When Nothing Works, Reboot!
I like to think I am good with computers. That I know my way around its cogs and wheels. That with the touch of my fingertips, it will yield to my commands. But does it really work that way? More often than I care to admit, I have found myself in a staring match with my computer, wondering what I did to antagonize it. Eventually, I find myself hitting Ctrl + Alt + Delete to reboot the computer in the hopes that whatever its problem was, it will auto-resolve when it starts up again.
Life can be like that too. We think we are giving it our best, dealing with all ups and downs the best we can and hoping that our wishes will come true. And yet, we find ourselves in situations where we feel we don’t know what we did wrong and how we can get out of it… relationships, career changes, business ventures, health challenges, financial challenges… find any situation where you feel stuck, where nothing seems to work and hit the Ctrl + Alt + Delete button of life.
Start over in your old relationship. Rediscover why you fell in love in the first place and rebuild from there. Forge a new career. You may have been stuck in a career your parents chose, or you chose because you had felt it was the right choice then. But now you can acquire new skills, you can experiment with other careers till you find one that ignites your passion. Or you can look at your old career in a new light and go from there. You may find yourself stuck in a financial mess. Stop. Take stock. Look at the facts. Work with those facts rather than ‘if only’ or ‘what if’. Just like untangling a messed up ball of yarn, you will find a single string of yarn slowly and cleanly emerging from the messed up ball. You get the drift by now… Just chant Ctrl + Alt + Delete… Ctrl + Alt + Delete… Ctrl + Alt + Delete and you’ll find ways to reboot life.
You might wonder ‘how many times can I reboot in one lifetime?’ My submission to you is that you can do it multiple times! Does rebooting mean going back to the start? No. Your life experiences continue to be the foundation stones of your life. You take the learnings from each experience, and you continue to build. You reboot or change paths in your journey several times but isn’t that what the beauty of life is.
For me, I like to hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete before I hit the bed each night. Sleep over my daily triumphs and travails, recharge and start each new morning on a clean slate. When they came up with ‘The Scientist’, British rock band Coldplay said it best:
Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh its such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I’m going back to the start.
The Long Term Plan
Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality.
It is an undisputed fact that every human being has a plan for everything. Believe it or not, we are designed in such a manner that we are constantly planning what we are doing. It is an innate quality. One might argue that we have no plan about what is sprung on us and takes us by surprise but that is untrue if you think about it in greater depth.
For instance, you are going about your day as usual and you receive tragic news about an unfortunate accident that someone close to you has met with. This is not something we consciously plan for because humans are congenitally optimistic. But, our mind is ready for such a situation on an unconscious level. Isn’t such a situation exactly why we save holidays and create a financial plan so that we’re ready? Our mind has a fright or fight response for every situation which undoubtedly helps us deal with it.
Such is the bizarre case of the human mind. Coming to long term plans. These are plans that we consciously create for ourselves with a stern mind to cater to every step and abide by every rule to ultimately achieve what we are looking to achieve. It could be a class test which is very important or a goal for your entrepreneurship venture or even an effort at becoming fitter. These plans are spread over a course of time and require diligent and honest effort.
The hardest part of such a plan is often keeping at it. When we start out, we are motivated and have a strong urge to achieve what we want. Over time, this urge starts to fade and we start putting less effort into the venture we once undertook. Here steps in the nobleman, who goes by the name of commitment. Commitment is nothing but our ability to stay put and keep going constantly, on a regular basis to achieve a long term plan.
There are three pointers that one can keep in mind to make sure that you are committed to the job at hand.
- Get your mindset right
When you start to feel that you are losing sight of your goal and the amount of effort that you were previously putting in was way more than what you are doing today, then stop for a moment and think. Think about why you set your mind to this, about why this is important to you on an individual or even team level. Evaluate the necessity of the goal that you set for yourself. This will be a refresher and you will start to see clearly again.
-
Refine your goals
This is something that one should do after some time has passed since you first started. Once you start working at something, various causes come up and the goal that you first set might need some modifications. This is an important step to the evolution of the venture and needs to be done. Rigidly holding onto something that you once decided won’t help in the long run, some minor changes are required.
-
Hold yourself accountable
This might be one of the most important steps. Accountability breeds responsibility. Holding one’s own self accountable, might be one of the hardest things to do. But if you fail to do so, there is no way that you will be able to get to where you wanted to go. You are responsible for your own success and if you don’t answer to your own self, there is no way you will get there.
