Sourav Arora, that I knew! We will miss you Sourav…

The tall, handsome yet shy, soft spoken, desirous of learning, willingness to put that extra effort, still, with an amount of self doubt, trying to find the better way ahead was Sourav Arora. Though emotional, as I got to know, his outwardly projection of smile and softness was anti-thesis of his well built physique. He was a gentle-giant.

His desire to improve himself was manifested in his sending his write-ups to me on issues of interest to him, seeking my feedback. He would not let go of it, if I did not respond. Whenever I came back from my tour, the moment he spotted me, he would remind me that he is waiting for the feedback on a particular article that he had sent.

When on Sunday afternoon, I received information about sudden demise of Sourav, I went through my journey of life of last two years that I have known Sourav – from my first interaction in Ludhiana to the graduation ceremony at IWSB that I photographed while he was awarded the degree.

I pay my humble respects to his departed soul and also pray to almighty to give all strength to his parents and family to withstand and overcome the grief of the loss. God bless.

Sourav receiving the degree

Daring to be sitting in front

Saurabh at the batch farewell

Saurabh at the batch farewell

sitting with friends – outbound 2011

helping as always – lifting the bench – outbound 2011

Being at the back, yet supporting

At times sticking his neck out to lead

Ready to tango

I pray that each one us has strength to face the reality and have confidence in oneself.

“Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” – William James

“Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option” – gabrielita

Lovingly,
sreeni

http://www.sreeni.org

——————– Tribute by batchmate —————– Raj Kumar Gupta

Today, 7th May 2012, 9:00AM, while entering at IWSB gate, I came across a shocking news. One of our batch mate and a lovely friend Saurabh Arora is no more with us. I could not digest the news, but Rajeev told me that it is true. All those moments of last two years, when Saurabh was with us, were in my eyes, flowing with tears. I can easily recall first meeting with him, first argument , first hug , first drink and first TT match with him and all those memorable moments when he was happy N sad. I can recall that how he sweated during presentation, how much he was happy, when he got his first job and when he got increment in his salary and when he got Ludhiyana posting. He was very dedicated person. He accepted all mistakes and guilty. He wanted to be a fit person and he was. He was never a follower of ego, He always believed in us.

He was emotional too. Very often I found him very emotional for his parents, for his friend.

I can only say about Saurabh that he had strong physique and pure heart.

May god give strength to his members and his soul rest in Peace!!!!Farewell

We’ll miss you!!!
————————————————-By Arun Kumar Mourya, Batchmate

You were an amazing friend to me and lovable guy by all.

Though you are not physically with us but you will be alive in our prayers, hearts and mind. I truly believe wherever you are you will always spread happiness around you and create a pleasant atmosphere.

Though your journey with us was too short but it was the most pleasant experience for each one of us.
————————————————-By Syed Inamullarsh Qadri, batchmate
How can I so easily forget a person with whom I spent two precious years of my life….

Person whom I met first time and felt he is living in his own world, but actually a hesitant to interact with an unknown at first place. Strong, athletic and manly one wishes to be, but still gentle, sober and shy. Typical food lover of Parathas and Punjabi music, smart in casuals but strikingly elegant in formals, that was our beloved Sourav.

His always smiling face and portraying himself as a mature but actually curious to learn always will be remembered by me. His favourite line, to overshadow his own childish heart, was, “Grow Up” which he used to say lot of times to many people.

I remember his summer internship presentation when he sweated heavily, but the effort he had put to bring perfection in it was tremendous. His joy crossed all limits when he got placed. Always ready to help known or unknown persons.

He use to get involved with heart and soul in any task, evidently the repetition of song tracks in the hostel room he use to replay for hours and days. While I am writing this tribute in his memory, his photo with bull horns on his head with Vicky and Tarun revolves in front of my eyes.

On papers Sourav was my roommate in the first year. On the very first day when he entered GN Hostel room he seems in haste and left his luggage there and then left the room himself. In the evening he came back, his first full long sentence with me was’ “I am going to change my room and stay with my friend in ground floor”. Although I didn’t asked the reason for his decision but he excused himself with sentence that amused me, “yaar mein apni chhezun kaa dhaan nahi rakhta hun, Vicky rakhega.” I guess it was meant not to offend me. I felt that guy was emotionally attached to his friends. He never wanted to leave the one whom he loved. He always felt comfortable in company of his close friends.

Nothing to comment on his step he took but, yes he created a scar on the cheerful memories that we all had with IWSB for two precious years. He will be always remembered for his untimely death in our chats and write ups.

“Do what you love, Love whatever you do” – R.Sreenivasan, Director IWSB : Welcome address at the Convocation 2012

A photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

Distinguished guests, students of the Class of 2012, parents and all the family members of the Graduating Class, members of the IWSB Board, the media, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the IWSB’s Third Convocation and Graduation Ceremony.   At the outset, I would like to welcome our Chief Guest, Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com. I welcome, one and all present here, this evening.

——–

The pioneer of online travel in India, Deep Kalra founded MakeMyTrip in April, 2000. Drawing on his experience from his years at GE Capital, AMF Bowling Inc. and ABN AMRO Bank, under his stewardship, MakeMyTrip has become the largest online travel company, as well as the largest e-commerce business in India.

Deep is a member of the Executive Council of NASSCOM and chairs the NASSCOM Internet Working Group. He is also a Charter Member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and serves on the Board of TiE, New Delhi. Deep is also a member of CII’s Tourism sub-committee and a regular speaker at numerous internet and travel conferences across the world. He currently serves as an independent Director for IndiaMart.com, a leading B2B website. Deep is also a founding member of “I am Gurgaon”, an NGO focused on the improving the quality of life in Gurgaon.

Deep holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (1990), and a MBA (PGDM) degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (1992). His interests include adventure sports, swimming, yoga, quizzing and traveling to places off the beaten path.

Deep is one of the faces of the transformational India and it is an honour and a privilege to have him with us today. I welcome you Sir, as the Chief Guest of today’s occasion.
———-

 

A photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

I would also like to welcome our Chairman, R.Satya Narayanan, Vice-chairman Mr. Gautam Puri and Members of the IWSB Board who have come down specially to be with us today. Thank you all for coming.

