Youth for Development Inspiring stories of change from the State Bank of ’s Youth Fellows

Youth for Development Inspiring stories of change from the ’s Youth Fellows “The future belongs to the young generation”

4 I often mull over Mahatma Gandhi’s meet their needs. India has been India’s oft quoted statement “You must observing a National Youth Day on be the change you wish to see 12th of January every year since 1985 demographic in the world”. I feel it is primarily in honour of Swami Vivekananda addressed to the youth, the trustees whose thinking and philosophy of tomorrow. As such I thought had galvanized the youth into a potential it quite apt for the celebration of potent force. We too at SBI have the International Youth Day. It is conceptualized an initiative –“Youth offers us an especially relevant for India, as for India” Fellowship—to accelerate India is set to become the youngest growth and development in the rural country by 2020 with over 60 sector while transforming Fellows unprecedented percent of its population by then into caring citizens with a more falling in the working age group. This holistic worldview. Our programme edge demographic potential offers us an in association with reputed non- unprecedented edge and it is for our government organizations (NGOs), youth to draw on the words of the encourages the youth in joining Mahatma and leave their imprint on hands with rural communities, the world. empathize with their struggles and aspirations for equitable and The future belongs to the young sustainable growth. We need to generation and it is imperative that continually tap into this vitality today’s youth empower themselves as the hope of the world rests on with knowledge and information the shoulders of this cohort. The which will give them the strength and International Youth Day celebrated conviction to stand up and demand globally on the 12th of August will go that the right path be followed. They a long way in adding to the growing need to be professional, acquire awareness about the potential of the the right skills, gather the correct young. attitude so that their energies can be focussed on bringing about the change they wish to see—a change Arundhati Bhattacharya towards equality, better quality of Chairman, life, health and environment. State Bank of India

The youth today are very aspirational and we must provide adequate resources and the enablers to

5 “Empower young people to play a strong role in building a more inclusive and sustainable future for all”

6 Young people are among the about the role and the potential of Young people are greatest assets countries have. For young people in today’s world. India, which is estimated to have 356 the driving force million young people, it offers a huge Experience from across the world demographic dividend. The energy, reveals that when young people of development enthusiasm and innovation of young lack opportunities to engage people can be an important driving proactively and realize their potential, force of development. development may be affected. In turn economic and social crises The State Bank of India’s Youth for can impact young people. It is Development Fellowship recognizes essential to include and empower this spirit of young people. The young people to play a strong role corporate social responsibility in building a more inclusive and initiative undertaken by one of sustainable future for all. the country’s largest public sector banks places young people in rural areas along with established NGOs Yuri Afanasiev and allows them to call on their United Nations Resident Coordinator ingenuity, innovation and passion to and UNDP Resident Representative make a difference in people’s lives. As the stories in this booklet tell us, it’s transforming both their lives, and the lives of the local communities they support.

We commend the State Bank of India for their commitment to this exciting initiative and in particular, the Chairperson, under whose leadership this Fellowship Programme continues to expand.

We can think of no more appropriate setting to celebrate the achievements of these Fellows than International Youth Day, celebrated each year on 12 August, which raises awareness

7 SBI’s Youth for India Fellowship allows young people to follow their heart

Youth for India is a corporate social and L&T, before taking a break from responsibility initiative launched by their lucrative careers to apply for the State Bank of India to bridge the Fellowship. growing urban–rural divide in India. The Fellowship allows young Indians to follow The current batch of Youth for India their heart and implement innovations Fellows was selected from among 6,500 that promote the socio-economic applicants. More than half the current development of rural areas. Launched Fellows are women. Projects undertaken in 2011, ‘Youth for India’ is a thirteen by the Fellows include health and month-long Fellowship that enables sanitation, behaviour change, income bright, urban youth to work on rural generation activities rooted in the development projects. During the course local economy, and strengthening local of the Fellowship, the Fellows live locally governance institutions. near the project site, working closely with experienced non-governmental organizations.

SBI Youth for India Fellows are from diverse academic backgrounds including from some of the best institutions in India, like the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management, National Institute of Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Mumbai University. Many have worked in the private sector in leading corporate and consulting companies, such as the Tata Group, Reliance, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, Infosys, Ernst & Young, Thomson Reuters, CISCO

8 Showcasing inspirational stories: Youth for Development Dialogue

On 12 August 2015, to mark the occasion of International Youth Day, a few of State Bank of India’s Youth for India Fellows will showcase innovations they have undertaken during 2014-15 in four states, including , Madhya Pradesh, and .

Projects undertaken by SBI Fellows complement flagship initiatives of the Government of India such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme and Smart Villages.

Fellows will be presenting their work to an audience of young people, leading development practitioners, policymakers, representatives from bilateral and multilateral agencies, corporate sector and UN agencies. The dialogue is organized by the State Bank of India and the United Nations in India.

