Vision India 2020: Take with you, the boldness...

While every book is prone to being judged by its cover, Sramana Mitra's Vision India 2020 is not your average "India Shining" coffee table read. Neither does it make empty assertions of "India Rising" with false reassurances of global supremacy. It is, in fact, exactly what it claims to be: a Vision, backed with intricate research, deep insights and realizable roadmaps, all set in an imagined, yet realistic future.

I have earlier posted a series of articles covering the keynote lecture at E-Summit 09, IIT Kharagpur by Sramana Mitra and Dominique Trempont.

A celebrated Silicon Valley strategy consultant, entrepreneur and business author, Sramana has not only penned down a complete view of the future that every Indian dreams of but cannot fully comprehend, she also bears a torch illustrating the very real paths of getting there. And when I say complete, I mean complete.


The book provides insights to 45 unique business opportunities in India. Every thinkable and unthinkable sector, field, service or product has been covered, each presenting a case for a scalable and realizable entrepreneurial endeavor, while simultaneously releasing immense untapped economic value for the nation. From shopping to shipping, engineering to equity, horticulture to furniture, candles to carbon, convergence chips to gourmet cheese, rural development to real estate development, Water Desalination to Water Diplomacy, Solar Energy to Software, Schools for slums to rural cinemas, films to pharmaceuticals... the offerings are overwhelming, but presented in a very organised fashion, so as not to confuse the reader. Significance is given to essentials such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and rural development, with multiple ideas discussed, mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, thus aiming universal access. The theme of doing well by doing good, and the idea of doing business at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid, is touched upon at many points.

The forty five complete case studies are not just about innovative ideas, but about how the innovation can be brought to the market. Insights to crack seemingly 'done' industries as well as exploring uncharted waters have been provided, and even VC-unfriendly sectors such as education have been tackled. Every narrative has been written in a post-facto fashion, analyzing the success story of the discussed model from a future perspective. Sramana's expertise on entrepreneurial planning and strategy is clearly visible in the extremely detailed models, unraveled with not only economic but social, environmental and diplomatic factors in mind as well, while keeping pace with the timeline and the corresponding changing scenarios. Financial engineering has been incorporated wherever needed. At some points the book does take a very Utopian turn, neglecting many bureaucratic and political hurdles. However, while described as a work of business fiction, many of the futuristic models and idea bombs are discussed as scaled, extrapolated and rectified versions of already conceived success stories. Vision India 2020 remains an immaculately written exciting and inspiring read.

For budding entrepreneurs, a reading of the book should be an engaging and inspirational journey, starting off with Sramana's own saga about chasing her dreams, instructing the reader to "take with you, the boldness, as you read..." It also serves as a reminder of the responsibility that every entrepreneur must embrace, of generating a social impact on the community, nation and world. While the book shall gain interest amongst policymakers and investors, it's message is central to the youth of India - "Close your eyes, exist in this future - be each entrepreneur."

And how far is that future?

Ten years, at most.

Vision India 2020 by Sramana Mitra is available from Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle, from Flipkart in India, and from Smashwords.com in all e-book formats.

A Conversation - Swine Flu/AIDS

90 people get #swineflu and everyone wants to wear a mask; A million people have AIDS & no one wants to wear a condom !!

This was my last twitter update as well as facebook and Google Talk status message, when I received a ping on the same from an outspoken friend of mine from college, Vijay (name changed). Here's a transcript of the same:

Vijay: You do realize tht swine flu spreads thru air..but HIV does not

me: But the stats still stand correct
Millions do have AIDS
and you realize AIDS is everywhere in the world, and Swine Flu just 15-16 countries
the number of ppl susceptible to Swine Flu is still smaller than the number of those having sex all over

Vijay: well...thts a matter of choice..if wanna play unprotected...but thts not the case with swine flu.....no me not sayin AIDS is a small issue......
if u knw and still take risk...its a diff thing rite?

me: Yes, thats the point
Ppl r willing to take risk for AIDS, which they are much more prone to, while they're willing to go to unprecedented limits to avert SwineFlu, the probability of getting which is one in a hundred million

Vijay: the reason is...ppl feel they wont get HIV tht easily..or tht their behaviour is alrite....the thing is when it comes to the point where u need a condom....u r accepting tht ur bejaviour is not the one it ought to be...

me: What behaviour?

Vijay: wht i mean is....u need condom=>u dont know the history of ur partner...=>u most probably r with a hooker..

me: That's probably the very reason beind such statistics relating to AIDS

Vijay: but the thing is unlike HIV....even if u knw abt swie flu....u cannot be safe without wearing masks...
just by being on ur best behaviour u cannot counter it

me: Actually, you cannot be safe even wearing a mask

Vijay: well u r better off with it....the other option is to do wht mexico did...
shit down
*shut
tht was a typo :D

me: Masks are unnecesarry
[Only people in contact with a sick person are advised to wear the mask. Also, the mask isn’t a 100-percent guarantee.--CNBC]
As for the better off thing, tht applies to condoms too

Vijay: u still dont get ma point....ppl who know about HIV...and still get it (xept thru blood transfusion) are choosing to get it...
not the case with swine flu

me: So getting AIDS is "better" than getting Swine Flu then?