It is a very special moment for us with 59 students of the Class of 2012 graduating today. The students at the IWSB have a very pivotal role to play in the progress of the school and the Class of 2012 have shouldered their responsibility in an excellent manner. I would like to highlight some of the achievements of the last academic year.

 

CURRICULUM

Our focus at IWSB has been to offer a curriculum that stokes entrepreneurial thinking and leadership, and also in tune with the fast changing global business trends and this has been one of our significant strengths. Our students benefit from this exposure and the industry values this a lot.

We have had over hundred entrepreneurial leaders coming to the campus during their two years as part of our ‘My Journey series’ every week. Each one, when they experienced the incisive questioning about minute details of running business by students, during the interactions and Q&A, have always asked me and our faculty, what do we do to foster this kind of spirit among students? Thanks to the faculty who have made this happen.

Some of the notable new courses offered to the students this year include  -Financial Engineering, Managing Entrepreneurial Firms and Family Business, International Marketing, Retail Management.

NEN, National Entrepreneurship Network, has selected IWSB as their academic incubation campus for designing new programs. IWSB and NEN are working closesly on this front for the coming academic year.

Also the TYE, The young entrepreneurs program, with TIE that is designed and executed by IWSB has successfully completed its second year. We are in talks to offering this to the college going youth too across the country where we will technology to a great extent.

IWSB continues to use technology to aid teaching. We have extensively used WEBINARs as the means to reach to vast student population across the country in facilitating understanding of business and entrepreneurship. We have significant road map ahead in this direction.

A photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

The Curriculum Review Committee, chaired by Academic Dean, Prof. Veeresh Sharma will soon release a draft of their recommendations that are currently being reviewed by faculty, area leaders and others. We hope to have the final recommendation of the committee in the next couple of weeks and we wish to implement in the coming academic year.

ENTREPRENEURIAL Endeavors and companies on Campus

We have been very delighted to have quite a few entrepreneurial talent on the campus. Our 2012 graduating batch saw –

–         JMD Pratza by kanu Mangotra in the food space

–         Arete Investors by Rishab Pruthi, Gaurav and Kriti Kankani

–         NOW by Sumeet Sharma, Arpit Kala in the convenience shopping

–         Antral by Sumit Gunjan and Arvind in education

and

–         Maharani by Anurag from the first year  in handicrafts exports

I am sure we will see many more emerging in the coming year

 

A photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

FACULTY

IWSB has been able to make a mark among the Young B-schools (IIMA research report of last year) in the short span of time, only because of outstanding faculty. Each of our faculty bring with them a deep passion and commitment to facilitating and bringing the best out of our students. They walk the talk. We have faculty like, Prof Navneet, who runs an integrated Marketing communication firm on the campus. We have entrepreneurial faculty to facilitate entrepreneurial students.

Our recent faculty achievements and publications in top ranked journals, by Prof Raju Mazumdar in finance area, Case publication of Prof Krishna in marketing, are testimony to the excellence that we pursue in business education.

Our permanent faculty figure stands at 14 and have had equal number of visiting scholars too who have contributed immensely to every student who is graduating from IWSB.

India Immersion Program and Exchange programs

IWSB is getting recognized as No.1 entrepreneurial campus in India and abroad too. Apart from NEN naming IWSB among the top 7 entrepreneurial campus for the third year running, world class business schools are touching down at IWSB campus. We have had informal exchange agreements for this year with a couple overseas universities and corporate bodies on India Immersion, which we will be formalizing this year. We should have about half a dozen of these agreements in the coming year for Student, Faculty exchange and research initiatives.

We have hosted two universities –

• State University of New York, with 18 students and faculty;
• University Leadership team from San Diego State

On corporate leadership front in India Immersion, we have hosted –

• A dozen business leaders from Hitachi, Japan
• Leaders Quest brings Five hundred BCG consultants to India that Satya and I would address, of whom 15 will invest a day with our students on April 23 and 24 this year. I am looking forward to the batch on the campus and also Alumni, including this graduating batch to take advantage of this program

We are working on introducing FIELD program modules across the two years, of which this year, they started with Live projects/ The Experiential Learning Programme, that provided students an opportunity to work for companies, apart from the typical internship programme. All of the participating companies have reported a high customer satisfaction. Many of these projects are implemented. Our students continue to work on projects for not-for-profit organizations with similarly great results.

EVENTS

Events at IWSB serve multi purpose objectives. The students augment their class room learning with several learning events outside the classroom. The various student clubs organised events like the –

–         Shodhyatras

–         Eduthon: A 10Km Run for educating underprivileged

–         Rangmanch – The dramatics society

–         IWPL – The Sports Club

–         Tasveer- The Art and Culture Society

–         Blood donation camps

The enthusiastic celebrations of events like Holi, Dandia, Diwali, Krishnashtami and painting competitions brought the entire IWSB community together as a family.

E-Bootcamp, which we launched last year, will be an annual tradition for the School along with the Annual Business Plan competition, Srijan.

These events serve as a platform for the students to interact with industry leaders, and academicians apart from interacting with contemporaries from other institutions.

AWARDS

Our students and alumni participated in several national and international competitions and have brought laurels to the school. Notable mentions include

–         Jaydeep (Alum PG10) – A winner at IIT Mumbai, has been invited for Stanford University’s Social entrepreneurship Summit in April

–         Anurag – Business plan competitions at IIT Kanpur, Mumbai and a few other places

I congratulate each one of you for your efforts and success.

The IWSB Excellence Scholars symbolize the extraordinary ability, leadership, commitment and quality of participation of the PGP students in the IWSB campus life. I congratulate each one of them for a well-deserved recognition.

PLACEMENTS

The IWSB graduates continue to script new success stories as far as placements go. The increased interest amongst young and fast growing companies, who see IWSB graduates as tailor-made for them, and also increase in leading national and international recruiters, is a testament to the rich entrepreneurial leadership talent at the school.

As is the news, a couple of our students will be placed internationally.

A formal announcement on the placements, once completed in the next couple of weeks, will be made. I would like to thank our friends in the industry for their continued association with the school.

