We are at a critical time of human evolution and innovation. The advances that we are making in technology and automation is unparalleled and exciting. However, the manner in which we have gone about it has paid a huge cost to the environment.

The pandemic has forced us to rethink on our lives and on how we have been engaging with the environment. While we were forced to stay indoors, nature began to heal — with less noise pollution, chirping of birds and the air getting cleaner. As we move to the new normal, there is a cry for us to develop the ability to make choices that are sustainable. The pandemic also forced us to learn to deal with uncertainty and volatility. As we enter the New Year, the pandemic has caused us to ensure that we enhance our life skills toolbox. Here are some must-haves for 2022:

Lifelong learning

The pandemic has put us all on a forced learning journey — 80-year-olds who had never used a smartphone learnt to get onto Zoom and WhatsApp and do video calls! People who had not managed a house before were learning to clean and keep a home. Social media was abuzz with many discovering the joys of cooking and experimenting with different recipes!

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One of the most exciting and fascinating discovery expeditions we will ever be on is the discovery of ourselves. Getting to know ourselves better, realizing what we are good at, the talents we are blessed with and the impact we can create truly is interesting and life-giving!

Erik Erikson was a German-American developmental psychologist known for his theory on psycho-social development of human beings. He speaks of how at different stages of life we are on an exploration. He says how we engage with life experiences helps us build trust, autonomy, initiative and intimacy — all helping us to build a strong sense of identity and purpose that then allows us to live fully and contribute to society.

Ages 12-18 are particularly interesting as Erikson says this is the time when we begin to ask questions like ‘Who am I?’, ‘What do I want to do with my life?’. This is the time when we try on different ‘selves’ in a way to see which one fits. It’s the time when we are truly making our first conscious journey to knowing ourselves and all the treasures that we maybe gifted with.

In the U.K. in the 1960’s, well-known researcher and management consultant, Dr Meredith Belbin, sought to study group and individual behaviours. Dr Belbin was able to identify different clusters of behaviours that are important for success of teams and projects. These clusters of behaviours came to be called ‘team roles’ or behavioural talents. For example, one cluster of behaviour referred to the ability to come up with ideas, another to the ability to focus on details, still another to the ability to be sensitive to people’s needs and feelings. Dr Belbin’s research showed that each one of us is gifted with two to three team roles or behavioural talents that we are very good in. There are some we find stressful but can do a decent job of leveraging them, and there are some behavioural talents that each of us are just not great at. Knowing our strengths truly helps us realize how we can make a unique contribution wherever we go.

Discovering one’s behavioural talents is one of the most fascinating, empowering and energizing journeys that one can embark on. While Dr Belbin is today known as the ‘Father of Team Roles’ and the Belbin philosophy is used widely in organizations across the globe, the team roles and behavioural talents begin to show during our teenage years and this knowledge can be very valuable.

Experiences during high school, college and university help us on our discovery journey of getting to know ourselves. The Belbin team roles therefore prove to be a deeply researched and fascinating guide on what Erikson possibly describes as the ‘quest of finding one’s identity’ when one is a young adult.

But how can the two merge? That’s where The Leadership Treasure Discovery session comes in. PrePearl Training, the India representatives for Belbin UK, had been looking at bringing the session to India and when we shared with THE TEENAGER TODAY what the session encompasses, we were so happy that the editorial team agreed that it would be very valuable for young adults and decided to partner with PrePearl in conducting sessions across the country.

The one-day discovery session is designed exclusively for young adults in the age group of 14-21 years. Each participant gets to complete their Belbin Getset profile wherein they also get to take inputs from their parents, guardians, mentors/teachers and friends as to what they see as the individual’s strengths. The workshop is designed to help participants begin the journey of discovering their strengths, and in doing so develop a strong sense of self and thus build confidence in one’s ability and potential.

A crucial and important part of the session is participants creating their own Statement of Purpose. The insights from the Belbin reports and their own reflection during the day, helps them articulate how they want to impact society and how they want to make a difference.

With this, the ability to prepare oneself for interviews — whether school, college or work — becomes interesting and even exciting. The session helps participants become aware of their strengths as a person and also enables them to identify unique aspects they would like to share at interviews.