In conclusion, remember this quote by Kenneth Blanchard, ‘There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient for you when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.’
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
Long Lasting Relationships: The Simplest Formula
Most often, the relationships that we create or form are because we need to fulfill a requirement, a benefit or a purpose. After fulfillment of that specific benefit, the intensity of a relationship gets diluted.
It is at the point that the true intensity or a potential of a relationship can come to the fore and become a reality. Because once the purpose gets served, the dilution ratio of relationship is on the maximum level. However, if we are able to maintain the same intensity of our relationship then only it can be called as potential relationship because presently it is without any purpose/benefit which is to be served.
Conditional love or a conditional relationship, in fact, is a mere agreement for a specific period
with specific purpose which gets over after a certain period of time. It defines the terms of
relationship.
Unconditional relationships are exactly the opposite! It distinguishes the existence of relationship as it is without any terms and conditions. That’s why we say that unconditional love, without any judgment, remains forever.
This phenomenon applies to every bond and relationship that we create. To achieve that unconditional love, we need to inculcate the acceptance factor without being judgmental. That is the only way to maximize the potential of a relationship and maintain long lasting and ‘forever relationships’ that we all seek. And that, my friends, is the simplest formula to maintain the intensity of any relationship!
Creation from Conflict
While attending a Management Development Program conducted by Mr. Victor M., I heard a statement that stunned me – ‘never fear conflicts’. Usually, I prefer to stay away from daily drama. Conflicts, fights are a big no for me – being agreeable comes more naturally to me.
At the same time, I try to see things from others perspective and so I decided to broaden my thinking horizons on this aspect. “Never fear conflict, because conflict over an issue in the first place, there has to be a background of commitment.” When both parties realize that though they are in a conflict situation, seeing the bigger picture, they will know that they are on the same page. If you look at it, conflict is when one is ready to take a stand about something they believe in.
But conflicts at times can take an ugly turn. It can lead to destruction when both parties work from the framework of “I am right, and you are wrong.” That’s when the commitment towards the conflicting situation is zero.
When I came across this kind of an understanding, things changed in 360 degrees for me. I no more shun away from conflicts. Because now I appreciate the kind of commitment that me and the other person has towards the greater good. At the same time, I also recognize that conflicts will help me look at things from a different perspective and come up with better and rare solutions. The beauty of this understanding is that conflict has the capacity to create!
Another aspect of conflict is when we can relate it to change. We humans like to be in our own comfort zone. Change is not a desirable place for many of us. But in order to move ahead in life, change is essential. Yet, the decision to change or not to change involves a lot of internal conflict. When we can resolve that internal conflict, we can see what is in store for us with the change that we have been running away from, for so long.
On this note, I would like to conclude my short blog with a quote by Mr. Thomas Paine which
states that “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
The management team at MasterMyLife is participating in a 3- month Management
Development Program as part of the institute’s unique approach to teaching Emotional
Intelligence.
A post-graduate in Industrial Psychology, Harshana Uchil Kuveskar believes that psychology is the crux of human behavior. She also believes that since we deal with people from all walks of life on a day-to-day basis, the art of being emotionally intelligent is crucial.
Dealing With Exam Stress
Student life is said to be a piece of cake. But only by people who have already dealt with it. For somebody who is a student right now, it is one of the most stressful periods that you have encountered. As you grow older you realize that your education is the strong foundation that you are eventually going to base your career on and hence acquiring a good education becomes a priority for most of us. A good education also entails appreciation from your parents and a new found respect in the society.
When the exam season arrives, the levels of stress are easily doubled and there is so much that has to be done and so little time to do it all in. All of us have different styles of studying and they tend to work for us. If your exams are in the immediate next week, I would suggest that you don’t make any changes in your methods but if you do have some time to experiment, take the leap. Now, stress will only get worse if you see that time is passing by and you are not getting anything done. This could be due to extreme procrastination on your part or a genuine situation which gives you no time to study at all. If it is the prior reason, it is time you pulled up your socks because times-a-ticking.
