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“I dream of rural India where every village will become a self-sufficient entity, every village will have inspiring teachers and are developed in terms of social happiness.” -Shuvajit Payne

Shuvajit Payne graduated in economics from the Presidency College, Kolkata. He then did MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow in finance and marketing and went abroad to settle down further.

But after working for four years, Shuvajit Payne decided that this was not what he was meant to do. He wanted to do something meaningful in life, something that would make difference, something that will help someone else grow and have a better life.

“Over the years, I have acquired a clear picture of how corporate projects work; I have the required soft skills, the knowledge of the macro-matters, and a huge contact list for support, thanks to IIML & IBM. But somewhere, to do something socially meaningful, I lack the understanding of how things work at a grass root level. Over the next year, I’ll not only try to fill this gap, but also try to bring all my skills together. “I believe that rural India should one day challenge the engraved idea of “development” that we, urban Indians, have. My friends hail the industrial life as the only-way-to-be, where development is measured by CCDs, flyovers and multiplexes. Yet, on the other hand, there is this massive part of India which our media forgets to portray – for whom none of these matter. I dream of rural India as a place where every village will become an individually self-sufficient entity, developed truly in terms of social happiness.” says Shuvajit in a conversation with SBI.

The two major aspects he wants to work on include; farmers getting their right share and the possibilities of middlemen in agricultural trading becomes minimal as he feels farmers are treated brutally due to illiteracy and no back bone. Second would be the issue of migration and shift of occupational pattern. Every kid in the village now wants to migrate to urban cities and become huge rather than continuing farming as an occupation. That is why we are seeing struggling with food security, over populated cities and rising food inflation.

Overwhelmed by the affection of villagers, Shuvajit says,“I really love the person I have become. The warmth and love that you get from the villagers is a prized possession. These four years have been a life changing experience for me. I hope many youngsters come forward and sincerely join this mission to make a big difference in the lives of thousands of villagers. The happiness, satisfaction and sense of achievement, this job gives is irreplaceable, explains Shuvajit as he continues to live his dream of building a better India.

You too can join this movement. Just email Shuvajit at; [email protected]