Being a young adult is one of the most exciting and complex times — one is building one’s independence and yet not fully independent — both parents and teenagers try to find the ideal balance. Invited to be part of the second half of the session, parents now become part of the process and get an understanding of what their young adult has discovered during the day. An energising dialogue is facilitated between the parent/guardian and the student.

How this links to life skills and success in careers

With the onslaught of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and automation, the future of work poses its own challenges and opportunities. Technology is actively reshaping the skills that will be in demand. The technical and hard skills will keep changing but what seems to be constant is the soft skills of ‘leadership, collaboration, adaptability, resilience, creativity, managing time’.

“The abilities to read social situations and develop productive relationships are, for the foreseeable future, uniquely human skills, and will become increasingly important and valuable in an automation economy.”
— gettingsmart.com

The World Bank Report 2019 on ‘The Changing Nature of Work’ states that the three qualities that will define employability are: complex problem-solving, teamwork and adaptability.

The need of the hour truly then is for an opportunity for young adults to begin their discovery journey, to help hone soft skills, to discover their behavioural talents and strengthen them, to understand the ‘technique of teamwork’ and the essence of effective collaboration. What is really important for society and the world at large to also realize today is that appreciation of differences is the most important step to effective communication.

The Leadership Treasure Discovery session opens the doors to appreciating differences. It begins the journey of enabling youth discover their strengths and build the life-skills to succeed in the present and in the future.

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I remember school and college being a fantastic time to begin the discovery of and hone one’s talents. It was the time when we had the opportunity to try our hand at various talents such as art — drawing, painting, poetry, needlework, writing and the performing arts like dance, music, theatre, etc. School helped me discover my talent for public speaking and college kindled my interest in organizing activities and being part of teams that organized various events. But that didn’t seem like a ‘talent’ at that time; I put it down to ‘interest’ and something I seemed to be good at.

But do you know, in the world of work these are really talents and contributions that are in high demand? For example, coming up with ideas, being able to put a process in place, spotting errors… you could call these behavioural talents. It is what enables us to be effective, make a positive difference and contribution to the social setting we find ourselves in and helps us experience and enjoy life in a way that is fulfilling and helps us realize our potential.

The interesting and exciting bit is that today with artificial intelligence and machine learning, the world of work is changing. Earlier there was a lot of emphasis on hard skills. But today, because things are changing so fast and technology is constantly evolving, industries are beginning to look for individuals who know their behavioural talents and how to use them to make a difference to any situation or challenge they find themselves in.

It was over 12 years of research in the late 1960’s that first led to the discovery of these behavioural talents. The research was conducted at Henley Management College in the U.K. by Dr Meredith Belbin and his team of researchers. Their study was extremely interesting — they studied teams who were taking part in a team game to identify which teams were successful and what seemed to lead to their success. Through their research they were able to identify certain important behavioural talents or contributions if made in the team, these were the teams that were actually winning the games! These talents refer to our tendency or natural inclination to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.

The researchers discovered nine distinct types of talents and gave us a language to talk about them:

One of the first talents that the researchers identified was the ability to come up with ideas. There was always someone in the winning teams who came up with ideas; some of the ideas were out of the box, some even impractical but some were absolutely brilliant. Dr Belbin called this type of talent the ‘Plant’.

The researchers also identified some people who were really good at weighing ideas and analyzing which ideas will work. You may have come across this when you were working on a project and you were confronted with multiple ways of going ahead — some people are very good at weighing the pros and cons and considering all options well. This behavioural contribution is referred to as the ‘Monitor Evaluator’.

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PEARL D’SOUZA, Teen of the Year 2002, shares with us the most enriching experience she had at the Pageant that shaped her life and that of all who were part of it once.

The year 2002 was a special year for me. It was the year I turned 18 and just a few days before my birthday I got one of the best gifts I could have ever asked for. I had been a reader of THE TEENAGER even before I turned a teenager! I remember the Dear Youth Counsellor column was a favourite. However, one aspect that completely caught my attention was the National Youth Pageant — TEEN OF THE YEAR. Here was something so different, very unlike competitions I had been part of and went beyond beauty pageants that were so popular. I remember deciding to send in my entry and after doing so, telling my mum that maybe I should have sent in my entry the following year — maybe I wasn’t yet ready for this special pageant. I still remember my mum encouraging me and putting my anxiety to rest saying: go and experience it and there is no better time than now! The memories bring a smile to my face!

