Confederation of Indian Industry

Confederation of Indian Industry
Abbreviation CII
Predecessor Engineering and Iron Trades Association
Formation 1895 (1895)
Type Non-governmental trade association
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Area served
 Worldwide
Services Policy Advocacy
Nurturing Competitiveness
International & Business Development
Connecting with Society
Members
 Direct 7,900+
Indirect 200,000
Key people
 Sumit Mazumder (Chairman)
Chandrajit Banerjee (Director General)Naushad Forbes (Director)
Employees
 1,000+
Slogan Building Business Leadership
Website www.cii.in

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is an association of Indian businesses which works to create an environment conducive to the growth of industry in the country.

CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, CII has over 7200 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 1,00,000 enterprises from around 242 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.[1]

CII works closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages.

With 64 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 224 counterpart organizations in 90 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.

The CII Theme for 2014-15 is ‘Accelerating Economic Growth,to strengthen a growth process that meets the aspirations of today’s India.[2]

Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram, has been elected President of CII for the year 2014-15.[3][4] Sumit Mazumder, Chairman and Managing Director, TIL Limited, has been elected as the President of CII for the year 2015-16. He succeeds Mr Ajay Shriram as the new President. Dr. Naushad Forbes, Director, Forbes Marshall, has become the President-designate of CII for the year 2015-16. Ms Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited (AHEL) has been elected as Vice-President of CII for the year 2015-16. Chandrajit Banerjee is the Director General.[5]

History

The organization was founded in 1895 when 5 engineering firms, all members of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, joined hands to form the Engineering and Iron Trades Association (EITA).

1895 - Engineering and Iron Trades Association (EITA)

EITA established at the end of 1895 with the aspiration of pressurizing the provincial government to place orders for iron, steel and engineering goods with companies stationed in India. The practice back then was to place all government orders with enterprises based in UK.[6]

1912 - Indian Engineering Association (IEA)

The revision from EITA to IEA in 1912 echoed the association's decision to rule out traders from the membership and fixate fully on promoting the motive of manufacturers.

1942 - Engineering Association of India (EAI)

Till 1942 IEA was the sole all-India association of engineering industry and characterized mainly big engineering companies, especially the British firms.This drove to a situation where the concern of the Indian enterprises (mainly medium and small scale) was not adequately represented. Hence the Engineering Association of India (EAI) was established in 1942 as a branch of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. EAI represented small and medium engineering firms mostly bought and encouraged by Indians, and had different sources and management approaches from the IEA.

1974 - Association of Indian Engineering Industry (AIEI)

After India’s Independence in 1947, the public sector feigned the advantageous role in industrial development. By the 1970s, an advanced foundation of heavy industries had been built, but private companies faced constrictions through licensing demands for fresh units and /or expansion. Keeping in perspective the greater importance of the Engineering industry, in April 1974, the two associations - IEA and EAI - incorporated to form the Association of Indian Engineering Industry (AIEI). For the engineering industry the association meant a stronger affiliation capable of utilizing larger resources and providing a broader range of benefits.[7]

1986 - Confederation of Engineering Industry (CEI)

Foreseeing the upcoming challenges in the future, the leadership at AIEI felt the need for greater consolidation and solidarity that would put the industry on a stronger footing and would help it meet the challenges of competition and globalization. Thus in 1986 there was a change in name from AIEI to the Confederation of Engineering Industry (CEI), reflecting the growth and expansion of the organisation since 1974. CEI now became an apex body for manufacturing industries at the national level.

1992 - Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

In 1991, industrial licensing was abolished and economic reforms on a wide scale started taking shape. With effect from 1 January 1992, in keeping with the government's decision to opt for the liberalisation of the Indian economy, the name of CEI was changed to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In a new policy environment, it was natural that there would be inter-sectoral integration through a process of diversification and expansion, where the engineering units would diversify into non-engineering units and vice versa. Since 1992, through rapid expansion and consolidation, CII has grown to be the most visible business association in India.

