TaraHaat

The four of us met with Ashok Khosla, founder of TaraHaat. It's essentially an Internet portal supporting a network of franchised village Internet centers in rural India. It delivers a wide range of social and economic information, as well as educational and other services, earning revenues through fee for service, membership fees, and commissions.

Mr. Khosla invited us to his home to have the meeting. I instantly liked him when I saw him. He was an elderly gentleman. As soon as I met him I got the feeling that he wasn't meeting us as 'competitors' but as partners in change. Hence, he wouldn't hold back information because we may steal his ideas. At our end, since we were quite new in this area, we were there to learn from him and pick his brain about the things he had learned over the years in this space. Also, we also wanted to see if there is anyway we can partner with TaraHaat in the future as our business plan evolves.

The meeting was extremely fruitful. We went into the meeting thinking we'd be out in half an hour. Instead we walked out almost two hours later. Mr. Khosla was very frank about the organization's strengths and weaknesses. He answered our questions and gave us his insights. And he told us some interesting stories.

For example, he told us about this old woman who once came to a TaraHaat center with a Puja thali and flowers. She got on to a computer and soon enough opened a site that showed information and pictures of Badrinath. The old lady did her Puja and then left. This wasn't the first time the old lady had come to the TaraHaat center and done this. The previous week she had visited Kedarnath. She knew she would never be able to go to these holy places so she would come to the Tarahaat center and "visit" them and do her Puja.

The story just showed me that it is hard to assume what access to computer and the internet means to each individual. The internet allowed the old woman to "visit" the places she always wished to go to but just couldn't. Until now.

We finally left the meeting with a lot of information and a lot of things to think about.

And oh, TaraHaat is a publicly traded company for those of you who would consider betting your money on it's success. =)

~ Raina Read more on this post...

The Vicious Cycle

I wish we could start with a clean slate. Or if not that I wish we could get everyone to listen and agree to consciously and whole-heartedly make a change. Going and seeing government schools in villages presents a heartbreaking scenario. If students want to learn, the teachers have no enthusiasm. If teachers want to teach, then the government doesn't provide them the necessary means to impart a valuable education. If the government finally decides to do something, its almost something too late. The attitudes have set it and its hard to change them. It's a vicious cycle. All the pieces need to fit together and just perfectly. Unfortunately, THAT is not about to happen.

Many times I wonder what it would take to inspire everyone to want to make a difference. What would it take to make enough of us passionate enough to say...
"Enough...
...Now is the time to make sure that no person in this world will ever go hungry again.
...Now is the time to make sure that every person has a minimum level of education.
...Now is the time to provide everyone with the health facilities they deserve."

My mind goes blank at that thought. I don't know what it would take. Such basic human rights. Yet so unattainable. Many of us spend on ridiculous things when we only have to turn our heads towards the window to see a hungry naked child or a guy with no arms. Is spending frivolously okay then? Why shouldn't I enjoy what I earn? I have worked hard to be where I am today. Do I not have the right to indulge myself in world's little pleasures?

But at what cost? My one pair of jeans could probably feed 10 hungry stomachs. But my jeans are more important to me. How are we so disconnected? When did we become like this?

You're poor hence you live in a poor neighborhood. That means you go to a underfunded school. Which means that you are not given the necessary attention and resources needed to become enough of a productive individual to move up the 'chain'. So you stay where you are and the trend continues with your children. And this of course by no means exists only in India. It's everywhere.

So where does that leave us now? Do we leave the vicious cycle alone or do we make as many dents in it as we can or do we break it?

The obvious answer is the last one: that we need to break the cycle. But the next question is: HOW?

~ Raina Read more on this post...

Punjab! Balle! Balle!

Rashi and I came back from Punjab a few days ago. So what did we do?
...We went to the 4-5 government schools in Fatehgarh District where we have our Learning Stations
...We took 2 photographers so we can make a DVD showing the impact of the computers on the children and the community
...We stayed out in the sun all day from 7 AM to 7 PM...
...We stayed in a room that cost us Rs. 250 per night...
...We ate some delicious dhaba food...had lassi...
...We went to the famous Fatehgarh Sahib Gurdwara
...We went house to house to speak to parents about their views about computers

In short, we had a blast!