Vijay: no....if u get it..it is ur fault!!HIV i.e..(again in most cases)...and am not sayin tht they shud to be left to thier defenses.....

me: And they would apply a condom if they were conscious they were getting AIDS
*or that they were "choosing" to get it

Vijay: xactly...those who knw about HIV an still get it...are choosing to get it
just sayin tht the two situations cannot be compared

me: Yes, but millions are doing it, without being aware that they may be contracting AIDS
while the same may be buying masks

Vijay: thts a question of awareness.....nt ..abt "want" to use a condom,
and they r usin a mask..coz they knw

me: most college students are aware of AIDS
So are most proffessional sex workers
yet all of em dont use it (or dont "want" to)

Vijay: then collg students r choosing to hv it..

me: Not that I care abt their lives in particular, but they shudnt
they may go on to give AIDS to others
future spouse, blood transfusion, common needles/blades

Vijay: so its abt awareness
I think they shud make it legal for HIV status certi shud be made compulsory

me: neways, while we're all worried to death abt an estranged and rare disease
Why doesn't AIDS make headlines?

Vijay: we are more worrid abt swine flu..more thn we apparently care abt HIV coz..we can avoid the latter almost certainly thru self control

me: But we dont

Vijay: Y doesnt HIV make headlines.....coz it spreads maily thru sexual promiscuity...and thts not somethin we like to talk abt....

me: Well, why not?
Anyways, do you read my blog?

Vijay: Sometimes

me: Well, our chat will be going up on it.

Vijay: ?

me: I will publish our chat history on my blog, with some edits in a few hours

Vijay: K, sure... keep ma name out tho..if u can....

me: Sure, "name changed". Btw, any preferences for a false name?

Vijay: leave tht to u
i trust ur sense on tht :D

me: hehe, k then

Vijay: chal..byee

me: k, bye

I really don't know what to make out of the conversation, just felt it's worth sharing.

By the way, while the swine flu outbreak was recently raised to a phase 5 alert level, AIDS is an official pandemic(a higher alert level). More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since it was first recognized in 1981, while another 35 million or so currently live with HIV. Infact, while the total number of confirmed deaths due to Swine Flu till date is twenty six (and about another seventy suspected), atleast another one lakh sixty thousand (or one hundred sixty thousand) have died of AIDS in the same time. (5 people die of AIDS every minute, so count yourself)

I hope you enjoyed reading my conversation with Vijay (name changed). And believe me when I say, your comments are, more than ever before, welcome.

Peace...

Behind everyone successful... The Girl Effect

After 19 hours of one hell of a train journey with Aditi, Divya, Anubha, Swaty, Nikky and Ram, otherwise referred to as the 'Freaks n Geeks' of IIT-Kgp, I am back in Delhi for the Summer of '09. Let's see what I end up doing this time.

Oh, and about the effect:



This video by the Nike Foundation and NoVo is about the cycle of poverty in rural regions, and the impact one person can create by breaking it. Behind every successful economy, is a prosperous Girl. Just felt like sharing it.

As for my plans for the summer, I'm looking forward to learn a lot, blog a lot, live a lot... While I do have some stuff on my plate, I'm somewhat jobless for the couple of months to come. And an internship's not just about the only thing I am looking for(the title could be a clue).

Either ways, the only thing for me to do is to keep looking. In case anyone reading this has an opportunity to suggest, pleaaazze do, and I say this with reference to either of my requests.

Happy Holidays everyone!



Peace...

4 days left for E4SI, so apply TODAY... It's now or never...

Have you been planning to apply for E4SI - the Engineers for Social Impact fellowship-cum-internship program - since quite some time now. Well buddy, time's almost over...

You have 10 companies to choose from, and in case you're confused, you could pick up any three immersion experiences you find closest to your heart, and apply ...

• iDiscoveri-- Unleash Your Mind
  
  Founded by alumni of Harvard University, INSEAD, IIT and XLRI, iDiscoveri is a social enterprise with a vision of reviving education in India.
  
  Internship Location: Hyderabad/Chennai/Mumbai or Gurgaon
  
  
• Intellecap-- Shaping Outcomes
  
  Focused on the multiple bottom-line investment industry, Intellecap offers services to various players within this space including investors, enterprises, entrepreneurs, multi-lateral development agencies, policy makers, and many others.
  