Policy Advocacy

A country's policy environment must be conducive for firms to achieve efficiencies that will enable them to reach their full potential and be globally competitive. CII has over 500 ‘Intellectual Groups’ – Councils, Committees, Task Forces, Working Groups, among others – working at the national and regional levels,across industry sectors. These Groups give shape to and articulate Member concerns to Government policy makers, Regulators, Think Tanks etc. They work pro-actively with Government to formulate policies that would empower businesses.[8]

International & Business Development

CII aims to sustain India’s international worldwide and also perform towards building CII as the first port of call for foreign delegations that wish to enlist with India and for the national industry that wish to approach traditional and emerging markets overseas.[9]

CII International works under CII International Policy and Trade Council. The principal goal of the CII International Policy and Trade Council is to commence activities to relate Indian & global businesses. The council also work towards developing market approach for Indian exporters; identifying the requirements of the minor sectors to make them extra ambitious; promoting cooperation with counterpart systems; adopting an aggressive approach with foreign governments on various international affairs regarding the Indian economy; restoring the industry about the current Round of negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization and the Free trade agreements that India has signed or is negotiating with various countries / regions.

The CII International works at close proximity with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Indian embassies / missions’ overseas for creating helpful policies and agendas for trade and investment.They also work closely with the foreign embassies / missions in India, international institutions / multilateral agencies, think tanks and the various universities.

From 2013, CII has broadened its focus of work through more Regional and Country Committees like: Africa, ASEAN + ANZ, East Europe, GCC, LAC, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea and Sri Lanka.[10] CII's International work is backed by seven overseas offices in Australia, China, Germany, France, Singapore, USA and UK that helps us propagate important information pertaining to markets and joint venture possibilities to both Indian and global companies.

Nurturing Competitiveness

Centres of Excellence

In 1995, as CII celebrated its Centenary, it took a major step ahead to enhance the competitiveness of Indian industry to enable it to meet the challenges of a rapidly globalizing marketplace. It began offering customised advisory and consultancy services and training programmes through its Centres of Excellence. Today, CII has 9 Centres of Excellence across India, each focusing on different aspects to offer wide-ranging services to industry from diverse sectors.[11]

Awards/Recognition

Good achievement can be stimulated through acknowledgement in the form of accolades. CII and Exim Bank collaborate on contributing the CII-EXIM Bank Award for Business Excellence through the CII Institute of Quality.[22] CII works with the World Economic Forum, Geneva,[23] to offer the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the yearly India Economic Summit. Woman Exemplar Awards are bestowed to underprivileged women annually who have favorably conquered challenges to establish themselves as leaders in social or economic realms.

CII also takes an active interest in certification and CSR-related evaluations in order to improve corporate values and business image. The Sustainability Awards, instituted by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development in 2006, identifies and recognize exemplary performance in economic, social and environmental dimensions of Indian business.[24] Instituted in 2002, The Leadership and Excellence Award in Environment Health & Safety (EHS) Award aim to recognize, motivate and facilitate corporates to adopt innovative practices in EHS.[25] In order to create a positive and competitive work environment, CII Southern Region also organizes the 5S Excellence Award annually to motivate and recognize member companies which successfully implement and sustain 5S practices in the organization.[26][27]

Corporate Social Responsibility

As a business federation that engages intensely with society at large, CII’s work spreads to aid members in gathering their social improvement aspirations.[28]Corporate Social Responsibility is now emerging into a pivotal area of interest for companies that hope to give back to society and contribute their benefits. It is a confirmed fact that companies with leading social engagement deliver greater value to their stakeholders.

CII correlates with Government, NGOs, and civil society to help industry flourish effective programs for social development.[29] It provides numerous stances through which representatives can undertake on various issues, such as gender equality, microfinance, development of backward districts, HIV/AIDS and public health. Through focused interventions, CII endure to mainstream economically and socially challenged entities and bring them into a phase of growth, development and empowerment. All these interventions are launched under CII’s broad canvas of "Development Initiatives".

Membership

CII has direct membership of over 7300 organisations and indirect membership of over 90,000, from around 257 national and regional sectoral associations.[30]

The membership is open to any company or firm in India engaged in manufacturing activity or providing consultancy services. India Liaison Offices operating with the approval of Reserve Bank of India, without any Sales Turnover in India, are eligible for the "Associate Membership". There is no Individual membership in CII. Companies from the same group can take up membership separately, since there is no group membership.