CONCLUSION

While we have made considerable progress on several fronts, being a school in infancy, we still have a long way to go. The Board and industry have been a solid source of support in our work. The Faculty – Resident and the Visiting Faculty have contributed significantly to the development of the school. The resident faculty and management staff at the IWSB have always stood out with their innovative ideas and dedication in building this school. I look forward to building on these contributions.

A photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

Now a few words for the graduating class –

I congratulate each one of you for completing the two arduous years successfully at the IWSB. I do hear many of you sharing, how these two years have been transformational. I still can vividly recall the outbound we went two years ago on our induction program as you all entered the institution. Congratulations to the Scholars of Excellence and those who have made it to the Awards List too. We are very proud of you. I wish you all the best as you embark on the journey of realizing your dreams. As you set about charting new career paths, I urge all of you to pursue what you enjoy and enjoy whatever you pursue. I am sure you will be of immense value to the organizations that you contribute and also to the society at large. You are, and will always be, an integral part of the IWSB family, and we look forward to sharing in the joys of your accomplishments as corporate leaders, entrepreneurial leaders and worthy citizens of this world.

I leave you with a quote from our ancient literature –

“You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.”

And I quote Swami Vivekananda –

“Just believe in yourself, the world will be at your feet”

I look forward to seeing you all again and again on the campus! When the new batch walks in, we wish to have all our Alumni for the re-union sometime in October! I am sure I will see you all being there sharing your experiences and insights with the new batch.

Our wishes and love with you all, for ever!

Thank you.

“Embrace the mindset of endeavour and not that of entitlement” – Satya, Chairman, Board of Governers, IWSB, at Third Annual Convocation of IWSB, 2012.

Deep Kalra, Founder MakeMyTrip.com; Satya, Chairman, BOG, IWSB at the 3rd convocation of IWSB

Satya, Founder CL Educate (formerly Career Launcher), as the Chairman BOG, Indus World school of Business delivered a short but very impacting address –

I still vividly recall Azim Premji, addressing us on our convocation at IIM Bangalore, two decades ago. Today, Deep is on the campus to address you. Azim, was heading Wipro, then known for consumer goods and not as much for technology. Perhaps Wipro was just of the size of MakeMyTrip today, that Deep has founded and anchored.

I would just like to share my biggest learning in life.

PLEASE EMBRACE THE MINDSET OF ENDEAVOR AND NOT THE MINDSET OF ENTITLEMENT.

Entrepreneurship dismantles all these entitlements.

We may have got many degrees from best of the schools; our parents may be well known; all these do not hold water.

What is that you can move by what you are; nothing is very sacrosanct than endeavor. At the end of the day, I recall the mindset of endeavor. We are recognized by what we deliver at the end of the day!

You should be known by your religiosity of the day. If I don’t move the moon, the day has not been worthwhile.

Attitude and Work-ethic beget what you deserve.

Thanks and Best wishes.

“Once you figure out what is your MOZZO! You will make it” – Mr. Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com @ 3rd convocation 2012, IWSB

Deep Kalra, Founder MakeMyTrip.com, Guest of honour for 3rd Convocation at IWSB is being felicitated by the Dean - Acads, Prof Veeresh Sharma

I commend and congratulate the faculty for creating the environment, that has seen these youngsters blossom and take off.

I also congratulate Parents! You need to be proud of your young wards that are going to make a difference to the world.

It is a special day when Tendulkar got his hundredth hundred. You will remember your special day. You will look back with contentment and joy. Some of you were so eager, that you wanted to grab the certificate from me or even forgot to get the photo clicked. Keep that enthusiasm going!

Satya and I have some karmic connect. We both started at the same time. I got to know that we graduated from the same institution, St. Stephen’s college, just a year apart! Then our connection at TIE and today, I am here.

This is the second convocation ceremony I am attending. The first one was when I passed out of IIMA! Today is a special day for me too, as I am giving my first convocation address as a chief guest.

At the end of this ceremony, flinging of your caps will happen. Is this the culmination or a beginning?

It is the beginning of your career, in one of the brightest times of India. You have had wonderful two years on IWSB campus – going through the grind, ups and downs – courses, my journey interactions with over 100 leaders and so on.. You are experiencing a WOW moment now!

It is an opportune time for me to share a few lessons that I have learnt thus far, which could be of value to you in your journey ahead –

• Learning never stops.
  • Formal education may have, but the amount you learn from your peers, colleagues, market place and environment would continue. You need to be keen. You need to figure out every moment, the secrets of success and keep incorporating in your script as you travel.

• Discover what makes you tick, what makes you happy.
  • The sooner you realize the sooner you make it happen. People talk about ‘getting into the zone’.
  • Before parents get worried, chart your untreaded path. It took me eight years to figure out what I want to. And here I am in front of you. Had I not found out my ‘love’, perhaps I would not have been here sharing my learning.
  • Create opportunities and grab opportunities. If you do what you really love, sky is the limit. Once you figure out what is your ‘Mozza’, you will make it.
  • It is not necessary that you have to become an entrepreneur. I do see a few of you are keen. You can use your degree as a noose or as a ropeway to higher goals. There are many of my classmates who have joined big corporates – one of my batch mates will soon be a CEO of Wipro. Finding your calling is the key.
• Life ahead will get tougher. I keep promising my family that I will slow down. But the journey becomes so exciting that you get hooked on.
  • Next 10 years you should look forward to work hard and sweat it out. Gather whatever you can to strengthen your armory.
  • Subsequent 10 years you will start working smarter along being harder.
  • Then perhaps being smarter will suffice
• READING is the key
  • I keep reading and re-reading. Do not give up. Books like ‘Seven Habits of highly effective people, I must have read a dozen times. Every reading as I progress in life makes a new meaning. I keep applying in new ways and in new places too.
• Value of Analytics
  • In the businessworld and the decision support systems that you will create or use, Analytics will play a very important role. You use analytics all the time to understand behaviours and create opportunities. You should focus on it. Every one has got data! How you analyze and make a meaning out of it will derive and drive your business.
• Resilience Vs Stubbornness – Back yourself and your instincts
  • There is a fine line between the two. There have been at least two occasions in my early years of MakeMyTrip, that I thought of hanging up my towel.- 9/11 happened and SARS followed. The travel world collapsed. Tough times they were. We kept going…
  • If I look at people around me, Satya (founder CL Educate); or Sanjeev Bikhchandani (founder Naukri), who delivered last years Convocation address here at IWSB, all have the same trait – of bouncing back with passion and perseverance.
  • Back yourself and your instincts – Be yourself. It may take a little longer, but you will reach your path and the journey will continue to be wonderful one.

