REFULGENCE '09

Stage 1 results out !!

2009-03-13T05:46:00.006+05:30

We have shortlisted 10 entries for the final presentation before jury
to be held on 4th and 5th of April 2009.
All the shortlisted teams are supposed to send soft copies of their
complete B-Plans by 24th March'09.Please adhere to the format provided
on the website for the B-Plan which would be uploaded soon along with
the event details.

NIRMAAN thanks all the participants and their institutions for
the keen and earnest interest shown in the competition.

Winning Entries
1. JIV --- S.P. Jain Centre of Management,Dubai/Singapore
2. Build India --- IIT- Bombay
3. Thermo Coat --- Wellingkar, Mumbai
4. Savera --- BITS-Pilani
5. Spicy! --- BITS-Pilani
6. PharmaLink --- Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nashik
7. Shine-n-Smile --- Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune
8. E-Waste Management --- Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
9. Helping Hands --- IMT, Ghaziabad
10.Gardener's Choice --- Nirma University, Ahmedabad

"Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss" :Doug Williams

For any queries,please leave a comment here..

For Your Information ...

2009-03-11T16:53:00.003+05:30

THE "10 SHORT-LISTED FINALISTS" who are to present their "B-PLANS" extensively at "BITS-PILANI" for the main event will be informed by e-mail.The results will be put up on our website and blog on 12th MARCH 2009.
So, be prepared with your plans if you are expecting your selection..
For any queries..leave a comment.

DEADLINES !!! - any Queries ???

2009-03-02T11:12:00.004+05:30

Extended for your convenience, the new one is 7th MARCH. So all you have to do is jot
down your executive summary of REVENUE GENERATING SOCIAL BUSINESS PLAN in the given
format in our website "latest by 2359 hrs of 7th MARCH 2009" to
refulgence.bits@gmail.com...WIN fellowships and prizes worth 30000 INR

You can just add a comment here if you have any queries regarding any of this and we'll get back to you in a day.

GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY !!

2009-02-23T20:22:00.003+05:30

We are looking for REVENUE GENERATING business plans for the main event in which 10 finalists will be participating.
There'll be screening for which you have to mail in the executive summaries f your business plans latest by 1st march.
Don't miss the golden opportunity.
It's time for you to mail in your entries to refulgence.bits@gmail.com latest by 1st march 2009.
Prizes worth 30000 INR to be won and fellowships for participants with outstanding plans.
Further details @ http://www.nirmaan.org/refulgence-2k9/home.html

Its time...DEADLINES

2009-02-15T15:53:00.003+05:30

First of all thanks everyone for making our workshop a great success...there were over 400 registrations and a great response from bitsian junta..
Now it's time for ou to mail in your EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES to refulgence.bits@gmail.com.
The last date for sending the entries is 1st march.So gear up.
Peak time...
MAIL IN YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF B-plans
before 1st march-------to refulgence.bits@gmail.com

A lecture by VK Desai

2009-02-09T20:26:00.000+05:30

V K Desai started his impressive lecture by hitting at the big companies saying that technology is used nowadays as a tool of mass destruction.

He emphasized the need of setting up of small scale industries in villages to make them sustainable. According to him the basic necessities of life should be accessible to common man, if this can be achieved then only proper development of country is possible, otherwise it would remain as a distant dream. He substantiated his point of view by giving various examples like setting up of cotton mill in the villages can help in fulfilling the needs of local villagers. Big companies what they are doing is they collect raw material at one place and start manufacturing in big factory. According to him this is not a very viable model . instead we can set up small cotton mills in many villages as it can a save a lot of energy and time .

He gave very good example that cotton which is grown in Assam is transported to Ahmedabad to manufacture clothes. So why not make cotton mills in Assam itself and start production there only.

He reiterated that if we want our rural India to develop then instead of raw materials we should export value added products from villages that will help in upliftment of rural economy and can help in bridging the gap between the rural and urban development.

