new beginning

new beginning starts november 30, 2008.

Solapur's Maha Business Baazigar

In association with local NGO Jai Jui (Founder/president - Ms Praniti Shinde), we organised the Solapur's Maha Business Baazigar contest in Solapur, the initial presentations being held on Sept 30, 07 and Oct 1, 07.

Against our expectation of about 50 entries, we received an exact number of 100 entries, including 140 individual participants, with some forming groups to present their business ideas. The finals were held on Oct 2, 07 - Gandhi Jayanti Day - to symbolise Gandhi's strong views on rural development.

Our entire effort was to kick-start entrepreneurial activity in smaller towns and rural areas, and receiving such a huge response was not just a coincidence, but a providence too, considering the fact that REECODE's original project idea envisages setting up of 100 business units in adopted 1000 talukas of the country.

As REECODE Institute of Social Entrepreneurship, we have taken up the onus of supporting / mentoring / hand-holding these would-be entrepreneurs and ensuring that their businesses get established and at least one business-cycle is completed within the next one year.

The bigger challenge starts now. I will be travelling to Solapur at least twice every month now on.

Wish me luck.

REECODE Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) - REECODE gets rolling

REECODE seems to be rolling now, with the first major event of REECODE Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) now being scheduled for September 30 to October 2, 2007 in Solapur town of Maharashtra state of the country.

Taking a step further towards development of rural economies, the first project of RISE is to create/facilitiate/help/promote local youth into starting their own business - making themselves better off and at the same time provide employment opportunities to several more locally.

Partnering with local NGO Jai Jui, we will be holding a 3-day contest. All aspiring youth who wish to start their business will need to submit their business ideas/plans on September 30 (Sunday) and October 1 (Monday), during which we will evaluate the best team/individual from each college and take them to the final round to be held on October 2 (Gandhi birth anniversary day). Eminent panels of judges will judge the best ideas/plans and announce the winner who will get a prize money of Rs 25,000 to kick start his/her/their business.

Jai Jui has already received two sponsorships and plans have already started coming in.

Get this feel that this will snowball into something really big.

Need people - not money - to join our effort.

contract (cooperative) and corporate farming

today's economic times carries a story on what maharashtra's former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde said at a meeting of maharashtra economic development council (medc).

he said:
1. non-farmers should be allowed to buy agriculture land.
2. Not only cooperative farming, but even CORPORATE farming should be allowed - something that i have been fearing for the last 3-4 years.

my blood boils and i am once again very very restless.

they say it is all for poverty alleviation / farmers' better future.

where are we heading?

Interview in Mumbai Mirror, March 6, 2007

Check this out!!! Click on the image, enlarge it and read the details.

Is this the beginning of a civil war?

Day before yesterday (March 14, 2007), the police in communist-managed West Bengal wanted to evacuate villagers from a land and create space for a large MNC to put up its project. In the effort, the police ended creating another "Jalianwala Baug" and killed 11 innocent villagers and injured several more.

As an obvious repurcussion, naxalites killed 55 policemen in Chhatisgarh yesterday (March 15, 2007).

Just wanted to share this with you - if we do not look at the economic development of rural areas of this country, the above-kinda instances will only increase.

With the government promoting contract farming and corporate farming, we can only imagine what will happen over the next 5, 10 or 15 years. We just cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the economic development of rural India, where 70 % or 70 crore of our people live.

I wont be able to do anything significant by myself.

Genesis of REECODE

Genesis of REECODE:

Stage 1:

When my father died a few years ago, I had the opportunity (?) to stay in our ancestral home/village for 14 days for the rituals.

With no work on hand, no Internet, no nothing, I wandered around and found - helplessness on all faces, youngsters (in the 18-27 age group) wiling their time away at crossroads, a monthly salary of Rs 1,000 (US $ 25) even in the 21st century was considered acceptable, sale of farm land was the major solution to solve financial crisis...

...a state wherein a majority of the population appeared to be just existing, waiting for their journey to end.Read Bhagwad Geeta during those days; tried to relate the message to the population that I saw.

Was disturbed for several days and weeks.

Stage 2:

Several more visits to rural areas in different parts of the country brought out similar scenarios in the following months.Mind didn't stop.

Considered all efforts by government, political parties, business enterprises, NGOs et al.

Solution that seemed to come out of the haze was a enterprise effort, to attract the best talent, to make the rural population of around 650 million live a dignified life, to make a rural economy self-reliant, to make development sustainable, to make people happy.Did number crunching and came up with this hugely maddening business opportunity of Rs 60,000 crore.

This project along with another one was posted on ryze, initiated a debate and I got branded as "the Rs 75,000 crore man".

Stage 3:

Someone pushed me into taking the idea to Zee television's Business Baazigar reality show/contest. After several screening and one interview round, the idea got selected in the last 50.Was kept at a Mumbai hotel for 4 days along with 49 other contestants.