I would like to conclude this precious address by quoting one of my favourites – Jeff Bejos, The founder of Amazon –

“WORK HARD! HAVE FUN! MAKE HISTORY! TWO OUT OF THREE IS NOT AN OPTION”

Best of luck!

Subodh Raheja, inspiring inventor and innovator ignited the young minds – My Journey @ IWSB

Change Makers @ My Journey - Subodh Raheja, innovator, lit by his solar innovations

Subodh Raheja is an inspiration to be with. When I met him a few weeks ago I just got taken in by his outlook towards life and surroundings. He is an inventor and innovator at heart and in deed too. If someone says, “It is impossible,” he gets challenged and cannot wait till he finds a solution to the problem being faced.

I was very keen that all young entrepreneurial leaders at IWSB campus should experience him and his way of looking at the world. Subodh, in his journey of over two decades as an inno-preneur has contributed remarkably for the society by his innovations in the space of power and lighting – inverters, solar and wind power.

This evening Subodh was at IWSB campus to interact with the youngsters and share his journey and also to challenge them. Here I typed his interaction as it happened, and you will see the narration in the first person.
—————————————————————————————-

Education is all about broadening horizons and excelling. Today I will share my 32 years of experience as how I kept discovering myself.

It is not about that you started in science, commerce or arts and continued to be in the same space. If you are a keen learner, you can find huge possibilities. I know of a person who started as a graduate in humanities, but went on to do medicine and excel as a doctor.

My principal in school, Mr Kapoor always said and also made us feel that, “if you really want to, you can.” When I reached the middle school, I was moved to a section that had toppers, and I performed badly. Mr Kapoor came to me and said, “what stops you from being a topper”. That small interaction made such a difference to me. It became the guiding principle for my life.

Change Makers @ My Journey - Subodh Raheja, innovator and his solar street light

My family does not have any business background. He came from West-Pakistan, though fore-fathers had printing business. My grandfather was a teacher, he went on to do social services, serving people and educating masses. After partition, he came to India and due to his academic excellence he was called into planning commission.

After my schooling, I was in quite a fix – whether to go into medicine or something else. I did cleared pre-medical test. But, father was not keen, as he felt it takes longer time to establish my career. So, I decided to move away. I was not clear what to do. I applied for various courses. Finally took Physics honours… then did my post-grad, then MTech. Worked for about 9 years… Then finally thought of taking plunge into business, why my father was about to retire.

During my education, there were a couple of learning curves and inflections. While in the post-graduation, I was made the secretary of the students club and I used to interact with eminent scientists like Dr. Raja Ramanna. I anchored a trip to Kota atomic power plant of our class. It was an eye-opener. It helped us to think, work and leave a mark. For the first time we moved out of the university. When we are onto something, and we jump headlong, then we realize the challenges – like here, getting permissions, logistics, reservations, food, stay etc. These things trigger thoughts and realizations about our capabilities. So it always helps to be in the thick of activities while studying and push ones boundaries.

Change Makers @ My Journey - Subodh Raheja, innovator with his complete home solution, that has two lights and charger for mobiles

I got opportunities to travel and meet scientists nationally and internationally. Today, Internet is helping us to reduce gaps, but it depends on how we make use of it. In our days nothing of these sorts was there. We needed to go through challenges – importing would cost us duties of 200-300% etc.

Once I got an opportunity to interact with Science and defense laboratories in India, and abroad too, I found huge gaps internationally and also with in India too. Once I did my Management from DU, I realized that we could build capabilities and capacities within India. We can bridge the gap. That is when I was seriously contemplating about “Should I start something on my own.”

Power was a challenge in those days, so power stabilization and management was the thought that struck me. I thought of an inverter. People laughed at my idea. It was in 1985-86. I thought of MOS-FET technologies, as I was reading literature. We came out with inverter based on MOSFET. That kept me busy for a couple of years.

While I was going through this product, a lot of commercialization had to be done. I inducted a few into the distribution network. About 10 of them were spread across. I used to train and send them to different offices.

During the process of supplying invertors to SONY India limited, SONY had a plan to come and set up a factory in India. They were designing their factory in India. The consultants locally were taking them on a royal ride. I told them how it could be done in an interaction. I was asked to scribble on board my thought and idea and explain. It was extempore. They just saved it and faxed to their headquarters in Japan. After a wait of a couple of hours, they immediately asked me to be their consultant on their setting up project.

In five months, I had to deliver and with complete involvement, I delivered the solution within the stipulated time. Many more farmhouses happened after this project.

While I was away on these projects, my personal production set up went through a lot of turmoil and losses mounted, as the team that was handling the operations mis-managed the business and I had close it down. It was a big set back.

Since I had interest in product creation, I used that as a business model. Creating new contraptions gave me a thrill. I started focusing on it. So, Voltage stabilizer + Inverter 90v to 300v for those coming from hinterland. I was coming out with solutions for challenges people have been facing in the power space.

Since 1994, defense has been seeking solutions. All the junked sources of power was repaired. Army VSAT systems in the remote parts of the country was powered by my solutions. Eg. –

– Earth quake in Bhuj is a case

o Army commander called me, and said ‘yours was the only supply that stood the shocks all others including from the big MNCs failed!!

o I was told to supply for Siachin, Arunachal etc…

– In Arunachal, where you will have to go for days walking to reach the spots. We created sturdy ones that are still in use

Marketing has been my weakest link. Different people have been coming to me with their requirements and I have been solving their problems. But never have been able to scale this up, as I was not interested much in doing so.

Then maintaining UPS across Government came my way. But there are many ‘Undertaking’ and ‘overtaking’ happening!! It was a struggle.

Change Makers @ My Journey - Subodh Raheja, innovation for rural doctors - light to operate

There was another period of struggle during 2003-2006 when father was ill, when I could not devote much time for business and it was ebbing. This gave my a great lesson, “You should not lose heart, one should be strong enough to face the challenge”. For paying the fees of children, I had to take loan. I sailed through the challenges.