The pageant spoke of youth from all over the country coming together, exchanging ideas and thoughts. And these were teenagers who were already making a difference in their school/ college and society that they were part of. This wasn’t a Pageant that was looking at external beauty but one that I truly felt was encouraging us to look within and putting the spotlight on our values, our talents, strengths and our desire to use our talents to make a difference. The design of the TEEN OF THE YEAR fascinated me. There were zonals held in different cities across the length and breadth of the country from where three participants were chosen as finalists. The finalists would come to Mumbai for 3-4 days during which there were personality development inputs, group discussions, personal interviews, even a Mumbai darshan

I can still remember walking in to St Pauls, Bandra, and meeting teenagers like me from across the country at the finals that I was part of. What a rich experience — to know how diverse our cultures were and yet how united we were all in the sense of awe, wonder, appreciation and belonging that we felt to one another and as youth of the country. I made friends I would never have otherwise got a chance to meet

When I think of this cherished experience what touched me the most was the friendships that we were blessed with. What I took away as a truly special moment was when I was announced as titleholder — I had all the participants gathering around me to congratulate me, I truly felt the warmth and the genuineness of their friendship and love.

This friendship continued long after those four days that we spent together in Mumbai — discovering the city, discovering ourselves and really soaking in an experience that built our personality and our ability to make a difference. The motto of TEEN OF THE YEAR — ‘Let your light shine’ — has become for me one of the guiding principles of my life. I very strongly have the Teen of the Year to thank for this. For giving me the confidence, the nurturing, the support and the opportunity to soak in values that are life-giving and life-affirming.

Being the titleholder enabled me to get to know THE TEENAGER family more closely. The next year I was back at the pageant and this time as an organizer. What was brilliant about the event is that past participants whether titleholders or not would come back to organise the Pageant. I had never been part of something like this! Till date I have some very close friends where our friendship has blossomed only because of TEEN OF THE YEAR.

At the core of TEEN OF THE YEAR is that it truly is a platform where discovery, friendship and support take precedence. Fr Alfonso Elengikal, the founder of TEEN OF THE YEAR, would explain this brilliantly to us participants. I remember the orientation wherein he was welcoming us to the event saying that we were not ‘contestants’ but ‘participants’ in this rich experience. It was a heart-to-heart conversation he had with us, and we embraced this wonderful experience of a lifetime waiting for us. The word ‘contestant’ thereafter was never used by us at all! This is one of my cherished and fondest memories — it defined for me what made TEEN OF THE YEAR special and unique

Whoever has met Fr Alfonso will not deny the huge impact he has had in truly helping us see the vision and the purpose of the Pageant. THE TEENAGER and the Pauline family, not only in Mumbai but wherever I have travelled, has become a second home for me. Fr Alfonso has played a big role in this — nurturing TEEN OF THE YEAR into a friend that lets us feel at home and comfortable; helped us believe in ourselves and helped us realize that we do make a difference. I feel truly blessed to have been a part and to continue to be a part of TEEN OF THE YEAR. Today, I can speak on behalf of all participants across the years: “TEEN OF THE YEAR has given us cherished memories, beautiful friendships, nurtured our growth and has throughout encouraged us to ‘Let our light shine’.

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Saint Catherine of Siena said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” This sentence comes to mind when one thinks of Mr Albert D’Souza — visionary, philanthropist and renowned industrialist. The first time I got to interact with Mr Albert was at the book launch of Let The Real You Stand Up by Alfonso Elengikal, former editor of THE TEENAGER TODAY. Mr Albert was the guest of honour and I was struck by how much he has accomplished, his contribution to society and how simple he is. In a very special way, this is inspiring — he is testimony to the fact that so much is possible in one’s lifetime. There is so much of impact that we are capable of creating! Mr Albert has accomplished so much, built successful businesses and educational institutes that are directly contributing to skilling talent in India. Here is just a glimpse of the multiple roles he carries out and his numerous accomplishments.

Albert Wilfred D’Souza is the Chairman of Aldel Education Trust which has established various technical and professional educational institutions at St John Technical Campus, Palghar, offering education right from elementary schooling to Engineering, Pharmacy, Hotel Management, Arts, Commerce, Science and MBA courses.

