VISION - Skoch Group:- Skoch Media, Inclusion, Events ... · of India, Corporation Bank, Canara...

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VISION SKETCH OF A Sameer Kochhar Chairman, Skoch Group a brief profile

Transcript of VISION - Skoch Group:- Skoch Media, Inclusion, Events ... · of India, Corporation Bank, Canara...

VISIONSKETCH OF A

Sameer Kochhar Chairman, Skoch Group

a brief profile

“ The sole purpose of inclusive growth is poverty alleviation. Often it gets lost in the jargon of technology and big economic terms. We must think always of the last woman in the queue and ensure that she gets served too.”

Profile of

Sameer Kochhar Chairman, Skoch Group

Sameer Kochhar is a self-taught sociologist-economist. Born to physically challenged parents in 1964, his formal education could only be till class 12th following which he joined Taj Group of Hotels as a Bell Captain after pursuing a one year diploma. He describes himself as a practitioner of poverty for the first eighteen years of his life. He managed to finish his graduation through distance education. After a one year stint at the Taj, he was employed in Bangkok for another year or so exporting garments and footwear to Middle-East.

He came back to India in 1984 to look after his parents and joined a garage start-up called Pertech Computers Ltd In the thirteen years that he spent at PCL, he engineered it to become country’s one of the largest PC selling and exporting companies in India. He served in capacities of National Head of Marketing, Product Management, pre-sales software support, Enterprise Business Head etc. He soon became a national figure for his technology and marketing savvy in the corporate world. In 1997 he quit PCL on a difference of opinion and vowed never again to work as an employee with a corporate. Just when he was down and out with no job, no company car and unpaid salary arrears running well into a year, he saw a vision – a vision of Inclusive India where a helping hand must be available for the down and out and decided to dedicate himself to mainstreaming the marginalized using his own skills and resources.

Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations

“ I thank Sameer and Skoch Development Foundation for the Lifetime Achievement Award. It is indeed special to me because I am part of the community of developmental people and I am delighted to accept this Award on behalf of young people in telecom who have worked with me. ”

Since then he has been working towards inclusive growth of India led by digital, social and financial inclusion – the term inclusive growth was not even a part of either the political or economic vocabulary way back in 1997. In parallel he established a consulting practice in Skoch Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd that garnered over 80% market-share of IT companies entering India. Notable assignments include Dell, Gateway, Sony, HP, SCO, 3Com, Microsoft, Intel, Sun, Oracle and a host of others. He remains the number one India strategy consultant for the ICT industry and is often invited for global executive briefings, orations etc.He has traversed the nation’s length and breadth studying and understanding where does India’s competitive advantage lie. He returned from such sojourns armed with knowledge and experience, which was translated into case studies, impact assessment surveys, video documentations and finally global edition books. Today, Sameer Kochhar is President of Skoch Development Foundation, which is a leading think tank on digital, social and financial inclusion issues in India. He has been passionately working towards promoting participatory democracy, empowerment, and bringing improvements in delivery systems. He is CEO, Skoch Consultancy Services, and is an industry veteran with a multifaceted career spanning over two and a half decades. He is India strategy and management consultant to several Fortune 500 as well as large Indian companies for over a decade. He is also Chief Editor of Inclusion—a quarterly publication focused on development economics issues. He is a member of several expert groups and committees constituted by Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India advocating a case for strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions (village councils) through use of technology;

and, Ministry of Communications and IT on evaluation of National e-Governance Program. He is one of the most sought after voices on social development and poverty alleviation issues.

Vijay L Kelkar, Former Chairman, Thirteenth Finance Commission

“ I am particularly delighted about the Lifetime Achievement Award because of distinguished list of my predecessors who have been bestowed this Award in the past. I am truly grateful to Sameer Kochhar and Skoch Development Foundation. ”

His research opinion and writings have shaped many a public policy dialogue, Panchayati Raj, ICT for development and tax reforms. He has written extensively on areas of emerging management practices, infrastructure, governance, technology, finance, economics, e-Governance, Panchayati Raj and ICT for development. He has led assessment projects of several government schemes including Bharat Nirman - JNNURM, PMGSY and NREGS; MCA 21 project of Ministry of Corporate Affairs; ICT enablement of Central Board of Excise and Customs, Ministry of Finance; ICT enablement and services delivery of Central Board of Direct Taxes, Ministry of Finance; Financial Inclusion initiatives of Reserve Bank of India; Capacity building and Self Help Group led financial Inclusion by NABARD; Banking Correspondent and Facilitator and other financial inclusion models adopted for financial inclusion by Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Vijaya Bank, State Bank of India, Central Bank, National Housing Bank, HDFC Bank and SEWA Bank.