The one thing that we have been hearing for a long time is that spend a little time making a timetable to accommodate everything that you have to do. When I was a little younger, in school, I used to believe that making a timetable is an utter waste of time because that time could be used to study a few pages. Today, I would tell you that it is one of the best ways to start your preparation. When you invest some time into making a timetable, you put in a little research as to how much time a particular topic will take you to study and what is important and demands more attention than anything else. This will give you a brief overview of what you have to do. It makes you feel more in control of the entire situation and things seem less scattered.
Different kinds of subjects require different kinds of approach. For example, if you are dealing with a subject that has a lot of practical working to do, like mathematics or mechanics, always have a pen and a notepad ready to practise some sums and problems. Practical subjects are best done when practised. When you have a lot of time in hand, practising everything is possible but not one week before your exam. Mark important questions or sums where you have made a mistake previously. This will make it easier for you to identify them when you are revising.
When it comes to subjects which have a lot of theory, studying at a stretch can get tedious. If your course is of the kind that has some theory subjects and others that are practical, alternate between the two so that neither gets boring. Theory subjects are usually easier than practical ones but are lengthy and vast. Consult your professors and seniors and make a note of what is absolutely important. Make that your first priority and then move to the less important things.
When there is just one week before the exam, stress levels start to build up and there is a lot of anxiety too. This is the time when you have to be at your calmest. The first thing that you should do is refer to your timetable to know what is it that you had planned for this week. If there is something left from the previous planning, dedicate a day’s time to complete that. Then get on with this week’s stuff. Revise as much as you can. There is a good chance that you may not be able to retain everything that you have previously studied and that is perfectly okay. Read through everything one more time without letting this affect you at all.
When your big day is tomorrow and you are losing your mind, take a deep breath. Panic attacks happen but to get yourself to calm down, remember that you have put in effort before and the human mind works in mysterious ways. Make sure that you are well rested and well hydrated. Exam times often make us crave for foods that may not be very good for your body but give in to these pangs and get that chocolate cake you have been wanting.
The key to getting through your exam week is to be well rested and to believe in yourself. To remember that you are well prepared.
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
Corporate Social Responsibility
“Corporate Social Responsibility is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it because it is good for our business.”– Niall Fitzerald, Former CEO, Unilever.
It is rightly said that a business cannot succeed if the society around it fails. Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR has become an integral part of a company’s functioning and rightly so. We hear that a particular company has a stronger CSR approach and hence, is ranked higher than some other company. Understanding the meaning of corporate social responsibility is important for this very reason.
It is rightly said that a business cannot succeed if the society around it fails. CSR is nothing but a business approach which gained popularity in the 1900s wherein it was used as a form of stakeholder engagement and social regulation. Corporate Social Responsibility is a practice of corporate self-regulation which is duly incorporated into a business model for greater benefits. It is basically a mechanism by the means of which a business oversees and ensures dynamic compliance with the standard guidelines of ethics, the spirit of law and norms set by international governing bodies.
CSR is a business model which entails that a company take responsibility for its actions and encourages the protection of the environment, its consumers and society in general. When a company has amalgamated corporate social responsibility in its approach to business, it will be conscious of certain facts which are under its control and could prove detrimental to the society in any way. For instance, a company ABC, is a manufacturer of microchips which requires it to work with various metals and leaves a lot of waste which, if disposed off into the oceans without proper treatment will cause significant damage to the aquatic life. For a company that cares about what impact it leaves on the environment, it will treat the industrial waste before disposing it off.
Another example of responsible behaviour would be evident when a company involved in the mining business provides worthy and respectable relocation options to the residents of the area to be mined. This is a requirement by law but the approach towards abiding by law in such a case is an indication of socially responsible behaviour. A company’s social standing is also exhibited by how it deals with issues within the company. For example, if a case of sexual assault or molestation has occurred, it is the duty of the company to involve appropriate authorities and co-operate fully, with investigation instead of cowering away and being obstinate about protecting the image of the company.
After looking at the definition and explanation of CSR, one tends to wonder how this may prove favourable to what a company mainly does: business. When the concept of CSR is further explored, the long term and short term benefits of CSR are self-evident.
Adopting a business model which has an emphatic approach on CSR can help you avoid financial complications. A strong CSR strategy makes sure that you are in complete compliance of legal and ethical policies. This, in turn, saves a ton of money which could have been spent on hefty legal fees. Moreover, there are a number of tax benefits that arise from being involved in socially uplifting initiatives. Also, a business that complies with all national and international norms is usually not on the radar of regulatory bodies which is very important for the image of the business.