I was the first to be thrown out at this stage. Someone thought they would not want to sponsor another Mahatma Gandhi or sponsor my entry into what is essentially a government's "business".It has been over a year, but the show is yet to go on air.

But, one of the judges gave a good advice - join politics or approach a political party. I did.

Stage 4:

No contacts, no broker, no middleman, no "pehchaan", no influence, but just a powerpoint presentation sent via email and two follow-up telephone calls got me an appointment with BJP's national president Mr. L. K. Advani; and that too on a day when a major political crisis arose after election results were announced in Jharkhand.

He heard me patiently for several minutes out of the 35 minutes that I got to spend with him. He made committing statements like, "We are not in power at the centre. We will implement this project nationally when we come to power at the centre. Right now (then), we have goverments in 5 (8 now) states, where we can implement this project."

To my pleasant surprise, he himself picked up the phone, called another senior BJP functionary, fixed up my appointment with him on the following day.

As desired by the latter, I spent a few days in the urban and rural areas of Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh. Made two documents. Submitted.But, some of my own personal business issues and Mr Advani's problems within the party, took the winds out of the sail.

Stage 5:

Am back on the web.

==========

The REECODE idea:

EARLIER POST:

CAN YOU JOIN ME FOR THIS? Earn Rs 75,000 crore (+) every year and Make India the best place on planet earth. (I have deleted the second idea of Rs 15,000 crore and am limiting this post to the Rs 60,000 crore idea.)

Won't take much of your time here, but I am sharing some ideas here. Keeping these stupid (?) ideas with myself all these years has not taken me or this country anywhere.

1) Balasinor - a model town for the sake of this project - is a small town/big village in Kheda district of Gujarat. There are 50 smaller villages in the same taluka which depend on Balasinor for all commercial, social and religious activities. A good mix of Hindu and Muslim population, and always peaceful, except during the infamous recent Gujarat riots. A local nawab family still enjoys high respect. The town, currently having a population of 50,000 people, has no industry worth its name. Unemployment is very high; local wages for odd jobs are extremely low. Over 100,000 people migrated to cities like Ahmedabad, Baroda and Mumbai over the last 5 decades.

IDEA: Look at Balasinor (and each of the 2000 such small towns/big village in the country) as a small country - the trade balance is hugely negative. It imports practically everything from other cities like Baroda, Ahmedabad, New Delhi etc. Now, as an example, look at the footwear requirement of this population of 50,000 people. 50,000 more from adjoining villages make this a market size of 100,000. Total pairs required per annum: 200,000 (assuming 2 pairs per person per annum). Cost of 200,000 footwear: 200,000 x Rs 60 per pair = 1,20,00,000 = Rs 1.2 crore. If a local footwear manufacturing company produces these numbers, a 50 % market share will give an annual revenue of Rs 60 lakh.

NOW, imagine 100 such local manufacturing, trading and service businesses that can be established in and around Balasinor. Total business in Balasinor: Rs 60 lakh x 100 = Rs 60 crore. NOW, imagine 1000 such towns all over the country. Total business: Rs 60 crore x 1000 = Rs 60,000 crore per annum.

At 20 %, the gross profit margin is Rs 12,000 crore.

Business Model Basics: With 100 new manufacturing, trading and service units, you create employment for an average of 1000 people. This can transform the local economy. For each such new business unit, appoint a local entrepreneur. Offer equity partnership for his own unit. Support him with working capital requirement. Get capital funds of financial institutions against land and equipment. Explore all possible central and state government grants and subsidies. Involve local panchayat, tehsildar, police, banks and other social and religious bodies. The promoters' can work on a revenue split of 20 % straight i.e. Rs 12,000 crore per annum.

1,000 Category D towns can be reached within a span of 17 years.

Make each such hub export-oriented. This will transform India at gross-roots.Anybody game for it?

Good wishes to you all.

Bhupesh

the first post - IMPORTANT

REECODE (REmodel ECOnomic DEvelopment of India)

- Over 65 per cent of India's population is in rural areas.
- All marketeers have failed/have had tough time selling to the rural mass.
- Cities are choking.
- Development is too polarised, with opportunities/wealth getting concentrated in urban areas.
- There is an urgent need to significantly improve the purchasin power of the rural population.

*****
- Here, I see a business opportunity worth Rs 60,000 crore per annum, i.e. about US $ 13 Billion per annum (in sales, not just market value of IPO paper).

Power point presentation on the project as well as inital study reports in the urban and rural areas of Ujjain District of Madhya Pradesh state are available on request.

Initial funding requirement is Rs 2.28 crore (US $ 520,000) for feasibility study/writing business plan.... and then, Rs 51 crore ( US $ 11.60 Million) to implement the pilot projects in three Category D towns of India.

Who can stick his/her neck out for this? Mine is already out. But, need huge support.

Wanna argue? debate? demolish the idea? contribute? ridicule? Welcome.

Welcome to a dream that can be realised in this lifetime of ours.

Best wishes

Bhupesh