He shared his experience of being in 72 countries for setting up of small oil mills and said that small oil mill is more viable option than setting up of big ones. He said “complicated machinery make simple things complicated “ so use simple technology to grow and he said “ small is profitable “

He stressed on the decentralization of rice mills so that rice can be made available to local people at a fair price.

He discussed many areas where there is a potential for development like usage of solar heaters, solar cookers, trapping of hydro power, all can be exploited for benefit of rural sector.

OVERVIEW of 1st day of WORKSHOP

2009-02-08T02:13:00.005+05:30

Yesterday we had a mesmerizing talk by Mr Sunil Handa. His lecture not only captivated the spirits of the audiences but also entertained us with timely jokes.

He started with a real life story about one of his student Narendra at IIM-A. He talked at length about the hurdles he faced in his way to become a successful entrepreneur (today he is holding a 1700 crore business).he emphasized that to be an entrepreneur “ Push yourself from inside ,Be cruel to yourself ‘

He told his life story and about his upbringing and it was really surprising to know that his father was a low paid worker in a textile mill. He recalled how he used to share even the old clothes of his brother in the childhood and then he reminded his BITS story.

He appreciated BITS for playing a fantastic role in his life .After passing out from IIM-A he just preferred to work for a small company though he was getting placement offers from big companies. He left the company job in 21 months just to start up his own venture so he started with a management consultancy and later on ,he started a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry which became largest manufacturer of IV fluids in the second year of its operation and it is third largest in the world today.

He emphasized on the fact that the cream of brilliant minds who reach BITS after a grueling BITSAT should not be contented with a job whatever be the pay package. That’s why he motivated everyone to be an entrepreneur. In his opinion:
“Put your Fears aside and be Brave, be Adventurous to be an EntrepreneuR.”

A question was raised from the audience regarding what is the difference between taking risk or a calculated risk. Audience was content with the answers they got for the queries that arised in their minds.Thich kept the audiences engrossed 100% in the lecture. He quoted a beautiful thought that “Human beings are infinite if we get something we like ,we never get tired of it ” In short explore your ideas and stick to them .According to him business is a spiritual khoj, and his message to students was “Don’t do jobs , do business “ Don’t be an employee ,be an employer …be a HERO”

Then he told us about the steps he has taken in bringing reforms in the Democratic system as a member of ADR ( Association for Democratic Reforms) and how he helped afflicted people in Gujrat earthquake by setting up a school.

At the end he emphasized that every person along with job or business can use his skills of organizing, engineering and negotiation to help and serve the society to make this earth a better place to live.

Kavikrut ,an eminent speaker and COO of the Mobile Medics began with an interesting question: What is important for a social entrepreneur- Impact or the Money.Then he drew a clear cut demarcation between the two. He elaborated about the idea he had , its implementation and difficulties he faced so as to motivate the students to become a social entrepreneur and give them real issues which a social entrepreneur faces. In short he provided us with a REALITY CHECK because its well said All that glitters is not gold.After all this he discussed different models like Charity, EMRI model and Optimized/Maximized profits.

He started with the challenges which his team faced for their venture Mobile Medics. He emphasized on problems one faces while starting a venture in rural INDIA like Trust building or Working conditions .The next hurdle is finding like minded people in a team who are just focused for one thing. For all the challenges, he refers solution to be Patience and Persistence.
He discussed how he actually implemented his idea, the money he started with was all the prize money (USD 35,000) and how he got an immense support from BITS Incubation Centre.

He kept up the inquisitiveness of the audience by telling them how he went about implementing his idea and what made the execution of his ideas difficult. The major difficulty was Unavailability of medical team, doctors were not available or they denied to work in the harsh conditions. For this problem, he proposed a Practice school kind of a thing for doctors.Second was the legal issues he faced while the most important is Problem of Self Motivation.

He stressed that for implementing any business ,get real ,do the reality checks from time to time just to check the sustainability and the feasibility of your idea.

He shared the lessons which he has learnt from his failed venture. One was that Trust building is important while other is Tangible pricing .He defined entrepreneurship as “ State of being an Entrepreneur”. He said “A team is required to bear the risk and the most important, an entrepreneur should be ready to bear of volatility of any kind in his path.”