While I was developing and doing business here, I got an opportunity to work with a US firm called HEART INTERFACE. They were working with inverters for solar systems. That was the breakthrough I got in Solar space. This was in 1994. All those who were in Solar companies used to buy circuits from me. I started handling their business in India. This company went on to buy many companies. I used supply to BEL, Central electronics etc.

All these companies are world class. Anyone who had to set up anything would have to go to any of these companies, and these companies would come to me. We did work in Zaire, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.. They used to come to me for the design, while they handled the installation.

What we are today, is totally a different platform from where we started. We started with inverter and UPS. Now it has become the second line of business while Solar has become the first.

Solar is an alternate source of energy. You can generate energy from roof-top. Since the components were costlier they were not being used as often. But it is now economical. We can create hybrid Solar + Wind + Electricity supplied + DG set,

in that order of usage. We can create design wherein DG set can also get started automatically.

Let me give you a brief about Products that we make –

1. Solar charge controllers
1. Through Central Electronics, Moser Bier etc
2. Idea came from customer
3. One should not go beyond 40V DC, if any human comes in touch it, it can be fatal.
4. High voltage charge controllers can give charge for storing for 8 hours
5. BHEL uses extensively, at the top, is our inverter
6. Railways uses our Charge controller extensively

2. Second series is home lighting. Especially started from Bangladesh
1. Small home light at 3000Rs can give sufficient light
2. If some one is keen on taking it as an entrepreneurial, you can take it
3. Similarly solar torches and lanterns

3. Solar pumps – surface pumps, booster pumps up to 30 HP. Only company in the world
1. One petrol pump needs for dispensing – 1.5 HP pump
2. With 300v solar power, by replacing 1.5HP, installing small invertors, connecting to the battery and solar panel
3. They wanted me to prove it and sent me to a place called Mahavir ji, PAHADI

i. I never saw so many stars there

ii. I used batteries of cars

iii. Absolutely no electricity in the village

iv. We could work only till 11am and start at 4pm again as the afternoons are very hot at 50+degree

v. That petrol pump is still using our solution

vi. Some how since we have done only for government, it did not go beyond

4. Solar air-conditioners – 1KV – 1-1.5 tonne – for telecom towers

1. They have now selected this product from African markets
2. This is something which we would like to take more places in India too
3. Thisswas my next project

5. Water purification is the next project. Our principals have developed a portable solar panel array. This can be taken to anywhere – pump in the river or raw water. That gives 99% pure water. River waters can be of value especially when there are disasters

6. Trozen battery is another product, we have just introduced. This has the capability of deep discharges. It has a life of 80 years. It is used in UPS / Invertor market. Presently 98% of electric vehicles use Trozan batteries.

Q&A –

Q. In a day, for how many hours a solar panel can charge effectively?

1. Since the sun’s intensity is different during the day… the wattage varies from 0-12 at various times. It is absorption of light that gives energy. For full wattage it gives five hours of output
2. It is the capacity of the panel and battery that drives the duration
3. Bulbs are not manufactured in India, though now a few or available in India. Solid state. Diode – Direct power. If diode characteristics changed – light emitting diode we can use many ways. A few diodes can go on for 50K years

Q. What are the other exciting innovations?

· Streetlight – Heat dissipation has to be taken care of. The light is very strong and you cannot see it with naked eye.
· Solar cooler – with only 20watts of power
· Name plate – Imagine CAR nameplates glowing during the nights. How much it can reduce the challenges of Police
· Solar switch…. Usually we see wastage of electricity during the day. Solar switch created to switch on and off as per the brightness. It has been bought by Moradabad electricity for streetlights, then Delhi government bought it. Sensor will sense and switch on and off
· Sound triggered light, especially at night when there is some sound it will glow. You can use it the moment you wake up by making a sound.
· Public toilets and bathrooms – sensing lights and fans that can save energy wastage
· Fans – Sold at about 1000Rs in the market; Extensively used by pavement vendors.
· Solution to mosquito menace.
· Right now working on a solution for Coke. Invertors for freezers in the Rural space..

The moment some one comes and say, this is not possible. I get interested in it.

1. created Motor pump – at 300 watts when the gentleman challenged me to make one for anything less than 500 watts…

2. Billboard lighting….

3. Lighting homes in the remote areas…

Doing job is fine, but you are at others disposal. But, if you really love something, just jump and do. You need to know about everything in the business – laws, finances, and so much more that you need to know.

When I left job, first few months were difficult – finalizing the product, marketing it. The moment the inverter took off, I never looked back. I have done so many things… We were the first to introduce paging, traffic lights in Delhi – police department said you can make money (but never that happened), solar booths at traffic signals – Moolchand, Ashram, Bhikaji Cama place..

We came out with many products and ideas –
· Telecom towers – MPPT controller that gives 30% extra power in the worst environmental conditions. It is very rugged. It is the heart of the equipment…

Q.Water purifier – how is it better than any one else? It is the same unit but how do you charge and help the charge to be retained in harsh conditions so that it can continue to purify.

Q. Marketing problems – What are the ones you are facing?
· We do have skeletal marketing team.
· We do special types of projects
· We are looking for creating networks. The trozan battery is unmatchable. Cyclic batteries that are the demand of telecom companies or international operators
· They have application everywhere – in invertors and electric vehicles

Q. Any thing for Automobiles?
· Dippers sense light from on-coming traffic, it dips whenever oncoming traffic is spotted. This helps a better driving.

Q. In Punjab most of the towers use DG. Do you have any solutions.
· We have the solution but many of them do not use it. Why? We need to ask them..
· We are anyways moving from capex model to Opex model in the towers…

Q. Cost of photo-voltaic systems are costly. In India in central and eastern India we need a lot of electricity. Is there some way that we can get economical solution?
· For a starter, think small and think about mass
· My focus is on electronics
· We have suppliers like BTW to set up mega plants

The discussions moved on to demonstration of his inventions and innovations.

At the end of the session, the challenge of working and creating the sales and marketing strategy and its execution for the company Manak Engineering was thrown at the young entrepreneurs. I am waiting for a few to take it up.

It was an inspiring session and I felt charged to take the challenge.