These presentations will be but a few of the many inspiring efforts undertaken through the Youth for India Fellowship programme managed by State Bank of India. You can read more inspirational stories at http://www.youthforindia.org/

9 “Every woman bleeds and it should not be a matter of shame. Every woman has the right to earn and she should not refrain”

10 Simren Singh Let’s Talk Menstruation!

Twenty-five-year-old Simren has always Mandir, an NGO in Udaipur, to bring in adopting the changed behaviour, been convinced of the need to break about behaviour change in menstrual the village development committee the taboos that surround menstruation hygiene practices among tribal women has sanctioned a new sewing machine in India and has worked relentlessly to in Khervara. She also helped promote so that more sanitary napkins can be create awareness on the issue. Better income generation by training the produced for the women in the village. menstrual hygiene promotes improved women in the village, most of whom health status of women, in particular were wives of migrant workers, to make teenage girls. But women in rural areas and sell eco-friendly, hand-made cloth lack convenient choices in the use of sanitary napkins. sanitary napkins. The first batch of sanitary napkins was Many rural women adopt practices produced by 10 women. The women that are unhygienic and contribute to started by using a machine made their poor health. As a Youth for India available by Jatan Sansthan. Seeing Fellow, Simren worked along with Seva the enthusiasm of the local community

Simren is from Dehradun. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi and has completed an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

11 “I hope I have inspired village communities and local government bodies that ‘Clean India’ is not just a phrase. It is actionable with very little effort”

12 Priyvrat Clean Villages, Clean India

Thirty-one-year-old Priyvrat joined the village sarpanch, he conducted waste recyclable material to the local scrap SBI Youth for India Fellowship with one audits in the village. In meetings with dealer, which was a great motivator aim – to promote community hygiene the villagers, he explained the benefits for the villagers. Hardingo village will in rural India. He took a sabbatical from of community hygiene. With community soon be a clean village. Priyvrat’s pilot his job at the State Bank of India and support, he organized cleanliness drives, project has been approved by district headed to Odisha to pilot a project street plays and drawing competitions authorities and will be rolled out in on decentralized waste management among school students to help promote many more villages in the district. systems to improve sanitary conditions waste management practices. By in Hardingo village in Ganjam district. installing colour-coded dustbins to In a span of six months, Priyvrat segregate waste, thereby reducing was able to mobilize 177 households the time-consuming job of waste to adopt solid and liquid waste segregation, he made it easier for the management and segregation practices. villagers to adopt the change. He also With the assistance of , a promoted revenue generation by setting local NGO, the gram sabha and the up a system for the community to sell

Priyvrat is from Haryana. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Haryana.

13 “Good governance backed with the right technology can transform people’s lives. Through this Fellowship I help motivate people to participate in governance and be change leaders”

14 Ashwini Shelke Good Governance, Better Future

As the daughter of a village sarpanch, electing its first woman sarpanch. Mahila is supervising the construction of the Ashwini Shelke grew up knowing sabhas are now held regularly, at least panchayat bhavan’s e-governance cell the transformational power of good once a month, in the village. and is also providing basic computer governance, especially at the local training to the villagers. She believes level. Which is why she chose to Ashwini has also spent considerable that the e-governance cell will enable create awareness about the role and time in raising awareness among the residents of Kanpuri to access functioning of panchayats and promote the villagers, particularly farmers, government schemes through the e-governance as her initiative under the by organizing film screenings and Internet and assist in providing facilities Youth for India programme. a door-to-door campaign about such as printing and photo copying government schemes that they can services. For the past nine months, Ashwini access to supplement their income. has been working in Kanpuri and Sidri She has worked with local government village in Madhya Pradesh to promote officials to bridge the gap between the her vision of good governance. In Sidri, government and the people. she organized the first ever mahila sabha to address women’s grievances In collaboration with the Aga Khan and is also credited for the village Rural Support Programme, Ashwini

Ashwini holds a graduate degree in Economics from Mumbai University. She used to work part-time as a teacher before being selected for the Fellowship programme.

15 “The SBI Fellowship has been a very gratifying experience which has provided a new direction to my life and understanding of how technology can help build livelihoods”

16 Anant Vats Skilling India

Technology and how it can be used for including a bamboo axe and a splitter. Nearly 40 artisans in two pilot social change has always fascinated The bamboo axe helps in cutting villages, Ambapara and Dagarpada, Anant Vats. It’s this passion that he bamboo into four or eight uniform are producing more than double the brings to in his work with bamboo splits in one go. This axe prototype quantity of bamboo mugs. They have artisans in the Dang region of Gujarat is not only cheaper compared to the witnessed a 40 percent increase in under the Fellowship programme. traditional axe, but also requires less income through the sales of these effort. The bamboo splitter developed products at a local tourist spot in Thirty-three-year-old Anant has by Anant helps mechanize the process Gheeradoot. Anant is now developing introduced innovative mechanical tools of splitting bamboo. He has also a financial proposal to secure funding to help bamboo artisans improve the introduced a heat etcher, a tool that for bamboo artisans to enable more of quality of their products and reduce helps bamboo artisans make decorative them to purchase these prototype tools. the drudgery associated with working patterns on their products, and a box with bamboo. In close collaboration sander, an electrical powered tool that with BAIF Development Research helps reduce the time required to finish Foundation, Pune, Anant has developed bamboo products, typically a painful a number of low cost prototypes, and time-consuming process.

