Inclusive Growth!

 ET readers, CNBC viewers and Business School students know it well that India is mobile-phone country. Penetration and sales of mobile phones far exceed those of personal computers. It is literally as though the mobile phone has tapped into a deeply latent need of Indians to chatter away with their dear ones. On the contrary, the serious PC- while indeed making headway in the Indian market- lags far behind in terms of its impact on the lives of Indian families, especially lower-income and rural ones.
Consider this: during my two days in Latur district’s villages, I barely came across anyone who used computers or saw schools where kids had access to PCs. BUT: every youth and woman volunteer I met had a mobile phone, whose numbers were well publicized, and were the accepted means for fellow villagers to reach out to them.
However, as a result of this dichotomy, there is a great deal of spoken communication among the volunteers, NGOs and villagers, but the programs are overall weak in terms of documentation, information access, tracking and reporting.
To plug this key gap, the PC needs to catch up with the mobile phone… for the sake of development.

Growth-for-All will soon embark on an ambitious program to get corporates and others to chip in with used PCs which can be deployed in village schools and community centers. Watch out for more information.

On the Road!

 A great deal of progress has been made in these villages in preventing or discouraging early, adolescent marriages. But, I would still keep hearing about this girl, or that, who had got married when she was 15,16, 0r 17. This remained a niggling question in my mind until that Eureka moment, while I was with the Deepshikha group – a group of 30 girls in Jagalpur sub-center.
This is an organized group that meets together for one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays to discuss health and social issues that affect their lives. The group meetings are facilitated by Anita, who underwent a 10-day training run by Unicef.
As an observer and participant in this particular meeting, I heard that this group has been in existence for several months now, but it has had its share of ‘floating’ population, as some girls have left to get married, while new entrants have come in after getting married into this village. It was evident that many of these girls had got married well before they had turned 18, and I couldn’t get clear reasons even though I probed.
Then the discussion turned to education, and I popped the question as to why girls were dropping out of school after Class 10, and not continuing to study further. That’s when it emerged that girls drop out of school because the senior secondary school is now in the next village which is 4 km away. Parents naturally dislike the idea of their daughters walking all the way, or hitching a ride. As a result, the girls stay at home, and as a natural corollary, are persuaded to get married.
The immediate answer was cycles ! If the girls had cycles, would they be able to continue schooling? When I offered this suggestion, there was an immediate, excited outburst of chattering. So, I went a bit further, and offered two cycles if they could guarantee that four girls would indeed attend Class 11-12. I certainly didn’t expect the group to burst out applauding, but they did, and it told me that this could well be the answer to empower these young girls, with mobility and freedom.
It was clear to me that a large scale project, to make cycles available, would have to be an essential ingredient in any rural initiative that Growth-for-All would roll out in the coming months.
( An interesting aside: none of the 30 girls has ever learnt or used a computer)

On September 19th, we walked into the CM, Sheila Dikshit’s residence( thanks to a meeting fixed by my friend, Kanika Mathur, and her mother, Mrs Rajni Mathur) to describe the Growth-for-All model, and seek her advice for using this in Delhi. We hardly thought things would move so fast. But, the CMO quickly arranged for us to meet various stake-holders and before we knew it, we were in Savda Ghevra.

( As an aside, I must add that all our interactions with the CMO have been so dynamic that it goes contrary to popular perceptions that governments move slowly. Just about everyone-Principal Secretary to CM, Mr P.K Tripathi; Addnl Secretary to CM, Mrs Alka Diwan; Jt Secretary, Mr Kulanand Joshi; SuperintendentBhagidari, Mr Manoj Jain-has completely welcoming and responsive)

Its been an hectic, but energizing period for the team at Growth-for-All. We’ve spent the past few months creating the building blocks that will give shape to our ‘movement’ that helps achieve inclusive’ growth & faster socio-economic development through an integrated, scaleable model.

Thanks to the CM’s Office, we’ve had the opportunity to launch our first pilot project at Savda Ghevra, the large re-settlement colony in North-West Delhi. Several week-ends and holidays were spent at Savda Ghevra, and it soon became apparent that this would be truly a test-case for the Growth-for-All model, which believes that each poor neighborhood or local community needs to have multiple ‘inputs’ dove-tailed simultaneously: livelihood, health, education, women’s empowerment, and whatever else is required.

With most Savda Ghevra families desperately looking for livelihood, this became the first focus for Growth-for-All. We quickly introduced Dr Reddy’s Foundation (DRF)to the community, and their livelihood program for the first batch of youth got underway. Three months from now, 100-150 youngsters will find jobs in hospitality, retail, sales, customer service, and auto repair. Repeat batches will then begin. A big ‘thank you’ to the dedicated, committed team at DRF-Amit Sharma, Sunil Sharma, and Gaurav- who’ve spent countless hours and road-miles with us, giving shape to this.

Meanwhile, I was joined by two exciting people as full-time members of the team- Shakti Callikan, and Mathew Mathai. My 3-month-long search for the ideal team-mates had ended, with Shakti and Mathew coming on-board, in February.