I had more time interacting with Subodh and his family while I drove with them all the way back. I will treasure this evening for lifetime.

sreeni@iwsb.in

IWSB – SEE : Mull-A-Cause launches the library for children at SEE

IWSB – Realizing the Unlimited potential within, a set on Flickr.

It was celebration time for all children at SEE (society for empowerment through education) on Sept 30th. Mull-a-cause,an endeavour by Mallika and Indira, launched the library for children in SEE.

The children were delighted to see the story books. Immediately they grabbed one each and started reading them, a few loud standing in the class, while others were muted. All were delighted to see the colorful pictures. It was a celebration time.

Then Indira and Mallika did book reading and a story telling session with the children. They were enamored of the stories and the style of telling them.

It is just a beginning, and Indira promised to do a few more sessions for the trainers and the children of SEE and Antral (An NGO for children started by IWSB students Sumit Gunjan and Arvind and supported quite a few of their classmates).

I was pleasantly surprised to know that Mallika and Indira bought books to create the library as part of my birthday celebration. Every year Mallika and Indira espouse a cause and contribute under the endeavour : Mull-A-Cause, named after Mallika’s!! I am indeed delighted and indebted to have both of them in my life. Love you.

Mull-A-Cause – earlier
sreeni@iwsb.in

My Journey @ IWSB with young music-preneur Sumit Kumar Singh

Sumit with his didgeridoo at IWSB

Sumit, an alumnus of IITD and IIML, is a multi-faceted personality. He is very passionate about preservation, revival and promotion of Indian musical instruments and Indian art forms that are on the verge of becoming extinct. He enjoys playing more than a dozen instruments. Apart from music, he loves photography. He works in the strategy group of BOC.

He has spanned small businesses in the space of exclusive TEA retailing, exquisite candle making apart from revival of Musical instruments – one of the endeavors is Didgeridoo makers. He is one of the prime movers behind the popular Delhi Drum Circle that meets every fortnight at the Deer park, Hauz khas in Delhi to jam.

Sumit not only shared his journey with the young entrepreneurial leaders but also jammed with a few DDC regulars at the IWSB Drum Circle. The young members, ranging from 3 year-olds to 10 years-olds, at the school run by Society for Empowerment through Education, on the IWSB campus really enjoyed the drumming circle.

India is bestowed with such a variety of musical instruments each from a cultural milieu.

In Manali – we have seven day long festival of Diwali
– Jab we met song was pictured in manali
– I picked up Tibetan peace bell
o Rotating around will give a long resounding sound
– Science behind is amazing

North-east – yak and rhino horns used for making a few instruments and precious artifacts. We need to be careful not to promote poaching. As long as they are made out of dead ones, it is fine.

When we see a gap, why do not we do it?

Corporates are paying a lot for outbound, team building. Can we extend it to rural travel, arts and culture? Experiencing them through packaging is the key. Didgeridoo makers on facebook have about 1000 fans. About 15 of Didgeridoo are being made at any given time. These are made in the Haridwar-Rishikesh belt. Each artisan working gets about 30-40K. This revenue funds their livelihood.

could you share a little about the TEA business

There are five grades of tea
– white tea – Rs. 80 K per kg – organic is Rs. 1.5 lakh a kg
o Herbal is infused kind of tea
– Yellow tea – sun dried
– Orange peco – 5K per kg
– Black tea and green tea – almost similar : How it is processed
o Liquor formation
o Furnace
o Anti-oxidant
– CTC is the cheapest tea

We package exclusive herbal tea.

Where do all these things fit?

I am good at sales. We need to do a fair trade Tea channel. Tea is always auctioned. India from being a net vegetable of exporter has become net vegetable importer. We see that the middleman is the investor.

I need to understand the psyche of the vendor in chawri-bazaar. Get the deepest insights. You are dependent on his knowledge.

Relationship building and customer delight

Wax cannot withstand the July temp. We had to change everything – blends. Once, on order, I sold 6 candles at 6000 each. I had to be redo and send again, since the receiver received broken candle

If you build the relationships and be trustworthy, he is more than happy to help. Local level officers and linkers you connect and make them happy facilitators…

IWSB – Realizing the Unlimited potential within, a set on Flickr.

Let me wind up this note by giving a link to one of the videos on YOUTUBE of Sumit sharing about an instrument and performing.

sreeni@iwsb.in

My Journey “Vacuum TUBE to You TUBE” @ IWSB – Prof Srivathsan, Eminent technologist and changemaker

People of Eminence @ IWSB – Prof Srivathsan, a photo by Vasu.. on Flickr.

Nation building, in these times of ANNA, is a very ‘in thing’. There are quite a few people who have been working tirelessly for years now and prof Srivathsan is one such person. He is a visionary with great combination of Modern and Tradition. While, on one hand he has headed IIT kanpur Computer science department and then went onto head Indian Institute of Information technology (IIIT), Trivandrum as founder director and now Pro-VC of IGNOU with a mandate to use technology to change the education delivery; on the other hand he is a philosopher and a scholar in the Indian thoughts – well read about all the ancient books and literature from all religions. You will see him in action tomorrow. His energy is infectious.

Here are a few of the imprints left by prof. Srivathsan –

– kisannet kerala : The kissan project : His brainchild and it is actually headquartered in IIIT.
– Elements of the television channel based on Kissan net kerala – A You TUBE feature on Kissan Net
– His work along with quite a few heads of IITs and IISc resulted in NPTEL channel on Youtube as the project took off. It is to support all technical institutions that need support for academics. You can watch these links on the web and youtube. NPTEL HOmepae; NPTEL CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE

– His vision and work at IGNOU and beyond can be gauged by his paper that you can access on WIKIPEDIA

His talk at IWSB took him back to the days of his struggles with cathode ray tube and his experiments with it in his childhood days, and tracing the journey through to bringing in the net connectivity to IIT Kanpur in the early days of internet. How he had to interact with universities in the US to do the troubleshooting, and oversee the laying of the cables at the last mile between the telephone exchange and IIT Kanpur. He shared about the the memory on the computers being 64KB and how today people say a few GBs is less.

The session was very insightful and enriching.