The Foundation supports 400 tribal children for their education needs and is also working towards urban renewal of Gurgaon. A substantive funding for this comes from personal donations of Mr Kochhar and his family. The distinguished fellows of the foundation include Dr N C Saxena, Member National Advisory Council; Dr Bibek Debroy, Eminent Economist; Mr S S Tarapore, Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Dr Santanu Paul. The foundation also provides research grants to grassroots practitioners.

He has published several widely acclaimed books, namely Infrastructure and Governance (2008); Financial Inclusion (2009); Urban Renewal: Policy and Response (2009); Speeding Financial Inclusion (2009); India on the Growth Turnpike: Essays in Honour of Vijay L Kelkar (2010); and, Building from Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation (2010); Growth and Finance – Essays in Honour of C Rangarajan (2011).

For a person of practically no academic qualifications, most of his books are recommended readings in Delhi University and Indian Institute of Management (Ahmadabad) and several other academic institutions.

C Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India

“ This is a yeomen service that Sameer Kochhar is doing and we must thank him for this. By bringing up to the surface the successes and making them known to every body, he is creating possibilities for the good examples to be followed by others. This is extremely relevant in the area of financial inclusion.”

The leading economists, reformers and architects of contemporary India have chosen Sameer Kochhar to publish their festschrifts and document their biographies. Academicians like Dr D B Phatak of IIT-B, Mumbai and H Krishnamurthy of IISc, Bangalore consider him their honorary student.

Acknowledged as the thought leader and India’s leading expert on Inclusion, he has also instituted India’s only awards in this space since 2003. These are coveted as the highest independent civilian honors in India that do not accept sponsorships.

Amongst supporters and appreciators of his work on Inclusive Growth include luminaries like, Dr C Rangarajan, Mr Sam Pitroda, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Dr K C Chakrabarty and several other eminent academicians and domain experts.

A long journey for a barely educated bell captain and a small step towards inclusive growth of India – his quest for inclusion continues.

World’s Largest Independent Online Skoch Knowledge Repositories

During the last decade, Team Skoch has traveled extensively across the country to study, document and promote social, digital and financial inclusion. In the process, knowledge repositories have been created on what works — the best practices — actively engaging all stakeholders from policy makers and civil society to ordinary citizens.

Skoch Knowledge Repository on Financial Inclusion: The Knowledge Repository on Financial Inclusion is World’s Largest Independent Online Knowledge Repository that contains over ten years of our work spread over 600 hrs of lecture and discussion videos, nearly 200 papers on different dimensions of financial inclusion, Self Help Groups, Banking Correspondent Model, micro-credit, micro-insurance, role of ICT; over 150 video documentaries and case studies. This, while emphasizing the role of financial literacy, process changes, technology enablement, capacity building and outreach mechanism. It looks at examples of local bodies, post-offices, and tele-centres having been used effectively. It, in the process, proposes a model of inclusive development, emphasizing that inclusive economics leads to inclusive governance and vice-versa.

Skoch Knowledge Repository on Urban Development: This Knowledge Repository on Urban Development that contains over 600 hrs of lecture and discussion videos, nearly 100 papers on different dimensions of urban development and additionally role of ICT, over 150 video documentaries and case studies. The Ministry of Urban Development has been supportive of this initiative and has been associated with Skoch Summits for several years. This will aid all of us in our efforts to build an inclusive society. Additionally it will add to the existing body of knowledge and come in handy for practitioners and scholars on urban development. This is now shared for advancement and nation-building through e-learning modules for practitioners and publishing video documentaries on our portals. These best practices have been documented as report cards, video case studies, policy and white papers that are frequently shared with people at large so that there it can become a wider learning process.