Our collective energies are now deployed in exploring a range of micro-enterprise options for the residents of Savda Ghevra, especially women. These include – carpet weaving, food products, assembly of kitchen appliances, running sales kiosks, offering community services, BPO services, and lots more.While livelihood programs get underway, detailed blueprints have been drawn up for upping the ante on health services - additional doctor(s) and clinic(s), specialized health camps and consultation, an ambulance service. In education, innovative education formats for school drop-outs, and adult illiterates are being explored.
While basic, and tangible areas like livelihood, health and education are vital priority, the socio-cultural environment cannot be ignored. Hence, Music & Sports - as a means of recreation & enjoyments, as well as away of building self-confidence and camaraderie. My friend, Hemu Javeri, flew down from Mumbai one week-end, to commit his support for a Music academy where 100 or more young girls will be provided formal training in music. The really-talented ones will be given special, individual coaching, as well as scholarships.

Watch out for more updates from Savda Ghevra as these programs get rolled out. And also, from Alwar district where our second- rural- project gets underway soon.
 

Ever wondered how different life in a big, glitzy city like Delhi or Mumbai would be if:
• no one in the family had a regular job, and one constantly wondered where the next meal would come from?
• the only hope of earning a possible daily wage lay in commuting 3 hours each way?
• the family just had a plot of land- 12 sq.m – and no ‘pucca’ house?
• there was no running water anywhere in the colony, and one had to fight a crowd to get to one of the Jal Board tankers that wandered in nearby?
• no proper toilets existed, and public places were the only option?
• one part-time doctor( 9 am-1 pm) catered to the needs of 7000 families? And due to the mad rush, the doctor spent precisely 20 seconds with you.

• no convenient hospital existed nearby in case of emergency or deliveries?
I discovered that this is how the 7000 families of Savda Ghevra lead their lives. As apparently does 50% of Delhi’s population.

Commonwealth Games, the Metro, a new airport, Gurgaon Expressway, new malls…. all these are part of Delhi’s exciting transformation that’s currently underway. Progress on these projects, their launch( and the opening glitches!) are stuff that newspaper headlines and party conversations are made of.
But the other side of this magnificent urban development is something that rarely makes headlines. The Savda Ghevra story is part of that ‘other side’.

 
For these families(‘below-poverty-line’ migrants originally from Eastern   Uttar Pradesh  , West Bengal, Bihar , Assam & Gujarat.), hasty and unplanned re-location has led to every kind of imaginable problem- lack of livelihoods, basic water & sanitation, adequate education and primary health services.
Savda Ghevra is symptomatic of the problems being created by rapid urbanization and migration. As Deepa Bajaj of NGO, Child Survival India(CSI) says, “As per the estimates of Economic Survey of Delhi (2000), the combined  population of  such resettlement and slum areas  is 72.5 lakhs ,which is  more than half of the total population of Delhi . Since  late nineties & 2000 ,the Delhi government has relocated a lot of slums from main city  to the rural outskirts of the city”. 

I first heard about Jaipur Rugs Co from the ‘Rural Business Hubs’ team at CII. But, when I finally made the trip to Jaipur and met them, it blew my mind.

N.K Chaudhary, M.D, Jaipur Rugs, is one of the most unassuming and modest persons I have met. But, his dreams for rural artisans have been anything but small.

From modest beginnings in the late-90s, his ‘Jaipur Rugs Company’ has built its entire business model around having village artisans work as entrepreneurs. Today, 25000 artisans- mainly women- engage in weaving or reeling as a home-based occupation. Jaipur Rugs Co provides ‘door service’ to these artisans by delivering raw materials, providing training and quality checks, arranging financing for looms, and picking up the semi-finished carpets and rugs.
The scale and efficiency of this outsourced manufacturing model is astounding, and clearly a win-win arrangement for the company as well as artisans. Weavers across eight states( Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkand, Orissa, West Bengal and Nagaland) earn 80/- to 100/- per day. Before Jaipur Rugs Co came into the picture, they could typically earn just about 30/- with middlemen pocketing most of the margins.

With his belief that “enabling is more important than charity”, N.K Chaudhary is committed to adding 5000 looms and engaging 30,000 more artisans in the near future.
An important outcome of my trip was that we got his agreement to try out the same model with urban poor, by working with us in Delhi.

2008 started off on an interesting note as I spent January 1 checking out  ‘Khushi Clinic’ at New Delhi’s Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar on the outskirts of the city. A joint initiative by Gates Foundation & TCI Foundation, Khushi Clinics are a great example of what happens when a business icon focuses on social change.