He then shared his idea of creating community centres for development. Al these are going to be learning and facilitation centres for Rural development. He has named them interestingly HEART of the real India –

H – Healthcare
E – Education
A – Agriculture
R – Rural Development
T – Tourism and Artists

We are looking forward to contributing in every way to make the HEART matters come true.

http://www.sreeni.org

Magsaysay Awardee Harish Hande charging the youngsters: In ‘My Journey’ series @ IWSB

Indus World School of Business (IWSB) has been very privileged to have Harish on the campus to interact with the young entrepreneurial managers and leaders. Here is a short profile of Harish and notes on his sharing that charged the youth on campus.

Profile:

Harish Hande at IWSB talking to young entrepreneurial leaders and managers

Harish Hande co-founded SELCO INDIA, a social venture, to eradicate poverty by promoting sustainable technologies in rural India. With its headquarters in Bangalore , SELCO has 25 branches in Karnataka and Gujarat. Today SELCO INDIA has installed solar lighting systems in over 120,000 households in the rural areas of these states.

Harish Hande has won the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy 2005 and Tech Museum Award 2005. Harish has also received the world’s leading green energy award from Prince Charles in 2005. In 2007 SELCO INDIA won the Outstanding Achievement Award from Ashden Awards. The award was presented by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States of America. Harish Hande was named the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation. He was also the featured attendee and speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative 2007.

In 2008, Harish Hande was chosen by Business Today as one of the 21 young leaders for India’s 21st century. In mid 2008, India Today named him one of the 50 pioneers of change in India.

He was awarded with Asia’s prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2011, also sometimes referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

Harish Hande was born in Handattu Kundapura Taluk Udupi District, Karnataka and raised in Rourkela, Orissa, India. After completing his basic schooling in Orissa, he went to IIT Kharagpur for his undergraduate studies in Energy Engineering. He then went to the U.S. to do his Master’s and later PhD. in Energy Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell^[1]

——————————————————————————————————-

Selco has 170 employees and our Model is “poor as asset creators”. They are spread across in the areas we work. More are aged. I get more invites for funeral.

There was an instance when “I wrote a mail to find whether one gentleman is alive. He wrote back saying that he is writing about world war II”

Our aim is to create a sustainable world in a sustainable manner. I was in Dominican Republic in 1991 while I was in the US. I saw people using solar lamps in that poor country. Came back to the US started thinking about what I experienced. Social Economics became an interesting area

From my childhood days in Rourkela to IIT, I have not felt what it is not to have electricity. So, I wanted to and I spent two years without electricity – in Srilanka for an year and half and followed by India one year

I have experience of Water issues that was solved by a panchayat, using Laptop powered by solar. Don’t sit in urban area and decide what the rural India needs. Make rural inhabitants the drivers of the business. Most of our problem solvers are 4^th grade drop-outs! A person who once used to serve tea manages our Bangalore office.

If you see me in rural space, he will talk to me in the first name and not sir. Until we do not drive it, we will not be able to create sustainable model.

We will create hierarchy in everything. Does not the driver and maid have first name. Raghu who has driven me for two years is going to be the sales manager. What has SELCO given to him? Respect, self esteem. If the technician is not taken care of by a company, I will not like to maintain the relationship with the organization.

Hundred and seventy enablers at SELCO  – we do not know the qualification of the people. We do not look at their resume. Deputy CEO was an office assistant. He can talk to chairman of a bank or any ambassador, despite without any educational background.

Most of us have the arrogance of deciding on behalf of others and also decide what poor need. We need to look at poor as partners. How do you create value, do we? How many of us spend time with client. When we meet the client we look at him as our father…

We do solar. Solar is expensive for rich and affordable for poor. Rich needs subsidy. Average street vendor, who uses kerosene, spends 15-20 per day, Rs 450 in a month.. It works to 6.5 for solar for equivalent.

Poor spends more. About 190 rupess out of 1600 for the energy needs. Key is how to create financing for end user. 8000 rupees funded by paying this 190 to the bank and creating the asset.

We try to balance social, financial and environmental sustainability. I started with Lehman brothers. We did not have problems during the downturns. Lehman does not exist.

We do not want experts. We want people with common sense and jack-of-all-trades. They should think 300 in a month is expensive, 10 in day is fine. We need to help them to make things affordable. Panipuri guy may pay everyday, peanut farmer may be twice a year. We are experts in figuring out this. Tomato vendor is different from potato vendor. They differ in preferring the color of lights white light to yellow light

Biggest challenge is youngsters do not want to go to rural area. How many of you would like to? We had 295 apps from abroad and five from India; those five did not want to go to rural area. I have people from MIT, OXFORD, SLOAN but not a single guy from our schools…

Until we do not go to the rural area, we will be in the false 8% growth. We are living in absolute bubble. Each one of you will be responsible when the bubble bursts

Harish Hande at IWSB talking to young entrepreneurial leaders and managers

• One million die in indoor pollutions, 70% are Indians. Are we proud of it? All use the same old technologies – cooking – that have been since Iron Age. 47% of household still does not have electricity. Karnataka does not have 54% of the population experiencing electricity. A 65 year old falling on feet for a bulb
• We are looking at cooking – 20mn girls collect wood every year, every day between 8am and 9pm.Will we allow our daughters to do it?
• In Gurgaon the water table is at 950 feet, that was once 10 feet. We are sucking water of the nearby villagers. The farmer will send their children to Delhi. We then say that the slums are eyesores.
• 26% of Delhi’s waste is construction waste. Worst city is Delhi. Max  – 30% of wastage of water in Delhi. We do not believe in protest. We can only do by providing solutions…

A begger is a customer. Real India has a great hope. Do not go and join in Big companies. Go out and create appropriate business models that we can apply the world.

We can become the innovation centre for poor. China will continue to be manufacturing capital. We have the largest number of institutions in financial space 40K. We need to create models.

Youngsters like you need to go to rural spaces. Even in cities and find solutions that can alleviate issues.

Go and write the business model of the street vendor. As we get more educated we become less and less risk taking. Street vendor will keep coming whether it is flood or fire. What should be the pricing strategy at what time? How does she survive?  How does she take calls for tomorrow? With all the barriers that she has how does she survive – haftas, cart pricing, kerosene, working capital interest @ 10percent a day… How do they survive?