He is also the Managing Director of Printania Offset Pvt. Ltd., a leading print house in India. He is the Chairman of Model Co-op Bank Ltd., Vice Chairman of the Christian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Member of the Catholic Council of India, Advisor – Higher & Technical Education, to Archdiocesan Board of Education – Bombay & Diocese of Mangalore. He is also an Executive Committee & Governing Board Member of several minority technical institutes all over India.

He has been felicitated with the Papal Award for Printing Entrepreneurship in 2004, and has also been the recipient of Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003 and 2007.

I had the wonderful opportunity to connect with him for this interview.

Sir, you have accomplished so much; tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur.
I was born in Udipi and did my primary education at St John’s Higher Primary School, Shankerpura and secondary education at S.V.H. High School, Innanje, Udupi. Since my elder brother and maternal uncle were working in Mumbai, I too came to the city after completing my secondary education. I joined the ITI in Printing Technology at St Francis Technical Institute in Borivli and stood first among all students at Maharashtra level. I was then selected to appear for the All India Competitive Exam in Printing Technology and was declared the topper. Following this, on the basis of my merit, I was selected by a leading private printing concern as a management trainee. The managing director of this concern was impressed by my hard work and sincerity, and on the basis of my performance he sponsored me to pursue a part-time diploma in printing from J. J. School of Arts.

At a young age itself my hard work, involvement and observing nature helped me grasp the skills of the printing industry very quickly. This impressed the people of the print industry whom I was serving. They recognized my talent and encouraged me to start my own venture, which I did in the form of a small printing press with just three employees in a single industrial unit. This was the beginning of my printing career, which blossomed to great heights. The single unit of Printania began in the year 1982 as a proprietorship firm and gradually grew into Printania Offset Pvt. Ltd., a renowned print house not only in Mumbai, but also in several other parts of India.

What inspired you to get into the field of education and what is the vision that sustains the energy and the passion that you have for youth?
I have been in Mumbai since about 43 years and my printing business kept me connected with rest of India. Mumbai being a transit city many youngsters come to Mumbai and struggle with the hope of pursuing careers but without having the desired qualifications. This made me think of the need for higher education institutes. The Catholic community having many schools and general education set-ups, I encouraged the religious congregations in Mumbai and elsewhere to start and run higher professional educational institutions and offered my help to do so. With our efforts were soon able to set up 8-10 institutions in Mumbai and equal number of institutions outside Mumbai. These included Engineering, Management, Hospitality, Nursing and other colleges and these are educating our youngsters in large numbers.

Regarding my own institutions in Palghar, basically I belong to an agricultural family and since I had a passion for cultivation, I bought about 20 acres of agricultural land at Palghar in Vasai, where I started cultivating paddy, coconut, chikoo and other crops. During regular visits to my farm I observed that Palghar was a tribal area. There were not many educational institutions in this region and hardly any higher professional educational institutions. I received support from the local community and since I had the experience in helping to start such institutions, I started my own campus at Palghar in 2008, under Aldel Education Trust, with a vision of ‘Excellence in Serving to Educate and Educating to Serve’. The campus has institutions offering Engineering, Pharmacy, Management and Humanities programmes. With increasing demand, diploma programmes in Engineering and Pharmacy were added followed by a CBSE school and a junior college.

My vision is to create a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in existing areas of higher education and in the additional programmes that are being planned. In the near future, St John Educational Campus should be able to provide holistic education in a wide array of programmes for any student desiring to pursue higher education. India has vast resources and is fast developing. My wish is that our young and dynamic youth realize this potential and become stakeholders of this developing India.

When and how were the seeds of reaching out to society, building society sown? What drives and inspires all the work you do?
I have been brought up in a family of social motivation and concern. My parents and grandparents created awareness and sensitized us to societal needs. In the early stages of my career I realized that every person has an internal desire to develop himself, but may not be able to accomplish his dream for reasons that may be beyond his reach. Over the years I was convinced that one of the prime reasons for a successful career was higher education and that professional qualifications almost always resulted in gainful employment. The desire to see many more of our youth with better prospects has been the driving force and inspiration for me. Education and skill development are key factors in all areas and supporting this cause has been my key motivator.