At the end he concluded saying “ Dive but make sure that water is deep enough”

Workshop on SocEntrepreneurship

2009-02-03T14:06:00.004+05:30

Nirmaan chapter of BITS Pilani is organizing a workshop on Social Entrepreneurship in association with CEL, BITS Pilani that comprises of making the students aware of the concepts of making a Business Plan,Social Entrepreneurship...and what not??
Eminent speakers from all-over INDIA are going to deliver their talks on these issues in a highly energetic session that’s gonna be conducted at BITS Pilani.Since I can’t limit the greatness of these speakers to words, I am just providing a brief profiles of all the speakers here.

Sri. SUNIL HANDA:
Mr. Sunil Handa, Professor at IIM-Ahmadabad and Founder of the Eklavya Education Foundation- a no-profit no-loss endeavor, is both an entrepreneur with a difference and a teacher with a purpose. An alumnus of the 1977 EEE batch of BITS-Pilani and 1979 batch of IIM-Ahmadabad, Mr. Handa takes the Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Motivation (LEM) course at IIM-A, which is one of the most coveted and sought-after courses in the institute. His fascinating life-story, transiting from a difficult childhood to a fighter entrepreneur with a magnetic personality, is inspirationally penned down in book "Stay Hungry Stay Foolish”. Having quit the "rat-race" in 1991, he devoted his strengths to social ventures, ranging from founding Eklavya to shouldering mass relief operations post the Gujarat 2001 earthquake. This is the spirit which sets him apart from other entrepreneurs.

Sri. V K DESAI:
V K Desai is a mechanical engineer and a law graduate. After working for fourteen years he left his job in 1982 and founded TINYTECH PLANTS. From then onwards he is deeply engrossed in development of small and simple technology for creating and strengthening local economy. He has worked out simple and efficient renewable power resources and has set up 1373 oil mills in 72 different countries.
Born and brought up in a very humble background in and influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's life, his heart burns for poor and trodden people. A very practical and far-sighted person he emphasis and works for the eradication of all the ill-wills of society. He is also author of two famous books-"Outline of Swaraj" and "Constitution of Real Swaraj"

Mr.KAVIKRUT
Mr. Kavikrut is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Mobile Medics, being responsible for leading the operation at Pilani. He graduated in MSc Tech. Finance program from BITS Pilani. In 2006, Mr. Kavikrut was named one of 30 BITSians under the age of 30 for outstanding leadership. He worked in OTC Derivatives Management at GlobeOp Financial Services, the world’s leading automated, state-of-the-art Middle and Back-Office support services for Hedge Funds and Fund Managers. Mobile Medics Healthcare LLC is a traveling healthcare service for rural India. Mobile Medics is unique in being the world’s first social venture aimed at creating a sustainable business that will provide would provide private sector, high quality, and affordable medical care to paying villagers in India. The various prestigious awards won by this project include Most outstanding social venture of 2006 in Global Social Venture Competition March 2006, New York, Eugene Lang Outrageous Business Plan Competition, Columbia Business School April 2005,
New York, Best Presentation Award in Asia Moot Competition April 2006, Bangkok, Thailand, Bzzwings Business Plan Competition, IIM Bangalore April 2005, Bangalore, India and Conquest Business Plan Competition, BITS Pilani March 2005, Pilani, India.
So,Don't you wish to be enlightened by these great ones...??
The workshop is going to be held at BITS Pilani by NIRMAAN in association with CEL,BITS on 7-8th of FEBRUARY,2009.Registrations will be open soon.Feel free to comment and express your doubts about the workshop.

WHY a SocEntrepreneur ??

2009-01-29T01:17:00.002+05:30

Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. While a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur comes up with new solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale.
Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs:

* Susan B. Anthony (U.S.): Fought for Women's Rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.
* Vinoba Bhave (India): Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless.
* Dr. Maria Montessori (Italy): Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.
* Florence Nightingale (U.K.): Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.
* Margaret Sanger (U.S.): Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world.
* John Muir (U.S.): Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.
* Jean Monnet (France): Responsible for the reconstruction of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were direct precursors of the European Union.
Source: www.ashoka.org

Who is a SocEntrepreneur ?

