Corporate India gears up for avian flu

Wipro, Coca-Cola, ICICI Bank have already started to prepare plan of action

India Inc has started putting in place a contingency planning for Avian Influenza outbreak. While India seems protected so far, business is taking no chances.

Companies such as Wipro, Coca-Cola India and ICICI Bank have already started to prepare a plan of action. While most companies are still at an early stage of health-risk assessment, some such as Coca-Cola India have actually put in place a team to assess how the organisation needs to operate business in the case of a pandemic.

In fact, in getting organisations in India to prepare and be ready for crisis management, Hill & Associates has come out with a White Paper on the issue and is already working with its clients to get them future ready.

The company is a leading international risk management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with presence in 19 countries, and claims to have evolved a business plan based on WHO report and its own model to help its clients.

Ashish Sonal, country head, Hill & Associates, India, stated that most global companies are quietly planning and working on it. 'No one wants at this, rightly so, wants to create unnecessary panic.

Large companies are working not just closely with medical community on the R&D side for develop a vaccine, but also on a plan to see how their critical plants and facilities can function,' he said.

This has become necessary as SARS outbreak, which affected just a limited number of people directly, had colossal economic implications. The direct loss to business was estimated at more than $60 billion. Compared to this,the economic impact of Avian flu in Asia alone is being placed at over $250 billion.

The ball park estimates for the cost of preparing a contingency plan clearly depends and scale of the organisation spread. 'It could range between Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore, depending on the spread of the company,' said Sonal.

The kind of companies more vulnerable are those involved in huge people contact such as BPOs, airlines, banks, manufacturing companies dependent on movement of food supplies and other logistics, oil and gas companies where people work on rigs, etc.

While globally, according to sources, aware organisations such as Prudential, JP Morgan, GE and British Gas are already working quietly on a crisis plan. In fact, many are urging their Asian counterparts and subsidiary to prepare a plan of action.

In India, companies such as Castrol, ICICI Bank have already started spadework by keeping tabs on the global system in terms of being updated on risks possibilities and are evolving ways to respond to the situation.

For instance, Wipro has always maintained a policy of being in tune with global safety standards: 'The safety of our employees is non-negotiable and of paramount importance to Wipro,' said Tapan Bhat, vice-president (HR), Wipro Infotech. The company has stated that it is monitoring the situation closely and is in absolute readiness to cope with any such situation.

However, at the moment it sees no reason to create any unnecessary panic. So is the case with ICICI Bank. 'We are already in touch with our medical advisors and are putting in place an intranet information system,' said K Ramkumar, senior general manager (HR), ICICI Bank.

Coca-Cola India, appears to be ahead of others in its preparedness and has actually put a team in place to work out business contingency plan. It has already informed the employees and their families through various information systems. It has made a preventive vaccine available to tackle Avian flu.

'This is an option for all. However, it's mandatory for all those traveling abroad,' said Adil Malia, vice-president (HR), Coca-Cola India.

The company provides an entire travel guideline and offers companies protective kits, thermometer and alcohol-based handwash as disinfectant so that employees can assess and take care. 'Our team created for business contingency planning will present a plan in the next 10 days,' he said.