What is your advice to youngsters who are beginning to think about and design their career?
It is essential that every youngster, boy or girl, study up to the age of 23 years. Pursuing a post-graduate degree is vital to achieve one’s goals. They should develop technical competencies and have a special skill in a chosen field so as to become gainfully employable. Education develops all three dimensions of knowledge, skills and personality, which along with values and ethics result in a person becoming readily employable. My message also to this young generation is that after they gain reasonable experience as employees in their respective areas of expertise they should take up the challenge of being entrepreneurs. This will contribute to the growth of our country.

What are the important qualities to be a successful entrepreneur?
A successful entrepreneur should possess the following qualities:

• An innovative and enterprising mind.
• Good financial planning.
• Risk taking ability.
• Alert and looking for opportunities.
• Hard-working.
• Adapt readily to the changing business environments.
• Ability to work for long and extended hours.
• At least two good friends or mentors who are dependable and will always support you unconditionally.

Your message to our readers.
I have always believed that opportunities are available; it is our perception of situations and how we respond to take charge of them that decides the outcomes.

Two of my chosen quotes which reflect what I would like to convey to the youth are: “Sea is common for all, some take pearls, some take fishes & some come out with just wet legs. World is common to all but we get what we try for” and the second: “Everything is easy if you want to do it, everything is difficult if you don’t want to do it”

I would also like to tell our youngsters that whatever they have learnt or studied to step into a profession, is not permanent. To build and design your career path you need to update yourself with relevant knowledge and upgrade your skills to keep yourself abreast with developments in your field and rapid improvements in technology.

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I was recently at a week-long youth festival speaking to youngsters who had taken part in a singing competition. Their obvious love and passion for music was very evident as they performed. Music is a language that can bring people together, enable people to get in touch with their emotions, can break cultural barriers and build bonds — it is life-giving! The organizers of the festival (all youth) had also decided to give away part of the proceeds of the ticket sales to an NGO, they had also given of their time to work for the less privileged. There seems to be a unique strength and something magical about ‘giving’ and ‘music’!

At THE TEENAGER TODAY, we were very excited when we got a chance to interact with acclaimed violinist and Joy of Giving Ambassador Sunita Bhuyan. Sunita is an indo-fusion violinist and vocalist par excellence. She has contributed to building bonds between India and the world through music. Whether it is London, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Glasgow, Dubai, she has been sharing how music can be a powerful change agent. As an HR professional, she introduces corporate leaders to wellness and leadership change through music. Sunita has been invited to present and give talks at international forums such as TED Talks, Scotland Society Edinburgh, Commonwealth HRICT, Gartner Leadership Forum New York , Marcus Evans KL, Indian Consulate Dubai, Women Leadership Forum of India to name a few. She is also the ambassador for the South Asian Women’s Fund in Sri Lanka.

Sunita works very closely with underprivileged children, cancer patients and people with disabilities. Her work led to Don Bosco, Guwahati, inviting her to be the brand ambassador of their programme ‘Joy of Giving’ to celebrate the canonization of Mother Teresa.

She is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including the Priyadarshini Award for Excellence, Giants International Award for Women, REX Karmaveer Global Award, and recently an Award from His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican for her work on music therapy with underprivileged children, cancer patients and people with disability.

Excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about your first memory of music and the impact music has had on your life.
Music is a journey that has been a part of my life since I was 8 years old. It was a gift painstakingly given to me by my mother. At that time I did not realise the depth of the subject. As a young girl I looked at it as something that took away time from my fun and friends. It was a blessing that I got to learn the right technique at home thanks to my mother, my guru, and was able to generate a few sounds soon after the initial years. My childhood was a flurry of school exams followed by music exams, visits to Kolkata to Pandit V.G. Jog’s classes, evenings at concert halls either to watch my mother perform or other great musicians from different gharanas and styles. It was as though a way of life and the only religion! The other strong influence was my convent education in Little Flower School, Dibrugarh, Assam and my brother’s being in Don Bosco.

It wasn’t until my early twenties that I realised the impact music can have on one’s life and the environment. As I went through my academic life, management education, and then joining a corporation, I gradually started experiencing the multidimensional benefits of this medium on one’s personal, social and professional life.

