 Ladies and gentlemen, it's an absolute honour for us to welcome onto this stage our jury chair. Please put your hands together for Mr. Sanjeev Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, ITC. So we'd love to come, have you come and say a few words. First of all, may I thank Mr. Naval Aujha and Dr. Anurag Batra for inviting me and giving me the privilege of chairing this jury for this year. It's been a truly engaging and enriching experience. One has seen some amazing amount of work, amazing quality of work that's been put in. And some were certainly beyond expectation. Personally I would say it was very enriching. In fact, tremendous learning for me personally and what I was particularly happy to see is that not only the best had not only used the digital medium so well, but had really brought in the fifth P of purpose into it and embedded that very well, which is so very important and critical today. But all the entries that I saw I think deserve to be complimented. So my congratulations to all of you who participated, all the entries I saw were worth applauding. So irrespective of whether you win or not, you must celebrate. You must celebrate the work and the fun you've had creating those entries. Naval just mentioned that this was started in 2010, this is the 14th edition, very clearly a lot of foresight on Naval and Anurag's part to have thought of this in 2010 when digital was not so mainstream. Today every organization lives and breathes digital. It was not so in 2010. Many people at that time, in fact, a lot of seasoned professionals across functions, whether it's marketing or manufacturing or supply chain would be fairly circumspect and would allocate very limited resources. That's the time you all started it. So I think a lot of foresight. So congratulations, congratulations for that. But since that time, we've gone, we've traveled a long distance and I'll share a few perspectives on what digital means today for organizations and really do that from the lens of ITC itself just to share our own experiences. Looking at the quality of entries that have come in digital marketing, I'm not going to attempt to give any advice to digital marketers. I think all you youngsters here understand digital far better. I mean the generation Z actually understands digital far more than people like me who may be in generation X. So in my own company also I always look forward to learning from the youngsters. So I'm not going to talk to you too much about digital marketing but certainly talk to you a little bit about what I think digital means to enterprises. And to start off let me narrate an anecdote to you. You know when the pandemic and pandemic is the time that digital has multiplied many fold what did not happen in decades happened in weeks. So when the pandemic started and we had a lockdown and at that time we were working in 27 aspirational districts to train farmers, empower them to enhance incomes and this was entirely a physical training and it's not a small number. At that point we were working with about 300 to 400,000 farmers and there was lockdown, there was no means to travel and go to the site and explain things. So overnight we pivoted to a digital medium with some apps made on the fly and 5,000 apps, 5,000 WhatsApp groups made across 5,000 villages and to our surprise the uptake was tremendous. When at the end of the Kharif season we went back to see what progress has been made actually the productivity was up exactly 60% what was in line with the original plan for that period of time. So I'm giving you this example just to say how ready Bharat or India is as far as digital is concerned and I'll tell you another anecdote about this a little later and this has happened because a lot of definitive purpose steps have been taken over a period of time particularly by the government. I think digital India has been systemically built whether it's the infrastructure for payment. We had 25 billion transactions in 2020 itself. We're talking of 6 lakhs villages being on fibre optics soon. 5G is coming in, a billion users on the internet. So very large, large number and people are able to use it efficiently and effectively. So this is the country is really ready. I think we are at an inflection point as far as digital is concerned. And digital is one facet that is bringing fast change in society. The way we work, the way we entertain ourselves, the way we communicate, the way we consume information, the way we... I was one person who always read newspapers before the COVID. Today although I still get newspapers, I end up reading it on the iPad. That's how things are changing and I'm not generation Z. That's just to give you an example on how much things have changed. People who never shopped online are shopping online. So things have really, really changed and it's driving change very fast. But besides this, there are some other factors that are also driving change and it's I think useful to take note of it. Digital and sustainability are very clearly going to be mega trends of the decade. And they will cause immense change. And what is going to add to the speed of change is really, of course, there is a bit on the geopolitical dynamic is going to lead to a lot of change, a lot of opportunities and challenges. The pace of technological advancements is also going to propel a lot of change. And a case on point is the vaccination program that has set new benchmarks of speed in which technology can develop solutions and implement it at scale. It's a new paradigm, new benchmark altogether. What used to take decades is happening years time, years and a half time. So all of this put together is going to drive a lot of change. And what does it mean for companies? What does it mean for enterprises? So it means that we need to be far more responsive. You need to be far more agile. Agility is going to become important. And while we are agile, while there is, agility is important. And this is always a risk when things are moving too fast. Are you losing sight of the customer? Are you losing sight of your consumer? So therefore, this whole idea about consumer centricity or customer centricity becomes even more important. Agility and consumer centricity become important. And you get the best tools to be able to deal with that through the digital medium. And all of you know it. You know the speed at which you can do inciting, the speed at which you can engage with consumers, the speed at which you can get feedback, the speed at which you can pick up changes in the demand environment and take action so that you are able to service the customers. So it's really, I mean, that's really the tool, big tool that is available to you. And that is what is being used now across the entire organization, whether you talk about the supply chain or manufacturing or the peace on commerce or marketing or inciting even the design of products. So in our, I can say in our own company a few years back, you know, digital was not such a, was not kind of a word that people spoke about at length or spoke about day in and day out. Today whether you're talking about bringing efficiencies, whether you're talking about consumer engagement, whether you're talking about speed to market or inciting, is digital is the first thing that comes to people's minds. And it's also opening new opportunities to service consumers, just to give you two of our own examples. You know, we have a brand of Ata called Ashirwad. Of course, now with the digital methods, of course, you can sharp target communication, personalize. But beyond that, what about personalized product? So we just started to pilot in Delhi a concept where somebody can go on to the ITCE store and choose the mix of Ata he wants. What blend does he want? And it's freshly prepared for him based on his recipe and delivered to his house in a couple of days. Similarly, we have something called MyClassmateShop.com. So you can actually go and order