  Internship Location: Hyderabad
  
  
• Ujjivan-- Enabling a 'Better Life'
  
  Founded by Wharton alumnus Samit Ghosh, Ujjivan is one of the fastest growing Microfinance institutions. It has provided financial services to over 1,00,000 of India’s poorest women
  
  Internship Location: Bangalore
  
  
• Vaatsalya-- New Face of Healthcare
  
  Winner of the BiD Challenge (India) for its business plan "Bridging the Gap in Healthcare Access", Vaatsalya is set to drive a new paradigm of healthcare in rural and semi-urban areas of the country.
  
  Internship Location: Bangalore/Hubli
  
  
• D.Light Design-- Affordable Light and Power
  
  Founded by Stanford alumni, with a mission to provide everyone access to safe and bright light
  
  Internship Location: New Delhi
  
  
• SELCO India-- Sustainable Energy Solutions
  
  Selco, with 13 years of innovations in bringing sustainable energy solutions to under-served households and businesses
  
  Internship Location: Bangalore/Ahmedabad or Sirsi
  
  
• GEWP India-- Low Cost Irrigation Solutions
  
  GEWP sources micro irrigation equipments from local manufactures, and sells the same using network of supply chain which includes dealers/distributors and retailers.
  
  Internship Location: Aurangabad
  
  
• DhanaX-- Let's Multiply Wealth
  
  An award winning platform for person-to-person lending that supports the entrepreneurial spirit of thousands of small farmers, underprivileged women across the globe
  
  Internship Location:Bangalore
  
  
• Ethos
  
  Ethos is a multi-family office servicing ultra high net worth families across Asia providing them wealth management services, philanthropy services, lifestyle services, education and training services and other support services.
  
  Internship Location:Mumbai/Bangalore
  
  
• A Little World
  
  A Little World (ALW) is an innovative social enterprise creating India's first domestic payment platform focused on serving low income customer segments in rural India.

While you're at it, well... hurry up !!! Do make sure the complete application is submitted on or before the 22nd February, or the coming Sunday.

Best of Luck!!!

Peace...

Go for a REAL internship this Summer !!!

It's that time of the year... Spring is already here, and summer not too far away.

If you're an Engineering student reading this, the above is sure to have brought creases to your forehead. The spring-autumn inter-semester break is practically here, and you're still confused where to go, what to do?

Internship? Where? How do I apply? Will it be too abstract, the way tech-internships usually are? Will you actually be doing something productive, or just sitting around in offices gaping at the technology/corporate world in a confused manner ?

Or do you want to make a dent in the universe? Intern at a place that combines the best of Technology, Consulting and Social Innovation. A place where YOU can make an impact. Work with the best in the business, network with the experts, and join an outstanding cohort of young leaders, the league of pros. Attend leadership workshops at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, and pitch in your ideas for innovation to thought leaders, speak to the ones whose voices really matter. And know what..... GET PAID for it, at industry-competitive stipend rates.

Yes, all of the above is for real. Don't believe me? Well, it's happened to me , and them too . That's E4SI for you!!!

Engineers for Social Impact (E4SI) is a unique fellowship program that connects top engineering talent to credible social enterprises driving market-based solutions to development in India. It serves a dual need: matching talented students with worthy social enterprises and increasing awareness of for-profit approaches to development.

The partner universities include BITS-Pilani, BITS-Pilani (Goa Campus), the Indian Institutes of Technology at Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp), Mumbai (IIT-B), Chennai (IIT-M), Kanpur (IIT-K), Delhi (IIT-D), Guwahati (IIT-G) & Roorkee (IIT-R), IIIT-Allahabad, IIIT-Hyderabad, NIT-Trichy, NIT-Warangal, NIT-Karnataka (Surathkal) and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi. In case your university is not listed, you can get it on the map by suggesting it for future editions .

E4SI partner for-profit social enterprises (founded by alumni from schools such as Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD and IIT) are leaders in education, energy, health, microfinance and multiple bottom-line investment advisory services. They are: iDiscoveri (Education), Intellecap (Investment), Ujjivan (Microfinance), Vaatsalya (Healthcare), D.Light Design (Providing affordable Power), DhanaX (Person-to-person lending/ Microentrepreneurship) and Ethos (Multiple Bottom-line Investment Advisory). Given the entrepreneurial nature of these internships, the nature of work is quite flexible, and the interns enjoy a free-hand to innovate and apply their own ideas. The internship possibilities, or Immersion Experiences as they are called, have already been uploaded for Ujjivan and D.Light , and will be uploaded for the others in about a week.

The duration of the internship will be around two and a half months, for which a competent stipend will be paid, and a leadership workshop would later be organized, to be conducted by the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Besides, the fellows would hence be inducted into a very exclusive cohort of outstanding young leaders.

