Agenda 75

Bhairavi Jani believes the biggest stumbling block towards development is not lack of resources or skills – it is lack of belief. “The first thing we as Indians need to do is believe in ourselves. We deserve to live in world class cities. Why should we say ‘ chalta hai ’? Just enough should not be good enough. And that mindset is the biggest roadblock.”

She is not complaining – merely stating facts. Her comment is underlined by her experience as Executive Director of India@75, an initiative started and spearheaded by the late management guru C.K. Prahalad.

Bhairavi is relaxed, friendly, and down to earth, and says India@75 is a team effort. The seed for this initiative was planted by Prahalad in 2007, at the New York celebrations of India@60 to mark the country's 60th year of Independence. The aim was to come up with a vision of what India should be in 2022, when it turns 75, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) embraced this idea.

She was then a part of CII’s Young Indians. Over the next year, different stakeholder groups were brought together, a consensus built over their needs and aspirations – at village, district, city and State levels. This vision took the shape of India@75.

Bhairavi is a member of the Board of Trustees of India@75, and it includes prominent industry heads like Adi Godrej, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Rahul Bajaj and others. As Director at the SCA Group of Companies, Bhairavi brings to the table a deep understanding of the entire country. During data collection it came as a shock to her that the poor did not want more subsidies or freebies. “Farmers said, ‘Don’t give us free power; help us with post-harvest market access, better information on crop pricing, and changing climatic conditions”

The desire for self-supporting initiatives is the underlying motive behind ‘Power to Empower’, one of the programmes under India@75. Fifty-two youngsters are now being helped to refine and take forward their business plans. Mentoring of established entrepreneurs is also on. For instance, a marketing professional could help a small entrepreneur in Orissa to market his cyber café better, she says.

Bhairavi looks at India’s diversity as its strength and believes every segment can help in the country’s march towards a better future. And in this march, the entire population has to be included – such as street vendors who refuse to use plastic, or school children forming Green Action Clubs. Bhairavi has taken a five-year sabbatical from her corporate role to work on this initiative.