Its been quite some time since I wrote my last post. But nevertheless, I have been running this Green Marathon in my head :). I discussed a few ideas on 'where to start from?' with a good friend. Now basically what we discussed was a business idea. The objective behind it was to try and target the base of the income pyramid, which has some 4.5 billion of the total 6.5 billion world population. Obviously this ratio for India is shockingly higher where above 95% of population is at the Base of the pyramid (BoP). Now at the base of the income pyramid are those who are either extremely poor or employed by very small and medium enterprises commonly known as SMEs. If we can help these SMEs realize their true potential and move up the income pyramid, we will in-effect help the millions employed by these companies also improve their living standards.

To give a little background on why these SMEs need help in the first place, there are few examples of the SME clusters of India that have either struggled for survival or have perished in the wake of globalization and mall-culture. One is the scissors cluster of Meerut (my hometown), second is the leather cluster of Kanpur, third is the textile cluster of Ludhiana and the list goes on. During our childhood days, we have seen that various states were famous for a particular product/products, but seriously, do we buy that idea anymore? Do anyone of us have any inclination of buying a pair of scissors manufactured in Meerut or leather shoes made in Kanpur or the Ludhiana fabric? No - we'll buy scissors from anywhere, shoes from woodland and fabric? huh? we are not buying it anymore, its for them to buy from whom we are buying our ready-made clothes. Although these industries still are there where they were so many years ago we have moved up the pyramid without bringing them up with us. The gap is widening. These SMEs are not being given their fair share and they have no idea about how to get it. The companies that are buying their scissors, their leather or their fabric are making huge profits by bringing them to the malls, by giving them a brand and by repackaging the stuff in a fancy way.

So what these SMEs need are people like us who can help them put in touch with the final customer or who can help them with proper branding or repackaging. It does not sound that difficult, isn't it? So why don't we develop business models around this and snatch the share away from the big players in the mall who can stay where they are (or even come down a little! thatz okk :)) while we help these SMEs move up the income pyramid.

Cheers!

Tanu

Today the BBC news said that India's 49% children are undernourished. This makes India top the list of countries with maximum number of malnourished children. Yes, it is the same India whose economy has been booming like anything, the same India which resisted the economic recession and the same India that has some of the richest people and corporations of the world. So why has the gap between the rich and the poor not reduced but only widened? Why have we not been able to achieve a more inclusive growth? Why have we neglected our poor and only let the fittest survive? I don't have answers to these questions but what I want to find out is not the answers but the solution to this shameful problem.

I believe the problem stems from not the scarcity of the resources but their uneven distribution. Ample in the hands of a few - be it money, power or intellectual capital. I don't have the money and nor do I have the power (u see I am neither an Industrialist's nor a politician's daughter ;)). So my point is, what I do have is the intellect - the ability to think and decide what I want to do with my life, which sector I want to work with and the willingness to walk the path that may be difficult to tread but is rewarding as it gives meaning and a purpose to my life.

I may not be able to do it alone, but I have a vision. I think we should take a different route in developing the un- or under-developed regions of India than what was taken for the development in the cities - in the long run this route has turned out to be clearly unsustainable. We should take the un-electrified villages (btw there are some 1 lac villages that have no electricity) for example and incorporate green energy projects for electricity, buildings, roads and the rest of the infrastructure. This may be very capital intensive in the beginning (believe u me the private top notch sector and our government has loads of bucks :)) but in the long run it will surely be rewarding. The green energy deployment will not only uplift the socio-economic status of the people living in these villages and provide them with ample job opportunities but will also set examples of co-existence of development and low carbon economy. I think this is an opportunity that India can leverage to its benefit because of the fact that dismantling of a system and putting another in its place is much costlier than creating a new one.

So lets move out of our comfort zones and be a resource not to the already wealthy corporate sector of India but to the sectors that need us the most. Our efforts then will have far reaching results - results that will bring a change and help somewhere in closing this GAP!!

Cheers!!
Tanu

The purpose of this Blog!

This is my first post and here I would like to take the opportunity to cite reasons behind creation of the 'Green Energy Marathon'-India blog. These are as follows:

1) It is not a 'Blog' - Its a venture: I believe that each blog with a purpose to make a difference and create an impact on the mindsets of its readers is a social enterprise in itself. A successful blog should lead to the fulfillment of a greater purpose beyond discussion and awareness..yes it should lead to something substantial or measurable..it should lead to 'IMPLEMENTATION'

2) Running the 'Green Energy' Marathon: I need you to run with me the Green Energy Marathon for India. Our country is starting to wake up from a long slumber but still there are hundreds of thousands of us who are either unaware or unwilling to come forward to make our contribution in tackling the issue of Global Climate Change.

3) How??: This is the question which is often left unanswered when discussing the most pressing problems facing our country. We are always discussing the 'Why' but it is now time that we come down to the important part of the debate and discuss the 'How', 'Where' and 'When'?

With the above three points in mind, I hereby embark upon a journey which I expect to be a great learning experience for me and my fellow bloggers. Lets join hands in dissecting the problem and coming up with the super simple to often complex solutions to tackling the Climate Change problem and making our India-go-Green. Lets develop a New India based on sustainable solutions and create a better future for the generations to come!!

Cheers!!

Tanu