Undergraduate students currently pursuing Engineering/ Dual degree/ integrated M.Sc. courses at any of the listed partner universities are eligible to apply for E4SI Fellowship 2009. To apply , first register on the E4SI website, and submit the required documents (CV and essays) as specified on the E4SI website. In case you're having a hard time choosing a single immersion experience to apply for, you may apply for more than one, three at max. Once the application procedure is complete and you've received the acknowledgment, just wait while the eminent panel of judges/advisors (with degrees from Harvard, MIT, Michigan, Yale) come up with the results of the first round, after which team E4SI will guide you through the subsequent round(s).

The last date to submit completed applications is February 22, 2009, but don't wait that long. Apply NOW!!!

In case of any queries, you can visit the FAQ section. In case it still remains unfulfilled, you can send your question to the E4SI team, or put it up here as a comment.

E-Summit 09: Day 1: Guest Lecture by Sramana Mitra (Part V)

Now comes the big one.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY. Sramana started off with the perfect example to demonstrate her BoP point of view. SELCO, started by Harish Hande, provides solar energy services for villagers without electricity. Solar energy has enabled them to double their productivity by enabling them to work after dark. Can there be a better example of a social enterprise that successfully gets past so many goals, solves so many problems, causes so much social upliftment, and yet, is for-profit. Kudos to Harish Hande!!

Other examples that may be explored include: AdiShakti (Solar Utility), Wind Energy, Nuclear Energy and BioFuels.

The RETAIL sector holds great promise as well. She exemplified this with Urja, an initiative in fashion. The idea here is targeted marketing, i.e., personalisation in retail. Thus, a customer does not have to go through thousands of samples and catalogues, but is offered the products based on their preferences.

Another similar idea is behind Oishi, but with Gifts. Besides these, retail has great space for innovations. For example, Indian artisans can work in tandem with designers from France and Italy. The resultant product will have both quality and innovation, and great marketability. Such products can do well on the export front, and could be tied with Global Brands.

For India, Sramana saw great potential in the TOURISM and HOSPITALITY SECTOR. Examples of good execution would be Tea Tourism in Darjeeling and Renaissance Luxury Hotel Rentals. The tourism sector in India needs to be aligned to serve Higher-End travel. Think High-end tourists, and the cash registers are already ringing in my ears, plus it’s great for the economy.

Similarly Sramana covered ENTERTAINMENT, which needs to go beyond Bollywood in India. She sees great promise in Framed Ivory (which produces period films) as well as Elixar (Animation Studio). Also, Non-Cricket Television Channels and Sports academies (NCTV) have got a great scope for entrepreneurship too.

The fields of REAL ESTATE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT and TRANSPORTATION, LOGISTICS & INFRASTRUCTURE hold great potential as well in India.

Now time to do some Homework!!

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E-Summit 09: Day 1: Guest Lecture by Sramana Mitra (Part III)

Sramana Suggests Healthcare to be the next big thing. And how so? Healthcare facilities, while abundant in urban India, are pretty scarce in rural India. Now how do we capitalize on that?

One brilliant idea is Doctor-At-Hand: A pharmacy based healthcare franchise for rural India. It makes sense because while enough doctors and nursing staff may not be available for all the half-a-million villages in India, pharmaceutical availability can go a long way in improving the health situation, while cashing on the Base of Pyramid market.

A corollary to DAH is Doctor-On-Wire: Regional healthcare franchise with tele-medecine facilities. Regional hubs may be created for doctors, which may be immediately dispatched on call. Proper planning is required to perfectly execute this plan.

After all this is Doctor-For-Sure: Health Insurance for everybody. In the villages of India lies a huge untapped market for Health care services.

Home-Based healthcare: It’s an idea about providing healthcare services to the elderly and the disabled. This has great potential in India since service is very cheap here, and the need for care for invalids is also huge.

After these suggestions by Sramana, some brilliant ones were to come from the audience too. One member of the audience enquired about the future of psychology/psychiatry in India. Sramana was highly positive about it, since at present there’s said to be one psychologist for one lakh people in India. While seeking psychological therapy in India has been a taboo in the past, outlooks are changing, and a huge market with almost no players may be created instantly for psychotherapists.

Another listener suggested providing paramedic services in epidemic-prone areas. Again, it was something that made perfect sense. Another huge market to tap, another million dollar opportunity. Some audience members were though sceptical about running profitably in poor rural India. Sramana, at this point, made it very clear that non-profit should be the last option. Besides, this is what the Base of Pyramid concept is there for. BoP says that the lower the strata of the society, the greater its population, the higher their collective wealth, and consequently, the larger market to tap.