With a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, Anant spent the last five years as an entrepreneur before taking the plunge and moving to Gujarat as an SBI Fellow.

17 “Working with tribal children, most of them first-generation learners, has taught me that all kids have the same potential. With little honing and attention, they can do wonders”

18 Sunayana Chatrapathy Learning, the Fun Way!

Till a year ago, 31-year-old Sunayana learning fun and engaging for these literate, using a computer to prepare Chatrapathy spent most of her days young children. monthly reports, download educational shuttling between glass cabins and videos in Odiya and send emails. meeting rooms as a Human Resource She employs a technique called math Manager for a Bangalore-based manipulative – which uses pattern Sunayana has also looked for innovative technology firm. But Sunayana knew blocks, cubes, fraction circles, geo- ways to fund her initiative, using social that was not her true calling. In search boards and more - to teach concepts media tools like blogs and Twitter to of something more meaningful and and vocabulary as well as encourage raise awareness about her project and gratifying, she quit her job. imaginative play and exploration. She the challenges she faces. Recently is also training teachers to ensure Pratham, an innovative learning Today, Sunayana is an SBI Fellow, sustainability of the project. Till now, she organization aimed at improving the working and living in a remote location has trained 35 teachers in 30 different quality of , sent her in Odisha’s tribal belt, imparting concepts. books worth INR 25,000 after reading education to 500 tribal children in a her blog. And her tweet compelled a local school. Together with NGO, Gram Another feather in Sunayana’s hat has stranger to donate a laptop that the Vikas, she has developed an activity- been introducing computer training to teachers now use in their classes to based learning module for primary the students and teachers. With her show videos. school students. It aims to make assistance, teachers are now computer Sunayana will finish her Fellowship in October but has no plans to back to corporate life. She hopes to work with government schools and strengthen its curriculum.

Sunayana is from Bangalore. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

19 “I have learnt is to be patient. At first, tribal women didn’t even talk to me. Now they are my friends and accept my guidance. If you want to see results, that’s the way to go”

20 Diksha Mishra Healthy Women, Healthy Environment

Unlike most 20-somethings, Diksha with thick indoor smoke from traditional spend fewer hours collecting firewood Mishra did not plan a vacation with her cookstoves. Not only were women and have more time for themselves. friends after finishing college. Nor was most adversely affected, it was a health she looking for a job. She had her mind hazard for the whole family. To ensure the sustainability of the set on a different agenda – to volunteer project, Diksha invited experts from a her time for rural development, Diksha addressed the problem by nearby village to train 21 women from especially for women. So at 23, she developing smokeless cookstoves with local self help groups to build and install packed her bags and left for a remote L-shaped chimney to avoid making these cookstoves themselves. Today and nondescript tribal village in Dang, holes in the roofs of the kaccha or eight women travel within Dang district, Gujarat to work on a project to improve mud houses. The cookstove is made building and installing these cookstoves women’s health and create an alternate from mud and locally sourced material. for INR 400. This includes a labour source of income for them. She added an iron grate on top of charge of INR 100. These easy-to-make the cookstove, which allows food to cookstoves require only one hour and At first she hoped to create a viable be cooked faster. This innovation has women can easily make three to four market for locally produced poppadum reduced firewood consumption by such stoves a day. This earns women an but something more pressing caught nearly half. Earlier if cooking one meal additional INR 2,000 every week. her attention. Over 90 percent of required 10 logs of wood, this cookstove households she visited were battling uses only five, which means women Working with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Diksha has now expanded her pilot project to 4-5 villages in Dang and one village in Bihar. She has installed over 30 smokeless cookstoves and demand is only growing.

Diksha is from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and a Diploma in Human Rights, specializing in Women’s Rights from the Indian Institute of Human Rights, Delhi.

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United Nations India SBI Youth for India 55, Lodi Estate, Post Box No: 3059, c/o State Bank of India New Delhi – 110003, India CSR Department Ph: +91-11-46532333 Air India Building, Seventh Floor Email: [email protected] Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021 Website: in.one.un.org Ph: +91-08025554678 @UNinIndia Email: [email protected] Website: youthforindia.org /UnitedNationsIndia @sbi_yfi /sbiyouthforindia

Photo Credits: © Pranab K Aich/ UN in India | © Mithila Jariwala/UN in India | © Ruhani Kaur/UN in India | © Dhiraj Singh/UN in India | © Ishan Tankha/UN in India