We have similar Knowledge Repositories on Governance, Digital Inclusion, and Education.

The vision behind these Knowledge Repositories is to promote empowerment and inclusive development, strengthening of delivery systems and participatory democracy for bringing about a systemic change to help meet development objectives.

Infrastructure and Governance“...the volume fulfils the objective of the editors in providing critical insights into infrastructure governance from different angles - policy making, urban and rural aspects, technology, connectivity, capacity building and participation...”

Big 92.7 FM, 29th January 2009

“...it seeks to highlight concerns in policy circles and beyond about the sustainability of investments in state-owned infrastructure triggered by the apprehension that outlays were not having the desired long-term impact on the quality and extent of services...”

The Hindu, 27th January 2009

“...it highlights typical operational issues, such as, the need for seamless data sharing between the police department and the passport office; and the importance of data preservation standards when technologies change...”

Hindu Business Line, 15th Septrmber 2008; and, The Hindu, 10th September

2008.

“...since the articles are topical and written by specialists with impeccable credentials and proven track record, the book serves as a useful reference for the students of economics and public administration, administrators, planners and policy makers...”

The Tribune, 5th October 2008.

Financial Inclusion“...Financial Inclusion is a collection of a few such success stories across the country edited by Sameer Kochhar along with R. Chandrashekhar, K C Chakrabarty and Deepak B Phatak. It not only gives samples of success of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and National e-Governance Programme (NeGP), but also highlights the major drawbacks...”

Business World, 1st June 2009

“...it’s a book worth reading if you’re interested in this business. While each individual success story makes your heart beat just that much faster, what’s important, the book brings out, is that financial inclusion has to go beyond the lip service of one account for every household...”

Business Standard, 17th April 2009

“...good collection from the editors, Sameer Kochhar, R Chandrashekhar, K C Chakrabarty and Deepak B Phatak...”

Hindu Business Line, 5th March 2009

Speeding Financial Inclusion“...It recommends the setting up of a National Mission on Financial Inclusion comprising representatives from all stakeholders to achieve universal financial inclusion. It says the mission should be given the responsibility to manage and disburse the Budget-announced funds like the Financial Inclusion Fund for developmental and promotional interventions and the Financial Inclusion Technology Fund...”

Hindu Business Line, 7th Dec 2009

“The critical question the study has raised is the cost of intermediation through business correspondents and who is to bear the cost. The study reveals, there is a cost involved in such intermediation and if this cost is not covered, then the viability of the system of business correspondents itself is in question.”

— C Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

“It is an out-of-the-box approach that has delivered some critical insights in the form of this study. Reflective of the commitment towards the cause of financial inclusion, the recommendations are focused on speeding the process and are worthy of consideration.”

— K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Building from the BottomTo facilitate long-term infrastructure investment, there is a need for sound long-term macroeconomic policies, writes S S Tarapore in one of the essays included in ‘Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and poverty alleviation,...

D Murali, The Hindu 21st Nov 2010

“A growth rate of nine to ten per cent in the Twelfth Plan is not possible unless the infrastructure constraint is really taken care of,” said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission. Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation (Rs 995, Academic Foundation and SKOCH Development Foundation) sets out to tackle these infrastructural constraints...”

The Indian Express 24th Sept 2010

India on the Growth TurnpikeThese essays in honour of Vijay L Kelkar, who played a key role in India’s economic reforms, prove an invaluable contribution to the growing sophistication of Indian policy debates...

Business Standard 4th December 2010

“This volume commemorates the conferring of the Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award-2010 on Dr Vijay L Kelkar for his unique contributions to the Indian economy...”

The Tribune. 11th July 2010

“...The book under review, though a collection of essays from economists, is woven into the ideals and practical wisdom of this academic-turned-civil servant who has the charming modesty to call himself “a policy economist...”

Hindu Business Line, 7th May 2010

“...Over three decades, Kelkar’s has been an understated yet penetrating voice in areas as diverse as oil exploration and fiscal rectitude. It is easy, then, to find Kelkar’s fellow travellers. Sameer Kochhar, who heads a think tank on digital, social and financial inclusion, has strung together an eclectic clutch of essays in India on the Growth Turnpike: Essays in Honour of Vijay L Kelkar...”

