Have you ever considered how much time it would take for you to be amongst the top 0.5% earners in India? Find out here!
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
In my undergraduate college, I went on a trip to Melghat- a tribal area in Maharashtra. The women living there were still using wooden chulhas(cookstoves) to cook food which is a health hazard. I wanted to do something to solve this problem and when I returned to college, I took the first step towards the same. I formed a team of students to make a solar cookstove. The team comprised students from different engineering branches and I had to lead them to complete the ideation, design, manufacturing, and training of the solar cookstove. I had to go outside my comfort zone learn new subjects, learn to design, talk to vendors, and get finance in order to complete the project. It was tough because it required me to be up to date with multiple aspects to lead the team towards the goal. We went on to make a hybrid solar cookstove with an innovative design to solve some existing problems in regular solar cookstoves. Spearheading and forming the team, motivating them to work for 1.5 years towards a goal without any tangible return in mind, and managing all challenges along the way made me work outside my comfort zone. The determination that I was doing something good and solving a real-life problem helped me in continuing to work towards achieving the goal in mind. The end result- we made 15 cookstoves and the villagers are currently using those for the past 4 years.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
In my 12th standard, upon talking to my house help about some scars on her hand, I got to know that she was a victim of domestic abuse. Due to social stigma and the high dependence on her husband she was unable to take any action. Upon further talking, I found out that this was not a rare problem and many women in her locality were in similar circumstances. I wanted to do something about the same and hence I along with 2 of my friends started an NGO- Women initiative foundation to help empower these women. The idea behind the NGO was that these women can be helped and guided in certain skills which can help them earn more money- the skills are both soft and hard in nature. They can either join some work or take up small-scale entrepreneurship(selling)- workshops like candle making, jewelry making, English language, cooking, etc. are held regularly. It was tough to get the women to come out of their shells but every second spent towards this cause has been worth it. These women do now rely on the initiative to help them in English, digital technology training, etc. and what feels good is that I have been able to make an impact on around 600 women through the years something which makes me truly happy and proud.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
I was leading a team for a fest and we had to conduct workshops in the same. We had signed up for 7 workshop speakers and the event was just in 1 weeks time. Due to some changes in the GST, the revenue which the workshop partners would be getting was reduced drastically. The other heads of the fest did not want to disclose this information to the workshop speakers for fear that they might not come to the fest. This for me seemed like cheating and I felt that it will affect the image of the fest in the long run also. I decided against my whole teams consensus that we would inform the changes to the workshop speakers. Meanwhile, in the background, I had started approaching some backup speakers for the fest. When the information was delivered to the speakers- 3 of them did back out but due to me already having approached some backup speakers we were able to have the fest with 7 speakers on time. This for me was an ethical dilemma with an easy and safe option out but I chose the hard way which was tougher but was the correct choice. I had to make and sell this to my team also and later they also understood the decision and supported the same.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
I am very passionate about Philately (stamp collection). Since my childhood, I started collecting stamps from letters sent to my house and till today I am an avid stamp collector. I have over 2500 stamps on a variety of themes and from different countries. I have also been awarded district awards in philately. This hobby of mine helps keep me updated on the culture, nature, various events, and personalities of various countries. It requires patience and consistency. Another hobby of mine where I have some deep expertise is trekking- I have completed over 30 green trails in India and have recently done my second Himalayan trek. The mountains help me find peace and quiet from the busy schedule of daily life and teach me the importance of keep walking one step at a time. It requires courage and develops on-spot thinking and this is why each trek is a learning experience for me.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
If I get 10 Million dollars, I would, to begin with, will be very happy about the same. I will keep a portion of the same for my NGO: Women Initiative Foundation- This would be around 2 Million dollars. I have always wanted to sponsor a childs education and start a scholarship for meritorious students and I believe with the money I would be able to do that. Talking about the future- I want to spend some part of the money for sustainability and environment also. So, a total of 2 Million Dollars for the same. With some portion of the remaining money- I would take my parents on a world trip, around 1 Million dollars for the same. With the remaining 5 Million Dollars money, I would want to start my own startup in the field of technology(with a focus on social entrepreneurship for India) and invest the leftover money so that it keeps on growing.
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
Have you ever considered how much time it would take for you to be amongst these top 0.5% earners in India? Find out here!
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