I was quite impressed with Punjab. Compared to some of the other states I've been to, the villages or 'pinds' are quite rich. There didn't seem to be extreme poverty anywhere. Everyone seemed fed. I saw houses in the villages that are hard to come by even in South Delhi.

Another thing about Punjab that impressed me was the money the government is trying to pump into the schools. They are trying to get a computer lab in all government school in the future. Now how long that will take depends. But all the government high schools already have them.

There were other initiatives the government had rolled out. But unfortunately its one of those tihngs - the intentions are good but the money is really just being wasted. Inefficiency at your best. I've already written a blog previously about a government encounter I had and the disbelief with which I had left. Well Punjab did the same thing to me. But won't get into the details of it. What's the point.

As good as the trip was I also left with a very sick feeling. Punjab is one of India's richest states. And even after spending a sizable amount of money on education, we came across uncountable number of children who were in 6th grade and couldn't even write their name in any language be it Punjabi, Hindi, or English. It leaves you with a feeling of despair and helplessness.

And then I was disappointed in the impact we were having so far. The positives of having the computers were definitely there. But I wasn't quite happy with the degree of impact. Going to Punjab was a fruitful experience. I found out more about our inefficiencies and where we are lacking. Now that we're back in our cubicles, it's time to make the necessary changes.

~ Raina

Read more on this post...

What ICT Revolution?

Did you know...

...that in 2003 the government came up with plans to provide knowledge connectivity to all the 6 lakh villages by August 15, 2007! The project was called Mission 2007...(ya that didn’t happen but I guess it’s the thought that counts!)

...(on a happier note) as a rule of thumb, 1 job is created for every 100 mobile phones. That translates to over 3 lakh jobs being created in this country so far.

Its little tit bits like these that made the book Digital India by DK Ghosh interesting to read. It's a great starter book for anyone who wants to get their feet wet about the ICT space in India. In addition to random facts, the book goes into detail about ICT projects and other innovations that have happened in India that are helping to connect the rural population. Some of these projects include n-Logue that is creating power back up systems to overcome the erratic and sometimes non-existent power supply in rural India. Or there is GRASSO that is helping improve the distribution network for agri-products. Or there is e-Panchayat that is attempting to connect all the Gram Panchayats. The list is never ending. It's heartening to see soo many people from the government to IIT professors to just about anybody wanting to find ways to help the poor, especialy in the rural areas, connect to the larger world through the help of telecommunications. They are working to bring low-cost solutions and coming up with other innovative products that overcome some of the challenges that the rural environment gives birth to.

At the flip side, after digging a bit deeper it’s also disheartening. So many initiatives. Some cater to 100 villages. Others to 5000 villages. Seems like a big number but when you consider that there's over 600,000 villages in India, that 5000 is not even 1% of the villages covered. After reading this book and others, I'm not sure that if you added up all the villages affected by these innovations, that it would add up to even 10,000 villages. That's 1.67%.

I’m not sure if we need to even do a competitor analysis while coming up with a business model for HiWEL. There is clearly so much room; the more the better. This not a race to make the maximum profit; it is a race to make a difference, together, if possible.

Looking at the job creation aspect of these innovations (which also includes microfinance btw), I’m not sure if more than 35,000 jobs have been created; even if you take into account the indirect jobs that have been created. Yes, income levels of I guess these 35,000 people have gone up and so have the productivity levels. That’s great. But it’s not enough to create a revolution or do what the IT industry did for India.

It only goes to show that there’s only so much we as individuals can do. The biggest difference and change can come from large scale initiatives which only the government is capable of doing. I am by no means trying to imply that us as individuals should not do anything because the magnitude of change may not be there. Even 1 person touched is better than 0. That's why we (me, Rashi, Santosh, and Abhishek) are here. To make a difference for even that one person.