While the focus is on HIV/AIDS amongst a specific high-risk group, viz. truckers, what’s different is the Microsoft-like approach to planning( thorough!),scale( nation-wide!) and results( metrics!). Through a partnership with TCI Foundation, 17 truckers’ ‘halt points’ across the country are being targeted under this initiative.
At the Transport Nagar I visited, the ‘Khushi Clinic’ is positioned as a general health clinic for truckers, while simultaneously emphasizing behavioral change with regard to their sexual practices. Tucked away in the heart of Transport Nagar, the clinic- which operates for 8 hours – offers free consulting, and medicines on cost-to-cost basis.  High-quality, standardized communication via films, street plays, etc promote safe behaviour and condom usage. Innovations like ‘Khushi passport’ – which each trucker carries- ensure that medical history is seamlessly transferred to other ‘halt points’ in the country.
As yet another example of how a successful business practice has been transferred to the social sector, it was fascinating to see how nationwide presence has been achieved by using the best-available, local ‘channel partner’. In the case of Delhi, the ‘Khushi Clinic’ is run by the highly-competent Deepa Bajaj of Child Survival India( CSI).

During the time we spent with Deepa, it was evident that the original vision of Khushi Clinics has been completely internalized by Deepa, who in turn, evangelizes it with equal passion and commitment.

Results are meticulously tracked. For instance, Nov’07 saw 1600 footfalls, of which 2/3rd were STI cases.
Watching all this, it is reassuringly clear that social initiatives can be scaled up professionally, and in a business-like manner.

I spent two interesting days visiting the villages around Udaipur, and especially the Ubeswar area. My local host, Dr O.S.Rathore( former Principal of Agriculture College, Udaipur), took me to village Bujdha, which has a population of 4500, of whom over 1000 are tribals.
The highlight of this trip was my meeting with a gentleman called Vardi Chand, who has created a remarkable business around Vermi-compost and organic farming.
Until a few years ago, Vardi Chand was a salaried employee earning Rs 3000/- p.m. Today, he has transformed into a new-age businessman producing 20 tonnes of organic manure each month, and selling them via internet, to customers spread across the country. Besides this, he raises and sells organically-produced wheat and vegetables to hotels who value this.
It was fascinating to see how Vardi Chand, with some help from his son, actually runs a website www.organicfarmingindia.com out of this small village. By using this site for e-commerce, he converts the dung produced by his 40 cows into marketable organic manure, that earns him over Rs 4 lakhs p.a..

Can there be a better example of bridging the digital divide?
The internet truly symbolizes the global, connected world. Likewise, the current fad for organic foods could be dismissed as the fancy of the rich. What on earth could either of these two symbols have to do with poor farmers in India who have more-pressing, survival issues to address. The deteriorating state of the poor Indian farmer, and the globalising world have often been considered by observers to be opposing trends.
But, does it have to be that way? Can the two trends work with, and support each other, rather than be antagonistic?
The Vardi Chand example shows that the Digital Divide can indeed be bridged. As organic food sales($40 billion in 2006, and currently account for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide) grow rapidly, in both developed and developing markets, it is likely that farmers in India can draw inspiration from him, and reach out to national and global markets.

On the second day of my trip, we drove into Dhar village to figure out the state of school education and health-care.
Our first stop was the government school where 170 kids are enrolled in classes 1 through 8. So far, so good.
But, because, there are only 4 teachers, they run combined sessions cutting across different classes. Consequently, the prescribed syllabus is not followed. Nor are there any labs or such facilities.

The kids also run small errands for the school because there is no peon or non-teaching staff.
In such an environment, no surprises that most kids drop out of school quickly. Less than 25 kids have made it past Class 8 over the past few years. And almost everyone drops out after Class 10, in order to take up odd jobs in nearby Udaipur city.If this peek into the state of the country’s school education system wasn’t depressing enough, our next stop made it worse. Dhar Panchayat( comprising Dhar village, plus three other villages) has one Ayurvedic & Allopathic health centre each, as well as provision for a Village Nurse-cum-Midwife(VNM).

As we approached the Ayurvedic health centre, perched on a small hillock, it seemed to exude a welcoming calm. The reason became clear when we climbed the stairs, and went inside. The peon showed us around the 3-room structure., but both the doctor and the compounder were missing.

Although the peon gamely defended their absence, and offered excuses, it was clear that this was no aberration. Lucrative private practice in the city was any day preferable to a journey into this village.

The same story was repeated at the nearby centre where the VNM is supposed to report for duty. Here, it was one step better; the centre was simply locked!

 When the Finance Minister presents his annual budget, analysts bemoan the fact that spends on healthcare are low. But, for starters, if the allocated money  itself is put to good use, that would bring a great deal of relief.

As we traveled further to another nearby village, I encountered yet another instance of rural India getting connected with corporate India, in interesting and synergistic ways.

 Two brothers, Choga Lal Teli and Takhat Singh Teli, run a home enterprise for producing PC ‘dust-covers’ to IT peripherals company, Amkette, which is based in Delhi.

Here, 670 km away, in a village in Udaipur district, the brothers churn out 8000 piece each month. Their employees cut the sheets, stitch them into shape, and brand them as ‘Amkette’ before shipping them out.
As a related diversification, they also produce 50 kg of PolyPropylene ropes each day in another location nearby.