Last week, I mentioned some of the lessons of institution building. I wish to take this discussion forward here because there is a crisis in many institutions of excellence in public, private and civil society sector. One of the major questions the students of institution building ask is about the progressive dilution of values with…
Today when many institutions start crumbling within a few decades, need for building sustainable institutions is very widely felt. When Kurien left Amul, it was at about 6000 Cr, today it is at almost 34009 Cr, the biggest brand. Ask the MD, and he will tell u that systems built by Dr Kurien still serve…
Recently, among various Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards given by the Hon’ble President of India, there were a few ideas which addressed some of the widely prevalent problems needing extremely affordable solutions. As in the previous years, innovations from and innovations for grassroots were showcased at the Festival of Innovations and Entrepreneurship hosted by the The President’s Office. The National Innovation…
A social movement needs an institutional support system for carrying forward various missions. SRISTI provided such a support during last 25 years to the Honey Bee Network and the other institutions it spawned by HBN such as GIAN and NIF-India. Hundreds of volunteers will meet at Garmbharati, Amrapaur, Gandhinagar during june 1-3 to reflect, rejuvenate and recalibrate its commitment…
Does it matter that children of today feel even taking notes is tiresome, Ah! Anjana Mistry, of Class 9, wants to have a camera in her spectacles so that she can take a snapshot of the blackboard to capture everything the teacher wrote. During Andaman and Nicobar shodhyatra, SRISTI, with the help of other volunteers,…
Hundreds of freedom fighters and other prisoners were exiled by the colonial rulers to Andman and Nikobar islands, called as the ‘kalapani’, then. Most young people who take freedom for granted must at least visit the cellular jail or read about it to realise the unbearable torture that these valiant Indians had to bear so…
While getting ready for 41st Shodhyatra in Andaman, I met Sundaramji, a very dedicated farmer and Honeybee Network collaborator in Rajasthan who described the story of how he discovered an innovator who has made a coffee making machine. Jitendra dropped out after 7th class in 2010 and has passed 10th by National open board in 2016 and started…
India has incorporated circular economy concepts in its policy, at long last but real impact is yet to be seen. The potential is immense. I saw last week several examples in a commune, popularly known as Utopias in the eastern part of Paris ( see video of visit https://www.facebook.com/anilgb.in/videos/10160236555920253/. It was a hospital building which…
Despite the fact that patients often go to Ayurvedic hospitals after allopathic treatment stops showing response, isn’t it remarkable that ayurvedic system is able to show remarkable results in many cases. How can it be revitalised and made accessible at larger scale to millions more. The budget for Ayush had increased considerably in 2015-16 but after…
Majority of institutions of excellence in our country contribute towards spreading excellence in wider society through various means. Some develop open source teaching content, as IISc Bangalore and IIT Madras did through NPTL pooling engineering courses. Some do summer school to spread social entrepreneurial skills, or develop open source lessons for school education through student volunteers…