Aditi Elhence, 21

Aditi graduated in Economics from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University in 2008. She was an active member of the Economics Association in her college and a core committee member in organizing the annual national Economics Fest, Bliss Point 2006.

Her artistic trait won her two poster making competitions in college, on themes of 'Female Foeticide' and 'HIV & AIDS Awareness'. She was also a member of the ‘Social Service Society’ and helped in organizing events in the college. In 2005, she volunteered in 'Akanksha', an NGO, working in the field of education for underprivileged children. She held the third position in her school in Class Twelve, 2005 and also won the award for 'Academic Excellence' in Economics.

She joined M.A in Social Entrepreneurship at the ‘Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ in 2008 so to align both her interests; of helping the society and of starting her own enterprise. In October 2008, as a part of the course, she did a one month internship with the ‘Centre for World Solidarity’ in Hyderabad. She aided the organization with documentation and also profiled 4 NGOs based in remote villages of Andhra Pradesh, attached with CWS.

I am from Kashmir  and  completed my graduation in Sociology from Punjab University Chandigarh . Academically, I was the second ranker in my college and during my college days I participated in various poetry and short story writing competitions and won a few prizes also. Writing and reading is a passion and will continue to be.  

I am neither a reactionary nor vainglorious and not at all a utopian, I am very much living in this world. I have a liberal thought process. Lots of I’s and some readers by now must have branded me as an egoist. Reactionaries.  My brain has a very good filtration system thus pseudo and fake people are strictly not allowed. I stand and raise my voice against oppression, exploitation and inequality in all forms and against everyone. The voice I raise will never be sympathetic because sympathy is distant to something what I believe in. I am a firm supporter of Equal Opportunity for all cutting across caste, race, ethnicity and gender. This course shows me the way to work for it. A second before  I die I would  do an impact assessment of my life and I would be happy if I changed and made a positive effect on the lives and situations  of the people whose rights have  continuously been  undermined . That is that.

                                     If you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.

Biju Mushahary, 23

Hailing from a small village in Assam, Biju believes in bringing change in the society through economic development. He is a graduate in economics from Cotton College in Guwahati which is the most reputed college in the North East. Back in college, he has led the Bodo Literary Society as General Secretary. He was also elected the Deputy Speaker of the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), Guwahati Unit. In extracurricular activities he has won number of prizes in volleyball, singing and dancing competitions.

Chetan Singh Negi,22

David Lunminlen Touthang, 26

David Lunminlen Touthang, academically is from a science background and has completed M.Sc (Botany). He likes the subject Botany and has even taught the subject in a government school for about 18 months. However, business has always been his career interest and to work for the society will remain his ultimate goal. He strongly believes that his experience in rural setting coupled with the course he is currently pursuing will take him towards achieving his goal.

He is also a sports enthusiast and a socially active person and had been actively involved in organizations like student unions in the institutions he had previously attended. He was the 2^nd Position holder in B.Sc (Botany) 2003 and came 6^th in M.Sc (Genetic specialization) 2005 at the North Eastern Hill University. He was a regular participant in competitions like essay, quiz and painting and had won in many of them.

About his course here, he is quoted as saying: “It is good to be a part of Tata Institute of Social Science, one of the premiere institutes in India, and it’s even greater to know that I am one of the first few students of  a new and  emerging discipline i.e. Social Entrepreneurship”

Loknath hails from Orissa, specialized in Mathematics B.Sc from Sambal Pur University and completed a certificate programme in export management from FIEO under Utkal University. He was working with social sector (Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad) for a period of 36 months as a programme officer. He has some rare insights on diverse areas of rural development, agriculture and other grass root related issues, ably justifying his excellent academic credentials, experience and talent. He comes across as an articulate, highly dependable and well disciplined in his approach to work with very sound analytical abilities matched by an amenable personality.

He has handled the position of General Secretary of Jawaharlal Nehru Yubak Sangh, where he got the opportunity to work for society with young mass. In his work tenure he reflects his acumen and superior working skill and solved the grass root level problems. He has a strong belief that for a nation building, social change is essential and our country is blessed with natural resources, so we should address these things.

He loves to play football, carrom and making friend.  His focus area is agricultural sector, by the help of innovation and entrepreneurial skill he wants to address agricultural and other related problems.

Manwinder Singh, 24

Manwinder, a mechanical engineer has served at Reliance Industries Ltd. for a period of 31 months as a Manager, Mechanical Maintenance of the Captive Power Plant. His job profile included Preventive maintenance Scheduling, supervising a maintenance team of 19 skilled technicians to achieve the targetted uptime of the Plant, inventory management(using SAP PM and MM modules).

The opportunity of having a 'hands on experience' with India's fastest growing corporate, gave him a clear understanding about the ever widening gap that exists between the priveleged and the underprivileged and the role industry plays in it. He has a strong belief that the Corporate sector needs to take cognizance of this fact and re-identify its mission with the development of this sector as 'Business cannot succeed in a society that fails'. It is the manifestation of this belief that he seeks through this course.