Employees are the most important fragment of a company and finding loyal employees is quite a task. When you do find employees that are devoted to your organization, retaining them is of pertinence. Research shows that more number of people prefer working in an institution which has a robust CSR structure than a company that doesn’t. By providing good jobs and promoting high professional and ethical principles, you increase employee loyalty, and by acquiring only those overseas products produced at factories where workers were treated ethically, you gain support among ‘Fair Trade’ advocates.
A company with a sturdy CSR structure indubitably has a reputable image in the eyes of not only its consumers but also stakeholders and potential investors who are significant to the growth of business. There are various ways in which a company can demonstrate the extent of its involvement in social causes. One way is to create a website which is more sustainable. A website has more reach than any other medium.
A few simple changes to your website can be made that will provide tangible proof of social responsibility. Replacing a video with a slide show, decluttering the screen, adding fewer images will help you reduce the carbon footprint of the website drastically. Also, a new initiative that seems to have caught on is that of letting your consumers select a charity they would like to donate for. This goes to show that you keep up with what is happening around you and that you are concerned. Sponsoring seminars and conferences and health check camps for your employees also helps strengthen your image.
For instance, a company carried out a blood donation camp in collaboration with a blood bank. This was open to locals as well as employees. Since the blood camp was carried out on a large scale, it received press coverage too. Not only did the company gain in terms of goodwill from its employees but it also made its mark on the locals. Stakeholders and potential investors were also reached due to the press coverage.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a business theory that has been integral to the success of many huge companies. On a concluding note, it is rightly said Corporate Social Responsibility isn’t a particular programme, it is what we should do every day, to maximise positive impact and minimize negative impact.
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
5 steps in the Risk Management Process
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. – Muhammad Ali
Risk is not an unknown phenomenon for us. Every aspect of life involves risk and there is no option but to take it. One may say that business is synonymous with risk and there is no denying it. When a particular person wants to start a business, they have it in mind that there is a good chance that it may not take off as planned and that there is a certain amount of risk involved.
Risk and its management have nothing to do with the size of a business in question. For instance, a sole proprietor who owns a shop of fruits and vegetables. Such a person has to factor in things like a strike or unavailability of transportation for the delivery of fruits and vegetables to his point of pick-up. Further, say that there is a flood on a particular day. Such a risk also has to be evaluated in order to minimize the damage that it poses. So to say, risk analysis and management is something that each of us does in his own life to safeguard our interests.
Such a process is also applied to an entire company on a more elaborate and detailed level. When this is done, the company is said to have been carrying out the process of risk management. Essentially, risk management is defined as the identification of potential risks in advance, their analysis and necessary precautions for reducing these risks.
Different kinds of hazards have a different kind of response. Similarly, the risk management process for different potential risks is different but a general outline which more or less sums up how one can go about managing risks is available. The following are the 5 steps that can be adapted to make a detailed risk-management plan.
Identification of Hazards
To begin with, to plan ahead and anticipate the management process for any kind of risk, one will have to identify the sectors or departments that could give rise to a potential hazard. A particular legal order or a new rule passed by the finance department of the country or even a missing document could be the root of a potential threat to the company.
Recognition of the Parties that might be Affected and How
After the key areas that could cause a potential hazard are identified, one can easily single out the persons and processes that might get affected due to this problem. After this, the extent of damage caused to these entities should be evaluated. This will help determine the amount of resources and time that should be allocated to the potential risk.
Evaluation of the Risks and Control Measures
The next step in the process is to evaluate the extent of the risk and the magnitude of damage that it will leave behind. This will further help us in the employment of control measures for the anticipated risks. For instance, there could be a risk that can be completely averted thus saving loads of money and time of all the parties involved. There could be another problem which cannot be solved at all and there is a cent percent chance that it will. For such a risk one can allocate monetary aid to relieve the damage.
Recording of Findings and their Implementation
Once the process of evaluation is done and certain control measures are assigned, record these for further use and implement those which can be implemented at that period in time. Certain anticipated risks may require a speedy response. Thus, the execution of the charted steps has to be done with keeping in mind the time factor.
Review of the Assessment and its Update if Necessary
This is the final step in the management of a potential risk and could turn out to be the most important one. The extent of damage caused by and the very occurrence of a risk could change over a period of time. Thus it is important to keep a check on the entire process and make changes as and when required.