Another question, though unrelated, was asked regarding the future of the tertiary sector in India, the consulting market. Sramana was very sceptical about it, and did not see much of a market in the immediate future. Her experience had taught her that it’s very difficult to sell consulting serices in India, since people do not accept that problems exist. Well, fact is, Indians are cheap. I suppose it’ll take years before people realise the value of consulting in India, and then again, an instant Boom. But there’s time...

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E-Summit 09: Day 1: Guest Lecture by Sramana Mitra (Part II)

After WATER, Sramana took us to the next area of opportunity: IT & TELECOM. Her suggesting IT & Telecom as a sector which required more innovation and had a lot of potential came as a surprise to some initially. After all, wasn’t India already a leader in IT, and hadn’t the industry reached a saturation level which left no room for innovation? Apparently not.

She began by exemplifying her assertion. She took the example of bootstrapper Sridhar Vembu of AdventNet|Zoho. Sridhar developed an online office suite, the Zoho Office Suite, which includes tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications.  While the company has over a 100 people working on its software in Chennai, there are just seven in the Silicon Valley, mainly to market it. This leads to dramatic price undercutting. Products and Services offered by AdventNet cost less than one-sixth of similar offerings by rivals. AdventNet makes use of Software Concept Arbitrage to cut its costing.

Her point is, India can be in software what China is in manufacturing. After all, India has the expertise as well as labour that the west lacks. While the IT sector is already quite developed in India, it is nothing if you look at the future prospects. As of now, India is a haven for outsourcing. By 2020, India, instead of helping their western counterparts make products through BPO, should start creating its own products. This calls for a paradigm shift.

Another remarkable example she gave was Carol Realini, founder of Obopay. Carol realised that majority of the population in the world accesses technology not through computers but through cell phone. This is especially very easily understandable in India, where cell phones have infiltrated deep into the rural areas where there are no other signs of technology. So while banking has gone online, she realised there’s a much bigger innovation waiting to take place. She took banking to cell phone. So now Obopay enables you to make payments, and do all sorts of banking activities from your cell phone. Now that’s innovative thinking, bringing in millions of dollars. There still remains a lot of scope, say, integrating microfinance with mobile technology. Watsay?

She also talked about her rural BPO venture, Maya Ray. At times like these, Indian BPO industry is facing serious trouble. The problem is, the Indian BPO industry till now, is concentrated in urban India, and caters to large US enterprises. The US has approx 5 million small businesses which have a potential for small-scale outsourcing. Even with an annual budget as low as $5000, it adds up to a whooping $25 BILLION. The biggest problem with Indian BPOs: rising costs, can be totally avoided since Rural BPO means large number of people- simple demand & supply equations will lead to huge cost-cutting. It’s a win-win!!!

There are many other large markets to explore as well. The US healthcare market needs IT support, and it’s a perfect opportunity for Indian software industry to capitalize on. Similarly domestic security and defence industry is now a big money game, and needs IT support as well. The opportunities just don’t seem to end.

Sramana also discussed the driving force behind Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs are driven by PHILOSOPHY (Yes! Knew it!). Successful innovation may involve years of hard work and countless hurdles to clear before any sign of success. Lots of risks, lots of experimentation, lots of obstacles, before any fruits of success are visible. If one does not believe in the self during this time period, it’s very easy to give up. Sramana suggests reading up on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead (Yes! Knew that too!) for inspiration. Who’s John Galt, anyone?

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E-Summit 09: Day 1: Guest Lecture by Dominique Trempont and Sramana Mitra (Part I)

This is the first of my series of posts covering the events under Entrepreneurship Summit 2009 (2nd Jan – 11th Jan), organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur, and hosted by IIT Kharagpur. It is one of the biggest platforms in India for academicians, new-age entrepreneurs, eminent business personalities, venture capitalists, and students alike, to gather and share their entrepreneurial endeavours and experiences, and to pledge to take Entrepreneurship in India to greater scales. Keep reading the E-Summit diaries as I, the official Blogger for E-Summit 2009 (sounds cool, right?), take you through this Entrepreneurial expedition over the course of 10 days.


E-Summit 09 kick started today with a Guest Lecture by Dominique Trempont and Sramana Mitra.

Dominique is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Finisar Corporation, a public company that develops and markets products and services for large enterprise storage networks. He also serves on the Board of Directors, and Chairs the Audit Committee, of Energy Recovery, Inc., a public company that helps water desalination plants recycle energy used in the desalination process. Mr. Trempont was CEO-in-Residence at Battery Ventures, a venture capital firm, prior to which, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kanisa, Inc., a software company focused on customer self-service, contact centre and peer support applications. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of Gemplus Corporation, a smart card application company. Dominique was recruited by Steve Jobs to turn around NeXT, first as chief financial officer and later expanding to lead all operations. Dominique led NeXT’s shift from hardware to software and brought the company to profitability. He successfully restructured the company financially, organizationally and strategically, and sold NeXT to Apple in 1997 for $462M.