As the Helen Keller quote goes:
"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."

~ Raina

Read more on this post...

Friends, Romans & Sponsors

Oftentimes a drift from tactical to strategic management is, though stirring, more difficile than forseeable. Yeah, I'm sure there are ingenious likes of Johann Sebastian Bach's in the management circle who would be austere in saying "There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself." But it needs not much evidence to say for certain that most other mere mortal souls like me wished that strategic thinking process was a science. I think most of us, when faced with such decisions, often succumb to bondage of self-incurred tutelage.

One such instant which required a strand of strategic thinking process was here this week when Digital Empowerment Foundation, a Delhi based non-profit organization operating in the ICT space, approached us for sponsoring their Manthan Award 2007 initiative. This apparently notabe award is aimed to recognize e-Content practitioners for development at the grassroots level. With 14 award categories, 250 nominations last year and a projected 500+ nominations this time around, Manthan certainly seems to have come afar since its humble takeoff 3 years back.

It is interesting to trace the HiWEL- Manthan tryst over the years. In the very first year, we as an award nominee, did not end up winning one in any of the categories. It is kind of ironical that in the same year, we ended up winning the esteemed Dewang Mehta Award instituted by the NASSCOM foundation. Last year, we as a pioneer in the Minimally Invasive Education space, were approached by DEF to sponsor one of the award categories. This year, DEF recognises HiWEL as one of the leaders in the Computer Aided Learning space and wants to take the partnership to a strategic level in the areas of common interest.

Well, when the sponsorship is looked into in isolation, it surely seems to have a potential to contribute to HiWEL's branding in variety of ways - by creating brand exposure and from developing brand associations with UNDP and AIF. But, looking at the participant mix which has barely any skew on our customer base, i.e. state and corporate, the cost benefit analysis would indicate that any monetary sponsorship would not add much value. However, at times, given that we stand for innovation and leadership values in digital empowerment space, it becomes imperative that we be a torch bearer to other emerging players who rarely receive any recognition or support in their journey.

As of now, we are contemplating on having a HiWEL member on the jury board and therewith sponsor the entire jury process. We are looking into areas where we could involve HiWEL staff throughout the entire award process. I think the event would provide a platform to both mobilize HiWEL organization internally and demonstrate our technology to other players in the field. But the affiliation effect is yet to be carefully penned down.

Apparently, this is one occasion where I get a chance to use the frameworks -brand identity, brand relationship spectrum and brand architecture - that I professedly crammed in the Branding class. How I wish I was wide-eyed in the 8am sessions and, with all due respects to fellow section mates, not listened up to those gibberish, ad infinitum CPs. Some of the CPs (Courtesy: Major) still reverberate in my mind and hardly make any imperceptible sense :)

... Santosh

Read more on this post...

Is this how the government really works?

On Monday Abhishek and I went along with N and L to meet some government official at the Ministry of IT. I was quite kicked and excited! I had heard multiple (mostly not very positive) anecdotes on how it can be do deal with the government. So here I was all ready to see it in action!

Over the last 8 years or so we had set up a number of our learning centers at 6 locations throughout Delhi. Unfortunately, only 1 exists today. The other 5 had lost their funding and hence were shut down. The one that was still standing was on the verge of being closed because the payment on that was overdue. The 'buyer' was (of course) the government. The Ministry of IT had initiated the meeting because they were considering reviving the 5 learning centers that were shut down. At our end, we had an additional agenda of collecting the late payment that was overdue.

So we drove to the Central Secretariat where the Ministry of IT resides. While Abhishek and N parked the car, L and I went to the reception to get passes made. There were 4 women there, 2 of which had their heads down and were sleeping! After getting the passes we wandered through the building onto the 9th floor to meet the official. The official met us 10 minutes late but he acknowledged that he was late and apologized. I was quite surprised considering that many people never bother apologizing for making others wait. So I instantly liked him.