Hindustan Times, 17th May 2010

Skoch Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd Founded in 1997 is a boutique strategy and management consulting firm. We are engaged by practically all large and serious players who wish to do business in India related to our areas of expertise. We help our client base of Fortune 500 as well as leading transnational and Indian organizations to create, identify, assess and address opportunities better. Nearly 80% of large organizations from ICT industry who wish to address enterprise markets in India have engaged with us. We have an equally impressive client and engagements base in all our lines of practice. These include: Government and Public Sector. Banking Financial Services and Insurance Sector Security and Disaster Management Sector Infrastructure and Power Sector Education Sector Information and Communications Technology Sector

Our strength emanates from years of primary research across India that has helped us create some of the most extensive independent online knowledge repositories of best practices. These are found useful by the senior management of the users as well as the service provider organizations in our lines of practice and hence both find equal value in engaging with us at the senior most levels.

Our engagements cover a host of best-in-class services that are further strengthened by existing working relationships with relevant stakeholders that are based on trust and our stringent code of corporate governance and compliances.

We also organize signature Skoch Summits in the areas of our practice. With nearly 25 National Level Leadership Summits, 50 Round Table Discussions, 35 Conclaves and about 150 Focus Group Discussions, Skoch today offers nation’s most credible and sought after platform that features not only the powerful and mighty but also the grassroots workers.

Skoch Development Foundation has been established keeping in view the empowerment and inclusive development needs of society. The Foundation has been established as a “Not for Profit” Company under Section 25 of the Companies Act. This is to ensure transparency, accountability and adherence to corporate governance norms.

The objective of the Foundation is to promote empowerment and inclusive development with emphasis on social, digital and financial inclusion; strengthening of delivery systems and participatory democracy for bringing about a systemic change to help meet development objectives better.

The Foundation has started Project HOPE, which is a series of adoptions from the remotest corners of the country. These are some such people/areas/communities, tribal or non-tribal, from hills or plains, who have largely remained untouched by the wave of development or GDP growth of the country. These may be educationally backward, geographically challenged, socially downtrodden, digitally and financially excluded.

Under Project Hope 1, the Foundation has adopted a tribal community at Sangram Village in Kurung Kumay District in Arunachal Pradesh and helping them with computer aided learning. This has resulted in the school attain CBSE affiliation. The dropout rate has drastically reduced and particularly girl-child instead of being pushed into the field for work is attending school regularly.

Under Project Hope 2 – Foundation has set up a computer lab at a mobile school for children and adult literacy for Van Gujjars at Mohand, near Saharanpur catering to Van Gujjar Community which is an ethnic nomadic minority. Nearly ten children so far have appeared for their class tenth exams through open schooling.

Inclusion is the first magazine dedicated to the range of issues that arise when social, digital and financial inclusion are considered along with development needs, impacts and priorities. It aims to make complex analysis of social and development issues accessible to a wide audience of policymakers and, and to facilitate debate between the diverse constituencies active in these fields. The effort is always to bring in direct inputs from the field in the form of case studies, grassroots implementation and policy influences. The quarterly journal with readership of 80,000; enjoys reputation of the most valued resource for the policy makers in government, key decision makers in industry, multilateral agencies and the representatives of civil society organizations.

The contributors to Inclusion include Dr C Rangarajan, Mr Sam Pitroda, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dr N C Saxena, Mr S S Tarapore, Prof Aasha Kapur Mehta, Mr R Gopalan, Dr K C Chakrabarty, Ms Sudha Pillai, M G C Chaturvedi, Ms Rajwant Sandhu, Dr B K Gairola, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Dr M Ramachandran, Dr N Vijayaditya, Dr Shankar Acharya, Mr Nandan Nilekani, Prof Vinayshil Gautam, Mr Ravi Parthasarathy, Mr Som Mittal and so on

INCLUSIONwww.skoch.in www.skoch.org www.inclusion.in

SKOCH GROUPA-222, Sushant Lok-IGurgaon-122001, Haryana, India

Phone: +91-124-4222760/61/62

Fax: +91-124-4222768

email: [email protected]