How does music help us lead better lives? What are the lessons and skills that music teaches us?
Art is an ongoing journey that does not have fixed milestones like an academic course or a career path. It is continuous and fluid and there are very rare moments that can define specific arrival points. Eventually art and life blend together as one, each getting influenced by the other, which is often referred to as the ultimate aesthetic experience.

MUSIC and WELLNESS: Melody has been proven to scientifically heal the mind and the body. Sound waves from the musician reach the target and as the brain responds to the stimulus, it sends signals to different parts of the body. This relaxes the nervous system which helps in de-stressing and redesigning fatigue. When the mind and the body are calm and composed we have happy human beings. Happy individuals are healthy individuals and thus they have more energy to focus on learning, social skills and relationships which ultimately define their success quotient.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION: Music is one of those unusual crafts that has an equal combination of structure and creativity. Hence it is referred to as an “art within a science”. Indian classical music has specific texts, structures, patterns and guidelines. Melody teaches us to work with various structures and patterns of the seven notes while rhythm is completely mathematical. Thus an engagement in music gives an opportunity to the human mind to think out of the box, innovate and thus come up with solutions and approaches that are unique to the situation.

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Madam Grace Pinto is the Managing Director of Ryan International Group of Institutions, the largest singly owned network of K-12 institutions spread across over 15 states and 40 cities of India. Her determination and commitment in pursuing the vision of “Excellence in Education and All Round Development” makes her a stalwart in the field of education in India. She is an ardent supporter of various social causes such as environmental conservation and girl child education. Her contribution to education and social causes has been recognized with national and international honours.

PEARL D’SOUZA had an exclusive chat with Madam Grace Pinto for THE TEENAGER TODAY.

PD: The Ryan Group is credited with being the pioneer in providing all-round exposure to their students and valuable life skills training. What is the guiding ethos for the Ryan Group?
GP: We as a group draw our strength from Christ Jesus and attribute our journey this far to His glory. The organizational vision and our anchorage in Christ compels us to make a continuous effort to make a worthwhile contribution to the lives of thousands of children and staff across the nation. We believe that it is God’s grace and His divine direction coupled with inspiration and relentless hard work that has brought us this far and we recognize we have miles to go to make an impact on generations to come.

PD: You set up the first school in 1976 in Mumbai with merely 35 children and 1 teacher. Today, you cater to over 2 lakh students through over 130 schools. Where does this tremendous passion and drive come from?
GP: Establishing India’s premier education brand and matching it with global standards was no easy task. It involved a vision that has taken the Ryan family from its fledgling beginnings to soar like an eagle. We remain rooted and grounded in Christ who continues to empower and enable us to provide value-based holistic education and develop socially responsible and humane leaders.

PD: You have always encouraged your students to give and reach out. Why is this an important value? How satisfied are you about this value being imbibed in students today?
GP: Teaching the value of ‘giving’ to children is crucial and important in a world where they are constantly bombarded with the concepts of ‘want’ and ‘greed’ being regarded the norm. Our students need to learn to value the blessings they possess in material things and possessions, but more importantly family and friends who challenge them to be better people. We want our children to learn their social responsibility and become agents of significant constructive change in society bringing God’s love to those in genuine need. Over the years we have seen our students grow as responsible adults who continue to contribute to make the world a better place.

PD: How has Ryan International sought to inculcate this value in their students?
GP: The Ryan International Group has in place purposeful activities aimed at the welfare of society. Our schools undertake various projects based on the parameters of environment, education, healthcare, economic empowerment and local community leadership to transform society. Our students are encouraged to support orphanages, societies for the blind, adopt small villages, educate less privileged children and help homes for the elderly in different parts of the country. Recently, through the Ryan Schools’ Food Bucket Challenge initiative, our students successfully collected over 550,000 kilos of food items and distributed it to over 200 NGOs in India.

Read the full article by subscribing to the print or digital editions of THE TEENAGER TODAY.

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“Youth no longer seek jobs but can aim at creating jobs.” Recently, I was talking to the HR head of a well-known organization in the hospitality industry. He was speaking of how this is a fantastic time to be young in India. It’s a new India in the making. Today, India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world. Youth are no longer only the future of the country but very much so also the present! The past three years have witnessed the emergence of an ecosystem that is encouraging and nurturing willing minds and passionate spirits to take the entrepreneurial route. With technology, government support, media attention, a positive outlook that encourages start-ups, today’s youth are being encouraged to dream, to dream big, to dream the best that can be. These are indeed exciting times.