He was awarded the 'Well done award' in the very first year of his career for re-designing a 'Spring Loaded flapper' (used in the Boiler firing system) to a 'Dead Weight flapper' that mitigated HSE implications in addition of the financial benefits to the tune of Rs 9 Lacs. He is popular among his friends as a fun-loving person and is a good singer .

Dr. Mohit Sukhija, 28

Pradeep,  26

Rather than following a path created by others, Pradeep is determined to craft his own path to achieve his future endeavors. Having realized that his life seems to be beautiful when he is surrounded by his loved ones, he now likes to expand his family outside his own house.

Having this vision and the urge to create maximum impact, he resigned from Satyam Computers and joined TISS.

He believes that TISS is the right place which can help him learn certain social aspects which are difficult to attain at any other place across the globe and to unlearn others which were inculcated in him by the conventional education system and the so-called professional world.

He has organized various events at school as well as college level. He has been awarded POB(Pet on The Back) Award in organizing Satyamotsava'08, an annual festival of Satyam Computers.

       He has represented his school, college and Satyam's cricket Team, won a few singing competitions and participated in several dance competitions. These extra curricular activities paid off as he is currently holding the place of Cultural Representative here.

He adores people like OSHO, Kishore Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Shahrukh Khan.

With a firm quest for excellence, Praveen combines an academic background in Engineering with a personal flair for the arts; a technical aptitude with a keen interest in management; a passion to ideate with a zest for people networking. 

After graduating from the Institute of Chemical Technology (Formerly UDCT), as a Chemical Technologist, with a foresighted and proactive approach towards problems, his subsequent choice of Social Entrepreneurship, added to his strong ‘can-do’ perspective of life.Throughout his academic life so far, Praveen has pursued varied interests and excelled in several extra & co-curricular activities as well. Apart from being the chief coordinator for a variety of events in the college, he has been nominated as the best student of the college for two consecutive years. He has won numerous paper presentation & debate Contests in prestigious institutes like IITs and VJTI and his technical paper on “Agrotextiles” in one of the most coveted technical journals “Bombay Technologist” was awarded the third best write up. 

Praveen has a strong sensitivity for the environmental issues and his industrial interactions as internships with companies like KSA Technopak, a consulting firm & BASF, the Chemical Company has always strived to address the same.

                            He loves to live life at its fullest, to explore places and party.

Priya Srivastava,20

Priya Srivastava,a graduate in Commerce from Lucknow University .She hails from a village called "Amethi" though she has been brought up in Lucknow. Since school days she was actively involved in various extra-curricular activities which led her win more than 30 prizes at various levels and some of the best among them were "Bal Chitra Ratna" Award in poster making in year 1999 and first Prize at “University Level Debate competition in year 2006”.

During her graduation she was actively involved with Organizations like  People For Animals, Lucknow Chapter and Blind school, Lucknow for 3 years. Her efforts have even been recognized by Organizations like "Helpage India" and "Society against tobbacco" at school level. 

The main reason she joined this course of TISS is to bring change in society not “giving fish or teaching how to fish but by revolutionalising the whole fishing industry”.             

Rajesh Patidar , 26

He worked with Ashok Leyland Limited for 36 months, as a Deputy Manager in strategic sourcing Division. He was responsible for Supplier Identification, Vendor Development, Pricing, Quality Assurance and Supply Chain Management. He also did some special projects on Layout Preparation, Costing and Lean initiatives. One of these projects received the “Best manufacturing award” Prize. 

Basically he is an Industrial & Production engineer, studied at SGSITS a premier institute in Central India. He has gone through various training programs at BHEL Bhopal, BOSCH Bangalore, SCL Chennai and Dealership training at Hyderabad. He has presented some seminars in the field of Six Sigma and artificial Intelligence.

He loves to play Table Tennis, Chess and Cricket.  He also likes to read magazines and books. He was SAE member & cultural representative of his class. He believes in hard work and thinks that passion is what drives a person. He is always eager to learn new things.

He wants to play a role in making India’s current growth an “Inclusive Growth” to bridge the gap between Urban & Rural India. Due to this reason he joined this Social Entrepreneurship course with an aim to contribute back to society. 

Ritu, 22

"A realist who doesn't believe in superficiality."

My initial bringing up was at my ancestral village in Haryana and later on at various Army cantonments, where ever my father was posted. I have done my Graduation in Commerce from Delhi University.

Having associated with people not only from different cultures and religions but also from different stratas of society, I have grown up to become a person who is very sensitive towards the needs and aspiration of people from varied backgrounds.I have always believed strongly that it is my responsibility to protect the "vulnerable" in any which way that I can. Cornerstone of my character is that I can isolate my emotions from the problems; this helps me to perceive the situation in an unbiased and holistic manner.I see my goal or aim in life in a little different way which is : When I lie on my death bed and look back at my life and all that I’ve done; I want to see that I was able to find something worthy to devote my life towards and that I was able to live by the commitment I made towards this work.

