FLO’s first of its kind virtual change of guard held

Hyderabad: In a first of its kind, Virtual Change of Guard meeting in this part of the country, Sona Chatwani, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad Chapter and Shilpa Datla, YFLO Chairperson demit their offices. 
 
Usha Manne, and Apurva Jain city based industrialists succeed as new Chairpersons of FLO and YFLO respectively. 
 
Usharani Manne, the new Chairperson is the Founder Director of M/S.Polmon Instruments Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad. Polmon manufactures Industrial and Laboratory Instruments.
 
Apurva Jain is a Director of city Pokarna Ltd.
 
Among Corona Constraints, the Virtual Change of Guard was the only option available. FLO Hyderabad is one of the first social organizations to adapt the virtual change of guard as the way out to carry on with their activities. The Change of Guard also marked the 20th Annual General Session. 
 
In this unique online oath taking ceremony, the Chairperson Ms.Sona Chatwani passed the baton to the incoming Chairperson Ms.Usha Rani Manne, Ms. Shilpa Datla to Ms. Apurva Jain. 
 
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department, Govt of Telangana was the Chief Guest. 
 
Addressing the virtual gathering, Jayesh placed three suggestions in front of the new leadership of both FLO and YFLO. They include 01. Start workshops, mentoring programs, handholding programs to help FLO members, MSME entrepreneurs on how to restart their business activities post the COVID.  2. Adapt Technology in all your activities, the way you used technology today to have your Virtual Change of guard. 3. Reduce in-equality that is prevailing in our society.
 
The Virtual Oath Taking Ceremony or Handing Over Ceremony is very unique and you are one among the first in this area to do so said Jayesh Ranjan. Though these are stressful and difficult times, you haven’t been bogged down by the adversaries and went ahead with Virtual Change of the guard.  
 
Incidentally today evening we have a Webinar in the city on Restarting Manufacturing. After a significant period of inactivity owing to the lockdown, manufacturing facilities in India have started re-opening. However, it is important that the facilities continue to remain vigilant about the risks and work on measures to mitigate them the top bureaucrat shared. 
 
The experts in this webinar will provide insights on the essentials for a smooth restart. They will speak about a 10 Dimension Approach that provides a formal level of preparedness assessment for keeping manufacturing facilities operational post lockdown and thereafter. The experts will also highlight some of the important measures to help manufacturing facilities evaluate their present-day preparedness to mitigate risks and continue operations in a safe and disruption-free way. FLO can also focus on these kinds of activities. They are most sought after, relevant and topical.  They are the need of the hour, he shared.  
 
FLO has been the first organization to have set up an exclusive industrial park for women entrepreneurs at Sultanpur. This was recently visited by a Japanese delegation and has become a global role model park, Jayesh observed.  
 
Despite the unprecedented difficulties, people have shown lot of resilience and positivity, Jayesh added.  
 
Future belongs to Entrepreneurs and Start-ups, he observed.
 
Jayesh also appreciated FLO for taking up skill development to the underprivileged people at Dhoolpet bt training them in Pickle Making, Bee Rearing etc and many other skill development programs.  
 
BCG has prepared a tool kit based on the survey “How to Restart in the Wake of COVID-19” They have also prepared sector-wise tool kits in restarting the business activities. Similarly, FLO can prepare a survival tool kit for your members he shared. 
 
National President, Harjinder Kaur Talwar said no government can achieve anything without involving women as we are 49% of the population. We welcome the statement from Union Finance Minister for allowing only Indian Companies to participate in government tenders up to Rs 200 Crore. No foreign companies are allowed to participate in tenders up to Rs 200crore. 
 
The women entrepreneurs must use this opportunity. COVID-19 must have brought whole world under lockdown situation. But it is also opportunistic times. Women entrepreneurs must rise up to the occasion.  
 
She stressed the importance of developing women Agripreneurs.  
 
The newly installed Chairperson of FLO Usha Manne unveiled her theme ‘Live Empowered’. My three manthras for the coming year are Engage, Enrich and Enable she shared. The overarching objective of this vision statement is to develop confident female leaders equipped and passionate about leading companies, businesses, she shared
 
 I know I am taking over the mantle at a very challenging time. At the same time these are also opportunistic time, she added.  
 
The outgoing YFLO Chairperson Shilpa Datla shared her takeaways for the year gone by: a sense of responsibility, ownership, creative management. I have been fairly successful in creating a digital identity for the YFLO she added. 
 
Apurva Jain, who succeeded Shilpa as a YFLO Chairperson announced her theme “Burn to Brighten”. These are the turbulent times. We need to learn to be calm in any storm, she said. She is a Director at Pokarna Ltd.  
 
The change of guard brings an end to the year headed by Sona Chatwani. Giving her closing remarks for the year, Chairperson of the Chapter, Sona said, “Inspired by the life of the Father of our nation, I have always believed personal transformation and social transformation go hand in hand”.
 
With that firmly in mind, I chose ‘Reframing Women’s Empowerment’ as my vision as Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad Chapter for 2019-20. Rebooting our capacities, reconnecting with our mind, body and soul, reinventing our skills became the three-fold path on which the year would progress.
 
FLO Hyderabad swelled by 116 members in 2019 to reach the 716 mark…making us one of the biggest Chapters in the country.
 
E-Connect, a bi-annual newsletter(e-version) of the FLO Hyderabad Chapter was unveiled during the occasion.