In his book Vision 2020, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam shared that pre-independent India had many dreamers, capable men and women who dreamed of a strong and modern India. They enriched the county with their actions and in their domain whether economics, education, literary arts, science, reflected various aspects of the freedom struggle. Kalam stressed that the strength of our nation, one of our core competencies is our human resource. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25. According to the 2014 UN report, India had the world’s largest youth population with 365 million 10-24 year olds. This is a wealth of resource. Not only from the perspective of providing services but also a large potential consumption market. Kalam further went on to make an important observation that Indians not only have great learning capability but most have an entrepreneurial and competitive spirit and that there is a need to create avenues to constructively channelize this spirit. I believe today we are again at a point where capable men and women are being called to re-imagine and dream of an India that is an innovation hub, that is the provider and creator of opportunities wherein in realizing one’s potential, one is directly contributing to nation building.

Kindling the entrepreneurial spirit

The future promises to be different from anything we have witnessed in the past. The digital world is creating new possibilities. Kishore Biyani, Group CEO of the Future Group and one of India’s leading entrepreneurs, in an interview said that India has a lot of entrepreneurial talent and it is a dearth of knowledge, infrastructure and capital that keeps such talent hidden. It is amazing how in less than a decade, the environment has rapidly changed so as to address the very points that Biyani spoke about. Today, India is one of the top five start-up communities in the world. The entrepreneurial spirit has begun to get the attention and nurturing it needs. Today, anyone with the drive, passion and a winning idea has the option to decide to embark on something new. India has emerged as the fastest growing base for start ups worldwide and globally we have moved up to third position in terms of a conducive ecosystem for start-ups to thrive. (Nasscom Report 2015: ‘Start-up India: Momentous Rise of the Indian Start-up Ecosystem’)

It is interesting to look at the start-up ecosystem that is developing in our country.

Investment

Foreign investors are showing tremendous interest in the India start-up story. Top investment firms such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Soft Bank, Warburg Pincus, Alibaba are among the top investors in India. The Nasscom report states that the Indian start-up community saw nearly five billion dollars of funding come in 2015. An India with a large number of people connected to the internet and a large consumer base is driving this interest and growth. Based on data published by YourStory.com, e-commerce companies lead the pack in terms of attracting investment, followed by consumer internet and mobile apps.

Government support

The Government is aiming at introducing policies and procedures to improve and strengthen the overall ecosystem. The recently launched Start-Up India Action Plan aims at strengthening the start-up movement and is being touted as a major breakthrough for entrepreneurship in India. From policy innovations to legal support to relaxation of financial and labour norms, tax exemptions to investments in promoting innovation and research focus, the start-up community is cheering this support and roadmap that the government has laid out.

The PM’s statement at the launch of the Action Plan is particularly important: “I hope that the start-up action plan will give strength and inspiration to the talented young generation of India to do something new for India and for humanity.” The youth are truly being seen as contributors and builders of a new country and humanity at large.

Communities and support

Colleges and corporates are increasingly setting up incubators and accelerators to nurture small start-ups by providing services that the start-ups would be too new, inexperienced and unconnected to acquire on their own. These could be strategic consulting, branding, PR, fundraising, design, etc. The number of incubators and accelerators has grown in the country over the past few years.

The youth themselves are taking an active role in building the ecosystem. Anto Philip and Shreyans Jain, while pursuing their undergraduate programme at Christ University, saw the need to build a community for young innovators, entrepreneurs and basically anyone who wants to do ‘great stuff’ and make an impact. Out of this need, the Under 25 club was born. It is today a platform for all those under the age of 25 to showcase their skills, ideas, speak with others from the community who have made a mark, started business and making a difference. The first Under 25 Summit was held in 2014 in Bangalore and saw 100 attendees. The 2015 Summit saw over 600 participants. In 2016, the Summit will be held in multiple locations across the country in a bid to fulfil the vision of reaching the maximum number of youngsters in India. The first Summit for 2016 in Bangalore saw over 1,700 participants and over 100 especially chosen speakers who have made a mark in their chosen field.

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