Rakesh Agrawal
Hyderabad
IN 1999, Dr Reddy’s Foundation (DRF), the non-profit arm of Dr Reddy’s
Laboratories, started a Livelihood Advancement Business school (LABS) with
nine students in Hyderabad, India’s cyber capital.
Over the years, the business school’s popularity has grown hugely. Today it
has 120 centres across 11 states in India. More than 93,000 underprivileged students
have learnt the basics of computerscience from its many centres and got
decent jobs.
But the aim of DRF, their non-profit, is rather different.
Established in June 1996, DRF promotes
public-private partnership models that link life,
learning and livelihoods. One of its main objectives
is to extend the fruits of the cyber revolution
to underprivileged youth.
“LABS is a business school exclusively for marginalised
youth in the age group 18 to 35 years. It
imparts market driven new economy courses
across India,” says Gopi Krishna of DRF.
In India,
an MoU is being signed with the Ministry of
Rural Development to implement this project in
all states,” says Krishna. Students joining LABS undergo a three month
course where they learn basic computer skills,
Internet, DTP and spoken English. After that
they are placed in call centres and computer education
centres. “We have over 75 percent success
in placements,” claims Krishna. Inspired by the success of LABS, DRF launched
Gramin LABS. Its first centre was started in
October 2006 in the Old Charminar area of Hyderabad, a largely Muslim locality. Over 140
students joined and around 80 percent were
placed. Many girls got jobs as data entry operators.
“Today I earn more than my father and take
care of my family,” says Pavithra. Her father, a
security guard, earns Rs 2,500 per month, while
Pavithra, who works in a Hutch call centre, earns
Rs 3,000.
For the girls it’s like entering a new world. “Initially, it was tough for my parents to let me
discard my burqa (veil) and work with the boys.
But after a lot of cajoling they agreed,” says
Nusrat Fatima. Money also has a role to play.
Fatima earns the same amount as Pavithra and is
her colleague in Hutch. “LABS empowered me in more ways than
one,” says Sri Devi, another young lady who
works as a computer operator in Hyderabad’s
posh Dara shopping mall. Originally from Guntakal, Sri Devi is the sole bread
winner and the eldest in her family of two sisters and one brother. Matters
took a downturn when her father remarried and she had to quit studies. Sri
Devi persuaded him to let her join LABS.
Boys too are catching up. But they prefer the more ‘boyish’ kind of jobs, and
many are becoming technicians. “We can do jobs that exploit our energies and
talents fully,” says Murali, 21, a technician with a local computer assembly unit.
It’s not always possible to turn rural folk into net savvy geeks. For one, they may not want to since farming continues to be their first preference. DRF therefore decided to start a Micro Entrepreneurship Development Cell (MEDC) and a Livelihood Hub. MEDC boosts businesses based on agriculture. “These are small-scale livelihood options for youth from marginalised communities. We give them professional training and advice on how to add value to farming, animal rearing and vending,” says Krishna. DRF realised that youth were keen to go into business but were hampered by money and expertise. Through MEDC they are helped to identify and grab entrepreneurial opportunities. They are taught skills like how to draw up a business plan. MEDC also assists with banks and market linkages.
“Now I know how to grow baby corn and where to market my produce. This will surely increase my family’s income,” says KS Anandraj, 20, the youngest in a family of five. Girls have learnt how to vend sweet corn. “This work suits us girls, and I’ve found a good shop in Hyderabad that will market my product,” says M. Kanmani. In Hyderabad, most MEDC students are from the adjoining Ranga Reddy district but young people from Bihar and Kashmir have also benefited. Inspired by the response, DRF has other schemes on the cards. The most important is to establish an Agro Facilitation Centre (AFC) with several branches in villages and districts. The AFC will be run by a full-fledged project management team which will act as a catalyst between agencies and farmers. The AFC will facilitate agriculture and allied services. It will boost animal husbandry, health, education, micro-entrepreneurship and e-governance. It will also help with bank loans. Local enterprise based on the opportunities available in rural markets will be encouraged.
The AFC management team will man outposts for a specific time and teach local entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHGs) how to manage the local centre. The centre will have a revenue generation model. DRF is partnering national and international organisations, corporate houses, NGOs, state government and educational institutions in this venture. A Livelihood Hub is also planned. It will continuously scan job opportunities and inform rural youth about them. The hub will tell economically backward groups about government schemes. It will also have information on private sector employment, skills development, entrepreneurship development support as well as bank linkages. The ‘customers’ of this service could range from school dropouts and graduates to individuals and self-help groups.“Education is the foundation for all future skill development,” says Krishna. So, ample attention is being paid to improving the education of underprivileged children through classroom intervention, life skills training and by encouraging them to have a positive attitude towards society.
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