On a concluding note, there is no way to avoid risk absolutely. Your best bet is to deal with it efficiently. As Mark Zuckerberg said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
Hard Work has No Alternative
Thomas Alva Edison said that there is absolutely no substitute for hard work. Some of us are ardent believers of this fact and the others like to live a more adventurous life. But when we give this statement more thought and take some time out to think in retrospect, we realize that it is true. Successfully achieving something takes more than just talent and being good at it. Keeping at it and continue working to get there are way more important than having mere talent.
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” – Stephen King
I do not mean to underestimate talent for it is absolutely necessary. What I am trying to put forth is that possessing a talent and dreaming that you will reach the pinnacle of success just on the merit of your talent is a sweet illusion that will probably take you further away from where you want to get to. For instance, there is a huge boulder lying in the middle of the road which is blocking the road and rendering it useless. The person who moves it will be rewarded graciously. Now, you are a well- built person who can easily lift it and free the road, thereby, earning yourself a hefty prize. But you refuse to do it because it involves some work. Here your talent is utterly useless if you do not work hard to get to the prize. Moreover, there are many people who possess the similar talent and who are ready to put in the hard that you don’t want to. Hence it is not the talent that is the distinguishing factor always, sometimes it is your effort that gets you there.
We hear stories of people who made it big when they had no backing and little financial aid. These are the ‘rags to riches’ kind of people. One example that strikes you almost immediately is that of Late A.P.J Kalam. Born in a household that could not afford two square meals a day, that man went on to become not only one of the greatest scientists the world has seen but also the President of India. Talent was involved in taking him where he wanted to reach but so was hard work and an immense amount of perseverance.
Not all of us are bestowed with skills that distinguish us in this world that is full of people. And sometimes this makes us think that we are not good enough to get where we want to. But what we don’t realize is that we can make it up by putting in lots and lots of hard work. Closing the gap won’t be hard if we are mentally prepared to put in all that we have.
There are people who claim that smart work is an alternative to hard work. But smart work can only get you so far. And to get to the level where you are only working smart and not hard, you have to go through a phase of working hard. We have been hearing this since we starting school or even before that, hard work is the only way to make it in this world. Sometimes things are hard to believe when somebody else tells them to us, personal experience is the key here. Give all that you have in you to a small goal and see if you get closer to achieving it. You will have your answer.
You may argue that there are people who have it easy, that luck played a part in their success. For instance, someone who is born into a wealthy family will find it easier to finance a venture of their own. This is a rare example and not everyone gets to live this reality. Further, for their venture to take off, they will have to put in work. Nobody can do it for them there. Bottom line, at one point or another, there will be no alternative to hard work and you will have to do it to get somewhere in life.
Remember that nothing worth having comes easy and get started.
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
A Smooth Transition from being a Student to a Working Professional
As kids we dream of this life where we are responsible for our own decisions and we get to lead a life without the interference of others. We call this ‘adulting’. It is all candies and rainbows until we have just a few days before we start doing it. It is scary and all we wish for is to go back to a time when adulting was only a faraway dream. It is bizarre how a dream can turn into a dread so soon.
For college seniors, who will start work in just a couple of months, it is pretty normal to feel apprehensive about how things will pan out at the work place. It is not only about the work; it is also about the work environment. There are certain things one has to know when they start working and getting used to them before work even starts is obviously the better bet.
The first thing that starts to take a toll on a new employee is the work hours. College demands a lot of our time but it is extremely different than work. At work, you cannot while away time. You are getting paid for the time that you put in and even if you feel that nobody is watching, people are taking note of what you are doing with your time. Another difference between the two is that at college, only your grades were affected by lax behaviour on your part. At work you are probably a part of a team and the job of every employee is dependent on the job of another. Hence, when you slack off, the work of the entire team gets affected. Hence, taking your own sweet time to complete a task is not justified.
The next hurdle that you are likely to face is that of your attire. It has to be perfect and completely within the norms of what is allowed by the company. Take a look around at what your seniors are wearing. Loud colours, heavy makeup, dishevelled hair are generally not accepted and can have a bad effect on your image. At college it was different, you could do what you wanted and dress the way you want to. at work that may have serious repercussions. Many companies have a casual Friday theme. On this day too, keep a check on what you are wearing. Observe what your seniors are doing and then react.