Their members get access to opportunities like networking with the corporate majors of Indian and global industry to assisting in framing economic and industrial policies, through close linkage with the government. CIIs proactive approach focuses on helping members to increase efficiency and competitiveness.

myCII - Online Knowledge Resource Centre of CII

CII as a part of its knowledge management initiatives has developed a unique Knowledge Portal 'myCII' which is a state-of-the-art online knowledge resource centre of CII.[31][32] This includes premium research reports, recordings of conference proceedings, thousands of sector specific presentations, online master class videos, Webinar recordings, Investment and Policy Trackers, B2B Opportunities and online database of member companies.

Launched in 2011, mycii.in offers a world of opportunities to information seekers giving them access to CII’s Knowledge Works, information updates, business leads and the opportunity to network. Currently, there are 125,000 registered members who receive daily information alerts on subjects of their interest.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cii.in/About_Us.aspx?enc=ns9fJzmNKJnsoQCyKqUmaQ==
  2. ↑ "GDP growth can reach 6.5% in 2014-15 with reforms: CII President". DNA. 1 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ajay S Shriram elected CII President". The Hindu. 28 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ajay Shriram takes over as new CII President". Business Standard. 28 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Confederation of Indian Industry warns plunging industrial production index can hit growth, employment". The Times Of India. 12 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "How I changed the business of lobbying". Business Today. 13 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "What the CII achieved in 25 years". Rediff Business. 9 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Accelerate MSME growth– Financial Express". financialexpress.com /. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "There's Might in Manufacturing – The Indian Express". newindianexpress.com/. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "Over 100 Indian firms in Libya trade fair seeking business – Daiji World". daijiworld.com/. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development". cii.in/.
  12. ↑ "CII's course in supply chain management – The Hindu". hindu.com/. 20 Dec 2004. Retrieved 20 Dec 2004.
  13. ↑ "CII Institute of Quality – The Hindu". hindu.com/. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2005.
  14. ↑ "Who We Are". sustainabledevelopment.in/.
  15. ↑ "Q&A: Gautam Thapar, Chairman, CII-Avantha Centre for Competitiveness for SMEs – Business Standard". business-standard.com/. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Rs 5 crore saved by Ludhiana based Industries under CII Cluster Project – The Times of India". timeofindia.com/. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Council sets target of 5 billion sq.ft. of green buildings by 2017 – The Hindu". hindu.com/. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  18. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-propertyplus/time-to-go-green/article2401577.ece
  19. ↑ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/real-estate/growing-spaces-into-green-towns/article5272241.ece 25 October 2013 Retrieved 29 May 2014
  20. ↑ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/real-estate/growing-spaces-into-green-towns/article5272241.ece 25 October 2013 Retrieved 29 May 2014
  21. ↑ "About FACE". http://face-cii.in/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  22. ↑ http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/2014/Apr/3/eclerx-wins-make-india-award-for-third-consecutive-year.html
  23. ↑ "World Economic Forum to work for solutions to tackle crisis – The Hindu". hindu.com. 15 November 2008.
  24. ↑ "Tata Housing bags CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2014". sify.com/. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "EISAI India Wins CII Excellence Award". indiaprwire.com/. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  26. ↑ "CII Southern Region Awards for Manufacturing Excellence". thehindubusinessline.com/. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  27. ↑ "THE JURY’S TAKE: Committed to promoting skills". Official CII Website. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  28. ↑ "CII president designate in favour of mandatory CSR spending – Live Mint". livemint.com/. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  29. ↑ "CII, Unicef ink pact for corporate social activities – The Hindu". thehindubusinessline.com/. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  30. ↑ "About us". cii.in. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  31. ↑ "The Membership Directory of Confederation of Indian Industry is now available Online on www.myCII.in – Times of India". timesofindia.indiatimes.com/. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  32. ↑ "myCII.in - Click into a new world of Business Opportunities!". indiaprwire.com/. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

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