Mr. Trempont began his career at Raychem Corporation, a high-tech material science company focused on the telecommunication, electronics and automotive industries, including holding the position of Chief Audit Officer. Mr. Trempont received an undergraduate degree in Economics from College St. Louis (Belgium), a bachelor's in Business Administration and Computer Sciences from IAG at the University of Louvain (Belgium) and a master's in Business Administration from INSEAD.

Sramana Mitra has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley since 1994. Her fields of experience span from hard core technology disciplines like semiconductors to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including fashion and education. Her current focus, however, is primarily in the realms of Web 3.0 and Enterprise 3.0, and related infrastructure. She has a particular interest in Media and Retail companies and their transition to a Web-centric world.

Writings from Sramana's popular blog "Sramana Mitra on Strategy" are syndicated by Seeking Alpha, Yahoo! Finance, ReadWriteWeb, Cadwire, Emergic, GigaOm, TheStreet.com and many other high traffic online business, finance, and technology publishers. Sramana also writes a weekly column for Forbes and syndicates her Vision India 2020 column to the Indian daily, DNAIndia.

As Sramana stepped on to the stage of a fully-packed Netaji Auditorium to deliver her lecture on “Entrepreneurship Opportunities in India”, she was greeted with a warm applause by the audience, primarily consisting of undergraduate and postgraduate students, potential entrepreneurs. She recollected how the scenario in IIT-Kgp today was at contrast with the last time she visited the campus 12-13 years ago with the aim of recruiting some Engineering graduates for one of her ventures. At that time, students stuck to the notion of working for established brands and were quite critical of job prospects in new ventures, and Sramana was not in a position to recruit even a single student. She reflected that the outlook towards Entrepreneurship has drastically changed over the years, and congratulated E-Cell for cultivating the spirit of Entrepreneurship amongst IITians.

Right before the presentation began, she urged the audience to first assume that they WILL each become important entrepreneurs. Beginning on a highly optimistic note, she went on to list the important areas/sectors which are as yet untapped and are potentially huge opportunities for our generation. The point was to pick important problems we are facing and find innovative solutions to them. Case studies, Role Models and Frameworks were presented to further stress the cause and to aid in the development of Entrepreneurship models.

The first of these areas of opportunity was WATER. At this point, Dominique stepped in to explain the seriousness as well as the entrepreneurial potential of “Fresh Water on a Shrinking Planet”. He explained that such problems need to be tackled the way it was done in Silicon Valley: Focus on one particular problem, find innovative solutions to it, and then gain profit by marketing the solution through a venture. He stressed on the fact that India not only has huge problems which need to be approached this way, but also has the creativity to find such solutions.

Dominique elaborated on the water crisis by stating that while the world population doubles every 40 years, but the demand for freshwater doubles in just 20 years, and by 2025, the demand would have outstripped the supply by 150%. Fortune magazine, in 2000, went on to say: “Water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was in the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth [and health] of nations.” In fact, the water crisis is already so acute in some regions, collaborative efforts have been made by nations like Israel and its neighbouring arch-enemy nations to deal with the problem collectively. So large is the problem, that feuds many millennia old have been forgotten in efforts to tackle it.

The problem is more acute specifically with regard to Ground Water. Water used for Agricultural, Industrial and Household purposes is comprised of 70-80% Ground Water. Importantly, Groundwater depletes 14 times faster than its replenishment. Can you guess the number of children dying from water-related illnesses EVERY DAY? 1600! It’s equivalent to shooting down 8 Jumbo Jet aircrafts full of kids every single day.
Looking from a pure entrepreneur’s point of view, water-related problems are a huge toll on the economy, on which 3% of India’s GDP is spent. Thus, it’s an unopened treasure chest. The water reserves are fast declining in India with the Gangotri glacier melting, existing reserves getting polluted, and most of the rain run-off not making it to the reserves, while the demand is skyrocketing with Agricultural Growth, population Growth and Economic Development.

In case you’re wondering where all the water is going, consider this: 1 kg of beef requires around 10,000 litres of water to produce, and even a seemingly harmless cup of coffee requires 140 litres of water. A pair of Jeans consumes 11,000 litres of water over its lifetime, while an average car guzzles over 4, 00,000 litres of water. Water resources could be subject to geopolitics in the future as well, with disputes over water rights, water dependencies and related conflicts. On a related note, the Siachen Glacier, which is at present the world’s highest battleground, could be a source of dispute in the future merely due to the fact that it’s a huge reserve of [frozen] water.

Potential solutions were also suggested for the problem. Protection of existing water resources could be one. Harvesting sources of Rain Water is another one, which needs innovative solutions. Similarly, maintaining water infrastructure requires innovations, innovations that engineering students from IITs and other premier institutes should indulge in. Another important step to be taken is management of ‘Water Footprint’. This is possible if technologies are developed to make the existing processes that consume water more efficient on those terms.