I have realized there is nothing more worthy than helping people with our and others experiences so they don’t fall into the same ditches that others did. There is nothing more satisfying for me than to know I made a positive difference in somebody’s life directly or indirectly.

I will strive to eradicate the problems that I deal with, from their roots as I firmly believe in a bottom-top approach.

Rukmani Riar,21

Sridhar Gantyala, 21

He is a resident of Manchiryala Town (A.P.). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in the combination of History, Political Science and Public Administration from Nizam College, Osmania University, Hyderabad. He has also completed a Computer Course certified by Technical Board of Andhra Pradesh.

Since school days, he has been involved in various extra-curricular activities especially in Sports. His potential in sports has been recognised at International level in Cricket. He has represented India in "Cricket for Visually Challenged" in 2006. He was the Chief Organising Secretary (voluntarily) for the First A.P. State Sports Meet for the Visually Challenged held in 2008. He was a national player in chess (visually challenged). He won first prize for group dance in A.P. Cultural Meet in 2002. He has organised and managed various programmes like Sports events, Awareness Programmes for the Visually Challenged. On voluntary basis, he is also involved with "Spurti Care Society" working on various social issues from 2006.

He aims to contribute to the development of the society. He believes in what he does and he feels that self confidence is the future step towards achievement of the "GOAL".

Sushil Kumar, 26

Sushil Kumar graduated in B.Sc. Zoology (Hons) from Magadha University, Bodh Gaya.  He served as a coordinator with ‘The Srishti Foundation Trust’ based at Patna for two years. He also worked as a Customer Care Executive for six months in Advanced Technical Services (ATS), New Delhi. During internship at WASSAN, Hyderabad he got an opportunity to undertake a project on supply chain analysis in livelihood sector. His work was highly appreciated by the organization and the beneficiaries in the area.

His interests and hobbies include interacting with a diverse set of people, listening to music, reading books and playing basketball. In school, he thrice won the ‘Fr. Arupe interschool basketball tournament’. 

Born in a well educated family, he believes that education enables a person to make meaningful contributions to the society. He thrives on challenges in life and tackles them successfully. He is quite enthusiastic and diligent in whatever task he gets involved with. The main objective of pursuing this course at TISS is to learn entrepreneurial skills and to work for the welfare of people through his social ventures. He wants to make socially responsible investment through his entrepreneurial skills and ventures to bring in better development in the society.

Swati Vempati, 20

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, she is currently settled in Vadodara, Gujarat. She is fluent in Hindi, English and Telugu. Academically, she has pursued Arts stream topping her city, Vadodara in the XII^th Board Exam. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (with Honours) from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. During the course, she undertook various small research projects: on the Bhatia community in Mumbai, Gaekwads of Baroda and their contributions, historiography in medieval India, portrayal of Deepalakshmis (Chola period) and Satavahana coins; a certificate course in Brahmi Lipi (A+); part of Archaeological Excavation carried out in Junnar by Deccan College, Pune.

In extracurricular activities, she has taught at Asha Daan, Mumbai, took part in the RTI Campaign held in Mumbai (2006), was involved in two surveys conducted by the Department of Sociology, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai on the EXIM Policy. Her hobbies include dance, music, reading, playing caroms, watching movies.

She believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy - Be the change you want to see in the society. The main reason she joined TISS is that it offers courses that would provide her the expertise and awareness, with which she will be able to play a more effective role in the society.   .

Vijayeta Singh,24

Yogendra Kumar, 23

Yogendra Kumar a graduate in Computer Application from Ranchi University. He has worked in a GRAMIN COMPUTER SAKSHARTA YOJNA Ranchi, Jharkhand. His job profile was to provide computer Education training in rural areas, as a Computer Programmer & Data Operator. He has done various projects and job trainings like managing payment slip at C.T.R.T.I. Ranchi, a government of India enterprise, at H.E.C. (a Govt. of India enterprise) Ranchi on office automation and an Orientation program of CENTRE FOR CREATIVITY AND LEADERSHIP, in Mumbai.

He is a good cricket player who has played with Jharkhand State Team”RANCHI CRICKET ASSOCIATION”. He has won the “Best player” award by the D.C. of Ranchi, in a cricket tournament which was organized by C.T.R.T.I. Ranchi, a government of India organization, and many more awards. He was sports secretary of Ranchi College. Currently at TISS he is Junior Representative of the college.

He believes in self confidence and Team work. He is a hard worker & Quick learner person. He wants to work for the development of rural area. His wish is to bring I.T. revolution in rural area so as to bridge the gap between rural & urban India.