What goes into the making of a Great Place to Work in? Is it good leadership or focus on employee well-being? Or is it a mix of both? The Great Place to Work institute regularly assesses best work cultures across business, academia and government organisations. We at BW Businessworld frequently partner with the Great Place to Work institute to showcase ideal workplaces across sectors.

The issue in your hand carries a study of the best places to work in across IT and IT- BPM organisations. Of the 241 organisations that applied, 75 were identified as role models in the realm of work culture. The study focused on the quality of employee experience and the organisation culture and more specifically, on people practices. Read about India’s Best Workplaces: IT & IT-BPM and the top 75 organisations that boast of the best work culture.

Our second cover in this issue looks at Fintech and its increasing importance in the near future. Srinath Sridharan, independent markets commentator and Member, Governing Council, Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment, was invited to write the cover feature, in which he analyses the state of the sector and predicts the way forward. He emphasises in his essay that the Fintech sector is well poised to play an important role in the new economy, especially if consumer focus is its strong point.

In addition to the cover features and our regular columns, we bring to you a conversation with the Tourism Finance Corporation of India Managing Director and CEO, Anirban Chakraborty. He stresses the need to lend to the tourism, hospitality and the MSME sectors, all of which as we know, are among industry segments that have been battered by the pandemic and the social distancing norms that followed.

The Last Word in this issue goes to A.S. Mittal, Vice Chairman, Sonalika Group, and now Chairman, ASSOCHAM. Mittal talks of the need to reform agri-credit to make it more effectual for farmers. We bring you news beyond business too. Don’t miss the car review, for instance. Just when the automotive market is on a turnaround mode, Tata Motors brings back the Tata Safari, India’s first and hence, iconic SUV. In its new avatar, the Tata Safari seems to have a distinct edge over the Tata Harrier, which it is broadly modelled on. Smartphone aficionados may be interested to learn that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, literally goes beyond the ordinary.

I do hope you enjoy reading the magazine as much as we did in putting it together.

Editor's Letter: Workplace Role Models