For example, one possible technological innovation could be the development of a better Reverse Osmosis system that could affordably and efficiently convert Sea water to potable water. To establish this, membrane technology needs to be explored. These are the kinds of innovations that IITians could do. Water desalination is a big problem, and any innovation in this field is sure to bring in huge profits.

Students sitting in the audience could be seen exchanging glances. The single area of opportunity suggested till then, WATER, could actually incorporate innovations from Mechanical, Metallurgical, Mining, Agricultural, Biotechnological, Chemical, Civil and other such engineering fields, and turns them into highly profitable ventures. Some of the technologies suggested to be developed are in fact being presently researched by the academia at IIT-Kgp, but no one had any idea there was such a huge potential in them. This universal water problem is a gold mine for entrepreneurs with an innovation.

Besides, the issues with other areas dependent/linked with WATER crisis could also be answered by these innovations, which translate to an even greater margin of profit. For example, huge amounts of Energy are required for water treatment. A better solution to water treatment could thus also help cope with another issue at large, Energy crisis.

Much of the audience was looking open-mouthed at the slides, completely in awe of what they were seeing. Some, perhaps, might have been sceptical about all this, feeling it all looks great in theory and fantasy, but will it be feasible? Sramana walked right in to the opportunity to present a role model: HP Michelet. Michelet is a Norwegian Entrepreneur, who came with the idea that formed Energy Recovery Inc. (ERI). ERI is the world’s leading manufacturer of energy recovery devices such as the PX Pressure Exchanger used for seawater desalination that reduces energy consumption of up to 98%. The idea of recycling energy in desalination was the simplest that could be, and ERI is slated to be a billion dollar company within a few years. India has huge opportunities for desalination plants along its huge coastline, an excellent opportunity. Are you listening?

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You'll Know What I Did Last Summer...

OK, so here we are. After the usual inferno over the Title and URL, here I am finally writing the first post for my [ahem] blog. And it's a long one, so may you have the courage to begin reading it, the patience to continue reading till the end, and the earnestness to leave a comment. This is about how I spent the major part of my unexpectedly exhilarating Summer Vacations of 2008. It all started with me coming across Engineers for Social Impact (E4SI).

Engineers for Social Impact is a unique fellowship program in India for current engineering students to spend a summer at a social enterprise, gain understanding and contribute. In a search across the 10 best Indian engineering schools, they connect the 5 best candidates to 5 social enterprises that drive market-based solutions to development in India.

While applying to E4SI, I was going through the list of their partner social enterprises, all profitably driving social impact in diverse sectors, when I first came across iDiscoveri. iDiscoveri (read I-Discover-I) is a social enterprise founded with a mission to renew education in India, and is now a leading enterprise in the spaces of school education, enterprise leadership development and outdoor education. I was quite amazed to read the company description, and my curiosity got me to Google it for further info, which amazed me even more, mainly due to two reasons:

1. iDiscoveri was backed by a team of "scholars & doers", exceptional individuals educated at institutions like Harvard, Cambridge, Georgia Tech., Wharton, MIT, Brown University, INSEAD, XLRI, the IIMs and the IITs, many of whom had previously worked with and played leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies in India and abroad.
   
   
   
2. It was working in the Education sector, including school-level education.

I was stumped. I had absolutely no idea that such a talented lot of people could be working in the education industry, and that too, at the elementary level, in the social sector. Besides this, I realised that the issues being addressed by iDiscoveri were the very ones that had been plaguing me for years. I had always thought that no one understood the plight of students on whom huge quantities of useless information was imposed to hammer them into the desired shape, judged on their performance in mug-and-vomit exams. Apparently, someone did. Naturally, my application followed.

Having got through the Interview, I was inducted in the first cohort of 'Engineers for Social Impact' fellows, and soon joined iDiscoveri as a summer intern. At this point I'll have to make a confession. Though having always been very interested in social entrepreneurship models, I still pictured such enterprises as not much different from NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations, stereotyped as employing spiritless social workers working in backward areas and being low on funds and motivation. And was I in for a surprise!!


So there I was, my first day at work, and was greeted by a surprisingly cosy atmosphere and relaxed corporate culture. A company that has held its Annual Review Meetings in the Himalayas, with a "you can be serious without a suit" dress code, complete lack of a sense of hierarchy, and office environment consisting of good sports facilities and culinary treats for employees in a very colourful and vibrant campus (with Calvin & Hobbes all over the walls), iDiscoveri was scripting its own version of the Google Story. And all this completely reflected in the iDiscoveri team's enthusiasm and dedication towards work.