2009-01-29T01:16:00.002+05:30

Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.

Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.

Social entrepreneurs often seem to be possessed by their ideas, committing their lives to changing the direction of their field. They are both visionaries and ultimate realists, concerned with the practical implementation of their vision above all else.

Each social entrepreneur presents ideas that are user-friendly, understandable, ethical, and engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of local people that will stand up, seize their idea, and implement with it. In other words, every leading social entrepreneur is a mass recruiter of local changemakers—a role model proving that citizens who channel their passion into action can do almost anything.

Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.
Source: www.ashoka.org

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2009-01-29T01:04:00.000+05:30

Social entrepreneurship is the work of a social entrepreneur,who identifies and solves social problems on a large scale. Just as business entrepreneurs create and transform whole industries, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss in order to improve systems, invent and disseminate new approaches and advance sustainable solutions that create social value.
Unlike traditional business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs primarily seek to generate "social value" rather than profits. And unlike the majority of non-profit organizations, their work is targeted not only towards immediate, small-scale effects, but sweeping, long-term change.
The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.
Identifying and solving large-scale social problems requires a committed person with a vision and determination to persist in the face of daunting odds. Ultimately, social entrepreneurs are driven to produce measurable impact by opening up new pathways for the marginalized and disadvantaged, and unlocking society's full potential to effect social change.
The past two decades have seen an explosion of entrepreneurship and a healthy competition in the social sector, which has discovered what the business sector learned from the railroad, the stock market and the digital revolution: Nothing is as powerful as a big new idea if it is in the hands of a first class entrepreneur.
This revolution is fundamentally changing the way society organizes itself and the way we approach social problems.Nothing is impossible when an innovative idea is coupled with a strategy for action and an entrepreneur's indomitable will.
Source: www.pbs.org

POWER OF IDEAS

2009-01-29T00:53:00.001+05:30

“GET INVOLVED IN AN ISSUE YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT.IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT IS..WE GIVE TOO MUCH OF OUR POWER AWAY TO CYNICISM”...an OBAMA idea.
“All the foces of the world are not as much as powerful as an IDEA whose time has come”,said Victor Hugo.
Ideas rule the world, and, as men's minds will receive new ideas, laying aside the old and effete, the world will advance: mighty revolutions will spring from them; creeds and even powers will crumble before their onwards march crushed by the irresistible force. It will be just as impossible to resist their influx, when the time comes, as to stay the progress of the tide. But all this will come gradually on, and before it comes we have a duty set before us; that of sweeping away as much as possible the dross left to us by our pious forefathers. New ideas have to be planted on clean places, for these ideas touch upon the most momentous subjects.
Ideas change the world. The power of a new idea is the engine that transforms the way we live and think.When an “Idea” is that powerful, why should that be restrained. Experts say “The entrepreneur is one who, starting with nothing more than an idea or a prototype, has the ability to take a business to the point at which it can sustain itself on internally generated cash flow“.Express your idea,this is the oppurtunity and it’s time.Be a social entrepreneur.

REFULGENCE '09

2009-01-29T00:04:00.002+05:30

Refulgence ’09 is a social business plan competition being held for the first time at a national level by Nirmaan,a non-profit organisation which works for the betterment of rural people at Birla Institute of Tecnology&Science,Pilani,Rajasthan. The event mainly aims at providing a holistic platform for young social entrepreneurs to present their ideas and to encourage them to craft a better tomorrow,to illuminate the plight rural indian masses,to make a difference in the lives of downtrodden and underprivileged across the country.
“An Idea can change your life” is a famous tagline. But what if an Idea,that can change lives of many people, is left unencouraged? No,that shall not be the situation.With changing trends of SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP and increased concern among the youth for the problems being faced by the country,we can acheive anything. We can make a difference,bring about a radical change in their lives. So gear up for the event. We are looking for new ideas in SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL field. Present your ideas of developing an exemplary social enterprise model.