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The document has been prepared by Amit Sharan Singh, PGP 2010-12, Indian Institute of Management Raipur. He is a Yatri of Jagriti Yatra

2011 and can be reached at amitsharan88@gmail.com

Jagriti Yatra 2011

Enterprise Led Development

December 24, 2011: Convention Hall, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai. Padma Bhushan

Dr. R A Mashelkar addresses a gathering of about 450 yatris. The yatris of Jagriti Yatra 2011 comprises

of people from 26 nations all over the world and 23 states in India. The demographic diversities are in

the forms of age, gender, language, culture, tradition, literacy level and also the mindset of people. Dr.

Mashelkar talks about the power of youth and the need to channelize them.

The Yatra is formally inaugurated with the song Yaro Chalo.

Picture 1: Tentative route map of Jagriti Yatra 2011

Jagriti Yatra is organized by Jagriti Seva Sansthan, an NGO with headquarters in Deoria, UP and

executive office in Mumbai. The Yatra is a sixteen day train journey of India to awaken the spirit of

entrepreneurship . The vision of Jagriti Yatra is to inspire young Indians living in the middle of the Indian

demographic diamond to lead development by taking to enterprise. By doing so, they can turn from

being job seekers to job creators.

With cakes and Christmas carol post midnight, begins the Yatra from Lokmanya Tilak Terminal.

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The document has been prepared by Amit Sharan Singh, PGP 2010-12, Indian Institute of Management Raipur. He is a Yatri of Jagriti Yatra

2011 and can be reached at amitsharan88@gmail.com

Picture 2: SELCO engineers demonstrating the products

The train reaches the twin city of Hubli and Dharwad in Karnataka on December 26 th. In Dharwadlocated is Solar Electric Lighting Corporation (SELCO), the leading solar equipment manufacturer and

technology firm of India. SELCO was founded by Harish Hande, an IITian with a Phd in Energy

Engineering from University of Massachusetts. At the auditorium of University of Agricultural Sciences,

Dharwad, the founding members of SELCO talk about the journey of this social enterprise since 1995.

They tell us about how they have been transforming the lives of people in villages through sustainable

energy solutions and services. SELCO has championed the cause of sustainable energy for small vendors

through microcredit. The same day we also visit a village in the district whose face the organization has

transformed. They have helped increasing the literacy rate, family income and overall living standard, all

these through a common energy solution. The villagers give due credit to SELCO for brining the light of

development.

Picture 3: Interactive session with Mr. N R Narayana Murthy

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The document has been prepared by Amit Sharan Singh, PGP 2010-12, Indian Institute of Management Raipur. He is a Yatri of Jagriti Yatra

2011 and can be reached at amitsharan88@gmail.com

Next stoppage of the Jagriti Express is Bangaluru. The Yatris reach the headquarters of Infosys Limited in

the early morning of 27th

December 2011. The day begins with a session by Prof. Nandini Vaidyanathan,

founder of CARMA and who has been a faculty at many premier Business schools including IIM

Bangalore. She talks about the role of a mentor in starting an enterprise and the three key elements of

entrepreneurship i.e. Knowledge, Skill and Attitude. She explains how a mentor hand holds an infant

organization and helps it grow with the help of his experience and network.

Post lunch, the founder of Infosys Limited Sri N R Narayana Murthy himself addresses the Yatris. He

talks about his journey as an entrepreneur and the importance of social values in the organization. To

one of the queries asked by a Yatri about his succession planning planning for Infosys, he says that

Infosys is like my daughter. Giving up the chairmanship of Insosys is like givng away of your daughter to

a young man who promises to take care of her for the lifetime. This interactive session is followed by a

panel discussion by the founders of Redbus.in (Mr. Phanindra Sama), Babajobs.com (Mr. Vir Kashyap)

and Ekopay.com (Mr Abhinav Sinha). The topic of discussion was Technology Startup and its Social

Impact. No doubt, they have been transforming the way business is being carried out. Redbus has been

making public road transport through easy access of reservation system and better utilization ofcapacity. Babajobs is an online and mobile portal on the lines of Naukari.com, but for blue collar jobs.