Although some possible roles for me had been suggested during the selection procedure, I was still doubtful regarding my exact placement in the organisation during my two-and-a-half month stint with them. Keeping with the flexible nature of work at iDiscoveri, I was allowed to choose my project on my own after interacting with the various teams there. Finally, it was decided that I'd be working with the Curriculum & Knowledge team. My interest in Mathematics, and the way it is taught at the school-level, finally lead me to work with the Math team for XSEED.

XSEED is a comprehensive curriculum and training solution for schools, which is also suitable for CBSE/ICSE/IGCSE/IB systems, and has been changing the way teachers teach and children learn in classrooms across the country and abroad. As I worked with them, I came to know that the program was based on latest research in brain science, child development and learning science. XSEED aims at making learning more experiential in nature, and I decided that the best way to make learning of Maths experiential was by introduction of Math Labs to XSEED. My work was highly encouraged by my colleagues. I started out by studying the aids presently used by Maths Labs in Schools in India and abroad. I explored the use of "manipulatives" to teach maths, which have been very successful in the west, but are virtually unheard of in India. Based on what I had accumulated by then, I began developing some new instruments. After creating some prototypes, we tested them by using them to teach sample groups of children and made many alterations in their designs and implementation strategy based on the response. Ultimately, we developed some pedagogical aids which enabled learning of abstract mathematical concepts more intuitive. In particular, Math-tiles, a new product developed by me under the guidance of the Math team, was highly appreciated for simplifying the teaching of the most abstract and difficult-to-understand concepts at the school level, mainly relating to Algebra, using which Algebraic expressions and equations could be tackled with a hands-on approach. For example, quadratic expressions may be factorised by a simple game of rearranging the tiles, while another tile-train game will tell you the actual meaning of Lowest-Common-Multiple. The fact that XSEED was going use these pedagogical aids in its classrooms all-over the country and more, made my job even more exciting and rewarding.

Besides this, I also had the opportunity to interact with the Advocacy team at iDiscoveri which gave me a taste of Marketing and Strategy. My experience with them completely changed my outlook towards social entrepreneurship. It is, after all, not social work, but profitable work aiming at social benefit, so beautifully exemplified by iDiscoveri. Their schools division was changing the way learning takes place in schools, in a revolutionary way. iDiscoveri has worked with close to 200 schools across India, including The Doon School, Heritage, Cambridge, Mallaya Aditi, Modern School, Vasant Valley, Bharti Foundation Schools, and several DPS schools, and has entered an agreement with the Bhutan government where it'll be helping the Royal Education Council to enhance learning standards throughout the country. The social impact made by iDiscoveri is by far greater than most NGOs can hope. And yet it was reaping great profits, which ensured that the impact was sustainable and in effect, perpetual in nature.

iDiscoveri's work is focused on Education, but it includes more than just Grade Schooling. iDiscoveri is an audacious idea about using education to awaken our society, our schools, our work places, our lives. It's working in schools with its own preschools, XSEED curriculum and school transformation projects. It influences workplaces with its leadership development, teamwork development and other such people development programs. It has also been changing lives with its outdoor education programs and their quarterly journal on learning, Mindfields. iDiscoveri has been attracting passionate people in the field of education at the iDiscoveri Centre for Education and Enterprise as well.


What made iDiscoveri what it is, is its underlying philosophy. What I saw was a group of people full of dedication and great passion towards what they do, people with a purpose, who have decided to take charge of their lives and help others to do so. Teachers, psychologists, management experts, soldiers, photographers, rock-climbers, theatre persons and many others, who believe that every possibility exists for a child, man, or woman, who chooses to uncover what lies within. When I discover I, every fortune is conceivable, every dream a possibility, every community reformable. It's about education that unleashes the full potential of every mind. I learnt that good work and good rewards can co-exist. iDiscoveri has been experienced by Young boys and girls, teenagers, college students, corporate executives, journalists, entrepreneurs, educators, CEOs... and over 15,000 of them. By Microsoft, Google, JP Morgan, Ernst & Young, Deutsche bank, ITC, Oracle, ING, Wipro, Motorola, GlaxoSmithKline, Bharti, the Royal Government of Bhutan, and more. What I learnt at iDiscoveri was invaluable in comparison to any other opportunity I could've got. Along with giving me my first corporate experience, it was also a truly eye-opening journey which demystified my many myths regarding social entrepreneurship. In effect, it was true experiential learning for me, and had I not experienced iDiscoveri myself, I wouldn't have imagined the same otherwise. iDiscoveri is a journey that seeks to help make awakeful the lives of all those who take it. A journey that I took, and which I shall continue so forth...

And since you've reached the end of this journey with courage and patience, why not put a cherry on top with the earnestness and leave a comment!!!

Update: E4SI 2009 Edition has been launched. Don't miss it this time!!

Peace...