When we look at them, we wonder and in fact it looks like mocking ourselves.

Which states?

• Karnataka
• Gujarat

Why in that place only?

• I come from Karnataka, I can get subsidized food in the villages
• In Orissa, we just started, so also Bihar…
• Average Client base earns 3000 a month..
• How do we create business models. We are an open source organization.

Barriers

• Sister would go to Afghanistan, so did not have much resistance
• Either you do not get married or have an extremely understanding spouse

o    Selco… I used to see her once in two years

o    She never got to know whether we are alive or dead

o    More than my own mindset. Unlearning took 4 years..

o    North Srilanka.. 92-93 was an eyeopener when was surrounded by LTTE..

o    Challenges are from hierarchy

• §     You will run away as you are young

No amount of Google search will solve you. Take the example of this lady who came to our office

• We have only 2 sets of clothes. I want to talk to the Lady in the office
•  During the rainy season, very difficult to dry
• Clothes smell.. my husband cheats on me
• Can you give me a good drier.. so that I can save my marriage

You spend 200 on Palak paneer and say 8% growth. Can you imagine what the vast majority is living on? We need to be very mindful of what we are doing.

You will the similar challenging environment in Gujarat…

• Salt workers work in 50 DEGREES
• Salt seeps into legs and he will not be able to stand
• He sells salt at 3 paisa per Kilo… we buy at 14 rupees
• In one hour you will burn, if you and I do that work

These are the barriers that we need to solve..Is the education system addressing it? No.

Tamilanadu – in a few districts you see girls having long hair – Why?

• Flower plucking girls have long air…
• kerosene lamp on the hair while they work
• they are usually at 2-4am to pluck flowers to get fresh to the market place early morning

Gujarat – midwives helping baby delivery

• Hole in the wall for light to enter
• Use Lantern at night
• How do you solve … minor torch at head with solar chargers

Beauty of India is.. you can solve the problems and export the solutions to Africa..

 

• SELCO – Future plans?

• After Magsaysay I have stepped back
• I want more entrepreneurs to take it different places in the  country
•  Go through training youngsters and help them fund the endeasvours
•  Replication is our Mantra for scaling up

 

• How do you help interested people to buy?

• Micro finance is not good for financing for long term
• 40 thousand rural banks… we have been able to convince them
• 90% of clients are financed by rural banks

 

• How do you reach the clients

• In some areas we have been since 1995
• Girls do not get married since husbands home does not have electricity
• Local fairs, melas, those who have used will speak
• We make sure the banker sits in the meeting. We do not have marketing and PR department
• Not a single article written by us… it has to be a third party endorsement only

It was indeed a very charging session. Everyone was overawed by his passion and conviction. Many in the audience kept on discussing what they would like to do to address the issues he raised. In fact the discussion is still on, even after a week of his session. Let us make it happen.

Love and regards,
Sreeni@iwsb.in

outbound 2011 – induction of pg13 @ IWSB, knowing thyself!

Outbound 2011 – inducting pg13 @ IWSB – Knowing thyself, a set on Flickr.

The academic year of pg13 started with pre-term, of which the outbound module is a very enabling one for the new learners on the campus, as much as the old and seasoned ones….

Along with Vivek of great escapes and Satya, the outbound was planned meticulously to give each participant an experience worth remembering for life time, for what they will gain from the exercises that they would go through. It all depends on ones own eagerness to explore, introspect and learn. To that extent, even though exercises were designed to put every one through similar situations, the take-away will be very different for each one, depending on the conscious investment one makes in the entire process.

Entire entourage set to drive in a couple of buses and cars late in the evening. As Satya wanted to test his car in the hilly terrains, we both found ourselves leading the cavalcade by an hour ahead by the time we were out of Delhi. The gap kept on increasing as we hit the foothills and we reach Bhimtaal by 3:40am, well ahead of the scheduled arrival of about 7am. So we parked the vehicle by the roadside and had a few winks by the time the bus reached the winding roads of the hills. Reaching the Saat Taal half an hour before the buses arrived, we refreshed ourselves to receive the battalion, with unique ‘wake up call’…. push ups the moment they disembarked the buses. This shook many out of the slumber and for the uninitiated this would have given the hint of things to come by…

The climb to the camp on the top of the hill overlooking the saat taal, with the backpacks on our backs, was a real test of ones strength and stamina. With my Camera bag also tugging along, it took some effort from me too as the innumerable tours that I undertook in the last 8-9 months threw spanner on my physical fitness regularity. I realized how unfit I had become. I discovered that I have put on about 5 kgs during this sedentary period, though not sedentary due to criss-crossing the country, yet sedentary in physical fitness terms.. This has made me lazier!! This outbound was a wake-up call for me too!!

As usual, the hectic three days had a lot of excitement, beginning with induction of the new entrants to IWSB value system and integration of the new hearts, bodies and souls with the entire ecosystem of the institution, and facilitating the others to introspect and offer themselves for greater responsibilities towards themselves, the community and the society at large. As we could see, we have been able to succeed to some extent, hopefully it will grow on each one of us. The facilitation and exercises took various forms like – group activities like football exchanges, tent pegging, kayaking, handicap treks, musical and cultural evenings around bonfires; the individual pushing of boundaries happened through rock climbing, rappling, zummaring, river crossing, flying fox, kayaking, swimming etc. The new members also bonded with each other very well when they were thrown a challenge of making a meal on the last day.

Yes, there have been a few taken-for-granted behaviours that did detract from the effectiveness of the program, but I am sure the realizations since then would serve each and every one good for life time.

Personally, my learning included –

a. I will be healthy and physically fit by pushing boundaries more and more even during my daily life
b. I will be part of every action and contribute to every cause irrespective of experience; work with enthusiasm as if I am doing it for the first time, even though I might have done many times over
c. I will be serious about every thing I do. No work is small or big
d. I am capable of finding new ways of engaging, even though the activity may look apparently old
e. So many more boundaries to be pushed, so many more capabilities to be explored…I will continue to do it..

There is so much within. Even when we feel that we are completely exhausted, we have so much in our storage…. if only we can dig deep and push ourselves…

I have but one life…

Sreeni@iwsb.in

kindly follow this set for more updates of pg13