notebooks where you want specific pictures that reflect your memories or your passion or something that you're excited about and have them customized to your liking. So we are also, it's also enabling this whole concept of mass customization, which we've been hearing about for a while. So things are really, really changing and it is really impacting, impacting the way we work on a 360 degree basis. But whilst we are doing it, whilst we are moving ahead with it, I think sometimes we also need to think back and say that, you know, this is a very crowded space. There is a new idea, new technology, new solution that is emerging every day. It's a bit of a crowded space. So how do you kind of make sure that you pick, make the right choices? And how do you make sure that even those that were not comfortable with digital are actually becoming comfortable and the whole organization is going along? I think that piece is very important as you go through the journey. So what we have experienced is that having very clear goals and perspectives coming back to the basics, having a very clear goal, very clear vision on what we want to achieve is critical. And in this game of digital measurements, far more measurements are possible. And therefore, as you go along, you need to keep on checking if you're progressing on the right direction. This is an area where things are changing, where a lot of trials and experiments are going on. So you need far greater empowerment. So if we are going to have our processes the way we dealt with conventional media, the way we worked in the pre-digital era, so to say, it's not going to work, you're not going to. So we have to have greater degree of empowerment and much greater degree of empowerment to the younger people. We have to be open to learning from the younger people because they understand digital far better than people who have been longer in the organization, which is a very significant culture change because leadership so far in the past has been sharing its own piece of wisdom down the line. Now it has to be a little bit of the reverse or a lot more of the reverse. And it sounds simple, but it requires a lot of conscious effort to do it. And if you do not do it, the challenge is that we may go wrong because the people who are the closest to and understand this media are best equipped to talk about it. The second piece I just want to touch upon is really what I alluded to earlier is sustainability. Now this is a subject I personally am very passionate about. And as youngsters, I'm sure you're even more concerned than I am because you're going to be around much longer than I am going to be around. And you are seeing what the world is going through in terms of extreme climate weather events. The forecasters by 2030, 20 cities in India will not have water or will run short of water. It's not just about weather events and the destruction they do, the chaos they cause. What about food security? Last year, wheat in certain parts of the world, soya in other parts, milk in some parts, sugar in some parts, the crops contracted. We know in India the wheat crop is contracted. There are risks of paddy. So food security itself is becoming a serious issue. And you see, it's not just about the climate crisis. There is a serious, while over a period of time, economies have progressed. And a lot of natural resources have been depleted. But we have a serious issue of social inequity. Despite using so much of natural resources, gainful employment is still not available to millions of people. Now this is emerging as a stress point. And I think we all appreciate that businesses also cannot thrive in societies that are under stress. So it is also good from a business perspective that these issues are sorted out. So enterprises and brands as a reflection of what enterprises do, need to embed purpose very clearly on what difference are we making to the world. And what difference we are making to the world is to be there in spirit. It is not just about marketing an idea. It's not just about an idea for marketing. It's about really living it and letting your stakeholders and consumers know about it. That is where real purpose comes in. I was glad to see a lot of work embedding purpose. But I think this is an area that's very important. And digital is a much more powerful medium than the conventional medium. So use that medium for creating a positive change. Brands can also draw awareness to a lot of social issues and cause change in society. And it has to be a very, very integrated, purposeful, thought-through activity which is integral and core to your goals, integral and core to your vision. And let me give you, before I close, I'll just give you a small example. In our foods business, we have a program called Help India Eat Better. Now there's got four pillars. Good for you products, sustainable food systems, catalyzing support for the vulnerable sections of society, and consumer awareness or awareness amongst employees and consumers. So let's look at how this program is going on and what role is digital playing in it. Let me take you an example of a milk that we launched in West Bengal called Easy Digest. This is a lactose-free milk. Now through online research, it was found that one-third of people in Bengal do not consume milk because they experience difficulty or cramps. And lactose milk is expensive. So in the pouch format, it was launched making it accessible. And the insight, again, came from chatter and social listening to what consumers are saying. That's where the idea first came, then it was a little bit researched and kind of developed. Food systems I will come to. Communities are, first of all, being made aware of nutritional requirements through apps. And as far as awareness of consumers and employees is concerned, we have launched a, there is a portal that is in-house. It will be subsequently taken out. And there is also a platform called Happy Tummy that creates awareness on gut health and the importance of fiber through various AI-based tests and blogs and videos and consultation. So it's an integrated effort, really trying to amplify what we are doing. And the last piece about sustainable food systems. That's where our initiative called ITC, Mars comes in. ITC, Mars stands for ITC, MetaMarkets for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services. The idea is to, through this, it's a full-stack, physical platform that empowers the farmers through hyper-local personalized crop advisories, gives them access to imports, market linkages, and in the process. Because it's a demand-driven, it's based on best practices. We are also creating a value chain that is climate smart, is sustainable, will have the right use of resources instead of overusing the resources. So this is, I'm just giving an example here of purpose and how this is manifested in not only the products or the brands or it's actually through the way the organization works. And that, to my mind, is true purpose. And I would definitely, I'm spending a little time on it because this is an area, I think it's very important for the world today. It's very important for the world that all of you are going to live in today. And I personally feel that as we as people from so-called Gen X or whatever we call it, we have a responsibility to leave behind a planet that is more sustainable and secure. And we have a lot of resources, a lot of tools at our hands to make a difference to it. So I will urge all of you to please do your own contributions towards this. It's a very, very important issue. And once again, congratulations to all the participants for the amazing work that you have done. Immaterial or whether you win, I think you are a winner. Go ahead and celebrate it. And congratulations to Exchange for Media for hosting these successive events. I think it's certainly bringing, drawing a lot of attention to the power of digital. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.