Anyhow, the official's conversations were mostly with N. The rest of us just took a back seat and observed and chipped in once in a while when necessary. The official was quite bright. He definitely seemed like a guy who cared to make a difference. I was sitting there with a very positive attitude of him and the government in general.

We started talking about our learning centers but soon the conversation wondered off to another project the Ministry of IT was close to implementing. It had to do with setting up 50 computer centers across Delhi. These computer centers would cater to the youth in marginalized communities. The goal was to engage the youth into doing something more productive in order to deter them from entering into a life of crimes. So the computer centers would impart some sort of vocational training. So N and the official dug into this idea deeper. N tells the official that other states, including Rajasthan, have implemented similar ideas but were not successful. The official was a little taken aback by that and asked N to please explain why they were not successful. So N continued to tell his views and what he knew about this.

The whole time in the back of mind I'm thinking, is this government official serious? Did him and his staff seriously plan the launch of 50 centers without any market research? We should not have had to tell them of other states or organizations that have implemented this idea. We should not have had to tell them about the (wrong and naive) assumptions they were making about their idea. We should not have had to tell them them whether this idea has been successfully (or not successfully) implemented anywhere. They should have done thorough research and helped alleviate our concerns that we raised with the idea. How can they put so much money into implementing something they don't even have a business plan for? Forget the money, they don't even know if the program will have the intended impact it was designed to have?

Now we know where a decent amount of our tax rupees goes - in poorly planned but well-intentioned projects.

And oh, about reviving the learning centers and paying our dues - that's something the official said he'd follow up with us in 2-3 days (max).

~ Raina Read more on this post...

Government is so different !!!

So it was me among four of us who traveled first. It was kind of quaint coz all along I was hoping to stay put in Delhi initially while others traveled. It just so happened that N asked specifically me to accompany him to Jaipur for the JMC project. And i guess the dual purpose was to introduce me to JMC- CEO for the Jaipur project. Jaipur project is going to be the most critical project if we want to survive this year without further losses. I got my visiting card an evening before. It was happening too fast for me.

After a 6 hour journey, we arrived at Bodh ( an education NGO). Shri Yogendraji who runs Bodh is an amazing personality and thorough gentleman. In last 35 years, Bodh has done a solid grassroot level work in Rajasthan under the leadership of Yogendraji. They run many Bodh schools in slums of Jaipur. I was really impressed with how they produced the numbers off the top of their heads. The discussions were good and we got some crucial discussion going about the engagement with Bodh for the Jaipur project.

The meeting with JMC CEO and before that with an RAS officer proved that this project is a high profile project for Raj government. We not only got our first payment but were assured of personal supervision by CEO which was absolutely amazing.

I attended my first meeting with government officials. Some experiences-

• The boss says – XYZ ji, khade ho jayiye, naam bataiye aur introduction dijiye ! ( as if XYZ was a 4 year old !!!)
• The accountant barges in and says that bank account can not be opened due to unprecedented nature of this transaction. After half an hour of heated discussion, we cannot reach any agreement and leave office not knowing when and whether we will get our account and after that our payment. Downstairs we enter the bank to ask for the bank account opening formalities. We are taken by surprise when bank manager tells us that bank account already exists and shows the signature of all the people that we were fighting with to get the bank account opened. Apparently everyone forgot after signing the papers or worse still they didn’t know what they were signing on in the first place ( I feel like talking to the accountant again about the rules etc but I guess I know better that that !!)
• Noticed that RCEE ( apex org for elementary education in Raj) had 10 project director since 1998. 10 transfers in 7 years!!!!
• In most of the meetings, despite having been introduced as the project lead for HiWEL, I did not get much attention. Clearly, there is an image that goes with a project lead and 30 year olds definitely don’t fit that. L What is the solution? A beard? Change of attire? J

I returned to Jaipur after 20 hours of nonstop travel and meetings.

We have loads of work to do within next 15 days. The construction of PLCs, installation, site search, MoUs with Bodh etc are some of the things that will need to happen simultaneously.

~ Abhishek Gupta

Read more on this post...