College and work have one thing in common; that is your ability to handle pressure. You require more stamina than you think at office also. The stamina that I talk about here is mental stamina. The stamina to do something for a long time. There are going to be days when you are going to have to stay back and work for hours past your regular time. Other than that, you also will have to handle the pressure that a job brings with it. There are responsibilities that you have to shoulder and timelines that you have to abide by. Managing time effectively is something that we pick up at college. Employ those techniques at work and you are good to go.
The next and the perhaps the most important thing that we have to take care of is our relationships. In college, we have bonds with friends and appropriate relationships with our teachers and professors. At work it is not so. There are multiple levels of seniority and you have to be a good judge of what kind of relationship that you have to build with all of them. Since you are a newbie, you may not get more than one or two meetings with senior executives of your company and hence it is important to make a good impression on them when you get the chance. Your colleagues may not necessarily be your friends. It is of pertinence to stay astray of office politics and not excessively indulge in something that may not concern you.
In inference, you have to remember that this is not your last job but this is your first one. Enjoy the novelty of it.
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.
The Need for Social Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship has become the new engineering nowadays. Everyone is an entrepreneur and everyone wants to start an entrepreneurial venture and with the ruling government being all for the start of new ventures and providing incentives to extraordinary ones, the number of people engaging in start-ups has gone up. This is proving of advantage to the economy as the government’s make-in-India policy is reiterated. Further, certain entrepreneurial ventures are such that they beneficial to the society, ridding it of problems that plague it.
Social entrepreneurship is nothing but the creation of such business models which revolve around low-cost products and services for the upliftment of parts of society that are monetarily backward in order to reach a common goal of social equality. When we look at the comprehensive explanation of social entrepreneurship, we realize that this is the kind of entrepreneurship that we require the most in India.
The need for social entrepreneurship in India is immense and is so realised when we read about the social conditions prevailing in rural parts and the number of hardships that a student has to go through to gain a basic primary education which is a fundamental right of every human being residing in India.
This brings us to the remarkable social entrepreneurial initiatives take by certain individuals for a step towards social equality. Jeroo Bilimoria, Ajaita Shah, Harish Hande, Sushmita Ghosh are certain names that come to mind. These extraordinary individuals have started organisations which have helped hundreds if not thousands lead a better life. Jeroo Bilimoria is the founder of multiple prize-winning NGOs and is recognized internationally for earning honorary fellowships. Currently, she works as the Founder and Managing Director of Child and Youth Finance International.
Ajaita Shah is the Founder and CEO of Frontier Markets which is a rural marketing, sales and service distribution company providing access to affordable and quality consumer durables to low-income households. Harish Hande is the Co-Founder of SELCO which is a social enterprise that has been working robustly towards putting the technology for the harnessing of solar power within the reach of the poor. Harish strongly believes that eradication of poverty will be possible if sustainable energy resources are provided to the poor. He is also the winner of the esteemed Magsaysay award. Sushmita Ghosh was previously a journalist who founded Changemakers which is an online platform for problem-solving. This platform now provides guidelines and instructions for social change and the establishment of social change organizations.
Certain other organizations which have transformed India as per their capacity have also left indelible imprints on the social standing. One of these is Mentor Together. Mentor Together is a volunteer program that aims at creating valuable mentor-mentee relationships between caring and trust-worthy mentors and youth of two kinds- destitute and orphaned girls who have no means to attain education and youth belonging to low-income groups who could use help with technology and such. Mentor Together has helped create around 150 mentor-mentee relationships in the past.
Ummeed Child Development Centre is another venture that has touched many lives. It is a center for the care and education of children who are at a risk of developmental disability. It helps the kids in terms of assessment of their disorder and therapy.
Social entrepreneurship is a rising hope in a world which is only concerned with monetary gains. It is what will reduce the gap between the two strata of society and bring them closer to equality. Such ventures will help those attain what are basic necessities.
Writer at Digipundit
Mrunmayi Gaikwad, soon to be a wielder of the scales of justice, harbors a twin passion for law and for poetry. Writing is more than just a hobby for her – it is a release. Mrunmayi is an avid reader and hopes to have her own personal library someday. Her family and the city of Mumbai are two pillars of her life.