that we can get an estimate. Actual amount may differ.

A list of online calculators with link should add up to the excitement of trying one yourself.  So just get, set, Go….!

1.  

1.       https://incometaxindia.gov.in/pages/tools/tax-calculator.aspx

2.       https://cleartax.in/s/sip-calculator

3.       https://www.etmoney.com/tools-and-calculators/sip-calculator

4.       https://upstox.com/calculator/brokerage-calculator/

5.       https://www.hdfc.com/home-loan-emi-calculator

6.       https://groww.in/calculators

7.       https://sbi.co.in/web/personal-banking/loans/calculators

8.       https://upstox.com/calculator/sip-calculator/

9.       https://www.hdfclife.com/financial-tools-calculators/compound-interest-calculator

10.   https://www.investonline.in/financial-calculators/wedding-planning-calculator

11.   https://www.bankbazaar.com/calculators.html

12.   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.financial.calculator&hl=en_US&pli=1

 --Prof. Manasi Patil

Indira Institute of Management Pune.

Chief Librarian (Unity/Tapasya Campus)

Email- manasi.pawar@indiraiimp.edu.in