Ekopay.com has pioneered the micro financing, saving and credits. It also provides a very easy way of

money transfer to the locations which are untouched by modern banking system.

Picture 4: Tele medicine demonstration at a remote village (Arvind Eye Care)

On 28th

December, the train reaches the Minakshi Temple town Madurai for Arvind Eye Care visit.

Aravind is more than an eye hospital. It is a self funded social organisation committed to the goal of

elimination of needless blindness through comprehensive eye care services. It treats 40 % of the free

patients from the revenue from the paid patients. It is also an international training centre for

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The document has been prepared by Amit Sharan Singh, PGP 2010-12, Indian Institute of Management Raipur. He is a Yatri of Jagriti Yatra

2011 and can be reached at amitsharan88@gmail.com

ophthalmic professionals and trainees who come from within India and around the world. The founders

talk about the vision of Dr. Govindappa Venkatswamy, founder of Arvind Eye Care, who despite his

physical disability, championed this social cause. Driven not just by passion but by compassion, Dr. V.

wanted to reach out to everyone in need. Numbers were and still are critical. This pushed Dr. V to think

out of the box and implement efficient systems that reduced costs and time. He took inspiration from

the Mc Donalds model of delivering quality to a huge quantity.

The Yatris visited several villages where Arvind Eye Care has been treating patients through Tele-

medicine. The small ailments are cured by paramedical staffs in consultation with the doctor, which

those needing a surgery are sent to the main hospital. The Visit to Arvind Eye Care demonstrates the

importance of financial self sufficiency for a social organization to sustain itself.

Picture 5: Panel discussion on Enabling rural and Agri Enterprises

The next stoppage of the train is on 29th December at Kanchipuram. The founder of Travel Another

India (TAI), Ms. Gouthami, an IRMA alumnus addresses the Yatris and talks about how they have been

promoting alternate tourism and generating income for local communities. The business goes like this:

Interested people in local communities take the lead to establish a tourism venture, hire local residents

at appropriate wages, and sell products such as handicrafts. This mechanism allows selfsustaining

economic growth. In the meantime, TAI is engaged in support areas such as consulting, marketing, and

staff training.

The session is followed by a panel discussion on Enabling rural and Agri Enterprises by Paul Basil (from

Villgrow), Gijs Spoor (from Cottom Conversation) and Venkat (from efarm.in). They talk about

commercializing rural innovations for sustainable wealth creation, ways to transform agriculture based

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The document has been prepared by Amit Sharan Singh, PGP 2010-12, Indian Institute of Management Raipur. He is a Yatri of Jagriti Yatra

2011 and can be reached at amitsharan88@gmail.com

value chain into value based communities and providing combination of technology solutions and on

ground distribution mechanism to enable farmers reach end markets in an effective manner.

Picture 6: Leena Joseph (Naandi Foundation) addressing the Yatris

The Yatis reach Naandi Foundation in Vishakhapattnam the next day morning. Naandi Foundation is a

non-profit social organization established in 1998. It believes in eradicating poverty through

sustainable livelihoods and by providing mid day meals and safe drinking water. It also houses a researchwing to study the social models and work on innovations that can bring a positive change in the life of

needy people. Naandi is based on a Public Private Partnership model. It receives grants from the

government as well as funds from private donors and corporates like Tata, Dell, and HSBC. Funds are

also raised through the community. Key learnings of the Naandi Foundation visit are about eradication

of poverty through sustainable and innovative solutions, public-private partnership in a social context

and operational efficiency - logistic management, scale of food preparation, following Six Sigma

principles.

In the evening, the Yatris visit the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy at Vizag.

They are mesmerized by the might and charm of warships. There a very senior navy officer welcomes

the Yatris. He talks about the role of Indian Navy for India to become a super power. Navy has played a

very critical role not just during the war but also during the peace time. Indian Navy was the first to send

help to the nations affected by Tsunami in Indian Ocean and